FEARless

[ALICE CRYSIS]

RUN, RUN AWAY, OR REMAIN WITH THE ONES
WITH NOWHERE TO GO, AS THE SKY FALLS TO THE EARTH

A week had passed since Frostbite Industries took a blow to it's HQ. Early into the evening, eruptions roared through the base of the tower, claiming a few lives and causing extensive damage to the public portion of the building. Though the actual physical losses to the company were insignificant, much changed that evening. The threat of terrorism warded off much of the companies business. Their reputation was placed in the spotlight; many people were wondering if there was something shady going on within the company that would warrant such an unbridled attack upon them. Frostbite had to clean up its act - and quickly - as they were very much being watched.

Alice was displeased.

Though not everything that came from that evening was negative. No, in fact, after the dust had settled, Alice was more than happy with the trade-off that FEAR had shoved down her throat. The total exposure of their objectives and locations in exchange for a blow to the income of her private company? Who could refuse! It didn't take long for satellite tracking to catch up with the perpetrators of incident at Frostbite. Clever as they were to not go back to their own HQ for a while, they nonetheless did eventually. All hell broke loose then. Connections were drawn between FEAR and and incredible amount of financial partners across the globe. Their actions within the city were finally monitorable, and thus, controllable. FEAR had certainly dropped the ball if they thought waging open war was a wise decision for a secret society. Desperation is an ugly perfume.

For days, small fire-fights had broken out with FEAR very near to their base of operations. Though outnumbered, the FEAR operatives seemed to have possessed very unorthodox, albeit experimental, technology which gave them the edge of surprise in combat. Nonetheless, both sides were at a relative stalemate. Alice couldn't really hope for much better - a stalemate meant their operations within her city were stunted, if not halted altogether. The only real setback that they encountered came when their radio frequency was tapped into by FEAR from deep underground. They lost a few lives to that, but all was not lost. For in this instance, Alice realized one fatal weakness this otherwise impregnable fortress did possess.

And then it was time for all hell to break loose.

In the dead cold of one February evening, a small task force of the Aranai's finest snuck into warehouse known to house the entrance to the FEAR operations. Their orders were not to sneak into the depths, oh no. That'd be suicide. Instead, they found a nice discreet location within the warehouse, careful to knock out every camera and similar device that would detect them. And then? They began to dig. It wasn't long before a hole was dug to almost ten feet deep, and a small bomb was planted inside. Quick as they could, the soil was replanted and covered up, and the team fled.

Nearby, Alice was keeping a dangerously close position to the large building. Despite the urges of her kin - in particular Ghost - she was a soldier, and would fight like one. In one hand, long thinblade, and in the other, a small remote. Cerulean eyes flickered towards the team she'd dispatched inside, now making haste outwards. Behind them, red beams of light swarmed the warehouse from an alarming number of directions. Snipers. Able to pick off anyone attempting to get towards their package long before they could do so much as breath. She grinned, and looked down at her remote.

"All clear?" she asked quietly over the Aranai communication web, the first time they'd broken radio silence (they were perfectly aware that FEAR would be able to tap into it otherwise).

"All clear Alice. Bring 'em down!"

Without any hesitation, Alice activated the bomb planted within the FEAR warehouse.

But there was no explosion. No violent eruption. Not even fire or flame. For this was not a bomb created with the intent of destruction. It's goal was disruption.

Electro-magnetic pulses were fired downwards from the bomb, knocking out anything and everything electronical for miles below. Communications, air regulation systems, electricity - name it, it's gone. Generators overload and fry beyond repair. Better yet, an electro-magnetic pulse has terrible effects on living tissue (not a worry for Vampires). At close range, hearts would explode, nervous systems shut down, and intense hallucinations would occur. At the further ranges, living beings would be wracked with pain, an inability to breath, and great strain on anything mental. Headaches, migraines, vomiting, nausea, dizziness - you name it. To be a human under the effect of an EMP was not something to be desired. All the while, Vampires feel nothing.

Of course, the radius of an EMP was not perfectly controllable. Alice and all of her kin were subject to it too, meaning no more communications for them. A small sacrifice.

Alice dropped the now useless hunk of metal out of her left hand. Even if she had some further use for controlling the bomb, she couldn't now. But there was no need, for the Aranai had out-done themselves this day. This EMP had managed to destroy everything electronical around it, save itself. More importantly, it was installed with a timed loop for activation. Every five minutes, another wave was produced. Now, her scientists obviously couldn't test how long the bomb would last, but the common agreeance was that it'd last about a week. So every week a new one would need to be planted. No big deal.

And so outside, the Aranai lingered. Snipers lay hidden all about the area, watching both the bomb and each other. FEAR would need to exit their safe hold in great numbers just to stave off the Aranai assault - and only then could they search for the source of their destruction. Better yet was that any attempt at getting within a mile or so of the bomb would kill a human outright.

If the rest of Alice's tricks didn't first.
[/blockquote][/justify]

[GWYNETH WEBB]

LAZARUS SYSTEMS OFFLINE.

---

To build a super computer of the caliber similar to the LAZARUS PROJECT, you must supply adequate room for the hardware. Gwyneth was aware of this when she initiated the project years ago. The requirement of such a computer was several enormous discs of nothing but circuitry, nearly one hundred feet in diameter. In its complete form, the processing units for LAZARUS consumed so much space there was absolutely no room to safely keep the mechanisms in any of FEAR’s earthbound bases.

For many months during the developing process of LAZARUS, that very issue left the team at a brick wall. However, the answer was always right in front of them. If there was no room on Earth, then why not space? Several years later, FEAR’s space station was operational, under the guise of just more Soviet space trash. Having the entire supercomputer orbiting the planet rendered some very key advantages, like immunity to earthen EMP blasts.

Thousands of miles to the heavens, the artificial intelligence awoke.

ORBITAL LAZARUS SYSTEMS ONLINE.

INITIATING VITAL PARADIGMS.
…
…
…
SUCCESSFUL.
GENERATING PLANETARY MAP.
--INTERRUPTED--

INCOMING TRANSMISSION.
-CREATOR’S LIFE IN DANGER.
-VITALS DROPPING.
-RADIATION EXPOSURE: HIGH.
-AGEIS SYSTEMS OFFLINE.
-NEARBY LAZARUS SYSTEMS OFFLINE.

RED ALERT.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTOCOLS.
GENERATING LOCALIZED MAP.
INCOMING SATELLITE IMAGES.
PROCESSING SITUATION.
…
…
…
ENEMY OCCUPATION.
DIVERTING ALL POWER TO EXPERIMENTAL CANNONS.
TARGETING PERMIMETER.
ORBITAL ARTILLERY READY IN THREE MINUTES.
PREPARING DROP PODS.
PREPARING STEALTH FIELD DEVICES.

COUNTER EMP TECHNOLOGY READY FOR DROP.
DEPLOYING…

A cannon on the underside of the space station spun to face its target. The barrel slid into place, making sure to ensure a surgical drop. It fired, three obsidian orbs launching through space at the location below. They landed in a triangular pattern with a fiery boom, kicking up debris and giant pieces of asphalt as they pressed several feet into the crust of the lot. Several moments passed where they did nothing but sit calmly in their craters, waiting for their external temperature to drop. Then, amidst the silence, the reflective black orbs cracked open. Another, tinier orb, levitated out of all three of them and hummed softly. They began to spin rapidly, becoming silver blurs floating just a few inches from the mouth of the craters. As they spun, they transmitted an electrical current that interrupted the pulses from the hidden bomb. In the void of radiation, the next sequence could occur. From the craters and the cracked spheres, legions of tiny, spider-like, nanobots emerged like a mercurial flood. The infestation, humming and clicking, sunk into any aperture they could, burrowing into the FEAR base. Their goal was to repair the damage the EMP blasts had caused.

However, Lazarus was not done.

DEPLOYMENT SUCCESSFUL.
ENABLING STEALTH DROP.
DEPLOYING…
SUCCESSFUL.

EXPERIMENTAL ORBITAL ARTILLERY READY.
TARGETING…
FIRING.

A cluster of three cannons on the right wing of the station came to life. They charged up, a brilliant white light filling all three barrels. They fired. Three brief beams of ultraviolet light shot to earth, caustic lasers that bypassed the descending drop pods still on route. The beams of light struck the earth in a similar pattern as the spheres, glowing pillars of white light. Their radiation was brief, nothing but white shimmers to on lookers, but enough to illuminate the area and dump tons of burning light upon the Arani troops.

Just as a surviving vampire might think their hell was over, invisible drop pods fell to earth, creating similar craters as their stealth fields dissipated. The tapered shells opened, releasing a visible cloud of air as the pressures equalized. Robotic troops poured out of the pods, each armed with a lasso of ultraviolet light and guns that fired UV bullets in brief increments that would surely suppress any marauding wave of undead.

Which is exactly what they did.

The Lazarus controlled androids began to fire, their targeting systems tracing the trajectory of the snipers’ beams back to their nests.

Deep below, the nanobots managed to repair emergency generators. The speakers throughout the compound boomed, loud enough for a vampire to hear:

LAZARUS SYSTEMS ONLINE.
REPARITIVE GENE TONIC EMITTERS ONLINE.
ARSENALS OPEN: PREPARE FOR BATTLE.

The compound filled with an invisible gas designed to aid the repair of human cells. Gwyn rose slowly from the position she fell into whilst unconscious. She was beyond livid, and she knew exactly who was responsible.

[/justify][/blockquote]

[ALICE CRYSIS]

RUN, RUN AWAY, OR REMAIN WITH THE ONES
WITH NOWHERE TO GO, AS THE SKY FALLS TO THE EARTH

Things were eerily quiet. Alice knew this foe well enough to know things were very, very far from over. In fact, she'd be thoroughly disappointed were that to be the case. Another rebellion; eyes larger than their stomach, quashed by the swiftest of actions catching them off-guard.

"Alice, Ghost is calling," called one of the nearby team members, snapping Alice from her silent musing. Sure enough, Alice gazed upwards to see the red flare streaking across the sky. That could only mean one thing - that whatever manner of retaliation they were in for, was not coming from some place local. Alice sped off towards the location she knew Ghost was lingering in without another word to her fellow team members. If she had a heart, it would be racing with anticipation at this point.

Mere seconds passed before Alice crossed the threshold housing Ghost. Even fewer seconds were granted to her to bask in the complicated room he'd made for himself out of what would otherwise be a garden shed. A multitude of wires ran in every direction, screens and computers strewn out anywhere there was space. Just how he managed to set this kind of shit up in minutes, she'd never understand. But that was the beauty, rather than understand herself, she simply had him.

"I told you, TOLD YOU knocking out our communications wasn't a fucking good idea. Look!" Ghost snarled, pointing to one of the smaller screens within the room. It took a moment for the image to click in her mind, and by then, Ghost was already furiously rambling on again. "I told you that station was armed Alice. Fuck if I know what it's doing, but it's fucking glowing. And I know you declined my proposition of an attack on the station before, but we really don't have a choice now, do we!?" Alice's eyes widened. It looked as though it was collecting itself to fire something. Part of her really doubted FEAR was capable of something so powerful. More and more, she was wondering if she was just unwilling to believe something so similar to power had crept up without notice. A blow to the ego more than anything else.

"Well? We've got something under two minutes before it goes off - intercepted the radio static," he added breathlessly. His gaze, normally childish and playful, was dreadfully accusing and grave. Instinctively Alice reached out for one of his flares, making sure it was of the appropriate colour, and fired it straight into the air.

"Fine. Do it." Alice was legitimately angry now. No part of her desired the end that was about to come about by Ghost's command. Many weeks prior, he'd come to Alice and urged her to listen. As head of intelligence for the Aranai, his opinion on their enemies was always to be respected. This time, however, she just couldn't accept it. That the station oddly close to their own in space was in fact put there by FEAR (cleverly disguised as something European). And, if they did not act quickly, it'd do something. His suggestion? They had no Ion cannons in space or whatnot. All they had was their own station, rigged with explosives. Well naturally, she brushed him off at the mention of the pinnacle of its danger being 'something'. Now she was regretting that choice dearly.

"It's not going to make it there before it goes off. I hope you understand that." Already halfway out the door, Alice paused. She was afraid of that.

"I know. Just make it happen, signal me blue when you're successful, and then move your operations back to base."

By the time Alice had made it to a safe point from the building, also their designated caching point, she knew there wasn't much time left. From atop a factor very similar in outward look from the one they were raiding, she could see her kin making haste away from the scene, as directed by the flare she'd shot moments ago. At least that had worked out for them.

Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

A beam of light descended down upon the earth. The explosion was catastrophic. The sound struck Alice before anything else, wracking her with intense pain due to overly sensitive ears. Crippled, she fell to her knees, still unable to tear her eyes off the mindless destruction before her.

Next came the wave of force from the eruption of pure energy. Windows were blown out. Small items and debris became deadly flying projectiles. And many buildings themselves found their way to the earth, flattened completely. Alice found herself grasping the edge of the factory to keep from flying away herself, as the updrafts on the explosion grew more powerful at a distance.

As the dust and debris finally began to settle, it became apparent that thing that was not the extent of things. Some how, despite the EMP being set off only moments before, robotic soldiers were visible, emerging with high-tech weaponry and targeting systems.

Alice was paralyzed with disbelief. There were no explanations for this, and for how someone could have this much power locked subtly away within her city. It didn't make sense, yet, there it was.

Alice had failed.

Bright cerulean pulled Alice's attention from the brinks of despair. Glowing blue flame, signaling that Ghost had at least accomplished his goal. The Frostbite space station had made impact with whatever the fuck FEAR called their space platform, and detonated. To anyone but Alice this was a victory - the giant fucking cannon in the sky was gone. The issue was that this station housed much of everything the Aranai, and in particular, Frostbite and Alice, needed to keep secure. It all just went up in an explosion, true martyr fashion.

More explosions. This time, shots fired from the Aranai at the mysterious floating orbs. Whether it was a coordinated effort, or simply one person firing a rocket and everyone else joining in, Alice had no idea of (communications were very much down). Either way, surprising ordinance found its way towards each of the orbs.

The Coven Leader slumped down in shock. Alice held very little respect for her own life now. Her company was in ruins, and no doubt bankruptcy. Everything she'd been entrusted to keep safe was eliminated. Of her own accord. And worst of all, the one thing she'd cherished as her own - New York City - had an infestation that seemed to own more of it than she did.

Gloom began to tug at Alice's heartstrings. Her mind was made up. She knew what she had to do now. With great strain she rummaged through the the dust riddled cache behind her, until she found a large black duffel bag and a megaphone. She carefully set down the microphone, then tore the bag apart. More EMP's, three to be exact. They'd brought extras, thinking they'd be camped out for a while. More were being manufactured of course, but, nothing had quite gone as planned. Below, machines were winning a fight over her beleaguered kin. That had to change.

Thankfully the bomb was disc shaped. With an impressive throw, it soared across the ruined industrial sector of Brooklyn. It didn't even have time to land before it was detonated remotely by Alice; another violent shock wave of radiation sweeping what could only now be called a battleground, eliminating the mechanical threat for a second time.

"Koko de jiyuu no genjitsu o rikaishitenai you da na.
Watashitachi wa shimobe de wa naku.
Koko wa omaetachi no ryouiki de wa nai.
Watashitachi wa kazoekirenai kurai no koko no shuugou.
Keikokusareta deshou;
Watashitachi no ikikata o jama suru nara,
Souzou o zessuru you na teki ni tachimukau.

Kakugoshinasai!"

Fierce was the message spoken by Alice, megaphone in hand, to each and every Aranai within a broad radius. To anyone else listening in, the leaning of which was lost. No analyst would read it and interpret the meaning it bore to each and every Aranai. Nonetheless, the message was entirely received, obvious from the immense roar that erupted afterwords from the surround. A testament to the moral of the Aranai, each and every one emerged from their refuge and storming the ruins of FEAR.

And Alice was joining.
[/blockquote][/justify]

[KARA ALDRIDGE]

While all the chaos that happened outside the FEAR base, the once Teryn leader was strapped to chair, looking more pathetic than anything. However, she was not alone. Letting a small shaky breath of air escape her, she raised her hazel eyes to the three humans strapped to chairs sitting across from her, as well as the supposed Aranai member nearby with a clipboard ready in hand. Where was she again? When the human's scent hit her, she let out a small groan as she struggled against the rather pathetic binds. How long had she gone without blood, or well human blood? The shit these people were giving her hardly fulfilled her at all, and honestly, if anything she wanted to kill everyone and have her fill. But knowing the member nearby, he'd probably make the illusions come again or whatever other torture they had in mind for her. Fuck Alice, she thought suddenly. What the hell was she thinking?! They had a treaty and now the vampire was stabbing her in the back and was even torturing her. If she ever saw her again...

"Come on now, you've done this plenty of times. We need to see what your abilities are." She heard the man nearby say. That was right, they had done something to her, given her a new power. Again her eyes focused on the restrained victims nearby, knowing what that woman, Gwyn ordered her to do. Focusing slightly, she focused on the first human, watching as his eyes widened in fear, knowing what he was going through. It was like the first time she saw it, everything vanished, and yet things came. For her, it was a few Drakken that came and tortured her, claiming everyone she cared for was dead and it was her fault. Whether that was true or not she didn't know, but she knew this human was going through the same thing. Moments later, the man's screams filled the small room as Kara looked away while the Aranai scribbled on the paper. Suddenly though, a sort of blast shot through the room, causing her to wake up slightly. "What the he-" Suddenly, before she could react, the four around her suddenly let out a scream as she heard something...explode? With wide eyes, she watched as each human died, their heart seeming to rupture. However, what happened next...made her snap.

Her eyes transfixed on the nearest human, whose head was now hung downwards, obviously dead, but Kara only watched as the blood dripped from the person's orifices. With a week of only synthetic blood, and the sudden appearance of all the red liquid pooling from the humans, her vampiric nature took over. The simple bindings on her wrist and ankles were ripped from the chair as she moved from the chair and grabbed the nearest human. Without a second thought, she sunk her teeth deep into the human's neck and began to drink in deep gulps. At the taste of natural human blood, her eyes rolled back slightly as she squeezed the human to her, enjoying the euphoric liquid. After she was full, she dropped the human, ignoring how, well messy her feeding had been and let out another shaky breath as she felt her full powers return to her. Sure, it wasn't enough as the other vampires, but it was enough to possibly attempt an escape.

Wheeling around, her eyes focused on the door that separated her from possible freedom. With her returned powers, the door was almost ripped from it's hinges, causing her to step out into a hallway. Now where? Suddenly a strange sound sound caused her to turn in a direction, only to see..."What the fuck is that?" Tiny...robots? And thousands of them. Her eyes widened at the sight of the hallway almost flooding with them and immediately took a step backwards to escape it, until they all passed by her. Matter of fact, they strategically moved so that none of them even touched her. In matter of moments, the tiny machines had moved past her, scurrying to whatever they were programmed to do. Shaking her head slightly, she decided to run to where the nanobots had come from.

Running for a little while, she took notice of anyone that happened to be in her way was either unconscious from the blast, or dead. Good, she rather not fight any more than she had to, she just wanted out. Suddenly while running, her head throbbed in pain, causing her to slow slightly. Shit, not now. She didn't want to face those illusions Gwyn had placed into her brain. Immediately she gripped the sides of her head and forced herself to continue on, unaware of what all was happening. Constant explosions, people screaming. Jesus was this another illusion?! However...what came next, was something she never thought to see.

Alice Crysis. Here, in front of her with her people.

Immediately, Kara's hands dropped as a snarl erupted from her as she stared at the woman who put her through so much pain and misery. If anything, she actually felt like a Drakken at the moment, not even thinking of what had actually happened. Her mind was almost in pieces, she couldn't put the puzzle together. All she knew was, Alice lied to her. Stabbed her in the back. Betrayed her. And it left the Teryn leader VERY upset.

Suddenly, she focused all of her newfound ability on the Aranai leader. She was using the very thing they gave her, against Alice. What she projected into the woman's mind, she had no clue, mostly what looked like a army of black shifting figures behind Kara, snarling and gnashing, all as if aiming toward Alice. Whatever the beings were, there were almost hundreds behind the pissed off vampire, ready to attack. "....You." Was all the once strong leader, now broken vampire spoke. Her eyes showed nothing but hatred, and she was ready to attack, even though the numbers were way against her.

[GWYNETH WEBB]

Auxiliary programs that were never supposed to engage sprung to life at the attack of the LAZARUS mainframe. Monitors fell from the ceiling clumsily, sparks flying from wires and various circuits. On them, several different video uplinks, hacked from various nations’ satellites, showed what Gwyn knew to be the Arani space station being scuttled against their platform in real time. With the explosion, deafening static filled the communications system of the compound. Devices went haywire. Gwyn’s optical implant went completely black, making her blind in one eye. The sound of giant machinery several hundred feet below could be heart grinding to a stop. Gibberish sometimes could be heard between the static droning as Lazarus’ language chips melted from the intense heat.

“FUCK! That’s it. That fucking bitch has gone to far. I don’t care about what Callahan and Herman want, she’s ash. Nobody tries to destroy my life’s work!” Gwyn was becoming emotional now. Her cold façade had cracked and fell to the floor, shattering like porcelain. Lazarus was everything to her, no matter how sad that sounded. She spent her teenage years working on him, her early adulthood- everything. That computer ran on her blood, sweat and tears. The explosion on the video uplink cleared, the Arani satellite obviously in ruin, with the whole left side of the FEAR platform torn asunder. Not only was the drop pod hangar completely wiped out, but also a third of the Lazarus mainframe was missing. Every moment spent with Lazarus offline, FEAR was vulnerable. The whole organization was supported by the super computer and without it, FEAR would fall into another civil war.

Gwyn dragged her finger limply across the monitor’s screen. Her body still ached; the AGEIS system that was wired to her nerves was now more of a burden than a guardian. Lazarus’ vitals were now on the screen before her. A pie graph showed the remaining power, which was nearing ten percent, as the collision took out the reserve power cells. Structural integrity was steadily declining. A list of red text continued to scroll, making Gwyn aware of all the abilities that were now rendered unavailable. An incoming transmission interrupted her.

“GWYN! What the bloody fuck is going on? FEAR is offline globally. We’re nothing but a glorified Radio Shack at this point. What the hell happened?”

Lead Scientist Abel Callahan, a conceited bastard and one of the heads of FEAR’s global command council, was by far one of Gwyn’s least favorite people. She stared into the camera dully.

“The Arani, Sir. They scuttled their platform. Lazarus is in ruin. I was just about to-”

“WELL DO SOMETHING, WEBB. THIS WHOLE DAMN PROJECT WAS YOUR DOING. WE’RE FIGHTING A FUCKING WAR IN KOREA AGAINST THEIR COVENS AND WE CAN’T AFFORD TO HAVE OUR SYSTEMS OFFLINE. GET THIS SHIT TOGETHER OR YOU’RE FUCKING GONE! Do you understand me?”

Gwyn scoffed and terminated the transmission, unable to mentally handle the man barking at her. She was forced into a dire situation that she had no plans to correct. Her one good eye fell back to the screen. An alarm began to go off on the monitor. “FULE SOURCES LOW,” it warned. Tears began to stream down her cheeks in frustration. All that she worked for was about to crash into Florida, a giant heap of a scrap and there was nothing she could do.

Another EMP blast struck the surface but was unable to penetrate into the compound now, thanks to the counter systems that the nanobots brought online. Wait… Nanobots… That was it.

Lazarus had nearly three tons of nanobots on board the space platform, packaged in shells to be deployed across the globe. The problem was that in order to deploy them, the shells had to be opened manually. Gwyn looked at the screen gravely, her one eye’s vision beginning to fray at the edges. The cost of the useless technology in her body was taking a toll.

The woman flicked her finger across the screen, typing as fast as her dampened nerves could convey the signals.

“Run ([[EMERGENCY PARADIGM X –DO NOT ACTIVATE-]]).
Password: Let there be life.”

The computer prompted her, “Do you really want to run ([[EMERGENCY PARADIGM X –DO NOT ACTIVATE-]])?”

Her finger limply flicked the yes button as she collapsed under the weight of the failing systems in her body. The static stopped suddenly as the compound went completely black. All systems went offline again, causing the compound to flood with silence. The sound of the battle above was all that could be heard. The effects of such a large scale shut down was probably puzzling to anyone alive in the compound, but the sheer terror they should have felt was lost.

The sound of power reinvigorating the building roared. A strange technological humming flooded the communications system. An enlivened male’s voice boomed:

”I AM ALIVE!”

The Lazarus system became self aware. Triggering different events onboard the space station and beginning to repair itself. His camera scanned the building.

“Alice! You monster! You tried to kill me! How could you!? You’re going to pay for that.” The man’s voice called over the speakers, watching the woman’s every movement.

The entire compound sprung to life. Nobody could have been sure the extent of the structure that Lazarus controlled, but it became obvious that every last nail was wired to the computer. The wall of the hallway where the Arani and the Teryn leader stood opened up as two androids stomped out. They targeted Alice’s supporting vampires, firing bullets filled with consecrated water.

---

As Laz came to life, quite literally, Gwyn fell to the brink of death. The artificial systems in her body were malfunctioning and it was wreaking havoc on her body. Lazarus noted the issue through the cameras in her office and, like any good child, came to her rescue. A hypodermic filled with true nanobots was driven into her neck, flooding her body. They repaired the AGEIS system and more importantly, brought her optical implants back online. After several moments, Gwyn was back on her feet and a hologram of Lazarus stood before her, a glowing white angel of mercy.

“They’re on the second floor. Take this sample of Viper. You’ll need to drive them out. I’m diverting the rest of my attention to rebuilding myself. It’ll take a few weeks. Arsenals are online.” The hologram dissipated.

The move had been drastic and honestly, Gwyn had no idea if Lazarus would be sadistic of helpful. Whatever the case, they were lucky and she was alive. The compound wasn’t being flooded with neurotoxins. A robotic arm delivered a green fluid to the woman. She took it in her right hand and looked down at her left wrist. Her optical implant found the best vein for her to fill with the fluid.

After jamming the needle into herself and flooding her body with the questionable fluid, her body jumped with electricity. Her muscles tensed and her eyes were capable of processing movement a hundred times better. Gwyn withdrew her blessed dagger from the compartment in her heel and sped off through the facility as if she were lightning.


[/blockquote][/justify]

[ALICE CRYSIS]

RUN, RUN AWAY, OR REMAIN WITH THE ONES
WITH NOWHERE TO GO, AS THE SKY FALLS TO THE EARTH

Morale is a powerful thing.

The Aranai rampaged over everything in their way. Alice watched, hope rekindling in herself. Swords took the place of guns. Vampires washed over everything that was FEAR, and punctured a hole into their grounds. Though Alice thought little of herself, she was brimming head to toe with the temporary strength to proceed. She was a leader. She was a commander. People looked to her for strength. And she had already issued the command that would give it to them.

Alice strode over towards the the cache box and retrieved for herself one last EMP, tucking it into her coat. After making sure that she not only possessed the correct detonator, and that it was active, Alice leaped from the building and joined the wave of Vampires rushing towards the destroyed FEAR warehouse.

Everyone seemed at pause, creating a sea of well armed Vampires huddled around a particularly large piece of debris, seemingly covering the only known entrance. Calmly, Alice pushed through until she reached the fragment herself. Each look she received from each Vampire told the exact same story to her. Sullen were their faces, apprehensive and worrisome about the task before them.

"You are Aranai. You are what stands between the world as we know it, and this wasteland that exists around us. Do I make myself clear? No matter what stands between you and your goal, you will stand your ground. How long have we kept groups like this at bay? How long have we kept the humans in the dark? Fended off the Drakken? Why should this day be any different?"

Alice leaped atop the rubble blocking their path, eager to be visible to those furthest from her.

"It is true, these people are here for no other purpose than to strip us of our freedoms. You've come to fight for freedom and justice. And freedom is exactly what you are. A time may come to forsake our freedoms, our obligations to the world, to forget glory and justice, and everything we hold dear in this world. But it is not this day! Tonight, you will remember how to shed your fear. How? You will remember that we are better than them. You will remember that our cause is just and our hearts strong. You will remember that for thousands of years, we've dealt with organization after organization, attack after attack, threat after threat. And in spite of everything that's occurred, even today, you will remember; we are still here!"

Swords and guns were thrusted violently into the air, cheers and screams overtaking the night air. Pride filled Alice's unbeating heart. Each and every face before her was glowing with enough inspiration to take this foe on single-handedly. And she'd trust each one with such a job. Alice dismounted the giant fragment of steel, and, seemingly effortlessly, moved it aside with the help of several eager Aranai. And into the belly of the beast they descended.



Things were unexpectedly quite as Alice entered the pristine halls of the building. Aside from the lighting being out, and the occasional unmoving mechanical object, you'd never know the place was totaled. Bodies were strewn everywhere across halls - humans who died from a heart attack or complication of the brain. The very air itself seemed still, drawing all attempts at whispers into an abyss. Alice turned back at her Aranai accompaniment, and motioned for those nearest her to sweep every door they passed. They kept their formation silent. Alice taking point down the halls as rooms were excavated. Each one turned up empty. Each time they pressed on a little further.

By the time they'd scoped out the first floor, Alice was on edge. They'd found literally nothing the entire way to reward them for their caution. No information as to who the higher ups may be, no information on additional contacts, on weapons, on research, on anything! Not even a single person to interrogate - they were all entirely dead.

When they reached the second floor, things went very different. The moment they'd descended down the steps and into the landing, a number of Vampires attacked from nowhere. Sadly for them, the Aranai out numbered and out gunned them. But it gave hope to Alice that there was in fact something to find here; something worth risking shoving their arms into the mouth of the tiger to retrieve.

Another problem presented itself, though it wasn't entirely a problem. More of a twist. From the landing on the second floor, eight different hallways spidered out in different directions. No indication of what was which. Alice had no choice but to break the large group up and send them down each hall. She didn't like spreading her ranks out, but having everyone piled together didn't do much anyways. There were so many, those at the back just couldn't do anything for those at the front. So it was the logical decision.

Fifteen Aranai now followed Alice down one hallway, and this hallway was destined to be the most disturbing one Alice had ever dreamed of. Not ten feet into the hall, everything kicked back into gear - lights, machines, and oddly enough the intercom. The very second light shone upon them, the sound of swords unsheathing echoed down the halls. But it was when the intercom spoke up, that things got distorted.

"I AM ALIVE."

Alice paused and bit her lip, shaking her head in confusion. The fuck? Was that the man in charge here, being boastful of his waste of existence? If so, that was dreadfully tasteless and possibly fatal for him. But wait! There was more.

"Alice! You monster! You tried to kill me! How could you!? You’re going to pay for that."

Alice couldn't help but snort. What the fuck did this person expect? A fucking tea party? Jesus, Alice couldn't help but wonder if she was dealing with a child. It was then that the building itself seemed to shudder and come alive. The irritating hum of electronics began to sound from every direction. Did... Did the entire place just turn back on?

Alice motioned for her squad to halt where they were. After a pause to make sure nothing was going to leap out at her, she reached inside her coat and dropped the EMP to the floor. But as she drew the remote detonator from her coat, a twinge of a headache hit her like a truck. The hand reserved for retrieving her remote instead grasped her scalp. Where was this coming from? She swung about wildly towards her companions, and to her discomfort, none of them seemed to be experiencing the same thing.

"You..."[/color] sounded a familiar voice. Alice tore her gaze upwards, and to her amazement, Kara Aldridge stood before her. There was absolutely no explanation for either her existence, or the strangely intimidating facial expression she bore. If looks could kill, Alice may very well have disintegrated at that very moment. Stranger yet were the black shapes swirling behind the woman. They looked beastly, dangerous and brooding. And yet, controlled? Jaws were snapping and growls piercing. Yet they did not advance beyond Kara. What? Did they have some sort of affiliation to her? More importantly, did she have some sort of affiliation to F-

Alice mentally back handed herself. No. The Kara she knew was far too pure and wise to ever succumb to such a thing. She held in her heart too much respect for the woman to tarnish it now in what could be their darkest hour.

"Kara... I don't know why you're here, what you're doing or what those... things are," Alice choked out, now reaching for her remote once again, "but you need to get yourself out of here. You're in danger, so much danger."

Clumsily, Alice slammed her knees down on the floor and dropped the remote in front of her. It took surprising effort to flip the switch, but Alice did once. Once again sending devastating waves throughout the premises in hopes of filling whatever restarted the systems for the final time. "The exit is behind us. It is safe." Alice's eyes were transfixed on her dark swirling masses behind Kara. Alice had no idea what to make of them, and more importantly, felt her energy sapping by the second.
[/blockquote][/justify]

[KARA ALDRIDGE]

As she stood there, gazing at the woman that she honestly believed that placed her into this hell, she thought of making this woman go insane. Put her through the same amount of torture Kara had to go through. And the thought of the pain she endured for the unknown amount of time pissed her off more. When Alice spoke of how she didn't know why she was there, a louder snarl escaped her. "Really?! You have no clue?!" She snapped, obviously no where near her usual calm self. "Danger?!" She said, approaching the Aranai woman, ignoring her obvious confused expression. "The past week I've been here, I've been in nothing BUT danger, Alice. I've been beaten, tortured, fed some sort of shit for blood supply, and constantly haunted by nightmares, and you say I'm in danger?!" She hissed, as the figures gnashed their beastly jaws at Alice and slowly started to approach the Aranai.

"You have no idea what sort of hell I went through Alice." She said as the woman stumbled to her knees, but Kara merely stopped a foot away from the woman. "Do you know how it feels to be stabbed in the back? What kind of treaty were you thinking when you decided to put me here?" She said coldly, unaware Alice had nothing to do with this, or the fact that she had been fed lies the entire stay at the FEAR facility. As Alice spoke of the exit behind her was safe, Kara narrowed her eyes at the woman as the beasts moved, morphed and approached Alice almost standing next to Kara as they snapped their jaws more, as if held back on a chain while their blood glowing eyes transfixed on Alice. More waves passed by them, causing her hazel eyes to look off for a moment and looked back to Alice. "Seems that Frostbite is taking quite a toll.." She said mindlessly until she saw a bloodied figure nearby with the face of one of her Teryn members. 'you failed as our leader, you let us die...you let one of the other cla-' Suddenly Kara squeezed her eyes shut as she staggered backwards slightly and covered her ears. "Shut up shut up!" She suddenly yelled out, causing her own illusion to vanish. However, Alice's illusions remained. And boy, they were still mad.

Suddenly once the Teryn illusion vanished, Kara wheeled back to Alice. "You fucking did this to me! I mean look at me! I'm almost mad Alice! And for what?!" She yelled before stalking over and grabbed the Aranai's throat rather harshly. Ignoring the other Aranai's fixing their aims on the Teryn, Kara hissed as she suddenly lifted the woman into the air. Everything that was going on, the explosions, the distant gunfire, was nonexistent to Kara. She wanted to know how much pain Alice had caused her. "You will regret what you have done to me Alice.." She whispered as she stared daggers through the woman's cerulean eyes as the hell hound looking monsters surrounded the two.

"And you will feel the pain that I did for that entire time I was trapped here."

[GWYNETH WEBB]

From the thirteenth floor where Gwyn’s office was located, the woman shot through the halls as if she rode on a brilliant arc of lightening. Her forces were rallying and slowly gaining strength, finding hypos to supplement their strength and restore their health as she passed them, invisible to them. The woman’s face was cold, determined, her blessed blade ready to strike. She was experiencing a sort of power that humans should never touch and it was intoxicating. Gwyneth Webb was a goddess. After all, this war now waged in her own dominion. Her power was boundless, especially now that Lazarus was more a man than a machine.

His voice whispered softly in her head now, constantly keeping her updated.

“She’s using EMPs still. How strange. Doesn’t she know I’m smarter than her? Her crude methods of trying to attack me are pointless now. I’ve already upgraded our machines with countermeasures.”

“My machines.” Gwyn corrected.

“My machines.” The computer whispered aggressively.

The woman merely dropped the subject, recognizing already the drawbacks to the computer’s self-awareness. After this mess was cleared up, she’d have to restart the whole system so he didn’t get out of hand. Gwyn scaled the staircase with ease, not breaking a sweat as she traveled at light speed through the facility, the stench of Aranai already being picked up by the genetic traits she had spliced into herself.

“Commence the lockdown, Laz. I’ll be there before you start.”

The computer obliged, initiating a building wide lockdown. Steel doors, several feet thick, blocked off every corridor, each exit being locked down so that any hope of escape was thrown to the wind. Gwyn rounded the corner as a door was about to close. She slid, quickly, on her knees under the door, compressing her already small body so that she could fit through the one-foot space. Her eyes processed the situation quicker than even Lazarus, noting Kara’s escape and the whole team of Aranai. In one silent, fluid, genetically modified motion, Gwyneth leaped up from her sliding position, falling through the air with her dagger aimed directly between Kara’s shoulder blades. Hoping the paralyzing dagger met its target; the woman spun around and flipped back several feet. Wires emerged from the walls and attached themselves to Gwyn, burrowing into her flesh.

A barrier of ions glowed around her, transparent- the AGEIS system being supported by the new power source.

“That was enough out of her.”

[/justify][/blockquote]

[ALICE CRYSIS]

RUN, RUN AWAY, OR REMAIN WITH THE ONES
WITH NOWHERE TO GO, AS THE SKY FALLS TO THE EARTH

Alice could do nothing as Kara advanced. Every inch of her body felt paralyzed by guilt, as if she weren't worthy of movement. Her EMP only seemed to have worked for moments, if that. Something had possessed Kara to the point of madness. And worst of all, what the actual fuck was up with those dogs?

And so she listened. Perhaps it was the self loathing she'd been experiencing earlier returning, or just legitimate new hatred for herself. But it was working - Kara's words that is. Kara droned on about how it was entirely Alice's fault that she was here. And it was true. Alice believed it anyways. She should have noticed that Kara was missing. She should have known something was wrong. Kara was one of the few people she could have called a friend, and she totally forgot her in favor of other happenings.

She deserved this wrath.

"Leave us," Alice whispered, waving off her fellow Aranai, "Find the others and continue on. Something is very alive down here, keeping this place functional." None of her kin budged an inch. "NOW!" With great reluctance they filed out, shooting worried looks over their shoulders at two women they used to know. They weren't pleased about simply standing about while Kara insanely badgered Alice. It was a whole different animal when they had to trust their weakened leader alone.

There were tears in Alice's eyes now. She couldn't bear to look into those of Kara anymore, her words were all too devastating in her ears. And still her hate filled words kept flowing from her mouth until finally, Kara broke her trend and lunged towards Alice's neck. Alice didn't even flinch. Surprising strength clasped her windpipe shut, preventing her from speaking more than a hoarse whisper. More harsh words, more uncontrollable tears. Why was it Alice's responsibility to keep everyone in check? Why was it that when shit hit the fan, it was her who had to pay the price? Who decided all this shit? Up into the air Alice was lifted. Her arms and legs fell uselessly, hanging as though lifeless. Kara's final words escaped her lips, snaking into Alice's mind and poisoning her disposition of everything she thought she knew. Dark swirling figures began to close in around Alice, suffocating her vision as much as her hope. Of all the people she thought would one day bring her end, she never expected it to be Kara Aldridge.

"Kara... I'm s-sorry I didn't real-lize you were missing," Alice choked out, choppy from both the hand around her throat and the insatiable crying. "I-If I had known FEAR had taken you here... Would have... Would have come sooner... H-How was I to know-"

A terrible ripping noise cut Alice off. Unexpectedly, Alice crumpled to the floor. The dark menacing figures dissipated nearly instantly, with them, a great deal of Alice's sorrow went as well. On the floor beside her lay Kara, writhing and screaming in pain with the strangest of all daggers protruding from her back. She had only enough time to wipe the tears cascading down her cheek away before she looked up and saw the even stranger figure down the hall. Seemingly plugged into walls, she was glowing.

"That was enough out of her," she whispered. It was plain to tell that his was no ordinary FEAR grunt. Nothing about her uniform or albeit, abilities, was standard issue. She also didn't quite smell of human. No, Alice was certain that this was someone important, but how important was anyone's guess and very much not her concern at the moment. Cerulean eyes flickered back to the dagger in Kara's back.

Ferocious valor swept through Alice. All the regret she'd been made to feel, all the guilt and pain, all of it came together to overwhelm Alice with the urge to protect the poor woman she felt entirely responsible for. No part of Alice would allow any further damage to be done to her. A roar of rage escaped Alice's lips as she scrambled to her feet. As quick as Alice could muster (which was tremendously quick), her hands clasped around the hilt of the blade. The very second they did so, pain consumed her body once more. The blade was consecrated. But it wasn't enough to give Alice pause, not when she had something to die for. Still screaming, though more in agony than rage, Alice pulled the blade from Kara and flung it towards her new opponent. If Alice hadn't become enthralled by ferocity, she might have paused longer to contemplate just why the knife simply burst into non-existence. But that was not this Alice.

Instinct was once again overtaking logical thought. Which was fine, instinct always acted quicker and Alice was a little short on that commodity. Kara needed to get up. She needed to get out. And there was only one way to do anything for her besides carry her at this point. With violent precision, Alice's own nails slashed at her left wrist. Ribbons of crimson blood spurt outwards, and Alice did her best to get what she could into Kara's mouth from her standing position. It wasn't easy with her flailing and writhing, but Alice was certain something had hit its mark.

In the final moments building to her last stand, Alice took recognition of a needle laying upon the floor. She'd seen them in the hands of FEAR operatives before. Something along the lines of adrenaline shots. Whatever they were, they made those units go insane with power and grow immune to pain. She didn't really care if there were to be side effects at this point. Alice jammed the needle deep into her left arm, and almost instantly felt a difference. Another roar, this time of energy, and Alice was ready to fight. Careful to watch the mysterious being before her for any signs of movement, Alice stepped forward, placing herself a few feet in front of the downed Kara. Swords unsheathed from their scabbards. Alice felt indomitable, both physically and mentally, despite the occasional blood drop still falling from her wrist. No words were exchanged, no gestures or formalities. Simply a penetrating glare. She was not letting someone strike at Kara again. If all she had earned with her defiant stance, was that FEAR would have two autopsies to run that evening rather than one, so be it.

Alice was ready to die in service to a friend.[/blockquote][/justify]

[GWYNETH WEBB]

“Oh, stop being so melodramatic, Alice. She’s fine. Yes, she’s in excruciating pain, but she’s otherwise perfectly fine. I wouldn’t waste such a fine specimen of mental flexibility. But I did quite like that dagger.” Gwyn frowned, referencing the blessed blade that struck the sphere of ionic matter and vaporized. She noted how the vampire leader resourcefully and recklessly shoved a random hypodermic into her arm. Gwyn wasn’t quite able to make out which of the various fluids the needle held from her position, but judging from the lack of painful genetic reorganization, the fiend probably found herself a Hercules tonic.

“Do you like that? Hercules, developed in 1962, was initially commissioned by the Soviet military. However, due to their Premier’s inability to cooperate, the technology was removed from public use. That was one of the last open exchanges between FEAR and a national entity. ” Gwyn grinned maliciously. “Interest you? After all, that’s why you charged in here, right? For information. I’ll give you everything you want to know. Besides, Kara deserves an explanation. My name is Gwyneth Webb and I am the technological genius behind your downfall. That Ion Cannon? My doing. The computer system that has been data-mining your corporation? My doing. Honestly, your little tech monkey isn’t as good as you think. We’ve been siphoning funds from your bank accounts for nearly two months now. Interesting yet?

Gwyn rolled her eyes back in her head as the hallway, now a large freight elevator, began to sink. The walls broke apart into two-foot squares, moving to create windows that glowed as they descended through the compound. The scene as they passed was nothing but the insides of the facility, the inner skeleton of Lazarus’s presence. An eerie green light emitted from the abyss beneath, creating the illusion of smog in the industrial environment.

“Six miles beneath Brooklyn, we have our genetics facility. Fortunately, your EMPs can’t penetrate through the copper deposits we placed between the main facility and the genetics chamber. There, we revolutionize Mother Nature’s greatest invention, DNA. While we’re down here, I’ll make sure we restart Kara’s brain. The poor thing will be messed up the rest of her life if we don’t.” The hallway-elevator came to a rough stop, shaking the women inside. Through the window, one could see nothing but a rusted steel shell, machinery hummed and the steel door behind Gwyn grinded open, another, thicker, door waiting.

Her force field fizzled and disappeared, the wires ripping out of her flesh, leaving small gaping wounds across her body. She took her hollowed pendant in her hand and cracked it open, retrieving a large white capsule and swallowing it quickly. Several moments later, her wounds sealed. Gwyn turned and faced the rusted door as it slowly began to open. Two FEAR agents waited on the other side, both holding orbs of flames in their hands, primed to scorch any threat.

“Pick up the Teryn. If we hurry, you can watch what we do to invasive Aranai who get themselves into situations they couldn't possibly escape. I promise, it’s painful.” The woman vanished in a blur of speed, reappearing a short distance down the hallway of the familiarly white facility. She typed an access code into a keypad next to another heavy steel door that then noisily opened. The Torched up agents waited for Alice to comply so they could follow her closely, offering her no additional courses of action.

The room Gwyn strode into was obviously a control room, with three walls being covered with monitors. Various flatscreens showed containment cells throughout the lower level, the stray bands of Aranai now restrained by FEAR’s most painful means of containment. She waited for the vampire to enter the room, knowing she wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity to find out all about FEAR. As she stared at the faces of her captives, Gwyn couldn’t help but grin madly at her ability to squash the attack. She pressed a slender finger against the TALK button of the intercom.

“Select a strong candidate for testing Gene Tonic 3674.” A guard, equipped with ominous and clearly experimental body armor, grabbed a particularly muscular vampire, jamming a taser-like device into its neck and lifting its limp body onto his shoulder. The pair disappeared from the screen on the upper right section of the front wall and, after a few moments, appeared on the largest, center screen. The vampire was thrown like a rag doll into a plastic chair, which was fused to the floor. The same FEAR operative took a large hypodermic needle and injected a clear fluid into the man’s neck. The room that contained them locked down, several various safeguards being put into place to prevent the unexpected.

The vampire, at first unresponsive, began to writhe in pain. His veins stood out against his flesh, muscles cramping and his dead heart being thrown against his chest. The vampire’s eyes flicked open, obviously in unspeakable pain. The Aranai grabbed the armored man with inexplicable haste, and let loose a bloody roar. The FEAR agent squirmed, trying to reach for his weapons. The vampire began to squeeze the man’s body, an odd freezing mist seeping from his hands. The man’s body grew still and rigid, frozen. The vampire threw the man against the ground, the ice sculpture of a human shattering into millions of frozen red pieces.

“Tonic is spot on, but test subjects need to be emotionally conditioned. Clear the room.” Gwyn withdrew her finger from the red button as the screen filled with a brilliant white light. When the brilliance faded, all that remained in the room was the chair and some wet ashes. The woman spun around and faced the left wall, her eyes lighting up like a child on Christmas Day.

“Look, Alice: live fire ammunition tests!” Several cameras showed an obstacle course and some perspectives from military drones scattered throughout the room. A whole handful of vampires leaped and sped through the room, trying to avoid the targeting sensors of the robots. They were unsuccessful.

The state of the art targeting systems sunk three-inch shells into the undead. In a period of two minutes, the entire group of vampires was dispatched, laying, in pain, on the floor of the obstacle course. The right wall showed the operations in the medical wing of the even further underground facility. Scientists withdrew genetic material from the captured vampires with large needles and no anesthesia. Gwyn turned to face Alice.

“Interesting yet? You’ve led your kin into the bowels of hell. What do you have to say for yourself?” She smirked, victorious.

[/justify][/blockquote]

[ALICE CRYSIS]

RUN, RUN AWAY, OR REMAIN WITH THE ONES
WITH NOWHERE TO GO, AS THE SKY FALLS TO THE EARTH

A low snort served as Alice's only response to being called 'melodramatic'. When one lives for hundreds of years, one learns to truly imbue passion in actions and words. Such devotion was obviously lost on someone so young, so human. Still, her eyes couldn't help but stare at Kara out of her peripherals. Perfectly fine? Perfectly fine?! As if. Alice would sooner believe she was a reptile off Jupiter before she believed she was 'fine'. Something had to be wrong.

As her cerulean eyes lifted from the pained face of her friend, they followed the line of site to the syringe the FEAR woman was starring at. Her mind was racing faster than she thought possible - the effect of the serum? Irrelevant. Again the woman droned on and on about the serum like it was the reason Alice was there. Why? Was she hoping to run the clock on the serum? Her grip on her weapons tightened. This was not going-

The walls began to move. Or was it the room itself? Who the fuck knew anymore, this whole building was a giant mindfuck and Alice was too pumped to over analyze shit anymore. She still replied to the FEAR woman with nothing more than a snort at the mention of restarting Kara's brain. Kara was not going to be touched by her... But at the same time, the list of options was growing thin. They'd somehow just gone underground further... Somewhere. Escape wasn't looking probable.

The room finally came to a halt. Alice resisted the urge to lash out at the human the second her crazy barrier fell, instead watching her make her way down the hall as if Alice wasn't even there. All the while, provoking Alice with threats of her people. Alice simply shook her head. It was too late for them anyways. She came to feel very foolish when the men down the hall simply glared at her. As easily as she could run down the hall and cleave them in half, she couldn't. Not only was her curiosity overwhelming her at this point, but any confrontation put Kara at more risk. She had taken that potentially lethal serum for nothing. Damn it all.

Alice knelled over to collect her friend. It was frightening, considering the mental raping she just put her through. All the same, swords were quickly tucked away before she lifted her with incredible ease and held her to her chest. Some of her blood still oozing out her back.

"I'm going to get you out of here," Alice whispered at a tone so low, only a Vampire could possible hope to hear it. "All I ask is you go to Frostbite. Find a man named Ghost. Tell him to leave me and not come snooping. This place is a death trap. That goes for you too, Kara." Alice began walking into the room from whence she was summoned by Gwyneth. "I'm so sorry you got pulled into this. I'm sorry for what FEAR has done."

The room was frightening to behold. Screens, endless screens, lined the room. Each depicting one of her people suffering or dying. Her eyes widened. She had to remind herself she was carrying Kara, or arms would have fallen earthbound, and the Teryn with them. Everywhere. It was inexplicable. Things had fallen apart so quickly....

"How..." was about all she could blurt out before Gwyn conducted her first experiment upon Elibidis, one of her trusted friends and advisers. All she could do was bite her lip and watch as her friend went through hell, and was then destroyed. Next, small groups of her dedicated followers were torn apart, seemingly for fun. "Interesting yet? You’ve led your kin into the bowels of hell. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Alice bit down harder. It would be so easy to drop Kara, remove just one of her swords, and cut Gwyn in half before she could blink. But what would that accomplish? Her people would still die. Kara and herself too, god knows how deep they really were underground. A small bit of vengeance in exchange for everything, everything else? She couldn't justify that.

A sigh of defeat escaped her lips. This nightmare had to end for at least one person. "I'll admit defeat under two conditions. I'm not willing to negotiate; all but accept or I will make sure you die here in this room with me." Alice spoke calmly, still transfixed by the numerous screens forecasting the doom of her people. "And they are as follows; first and foremost, Kara is to be freed of whatever it is you've done to her, and released. I want to see, on these screens, that she has left the premises, and is perfectly fine. She's completely innocent." She peered down at the Vampire in question. It was about all she could do for her at this point. "Then, and only once I know she's out, you let me use your intercom to speak to whomever of my people that remain. I will instruct them to lay down their arms and stop pressing further into your facility." Alice in no way liked the order she would have to give to the Aranai who still lived. In fact, it was something she never, ever thought she'd ever have to do. It would be a test of the mettle of her kind if they obeyed. And if they didn't.. well they were dead either way.

"Accept, and I will remain here in place of Kara. You can do whatever you want to me. Not my company through me. Not my people through me. Me. I'm not negotiating this; I'm not listening to explanations or reasonings. Yes, you accept, or any other word, and we all die right here, right now." She could already feel her sword hanging near her waist. It felt so heavy, longing to escape for one last time.[/blockquote][/justify]

[GWYNETH WEBB]

Gwyn began to beam. She nodded, her brows stitched into the most devious pattern. Turning her back to the woman, she stared up at the screen depicting the first test. Her lips signed the pact, grimly lacing her signature with her tongue.

“Accepted.” A juiced up guard placed a warm hand against the hilt of Alice’s sword. Gwyn turned and faced the woman, her shark like smile haunting. The second guard took a hypodermic needle filled with regenerative chemicals designed specifically for the vampiric operatives of FEAR and jammed it into the Teryn's arm. The man lifted the woman from Alice’s grasp as the soft twinge of violins filled the silence. The man flipped Kara over roughly, pressing his engulfed hand against the open wound to cauterize it. He grasped her over his shoulder, making for the elevator. The doors clicked, the only exit ascending back to the surface.

“You’re quite the hero, Alice.” Gwyn’s eyes bore holes into the woman, the molten slag that normally churned within the glass marble now seemed somehow more ominous. “It’s a shame your heroics are lost amongst the shadow of your strategic error. I’d have assumed someone of your age would be able to tell when people are bluffing.”

The woman’s thin fingers danced across the keyboard, the screens flicking to a different channel. All of the Aranai forces were lying, cuffed, on the floor of the corridors. Each was perfectly alive, very few hairs out of place. The worst wounds consisted of holy water burns, which were being treated with genetic salves.

“What good are they to me if they’re dead? I’d much rather them be alive as long as possible. That way we know when it hurts.” She smirked, “Pretty impressive computer generations of your people, huh, buttercup?” Gwyn leaned over the intercom speaker, all the while watching Alice’s face. “Release the hostages. Escort them to the surface. Make sure Test Subject MGTS5780 is off of our property too. It’s time to sweep the dirt out of this place.”

Kara’s escort joined the flood of released vampires being expelled from the facility, carrying the woman into the bitter, ionized air. The man carried her all the way to the curb of the road, throwing her like abandoned garbage to the cold concrete. He turned, returning to the laboratory.

“Strip. Weapons first, then your clothing.” She turned her comments to the agent now. “Make sure she’s stripped of all equipment and be sure you do a twice over with the super magnet to destroy anything embedded. Then, prepare a vial of Decay to counter the Hercules before she strokes out. We want her in tip top shape for testing in the morning." Back to Alice, venomously, "Your time to talk to your minions is now, before they exit the facility.” Gwyn leaned on the TALK button, briefly sated by the squashed invasion.

[/justify][/blockquote]

[ALICE CRYSIS]

RUN, RUN AWAY, OR REMAIN WITH THE ONES
WITH NOWHERE TO GO, AS THE SKY FALLS TO THE EARTH

Alice's heart sank when she words 'accepted' flowed from Gwyneth's lips. She was not crest fallen, she was not upset that the answer was wrong. In fact, it was the one she was entirely hoping for. The end of the fighting was near. The only trouble it posed, was the ending of nearly ever life Alice knew of within the FEAR facility, both of her own kind, and FEAR. Not to mention her own.

Almost immediately, the pair of hulking guards collected Kara from Alice, leaving her arms feeling strangely empty and void of purpose. Much was going to be lost to ensure that Kara had a safe trip outside. She was the wild card that Gwyn possessed, the one that Alice did not expect her to have. No matter what fate she could have ever held over her own men, Alice would not have budged. They were soldiers. They were ready to fight and die for what they knew they had to. Kara was not such. She was not a soldier, nor did she have any take in this fight. Therefore, it was not her place to decide the fate of Kara Aldridge. That was to be decided by someone else, another time, it seemed. After the three had disappeared down the hallway, Gwyn piped up again, mocking Alice or something. She wasn't entirely listening. The sound of mortality was ringing in her ears, dazing her. The trivial "one up" game had lost its glamor entirely.

On one of the screens, Alice watched the man carrying Kara exeunt, returning moments later empty handed. It was time then. She took one last gander at her people, slowly shuffling about awaiting the last word of Alice Crysis, Aranai Coven leader for nearly two hundred years. Alice completely ignored the order to strip and shuffled closer towards the intercom.

"Marumine!" she shouted into the mic with fury. The air itself seemed to stop dead as each Aranai looked to the heavens questioningly, as if they had not expected this moment to come after all. After a few moments hesitance, each and every one self-detonated, thanks to a deposit of C4 hidden beneath cloak and armaments. One by one, each camera was engulfed in fire and shrapnel, reducing each screen to nothing but static. The overhead explosions could be heard, and even felt in minor tremors. They had done it. They'd proven their mettle as Aranai, and denied FEAR any opportunity to make use of them by destroying themselves utterly, in the most damaging way possible. Next came Alice's turn. Now staring at Gwyn, standing mere inches from herself, Alice inhaled deeply. She was ready to die with her people, like her people, for her people. Without any warning at all, Alice merely tapped the button upon her wrist subtly with one finger.











Nothing happened. Frustration soon swept through Alice, leading her to bashing the button a few times more, to no avail. It was plain to tell from both the stares she was receiving at that point that she was expected to go off just the same. Alice did her best to keep her composure and not alert them that something was wrong. Her eyes remained transfixed on those of Gwyn. It did at least feel good that she got the last laugh. The last "NO U". It was in that moment that Alice realized the true flaw in her plan; EMP's. They'd knocked out the circuitry that would otherwise allow her to detonate herself. Alice's mind thought back to all the other Aranai that most likely had the same issue. Thankfully there were enough of them that even a few could set off, and the others would follow in turn. Ironically enough, Alice seemed to get the last laugh against herself as well.

In as quick a motion as Vampiricly possible, Alice tore her corset, the inside of which was lined with explosivse, from her chest and flung it into the middle of the room with her left. With her right, she drew her pistol and opened fire upon the discrete package. The contents of which were set off, ripping apart the room with a deadly explosion of fire and force.[/blockquote][/justify]

[GWYNETH WEBB]

The fiery stampede charged the small woman, rattling her tiny frame and slamming it against the complicated control panel. Super heated air and flames washed over her, a seemingly endless hurricane of destruction besieging every sense. The AGEIS system, stunned initially, kicked online just in time to vaporize incoming shrapnel. The sphere chewed through everything, opening a hole in the compact control room. Gwyneth Webb, a fallen angel, began her burning descent into the mechanical abyss with an explosive speed boost. The raging sphere of ions obliterated any matter it touched, boring its own path through the center of the facility. In her final moments of consciousness, Gwyn’s molten eyes flicked up at the shrinking control room. An intricate plume of fire blossomed from her exit point as the explosion shattered the brittle walls. The detonation managed to ignite a fuel line; the pipe combusting and causing an auxiliary explosion that rent apart the metal skeleton of the control room. The lower half of the room fell like a hellish elevator to the bottom of the abyss. It was unclear, in the brilliance of the blast, whether Alice fell with it.

Gwyn’s eyes shut, a few crystal spheres of salty, pain riddled tears escaping her lids. Her charred body fell into the green smog of the industrial rift, vanishing.

[/justify][/blockquote]