LAL2: Return of the Missing - IC

"Alright," Safyr3 groaned, spreading her wings and gliding up the staircase. Faez latched onto her tail and coasted up with them, delightning in the added momentum.

"AUGH FAEZ!" Safyr3 growled. "Stop that!"
She landed on the top few steps, nearly tripping. She continued running.

"NOW WHERE?"

They were now onto the main floor. Crowds of people in the large, lobby-type room they'd just entered dispersed, scattering in all directions. The air filled with more shouting.
"KEEP GOING AHEAD," Opajik yelled over the clatter. "AN EXIT SHOULD BE CLOSE!"

One particularly large hallway spread out from the room. People were rushing in and out of it; some fleeing the chaos and others on their way to find out what was happening.
By the amount of people going in both directions, Opajik had to guess it was a way to the city.
"TRY THERE!"

Kalia snarled as they pushed through the crowd, trying to convince the citizens that they were much too dangerous to be attacking. It seemed to work fairly well, so she assumed that there weren't many guards nearby. Of course, there probably would be soon...

What she really wanted to do was fly over their heads, but on the ground she was protected. She just really hoped the guards wouldn't shoot their own kind to get to her.

Shaenn was yelling his head off. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he was terrified. So many Invaders, and he knew they weren't scared of him. He hoped he wouldn't get too far behind, or they might get over their fears enough to attack him.

Safyr3 pushed through the crowd, in the direction Opajik had indicated. She began to become irritated as people wouldn't move out of her way.
She stopped, reared up on her hind legs, and roared.
The sea of people suddenly split in all directions as people fled.
"THAT'S more like it!" Safyr3 snickered, charging forward.

Faez meanwhile, had been near the back, trying to keep all the Syratopes up. He made Parell get off and run for a bit, picking up Rhey, Shaenn, or Ekko.
"Kalia!" Faez cried, "I need help!"

Kalia whirled around at the sound of her name, and ran back to help Faez. As soon as she stopped, Shaenn clambered onto her back. He gripped her long fur, pulling slightly, but she didn't mind. How else was he supposed to stay on?

She paused long enough to let the other Syratopes climb up.

Parell climbed back onto Faez and refused to leave. Faez sighed, but lumbered back into a sprint to catch up with Safyr3. Parell wasn't that heavy anyway...Malnourished Syratopes were actually quite light.

Safyr3 could see the door. The exit. The way out.
"AHAHHA!" she cried, picking up speed and nearly leaving Faez in the dust.

Opajik leaned forward at the sight of the exit.
It was a grand, arching opening; no doors needed to be opened. Perfect for escaping.

Of course, practically the whole building must have been alerted of their presence by now. But that was inevitable.
They just had to get out of this place.
They could figure out what they were going to do when they had the time. But right now, all they had to do was run.
And run they did.

The sunlight outside was blinding in contrast to the dimmed artificial lighting inside. Safyr3 burst out in a bound, followed by Faez and Kalia and the syratopes on her back.

They were out.

Before them was a sprawling cityscape. Buildings miles high towered in every direction, making Safyr3 feel very small. These were not even living things she could relate to, like the giant trees back on her homeworld. They were hard, cold metal.

The worst part was, there didn't seem to be any conveniently steal-able shuttles or even fighters nearby...Their original plan would have to wait.

The allyways of the city looked rather inviting at the moment; they were tight and dark, just right for someone trying to escape...And there would be miles and miles of allys... Eventually they could find a ship to steal. It shouldn't take them that long. For now, what they needed was cover.

Safyr3 didn't realize it, but the group was very lucky to have come outside the building on the ground floor. There were many skyline walkways they could have plummetted off of, soaring over the city or even crashing into buildings.

Guards were starting to get closer, assembling on speeders. They carried cruel-looking sniper beam-rifles... They would be overtaken if they didn't vanish soon.

"I hope you all brought money and your best clothes," Safyr3 said through gritted teeth, "we're going downtown."
With that, she launched once more into a sprint, and vanished down the nearest ally. It would be too narrow for a speeder to follow at a safe speed, so they would be restricted to main streets.

Into the darkness they went, were the pipes dripped and the trash was kept. A couple stray Skrajeets hissed at them as they ran past. They ran...and ran..and ran...
Eventually the sounds of chaos were left behind, and Safyr3 slowed to a walk. She was tired, breathing hard and feeling as if her claws were being filed off. Concrete and metal was not fun to run on, for one used to running across dirt, leaves, and grass.

Faez was no better off, and he was barely managing a walk.

It was quiet. There was no one around.
Safyr3 stopped.

"....I think we lost them."

Once they were far enough into the alleyways, almost positive their pursuers had given up, everyone calmed down. Although the dark outskirts of the Overworld's capitol was definitely not the safest place - not safe at all really - it was better than being a midst the chaos of the open space.
Vienna slid off of Safyr3's back. Opajik stayed where he was, watching Eti carefully.
He was still asleep, but he wouldn't be for much longer.
The guilty feeling he'd been distracted from during the chase was already coming back. He sighed, but told himself he'd done the right thing.

The syratopes' fur was so puffed out it looked like they'd been electrocuted. Rhey was nervously glancing around, flattening and unflattening his ears.
He was not used to this kind of environment.

Kalia sighed and sort of flopped down onto the ground. No, she wasn't much calmer than she had been, but she was tired. Very tired.

She bit back a yawn. "There aren't any plants here..." she stated, "it's... freaky."

Shaenn shrugged, mostly indifferent. "Hey, while I'd love to see all the cool plants at home, I don't think its all that important right now," he said as she sat down, "as if plants would make this place any friendlier."

"I miss the plants," Safyr3 said wistfully. "Particularily my giant tree...."
She gazed off into nothing for a moment before flopping over, disloding anyone who remained on her back. Luckily, one of her wings remained extended, giving them a decent ramp down to the ground.

Faez hadn't said anything, but he too flopped down. Parell sat down next to him and used him as a pillow.
"Hey!" Faez said, "I'm not a bed!"
"Sorry," Parell mumbled, and he began to move away. He looked around for something to lean against, and eventually settled for the side of a building.

Faez promptly went over and rested his head in Parell's lap. Parell made a face, but shrugged helplessly and turned his attention elsewhere.

Opajik leaned against the alley wall next to Vienna, keeping his eyes on Eti.
He was stirring already. Opajik panicked a little; he still didn't know how to deal with this.
A mess of a boy that he used to know so well.

Eti's eyelids fluttered, then opened.
He moaned something, and groggily sat up.

Then he remembered what had happened.

All that was on his face now was exhaustion and disappointment. Opajik could barely stand to watch him, but when Eti turned and tiredly looked him in the eye, he couldn't avoid it.
He didn't say anything. He looked like he'd given up his fight.

Vienna wasn't having any of that, of course. She crossed her arms.
"Okay, I think some questions need to be answered," she declared.

Safyr3 looked up sleepily. Questions, yes...

"Ohhh I have a question!" Faez said, trying to lighten the mood. "What's your favorite color?!"

Safyr3 facepalmed mentally, and slashed at Faez.
"Quiet you, this isn't the time!"

Kalia rolled her eyes. She deemed not to say anything for the moment. This was OPAJIK'S brother, not hers, and she had no idea what the relationship was between them. She watched from where she lay, ready to speak if she felt the need to.

Shaenn was more than happy to see people bothering Invaders without getting hurt, but it really didn't seem like the two brothers were going to do anything interesting to him. He kept an ear out in case something did happen, but mostly he laid down and tried to get some rest.

When no one said anything, Vienna started talking, but she addressed Opajik instead of Eti.
"How old is he again?"
"17."
"And why is he here?"
Eti butted in. "I'm right here, you know," he growled.
Vienna looked at him. "Then answer us that."

He scowled at the ground. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Vienna reached for the gun that was now hers, ready to force Eti to do something for the second time today. Opajik stopped her, however, lightly touching her hand and pressing the weapon back into her pocket. He moved past her, and crouched near where his brother sat on the cement.
"Eti," he said gently. "Why were you there?"
The younger Invader tried to look away, but Opajik was too close. Their eyes ended up locking.
"Tell me."
Eti bit his lip, was quiet for a moment, and finally said, "The Overarch."

This surprised Opajik. "What about him...?"
"He made me come."

Safyr3 narrowed her eyes.
"He what?" she asked. "Why?"

She began to wonder if this whole situation was one cruel mind game for them all...The thought didn't seem too inconcievable, but it made her feel slightly sick. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought.

"I don't know," Eti snapped. "It's not like he would tell me anything."

Opajik frowned, looking a little scared.
Why was the Overarch so involved? The very thought of him even knowing their names made him feel like to his stomach. He shook his head.

He cast a glance back at Safyr3.
There was more talking to be done, but he didn't want to say anything at the moment.

"Well obviously he's done his research on you, Opajik," Safyr3 stated. "Went straight to your family..."

She fell silent for a moment.

"...Vienna? Do you have close family ties?" Safyr3 asked.

Vienna was a little unnerved by the question. Her eyes got big.
"W- not... No, not the way he does, I don't think." She shuddered.

Opajik looked back at his little brother, a thought occurring to him.
Worry seemed to take him over. "H-w-where's Aryth?"
Eti shook his head. "I don't know. It's been a while." He paused, and said, "He's a surgeon somewhere."
Opajik raised his eyebrows, and forced a tiny laugh. "Must've done better than I did," he joked."You probably did too."

Eti just shook his head dismissively, looking back at the ground.

"...I suppose I'm lucky," Safyr3 mumbled. "I have no siblings...and...There's no one who I care about who could be captured that's not here with me..."

She looked away, sighing sadly. She still missed Lehparsi.

Opajik looked at her sympathetically. His eyes darted to Vienna for a fraction of a second - something that happened a lot - before drifting back to Safyr3 and the others.
He still didn't know what to do.

He wanted to reach out to Eti, comfort him in some way, but he knew his efforts would be rejected.
His brother hated him.
And honestly, he couldn't be blamed.

Opajik heaved a sigh. "You have to help us fight."

Safyr3 held back a comment.
She didn't think Eti would ever turn to them. He'd never accept what Opajik had done, real or imagined.

She wondered exactly how the news had portreyed them.
Probably not very well.

She decided to risk asking.


"...I'm curious," she started, "Eti, what exactly did they news say about us?"

He glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "They didn't lie," he said, gesturing with a hand. "Everyone knows what happened."

Opajik made a face.
All of the pride he'd previously had for winning the war against his people was slipping away, only to be replaced with a burning shame.

"Pretend I have amnesia and don't," Safyr3 growled. "In fact, SOME of us weren't even there."

She gave Faez a pointed look. He grinned stupidly in response.
"Yeah I was in a tree."

Eti gave the two a wierd look.

He first looked at Opajik, then Safyr3. "I'm really sure you guys are hoping they spread a bunch of awful lies and exaggerated everything," he said. "But it's pretty black and white. They were facts."

Opajik stared through him for a moment, and then went back to his earlier thought. "You have to come with us."
Eti had lost a lot of energy. The look on his face was hopeless. "You're disgusting," he said slowly, without much emotion. "I'm not doing that."
Vienna jumped in so Opajik wouldn't have to. She moved down to be at eye level with Eti.

"Eti, listen," she said to him. Her voice was less harsh, but still slightly stern. "I was just like you before."
He twitched.
"But you've got to open your eyes and realize how wrong the society you're living in is," she said.