Mikiy's big secret

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Mikiy decide that she wants to go on adventure, she went from town to town until she reach this town, people say that this town as no name and no one returns in or out, Mikiy was scared but brave enought to go through this, 5 hour later no one was there she sat down on a table bench waiting, soon the military showed up and saw her. Mikiy started to panic and hides in the caves, when she heard a guy's voice fighting them, she covered her eyes until this guy saw her.

Mikiy and Jessi were behind Riley while this crazy doctor points the gun to Ebony, Ebony starts to laugh like an evil crazy way, Mikiy feels scared Jessi holds her hand tight to not let go, Mikiy looks at the doctor and said "um sir may i ask why do want jessi and me?" the doctor didn't response to her, Ebony looked at Mikiy, she knew that Mikiy ask that Question, Ebony doesn't want her friends to get killed, Mikiy had a think if it's okay to combined Jessi's magic but she'll wait for that moment

He didn't want to admit it, but...he was afraid. Afraid not for himself, but for the others. When he glanced behind him, he saw two frightened girls too scared to move. Jessi had never been without her powers before, she must be feeling just as helpless to help as he was. Mikiy was far too young and shy to really attack anyone...or so he assumed.
And he...he was useless in this fight of magic and guns. If he was fighting hand-to-hand, he could help, protect...probably win. But when it came right down to it, all he had was his dagger, his flexibility, his kicks, his-

"Your gloves, Riley." Jessi whispered, nudging him in the small of his back. "Use your gloves."
His eyes brightened at this. Of course, how could he forget?

"You two." He said, seriously. "Wait for us in the cave for two hours. If we aren't out by then, you-"
"Riley, no..." Jessi whimpered, her bottom lip quivering. Just then, Ebony's eyes grew dark and frightful, the pupil almost totally obscuring the iris. Her cackling laughter rebounded off the walls, causing an insane, almost musical effect. The situation was about to escalade.
"JESSI." He urged. "Mikiy can't survive on her own. I promised her a big sister, and that's exactly what she's going to get. I'll...I'll see you soon."

The pink-haired girl's eyes widened, and her grip tightened on the smaller girl's hand.
"You better come back, gramps. I'll never forgive you if you don't." And with that, she was sprinting down the hallway, Mikiy doing her best to match her strides.

Riley turned his back on them, satisfied they would get out alive. The bomb threat sirens were blaring throughout the entire building; everyone would have evacuated by now.

He was standing a little way back behind the quivering black wolf. He couldn't see her face, but he swallowed quickly and he spoke to her. "I don't know if you can hear me right now...Ebony, but we're comrades now, you and I. You said it yourself. You're stuck with me, and I'm not about to let this man make you destroy yourself. This may not be my fight, but...I'll support you all the way."

He readied his stance; setting his legs far apart and bending his knees. His brought his gloved fists in front of his body, and mashed his knuckles together, the small metal nodes on his gloves making a small chinking sound.

"Intono treetalium."

Large crackles of blue-coloured electricity surrounded his hands, branching off in great arcs as he separated them. The gold nodes on his gloves grew into menacing-looking spikes, and seemed to attract the energy like lightening rods. His whole body tensed in concentration as he looked the doctor square in the eye and grinned when he noticed he'd dropped the gun.

"A gift from Rosanna."

Jessi and Mikiy ran into the cave and waited Mikiy cuddled with Jessi feeling nice and safe with her, Mikiy feels a bit tired and ask Jessi to sing her a song to help her sleep, Mikiy drifted to her dreams and saw what she sees, hearing Jessi singing she saw a monter killing her mother and targeting her she scream and woke up frighten "Jessi i saw a scary monster" Mikiy full of tears and hugged Jessi to calm down.

Mikiy hopes that Riley and Ebony are still alive.

Her eyes widened a bit, ever so slightly, but in other words Ebony/Insanity seemed unfazed. Instead, a dark tendril slowly made it's way to Riley, going behind his back and creeping up, resting on his shoulder. The tip gently flicked across the top of Riley's cheek in a teasing caress.

"If you are my comrade, allow yourself to be touched by Darkness itself." And with that, the tendril came back to her, a giggle emitting from her mouth. The Doctor was definitely scared, trying to use his radio to get back up, But Ebony wouldn't allow that, oh no. Instead, she stomped on the ground with one foot, two walls coming up, one behind the doctor and one behind Ebony and Riley. The difference in these walls was that they were pitch black and glimmered with dark smoke.

"We don't want any unwanted visitors, now do we?" She giggled again as the Doctor began to back up against the wall, frightened and whimpering. Ebony's eyes flicked to Riley, and the slightest of smiles came onto her face.

"Care to give him a shot of that lovely magic?" She full on grinned, her canines appearing sharper and longer than usual. She lifted her hand to him, holding it palm up, as tendrils came up off of her fingers and swirled lazily around Riley's head and hands.

"8-898, come on, just.... Just give up, we'll take care of you here." Her eyes darted back to the Doctor, who was frantically feeling for his gun.

"You never took care of Jade, and you know it. You forced her to do things she didn't want to do, so here I am, in this worthless existence, here only to kill and maim. I will admit I was interested, very interested in your idea of me becoming a bomb. But you know, it's better to live like this. Revenge."

Another grin and a horrific laugh came from her yet again. She was truly, certainly, insane.

"Riley." Ebony's gentle voice came from her lips, but her eyes were still dark. The slightest sad smile was on her lips.

"If.... If I'm not truly myself when this is over, please, try to make me normal again. I don't have much hold when she's around, so I wouldn't be able to stop her... You.... Just try to make me normal again, when the time comes...." Her tense muscles relaxed as the Insanity took her place once again, cracking her neck.

"Such a silly girl, that Jade is." Ebony grinned and looked at Riley from under her thick lashes, giving her a malicious doll appearance. She was awaiting for Riley's next move.

Riley shuddered involuntarily as a dark tendril grazed his cheek, and he couldn't help leaning into the touch a little. It felt kind of...good. He frowned at that, and tilted his head to the side, abruptly breaking the contact. The feeling was confusing, but he decided to ignore it for now - there were more important things to be done. He heard Ebony (at least...he assumed it was still her) giggle at his reaction, and his cheeks heated. He hoped she wouldn't remember this when they got out of here - and yes, he had every intention of both of them living today.

A little enraptured, Riley listened intently to their conversation. Who was this 'Jade'? A sister, perhaps? No, that couldn't be it. This seemed even more personal. The Doctor had obviously butted horns with the black-haired wolf before, and the way he was cowering in the corner like a frightened animal was oddly befitting. And, obviously satisfying, he deduced, his eyes flicking towards Ebony. She must have been waiting a while for this day...should he really take the first shot? The way Ebony was speaking shook him - he hadn't known her for even a day, but still. Something was wrong, she was not in her right frame of mind.

"I promise...I'll do whatever I can for you." He said to her, voice shaking a little. "...Starting with maiming your friend here."

With that, the electricity in his gloves crackled loudly. All that was seen was a flash of white fur and blue light as a second later, his knuckles collided with the underside of the Doctor's jaw - a perfectly executed uppercut. The long spikes shredded his throat to ribbons, causing a surprising amount of blood to spurt from the gaping wounds. A blinding crack of lightening sprung forth and fizzled against his skin, and he screamed with wild abandon as shocks rocked his body. Riley jumped clear of the mess, coming to kneel back at Ebony's side.

The Doctor attempted to speak through the gurgling blood welling up in his mouth, and it sprayed all down his front in a gruesome fashion. It wasn't enough to kill him - Riley had held back a bit. He wouldn't deny her that pleasure.

---

Jessi smiled and held the small girl close, humming a familiar tune under her breath. She was doing all she could to keep them both from feeling too sad - after all, no good would come of it. Suddenly, an idea came to her and she sat up quickly.

"You know what helps me feel better?" She asked, excitedly. Mikiy shook her head, the tears glittering in the low light of the cave.
"Using magic...for fun!" Jessi giggled, bringing out her bubble mix from the pouch on her arm. "I can make these cute, glowing yellow bubbles that feel warm, and even little whizzing ones that make funny noises, and..." She trailed off as she blew a plain, boring bubble. It floated uselessly down onto her thigh and popped; almost sadly.

"Oh..." The pink-haired Dimebian sighed, ears lowering dejectedly. "I forgot about this thing." She pointed at the various needles embedded at her temples and spine. The device was still holding fast, and in turn, oppressing her magic powers.

"But..." She began, not yet deterred. "Maybe...MIKIY!" She said, grasping the little girl's hands in hers. "Maybe, you could show me some of yours?" She asked, hopefully, eyes shining with jubilation. This was a rare opportunity for her - until today, she had never seen another's magical powers.

Her eyes lit up as Riley's fist collided with the Doctor's smooth and strong jaw, pulling a crazed and entertained laugh from her throat, looking up to the ceiling, so entertained. When Riley knelt down next to her, she smiled and let the tips of her now sharper nails scratch his head, like a dog.

"Good boy. I like how his throat looks now...." She commented, pulling her slender digits away from his snow white hair. His ears and head had went down a little, and that just thrilled Ebony more. An occasional giggle spilled out of her mouth as she she began to stroll towards the Doctor, her ears down and her teeth bared in a threatening smile.

"Isn't blood pretty? Beautiful, even. This is beauty." Ebony let her fingers graze the Doctor's neck as he convulsed as blood continued to spurt.

"You are going to die. How does that feel?" She asked, letting a finger tip his head up to look at her. He shook his head slightly, shaking and quivering with fear. Ebony just dropped his chin and walked next to the wall slowly, putting her bloodied fingers on it to create a five-striped pattern of crimson.

"Pretty...." She commented, turning back to the Doctor and lazily walking back to him, obviously prideful. Smiling, she lifted her blood-covered hand and brought it down swiftly, across his cheek bones, nose, and eyes. A scream that would send chills up anyone else's spine was heard as Ebony brought her hand to her lips, letting some new, fresh blood stain the pink muscles. She had torn the eyelids, making it seem like he was crying red tears.

"Lovely." Was all she said as she yanked open his jaw and reached in with her fingers, grasping the writing tongue and pulling it out quickly. Death would visit this man soon.

"This is all for Jade, everything you've done to her. I should leave you alive, but... It wouldn't be as fun. I want you to suffer, but dying is all you need to show you what's what. Jade is happy now, she has friends," Her eyes flicked to Riley, "And now you are finally going to die. After giving us the number, putting us in electricity, water, fire, wind with knives.... Everything. This is her, no, our revenge." Another cackle as her fingers went up and came back down, burying themselves in the gash previously made by Riley. Another scream ripped from his throat, which soon became a gurgle as the fingers slid across his neck, going up to his jawline. A crimson waterfall began to cascade down the neck as she pulled her fingers away, flicking them so that droplets flew and hit the wall.

"Thank you for such an entertaining day...." Ebony grinned and turned to Riley, still pretty far gone. The Doctor was still convulsing and gurgling, but death would come to him soon, he only had a few seconds now.

"Let's go." She said, her eyes half-lidded as another dark tendril grazed Riley, his lips this time.

"How shall we get out? Black fire?" Ebony asked, pulling the tendril back, gazing into Riley's ice blue eyes, the light still not in her eyes, the pupil still huge and malevolent.

Jessi showed Mikiy her bubbles "wow Jessi I never know that Bubbles are your magic" Jessi felt a bubble popped on her thigh and ask her if Mikiy use her magic to show Jessi "well... sure" Mikiy raised her hand like a police man, Closed her eyes, fireflies dust swirled around her and magic blue fairydust started to show up, Jessi's Eyes were wide ass and smiled Mikiy's magic calm down and turned to Jessi and saw her smile "Jessi, your the first person that loved my magical power" Mikiy Smiled and tears running down from her eyes
"Thank you Big Sister" She Hugged Jessi, Jessi pat Mikiy on the back.

Riley turned his head away from the mess against the wall. It didn't even resemble a person anymore. In saying that...neither did the girl standing expectantly in front of him, black tresses of magic still stroking him in odd places. He didn't move away this time, didn't resist, because deep down he knew she had the power to do whatever she wanted with him anyway. Their shaky friendship was probably all that was keeping her from doing the same to him, but still, he remained strong. His weathered face held no emotion - only resolve. Jessi was safe and waiting for him, his job was done.

He nodded slowly to the wolf-girls query, wondering what on earth this 'black fire' was.
"We...need to get to the cave." He offered, cautiously. She was obviously sensitive to orders, probably from her time in the prison, so he suggested instead. "Mikiy and Jessi are waiting for us in the cave, and If you want, you can...come with us."
He cautiously stepped a little closer to her, feeling like he was walking on eggshells - his ice blue eyes searching her pools of black. He openly offered his hand out to her.

"But only if it is what you want."

---

Jessi smiled and wondered what on earth Mikiy had been through. She'd always had Riley to tell her that her magic was great, but from the sounds of it...no one had liked Mikiy's.

"People are dummies, sometimes." She quipped, stroking Mikiy's long hair. "Magic can be good - if the person using it is good. And I think you are!" A small speckle of fairy dust landed on her arm, and she smiled down at it, fondly. It was warm, and filled her with joy. How could this be bad...?

Her eyes flashed as the white-haired male held out his bloodied hand to her. She was cautious, but this young man had helped her, even if she hadn't needed it.

"Even after that, you want me to come along?" The black tendrils began to recede, coming closer to Ebony, almost as if they were protecting her. But none-the-less, she lifted her hand slowly, her fingers trailing across the palm of Riley's hand, the black tendrils chasing up her arm, reeling away from Riley. They began to grow across her face, covering her.

The tendrils were trying to break her away.

She grasped his gloved hand tightly. Her eyes were wide and frightened.

"Riley?" She asked softly, her pupils growing smaller and the light beginning to return to her jade green eyes. The tendrils ran away, sucking into her hair, her back.

"I want to come with you." She added gently, bowing her head, the black locks of hair tied with the now tattered white ribbons falling forward onto her chest.

Riley exhaled the breath he didn't realise he had been holding in, and he allowed a small sense of relief to seep into his weary bones. He could feel the magic beginning to dissipate, and the fur on his tail flattened in response. It had been standing up on end the minute Ebony had used her black magic. Although he was used to being around Jessi, who had quite a bit of magic herself, she didn't unleash it fully and in fact tried her best to hide its presence. Sometimes he would feel the familiar prickle of fear crawl across his skin when she used it, but it was far from the reaction it evoked in the average Dimebian. He felt it through Ebony's hand, but it was a weak pulse compared to before.

"I know life has been hard on you." He said, brow furrowed seriously. "You have every right to hate the world and everyone in it, but despite that...you helped us, even when you didn't have to, even when it put yourself in danger. I'm listening to what your 'other self' said; you're a good person, and you're welcome to tag along." He bent forwards a little, trying to catch her gaze through her bow.

"Welcome back...Jade." He said, smiling and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

((OH GOD MY FEELS RIGHT IN THE GUT AHHHH))

Her green eyes caught in his blue, and she lifted her head up, following his eyes. Her bottom lip quivered at his last words, and it took all she had to not cry right then and there. She tenderly squeezed his hand back, but it wasn't enough. She pulled him close and hugged him gently, a small sob wracking her body.

"Thank you, Riley, thank you so much...." She pulled away, taking her free hand and rubbing it across her eyes, her jet black ears bent down. She knew they didn't have time, so she pulled her hand away. Her eyes still glimmered with joyous tears, but she had to get Riley and herself out of there.

"We need to go somewhere first... The Lab... We have to find information on the Device on Jessi, so we know how to get it off safely. I really don't want to try what the others have tried...." Her hand was still grasped in his, so he began to feel her shaking and trembling fingers.

"I have pretty much no magic left... I won't be of much help...." Ebony's tail went down as she said this, her lips downward in a frown.

((LMAO me too!!!))

Riley's limbs went rigid at the sudden embrace, and his normally pale cheeks flushed to a brilliant shade of pink. He was a private sort of person, and such intimate contact from someone he didn't know very well rendered him quite baffled. Unsure of what to do, he awkwardly patted her back before she broke away, tears in her eyes.

"You're, uhh, you're quite welcome." He cleared his throat, averting his eyes. He hated it when girls cried, and was thankful when he saw her wipe them away in his peripheral vision.

"And I agree...that device could harm her further if we don't find some blueprints or something. I guess I am a bit edgy, I want to know those two got out safely."
He didn't know why he hadn't thought of the Device, but he chalked it up to being blinded by worry - it was a good thing Jade was here to remind him. He'd only been reunited with Jessi for mere moments before they parted again, and it made him uneasy to be away from her. In truth, they were usually together every day, and he missed her cheery outlook.

It was then he noticed the quivering fingers in his grasp, and he looked into his companions scared eyes - so different to the overconfident and downright scary pools of black from before. They really weren't the same person, were they? He knew now that it was his turn to protect.

"It's okay, you've done your share." The white-haired boy lifted his chin confidently towards the hallway. "I am more than enough."
The stench of blood had begun to assault his sensitive nose once again - the corpse in the corner was still pumping out blood like you wouldn't believe. As the huge pool touched his sneaker, he looked down at his reflection in it and surveyed himself critically as he thought. Where would they keep such information. Surely the research labs? He knew they were quite a relatively new invention, probably still in the beta phase of production, and who better to test them on than Dimebians who held magic?

He tightened his grip on Jade's hand. "I need to you take me to the research labs, it's our best bet. Can you lead the way?" He asked, wanting to make sure. "If you see any movement, get behind me or into cover."

Mikiy saw a bit of fairy dust on Jessi arm "Jessi can you keep this a Secret?" Jessi nodded her head they sat down, Mikiy took a deep breath "Jessi My Magic is very rare and powerful, the town I live, people were fear of me and put me down, after my mother died some kids call me a ugly freak,dusty dirt girl and worst fairy dust lover freak loser, they beat me up parents spray with dirt water i had no home, my Dad left me cause of my Magic"

((Amy, we are not quite yet to the cave. We are still in the institute. We'll be there soon.))

Jade nodded, tentatively stepping forward through the now broken black wall of stone. Behind them, the other wall was being consistently bombed, but the black magic kept a strong hold. It would be a while before the soldiers caught up to them.

She held onto Riley's hand tightly, helping him through. She didn't want to let go yet, so she kept her hold, and squeezed back kindly whenever he squeezed her hand.

"They should be around this corner... There may be some.... Disturbing things in here...." Jade warned, turning the corner and peeking in through the door. There was no one in here except some corpses. Both Asedai and Dimebian.

Looking to Riley then back to the room, she tugged him along inside, the gruesome sight meeting both of them full on.

A naked Asedai woman lay on a research table, tied down and very much dead. Her horns had been sawed off, and it seemed she had been drained of her blood. Her forest green hair spilled over the edges of the table, nearly reaching the floor.

".... The drawers." Jade eventually whispered, averting her gaze to the drawers.

"There may be some information in them..." They walked over to the drawer table, keeping their gaze away from the Dimebians who had been strung up and similarly treated like how the Asedai had been. On one of them, Jade noticed the shocker wrapped around their limp tail.

"I had to wear one of those.... Agh, can't think of that." Even though she didn't want to let go of Riley's hand, she reluctantly pulled away, opening up one of the drawers. Inside, a notebook and a single bloodied Asedai horn greeted her. Picking up the notebook, she flipped through and skimmed the pages.

"Nothing. Just what the scientists' think about the horns and the link to magic..." She deposited it back into the drawer, closing it and looking to Riley, her ears pricked up, hoping he had found something.

"I think this is the magic research lab. We may or may not find the blue prints in this one. I would say that we should find them here, because the device is used to actually stop and pause magic. There's another research lab that focuses on reactions/experiments of the magical individuals. Honestly, those blue prints can be ANYWHERE."

Jade sighed, opening another drawer and peeking in.

Jessi gave Mikiy a hug making her feel better Jessi's hoping that the others come out safe

((I think it might actually be better if you stop roleplaying until we have caught up to Mikiy, Amy! It's hard trying to roleplay both Riley AND Jessi ))

A small huff of impatience escaped the wolfcat's parted lips as he rifled through yet another drawer filled with useless junk, throwing various items behind him. The bombing was growing louder, and each second they stayed in this institute brought danger closer. His earlier bravado was a half-truth - he was strong, but probably not strong enough to face more than four armed men at a time. And even that estimation didn't factor in his exhausted companion.

Pushing away the thought, his fingers came across an autopsy report.
"I can't believe the cruelty here." Riley said under his breath, more to himself than to Jade. "I can understand experimenting on Asedai...you know, to some degree - it's easy to justify if you've never talked to one. But our own kind? These fucking bastards have no pride."

His hands shook at the piles and piles of incriminating and grotesque photographs in the report - in one, they'd even tried to attach a pair of horns to a Dimebian girl who couldn't have been older than 10. Her wide and horrified eyes stared back at him, robbed of all innocence, frozen in time on the page. This was someone's daughter, possibly a sister, and for sure; someone's friend. He slammed it on the table and it crinkled as the hand made a fist, but he didn't stop searching. These photos would haunt him for years to come, but it would be nothing compared to losing Jessi or any of his new friends, and that thought kept him going.

A small sneeze echoed through the otherwise silent room, and Riley whipped his head around. Jade's eyes bored into his, her expression equally as wary as his. It hadn't been her...meaning, they weren't the only two alive in this room. His eyes slid from hers to scan the room, taking in everything, and they came to rest on a rather tall locker in the west corner. He swore he could almost smell the fear emanating from it.

"I know you're in there." He said calmly, not moving from his place at the desk. "And if you want to stay in there, that's fine by me...but only if you tell us where the blueprints for the Device are." He placed an aloof hand on his hip, crossing his legs and leaning back against the desk. "If you don't, well, I think you know what happens then."

There was a definite pause in the air, but before long the locker door creaked open just enough for a small, definitely female hand to appear. He could see from the sleeve of red and black that this was a military woman. Quaking slightly, it pointed quickly to a small chest behind Ebony's feet, then withdrew back into the locker as quickly as it had appeared. Riley had to smile when he heard a soft click of a lock.

Well how about that, they weren't all slime-balls after all.

((okay sorry about that i got carried away with it ))

Jade's ears pricked up as the hand pointed to behind her. She was surprised. Most of the military would NOT have done that. She looked to Riley, who nodded, then she turned around and bent over to pick up the chest, which was luckily unlocked. She set it down on the lab table, opened it, and took a look inside, only to suddenly reel back, her hair standing on end, her eyes wide, her whole body quaking.

"The box... That chest.... I'M in there!!" Was all Jade could bring herself to say as Riley darted to take a look inside. He picked up a few pictures, each one featuring a girl with short black hair and jade green eyes, various comments written on the side.

One of the pictures was off though. Instead of a weary, beaten down young Dimebian, a girl who looked the exact same, except with larger pupils that had no light whatsoever within them, and an insane grin. A comment was written at the side.

"We finally dragged the insanity that lives within 898 out. She is very cooperative. She enjoys seeing pain and suffering, and she has agreed to help infilitrate and exterminate various Asedai clans. She doesn't take kindly to experiments though..."

Another comment was written on a photo where Jade was on her back in obvious pain, trying to get away from restraints.

"Reacts badly to electricity. A shocker will be put on her tail to control any random magical attacks she may try. After four minutes of electrical shocks, she eventually passed out, twitching. Sent to emergency room. Recovered."

Another picture featured Jade staring at the camera sullenly. The comment written at the side was cruel and uncaring.

"898 told us today in fire testing that she felt lonely. She wanted to know our names. We told her we were Santa Cat, Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy Dog. She smiled widely and let us test after that, but right as soon as pain began to flood her, she began to scream that we were demons from hell. We eventually locked her up again while she wailed that no one was her friend. It is good that she doesn't have friends so that the insanity remains strong within her."

Jade's ears were down as she read the comments, and she backed away from Riley slowly, letting him pore over the photos. A crudely drawn picture was pulled out. It was a self portrait of Jade with her family.

"Mom and Dad are Angels now. They watch over me, I'm sure. Mommy, Daddy, I'm scared here. I don't like it. Everything hurts." A snide comment was put to the side.

"898 has deluded herself into believing she is being watched over. She is, but by us. Angels don't exist."

".... There's the blueprints." Inside, the Device plans were among even more pictures of Jade.

"Should we take the whole thing?" Jade asked, her eyes dark, but not insane. "The whole chest, I mean."

There could be countless more pictures inside that held a story. Jade wanted to try and piece back her life at the Military, since most of that life belonged to Insanity.

((It's okay Amy! We will be there in no time!))

It was unbelievable. Each cold comment made him grind his teeth in anger, made him want to reach into the very photograph and strangle each of the scientists until he saw the light leave their eyes. The little girl staring back at him was a mere weapon and experiment to these clowns...was this what would happen to Jessi if she were captured again? She didn't look too worse for wear he remembered, needles in her face considered, but she had only been in here a day. His stomach churned when he thought of what these nutjobs must have done to Jade with YEARS at their disposal.

Riley reached forward and quickly snatched the blueprints, giving them a quick look over. There were detailed instructions on every component, and he exhaled briefly when his eyes glazed across the 'removal' part. He rolled up the papers and secured them in a cardboard tube he found nearby, sealing the end with a plastic cap before hesitantly turning his attention back to the photographs. The chest was full to the brim of unordered documents and photographs, enough to take hours to go through.

Riley winced at Jade's suggestion, coming to stand protectively at her side. He couldn't see her face, couldn't make out her expression, but...he wanted what was best for her. In his own experience, wallowing in memories never did much but tear open healing wounds.

"This girl..." He motioned to the photographs. "Doesn't exist anymore. You need to move forward as Jade, who you truly are inside - not as Ebony, the person these mental scientists created."
He took a deep breath and reached forward, placing his hand on top of hers on the chest lid. He slowly drew their hands down, closing the lid with a soft 'thunk'. It was a metaphor - locking away an old life, and leaving room for a new one.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Jade." He said sullenly, drawing his hand away to give her space. "But you wanted my opinion, and there it is. Don't torture yourself anymore, you've had enough of that to last a lifetime."

He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he heard a soft sobbing sound coming from the locker in the corner.

Jade didn't look at Riley, but when she heard the gentle sob, her ears pricked up. She lifted her face of snow white and looked to the locker, her green eyes sad. She slid her hand out from underneath Riley's and went to the locker, placing a hand over the door. Her tail was down low, her ears folded down as well.

"Hey.... It was NEVER your fault... You.... You... Need to make money, right? For your family. D-don't..." Jade fell to her knees, her forehead on the locker door.

".... A new life... I'm going to start a new life. I'm going to spend it with Riley, Jessi, and Mikiy, and any more friends who come along... It... Like I said... It was never your fault... If you want... You can start a new life too, free of experimenting and hate... You can be whatever you want to be, absolutely anything.... So when we're gone, come out, and choose... M-maybe someday we will see each other." Jade smiled, stood back up and left the locker door. She took one look at the chest, then looked at Riley again.

"You know what my Mom used to call me? She called me a little angel." At that moment, Jade smiled. It was a true smile that reached her eyes. During this, she really, truly, looked like an angel.

"Let's go... We need to get back to our friends." Jade reached out to Riley, taking his gloved hand once more. She looked around once more, then lifted her free hand to her lips. She kissed the tips of her fingers, smiling, then blew the kiss to the tortured Dimebians and Asedai woman.

"I wish you well, wherever you all are." She looked over to Riley, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. They walked forward, and just as they were about to leave the cold and dark room, the tentative voice of the scientist drifted out.

"Your forgiveness brings me to tears.... Good luck, Jade." The black haired girl smiled, then stepped into the hallway.

"Now, how will we get out?" She asked Riley, looking left and right.

The wolfcat's chest swelled at the girl's valiant words, proud as a mother hen for his new friend. Although he believed in 'talking with his fists' as it were, there were some cases where words just meant so much more to him. He tried to be inspirational when possible, but some people had it and some didn't.

He remembered when he used to be like that...innocent to the ways of the world, believing all conflict could be solved with the power of reason. He'd learned through experience and impatience that threatening with violence yielded quicker results from the cowardly hearts of lesser Dimebians like the military, but being around sunny people like Jessi kept his brooding loathing for his species in check. People like Jade - who could still see light in the world after experiencing its every corner of darkness, motivated him in a way he couldn't fathom. It made him hold on to hope, and sometimes that's all he could grasp.

He'd gripped a lot of hands today.

Pale fingers tightened in response to Jade's question of their escape, still stained with the Doctor's blood. The way he came in seemed like their only exit, although he wasn't so sure she could make the jump by himself. He led her anyway, their shoes making rough scraping sounds as they pattered across the stone floors. He noted her breathing getting more laboured - she'd been getting a good workout today, and even he would admit his body was beginning to ache from lack of sleep.

They arrived at a high window, almost five metres above them. Riley bent his knees and offered his interlaced hands for Jade to get a boost up, and she stepped up into them, gripping his shoulders for support without hesitation. Mustering what little upper body strength he had, Riley jumped and raised his hands while she did the same. This vaulted her into the air, leaving her gripping the ledge. He thought he saw her scrabble a little before she pulled herself up.

"Okay, good." He reassured her, impressed. Not many girls could do that. "Now lie down on your stomach with your legs out the window, and give me your hands."
It was still a few metres higher than what he could jump, but he planned to launch himself against the other wall of the narrow hallway before using the grip on his sneakers to jump up the opposite wall. He'd practised this move multiple times in alleyways after seeing it on a 'Parkour' video tape. Overrated tripe, maybe, but no doubt useful when trying to escape a building with architecture designed to keep people in, and by extension - out.

The black wolf gripped tightly to the edge, her nails scratching the floor as she tried to pull herself up. White scratches appeared where her nails had been, but nonetheless she hoisted herself up after Riley. She looked to him, her limbs aching and joints stretched to the limits.

She nodded, getting down on her stomach, but then she peeked out the window to make sure there was no one underneath. Luckily, most of the guards were inside, looking for the white and black-haired individuals. She stuck her legs out the arch of the window, flipping onto her stomach. Jade had no idea what was going on, but she trusted Riley with her life. She raised her hands to Riley, waiting for what was next.

It had been such a tiring day, and the wolf was absolutely exhausted. All she wanted to do now was curl up against the warm bodies of Riley, Mikiy, and Jessi, then fall into the abyss of sleep. Her battered body could only take so much more...

((Short ahhhh I don't really know what Riley is attempting to do, so I'm just sitting over here scrambling to figure it out))

Just then, Riley heard the unmistakable crackle of a handheld radio. 'Agent Ra Toole, have you located the intruders?' a scratchy voice asked in a harsh whisper. A small scrambling sound echoed throughout the hall as shaking fingers attempted to switch it off. It couldn't have been more than 10 metres away, and Riley's stomach dropped with dread - someone was tailing them, and was just around the corner. And they were probably armed.

With not a moment to lose, as the person must have realised their cover was blown, Riley leaped against the wall and jumped as high as he could, only just managing to catch Jade's hands. He grinned reassuringly up at her as she heaved him up, but his eyes went wide as a loud crack reached his ears, followed by a delayed searing pain in the small of his back. He had been shot just above the beginning of his tail. He let out a strangled yell as a river of blood ran freely from the wound, but he shoved Jade back onto the roof so that he could get out of gunshot range. He leant back against the wall, both of them shielded from the attacker, but his vision was slightly hazy.

"What a dick move." He growled, running his hand tentatively across the wound. "Just missed my spine; they were attempting to paralyse me." He tried not to show his shock at this, and instead eyed the large gap to the fence and their eventual freedom.

"I don't think I can make it..." He said, dejectedly.

((I like how I'm both Ebony and Jade, ahaha~))

Grasping to Riley tightly, heaving him up, Jade was confident. The snapping feeling inside of her as she watched Riley's eyes go wide and a splatter of crimson hit on her cheek bone was indescribable. They made it to the the rooftop, but they would soon be pursued. The feeling of snapping was still fresh inside of Jade's heart as she reverted into vengeful Ebony. She dropped to her stomach and held her spindly fingers above the window, waiting for the attacker to peek out.

The attacker snuck out her head, looking up tentatively. She tried to dodge back into the safety of the institute, but she was too late. Grasping the pony tail of the girl, Ebony dragged her out, screeching and yelling. Ebony was not going to have any of it. She brought the wide, brown eyes of the girl to her own lightning green eyes, giving her the last words she'd hear.

"You bitch."

And then, she let go.

Down went the girl, screaming the whole way. The splat was music to Ebony's ears, a sweet, echoing symphony.

"If you survived with me, you'll survive this. Hang on to my hand, and you will be healed." Her hand glowed a light blue, the same color as Riley's eyes in fact. As soon as the wolfcat touched her fingers, the light flashed over to the white haired male, dripping down his body to the wound. Before any words could be spoken, air whipped around the two of them in a violent spiral.

"You must never forget Jessi. Close your eyes..." Ebony closed her jade orbs, her black hair whipping about her face.

The feeling of nothing under them became suddenly apparant, but still, the two did not open their eyes. Not until the felt soft earth underneath them.

Her soles touched grass, and then she was down, blacked out. She had overspent her energy, and now she was completely out. She was once again the kind-hearted Jade, but only fainted.