Deceit and Trickery...

[Jacob]

*Setting: Wind blew down the wide, two laned street. Roadlights flickered gently and Moths flew around them, hyponotised. The hissing of a white, single decker bus interrupted the winds song as it stopped outside a small, grubby looking building. With a creak the side doors slid open and out stepped a 5ft Orkhid. He was dressed in white with black trousers and shoes. He leapt onto the curb and stepped upto the front door of the building. The door was metal and next to it was a small button. He pushed it. Listening to the 'buzz' sound it made. Locks could be heard un-bolting and latches being un-latched. The door opened slightly and the outsider mumbled something incoherantly. A grunt from the creature inside was its response and the door was then opened wider. The inside of the building was dark and up the hallway light could be seen. The Orkhid that had stepped off of the bus went upto the passengers side door and pulled it open. On the seat was a clipboard, which was snatched up and then handed to the Orkhid in the doorway. This Orkhid had brown hair which was short and cropped. It wore more or less the same clothing as the other, yet had a rather vicious scar on its left cheek...*

Orkhid #2: "Sooooo, you want to institutionalise Mr Harvey, Mr Clay and Mr Dolt..."

The Orkhid scanned the clipboard, flipping the pages and reading the paperwork. The other just stood there, nodding and looking around nervously.

Orkhid #2: "Hmmm...Well, how long for?"

Orkhid #1: "Not long...A day...or two."

He rubbed his hands together and never made eye contact. The second one clicked his tongue and handed the clipboard back.

Orkhid #2: "Bring 'em in...One of them will have to share."

The first nodded and turned towards the bus, jogging upto it. He muttered something to the creatures inside and then stepped away. Slowly three figures came into view. Each wore a straight jacket and had their feet shackled.

Orkhid #1: "Go on, inside!!"

He pointed his hand in the direction of the doorway and shoved each of them as they walked by.

Orkhid #1: "Oh, we've been ordered to take three aswell..."

The second Orkhid looked at him surprised. Holding out his hand in a 'stop' manner he halted the three progressing Orkhids from entering.

Orkhid #2: "Why? Who gave that order?"

Orkhid #1: "Commandor Iraxx...You wanna call him and check?"

The being pondered that thought for a moment, slowly lowering his hand.

Orkhid #2: "Go on, inside. AID, H...COME 'ERE AND TAKE THESE THREE WILL YOU. AND BRING THREE MORE OUT!!"

He called down the corridor and then grabbed the nearest Orkhid patient by the arm and pulled him inwards.

Orkhid #1: "The Commandor told US to bring out the Orkhids, he wanted three specific ones..."

He stepped forwards, attempting to breech the doorway. The second Orkhid shot his arm across the opening, stopping him. He eyed the Orkhid up and then turned his attentions to the bus he had came from.

Orkhid #2: "Have you got any documents, signed by the Commandor, to prove to me that he ordered this...?"

He sniffed the Orkhids black hair and snarled these words suspectly. The first creature stepped back and motioned for him to follow. Leading him towards the bus entrance he mouthed something to the driver who was now leaning over the passengers seat and looking out of the open door. As the second Orkhid got further away from the doorway and closer to the bus, the first span around. Elbowing him in the right side of the face with his right elbow. The Orkhid staggered to the left, stunned by this. The attacker then kneed the creature in the groin and grabbed its coller at the back and hurled it into the van. Grabbing its hair it then slammed its head into the metal flooring of the bus, knocking it out cold.

Driver: "For f*cks sake, what are you doing!?!"

Its voice was a hushed whisper and its attention was flicking between the attacker and the doorway.

Orkhid #1: "Quiet!!"

It set its hands on the unconcious creatures face and closed its eyes, within seconds it had morphed into that being. It then shoved the creature to the back of the bus and deeper into the shadows.

Orkhid #1: "I'll be back in a min..."

Driver: "Ella!! Ella...Jesus Christ. Hey, you guys hear that? She's going in...Over"

The driver looked up at the rear-view mirror and tapped the glass were a camera was hidden and spoke into a microphone that was attached to his shirt coller.

Response: "We heared. Leave her for now, we'll deal with her when she gets back...Over."

The driver sighed and put his head on the steering wheel. Moments later the disguised Changling had emerged, with three other patients behind her. She lead them onto the bus and secured them. Not looking at the driver incase it started off a heated discussion.

Ella: "There...Take them to Jale."

She jumped out of the vehicle and slammed the slide door shut. Turned and walked back into the building. She could have very nearly jeapordised the mission, but now that the incident had happened. All they had to do was wait...

Useful links:
Assassins...

[Jacob]

*Setting: The driver ignored the three Orkhids constant mumblings and studied the road carefully. It was dark and the street lights seemed to be getting dimmer and dimmer with each turn. Taking a left he noticed Jale and the dark red, transport van underneathe two streetlights and sighed happily. He was tired and wanted to go home and shower. The driver himself was of Orkhid origin but ran from his family home when the beatings he recevied got more and more brutal and started disrupting his performance as a recruit. Fearing for his life he took off and was recruited by the Agency a year later, were he was trained and looked after. Nearing the van he noticed Jale and two guards with him. Both the guards were Mudokons and dressed in dark lycra. Possibly to conceal them more in the darkness. He mumbled something and gradually slowed down. Stopping a couple of feet behind the van.*

Driver: "Hey-hey!!"

He climbed out and waved, smiling at Jale and the others.

Driver: "Hurry up and get them loaded. I wanna get home..."

Jale smiled and stepped upto him, the two guards unholstered their pistols and walked towards the side of the bus. Peering through the windows at the creatures.

Jale: "Oright, mon...Yu'll git ther soon enuff...Where'z Ella?"

The driver reached into his Sheepskin jacket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. Pulling one out he looked up at Jale to answer.

Driver: "Ba..."

He stopped, staring at Jales right shoulder which seemed to be branding a small red dot...a lasersight. As Jale looked at him in puzzlement he realised something wasn't right. The small dot had now left Jale' body which only meant one thing...
*Flo-doosh*
The drivers chest spattered black blood all over the front of Jale who staggered backwards, shocked. The two guards who were pulling the secured Orkhids out of the bus turned rapidly at the sound of Jales shocked gasp. He was now holding up the driver who had flopped forwards. Blood pouring onto the ground, making it look as if there had been some sort of Oil leak.

Voice: "Well done, children..."

The snide remark came from behind the van and as the two guards looked in that direction a small metallic ball bounced up over the roof of the van and exploded in a flash of light. Immediatly the streetlights in that street had been reduced to flickering sparks. The two guards flung the Orkhids back into the bus and slammed the door shut, reaching into their belts and pulling out small torches. Jale turned around in the blackness, trying to see who the mysterious creature was. And as he turned to face the van he saw two, glowing yellow eyes on top if it. The eyes seemed to dart downwards and as they met evenly with his, and with an un-seeable movement, the Mudokon was kicked backwards and further into the road. Landing on his side and skidding on the ground for a brief moment.

Attacker #1: "HURRY UP...!!"

Gunshots could be heard from near the bus and the nozzles could be seen flashing. The torch lights seemed to run across the street wildly, trying to pick up on the attackers. A short burst of what sounded like Uzi fire seemed to stop the torches from scanning the area and instead made them drop down to the ground. Indicating the guards demise.

Attacker #1: "Get them outta the bus...and step on it."

The being blinked its star-like eyes and scanned the area, snarling readily. Four more yellow eyes seemed to appear from nowhere and move towards the bus, there was the sound of the slide door opening and then grunting of creatures.

Attacker #1: "Thats him...kill the other two."

Jale couldn't see what was going on, but he assumed that they were the creatures seemingly at war with the Agency...

*Setting:Two gunshots rang out through the air with the thuds of two corpses following.
*Car horn*
Turning his head to the right and slowly picking himself up the Mudokon noticed a hover car heading towards them. It was slowly sauntering to the ground with the headlights on at a low brightness. Jale knew he couldn't allow them to take the mark and quickly ran forwards to were he believed the van would be and as he briefly passed through the headlights of the vehicle there was a call. Jale didn't care what it was, he just stretched out his arms and allowed himself to hit the side of the vehicle...hard. He grunted and turned his head, looking over his shoulder, to see what was going on. The stary-eyed figure was heading towards him now, its sillouette hinted in the headlights. Jale felt his way to the left and finally found the door handle, tugging the door open he leapt inside. The being grabbed his ankle and tugged him. The Mudokons hands felt around for the alarm system. He held onto the clutch with his left hand and looked around, feeling for the alarm with his right. The being had grabbed both of his legs now and was tugging him out, the clutch was groaning with the force and Jale was losing his grip.
*BEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEP*
The sound sang out from the van and the being immediatly let go, snarling as the sound entered its ears. Turning onto his back Jale then kicked out, hitting the attackers stomach and pushing it backwards. More rapid gunfire could be heard and as the frightened Mudokon sat up in the van he saw beams of light zooming towards the site. The lights were headlights of all the nearest Agents around and the hail of bullets was coming from them. The attacker growled and covered its face up with its left arm and side stepped away. Jale could now see that it was a Shadowcrawler and obviously unhappy with the light intensity that was being cast down upon it. As it ran for cover the other hover car slowly began to rise and turn, the creatures inside were dosing out what they were recieving and hammering the incoming vehicles with yellow-jacket bullets. A special type of armour piercing projectile that made little work of metal or kevlar. The Shadowcrawler leapt through the air and grabbed hold of the front bumper with its right claw. Its torso and appendages were all burning through the light and becoming increasingly uncomfortable. A bark escaped its mouth as a bullet hit the bumper and wobbled it, sending the being falling 18ft to the ground and breaking its legs. Jale watched as some of the Agents leapt out of their cars and honed in around it. Others stayed in their vehicles and took off after the others who had stolen their mark. Radio's could be heard, their staticy remarks incoherant to the creatures who weren't at the right hearing distance. Laser sights hit the creatures entire body and as they moved in the being rolled onto its stomach and placed its hands onto the back of its head. They captured him, handcuffing him mercilessly and roughly dragging and throwing him into one of the cars. The creature was about to bear all about everything...*

[Jacob]

*Setting: The warehouse seemed to groan in torment. Shadowcrawlers seemed to infest the place, their bright eyes glowing from every shadowy crevice. Once more the Shadowcrawler superior sat behind his desk, he smoked a lone cigar and blew the smoke out as he spoke. Infront of his desk stood the captured Orkhid. He was still bound and, now, gagged. The 'crawlers shifted uneasily, eager to know why this being was being kept alive.*

Shadowcrawler superior: "Bring the Delver..."

The Orkhids eyes seemed to blink slowly and he looked around, watching the blinking "stars". A cough was emitted from the back of the room and slowly, out of the darkness, sauntered a Delver. The creature was cloaked in red silk with its round black eyes peering from tiny gaps. It stepped through the crowd of 'crawlers, eyeing up the Orkhid from behind. As it neared it rolled the sleeves of the silk up, bearing its green hands. The nails were black and the wrists were decorated with silver armlets. Silently she stepped behind the creature and immediatly began her work...

*Setting: Her left hand rose and fell down gently on the beings left shoulder. Steadying it. Her right then rose and rested on its head. The Orkhid mumbled something, its ramblings muffled by the black rag stuck into its mouth.
*Sssszzzzccchhhh*
Pink electricity was emitted from the Delvers right hand, shooting out from the fingertips and going into the beings head. It jolted, stiffening for a brief moment. Urine stained its pants and ran onto the floor. She stepped away from the ever-growing puddle and continued her process. Only finishing when the creature could hardly stand.*

Delver: "Pass me the weapon..."

Her voice was soft and resembled that of a Welsh accent. She turned her head to the shadows situated on her right, watching as one of the beings stepped out with a missile. The superior wheeled his wheelchair back, allowing the creature to place the missile on the desk.

Shadowcrawler superior: "Work your magic...heh, heh."

The Delver nodded gently and pushed the Orkhid out of the way, ignoring it as it pined out, and letting it hit the cold ground. She then allowed her hand to gently hover the weapon...allowing it to feel its pressence.
*Beeping*
She dialed in a code that was on a small, green screen on the side of the missile. A humming sound then came from the back of it and a slate opened, showing another dialing pad. She proceeded to dial another number in. After she had pushed in the last button the slate sealed and the green screen had turned to red.

Shadowcrawler superior: "Is that good?"

The Delver looked up at him and shook her head slowly, pointing to the screen as a 30 second countdown started.

Delver: "This is the wrong missile. The code i recieved seems to be for a different one..."

She backed away, shaking her arms so the rolled up sleeves would fall back into place again. The superior snarled and rolled his chair back up to the desk. He then tapped at the screen, attempting to perform some miracle.

Shadowcrawler superior: "GET BACK HERE!!"

The Delver turned and ran towards the back of the warehouse, ignoring the calls of the beast.

Shadowcrawler: "Sir...Sir, we must go...!! Its counting down!!"

One of the creatures seemed to emerge from the shadows and grasp the handles of the wheelchair. Pulling him backwards. The other 'crawlers were scrabbling agiley up the walls and pillars, leaping from beam to beam, from rafter to rafter in an attempt to get to safety. As the superior was wheeled towards the exit, situated at the back of the building he reached underneathe his tartan quilt and scanned the area, his eyes piercing the darkness.

Voice: "Vhat iz goin' onn??"

The Russian accent seemed to cut through the rabble of squawks and screeches that was emitted from the other 'crawlers.
*Gunshot*

Shadowcrawler superior: "YOU GOT THE WRONG MISSILES...YOU IDIOT!!"

He shouted these words straight after he shot his nephew in the stomach. He watched as Alandos staggered backwards and rested onto a pillar. The 'crawler who was pushing him ignored this family feud and rushed past, pushing its boss to saftey.
*Gunshot*
The creature slowed. Its weight pushing down on the back of the chair and thus making the superior slowly tip backwards. Alandos had shot the lackey that was pushing his uncle to saftety, he was still resting on the pillar, his left hand grasping his wound and his right grasping the gun. He shot a second time, hitting the Shadowcrawlers mid-back and thus insuring it was dead.

Alandos: "Yoo...Yoo undrestimatedd mee...unkle...heh."

Blood seeped from his mouth and he closed one eye, aiming at his uncles head. Ready to kill...

*Setting: But as he did another figure seemed to leap from the darkness of the rafters. It slowly flipped in mid-air and landed in a crouching position. The creature was a Shadowcrawler, but a female. The back of its head graced with long tendrils that ran down to its mid-back. Its yellow eyes shone brightly as it stared at Alandos. Quickly it raised its arm up and just as quickly a silver-revolver shot out from a mechanical device equipped to its arm. The gun hit mid-palm and she grasped it professionally, taking aim at Alandos as he took aim at the superior.
*Booosh*
Before the rebellious nephew could do so much as blink, the bullet of the revolver had escaped the nozzle and shattered the top quartile of his skull. He sloaped backwards and into the darkness. The creature then let go of the gun and allowed it to shoot back into the device that was so appropiatly attached to her arm. She then turned and ran upto the superior and flung him over her shoulder. His legs were still frail, but there was no time to be gentle. The explosive device was about to go off and as she sped off towards the exits it erupted...*

[Stripe]

Nice settings and interesting characters these "NightCrawlers"!
Can't wait to read more!

[Jacob]

*Setting: The Shadowcrawler was seated on on a small wooden chair, its arms resting on the arms of the seat and masked under a net of wires. The wires were tipped with a small, metal spikes which had been pushed inside the beings arms. It growled and looked around woozily, as if it had been drugged. A small, metallic vice had been clamped to its head also which was then connected to the ceiling. The light intensity in the small room was low but occasionally flickered brighter, giving the being a brief moment of awkwardness. The door to the room opens and in steps Kowloon and Quade.*

Quade: "A 'crawler..."

The Saurian snarls these words and steps infront of it, staring down at the drugged up creature and shaking his head from side to side, slowly.

Kowloon: "Yes. We still dont know why it wanted Hoolio or the Orkhid, but at least we know what they are. And hopefully after, we question this one, we'll know where they're situated..."

He was situated behind Quade, his arms behind his back. Stepping around to the back of the 'crawler Quade snarled and ran his fingers along its shoulder. The creatures legs were in bad shape and the bandages were stained red with its blood. Chuckling briefly he fiddles with the back of the vice, the humming of electricity is then emitted from the wires and the beings muscles begin to twitch.

Quade: "Lets do this..."

***

Shadowcrawler superior: "I hope you will be more of an asset to me than your brother, Lilias..."

He was seated in a long black hover-Limosine. The interior, red leather, and the windows blackened out. He was speaking to the female 'crawler that had saved him from, not only the malfunctioning missile, but Alandos. The female nodded and smiled.

Lilias: "Of course, uncle. I was always fathers favourite, anyway. And Alandos was, to say the least, an incompetant fool..."

Her voice was not of Russian origin but more delicate and proper English. She was seated opposite her uncle, her legs crossed and her right hand holding a glass of Champagne.

Lilias: "I'm pressuming you have more accomodation...?"

The uncle nodded gently and sighed. He then looked down at the white sheet covering the stumps of legs he had. They were merely thighs and now he was truly crippled, with no chance of healing.

Lilias: "I am sorry, i should have been more careful..."

She stood up and moved to sit next to him, resting her hand on his.

Lilias: "I'm sure we will be able to purchase some...mechanical ones."

Shadowcrawler superior: "It is ok...Do not worry, at least i am alive. Which is more than i can say for...him."

He looked out of the window, at the Sunset in the distance and smiled. Pondering his next move...

***

Kowloon: "The warehouse on 89th Avenue...GO!! NOW!!"

He hung up his mobile and turned to Quade, nodding gently to the Saurian who was stood in the doorway. Quade smiled and took out his sunglass' from the inside pocket of his jacket and disappeared inside the room.

*Setting: The 'crawler was twitching gently, its feet resting in a pool of blood. Its yellow eyes gradually dimming. Quade smirked and steps upto it, the creatures head hangs down and it mumbles some words that the Saurian does not hear, nor does not care to hear...*

Quade: "I'm disappointed, i thought you would have held out longer..."

The creature raises its head and looks at the Saurian in distain.

Shadowcrawler: "Heh...you...you were...wrong."

Quade nodded and reached into his jacket again, this time pulling out a small, silver capsule. He twists the end and listens to the soft beeping emitted from the end of it. The red light blinking excitedly.

Quade: "Indeed i was. And now your cause is gonna go up in a flash of light...as it were. Heh."

*Setting: It smirks and shakes its head, the metallic vice sizzling gently. It knows the end is near and doesn't really care anymore. It would have died if it returned anyway. Quade gently places the capsule on the Shadowcrawlers lap and steps back, the interrogated being makes no attempt to shake the capsule off and instead sighs gently as the capsule emits a bright blast of light. Its skin sizzles, turning from dark blue, to black. Its head is thrown up as it opens its mouth and screams in dire pain, its abdomen slowly turning to ash and dust. The blackness of the skin is then devoured by the grayness of the ash and dust, the gray mass of ash rushing up its body, down its legs and arms and towards its head. Its eyes shine brightly for one last second as they then burn out totally, leaving nothing but burning holes in its ash-turned skull. And then as the brightness subsides and the screams of agony disappears Quade looks on at the statue of dust. The statue of ash. He steps forwards and leans in, he can see the outline of the creatures skeleton and admires it. Its tails have been eradicated as had its life. Poking it in the mid-section he leaves a finger-sized hole in it. The hole expands as cracks dart out all over the creatures torso and then it crumbles like a dry sandcastle. Crumbles into a heap of dust on the floor and chair. The head-vice hangs from the ceiling and the wires that had been inserted in the 'crawlers arms dropped to the ground. All that was left was its dusty remains. And as Quade begins to exit, two Slig cleaners enter. Equipt with their vacuums they make a short job of the 'crawlers "body"...*

[Jacob]

*Setting: The S.W.A.T members walked on the rubble, their rifles pointed at the ground at all times and their goggles set to infra-red. Small red-beams of light shone out of the bottom of their weapons. They were the Agency's personal team of highly trained troopers. The rubble was that of the Shadowcrawlers warehouse and it was nothing more than burnt bricks and steel. The leader of the S.W.A.T team was stood on a small mound of rubble, he was looking at the burnt corpse of a Shadowcrawler and speaking into a small radio attached to his shoulder...*

Leader: "There's nothing here. Just rubble and one body. Looks like they knew we were onto them and destroyed any evidence...over."

***

Kowloon: "Ok, bring the body in and pull out. Over."

He drummed his fingers on his desk and groaned, placing the radio on the side. Standing, he then wandered over to the door and opened it, stepping outside he then walked down the corridor to the can machine and searched his pockets for loose change.

Voice: "Sir, you better come and see this..."

He turned his head, it was one of the medical staff. This, obviously, caused him concern and he followed the pale green Saurian through the corridors, eventually coming to the Cafeteria were everything was silent apart from the Tv, which was turned up to as loud as it could go. All the off duty Agents and recruits were sat there eating and watching the Tv in utter stillness. On the screen were two Mudokons sat behind a desk, one was male and one was female. They were talking about some 'horrific occurance' and under them was a small box stating;

'Hitting Headlines: Vykkers Airship being evacuated under suspicious circumstances.'

Kowloon breathed in deeply and stepped further inside the Cafeteria.

Male Mudokon: "Yes, thats correct. I believe one of our correspondants is there now. Marcks, Marcks...are you there?"

The screen flicked to a male Mudokon stood in a beige coat. Behind him was the Airship. He had his left hand on his left ear and was holding a microphone in his right.

Mudokon reporter: "Hi Cael. Hi Julez."

Female Mudokon: "Yes, hi Marcks. Could you tell our viewers when the evacuation began to happen? Are we talking about minutes? Hours? What?"

Mudokon reporter: "No. We dont know exactly when this began to occur but random sources say that the evacuation process was well within way at around 19:29 hours...."

Male Mudokon: "And do we know whats caused the Vykkers to evacuate their craft in such a manner?"

Mudokon reporter: "No, not as of yet. We're pressuming that there has been some kind of outbreak, however, that cannot be confirmed at this moment in time..."

Male Mudokon: "Would you say that this would affect the stockmarket? And if so, should our viewers be selling now...?"

The Mudokon nodded and turned briefly to look at the Airship.

Mudokon reporter: "I dont think it will, Vykkers Laboratories, Fine Foods division and such like have many Air and Watercraft. So i find it doubtful that one Airship crashing would cause such an affect..."

Female Mudokon: "Well, thats good. Could you tell us how much the Vykkers and Glukkons will be losing if there was a crash of some kind?"

Mudokon reporter: "Well, we estimate that the Vykkers and Glukkons alike would lose around $9.9,000,000,000,000!! Which, when converted, is..."

*Explosion*
The Mudokon turned around sharply, a small portion of the bottom half of the Airship had just exploded, flames were belching out of the hole that had been created and debris was floating down in a coat of flames. The screen flickered and there was a roar of commotion, then black. The image flicked back to the male and female Mudokons in the studio whom obviously looked abit shocked.

Male Mudokon: "I'm sorry about that, we seem to have a small technical hitch. We'll try and get the link back before the end of the show..."

Female Mudokon: "Yes, anyway, on a more lighter note. The Cartel has doubled their intake of Worryfish in the past three mo..."

The Tv was switched over to a different side.

Slig reporter: "The Airship seems to be speeding up, slightly, we're predicting that it will be reaching land in around 20 minutes..."

Kowloon turned back and exited the Cafeteria snarling. He knew he would get calls in now from competing races and companies wanting remains of the Airship and infomation it carried and doing so would take alot of (wo)manpower...

(OOC: Fics all ova the place!!)

[Jacob]

*Setting: The Shadowcrawlers growled lowly, walking around the old lobby of the derelict Hotel. It was big and round with three old couches in the middle, their pink material tattered and torn. The window's were boarded up and the skylight covered with a sheet of metal nailed into the concrete ceiling. The legless superior was carried in by his niece. She carefully placed him on the couch and stepped back, looking around. The pillars were cracked in places and the reception area was practicly demolished. Pin-pricks of light shot out of bullet holes in the walls, beaming across and sizzling some random 'crawlers skin as it stepped into the laser-like-beam. The Hotel was 11 storey's high and could accomodate 1140 customers. Which was handy for the 'crawlers as not only did they need rooms to sleep in, but rooms to interrogate their captives in...*

Shadowcrawler superior: "As you have probably gathered this shall be our new dwellings. Our Headquaters for any future missions. Our arsenal and technology may be non-existant at this moment in time, but i swear by the end of this year we will have everything we need...and more."

He spoke firmly and surely and as he did a horde of cloaked beings came from the entrance, they pushed their way through the crowds of 'crawlers, their black hoods covering their faces. Only large, Rat-like eyes could be seen from the deep shadow that the hoods made. They each shuffled along, their robes running along the ground, their Ratish claws holding a sort of Orb on the end of a stick. The stick was brown and looked like it had been freshly carved from a tree. The Orb on the end was large, about the size of an Orkhid head. It hummed gently, glowing yellow. These mysterious beings were Lightkeepers. They were the Shadowcrawlers counterparts, and just as deadly. Their mysterious Orbs gave them the ability to drain light out of any area, leaving nothing but blackness and thus insuring the safety of the 'crawlers. Their faces had never been seen but it was rumoured that, just like their hands and eyes, they were Rat like.

Lightkeeper leader: "Cowogen...Cowogen kislo ca-liosk. Mysikto arok vaná kee."

He stepped over to the Shadowcrawler leader and spoke softly, its voice was scratchy and somewhat French orientated.

Shadowcrawler superior: "No, not yet. We dont need our whereabouts distributed so early on. And doing such a thing would cause great suspicion."

The Lightkeeper nodded and backed away, bowing down to the 'crawler. Lilias then stepped forwards, she clapped her hands together and gathered the attention of the crowd.

Lilias: "Right, go and get a room and some sleep. We've got a few things to take care of when dusk comes..."

The creatures nodded and headed towards different area's that lead to the upper levels. Some took the stairs, some took the lift shafts, some even clambered through small holes in the ceiling. The Lightkeepers however merely stayed put, only moving slightly, they were strict creatures and only moved when their superiors dismissed them...

***

*Setting: Quade cracks his neck. He is wearing a sleeveless top and black shorts. A silver cap is attached to the tip of his tail and runs down it, to the middle. His wrists are clipped with silver wristlets. He breathes heavily and steps forward onto the blue safety mat. On the other side of the mat is Silian, the Sauk. He is topless, wearing only white shorts. His right hand clasped around the handle of a rapier. He stares at Quade, wanting to finish were they left off. The Training room is completly empty and so both fighters could concentrate. Silian nods and smirks, he brings the sword across his chest and gets in his defence stance. Quade attacks. He runs forward, stopping to drop and attempt to sweep Silians legs from him. The red creature backflips away, laughing as he does so. He then moves forward, slashing at the Saurian who is now crab-crawling away from him. The tip of the blade is cm's away from Quades chest, Silian jumps forward, his left foot coming down on Quades stomach, he pins him, pressing all his weight down on that one point on his training partners torso. He holds the blade to Quades neck and smirks, pushing it closer and closer. He stops, his face winces and he reaches behind him. Quades silver tipped tail had dug into his middle vertebrate, causing him severe pain and in this moment of distraction Quade grabs the boys ankles and lifts him into the air, throwing him back. He hits the ground left shoulder first. Groaning he slowly picks himself up, pushing up with his forearms. His sword is inches away from him. Quade smirks and steps on the weapon, pushing it away with his feet. But then the fight starts up again, this time Silian jumps up, ramming his snout horn into Quades abdomen he pushes forwards, Quade snarls as he loses his balance and starts to stagger backwards. He falls onto his back, his knee' hit the teens stomach and stop him from running him through. The Sauk sputters and rolls off Quade winded, he's on all fours, coughing and trying to regain his breath. Quade chuckles and slowly begins to pick himself up, rubbing the small sore mark that graces on his abdomen. The Sauk is still sputtering and choking and as the Saurian looks down he pulls his right leg back, aiming for the creatures stomach...*

Speaker: "Quade, refrain from doing that, please. And come to my office straight away, you have an assignment..."

Quade looked up, Kowloon was stood at the viewing window, his finger on the speaker button. He shook his head and then turned, walking down the corridor towards his office. Quade sighed and refrained from giving Silian the final blow, instead he turned and headed for the showers.

Silian: "Heh, i haven't finished yet..."

The Sauk stood up, its voice low and menacing. Quade heard him take a step forwards and immediatly reacted...

*Setting: His tail lifted up, upper-cutting the Sauk with severe force. The creature's face was knocked upwards and then to the left and right as Quade waved his tail with surprising flexibility and began to knock the student about. He then turned and with a well placed mid-kick knocked the creature back a good 8 metres into the brick wall behind him. The student then staggered forwards, before falling flat on its face. Twitching gently.*

Quade: "I have..."

~End~

(OOC: Poozie-poozleness!! By the by, when i say 'Rat-like' i mean normal Rats, not Oddworld Rats)