[PG 13] Zoids: Cataclysm (Part II)

[Ushima]

"A bar sounds good." It didn't really take much to get Michael to go to a bar. The group approached the main hangar where they were to check in. Getting out of his zoid he paid the hangar opperator the fee for all four zoids, and a little extra. "Skip the paperwork."

"Of course sir." The main returned to his office as the group gathered around.

"I know a bar that's close to the place we're staying. Delta, you gonna come?" Michael looked to the Kinami.

"I will stay. I'd stick out here." Delta responded.

"Ok keep things in order here. Keep me updated." They left the hangar and hit the streets. It was what you'd expect from a city run by big businesses. Lights every, as well as kiosks that sell a range of things, big boards advertising a ton of products he didn't need. But everything was neat and orderly. The industry really knew how to run things. Finding the bar was easy enough. Going in they stood at the bar. Michael ordered a beer. Cadmus seemed happy, practically bouncing in place. If he wasn't careful he'd give himself away as being underage. Once everyone had a drink Michael took the first sip of his beer.

Glancing around the bar he noticed a few people milling about. It was early in the night, more were bound to show up. Also noticing a small table he tapped Nell's shoulder. Getting her attention he gestured to the table. The went over to it, taking a seat. "Well here's Arcadia. How you liking it so far?"

[The Bartender]

Mora had lifted up as the sun had rosen but landed after the group of the Blue Devil had arrived and entered the city. Mora let Matter leave back into the HQ after she had informed that the intruders were in the city and the Zealots should prepare to "welcome" them.
Mora tried to follow the group but lost them in the masses of people and she deided to go into their head quaters in Arcadia so she could get started with her role; a prisoner of the Zealots...

---

After about half an hour she arrived at the HQ and entered it by showing the symbol of the Zealots. She had one permanent mark, hidden under make-up and one she could always remove, at the moment on the back of her hand. She was let inside and she walked into the jail area where two other Zealots, two women waited for her so she could be "prepared" for this mission.

---

After two hours Mora was laying in one of the jails. She had been stripped and she now wore a simple, old tunic. The guards had also beaten her up and now she was just trying to stay silent and not to move so the bruises wouldn't hurt so much.

[MaskofSilence]

Arriving at Arcadia, the group pulled into the hanger where they they put there Zoids. She was about to pull out some money, when she saw Micheal talking and handing money to the owner. There was obviously enough there to pay for all four Zoids. Shaking her head with a sigh, they then walked out into the city. Her eyes scanned over the builds, nothing had change from the last time she had been here. It sent small chills down her spine. She had been so busy looking at the city, she was surprised that they were already at the bar.

Walking to the counter, she ordered a beer while scanning the area. It was still early so the business was slow. She was content to just sit at the bar when Micheal tapped her shoulder, pointing over to a table where they could sit. Without a word, she followed him and sat across from him. Taking a sip of her beer, she glanced out the window.

"Well here's Arcadia. How you liking it so far?"

She took another sip of beer before she answered that one. "Yeah. Hasn't change much since the last time I'd been here." She watched his reaction to the statement. Even though it was a while ago, she still remembered it like it had been yesterday. To say the least it had been an interesting trip. "What about you?" she questioned. She studied him. Her heart beat quickened just a bit while she did. Quickly looking away, her gaze then landed on Cad and Agera. They were chatting and it looked like they were having a good time as well.

[TheDoctor]

Cadmus felt the familiar pleasant burn of the light alcohol as it traveled down his throat. It was a bittersweet liquid, and as he sipped his beer, he very slowly felt the dull sting of his injury fading away. That's better. Nothing like a nice beer to ease away the aches. Grinning, he took another sip.

As he made himself comfortable on his stool at the bar, he saw Michael and Nell leave to a separate table out of the corner of his eye. His heart sunk as his stomach leaped, and he looked over his shoulder at them as they went to their table. What the hell? What are they up to? He continued to eye them as they sat down and started casual conversation. Then he turned away, calmly staring ahead.

Sudden realization hit him. Is this really happening? Or is the alcohol just getting to me again? He was only halfway finished with his first beer, and he definitely wasn't an inexperienced drinker. Nay, it definitely isn't the alcohol. So I'm not imagining this. As his ears perked into their conversation from behind him, he heard Nell let out a pretty laugh.

The beast inside of Cadmus roared angrily, and he felt himself burn with jealousy. Damn it all. Of course, the moment that I go for her, Michael runs in and tries to sweep her away. It's just like with Cyrus and Elle... He took a large gulp of the beer, barely tasting the alcohol as his envy incinerated it. Well, Cyrus and Elle were different. He wasn't going for her. He was just going out to dinner then, simply treating her with no implications. But this?

He heard their voices travel across the rapidly filling bar. No, this is different. I guarantee it. That means that I should make a move. Do something nice for her sometime. Maybe I'll see if she wants to get breakfast tomorrow morning with me? Maybe lunch? Whatever happens, I'll take her out somewhere. We'll have a time to ourselves.

Well, only if Michael doesn't steal her over right now.

Cadmus didn't even notice himself finish his first glass, and he raised a hand at the bartender, who was rather busy with the influx of exhausted men and women wanting a cold glass of spirits after their long days of work.

~~~~~

The rumors never came. No one out of the ordinary. No odd events. Nothing.

With a sigh, Aelia ran a hand through her hair. I need a drink. She let out a yawn, stretching her arms above her head. As one group of men passed her, they let out a few rude remarks that undoubtedly involved her body. They stared hungrily as they passed, but Aelia made sure that she brought their attention towards the long rifle slung on her back. Then she made an imaginary pistol with her fingers, "firing" it at them. A couple of them laughed, but a couple of them paled as well. Eh. I'm getting better. As they passed, she began to make her way to the closest bar.

When she arrived, she considered herself lucky to be able to get a table to herself on a night like this. She set herself against a wall, enabling her to look at and analyze all of the drunks and soon-to-be drunks. As she ordered her drink, she went from face to face, checking for anything out of the ordinary from her place at her table. Same old, same old. Nothing out of the-

Holy...shit.

It was him. Michael. He was here, in the same city, in the same bar as her. It had been more than a year since she had seen him, and he had certainly changed. Heh. Not as much as I have. He won't even be able to recognize me. A smug grin appeared on her face as she looked at Michael from across the crowded bar.

As the waitress came with her drink, Aelia thanked her, then hesitated. "Wait!" The waitress stopped, turning to face her again. Aelia quickly wrote something down on a handy scrap of paper, and then she handed it to the waitress. "Consider your tip doubled if you pass that piece of paper to that man," she indicated towards Michael. "without causing him to be suspicious of yourself or me." Hesitantly, the waitress nodded, walking away to deliver the piece of paper.

It said:

"Meet me on the roof of the hotel directly across the street in 2 hours. We need to talk.

-AA"

~~~~~

As Cadmus waited for his second beer, he turned to Agera, who was on the stool next to him. He needed to get his mind off of Nell, anyway. "So." He gestured to the building. "Arcadia. You been here before? It's quite a place, isn't it?"

As he spoke, the feeling of someone approaching him touched his senses. Turning around out of curiosity, he saw a tall, built man with short black hair stand up from his group and start walking towards him. The man's face was flushed red, and he stumbled slightly as he walked with his group of four friends giving him whistles and cheers. Well. We've got our first drunk for the night, and he's coming towards me. Whoop-dee-fuckin'-do. Letting out a hefty sigh, he turned back to Agera, rolling his eyes. "Here we go."

Then he turned to face the man. The man, however, paid him no mind. Rather, he continued walking to approach Agera instead. When he spoke, he had a slight slur to his speech.

"Hey there, hun. How 'bout you and I ditch goldilocks here," he pointed with his thumb towards Cadmus. "and we can find ourselves a nice piece of pavement to roll around on?"

Goldilocks?! Cadmus' face turned almost as red as the drunk man's. Who does this drunk think he is? The man may have been larger and taller than Cadmus, but size didn't matter. He was about to speak up against the man, but he still had more to say.

"Or, you know, we could just go for it right here..." With that, the man reached towards Agera to attempt to grope her. The group behind him let out cheers and whistles.

Oh, boy. Now we're getting serious. Without exactly knowing why, Cadmus grabbed the man's wrist, pulling him away from Agera to face him. While still holding the man's wrist, Cadmus spoke to him. "Listen here, asshole. Goldilocks has got a problem with your little suggestion, so why don't you just go fuck yourself and leave us alone?" He was standing now, and he was a half foot shorter than the man.

The man let out a laugh. "You've got a lot of talk, pipsqueak. But how about you just stay out of this?" Using his palm, the man slammed it into Cadmus' left shoulder to make him let go. The shoulder that had been cut before.

Cadmus immediately recoiled, sucking wind through his clenched teeth. Ow, shit! Lucky bastard. The members of the man's group let out several barks of laughter at Cadmus, attempting to humiliate him. But Cadmus wasn't finished. As the man started to turn back to Agera, Cadmus grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face him.

"I just fucking told you to leave us alone. You made a bad mistake."

The man let out a snarl. "You know what? You got nothing on me. I could fuck you up before you could even try to beg for mercy. So I think that you should mind your own fucking BUSINESS!" The man punctuated the last word with a right hook to Cadmus' head.

But Cadmus was expecting that. It was quite cliche to make your first move by punctuating it with the last word of your speech, and he knew that this man was the cocky yet stupid type of man that would make that mistake. He easily evaded to the side, knocking the punch away. Then he landed a heavy punch to the man's abdomen. As the man doubled over, attempting to get his breath, Cadmus grabbed his head as it moved down, pulling it down and bringing his knee up to smash it into the man's nose. The man fell backwards, groaning on a recently disturbed table as blood ran from his nose. He wasn't unconscious, but he was definitely shocked and in severe pain. It was all over in two seconds.

The man's group stared in shock as the entire bar grew silent. Then the group stood, letting out angry yells. Other people in the bar stood as well and challenged the group, apparently eager for a fight.

Then the bar fight began.

[Ushima]

"Yeah its pretty much the same. Last time I was here was two months ago searching for leads." Michael stopped to take a sip of his beer. "Also to take a vacation after that. I had been working so hard without a break. Delta wouldn't let me leave until I had taken a couple days."

"Are you two close?" Nell asked.

"Yeah he's not only my partner, but my friend." He was quiet for a second after that. Delta was also the link to his heritage, his people. As the prince. He shook his head. "I'm not a prince. I'm a king." His father was dead, died trying to protect his pod and ensure the future of his people, and he was old enough, according to Delta, to inherit the throne.

"Excuse me sir. Someone asked me to give you this." A waitress handed him a piece of paper.

"Uh thanks?" He took the paper and read it.

"Meet me on the roof of the hotel directly across the street in 2 hours. We need to talk.

-AA"

"Well that isn't creepy." Mihael said sarcastically. He handed the paper to Nell. "Yeah I'm am seriously not going to this alone. Want to back me up?"

"You know what? You got nothing on me. I could fuck you up before you could even try to beg for mercy. So I think that you should mind your own fucking BUSINESS!"

"Take your time in answering." Quickly he finished his beer. "I gotta take care of this." He was out of his chair as people started to fight. He just wanted to get to Cadmus and Agera, tell them to get out and return to his conversation with Nell. He didn't know who started the fight, he wasn't really paying attention. Didn't matter.

"Come'ere you." That wouldn't happen though as he was now being assualted. Michael grabbed the offender's wrist as he tried to punch, returning with a punch to the stomach, drew him in to knee his chest then tossed him to the ground. Someone stepped up to take his friend's place. Michael ducked a punch, returning with an uppercut then a headbutt.

"Ok fuck this." Michael hopped onto the bar. Drawing his gun he aimed up, firing three rounds. "Alright that's enough!" The fighting stopped, like it usually does when someone fires a gun.

"Thank you for the assistance Mr. Knight." Men in armor carrying guns came in. They were wearing helmets, except for the man that was speaking, blue eyes, short spiked blonde hair, clearly he was an officer.

"Jason. Should've known you'd be here first." Michael holstered his weapon as the men with guns spread out around the bar.

"Well the CEO's don't appreciate a fight in their establishment. Ruins the image after all." Jason paced around the bar. "Now I'm in a good mood tonight so I'll let you all off with a warning. But if this happens again I assure you, you will find yourself in a cell."

"You're still the same as you were when we were back in the army." Michael chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Maybe we'll have a drink sometime to catch up." Giving orders the men filed out of the bar. With another glare to the bar Jason left after his men. Michael jumped down from the bar.

"Thank you." The bartender said, being greatful enough to offer Michael a free shot and a beer. He downed the shot quickly before grabbing the bottle and heading back to Nell. Letting out a sigh he sat back down. "I'm really sorry about that. And we were having such a nice conversation."

[MarchingThunder]

Agera had been enjoying her evening in the bar so far with a rather pleasant and contented look on her face as she sipped from a tumbler full of brandy. Cadmus's excentrics hadn't evaded her though as she had more than easily noticed the way he had watched and paid attention to Nell and Michael going to their table together leaving her to wonder just what had happened between the two of them in the past, but at the moment she wasn't going to pry.

Her pleasant evening though was suddenly disturbed by a rather belligerent and hopeful drunk who proceeded to make his own advances on her in a slurred tone, earning nothing but a hard glare from Agera that she was sure if he had been sober, he would have recoiled from.

"Hey there, hun. How 'bout you and I ditch goldilocks here," he pointed with his thumb towards Cadmus. "and we can find ourselves a nice piece of pavement to roll around on?"

Agera had been about to slap the man there, but the drunk had continued and even reached for her despite Cadmus's presence at the table and what he'd said next had nearly gotten her to draw her hand gun and remove his head if Cadmus hadn't beaten her to beating him.

"Or, you know, we could just go for it right here..."

Cadmus had reached across and reached and wretched the man's hand away from her and things had escalated from there ending with the man groaning on a table with a crushed nose and blood oozing everywhere and a trio of security troops putting things back to rest after Michael had risen from his seat and fired a trio of shots into the ceiling. Fortunately for them, it seemed Michael was well acquainted with the guards and the four of them weren't going to be getting locked up, providing Cadmus calmed down, so long as he didn't do anything stupid.

But as she looked at Cadmus, with his now bleeding shoulder, Agera's unease at the situation grew as she became more worried that he was simply going to attempt to tear the drunks who were attempting to settle back down apart. With her mouth creased into a thin frown, Agera gently reached out and set a hand on Cadmus's arm a gave a gentle pull as she softly pleaded to him, "Cadmus, please calm down. They'll be taken care of so there's no reason to make a scene please."

[MaskofSilence]

"Well that isn't creepy." Michael said while handing her the paper he had just received. "Yeah I'm am seriously not going to this alone. Want to back me up?"

Reaching out, Nell grabbed the note. When she did, she felt Micheal and her hand gently brush, causing her face to suddenly warm up. What the hell is wrong with me. Could I be getting sick? She silently wondered as she let her eyes run over the note. Micheal was right, this was creepy and there was no way she was going to let him go alone. She didn't get a chance to answer because Micheal was talking once again. "Take your time in answering." He then finished his beer. "I gotta take care of this." Seconds later, a bar fight broke out around her.

Exhaling, she leaned her chin on her hand and waited for Micheal to come back. She had a feeling that Cad had been the one who started this due to the wrong guys hitting on Agera. Poor guy. All around her, the fight continued, but no dared to lay a hand on Nell. Right as she thought about getting up and taking things into her own hands, a gun shot rang out. Casually glancing over, she saw Micheal standing to the counter with his gun pointed at the ceiling. That was one way to stop a fight. Right after that, the bar door opened and guards came it. Obviously, Micheal knew the guard because they had a quick conversation before sitting back down with her.

"I'm really sorry about that. And we were having such a nice conversation."

She waved him off. "It happens." A smirked then graced her lips. "Also, there is no way I am letting you go alone to this. So, consider me your back up." It was going to be a long night, but she got the feeling that wasn't going to mind.

[TheDoctor]

Cadmus landed another punch on his new opponent, sending the man sprawling on the ground. Then he felt a punch to his gut, grunting as he felt it hit his wound. Cheap shots! He rotated around, slamming his elbow into the face of the man who punched him. An arm with a glass bottle came down on him, but he caught the wrist with one hand, punching the shoulder that belonged to it so that his newest opponent let out a cry of pain, dropping the bottle. Then he gave the man a right hook, sending him to the ground.

Then he heard the gunshots. "Alright that's enough!"

Whipping his head around, Cadmus saw Michael standing on the bar with his gun extended in the air. Snorting, he rolled his eyes. Damn showoff. As the mercenaries came in and broke up the fight, Cadmus returned to his stool at the bar, shooting a glare at Michael and the trio of troops. They think they run this city. Idiots.

As he sat down, he winced, pulling his shirt back slightly to take a look at his shoulder. It was bleeding again. Gonna have to get that checked out sometime. Maybe stitches. It didn't matter. He could've taken on the rest of those guys perfectly well if Michael hadn't gone in and tried to be the hero. Letting out a sigh, he felt Agera grab his arm lightly.

"Cadmus, please calm down. They'll be taken care of so there's no reason to make a scene please."

Cadmus shot her a glance, eyebrow raised. How the hell did she know what I was thinking? Is it really that obvious? Now that he thought about it, his shoulders were tensed up, and his teeth were grit together, his jaw set. Damn, I need another drink. He brought his hands to his face, dragging his hands over his eyes. No, I need to get some more sleep.

He looked over at Agera, talking seriously. "Don't worry, I won't do anything." Placing his money, which had a generous tip for the trouble of the bar fight, on the table, Cadmus stood, letting out a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get some shut-eye. A hangover will not do me well tomorrow."

Tucking his hands in his pockets, he walked over to Michael's table. He nudged the man, grabbing his attention. "Hey. Where are we staying?"

~~~~~

As the bar fight started, Aelia felt herself itching to join in. Beating down a couple of guys would add to her new reputation, which is what she could use. No, I'll just be bringing attention to myself. I'll just stay back here and watch. A blonde guy and a man bigger than him had started it, although the blonde guy had taken care of the man efficiently. Do I know him?

Then the fight ended as Michael stood up on the bar and shot into the air. Aelia let out a quiet laugh. "You always did like bringing attention to yourself..." Then the soldiers came in, breaking up the fight. Well, I lost my chance. So much for that fight.

She continued to watch Michael, and soon enough the blonde man who had started the fight walked up to him. I swear, I know that guy. She attempted to identify him, but eventually she gave up. I can ask him about that later. With that, she paid her bill, leaving the bar and going to the hotel across the street where she stayed. Then she started to ascend in the elevator, watching the numbers climb for her to get to the roof.

Now I've got a meeting to attend to.

[Ushima]

"We're staying at Sanctuary. It's a couple blocks over." Michael finished off his beer. "It's a nice place. I'm sure you guys will like it." Standing up he waited for Nell to finish her drink before the group left the bar. He led the way through the streets until they came across a tall building. Sanctuary was lit up across the top of it in bright green. Entering the lobby a man behind the counter greeted them.

"Welcome to Sanctuary. A room for the evening?" Michael read the man's tag. Vin.

"Evening Vin. Does the name Charles Sanos sound familiar?" Charles Sanos was the owner of Sanctuary and several other businesses around Arcadia. And it was a pretty big name to name-drop. "Get him down here please. Tell him Knight is cashing in a favor." Vin picked up the phone and dialed. It was long before a man in a expensive suit exited the elevator. He had dark grey hair and green eyes.

"Mr. Knight, a pleasure to see you again." Both men shook hands. "How can I help you?"

"We need two rooms." Michael said. "And your staff's silence."

"That won't be a problem." Charles looked to Vin, who nodded and produced four plastic cards. "Two suits, top floor. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"I'll be sure to reccomend Sanctuary to everyone I know." The two men chuckled and shook hands again. Making their way to the elevator they got in. Cadmus hit the button for the top floor and the doors closed. It was silent the ride up, except for the shitty elevator music. Michael's hand twitched, wanting nothing more than to reach for his gun and shoot the speakers.

With a ding the doors opened and they quickly found their rooms. "Ok we'll leave you two to get settled." Michael watched Cadmus swipe his keycard and go in their room. As Agera went to open their door Michael reached out and took Nell's wrist. "I'll come get you when I leave for the meeting." His voice was low as he whispered. The two maintained eye contact a moment longer before Michael let go and entered his suit. The suit had a large tv, fireplace, couch, kitchen and two doors branching off to seperate bedrooms with their own bathrooms. Michael took the door on the right. As he passed Cadmus he said. "You know we never got our stuff out of the zoids. We need to do that at some point."

Inside his bedroom Michael removed his leg holsters, setting them on the bed. Removing both pistols from them he tucked them behind him in his waistband. His jacket easily hiding them. Returning to the main room he called out to Cadmus. "So how you liking the place man?"

[MaskofSilence]

It didn't take long to get checked in with Micheal calling in a favor. Grabbed the key cards, the group made their way to the elevator. Upbeat elevator music echoed in the elevator as the group stood in silence. Quickly, she grew tired of the music, wishing that she could just disconnect the speaker and be done it. Fortunately, right as she thought that, the elevator door opened.

Since Agera had the key, Nell let her open the door. Waiting, she felt someone grab her hand. "I'll come get you when I leave for the meeting." She maintained eye contact with him for a second, letting him know that she understood. Micheal was the first to let go and enter his suite. Turing back around, she walked in the room that Agera and her would be sharing.

Stopping, observed her surroundings. The room was nice, beautiful even. It had everything that anyone would ever need, including a large tv, fireplace, couch, kitchen and then two bedrooms. Nell waited till Agera picked a bedroom and then she went to the other one. Sitting down on the bed she bounced a little. It was pretty comfy, most defiantly better than the one at home.

Getting up, she unclasped her cloak and threw in on a nearby chair. While standing, she pulled on her gun and set it on the bed. She then went to sit Indian style on her bed. She was checking to make sure that everything was in order. Personally, she hated using a gun. She much prefer to use the two daggers that were hidden and other various close range weapons. After a quick check up, she placed her gun away and then laid down on the bed. Now that everything was in order, she just had to wait on Micheal to come get her.