MISSION: Operation Central City Festival II - Space Race

Come on Shula.... what the fuuuuuuck. Alisa's foot was beginning to bounce as she stood there with a hand on her hip, impatiently stepping to the sides now and then. It wasn't quite pacing, but it wasn't standing still either. "For fucks sake--" She heard the click, "Alisa!" "Bought t--" "Spade just updated me! I've got Hans in sight... And you're right, I smell a rat in this shit! I'm letting Hans know, but let's wait to look these over first." Her mouth froze before she could even get any words out. "What?! But--" Click. She stood there, holding her phone to ear listening to that dial tone with a look of increduloscity (Thats right, she was making up fucking words). First, were they really not going to present the evidence?! It was clear as fucking crystal! Second, did Shula just really hang up on her?!?! A growl began to build in her throat as she wanted to throw something, maybe her phone (except it was fucking expensive), right at the ground. GOD DAMMIT. The whole fucking world was going to shit and they couldn't even STOP it!

She didn't get to do anything since that fucking guy from earlier was approaching her and boy did he look like he just swallowed an entire pack of sour gummies. Her eyes narrowed as she was about to make some comment, except he beat her there. God fucking dammit! What was it with today and people not letting her fucking speak. "You blame our people for this, but I can assure you miss," What... Her brows knitted together as she slipped her phone back into a pocket, folding her arms over her chest. "We did not do this." She scoffed, not even caring if this little man was going to try to fight her. Let him try. Go on, bring it on mother fucker because she was having one HELLUVA day. She could use a good-"Why don't you go back to your dark master and leave us in peace." Wha... Wha.... The hackles on the back of her neck rose as her pupils grew tiny in her rage. He had not just fucking.... Her hand started to itch towards her hidden Cutlass, glaring down those eyes that were just as daring as hers right now except...

Fuck. She knew that look. It was the look her mother had gotten when her father.... Fuckers. Enough of this shit, she had to find Spade. Her finger came up and pointed right in his face, her teeth gritted so hard together that they may as well be crunching. Ooooo she was SO FUCKING READY TO TEAR HIM TO FUCKING PIECES!!! "I'm going to hunt you down you fucker. I swear to fucking Christ." And with that she whirled around and left, shoving through the crowd to get to the launch pad. That was the only place that Spade could be. Men, women, children, old people, fuck all of them. She was so fucking done with this fucking festival and its fucking crisis'. Let it all fucking crash and burn, just let Spade and Shula be fine. Thats right, she was wishing for the well-being of his fiance. Of the woman that meant more of a damn to him than she did. BRING IT ON WORLD. SHE IS ALISA DONNIKOVA AND SHE IS GOING TO FUCK UP ALL OF YOUR SHIT.

It was while she was running that her mind began to really kick in. Now it WAS odd that that fucker would leave the PDA within finding range. Fuck.... it was all a setup. This wasn't going to end well for Spade no matter what here in Amestris. Shula was right. They had to withhold their findings for as long as they could because it was only going to make things worse. Gritting her teeth again, her hands clenched tight into fists. She would not let them try and kill him for treason. She would get him the fuck out of dodge if it killed her. Shula was already doing what she could from the militaries end, and Alisa had her own skill set she could offer. She knew how to get out quick and quiet from places, and right now, that was EXACTLY what Spade needed. If nothing else, he was going to take her wherever he was going because like hell was she letting him run around without her as a guard or nearby. This was some major fucking bullshit that was HUGE. He was going to need her whether he wanted to admit it or not.

More fences began to arise as the guards and militants increased, three coming up to stop her as she ended up outside of the launch pad, or maybe it was the area outside the outside of the... Fucking whatever. "Of for fucks-- LET ME THROUGH." She snapped at them, glaring at the three Creig guards with the fury of a thousand suns. She was in no fucking mood for their goddamn games. "Identifi--" "FUCK YOUR IDENTIFICATION. LET-" she tried to bolt, but their arms grabbed her, "-ME-" She snarled in frustration as they threw her back onto the ground, rolling and immediately swirling her feet and hands about so she was crouched on all fours. "-THROUGH!" And with that, she pulled out her lighter and gathered up the oxygen in the air to shift it about. The stream of fire roared as it snapped up at the three men, sending them wrenching backwards to avoid it. Alisa took that opportunity to get away, running instead around the perimeter for some sort of alternative entrance. Either way, the Fallacy was larger on the horizon, looming and taunting her. God fucking dammit. "GAMBIIIIIIT!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, grateful for once for her big mouth and loud voicebox. He had to know that that was her nickname for him.

Her phone got whipped out again, typing as fast as she possibly could to him. They had to get him out.


She slowed to a stop by some food stand or something, panting heavily as she looked all about. It wouldn't be too difficult to slip him out what with all the commotion going on, though the guards stationed at the perimeter of the festival might be a little challenging. If she fired off any shots, that would send people coming right for her. She took this time to head for that usually delicious smell of fried foods, but right now it was just making her stomach curl. He had to know where that was, right? God fucking... It would be too obvious if she tried to sneak in with all those Creig militants! Panting, she headed over to one of the stands to get two water bottles, moving off to a discreet corner to down half of one. Come on Spade... He couldn't honestly be planning on sticking around, could he? They would roast him alive. It was bad. He had to come with her. Oh. She should tell Shula.

Her phone flipped open again, knowing that if Shula was with Hans, a phone call would be no good.


Uh.... that wasn't... weird.... was it--- OH WHAT-FUCKING-EVER. This was NOT the time to worry about sounding weird to the man she loved's fiance. Just finding him and getting him out was the priority right now. Unless... Her hands clenched again as she finished off her bottle of water. Unless it wasn't what they were going allow or recommend. If they wanted him alive, wasn't this the right thing? Fuck did she know about the military and their systems? In Drachma, they would have her hide and that would be the end of that fucking story. No... she HAD to get him out... had to...

*Fuck Count: 43

The booth's flash went off, capturing the image of Gavin and Rosaleen together, the king's face graced with a rather goofy-happy smile. He never really got to partiipate at festivals and things growing up. Sure he attended, but he sat in the royal box and mostly watched everyone else have fun. Hell, even stupid Bread had a pass to compete at the Highland Games (and no, Gavin wasn't hoping each time that his stupid cousin would rop the caber on his foot. Only once or twice...).

As the little screen displayed each picture for approval, Gavin smiled, squeezing Ros' hand in return, loving the warmth of her cheek. This was very nice. Away from home, getting to do something fun, and getting cute pictures with an incredible woman that made him smile like nothing else. He smiled, watchign as the pictures printed. Sure, they could exit the booth anytime now, but for the moment cupping Rosaleen's cheek to press slow, loving kisses against her mouth was much more important on his agenda. His hand held her there, Gavin silently expressing all the sweet things he wished he could whisper in her ear that he knew Rosaleen somehow understood.

His mouth moved from Rosaleen's to her chin and moved along her jaw to her ear, a coy thought running through his mind; she did suggest for them to be fifteen again for a moment. He kissed and nibbled sweetly, taking Ros' hand to trace her palm and tap it. Multitasking at its finest, his kisses slowed down her neck, letters forming one by one as he made his way back to the guard's mouth. I..... L-O-V-E..... Y-O-U... A-L-W-A-Y-S... tap tap End. A few more soft kisses dotted her mouth, waiting for her before taking the printed pictures and scooting out the other side of the booth.

For a moment he wondered where next they should go now that his urge of goofiness for tokens was sated, until his phone rang, buzzing hard in his holster. The launch was due soon, but who was calling? He picked up the phone, looking at the screen. Toss. He had a setting that would play verbal responses on the phone so he didn't have to call a third party company, but it was slow.

"There's a bomb,"[/i] Toss blurted, leaving Gavin stunned. Not the greeting he wanted to hear from his pilot. At all. Eyes wide, Gavin drew in a breath, freaking slightly.

However, the "What?!" that was intended to come out never did, leaving a silent "...?!?!?" in its wake.

"Someone got through security. An Amestrian is removing it now." Oh, this was bad, and Gavin wasn't a happy camper.

".....!!!!!!" A million questions ran through his head and tried to voice themselves, leaving the King to only gesture at the phone. Frantically, Gavin jabbed at the keys on his phone, trying to respond and get an answer, the phone's voice much calmer than he was. The issue was resolved, but not enough for his liking.

"We're still going to go through with it, right?"

"Yes," came the mechanical reply. Slow words churned out to Toss. "We'll be right there. Make sure it's safe.... I will want answers." As long as it wouldn't endanger anyone and the threat was gone, launching was fine, but whoever had done this had just made a very poor judgement call. Carraig was neutral, but not for lack of will or firepower; every country knew Carraig had the goods. Gavin took a deep breath as the call ended and looked to Rosaleen. "We have to go to Toss. Someone just did something very unwise." So much for being fifteen and goofing off.

Hurrying through the crowd, the Creig King took Rosallen's arm and guided her, hastily moving through the crowds to get to the launch site. Nearly breathless, Gavin looked up at the Fallacy... the crowning glory and just a taste of what Carraig and the future would bring. Toss. Where was Toss?! Gavin came up behind the Fallacy, bypassing the gated off area nicely and looked for the pilot. Roarke was nearby, and not too far he saw... General Aries? Gavin looked to Roarke, stepping closer. "Roarke.... Answers. What happened?" The normally lax man was on edge, worried for the safety of his pilot that couldn't be hurt and everyone around him that could. AHA! Toss. Gavin raised his arm, flagging him down before he resumed nearly speed-typing. "Toss, is it still safe to launch the ship?"

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Okay, calm down self. It was just a bump. Bump in the ole road. It would be fine. Just a bomb. It was JUST a bomb. "There's a bomb on board." "There's a bomb on board." "There's a bomb on board." "There's a bomb on board." FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK. Toss had it up to about here. WHO in their right mind would DARE meddle with his shit. WHODIDTHEYTHINKTHEYWERE!? He'd kill them. Right then and there, Toss decided that they were going to die. It didn't matter if they had a family. He didn't care if their mother WEEPED for them. At this point, they deserved what was coming. This was a FESTIVAL. It was supposed to be FUN. This shit was just over the top. The bastard, whoever he or she was, was going to meet their maker. And he didn't care if he went to hell in the process. They could meet down there and do this all over again. Though Toss wasn't exactly sure where anyone would go after hell, but STILL. Maybe it would be an eternal skirmish, or maybe Toss would be satisfied after killing him once, or maybe not. All he knew was that he would die. He's crush his bones and see how brittle humans really were. He'd become that monster. A shrill hiss escaped his lips, hair practically standing on end. At some point, Dunstan passed him on the way to The Fallacy, but Toss said nothing. There was no resolving this. He'd take off and show everyone how glorious space was. They'd see. But scars remained. If ever there was a bomb, there'd always be a bomb. Whether it was there or not, it was still there. The meaning it left behind was a cold, hard reminder that not everything was rainbows and butterflies. Oh, he knew. He knew when he bent over his sister's hospital bed--when wings were clipped to his shoulder blades and left those long, garish scars down his spine. He knew when he looked into his mother's eyes and no longer saw hope. She was awake for a short time--that short time she was able to walk about and smile. Hanna. He did this to her. He did it. And now--now it was over.

"Yes. We'll be right there. Make sure it's safe.... I will want answers," the mechanical voice speaking for his King said through the receiver. His phone had already shut off and was beeping incessantly at him. Toss was in no mood to silence it. Instead, he stood there, practically mindlessly, hardly noticing that Amestrian militant man talking with Dunstan inside his ship. He could have tore out the bomb himself. He could have made sure everything was safe himself. He could have gotten those answers, but Toss did not. He stood there listening to that beep like it was his own heart beat. He stood there at his wit's end contemplating what was next. The one who planted this bomb would die. But that wouldn't wake Hanna up again. Nothing would. She wouldn't see him fly into space. It was all over. After this, it was over. He felt something prick the corners of his eyes, burning through the dull glimmer of red. He blinked it away and gazed up at the sky. Vast. Wide. Open. Something about it was always compelling to him. Be it his father's teachings or his mother's great love for constellations, he loved it. And through it all, he could never give it up. Just now, he was on the phone with the King of Carraig. He lived there now. Not East City, not Ishval, but Carraig. The accent had invaded even his native language, blurring the boundaries so perversely that he could not even understand it himself. His sister was dying. Even now, instead of wasting away over her hospital bed, he was out here. He was away. He was just as gone as she was. It was as if--as if she were already dead.

"You." Toss let the phone drop from his ear, his arm hanging slack as he turned to stare forlornly at his friend. "Three things; one, don't pull me off a bird when I'm chatting her up! You've probably ruined my chances of getting Artemis in my hotel bedroom tonight."

"What are you talking about. I didn't touch you guys. It's not my fault she prolly kicked your ass when all I did was leave."

"Two; why didn't you phone me the moment that the bomb was discovered? You know that I'm the best man ever."

"You are the best man ever, but I pretty much found out when you got here, dude."

"Thirdly, we can't take off. I want to turn this ship inside out and make sure that the guy didn't do anything else to the ship; a chimp could've installed that bomb in under five seconds, so he could've just as easily damaged some other bit in case the bomb was discovered."

Toss groaned. "Ugh. It'll be fine. Even if it does explode it's not like I'll--" ...That was close. He immediately looked the other way and took a few steps away. "Just don't worry. You have a point, but, hey look there's Gavin already!" In the distance. Approaching from afar.

CLAP! Toss winced at the heavy impact. “Clear out when you're done. Space has to be clear.” Toss grinned ear to ear.

"You heard the m--beast..." A pause. "But thanks man." He gave Dunstan probably one of the only kind looks he possessed, donning that dorky smile of his.

And he was off! Slipping into his launch gear, Toss did a quick sweep of his beloved, making sure that it really wasn't going to explode in midair, raining debris and a dragon down on the poor, unsuspecting crowd. Finding all in the clear regardless of how fast he checked, Toss tied his shoelaces and was tapping his watch in anticipation. Hanna couldn't see this. She'd never see it. He'd never fly her again. Not after that day. This bomb...it was really nothing. He was pissed, sure. He was GOING to kill the guy, yes, but... in the long scheme of things, it wasn't really anything.

"Toss, is it still safe to launch the ship?"

"Does it really matter if it's safe or not?" Toss turned, a dark look venting through his inhuman eyes. His skin flashed a ethereal glint, nails biting into his skin as he turned away towards the cockpit. "It doesn't matter anymore," he whispered, "she won't see it." He shot a glance back in his King's direction. "So I'm going to do it for you. And I promise, I won't crash. No matter what."

He disappeared inside. The door locked and closed. Airtight. It was as if he'd never see the light of day again. His final goodbye. It was as if in that moment, after all this time, he had finally given up on the shreds of humanity he had left. He was a monster. He wasn't himself anymore. And he wanted this. Whatever it was. Space, showing off, cheers, recognition, catching the stars, he didn't know. Honestly, he had no idea what he was doing or why he was doing it. But among that crowd down there was Iris. Across the way in a hospital bed was the remnants of his failure as a human being. Staring through the metal at him was his King.

Starting up the Fallacy was like breathing. He went through the motions, no thought. It purred to life. The area was clear. People were gathered. It felt more like a festival now. Lights. Glittering smiles and rows and rows of balloons with hands clutching them, laughing at the night. The sun was whisked away. Now was a time for for the white devil to come out. Now. It was now. Buckled in, the gravity was tight as always. His back slammed into the seat, body shaking as the ship blasted off. This was take off. He was doing it finally. It wasn't the first time, but it was. This felt like the first time--felt like being reborn. He went up, and up, and still further up. The people were gone. The festival was gone. The faint murmurs of cheers, sifted away into darkness. Below him things pounded together into smaller and smaller shapes. The country became just that. Trees, a color. The ocean, a vast blob on a kaleidoscope. And further yet, he continued. The Earth started to look round. He felt Columbus' fortitude. Discovery. Black. Cold. Stars. The moon just within reach. Still, still he felt something pull him down. An invisible string cast him back whilst he came. It hurt. It tore at him. Inside he was being tattered to shreds. Pain. Colorful amounts of blurs and words in other languages he couldn't understand. Magic. A lost art he couldn't begin to grasp. Eternal life. He couldn't die. He was lost. Why was he up here? Fish hook. Caught. He was being yanked back. And suddenly the controls didn't look like controls anymore; they looked like knives--knives willing to pierce through anything that breathed, but he was the only one breathing up here. Space, atmosphere, pressure: what was this anymore? And then--then, the controls weren't even controls anymore. There was just blind silence--a white screen flashing. He was dropping--coming down--the only thought left in the corner of his mind being the undeniable instinct to survive.

It was just like before, only he was alone now...and something entirely essential was missing. No Vanity to save him. No blood to bleed. He found himself somewhere between hell and a high place, realizing suddenly that he was no longer flying. In an instant, he regained control, circling around in a spiral, and back up. Once he grazed the stars, in just under fifteen minutes, he was already landing--touching back down. Ungracefully, he hunkered back down on the platform, able to only stare in horror at his own reflection in the windshield. What was that? You tell me.

"There's a bomb on the ship they are launching. I believe someone is in the process of, or has disarmed the bomb, but I wanted to defer to your judgement on what to do in terms of safety for this situation."

Iris stared at her for a moment. The feelings in her body escalated from confusion, to frustration and then- Iris laughed in disbelief, intending to deny it being a truth. "Ahahaaa excuse me, what?" Her voice faltered some. "That's some sort of twisted joke.." Her magenta orbs could see that she wasn't lying. Apparently there was a possible bomb on The Fallacy. Iris felt a pang in her stomach and her whole insides felt as if they lurched forward. Was he- going to be alright? Lisbeth was staring at her, but Iris was in a moment of denial and worry. There were other people that could be potentially harmed. Other people who could be in killed by this. Because a few assholes decided they weren't happy? They were going to torment Amestris more? Hadn't they lost enough? Iris felt her fists clench and she gave an annoyed look at no one in particular. "Well I think-"

"Jocelyn...?"

....Really? And then she said she had to leave an walk away? They were just going to abandon her on that thought? SERIOUSLY?! Iris shook slightly with a sort of angry irritation. This country- it caused her so much pain. Even now- she was without a home and it had been months. She paused and her breath was drawn in a sharp gasp. Realization hit. She had a home. That home was with Toss. As odd as the man was, he certainly was kind to someone who was practically a stranger and as of lately.. she felt like Toss was all she had left. Her life was full of fragments. People who feigned caring. Some people who she loved and they were gone.. left her. Even her own family was broken. At her weakest moments he was there.. more or less. Sometimes he was as dense as a brick wall and the whole situation was strange to her. She had been living with this man of her own will. Her heart fluttered and before she could think, she was moving.

"[colo=magenta]Sorry Marcelina. I have to hurry somewhere.[/color]" She said while rushing by the pirate. Iris was gone from the Merry-go-round and headed towards the launchpad. Of course, security prevented her from getting any closer. "TOSS!" She shouted, but it seemed she was falling behind. A couple of men led her to the viewing area where she couldn't help but stare forlorn at the sky. What if he died? What if that ship exploded? What if she was going to witness another death she couldn't prevent. Her heart hammered heavily and she couldn't breathe well. Please.. be okay.. Her eyes closed because she was terrified... petrified even to open her eyes. The ship launched and people were cheering, but she couldn't hear. The blood was pulsing heavily, making it neigh impossible to even think.

People cheered after a century later and Iris could tell barely that it was all over. She had been in such a panic, that she missed the whole thing. She ran over as close as she could. Security wasn't exactly pleased of course, but she didn't care. "TOSSS!" She shouted again, as if he could hear her over the mass of voices everywhere around her and through the walls of metal as well. Her hand reached up and waved like a rabid fan to a celebrity.. which was KIND of true but not really. She was tempted to jump the line, but she wasn't exactly sure how well that would turn over, so she decided to sneak over and try to bribe one of them. "Look, I know him." Iris said, while the man stared. He must have only spoke Creig.. great. She was frustrated, standing there like a helpless child... in her own country.

"Ugh. It'll be fine. Even if it does explode it's not like I'll--" Dunstan had half a mind to punch Toss slap bang in his face, there and then. He was being as stupid as usual, but now he was being selfish too.

"And if the bits land on someone?" Dunstan asked Toss. "Or if you crash it? Shock of all shocks, Toss, the world doesn't revolve around you." The bomber then patted his chest. "It does, in fact, revolve around me, but that's besides the..." Now Dunstan crawled to a halt, the tangent to praise himself making him completely forget what his point was. "Umm... what were we talking about again?"

"Just don't worry. You have a point, but, hey look there's Gavin already!" Toss said, prompting a shrug from Dunstan.

"Not my fault if it blows up in your face, I'm just warning you." He grumbled, before looking to the crown king. "Ah, my second in command!" He gave Toss space to prepare himself for his journey, simply waving back as the pilot gave him a kind of goofy smile. He donned the launch suit and talked to Gavin, nothing Dunstan needed to bother with. When Toss disappeared into the Fallacy, though, Dunstan approached Gavin, who had asked Roarke for information.

"If it helps with finding an answer, your maj', one thing I can tell you about the bomb itself is what kind of person made it, but not the origin." he explained before Roarke could give his own input. Dunstan scratched his eye, trying to think of layman's terms to explain the bomb. "The principles behind the bomb are pretty simple. If it had worked, it would've used pressurised gas to fire hot shrapnel into the petrol tank. The bomb also had a liquid in it that reacts violently with petrol; it's a pretty dangerous liquid, too, if it had ignited we would see an explosion in the thousands of degrees celsius." The bomber then scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Here's where it gets odd. The principle's dead simple, I've made bombs that work in exactly the same way. Don't ask me why, by the way." Dunstan gave a quick warning to the king, before continuing. "The issue is that this bomb is above and beyond more sophisticated that it honestly needed to be. I mean, the shrapnel was actually custom-made lead pellets, it had all sorts of wires and fuses, some of them fake, some of them to make it it went off at the right height and the right time. Professional bomber's opinion, your maj', this is not a handful of terrorists in their backyard with an axe to grind and more Anarchist Cookbook recipes than sense. That bomb is the work of an organisation, maybe even an army."

The one-eyed bomber paused to take a sip from his whiskey flask, before continuing. "It's military grade hardware, and there are only three kinds of people who use military grade hardware. One is people clever enough to steal it. I'm that guy, and I can tell you, this kind of bomb is not worth the trouble of stealing from the military; I could've made it a lot easier and cheaper. So that's one category of bombers out. The second kind are those who are insanely rich and powerful and want to show off how rich and powerful they are. And if you're that rich and powerful, you're the head of the frigging mafia. The only other people who use military grade hardware are militaries themselves. Both of those groups are the kinds who'd not only be able to pull off this stunt, but pull it off over and over again. Honestly, your maj, I'd be surprised if we don't see more of these in the near future." Dunstan made an odd popping sound in the moment of silence to hopefully break the ice somewhat. What information he had was foreboding and wasn't going to make the king happy, but that wasn't Dunstan's job. Dunstan's job was either fixing machines, operating machines, or killing everyone in the vicinity.

"So, yeah, sorry it's not good news, but that's where we stand." The bomber said, before looking to the machine as it began to rumble to life. It shook and shuddered, and slowly, unnervingly so, it pulled off the ground. Not unnerving in that something was wrong. Just the odd feeling about something Dunstan worked on clambering into space. It was a frontier, a barrier, and Toss had broken it on the back of something Dunstan had worked on. It was a moment that humbles most, but Dunstan could only see it through the eyes of a mechanic, and a fellow pilot. He only saw the mistakes and the little triumphs. He was going too slow for this stretch, but he made up for it on the next bit of distance, he shouldn't have been doing that, slightly swaying to the left. And then it disappeared, a dot in the sky.

"I probably could've done better." He mumbled to himself. And then the Fallacy came back down to Earth. Spiralling down. That was definitely not supposed to happen. Dunstan gritted his teeth; the idiot was about to get them all killed. The nose got closer and closer, before finally it yanked up from the ground, narrowly avoiding collision. Very theatrical, could be passed off as planned, but Dunstan rolled his singular, beady eye. "I definitely could've done better." He mumbled more to himself than anyone. When the ship had landed and was safe for approach, he was the first up the platform, giving exterior checks.

"Toss, your piloting smells." Dunstan tactfully praised his friend. "At least, though, you didn't completely rip it to pieces, at least from the outside. It doesn't even need another coat of paint."

"No." A chill ran down his spine. "Nobody will touch you. Not if Alisa and I have anything to say about it." Spade smiled. A sad smile that took away all else. It was a comfort knowing there were people who cared, but sometimes people couldn't be saved. He knew this. He knew this when he held the dying--when he jumped after Markus--when he dreamed of Josef's last cry. Of all people, Spade Aeries knew when things were hopeless. Wasted energy--wasted light at the end of the tunnel that just kept going. At this point, there was no way out. He was standing here now in the frame, waiting for blame and judgement to be cast upon him. He said nothing in response, lost amid the bewilderment of his own failure. He was getting rusty. He was beaten. But no one would ever know. And that was what hurt the most.

"I'll update Hans; don't say anything about what I have to anyone. I'll make sure nothing I say causes a panic." He listened blindly, jade eyes lowered in dark hues. The world around him melded away, dank and dreary despite the carnival music tinkering around him. He pulled out his last bent cigarette and thrust it between his chapped lips, looking forlornly up at the darkening sky. Shula was running now. To Hans he guessed. But again, he did not reply. What she could do and what she thought she could do were two separate things. She'd hurt herself. And he couldn't stop her. No, he was to blame; he should have known what to expect. Of all the mazes and mind games these criminals played back in the day, Kamogaya's were the most to be feared. And he'd underestimated that--gotten soft. Even running Central Head Quarters had let him ease up, believe it or not. He sure didn't, but when he looked at Shula Brighton somehow the message got through. He was optimistic now--allowed himself to have some hope--accomplish some things and be okay with taking praise. He loved her. "Sakuya... I love you." But after she hung up and left behind that faint beep beep beep, he felt a profound emptiness he could not begin to describe.

"My real name isn't even Sakuya..." The phone reentered his pocket, out came the lighter. He struck a flame, inhaled, breathed out smoke.

“You've got to go now. Unless you want your face blown off from The Fallacy.”

"I know," Spade murmured, not bothering to switch to Cretan. However, after he came back to himself a little, he looked up, matching the beast's toothy grin with a crooked smile. "See ya around. Hope you find your Bell." He chuckled, patting the guy on the arm before heading back out of the vicinity, leaving everything he cherished behind.

As he walked, he remembered the beep, quickly yanking out his phone and seeing that Axel was still on call waiting. A whirl wind hit him. "Yo man I hacked myself into the system and first things first. Good job on the bomb yo now it won't just blow up after the clock hits zero yo! But it's still hot as fuck yo so um keep it cool...but don't move it...I'm googling bomb disarming for you now yo."

"H-hold on, some Creig guy disarmed it. I have the bomb right now." He waggled the contraption in his left hand, looking down at it. "Wait, what are you saying?" Unfortunately, his buddy was in such deep concentration that he didn't seem to hear him. Spade got an earful about a DS game walkthrough. Whatever that was.

"Anyway quick run through on the park. The Cretan queen is bickering with the ex king... Oh and there's a woman giving birth outside the bar yo...."

"What!?" He was at a complete loss, trying to catch up to Axel and discern what on earth the crazy bartender was saying. As his mind caught up to speed, something clicked. "Ex King of Creta? Isn't Lord Dietrich in a coma? And someone gave birth...here? At the festival?" He blinked. It..it was possible... Just odd. Then the loudspeaker happened and Spade facepalmed. Well, at least he was helping. A baby born? That was some good news in all this. A new life... No one died today. That was what was important. "Hey, thanks Axel," he said, "I've got to go now. I'll talk to you later." His voice was different: lost, heartfelt, scratchy. If ever one expected Spade to sound like that, it was usually after a hard night of drinking and waking up still drunk. He hung up and immediately: buzz. A text from Alisa: We gotta go. I'm outside of the launch pad, and I'm getting you out of here. Call me. I'm by the food stalls near the Launch Pad. Seriously, CALL ME. He didn't call her. He put the phone back in his pocket, wondering why he had a phone. There was too much. It just was too much. He wanted to be alone, but somehow found himself walking to the food stands. Grab a hotdog and go, Aeries. He could just leave. Leave before the launch even happened--vanish and never been seen again. It was like an episode of Sherlock Holmes except he wasn't jumping off a waterfall. There might be no out to this one.

"One please. Relish, mustard, ketchup. Put everything you have on it." He paid with his credit card cause he spent the rest of his cash on cigs, signed it, grabbed the dog, and nearly collided with Alisa. "Mmtffrr!!" He was chewing and was probably about to get chewed out. He swallowed hard and took her hand with a gone expression. "Let's go." faraway.

His blood had not boiled this viciously in what seemed like a decade. This man, His arch nemesis, He was rather furious, thoughts of bloodshed danced in his head. And only one man came to mind; one face burned his mind's eye. Spade.. That word alone made his skin itch and his teeth grind. But as he began to weave through the crowds, his ears perked to the sound of stone churning. He chuckled beneath his bandage facade, as he quickly slid to the side with what seemed like too fast of reflex for a man with a crutch. Turning his head down and to his side, he saw two stone pillars, enough to encapsulate two legs. Did these dogs think a little alchemy would faze his disposition in the slightest?!

He had only caught a glimpse of a woman skittering away before he bumped into a person as he began to resume his advance. He took gaze upon the person he collided with. Despite his so called "disability", he didn't budge an inch."I'm so sorry, are you alright?" When he took note of the familiar voice, his heart sank a little. He remained silent, trying to absorb what had occured. It was Feona. One of the few people he was somewhat on good terms with..

No..

He had left his frail, human life behind. His stairs led to hell and hell only. He couldn't have friends, or family, or any relationship. This was his journey, and for what this world had done to him, he would turn it on its side and make it rain ash. In the back of his mind, he only heard snarling. He didn't know if it was the beast inside him or he truly was an animal to begin with. THEY WOULD DIE! "Is there anything I can do to help you?" Sure, like he could ask, "hey, wanna slaughter everyone here with me?!" He walked past the lady, only stopping to look back, with a stare of death only the devil himself could give. The chances were that foul mouthed bitch he gave the PDA to would be a hellhound on his trail. His journey to see his home and reunite with his people will happen in the future, not now. "I would leave Feona Bielski. I don't want to have to gut you like a fish, dear.."

As he left, he chuckled softly, only to pass the merry go round. He could see a few people who had gotten into an altercation, but humor wasn't his to relish in anymore. He kept walking towards the nearest exit. He stopped suddenly though. He heard rumbling.. No.. It couldn't!

Looking up, he witnessed one of the greatest achievements of mankind. He watched as the Fallacy rocketed to the big empty of space. His eyes were locked onto the vessel as his mind screamed and rattled. So it had failed.. the rage he felt was almost death causing. But nonetheless, His plan hadn't all gone to hell. He managed to frighten that poor rat Spade. He could only imagine the grandeur of being able to maim everyone he loved. As he hurried to the exit, he noticed that two guards were now present at the exit. So they wanted to trap him?! It was a shame these two men would most likely die.

As he approached with his head lowered slightly, the guard on his right placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him as he was looked over."Sir, I'm afraid this exit is closed. Please go to the opposite entrance." At that given moment, he didn't know what had occurred. This man was only doing his job, and wasn't rude, but inside his brain, he snapped. Kicking up his crutch, he swung it swiftly to the right guard's face. His new monstrous chimeric strength easily caused the man's head to swivel a complete 180 degrees, the snapping of his neck loud and satisfying.As the man fell, the guard on his left scrambled for his pistol like a dog trapped in a corner. The crutch discarded, he drew one of his pistols from underneath his coat, as he began to fire all 8 rounds into the novice. He made sure not to hit his heart, as he wanted to hear his life dim. As the slide locked back from firing all the shots, he could hear screams of pedestrians as a few had witnessed what he had done. Tearing off his bandages, he crouched down to the fallen man, struggling to breath as the ground was a bloodbath. "I DO EXACTLY WHAT I FUCKING PLEASE YOU STUPID BITCH!!"

Regaining his composure, he burst into laughter as the guard spat blood when he spoke. "Y-You're a monster!! You wont.. get away with this..!" holstering the pistol, he proceeded to exit the festival, giving one last look to the dying man."I am the sculptor, and society is my clay. It's a shame you'll be dead and not be able to see me raze this world with my whims!"He gave a grin as the man gurgled one last time. "God; The title suits me."By the time any responders would arrive, he would be long gone. He felt rejuvenated, and by the time he really thought about it, he was quite a distance away. He knew this was only part one of a very extensive process of making the world know fear again. Spade.. The Yoshidas.. Everyone will bow before him.

[EXIT MISSION]

Marcelina continued to watch as her plans for the day spiraled out of control. Iris was off in a dash after speaking to someone and the captain was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunate, but it wouldn't keep the pirate down for long. Luckily she was quite content being by herself from time to time. She kept herself at the back end of the crowd, oblivious to the panic going through so many of the militants. Everything seemed to be alright as the pilot entered his ship. Marcelina felt her breath intake sharply as the ship began its liftoff. She watched it rise through the sky, disappearing to a bright light in the sky. It seemed like it was gone for hours but almost as quickly as the ascent, the descent began. The ship landed without issue and the pilot was met with screams and cheers of amazement. Marcelina added her voice to the crowd, hands clapping. A bright smile lit up her face. Amazing what people could do these days.

The festival was due to continue well into the evening, but Marcelina was content. She had gotten to see several friends as well as a spectacular event that would go down in the annals of history. She could ask for nothing more. Her feet led her from the festival and to the train station to take her back to South City and her Pirate Island. Home, sweet home.

[EXIT MISSION]

Wow. Wow. Holy crap. Unbelievable. Roarke could find no poetic words to describe what he was seeing. Being so far away from the rest of the festival, his ears were filled with the noises of the Fallacy. The engine flaring to life and the takeoff was breathtaking. Roarke decided to not risk craning his neck upwards to watch it fly. Being the smart beast that he was he laid back onto the grass, an arm tucked under his head. He watched the machine fly away, Toss stuck inside. Ouch. Roarke was completely amazed by this, but he was glad his paws would remain on the ground and not in the sky. Except when he was doing a flip, of course. But that was a different sort of up in the air. Roarke quietly mulled over being alone in a field as Toss disappeared into the sky. The people of Carraig were becoming more used to him and even somewhat accepting. Here... not so much. He didn't want to risk panic, but it would've been nice to share the moment with someone.

Roarke settled for lying on the grass watching Toss land. He clapped his paws but decided not to cheer, lest he send out a roar by accident. The festival was due to go on for a little while, but Roarke was done. He couldn't leave until his ride got back, but he was at least able to go back to the launchpad. He stayed around in the field for a little while longer before returning to the launchpad. He kept himself amused until it was time to go. The next morning they would be flying back to Carraig. Roarke couldn't wait. He missed his bed.

Her heart raced like a bird trying to fly against the wind as Hans straightened his posture and tried to not look completely terrifying. Shula was quiet, almost breathless. Jocelyn was here and wanting details, and now Lisbeth was, too. “Brigadier General Brighton has just informed me of the situation. At the moment, panic has been avoided.” Shula shot a sharp glance to Jocelyn, giving a silent but very clear warning of stop talking as hans informed her to defer to Shula for further details.

The Chancellor excused himself back to the side of his wife and left, presumably to watch the launch that was now hopefully not going to rain death on them all and turn them all into crispy critters. Shula let out a small breath as she turned to look at Jocelyn and Lisbeth. Lisbeth wanted an update on the situation, as did Jocelyn. The bomb had been disarmed, but truth be told, the crisis at hand was far from resolved or anywhere near being okay. On her person was quite possibly the most damning information Shula had held in a while, and it terrified her less for herself and more for her fiance.

Lisbeth was good friends with Spade, but Shula wasn't sure how much she could really air out this moment. Shula's phone buzzed from Csilla, wanting to know what the hell was going on. Oh nothing, just a bomb and their impending deaths. Typical Wednesday in Amestris, right? The crowds were heading toward the launching area, but at the moment Shula wasn't too concerned if the rocket made it into the air, pulled down the moon, or transformed into a Gundam. "The current issue is resolved," Shula said quietly, stepping very close to Jocelyn and Lisbeth. "But we have a few other problems on our hands. Ladies, I want all of this kept quiet. Last thing we need is the public panicking and getting underfoot when we're trying to fix things."

HHer phone buzzed again, this time from Alisa. Hey. I'm going to try and slip Spade out. Don't know where, just not here. He isn't safe here, you're right. Hope thats cool with you because its what I'm doing. I'd keep you updated, and I would stay with him. Alisa... was taking Spade. Shula was quiet a moment, and slightly pale. It wasn't that she didn't trust either of them, and it meant that Alisa knew that Spade would be in danger from his own people right now, but.... the fact that this was happening was bad. Forgetting her team standing with her for a moment, Shula looked more than a little distressed as she sent a message out.

Please, stay with him, keep him safe. I'll try to buy you both time and get them off his trail. She would have to delete her messages, she knew, and she'd be in a lot of trouble very quickly if Spade went missing, was a suspect, and.... and there was no way for any of them to get out of this safely. Shula swallowed it down for a moment, sending another message, this time to spade. Stay with Alisa. I love you. That hurt. Shula wanted to tell Spade she'd do whatever she had to do in order to get IA and everyone away from Spade, but she knew better. He would understand that too well; he was Spade, and he knew Shula far better than to think nothing of such comments, even at a time like this. He'd know she was more than willing to move the line of fire away from him in any way necessary, and with the dossier and PDA in her possession and helping Spade avoid questioning immediately? That was a scarily likely issue. She wanted to cry, but knew that at the moment she couldn't afford to. Now was not the time or the place. Phone stuffed back in her pocket, Shula looked back up to Jocelyn and Lisbeth.

"When we get back to South I need you both in my office. For now, alert all South and Central militants that it has been resolved and they're not to refer to the issue specifically. We don't want any incidents." Because Ishvalla help whoever said what was going on where everyone could hear and caused a problem; Shula would fire their asses so fast they'd need burn cream. "Stay on guard for anyone who looks like they're looking for trouble." At the moment even she didn't know what to look for, other than what Spade had mentioned to Alisa when she'd run off.

Shula sighed lightly. She needed to head toward the launch; Csilla said she'd be there too, and had apparently just delivered a baby, but here wasn't the place to fill her in. Later. But the launch was important and Shula knew that at least to keep up appearances she needed to be present. Look like nothing was going on and nobody would suspect right now. The Fallacy taking off was impressive, and left the crowd and world below in silent yet explosive awe; something great had been achieved that day, despite attempts to thwart it. It was surely something Shula would never get to see again, and yet, her mind was so far away from the festival and the red plane that was leaving them all behind. Her thoughts were with Spade and Alisa, and wondering where Alisa could take Spade that was safe, and if she could find him later. Shula wondered if there would be a later to find him in. The papers sat heavy against her chest under the jacket and burned through her with a cold fire.

Hans would find out eventually, but Shula wasn't able to guess what his reaction would be. Surely he wouldn't want to think Spade had done any of this. The people wouldn't believe it, either; Spade was one of them. He'd always been Spade, the Playboy Wonder who ran Central. He was the partying General- he couldn't be seen as someone out to hurt Amestris, could he? But think about it, Bright Eyes - nobody would ever think that of you, either, but you actually DID work against them for your own hide... It wasn't fair. Nothing was, but this... No matter what, Shula would not let the people, the Chancellor, or whoever Spade had pissed off have him.

She refused.

"Well, I was about to warn you about the bomb, but if you've gotten it under control then there's only one other thing for me to warn you about." Hans felt a pressure growing behind his eyes as Brigitte stiffened beside him. She looked up at him with alarm but he quickly shook his head. Now was not the time. And this damned queen and little tact. He slowly turned on Rachel. "I've got a flamethrower." The pressure grew bigger as Hans' hand snapped out, grabbing the cigar from Rachel's hand. He also swiped the aerosol can, frowning down at Rachel. “Do what you like in your country but in mine, a little decorum is expected.” He passed off the aerosol can to a nearby guard, waving it away. He then scrounge out the bottom of the cigar, putting it out. Sure it was crude, but he was damned pissed. With everything that was happening today he really didn't want any more issues. He went back to Brigitte and slipped an arm around her, effectively ignoring Rachel.

The launch was astounding. Gavin had not been kidding when he promised a spectacle. Hans was as much in awe as the rest of the crowd and his cheers joined with their own as the ship touched down after its launch. He found Gavin and Toss in his own time, taking the appropriate photo opportunities for the papers. He even managed a short photo with Rachel, although he was less than pleased at that point. As soon as he could duck, he climbed into the back of the black sedan that was going to himself and Brigitte home. He sighed heavily as she tucked herself into the crook of his arm. “I'm glad that's over.” Brigitte looked up at him, frowning a little. “But it's not, is it?” Hans shook his head, the pressure of a headache continuing to push down. “No. But it's over for today. Tomorrow is another story.”

“Do what you like in your country but in mine, a little decorum is expected.” With that, the Chancellor simply swiped both cigar and aerosol out of the queen's hands, and in an instant Rachel's flamethrower was extinguished. Rachel, for a brief second, genuinely didn't know how to react. Anger, sadness, laughter, apologies? Hans was very obviously pissed and any response would annoy him, but she didn't fear him and he did just completely wreck her flamethrower. She couldn't take that lying down, simply by principle. It was in her blood to react. Finally, she settled on an understated reaction.

"You're paying for that cigar, Chancellor, that's £1.20 you owe me." She said. Franklin very visibly winced, expecting the worst, though luckily by this point Hans was ignoring her. The bouncer simply patted the queen on the shoulder.

"Well, you've been trying to quit for years, it's good to know he's offering his support for you." Franklin quipped, not missing the opportunity to rub in the fact that the Chancellor left the mischievous queen well and truly speechless for once. Rachel glared at her right hand man, this time choosing not to say anything.

The launch went off without a hitch, and that did leave Rachel speechless, but for a happier reason than before. A spectacle in every sense of the word; she could almost feel the pilot pushing this immense vessel to the limit. Despite being a mere spectator, she could've been in the cockpit itself and been just as thrilled. It was a sight to behold, and something that Rachel didn't think she'd forget in all her years. When the ship came to land, she cheered along with the rest of the crowds, her voice filled with elation.

She tailed Hans, keeping a little quieter than usual with only the odd bit of small talk with Brigitte or Hans himself, only really following him to find Gavin; she was still annoyed about the cigar, but she did decide to back off Hans a little and give him breathing space. However, when she finally found Gavin, she happily and loudly offered up her praise. When the flashes of photography began to light up, Rachel insisted to have some taken with her, Gavin and the pilot. Hans even managed to have a photo with her, though he wasn't as enthusiastic. The moment the cameras had gone, Rachel let out a huge yawn. The Chancellor had disappeared, so she had to say her farewells to the king and the pilot.

"Well, guys, I was impressed by that performance." She said, offering two thumbs up, before pointing to Gavin. "Though you had better not forget about sending me those barrels of whiskey, or I'll have your head on a pike." Franklin looked to her. The words were an obvious joke, but the tone was a little sinister; Rachel took her booze incredibly seriously. With that (hopefully) joke, the queen made her exit, simply piling into the limo Franklin had brought her in. She gave a quick text to Elastor.

I've left, so you're free to hang around or go home yourself. I'd offer a lift, but Franklin wouldn't allow you to be in the limo.

After sending the text, Rachel let out an exhausted sigh. "That could've went better."

"Nobody died, though." Franklin said, only to get a shake of the head.

"That's something that we should be able to take for granted." The Cretan queen said, her eyes looking out of the window as the streets of Central rolled on by. "This isn't good news. I'll have to start solidifying friendly relations with everyone. If they don't exist, then I'll make them exist."

"You've made a good start today. You called out the Xingese Emperor, then you kissed the leader of RIOTE before pushing him over, and finally you made a flamethrower in front of the Amestris Chancellor right after he found out about the bomb."

"Hans will be fine, he's a big boy now. We'll be cracking jokes and having fun the next time we meet. And Aurelius will probably not like me, but at least he knows enough to simply reply with some banter of his own. Qin... well, you got me there, but I can handle him." Rachel explained, already prepared with an answer. "But you're not wrong. We're on shaky ground. Everyone is, not just us. I'm going to arrange meetings with all the world leaders. Make sure that we're not on the verge of war with anyone. And if we are, then I know whose balls to crack open."

"And Dietrich? What about him?" Franklin asked, unsure of how she'd respond. What were her plans for him? Did she have any plans?

"Nah, he's too much of a pretty boy. I think the Shogun's more my kind of guy, and I think he's already taken." Rachel joked. Franklin sighed in frustration. No she didn't was the answer. Maybe she didn't need them right now. But the bouncer knew that Rachel was right.

Everyone was on thin ice. And, for once, being colder towards everyone else wouldn't make it thicker.

[EXIT THREAD]

Few moments ago

People were starting to find order in their chaotic continuous stream. The big event, which was the one involving a certain white haired pilot, was about to start. And it wasn't only the customers who had a great interest to see it. Some militants who were running stalls or attractions tried to get others to take their place for the moment. Hell, some of them outright abandoned their post. Their stand-in was a simple piece of paper saying "Closed. Be right back". Major Sherman thought it to be unprofessional. Though it didn't stop him from using the same tactic as well.

But don't compare him to those who left their position just to do something they liked. Major Sherman had an actual, legitimate reason to be absent. You see, as he was doing his work, he started to feel a bit ill. To be more precise: he was feeling nauseous, he was feeling dizzy and he had a headache. Sherman was thoughtful enough to explain this in his note to the person who would temporarily replace his position in his stall. He would leave the festival grounds and go rest in his own apartment.

That was the official story. In reality, the person calling himself Major Sherman was leaving for different reasons. The first people were possibly showing symptoms already, which would get people to be suspicious as more people would start to show those symptoms. This is why he had produced same symptoms trough his powers: to avoid suspicion. It also gave him a good reason to not spend more time around all of those humans. An hour or two more and he would have received nausea without his powers.

Present Time

An unknown person was gazing upwards. The ship had taken off without a hitch. It was disappointing, in a way. However, it was probably better that Toss wouldn't fuck that one up. Having no injuries after a crash from something like that would be suspicious to say the least. Having come to that solution, she decided to leave. There was nothing that would interest him at this place anymore.

Or so she thought.

However, it seemed that that day had one more surprise in store for her. There was a man near the exit, down from the rooftop that the woman was occupying. Envy had noticed him briefly before, but hadn't really payed too much attention to him. But as she looked towards him at this very moment, he noticed that something has changed about that scene. That is, one of the guards had ceased to live.

Envy didn't have a chance to process that information properly, because the man had opened fire against the other guard. It was difficult to see exact details from the distance, but the guard didn't seem to die from it. The fact that the man was talking to the guard shortly after the shots confirmed this. "Eight bullets and he didn't even manage to kill one man? Why is he even carrying a gun in the first place? His marksmanship is incredibly bad..."

...


"Or perhaps just plain incredible", she reconsidered as she watched the guard to yell and spat out some of his blood. The way that man seemed to demoralize the guard wasn't all too unfamiliar to Envy. And he knew that it was rarely completely spontaneous, especially in the manner that that human was doing it. In the light of this evidence, Envy though that it was a possibility that maybe, just maybe, that man had let the guard live a little longer on purpose. It was a speculation, yes, but such a thought did make Envy to feel slightly pleased.

The scene ended. The man had left and more people were arriving to witness the empty stage. As the only person who really knew the nature of this performance and had already witnessed the main event, Envy headed away from it as well. That, which had happened, had made her waiting for the upcoming event slightly more tolerable.

[Exit Mission]

Where was he. No seriously, where the fuck was he?! She didn't even care about the launch of the ship that was nearing them minute by minute. She had greater things on her mind than trying to reach up and touch the fucking stars. She had a man that she loved and had to get out, who wasn't fucking calling her! She gritted her teeth as she looked around, her spring only winding tighter and tighter as the minutes, no, SECONDS ticked by. One, then two, then five. Her eyes were searching. Searching and praying to see that familiar stance walking towards her, but.... nothing. He wasn't calling her. He wasn't planning on calling her at all. He was just.... "God fucking dammit Spade!" She hissed beneath her breath, glancing down at her phone as she saw the approach of a security person. "Excuse me, do you need-" "No." She answered so firmly and sharply that he blinked and walked away, leaving her alone again as she glanced back towards the two guards way back at the entrance to the Fallacy that she had incapacitated. Yeeaaaa she needed--

"One please. Relish, mustard, ketchup. Put everything you have on it." Her ears perked up at the voice that reached her ears nearby, immediately turning towards it as her heart stopped for a moment. There he was. Alisa fought every urge she had to bark at him because that would only draw attention, so instead she forced up a smile as if she were seeing an old friend again. Yeah, let them all think it was status quo... "Mmtffrr!!" She hugged him, whispering in his ear, "Lets get you out." Much to her surprise, he took her hand, making her pause for a second to look at him. Spade.... Dammit it still sent a shiver through her, "Let's go." With a nod, she gave his hand a warm squeeze, her phone buzzing in her other hand. It was from Shula. Please, stay with him, keep him safe. I'll try to buy you both time and get them off his trail. Nodding despite knowing she couldn't hear, Alisa tugged on Spade and walked him out through the crowds of people so that they disappeared amongst them. She typed quickly, On my honor, or whatever's left of it. Good luck.

So she snuck him out through a hole in the fence, ducking and dodging security until they were on the streets of Central. Crowds were gathering as the space ship shot up into the air and up, up towards the stars, but she didn't look. She only glanced back at the man that she loved as they hurried away, returning to the bike that she had hidden in an alleyway nearby, shoving a helmet on him and herself before revving that engine to life. It was time to get very VERY far away from here. She already had the route planned.

So they would disappear.

The man hadn't moved, which she supposed was good because it meant that he wasn't too rickety. Though... it was a little odd. But he kept walking, her brows furrowing as she stared off after him. Then he spoke, "I would leave Feona Bielski. I don't want to have to gut you like a fish, dear.." Her blood froze, how did... who... "Shinku... Shinku wait!" She called but he was already gone in the crowd, her violet eyes staring off after him as she tried to process what in the world he was doing here. Wait... He had said... "I don't want to have to gut you like a fish..." Why would he say that? "Shinku, what are you involved in..." She whispered to herself as she stood there with people moving past her towards the launch pad, but she was still transfixed there.

Why was he disguised? Why had he said that? What in the world was her boss doing there anyways? Her mind was a whirl as she forced herself to move towards the Ferris Wheel where Chester was waiting, trying her damndest to puzzle through it. It just didn't make any sense. It was true she barely knew a thing about the man, but this was just an odd situation with little to no explanation. It made her rather worried. By the time that she arrived at the Ferris Wheel, there was a great booming in the distance as the rocket launched itself up to the sky, Chester still waiting outside for her. He was about to come up worriedly to her side, but they both stood there transfixed at the sight. "Beautiful." Her voice was barely a whisper, Chester's arm sliding about her waist. They watched as it went up and up, then started coming crashing down. She could feel how he tensed beside her, and though her body remained soft, inside the brain snapped into gear. Shinku, the crashing of the Fallacy, his words. Thankfully it avoided crashing into the ground and landed safely, but she had already begun to wonder about it. There was a string here.... A string that she couldn't see, but somehow... somehow they were connected.

"Come, shall we go?" He asked her, tilting his head a little, Feona only smiling up at him with a small nod. "Yes of course. I'm sorry for making you wait." She spoke apologetically, the two of them chatting quietly to themselves as they followed the rest of the crowd out of the exit. She was as charming as always to her client, but her brain had been locked onto it. She would have to do some investigating when she got home. Careful investigation.

Oh this was nerve wracking, and it was only worse so since it was Spade involved. Damn if she hadn't seen that man in years! To think one of the few chances she would get to see him again after all this time and it was caught up in all of this mess. Shula sneaked her way over to them, Lisbeth retaining her rigid stance as she observed Hans and his wife. "The current issue is resolved," Well thats good. "But we have a few other problems on our hands. Ladies, I want all of this kept quiet. Last thing we need is the public panicking and getting underfoot when we're trying to fix things." That.... wasn't good. Lisbeth's brows furrowed ever so slightly, but she did understand regardless of what the implications were. "Of course ma'am." She murmured quietly, about to look out the window when she saw the change that came over Shula at that moment. She had received a text message and seemed quite distressed, almost reaching out a hand to her except she didn't want to necessarily interfere. Especially since then Shula began to type a response.

If there was one thing that Lisbeth was not ok with, it was at whatever was making her superior appear the way she was. Something was stressing her out to the millionth degree, though if it had to do with Spade then she couldn't blame the little Ishvallan woman. The man was her fiance, and it sounded like serious allegations were being thrown about. "When we get back to South I need you both in my office. For now, alert all South and Central militants that it has been resolved and they're not to refer to the issue specifically. We don't want any incidents." "Yes ma'am." And with that she looked to Jocelyn, nodding her head for her to follow her. [i]"Stay on guard for anyone who looks like they're looking for trouble." It was time for them to go. "I'll send out the call, Jocelyn I want you to go check in with the security personal in case they have any incidents on file. I'll join you on that once the calls been made." She told her trying to flash her a smile before she headed out the door and back out into the crowds of people at the festival this den.

She pulled out her phone, paging any and all militants that were there that day at the festival with its walkie-talkie mode. "This is Colonel Lisbeth Holmes, 2nd Command of South HQ. If you have heard talk of the situation, it has been resolved. I repeat, the situation is resolved. Please do not refer or speak of the incident. There is no need to cause a panic. Focus attention on security detail and any signs of disturbance. Report to me if any are spotted and handle them. Repeat, situation is normal." With that she ended the call, grimacing to herself as she hurried towards any of the gates, her mind a whirl at all the events happening.

Rosaleen felt the small squeeze of his hand, guessing that the images were up on the screen, her ears perking up at the sound of the strips of pictures printed for them. But his hands were cupping her cheek, the sensation making her only smile more as her eyes closed slowly, his warm breath drawing closer and closer until their lips met. A rush of joy sparked through her vein, a fresh little spark prickling her as she felt his lips trail little kisses along her chin... then jaw... then ear.... Along her flesh that only made her humm happily in her throat. Well... she had said for them to be kids again... It made her chuckle, her cheeks flushing a little red with color for those little kisses were powerful sensations for her without her eyesight. He knew the effect that they had on her. I..... L-O-V-E..... Y-O-U... A-L-W-A-Y-S... tap tap She giggled, kissing him back each time his lips touched hers, not speaking until he was done, "And I will always love you as well Gavin." She whispered quietly, giggling as they left the booth.

She had to resume her pings to the Dragons Pulse, mentally startled at the flowing forms that moved through the festival streets again. Oi.... It was a short lived sensation though as she could sense his moving, her brows furrowing as she turned her head towards her love and King, tilting her head a little. There was a sharp intake of breath, her hand squeezing his as she stepped a little closer to him, "Whats wrong?" She asked softly, letting go as she could tell he was gesturing and touching at his phone not that she could particularly tell what of. There was something majorly wrong, was it the launch? [color=red]"Yes," Yes what? "We'll be right there. Make sure it's safe.... I will want answers." Shit. That... that wasn't good at all. Her green eyes were already looking up at him when he turned to her, "We have to go to Toss. Someone just did something very unwise." She only nodded once, grateful for him taking her arm and leading her through the crowd. Right now she felt bad for her physical deforment hampering him from getting there faster.

So they arrived shortly thereafter, letting go of him as he ran off towards his pilot, Roarke, and the others. Rosaleen was panting slightly, approaching quickly after him, wondering what in the world could have happened. "Roarke.... Answers. What happened? Toss, is it still safe to launch the ship?" Shit, someone had been messing with the ship?! The two of them shared a conversation about it, though Toss' words made her wonder what was up, blinking a couple of times. "It doesn't matter anymore, she won't see it." Who? Who wouldn't see it? Tugging on Gavin's arm, she felt a bit useless since she was so very lost at what was going on, "Come on, we gotta back off." She spoke to him quietly, leading him towards the observing area none too far though it wasn't quite the deck that Hans had. It was behind the safeline, and that was what mattered right now. So the rocketship roared to life a few moments later, shooting up into the air towards the atmosphere. She lost sight of it once it exited her bubble of viewable range, pressing her head against Gavin as she tried to soothe his nerves this way, her lips pressed together.

Someone had tried to mess with their tech, had tried to do something to the Fallacy. But who? It wasn't like Carraig had any enemies! They had an agreement with Creta so it wasn't likely to be them so... who? Gasps and cries erupted around her as she heard the roar of the rocket again, turning her face up as it flickered in and out of her range of vision till Toss finally landed it again. She smiled as she squeezed Gavin's hand again, "See, he did fine." She murmured, her thumb stroking against his hand, the smile fading. Someone was going to pay big time.

He was.... very quiet. The whole time till they arrived at the booth he was extremely quiet which was rather disappointing. She got her prize, watching him as he just glanced the bunny rabbit by its ears, groaning in pity for him. She had to admit though, she did rather enjoy the flush that caught his cheeks, smiling softly as she did take the gun back from him. "Sorry, I don't have much of an aim." He was so very adorable now wasn't he? "Oh thats ok. I usually can't aim worth diddly!" She reassured him with a giggle, taking another shot for herself which only bounced itself off of the little panda bear much to her sadness. "Well bugger." She muttered with a light sigh, starting to hand the gun back to him when she heard a great rumbling in the distance. What in the... "Oh! The demonstration!" She realized verbally, instead placing the gun down as she turned to watch.

A man slowed beside her at the booth, slipping a card into her hand as he also stopped to point and stare. Her hand closed around it, continuing to marvel as the spaceship shot up into space. "Well I'll be damned." She murmured quietly, continuing to stare even as the stranger stepped a bit closer to avoid the jostling crowd. "I'll be by your casino this week" He murmured quietly to her just so she could hear, sliding away as the crowd moved so it was just her and Aaron again. Good. The primary business partner she had been here to see had arrived at where she had planned for them to meet. The fact that she had an Aaron with her was entirely happenstance, but barely affected anything. The rocket came back down as if it were falling, but the pilot straightened out and landed gently on the pad again, Selina straightening more as it was lost to their sight. "Well isn't that exciting!"

Glancing down to the watch on her wrist, she looked back up at him and suddenly leaned forward, pecking him on the cheek. "Well its been fun Aaron darling, but now I must away. I'm supposed to meet my sister at the Ferris Wheel. Take my prize, I don't mind! Ta-ta!" She called merrily as she went skipping off into the crowd, weaving her way until she was sure she was out of his sight. Then she squeezed her hand tighter about the note, pulling out her phone to press a few numbers, slipping it back into her purse as she flowed with the rest to a completely different exit than she meant to go to. A car was waiting for her there, some people staring at it until she slipped inside, closing the door with a quiet thunk. Phew. Well then, since she had dodged a bullet, managed to still land a fresh job.... What WAS her job? As the care drove away, she looked over the piece of paper with a small little smirk, rather pleased with the events of the day.

Watching Aurel's reaction to Rachel's rather amusing stunt was comical, to say the least, and Nyx had to suppress giggles at it, even after the queen had left. The large white-suited man called Secundiblarg or whatever his name was rose from his tiny carriage on the ride, to assist Aurel in standing and such, should he need it. Aurel then instructed the pinkette to start the ride again, as everyone took their seats once more, and the music played on, as the horses and carriages twirled mesmerically in their slow and candy-coated rhythmic motion. It was one of the more enjoyable moments in Nyx's life, and as she went around and around in circles, she honestly didn't notice the her wings had come unfurled from beneath her jacket, which currently lay behind her on the saddle of her plastic pony, carefree laughter and closed eyes simply living the experience of the ride. Turning, she glanced to Sal, who seemed to also be enjoying his ride, before turning to look forwards once more. It was truly a magical time.

But as with all of time, it had to come to an end eventually. The ride stopped, as the passengers disembarked their noble steeds, Nyx hopping down, as if lighter than the feathers on her back, still mesmerized, as she put her jacket on again, skipping forward to catch up with Aurel and company. "That was really fun~ I think we need something like it back home... We could get that, right?~" Glancing up at Aurel, she inquisitively asked him such a question with wide and sparkling eyes, clearly to the brim with joy. With such a radiant glow of happiness and innocence, it seemed much less like a question than a statement; "We need a merry-go-round at the mansion. How long would it take for one to be built?" Of course, Nyx was blissfully unaware of the power she held with her child-like charm; as she matured, in the future, she would certainly become more aware of this, and more capable of getting what she desired, what RIOTE needed, what Aurel was whim to want, through charisma alone. But all in good time. For now, she was but a young princess, both completely and entirely obedient and loyal to Aurel, and to RIOTE as a whole, and gifted with a mere personality that was so sweet and pure that it was very difficult not to provide for her wants. It was very likely that a merry-go-round could be arranged for her personal enjoyment.

But as they left the ride, her attention flitted from such a thing, focusing now on a new spectacle; the ear-splitting roar of engines as the Crieg spaceship prepared for lift-off. Her eyes widened slightly, in curiosity. Space, huh...? The final frontier... She glanced at Aurel, a small smile on her face. "What do you think of it?" It was a simple question, and she didn't even bother to note what "it" referred to. Could have meant a number of things in fact; most prominently the spectacular display before them, as the rocket began to descend from orbit once more. Could also refer to the time period in general. Anything. In fact, she didn't really know what she was referring to, only that she wished to hear his answer.

And after such an answer was given, and such a show of Crieg technology was over, and the fair's climax having really been met, Nyx started off towards the exit, her small party presumably behind her. She didn't pause in her step, as she carried on walking, not turning back to look at those she spoke to next; "It'd be nice if every day was like this. It's a shame that the world hates itself, though... Hopefully, we can fix that, though. In due time~" And as she carried on, quite ready for the trip home, after a day of fun and excitement, she caught a tune in her head, and hummed along with it, as she daintily stepped, each touch of foot to ground as light and carefree as that of a leaf on the wind; My father said~ Don't you worry, don't you worry child~ See, heaven's got a plan for you~ Don'tcha worry, don'tcha worry now~ Yeah~

And there wasn't a worry on her mind.

[EXIT THREAD]

Jocelyn had been in unison with Lisbeth since Shula had started talking. They need to keep it quiet, discreet, not her biggest forte but she’ll have to make due. The bomb had been taken care of, but other matters were popping up. Just as expected when you pull out the foundation of a chaos creator; everything starts to crumble. ”But we have a few other problems on our hands. Ladies, I want all of this kept quiet. Last thing we need is the public panicking and getting underfoot when we're trying to fix things." Of course, that was most logical. Though the amount of anger welling up inside Jocelyn was almost palpable to everyone present; she simply radiated it. First, her day is completely ruined by this bomb threat. Second, she had been running around the park trying to piece things together. Third, she had this inkling in the back of her mind that whoever did this today would not be caught. Meaning Jocelyn would have no one to punch. She was livid. Absolutely livid. She took a hair band from her pants pocket and tied up her hair, ready to get to work. ”Yes ma’am.”

Shula looked very odd when she was scared. Pitiful almost. She had an almost child-like, exhibiting the emotion well. Jocelyn wasn’t a stranger to the sensation, but seeing it so aptly displayed made her more uncomfortable than actually experience it. ” "When we get back to South I need you both in my office. For now, alert all South and Central militants that it has been resolved and they're not to refer to the issue specifically. We don't want any incidents." ”Yes, ma’am.” Jocelyn was doing as trained: agree and follow orders. For now, she looked to Lisbeth, seeing the universal body language for “follow”. Like a good military dog, she took the command, her feet making an almost stomping sound with her anger-charged, heavy footfalls. "I'll send out the call, Jocelyn I want you to go check in with the security personal in case they have any incidents on file. I'll join you on that once the calls have been made." She nodded, starting her way towards the security post. There were a few on-site, so she’d make stops at each, gathering what files she could. She stopped for a moment, looking to Lisbeth and responding with more than just a “yes, ma’am.”, ”Alright, Commander. I will see you at home.” She said that more for her own benefit than Lisbeth’s, something gave her a little more assurance when she thought she’d be coming back.

Now was time for the tedious work. She went from post to post, gathering paper and tapes, on all activity at the Festival so far. It’d be a long night of reading and watching, so maybe she’d need some help. Maybe Lisbeth was available. With duffle bags full of information, she went to the locker room and stuffed them in her locker. She couldn’t go home just yet, she still needed to work. With a little pep in her step, she jogged her way down to the wall and climbed to its peak. She began to yell down to the crowd, ”Who’s the next brave soul that wants to take on South Mountain?!”

[EXIT THREAD]

MISSION OFFICIALLY ENDED

And in the end, Aurel ended up riding the merry-go-round anyway.