Colin's posts

Ash watched what happened, before sighing deeply.

"....I was afraid of that." he muttered.

"As you guessed, this is Ashley. Vanessa's sister. And... well... my wife, now." Ash told Hazel.

"I found Hazel while I was on my info-gathering hunt." Ash then explained to Ashley, launching into how he'd found her, the state of the place she'd been in, and how they got out before things went from bad to worse.

"I couldn't think of any other place to take her." he went on.

"She's... well... like us. She doesn't seem to have a place now, much like we were when we all escaped the lab." he told her further, before pausing.

"Well, arguably, Lindsay kinda did when he escaped Gentech, same with Casey, kinda, but that's not the point." he then said, shaking his head.

"I think she really needs help."

"I have my reasons." Ash responded.

"And you go ahead. Have fun." he told her.

With that, they parted ways, with Sammy heading out the door and the other two heading further in, as Ash looked around.

"Hmmm." he mumbled, taking out his phone. He sent a text to both his brother and Ashley, the text saying the same thing.

Where you at? Got someone here at home that you're gonna want to meet. it read.

'Now... let's see how this goes...' he thought, as he awaited either an answer to the text, or for one or both to show up.

"Two reasons." Ash responded, as the two of them entered.

"1, I don't have my keys." he said.

"2, I have a strange mana signature with me." he told her further. "So teleporting in was NOT an option." he said further, before turning around.

"Sammy, this is Hazel. She's... someone from my past." he told the girl.

"Hazel, this is Samantha. She's my niece... and Lindsay's daughter." he then said to Hazel, introducing them properly.

".........right." Ash replied.

"Uh, hm." he muttered.

"Yeah, I'll take you back." he told her.

"Here, take my hand again." he then said. When she did, they disappeared in a burst of black fire once more, and then appeared in the front door to the Fyrane manor.

"We're here." he told her, before pressing the doorbell.

"Yes, free..." Ash responded.

"..." he was then silent, unsure as to what to say.

"Um... do you want to come with me?" he asked.

"You seem like you don't have anywhere else to go." he told her.

"And you'll be safe at my home, I promise." he then assured her.

Ash froze up completely when she said that.

"....Mistress..." he muttered.

"You're... you from Vanessa's lab." he said.

"And I'm not HER fire boy. Neither is Lindsay." he told her.

"We're free of her. We're our own people. Persons. Whatever." he went on.

"...you should be, as well." he then said further.

"What with Vanessa being gone and all."

"Hazel?" Ash asked.

"Hmmmm..." he mumbled, as he started to think.

"That DOES sound... vaguely familiar." he said.

"Come on, think! THINK, Ash!" he told himself, poking his own forehead and closing his eyes.

"You're not as smart as Lindsay, but this is on the tip of your brain! Think!" he said further.

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." he told her.

"...all right, I have to ask you something." he then said out of nowhere.

"I... who are you?" he asked. "Have we met before?" he asked her further.

"You seem... very familiar to me." he commented.

"But I can't put my finger on it."

"Uh.... right, then." Ash replied.

'That was... easy.' he thought.

It was then that they heard more creaking and groaning, and it was getting louder.

"Crap, crap!" Ash exclaimed, as he took her hand.

"I apologize in advance if this results in something negative for you." he quickly said.

With that, the two of them disappeared in a burst of black fire, just as the room started to collapse in on itself. Maybe not the building, itself, but the room was.

They then appeared on the roof of a nearby office building, and Ash sighed.

"Whew." he muttered.

"You okay?" he asked the female.

"Yeah... I noticed." Ash responded.

He then climbed back up to where the floor was more solid... with her help.

"Hey, listen." he said. "We need to get out of here." he told her.

"This is no place to live. It's falling apart at the seams, and odds are it'll be destroyed anytime soon... assuming it doesn't collapse on its own first." he commented.

"So let's get you outta here."

"............" Ash was silent as he witnessed the individual.

"...uh..." he stammered, as he stepped a bit closer.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Are.... you all right?" he asked further, as he made his way closer still.

However, he stepped on one part of the floor that gave way, and caused his foot to go through.

"AH, hell!" he exclaimed.

"Ok, seriously, this place is falling apart. Literally."

"Eh?" he muttered, feeling the mana wash over him.

"...the hell...?" he asked the air.

He then looked around, before looking at the ceiling, figuring whomever owned the mana was probably up there. He made his way to a decrepit starway, and looked at the rotting wood.

"Great." he said.

He then started to carefully walk up the stairs, their structural integrity barely supporting him, and making moans and creaks and groans that caused him the cringe.

"Hello?" he then said.

"Anyone around?"

-----

Ash just sighed, as he let go of the frightened man's collar, dropping him to the ground.

"You'd better pray that the info you gave me is correct." he told him. "Because if I find out your information leads me to a dead-end, I will find you again, and what I will do to you will make what I just did seem like a massage." he hissed.

The man merely scrambled to his feet and ran off, panicking and yelping, until he disappeared around a corner in the distance.

Ash then shook his head, and started heading off in the direction of where the man had pointed him. He'd been walking for about 10 minutes, when he overheard a group of youths talking with each other. Normally he would ignore something like that, but he overheard a few words that caught his interest. Enough that he pieced together something about a weird person in a condemned building, and they'd likely be dead soon when the building collapsed in on itself.

"...." he was silent, before listening in more closely, trying to get some more definite information about the exact location or address of the building. When he managed to get it, he realized it was a short walk from where he was, so he made his way in its direction.

When he got to the building, he saw that it was, indeed, dilapidated and condemned, and would surely collapse very soon.

'Nobody should be living in a place like THIS...' he thought to himself, as he made his way to an open window with no glass in it, and carefully climbed through.

"Geez..." he muttered.

"More dust in here than sand in the Order's reserves." he said, as he started to mill about the place, looking for this supposed resident.

Rene sat down, and sighed once more.

"I'm no stranger to paperwork." he told her. "Being a doctor, I always have paperwork shoved before me, and it's annoying." he said.

"And I have nowhere to go." he went on.

"Well, not without becoming a fugitive." he then muttered.

"Also, you flatter me." he said further. "It's quite the honour to have one's skills praised by the Head of the Triad, herself." he continued.

"Especially when she's quite the sight for sore eyes." he added, which caused the woman to merely roll her own eyes.