Can't Fight Fate

Joyce nods as well, but doesn't say anything. Of all the other Hunters here, she was the only one who seemed to know what was going on with Mad. Shadow took note of that and he was sure that everyone else did as well. Harlan wandered back down to his dungeon.

* *

Abraxus didn't seemed amused by this "This is either some sick joke, or you're serious about that." he says in a low tone "I said that I felt sorry for you. Not that I forgive you for what you had done to, not only me, but all those others." he says.

Cedrick nods "I know. I came here expecting this reaction." she says simply "Actually, I truly expected you to attack me upon seeing me." she says, offhandedly "I am not here to convince you that I have changed my ways and am now seeking to protect those that I have wronged." she says.

Abraxus scoffs "Obviously. You just want me to keep thinking that you're a sadistic serial killer who's come to ask for the forgiveness of one of her victims." he shakes his head "You need serious help." he mumbles.

Cedrick nods "I agree and I have it. He showed me the...massive shortcomings in my way of thinking." she mumbles "And now that I am free of the path I was on, I have chosen the role of protector. Seeking to undo the damage I have done, somehow." she mumbles.

Abraxus laughs a sarcastic laugh "Undo the damage? How? How do you plan to Undo Anything? Do you suddenly have the power to bring people back from the dead?" he asks, his anger flaring up.

Cedrick shakes her head "No. I do not. But I know of someone who does and if he can bring those whom I have...harmed...back to their loved ones, will that be enough for me to ask forgiveness?" she asks.

Abraxus was dead silent "If and I mean IF, you manage to bring those you've Killed, back to life...it wouldn't be for me to forgive you. It would be for them to do so." he says "If you're Really serious about making amends for your past..." he holds out a business card

"My number. Call me when you have brought my mother and sister back to life. We'll see what happens after words." he says in a low tone "Now get out of my sight!" he hisses "Before I come to my senses." he growls.

Cedrick takes the card and starts walking away, suddenly disappearing in a swirl of fire.

Abraxus takes a deep breath to calm his nerves, then starts back to the firehouse. Hopefully Mad got back safely. He would need to have a long talk with him and Joyce, but for now, he needed a strong drink!

((Cedrick's out))

Camlo excused herself as well while Torin came after his room after doing whatever to go visit Harlan in the 'dungeon' downstairs.

It wasn't too long before Torin found him. "Hey Harlan. I was thinking of something since after that thing we fought. We seriously need to get stronger, ever since our first journey we sorta stagnated for the most part and haven't grown that much. It was fine for a bit but that fight as a hell of a wake up call. I think we need to push our Keyblade abilties to the next level somehow."

From the off hand stories he heard about from older Keybladers like Sora and Riku, either of them would have been able to beat that thing on their own. Neither of them were even half as strong as they were. Who knows though, maybe they'd get that strong or even surpass them someday.

Harlan was silent, then slowly nods "You're right, mate. We really didn't do too much against that thing." he says slowly "I think...ever since Nicole died...we had become too complacent and just felt content to let the world pass us by." he points out.

"We're nowhere Near as strong as we should be. I mean, how pathetic is it when the wielder of this dark keyblade..." he summons his weapon "Can't even control his own power and over use turns him into a monster?" he asks, throwing the keyblade.

His weapon promptly returns to his hand in a flash "I think, we need to take some time off of being Hunters and dedicate our time to getting stronger! Somehow." he mumbles.

"We still have our suits that can learn special moves from those who can teach us and our phones that we can buy upgrades from Lee and Dino." he points out "We just need someone to teach us, is the problem." he also points out.

Torin nodded. "Right. If we leave, we need to do it the right way and talk to Abraxus up front. I think what's needed is a good training trip. I was thinking if that's the case why not the Keyblader tradition of world and dimension hopping? It's dangerous I admit, but that's probably why Keybladers in the past got so strong is they had to adapt to different enemies, some of insane power. I mean Sora fought a damned Genie and Hades. The more battles we go through, the more our combat ability will increase. We could also learn a variety of other skills potentially we normally wouldn't learn."

Harlan nods slowly, thinking of something "Maybe...not..." he says "Say, do you remember when we were getting fitted for our suits? How Lee and Dino tested the event focus on them? They used a room that made real holograms." he says.

"That's what we need. We need one of those room and the data to use it to help us get stronger. Hell, we might even just have it built into the firehouse, that way we won't have to take off on our friends, who may need us." he says, liking this idea

"The only problem, we'll probably need a lot of money to get Lee and Dino to build us our holo-room." he mumbles "And I don't know about you, but I'm kinda tapped out." he says with a sheepish smile.

"Not to worry..." says Mad's voice from the darkness "I have plenty...of money..." he says as he walks out of the shadows, looking a bit worse for wear.

"Yeah sounds like a plan. I'm still going to the dimension hopping thing on my own time one day though. It's on my list of things to do before I croak."

Torin was going to say something else when Mad came in, he looked a bit beat up but considering his opponent it could have been much worse. "Not that I'm complaining about the money, but you okay? What happened to that thing?"

Harlan looks over to Mad "Bloody hell! You look like you've been in a war, mate." he says as he goes for the first aid kit under his desk.

Mad waves him off "I'm fine..." he growls "That Thing...Is called The Demonicus." he hisses "When it saw...that it was losing...it ran...as it always does..." he snarls as he starts to head upstairs "Let me know...how much you need...and you shall have it." he grumbles.

Abraxus comes walking back into the firehouse. He seemed very pissed about something as he goes straight to his office.

Torin sighed running a hand through his hair. "..And that's the other thing, we badly need at least a temporary replacement for a healer with Christine gone. Who knows how long she'll be for. We got lucky this time but considering it could have been really bad. Hell, even Shadow of all people got banged up a bit. Maybe this isn't just a wake up call to us two but our whole group as a whole that we still need to improve. We should adjust that thing from Lee and Dino's so our whole group can use it, if need be."

Harlan shrugs "Well, Joyce's DSS cards can heal, but not as good as Christine could." he says in a low tone. He was, understandably, upset by Christine's sudden departure as anyone else was, but for him it was personal, as the two were close.

"I'll see about getting in touch with Lee and Dino and set up an appointment for the new holo-room." he says as he pulls out the cell phone that Lee and Dino gave the both of them, so they could update and buy new skills.

* *

Abraxus was sitting in his office, a grim look on his face. He gets a text from Shadow, informing him that Mad's back. He punches a few buttons on his phone, turning on the PA system in the firehouse "Mad, Joyce. I would like to see you both in my office." he says, hitting a button to turn the PA off.

Mad comes walking in first, Abraxus takes note of his condition, and Joyce comes walking about a minuet later. She looked guilty as Hell of something. Abraxus steeples his fingers "So...Anything you two want to tell me?" he asks in a low tone.

Torin noted the tone but said nothing as he let Harlan do his thing. It did seem like to him Christine had a 'thing' for Harlan but he could have been reading into too much. Part of the reason he didn't think so, is when it was him and Christine together for a bit she had wanted him to make the first move and got impatient. Then again that was back when they were younger, and two it was different.

Torin and Christine really didn't know each other when they got together. You couldn't really make something work if you didn't know the person's fault. People no matter who they were had faults and some would totally put off others if you couldn't deal with said faults and learn to let things slide it wouldn't go anywhere in his opinion.

Kinda why old couples could yell at each other to the moon but be fine five minutes later like nothing happened.

Torin's real concern is he thought it was a bad idea to get romantically involved with anyone you worked with. Add the potential for things to go wrong, jealously and the like and you saw a potential clusterfuck.  He honestly couldn't say 100 percent he'd Never get into a relationship again he only knew that A. he'd be more careful about getting into them. B. We'll, he forgot what B was but he'd get back to it.

If only they had Nicole around for a healer, but that wasn't happening.

Harlan comes walking upstairs, getting ready to call Lee and Dino "And I don't give a damn about what you thought your reasons were!" he could hear Abraxus yelling in his office "You withheld critical information that could have cost you or one of your teammates their Lives!" he continues.

Harlan wanders outside and dials the number. He gets the standard answering message from them, 'they're not in right now, please leave a message and they'll get back to you as soon as they can'.

Unlike most, Harlan had a secret way of getting ahold of the two. He dials an extension and the phone rings for a bit before "Hello? This is Lee Smith." says the turtle inventor.

"Lee, it's Harlan Murray. My mates and I bought some fancy suits from you a bit ago." he starts "Now, before anything, the suits are fantastic and in great shape. They're not the reason I'm calling." he assures.

"You know this extension is for suit repair only, right? It's Not an 800 hotline to the two most handsome and brilliant turtles Ever." Lee rebukes Harlan.

"Now hold up, mate. Before you hang up, I have a business proposition for you and your brother that could make you some serious quid." he says.

The line was Silent! "Okay, we're listening." Lee says and Harlan smiles, knowing that he had them![/color][/color]

Torin saw the others leave before going around to find stuff to do, hear Abraxus chew the others out in the background. He was probably upset about the transformation, and the thing with Cedrick probaly made it even worse.

Harlan was talking on the phone and it looked like he was having success in what he was talking about. After a while, he hangs up "YES!" he exclaims (Almighty Fist-Pump!) as he walks in, all smiles "We're a go, mate!" he says, giving Torin the 'thumbs up'.

Christine comes slowly gliding down, a guilty look on her face "Hey everyone..." she says slowly as she comes walking back in "I'm sorry for taking off like I did, but there was something I Had to do." she mumbles.

* *

"You're both just lucky the only ones who got hurt can handle such injuries!" Abraxus continues "Shadow and your dumb ass!" he says to Mad "You're both suspended until I feel you can be trusted with the safety of this Cell once more!" he growls, then glares at Mad "I would like you to refill out the entry application and this time, fill it out Completely!" he barks.

Than he sighs and sits down. That was their cue that they were dismissed. Mad turns and walks out like nothing was wrong, while Joyce walks out, hanging her head. As if someone ran over her favorite puppy.

Torin crossed his arms, silent then sighs. "I Was pissed originally but I gotta remember my own code: Everyone fucks up and everyone's shit stinks. In short, yeah, I would have liked but you didn't mean any harm. If you're a real friend with someone you won't just toss them aside due a mistake as long as it isn't malicous. I mean knowing how you are personally, you've had friends or people you cared about that messed up and you didn't treat them like a leeper or throw it away over a single mistake. That wouldn't be in character for you, so only fair I do the same or I'd be a hypocrite."

Christine nods "Thank you for understanding. This was something I Had to do. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken off like I did." she meekly explains.

"Winters! Get your ass in my office, Now!" Abraxus roars, then slams the door on his office so hard one would almost think the glass would have broken.

Christine winces "What's eating him?" she asks as she slowly starts to his office. Shadow comes out his security room and follows Christine into Abraxus's office.

"What, exactly, in the Hell do you think you were doing, abandoning your team like that?!" Abraxus roars almost as soon as the door closes "We are a Unit! We work as one, we Die as one and when you, our Healer suddenly takes off like that, then someone is Sure to die and all because of Your reckless behavior!" he yells.

Torin sighed a bit, rubbing his temples. "Captain Pain over there seriously needs to chill or he'll be a solo cell." Ever since Cedrick had appeared, he had been overly anal.

Camlo nodded. "I agree but Shadow went with her, she'll be fine. Shadow always says what needs to be said even if its not what we Want to hear. And what's what we need to hear the most."

Christine yawns, then clears her throat "I'm sorry. I don't pay any attention to people who only want to yell at me." she says as she turns and starts out "If you feel like talking to me like a Civilized person, well, you know where to find me." she says as she walks out of the office.

Abraxus looked like he was going to blow a blood vessel! Shadow actually chuckles to himself "She's finally grown a backbone after all this time." he says. Then turns his attention to Abraxus "Hey! Calm the hell down. You're useless to everyone on this team if you can't Focus!" he barks.

Abraxus takes a deep breath and Forces himself to calm down""Who the hell does she think she is?" he growls, clenching his fists.

Shadow glances over his shoulder, then back "She thinks that she's one of the strongest and most useful members on this team..." he eyes Abraxus "And right now, she thinks you're acting like an ass and she's not alone in this!" he puts his phone on the desk, which plays the news footage from a few days ago.

Abraxus frowns "Why should I care about this?" he asks as he watches some insane Mystic throw someone down some stairs.

Shadow frowns this time "You may not know this, but that man the Mystic killed, was Christine's uncle who practically raised her. She left to go deal with this situation and anyone linked to it. I supported her decision to leave." he states "So if you're pissed at her, then you're pissed at me as well and you know what? I'm fine with that." he says, then walks out of the office.

"So crisis somewhat adverted for now?" Came the voice of Torin when Shadow came out. "I was going to go check but since you entered wasn't too much for me to add."

Shadow looks back to Abraxus's office "He'll calm down and realize that he had handled both situations wrong." the hedgehog says "Suspending two of our best Hunters, not the wisest move." he points out as he heads back to his security room.

Christine starts upstairs "I'm beat. I'll be resting if anyone needs me." she mumbles.

Harlan walks over "Actually, Mad could use your talents and I'm sure Shadow might as well." he states, though, Shadow's arm looked fine just now.

Christine nods "Okay. Where is he?" she asks, then sighs "He's in the dungeon, isn't he?" she asks.

Harlan nods "Yeah. He's waiting for me, love. Not to worry, he likes to hand out there for some reason." he says as he and Christine start down stairs.

Joyce comes walking up to Torin "So...What do you think of our newest recruit?" she asks "He takes some getting use to, but he's a good guy." she says, a slight smile touching her lips.

Torin shrugged a bit. "I don't know him well so can't say but he seems okay to me. If Shadow is okay with him he can't be that bad."

Camlo nodded slightly. "I agree. That said, if you'll excuse me I'm going to get some rest."

Torin waved to her but something was nagging him just a bit. It seemed like something was bugging Camlo but it was very subtle since she was usually good at keeping things to herself. In fact it was part of the problem, Camlo didn't like to blab about any emotional problems unless it effected her performance. He'd have to see later since he seemed to have taken the resident 'Team Therapist' role.(Though no one voted for him, he did it himself)

"You sound pretty fond of him." Torin teased.

Joyce blushes a bit "O-oh. W-well yeah. He's, unique." she says "It's like, he doesn't seem to care about anyone or thing, yes, it's like he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders." she says

"It's almost that old comic book saying 'He's the best at what he does and what he does isn't always pretty', but he's always there for us." she says, looking at the basement stairs "It's just that, when he's Not doing what he does, it's like he doesn't care about anyone or anything." she mumbles.

She moves closer to Torin "Plus, the fact that he can move through the shadows and could be possibly anywhere is, well, it's kind of a turn on." she whispers to him. Then starts out, humming the theme of Vampire Killer to herself.

Torin had heard of things, we'll fetishes he guessed and other such things but someone moving through shadows was a first. "If that turns you on, almost kinda makes me wonder what else. But not gonna pry, we all have our own thing."

Joyce looks back at Torin and winks "That, is a secret!" she giggles as she heads outside. She decided, since she has all this free time now, that she was going to visit her dad.

"There's someone at the door." Shadow chimes from an intercom, as a solid knocking at the front door could be heard.

Torin kinda wondered if he should test his luck with Joyce, she seemed nice enough and she was pretty cute. But he'd see.

He was going to head to his room when Shadow called. He went to the door. "Who is it?"

"No clue. Never seen them before. It's a male about late twenties, built like a brick shithouse." Shadow says as he walks out of his security office as the man knocks again.