Members of 'Dark Dance' would call it a movement, I am told, while the general consensus is that they are considered 'terrorists'. At least that's what just about every government in Second Realm refers to the organization as. According to both, the group's origin was for political reasoning, basing their actions on the teachings of a woman by the name of Liana Maris some fifty years ago. She detested the position women held in Second Realm society during those times, and sought to spread her teachings to all that would listen. Liana Maris felt that the woman could be elevated in society through three means, which serve as the pillars of Dark Dance's doctrine today.

The first was through the Mind, education more specifically. 'No Acceptance of Ignorance' is part of the inscription carved on the base of a shrine on Liana Maris's behalf, I am told, as she felt that knowledge first and foremost was the key. After the Mind, there was the Voice. 'In order to be heard, one must speak'. It sounded simple enough, but she had found that it had been taken for granted. The final pillar, and the one I am led to believe that Dark Dance has taken to heart, is that of the Body- the belief that there are times where actions speak louder than words.

What we ran into at the Chateaux were several members of 'The Nimbus', the division of Dark Dance specializing in taking action (Lotus Albrook was a high ranking member of the Nimbus at one time, and I was informed that Gwen was her replacement). What Dark Dance has done is to take Liana Maris, place her on a pedestal, take her teachings, and make them doctrine. It probably was not what she had in mind, but since she's been dead for the past twenty years, it makes getting her opinion on the matter all that more difficult. It struck me as odd that Dark Dance would have business in New Evandalis, but I am to understand that they are always looking for new recruits, and see the exodus to Haven as a prime opportunity to increase their ranks. I've seen an elf in their ranks, which leads me to conclude that this is indeed the case- there are many realms where women are considered second-class citizens (even my beloved Sukata to a degree), so I imagine that there are many eager to listen to their teachings, willing to embrace their ways, and to take the belief that their way is the only way, and those that disagree are enemies to the cause..."

-- Excerpt from a recent journal entry of Natalie Firebrand 

Rigma Delgato always fancied himself as a laid-back and easy-going sort of individual, a fact that next to no one would dispute. An optimist of the highest order, he was the one that you could trust to remain calm and collected in the ugly face of adversity. When Life gave Rigma a lemon, he would take it, suck it whole, and enjoy it just to spite the fickle bastard. He couldn't have asked for a more relaxing evening, unless of course a lady had been present- spending the past couple of hours swapping stories with both Darren and Narek while taking the occasional shot of Kalikarin brandy was all of the excitement he wanted for the moment. No large crowds of sweaty humans dancing (badly) around him. No discussing the latest theory on Wargod or chasing demons, as he probably would have been doing back home. Life had slowed to a crawl for the moment, and Rigma was glad to be along for the ride.

All of that changed when Natalie and the others returned from their clubbing, looking as if the experience had been literal. While most of the others looked to be fine, Rigma could not help but notice that there were three new faces in the group, and the one he happened to recognize was bleeding from her shoulder. In but a moment, life had gone from a crawl to a full sprint, and to celebrate the occasion, Rigma had stopped drinking from his shot glass in favor of tilting back the whole bottle.

His manners had not been forgotten as he greeted Lotus before turning to the others and asking exactly what in the hell was going on. The explanation had been brief, and immediately upon hearing the phrase 'fight with Dark Dance', he had taken another celebratory shot of the brandy before breaking out in a fit of swearing in a Mountaineer dialect. His next statement was that the group should immediately move camp, expressing a concern in regards to needing a storage place for the numerous instruments of death they were harboring on the rooftop. Seeing as her apartment was close by, as was her car, Mei-Lynn offered the use of her abode as a place of storage for the time being, and after some urging by Lotus, Rigma agreed to move the equipment there temporarily. Both Natalie and Mani were drafted to make the trip with the Evandalian.

A sudden silence had come over the two when the finally arrived at The Jade Garden, or The Jade as Mei-Lynn called it. The silence continued as the three rode the elevator to her apartment, finally being broken by Mani when Mei-Lynn opened the door to her home.

"You're pretty rich, aren't you?," the young ninja wondered aloud, throwing tact into the wind as he looked around the two-storied apartment.

Natalie stifled a snicker as Mei-Lynn grinned. "Daddy's on the Board of Directors at EvaTech," she remarked, closing the door behind her. Natalie was amazed by the fact that as soon as the three were inside, several lights automatically came on throughout the apartment as soft music began to play from a black stereo in the corner. Mei-Lynn slipped out of her high heels in favor of a pair of black slippers, sitting conveniently near the door. "Are you two hungry?," she casually wondered, motioning towards the studio styled kitchen residing in the lower level of her apartment.

"Actually, yes," Mani admitted. "But business first. We'll eat after we move the stuff upstairs."

The crates had been unpacked back at The Plaza, so it was just a matter of transporting the numerous bags of weapons and equipment back and forth from the parking garage to the apartment. They realized that it was going to involve several trips, but with three of them working, it didn't take very long. Natalie and Mani were riding the elevator back up to the apartment, each lugging the last of the black bags, full of items that probably could have easily gotten them arrested in just about any realm of the known multiverse. While there were some legitimate devices inside, there were also a disturbing amount of weapons Neil had insisted on bringing back from their hasty flight from Second Realm. Natalie cleared her throat. "I think she likes you," she suddenly put forth.

"Who?"

"Who else? Mei-Lynn!"

Mani raised a brow. "What makes you say that?"

Natalie laughed. "Call it a woman's intuition. That, and the fact that she told me that you have a cute ass."

The ninja glanced back at his posterior for a moment before shaking his head. "She's pretty blunt."

"She's been flirting with you all night, genius," she added, playfully elbowing him. "If you tell me that you haven't noticed, I'm gonna uppercut you..."

Grinning, Mani nodded his head slowly. "I'm not -that- dense."

A few moments later they were back in Mei-Lynn's apartment, quickly hushing their conversation after catching a whiff of something cooking inside. After seeing the Evandalian behind the counter slicing vegetables like a pro and dropping them in a steaming pot on the stove, Natalie began to realize just how hungry she was. The realization hadn't hit her until that moment, as she suddenly felt the urge to grab a handful of whatever she was cooking, cram it in her mouth, and demand seconds.

"We'll let that simmer for a few minutes," Mei-Lynn remarked as she came from around the counter, wiping her hands on a small towel. "Listen, would you two mind if I ran and took a quick shower? I'm still feeling a bit grungy after what happened earlier tonight..." She glanced down at Lotus's bloodstain on her dress, sticking out her tongue in disgust for emphasis.

Natalie nodded and made her way into the kitchen. "Take your time, I'll keep my eyes on this." She grinned, making a motion towards the pot on the stove. She casually glanced at Mei-Lynn as she made her way towards the stairs, stopping for a moment as she stood behind Mani. She paused for a brief moment, and Natalie had to fight to contain her laughter as the young ninja suddenly turned bright red as he realized that he was being scrutinized. The Evandalian said nothing as she continued upstairs, casting a quick smile over her shoulder before disappearing in her bedroom. Natalie merely shook her head and smiled as the ninja began to pace around, mumbling something about 'willing himself calm'. She was glad that she had never gotten so involved with the martial arts as to cause her to pass up a potentially good thing. 

"Mei-Lynn Zhang is an interesting one, to say the very least. When she isn't flirting with Mani or showing off her extensive collection of weapons (she has a small dojo and weapons room in the apartment that reminds me of a torture chamber), we're talking about our respective home worlds. It strikes me as being ironic- where as I think I could get used to the hustle and bustle of the city life, she tells me that she would like nothing more than to get away to a laid back part of the world where technology wasn't so much in her face. Admitting that she hasn't traveled much since being relocated to Haven, she tells me that she's always been afraid of being alone in a new place, which is why she's stayed in the city. I get the impression that despite all of the finances and the lofty position held by her father, she's a lonely young woman...

...how ironic indeed. The story of my life.

With Father being the village Elder back in Kari, I know all too well about the weight that comes from what others believe to be the way that I should act. 'She'll grow out of this tomboy phase'- gods, I hated that. Can anyone blame me for not wanting to be some wide-eyed damsel, throwing a righteous fit at the sight of dirt, or considering it a major crisis should I break a nail? As much as I loved them, my sisters annoyed the hell out of me whenever they came to me screaming about such-and-such not liking them, and such-and-such spreading rumors about them- I've always found that a quick uppercut to the perpetrator was usually more than enough to stop that foolishness. I'm sure that my parents were concerned that I didn't fit the mold of the typical female in the village, and I knew it had to come as a major shock when they saw that I had showed an interest in a young man- as long as I live, I don't think I'll ever forget the look of joy on Mother's face when I told her that I was going with Kevin to the Harvest Feast that year. Kevin wasn't anything like the others guys that I had to deal with daily, thank the gods. He wasn't concerned about how many girls in the village he could date, he took being called 'common' as a compliment, and he could drink just about anybody under the table, a fact that Darren and I both learned the hard way at the Harvest Feast. Kevin's a cool guy, and from time to time, I find myself thinking, wondering what he's doing in the world now. He was there when we made the exodus, but like me, he took off on his own shortly after. That's Kevin for you- always trying to be his own man.

I haven't known her for very long, but I admire Mei-Lynn's strength. Despite the fact that her dad's a big-shot at EvaTech, she just gives off an aura of 'To hell with the expectations' that I totally agree with. She just exudes confidence and sexuality- she is, in my eyes, truly a woman. Not the frail flower that falls to the ground every time something goes wrong, or the self-centered bimbo I've come to dislike so much; no, she knows exactly what she wants, and does not mind getting a little dirty to get it. I admire her. It's strange, but I see her as... almost as another sister, someone in my new 'family' that I can talk to about anything..."

-- Excerpt from a recent journal entry of Natalie Firebrand

"...and in other news, guys of Haven should be -very- careful about who they date nowadays. The First Annual Grand Martial Arts Tournament in Zoe came to an end on yesterday, with mystery woman Mesh of Demata taking top honors, with our very own Princess Leilani Anglade securing the position as runner up, proving that the Earth-adage of the woman being the fairer sex to be pure bunk. I think that it's a pretty safe assumption that these two will have problems finding a date until the commotion from the tournament wears down somewhat, as I personally don't know a guy alive, save a few Kramen I like to get drunk with, that wants to be manhandled in the manner that they're capable of. In case you've forgotten, you're listening to Donnie Steele on K-EVA, New Evandalis's top choice when it comes to more music and less talk..."

Mei-Lynn silenced the radio by sliding a tiny disc into a console on her dashboard. "Then stop talking already," she mused, pressing a button near where she slid the disc in.

"Who'd have though Beruk would have lost so early in the tournament?," Mani casually wondered from the back seat, giving the groan of a man that obviously lost some money because of it.

Mei-Lynn grinned. "I would. Unfortunately though, most of my money was on Princess Anglade."

Natalie found herself simply laughing at the exchange since there wasn't much she could have added to it. Gambling never really appealed to her, so she found herself ignoring most of the conversation and listening to the music that was now coming forth. The song itself started out very calmly, a mellow blend of several flutes and a slow piano, with several voices singing quietly in the background. They were almost indistinguishable from the flutes at first, but as they became more prominent, the music began to speed up. A woman's distinctive voice suddenly came forth, the enchanting sound bringing back a memory from a few hours ago. She had heard this song playing at the Chateaux, and had spent most of the evening singing it to herself, wondering who was responsible for writing such a beautiful and addictive piece of music. Not wanting to bother Mei-Lynn, who was currently discussing how the odds were stacked against most of Mani's choices in the tournament, Natalie reached over and gently took the disc case from where Mei-Lynn left it, near her seat.

A graceful figure looked as if she had been caught by the photographer in the midst of dancing against a background of swirling colors. She was a beautiful creature with hair like fire, and distinctive elven features. In letters as graceful as the woman, Natalie read what she assumed to be her name. "Sylvana," she gently whispered to herself. A smile slowly formed on her face. "How fitting," she added, replacing the case.

Mani and Mei-Lynn seemed to have been finished with their conversation for the time being, and their world had become that of both the elf maiden's alluring voice, and the low hum of the engine of the black Enigma 500-SX gliding its way through the streets of New Evandalis. Traffic was light at this late hour, a fact that Mei-Lynn was taking full advantage of. Natalie wasn't sure exactly how fast the vehicles were allowed to move in the city, but she had noticed that the blue-haired Evandalin had passed many that were going much slower. However, the closer they seemed to get to The Plaza, the more congested traffic became. Mei-Lynn grumbled to herself while Natalie began to look outside through the window. When they got close enough to the Plaza to see what was going on, several variations of 'What the hell..?' were voiced simultaneously.

Countless lights flashed about the entire front of the hotel, coming from several vehicles Natalie had to assume belonged to the local law enforcement agents, along with a few medical units. A thick crowd of onlookers had traffic at a standstill- some people had even gotten out of their cars to see what was taking place. Without so much as a word, Mani quickly pulled himself through the sunroof of Mei-Lynn's car and leapt out onto the streets, where as Natalie decided to go through the passenger's side door. The two stood for a moment and stared at the crowd from behind, none needing to give voice to the feeling of dread that had crept into each of their beings. A hand on her shoulder suddenly caused Natalie to jump, turning around to see Mei-Lynn standing beside her, a look of concern in her eyes.

"My God, you three are ok." Neil had apparently been scouring the crowd for them, quickly approaching from within. Sweat covered his brow, and his breaths were ragged- there was no denying by his expression that the news he brought was undesirable. He nervously brought his hand up to his hair and took a deep breath, adjusting a long bag slung across his back. "We've got to get out of here."

There was a definite advantage to being in deadlocked traffic, as Mei-Lynn had gotten out of her car in the middle of the jam, and it didn't look like any of the vehicles around her had budged when the four hastily returned. Mani and Natalie both had taken to the back, as Neil sat down in the passenger's side. There was a tense silence in the vehicle, broken only by Neil's occasional breaths. Natalie felt her palms begin to sweat in the atmosphere that had been created. She wasn't sure if it was the uncertainty that had her on edge the most, or the news that was to come. "What happened?," she finally brought herself to ask.

"We were followed after we left The Chateaux." Neil took a deep breath and slowly shook his head, his gaze falling outside of the car's window. Though his voice was calm, Natalie could easily pick up on the anger he was trying to conceal. "Right after you three left, Dark Dance paid us a visit. Rigma and I were both on the rooftop, making sure that we hadn't left anything up there when it happened. When we came back down, the room had been gassed, and everyone was gone. The window was shattered, like something had been thrown through it... dammit, those whores..."

"They found Lotus?," Mani quietly wondered.

Neil kept staring at the window for what seemed like an eternity. "Lotus is dead."

Dead. Natalie's head slumped back on the leather seat as she heard Mani sigh deeply and Mei-Lynn whisper "Oh my God...", barely audible behind the force of the word ringing in her head. They had been on the penthouse level, and if she had been thrown from the window... it felt as if a fire had begun to burn beneath her skin. "What about Rigma?," she asked, taking a deep breath in a vain effort to calm down.

"'Escorted' away by some guys after we got out. He told me to stay here for when you three came back, which the guys didn't have a problem with. They weren't authorities, at least."

"How will we find him?," Mani wondered.

"We won't." Neil shrugged. "They said that they would find us." 

When the phone in Mei-Lynn's apartment suddenly rang, she answered it as she would on any other occasion. After a brief pause, she suddenly gasped and covered the receiver with her hand, casting glances between all present. "It's Rigma!," she stated. She pressed a button on the console and hung up the receiver in favor of the speaker phone, mumbling to herself and wondering how exactly did he know her number.

Neil cleared his throat after moving to the couch closest to the phone. "Rigma? Is that you?"

There was a brief pause, followed by a light chuckle. "Quick question for you guys," came the Mountaineer's voice over the speaker phone. "Do any of you have a clue as to who owns The Chateaux, out of curiosity?"

"Lotus mentioned the guy's name once," Mei-Lynn put forth. "She told me that he's a Second Realmer. I think she said his name was... I think it was Zedaro something-or-other..."

The collective 'Damn' that came from both Neil and Mani informed Natalie that that wasn't a good thing. "Who's Zedaro?," she whispered, nudging Neil lightly.

"Zedaro Ledanya," he returned. "Kramen, ahem, 'businessman', so to speak."

Mani nodded. "As far as seven-and-a-half foot tall bastards go, he's an OK guy," he added with a snicker.

There was another chuckle on the other end, much deeper than Rigma's. "Good evening Neil, Mani," came a deep, slightly accented voice as opposed to the Mountaineer's. "It's nice to know that your opinion of me hasn't changed. Consistency is an admirable trait."

Natalie sat up as she heard the new voice, having not expected the sudden change, nor the civil tone after what had just been said about him. "Evening, Mr. Ledanyo," Neil greeted, never missing a beat. "I wasn't aware that you were working in this city now."

"Haven's an opportunity waiting to happen, my young associate. I'm to understand that Ms. Albrook met an untimely demise on this evening. You have my condolences."

There was a brief silence in the room. Natalie sighed and lowered her head while Mei-Lynn turned her head away from the phone, a pained expression on her face. "What business do you have with Mr. Delgato?," Neil finally asked.

"As I'm sure you are aware, certain events took place at Chateaux Dargosa on this evening that have, to be brief, annoyed me. I'm to understand that you were involved, but not solely to blame, yes?"

"Howso?"

"Lady Tikara's agents were sloppy, and quite foolish. I realize that Tikara had placed a hefty bounty on her head, but I would have thought someone among that lot would have had the common sense to not to try and collect right then and there. My patrons could have been hurt, and I don't like people thinking that my club is unsafe."

"What do you propose?"

"Mutual benefiting from the situation that has come about. I'll be taking the opportunity later this evening to convey my displeasure to some of Tikara's followers- a few of my most trusted ambassadors are away on business, alas, and would like to extend the opportunity to you. Your skills can be an asset, and I'm sure you would like to have words with Lady Tikara's agents in regards to the whereabouts of your friends."

Several gazes were exchanged in the room. There was a look of apprehension in some eyes, but the realization that this was probably one of their best chances at finding their friends was also apparent. Neil quickly hit the mute button on the phone. "Me and Mani will go. Natalie and Mei-Lynn, you two will stay here..."

"Like hell I will!," Natalie quickly shot back, standing to her feet. "If you think I'm going to just sit here like a bump on a log while you two run off to play hero..."

"We've dealt with Ledanyo before," Mani quickly interrupted. "While he generally is one to honor his word, that doesn't mean that we totally trust this guy. Rather than get all of us in some crap we can't handle, I'd prefer to keep you two out of this for the time being. The moment we know what's going on, you have my word that we'll let you know the deal." Natalie began to look about the room at the faces of those present. Mei-Lynn nodded slowly while Neil held a neutral expression. Mani sighed. "Please, Natalie."

She growled as she sat back down. "Whatever."

Neil nodded before pressing the mute button again. "Fine, Mr. Ledanyo. You'll have the assistance of Mani, Sir Delgato, and myself."

"Outstanding. My associates will be at Ms. Zhang's abode within the hour."

The light click signified that the conversation had ended. "Just how the hell does he know where I live?," Mei-Lynn wondered aloud.

"Zedaro has his ways," Neil remarked, standing to his feet. "You're the daughter of an EvaTech exec, I wouldn't be too concerned with your safety. He's no idiot, he knows who not to screw with. Might I inquire as to the where-abouts of the equipment we brought over here earlier, I get the feeling that we might need it before the night's done."

"Follow me." Mei-Lynn began to lead the group to the private dojo she had showed Natalie and Mani earlier that evening. "And while you two are away, Natalie and I will see about securing some transportation out of this city. I get the feeling that we're going to need it soon enough."

There was an almost tangible silence within the elevator on the way down from Mei-Lynn's apartment- Natalie wasn't terribly uncomfortable, but she still found herself without much to say. The low hum of the elevator's descent into the parking garage was more than enough background noise to keep her occupied at the moment- she felt like she should say something, but exactly what eluded her. 'Hey Mei-Lynn, where did you get that freaking arsenal?' currently held the top spot for questions that needed to be asked, but she decided against it. After Neil and Mani had been picked up by Zedaro's agents, Mei-Lynn had showed Natalie a hidden case of weapons behind a wall of swords in the dojo- inside was, to be blunt, the biggest damn stash of guns that Natalie had ever laid eyes upon. With the way she fought, and with the number of weapons she had concealed inside, Natalie felt woe for the fool that would try and break in Mei-Lynn's apartment. The Evandalin currently had a large, black bag slung over her shoulders, which she imagined contained even more weapons- she began to feel uneasy without her own sword at her side, carelessly left behind in their room at the Plaza, now most likely a police exhibit. Natalie's fingers danced along the handle of the briefcase in her left hand, containing several pistols they had packed as a safety precaution. A sigh escaped her lips, much louder than she had expected.

"Is everything ok, Natalie?," Mei-Lynn wondered, turning a concerned gaze towards the younger lady. Natalie could tell from her expressive brown eyes that it was a legitimate question, not just idle conversation. She managed a quick nod.

"Yeah," she raspily replied, casually running her free hand down the sides of her skirt. She hadn't realized that her palms had been sweating. "Just a bit... nervous, I suppose."

Mei-Lynn nodded and sighed. "Yeah. So am I."

More silence. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

Natalie nodded. "I know Lotus was your friend, but I still wanted to ask. How exactly did you get involved with this?"

The Evandalian's gaze fell to the ground for a moment, and Natalie began to regret having asked. Mei-Lynn looked back up and tried her best to smile. "I have a sister," she began. "We're pretty close. About six months ago, she fell in with a few outworlders. After that, we started talking less and less, and a few weeks later, she just disappeared."

"Dark Dance?"

The elevator came to a stop as they reached their destination. "Yeah," she answered. She grabbed the bags and stepped out into the parking garage, with Natalie close behind. "Lotus and I just happened to meet, and found that we had a mutual interest in some of the city's newest visitors. If anything happened to my sister, there will be some hell to pay."

"I just want some answers from these women," Natalie made known. "If I don't like what I hear, I'll take things from there." Her eyes narrowed as she continued following Mei-Lynn, wondering idly if Darren and the others were okay. He didn't have much to do with the situation that had come about, but she had seen that Dark Dance possessed a twisted sense of justice. What could have Lotus's crime had been in order to convince them to throw her from...

Natalie shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the thought. She just wanted to get as far away from these people as possible, and she knew the longer she and her friends were trapped here, her life was in danger. Her musings were suddenly cut off as Mei-Lynn came to a sudden stop.

"We have visitors," she quickly noted. She made a motion near some of the vehicles in the garage, where three women stood conversing among themselves. Natalie could feel her blood start to boil as she recognized a few faces from their fight earlier that evening. "It's Nadira," Mei-Lynn added, nodding her head towards the short purple-haired young lady at the front. "I was upset that I didn't get to hurt her at the Chateaux," she remarked, an evil grin crossing her lips. "I think things are starting to look up." The group noticed the two approaching and began to look more attentive, watching both ladies closely as the made their way through.

"Security- unauthorized guests in level two of the parking garage," Mei-Lynn stated loudly, as if she were trying to get the attention of some agent hidden from their views. A smirk crossed Nadira's face as a look of confusion crossed Mei-Lynn's. "Security," she repeated, a bit louder this time. "Unauthorized..."

"Save your breath," Nadira interrupted, shrugging nonchalantly. "The Vox-Alert system has been disabled for the time being, no one can hear you. We'd like to have a word with you two ladies."

"Natalie..." The blue-haired Evandalian touched her hand lightly. "Do you think you can keep these three busy for about ten seconds?"

Natalie raised a brow. "I'd be better off with my sword, but I think I can manage. Why?"

"I just need a little time to end this before it gets ugly."

"Do you think we should ask about our friends?"

"I don't think they'd tell us here, and I'm not about to go with them. Not right now."

"I agree."

Without warning, Natalie tossed the briefcase she was toting towards her left with such force that it probably would have knocked the first girl unconscious had she not threw up her hands to block it at the last possible moment. As the girl staggered, Natalie immediately lashed out with a kick to the right, which caught the second girl by surprise, then quickly grabbed her by the lapels of her trenchcoat and spun her towards her friend, sending the two crashing to the ground. A rush of adrenaline coursed through her system as she felt an arm wrap around her neck from behind and begin to choke her- Nadira, as Mei-Lynn had called her. "Now... is all this really necessary?," she calmly asked. The other two women were slowly standing to their feet and looked a little angry, causing Natalie to wonder where directly the hell Mei-Lynn had gone off to.

Without a word Natalie kicked back and planted her foot squarely on Nadira's shin, causing the Evandalin to scream and loosen her grip. The other two quickly began to rush towards them as Natalie broke free and got behind Nadira, sending her sprawling towards her friends with a kick planted firmly on the small of her back. Nadira was quickly caught and spun around- all three women glared at the young lady, looking as if they were ready to beat her an inch from death. Natalie's eyes began to narrow as she slowly took up her stance.

There was a loud *click* from behind the three as Mei-Lynn rose from behind one of the vehicles in the parking garage, lugging one of the most disgustingly massive weapons Natalie had ever laid eyes on. To call it a mere 'gun' would have done it a disservice- the device she held in her hands looked capable of taking out a city block with minimal effort, a massive gleaming silver piece of destruction held in place with both hands and a shoulder strap. Her eyes were intense and focused, but there was no denying the grin on her face. "Fine," she slowly began, moving the portable cannon between the three. "Which one of you bitches wants to lose a torso?"

Several hushed curses were heard from among the three, all of whom had backed away from Natalie. Even more confident than before, the dark-haired young lady paused for a moment to make sure her outfit was in order before walking over to the briefcase she had tossed at the girl earlier. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of Nadira, who was standing right in front of the case. With a light shove, Natalie moved her aside without protest, picked up the case, and made her way over to where Mei-Lynn stood. "That was a bit longer than ten seconds," she hissed.

Mei-Lynn shrugged. "Sorry. The cartridge got stuck."

"There's no need for this to get any uglier than it already has," Nadira calmly put forth, making sure to avoid any sudden movements lest Mei-Lynn be forced to make good on her threat. "Mistress Tikara only wants to speak with you."

"I've seen the way your group speaks, Dancer," Mei-Lynn growled. "In fact, I believe you talked poor Lotus to death."

Nadira shook her head, her purple lockes bouncing about in a rhythmic sway. It wasn't an apologetic motion, just one that showed that she disagreed with what had been said. "Lotus Albrook defied the Order. She had it coming. There was nothing you or your friends could have done to avoid it. She was an outsider, disowned by her own Clan, for crying out loud..."

"Say whatever you want to justify it, I don't care," Natalie quickly interrupted. She cast a sympathetic gaze to Mei-Lynn, but it instantly soured as she turned her attention back to Nadira. "Maybe we would have been willing to discuss this before all of the attacking, kidnapping, and murder. But as of right now, I would like nothing more than to tell this Tikara broad to go to whatever Hell she believes in. The sooner you bring back our friends, the sooner we're out of your life."

"A number of your associates are to stand trial for opposing the Order in the past. Their fate is not in my hands, but in that of the Council, who will determine..."

"Oh, COME OFF IT!," Mei-Lynn suddenly shouted, giving the rifle a violent shake that caused the three young women to quickly jump simultaneously. Natalie even felt a bead of sweat forming on her own brow from the sudden outburst. "'Their fate is not in my hands, but in that of the Council, who will decide...,'" she repeated. "You sound like you're reading from a goddamned manual!" She suddenly raised the rifle, pointing it towards the far wall on the other side of the parking garage. "I hope you paid the security guards a small fortune, because there's no way in hell they're going to be able to ignore this..."

Outside, the late night traffic continued about at its regular pace. A group of teenagers standing on the corner shouted a greeting to a few of their friends across the street and waved them over, getting a good laugh out of the fact that one of their lot just narrowly avoided getting smeared by an approaching car. The group of rainbow-headed delinquents shouted words of encouragement to their friends, who were currently engaged in a heated argument with the driver of the hover car.

That all ended as a massive blast tore its way from the side of The Jade's parking garage. Several large chunks of concrete from the building hit the streets, immediately bringing an end to the argument as it became very apparent that it wasn't the best place to be standing. Running for safety was soon replaced with diving for life and limb as both the driver of the vehicle, and the young man he nearly hit earlier were both forced to scramble as a black Enigma 500-SX launched out of the parking garage and rounded the corner, accelerated, and shot down the street away from the commotion.

As was to be expected, the security response was, indeed, quite sudden and plentiful. And with a quick phone call to key EvaTech staff members, the entire security team at the Jade was suddenly fired, and replaced, within the hour.