"The sewers?" Luke may be a theif and used to entering places through other means than the front door, but the sewer? He had to do that once when he escaped from prison. It wasn't the filth that bothered him. It was the fact that he didn't know the pipe network of this city. After all, what good would it do them if they just got lost?
However, this know it all Tech gentlemen seemed to know what was going on, his way around the city, and seemed to take a few precauions. Luke liked that. But, on question was bugging him.... Why did this guy have a safe house? Luke, who did not know he was the 2nd most wanted man in the country he stole famous items from and caused a lot of interior problems for, had to wonder if this Tech was up to something in this city.
Who cares? Got to trust him for now and see where it goes.
"Fine. Let's take the sewers. The police are outside, we have to move. NOW!"

Sheryl glanced around, her mind spinning through all the events. They had happened so fast. The policemen... the other recruits... the expedition. She turned to Lewis, who had a nervous look to him. What had she brought upon him? She felt almost sorry for the mess she had wrought when a sudden pang of dizziness struck her.

Her vision blurred, and she almost toppled, grasping a table to steady herself. It was a side effect of her condition. Her memory flashed to the day when the abomination was created. Scientists... Norvanian guards with Stingers... an operating room where they cut open her brain. She remembered drifting in and out of consciousness, hearing sharp, raspy orders from a short, bald man. She remembered the pain, and the strange, cold feeling when her new robotic limbs were attached. And she remembered the zap when her brain fried, cutting off nervous impulses to her tongue and sending waves of dizziness throughout her body.

She tried to speak, but all they heard was an incoherent jumble. The scientists were speaking in rushed voices; the bald leader trying to yell sharp orders over the others' arguments. She sat up and looked at her arms. A sharp blade was attached to the end of her right hand, and a cannon mounted on her left. She aimed the cannon and fired. An explosion. The huddle of scientists lay on the ground in agony. The guards turned, but she killed them too. She cut the wires binding her to the table and stood tentatively, wobbling on her new metal legs. She began to walk over to the dying Norvanians. The bald man stared up at her in terror. A frightened sob escaped from his lips. She bent down, and sliced his head clean off.

She escaped, and ran. Across the Norvanian desert. Miles of sand under a blazing sun. She found an airship and threatened the pilot, who nervously flew her to Libennia. There, she attempted to board a flight home, but found the guards unwilling to let her through. And that's when she saw the advertisement, and the chain of events took flight.

She was jolted back to the present by a sudden banging. The police were outside, knocking on the stairwell door! She quickly turned to the others and pointed in the one direction they could flee. Up.

"Well, I suppose. But I enjoy a good brawl. Once, I had to." Said Tech when Luke interrupted "Is now really the time?" "I suppose not." Tech said, with a hint of disappointment. "So, what's the choice going to be?" Tech said, readying a small knife.

Up, of course! Luke, if no one else was willing to go, headed toward the window. "to the roof then?"

"We don't seem to have much of a choice," said Lewis. "Let's go. We'll discuss matters further when we get out of here."

"But who's gonna take this guy?" said Luke, motioning towards the unconscious officer. "We can't climb and lug him around."

Without speaking, Sheryl suddenly stepped forward. Bending down towards the officer, she picked him up and lug him over her shoulder with relative ease.

"There we go," said Lewis, impressed by her strength. "Now. There's a way to get to the top of the building just down the inner hallway. From there we can enter Corrider 56, which will take us straight across King towards Falcon Court. There are all sorts of places we can go from there. Everybody... follow me, I suppose!"

Lewis walked towards the back end of his apartment, and opened the entrance opposite the balcony, where everybody else had entered. This was the main hallway, circling the building from the inside and providing access to the inner apartments. The rest of the party followed, unsure of where they were going but not wanting to stick around.

Lewis showed them the door that led to the roof of the building, and unlocked it with a key. They followed him up the stairs and out onto the roof, a large, flat place with little to see but birds and dirt.

Despite the dizzying view offered by Lewis' apartment building, it was quite shabby compared to the taller complexes arround. The party glanced nervously around. Sheryl took a peek over the side of the roof. A few policemen were standing around, but the rest were obviously in the building, trying to break through. She hoped that the table barricade she'd placed earlier would stand long enough for them to escape.

The group looked toward their leader, who was now trudging toward a long walkway. "Corridor 56," he had called it. It was a long bridge, extending across the street and bending into the cluster of buildings opposite the apartment. However, it looked ancient and close to crumbling. Cracks spread through the stone, and a large gap appeared on the right edge.

Luke grimaced. "Are you sure this is, uh, safe?"

Lewis glanced back. "Don't worry, it's much more stable than it looks. An airship crashed here a few years ago, but no one's gotten around to fixing it up yet."

Unsure about that reassurance, the group hesitantly began the crossing.

Cecile could only follow, although on the inside, she was horrified, puzzled by everything happening. In a flash, a shorter time than it seemed, there was she, following a party of strange people to her, only because she had no other choice but to. There were policemen outside and if she was found, she would have been arrested no matter whether she has done anything wrong or not.

Luke loved danger. He loved excitement. That's why he was in the line of work that he was. But this? Running from the police for a unknown reason? They want the metal person....But why? What could have happened? He let the thoughts go, running behind Sheryl and Lewis. He was used to running on unstable fixtures such as crumbling rooftops, but he was normally alone. This was not the start of the day, and an adventure he had hoped for. He held his cap onto his head as they ran, fearing losing his favorite piece of apparel. As the group ran, Luke took a moment to look over the side and down at the officers...... A lot of men for a small group. He wondered if they were caught, if arresting or executing the group was their intention.
No, this wasn't the Empire. This is a peaceful land. Or something less vile then the land he had escaped from.
Luke continued to run with the group, hoping this Corrider 56 would lead them to a more private and safe area to discuss this adventure.

Felix read the poster about it and decided he should go for it and try to escape trisec. So, looking at the adress on the poster he ran as fast as he could to there but had to avoid the trisec operatives that were after him. After reaching lewis's apartment he runs in to the apartment but it is empty he begins to panic "i'm too late, i'm too late, i'm too late" he kept thinking so he walks outside looking at the building he sees a large group of people all different kind and such so he assumes that they are there for the trip on the poster. So he runs up on to the rooftops and catches up with the group "hey, is this the travel to the other side of the world thing?" yes said Lewis "good" Felix said "you got room for one more?"
"i guess so" said lewis.
"Great" replied Felix
"whats with the police guy?" he finds out what happned up to now "right then" said Felix "lets keep going then shall we?"

Matt was walking briskly down the catwalks over King Street. Why briskly? In order to hide his sadness - today was the deadline, and he was going to the bank to concede his ship, or at least technically. He wasn't planning on doing it. If push came to shove he was even going to invoke his right to family matters, claim there was a death in the family, and get another week. Where to from there - he didn't know. Maybe he'd run away to another country, or... or... and the flyer came back into his head. “special expedition to the other side of the world – riches beyond your wildest dreams!” And, conveniently, the address happened to be right across the street from the bank. All he'd need to do was make a quick stop on the way.

Sadly thinks didn't turn out the way he'd hoped. There was a police barricade in front of the apartment. Something else was on his mind though. He had caught a glimpse of a party of travelers making their way across Corridor 56 - the Corridor 56 he had smashed into when his ship was damaged a couple years back. (Noverian Air Blockade Run)
"Fuck!" He exclaimed, desperate to find a way to stop the inevitable political shitstorm if one of the travelers was hurt during the crossing. Only one thing came to mind.

Matt charged, shoulder barred through the balcony and later inner door, of the next, locked, apartment, with the nearby policemen hot on his trail. He bounded up the stair to the roof - running down the walkway, screaming "Get down from here!" at the party of travelers, as policemen began filing out of the stairwell.

Felix instantly turning round to see a man yelling "Get down from here!" running up to this man he covers this mans mouth with his mechanical hand "shhhhhhhh" he whispers "whats the problem?"

The party turned nervously as the newcomer struggled to free himself. "We gotta get off! This bridge could crumble any second!"

Halfway down the bridge, Sheryl frowned. She had found the platform sturdy enough, and crossed swiftly, keeping her eyes from peering down lest she succumb to fear. But a few others were visibly shaking, especially after the stranger's warning. Her eyes narrowed as she turned and saw the police exiting the stairwell, shouting commands after the band. She motioned for the group to hurry.

The ragtag team continued to scurry, when a sudden blast echoed across the street. Turning, Sheryl growled. The police had lobbed a gaseous bomb at them; but while it fell short, the explosion had weakened the already-damaged structure.

As they prepared to toss another, the precarious bridge began to wobble. Another blast would surely destroy the Corridor! Sheryl stopped and quickly inserted a rock into her cannon-arm. Taking aim, she fired, hitting an officer square in the chest, who dropped the grenade. She turned back and began to sprint, but she was already meters behind her companions. As they neared the edge of safety, a large crack signaled the final collapse of Corridor 56-- and Sheryl fell amidst the whirling wreckage of pebbles and dust.

Luke turned and saw Sheryl fall. "Not...not good!" He was a man of quick actions, and knew he couldn't just leave the metal person to fall into the hands of the officers; if that is indeed what they were after. He looked for simple footholds; this was his thing, these were the conditions Luke shined in. He leaped off the rooftops and onto a flagpole, grabbing it and spinning on it. He release, and landed on a small balcony. He jumped down from it and onto a rail, very gracefully. He leaped again to another pole, and jumped from it in Sheryl's direction. He hoped her frame of metal would keep her safe, as not ordinary person would likely live when buried under all that rubble.

Felix turned around to if any police followed them but instead he saw one of the group jump of a rooftop he immidiatly turns to the group to tell them and notices that the metal girl is gone beliving he worked out what happned. That cyborg got trapped somewhere behind us all and then that man went to rescue her. He had to tell everyone "Wait!" he yelled they couldn't hear him. "Hey Everyone!" no response again. In a final attempt he runs as fast as he can in front of all of them and yells in a deep booming voice "STOOOOOP!" they stopped. "hey you do know that we lost the cyborg girl and somebody else jumped after her you do know this right?"

Sheryl stirred.
Her massive frame was creaking and groaning. As she shifted, a layer of dust and pebbles sprinkled from above, making her cough. Ignoring her discomfort, she moved her arms to lift the bulk of stone resting on her shoulder. As she freed herself from the pile of rubble, the last rays of sunlight poured back in, illuminating a high view of the crumbled bridge below.

She was standing on a roof-- on the far side of the street.

It was in the last few moments when she'd found it. A long, bent piece of metal from the airship crash and a coiled rope, probably the remains of some shredded ladder. Upon instinct, she'd fitted it into her cannon gun and fired. The metal landed over a rooftop and stuck in place, pulling the rope-- and Sheryl-- over. Narrowly escaping the fall, she had pulled herself over the side, the rope barely holding, before collapsing directly under the edge of the bridge, the last part to fall.

Now, brushing dust off her plated body, she began moving toward the stairs, when a call echoed across. She froze. A man from the party was looking for her! And he had somehow maneuvered himself down, towards the rubble on the street, dangerously close to the remains of the police blockade. The police... she thought. They had seen the bridge fall, and were no doubt on their way down to check. She tried to call out to the man, Luke, but only a growl escaped her lips.

And so she grabbed the metal rod and began hitting it against the side of the building, hoping he would turn and see. BING. BING. BING.

Felix walked as close as he could to the edge of the rooftop where that man jumped off and waited with a slightly worried feeling. He heard the sound of cannon fire and and shortly after the sound of metal hitting metal Felix began thinking of what could be happening over there "could the police have gotten to her and started hitting her with a metal pipe?" he thought. "that would explain the metal sound but how could they get there?" Another idea started formulating "so she's metal there could be metal there but why would she, i don't , but maybe" he couldn't think clearly he sat down and waited looking out at the sky and waiting for them to get back so they could continue. but a worried thought started formulating "i'm here to escape an organisaition that wants me dead but what if they find me?" he thought, he abolished that thought and continued waiting.

Being at the rear of the group Matt saw most of what happened. And if he hadn't Felix's running and screaming would have informed him of what happened well

enough. After Felix's little display, the other members of the group became restless at the thought of losing somebody, and nobody could break the silence

that had descended upon them.

Matt cursed inwardly at himself, but it wasn't the implications of Corridor 56's collapse that troubled him. No, that was at the very rear of his mind.

Rather a memory had come back to taunt him... ...Madison... ...his first mate and his lover. A series of pictures flashed before his eyes.

A violent storm.
A ripped safety cleat.
A crew member slowly tumbling leewards.
Matt jumping off the deck in pursuit with glider in hand.
And then the worst one - not being able to grasp her hand as a squall tore him away.

That voyage may have given him riches, but at what cost. Matt knows he has to keep ahold of the Hispaniola, its all that he has left. The though gives him

new resolve - new resolve to help his newfound friends, in the hope they may help him

"It's not going to turn out like that this time." Matt tells his disbelieving self, as he pulls a collapsable glider out of his rucksack.
...
...
...
He jumps

BING BING BING
She's okay.....And not down here!
Luke was most of the way down to the collapsed rubble, and was really kicking himself now for putting himself in such dander when Sheryl was alive and well on a rooftop. Granted, he didn't know that when he leaped, but at least she signaled to him before he was to compromised by the charging police force.
He heard Felix's screaming and looked, then began to climb, back up; how annoying. If anyone didn't already know what had occurred, this...gentlemen...was more than willing to broadcast it the whole city. He had to protect Felix in case anything happened to him. Who knows what that blabbermouth knows about this expedition? Don't need him tipping off the law....
Luke had reached the last few handholds he could in the building. He got onto a balcony, jumped on a flag poll, and now stood near Sheryl. "Alright, quit your banging, and let's catch back up to.."
He stopped.
He just looked and watched another individual, Matt leap off the building. "Who is that and what does he think he's doing?"

I think he is going...gliding. Wait here, I'll catch up to him." Tech said calmly.

Tech scanned the area and set his route, jump down to the windowsill, bounce off to the wall on the opposite side, wall kick until I reach the top, run along the power lines, jump from tree to tree, run up the wall until I reach the top, grab the ledge, pull myself up and pull the glider down.

"OK, got it." He said, normally.

Tech positioned himself along the rooftop to jump onto the windowsill. "Luke, pay attention." He then jumped onto the windowsill with unexpected dexterity, jumped of the windowsill as soon as he hit it, and wall kicked off the wall, then again on the wall with the window and did this a couple of times and reached the top, he grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up, he then ran along the rooftop and jumped down onto the power lines and ran along them until he reached the park, then without hesitation he leapt catlike to the trees and then leapt from tree to tree, he then reached the wall on the other side of the tiny park, leapt from the tree and ran up the wall, grabbed the ledge, pulled himself up and took hold of the glider as it passed over head and asked, "Where the hell are you going?"

Matt, at first taken aback by the newcomer on his glider, soon replied with equal animostity "to save your damn asses" He then proceeded to maneuver the glider to a halt on the roof where Luke and Sheryl where waiting.

Tech greeted the landing with a bit of a sneer, asking "Do you really think that hunk of junk will carry us back up?"

Matt wasn't worried however, pulling an extension kit, and a pair of chemical rockets out of his rucksack. "Modifications - the basic version failed me before" he explained as he proceeded to fasten the new parts to his glider. After a couple of minutes everything was in order, and Matt ordered everyone to "hold on tight".

The three others met this at first with apprehension, especially Sheryl - who could only grip the bar with one hand. The anxiety quickly dissapted, as the glider shot up towards the ledge where the rest was waiting at an admirable speed.

As they neared the ledge, and the wall behind it, anxiety came back once more. Matt didn't cringe though. Instead he pulled a cord, and a parachute shot out the back, bringing the to a stop.

"how d'you like it?" he asked Tech with a grin

"Brutal, very brutal. Far too shaky. You are using an oil, oxygen mixture, it would be far quieter if you were to use a petroleum, ether mixture it would allow for a quieter, smoother ride." Tech said, swiftly.

"What now?" Tech asked.

Matt didn't have much of an idea on what to do next, but he couldn't stand the insult to his engineering, after all who does this Tech think he his? Matt put on the most scientific voice he could, and proceeded to explain "Actually this is not an oil, oxygen mixture, but rather an H2/O2 mixture, cutting edge tech only recently presented at the academy of sciences by one Sir Humphrey Davey. It may be a bit shaky but it makes up for that with its great kick, and by the fact that -" He pauses to take down one of the used rockets and pull a cork out of its frame, causing water to pour out of the exposed hole " - its good for the environment and our health, it only emits pure water, which is also quite useful."

"Hey, eggheads." Luke spoke while walking toward the rest of the group.
"Your fancy machines may make life convenient, easier, and all that, but let's be practical." He tapped his head, grinning as if he was almost mocking the two. "Just because you know the textbooks front to back doesn't mean you're the best. Let's save the bickering and move forward. Hell, I'm pretty sure most of still need to be interview for this extravaganza." He walked closer to the group and stopped. "I don't think the police will bother us now, so let's go for it!"

Lewis' mind was still reeling from what has just transpired. It had all happened so quickly - an explosion, the sound of twisting metal, and then... silence.

He stood next to Cecile and Petrus, going over in his mind how a simple action had caused such a fiasco. Everythng had escalated out of control so quickly, and he berated himself for handling the situation as poor as he had. But here they all were now, together in a group, safe. Nobody seemed to be injured, and they would be safe here from the police - for the time being.

With the dust settled and the situation normal, all eyes were focused on him, waiting for what he had to say. In the chaos Lewis had completely forgotten what his original intentions were, why he had even summoned this ragtag group together in the first place.

He stuck his hand in his pocket, checking to make sure the pyramid-shaped object inside was still okay. Lewis let out a quiet sigh of relief as he felt it was still intact, unharmed from the stumbles and falls it had recently endured.

He took a good look at the group, and for the first time he was able to quite clearly see their faces. This was not how he had intended to meet his team, but he was impressed by their quick thinking and skills. Lewis was still unsure whether they'd be able to handle the obstacles that inevitably lay ahead, but at least he knew they weren't completely useless.

"I suppose we're all fugitives now," Lewis said, wiping dust from his spectacles. "But that's quite alright. Surely we would end up being criminals sooner or later."

"What do you mean?" asked Michael.

"This is going to take a while," Lewis replied. "Let's get a little more comfortable."

"Why were you all being chased by the law, anyway?" piped Matt. "What the hell is going on?"

Lewis realized that Matt and Felix were still unaware of Sheryl's incident. "To sum it up..." Lewis started.

"...Sheryl here had a little incident." Tech interrupted. "She punched a cop in the face."

"She attacked a police officer?!" Michael said. "What on earth is somebody like that even doing here? She's dangerous!"

"Now just hold on a second," said Lewis. "The whole fiasco was the result of a lot of jumping to conclusions. I'm very certain Sheryl is compltely harmless, despite her intimidating frame. She'll prove to be a fine asset on our crew, I'm sure of it."

Sheryl looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with other members of the group. Lewis wondered whether she felt ashamed at causing the debacle, but for a moment, he wondered whether she could feel anything at all.

"So." Lewis stood atop a pile of bricks that lay on the roof. He assumed an authoritative pose, holding his hands behind his back and keeping his shoulders back. He knew he needed to impress these people, after what had happened, and convince them to stay.

"You're all here for the same purpose, no doubt. At one point or another you saw a flyer I had released, advertising a 'quest'. Let me be clear in saying that this is most definitely a quest - likely the most dangerous and adventurous any of you have ever taken in your lives."

And as he stood there, on his little pile of bricks, looking down at all eight of them, he felt a sudden burst of optimism and hope. Here were eight people who knew nobody else here, that had journeyed from faraway lands to make it here. They had come for different reasons, but he knew already their determination and confidence. He liked these people.

"Now. The road ahead is not an easy one. It will require intense devotion and many kinds of sacrifices from each of you. There will be times when you may feel as if all hope is lost, as if you have no possible chance to survive. I will not put this lightly - I will not guarantee your survival."

Lewis thought back to the day Carver Gallagher, his mentor and friend, was killed. The airship crash. Insufferable pain plagued him, shocked his very core. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, pinned down by tons of metal and brass. Gallagher lay a few feet away, his corpse lifeless. Clutched in his hands was a small object, a key...

"Lewis?"

He snapped back to reality. The blank stares of his crew looked at him with quizzical expressions.

"Terrible sorry," said Lewis. "Just... I was just thinking. Apologies. Moving on."

((will continue this thought when i get the chance, probably not until sunday. it's getting late and everything i type is turning into garbage))

"ok ok ok so sheryl punched a guy i'm sure she had her reasons" said Felix
"Now" he continued "For those who don't know i have a Mechanical arm" he ripped off his shirt sleeve to show his mechanical "now i could give my whole life story about my arm but i'm not, but i do think i should tell you how i got it as i think that just my being here has put you all in danger, because it was given to me by a norvanian government who now want me dead, now i don't thnk they know where i am or where we're going but I thought you should all know" he put hs glove back on.
So now what do we do then lewis?

"Kid." Luke spoke to Felix without looking at him, folding his arms, looking down, and softly kicking a little rock.
"Slow down when you talk, enunciate your words, breath, and speak from your diaphragm. You'll find that doing so makes us actually catch what you're saying, because all of that passed over my head completely. All I heard was 'mechanical arm this, government that.' You said you were not going to tell us why you have your arm, and frankly, I don't think any of us care. I'm a fugitive of the Novanian government too, and I'd be willing to bet they didn't follow you all the way here. So calm down. Thanks."

"Yeah ok, i was just worrying because i saw them all about Libennia" Felix responded
"But don't call me Kid, i'm 27 what're you 20?"
"So" Felix continued "what now, we all ready?"

Cecile was really taken in by the happenings, by the events. But she knew she had to get hold of herself, to get hold of her surroundings. At least, they were all together and safe, for now. And as Lewis explained their mission explained that they might not survive, Cecile had to think about it. But she has already come this far, to give up? She wanted adventure, she wanted some excitement, even if it wasn't safe.

She finally spoke up and said, "I've already come this far and I am not coming back now. What do we exactly have to do, Lewis, and what exactly is this quest?"

"Yeah" Felix interupted "What is this about, where are we going?"

Sheryl looked around impatiently, waiting for their leader to speak. At the same time, she felt a sudden pang of guilt. She had brought this on them. And she didn't even want anything to do with their adventure. All she had wanted was a ride home.

Yet none of the others knew this. Without her voice, she was powerless. Just an empty, fighting shell. Struggling in the silence to find her thoughts, she finally rested her mind on a decision. She would help the team achieve their goal, to make up for the trouble, and then leave.

She put a hand on Lewis's shoulder, who started, surprised. Looking up into her eyes, the leader saw a glint of regret, but also of hope. And trust. He knew, all of a sudden, that with this ragtag team, he at least had a fighting chance. "All right," he continued, withdrawing a small object from his pocket. "This plan, this adventure, involves this key..."