Black Friday is over, who was open in Paradise?

[Atticus Batman]

I finally get us to Port Bruno Station. My ego, Dinara, tells me we are still safe. My body is aching from all the activity lately, due to not being active in the better part of a year thanks to those damn assassins. So I park in a safe place, in the remains of a parking garage, and lean back to relax for a little while, admiring the woman's strength and beauty. As I begin to think about things. In my head, "By Irzu, why after all this time with everyone coming and going from my life, do you bring her? Can we really both continue as heroes perhaps even friends, or is she the one that will finally end my misery and kill me and this ACURSED GRID, Sazri skragi?!", after a short pause," You are too a fire sh*t! Fine, is Sazri Kakusi better? Of course you would prefer fire predator.......Wait how can I even hear you, I've never heard you before!

What Dinara?! With your completed activation and integration, I have full control over him, but in turn we can communicate, like you and I?!" Not realizing it, I yell the next part out loud.

"Skragi! Why must I now have two people yelling in my HEAD?! Dinara, I do NOT care if it is more efficient! He is a JEKKING GRID!!! I DO NOT WANT TO BE ALL FRIENDLY WITH HIM!!!

(Now addressing the Grid)

Shut the jek up! I still think Sazri skragi, fits you better! Oh? You insist, it's Sazri Kakusi, do you?! I will call you KAKUSI SKRAGI!!!"

(Laughs maniacally at his insult to his Grid companion)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bgi-clk8eo

"Fine, it's Sazri Kakusi!!! HAPPY?! I will call you Kakusi for short! NOW JUST SHUT THE JEK UP!!!"

(another pause as Dinara scolds me.)

Still talking out loud, "Wait, what?! I am talking out loud, and Starr Eyes heard me and must think I have lost it?!.......(Still staring at her even though I just realize it, I see her startled look from being awoken by my shouting self-argument.) "Oh Skragi! Sorry, Starr Eyes. I didn't mean to wake you." I then look away, but can realize it was too late, for she has already seen the embarrassment from me losing it, as well as the severe ache and tiredness that has taken hold while I was driving.

[blackgut]

elsewhere the helicopters touch down near an area called the fork droping off blackgut and 15 dragoons and then takeing off and flying back to the base they set up and been useing since the carrier that brought them here went down .

[blackgut]

i watch the helicopters fly off and think to myself about how wed borrowed those helicopters from the mutants who tried to ambush us once . ok dragoons lets move out and see if we can find us some volge

[Belle Starr]

From his body language and the tone of his voice Belle could tell that Atticus was embarrassed from his sudden outburst. She didn't need her enhanced hearing to hear what he had said, and it was clear that he was having trouble with his inner demon. Belle decided that he didn't need any more stress, so maintained a façade of normalcy, merely smiling as she pulled her long legs back into the car, then stretched her thin but muscular arms in front of her as she yawned, before saying, "Mr. Hyde giving you trouble? Y'all give him trouble right back, you hear!"

Belle avoided looking straight at Atticus as he regained his composure, not wanting to embarrass him any more than he was, so she looked around until she spotted the facility she needed, saying, "No apologies needed! It was time I woke up anyway! There's the little girls' room, I'll be right back!"

Belle arched her back after exiting the Challenger, kneading the kinks out of her back, then sashayed towards the Tunnel entrance. There was a steady flow of people travelling out of the tunnel and into Port Bruno, much more than normal, but Belle had more pressing matters to attend to. Belle entered the ladies room next to the tunnel entrance that linked Port Bruno to San Francisco.

After taking care of business, she went to the sink, throwing water on her face and refreshing her lipstick, raking her hand through her honey blond hair as she contemplated her image in the mirror. Belle thought she looked haggard, that the life she had thrust on her was aging her prematurely, and that she, like Atticus, would never have a chance at a normal life.

Belle replayed in her head what Atticus had asked earlier, "Tell me, don't I deserve a life after war, like everyone else?!"

"Yeah, both you and I deserve it," Thought Belle to herself, "But it's not likely either of us will get it!"

When she left the restroom, she went to the vendor, speaking to an E-Rep soldier stationed there, then sauntered over to the driver' side of the green Challenger, leaning in to speak to Atticus, "Seems like there is a lot Volge gathering in San Francisco, maybe another migration? Got a lot of folk spooked! According to Private Murphy there, the Volge are right where we want to go to get where we want to be! We could go around them, but from what I heard is that they are everywhere, so we may still run into some of them, and we'll add a lot of time to our trip!"



Before Atticus could respond, Belle's blue eyes narrowed and her face became flushed when she recognized one of the refugees coming out of the tunnel. A shabbily dressed dark skinned man with greasy black hair, a gold tooth and a unibrow evidently recognized her too, for he dropped the sack he was carrying and ran in the opposite direction from her. Belle sprinted after him, grabbing the bulky bag he dropped as she ran by, then expertly throwing it so that it hit him from behind just below the knees so that he fell in a ungraceful heap on the ground. He rolled over with a Magnum in his hand, pointing it at her abdomen, but without hesitation she exercised a perfect high kick, knocking the gun into the air which she caught with her right hand, pointing it at the man at her feet.

It was obvious to Atticus that Belle was seething with anger, as she gritted her perfect teeth and cocked the pistol pointed at the sneering man at her feet who relegated her with a string of obscenities in Spanish. He could tell that she wanted to kill the man, and it was taking every bit of her concentration to keep her inner monster contained.

Atticus moved silently behind her putting a hand gently on her right forearm, saying, "Starr Eyes, you don't want to do this! He is unarmed!"

"Oh yes, I really, really do!" Answered Belle, but then she sighed as she uncocked the pistol, putting it in the back of her belt. She pulled the still cursing man to his feet, unceremoniously handcuffing his hands behind his back.

Belle turned to Atticus and stated in a matter of fact way, "Looks like we have another passenger for our visit to Law Keeper Cooper!"

Atticus was glad that Belle could not see his facial expression under his helmet as he asked, "Who is this man to you Starr Eyes?"

Belle looked away for a second, then turned her steely blue eyes back to him as she answered him in a low determined voice, "He's one of three ark hunters that r-aped me a year ago in my first ark break ever, and I promised myself that this one I would bring back alive to face the law! Satisfied?"

[Atticus Batman]

"I am never satisfied. Law fails. Good people get hurt. Scum gets away. That is life. Personally, I am fine with him being dead. But then I AM 'The Harbinger of Death'. However that is not who you are. You are a law and order person. I am a make order out of chaos person. You did ask me to stop your more demonic side. You also know that, you killing an unarmed man goes against who YOU are, and want to be. I have no such penchant. Believe me if he needs death, he WILL get it."

I don't need to look at the pile that was leaning against my Challenger to know he almost crapped himself, at my mention of Cooper's favorite name for me. I look at him menacingly.

"That's right scum ball. I AM BACK IN PARADISE!"

I open my trunk, and pull out my pack and put it on the hood, then throw him in the trunk. As I start to close the trunk, he spits on me, so I punch him in the eye.

I glance at Belle, who jumped when I hit him, I calmly state, "He slipped, that's all." I glance at the trunk and say, "Isn't that right?" and he mumbles back with, "Yes sir, please don't kill me!"

"You are fine unless you relieve yourself in there. Besides, I doubt 'The Harbinger of Death' wants you dead, as bad as somebody (grits teeth and growls the last part), YOU traumatized in so many ways, does. Just hope, I don't change my mind about stopping her!"

I, then close the trunk. Next I grab my pack, and head to the bathroom.

"Hmm Volge, huh? Well knowing Blackgut and his 13th dragoons, they are probably already on the way, since they do fancy themselves, Elite Volge Hunters. Now, My turn. I am tired of this suit, I need one of my old friends back."

I tap my bag, then go into the bathroom. Once in there, I make sure I am alone, and there are no video bugs or anyway for anybody to see in. I relieve myself, then wash my hands. Then, as I remove my helmet, I look in the mirror and think to myself, "How can anybody really like this scarred face, throat or body? Of course, I doubt this deep husky voice, thanks to Coop's bullet hitting my larynx before damaging my first ego, helps any." Then I quickly take my Trion supporter outfit from the bag and put it on. Next I remove my 'Old Friend', my VBI Infiltrator helm, remove it's protective wrapping and put it on.

"much better."

I then wrap up my collective Predator helm, and place it and my Paladin suit in the bag, then go back out to the car and the lovely Belle. I put my bag in the back of my challenger, and slide my sumi and sword under the seat as I pull out my, EXL LMG and EXL Pistol, which I quickly holster, putting the LMG in the modified console holster between the bucket seats up front.

"I feel much better now. I assume the shtako in the trunk is still alive. Wouldn't want his vile blood and crud all over the interior."

I walk back and kick the trunk.

"Remember if you relieve yourself in there, you are dead once you are out!"

I walk back around and get in.

"Hop in Starr Eyes. You have two reasons to see Pooper now."

I quickly lift my infiltrator helm just enough to show my mouth and flash her an actually genuine though slightly daemonic appearing smile, and drop it back in place just as quickly.

[Belle Starr]

Belle Starr smiled back at Atticus, but he couldn't help but note it was a smile tinged with sadness, as if she had lost something she could never get back. Belle retrieved her weapons from the back seat of Atticus' green Challenger, then climbed back into the passenger seat. As they headed into the tunnel from Port Bruno, she checked her weapons to make sure they were ready for the coming battles, particularly lingering on her Thorn Liro charge blade and the memories it brought back to her.

As Belle stared at her Thorn Liro charge blade, she started to tell the tale of it's significance to Atticus, hoping it would bring her catharsis, but knowing it wouldn't. Her blue eyes never left the blade as she told her story until the end, when she shifted her glance to him, yet again wishing she had x-ray vision so that she could see his reaction through his helmet.



Although she has replaced the blade several time since she won her hard fought first one in the Thorn Liro arenas, becoming a champion of the Thorn Liro, it represented both the highest point and the lowest point of her life. She took to heart the speech the Thorn Liro leader had given her after successfully completing the five battle arenas, about how those in the highest positions of power should always protect those in the lowest. She had been so proud when he presented her with his mask, which was now on the wall above her desk in her home, always a reminder of her obligations to the common people.

But the Thorn Liro blade also brought back bitter memories as well, of events that occurred way before she earned it in the arenas. Shortly after her survival of the crash of the ERS New Freedom, Belle entered her first ark break, where three vicious ark hunters cornered Belle, beat her senseless, and - did despicable acts to her. Immediately after the sexual assault by the three men and after they left her for dead, she had found her gun where they had thrown it and put its barrel into her mouth with shaking hands, tears still flowing from her closed eyes. Belle couldn't pull the trigger, because she was still alive. Life was still precious to her.

Belle was nineteen then, an awkward lanky girl in a torn machinist uniform, but the more she thought about the r-ape, the emptier she felt. She started believing that it was her fault that it had happened, so weeks later she climbed to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge and jumped. When she hit the water she went unconscious, and woke up on the shore, not knowing how she got there. She found out later that her Volge genes had kept her from dying the minute she hit the water from that height and that it was her sister Rose that rescued her from drowning, although she knew neither fact at the time. It was then she realized that life would always be the choice for her, until the option was taken off the table.

Just months ago, she ran into two of the men who had wronged her, in two separate instances of happenstance. First when her team were traveling to Florida to retrieve an ark brain that had activated there. They had stopped in Freedom, Alabama, to get supplies and for some much needed R&R, so she had gone to the marketplace alone to find a skimpy bathing suit to surprise her boyfriend, when she spotted the red headed one of the three. He spotted her too and ran. She chased him through the crowded marketplace, finally cornering him in a blind alley. He pulled a blaster, she pulled her Thorn Liro sword and blurred! It was no contest as she unleashed her inner monster who sliced and diced him into a score of pieces. Freedom's Law Keeper released her from jail when vids and witnesses testified that the red headed man drew his gun first, so they called it self-defense, although she knew for a fact that the outcome would have been the same whether he had drawn a gun or not.

About a month later in Mt. Tam, she entered another ark break, seeing the portly balding bearded man that had held her down while the others had their way with her as he laughed, whereupon he had his turn. This time she did not wait for him to even draw a weapon before she set loose her inner monster and she executed her deadly ballet of death. No one saw her do it this time, but her friends found her covered in his blood, her Thorn Liro charge blade still activated in her hand and pieces of his body strewn all around her. Lucky for her, he had an outstanding bounty for a whole string of felony crimes he had done against the Earth Republic, so that Law Keeper Cooper not only didn't arrest her, but gave her a sizable amount of scrip for killing him. Belle promptly gave the money to charity, but it didn't change the fact that she would have killed him in just the same vicious manner whether he was wanted or not, and the friends that found her knew it from the look on her face.

Now the third man, the worst of the three, the sadist who beat her near to death after the three had defiled her and robbed her of her virginity, of her innocence, was in the trunk of the car she was riding in on it's way to the Law Keeper's jail. Belle mentally struggled as she fought the urge to demand that Atticus stop the car and let her inner monster loose on the man!

"No," Belle said in finality, "I have lost too much of myself to those three animals! I refuse to lose one iota more!"

[blackgut]

blackgut; recon report. dragoon ; sir we have 8 foot moblie up ahead near a few wreaked rollers all volge 1 vis 2 bombers 5 troopers heading north sir. blackgut; ok everyone swich to sinpers we will take the high ground to the east of them pick ur target and well take them out at the same time ok were osker mike and rember the visceral mine

[Atticus Batman]

After hearing the story, I stop the car, lean over and give her a big comforting hug then, go back to driving like it never happened.

"Sorry to hear that Starr Eyes. Don't worry. He will NEVER forget either of us after this trip."

I start to laugh maniacally again, then stop myself.

"Sorry. Guess I better tell you now since you will see him when he gets out of the trunk and begs, yes begs Cooper, to lock him up. If you had looked in the trunk you would have seen that my bag was strapped in place when I retrieved it. If it wasn't it would bounce around badly, like he is. Also behind that interior the whole trunk is lined with sharp bumps, a requirement of all my Challengers. So while he bounces around, he is getting quite the beating. Yes deplorable means in most people's eyes, however he deserves it and worse. He is going to look like a living pile of squashed grapes, when he gets out. So believe me he WILL be begging Coop to get him away from me, and after that seething rage, that you showed him, there is no way he will ever forget either of us.

Now Starr Eyes...Belle just calm down. He will NEVER hurt you again. And if he does he will be begging for that quick death you offered him back there, once I am done with him, for from me he will NEVER get a quick death!!! Just remember you can not let them get to you like that anymore, it is not who you are or were raised to be, besides if you give in like they want, then they ultimately win by further corrupting you. It may not be who Atticus Batman strives to be, but he is not the only one in here. (I tap my head) It's Beauty and the beasts up in there. Between what is left of Kabule still in there but hiding in the deepest recesses with his whisperings of vindication, the Grid calling himself Sazri Kakusi and insisting everyone get assimilated by us, Kabule's reincarnation known as yours truly Atticus Batman trying desperately to use their deplorable and sometimes viscous means for good, and my current ego the lovely Dinara, there are no more vacancies!

You see the biggest difference between us is, you kill a horrid individual, even the worst of the worst, and you hurt and feel as you lost part of you, and even feel bad for them. I kill them and I feel nothing for myself or for them, but satisfaction that one more thing that would hurt an innocent is gone forever. the innocents are safer, the garbage is gone, and I survive. It is the way it is.

Now onto more pressing matters. I am thirsty, but when I pulled my flask out of my bag I discovered it was empty. More importantly I haven't had any rum or more specifically Irathient rum in around a year! Unless there is some in either your bag, or that scum's bag in the back seat then we are taking a detour to Overpass to get some. Besides I am not the only one who wants it, Kakusi keeps asking for it as well. Something about helping my aches, pains, tiredness, and hunger."

Seeing Belle give me an odd look at that, I think to myself and mentally try to get Kakusi to clarify. After about an hour I finally get the information I want from Kakusi and start to talk again.

"Yes hunger.......... You see Starr Eyes, according to this 'DEMON' inside me, he needs specific nourishment. Apparently the combination of ingredients that goes into my favorite Irathi rum, provided him with lots of it. That is why he never completely took over when I had my first ego. He fed more from my thirst and love of rum than he wanted to risk losing. He tried taking control after it failed but Von Bach's scientists hade used what little information they had gathered to make a more advanced one. They kept working, and my last ego was even better, and kept him in control, but at the same time I felt weaker than I had before. It was because that ego basically shackled Kakusi. Egos one and two, barely kept him in check, two doing much better than one. Ego 4 has a different design technique. Instead of trying to control him like egos one and two or completely shackling Kakusi like ego three, ego four was made to allow me to fully harness his powers and energies by making us a hive mind working together with me ultimately in control. Yes I am in control. I just know peaceful and humane means are NOT always the best way! It is the burden that I must bear, for who else is capable and willing?!"

I then go back to focusing on the road, certain that the longer we travel, the more she'll realize she does not want a guy like me as a friend, and that thought actually saddens not only me but surprisingly Kakusi as well, and as such it becomes very visible in my demeanor, as I keep driving.

[Belle Starr]

Belle smiled briefly and shrugged her slim shoulders, saying, "I know peaceful and humane ways are not always the best way, but I have to agree with Ara that if we are ever to have Civilization back in the Bay Area, it has to become the first way. Violence should be a last resort among intelligent beings, but I'm pragmatic enough to know we are not there yet! Doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying!"

She watched the road a bit through the passenger window, her wide blue eyes watching objects the rocks and wrecked vehicles at the side of the road pass from in front of her and then quickly past her, much like most of the friendly acquaintances she had met in life. They would appear, and just as she got to know and like them they disappeared forever. Then she looked through the Challenger's front window, to the grey hills and mountains in the horizon, noting how they might be in her vision for hours before they disappear. Furthermore, if she came back to find them, they would probably still be there just where she last saw them, unlike the rocks or wrecked vehicles which she may never find again.

Belle thought about how true friends are like those mountains and hills, enduring and forevermore. Her friendship with Atticus was like that! The curious lanky human girl with the easy smile and the scarred alien who had seen too much war became fast friends, and although they had only a brief time together, they had changed each other for the better. And now after all this time, they meet again, just when each of them needed each other to face their inner demons. Belle didn't believe in coincidence, but knew for a fact that their friendship was destined to be renewed just when they both needed it most!

Belle thought about voicing her thoughts, telling him her analogy of their friendship being like a mountain on the horizon, but was afraid he would just think she was some silly dreamy-eyed girl, so instead she merely turned to him smiling and said with all sincerity, "Y'all know that if you ever need help with that there burden, I'm here for you! That's what friends are for!"

Belle didn't wait for a reply, for what could he say, and didn't want an awkward silence to linger between them, so she giggled and observed, "Y'all know, this craving for Irathient rum may only mean that your Grid roomie is really a Grid rummy!"

Belle then went back to watching the road as they made their way to Overpass, not longer watching for metaphors for life but for the very real menace of bad guys hiding behind the rocks and wrecked vehicles along the road.



Meanwhile, Somedude, co-founder of the Team Evolution clan made ready to address a group of eighty of his clan mates in a score of predator vehicles on the road in front of the Happy Pow Farm in Madera, flanked by two Castians, one a teenage girl in black leathers popping gum and the other an older distinguished Castian man in blue armor, who grimaced every time the girl popped a bubble. The older Castian put a crate down on the ground, then helped his somewhat drunk leader onto it as the younger Castian female looked onward in a terribly bored fashion.

Somedude swigged from the beer in his armor gloved hand, just to whet his whistle, before he began his adlib speech to his troops. He looked quite foreboding in his yellow and gunmetal samurai armor, skull mask and top hat, a giant crimefighter shotgun in his other hand, as he shouted, "You lot are the biggest, baddest, meanest posse in all the Bay Area! Thanks to our quartermaster, Bocar here," Somedude gestured at the Castilian male with the hand holding the beer bottle, only spilling a little on him, "You're also the best armed! Now go out there and do what you do best! Save the women, kill the monsters, and pillage the loot! And make sure you get it right this time!"

That got a laugh from his clan mates, who couldn't see the smirk under his skull mask, as he continued, "Each four person team has the area they are to go to and patrol, look for the Volge, tell us at central command by hailer where they are, and if the Volge are a small enough group, kill them dead! Now I know and you know that each of you could kill ten Volge with both hands tied behind your backs, but if they outnumber you three-to-one, you just recon and report, and we'll regroup to attack them! Remember, we got civilians to protect! Who else is going to buy the loot we salvage? Now, get out of here!"

That got another laugh from his men and women, who then started their cars, racing off in clouds of dust and honking horns to their designated coordinates to find the Volge enemy. Somedude had already turned to Quartermaster Bocar and his daughter, Lady Christianna, stepping down unsteadily from his crate, as he said, "Lady! Find Belle Starr and give her this notepad from Ara Shondu! She'll be coming back from business in Silicon Valley, so she'll be driving from the tunnel at Port Bruno, so her next natural stop is Overpass. Simple: Go there now, intercept her, give her the pad - and don't muck this up"

Lady's mouth dropped, the gum falling out, as Somedude shoved the huge Crimefighter into her thin chalk white hands and weaved his way back the farm house, not bothering to look back as he took another swig from the beer bottle. Bocar mouthed, "Be safe," before hurrying after Somedude.

Lady merely rolled her pink eyes at her father before placing Ara's encypted notepad into her messenger bag, then smiled slightly as she hefted the Crimefighter onto her shoulder. She went to a row of parked ATVs neat the Vendor in front of the farm, picking the red one for she firmly believed that all red vehicles were faster, then pointed it south to begin her trip to Overpass.

[Atticus Batman]

I chuckle at the Grid Rummy joke as does Dinara, while Kakusi grumbles in my head that it isn't funny. Then I ask Belle to hand me her encrypted hailer for a second. She thinks about it for a minute then cautiously hands it over. I keep one hand on the wheel and with the other I enter my encrypted frequency into it, then hand it back to her.

"My frequency. Give it to nobody. Don't bother trying to trace it, because you will never succeed. Besides, it is common knowledge that I can usually be found at Last Chance!"

I then start Driving again, when Dinara screams a warning in my head. "Atty, a lone Volge up ahead. I read two human life signs, but they are weak!" I think back, "Atty?!" She answers with, "OH HUSH! it's cute! Now be a GOOD guy and go save the humans!!!" Kakusi mumbles, "Bout jeking time we get action, your driving is BORING, fleshling!!!"

I step on the gas as I continue forward.

"Belle Volge ahead. Be prepared!"

As I accelerate over the next hill, I see A Volge descending on a little girl. An adult male laying nearby barely conscious. I veer my car and set it on a path to go right next to the screaming little girl, and yell at my companion.

"Belle take the wheel, and keep it straight. NOW!"

As Belle grabs the wheel, I stomp on the gas and lean out the window, and snatch up the girl as we go by. I quickly take the wheel and turn the car into a hard stop, with the girl still on my lap, clinging to me and crying. I hand her to Belle, then grab my LMG and jump out of the car, unleashing bullets on the Volge as I over charge. As he hits the ground I quickly scan and make sure all is clear. Then I go check the human male, who is hurt but alive. Quickly I get him into the Challenger. I then make quick time getting us to the Overpass so the E-rep soldiers there can make sure he is alright, and just in case there are more Volge on the way.

After we get there, I carry him out and over to an E-rep medic who looks him over while his daughter clings to Belle, asking if her daddy will be fine. Seeing that Belle can handle it, and being VERY uncomfortable around kids, I head to buy my rum. I down a 1 liter bottle, then dispose of the bottle in the right can, before getting two more. As I am putting them in my bag in the car, I notice Belle is still talking to the girl, so I check our prisoner, and escort him behind a crate to pee so he doesn't do so in my trunk. Then I take him back, and stick him back in there, and lean against my car to wait, getting yelled at by Dinara, for my stunt and absolutely sure Belle will let me have it for that tricky maneuver as well, when the young girl is out of earshot.

While waiting, Dinara finishes lecturing me, then scans my lifesigns and concurs with Kakusi that the rum does indeed seem to be having some kind of healing affect on my aching joints.