[url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=10596962]Chapter 2[/url] [b]This section contains two chapters simply for the sake of continuity.[/b] The building Halifax entered was small, hardly bigger than a shack. As Halifax looked at it, he wondered if it really was a shack. The inside was bare except for a table and several chairs. All of the seats were taken except for one and Halifax slowly sat down. No one spoke and everyone was looking at him. After a few seconds, Halifax said, "Well? Are we going to talk or just sit here?" Banshee Barron sat directly across from him, "Why are you here?" Halifax shrugged, "Because I don't like being attacked just for thinking differently...and I don't like it when my friends die." Banshee nodded, "I see. Are you against Achronos?" "I'm aganst whoever believes that destroying books and killing those who defy them is just." Banshee smiled, "Then you are against Achronos." He stood up and gestured to the others, "Meet the team. I believe you've already met Dragon Eyes." Halifax smiled when he saw her but she only glared at him. Halifax laughed and turned away to look at the others. Kritz sat quietly in the corner, his dark eyes watching the group with ferocious intensity. Banshee introduced Fastmatt who nodded nonchalantly while tossing his knife in the air. Caspian smiled and nodded when he was introduced, although Halifax caught a quick, furtive look as he turned away. To Halifax's surprise, the last person introduced was Pistol. "Him?" Halifax asked aloud. "What's wrong with me?" Pistol asked defensively. Halifax shook his head, "You don't really care about these Forums. All you're looking for is a fight." "You have a lot to learn about me Halifax." Pistol sneered. "We'll see." Halifax replied dryly. Banshee spoke up quickly to head off further debate, "I think it would be best if we didn't start out arguing." "Good," Halifax agreed, "Then how about a little explaining? What are the seven of us supposed to do?" Banshee smiled, "Rally the people and demoralize the Mods." Halifax shook his head before Banshee finished talking, "You can't. There's no way you can stir up a rebellion unless you are sure you have the majority of the people already backing you up. For all we know, everyone we talk to will turn us in as soon as we mention a rebellion!" Banshee nodded, "I know. That's why we let the Mods do the rallying for us." At Halifax's questioning glance he continued, "Achronos is trying to bring in his new order slowly so that no one really has any reason to be outraged until it's too late. All we have to do is scare the Mods into thinking that the only way they can catch us is if they crack down on all the Members. The stricter the Forums become, the more angry the members will get." He leaned in close, "We can never have another organized meeting like this. People will start to notice. None of us can be seen conversing together. The Mods will see any semblance of a group as a possible threat once we've made our first strike." "And what is our first strike." Banshee smiled along with the rest of the group. "Where's Anton's body?" ------------------------ Yoozel made his way up the steps to the "Welcome" thread in the Flood. It was less of a welcome and more of a warning to all newcomers that foolishness would not be tolerated. It was also a wonderful place for the Mods to meet since no members were allowed in the building. He stepped through the doors and was surprised to see all of the Mods standing by the door that led to the meeting hall. "What's wrong?" He asked. Pezza glanced at him and said quietly, "See for yourself." Yoozel stepped slowly through the door and looked around in confusion. It wasn't until he heard a faint drip that he realized what was above him. Yoozel gasped when he saw the grisly scene above him. Anton was hanging from the ceiling by wires, his arms and legs spread out and his face down. Yoozel could barely make out his features in the dim light, but he saw a long gash running from the man's ear to his chin and several more bloodstains all over his clothes. Yoozel looked away quickly and his eyes fixed on a piece of paper with red ink written all over it. When he came closer, he realized it wasn't ink, but Anton's blood with the words written, "We will not be silenced." "What are we going to do?" Pezza asked. Yoozel held the paper in his hand and then clenched it into a ball. "We are going to silence whoever did this. Starting with Halifax." ---------------- Halifax shook his head as he watched the others, gleefully congradulating each other on a job well done. Dragon and Kritz had left after the deed was done, but the rest were happily drinking a toast to a brighter future. Banshee appeared beside him and said quietly, "You don't approve of our methods." "I don't." Halifax agreed. Banshee sighed, "I'm sorry it has to be this way Halifax. I don't like it any more than you--" "But they do." Halifax said harshly. He turned to Banshee with an accusing glare, "Did you just go out and find the most bloodthirsty people you could?" "Well what would you have me do?" Banshee shouted. "Do you think the Mods would care if we just wrote them a nice note politely asking them to stop taking away our freedom of speech? No offense, but I don't think that would be very effective." "There are other ways." Halifax replied, his voice dropping. "Then tell me." Banshee pleaded. "If you have any better ideas, then speak up. I have gone past the point of worrying about whether or not I'm following morals, only about whether or not what I'm doing is right." "If you have no morals, you are no better than the Mods. That's the only thing separating us from them." Halifax came in close, speaking fervently, "If you sink to their level, then you can count me out." Banshee took a deep breath and then looked over at the group. They were all quiet, listening intently to the two argue. "He's right." Came a voice from behind. Both of them turned to see Dragon standing there with Kritz at her side. "We can't let our thirst for revenge turn to a thirst for blood." "But we have to fight the Mods somehow!" Fastmatt retorted. "This was the best way to get their attention." "We have their attenion, and we will fight. But Halifax is right, the members will never respect us if they see us committing worse atrocities than the Mods have ever committed." Halifax gave Dragon a grateful smile and Kritz sneered at them both before turning away. "You're right." Banshee conceded. "We need to change our tactics." He turned to Halifax, "I'm sorry I yelled at you." Halifax smiled, "Don't worry. I'm over it. And now I need to go to bed." Banshee nodded and waved Halifax off. When Halifax was gone, Banshee turned to Dragon and said quietly, "Follow him. Make sure he's loyal." Dragon nodded and snuck away, following after Halifax. ---------------------------------- Halifax walked home slowly, breathing in the fresh air and then letting out a long sigh. He heard the whip of a cloak and turned quickly. Nothing was there. Halifax knew better than to relax though. He'd seen enough of these new Forums to know that you could never let your guard down. The attack came suddenly, just as he turned back around. A hand wrapped around his mouth and a knife slashed in toward his throat. Halifax got his hand up in time to stop the knife but a then the attacker's foot slammed into the back of his knee, dropping him to the ground. Halifax suddenly opened his mouth and bit down hard on the attacker's hand. The man let out a howl and let go. The instant he was free, Halifax rolled forward and turned to face his attacker. The first thing he saw was a knife flying toward him. He jumped out of the way but yelled in pain as the knife struck his leg. Halifax quickly pulled the knife out and pulled himself up, leaning on a lamp post as the attacker closed in. "What, no gun this time?" Halifax taunted while trying to hide a grimace of pain. He tried to jab forward but the man easily caught his hand and pulled him close. "I don't need a gun." The man replied with a sinister smile. Halifax recognized that voice. He stared at the man for a moment and then said quietly, "Evilcam?" The Mod suddenly yelled in pain as something struck the side of his head. He clutched his bleeding head and Halifax took the chance to shove his knife into the man's chest. Evilcam fell backward, clutching his chest, before he hit the ground. Halifax looked around and then saw Dragon standing there with a rock in her hand. "Nice shot." He complimented. Dragon shrugged, "Throwing rocks at the beggers who used to come by my house gave me good practice." "You threw rocks at beggars?" Halifax said with surprise. Dragon smiled, "You'd be surprised how quickly a beggar can turn into a robber when he sees you wearing a jeweled necklace." Halifax suddenly groaned and dropped to the ground. Dragon caught him and pulled him up. "We have to get you to a hospital. We can't take you back to the group right now." Halifax looked at her and smiled, "I thought you didn't like me." "I don't." Dragon replied. "But I like the Mods even less." ---------------------- Kritz had followed them as well and was watching the entire exchange. He shook his head when he saw Dragon help Halifax up. He had secretly hoped Evilcam would kill Halifax. ---------------------- "Well, he's definitely on our side." Dragon said when she returned to the group. "How do you know?" Banshee asked. "Evilcam tried to kill him, so Halifax killed Evilcam instead...with a little help." She tossed a rock to herself and smiled. Banshee laughed, "Good work. It's good to know we can trust him. Now we can move ahead with our plan...and hopefully, he won't hear about it until he's out of the hospital." [Edited on 04.26.2007 3:26 PM PDT]