Butane approached Yoozel with a limp form in his arms. "We've brought you Fiurha." Yoozel nodded, "Good, here's your money." He handed him a stack of bills and Butane turned to leave. "Before you go," Yoozel said, holding up a finger, "I have one more proposition for you." Butane sighed and turned around, "I do have places to go." "I'll make it worth your while." Yoozel assured him. "What do you want the Bungie Jumpers to do?" Yoozel glanced down at Fiurha's body, "Halifax will be coming for her. I don't really want to kill him, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing it for me." Butane shrugged, "Why didn't you just have us kill him when we took Fiurha?" "Because I want to see the look on his face before he dies. I want him to feel more pain than--" Butane held his hand up, "Alright, don't work yourself up. We'll kill him. Just tell us when and where." ------------------- Achronos watched as Recon stepped through the door, "What are you doing here? Did you kill Banshee?" Recon shook his head, "No. And they know where we are." Achronos stared at him for a moment and then said, "And they are coming here now?" Recon nodded. Achronos looked at him thoughtfully, "We must separate. It will be more dangerous to fight them all together than separate." "You want to fight?" Recon asked incredulously. Achronos smiled, "I want to rid myself of the one last obstacle standing between me and complete control of the Flood." He stood up and asked, "Where are the other Mods?" "They've fled the Flood...or they've already been killed. Either way, they are of no use to us." Achronos nodded, "Very well. Prepare yourself. This is the day the Overlord shows the entire Forum his true power." -------------------- "So where is this place?" Halifax asked as they walked. "It's an underground complex on the outskirts of the Flood." Banshee replied. Halifax nodded and fell silent. "Who would have thought," Banshee said, breaking the silence, "That we would once again be fighting side by side." "I'm going to save Fiurha." Halifax said firmly. "If I can avoid killing whoever took her, then I will." Banshee nodded, "Of course. But if she's dead, will you just walk away?" He looked at Halifax with a piercing gaze, "Or will killing finally be justified in your eyes?" "She's not dead." Halifax replied. "You didn't answer my question." Banshee pressed. "How far will you go for vengeance?" "What does it matter to you?" Halifax shouted, turning on him. The others froze and looked at each other, not sure what to do. "I'm not like you! I never will be. So stop! I'll do what I have to do and nothing more." Banshee looked as if he was about to retort, but after a moment of thought, he nodded and said quietly, "Alright, let's keep moving." They continued in silence, walking down the street toward the Overlord's hideout. "That's it up ahead." Banshee said a few minutes later. "A girl thread?" MCs Brother asked skeptically. "It's beneath the thread." Banshee replied. "It's genius really. No one would ever look past the surface of the thread. And it would be full of all the creepy denizens of the Flood who are there just for a chance to catch a glimpse of a girl. No normal person would go there." Obbi nodded, "It's the ultimate cover. Why do you think I chose to dress as a girl when I first came here?'" "So how do we get in?" "Easy." Banshee replied, "We take the elevator to the basement." At their incredulous looks he said, “They haven’t had time to make it much more secure.” "Alright," Halifax said decisively, "Let's go." ------------------ The thread was dimly lit and surprisingly quiet as the five men entered the elevator. They reached the basement and stepped out into what looked like a utility room. "What now?" Un Gato asked. "Their underground base is made up of a series of caverns." Banshee explained, "I don't know where they'll be so we'll have to split up and navigate through them." "How do you know all this?" Halifax asked skeptically. "Because I helped build this." Banshee replied. "It used to be known as the Seventh Column, but is now just another way for the Mods to spy on us." He walked through the room and reached into his pocket. "Everyone stand back." He quickly placed the object against a section of the wall and and then stepped back. Suddenly, a ring of fire encircled the edge of the object and large cracks appeared in the wall. In a matter of seconds, the wall had crumbled and turned to charcoal and dust. In place of the wall, a long corridor now stretched before them. "Alright." Banshee said quietly, "Everyone go through. Be warned, they will know we're coming. There's cameras everywhere in there." The five men climbed through the hole and walked down the corridor. It wasn't long before they reached the first fork in the corridor. "Which way?" Obbi asked. "Halifax and I will go left," Banshee replied, "You guys go right." Obbi nodded, "If you find Achronos before we do...don't kill him until we get there." Banshee smiled, "Of course, just so long as you leave Recon to me." "Agreed." They separated there, Banshee traveling quietly with Halifax while the other three went along down the other corridor. "Why did you want to come with me?" Halifax asked. "You'd have just as much chance of finding Recon with them as with me." "Because we have to talk." Halifax laughed, "I don't think now is the time to get in an argument about who's right and--" "No." Banshee cut in. "Not that." He paused and looked at Halifax, "I've known you for a long time. Since you first came to the Flood." "Ya, so?" "We were friends then." Banshee said quietly. "But when I left...well, we both changed." Halifax looked at him skeptically, "I'm still waiting for the part that's supposed to surprise me." "Look, there's a good chance that neither of us will get out of here alive...and I don't want to die knowing that one of the few people I respect hates me. Can we just accept our differences and try and be friends again." Halifax turned to Banshee and gave him a steely gaze, "You tried to have me killed. You delivered Kritz to the Mods and let them kill him. You and I aren't just different, we're polar opposites!" He shook his head and turned away, walking down the corridor again, "We are not friends and we won't ever be friends again." Banshee sighed and followed after him, "What I did was wrong. I thought that we could destroy the Mods from within." "Ya, so did I!" Halifax said loudly, "But I didn't kill any of my friends to do it!" "Well well well," A new voice said, "It looks like we have a little bickering going on here." Halifax looked up and saw that they were standing right beneath a camera, "We know you're here Achronos! This can still end peacefully!" "Really?" The voice said, dripping with sarcasm, "Because I've been listening to your friends and they seem completely intent on killing me." "I can talk to them." Halifax replied, "I can convince them to stop." "I've seen the way you talk, Halifax. Remember last time? You blew up an entire thread! No, I think I'd much rather welcome them in...give them a chance to destroy everything I've worked to create." Halifax growled with frustration and kept walking, "And what have you created exactly? There's no privacy, no Library, and even more chaos than before!" "That is your doing." Achronos replied. "I only want to control the Spam, not the people." "Oh? Is that why you started destroying groups and threads with any intelligence in them?" "I made the groups better!" Achronos said fiercely. "The groups are dead!" Halifax shouted, "No one uses them because their purpose is gone. You can't have a group without privacy." "You don't understand what's in store. I have plans, great plans for this Forum. And all you want to do is destroy them!" "If your plans involve kidnapping innocent people then I don't think I want to see them come to pass." They reached another fork and Halifax looked at Banshee, "You go right, I'll go left." Banshee nodded and headed down the right path. "You won't find me that way." Achronos taunted. "I'm not looking for you." Halifax scoffed. "I'll let my friends take care of you." "Ah yes, you wish to save your little Fifi." Achronos laughed, "I wish you luck, Halifax. But you have already lost." Halifax glared up at the cieling and pressed on. ------------------- Banshee hurried down the hall, looking for any sign of movement. There were several doors on his way and he opened all of them, but none held anything of interest. When he turned the corner, he saw a fleeting figure cross at the end of the hallway and charged forward. ------------------ Obbi led Un Gato and MCs Brother down the corridor, watching every shadow alertly, hoping for a glimpse of life. He glanced up and saw a camera and shouted, "Achronos! I know you can hear me! Is the great Overlord to frightened to come down and face me? There's nowhere left to run Achronos! All that's left for you to do is fight!" "Patience." Came the booming, yet calm response. Obbi laughed, "I've been patient for far too long. Ever since you drove me out, I've been waiting for this. It's time for you to face justice." "Don't worry." Achronos replied, "Justice will be served to the one who truly deserves it." "Indeed.” Obbi said quietly. ----------------------- [Edited on 07.26.2007 2:19 PM PDT]