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"Ay it would be great to have you along with us" Binadorm said as he arched his back and clenched his fists in the air in a similar fashion normally seen by cats. With a wry grin he continued "Besides with you around I wouldn't be the only one that looks odd in this crew with me having a layer of fur and all."

Glancing to the stirring Law, Binadorm asked "What did you think of Ward's cooking last night... I personally thought that kihoen(native chickenlike lizard) could have been cooked a little more and could have definitely used some salt" He finished with a impish grin that Ward couldn't see due to his back being turned to Binadorm.

“Oh really? I’d like to see what you can make with a lizard and a bunch of rocks. I happen to think it was quite juicy. It wasn’t easy to use its own drippings to season it. Kihoen will taste like Kihoen when you have nothing but Kihoen to season that Kihoen with. Humph. Your just mad I gave you a bath.” Ward continued to rant but quieter and without turning his back.

Deciding he wanted to do something out of character he reached into his bag and pulled out a large sheet of paper. Looking around he noticed that Binadorm and Vaedus had their heads close together talking in low tones, completely oblivious to him. Cora and Malachi were some distance away looking out across the sands. Law was passed out, mouth wide open, snoring loudly. Moving slowly, so not to raise suspicion, he approached law. Knowing he could kick Law and the man wouldn’t stir from his drunken sleep he gently laid the paper across the mans face. The paper fluttered from Law’s snoring and Ward had to hold the paper with one gloved hand while he reached into the sand around him and dribbled the thin sand onto the paper. After about twenty minutes of this the pile on the paper was huge and was starting to leak to the sides.

Law knew him, knew his mannerisms, trusted that he wouldn’t lie to him. Standing and dusting his hands off he took his time walking over to his truck. He climbed into the passenger seat, took a long deep breath and looked around. Everyone was right where they had been. It was now or never. Ward slammed fist his down on the trucks monstrous blaring horn and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Law snapped upright causing the dust on the paper to explode into a dense cloud around his head. Less then a second passed before law opened fire in a circle around himself, twelve shots in less than four seconds. Ward ducked instinctively as one hit the headrest less then three inches from his ear. As the sound of the gunshots died the air was filled with audible expletives between wracking coughs.

As everyone closed in to Law to see what had happened those expletives began to have more weight. At the sight of Law, Ward was hard pressed to keep his face flat. The dust clung to the man’s face and hair like a woman’s beauty mask, just brown. Ward pointed at the laughing Binadorm and said “he did it”.

As reality took an immediate grip upon Law's senses, the outlaw let out a tiny chuckle while he twirled his weapons in circular saw like motions. The unique and familiar sound of leather tightening creaked when Law holstered his weapons and dusted himself off. The sand and dust bellowed off his duster coat and shined like tiny gemstones off the red bandanna shadowing the lower half of his countenance.

But you can still tell he was smiling.

"The last sons-a-bitches who pulled that mess ended up with bullets in their heads. I felt bad for a whole two seconds. You got lucky hombres."

Law stretched his back while he reached in his duster pocket and pulled out a rather impressive, gold-rimmed zippo that had the infamous skull and crossbones embedded into it along with a large bullet hole.

"Does that thing still work?" Malachi asked Law with a puzzled expression that scrunched his brows at a questioning angle. Law responded by sparking the flame, lighting his loose, self-rolled cigarette, taking a deep and slow breath, and then exhaling the black and orange in his business associate's face.

"You know, most would see blowing smoke in the face of your boss as unwise."

"Yeah? Well they must understand that you are not my boss. You just pay me."

Law let out the devil's advocate smirk he brandishes so well and started twirling the crimson revolver.

"This dogs got a bite," Ward said as he let out a small laugh.

"Woof."

Vaedus stood there thinking of what he should do. First he looked off into the distance, the direction of the crashed ship, and the dying crew. Then to the robotic cat, designed after a creature of this world. Perhaps, he thought. He could reprogram it, or program it to learn. Perhaps it would be a good mount, and it could easily keep up with these natives' vehicles. He then looked to the expedition's leader and then at the others who seemed to want him to join. The large man, to him looked like a bumbling fool but well meaning by his speech and actions. His eyes looked drifted over the others. He couldn't read them, especially the leader.

'Perhaps there is something there to help us get off this barren rock.' He thought to himself.

He looked south, towards the direction that they were headed. He gave a visible sigh, and inspected his weapon. It was in good working order, well enough for a journey into the unknown of this world. He'd be an asset to the group, that wasn't in question whatsoever.

'But how much of an asset?' He wondered. 'Would they leave me to rot in the desert should I fall behind? Perhaps... perhaps not... But I'm willing to take the risk, aren't I? It could very well save us.' He finally concluded that he would join. "Alright. I'll join your..." He paused and looked around. "Squad for the duration of the journey. Perhaps we will find something I could use to help my people."

Standing, Wardonis looked over at the newcomer. "Well Veadus its good to have you on board. If you'd like your welcome to ride along in my truck. I've got a lot of room in the back for the kitty. I'll go ahead and get it ready."

With that Ward turned and headed back to the truck and began to prepare it to for the days travel. He rigged the loadbed to carry the weight of the cat, check the tires and briefly crawling underneeth the truck to manually engage the 3rd axle's independant transmission. Afterwards he cleaned up the backseat of the cab moving alot of his junk to a chest on the back of the cab. Once there was room for a 3rd person he started the noisy engine so he could close the canopy over the bed. The truck rumbled to life and he engaged the mechanism to close the canopy only to discover it wasn't moving. Hopping down he went to the back to check it finally discovering a bullet hole right through the main compression tube. " "

Malachi, who had been speaking in lowered tones with Vaedus, turned at the expletive and tilted his head to one side. He made sure that his expression showed only his interest in the situation, and no signs of his veiled concern. The fact that giant of a man was currently crouched over the truck was disconcerting at best, and the Archai found himself hoping that yet another obstacle hadn't reared its head at this most inopportune of times. If they were to get this thing moving again, they would need to head out soon, and take advantage of the daylight that lay ahead of them.

For the moment, however, he left Ward to his work, as he needed to make sure that their newest member was properly informed. With a shake of his head, he turned back to his conversation with the alien, filling him in on the established plan and ensuring that he would be able to keep up. With Binadorm's help, they viewed the holomap and tweaked the route to allow for easier terrain for the cat after the crossing of the Plains.

Bemused concern played across his features as they finalized the changes and he excused himself from the Treinis' and Cycron's presence for a moment, making his way over to the massive truck. His ambling gait took him in loping strides to where the massive man peered at the hole, devising a way to fix it.

"Karma's a beast to deal with, friend. The lilting voice broke the silence, and when Ward turned, he found the boyish figure standing nearby leaning against the side of the truck, arms crossed, a small smirk playing across his features. Despite that infuriating grin, his face radiated a sort of compassion as he moved closer and leaned over, taking his own turn at examining the damage. That was all that he said in reproach to Ward on the matter- they would find as the trip progressed that Malachi preferred to be constructive in his approach to these situations. In his experience, getting mad and shouting usually only made the other person angry, and then they got absolutely nowhere.

Two steps from the area, however, he deftly removed the sleek leather duster from his form, tossing it into the cab of the truck to prevent any oil or heat damage. When he turned, he noticed that a couple in the group gazed at him with interested expressions, their eyes locked on the runic scars that crisscrossed his slender arms- he hadn't considered the muscle shirt that he wore beneath the jacket...

However, the Archai coolly played it off and just shook his head with a small chuckle. "You guys act like you've never seen scars before."

"The hell happened to you?"

"Not ones that look... deliberate...

"What happened there boy? Things get a little to kinky one night? You forget the safe-word or something?"

Malachi didn't have to see the speaker to know who it was, and when he turned back to the group, he grinned at Law. "Ha! You oughta know, man, you were there!"

Law laughed. "Not with you, kid. Not in a million years."

"Yeah... keep up that story, see how long it lasts. But in all seriousness, these are standard rite of passage for all Archai to reach adulthood. As young adults, we're led before the elders and scarred with-"

"So what you're saying is that you were part of an entire society of-

Speak no ill of the dead- its bad luck. Malachi gently reminded him, his grin riding on a darker, slightly threatening undertone.

Law finished his statement under his breath, his grin as broad as ever as he looked into the Archai's indigo eyes.

With the small shake of the head, Malachi turned back to the truck, and Ward's situation. He quietly asked Ward what the damage was, crouching low to see it for himself, and they began discussing a means of fixing it. He also queried the group for suggestions on a plan of action, because while he knew plenty about his bike, the mechanics of something this massive were a little outside his area of expertise.

As a leader, he was proving to be most... democratic in nature- something that could work very well for him, for very badly against him.

"Well, guys, in the event that the truck is a dud..." He didn't finish the sentence, because, quite frankly, he was sure they all knew the suckage of continuing on without it.

Cora watched the two men try to figure out the best solution for their current problem. Cora herself hadn't worked on a vehicle in years and decided that any input from her would probably only help to make the situation worse.
The scars on Malachi's arms drew her attention. While she hadn't made any comment about them, she couldn't help but wonder. She wasn't appalled by the pale lines, just curious. From what the Archai had said, Cora guessed that each scar had a meaning. She wanted to ask him, but thought better of doing so.
Cora quickly adverted her gaze as Malachi turned to the group for advice.

“Well, not really.” Ward said s taking a step back. “One of Law’s stray bullets put a hole through the main compression tube of the mechanism that retracts and extends the bed canopy. I don’t like goin anywhere without it extended but she can sure still drive.” Turning the big man looked at alien I just hope your kitty can take a bit of sand blasting. The sand and wind flowing over the back of the cab will strip the pain right off if it’s not protected or baked right into the metal. Get a bunch of nasty clogs everywhere too.”

Turning back to the truck he continued talking in Malachi’s direction. It’ll take me about two hours to clean the gunk out each time we stop if we make any distance. It’ll slow us down, but It wont stop us, not by a long shot.” He shot Malachi a big grin, his bright white teeth standing out against his tanned skin. “Lets roll” Ward said as he made his way back around to the back of the bed. “Come on Kitty, up with yas”.

Malachi returned the grin and nodded his agreement, turning on his heel to head back towards the bike. With a careless nonchalance, he picked up the duster and slung it over his shoulder. To look at him, you'd think that he hadn't a care in the world, though admittedly, he wouldn't have let it show if he did. Over time the Archai had learned to temper his responses to the stimuli surrounding him, so that on the surface at least, it seemed that little phased him. Always, in fact, there was that wry, infuriating smirk, and few could fathom what lay beneath it- pain, regret, fury... or hope?

Whatever it was, Malachi kept it buried deep with all the memories, the dreams, the history, and even his real name. As far as any of the group knew, he was a ghost, with nothing to connect him really to any one place in time or space. Even this place, that had once been his home, was now warped and twisted beyond anything he had known in his childhood. His time away had quite separated him from it in all senses but his duty to its past, hopefully, in the effort to preserve its present and protect its future, whatever that entailed...

And while all of this weighed heavily on his mind, he maintained a cool facade as he made his way across the hard, cracked ground. For a second he thought he felt a ripple of movement beneath his feet, a foreboding tremor. But it was gone as quickly as it came and he shook his head, sure that the sporadic train of his thoughts was causing him to imagine things. The breeze picked up, causing the sand to swirl in tiny dust-clouds around his boots as it fitfully played with his hair.

The sight of his motorcycle brought a grin of sincere satisfaction to his face, momentarily. It really was a thing of beauty. Customized to every specification, it was everything he had hoped for; extra-wide tires for tread and balance, extra exhausts, an improved fuel-cell, and it was... buried in the ground?!

The Archai's slitted eyes widened as his brows furrowed and he jogged forward, uttering a startled cry that alerted everyone else to the situation.

"What the-?"

The bike had been parked near a cluster of boulders that was covered in flowery ivy and vines. The Archai had placed the bike near the fragrant flowers and thought nothing more of it. But now only its front end was visible above-ground. The back half, all the way up to the seat and nearly to the handlebars, was completely buried in what appeared to be a small sinkhole. As Malachi closed the distance between himself and the beautiful piece of machinery, however, it sank lower, and the action was accompanied by a rumbling beneath the ground, a low, feral ground beneath their feet. But most astonishing was the fact that the vines were moving and dragging the bike ever lower.

“No! No! No! No! No!” Malachi darted forward and pulled at the handlebars, his feet pressed against a rock for support. With all the strength he could muster, which, admittedly, physically wasn't much, he struggled with the thing, pulling with everything that he had to save the precious vehicle. He was oblivious to the vines that slowly curled around his boots as he struggled to keep hold of the motorcycle. In his desperation, he dropped all pretense at an air of calm, and he barely seemed to register the danger that lay at his very toes. Without that bike they didn't stand a chance of making this as efficient a trip as he had hoped- their time would be nearly doubled...

Law didn’t move, but simply shook his head and took a drag of a cigarette. "Damn Lilith’s Limb must be pretty hungry. You ain’t gettin’ that back, buddy.”

Even he didn't register the hazy waves at the horizon as they dealt with the transportation issue- a fact that would prove ultimately costly.

Hearing Malachi's protest to his sinking bike Binadorm glanced over towards the sinking bike, which was beyond saving, and seeing how dangerously close Malachi was getting to becoming the second course... he decided he ought to intervene.

Moving up behind Malachi, Binadorm grasped Malachi around the waist and pulled him away from his bike just as the vines were about to grasp his legs. Realizing what Binadorm intended to do Malachi began to struggle in a vain attempt to save his bike. With Malachi struggling Binadorm forgot to keep an eye out for the vines and as he put down Malachi, a few feet from the bike, he felt something grasp his own leg. "F@!$" Binadorm cursed as he toppled over due to the sudden pull from the vine. With the plant pulling him toward the sink hole Binadorm tried to grab a hold of the vine and pull it off of him but to no avail. Realizing that tactic wouldn't work well enough Binadorm extended his claws and slashed the vine directly below his foot leaving the portion of the vine still wrapped around his leg to go limp. At the loss of one of its tentacles the Liliths Limb let out a squeal like shriek.

Backing quickly away Binadorm quickly got out of range of the vicious plant and bent down to tear away the remaining part still wrapped around his leg. Pulling the vine away Binadorm found himself to be bleeding from small cuts. Standing back up Binadorm felt himself become lightheaded and he began to stumble when he tried to walk back to the others.

"Whoa there buddy!"

Malachi forgot about his bike for a split second as he quickly closed the gap between himself and the Treinis, supporting the big cat to the best of his ability.

"I got you."

It was a bit of a challenge to live up to the promise, given his smaller size, but he managed to grasp Binadorm under his arms before turning so that he was beside him instead of in front of him, one arm draped over his shoulder. Whether it was the close proximity, or the fact that in his moment of desperate panic, his defenses had dropped, the Archai couldn't say, but he fancied that even as he supported Binadorm, the world began to blur. It spun for a moment as the nausea from his ally hit him and he had to work hard to keep his feet moving.

The young man shook his head and a few seconds later he had steeled himself against the onslaught. The Archai learned in their childhood how to dull the effects of their empathy and so after a moment, his head stopped swimming.

Despite his smaller stature, Malachi was able to support the panther-like cat's leaning form and get him a few feet away, out of range of the vines. Ever-so-gently, he helped him down into the sand. When he knelt in front of Binadorm, Malachi looked at him closely, his brows furrowed in concern as he looked him first in the eyes then looked at the cuts on his ankles and legs.

"No bueno, amigo." Law's voice broke the air amidst the shrieking vines that even now searched for something else besides the bike to grasp onto. "Those stickers its got pack a nasty punch."

Walking over and getting to his knees Ward plunged is arm deep into the earth. His face screwed up as he fished around underground. By now the entire bike was gone. Vines began to wrap around his armored body, squeezing and constricting but his enchanted armor held under the stress. Small sparks danced across his body as the vines tightened. Small shrieks and squeals escaped the plant as Ward, shoulder deep in the ground, fished around inside its maw.

Gripping a hard object he began to pull. It didn’t budge. Pulling with all his might it began to give accompanied by ear splitting shrieks from the plant. Ward shot back like a cannon landing in a seated position with a thud that shook the ground gently. In his hand was a twisted and mangled wheel. One of the creature’s teeth was lodged in his wrist cuff but his armor had no scratches. A simple “Hrmm” escaped his lips as he looked at the wheel. Looking up to Malachi standing beside him he handed up the wheel. “Sorry, I tried”.

The group seemed to be ready to move out again. Cora stood up, dusted herself off, and started gathering her pack. Her back was to Malachi, but at his exclamation, she spun around. Malachi's motorcycle was being pulled underground by vines. Those same vines had begun to wrap around the Archai's legs. Before Cora could reach him, Binadorm was there. The vines began to tangle around the big cat as well, but he managed to pull himself and Malachai free. However, something was wrong. Binadorm didn't seem well, and Malachi helped him to the ground.

Those stickers its got pack a nasty punch.

Poison. Cora grabbed her pack and walked calmly over to the cat. She plopped down in the sand beside Malachi.
"I have a first aid kit in my backpack. What do you need?" she stated matter-of-factly. There was no rush to her words or actions, just a smooth quickness in the way she freed the kit from her pack.

Vaguely Binadorm was aware of various people crowding around him in a ambiguous sense. Only one thought was lucid to Binadorm I'm gonna throw up with that thought pervading all his thought processes Binadorm weakly turned on his side and promptly threw up his breakfast. He continued to heave until nothing would come out and all that was left was a very uncomfortable sensation of dry-heaving. After his fit of dry-heaving finished Binadorm felt somewhat better but the thought of food to replace what he'd just given to nature made him very queasy and only just managed to refrain from another fit of dry-heaving.

Malachi and Cora maintained their positions on either side of the Treinis, though Malachi was now standing, keeping a watchful eye on his companion. He didn't flinch when Binadorm became ill, only took a step back, instructing Cora to "Give him some air." Although his eyes routinely glanced back towards the sink-hole where Ward and the others kept their watch on the Lilith's Limb, for the moment, he stayed put, the mangled tire leaning against his leg. When another growl rumbled in the ground beneath them though, he fully turned to take in the situation. An odd whine emanated from the sinkhole, and the Archai's brows furrowed in concern.

"Cora... kindly stay here with Binadorm and get him an antidote if you've got one. If not, some meds to settle his stomach. I'll be back." In response to the woman's questioning gaze, he added, "It's fine, I'm just seeing what that-" Suddenly the whining became louder, and was now accompanied by an alarming beeping. The Archai tilted his head for a moment, trying to gauge what it could be as he continued forward. He was headed for where a scrap of the bike still showed over the edge of the hole, a single handlebar pitifully sticking out of the sand as though begging for help.

"Yeah, I heard that sound before..." Law's voice broke the silence, and beneath the hard edge they heard the slightest tinge of concern.

Malachi continued on, almost passing the outlaw. "But what does it mean?" And suddenly, the beeping increased so that it was nothing but a whirring whine itself and a blue light shone from beneath the sand.

"Cheese it!" Without warning, Law grabbed Malachi's shoulder and pulled him backwards, directing Cerberus as far away from the sinkhole as he could humanly get before the ground cracked open with blinding light and an almighty roar that shook the ground.

"Hear that sound coming from the newly forming crater in the ground? Yeeeeah you should probably shoot at it," the outlaw said. The gunslinger brandished both of his pistols and emptied an entire cylinder of ammunition each. As the sound of thunder echoed off of Law's twin death dealers, the smell of carbon permeated out of the barrels.

"Yeah, that probably just pissed it off. We should run."

Law motioned them to run behind them while he reached into his satchel tied to his trusty stead. The outlaw remained calm as lines of dirt were becoming unearthed and were heading in the crew's direction. His patience paid off as he grabbed a stick of dynamite and his Zippo lighter. Before he could spark a flame, another Lilith's Limb ascended from the ground, and like a whip, cracked the lighter out of Law's hand and caught it in mid air. The gulping sound that followed after one of them caught it in it's mouth led Law to believe that they ate it.

Slightly perturbed and in a sarcastic manner, Law turned to the menacing plant and spoke.

"Well that's not very nice. Somebody didn't learn manners in school."

The Lilith limb shrieked, spewing green bile and slobber all over the outlaw's face. Law calmly rubbed some of the excretions off on the shoulder pads of his duster.

"That's OK, they didn't teach me that lesson well either."

Law shot the stem of the Lilith's limb, which severed it completely. Several more shrieks and stabs of pain emanated from the hole while Law mounted Cerberus and turned to his partners in crime.

"Yeah, my guess is that I really pissed it off, so unless one of you has a lighter, you need to get the hell out of here. Like, twenty seconds ago."

"Where are you going?" Someone interjected.

"Fu%^$$ took my lighter! I'm going to get it back!"

"Dude, it's a lighter! Let it go!" Wardonis howled."

"%*^* that! You don't take a man's lighter! Those wet water matches don't work for sh$%, and you know it!"

Law turned Cerberus around and faced the growing crater and gritted his teeth.

"You don't mess with a man's lighter! How else are you going to light your tobacco products you prick!"

With an unexplainable determination, Law kicked his steed's sides causing him to dash forward at an astonishing speed. "Stay beautiful Cora!" Was all that they heard as he raced to face the Lilith's threat.

"I didn't know retards could run that fast," Laughed Ward as they saw law shrink into the distance. "And was he flirting as he was chasing after those beasts?" asked Malachi with a confused and concerned undertone to his remark.