An abandoned steel mill, Sacramento.

Chael smiled even wider. "Agyle is my father, we look alike. See?" he pointed out their similar colored hair. "They kind of both are, in a way. But Bayle and Argyle weren't very good parents. I loved them a lot and all they did was toss me aside to the first person who would take me. Do you know what I'm doing right now? I'm on a mission. I don't really like Jack's other kids, so I'm making them go away." his eyes always had a child like sparkle, but they gleamed even more at this statement. "You see, I'm really quite jealous. If they had kept me then I wouldn't have met Thomas. I loved him too, but then Jack had to kill him. And now I have to kill all of Jack's other kids. If they had kept me all those people would get to live." Chael bowed his head and blinked some tears back. A man like Praetorius would try to take advantage of any weakness he showed. Oh, well though, Praetorius was weak right now, so it didn't really matter. He looked back up and continued. " Do you know what it's like to really love someone, and the only reaction you get from them is fear of you? Even if Jack Empty is my father in a sense, as far as I was concerned Argyle and Bayle were my parents...but they hated me. They did make me what I am today though! and I did get to spend a lot of time with Jack until recently, but once again, I wouldn't have to make Jack sad if they'd loved me." Chael walked over to Argyle's body and yanked the knife out from under his kneecap, twisting and pulling up to pop it free. "I don't want to hurt you, Mister Praetorius, but if you keep me from what I want to do any longer I might have to."

Praetorious closed his eyes for a moment. Would it work? Had he bought enough time? Chael's monologue was long enough that he'd been able to focus, but how well? He normally only did this to people who were unconscious, so he didn't even know if he'd be able to execute it properly. But, his time had run out. Chael pulled the knife out of Argyle's kneecap, and Praetorious knew that was his chance.

He focused, as hard as he could, letting Essum's power well up in him as much as he dared. He could feel the dark energy inside of him, powerful and angry. Ordinarily, he would never let this happen- he'd trained himself to use as little of it as he could, disgusted as he was by it. However, now was different. It required abruptness, a certain suddenness in order to catch Chael off guard. Praetorious wasn't sure how he'd react, but it would most likely be violent. He'd have to get to the machines as fast as possible, and do what he could to lose Chael. He wasn't sure if they still functioned, but it would be worth a shot.

Feeling the power inside him, building exponentially, almost filling him, Praetorious held out his hand.

Argyle rose up in the air, building in speed rapidly before coming to an abrupt halt, just before hitting the ceiling.

Chael watched as Argyle rose towards the ceiling. He took a couple steps back and stared at Praetorius. He stared at him hard, analyzing every part of him, everything that made him, everything that gave him power. This man had made him angry, he had gotten in his way, however Chael wasn't stupid. As soon as he had analyzed the man to his fullest extent he said, "Well now I'll have to kill you both." He walked towards the door and opened it, but paused to look back up at Argyle. "Now you have more blood on your hands. It's too bad really, that mermaid lady was a really nice person." Then he slipped out the door and left. He knew everything about Praetorius now. He would be able to defeat him easily, he just had to start crafting some special weapons and poison cocktails. Perhaps look into some magic? It would require quite a lot of power. He would take a small break from killing Jack's other children for now. He had more immediate concerns, and Jack needed to pull himself together. He had run quickly from the mill and continued for awhile. he was pretty certain he was safe, and they would never be able to locate him, and at least he had torn off his father's kneecap. He giggled as he jogged, that had been quite enjoyable, he couldn't wait to do more, but his very first goal would have to be the mermaid. If he couldn't hurt his father's body he'd further the pain of his soul. His plan was to slowly eat away at him now. Kill the mermaid, then Praetorius, then him. It was even possible that by the time those two were dead, he'd go ahead and kill himself. He stopped jogging and skipped along. He walked back to the Red Lion hotel and picked up the very faint trail of the woman with the beautiful long brown hair. He should send his dad her heart in a box.

Argyle stared at the ceiling as he heard Chael say it.

"It's too bad really, that mermaid lady was a really nice person."

No... NO...

Argyle bit his cheek so hard it began to bleed. There was no way this could be happening. He didn't mind so much if Chael killed him as him killing others that didn't have anything to do with this. He quivered with anger.

"Let me down..." he started, but the rage was building up as Chael left the building. He couldn't let him know... He couldn't...

He bit down hard, biting off the tip of his tongue. He used that to stifle the scream of rage sitting just in the back of his throat. Blood dripped out of his mouth, but he ignored it. He was angrier than ever before. He wouldn't stand for this.

Praetorious wasn't stupid, either. He knew that Chael was no doubt plotting to kill him now, but that didn't matter. He didn't plan on confronting Chael in any kind of open combat. No, he would attack from the shadows, staying as far out of sight as possible. The steel mill was obviously compromised, he'd have to find a new location. Praetorious wondered offhand if Chael could still track him. It wouldn't be surprising.

"Let me down..." began a faint voice up above. Praetorious looked up, seeing Argyle regaining some control. If he moved too much, he was liable to fall- Praetorious wasn't sure how well his ability worked. After all, everyone else he used it on either had a destroyed nervous system or was dead. He snapped his fingers, and Argyle began to descend, eventually coming to rest on the floor. Blood was running from the corner of Argyle's mouth, where he'd obviously bit himself, but that wasn't Praetorious' concern.

He checked Argyle's knee, and saw that the ligament had been almost completely severed. It hung by a few threads, scarcely usable. He would probably have to cut it off the rest of the way, Praetorious noted dispassionately. Praetorious supposed a normal person would probably have spoken some word of encouragement, or tried to somehow ease the pain, but these concepts were foreign to him. So, he went with the first thing that came to his mind.

"Try not to inhale any blood."

Argyle nodded, squinting his eyes in pain and anger. He let his head fall to the side and spat out a large bit of blood, then let his head stay there while the blood ran out of his mouth. His mind was reeling, and he was unable to think clearly, but for one thing.

As soon as he had regained control of his arms, he was going to cut off his dominant hand. This was the last time he would be so helpless.

Suddenly, the cell phone in his pocket rang and he blinked. Who the hell was calling him now? Was it one of his debtors? Or was Olivia getting a hold of him? Or, god forbid, perhaps it was Bello, telling him how to repay him.

His arm twitched once. That was his attempt to grab the phone. He audibly groaned.

"Tham ith," he spurted through the blood running out of his mouth.

Praetorious could see Argyle quivering with anger, anger at Chael, anger at his own helplessness. Praetorious wouldn't have been surprised if Argyle was angry at him, too. However, that would have to wait. Chael was going to find Olivia, and knowing him, it wouldn't take him long to locate and kill her. Praetorious didn't care much, but Argyle seemed enraged by the idea.

Suddenly, he felt an odd sensation, one in his chest. It was a sort of tingling, a heat, that flared up at once. This was interesting because Praetorious, of course, didn't have much of a chest left. No, it was at the very center of the hole. Like a phantom limb. Or a phantom parasite.

All at once, the sensation became pain, and he gasped slightly, a searing sensation moving through his entire body. Then, just as quickly, it was gone. It left him somewhat disturbed, and with the knowledge that something very bad was happening. For now, though, he had other things to attend to. Argyle's phone began to ring. He reached for it, and failing that, did his best to swear through a mouthful of blood. Praetorious fished it out of his pocket for him, opening it and holding it by his face so Argyle could talk into it.

Argyle groaned as Praetorius held the phone up to his face, but accepted it. Who would be calling him? A debtor? Olivia finally reaching him? Or was Bello wanting his "payment?" The other line picked up and he did his best to keep his voice straight.

"H-hello?" he asked.

"Um..Hi." Olivia laughed nervously on the other end. He sounded just a little distraught. "Um..well I bought a cell phone. I guess you have my number now. I also picked up your friend's motorcycle. I just thought I'd call and let you know, I hope I didn't wake you or anything. I'm staying at a hotel, but I should have a house soon." She waited for his response before she told him about the odd red headed child she'd met. He had given her the oddest feeling and she was worried about Argyle.

He paused. Olivia... He decided he would get straight to the point, no matter how shocking it was. There wasn't much time. "I'm sorry to put this on you right away but... My son is coming to kill you right now. He shouldn't be underestimated, he can kill you with his bare hands as easily as squashing a bug, and he can't be reasoned with. He won't pity you. In fact, he's just going to kill you because you've met me. He's a demon in a child's skin."

Olivia's eyes widened. Could it really be? "That kid with the red hair?! I saw him he asked me where you were. I was gonna warn you!" She was nothing else really but shocked at first, and then fear set in. "Oh...oh god...what should I do...uh...is there anything I CAN do?" She tried her best to not become too scared, and to calm her heartbeat, she did pretty well keeping from hyperventilating and from running immediately and blindly from the room,but her heart continued at the same pace. She could only assume this person was gifted in some way, well, in the way of killing, obviously. What in the hell could she do against that? She did decide to go ahead and pack a few things though. Even if he was more physically able than her, she would probably do well to stay moving until there was some sort of help to be found.

"Thanks for the warning," Argyle responded with a sigh, "but he already got to me. Luckily he didn't want to kill me, but now he wants to kill everyone I know. I don't know if there's anything you can do. If you run, he'll just track you down. He excels at finding people. The only thing you could do is..." He paused and thought. What could she do? No matter where she went, Chael would track her down. She was helpless, even more so as a cripple. In fact, the only reason he himself wasn't dead was...

He looked up at Praetorius a little, speaking so that Olivia could hear it too.

"I know you don't like people, so I'm not sure how you'll react to this. I don't particularly like the idea of Chael killing Olivia, and the only reason I'm not dead is because I'm with you... at least until I get more power. Would you be willing to put up with one more person? I'm sorry to ask this of you, but... I don't want Chael to win. It's a very personal request."

Praetorious could only hear Argyle's half of the conversation, his ability to speak returning quickly. He was frantic, and judging by the information he was divulging to Olivia, she was probably much the same. How much time did Olivia have? Was Chael coming for her right away? Or was he going to try to instill as much fear in her as he could? It was odd to think about.

However, Praetorious' thought process was interrupted by Argyle looking up at him.

"Would you be willing to put up with one more person? I'm sorry to ask this of you, but... I don't want Chael to win. It's a very personal request."

Praetorious stopped for a moment. A day ago, he would have scoffed at such a request. Sharing a living space with not one, but two humans? How... revolting. His skin crawled slightly at the prospect. On the other hand, this wasn't a day or two ago. He and Argyle were working together now, and he'd would have to make sacrifices. But still, why should he do this? His hideout was rapidly becoming a hostel. And he couldn't protect both of them, not by any means. He'd only barely saved Argyle, and Chael wouldn't likely fall for the same trick twice.

However, he could read Argyle well enough to know that he wouldn't be able to bear the death of someone close to him. Praetorious knew that something like that would likely break him, cause his mind to snap entirely. For some reason, Praetorious wasn't entirely ready to let that happen. He sighed once.

"There's enough room, I suppose," was his only sentiment. He picked up the phone from Argyle, speaking into it.

"What room are you in, Olivia?" he asked.

Olivia put the last thing into her backpack when she heard the golden eyed man ask her her room number. "Well I won't be in any room soon. If you're asking because you want to find me, I'll meet you in the parking lot, I have your bike." She quickly rolled out of her room and the door slammed as she moved towards the elevator. She gave him the address of her hotel. "You know what your motorcycle looks like, so I'll be waiting next to it. Is there anything else that I should do? I just assumed I'd be safer if I didn't stay in the same place." The elevator had taken her down and the doors dinged as they opened into the lobby. She waited for a response as she headed to the counter to check out of the hotel. She wondered exactly how much more exciting life had to get before it would go back to normal again. Oh well, at least she wasn't bored out of her mind.

"Fair enough," said Praetorious, "that should work. Now, you need to make sure you are constantly in public. Get in elevators with other people in them, stay in public in the lobby. When you get to the parking lot, make sure that people can see you at all times. However, make sure there aren't too many, either. You should be in many people's line of sight whenever you can, but you also need to avoid crowds. That's all."

He snapped the phone shut, setting it by Argyle. He'd have to leave right away if he wanted to try to rescue Olivia. Chael had a head start already, and it would take immediate action to beat him there, even in a car. He sighed. Looking forward as he was to killing Kyle A. Light, one could see that this was not a prospect he enjoyed. It looked as if he'd have to postpone the Ritual, which did not bode well with shadow-Praetorious. He felt his other self kicking at the confines of his mind, as if to remind him that he was still there.

For now, however, Praetorious pushed his shadow-self out, focusing as much as he could. He could kill Light tomorrow. Assuming Light hadn't changed his schedule. And assuming Argyle and Olivia were safe. And assuming that his equipment was properly secured. He sighed. Things had suddenly become so complicated.

"Can you stand? If you're still having trouble, I'll go myself, and you can contact the Artificier here if you're so inclined. Otherwise, we can both go."

Argyle thought for a moment. The feeling was coming back into his body, steadily. He moved his arms and legs a little, sliding them along the floor, but he didn't seem to be able to sit up yet. He looked like a dying fish, flopping on the ground.

"It appears I can't stand yet."

He wasn't sure if he should meet the Artificier when he was still partially vulnerable, but he wasn't willing to wait any longer. It didn't matter what state he was in, he assumed, and only how well he could negotiate. As much as he would like to help get Olivia to safety, he was also fairly sure he would slow Praetorius down.

"I'm should get to contacting this Artificier as soon as I'm able to cut off my hand. I can see this whole thing is troubling you, so I apologize. Hopefully, by the time you're back, I won't be so helpless anymore. Thank you."

Praetorious' eyes widened slightly, and he froze for a moment. Thank you. Had anyone ever thanked him before? He couldn't recall the last time anyone had been grateful for something he'd done. There were people who'd cursed at him, screamed it him, insulted him with their dying breath. But "thank you" wasn't a phrase Praetorious had heard directed at him in more than two thousand years. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. This all ran through his head in the space of half a second, his initial reaction so brief as to be practically unnoticeable.

"You're welcome," Praetorious tried to say nonchalantly, the words foreign to him. He grabbed the car keys. "My saw will be the best bet if you intend to cut off your hand," he said, turning to a subject he had knowledge of, "I'd suggest using that." He waved, opening the massive steel door and walking out, throwing it closed.

Outside, he walked to the car, stopping once or twice to make sure his leg was under control. He got in, revving the engine and pulling out to the curb. He awkwardly used his left foot to work the pedals, in order to be able to drive as fast as possible.

Suddenly, Praetorious' shadow-self reared up without warning, excited and leering. Why? He'd felt it acting up ever since he'd felt the strange sensation in his chest, but he had no idea what it was supposed to mean. And now, he really didn't have the time. He'd be at the Best Western Sandman in ten minutes- he wondered if Chael would get there first. Gunning the engine, he sped down the street, the entire car vibrating slightly on the road.

Argyle lay on his back silently, staring up at the cieling. A bit of time had passed, half an hour maybe. Enough strength had returned that he had been able to retrieve the saw, which dangled limply in his left arm, his finger rubbing the switch.

Things would change from here on. Would Olivia be frightened? Would he even return? Would he be able to avenge his wife and son? Questions raced through his head, which he silently flicked through and filed away into a back portion of his brain. His body tingled. His decision laid before him.

He must be stronger. He must live.

"Artificier," he said aloud, flicking on the saw. The buzzing made his hair stand on end. "I sacrifice my flesh to you."

He didn't close his eyes when he brought the saw through his right wrist.

The hand, for it no longer belonged to Argyle, hit the ground with a barely audible thump. The severed appendage lay on its back, so to speak, blood coursing from the stump that had once been the wrist. The fingers relaxed, a reflex more than anything as the nerves died, the hand swiftly becoming dead and useless. In one minute, it would be irrevocably damaged if reattached. In two, it was unusable.

That is, for conventional purposes.

Because after three minutes, it twitched. The index finger bent in a sort of "come hither" gesture, and in response the others moved as well. After another few seconds, the whole hand was twitching, writhing like a disgusting spider on its back. Then, without warning, it went rigid again. The fingers froze in mid-spasm, some bent in directions they shouldn't, others unnaturally straight.

Then, it seemed to explode, the skin tearing itself free, the bones standing up on its fingers. The skeletal hand began to dig at the ground, ripping away chunks of concrete as big as it was. In minutes, there was a hole about a foot in diameter in front of Argyle, too deep to see down. The skin and muscle from Argyle's hand lined the hole, making a sort of membrane surrounding its edges.

All was silent again.

Suddenly, a tendril of flesh shot from the hole, entwining itself around Argyle's leg. Then another appeared, wrapping itself around him in a similar fashion. More came, their numbers reaching the dozens. Argyle became nothing more than a mass of ropy flesh to the outside observer, the person underneath completely obscured.

Then, the tentacles tightened. Swiftly, as one, they all pulled in different directions, with impossible speed and strength. Argyle was torn apart in an instant, without enough time to even register pain. The tentacles carried a little of his flesh each with them, disappearing down the hole one at a time. They would reassemble him in the Sanctum, and bring him before their master.

The life and animation seemed to leave the skeletal hand, and it fell down the hole. The skin and muscle seemed to slough off the sides, falling as well as the hole closed up, any evidence of its being there totally eradicated.

(OoC: I'm too tired to write about Argyle being brought to the Sanctum at the moment. If you get on before me, you can write about him getting there and seeing the Sanctum. Or you can wait for me to get my lazy ass online. Up to you, really)

The ground next to the mill began to shake, tremors spreading from a small crack that appeared in the concrete. Dirt and dust fell into the widening fissure, and something akin to a metallic shriek could be heard from its depths. The scream crescendoed, the cracks in the earth widening into a hole. The screams stopped.

Without warning, a spire of flesh and bone and steel, nearly seven feet in height, rose from the ground. The screams commenced again, louder than before this time. The pointed, jagged tip of the spire, and a form was launched from it, impacting the steel mill's outside wall with a wet smack.

The spire retreated into the ground, the screams with it, only a sizable fissure remaining where it once had been. The unconscious man that had been ejected from it lay in a heap on the ground.

The man was coated in a clear, viscous slime, which dripped from him grotesquely as he twitched slightly. The faint sounds of respiration could be heard.

On the outside, the man looked very much the same as he had before. His right hand and kneecap were now comprised of various steel components, interlocking and entwining to provide functionality. In a few places across his face and body, flecks of steel showed through where his skin had fused back together improperly. However, inside was a different story.

Most of his internal torso area had been replaced, the majority of his organs and bones discarded in favor of cold, gleaming steel. Much of the man's skull was now steel as well, although covered by skin, as were most of the bones in the man's right arm. The man's tibias had also been replaced, as had the bones in his upper left arm. Indeed much of him, on the inside, at least, was no longer organic at all.

The slime continued to drip off of Argyle's frame as his eyes fluttered.

His eyes fluttered open listlessly. He raised his head very slowly and silently and looked over his body. It didn't hurt anymore. In fact, he didn't feel quite as much as he did before he even entered the Sanctum. His kneecap and his new hand gleamed in the dull light streaming in the window.

Flexing his fingers, he could feel the various metal parts coordinating with his nerves to pivot his fingers about his new metallic knuckles. Any manner of pistons, gears, levers could be inside there. Yet, it felt so smooth. It felt like a normal hand. Only better. When he clenched his fist tightly, he felt steel gliding on steel. Impervious.

He punched the ground hard, and his fist effortlessly fractured the concrete. His felt the shock run up his arm hard, and he recognized it should have hurt far more than it did. His muscles briefly cried out, yet his "bones" said not a word. He extracted his fist from the concrete remains to see not a scratch.

He smiled to himself. He would quickly forget the pain. He was happy enough to have this power. No one would so easily toy with him again. He would be able to gain control over his life at last. Maybe not taking on Jack Empty yet, but it was a start.

He rose to his feet, trying to slick more of the slime off. He didn't have his clothes anymore, which would be a bit awkward when Praetorius and Olivia returned, so he swept up the nearest large piece of cloth and wrapped it around himself. Now, he need only wait.

After perhaps ten or fifteen minutes, the steel mill came into sight up ahead. The pillbox-like structure gleamed in the waning sunlight, reflecting a dull red-orange color. Praetorious maneuvered the car past it, into a tiny alcove behind the mill. Once the car was sufficiently hidden from the street, Praetorious braked sharply, coming to a stop.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he allowed himself some thought. His shadow-self was struggling, highly agitated. He had always imagined it in chains, a web of them, held fast. Now, however, it was thrashing wildly, angrily, the chains that held it groaning and protesting. Shadow-Praetorious snarled and gnashed his teeth, crying out in rage. Praetorious was beginning to feel more and more sick. He needed to kill. Soon.

Pushing the feelings aside as best he could, Praetorious opened the driver's side door. His leg spasmed, causing him to grab the top of the door to keep himself upright, but he did not fall. Scanning the area, Praetorious' eyes came upon nothing unusual. Allowing Olivia to situate herself in her wheelchair, he began to limp around the mill toward the steel mill, when something stopped him.

Sitting against the outer wall was a figure, wrapped in a large piece of cloth. He didn't appear to move, the man's head turned down, only a shock of red hair visible. Of course, it didn't take much for Praetorious to know who he was.

"How are you, Argyle?"

Argyle looked up and offered a small smile.

"Doing alright. Better than alright. I got a makeover."

He chuckled slightly, but pulled the cloth tighter around himself. It was still somewhat cold, and he waited for them to approach. As they walked up the hill, he stood up and revealed his metallic hand.

"I imagine I can probably do a lot better defending myself now. It's nice to see you both."

He was glad to be smiling again. After being beaten to a pulp several times in a row and disembowled, he was feeling pretty good at last.

Praetorious bent the corner of his mouth into a partial smirk. The harsh, dry exhale that escaped his mouth could scarcely be construed as a chuckle, if that.

"Well," he said, "it seems I finally have something to do with all the right-hand gloves I have to buy." Argyle's hand intrigued him. The complex system of gears and levers were highly advanced. The metal itself seemed to give off some dark energy, something that registered at the fringe of Praetorious' mind. Fascinating.

His leg spasmed, but he held it in check as he continued walking. He motioned for Argyle to follow. "Come on," said Praetorious as he limped along, "you'll have to tell me about what the Artificier did to you. And you'll need clothing."

Olivia was happy he was feeling better. He even seemed to be moving around and talking just fine. She smiled at him kindly but her eyes widened when she saw his hand. What had he done to himself...where had he gotten something like that? Even if they did posess the technology to pull that off there's no way it could have been done in so little time. Not to mention as far as she knew, his hand was never injured. As she followed them in she sighed and her face curled into a smirk. This shouldn't shock her. He probably needed to be stronger for...whatever it was he did. Praetorius could take bullets to the head, but Argyle was wounded quite easily. She blinked and tried to look around in the dark factory. "Well, this is nice." she commented. As her eyes adjusted she noticed the overturned futon and the busted alarm clock. She wheeled over and began to set the frame of the futon back up. She wanted to ask what had happened but she wasn't sure that she should. She decided not to and put the bed back together, then went about digging a few things out of her bag and setting up her own on the floor not far from it. They should probably all stay close together.

"Yes, I can't exactly pass this off as a very expensive prosthesis." He looked over his metallic hand and wondered if he actually could, but chuckled off the idea. He then wrapped the cloth tighter around himself and turned to follow them.

"And yeah, clothes would also be helpful. I'll tell you all about what happened when we get inside."

As Olivia passed him he paused and chewed on his renewed tongue a little.

"I meant to keep you out of all this by not telling you anything. But, it looks like it's already too late. There's no way you'll escape now." He sighed. "You should probably also know about what's going on, now that it's too late to keep you uninvolved."

"Fair enough," said Praetorious. He walked inside after Olivia, noticing her fixing the futon. He made a vague gesture toward her in the best "thank you" he could manage. Praetorious turned to address Argyle. "My clothes might fit you. They're in that duffel bag over there, if you're so inclined. You can change somewhere in the machines. I imagine af-"

Praetorious inhaled sharply. Which of course was rather impossible, considering the fact that he didn't have lungs. Something was happening to him. In his mind, he imagined his shadow-selfs screams of rage intensifying. It was becoming physically painful. His urge to kill was making him sick. His vision lost focus, and his leg spasmed. He leaned against the wall, doing the best he could to support himself.

Damn it.

He started running through options in his mind. Kyle A. Light would be in his house after 9:30 PM. There was an open window in his basement, just big enough for someone as wiry as Praetorious to fit through. Light's living room would be the best place to kill him in.

Praetorious' head began to hurt. Badly. He needed to wait an hour. One solitary hour, and then Light would be perfect to kill.

He hoped he could wait that long.

Oliva began to sweep the pieces of the alarm clock up. "You can tell me whatever you feel you need to Argyle. I am pretty well dying from curiosity but I'm not going to stick my nose into anything I shouldn't." the mermaid said smirking. She set down a pillow and a sleeping bag and arranged her own clock and an mp3 player by her sleeping place. Before he did begin to tell her things though, she wanted to let them know something. "Look I'm sure you've decided this already, but I just wanted to let you know that I don't expect you to look after me and save me in an emergency situation. I realize that I'm a HUGE burden on you both, I'm really just thankful you even let me stay here at all. I just...well whatever this is, is hard for you, and you can walk." she said gesturing to Argyle. "So...yeah. I'm not looking for sympathy or anything." She pushed herself out of her wheelchair and slowly lowered herself onto her bed, wrapping her blanket around herself and resting her elbows on her pillow. She turned her attention to Argyle, waiting patiently for what information he would reveal.

Beep-beep=beep!

Praetorious's cell phone beeped idly.

*Incoming call*

*Caller ID: 'A'*

The tiny device rang loudly in the mostly silent steel mill. On the other side, a woman with soft hair smiled to herself. It was a smile without emotion, without a name or face to go with it. But as she contacted Praetorious, the smile would grow wider, and more callous then before.

*Will you accept the call?*