Upgraded

Log 8

         Lux caught up with Fade and Kris, looking back only once to see if Ryan was with them. Ryan kept shaking his head as the heel of his palm rested on his forehead. He looked like he was arguing with the angel and demon on his shoulders. Lux shifted his eyes back to the task at hand, getting somewhere they could be somewhat safe.
"We are here." Fade stopped and turned back to face the group.
        The small child who had been holding on to Fade's tail coat made her way to Ryan and touched his face. She giggled and started to feel over his piercings on his ears and nose, "What are these? They feel funny." pulled on one. Ryan took her small hand in his and got her attention by tapping her shoulder. He told her that he needed those to help him look cool and try and help with his ear problem. She smiled and went to Lux, who started backing up away from her.
            She stumbled towards him and grabbed to his leg. "Up. Please." she giggled and raised her arms to him. Lux looked over at Ryan who chuckled and raised his shoulders in a shrug. "Hun, I hurt my arm and don't... ok now you are crying...um..." he looked down and saw the black-haired girl starting to sniffle and a few tears started to roll down her cheeks.
           He tried to calm her down, getting nowhere. He knelt down in front of her and put a hand on her arm then placed it on his knee, "You... *sniff* you were upgraded? My mommy and daddy *sniff sniff* couldn't pay for my eyes to be fixed. Am I broken?" she asked him tilting her head to the side as Ryan did.
            When she did that Lux felt a ping in his heart and felt it skip a beat when he thought of Ryan and his little quirk he did often. "No, you are not broken. You are perfect and should be proud of who you are. Welcome to the Hell's Angles' base, it is good to see you again, Fade." an older voice entered the mix as a woman maybe in her late 40's with red hair tied in a bun off her head and her overalls and smock made Lux think she was a tinker. Then he realized where they were, "Spade, it's good to see you too. I'm sorry that we showed up uninvited but we need a place to stay and patch up. Not to mention I think I have the keys to kill Malcom and Fletcher." Fade glanced down at Kristin who was just starting to become more conscious, her eyes had been open she was aware of what was happening but her systems were just coming back online. Spade's eyes widened so did her smile, "Come in. Come in. I'll get your rooms set up." she walked back into the building followed by Able, Fade and Cedar.

            Before Ryan could enter he looked back over his shoulder and saw Lux staring at the building and back to his hands. "Wha'sup Hot Shot? Scared to get some help and eat food?"

           "No!... I mean no. It's just... this is the rival group to the group I was in. The Barracks and Hell's Angles don't get along."

"Oh, well you should be ok now. They won't kill you 'cuz ya got me."

            "And I'm supposed to feel comfortable with your noodle arms protecting me?"

"Yep! We are a team, so that's what teammates do. They help and protect each other."

        "This is going to be interesting."

"With the power of gayness and teamwork on our side, this will be amazing!" Ryan smiled and started to walk into the building. Just as his feet hit the threshold he turned back and grabbed Lux's good arm and pulled him into the building.

             The skyscraper looked like an old apartment building that was fixed up to house the Hell's Angles' base. The rooms were labeled and Lux could hear yelling and the sound of a training session in progress. His nerves bubbled up in his throat as he continued to walk, with Ryan acting like his leash keeping him from running out the door. They walked into a wide room that was once a formal ballroom, but it looked completely different. There was a large table in the middle where Lux assumed that they met her regularly, six t.v screens that were plastered on the wall each with their own channel playing with the sound off. Lux noticed his mug-shot on the screen of one next to Able and Kristin's. "Not bad. Bit too scruffy for my taste though... Oh, that's you, Lux." Ryan made a joke as he pointed to his picture. Lux shook his head and walked on to find Fade and the others, but a voice in the back of it questioned a new feeling he had developed.

              The Hell, Lux? Why do you suddenly feel offended by that? People have called you worse and if you let that get under your skin Ryan'll just end up like one of the other people you called friends. And we don't need one of those.

         But Ryan is different, he tried and talk to me and tried to act like he wasn't terrified of me, which I can tell he is. Why do I have to be such a dumbass and not know how to trust?

Because people you "trusted" hurt you?! Get over it and move on.

              As Lux was having an argument with the voice inside his head, he walked past cages of weapons and ammo, as he did he thought that it was so easy if he was to steal one and run. "Oi, Goldy-Lux, Rainbow Bright, get over here." Fade waved them over as they walked to the main opening in the main room. Kristin was standing now and she looked to have her scenes back, but Fade was now not putting any weight on his leg as he stood with his arms crossed and his hip popped to cover it. "It's a wonderful thing that you all made it out of the fire before it was too late," Spade was talking to the others as Ryan and Lux walked up, "Ah yes, you must be Ryan and Lux. It's good to see you alive."

            "What is that suppos'ta mean?" Lux asked crossing his arms, trying not to show the pain in his arm. Spade strolled up to him and touched his arm and smiled, her smile felt genuine and real yet Lux thought that she was hiding her disgust beneath. She welcomed him to their base and had no care that he was once a rival. She said she knew what they did to him because she was there to pick up the body of a comrade of her's that they used the clothing from. Kris turned to face Lux, she looked dead, her face sunken in and paler than normal but her eyes still had the spark she had when they first met. "Lux, your shoulder... did you hurt it?"

So much for hiding it...

"Yes, it dislocated it when the building fell. I am fine though. How are you doing?"

           "I feel like death, but that's normal for me. I just need to sleep and I'll be ok." she smiled. Kris did look tired. They all did. Cedar had fallen asleep in Fade's arms and was sleeping peacefully. Fade had dark rings under his eyes as he looked around the group. Ryan rubbed his eyes and yawned as the slight bags under his eyes started to form. Lux assumed he looked just as bad as the others, he felt as bad as the others. "You are welcome to rest, Fade knows where the rooms are so you can stay for the night or how long you intend to stay. We will be having dinner at 6 and I do hope you all will join us this evening." Spade offered their home to them.

        Fade lead them to their rooms. Lux's was a black and green room that was bright with lantern light and had a huge bed. In movement, his boots were on the ground and his head was on the plush pillow that was on the bed. It felt like silk and down under Lux's tired head. He nuzzled into the lush fabric and fell asleep holding it close to his chest, hair in his face and breathing softly. His body relaxed and he let whatever happened today drift off into a memory as he drifted off to sleep.