"It's really cool the way they have it set up. Each Quad's got sixteen soldiers, right? And one commander. Well, they have it set up so there's 34 pods in each SimRoom, so two Quads and their commanders can be in it at once. Out of each Quad, fourteen are regular fighter types, like the ones we flew in the simulator today." He grinned back at her, remembering what fun they'd had. "There's another pod that's a supply ship. That usually goes to a tactical weapons major; they're pretty slow, but they've got good armament. Whoever's in it has to be really good at shooting down stuff before it gets to them."

They were about halfway to the Game arena when she felt her stomach tighten. She hadn't worried about it earlier, the only thing that she had worried about was getting there on time and not oversleeping...but that hadn't been an issue. She remembered Nicolai... was he really that good?... and was she really good enough to beat him? She remembered Sasha's gaze when she'd met him the first time... God, what would he do to her if she bombed? He didn't like her as it was...

"Hey there, beautiful, long time no see, eh?"

Wick just shrugged at him, and started to move to pass when Nicolai grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She glanced up at him, a frown on her face, but with a grin he leaned down and kissed her before she could twist away. Her eyes widened, and Nicolai let her go with a smile, patting her cheek lightly before turning away and starting down the corridor.

She turned and hurried down the corridor, her breath coming faster. Block it, block it, there's nothing you can do about it right now, just block it, we have to get to the security closet...

Both girls glanced up with startled eyes as he almost ran into them, skidding to a halt and leaning a hand against the wall as he bent over, gasping, trying to regain his breath. Dante moved forward to pat him on the back, while Rox crouched in front of him, looking up into his eyes worriedly. "Nico, what's wrong... whoa dude, breath. Breath. Shhh okay, what happened?"

"Dante... Asmodeus, that Nathan..." Nicolai gulped and coughed, Dante rubbing his shoulders as she looked to Rox with apprehension. Her friend shook her head, lifting Nicolai's head and patting his cheek. "What about Nathan, Nico? Is he after Dante?"

He managed to shake his head in negation, sinking to his knees to sit on the floor, leaning against the wall. Rox crawled nearer, Dante seating herself beside him, and with a final cough he spoke, voice hoarse. "No, no... I was goin' through the halls, and smelled smoke... it was coming from the storage bay, and I found Wick inside, someone set her arm on fire and broke her ankle and dislocated her shoulder and..."

"Whoa, wait a sec. Wick? What does this have to do with Nathan?" Dante shook Nicolai on the shoulder, too anxious to wait, but he ignored her and continued. "I took her to the infirmary, and talked to the doc... then she woke up, and he asked who did it, and she said... she said Mode."

Rox grabbed for Dante as she stood suddenly, her eyes hardened to quicksilver as she shot Rox and Nicolai an icy glance. "Dante, wait, you don't know what happened, don't do anything rash..."

"I'm not going to do anything rash. I'm merely going to try to talk to him." The cold steel in her voice caused Nicolai to blink in surprise as he pushed himself standing, Rox coming up next to him. "Anjélice, listen to me! He attacked you before... and we don't know why he went after Wick today, I mean, just think, he could be planning something really terrible..." Rox elbowed Nicolai sharply in the ribs, glaring at him angrily.

"Shut the fuck up, Nico. Dante, look, you'll be safer with us, I mean, he might not even be in custody yet, just let us go with you."

"No, Rox. I'll be fine, I'm sure the MP's have him. I'll find where they're holding him. And I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Dante shook the fiery curls from her eyes, face set resolutely, an almost frightening calm settled over her poise. Rox dropped the argument, backing up against Nicolai as Dante nodded to them and pushed past, stalking silently down the hallway, until she finally disappeared from view.

Nicolai leaned closer to Rox. "Should we follow her? I mean, Wick is bad. I thought she was gonna... die, it's that bad. We know what he did to her last time..." She grabbed his hand and began to pull him down the corridor. "We'll get Mitch, and Lem, and Mik if we can find her. They should all be back in the barracks. We both saw his records, he's dangerous, we need more people. Then we'll go find Dante again... I'm sure she'll be fine, they must have him under custody by now, right?"

He was relieved that she was smiling at him now, a strange fire dancing in those cat eyes when she looked at him. It made him want to shiver and hold her close and hit her all at the same time, and that confused him. He wanted to do it again, and he knew he couldn't, and that frustrated him.

Still, he let her lead him with a smirk on his lips. She was his now, and that's what meant something, not the details.

You really think it's that simple?
Nothing is that simple.

"Relax, Katera. This is Command School. We're the monsters now, remember?" He smiled, breathing a soft chuckle into her ear before he kissed her throat and then pulled back a little, waiting for her to come of her own accord. He didn't always understand his Kitten, but he knew what she liked.

A sound startled her, and with a quick swing she pressed her arm across his torso and shoved him to the wall. Placing a warning finger on her lips, Kat motioned for him to stay in place as she slid along the corridor, slinking into a dark corner and crouching. Another quick duck and roll, and she was already a good fifteen feet down the hallway from Mode, hidden in the shadows as a figure approached. It was just a boy, a soldier who was creeping along guiltily in the dark, and with a sudden flash of predatory lust in her eyes, Kat slipped from her hiding spot and maneuvered to accidentally run into the other boy.

He didn't see the boy until she bumped into him, and he grinned, pleased. Kat was always adept at finding toys. The way this boy ran his eyes over her torso made him flick his gaze to Kat eagerly, wanting to see her reprisal.

He pulled her closer to him, and Kat let him wrap an arm around her waist as he leaned closer. "What do I get if I don't tell?" Her short exhalation of flustered disbelief fluttered across the boy's skin, and he smirked again as she stood on tiptoes to whisper in his ear. Brushing her lips across his cheek, she whispered with sudden coldness in her voice, at the same moment she brought her knee up into his stomach with violent strength. "I won't kill you..."

The cocky vet fell back, blood falling over his lips and down his chin as he choked. His bag fell to the ground and he staggered as Mode rammed his fist into the boy's stomach and then caught him under the chin with an uppercut. The vet went down, pooling blood.

"What's in the bag, Mode?" Not bothering to glance back, Kat sat squarely on the boys hips, unzipping and divesting him of his uniform jacket while he watched her dazedly. With deft, practiced movements, she tied his wrists together securely before sliding down and knotting his boot laces together. Bound now at hand and ankle, the boy struggled weakly as she leaned over to plant a kiss on his forehead before backhanding him across the face, knocking him unconscious.

She nudged him with her boot, and he held the camera up, using the trailing sleeve of the boy's jacket to handle it. "Off to someplace he shouldn't be with contraband equipment." Mode clucked disapprovingly. "What's with young people these days?" Standing fluidly, he dumped the camera onto the insensible vet's stomach and nudged Kat's shoulder with his fingertips, a little roughly.

Kat was fast, faster than anyone else he'd tangled with to date. Those pretty lithe muscles under her skin were a lot stronger than they looked. He'd bruise. How delightful.

He stepped into her range and they exchanged a rapid series of blows. The way her eyes seemed to cast their own light was distracting, but Mode's fighting didn't take as much concentration as moderating the strength he put behind it. Her style was just like her, wild and unpredictable and feline, little claws snagging his skin before he deflected another kick.

The surprise in his cold slate eyes as they narrowed at her just made her smile broadly, and as he stood slowly to regain his breath she lashed out with a light kick, catching him under the chin... not hard enough to hurt him badly, but just enough so that his gaze swirled smoke as he hissed in pain. Kat giggled then, fluttering her eyelashes at him with coy delight, and seeing him recovering so quickly, she spun on her heels and took off sprinting down the corridor.

Mode.

And she'd been afraid of not getting a chance to see him today.

She cringed behind some storage crates. There was no place else for her to hide, and he would undoubtedly see her when he passed...it was futile, and she knew it, but she had to try.

The footsteps grew closer, closer yet...and then paused. She listened to them pause, and then they began again, but it was a different echo. He was going into one of the BattleSim rooms. Something he'd seen or heard had drawn him in and saved her.

She caught her breath and rose slowly, painfully. She should go back to her barracks now, while he was distracted...but she had a chance now to do some of the study she required, and that took precedence.

Dante hadn't been in her quarters. Neither had anyone else. She had been equally absent in the mess hall, the Library, the Game Arena, the Commons, and every other place he'd looked. He'd even looked into the BattleRoom, though it had given him bittersweet flashbacks of flying with Kat yesterday. That left the storage areas, the laundry, the engineering bay...and the showers.

He was nearly there when a distant harsh laugh caught his attention. He reversed the few steps necessary and looked at the door to the BattleSim room he'd just passed. The door opened at his touch. Lights flickered on a single display towards the back.

That thought was erased as a sudden pain struck him, and Dom gasped in surprise.

He didn't know what was happening as he sunk to one knee, crouching on the ground as he coughed experimentally. His stomach had exploded with an odd muted flash of pain, and shaking his head to clear this thoughts, Dom forced him to stand. He hadn't felt this since... since Don had gotten into a fight one day, away from him, and he'd felt the anguish his twin had. There was something to be said for the bond between two brothers. This bond made him frightened and angry.

Donovan was in trouble.

Asmodeus had ruined whatever vague sensations of security and love she'd held last night after their... interlude. She cursed silently to herself for not listening to that little inner voice who always had her best interests in mind. That survivalist conscience had kept her alive for all these years; through BattleSchool, through Jax, through Charybdis. She wasn't about to abandon cold heartlessness and ruthless skill just because some man had said he loved her.

And yet, that seemed to be what she was doing. Kat was feeling disjointed, out of place, and she was in desperate need for a distraction. If this were Charybdis, she'd find some unwilling target and take her rage out. Solitary was usually the result, but every blow was a balm to her psyche, every kick and punch a sort of soothing touch to her soul. She needed that feeling now, and so began to stalk the corridors with only one intent.

Kat was on the hunt.

The first few boys she'd passed had given her a wide birth, scared away by the predatory smirk on her lips, the intense serpentine-gold gaze of her slitted eyes. With copper curls flying and sharp canines resting on her lower lip, Kat sauntered through the hallways, rounding a corner to come in sight of another potential prey.

This one was older than her by at least a few years; standing tall and with a cocky air, arrogant smile across his features as he regarded her with interest. She buried the contemptuous glare and stared at him, giving as much as she got. Surprisingly, he held his ground, indigo eyes tracing her body with a casual demeanor she found irritating. Kat had found herself a new playmate...

Stopping, she turned slowly to face him, managing an innocently naughty expression as her lips twitched slightly in a smile. He grinned back at her, a wide smile that did not reach his eyes. Oooh, she snickered to herself. A fighter...

"Do I want something? Only..." he let his eyes speak for him, running over her again, and her answering feline grin excited him. Like Roxy, but with claws. This was going to be a challenge, and he wished briefly for Donovan. His brother would have enjoyed this to no end. Maybe there would be a favorable ending...

"Only what?" Kat's tone was low, purring as she stalked nearer, circling him slowly as he rested, back propped on the wall. She tilted her head slightly, examining him with undisguised curiosity. Spiked hair... like Mode's, like Jax's, but so dark. And his eyes, a mesmerizing purple-blue indigo that watched her intensely. The perfect opposite of her Mode, as if this man was the negative to a black and white photograph. She was sure his soul was light in comparison to Asmodeus's midnight psyche, endless space like her own, and that thought made her saunter a little closer.

The smile faded from his face as he leaned over slightly to bring his face closer to her own. "You." Her own grin just grew wider in predatory delight. What a cat indeed. Dominic could sense her playful malice rising at his positive response to her teasing, and found himself caught up in this dangerous game. Kat was no soft little girl... the death and pain promised in her gaze did not escape him. But he kept his features set with that same cocky aura, even as he grew more wary by the moment.

Real smooth, Casanova... Her contempt lit, even as some measure of unwilling respect tugged at her. Eventually, all the boys and men at the Institute had learned enough not to respond to her taunts, and there were long stretches when her hunts ended in fruitless frustration. Then Mode came, providing her with companionship, and even with their tenuous alliance she'd found herself hunting less. Until they arrived here, with an unlimited source of new playmates, and Kat's instinct to stalk was reignited. Ryan was one distraction from Mode's rather erratic behavior. Maybe this one would be another.

"What's your name, handsome...?" Her voice was husky as she paused a mere foot before him, eyes obscured by a few stray curls. Dom restrained the urge to brush them away like he'd done earlier with Dante... wild animals were unpredictable, and this one looked like she wasn't afraid to bite. With an extravagant little bow, he finally raised his head to stare into that serpentine gaze. "Dominic, but you may call me Dom. And you are..."

"Katera, but you may call me Kat." She returned the polite gesture with a taunting air, mocking him slightly for his attempts at chivalry with a dip of her chin, curls swirling around her face in a silky red-gold cloud. Raising an eyebrow in derisive calculation, she ran her own gaze over his muscular body then, purring to herself, a deep rumble from her chest. What a toy, nothing at all like Ryan, or even Mode.

He nodded again in acknowledgement. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet such a beautiful lady such as yourself, Katera..." The flash of malice that fluttered across her features briefly did not escape his notice, and with a wide grin, he grabbed her hand and lifted it to his mouth, pressing his lips lightly on top of her palm before dropping her arm. She clenched her fingers for a moment, flicking those fingernails out as if releasing claws, and smiled up at him with the most falsely innocent expression he'd ever seen on someone he knew was anything but naive.

"The same goes for you, Dominic. Now... besides me, is there anything you need?" Kat was beginning to realize that, while a charmingly slick operator, this boy was not one to fight. She couldn't very well attack him now, and she tightened her fingers into fists, just itching to pounce. This toy was ruined for that sort of play. She'd have to find some unsuspecting newcomer to initimidate, like the veteran her and Mode had caught last night. Still, that didn't prepare her for his answer.

"Yes, my lovely... do you have a... male companion? I can't believe that I'd be lucky enough to find you alone..." Dom was completely immersed in his role now, enjoying what was usually so difficult for him to achieve. Donovan was the outgoing charismatic twin-- he was the quiet, reserved and dignified brother. This absolute role reversal was both restraining and freeing at the same time. No wonder Don managed to get the most flirtatiously flashy girls... the style worked, and he was finding that it wasn't altogether that hard to master. This Kat appeared to be, or was pretending to, at least, fall for his deception.

Mode. She had Mode. You have Asmodeus, Kat, a man who loves and hates you. You don't want to find yourself having to off all your lovers, now do you? Ryan and Mode will present enough of a problem... just tell him no, and when he pushes, give him a nice taste of your claws... Kat shook her head slightly, eyeing Dominic with sudden wariness. He shifted, muscles playing in his arms and chest, and his strength became evident as he pushed away from the wall to grab her arm gently. "Tell me I'm lucky..."

Enough. She'd had just about enough.

"You'll be lucky to stay alive tonight, darling. Let go of my arm, now, sweetheart, before you find out for yourself..." Her tone dropped to an icy growl as she tugged, but his grip merely tightened, fingers digging into her skin. With a nasty hiss, she pressed a fingernail into his chest, scratching him hard through the material of his uniform. But her claws were sharp enough, and a thin crimson line followed the path of her finger. "I don't need anyone else to protect me, so I'd let go right now, Dominic..."

Dom dropped her arm, forcing himself not to look down at the bloody scratch she'd drawn on his chest. Her words echoed. Didn't need anyone else to protect her... no, he doubted that she did, if what he heard she'd done to Jax and Zion were true. And right now, there was little doubt in his mind about that subject. Not just beautiful, but deadly, a murderous kitten who watched him now with slit pupils and narrowed eyes.

"Pardon me, Katera. I didn't mean to frighten you..." Her short snort of mirthless laughter gave him the opportunity to study her face briefly, before she caught his seeking gaze. Her left eye was bruised heavily, both cheeks purple and black, tiny dried pinpricks of blood circling her black eye. Fingermarks on her neck indicated choking, and he was unconsciously leaning closer to see what sort of necklace she was wearing when she turned her head back to glare at him, and he withdrew quickly. But irrational interest kept him talking, and he pressed her for answers, asking bluntly. "Who's that boy I've seen you with, Kat? Because, you know, I have seen you around here... one doesn't forget such a cute litle thing at yourself..."

Kat eyed him warily, beginning to back away. "Just Mode, a... friend of mine." She had a sudden feeling of being caught in a trap, and her eyes shifted to serpentine again, cold and seeking as she smirked. "Why? You want your chance, flyboy?"

"Perhaps, Kitten." He smiled secretly to himself at her startled reaction, eyes flashing and lips drawing back to reveal those sharp canines. "Would you like a chance too?"

This game was not going well in her favor, and Kat favored a strategic retreat. This Dominic wanted to know too much; berefit of her fun, no assault or fighting possible with those one anymore, she gave him a last cold grin. "No, I'm tired of you. See you around, Dominic..." With that she turned, curls flying around her shoulders as she stalked away. Goddamnit, can't find a single toy here... so worthless, too much... The weight of the dagger strapped to her calf was a constant painful reminder, and forcing herself not to glance back in Dom's direction, Kat rounded another corner and bit her lip as she walked. Goddamn you Asmodeus, my Mode...

His midnight eyes softened a little as he watched her, standing impassively, staring down the hallway without once looking in his direction. She didn't even respond as he dropped his arm from around her waist, reached up a hand to touch the bruises on her pale cheek. He sighed then, pulling away to cross his arms over his chest as he moved into her field of vision, forcing her to acknowledge his presence.

He moved in front of her, and she turned her head to the side, not wanting to look at him, not wanting to lose control. Seeing him reminded her of seeing his brother, the two identical, and Donovan's bruises were a constant stab. He'd been hurt because of her, and she'd been hurt because of him... if only he'd stayed away, hadn't interferred. But maybe his presence, and Dominic subsequent arrival, had saved her from a worse fate. Too many if's. Dante didn't know quite what to think anymore.

Dominic grabbed her arm, pushing her against the wall and pinning her there, even as she hissed and tried to twist away. "I saved you, Anjélice, before he could hurt you more. I won't let him do that again." Without closing his eyes, he leaned down to kiss her, lips rough on her own as she stopped struggling and gasped, shock and hurt confusion in her gaze as he pulled away. Her mercury eyes melted again, that same silver-violet he'd seen just moments before, and Dominic tilted his head to stare into them. But they flashed to ice again, hard and cold, and without a word she slipped from his hold and took off running down the corridor.

Jor turned slowly to see Nathan a few feet away, his angry steel eyes trained on him. His own eyes shifted to serpentine, lazy grace as he smirked. It was never a good idea to test his patience, especially after his little interlude with Wick. Just the thought of her bruises and burns ignited his rage, and he bounded forward to grab Nathan by the shirt collar, tugging with strong arms as he pulled the boy off-balance and dragged him into the nearby engineering bay.

Wick knew the rules of the game. They couldn't speak about it until they were on what he considered safe territory. He moved through the school with familiarity, and she was impressed rather than surprised when he stopped at a metal door and dialed in the code rapidly, but not too rapidly for her to catch and memorize it.