A Friendly Visit

[Roberta Marigold]

Two weeks had passed since the Crescent incident. It had been a rollercoaster of a day for Roberta Marigold, not only because of the invasion, but also because it was the day she'd finally been reunited with Shadow after so many years.

Things hadn't exactly been calm during the following days either. She'd been transferred to the GUN outpost in the desert region shortly after the incident, and just a few days ago she and Shadow managed to find each other again and trade stories about their former life together and how they'd both "cheated death" afterwards.

Now Roberta wasn't sure what to do. She and Shadow had gone their separate ways now, and now that her dream had been fulfilled she needed to keep her mind busy. So here she was, in a GUN desert rover, driving up to a lone shack in the middle of the desert. A familiar-looking dune buggy already resided just outside, proving both that she was at the right place and that its occupant was home.

Maddock said he lived here. I don't know how he can bear living all alone in the middle of nowhere like this. I'm not sure I could. I mean, I lived on a space colony out in space when I was younger, but at least I had my grandfather... and Shadow, of course.

Parking the rover and getting out, Roberta brought her fist up and firmly applied it to Maddock's front door three times.

[Maddock]

(Quick inform. After being checked out by a doctor at the Station Square and then a G.U.N. doctor Maddock has been told he has damaged his lungs and throat that was caused by when he breathed in minuscul "Phase Particles" while he was in the Capitol City. This has caused him to have painful coughing fits.)

Maddock could hear the the rover approaching. It may be a new molded desert transport, but not to may thing can traverse the deserts sand quietly. Maddocks house hadn't changed much since he left it. It still was just as rickity, but now he had a few new books, some pillows, 'Witch he got against his better judgement' and two bags of desert survivle equipment. He thought that some "luxury" couldn't hurt.

Maddock was surprised by the knocking at the door, he hadn't expected anyone to come visiting him out here in the desert. Infact that was the hole point of him going out to the desert in the first place! Yeah company can be great every now and then, and even then only in small doses! But he had had to much time to himself... and his thoughts... The voices had been playing tug of war in his mind and a distraction was just what he needed right now. So Maddock got up out of his chair and put down the book he had been struggling to read. Would he ever get to have a moments peace again? Maddock had made it to the door at the third knock.

"Oh! Hello Roberta.... *Cough* I didn't expect to see you again. But that not important. Come on in. take a seat. I think I still have a case and a half of bottled watter of the 2 cases I got when we got to Station Square...."

Maddock stood to one side of the door and to let Roberta in.

[Roberta Marigold]

Roberta entered the shack and took a seat, looking at Maddock all the while.

"It's all right, Maddock, I brought my own water. How have you been lately?"

[Maddock]

Maddock closed the door behind Roberta and walked over the grab himself a bottle of watter. His throat burned with an unnatural pain from coughing, and breathing was no fun ether. Maddock took his seat were he was reading before, witch was just across the table from Roberta.

"I've been better... My lungs burn with one hell of a furry, and whenever I cough I feel like some one turned on a blender in my throat. Other then that.... -Maddock hesitated for a second before finishing what he was going to say.- I've been fine. Hows it over a the G.U.N. compound? What are they doing about Capitol City and Radical City? No remnants of Sarath Crescent's forces? What about Shadow, di- *COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, HACK* Ugh... damn it."

[Roberta Marigold]

Roberta glanced away slightly when Maddock coughed.

"We've been working our heads off trying to repair the damages the invaders caused. Capitol has been closed off from the public due to the Phase Particle explosion that happened there; it's a sad sight. Radical's still a bit broken down, but we're working on it, and it's a lot safer. We've seen no signs of the Imperium since that day, but we can't be certain that they're gone for good either." She paused. "As for Shadow, he survived, but he's trying to avoid public notice. I think he's just trying to find some time alone right now, and I can understand why, after how hectic that day was."

[Nokame]

(What could of i have possibly done in 2 weeks... pAINT)
--outside--
It was a cruel twist of fate. He left the desert to get AWAY from the dirty wasteland of a desert. He sighed as he poured more paint on to his pallete. The sky was bland, not like the previous time with the red of fire still in the air from the past attacks...

Its been 2 weeks since Noka was "saved" by the Glint and Marigold. it was by chance he had slouched here recently, still slightly tramatized by the adreneleine rush Nokame had difficulty functioning properly. It was evident with his hair in a wreck and he has a consistant twitch. For hours, he had sat by a rock near the house. His painting wasn't going well. With a hard sigh, he took another puff of his cig.

After hours of work his piece was nothing more than garbage. Enraged by this he let out a aggrivated growl and tosses the canvas at the house, a loud THUD commensed as the canvas's framework broke and collapsed to the ground.

Noka sighed and itched some dust out of his hair and smoked some more...

[Maddock]

Maddock listen to Roberta as she gave him a quick review of what had been happening in the last 2 weeks. It hadn't surprised Maddock in the least that G.U.N. had basically quarintened Capitol City off from the rest of the world. After all, he was a prime example of what could happen to someone if directly exposed to the strange and deadly "Phase Particles".

"Heroic? Haha. Yeah, sure. More like foolish of you ask me, but I wasn't on that spaceship so I would know what went down. Though he most likely was blunt, rude, tactless, and use the gun I gave him every chance he got. Hehe. Well an- 'THUD' ... What the hell was that?"

Maddock got up and look out the open window, if you could call the square hole in the wall a window, and looked to were the thud came from. There in the dirt was a crumpled mess of the painting that had met its end against the side of the shack and splatered its life blood all over the out side wall.

"Who the HELL throws a PAINTING at someones house, in the MIDDLE OF THE DESERT?!?!"

Maddock looked up a bit and spotted Nokame sitting on a rock smoking and staring off.

"Is that you Nokame? If it is you better get down here and clean that paint off m wall right now!"

Maddock only faintly remembered Nokame after his espace from Capitol, though he couldn't really forget how tall and skinny the turtle was.

[Nokame]

Noka turned around and saw Glint. His eyes looked fatiqued as if he havent slept in ages, he had that twitch too, he complied to his demands, in a way, with not a word, he went to the wall and began to lick off the paint.

Was it perhaps his hunger? Or perhaps he is slowly growing ill.. either way it tasted very delcious.

[Roberta Marigold]

((Maybe we should go by a posting order...))

Roberta glanced up when the impact reached her ears.

"What's going on out there, Maddock?"

[Nokame]

(Then it'll be Roberta/Maddock/Noka/Roberta..etc)