Me: Hallo, people! Now, you're probably not wondering where I went, but I'll tell you anyway. I haven't had the Internet for the past… -Counts on fingers- three weeks. AOL was being a complete a-hole, and we couldn't find another ISP anywhere. So, I have been Internet deprived. Also, an advance apology for the short chappie.

Abbie: Pity her, damn you!

Eevee: … Damnit, what was in those painkillers?

Me: I'd rather not know, thanks.

Abbie: …

Me: You spiked them, didn't you?

Abbie: … No.

Eevee: DON'T LIE TO HER!

Abbie: -Puppy dog eyes-

Eevee: Guh… all right, all right. I'll let you live this time.

Abbie: YAY!

Me: You know… it's probably a good thing we don't own J&D.

Eevee: Amen.

Written To: The score to 'A Thousand Miles' – Vanessa Carlton

Jak's commentary

"Speech"

"YELLING!"

'Thoughts'

((Me popping into the story to explain something or other.))

Song lyrics

Bio-speak

I've got to admit, it felt a bit weird. The woman chose to commit suicide rather than be killed. I'm still not sure whether she was brave or cowardly. Whatever she was, she was gone and that was that. Back in Haven, trouble was brewing. Nobody had the faintest idea what was about to happen.

The city was as normal that night. It was about four a.m., and Ashelin was desperately trying to pick up her friends' tracks. So far, the AI was simply spiting her. She swore quietly and kept panning across the screen, trying to see some sort of blip over the wastelands. Suddenly, everything went black.

It took the baroness' eyes about five minutes to get used to the dark, but once she could actually see, she instinctively reached for the pistols she kept holstered at her waist. Hesitantly, she walked over to the door, waiting for it to open automatically. Nothing happened. She placed her hand on the ID pad next to the door. Still nothing. She sighed and tried to figure out how the hell she was going to get out of the small radar dome at the very top of the Freedom League HQ. She knew shooting at the door wouldn't help; it, along with all the others in the building, had been built to withstand a hell of a lot more than pistol bullets. She swallowed her pride for a moment, then yelled for help extremely loud.

In less than a minute, Keira, Tess, Samos and at least four guards were standing outside the room, having all heard their ledrene's call for help.

"Ashe? What's going on?" The ottsel asked, pressing her large, furry ear up against the door, sticking her thick tail out for balance while standing on Keira's shoulder.

"I'm sort of stuck. What happened, anyway? Was it a power outage or what?"

"I think so." Was all Keira said before she began barking orders to the guards, and they scrambled about in the dark, trying to find something they could prise the exit open with. Ten minutes later, they had jammed a large, conveniently located steel shaft into the door, and were now forcing it open. Samos was looking increasingly irritable, glancing about in the gloom. He twiddled his overgrown beard a bit, watching as Ashelin clambered out of the room over the bar that was holding it open. She landed on the other side after the rather ungainly operation of getting both legs over the pole without causing an extreme amount of pain in an area I refuse to write about.

About ten minutes later, after navigating the labyrinth of stairs that connected the separate floors of the building for just such a situation, the eight people had found their way into the underground generator room. Keira fumbled about in the dark (None of the torches they had located worked) for the switch to activate the generator, flipping it as soon as she found it. Nothing happened.

"Damnit, Ashe? Could ya try and find another torch? I'm gonna check the wiring."

Without waiting for a reply she walked slowly over to the main generator, plucking her ever faithful screwdriver and removing the metal plate that kept the internal workings of the machine hidden. Ashelin meandered about, squinting about to try and see anything that could create a bit of light. Her eyes were used to the dark by now, but she couldn't say she wouldn't appreciate some illumination. Unfortunately, there was nothing of any use in the room.

"Can you make do without? There's nothing in here."

"Well, all right, I'll give it a shot."

Poking her head cautiously into the large opening, she peered about, trying to see anything that could be out of place. As far as she could make out, everything was intact. She had done one of her routine checks two days ago, but you could never trust machinery. Still, it all seemed in order. She pulled her head out and replaced the cover, quickly twiddling the screws back into place.

"It should be working. This is not normal…"

"And since when did normal come into the average day here?"

Samos fidgeted with his beard a bit more, quite pleased with his point. Hid daughter simply sighed and said nothing, still trying to work out what could have happened to completely screw up the entire city's power output.

"Have we tried contacting Vin?"

"Twice, nothing's working."

The guards weren't being much help. They were as clueless as the rest of the group on the current situation. Suddenly, something clicked in Keira's mind.

"Shit."

Upon seeing the confused expressions the others were wearing, she proceeded to explain.

"EMP. Our generators are down, contact's been cut, everything. Not even the wireless stuff is working, like those torches. There's no other explanation."

Everybody in that room's thoughts consisted of a single word; 'Shit'.

Me: Guess what I've been watching!

Eevee: Oh, that's easy. War of the Worlds.

Me: You're not meant to tell them!

Eevee: You wanna argue with me?

Abbie: Trust me; it's not a good idea.

Me: Uh… I'll give it a miss, thanks.

Eevee: Right answer.

Abbie: -Wipes sweat off forehead- Phew.

Me: Erm… R&R? Prease?