(It has come to my attention through my army of secret ninjas that someone(s) is(are) leaving reviews for finished stories and/or oneshots and saying "please update".

I will say this once, and in the most profane way possible.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING. DON'T FUCKING REVIEW A STORY THAT'S FUCKING FINISHED, SAYING "PLZ UPDATE". IT'S FUCKING FINISHED!

Okay, I'm mellowed out now.

So, this weekend I was in Texas for an aikido seminar. Fun fun fun! There'll be a picture of me grimacing in pain on my DeviantART soon.

Check it out!

Let's begin.

Tyler, Victor, Leslie, Sidney © Nintendo

Rylee, Alex, Erika © Me)

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Days of the Phoenix

Chapter Eleven- Conscious

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"Shit... that was too close. She almost died..."

"If it had gone any higher, she'd have been a goner for sure..."

They were faint... but Rylee could recognize those voices very clearly.

A small pain ebbed in her chest.

"Guys, I think she's starting to wake up..."

Damn! Am I ever going to be able to just sit and rest?

Rylee heard people shuffling, gathering closely around her...

She slowly opened her hazel eyes.

Leslie and Tyler's tired, worried faces were the first things she saw; Alexander and Erika slipped into her field of vision soon after, their eyes sparkling faintly in the dim light.

"Rylee, you're awake!" Leslie cried softly, tightly wrapping her arms around the young woman. "Oh thank God... we were so worried..."

"Unh...?" Rylee muttered softly; her voice was weak, but audible. "Leslie...? What happened?"

"You got shot," Tyler explained quietly, his brown eyes seeming almost distant. "You wouldn't wake up, no matter what we did... we thought you were going to die..."

...but I did, Rylee thought briefly. I did... didn't I?

"But you're alright now, right, Aunt Rylee?" the children chirped, practically bellyflopping onto the young Kasal woman.

"Oof! Jeez, you two are heavy..." Rylee groaned, shoving Alex and Erika off of her stomach. "Yes, I'm fine... but where's Victor? I need to find--"

"I'm here," Victor's drawling voice cut through the empty silence like a knife.

"Get over here."

"Why should I?"

"Just--ugh. I have to tell you something important. Get the hell over here."

Victor slunk over to Rylee's side as the other four people got out of his way.

"Fine. I'm here. What the fuck do you want?"

Rylee had to admit, she didn't think she was that strong... but it gave her a sense of great satisfaction to see Victor crumple to the ground after she smacked him in the side of the head.

"Ow! What the fuck, Rylee?!"

Another whack to the face.

"Gah!"

"He told me to tell you to stop swearing!" Rylee barked, oblivious to Tyler and Leslie's shocked stares.

"What the fuck are you babbling about now?!"

A third blow to the head.

"My father! My father told me to slap you upside the head and tell you to stop swearing!"

"Okay, okay! Christ, woman, you're out of your mind..."

Rylee sighed, slowly playing with her hair as she stood up, watching Victor stumble away, muttering under his breath.

"So... where are we?" she asked, her hazel eyes darting around. "How long has it been since the bombs started falling-- or do we not know?"

"It's been about three days," Leslie informed, watching her daughter and Alexander wrestle in the dark tunnel. "The bombs stopped falling about an hour ago... we were waiting for you to wake up before we went back outside. Now that you're up..."

"...let's go see the damage," Rylee sighed softly.

She had a very bad feeling that she was going to regret those words...

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(End chapter eleven.

Do you have any idea how tired I am? I thought for sure I'd be getting more than five hours of sleep a night in Houston. Damn Mythbusters. It's all their fault, really.

Don't put unrestrained bowling balls in your back seat. It might rip your head off.

Please review!)