Kat
	Kat walked into the cave--A cave? Well, I do feel Larissa in
there...--and indeed saw her friends from the Tower. She saw Haplo
being nearly bowled over by Lia, and then Larissa was in front of her.
"What have you been doing?!" she screamed in exasperation. "All I felt
from you was... was... excitement, fear, anger--you were hurt--and you,
you... you...!" She turned a red so dark it nearly matched her Septa.
Kat patted her shoulder soothingly. "Thanks Liss, nice to know I'm
loved." She grinned at her bondmate's face and all the feelings crushing
her thru the bond... And then she saw a little black panther cub,
staring at her curiously. "Liss! You didn't tell me there was a cat
here--" she began, crouching and holding a hand out for the kitten. She
felt an odd almost-presence in her mind... and then the kitten crept up
and swatted her hand lightly, leaving little scratches across it. Kat
just chuckled and quickly scruffed it's neck, being used to the way
playful cat-strangers introduced themselves. It backed away and looked
at her reproachfully, then frisked to where Lia and Haplo were in a
heated discussion. "Come on, Liss, I guess I might as well tell you what
happened. We have a few hours left 'till breakfast..." Larissa stared at
Kat, then rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "You'd better,"
she muttered.


Haplo
   Haplo looked shocked as Lia wrapped her arms around him, feelings he had long
thought dead rising within him.  He couldn't handle them, they were too much
for him in his frail state,  he needed a long healing sleep, and it didn't
seem he was to get that considering the state the group was in.  They were
milling about on the mountainside, no idea what to do next,  it was like they
were back in the stone age.  Someone needed to take charge, and considering
that almost everyone else that knew what was needed wasn't there, Haplo
decided to take responsibility upon himself.  He glanced over at all the
members of the broken Purple Tower, out of all of them, he picked out Kat and
Dav, the only other two Warders in the group, they would know what needs to be
done, they were Warders, protection was their job, and that meant survival.
He looked down at Lia, who was staring at him as if he were the only thing on
earth, he gave her one of his patented grins and decided right then and there
that he didn't want her from his side.  With an arm still around her waist,
Haplo  faced the members of the little company and spoke to them," Allright,
y'all, the picnic is over, time ta come back ta reality.  We gots some things
ta do, an I'm gonna make sure they're done right.  Seems our company still
ain't altogether yet, Kelly an Nyna are still captive, bein taken as we speak
ta Tear, ta be held in the Stone, while Eddie, Liagala, an Sredny decided ta
discourage any further pursuit from the White Tower, took advantage of me
while I was delirious.  Any questions so far?"  He looked around, saw only
intent looks as they listened to him, the only movement was  Timothy shifting
anxiously in his seat.  "Good, now we're all going to head down to Tear and
find those girls, as soon as the others decided ta grace us with their
presence.  Dav and Kat, I'm gonna need y'all ta watch the camp for me, gotta
go back  down ta the city, seems in their rush ta leave the Tower they forgot
several necessary things, such as weapons, transportation, etc.  What do we
got here, I think we got a horse an that's it, maybe some personal weaponry
the lady assassins have here, an that be it."  Haplo turned away from the two
warders when he heard Timothy yelling at him, "Well, oh high and mighty Head
Warder, we've done pretty  damn good on our own, no thanks to you.  I think we
might be better off if we continued the way we were going about our business."
Haplo walked over to the bellowing WiT and knocked him on his ass, "Listen
here, kid, don't ya speak like that ta me again, ya understand, or I'll have
ya ass pullin guard duty for the rest of your short life, an any thoughts ya
had bout women....forget em, cause ya won't  be seein any, much less talkin ta
them, a Warder who can't follow orders don't deserve ta be a Warder, an that
means ya won't be able ta bond ta that pretty young thing I been seein ya fool
around with."   He dragged the kid by his ear next to the car an told him to
stay there until he could set a proper punsihment for him, no need for the
WiTs to get out of control just yet.  He looked over at Kat and Dav, "Watch
the kid, don't take any crap from him, an get these people ready ta move, just
because the White Tower ain't done nothin yet don't mean they don't plan ta."
He turned to Lia, "Darlin, I want ya ta come with me, I don't know why, but I
don't feel right without ya along..." 


Patty
      Patty was too tired to even get up when the newest arrivals entered the
cave.  And she was too tired to protest when Hap took over.  And in no small
way was she relieved.  Patty may be good at orgainizing a research paper, but
getting this group away from the Purple Tower and up this stupid mountain was
almost too much.  With Liam injured, and one group still among the missing, it
was very easy to have Hap take over.  If she couldn't trust their Head Warder
with getting them out alive, who could she trust.  She tried to be attentive
as Hap spoke.
     "Good, now we're all going to head down to Tear and find those girls, as
soon as the others decided ta grace us with their presence.  Dav and Kat, I'm
gonna need y'all ta watch the camp for me, gotta go back  down ta the city,
seems in their rush ta leave the Tower they forgot several necessary things,
such as weapons, transportation, etc.  What do we got here, I think we got a
horse an that's it, maybe some personal weaponry the lady assassins have here,
an that be it."  
      Timothy started giving Hap some grief, but Patty's attention was
captured by a moan from Liam.  He was in really bad shape and she wished
Kaitlyn would show up with that last group.  Kait was a strong Healer.  Hell,
she was sure she could fix Patty's stilling, it'd be a snap for her to fix
Liam up.
      Patty made a mental note to talk to Hap about Timothy once things calmed
down a bit.  The boy was arrogant and rude, but he did save Liam's life, and
that wasn't something Patty could overlook.  The people Hap had instructed to
get moving had already formed a plan of action and were in motion.  At just
about the same time, the last group of PT refugees finally arrived.


Jen
       Jen trudged wearily up the mountain. Her calves still hurt from the walk
before and the steep incline didn't help much. She was so glad when she saw
Patty and the rest of the group at the top of the mountain, inside some cave
there, and she heard Haplo talking about going to Tear. Tear! Sure, they could
escape the Tar Valon police, but -- augh! -- some of the older members would
inexplicably be marked as channelers by their ageless faces, and Jen was sure
they could tell who could channel regardless. Anyone who was marked with even
a suspicion of the ability was shipped off to the White Tower. Tear was the
worst place for them to be! 
      But she was too tired to voice her thoughts ... she really just wanted
to go to sleep. Her eyes (besides her calves) hurt and she was hot and cold
and feeling generally awful. Once Haplo was done with everyone's attention,
Jen's was caught by Patty, who gave her an update on the head warder's speech
... and indicated Liam, who was in bad pain. The Anima recounted the story,
omitting unnecessary details, and finishing with "...we need someone who's a
strong Healer. Kait should be here soon, but I don't know when, and we
shouldn't be moving with Liam injured."
      Jen glanced down at the cave floor. "I'd do it," Jen volunteered, "but
I'm feeling awful myself. If I remember correctly, Lia had a certain ...
talent ... with Healing." She looked back up at Patty. "I'm exhausted," she
said. "I have been for days on end. Exhausted and hungry like you wouldn't
believe. Have we got anything to eat? And ... and are we really going to Tear?
We can't do that.... Light, Patty, I've got a flood of questions and I'm so
confused and I'm so tired!" She sighed, a long almost teary sigh. "Patty ...
I want you to take over for a while. You've done an excellent job here, but I
can't do this much longer. I won't be here forever...." 


Patty
      Patty attributed Jen's rambling to exhaustion, lack of food and pure
nerves.  It couldn't have been a walk in the park trudging up the mountain and
worrying about Davidson the whole time.  As well as worrying about the group
she needed to get to safety AND worrying about the future of the PT as awhole.
      On the surface going to Tear probably sounded crazy to Jen.  But Nyna
and Kelly were a priority, they would deal with the citizens of Tear when the
time came.  This was an inventive group they were part of...someone would
think of something creative to do, of that Patty was sure.
      Patty saw Kaitlyn arrive and called her over to tend to Liam.  Once she
was assured by Kait that Liam's injuries were something she could handle,
Patty turned her full attention to Jen.  She didn't look so good.  Her ageless
face hadn't taken on any age...she just looked worn and worried.  "Food is the
easiest thing to deal with." Patty assured Jen.  
       Patty settled Jen on a pile of blankets and found Lissy who was still
in charge of the supplies.  She grabbed some tea for herself and Jen, and a
box of crackers for Jen to nibble on.  Jen had practically started to nod off,
but Patty woke her.  Better for her to be grouchy and have something to eat
than wake up starving tomorrow.  Jen took the crackers and tea without agrumble.
      Patty settled herself on the floor next to Jen.  The familiar form of
Moonlight Dancing settled itself next to Patty.  The comforting presence of
the wolf made Patty a little more relaxed.  The wolf had been deeply affected
by Liam's injuries and had been hovering constantly near the boy ever since
they'd entered the cave.  In a way, Patty was glad Liam was oblivious.  The
wolf's presence would have agitated him even more if he knew.
      Patty watched as under Hap's direction people moved about with more
purpose.  Kelly and Nyna were their priority, and everyone seemed to gain new
energy from this focus.  Katija and Rebecca were helping Lissy inventory their
supplies. Some of the younger Nila found places to curl up and get some sleep.
From Moonlight Dancing, Patty knew that Vree was scouting around outside on
watch for any enemy movement.
      It was nice, to just for a moment sit here and relax.  It wouldn't last,
of course.  It simply couldn't.  Especially since Patty had a feeling Jen had
more to say.  So she sat, and she enjoyed her own stillness.  Waiting for the
next move. 


Lia
   Lia stood, holding on to Hap as if he was her only life preserver to
sanity....   at this point though... maybe he was....    He seemed about ready
to push her away.. yet she held on.. hating herself for showing weakness,
hating him for making her....  but loving him for just being him...    He
smiled at her then, and all that there was vanished....  He began stating
orders.. rousing the sleeping others from rest, when Timothy started acting up
again.. somehow, that of all things brought Lia around...  She was about to
toss a knife in his general direction.. just to scare him of course, when Hap
knocked him down She smiled, Hap got everyone going and turned to her,
"Darlin, I want ya ta come with me, I don't know why, but I don't feel right
without ya along..."
   Lia felt exhileration.. Nightwind had almost given her back her childhood,
and the rush of emotions was tedious...  Forcing herself to speak without her
harsh edge, she said, "  Sure...  I...   "  It wasn't working.. old habits
died hard, still it was a start..  " Someone has to protect you...  if strong
use of the One Power can hurt you through your runes...  Maybe strong use can
heal you too...  but...  I'd like to bring Sonja and Lissette if that's
okay....  They'd be too much for the others...  "  Hap nodded...  and Lia
glaced at the two girls...  Handspeaking silently and laughed....  Ah.. so
the ever-icy Lia has emotion after all ?  Lia signed back  Shut up you
two..  and they all laughed, while Hap had no idea what was going on and
muttered.. " Damn Women... "  


Eddie
   Cursing, Eddie tried to bury his anger at Lia.  She DID have the right.  He
just didn't like her tagging along.  Guess he would just have to make sure she
was protected.  Doesn't she realize that when she's along, I have to divide my
attention to watch her?  It makes it more dangerous.  Guess I'll just have to
try harder.  Turning to Sredny, he motioned him away while Li became familiar
with her bike.  
   "I know that you don't have any reason to do this, but I need a favor.  If
I should die, or becomme so hurt I can't be saved, I need you to make sure
that Li gets out.  Whether she wants to or not.  Can you promise me that?  I
will be forever in your debt." Eddie asked.
   A smile played across Sredny's face.  "Um, if you're dead, how will you pay
me back?"  He made a dismissive gesture as Eddie opened his mouth.  "I'm
kidding, Eddie.  I will watch her, and make sure she gets out."  He pulled his
matching guns, spun them around his fingers, and slipped them back into their
holders.  "My word."
   Thanking him, Eddie turned to Li.  "Okay.  We need a gameplan, guys.  Let's
do some planning.  Now, the way I see it, we're gonna need to confirm the
status of the White Tower after our little...party.  Now, I don't believe for
a second that they aren't planning something retaliatory.  There is no way
they'll let us get away.  So, i say we go in sneaky.  If we can do that with
these accursed bikes.  You couldn't have gotten something quieter, Sredny?"
The gholam shrugged.  "Well, nevermind.  I guess these will do.  One thing.  I
want NO channeling.  Okay?  Now you see why i didn't want you to come, Li?
Sredny has other skills, and I can't channel, but you..."  He left the
sentence unfinished, knowing that she wasn't going to like it.  Everything
recently seemed to make her mad at him.  Why is this so hard?  Can't she just
do what I tell her?  I'm only thinking about her well-being.  But no, she has
to do her own thing.  Ah well.  guess we should get this thing going since she
is coming.
   "Okay, boy and girl, let's get this done so we can join the group going to
Tear." Eddie continued.
   "Wait.  How do you know they're going to Tear?" Liagala asked.
   A smile crept across Eddie's face.  "I slipped a com unit into Hap's
pocket.  It's coming in very handy.  I'm just hoping that he discovers it
soon, so we can do this both ways.  I've heard everything that they are
talking about.  Hap's doing exactly what I figured he would.  That's why I
didn't let him come.  I knew that the Tower would need him to push them to
move.  So, now we have to do our little deed, and make sure that our movements
aren't tracked.  So, off we go.  And remember, no channeling until we have
been detected.  And don't worry, eventually we will be."
   Walking over to his bike, Eddie tried to control his fear.  He knew this
was going to be hard enough anyway, without having to worry about Liagala.
Dammit, Eddie.  ENOUGH. She's coming.  So, get over it, and move on.  You
still have a job to do.  She's here, and you're gonna have to deal.  Feeling
better, Eddie looked to Li, and smiled.  She hesitated a second, plainly not
trusting his sudden switch in moods, then returned his smile.  
   "All right.  Let's go."  He looked at Sredny, and he just knew the smile on
his face was because of him and Liagala.  Ah well.  "Sredny, remember your
promise.  Now, what I'm thinking is that we're gonna have to hack into their
system.  So, that's why you're here.  To do that, we're gonna have to get in
nice and sneaky.  That's why I'm here.  And Liagala is here because she's
stubborn as hell."  With a wink, he climbed on his bike, and kicked it alive. 
   The roar made him wince.  Yeah, they won't be able to hear us coming.
Jeez, a deaf corpse could hear us coming.  They pulled out of the parking lot,
and quickly accelerated.  Eddie led them onto back roads, hoping to avoid
attention.  They were about two miles from the Tower when Eddie made themstop.
   "All right.  Since we have these abominable noise makers, we're gonna have
to go the rest of the way on foot."  Eddie said.  Slipping out of his color
shifting coat, Eddie handed it to Liagala.  "Here.  This should help you avoid
notice.  And with what we're gonna do, we're gonna need to avoid notice."
Looking at the gholam, he caught that damnable smile on his face again.  "Hey.
Think you can stop mocking, and get going?"
   "Sure, Eddie.  Whatever you say."  And, with that infuriating smile, he
walked into the woods.
   Sighing, Eddie followed with Liagala.  "Okay, let's get this over with.
Sooner we're all back with the others, the better I will feel."
   "You mean sooner I'm back with the others." Li retorted.
   "No.  Sure, I was mad as hell when you showed up, but now I'm gonna have to
deal with it.  I just need to make sure you make it out of there so I can yell
at you the right way."  Grinning, he spun on his heel and drew his twinswords.
   Coming behind him, Liagala looked askance at his swords.  "I never did
understand why you use those things in this day and age.  Wouldn't guns be
better?"
   "Guns are so...simple.  It takes no skill to squeeze a trigger.  These
swords keep me grounded.  Plus, it's all I have left from my family.
Thankfully, I'll be able to use my knowledge of the Stone once we get to Tear.
I should be able to get a few people in with little or no fuss.  That's if
they haven't changed everything around.  We'll see.  But, for now, we need to
concentrate on not getting dead.  Shall we?"
   Walking through the woods, Eddie's every sense was on edge, looking for
threat.  Spinning, he leveled a sword.  He stopped just before he decapitated
Sredny.  Much good it would have done against a gholam anyway.  "You shouldn't
go sneaking up on people."
   "Didn't figure I would be heard.  You're very good.  Anyway, there're some
guards up ahead.  Figured you'd want to know about them." Sredny informedthem.
   "How many?  And who?" Eddie immediately was all business.
   "About ten.  Six mercs, three Warders, and a Sister."  
   Cursing, Eddie winced.  This wasn't going to be easy by any means.  "Okay.
Liagala I'm afraid you're gonna have to hang back.  For one thing, she will
sense you as soon as you're close enough.  And for another, we don't want any
channeling this early.  So, Sredny and I will ambush them.  You up to it,
gholam?"   "What have I said about that?  Why,-" 
   Liagala spoke right over him.  "What, you think I'm useless.  Lia's been
teaching me."  She suddenly flourished two knives tucked up her sleeves, spun
them in tight, controlled arcs, and slipped them back up.  Despite himself,
Eddie was impressed.  "As for sensing me channeling, there is a weave I can
use that will mask that.  So, you have no further excuses, Warder.  Let's go."
And she marched off into the woods.
   Swearing, Eddie followed.  Ever since we got Bonded, I seem to be swearing
a hell of a lot, he thought ruefully.  
   They had gone only a little ways before Eddie heard voices up ahead.  He
motioned to Sredny, making a circling movement with his hand, and sketching a
quick tear drop shape in the air.  Go for the Aes Sedai.  Sredny nodded and
faded into the dark.  Eddie caught up to Li just in time to stop her.  Putting
a finger to his lips, Eddie motioned her to stay here.  Feeling anger boil up
through the Bond, Eddie sighed.  But, she nodded her head.  Thank the Light.
   Moving forward, Eddie noted the positions of the two Warders.  They were
good.  You didn't really see that anymore.  Most of the Warders weren't worth
diddly.  But, these three were good.  Not good enough, but good nonetheless.
Slipping into the brush, Eddie waited for the nearest one to notice Li.  As he
did, and started over, Eddie, like a wraith, launched himself up and silenced
him with a quick jerk of his arms.  
   Letting the body slide to the ground, Eddie looked to see if he had been
discovered.  Seeing he hadn't, he continued on.  The next one wasn't as good
as he had originally thought.  He died with little effort.  He saw that Sredny
had done his job.  The AS was no longer in sight.  The last warder was GOOD.
Eddie didn't know how he was gonna do this, when a dagger came flying over his
shoulder and embedded itself in the Warders back.  With a strangled cry, he
slumped the ground.  Staring in surprise, Eddie felt Li's passing.  She gave
him a smug look as she went over to retrieve her dagger.  Shaking his head,
Eddie concentrated on the six guards who were left.  They went down easily,
and the group made their way deeper into White Tower territory.


Liagala
   Eddie, Liagala, and Sredny left the Dealership on those God-awful noisemakers
the Gholam had gotten, making their way toward the Tower.  We want to escape
notice, so we buy bikes that can be heard half a continent away?!?  She was
exceedingly grateful when they finally abandoned the horrible contraptions,
and began walking the rest of the way.  Her head was pounding from those
bikes, and she fished an Advil out of her purse, swallowing it without water.
   They moved closer to their destination, and spied a party in the distance,
one of whom was an Aes Sedai.  Eddie began babbling some nonsense about
staying back to avoid being sensed by the AS, but she quickly put that bit of
bull to rest.  That wool-headed man needs to learn that I'm not a friggin'
porcelain doll!  Him and his "keeping me out of danger."  I'll show him
danger!  Popping another Advil, she followed the men toward the camp,
muttering.  And of course, Eddie turned and stopped her.  Friggin men!  If he
doesn't cut this out, I'm going to run out of Advil.  Despite her objections,
she nodded at him, then settled down impatiently to wait.  
   When we get back to the rest of the PT people, I'm going to have to have a
talk with him.  He's got this crazy idea that I'm going to break if anyone
looks at me wrong, while he is some big Macho man who can withstand anything!
When is he going to learn that I'm not quite that fragile, and he's not
invincible?  Foolish man.  Half the time, I follow him just to keep him out of
trouble.  He keeps trying to protect me, but if anything happened to him...
shuddering, she cut off that line of thought, and turned her attention back to
the battle.  That was something she definitely did not want to think about.  
   She followed the fighting, and noticed that the last Warder was giving Eddie
a bit of trouble.  She didn't think Eddie was going to be able to beat him.
Mutterng, she pulled one of the daggers from her sleeves, and threw it
smoothly at the offending Warder.  Lia's lesson's certainly paid off, she
thought, as she walked by Eddie to retrieve it with a smug smile.  Maybe now
he'll let me do something!  How can I keep him from getting killed if he won't
let me do anything?  
   Intending to have that talk with him later, Liagala checked Eddie for
injuries, which there were none, then re-joined Sredny for the continuation of
their journey.