A Place To Belong

Matt nodded, "Good to have you aboard." He said as he reached behind the counter and pulled out a pink shirt that had the word "Bounsa" on it. Matt had one too though his sleeves were cut off. His arms were a little too big for them.

After a few moments Luc came down wearing one of the waitress uniforms. He was still male. "Okay you know what? I'm wearing a regular tux, I mean as pretty as they are in their little mini skirts and what not. I'm sure not everyone like to see that. I mean who wouldn't wanna see something like this." He motioned to all of himself. "In something like this!" He practically ripped of the skirt and jacked. He was wearing fresh pressed slacks, wingtip shoes, a white dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar and a black tuxedo vest. He nodded his head. "Hunh, hunh? Looks good right?" He asked already convinced he looked good.

Kay's eyes almost bugged out of her head and she couldn't suppress the smile. "Oh my GOD! Luc you clean up well!" She said and started clapping.

Luc hammed it up by doing a supermodel runway walk.

Even Cupid was clapping. One of the zombies on stage hit a button and music played.

Matt was at a lost for words...

Hibari blinked, then looked at Matt then back. "..I'm not sure what to say or think at all in this situation.."

Indeed. This was a complete first if there ever was one.

Jacob would have killed himself laughing, though.

As soon as the music stopped so did Luc. "Well? Whaddya think?"

Kay nodded "Okay we'll try it your way for now and see how it goes." She pointed at Luc "On a trial period." She fixed herself another cup of coffee.

Matt walked over to Hibari "Okay, now that's you're on security we'll be rotating between inside and out. I normally take the outside when we open. You know the routine." He pointed to the area above the stage, the back exit and the bar. "Those are the best vantage points." Matt liked the idea of her being on the team. He didn't even have to train her.

Cupid walked over to Kay, "So... it's not payday?" He asked

Kay shook her head. "Sorry Cupid, you lost a day." She said as she sipped her coffee.

Ukyo came down stairs dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Her bright pink sneakers finished the outfit. "So... I heard music. What'd I miss?"

Kay nodded her head "Okay looks like we're gonna stay open. If those guys show up and start something we'll finish it." She turned and walked to her office. She was till in her bathrobe and she wanted to change.

Ukyo looked around again "Okay... so... what did I miss?"

Luc shook his head. "Nothin, it's business as usual." He said and gather his band to get ready for rehearsal.

Cupid turned and started back to the doors. "Well I'm goin home then." He said as he walked out. Once he was outside he looked around and seeing no one was watching he spread his wings and shot into the air. He was going to have to bring a weapon to work later it seemed. His bow wouldn't be a good idea. Then again...

Hibari listened intently to Matt, then nodded her head. "All right, I understand. Is there anything else I should know about?" While she considered herself very experience in these matters, she wouldn't be as arrogant to say there wasn't anything she could miss or overlook.

Matt was about to say something when the lights flickered and then dimmed. Kay dropped her cup of coffee. "Oh SHIT! Please be an earthquake, please be an earthquake!"

Luc looked to the center of the dance floor. He could feel it. It was coming. "It's not an earthquake." Then the ground heaved "EVERYONE GET BACK!!" The zombies retreated to the backstage and Luc tore off his shirt. His physique seemed to contort. His abdomen retracted showing only his spine and ribs jutted out of his chest cavity. His face became gaunt and skull like his hair line retracting. His eyes burned yellow. "It's about to open!" His voice was two toned now. The Zombie Lord was in his true form.

Matt grabbed Ukyo and moved her behind the bar. He leaped onto the bar and the chain around his arm dangled low.

**

Above the city Cupid could feel the Hellmouth about to open. He shot back to his apartment and grabbed a bow. His bow would be useless so he left it there. He also grabbed a quiver of arrows and shot back through the air towards the Bronx.

**

The floor heaved and the wood crackled. Heat waves emanated between the slats. There was an inhuman growl followed by several screeches. The heat was rising. The ground continued to heave as more screams could be heard.

The wood caught fire and a symbol appeared around the breaking flooring. Then a massive three fingered fist punched its way through the ground. The arm was easily as big as a man was tall. It landed with a resounding thud splintering more wood. Then a massive grotesque head came out.

Matt lashed his chain at it. "I've never seen these kind before!"

The creature caught it and pulled. Matt was yanked off the bar into the opposing wall. He twisted his body however and his feet connected with the concrete. For a moment the force of the creatures swing caused him to stay there. Matt glared at the creature "Nice try!" He landed on his feet and wrapped the chain around his fist.

The creature pulled it's way out and towered over everyone. It was easily 12 to 13 feet tall and it was hunched a little. At its feet smaller creatures crawled their way up. Kay tossed her bathrobe at one and hurled herself over the bar. In only her bra and panties she landed a solid kick to the things head knocking it back into the hole. "Get outta my CLUB!!"

The demons didn't pay them any mind it seemed to be looking for something. Even the imps were scrambling frantically to get out of the hole.

Hibari didn't have time to ponder much of anything. It was time to act, and this was in her element. How the Hellmouth had opened, what had caused it, none of that was currently relevant. She had to defend herself and the people inside of this place.

Not thinking, merely reacting after quickly processing things, Hibari fired a powerful bolt of lighting from her hands at the imps. When and if it connected it would 'chain' together if they were close enough, hitting more of the demons.

"Is there anyway to seal this thing?!" She yelled over the noise. If they kept coming and there was no end to their numbers, they could find themselves in a dire situation quickly.

Kay shook her head "No it can't be sealed only closed!" She leaped back as an imp was sprawled on the ground from the shock. She kicked another one back into the burning pit.

Matt leaped over the railing and crossed his arms above his head, Blocking a blow from the larger demon. It was intended for Kay. He grunted and fell to one knee. Then he gripped the arm and turned his body. He used the creatures momentum to flip the beast over his shoulder. It landed on its back. Its hooves knocking out the front door. "We just gotta make sure they don't get out!"

Luc leaped over the pit, his lower body twisting. His legs were propellers giving him limited flight. He landed on the large demon's chest and drove his elbows into it. his elbows were now sharp bony protrusions. The beast howled as the Zombie dragged himself down and blood gushed everywhere. When the beast died it seemed to flake away as if it had been burned. Much like the Imps.

Speaking of Imps more and more seemed to be clawing their way out of the gaping hole. Kay was fighting two at the same time. One managed to claw at her abdomen. She pulled back to avoid a fatal injury. They were only scratches. "We have to break that magic seal! That's what's keeping it open!"

Kay and Matt were shoving and kicking imps out almost as fast as they were coming out. Hibari's lightning blasts helped a lot. Then both Kay and Matt were thrown back as another Large Demon came out of the hole.

Luc looked at them "Jeezus... they're like cockroaches." He moved beside Hibari

Seal? What seal?

Hibari focused on the task at hand, noticing all the enemies. Her lighting bolt seemed to do the trick, but then yet another large demon crawled its way out of the portal. This was starting to get irritating.

A electrical blade was formed into her hands, softly humming at her finger tips. Moments later she vanished, via teleporting, appearing above the demon, she brought the blade down. Fully intending on impaling it with a single blow before it could catch its barrings, but it was only the start.

As Hibari descended on the large demon several balls of hot plasma shot at her from the imps. They were screeching at her. The demon managed to roll some before it was impaled right into the bar. Kay screamed a slew of profanity and turned her rage to a not so hapless Imp.

Several of the emerging imps weren't focused on the people outside of the hellmouth. They were firing into the hole.

Then all could hear a whine of something starting up and the imps around the hellmouth exploded into tiny chunks of meat.

The Demon at the bar flipped on to it's belly and tried to scramble to the door. It didn't get far before it died of its wounds.

Then a man stepped out of the hole. He was large cut from solid muscle. His skin seemed to strain from the muscle under it. He held in his right hand a large gatling gun. With his left hand he held what looked like a cigar. He looked around at the imps. "Who wants some?"

Behind him two more people emerged from the hole. One was a latino man carrying what looked like a sniper rifle and the other a red headed female who had a machine gun.

This sent the imps into a panic.

Hibari was hit by the first few, grunting a bit, but she made a electric shield around her that blocked the blows. The fact wasn't seriously injured by the attack was a testament to her durability. She dropped the shield and fired another bolt of chain lighting at the imps.

She didn't expect 'help' from outside the Hellmouth.

..What's going on?

As the demon burned away the imps quivered and twitched from the chain lightning the large man barked orders to the others that came through the Hellmouth.

"Wildman lay down some cover fire while Fox takes care of the seal!" he shouted.

The other two made their way out of the mouth and the one called Wildman tucked and rolled behind one of the fallen tables. The woman rolled out and started setting something up just outside the mouth. The big man simply stepped out and poured on the rain of bullets into the mouth.

A few seconds later Fox ran behind the table with Wildman and the large man followed. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!" He shouted.

Kay's eyes went wide "What? Oh you gotta be-" She was cut off when Matt pulled her over to another set of tables Ukyo was hiding behind. Luc for his part leaped up and and flew backwards.

There was a resounding boom as the explosive device detonated. It wasn't a big explosion just a loud noise as the thermite charge ate through the wood and thus the seal keeping the hellmouth open.

Imps began to scream and there was a roar from below as something bigger than the demon could be heard.

Hibari frowned slightly. Was there something else down there? Great. She had been hoping to get this thing closed before anything else rose from it. It looked like something had happened, but she couldn't be sure. Once the coast was clear, she landed by Matt and the others, keeping her eyes focused on the Hellmouth.

"It..sounds like something else is in there."

Please just let it close.

Matt nodded "Sure does, I don't wanna meet it though." Kay nodded.

"My club..." She said in a whisper.

The other people however kept firing. "Fox, fusion block! Let's give 'em a good bye gift!"

As the portal started to close the woman ran up and tossed what looked like a satchel down in the Hellmouth. An Imp popped up and Wildman took it's head off. A couple of remaining imps dived back into the hole as it closed.

There was an explosion deep in the hole and something bellowed. Fire came rushing up. Its intense heat could be felt and then, the portal closed. A wisp of smoke was all that could be seen.

The woman looked at the ground. "Portal closed Major."

The Major nodded. "Good, 'bout time we made it back." He looked around. "Command is gonna have my head for sure on this one." He rolled the cigar around in his mouth as he spied the civilians. "It's okay, we got 'em."

Wildman looked over too and spotted Kay. "Well now." He smoothed his hair. "Hey there."

The Major elbowed him. "Stow that shit Corporal."

Kay stood and looked around. "My place..." She dropped to her knees and started sobbing into her hands. "I give up." She croaked.

Ukyo came over to comfort her and Luc now back in human form walked over. "Sonofabitch!"

Suddenly the doors burst open and the soldiers trained their weapons on the new intruder.

Cupid dropped his bow and held up his hands. "Um... I'm here to help?" he said in a small voice.

Hibari's face softened and she went to where her new friend was. She wanted to help Kay. To comfort her. But she didn't really have the words and at the moment it seemed like Kay was having a break down.

"He's okay, he's with us.." Hibari told the soldiers, not sure exactly who they were but they didn't mean anyone here any harm and helped them so for now they were fine.

* *

"-Warning, Hellmouth breach detected!"

Daisuke didn't have time to even sit and read his book at Nobus HQ before the alarm went blaring and people that were currently around began to scramble to get up and ready.

Damn, I just sat down.

While the chaos erupted, he could see a few members of his team, one of them a big bulky man with green skin, looking as he had stumbled awake. He was wearing normal clothes.

"What the hell is going on?" They said, their voice sounding like a deep rumble.

"Dunno Athar, but we better get ready. Shit's about to hit the fan!" Daisuke said in a rush as he quickly went to grab a few things. He tapped his M.P.D. "Keiko, we got a situation, need you right away. Hanks, get your ass down here and suit up!"

He shut the device off after that, pressing something on the M.P.D. and in a instant his clothes were gone. They were now replaced in what seemed to be a type of military armor that had the Nobus symbol and name badge on it. Athar did much the same. It adapted and seem to accept his mask, as if it had been made for him all along.

"Ah. Much better. It's like putting on my million dollar suit." They said in the same deep tone.

"You and me both big guy." Daisuke said as he tested something in the suit then continued

Moments later, a beautiful young woman with wings came into view. Though instead of her usual clothes, they had something on like a specialized nurse uniform but more suited for stressful activites. 'Keiko' read on their name tag. Behind them was a young man behind her, black hair and semeingly nervous. They had on another uniform of their own. 'Hanks' read on their tag.

"You heard the announcement, we got a breach in Seattle. Sending a team to contain it." Daisuke said in a rush, heading quickly to the portal room. "Hanks your driving. Everyone else, stay sharp. Let's get this over with."

* *

It didn't take long. Daisuke's team along with others arrived quickly on the scene. If a Hellmouth was opening, then it was a very big deal. On their own, the demons weren't a huge threat but since they had such larger, seemingly limitless numbers if left unchecked they would be a serious problem.

There were other vechiles parked out as Daisuke and the others got out of their ride which was a advance transport. The other Nobus agents were going on to secure the area first and make sure no civilains got hurt while others were sent to investigate the breach.

Maybe Hobb's called it in..

Daisuke thumbed his com. "Major Daisuke here. I'm going to do a sweep with the others and make sure everyone inside is okay."

"Copy that. Keep a hold of your ass out there or your wife would kill me." Came the voice from the other end.

Daisuke chuckled. "No problem Corporal John. I'm out." He motioned for his team to move. Hanks was still nervous, he was the newest member of his unit and Nobus in general so he was still green. Poor kid. But he had to learn some time. He was mostly support usually, while Keiko was their medic.

The doors of the Bronx came open sometime after Cupid came in, Daisuke and others came in to secure the place.

Hibari instantly noticed them, noticing the Nobus symbol on them signaling who they were.

"Clear sir! Anyone injured?" One of the Nobus agents said, not on Daisuke's unit.

The Major motioned them to lower their weapons and his unit complied. He nodded to Hibari "Sorry about the mess, I'll contact the U.A.C. and see if we can get you compensated." He stepped on the charred remains of an imp as he made his way to the bar. Pulling out three bottles of water he tossed them to his team. "I'm Jackson Knight Command Sergeant Major of the RRTS Space Marines. These are my team Corporal Ricardo Sanchez and Sergeant Major Glenda Fox." The two marines nodded in turn. Knight uncapped the water and chugged. "AH! Nothing like the real thing." He was about to say more when the doors came open.

When the Nobus agent asked is everyone was okay Kay looked over. "You're a little late." Matt came over with a his jacket and placed it around her shoulder. "Several times too late. My insurance isn't gonna pay for this. Apparently they don't have a 'The Devil made me do it.' clause." She wiped her tears and stood.

She checked on the others. A few scrapes and cuts nothing too serious.

The Major stayed by the uncrushed portion of the bar. He looked at the insignia on the uniforms. He didn't recognize it at all. Lighting up his cigar he just stood there and puffed.

Cupid looked around and picked up his bow. "I'm guessing I have the rest of the day off." He walked over to Kay and checked her injuries. She had some minor burns on her feet and arms but was otherwise okay.

Kay looked to the agent "Looks like we're all okay."

Ukyo was sitting on a stool smiling. Kay looked at her. "What's so funny?"

Ukyo was moving her legs back and forth. "You'll see."

"..All right. Thank you." Hibari was confused by what it was, but decided not to question it for now, instead she merely watched.

Daisuke sighed under the armor. Damn. Just damn. How long had this mess been going on and they didn't know it? A serious honest to god Hellmouth and they didn't have this plugged to death and locked down? They couldn't be everywhere at once and know everything but still. There needed some answering too why this wasn't known prior. He could only conclude that it had been closed for so long that it slipped under the radar.

He made a order, and both the helmets came off Daisuke's and Athar's combat suits so they could see their faces. Any other Nobus agents that had full armor did the same once it was sure there was no threat.

"I'm Major Daisuke." The man introduced. "That's Sergeant Athar, Lieutenant Hanks and Keiko, our field medic." He said introducing them. "Could someone explain what exactly happened?"

Here, Hibari decided to help and let Kay think, giving a summarized version of the events. By the end of it, Daisuke was frowning.

"There was a Hellmouth for who knows how long, and a bunch of civilians were responsible for it..." Daisuke decided there definitely needed to be done. "One moment."

He hit something on his com again.

"It's a shitty situation all right Corporal. A damned Hellmouth was here and we didn't even know it until now. The owner of the club seems to be in dire financial straights. I'm gonna fix that. Least we can do."

"Understood. Ronald and other Commanders are gonna have heads for this if this is a result of someone being lazy monitoring things."

"I'll get to you after this. I'm out."

Daisuke turned it off, then headed to Kay. "Ma'am? Nobus is going to offer to fully pay off any expensives you have here. It's the least we can do. This is suppose to be our job and because someone dropped the ball you had to pick up the tab; that isn't fair. So in light in that, we're gonna do what we can to fix a bad situation. Would you consider moving your bar somewhere else but close by? Again, Nobus would pay for it. If not, either way we're going to set up some precautions here."

Hanks was just in the corner, tinkering with something but looking a bit nervous.

Arthar was curious of the other people in uniform. He was tall, standing around 6'3. "I don't recognize that symbol." They said. "Are you three marines?" It was just a guess, they were obviously military of some kind.

Kay looked to Daisuke and shook her head. "I've been through this before... a few times. My place gets trashed, I have a breakdown and start all over. I guess I should be thankful to my employees and those guys over there. If it weren't for the people here there would have been a breach." She looked around the only real damage was to her floor, the stage and her bar. It really wasn't all that bad now that she had a chance to calm down.

She looked back to Daisuke, "No i'm not relocating. I haven't the other times, even though a lot of people said I should, so i'm not now. This is my place and I will fight for it."

The Major looked at the Nobus agent. "Yes indeed we are. We're with the U.A.C. R.R.T.S. Space Marines. I'm Command Sergeant Major Jackson Knight. This here's my X.O. Sergeant Major Glenda Fox and this is Corporal Ricardo Sanchez. What's your unit?"

Ukyo looked to Kay "See? Now you know why i'm smiling! Easy fix!"

Luc was at the stage, his jaw was literally on the floor. What he was looking at were the remains of his stage equipment. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

Matt couldn't help but feel a little rigid at the moment. There was military all around him and he was almost compelled to stand at attention. He didn't, instead he went to Hibari. "So, how did you do that thing with the lightning?"

Daisuke gave a half smile. He could respect that. "I gotcha. Still, we'll put some extra precautions to this place. So far, there seems to be no way we know of to permanently close these things. The egg heads are working on something close enough where they just get led to a dump pocket dimension instead of our world but its a work in progress."

"Hanks, get to work with the others."

"Right away sir!" Hanks said and went to where the Hellmouth was, along with some others who brought in what seemed to be some special equipment. Then they began to get to work on something.

Daisuke turned back to Kay. "So if you're not gonna move, we'll sill pay for it and set up somewhere closer by. If there's a Hellmouth, its going to be a hot zone anyway. Which means, your place would also more or less be under Nobus protection as well."

He reached for something, then gave Kay what seemed to be a strange, metallic and styled pen. "This is basically like a panick button slash communication device. It's linked directly a dispatcher. When we set up a place closer here, it'll be even more convenient. If you have any other questions let me know."

* *

The big man cracked a small smile. "Athar Levesk Corporal of the Uranus Unit." He saw Keiko come over, she seemed slightly shy. "Keiko Hikari, she's our field medic. We're part of Nobus, its like a cross between the military and the police." There was more to it then that, but it was hard to explain in just one little sitting.

Hibari looked at Matt, she had been distracted by a few other things. "Hm? It's just part of my natural abilities because of what I am. Ralplim, the angelic race I'm apart of can manipulate electricity and the various aspects of it. So chain lighting is a mid level skill you can learn. There's far more complex things..like teleporting."

Kay nodded to Daisuke, "You do realize now all Nobus agents that come in here get a discount and don't have to pay the cover charge right? All they have to do is show their Nobus I.D.." She stepped over taking the pen and gave Daisuke a big hug. "You just made my day!" What she didn't realize is that Matt's coat fell to the floor.

Ukyo simply clapped. "Woo Hoo!!!"

Matt nodded, "That's cool. All I got is..." He held up his chain.

The Major nodded "Kinda like what we did back on Mars. There was no official police force there so we were it." Fox tapped him on the shoulder. He nodded. "I need to see your commanding officer for debriefing."

Luc continued to stare at the stage. He slowly rolled up his jaw and looked normal again. "My gear." The other zombies came out to start the clean up.

Daisuke was taken back by this, the hug didn't bother him as much it was just..the fact she wasn't wearing much. It was a good thing his wife wasn't here.

"Uh, thanks." He gently eased himself off. "Maa'm, you might wanna put back on your jacket, not complaining but wife would somehow found out and murder me and I'd be out the job."

Athar then went to save him. "One of the others requested to talk to you sir. Said they were part of the space marines. Must be another dimensional traveler. Talked about a debriefing."

"Got it. I'll be right there." Daisuke looked back to Kay and Ukyou. "If you need anything else let one of the agents know. We'll be out of your hair before too long."

Hibari smiled very faintly. "Sometimes, that's all you need, Matt. There's people with so much power, but they waste it. Because they never had to really learn how to use it properly. You're very skilled with that chain."

* *

Daisuke along with Athar came over to the marines. "Daisuke Eto, I'm in charge of Athar and the rest of the knuckle heads. I hear you guys are marines. Space marines at that."

Kay looked at herself and made a small noise. She quickly grabbed the jacket and ran up stairs. Ukyo followed skipping.

Matt nodded "Thanks, I know a tow chain is somewhat impractical as a weapon, but it works for me." He up righted a table and some chairs. He sat down. "So, Ralplim. Sounds angelic. I mean I've heard of Seraphim, Nephilim, Archon's and heralds but not Ralplim. If it is angelic."

The Major saluted Daisuke "Command Sergeant Major Jackson Knight of the UAC Colonial Space Marines. " He then dropped his salute and extended his hand. He moved to a table that wasn't overturned or shot full of holes. "On to the debriefing. Eleven months ago there was in incident on the Mars colony. Apparently they discovered something way above my pay grade that involved bringing something demonic onto the colony. My team was dispatched to investigate. We discovered in sector D of the research facility some Doctor, who we've yet to discover the identity of, used the artifacts the archaeological dig to establish a portal to a dimension I can only describe as Hell itself. One of my subordinates entered the portal to stop them. Naturally we followed to retrieve him. It wasn't until recently we made it back. We tracked down a group of demons attempting to break in to earth via a portal they called a Hellmouth." He took a drink of water. "That pretty much brings us up to date. If you like I can have command send you a copy of my written report."

Luc was still pretty much in a state of shock.

Daisuke was trying to absorb all this in. It was thanks to his training and all the things he had seen and been through he was able to take it all in. Dimensional travelers, demons, gods, devils. It was all in a days work.

"Okay." He began, gathering his thoughts. "Let me see if I got this all this correct. You arrived here moments ago out of a Hellmouth, there's demons there trying to get a invasion on earth going. You're part of a mars colony."

Once that was settled, Daisuke chuckled. "I'm not sure where or when you folks are from but its not Kansas anymore, but you probably figured that out by now already. You're not the first people to come from another dimension. It happens all the damned time around here. We're far enough along to terraform the moon, but not advance enough to do it in a cost effective way. Much less reach Mars yet. We could see about getting you guys back to your earth. In the mean time I could get you three a place to stay."

"Formally a Navy Seal, but once you're part of it, you always are. Nobus isn't all that different in a lot of respects." Daisuke said and continued. "You guys might not be from here, but you're still from earth and still part of the marines. I respect that. So I'll do what I can to help you three adjust in the mean time."

* *

"It is. It's an angelic race. We were created by the Goddess Jivanta, which used the last of their energy to create the Great Tree. That tree helped support the life on my people's home realm. It was destroyed in a war by Extra Dimensional beings which drove my kind and others from that realm to others. A large percent of them ended up on Alus, which you probably heard of. Others on earth and who knows where else. That happened far before my time naturally."

Hibari liked sharing a bit of history and such, but sometimes people didn't like to hear all that. "..Ah..I apologize. You probably didn't want to hear a long history lesson about it. Anyway, I have heard of those listed except the Archon and Herald's, so I have no idea what they're like. True Seraphim are supposedly very rare these days."

Ricky punched the Major in the shoulder. "I told you we should have made that right turn at the pit of perpetual torment. Man I had a hot date lined up too. So what if I was a few months too late. Mal día. (Bad day)"

Fox looked at Ricky "You shouldn't breed... ever."

The Major waved his hand to the two of them. He was absorbing what Daisuke had said. While Ricky was more superficial, the Major actually had family. "I have a wife and daughter. They're not here i'm guessing. No U.A.C. here either, so that means we don't have employers." He looked to Daisuke "Don't go to Mars, it's a death trap. Nothing can be gained there."

Ricky heard the thing about the U.A.C. "Whoa... wait... you mean the entire time we were there, accumulating pay, we're not gonna see it?! Madre de Dios!!!!!! (Mother of God)" He threw his hands in the air and turned to the bar. "You know Major this is some bull shit. We save the world and get screwed! I"

Fox was in his face in an instant. "Stand down."

At that Ricky seemed to calm down. He stood at ease until he was told what to do.

The Major leaned back in his chair. "Personally I don't think there's much of a 'home realm' left. Shit was hittin the fan when we were assigned to the Mars detail and it didn't look good. If goin back means gettn my family outta there then I'm all for it. However I can't justify the financial expenditure for a rescue mission that may be a failure from the start. What I can do is give your superiors a detailed disctiption of what was happening in my home realm even though the data is 8 months old and see what they think." That was about all he had to say.

**

Matt shook his head, "No there's no need to apologize, I find it all fascinating. If you don't mind my asking, why are they rare?"

**

Kay came back down stairs dressed in a baggy sweater and tight jeans. She walked to her office and grabbed a few business cards. As she left the office she spotted Luc, he dragged a hand down his face. "Penny for your thoughts?" She asked.

Luc looked over. "How 'bout a hundred and twenty nine thousand dollars for my thoughts? Man it's all ruined. This is bull shit. Someone's gonna pay for this. I'll be back." And with that a small mouth opened up and he sank into it.

Kay watcher her friend leave. "Well now, someone's gonna get an ear full." She said and walked over to Daisuke "Here's my cellphone number so you can get in touch with me about the repairs." She also handed him a contractor's card. "This is the guy I use for repairs. He's the best in town at his low rate."

She looked to Cupid, "Looks like we're not gonna be open for a while. Sorry. I'll have your paycheck here in a few days after I run some numbers."

Cupid shrugged "Meh, I'll help with repairs as long as I have a job. Though, I'll still take my check." He had a half smile.

**

(Some where in Nexus City)

A man walks over to a technitian "Hey Calvin What's wrong?"

Calvin looks to the supervisor. "I... I think I saw another Hellmouth spike, however it was very small. More like a blip than anything. I dunno if I should report it as activity or or just write it off as an echo."

The Supervisor nodded for a moment. "How's Gibbs's mood?"

Calvine shook his head. "He just got through drilling us for not seeing the Hellmouth years ago. So not so good."

Again the Supervisor nodded "Echo then. If it happens again we'll deal with it."

Calvin nodded and typed his report on the flag. Relief washed over him.

Daisuke paused for a long moment to let that sink in. If what he was hearing was right and he had no reason not to believe it, then things had gone to crap. If that was the case, Earth there might not be in the best shape. He was almost afraid to ask.

No rest for the weary.

It also meant he had to help them more then before. He couldn't just ditch them.

"I see. Don't want to take any chances with Mars just in case." He was about to say more then Kay came around and gave him the number and such. "Thanks, I'll have it taken care of."

He turned back to the major and his crew. "Regardless, you guys do need a place to stay and get a bearing on things. Why don't you roll with us for a minute?"

"It's done sir." Hanks came over, the equipment he had been tinkering with seemed to be out of sight.

Daisuke nodded. "Good job Hanks. Go get Keiko and Athar, we're about to roll out."

"Yes sir."

* *

"I..really don't know.." Hibari had a cute confused expression on her face as she thought, then gave up. "There's a lot of theories, not sure which is true or not."

She picked up a bit of Cupid and Kay's conversation. "Hm? So that means not working for a bit." Hibari hated sitting still. She'd have to find things to do in the mean time to keep her busy. "Anyway, if there's anything I can do make things easier then let me know."

Kay looked to Hibari "There is and you'll get paid for it too. It's construction, you'll be helping in rebuilding. That is if you don't mind."

Cupid perked up. "Hell yeah! Nothing like some manual labor to get the juices flowing."

Kay nodded "Also with Nobus hanging around people will feel safe and safe means more customers. Business will pick up for sure!" one could tell Kay was getting excited.

Matt sauntered over and looked around. "I'll get my tool belt." He started towards the storage room.

**

The Major nodded "Fall in people!" He ordered and they grabbed their weapons and stood at attention behind him. "Lead the way, sir."