Neophyte Interrupted pt 1

The ride home had thankfully been uneventful and the baby and once the little Neo was safe in the nursery the pair slipped into there normal evening routines. Giving the two were bonded and have been a long pairing at that it did come with privileges, adjoining room with a small communal living space. Essentially it was a small two bedroom apartment.

It was for certain lived in as the pair had become fairly domestic over the course of their six years of working together. Their partnership didn’t stop at the end of the workday. It was always there even when they slept.

Romeo’s thought remain with Piper even when he drifted off to sleep. The small innocuous touch had remained on his skin even now he could feel the slight squeeze she gave as freshly as when it happened.

It bothered him. Not the touch but that fact she been so worked up to have needed it. The situation may have had been worse than what she had led on. It was sweet in a way, his Neo wanting to protect him like that. It spoke well there relationship and there trust.

He drifted off to sleep still feeling her hand on his dreaming of his Piper. She was soft and warm next to him as he brushed a disobedient hair from her blue eye. They reminded him of the sky from the pictures of Earth. Bright. Endless. His world began and ended with her as he held her close. His lip brush hers hesitantly, she pressed into him her mouth parted in a breathless shutter. She pulled him to her making her need clear, there lips about to meet …

The sound of an explosion startled Romeo awake, sirens wailing and the room became a wash of red as the emergency back up kicked in.

“Piper!” He called leaping out of bed, check in on her first.

Piper was content, the din from the other neo’s finally settling down. She’d checked before drifting off that Romeo was in sight. Her first line of defense. Her go to. Her everything. Knowing he was there surrounded her with the safety and warmth akin to a blanket fresh from the dryer. In her mind’s eye, he was there beside her, his strong arms wrapped around her as if half a room away was no distance whatsoever. Her Romeo. She couldn’t remember how she’d slept soundly before him but the events of the day had taken their toll, the crying baby, the strange attack on her mind, virtually in his arms, she fell into a deep sleep the moment her eyes closed, his voice drowning out the buzzing, the noise, and she slept.

The elevator hurtled towards the ground, but what happened to the baby? Dead on the floor, shot by her alpha. “But it wasn’t the baby.” An unknown voice said. “Glitch!” small children taunted. “Piper, Stop!” Romeo commanded. “Piper!” The elevator hit the bottom floor with an explosive CRASH that made Piper sit straight up in bed. It wasn’t an elevator, but there was a crash, followed by siren, and then noise, so much noise. “Piper!” That last wasn’t a dream, it was for real, her Romeo, and she reached a hand for him. Something happened. Something big. Voices - all of them from the spire, but more, as if -- She opened her eyes wide. The Spire was being flooded - panic, so much panic, paralyzing fear, Curators were trying to calm young ones, but a terror washed over the collective neo like a Tsunami. *”Calm”*Piper tried to push, fighting back the feeling of dread herself. Tiny bits of information trickled in. She didn’t take note, not at first, at first it was just overwhelming with voices crying out -- afraid.

“What’s happened?” She asked her Alpha. Romeo would know, he’d make it stop. He always made it stop.

“Don’t know. “ His said keeping her steady. “But if the power is out it might citywide and -” Romeo was cut off as to back up power flickered and died the pair now swamped in pitch black. No lights building wide and brief look out the window confirms a city-wide blackout. “ -that's not good.” That what they all needed a bunch of panicked Neo in one place with no shield to protect them. “Hurry … we are going to be called to muster soon.” Romeo predicted and ran to get dressed.

Piper didn’t move for a minute, still trying to calm all the voices, but Romeo was right - they were OSEC, they would be needed. She dressed as quickly as she could, the voices and screams making it harder to concentrate. “Romeo!” She called, once she was dressed and pulling on her boots. She looked up through the doorway at her counterpart. “It’s- it’s inside the Spire.”

Romeo tested his radio. That was a mistake as all it did was squeal and whine with all the interference from the locals. “It’s going to be a long night …” He tossed aside the radio. “Muster first ... if we can give one on ones with any Neo out and about in a panic. We take care of them … calming them down is the priority. Can tell if the shield is down?” Romeo asked as he laid out a plan.

Piper’s eyes were open wide. “Romey- it’s in the Spire.”

“Can you tell if the shield is down?” He repeated.

“Down.” She shot a worried glance to her alpha. “The Shield is Down, but how? The grid is up. The grid. It’s here, inside the spire. Like it’s raining candy.”

Romeo grabbed her by the elbow, leading her in the pitch dark of the halway. “Sound off!” He called as walked down as bonded Alphas and there Neo called out.

“Muster up folks we have a lot of young scared Neos.” Romeo said in the dark bumping into what was another Alpha. “Sorry ... Round ‘em up, calm ‘em down get ‘em to the auditorium till we got orders. MOVE out spread the word!” He said calling them all into action.

The next few hours where a total mess and not for a lack of trying but for a great majority of Neo’s the Spire was all they knew. So to be suddenly exposed to ... everything was terrifying. Luckily it mostly panic they had to deal with. Unbonded Alphas guarded the auditorium and helped senior Neos keep order.

All the bonded pairs started a floor by floor sweep. So fair Romeo and Piper had started developing a small train of young ones mostly too scared to leave their dorm. Romeo had found one hiding in her closet and she currently sniffing and clinging to the Romeo as he carried her. Piper had found one under his bed and currently cling to her arm with big watery eyes.

“We're almost there guys,” Romeo assured the group.

Piper couldn’t have been more proud of Romeo if she’d set out to be. Alpha amongst the Alphas. Her Alpha! Things were calming down a bit, what once was shrill cries and screams were being placated into whimpers and fussing. Piper was once again able to hear herself think.

*“What do you think’s going on?”

“I don’t know, But the wall’s are down. The grid is up. If anyone was going to get glitchy --”

“I know. Some of us, we’re going to draw everyone in, scape them, see if we can hold them at bay. “

“I’ll push any strays, but the 15 of us bonded with Alpha’s should be left out of the mass ‘scape, just in case, -- I want to be able to help Romeo.”

“Your Alpha does not need your help.”*Wren, her neo friend chuckled. *You want the tech.* Piper inwardly cursed, wishing she could have kept the last part to herself, but between Neos, there was no such thing as secrets.
*”No, you’re half right, MY Alpha doesn’t need help.”*She boasted. *But we keep our consciousness. Are all other Neo’s accounted for?”*
*”Doing a second head count.”* Robin replied. *“ I think we have everyone. “*

“I think that’s all of them.” Piper told Romeo. “Some of the Mindscapers are going to try and lock everyone in, it’s-- not the best solution, but it’ll at least keep them calm and occupied. She momentarily slipped into a data stream.

“Now that things are calming down I have a feeling the first thing they are going to have us do to get back up power running but OSEC my be tapping us bonded pairs to help investigate with whatever happened.” Romeo hypothesized. “Who knows all I know for the next day or so it’s going to be chaos outside and we aren't exactly crowd control you know?” He added working through the back and forth of logic. He was a one-man debate team but it did help him come to reasonable conclusions. “Worst case they may lock us down. Best case … actually nothing I’m coming up with I consider best case …” Mostly because like most he was far too overprotective of his Neo so any situation that would be willfully putting them in danger was NOT best case.