When Dino was questioned about injuries, he simply waved Noah off, without saying a word. Although he didn't have any supernatural powers, his senses grew keen to detecting bad things happening. When Walter froze, Dino traced his sight up to Nocturn, whom was looking a bit grimmer than usual.

He took a small step towards Walter, and leaned in towards his ear.
"Something shady just happened, didn't it?" he whispered, his eyes still locked on Nocturn.

Nocturn felt a gaze on him. The zombie of Lantern's Cross furrowed what was left of what could be called a brow and looked for the source. It was Dino but he paid the man no heed. He simply kept silent and kept to himself like he used to.

"Well that depends if a soul-sucking gift from Abra is something you'd call 'shady'..." Walter murmured back, still keeping his eye on the zombie man, even when Nocturn noticed his teammates' activity. "...Not something you see everyday...well, unless you're from where she is..." He nodded in Lilith's direction, whom sill busied herself with Noah.

"Contains a guardian you say...so a person?" The woman raised her eyebrow and shifted her weight from one leg to another. "...Mind if I take a look?"

Although she seemed not to bother with the mask, putting the matter of Noah's weapon over it, Lilith simply didn't show her concern to others...yet. Confrontations in the group definitely weren't what she'd want, especially with Nocturn. The man was still very much of a mystery to her, unpredictable, his only motive being the sight of dead Abra... Besides, as mentioned before, Lilith wasn't even sure if these...people...could be called sentient beings at this point, making it so that the Necromancer barely cared about the fate of their souls. Next time that happens however, Lilith planned to intervene...

Dino broke his gaze for Nocturn and glanced at Walter for a moment, squaring up next to him.

"I ain't, but I can smell trouble a mile away. And that mask definitely has a stench to it."

"Sure why not." He pulled out his revolver and fired six times into his hand. He blew on the bullets to cool them down then handed them over to Lilith. "Behave gentlemen." He snickered and continued leading the group.

"Why hello Madam Lilith." The blue one glowed, a voice hummed in Lilith's head. "I am Sir Ferdinand. A knight who is an ancestor of Noah, something obviously he doesn't know." The knight laughed. "We are all keepsakes passed down from generation to generation. Our method of being administered has obviously changed throughout history, but our purpose has never changed, to protect the heir of the name."

Noah whistled a small diddy, his hands tucked behind his head as he sauntered along. Soon he stopped and the party could see ahead a perimeter fence. "Finally!" Noah jogged forward and waved his hands. "Hey guys it's me!" The two guards marched forward and promptly handcuffed Noah. "Oh whoops..." The guard turned Noah and he smiled happily as the cuffs locked on. "I remember why I left. I might have done something, just a bit illegal."

He giggled and a guard led him through the gate and the other guard looked at the crew. "You survivors?" He asked gruffly. "Here let me check you in, just gotta do some tests to make sure you don't got anything." He walked into the guard building and came out in a biohazard suit and simply drew blood from everyone but Nocturn and scanned it through a simple machine. "Alright you're clean. Just cover him," he pointed at Nocturn. "Up with something, most people think all the androids are dead."

"And why is that...?" Lilith walked along the group with her palm extended in front of herself, bullets placed on it. Obviously there was no need of her speaking out loud, nor making eye contact, really. But at the same time putting the bullets inside her pocket would be plainly rude. "...A curse? Pact?...Or is it just a...family tradition of sorts...?"

Walter, following at the tail end put on his mask, scarf and gloves when Noah announced that they were drawing near their destination. When the guards decided to 'run some tests' however, he used the advantage of himself being away from the actual group, and disappeared like a dessert's mirage.

Lilith on the other side, reluctantly rolled up her sleeve to her elbow's height. "I do hope they'll use separate needles at least..." She murmured to Dino, to whom she stood next to, then looked towards Mathew and Nocturn. "...Why do I feel like there's gonna be trouble..."

Dino rolled his eyes as Noah got arrested. When the guards stepped up, he simply nodded firmly, keeping his sight towards Noah, whom was being taken away. At the sound of the word 'tests', Dino scoffed.

"Because we usually attract trouble, love." he stated towards Lilith, completing her statement.

After that, as the leader of the group, he took a step forward, separating himself.

"I'll be first, if you chaps don't mind."

You can call it family tradition or a pact. We are simply the guardians who are tasked with protecting the heir.

The tests were simple and the group was quickly on their way. Robes were even given to Matthew to cover him up as well, Nocturn already in possession of his own cloak. As they went through the perimeter they could already tell the influences of the Settlers. The roads were cleaner, junk having been swept away as to create clear avenues. Chunks of concrete were cemented back into the ground, it wasn't the cleanest work but it allowed the road to be used for carts. Tarps covered holes inside the bombed-out buildings, indicating living quarters for the survivors. The group soon reached the central hub of the "city," where they met back up with Noah who was chatting happily with another man who was promptly ignoring him and sipping from a flask. The man stood up at the sight of them, greeting them promptly. "So you are the travelers that Noah met up with hm?" They were situated within a town square and there were guards that simply lounged about, some carried firearms but most had simply melee weapons. He was a grizzled looking man, middle-aged but life hasn't been kind and seemed to have sapped him of a couple years. He took another draught then wiped his lips. "Says you guys are seekin a safe haven. Well sorry to tell you but we're moving out soon. Bout to do something that's been years in the making."

"Or are you going to finally kill all the savages?" Noah bounced around. "Let us help! We do you this skinny and you set me free and you keep these guys safe. Sounds like a deal right?"

The man stroked his chin then looked over at the group. "I won't let this fool speak for you lot, but what do you think? Help us with some pest extermination and we'll keep you guys safe. If you refuse then I will kindly have to ask you to leave. We have little food as it is."

During this talk, Nocturn could feel the Mask in his head again. What is that the woman holds in her hand? It smells... intriguing. Get it for me so that I may examine them.

Nocturn didn't mind being told to keep himself hidden from sight, he knew all too well what people did to things they misunderstood. He simply draped his cloak over himself, making sure to keep his metallic parts under the cloth.

It is not of our concern as of yet, Outsider, Nocturn said plainly. But I do believe it isn't of hers, perhaps it is of our guide.

The tests reminded Matthew of that uncomfortable experience in the Natural Museum of History. Commander Fart had let loose one of his signature ones inside the building, knocking everyone inside out cold. Then he and his clones had been held in quarantine because the authorities thought they were dealing with a biological threat. Talk about embarrassing. Fortunately the tests weren't long and he didn't have to think too much about that painful (and yet kind of hilarious) memory.

Matthew didn't mind having a robe at all. His only issue was that the costume was slightly too big for him...but hey, at least it covered him all up. Now he was convinced he looked like a Jawa from Star Wars. In fact, to an observer familiar with the galactic series, this conclusion was not too far from the truth. Indeed, the only detail unaddressed were Matthew's hands, which he'd hidden in the sleeves to cloak their unnatural shape and shade. All that could be seen of his face were his yellow eyes, for the rest of his face was concealed by the shadow within the hood of the robe (this is assuming they gave Matthew a robe with a hood, because the alien shape of his head is not likely to pass as that of a human in any way, shape, or form). Having to be cloaked like this made the cyborg feel like he was on a secret mission, and this made him very excited.

When he reached the central hub, and heard talk of savages, Matthew's spirits rose a little more. He nodded at the man (who obviously didn't trust Noah).

"Sure we'll help!" he said cheerily, looking over his shoulder. "Right guys?"

Timothy shrugged, a bit confused by everything going on but overall fine.
"If everyone else is in, what can a musician do? Might as well try this."

Dino sighed. Why does everything have to come down to this? He stepped in front of the man and put his hand forward.

"We'll take care of the dangers, on condition of shelter and food. Do we have an accord?" he stated, smiling.

The man shook Dino's hand firmly. "Indeed we do."

"Wonderful!" Noah leaned back in his seat and clapped with his feet, his boots clomping loudly. "So when do we set out?"

"Tomorrow noon," The man pushed Noah's seat back down onto four legs. "Savages operate nocturnally, so they'll be the most tired when the sun is at its highest. So today we best make our last preparations. I'll have my men show you to a vacant building." He snapped his fingers and two guards came over. They had a small conference between the three of them then the two started walking off and the man sat back down and resumed chatting with Noah.

The two guards led the group down a different street from which they came from but the scenery was the same. They could see the small shadowy bumps that represented people's heads as they poked out of windows and openings to watch them pass, but any attempt of eye contact was met with the shadows quickly disappearing back into the depths of the building. The building they were led to wasn't renovated like the others, no tarps covered up the bombed-out concrete, rebar poked out like teeth from a lamprey, and dust was settled in piles, tracks left behind from scavenging rodents and animals. The location wasn't very good either, they could see in the distance the perimeter gates, lanterns beginning to be lit and casting their dull orange glow in the muddled environment as night began to fall upon the lands. The guards never said a word, leaving the group to their own devices as the two men went off towards the perimeter gate.

Nocturn could hear the mask's voice in his head again, and could feel his defenses shudder before the virus shored up any breaches. It is not wise to defy my will Nocturn. You would be wise to remember that. You and I have a contract.

The group settled in for the night, the black inkiness making them unable to see much past their building. The wind whistled and murmured, scavengers began coming out and the sound of claws on rocks began clicking around in the darkness. They could see the beasts' eyes glow in the dark as they traveled around, then suddenly the eyes snapped in a certain direction and the animals scattered. After the initial scuffle, the surroundings became quite again, then there was the crunch of pebbles, then another, and another. They slowly began making their way closer and closer to the building, getting louder and louder.

Dino peered out one of the windows, keeping most of his body concealed. He observed the eyes go around the building, examining the movements of the scavengers. He was unsure wether they were human or not. But when the things began heading towards the building, he simply slipped his hand onto the Anaconda's holster.

"Be on the ready, folks. We have company." he calmly stated, keeping his voice low and never taking his eyes from the window.