Common Sense [Closed]

[Atom]

Adelaide frowned to herself as the other fairy spoke up, painting a large flaw in Adelaide's plan. "Yea..that should be the main goal actually, not much of an infiltration if we go my way...but...that could be a plan B. Yea, plan B. Plan A involves the group going inside and gathering as much info as they can before we call in the authorities. If that goes south then we'll go in hard and heavy from two angles. Gurren you'll cause as much damage and distraction as you can coming in from the front, is that good for you? The team from the roof will come in hard through the windows, smashing the security before moving down the floors. If the inside team is compromised then it's your job to wreak as much havoc as you can from there. As for getting into position...Serafina I've got a better idea, powering down the building by itself will look suspicious but do you think you could find a power junction and cause a temporary black out to the few blocks surrounding the building as well as the building itself?" Adelaide asked, modifying her plan to fit their original intentions.


Adelaide hadn't noticed Drake leaving until after the door closed, but she sighed with relief when he was gone. "Good riddance, asshole.." she muttered. Without him it might be possible to get this planning finished and move to the actual infilitration. "Right, if that plan works we just need to decide who can do what where and how well. If you think you're fit for one of the given positions then speak up, please." Adelaide asked around the room. "Also, blue boy! I asked you a question five minutes ago, are you purposefully ignoring me now? You've already been paid right? If so then do as you were paid for and give us the info we require. I need floor plans if you have them, if not then so be it. We'll have to go in blind." Adelaide grumbled.


@shadowdude505 @Peaceswore @Violet Obsidian @Gabauchi @Lexielai @SummerWolf

 

[shadowdude505]

"Don't worry about me," Gurren said. "I'm a Fairy Tail wizard after all. I won't hesitate to let loose if things start getting hairy. I'll do anything to protect Team Gurren." He wasn't necessarily taking charge. By Team Gurren he meant all his comrades. Currently that included those he was teamed up with for this mission. Team Gurren also included Drake despite how the Raven Tail wizard got on Gurren's nerves by belittling others.


"I guess that means I'm the muscle of this operation. One of them anyway." Gurren sat down in one of the empty chairs and waited for either Kolte to speak up or one of his fellow wizards.


@Atom @Lexielai

 

[Peaceswore]

A few blocks form the Scarlet Print

Drake casually walked to the Scarlet Print. Of course he didn't go straight to the building he stopped walking a few streets away from it and looked around. A small smirk played on his lips as he spot a good place to go to. Some distance away there was a tall building that looked like an apartment building that was under construction. From what he could tell there was a chance he could get an eagles eye view if he chose the right room. Though it looked like doing that may be a bit on the dangerous side seeing as the place was under construction, but it looked nearly done so he should be okay. "Ixie I'm going to that building that's under construction. If you see Penance with a group of wizard tell me so I can watch them mess everything up." He said with a smirk. Ixie pecked Drake in the head before flying off to a random building. Drake rubbed his head before stuffing his hands in his pocket and walking to the building under construction.


Construction building

When he got there he looked around and saw that the workers were gone and there didn't seem to be anyone around. Rolling his neck he walked into the construction site and looked around. "Where to go? Where to go?" He mumbled as he looked around. He saw an entrance into the building and walked in only to find a ton of steps leading up. ".... Yeaaaah not walking all of those." He said as he pulled out four of his chakrams. Placing these on the ground the he stepped on them so there were two on each foot. "My souls... Give me a lift." He whispered and with that the souls that were previously in his dolls moved to the chakram they glowed an eerie green before they started to float with him on top. Keeping his hands in his pockets he looked up and with that he started to fly up.


Eleventh Floor in construction building

When he reached the Eleventh floor he decided that was enough and jumped off the chakrams landing on the stairs right next to him. He walked up these steps a bit and made his way to a room that was in the middle of being built. Watching his step he made his way to a window to see if he could view the press form there. To his dismay that room didn't work out so he left it and climbed up about three flights and found another room.


Fourteenth floor of construction site

This area was a lot more risky as every step the floors creaked as if they would break at any moment and the place didn't look that stable. Walking into this room a smirk appeared on his face as he now had a better view of the land. "Now if I were a guard post where would I be?" He muttered as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the building. Seeing a small building that was next to the only entrance. It was a good distance from the main building, he couldn't tell exactly how far but it wasn't directly infront of the press. He thought for a moment before nodding. "Found you~" He hummed as he took out one key. Stepping back a bit he pointed the key in front of him before turning it clockwise "Open gate of the telescope. Telescopium!" He shouted. There was a ding dong sound before a small poof and a telescope appeared before him.


Things were silent for a moment and Drake narrowed his eyes at the spirit. He waited a full minute before putting his keys away and approaching it. However moments before touching it the spirit suddenly started to cry it's eyes out. "Keeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnny!!! Why is the universe so cruel!" It exclaimed in a high pitch voice that could make birds fall out of the sky as fake tears ran out of the lens. At this Drake let out a sigh not worried about causing a ruckus since they were alone. "Not now Tele... I got work. Can you zoom in on that lone building next to the road?" He asked in a calm voice as he pointed at the said building. "N-Not now? What not now! I'm important and I want attention! Ask me whats going on!" The spirit exclaimed as it refused to do as it was told for the moment. Drake drooped his head and leaned against the wall as he closed his eyes. "What is the matter this time Tele?" He asked as he crossed his arms.


"Can you believe that one of the spirits completely drenched me in honey the other day! It took me ages to get it off! And even then I'm still sticky!" The spirit exclaimed. Drake rubbed his head a bit and nodded. "Okay...and so?" "SO!? SO?! Hehehe Nothing really I wanted to annoy you~ I was bored and you seemed to be in a hurry soooo~" Drake sighed and hit the back of his head against the wall. "Thank you for wasting my time...now my request?" Tele let out a sigh at this. "That was a terrible reaction no wonder you suck with regular people~" With that the spirit looked at the building Drake requested and a small flat circle appeared above it which allowed Drake to see what the spirit was seeing.


"I want infer red." He said as he watched the screen. "Yeah yeah~ Wait a moment." A few second later he could see inside the building to some extent. He then stood there and simply watched for a bit as he wanted to detect any powers and to see if there was a good way to sneak in.

Spoiler

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_11/Canterlot_Castle_telescope.png.a16a01b8d75174b79175fa0608e96fb0.png" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="84427" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_11/Canterlot_Castle_telescope.png.a16a01b8d75174b79175fa0608e96fb0.png" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[LavenderRain]

Serafina Dunlar

“As for getting into position...Serafina I've got a better idea, powering down the building by itself will look suspicious but do you think you could find a power junction and cause a temporary black out to the few blocks surrounding the building as well as the building itself?"


Serafina’s head jerked as someone actually used her name rather than call her something demeaning. While she appreciated it, she didn’t quite know how to respond to such a thing. “Um… I… I think so?” Her answer was a question as well as an answer. She had never tried to do such a thing before; in fact, no one had ever suggested she try such a thing before.


Serafina continued to think about her job as she stood there in the little conference room in the bookstore, contemplating how she could go about doing it without losing control - without hurting anyone. “Do you… do you know where I should go?” she asked although there wasn’t any one person she was asking. “I don’t n-n-know this city well enough to just… just find the right spot.”

 

[Gabauchi]

While Spades wasn't the best at directions or names, he did have an excellent memory, due to his excessive card playing. Of course, he only remembered things that interested him or seemed relatively important, so this only worked with things like number problems, or say, directions. Since he had gotten a bit lost on his way to the building, he had a decent grasp on the area, as well as some of the people he had asked for directions. Some. He decided to speak up.


"I know my way around pretty well, we could probably make do." He stood up, and extended his hand in an attempt to establish trust. "What'dya say?"


Trust would be an important part of this mission, he thought she wasn't likely to give it thus easily, given her demeanour, but he had to try.

 

[Gabauchi]

@Violet Obsidian

 

[LavenderRain]

Serafina Dunlar

Serafina’s eyes fell to the hand that Spades offered. They rested on it for a second before they flickered to her own hands as she held them up in front of her own face searching for a sign that it was safe - a sign that no harm would come from it. Instead of confirmation of that fact, Serafina saw a single violet spark jump from the tip of her finger and while it could have simply been static, it scared her nonetheless. She looked back up to Spades while her eyes dwelled on the hand that he had offered.


”You can sh-sh-show me the way but…” Her eyes flickered form Spades to his offered hand and back again.”I can’t… I… I don’t want to hurt anyone…” From her facial expression it was clear that the mage felt terrible about having to refuse so many signs of friendship, but it really was the only way she knew to keep everyone safe.


Serafina couldn’t even fathom another incident like she had previously faced. Her own guildmaster had taken a burst of electricity in a single embrace, thrashing in Serafina’s own arms as she was trying desperately to regain control of her own magic. Her brother had died in her arms. It wasn’t something she was about to go through again, even if it was with someone who she didn’t know as well as the others.


@Gabauchi

 

[Stormborn Targaryen]

Soren Peres

Soren Peres watched with silent eyes as Drake walked out of the building and as the rest of them seemed to ignore him as they went on with making their plans for infiltrating the building. No one told him what to do so quite frankly, he was lost. Soren wasn’t a leader; he had never claimed to be one and he had never asked to be one. That meant coming up with a plan on his own wasn’t a strong point of his.


If any of the mages in the room had ever turned to look after those first few moments, they would notice that the Lamia Scale mage was gone. There hadn’t been a sound. There hadn’t been a goodbye. It was almost as though he hadn’t even ever been standing in the corner in the first place.


Reappearing precariously like a bird on a perch, Soren’s eyes quickly found the person he had been looking for - Drake. Based on the man’s previous actions in the room in the bookstore, he wasn’t really someone Soren trusted to be off on his own doing things that may or may not be related to the mission at hand. Soren didn’t approach him though; he just stood off to the side and watched, curious to see if the man actually had good intentions or not.


@Peaceswore

 

[Peaceswore]

Fourteenth Floor

Drake simply watched what his spirit was showing and after some time he closed his eyes, playing what he saw in his mind. He engraved in his mind how many men were there and the pattern they seemed to patrol in. The places that they guard and the places he should avoid, he placed these in his memory finding this highly important if he wished to successfully infiltrate this place without magic.


Taking a breath he opened his eyes and looked at his spirit. Giving it a small nodded he smiled a bit at it. "Thanks for the help, you can return to the spirit world." He stated in a calm manner. "Okay~ Don't get caught~ If you do I'll laugh with the other~" He spirit giggled before it disintegrated into a few sparkles as it returned to the spirit world. Drake sighed and scratched his head. "Well time to get this over with." He grumbled as he walked out of the room and toward the steps, unaware of the mage that was watching him, though he did have that feeling he was being watched.


When he left the room he grabbed the railing and jumped over it making him fall feet first to the ground. Before he could hurt himself or hit the ground, his chakrams left his pocket and maneuvered to his feet where they were placed. Once they were in the right spot they lifted him in the air and started to make it so he slowly descended to the ground. Upon reaching the bottom he hovered a bit only to step off of the circular objects which then flew neatly into his pocket. He then casually walked out of the building and onto the streets not bringing any attention to himself.


Streets heading to guard post

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes he mentally prepared himself for his simple infiltration mission. Only a few seconds passed before his eyes opened again and he had a determined look on him meaning he was ready to go. With that he casually made his way to the guard post making sure he didn't stand out as doing so would really make this stealth mission go sour.


@Stormborn Targaryen

 

[Lexielai]

6 hours later


Bright lights danced in the night, bathing Hargeon in the gleam of artificial glow. This was the night. Though in earlier events of the day Willow and Adelaide had mysteriously disappeared, claiming they had urgent business to take care of, our remaining heroes were ready.


Soren, Serafina, Gurren, Gabauchi, and Nishka all rested within the confines of a truck on route to the Scarlet Print. Hikari had insisted on driving them there (in part because none of them had a driver’s license yet--huehuehue), so they were left to rest, plan, or have nervous breakdowns to their own accord inside the vehicle’s cargo hold.


Beside them laid many stacks of papyrus paper and other printing materials to use. Ken slipped into the truck just before they reached the guard station, secret codes in hand. The mages could hear Hikari’s brief exchange with the guards.


“...everything looks good, Miss. The sun dawns a new day.”


“And the Red Tide blooms in the sunset. Thank you,” Hikari said. Our heroes felt the slight jerk as Hikari parked their truck. The doors opened. The brunette’s curious expression greeted them outside.


“So, you all ready? I hear someone’s going to come give you a tour soon.”

 

[LavenderRain]

Serafina Dunlar

Serafina’s entire body had been tensed up for the entire truck ride and that theme did not stop when the truck did, neither did it vanish when the car doors opened. In fact, her tension only grew at that point. She remembered what had happened. She remembered her screw up although the others had probably labeled it a success.

Flashback

Upon leaving the bookstore, Spades had helped Serafina find the best spot to knock out power for a couple blocks. Serafina had even gotten to the point where she sort of felt comfortable around the guy - or at least as comfortable as she would ever be around any guy. Her confidence had increased and she had honestly been feeling like the task they had laid out for her was something within her abilities. Now she regretted every moment of it.


Serafina had knocked out the power. Her “Electric Bolt”, a combination of her guns magic and her electricity magic, had apparently overloaded more than just the one circuit. It had gone a little overboard. Ok, it had gone more than a little overboard. Serafina’s electric bolt had powered down the entire city of Hargeon and Serafina felt terrible about it.


Not only that, but as the lights had gone black, Serafina had just barely heard it - the sound that would haunt her along with her memories of her own screams from her own past. Traffic lights had failed and there was the ever so distant crash. Whether she had intended to or not, Serafina had hurt someone.

“So, you all ready? I hear someone’s going to come give you a tour soon.”


“Ready?!” Serafina scoffed at such a question. “READY!?” The girl’s entire body began shivering as she screamed. “I’ve already terrified an entire city and who knows how much internal damage I did and now somehow you guys want to cause them even more trouble by infiltrating this place…?! Who knows how much damage that’ll do…”


The Mermaid Heel mage was now beyond the bounds of her own control. Her hands rose up into the air and slammed down into the ground of the vehicle in her frustration and anger at her own incompetency. When her fists hit the ground, a jolt of electricity surged through her entire body, spreading into whatever conductive surfaces were contained within the vehicle itself. She realized what she had done, but she couldn’t stop it anymore. A look of terror spread across her face.


@Stormborn Targaryen @Peaceswore @Gabauchi @shadowdude505

 

[shadowdude505]

Gurren was uncomfortable crammed in the cargo hold of Hikari's truck. He tried to hide it from the others by looking like he was relaxed with his hands behind his head. He felt the vehicle stop and heard the brief interchange between the guard and the woman. He wasn't ready for the lurch caused by the sudden stop, but managed to catch himself before slamming into one of his comrades. Luckily for the others he wasn't a Dragonslayer.


Gurren covered his eyes with his hand as light from outside shined in. He quickly got out and started to stretch. "I was ready six hours ago," he replied with a good natured smile. The smile quickly vanished as he dodged a bolt of lighting from Serafina. If only Willow hadn't left. She could have calmed things down, but someone had to take action to calm the Mermaid Heel wizard's nerves.


"Grit those teeth." Gurren sent a Fire-Make: Fist in Serafina's direction as he intended to snap her out of her lightning fit. "I didn't enjoy affecting the innocents, but there's going to be anarchy if we don't follow through with this mission," he said softly, repeating what the Magic Council told him about how important this mission was. "But we haven't killed anyone by cutting the power. It'll come back on eventually. If you want, you can reactivate it when we're done here."


@Violet Obsidian

 

[LavenderRain]

Serafina Dunlar

“You didn’t hear the crash,” Serafina’s retort was barely audible as she spoke again, memories flooding her mind, both of the single dreaded sound that had consumed her senses not too long ago and of those that lead her down holes that should never have been dug up. Her eyes turned to look at Gurren and they were practically twinkling with electricity that threatened to burst out again at any moment.


The fire-make fist made contact with Serafina’s body, setting her clothes on fire although the electrical current flowing through her skin quickly popped to the surface. Her skin became reddened - as though she had, in fact, been burned - although she seemed completely unphased. Her body’s electricity was shunting her neurons from firing the pain signals that would’ve caused her to scream out in pain. Still, her clothes remained ablaze.


“HOW DO YOU KNOW!? HOW DO YOU KNOW THERE WILL BE ANARCHY!? The magic council FREAKIN’ MADE ME KILL SOMEONE!!! It’s all because of this STUPID job for the magic council!!” Serafina’s words flew rampant, her anger both evident and obvious.


It only seemed to last a moment and then Serafina was literally bawling into her own hands. “You didn’t hear the crash,” she cried. “You didn’t. You didn’t. You didn’t.” Her head was shaking as she continued to repeat herself as her words were muffled out by her own tears, the electrical current remaining evident on her skin, prepared to lash out just as fast as it had before.


@shadowdude505

 

[Peaceswore]

Drake Silver

Drake let out a sigh when he got in the car after handing the password to Hikari. Getting it wasn't too hard he had one close call but played off pretty well by pretending to be a complete and utter drunk (he had to pour some beer he stole on him so he smells a bit like alcohol at the moment). Other than that one close call it went really smoothly and he was content with how it went, and was glad no one came with him. It would have been a pain if anyone had hinder him, or if he had to bail someone out. After he had taken the password he had gone to a vantage point where he could see the press and from there summoned his telescope once more to spy on them and figuring out as much as he could. He had been there for the past five hours (taking him only thirty minutes to get the password and another thirty to arrive at the press). When he saw it was time to go he had gone to the meeting point and saw he arrived not a moment too soon as the car had gotten to the guard post. Once he slipped into the car and handed the password he leaned back in his seat and patiently waited.


Once the car parked he got out and looked around. "Okay there is go-" Before he could finish his sentence he was cut off by the two mages who were yelling at each other. He looked at the two with a blank looking only to get ticked when the two started to get louder and more obvious. It was evident they were going to attract attention and he knew that a patrol unit was on their way doing their rounds at this time. Looking at the two he moved in between them and let out a low growl as his crow landed on his shoulder and his hawk landed in a near by tree. "What in the fucking hell are you two morons doing?" He said in a low growl though the two could easily hear. "Are you trying to get us caught? We aren't even five minutes in and you are already messing up." He then looked at the fire mage with a glare. "There are magic sensors here. Good job on using your fire and setting her a light like a beacon! I may not know how to talk people down but I know for a fact that isn't going to do shit." He said angrily before looking over at the electric mage.


"And you need to calm down! If you hate the council so much because they made you kill, let me give you an idea... Don't take a job from them! I couldn't care less what happened in the past with you, but if it's going to effect the job I think you need to stay on the sidelines. If you wanted to help so much then you shouldn't have come with, instead you should have stayed behind and try to help the people you believe you hurt rather than whine about it." Drake said as he started to relax his shoulders his eyes glancing around to see if anyone else was near before his sapphire eyes landed back on her. "I have a job to do and I don't want either of you two messing it up. Put yourself out before you die, and I swear to god if you shot a lightning bolt, or get any louder there will be without a doubt more destruction and there is the possibility of death. You want things to go the less violent path, then calm down, stay back and let us do this as quietly as possible. A patrol group will be here in five minutes. You have that long to decide if you want to do this violently or do this in a way so not only us, but everyone in the press leaves here unharmed." He said in a calm voice no longer glaring at her or talking in a angry tone. With his hands in his pocket he kept looking at her, fully expecting that bolt that was charging in her to hit him since he was directly in front of her, but he didn't show any signs of fear and was completely relaxed.


@Violet Obsidian @shadowdude505

 

[LavenderRain]

Serafina Dunlar

They didn’t get it! It wasn’t something in her past…. it was actually quite recent. When she had knocked the power out, there had been the sound of a car crash only moments after; surely that hadn’t been a coincidence. Surely that was her fault. Drake’s words did too much all at once. He didn’t care about her past - simply mentioning it activated the memories. If she had tried to help the people she had hurt, she would have been arrested for knocking out the power.


All of this was running through her head, and all Serafina could bring herself to say was, “I’m not a moron.” Her words were subtle as she choked on her own tears, but they were there. With her constant crying, it was no surprise that a small pool of water began to collect in her own cupped hands. Shaking her head as she looked up to meet the eyes of the guy standing in front of her. “I’m. Not. A. Moron.” She spread each word apart as she tried to slow her breathing down to something that didn’t leave her completely out of breath.


“When the power went out… when I - I shot it…” Turns out deep breathing didn’t really help in Serafina’s case because the minute she tried to talk about her own failure to do such a simple task she fell straight back to tears again as her head collapsed onto her lap while her crying continued. Electricity surged through her skin, occasionally jumping out and zapping into a teardrop although it always returned to the circulation of her skin. It almost seemed - oddly enough - as though her own guilt were in some way containing it.


@Peaceswore @shadowdude505

 

[shadowdude505]

Gurran glared back at Drake. "I was trying to calm her down," he replied. "If we get discovered, then so be it. We can adapt to the situation. My friend is more important to me." Turning his attention to Serafina he waved an hand in front of the flames on her and made them disappear. "You only heard the crash. You don't know for sure if they were hurt of killed. Either way it's in the past, even if it was a couple hours ago. All you can do is hope for the best and continue living," he said softly.


Gurren grabbed the necklace around his neck and held it out in front of him. "You don't want to hurt the innocent, I admire that. But feeling guilty about it isn't going to help us right now. If my mentor was here, she'd tell you to use that feeling of guilt to keep the same thing from happening again." Gurren let go of his necklace and let it fall back to his chest. "I'm not my mentor, so I'm telling you to keep the guilt from weighing you down. Learn from mistakes, but don't let the memories burden you."


"Are you ready to complete this mission?"


@Peaceswore @Violet Obsidian

 

[Peaceswore]

Drake Silver

Drake rolled his eyes as he looked around. "This is stupid." He muttered as he tapped his foot. He didn't get it in the least and honestly he found it utterly annoying. 'If she is so unstable with her magic and this unstable mentally that she freaked about not being in control...or that she freaked because bystanders got hurt, possibly killed due to her losing control. Then why in the hades is she doing this mission?' He wondered as he kept looking around. 'Damn it... This is completely foolish of her, she should have seen that she can't do this job and leave rather than risk all of their lives because she was crying about this.' He took a deep breath and stepped away from the group.


He didn't like the idea of getting in a fight as he had no clue what weapons these men used. He was almost certain it would be something useful against mages and because of this he was worried of getting in a direct confrontation with them as he could be easily damaged/killed. "This is why I like to work alone... one minute and ten second. You have that long to either decide if you are going to keep whining like a brat or do something." He growled not bothering to comfort the girl as he found her baggage. He knew he was being rude, even for him, but he spent literal hours scouting out this place, getting the password. And she was about to throw all his hard work down the drain because she feels guilty and had to share it with the class.


Taking a deep breath he looked at the entrance and rolling his shoulder and neck he silently ran off, his dark clothes blending in very well with the surrounding darkness. He decided to use this to his advantage, if they were going to be noisy and cause a commotion so be it. He came here to complete a mission, not to be a therapist.


Running toward the door he went in and looked around already knowing each position of the guards. He went into instant hiding knowing a good place as he waited to see if the group would be useful distraction or if they would play along and blend in. Either way he planned to take the situation to his complete advantage.


@Violet Obsidian @shadowdude505 @Stormborn Targaryen @SummerWolf @Gabauchi

 

[Gabauchi]

Spaded napped during the ride. It was uncomfortable, but it wasn't bad. Much like the mission to take out the power. They got the job done, extremely well, but Serafina was a wreck. They heard a car crash, as well as a scream, then booked it. Suddenly, the car jerked to a halt, ending his snoozing musing. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyed as the lady asked if they were ready. He stretched and yawned, in a sort of okay fashion. He stepped out of the truck.


To tell the truth, he was feeling pretty giddy. This was going to be his first mission, a government one too. And what awaited after? Popularity? Government favors? Spades snapped back to attention. As soon as he did, he realised things were not going so well. Serafina was on the ground, doing what appeared to be crying, and the other fairy was in the process of trying to get her back up. The third was not to be seen.


He walked over to Serafina. He probably had the best chance at this, seeing as he'd gotten to know her a bit as they were taking out the power.


"Look on the bright side kid, they probably aren't dead." He sat down next to her. "Technology these days is pretty impressive, and people crash all the time and survive! Chances are they aren't dead. But what they are probably suffering from is poverty, seeing as we aren't what we used to be, but if we get this job done, we'll be one step closer to helping that person, and a lota other people. So, you gonna get up?"


He didn't extend his hand this time.

 

[Lexielai]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/ba434389253b002b800122e488a68b46-d5slw7q.jpg.5d75906321820b25aba249b8f6def5f7.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="91808" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/ba434389253b002b800122e488a68b46-d5slw7q.jpg.5d75906321820b25aba249b8f6def5f7.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Hikari tapped Serafina’s shoulder. “Hey, Serafina. This is important,” she said. The brunette coughed. “Someone’s coming. Please pull yourself together.”


Three individuals walked towards them, led by an armored woman in the lead. Her equipment, a suit of heavy armor, was composed of smooth metal plates and complex technology unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Small lines of ghostly blue lights pulsated down the material, racing across her suit in periodic intervals. Most noticeably to you, twin pairs of sophisticated, impressive shoulder pads arced with electrical sparks behind her.


As your eyes drifted to her face, you’d see her visible smooth features and bright red lips from behind a faceplate concealing all. Her mouth was shaped into a flat line as she approached you. You could feel the tension rising up with each second it took for her to arrive.


You could hear the hum of her suit in your ears as she arrived nearly ten feet from you, flanked on both sides by three men carrying guns.


“What’s going on here?” the woman asked. Hikari tapped Gurren’s and Spades’ shoulders.


“Hey, that’s Tempest. She’s one of the elite in the Red Tide. People rarely see her, but fortunately for you she’s one of the nicer ones. Be careful though; she’s smart,” Hikari whispered, sending a chill up their spines. Though her voice carried loud to Spades and Gurren, no one else heard a thing.


“Come on now,” Tempest demanded. She crossed her arms. “Answer me.”

Meet Tempest. Your NEMESIS. @Gabauchi @shadowdude505 @Violet Obsidian @Peaceswore @Stormborn Targaryen @SummerWolf You don't know her capabilities, but you've got damn good reason to be intimidated. Though you may not defeat her immediately, you will earn great reward if you do. But be warned: she is not your NEMESIS only for the duration of this prompt. You may find her to be a main villain in the Kingslayer Main Story arc

 

[Peaceswore]

At the entrance disguised as a guard

At this time Drake wasn't out of ear shot and he heard the women that had found the others. Taking a deep breath he left his spot and went a bit deeper into the building. 'Let's hope it doesn't turn into a battle royal. I need to get the information and sabotage this place... Tell me they have a shred of sense and charisma to talk their way out of the situation they placed themselves into.' he thought as he let out a sigh before heading to the counter. When he got there a smile appeared on his face as he thought of something. When he arrived to the man that was there he stood at attention. "Excuse me sir. I'm one of the new recruits that just arrived a few minutes ago." He said in a clear and even voice. The man behind the desk raised his brow. "Where is the rest of the recruits? The report says there were going to be more." He said as he looked at a sheet of paper in his hand as he scratched his head in confusion. "They are outside sir. One of the recruits is having a panic attack, I think her nerves are getting the better of her. The others stayed behind to comfort her while I came here to report in not wishing to be late on the first day." At this the man squinted at Drake who remained completely calm, as the guy went to the security cameras where he saw Tempest was with the recruits and since nothing seemed to be happening he nodded at Drake. "Okay, looks like Tempest will help the rest out. Since you are already here I might as well put you to work. John! Front and center!" The man shouted.


In moments a male with long blond hair, and a sword by his side came down the hall. <p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/Caim.jpg.97cbf2d2c0e96e8efdc3ab763d3f5b71.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="91968" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/Caim.jpg.97cbf2d2c0e96e8efdc3ab763d3f5b71.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> "You called sir?" He said in a rather relaxed manner as he looked at the two. He was wearing some sort of engineering suit and judging by his features he seemed to be on of the serious kind. "Yes, I need you to take this new recruit and give him a run down of the place. For today you two will be working together. When you have the basics down you will be given a patrol to work with. Understood recruit?" Drake nodded at this still keeping his calm look and good posture. "Yes sir." He said before turning to the blond. "I'm ready when-" "Hold on!" John shouted suddenly making Drake flinch from the suddenness of these words. 'What? Did I mess up something? Did those others mess everything up!?' "What is your name?" '........... My name??? I thought I had been caught red handed!! Was there any reason to shout like that!?' He wondered before giving John stotic look. "Tony." With this John grinned and held out his hand. "Well Tony, I'm John try not to get lost." He said in a surprisingly happy voice which caught Drake slightly off guard as he had figured he would be more of the serious type. He took John's hand and shook it. "I promise I will do my best." He stated before letting go.


At this John turned on his heel and started to walk down the east wing. "Okay then! Let's go." He said as he walked off. Drake glanced behind him his eyes lingering at the parking lot for a moment before he followed John in tow. "This place is pretty big judging from the outside." Drake said as he looked around at the walls, floors and ceiling. "I thought it was a run down building I was being shipped to, but the interior is actually very sophisticated and looks brand new." He observed making John chuckling. "Yeah it's to scare away people that don't belong here... Though I think it's because we are spending all of the budget to pay the new guys and to print." He said as he kept leading the way giving Drake the tour.

 

[shadowdude505]

Gurren heard the clunking from Tempest's armor before looking over at her. He kept a brave face as glanced over her high tech armor. He hadn't seen anything like it before. From what he heard about the Red Tide earlier, the armor suit wasn't even running on magic.


Gurren glanced over at Hikari after he felt her touch him. "...Fortunately for you she’s one of the nicer ones. Be careful though; she’s smart," he heard her whisper. Gurren turned his attention back to Tempest, looking her in the eyes (or at least where they would be if the helmet wasn't covering them.) Even though he was ready for a fight, part of him was wary of the armor. Maybe he should try something that Drake would want first.


"We're the new recruits, sir," Gurren replied with a salute. "We were about to check in when our comrade started to suffer from a panic attack. I don't know what caused it. It was a long ride with lots of time to reflect on life. I wanted to make sure she was OK before continuing the recruitment process."


@Lexielai

 

[LavenderRain]

Serafina Dunlar

Serafina’s head remained buried in her hands even as some of the others on the mission with her tried to comfort her - tried and failed. As someone reached over and tapped her shoulder, the Mermaid Heel mage felt a small ZAP escape her skin and her head jerked up, not because of the voice that accompanied the tap but because she legitimately didn’t want to hurt anyone else. “I’m - I’m sorry!” she said out of nowhere, her eyes falling on Hikari as she realized the brunette was the one she had shocked.


Her head jerked over to Gurren as she heard him talk to someone else, someone who she couldn’t see. It was only then that Serafina peeked around the corner of the van in which she was still sitting, and her eyes fell upon the suited woman standing in front of them. Serafina quickly jerked her head back into the van, unsure of whether or not she had been seen by the overwhelming presence that now stood over their little team.


“I’m sorry,” she whispered to the team, now deeply apologetic although she was still crying. “All I ever do is make a mess of things and get people hurt… and I - I’m sorry you got stuck with me.” She sighed, feeling extremely down.


If anyone were to cast a side glance at her, they would see her hand flutter to the shotgun at her side. She wasn’t sure whether they were going to fight or not, and even if they did, she didn’t know if she should help. At the same time, though, it was too late for her to ask them if they wanted her help or not. She certainly wouldn’t do any good at blending in so if that was their plan still, and that was the impression she got, Serafina decided it would be best for her to remain in the van. She felt entirely useless.


@Lexielai @shadowdude505 @Gabauchi

 

[SummerWolf]

Nishka Zharim

​

Nishka sat silent during the ride over, though she fidgeted slightly. She wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but somehow, the whole city of Hargeon had lost power. She was pretty sure it had something to do with Serafina, but she didn’t want to ask. The lightning user sat tense within the truck, and that didn’t change when Hikari opened the doors after parking.


“So, you all ready? I hear someone’s going to come give you a tour soon.”


The brunette stated, to which Nishka smiled slightly. She still didn’t remember what the plan was, nor did she really care, and was simply following the others and trying to be as helpful as possible. However, this is where Serafina’s breakdown grew tenfold.


“Ready?! READY!? I’ve already terrified an entire city and who knows how much internal damage I did and now somehow you guys want to cause them even more trouble by infiltrating this place…?! Who knows how much damage that’ll do…”


Nishka’s eyes shot to her mermaid heel companion as she screamed, and began to shiver. She moved to slam her fists, and Nishka’s eyes widened. It was highly likely they would be charged with electricity, and in hopes of avoiding a repeat of multiple mistakes in the guild, she threw herself out of the vehicle after Gurren, Spades, and Drake.


Gurren attempted to ‘help’ the situation, and Nishka winced, as it only seemed to aggravate it more. Her bubbly attitude had gone, for the time being, too concerned for Serafina. Drake left, to where she didn’t care, and Spades also tried to comfort Serafina. Throughout this, Nishka watched with worried eyes, though she kept glancing to the building and back again.


Hikari tapped Serafina, bad move on her part, and pointed out someone was coming, to which the young mage turned and looked. A woman stood there, in clunky, humming armor, and addressed them. Gurren however, jumped into speaking to her, and as such, Nishka remained by Serafina. She shook her head slightly, realizing Hikari had been shocked because of tapping Serafina, something she herself has had to deal with multiple times before.


“I’m sorry, all I ever do is make a mess of things and get people hurt… and I - I’m sorry you got stuck with me.”


Nishka sighed, hearing her companions comment. SHe glanced to the hand Serafina placed on her shotgun, and mentally groaned. A fight was really not something she wanted. However, if she could get Serafina to calm down and perk up a bit, things might take turn for the better. She hopped back up into the van, and knelt next to Serafina, careful not to touch her.


“Look, sis, I’m not sorry you're with us, and I don’t want to hear you try and apologize for being here again. You’ve helped us a lot. Really. Even if there was a crash, I’m sure they’re alright. If you're really worried about them, then later, after this whole thing is done, we can try and fix this. Find them, make sure they’re alright, or something like that. It’s not that bad.” The young girl stated, being oddly unlike herself, though it was said with a chipper voice as per usual. She considered all of her guild-mates sisters, and hated seeing them so down and out.


@Violet Obsidian @Lexielai @shadowdude505 @Gabauchi

 

[Lexielai]

Hikari yelped. Her entire body shook as the electric current zapped her, coursing rapidly through her body to ground itself to the ground below.


The brunette collapsed. Her hair pointed straight upwards into spikes, smoke rising off the tips of singed brown locks. She gasped, puffing out a white cartoon angel from her lips as her soul appeared to release itself from her body’s grasp.


Tempest ignored the scene entirely, closing the gap between you and her to a couple feet. Her visor locked on to Serafina, staring at the Mermaid Heel mage for a long, tense moment.


“You’re a mage,” Tempest said, addressing Serafina. Her featureless helmet then turned to face Gurren. “And so are you.”


“While I don’t mind mages coming to join our organization, I find it rather irritating when a couple of the Magic Council’s dogs come trying to sabotage our operations here.”


Tempest gestured towards Gurren and Serafina. “Take them both in for questioning,” she ordered. The armed men stepped forward with their guns raised, pointing at Gurren and Serafina.


Tempest’s lips flattened as she looked between the Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel mage. She said, “I don’t want to hurt you, but we won’t be letting you leave. Let’s make this easy for the both of us.”

You’ve been caught! Spies from Hikari’s bookstore have already alerted the Red Tide to be on alert for mages dispatched by the Magic Council to be nearby. The use of Magic by Gurren and Serafina has alerted Tempest that they are two of the mages she’s looking for. What will you do now?

 

[Mad Prince of Sanity]

CIPHER


Terminating a breach in security


Field Diameter: 1 Foot (At First)
​

Cipher made it a habit to be more cautious, subtle, and seemingly overall more concerned and active when it came to mages potentially poking around in the Red Tide's business, especially those sent by the Magic Council. Nevertheless, he was not one to go about scanning people left and right with the magic-world's equivalent of a bright flashlight to the face when discerning someone's magical capabilities. Instead he took to using his own select skills, and an intimate knowledge related to those skills and all the mages the Red Tide employed in this building, to conduct his own little way of preparing for their eventual arrival. To put his preparations simply, they could not have entered this building without his knowing, and this small fact made him rather pleased with himself. As for how things looked at present, the mage who had somehow been allowed to simply walk the building's halls would cross his path and then be dealt with.... or at the very least "vacated" from the premises. As for how and why he had arranged this little ambush as he had, it really was not very difficult considering he was nearly infinitely more familiar with this place than his prey was, as well as relying on a couple key components to make it as perfect as it could be. First and foremost, was the gorgeous view of the outside lot he had from where he waited. The second, was for the oh-so-convenient hallway that intersected the one Drake currently walked down directly across from said window, and still provided concealment for Cipher as he hung a foot or so back within the hallway, his method of attack poised to strike. The third and final reason, was that there were no alternate paths to take between where he waited and where his prey was, and truthfully he was almost thankful for the location since that meant Drake would have to go by him.


Lying in wait, Cipher could only narrow his eyes in the slightest as the sound of approaching footsteps got louder and louder and voices grew more and more audible. From what he could hear they were talking... about the interior decoration? Suppressing an inward huff of annoyance at the fact that such a conversation could lead to the mage gathering information on the building's architecture, and more importantly it's layout, Cipher paused for only a fraction of a second as the two men walked by. The one with blonde hair commenting on how the Red Tide was spending all it's money on recruits and printing and in that split second, John referring to the Red Tide as "we" may have saved his life, as along with Cipher vaguely recognizing John and John seeming to be the one explaining things to Drake, was enough to convince him that John was not the mage of the two Thus, all of this processing having taken place in the span of a heartbeat, five chains that had hovered at Cipher's sides that seemed to be made of some crystalline substance lashed out and encircled Drake's wrists, ankles, throat and forehead before continuing their forward motion and launching the young Raven Tail mage out the window that had been very crucial to Cipher's desire of wanting him OUT of the building, the chains rearing back in their form once outside like snakes about to strike before throwing Drake unceremoniously towards the pavement. Meanwhile Cipher, having begun a slow-paced walk toward the now-shattered window, murmured a brief and deathly chilling command to John of "Do NOT interfere." before having the chains, and their magic circles, vanish as he steps out through the window and onto the pavement, giving his robes a brief dusting of any stray pieces of glass that may have fallen on them with one hand, while clutching something that appeared to be a cross between a Lacrima and a paperweight in his other hand. From where he had... "deposited" Drake, the two had ended up about fifty feet behind Tempest and within eyesight of the other Magic Council mages, and Cipher does not even seem to give them a cursory glance as he speaks in a low, seemingly tired voice with a biting undercurrent, like someone who was getting fed up with an old-friend's constant pranks.

"I must admit, I've been waiting for the chance to put a pompous Guild mage in their place for a while now..." Cipher casts a small glance, a shift of the eyes, towards Tempest and the others before returning them to Drake levelly and the silver lines of magic around him, about a foot in diameter, pulse and spread out like an expanding spider-web to a diameter entirely around and above him, of about six feet in all directions. ".... and on top of thinking you can infiltrate our property as you please, leaving your accomplices in Tempest's.... admittedly rough care does seem a bit... dull." A certain way Cipher says the word 'dull' strongly implies he meant it in more of the vein of someone who thought too much of themselves and wished to step on others, which he obviously despised, but was too ignorant to even learn how to walk to do so. "Regardless, you will pay for your transgressions against us." Cipher speaks not in the vehement accusing voice of indignant judge, but rather his voice reflects the whistle of deathly judgement carried in the headsman's axe as it descends upon it's victim. Cipher then raises his right hand, the one not holding the odd orb-like object in his possession, from his side and the sword concealed beneath his robes there to have his palm face Drake before stating "Corruptia Chains."


The lines of silver magical energy forming the transparent, spider-web "dome" around Cipher converge at the edge of their existence closest to Drake into magic circles and chains identical to the ones that seized Drake before spring from the four circles. The crystalline-appearing constructs lash out like vipers freed to the wind by being given the ability to fly themselves, snaking forward through the air from their respective circles as they hone in on Drake. Their angles of attack spread out and seemingly aiming for his extremities once again, giving them a pattern of contact more akin to a shotgun than a sniper rifle as they were not all focused on one particular point of contact. A second later Cipher raises his hand to face the sky, the lines forming the top of the spider-web-like sphere around him creating another magic circle and a singular chain bursts into the sky before lashing down like a whip from above at Drake, intent on crushing (figuratively and possibly literally) attempts at airborne evasion.


@Lexielai @Violet Obsidian @shadowdude505 @SummerWolf


@Peaceswore @Stormborn Targaryen @Gabauchi