Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov
New York City
September 26th​

Listening to what the Mercenary had to say, Nadia scoffed a bit at that. "No organization past one person is ever in control of what they wish to see. We had one churchman giving us a cold welcome and another feeding and speaking to one of my men. At least the DWMA tries to change, though I will say some elements were not happy with the newfound peace between Man, Monster Clans and Witch. Enough of them so much that they turned renegade and fight us instead. I cannot say I much care what you decide to do in regard to the DWMA. I have my reasons for being in it, though ultimately, had the MIBIV outbreak not happened, I would have stayed in Russia and been a member of the MVD in my hometown. The Politsiya Rossii, would have been an interesting life. One I dare say I would have drunk less, or maybe the same eh?

But such was not fated to be. I'm sure the church has its own reasons as well, bloodsucker. Though I am not so sure yours would be eager to work alongside me again. In general, I think we should split for the time being, I'll go and hear your plan and Feng and Aki with Wes likely can establish communications with the DWMA agents and via our comms we can include them on some plan or send out instructions. I will not commit to something till I have a chance to learn of it. I do not mind your people taking the spotlight for your own improvements to how others view you. Not that I have much choice in the matter at present. Nor do I care much for the reward, provided I could even collect a portion."

Finishing all she had to say, she motioned with her right hand, well, attempted to, before using her left as a glare shot out at her arm. "That Paladin did something to my right arm, it isn't permanent, but he has made my work all the more troublesome. Dani, you and Adrian of course are coming with me, unless Adrian rather join the other half?" Clearly signaling to the other to lead the party off, she didn't have many options other than to trust the Mercenary, given the track record as of late, she did not consider this a bad option.


Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Aki/Dani) Sir Les Paul (Adrian/NPC's) Shotgunpenguin (Wes)

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | Czech Republic

‘Just get it outta yer’ system already…’​

She got a simple, vague, hard to read response from him- it was a low, barely audible to anyone else except perhaps the Bloodsucker guard and Sara, grunt that came with amusement and a pinch of mild annoyance, not all of which Wren felt, what she felt was his amusement, what she didn't was his annoyance though she may have detected something else even if the feeling wasn't clear; this was a reminder to him he couldn't totally separate everything from Wren’s perception. Not anymore or at least not unless they fell backwards in progress in their relationship.

It had been a while since he had a real partnership that was strong, stable, and most importantly handled like this. Two to three weeks of being in one that flagged given novelty and circumstance was vastly different from the last couple months he had and the previous two years he had spent under custody. Resonance with a weak link was vastly different in nature to a consistent stable one, more so was the difference in training under weaker tools versus a stable one.

Adra and him had been too short despite months of being together; their training split them up even if they had their sessions together. And though they had split on somewhat good terms he still hadn't been happy coming back to FATE to start all over again. Compared to what he had with Wren right now versus other partner before FATE excluding his crew, those links had been pathetically shallow, frustrating versions of what he had had with Eustice, Markus, even his AW ex.

Her commentary did make him wonder what exactly she heard. Did one of the thoughts in his head slip through the filter?

‘Why are you saying that?’ He countered, his tone different.

Wren's fumbling didn't help. If anything it gave him a reason to reply to her, and while weighed on what to say, he stowed it as the Witch and Bloodsucker reacted to their ‘opposition’.

Their reaction could not have been more opposite, though the female bloodsucker’s was painted clearly in aggression, it wasn't her reaction Zosar focused on- it was the young Witch’s. Had he not been paying attention he would have missed it, but like the few in their group that would have, he did pick up on her disappointment and the trickle of fear before she vanished into the portal with her guard.

Teleportation, this was the second time he’d ever seen it in use. His mom had been the only one he’d ever seen it used on the field for, and even then she had to prep to do it.

Someone potentially so young pulling off teleportation like that certainly was a massive boon of Baroness had her long nailed digits around a Young witch. The fear he had sensed also…was this some sort of…hostage situation too?

He sighed. Great.

‘Something’s very wrong here. Even after that, there's still no one coming out.’ Skipping to business once more. He went silent for a second, thinking.

When he spoke again through the link it was: ‘Oh, I should say before we get into the oven again, count yourself lucky. I was going to see how far you dug with a little prompting’ though the amusement that flickered briefly didn't sound like he was mad, ‘ but priorities. So we'll put a pin on your interest in my sex life for later, if that's where you were trying to go.’ Which he knew she wasn't, but he still said it anyway. Blunt, composed, in the link his voice was calm. ‘Promise’, being the final coquettish word.

It was a cheeky and smug retort to her earlier implications, through link that was clear…the unexpected part was it was also genuinely flirtatious.

The truth was Zosar wasn't about to let her go scot free for suggesting he was letting his mind wander outside the parameters of the mission, even if he had been checking out the enemy. He could do both, so this was just his way of ensuring Wren knew if she wanted to imply something, he certainly had no problem dropping his filter if the time allowed it.

And right now it certainly did. Unlike with Royal Pain the situation had been grave, he couldn’t have allowed himself to really take part of her humor at the time.

Right now though? They weren't in any immediate danger right now, no one had shown up. If the girl could swap people out, she would have, and she didn't. So if he was going to get Wren without screwing everyone over, he might as well do it now.

What might have made it worse was the fact he immediately switched from teasing her on the subject to going right back to business without waiting for her to recover or respond back.

“Okay so we all can agree that was a weird interaction, my bigger concern is, how many enemies are here? El? Numbers if you have them. Aside from that, if she can teleport, why aren't they capitalizing on that? From the look on her face before she left, I can't say this is some ploy right off the bat to surprise us.”

Laying out the most important fact, this didn't seem like a hostile situation even if it had been smart to play it safe. The problem now was, whatever they could have gleamed from the engagement was now lost.

He had more he wanted to say, he just didn't say it since the others insight could be fruitful too.

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic Pumpkid Haze-

Interactions: n/a

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Blue Steel​

Species Bloodsucker (Concealed)
Partner N/A
Rank Three-Star

Location North of JFK Airport, NYC, New York
Mission Colossal Combat
Status Focused

​

Tags: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin

"I doubt Feng, Aki, or Wes are gonna be heartbroken if I stick with you two," Adrian responded, somewhat gruff, but entirely expected. It wasn't that he was shy about his affections with Dani, but that he recalled some ground rules being set in place about making it well-known. Something to the affect of the fact it could create some type of liability if a threat were to use it against them.

"Thinking about what the world would be like without MIBVI seems overkill, though," he further commented, truly only pointing out the obvious. "Dani and I would both still have our brothers, MIBVI brought together as many people as it killed so who knows who would even be born, and it's not like you're the only one here from overseas," he explained, pouring out a surprisingly amount of reasoning. He gave a side eye to Feng and Aki, those being the two he meant with that last comment anyway.

"Plenty of games explore those what-if scenarios, but this isn't a game or a comic book," he tacked on, thinking it would be a great capstone for his point but in reality explained where his sudden philosophical depth came from. He was pulling these ideas straight from the games he played.

Blue Steel listened in and let out a low hum once Adrian finished his rant. With the little guy wrapping it up with what seemed like the most cliché line possible, Steel took it upon himself to insert a few of his own comments. Not before finally taking off the mask he wore, though. With that one gesture, his face livened up immensely. It was helpful that he was impossibly clean-shaven and fairly rugged, but it mostly came down to the ability to now see his mouth and nose when trying to read his face.

The man pressed his fingertips together, varying the force he applied slightly, creating the illusion that his hands were bouncing back and forth. A nervous tick for a man that didn't like to stand still. At the very least, his body posture became more energetic. He tilted his head down to make clear and pointed eye contact with Nadia, standing an impressive few inches even above her.

"You do the cute maid thing well enough, so I'll forgive it, but do be a little more careful with the whole bloodsucker shtick," he said, his tone a lighthearted yet annoying cross between flirtatious and condescending. "We do hide it for a reason, yeah?" he pointed out.

He then stepped back and pulled his fingertips apart, making a gesture with his hands that vaguely resembled an explosion.

"You and your partner just have rejection sickness. I think your textbooks call it Post Rejection Syndrome, but it's all the same; and yeah, it sucks. I'd be careful, though; the two Paladins you encountered aren't even the Imperial ones - the top six," he went on, now teetering over to more condescending if not somewhat education.

"Luuuuuckily... I do have someone who can help with that," he continued, "Unless the DWMA sends a Stein out, I doubt you'll find someone quite as capable as Sibyl. I doubt she can totally restore you two, but what can't be done spiritually can be more than made up for."

His eyes darted over to Feng, Aki, and Wes. A brow raised in interest. A Berserker Soul, a Volatile Soul, one soul that seemed impossibly calm despite the other two. He didn't question it, though. His own lot was just as widely mixed due to the mechanisms of their father.

"I can't afford to send out Prey, but Red Fang and Crimson can escort you to the nearest DWMA encampment. Crimson is among the best at hiding his soul, so he can walk you right to them and Red Fang is one of our strongest - so you should be safe," he explained, outlining his thought-out offer to provide safe passage with minimal friction.

However, the size of his crew was growing at an alarming rate. Himself, Red Fang, Crimson, Rosé, Sybil, and Mister Prey made six. This group was already abnormally large for Bloodsuckers and now it was growing more so.

Finally, he took a few steps back and lifted his hands up higher with a quick roll forward of his shoulders. "If you're all in agreement, we can set out now," he said, though he quickly stumbled.

"Oh, oh, one more thing. I'm not inherently eager to work with you specifically, but if we work well together and you go back to the DWMA and at least inform of them that we were amicable, it makes our lives easier in the long run. Not that you couldn't give me a reason to be eager, just that is in fact a mutually-beneficial arrangement. You said yourself that there are plenty unhappy with the arrangement of alliances, but it's a lot more than that: there are plenty that are unhappy we are not outright hunted to extinction," he told them, afterwards donning an obviously forced, fake smile; the physical embodiment of sarcasm.

"All things considered, I don't think it's an unreasonable offer. Worst case scenario is you get healed, decide it's not for you, then walk away and tell the DWMA we let you away peacefully," he explained, "which is still a win in my book."

GM Note: If we're all agreed to a plan, we can make any final replies here and I'll move us forward to the beginning of the split scenes. I will note that this split, if chosen, will likely remain for the duration of this mission.​

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Zelezny Brod, Czech Republic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Elly frowned a bit at the reaction, hopping back a bit as the bloodsucker lurched forward to stand between her and the witch. 'I don't think they liked that, love,' Elly mused within their shared space. 'Two monster souls, three bloodsuckers, the baroness, and the little girl. She seemed disappointed or concerned, or a mix. There's also that other spirit that up 'n vanished again. Can't tell if it's coming for us or not. The rest of them are just sitting in the building... Something isn't right...'

In Romania, Elly and Kisei weren't even part of the group that attacked the manor head-on, and the baroness still threw a double under the bus. Yet here, with a full group and stronger, she was sitting by. Zosar spoke up, iterating some of her thoughts and asking for enemy numbers.

Exhaling through her nose, Elly gave a curt nod back. "Sara, keep that nose working. One signature popped up--the same one that appeared and disappeared as those two showed up. It vanished again and I can't pin it down. I'm more worried about that than anything else at this point," She stated simply before looking to Zosar. "Aside from that signature, which I think is a bloodsucker, there's three others not including the baroness. Two monsters of some kind, and the witch girl. They're not moving from the building."

Resting the back of one of Kisei's blades against her shoulder, Elly turned her eyes back towards the manor again. "What do we know about that technique she's using and to what extent she can use it in combat?" She asked, leaving the floor open to others who may know more about teleportation abilities. "Aside from that... I am quite positive that is the baroness, which makes me wonder why she stationary... Back in Romania, we encountered her, however our group split up. Kisei and I went after another target and attempted to locate escape routes. Gauss and the others assaulted the Bloodsucker's base, and that was enough for her to send a double to fight and die there while she fled... Now, we have two werewolves, a volatile soul, and Kisei and I have both gotten stronger since we last saw her, and yet... She's just sitting in there."

Explaining exactly why Elly found it so odd, it just didn't sit right with her. Plus, they needed a plan around the teleportation. It had to have limits, otherwise they could've ended the group right then and there.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze- Pumpkid

 

[Meredith]

Chanterelle Dubois

In the Eye of the Storm

The salt from the mist off the whipping waves settled into Chanterelle’s skin, sprouting a strange sensation of calmness in its sting as she took stock of herself and awaited their replies. Her glasses were wet with sea-spray. Her hand stopped in its migration to wipe them as it occurred to her that her gloves, too, were soaked.

That was a problem for another moment.

Thankfully, their answers came quickly. Noah spoke, if only for her benefit, in agreement. Maria pledged her assent if not her ability. Raphael moved to aid Maria in turn. Then there was Gauss. He’d already begun to move before offering a response, flying past her couched form into the air above on his disc, but he, too, spurred her forth.

A tight smile settled onto the witch’s face as the pieces of her plan clicked into place. “Then pathfinding I will do.”

She wasted no time once her course of action was set. The edge of her bramble wall surged forth with her moving feet–a thick column cutting through the swarm–and she waded thusly into its midst. Five feet, then ten, fifteen. Her thoughts focused. They narrowed in on a single objective among many and discarded most other things: her surroundings, the threat of the fish, the sensation of her body. She recalled a former experience of spell-weaving; its re-enactment consumed her. Instinct drove her forward. Instances of success, failure, repetition, assumption, understanding, and ignorance guided her mind and hands alike.

In a series of spells with this many moving parts, it made natural sense to start from the roots.

This was the ground she’d alluded to. It was probably the most magically intensive part of the spell. It was also the most theoretical. Chanterelle knew she could produce a pocket of mana. She knew there were ways in which it might be set off ambiently in the way she had described. What she did not know was whether or not this required some kind of conversion point between physical power and magic beyond its capture.

“Spiteful little mushroom witch, with soiled hands the ground enrich–”

Her words were not quiet, but they were not performative like Maria’s exclamation had been. Their repetition served a mnemonic purpose. Because of this, the poetry had an odd quality to it: much of it sounded as if it was meant to be spoken to her, rather than by her. It was also highly fragmented. Some of it fit together, and some of it did not. More of it was muttered than intelligible. All of it was vaguely thematic, but only loosely rooted in poetic convention. It might occur to anyone listening that she was keeping time more than providing meaning.

The ground grew under her feet, swelling in the soil beneath the brambles. It was not something she could see, but she could feel its weight below her just as much as the effort she expended to produce it. There was no sense in pouring mana into such an attempt until she knew it functioned.

“–and from below pull up the weeds to use for weaving lightning leads–”

She stepped back. Her eyes closed. With a deep breath, a single tug urged the rapid growth of a long spiked stem through both bramble and ground, glittering damply in the light. It would draw lightning, she knew this, but did little else. In this case, it was meant to act as a conductor to the mana ground.

Maria was right on time. She was reliable like that. Impressive, even.

Chanterelle considered her next options. She could facilitate the continued production of conductive spores as she had with the mushrooms before–effectively outsourcing for scale–but this would come at the cost of control. The stillness of the wind gave her enough reprieve that that level of scale was unnecessary. Furthermore, there were a dozen questions to be answered in the next few moments about the spores alone–if they would conduct without the use of a grounding force chief among them.

Her decision was made. Her voice fell silent. Unstable spores poured from her mouth with her breath. One line, two lines, a breath in, and again.

The spores began to gather around her body roughly at chest level. With a turn of the hand, they sunk towards her feet, seeping lower in the air into the swarm. Many of them mingled within the brambles containing the ground, but they were hardly focused around it. Her shoulder hit the button on her headset to transmit her voice. Her hands remained poised and ready–she didn’t dare loosen her control of the spores with what she intended to unleash. Despite the long pause, her words kept the beat she’d established before.

“And as our trio sparks the light, so should the dollmaker take flight,” Maria didn’t need to move far, if at all. Chanterelle knew she’d still appreciate the notice. “but foreseen footsteps falter fast, so strike before the moment’s passed.”

And strike they did.

The first bolt startled her, though it was no surprise. The sound of the spores combusting through the force of its current filled her ears like the crunching of sand under a thousand feet. The electricity traveled to the ground urgently through the cloud; the rod did its job just as effectively as the spores gathered around her body. It was, however, much less combat-effective. The ground did not go off. It did, however, provide a point towards which the spores filtered on their own. In some ways, this was disappointing. In others, the level of success she found was elating.

As she pulled away from the ground, forging closer to the trio on the field, she was pleased to note that the spores required no connection to that ground to be conductive. Their interspersal between combatants was more than enough to provide a lethal shock, especially in such a swarm, with the fish both wet and writhing against each other.

The pure energy hurtling through her conduits made the shifting of their form feel powerful. The immediacy of the destruction it caused was a large part of this. Her own magic tended to work more slowly, conditions and constructions forged ahead of growth, like sculpting from a snapshot of something that had come before. Beyond the continued creation of breathed spores, this was a highly direct endeavor. Apart from this, the lent effort lightened the load considerably from what otherwise might have been achieved with massive amounts of plant growth. The smell of half-cooked meat filled the air.

She’d have to thank Noah for this later.

Here there was a transition from exploration, the foraging of possibility, into a study of a repeated and controlled element. Her sense of urgency in understanding was duofold. This was a fairly unique opportunity to further understand her spores, and she intended to push its limitations, but her mind also made clear the reality that she was, in fact, playing with lightning on the beach soaking wet, and she had no intentions of getting shocked.

Noah’s lightning dissipated without fail as a consequence of resistance. The provision of a more conductive pathway spread it much farther before it did so. The concept was simple, and the travel of energy was predictable, but it was harrowing nonetheless.

There was a rhythm to it, once she understood how the lightning’s current flowed, observed the excitement of the electricity coursing through spores coalescing with the spray of saltwater in the air. Lightning arced to the spores and flashed through their body, destroying many of them through each strike; and though the fine dust that exploded from them was not less conductive it was outside of her control. There was a sort of latency between Chanterelle’s movement of the spores themselves and the movement of the electricity that was critical to the act of staying out of its path. Adding more new spores allowed for finer control, but they needed to be spread somewhat evenly through the mass to transfer static well. They also needed to be replaced in between strikes, but this was gradual. Once she was used to all of this, it became a kind of dance, a tracking of safe and unsafe space around her that lit up with Noah’s electricity.

She considered setting things up in a more stationary way, but her forward position made that less appealing.

It was not long after this that a feeling in her body started to sprout. A lingering dread. Her motions slowed, and her eyes scanned across the field. Raphael, Ark, and Arkayis were providing an enviable wall of flame across the beach. They were too far away for her to see them clearly, but neither Raphael nor Ark seemed under threat. Gauss and Maria continued to stay in the sky. A metered breath out, a gathering of those spores to the others. Chanterelle had a bad feeling, but it had not yet occurred to her that something was earnestly wrong. It could have been simple anxiety.

Her mouth was so, so dry.

Another motion, pushing those spores further into the swarm in front of her. It occurred to her that keeping the spores still was no longer an effort on its own, and that they were settling much more quickly, which spurred her realization that the albatrosses had fled. For what reason, she wasn’t completely sure. Her eyes scanned the field again. The fish and mudskippers had ceased to be a problem on their own.

Chanterelle’s movements to direct the spores around her stopped as her eyes caught on the monkeys. Something in her told her they were constructs, but there were too many, all of flesh and blood. Something else, then. Something magical. These creatures were clearly magical, but there was something else. Something she recognized, something familiar. She dug at this feeling for some kind of reason, some explanation. None came to her. Perhaps it would have, with more time.

The beating of her heart came to rest in her throat suffocatingly as she felt the sheer force of the creature in the water. It was not the most powerful thing she had encountered in her life, but that didn’t matter.

Everything in her body told her to run.

But she did not. She steeled herself and she stayed in place and she continued with her offense. They worked together well on the battlefield, and none of them were threatened, at least not yet. Her focus was split from this point: maintaining awareness not only of her own actions and Noah’s, but also the state of the field as a whole, and especially the water. The feeling of fear and the excitement of the mana in her chest emanating from the waves did not leave her.

Despite this, she crept forward as they fought.

This was a mistake. As the numbers of monkeys increased, so too did their tenacity. The creatures approaching them were hardly alive. They were horrifying. For a fleeting moment she hoped they were constructs, and not some real creature corrupted in this way. The need to deal with them–the realization that the spores in front of her harmed them but did not stop their progress like those before–stopped this thought in its tracks.

Chanterelle was not above backpedaling.

She bailed. Waiting for one last lightning strike from Noah– knowing she’d have a few seconds before another could hit the cloud of spores–she turned to sprint back to the edge of her initial walls. They were beaten to hell, but still stood. Noah might have struck the remaining cloud before its dissipation, or he might not have, but she was too focused on her retreat to care. Several of the monkeys followed her. New growths twisted up from the depths of the brambles, grabbing at their swollen bodies, yanking them into the depths she’d created below. She jumped from the barrier, almost tripping in the spray of sand that exploded from the soles of her shoes against the ground.

Raphael and Maria were having quite a pleasant discussion, considering she was running for her life, and as she made her way toward the pier–the direction she assumed any aid would originate from, considering the announcement–she had a moment to parse it. She hardly left the battlefield, but moved to become more aligned with the rest of the group that had been far to her left.

For the first time, her hand touched the button to activate her mic. There were a few long seconds of crackling silence on the line before she spoke. “The monkeys–I can melt them if they’re dead, but if you want that to happen at scale, you’ll have to make them that way.” Her spores usually couldn’t rot through things that were alive, or magically animated, but if the monkeys were felled they might briefly be neither. This was a decent bet. Her voice was professional. Soft. Calm. In complete opposition to how she felt.

It flattened. “But that thing in the water? That’s something else. The mana’s coming off of it in waves–Maria, I know you can feel it too.”This almost sounded like an accusation, but it was not. It was an appeal. “If we’re going to pull it up, we’d better know we can kill it; it’s going to give us a hell of a fight.”

The Garden Witch​

Species Witch​

Rank: Fate Agent​

​

Location: The Steel Pier, Atlantic City, NJ.​

Mission: Kaiju Cleanup​

Status: Filled with Resignation​

​

Merciless Medic The Regal Rper
@Peckinou RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Kisei☆Hoshi​

Deadsoul​

Species Death Golem
Partner Eloise Keegan
Rank Two-Star

Location The derelict Mansion, Liberec Region, Czech Republic
Mission The Missing of the Giant Mountains
Status Hyper-focused

​

Tags: EmperorsChosen The Regal Rper Haze- Merciless Medic Pumpkid

"What we know," Kisei countered, chiming in across comms and hardly withholding his frustration, "is that most battles are won either by overwhelming power or overwhelming speed. Witch, Bloodsucker, Meister - it doesn't matter. Far and few are the battles won with strategy and cunning and even fewer are those that overcome a deficit of power or speed."

"Whatever that ability actually is, it is dangerous. If we consider speed the ability to get from Point A to Point B in the shortest amount time, then they now have an advantage," he explained, rationalizing why he was so serious in the moment with a fair amount of solid logic. Even more understandable given that the Hoshi focused almost purely on raw speed, forfeiting power for it in many cases.

"There is no reason any weapon should revert back at this point. We don't know their motivations and the split-second difference of having us in your hand versus not could be the difference between your throat slit or a parry," he continued. He choosing his words carefully, wanting them to carry as much weight as he believed the situation called for.

"But, sure, let's run through hypotheticals. If they wanted to invite us in for fucking tea, their idea of hospitality is downright stupid. There isn't an experienced agent out there that would see instant movement abilities but wouldn't get nervous. When you have something like that in your back pocket, it's your obligation not to cause panic with it. You don't flash around nukes and expect other countries not to take up arms - ask Russia," Kisei continued, still explaining his logic. A combination of sarcasm and spite seethed out over the communicators. Elly could feel it in his soul. She knew him well enough; Kisei didn't think they were taking the situation seriously enough.

"Let's boil the situation down to what it actually is. We yet again find ourselves in a European country - this time in search of a DWMA CIA Agent - and just happen to stumble upon this Baroness? Her M.O. is Bloodsucker Enthrallment which fits the situation: missing people, missing agents, an odd network of criminals," Kisei pointed out, "the only real question I have is if we think we should call in some Bloodhunters and blow the CIA cover or try to eliminate them ourselves. The fact they're just sitting there is problematic, too. That mansion is either some type of trap-laden lair or they're waiting for something. Personally, I vote to set the fucking mansion ablaze and cut them down on their way out. Scorched earth and cut throats."

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov
New York City
September 26th​

Listening to what all Blue Steel had to say once Adrian was finished, she gave a nod to the latter, speaking up with a simple reply. "Of course, it is pointless, the world we have is the one we live with. And yes, if not for the Virus who knows, most of those here right now wouldn't be." But the world overall would have been in a far better shape to deal with this monster, or so she reasoned, but did not voice aloud as Blue Steel offered the services of two of their men to get Feng, Wes and Aki where they needed to go. Partly curious if either of those were at the last mission, Nadia gave a brisk nod at his request.

"I will make sure your people get a mention and credit where its due. I am not one to just take the glory for myself. You have nothing to worry about on that score." Noting the distant thumps of artillery and heavy weapons fire, Nadia seems to ignore the passing remarks, towards herself. Nothing more really needed to be said.


~~~~~~

Feng Long
New York City
September 26th​

For her part, Feng had no reason to object to the plan, meeting up with the agents and communicating between them was a positive as far as she saw it. Looking at her partners and pondering the names they all were given, that is, Cold Steel and his friends, she chuckled a little bit. "Reminds me of old Kung Fu movies, we Chinese have been known to use such artful names in the past at least, my first and last name are of a kind fashion, with my last being written in the Character of Dragon, the first... ah, we'll get to that later, or I'll be here all day if I could, I'm eager to get going, I wish to save China Town, and of course the rest of the city." She said with a smirk before turning to the rest.

"Though, you all better tell us what you are up to, unless the other agents keep us busy, I Feng Long wish to aid in the battle." Patting Aki on the back and giving a thumbs up to Wes, she then turned her head to follow the sounds of battle that was taking place, "We'll be fine. Though ah...hmm... Ah, its nothing.."

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Aki/Dani) Sir Les Paul (Adrian/NPC's) Shotgunpenguin (Wes)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Atlantic City - New Jersey​

While she had wanted to join in the defense, it was clear she and Raph were in much better positions, if anything her own flight abilities had left her as hovering air support that was only hampered by how much mana she could expend. Chanterelle however, well, she was not in a good position, and while it struck Maria as possible to grab the girl and carry her away, it was the toadstool witch's unfortunate biological ability that nixed that. Touching her as she was now would only poison herself or carry the fungus to her broom. And that was a treasure not to be taken lightly.

However, she would not just sit back and watch, taking back to the sky she flew in low and close towards her teammate, making use of her Alicia to stand in the ground behind Chant, she would in kind fly in towards the front, rather, projecting herself through the point of space, as she made use of a variety of Wind Blast spells, rather than risk a Wind Explosion in such close quarters to an ally. "You are not alone." She said simply, unsure if the girl was too far to hear, it ultimately did not matter. Hopefully the Meister and his duo could make it out themselves, if not, then she would help them too. Even the one who would be happy to see her dead.

This situation had become that much more dangerous, now that it was clear a necromancer was at work. Listening to what was next to come across the comms from the partner she was now covering, Maria had a couple ideas, but was unsure how well it would pay off.

"It seems we are in a battle of attrition, either we destroy all the Sea Monkeys and hope they run out of bodies before we run out of Mana. Or we destroy whatever is in the water. Provided we can and how deep it is. And yes, I do sense it, and I may have an idea to get rid of it, if not kill it. That being, I either fire wind bursts into the water, or I find some drums or the like and place sigils for wind explosion. It works for Submarines, so I don't see why a monster would be immune....

Though there are risks with that plan. So we could just see if it runs out of bodies before we do. For whatever reason it really wants the people from the pier. I might also be able to destroy a large grouping of them with a spell Rand taught me that I've yet to use. Mostly as I was still learning how to when he...Well, the rest is history." Maria communicated over the Radio as she made sure Chantrelle reached the safety of the pier.

Interactions: Merciless Medic (Raph-Noah) Meredith (Chanterelle) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) @Peckinou (Arkayis) The Regal Rper (Ark)

 

[Sir Les Paul]

North of JFK Airport, New York City, New York
GM Post​

In a world rife with mysteries and riddled with both commonplace deceit and ulterior motifs, finding truth in a fulfilled promise was often a genuine surprise. The offer of Blue Steel—more succinctly called Steel by his allies—turned out to be one of those surprises. A pleasant one, at that.

Their journey was a relatively simple one. Simple though it was, the walk alone and the conversation back and forth proved to full of information. The group that Blue Steel and Red Fang were part of was known as Fox Hunt. It was officially a mercenary band and officially they were human; they kept their status as Bloodsuckers secret. Their current base was in the basement of a coffee shop on Hamilton Beach. It was closer to the kaiju in general, but off West. This slight detour stopped seeming as counter productive as it probably should have once the group had a clearer picture of the fight painted for them. Between general radio announcements, the DWMA message boards, and their comms, the urgency of the situation had dissipated greatly. Engaging the creature apparently had evolved into a turn-based affair. It was as Steel had described; they were down to trying various gimmicks and allowing controlled attempts from all sorts of third parties.

Even with the situation being turn based, there still existed structure to it. Of all forces involved, the most impactful were the Witches that had came to help. Several platoons of Witches were present and more incoming. While none of them had any more success in terms of hurting the creature, they were easily the best at both distracting it and forcing its movements. It was no secret that Witches that excelled in certain magic often grouped up to perform it together. This was normally overkill, but nothing was overkill against this creature. Fourteen to twenty Witches all focusing on the same barrier that prevented the kaiju from attacking JFK airport was fairly reasonable. Artillery couldn't just bombard it once it had moved to the Sky High Club, but the mobile Witch Corps could. Broomsticks flew through the air as the Witches combatted this creature.

One might have thought it embarrassing to see Witches take the forefront in the fight... because in a way, it was. The Meisters and Demon Weapons of the DWMA were all-but useless against a target they had no hopes of killing with even their most powerful techniques. Magic, on the other hand, had far more versatility. If there was a victory here, it was for the alliance between the DWMA and the Wiccan Council. That said, the U.S. Government arguably had the biggest claim in its pocket as their weaponry was the only ones to deal any actual damage to the kaiju at all. No magic, no resonance, no magitech—just ballistics and explosive force from well aimed machines.

The conversation came to an end once they reached the little coffee shop. It wasn't a chain location, like Deathbucks. Instead, it was more of a quaint little café with some specialty equipment. The type of store meant to be manned by one or two people and house a few hipsters drinking overpriced coffee while they work on their latest failed memoir regarding that one time their dad took them out hiking. How or why this group had access to places like these were uncertain, but it seemed to be part of their pattern. Then again, they had only been encountered twice.

The actual coffee shop wasn't their base. It was the storage basement underneath. Steel knocked on the door in a rhythmic pattern that likely only Wes might have memorized so quickly and with only one example, but it lead to the door being unlocked and two men actually answering. Red Fang, man in the red helmet Nadia had met before, and another one that was completely new. Red Fang, aside from his helmet, had a fairly normal appearance to him so long as he kept his jacket closed. New York was a cold enough state that his attire was fitting. This new individual, though, his attire was even more odd than Steel. He wore both a suit and a helmet, but his suit had larger packs and what appeared to be some type of either magitech or rune magic reinforcement. It was thicker, heavier, and adorned with sleek, compact plates. He looked more like a soldier than anything.

"Signal, go get Crimson. I need him and Red Fang to drop off some agents," Steel instructed, only being answered with a quick nod from the heavily-outfitted figure.

Meanwhile, Red Fang cocked his head and asked when Steel determined he could just send them out on errands. It was a bit of an argument, but it was mostly posturing. Red Fang had no actual ill-will to the group, he just didn't like being told what to do. This was the type of opaque, testosterone-fueled defiance that nearly everyone could pick up on. Fortunately, it was halted by the arrival of the one known as Crimson. He was probably the most normal of the lot. His attire was semi-causal, he looked like a white collar worker you could find in nearly any desk job, and his soul was absolutely spot-on for emulating both his emotions and a Human Soul. He was shorter, though. Blue Steel had eyes that were as bright as the clear sky, but this Crimson actually had more grey-blue eyes. He had a softer jaw line, cleaner face, and was shorter. Much less masculine and in many ways intimidating.

It was here, also, that the groups splintered off.

---

En route to the DWMA camp...​

Feng, Aki, and Wes were paired now with Red Fang and Crimson. The show of bravado vanished the moment the group had left the shop. In all actuality, neither Red Fang or Crimson were terribly difficult to get along with. There just happened to be a touch of friction between them and Steel. That happened to be how it was for a large majority of Fox Hunt. Without a doubt, the group considered each other family and would fight to the dying end for them. Without their figurehead, though, there was no one to truly keep the peace. Most of the time, they were splintered off in various smaller factions. That was all information that the Agents would have to do more to pry out, though. Some things weren't as easy to pick up on as reading a room.

And, none of those three were exactly Sherlock Holmes.

This escort was a simple venture eastward, for the most part. Through some crowded streets and a single detour made through some allies to avoid running into the patrol of another Paladin group. What they were told was true: those religious fucks were literally policing the area in sections. What exactly gave them the right was uncertain, but it should come as no surprise that encountering them again was something to be avoided.

"If you don't mind the small talk," Crimson said, cutting through the silence that had been present most since their departure. Well, mostly silent. He and Red Fang did have to suggest the detour caused by the Paladins and this conversation was occurring once they returned to the sidewalk following their waltz through the alleys. "One of you is a Berserker, the other is Volatile... I can see how two might end up in the program," he commented, "but, you," he said, shifting his focus to Wes with a quick glance over his shoulder, "seem fairly normal. What's your story?"

"What kind of question is that, man?" Red Fang chimed in, butting in, really.

"The two ladies are both Asian, Chinese if I'm guessing, and have accents. You aren't curious as to why they sailed the ocean blue?" he added, casually proposing a different type of potentially racist curiosity. Whereas Crimson was delicate with his words and intent, Red Fang was anything but.

---

In the coffee shop basement...​

The basement of the coffee shop was actually much larger than anticipated. Truth was, it was a conjoined basement that spanned across multiple other businesses on the block. It was a weird setup that was a remnant of severe flooding from a bygone era. In either case, it allowed for much more room. An import point given it seemed Mister Prey alongside a few others were setting around some type of magic circle while more teched out individuals, like the one referred to as Signal earlier, were working on different parts of a bench.

The trio weren't guided to either of those areas, though. They went to an area setup for communications. Several computer screens, radios, and even television programs running at the same time. Inside it were two women. One standing tall with a light brown, almost orange hair-color, and green eyes so piercing that tank armor wouldn't stand a chance. The other had darker hair and what looked like shifting eyes between blue and green, depending on the light she was in. More notably, she was in a wheelchair. Also notably, given the likelihood of Nadia and Adrian assessing the souls of everyone they encountered at this point, their souls seemed perfectly normal. Human, in fact. Whereas the concealed souls, like that of Red Fang or Steel, had that still, forcibly-odd nature to them, these two girls did not. Excluding Crimson, they were thus far the only ones to debut that.

"Siby-" Steel started, but wasn't even allowed to finish his greeting.

"Let me guess, Steel: you want me to look at the girls with torn up souls?" she said, rolling over to look at Steel and shooting him a side-eye.

"W-Well... yes," he replied.

"And, I'm going to guess you were going to ask me to do that before even greeting me," she claimed in a very accusatory tone. Those eyes of hers might not have been as cutting as that of her peer, but her tongue seemed to be.

"Uhh... I guess we'll never know," he said, though not after some hesitation.

"I'll take that as a yes. You know, you used to be so sweet," she replied. It wasn't clear if she was being sarcastic or sour and that was part of her poison.

Her head swiveled and she scanned Nadia up and down before Dani. "If you lay down and remain still, I can clear up most of your arm," she said, "but your partner will need to enter her Soul Space and it will take... some time. For lack of a better word, honey, her soul is fucked."

RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin EmperorsChosen

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - North of JFK International Airport, New York
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Dani was content to do most of the talking, more concerned with Adrian and the feelings of rejection. Plus, it seemed that the Blue Steel guy was actually a mercenary unaffiliated with the church. Rather, it seemed he was with Red Fang which put Dani a bit more at ease. She didn't have any special feelings for Fox Hunt, but they had worked together in the past, so she knew they were somewhat reliable at least, unlike those religious fucks.

"Yeah, well the DWMA don't want me dead yet, so they're a step above the choir.." She growled a bit at Blue Steel's insinuation. It was more of a bitter remark toward the church than him. Dani didn't exactly think the DWMA were saints. Hell, she had a lot of problems with how the FATE Program itself was run, let alone the rest of the organization.

"If yall wanna talk hypotheses, let's do it after we drop this thing or it curb-stomps us... Feel like I'm gonna vomit," Dani remarked, urging them to move on. "Fuck, I'd tell them regardless. I'll take Humans any day over those fucks," Dani added, making it clear that a Bloodsucker was more trustworthy than the alternative at this point.

As they reached the base, Dani had spent her time trying to avoid leaning on Nadia or Adrian. As time went on she felt simultaneously better yet worse. Perhaps she was just growing more tolerant to the discomfort. She eyed the group as they squabbled a bit before bidding temporary farewell to Feng, Aki, and Wes. As they reached the basement and met the other two girls, Dani cocked her head to the side a bit. The air was weird. Tense, for some reason, or awkward more aptly. She tried brushing it aside, watching as Nadia took a seat.

As the woman's gaze turned towards her, Dani's eyes narrowed in response. "Gee, tell me more," She said with a scoff. Of course her soul was fucked. She knew that already. "How long is some time?" She asked, an arm idly clutching her stomach.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul Shotgunpenguin

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Aki Kiyoko - North of JFK International Airport

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

It was an interesting development. Though, while Dani felt more at ease as she had worked with this particular group before, Aki had seemingly taken a shine to the group for the fact they were mercenaries. The demeanor and apparel of them all was far more familiar to her than that of the DWMA, so Aki was almost giddy to join forces to tackle this situation, even more so after they arrived at the group's base.

It wasn't as if every group was the same. Of course not. However, the setup, the banter, it was all familiar to her, like she was back with her mom or one of the other teams she had travelled with. The Demon Gun couldn't help but grin.

Giving a wave to the other three before they departed with Red Fang and Crimson, the two posed some questions toward them all, though Aki seemingly had her own.

"Half! Other half is Japanese. I was born in China though!" Aki said, her stride increasing to short bounces as she caught up to the two of them. "I was actually freelance, like you guys! Most of the time was in China, also some South America before I came here. I was in a few different groups over the years, though never had any... uh.. B-words."

Of course, she meant Bloodsucker, having picked up that bit from Blue Steel back when he and Nadia spoke. "Actually, I don't think I've ever met one that I wasn't supposed to fight... hm..." She hummed, tapping her chin with her index finger before moving on with a smile. "Anyway--So, are, like, all of you them? Or only some? Are you? I've always been curious how eating works. Do you need normal food and water? Do you need, need blood? How often?"

Firing off question after question, like Red Fang, Aki wasn't delicate with how she vomited her friendly interrogation. However, also like Red Fang, while potentially insensitive and racist, it was borne from innocent curiosity.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul Shotgunpenguin

 

[Haze-]

Wren
Železný Brod; Czech Republic​

The initial response he got was smug, bits of it tethering and poking around the link with annoying satisfaction the moment she realized her hunch was right— he had been eyeballing the bloodsucker from the start. Right as she was about to open her mouth, prepping a jab,

‘Promise.’

‘HUH???’

The link shook like she’d been split in half by a stray lightning bolt. Pure embarrassment rang through in one strum through their shared feelings, completely and utterly failing to put a filter on it as she started somehow choking on her own saliva inside her soul space— coughing and banging on her chest while the empty void started to fill in with colors, lights.

Pretentious decorum, swinging chandeliers, marble statues frozen in a laughing fit (some pointing at her), and an unwinding dinning table reaching for infinity.

This guy had just snapped her out of focus from her calm seal out of sheer force of shame.

A breathless, wheezing cackle came up behind her — “Your face is all red.” — Wren grimaced, eyes narrowing to a close. She didn’t even dare to look back and acknowledge it. She would quit as an agent if she allowed her little demon to use her own shame to get into her head.

“Oh, young love is so magical…”

The trickle of madness from her slip-up, along with the underlying, sneaky sensation of gratification Zosar would’ve felt in-between the shame and embarrassment at the flirting, eventually numbed out when the calm seal was back up.

She cleared her throat — ‘I bet you would love talkin’ about that with me, you freaky frog…But that’s not where I was..—' — Wren started, or had tried to, fumbling to rectify things, her words slowly falling flat the moment she realized she was talking to a wall. Zosar was already addressing Elly and the rest.

‘HEY DON’T ACT LIKE YOU AIN’T LISTENING!!!”

She grumbled, clicking her tongue before letting go of it entirely. Now really wasn’t the time — ‘Forget it…’

‘You’re right. Something is off...’

She listened in for Elly’s input, only missing a few beats on the mentions of the Baroness. Wren had not a clue in the world of who she was or what she was after, but the description alone was enough to write her off as a problem.

“Maybe she’s not there willingly?”

Then came Kisei…

“Cool your jets, y' psychopath,” — Wren barked, an oddly stern, serious tone for her usual self, partly fault of the seal — “The mission is to find and rescue the missing agents. Not “find and cook the missing agents alive.” They could be keeping them hostage for all we know.”

“It’s a braindead idea to go walking in through the front gates at this point,” — She could at least agree with him on the ‘trap-laden lair’ part — “But I think doing it the ‘Hoshi way’ and committing war crimes shouldn’t be our first best bet. We should come up with something else while we're still here with no portals up our asses and they’re bunkered down in there...for whatever reason.”

‘If only we had a talented, charismatic, smart Irish woman to lead us right now…’

The privilege of being able to put all of the burden on the team leader was truly her favorite thing in the world.

RedArmyShogun The Regal Rper Merciless Medic Pumpkid Sir Les Paul

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov
New York City
September 26th​

So, the man from LA is here as well, wonder if the Butler is as well? Was Nadia's first thought upon seeing the Mercenary from what was only a few days ago, it honestly was a shame her days up till now were spent doing tests with what she got from that black fire. Being led to the makeshift base beneath the store fronts, Nadia wondered if this all had been here for some time before the monster even arrived. A safehouse for this team and its workforce, most of which seemed to be actually human. Not that the current ones didn't seem to be. It was curious how well some of them hid their souls, but of little value to her apart from trying to rip it down via detection should someone like them be an enemy. It was all very interesting in a way, and more together

The purpose of them being here was quickly made known, and it seemed this woman knew a thing or two about fixing them up, though her remarks were another matter altogether, the same concerns came to mind in regard to Dani.

"Define a long time like she said, and what is it you will do? If you are about to do some sort of entering her soul space, you'll want me there for sure. I'm not going to turn the help away of course, but we need more information here." Nadia said tersely, not really wanting to waste time as it were, but it seemed the woman did not know the nature of Dani's soul, depending on just what she was attempting.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Dani) Sir Les Paul (Adrian/NPC's)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Feng Long
New York City
September 26th​

With the split and brief visit to the base, it all reminded Feng of the Chinese Security Services and Triad safe houses, while the Russian who was likely suited to being a police officer in another time was a bit surprised about it, she was not. If anything, the greyline it treaded was as comfortable or at least as familiar to her as it had been with Aki. Though both were trying to change, this prompted an understanding. And while a bit rude, as Red Fang had pointed out, Crimson was at least straight forward with his questions and comments. As Aki gave her own partial reply and asked as awkward of a question as Crimson's own.

"The Ocean Blue, is it? I am not one to hide my past. Aki over there was, well what she said, she signed up to get more dependable and less chaotic work. I myself was an Enforcer, or even Assassin you could say for a Triad group and on behalf of the Chinese Government for a decade. In fact, the last place I worked for them was right here in New York, the people I've killed in the past all did something to deserve it, or the jobs were clean, no civilians caught up in it. That was till my group got a new boss who wanted me to kill a detective, and all of his family at a birthday party to send a message. I turned myself in, brought the cell down and the DWMA gave me two options, to stay in a cell or permanent house arrest, or to take part in the work of the DWMA to put my skills to use for good as they put it."

Chuckling a bit darkly at that, she continued. "They then kept me under house arrest when a program before this failed, till I was tapped for the current. I was even offered a chance to just walk away from it all, but, here I am. Is that enough of a story? As to Wes, well, he can speak up for himself."

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Aki/Dani) Sir Les Paul (NPC's) Shotgunpenguin (Wes)

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Wes Kraven
North of JFK National Airport, New York
September 26th

Mentions: EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul ​

---

Wes would admit, when he heard Blue Steel talk about their base of operations, he wasn’t expecting it to be based out of a coffee shop. Although it made sense, considering both the mercenary aspect of the group and the relative size, they weren’t going to be taking over any of the larger shops. Those usually had some form of cameras, and saving the city or not, the business probably didn’t want a bunch of random people rummaging around their store.

As someone who only drank canned coffee, he didn’t and would probably never understand people who went to places like this. He didn’t ‘taste the gentle notes’ of the coffee, or take a minute to ‘appreciate the aroma’ of the beans. He drank it when he needed to push past the fatigue after an all night binge watch of a show, or to get him out of bed when certain neighbors would keep him up all night.

Regardless, their group soon split apart as two of the mercenaries were dispatched to lead them to the other DWMA members. The walk was thankfully uneventful for the most part, their detour around a group of paladins aside. As much as he didn’t like the idea of the church patrolling the streets, he couldn’t deny that it made for a decent deterrent for anyone trying to take advantage of the chaos.

Still, the silence was broken up as Crimson asked him for his story, noting that compared to his partners his soul was relatively normal by comparison. Wes wasn’t sure if being normal was really an indicator of being enrolled in the program. It wasn’t like it was only for meisters and weapons with out of the ordinary souls, although considering that both his former and current partner had unique souls, maybe they were more common than he thought.

Fortunately, his partners took the attention away from him, with Aki asking the men whether or not they could eat and if they needed to drink blood to survive. Feng on the other hand explained the circumstances that led her to join the FATE program, or at least the program that was the predecessor to it.

“Yeah, I could.” He answered Feng, before turning his head slightly to address Crimson. “Was in EAT, some stuff happened, and now I’m here.” His tone carried all of the excitement of a teacher who had to explain why eating glue wasn’t good to a child for the thirteenth time.

Unlike Feng or Aki, Wes wasn’t the type to go around telling random people the how or why he was in the program. He had only told Feng the basics during their introduction, and even then he left out exactly how he had gotten to the point of leaving the academy. He didn’t like the idea of airing out his baggage to anyone really, not really seeing the point.

He made his mistakes, and sure it may have taken longer than anyone else would have, but he was at least trying to make things right. He’d get through the FATE program, re-enter the EAT program and then….

'And everything goes back to normal, right? Good luck with that.'

“Guess I’m just a normal guy.” Wes shook his head with a huff, both to try and clear his thoughts and brush off Crimson’s small talk. “What about you two? How’d you end up in this mess?” He asked the two mercenaries, less so out of a genuine want to hear their story, but more to shift the subject back onto them.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

New York City, New York
GM Post​

The Coffee Shoppe Basement...​

There was little for Adrian to do in current circumstances. He had acted as a boulder for Dani to lean on and remained fairly calm and cool through most of the interactions. Notably he didn't believe that splitting up was their wisest decision. Power in numbers and all that. However, he wasn't going to question Nadia right this second. He didn't experience the same thing she did with the Paladins. And, upon realizing it was in part his sky-diving adventure that garnered their attention, the guilt inside him was a touch more than a tinge. He felt somewhat responsible for what had happened to Nadia and Dani regardless of how the events actually played out.

Adrian took this time to play a silent support. While not exactly affectionate, he made sure Dani always had a spot to return to. Her weight, little though it may be, was never unstable. Whether it was a quick catch of her shoulder or standing just close enough that she could wobble, he was there. Dependable and considerate. He rationalized it was about as far as he could go without neglecting the orders to not demonstrate affection on missions. While it could have toed the line, he imagined it gave Nadia some relief to only have to focus on herself and her one hurt arm.

With his temper tamed and his focus being on how to best help Dani, it brought out a more observant side to him. Adrian already knew the answer to at least one of the questions Nadia asked. Mister Prey was in fact present. Even with their souls concealed, the mask they used was still the same. Unique to each Bloodsucker, but just as identifiable as a Soul Signature. Adrian saw Mister Prey in the cleared out room they passed by; he was working with the magic circle. Not that Adrian knew that much about magic, but a Magic Circle was fairly recognizable. One didn't need to read Witch Script or know runes to pick it out.

This did bring up an interesting internal thought for Adrian. Bloodsuckers were one of the few creatures capable of wielding both magic and using the spiritual arts. It was a thought to ponder while he was much less directly active in the current mission. Few beings possessed a soul even remotely strong enough to be used for spiritual techniques and just as few possessed the intellect to figure out how to use it. It was very narrow pool. Beyond that, magic was generally directly tethered to a soul. How it was used it, how it was made. This is where the breakdown of Adrian's knowledge occurred. He knew that somehow the Undead Soul of a Bloodsucker was responsible for keeping their bodies alive, but the magic that animated them and fueled their spellcasting was beyond them. He knew from the fundamentals of EAT that they would have to somehow convert natural mana into their own to use, but he pondered how that worked. Was it their soul? Was it their body? Did their soul help make the magic that animated their body? Or, was something about being Undead animate their body? Magical Creatures often had bodies that were directly influenced by their soul to accept mana; is that how this worked?

Adrian was no scholar nor was he the brazen intellectual that could piece together the answers. He was just a wanderer lost in thought. Should this have been the sky he stared at, he would be lost between the stars.

Sibyl, on the other hand, was such a brazen intellectual. Though confined to a wheel chair, was gifted with both a keen mind and keen eyes. If Nadia was so intent to ask questions, she would get answers. Sibyl smirked. "You didn't strike me as a scholar. Do forgive me," she said, though less mean-spirited and more with a playful flair. Sarcastic nonetheless.

"Some background information, else you may actually be entirely lost. I am - in fact - a human. I have not become like our plasma-loving friends here. I have Super Soul Perception and and am a trained psychic surgeon. Should I become like them, there is a chance in the conversion that I may lose those traits entirely - or at least have to relearn how to use my skills. Equally annoying, there's a chance I may never become good enough to do what I do to the living again," she explained, her cadence quick as intentionally speaking ever so slightly quick to make her words a bit of a mess. Playful or not, she did come across as arrogant. If she was right, however, her reasoning was fair and logical.

"Now, if you want to get into the hyper-specifics of what I would be doing, it varies between you two. For your arm, it's actually relatively simple. I doubt you've learned the actual anatomy of your spiritual network - the DWMA doesn't teach it. In general, your spiritual network has two major parts. One follows your large arteries and is responsible for dispensing spiritual energy to your body from your soul. The other follows your nervous system and is more peripheral; it is responsible for maintaining the natural state of your body on a spiritual level. Regardless of which system it is part of, these each individual pathway is called a conduit. From your wrist to your shoulder, your conduits have been heavily damaged. There are three major conduits in an arm. Yours are so damaged that they are bleeding over into each other and your spiritual nodes are blocked up. Nodes are essentially valves where spiritual energy pools before branching down smaller conduits that lead to your muscles. If you even tried to use Wavelength Amplification right now, you would cause more damage to your network and probably even your physical arm by forcing through your nodes and overloading your tissues," Sibyl explained, again speaking quickly, but quickly losing her air of condescension in favor of the type of neutral explanation that came from someone so educated. It was eerily reminiscent of Professor Davis. These people that could speak down to you even from a wheelchair.

"Using a very small, controlled variation of Wavelength Adjust, I can trace a path down all three of your conduits from your shoulder to your fingertips. This will clear a path and reinforce your conduit so that spiritual energy may flow freely through it again. I should warn you, though: your arm will feel fine, but it will not be entirely healed. I cannot fix the damage done to your muscles and the force of sufficiently powerful spiritual energy will likely reopen the walls of damage conduits. I won't know the exact extent of the damage until I trace the conduits," she continued to explain, detailing her use of a high level technique in a masterfully controlled way. Assuming this girl could do as she said, it was a level of skill no one in the group had ever considered existing; and, likely, would never achieve.

"As for miss pinky..." she went on.

"Well, I won't be entering her Soul Space. I only need her there because I need to find the core of her soul. From there, I will have to trace down every single conduit in her entire body until spiritual energy runs clear though it. Depending on the severity of the damage, this could take a half hour... or it could take half the day. I can tell you now that her conduits are a mess. She has spiritual energy backing up her nervous system, her chest, and nearly every motor ganglion she has. I imagine she's walking through vertigo and out of breath - and, just not telling you quite how shitty is. In any case, I will need to clear out all of the accumulated energy before I can repair the nodes, which is the real time-consuming part," Sibyl told them, though it was somewhat anti-climatic. In essence, all she needed to do to Dani was a more intensive version of what Nadia would go through. It made sense, but was somewhat disproportionate to the way it was made out in the beginning.

---

Eastward to the DWMA camp...​

"Notice that one I considered interesting is clearly hiding something..." Crimson said, his brows raised in triumph, "while the girls read like open books."

"Yeah, Yeah, I get your point," Red Fang replied, conceding his claim that the international agents might have had more going for them.

Their jabs back and forth didn't last long. Crimson found it more polite to actually answer the questions they were asked.

"There's a lot of bad blood, no pun intended, with our kind," Crimson said, "but there are plenty of us that have no ill-intentions or animosity towards the DWMA. It just so happens that most of us that don't prefer to hide. We don't exactly have a lot of right's activities, though there are some."

Red Fang chuckled at that though. "Think Fawkes would count as an activist or a terrorist?" he inquired, genuinely curious as to the opinion of his peer.

"I guess it's a matter of perspective. I imagine he would prefer to be remembered as the former, but considering that whole mess is considered a day of treason, I don't quite think that's how it turned out," Crimson answered, though his deadened his tone. It was as if it was sour just to say the words.

"Yeah, yeah, dumb fuckers still think that was all about religion..." Red Fang commented, his words equally venomous.

"Back to the questions, then. There are quite a few of us, not all of us have a foot in the grave, and we can eat regular food if we want... but blood is actual nourishment. There are blood markets everywhere, most of the time with cleaned blood from the healthcare system that couldn't be used. You could also consume mammals, though that is much lesser. As with any food, taste is a preference, but generally speaking, blood from powerful Meisters is the be—"

"—Witch Blood is good, too, if you can handle it."

Crimson shot a side-eye to Red Fang, then just sighed.

"Witch Blood can be fine... but blood from any magical source is more like a drug than nourishment. It will still fill you up, but it also sends you on a special type of trip," Crimson explained, not being terribly sure if that was the correct information to provide.

The group had came across a large intersection. Their trek was a little over half finished. Dodging the Paladins and making small talk made the time fly by faster. The air was different here. As they grew closer to the kaiju, the atmosphere became thick with ambient magic and spiritual energy. It was almost like cloud. As if thin air gained weight. This type of transition was fairly uncommon. Ley Lines had wild ambient mana, but not expended mana. Very few places had such a high concentration of spiritual energy, too. But, next to nowhere had both overlapping. It was quite the odd sensation to those that were sensitive.

"You don't enter your program, I think, being a normal guy. Some of our kind is in there, they take in Witches, werewolves, and all sorts of freaks," Red Fang said, shifting his attention over to Wes. He wasn't quite done with Crimson, but the next question that was asked was about himself and Crimson. That was a different line. "Old mercs, too. You got people that can't control their powers to people that can't control themselves," he went on.

"What I mean to say is that was a shitty way to dodge the que—"

Just like Wes couldn't dodge the question, Crimson couldn't dodge that bullet. From somewhere ahead of them, there was a sniper. By the time the sound cracked through the air, the bullet had hit Crimson square in the chest. He was bleeding out. Down on his knees, hunkered over, coughing up blood. Red Fang was on alert immediately. The next shot was aimed at Feng. In all reality, it occurred faster than she could have reacted without her partners. Luckily, she wasn't the one who had to react. Red Fang was more like a red streak, intercepting the next shot with a parry from his pistol.

That whole series of events was proof of a few things, not least being that these Bloodsuckers were formidable. Crimson might have taken that shot, but Red Fang could react to the next he was on guard. Feng would have been in the same shape as Crimson otherwise.

Red Fang wasted no time, though. He shot off to scoop up Crimson, then jumped through the window of the nearest building. A restaurant of some kind; he didn't have time to check. He leapt in, causing a security alarm to be triggered, and stumbling through, plowing through multiple tables and flipping chairs in the process. It wasn't clean, but he was clear. That was the important part given how hurt Crimson was and the fact the sniper was apparently using supersonic rounds.

With one shot parried, this would have allowed Feng, Aki, and Wes enough time to group up and amp themselves up to the point they might be able to dodge, or at least find cover. That bullet, whatever it was, happened to be well outside of the reaction time of Feng even when resonating. She might be able to dodge it if it wasn't central to her midline, but she'd get grazed. Supersonic weaponry was the bane of most DWMA agents and hypersonic was the realm of anti-personnel weaponry designed for the DWMA. It was rare. It wasn't entirely clear what type of gun this was or its actual specs. Not much was clear except that they were under immediate attack and needed to act fast.

Worse was that even once they had found cover, the reality of their situation was horrendous. The alarm going off was the exact type of thing Paladins looked out for, it seemed. Crimson wasn't hiding his soul anymore. Feng could easily pick him out as an Undead and Wes could feel the shift, too; the baseline beat of Crimson's soul just slowed down to a quarter or even a sixth of what it was once; the hallmark of an undead soul. Souls be damned, too, as coming into range of the shot were six or seven others, all human with various levels of intensity to them. At the very least, they seemed more normal than the weird choir that was the church. No, these weren't the religious fanatics; instead, they were likely back-up to the unseen sniper.

RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin EmperorsChosen

 

[Pumpkid]

Dante Holiday

Location: Village of the Mountain Gnomes-Liberec Region, Czech Republic

Interactions: Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze- RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen​

As suspected, Kisei's stupid, overly cautious demand caused a misunderstanding. The bloodsucker was alarmed and had the child teleport out? Dante hadn't seen that before. At least the kid was alright. His left eye twitches, snapping his attention toward the sickles in Elly's hands. Dante had a bone to pick with him. The dude really was pressing his buttons. It's as if a child who approached them with no malicious intent was automatically seen as a threat as well as their guard. Why? Nothing has happened. If anything they were now the problem. The pair are probably defending themselves just to keep the child safe. Dante may be a brute, but he had boundaries. He was unwilling to cross this line of hurting a child.

Zosar was the first to speak up. He did agree the interaction was strange. There was no doubt about it. To Dante it seemed like they wanted to introduce themselves, and talk. As if he was in command, Zosar asked for details which evidently did not sound as great. It's almost like the manor held more than meets the eyes. If the demon lady picked up all those signatures, something was definitely fishy, but part of Dante hoped it wasn't as serious. Unfortunately, when the Baroness was mentioned, Dante took the hint that this person was someone dangerous.

The fact that she was encountered in the past during a mission is never a good sign. Most encounters meant anyone is a target or an ally if they announce their status. “Who exactly is the Baroness and is she as dangerous as she sounds?” Dante couldn't help but ask. He wanted to make sure if this person was as bad or perhaps misunderstood. He knew some people would do whatever it takes to survive having no other option but take matters into their own hands. Maybe he was being naive over the fact that they were harboring a kid and made to be raised as some sort of weapon rather than just live freely.

Then came Kisei’s logic explaining this thought process on the whole interaction. Maybe he was right, it was experience talking but who is to say they are bad just because they have a unique ability. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Dante grits his teeth ready to give a piece of his mind. “We don't know that!” He shouted. “We haven't a clue as to what their intentions are, true, but that doesn't mean we were in the right in transforming. If anything we alerted them because you saw them as an immediate threat. He points a finger at the sickle. “Why? Because some kid could pop in and out? If they wanted to kill us they would have done so no problem and not bother in approaching us. Maybe they were being flashy, so what? We just gave those people a reason to be wary because you're assuming the worst rather than be observant. Again, they had the chance to just kill us but they backed off. If you ask me, I think your priorities are a little distorted.”

He couldn't be the only one who felt that way, right? Is he just being a fool into overthinking? He just didn't want to deal with the thought of having to hunt someone young down. Perhaps his morals is what's keeping him from cooperating in this moment but he has a code damn it and he was not going to break it. Ever. His fist clenches not out of anger but out of anxiety, yet he stood firm despite what he will be lectured on. “I am not transforming and following your orders until we know what they're up to. If it comes down to it I am not going to harm some kid!”

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | Atlanta | Rings: 0/1

Not having an enemy above ground where he could see made things difficult. Realizing that the cretins of the deep were fighting so viciously because nothing could stop them short of the literal flame wall they had created was a whole other sensation.

Whatever was coming was going to be one pain in the ass and it made his blood boil.

Burning hot projectiles struck multitude of rushing forward beasts down as Raph lashed out with chains to suppress apes. Thorns of sand sharper than any blade shot out and pierced cleanly through the undead in quantities. Taking body and all into the air.

There was only so much he could do about some mage attacking from underwater.

As Chanterelle withdrew and Maria spoke into comms on the possible options Ark grimaced.

All of this felt a little too convenient. A little too well timed.

A surge of magic rose as he his gloves glowed with their runes and cradled small handfuls of sand into the air. Dozens rose about up to the ankle and then hundreds joined them. The sand went solid, burned, hardening. The magic for this wasn’t as bad as it was to the wall he made earlier from marbles, by comparison this was less. He shaped the projectiles into thorns, practically bladed arrows, and then let them hover with the use of his glove merely propping it up.

A single one was selected, burning hot still, he made a sharp, violent motion with his arm like a conductor swinging an arm out and in a blink it severed the heads of three of the undead apes in a single shot, flew off into the air, circled back and then he repeated the action cleaving the heads of four.

“I'm going to switch from the sea to killing these things now. If that thing is getting closer we need as many of them dead as soon as possible. If you think that spell Rand showed you will work Maria, I wouldn't be against seeing you test it in this environment. Just give me a warning first.”

The last line wasn't meant to sound rude, it was a genuine warning that if the explosion was as bad as Maria said, given the situation, he would need a warning. The last thing the team needed was to fight these beasts, that unknown enemy, and then deal with him in an enraged fury in this type of environment.

His next words were punctuated by the cry that came from the next ape he shot. Ark turned his flaming miniature arrow blades into a show that followed the team's actions. Raining literal projectiles from above down on them.

With one arm in the direction of the enemy approaching them and the other in the direction of the enemy harassing Chant, Ark brought both arms down and a hundred arrows went streaming towards their targets. Spells redirecting and angling their position where necessary.

Bodies dropped when he expanded the flaming arrows into magma spikes that shot needle thin projectiles out inside the bodies of targets where he may have missed the opportunity to sever the head from neck.

As he watched a particularly apefish come undone as he activated the spell inside the beast to rend it's body apart, he felt something pulse. Something almost akin to a exhilarating thrill about ripping the undead apart so completely.

And then he reeled it back in with a scowl as he conducted another line of arrowheads and sent them off to greet their guests.

The sooner they stopped moving, the better.

Mentions: Merciless Medic

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin ]
@Peckinou Sir Les Paul Meredith

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Kisei☆Hoshi​

Deadsoul​

Species Death Golem
Partner Eloise Keegan
Rank Two-Star

Location The derelict Mansion, Liberec Region, Czech Republic
Mission The Missing of the Giant Mountains
Status Irate

​

Tags: EmperorsChosen The Regal Rper Haze- Merciless Medic Pumpkid

"You are useless if dead," Kisei replied, specifically to Dante, "and, you are useless if you don't follow orders."

"Most importantly, you do not realize that it is not only your life that you are putting at risk. Without a Demon Weapon, Sara has significantly lower defensive potential. Furthermore, for all of your argument, you fail to consider one thing: the long term. Even if that ability is of no threat in this scenario, my point still stands: You only need to be wrong once to end up dead. You only need to be wrong once to put Sara in danger. You only need to be wrong once to jeopardize a mission. On the other hand, there is no downside to being overly defensive. If we did something downright stupid like begin resonating with no due cause, I might concede ground, but being armed and only being armed is not negotiable," Kisei went on, quite aggressively dragging the points made by Dante through the mud. He was degrading the man.

'If you cannot get your peon to abide orders, then we need to backtrack so I can beat them into his thick skull. If that still fails, he and Sara will return home. This mission will not continue with that defiance. It is safer to make decisions for us and Zosar than it is for all three of us if we cannot rely on one-third of the team,' Kisei told Elly, this portion over their shared link. He didn't want to share this portion with the rest of the group, but more so, he intended for the decision to appear as if it came from Elly. He could pull rank, but that was bad for both the image and actual power dynamic. Beside that point, Dante was being a death-damn idiot and might not have followed instructions regardless.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Shoreline south of the Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey
GM Post​

1226 | September 26th, 2067​

​

It is easy to forget that magic is a force of nature...

...for it has been bent to the will and whim of Witches for millennia if not more.​

Such is mere mortal hubris.​

The ensuing moments became overwhelming with sensation and information. If anything, it was a blessing to the trio that they could not feel it in full.

Ark did not realize it, but he burnt through his mana like ink consuming a page. Relentless, unforgiving, and completely unable to redirect his flow. For, Ark was giving in to his pull without knowing. That inherent desire to use his magic. To use his magic in its full capacity, to make his life easier, to clear the battlefield. The Pull was flaring inside of him. Perhaps he was blind to it due to his own success. He had came so far in conquering in his trauma that he could not tell when he was giving in so early. Or, perhaps it the chaos of this battlefield. The wild mana and traces of natural magic flowing through the air. Each gust from the Albatrosses carried it, each wave from the ocean implanted it in the ground. In truth, it was impossible to tell the origin.

What mattered most is how infectious the Pull could be.

Ark had done a magnificent job of clearing the battlefield. An important note as Gauss and Noah had stopped funneling lightning to Chanterelle as it had stopped working. Instead, Gauss focused more on Arkayis, but in truth was attempting to assess the situation. That alone was difficult, too, as he was hearing the voices of several more agents entering the comms. Up and down the beach were more flocks of flying fish and these sea monkeys, but also agents entering the fray. Spellcasters and duos alike fought now down the lines of the beach, warriors in the sand.

Warriors so few fighting a literal army. Gauss had considered trying to orchestrate interwoven teamwork to make a better line, but the numbers were continuing to grow.

Meanwhile, Chanterelle, Raphael, and Maria would all soon fall prey to the same force: their Pulls being awoken. Ark was the first, but he was not the greatest threat. Chanterelle being a true Witch was the most susceptible to the Pull and hers could be quite manic. Maria might have came across as the most resistant, but that not inherently true. It was that she had the most neutral interactions with it. The early urges that came with the Pull were lesser to her than they were the others. Still, it did not make her immune, especially in the long term. Raph was somewhere squarely in the middle. He had not the functional experience of Maria but also not the Witch genetics of Chanterelle.

Not that it exactly mattered. The Pull was unique to each one of them.

The air itself only thickened with this chaotic, wild mana. Not only did that naturally disturb the Pull more, it needed no explanation. Various aquatic life was now rampaging onto the Steel Pier and downward on the beach. Agents and law enforcement were present to try and help, but the truth was, the entire shoreline was now a battlefield. Even if they relocated, it would only create a hole that needed filled, lest they allowed the creatures to flood into the city. Though, it was unknown how the waterlogged corpses would do in the city so far away from water. Not every set of aquatic creatures were the same sea monkeys or even undead. It appeared, though at a glance, that up and down the shore, their foes not only varied but had not yet progressed the same as their own.

Unfortunately, time would prove that most of these creatures were in fact undead or infected.

The source of which was about to become known. The flooded shoreline and the Pull were all new factors that happened in mere moments, transpiring between the words of the group. What was about to occur was more like the period that ended their sentence and began the next paragraph, authored by their enemies. The mass of mana detected by the mages now stood as close to the beach as it could without being pulled ashore. It still was not clear as to what it actually was, but it did appear that several of the large sea monkeys were effectively guarding it. What followed were far fewer of these sea monkeys, but considerably more grotesque and each radiating a surprisingly highly amount of mana.

Seven, eight, nine, they continued to grow, but were still drastically fewer in number. They were well over twice the size of the others and their stench thrice as rancid. There did not exist an undead or rotting part on them, however. Instead, what covered them were patches of white material that was an combination of furry and shaggy. It coated them almost like armor in all of their ape like form and only compressed down around their joints. Their shoulders were almost puffy with the material and created a solid coating down their backs. The scales of their tails were ruffled with what looked like a yellowish, furry material spreading between them. On their fins, this yellow material transitioned into a green-brown at the end. There heads and faces appeared relatively normal aside from their yellow-hazed eyes and what appeared to be yellow-pink coral growing from different parts of their heads.

To almost any onlookers, these larger apefish would appear to perhaps be elite or silverbacks. Something that designated them as greater.

One member of the group would know better. These were not apefish adorned with equipment or having taken on additional traits as they grew. They were but husks, truly. What was found across their body as armor or between their scales - those were types of fungi. Magical fungi. Chanterelle would know this almost immediately as her own natural biology recognized them. Not that she would know what they were in terms of species or ability. Fungi naturally needed oxygen and very few could live in water, let alone the salinity of sea water. These species, these creatures, they were just as alien to her as they they were to the others. It just so happened that she could identify what kingdom they were from.

Any more she could extrapolate would depend on her own curiosity and conflict with the Pull.

The entire battlefield was now prime for change. These apefish were not the mindless berserkers that their predecessors were. No, they had their own unique set of abilities. Chanterelle would find her very control over the plants she created and spores she effectively birthed being fought over. Somehow, these creatures or the magic that surrounded them was grappling with her for magical control over these constructs. Meanwhile, the other groups of apefish were using more active techniques. They heaved massive amounts of water onto the field by increasing the size of the waves and from it created both walls of water and nets in an attempt to pull in the most nearby of the casters: Raphael and Ark.

Meanwhile, they were separating out the salt and minerals from the water, turning them into spears of purely concentrated salt. Something that none of the group had an immediate means to magically deal with. Even Ark couldn't naturally control salts as Earth. Thus, these small dagger-like constructs were a true danger to when they were flung at Chanterelle, Raphael, and Ark. Maria need not worry as their range could not reach her in the sky. In fact, for the moment, they ignored her and Gauss, unable to reach them and instead prioritizing the three grounded targets. That is not to say they did not acknowledge the existed of the two airborne threats, however. They did fully intend on blocking the flames of Arkayis by creating a shell of water, reinforced by their magic. Not something that he could easily burn through with his petty orange flames.

It was hubris to believe their magic would so easily quell the very forces of nature. For, in just a few moments—less than a minute, really—the battlefield became a wildly more dangerous place.

RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic Meredith The Regal Rper @Peckinou

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: September 27, 2067
Location: Derelict Mansion, Liberec Region, Czech Republic
Interactions: Dante, Zosar, Wren, Kisei, Elly
Mentions: N/A
Pumpkid The Regal Rper Haze- Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

Yeah, weird interaction indeed.

But everything was now annoying Sara. Her anxiety about the situation wasn’t helping, and now? Not only did this little witch girl - who smelled terrified - teleported away with the Bloodsucker, but she was able to make out two other Bloodsuckers in the area, two weak Monster smells who have likely crossed through her before, but everything else had this awful fuel and oil stench. It was so potent that she couldn’t smell much past that.

Groaning, Sara massaged the bridge of her nose as she listened to everyone speak, trying to formulate her response. Zosar’s response was reasonable and cautious. Elly told her to keep her nose working and said what she had found, and then explained who the Baroness was. Sara had no idea what techniques she had, all she knew was that Noah had some information on her - and likely Gauss - but they were likely busy during or post mission at this point.

Kisei was rightfully worried about dying. She understood that. In the wild, if something was faster than you and you were alone, it meant you either didn’t get to eat and if you were too slow, something would catch you and get to eat you. Kisei’s experience was shining through, but unfortunately, he lost her when he started sounding just like Nadia.

Even Wren and Dante were on the same page, saying that they shouldn’t be just gunning down everything and anyone. They had a mission to do.

Her lips were pressed in a thin line, and she finally spoke.

“It’s true, we don’t know that, but now that we have shown aggression regardless of their weird introduction they did, they are going to be aggressive. That little girl didn’t smell malicious, and she actually smelled afraid when she left. Now, teleportation is a huge deal, I get that. Speed is paramount in the wild, too. If something’s faster than you, you’re dead. If they have access to her teleportation, it means we could be dead at any moment.”

She then looked up at Dante. “However, I do think that it would be a good idea to transform. I don’t want to die here on Bloodsucker grounds and I don’t want you to feel responsible for that because we were wrong.” She gave Dante a stern look before returning to Kisei and the others. “I could only smell two Bloodsuckers in the area other than the Bloodsucker bodyguard, two weak Monster scents that came through her some time ago, and everything else is drowned out by fuel and oil. I can’t smell anything beyond this… garden.” She wasn’t sure if she should call this a garden or a gravesite.

“I don’t want to harm that kid either. But who’s to say we can’t find a way to disable her teleportation or that Bloodsucker enthrallment isn’t some type of magic that Dante and I can’t disable? If we can disable her enthrallment, then we can definitely save those agents we were sent here to save. If you’re that scared to do the mission, then we can walk out now and let someone else handle this, that Witch agent’s cover be damned.”

She then looked at Elly. “Thoughts, leader?” She wasn’t about to argue with Kisei any further.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Zelezny Brod, Czech Republic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

"I... don't think napalm is the answer here... as Wren suggested," Elly remarked, followed by a soft sigh before answering Dante's question. "The Baroness is a Bloodsucker that has eluded the efforts of the DWMA to eliminate her for years upon years. In Romania, she had practically enthralled an entire village in addition to numerous escape routes and contingency plans. If she isn't leaving, then she's worried about something more than she is us, and she ran from a group half our size in Romania."

Adding what she knew of the Bloodsucker's abilities, the whole thing didn't make sense. Regardless, what first needed to be addressed was the group's dynamic before they had a repeat of Wales. Dante was following the same logic as she was with regard to the teleporting, however was a bit naive. The child didn't intend to attack them, that much was clear. However, she still went back to the manor, with the Baroness.

Elly exhaled through her nose, listening to Kisei internally whilst Sara spoke her mind. 'I know,' She answered simply and stoically. It wasn't defense nor with any irritation. She could feel his irritation rising with each word spoken and keeping his temper in check was just as important as straightening everyone else's.

"A few. First, the child didn't have malicious intent, though I garner she's some kind of a witch rather than a normal child. However, do keep in mind, dear, that she returned to the same manor the Baroness is, and this disappearing act of locals is her modus operandi. That means that the child is likely in on it in one form or the other. That said, she does seem rather naive," Elly stated, explaining exactly why the 'kid' wasn't a simple kid. "And I am less worried about her than I am about what we don't know..."

Looking between Sara and the transformed Wren, Elly spoke further. "The entire reason I told you two to keep your nose about was because I sensed a presence that just disappeared, and it was nearby. I don't know if its teleportation, advanced soul suppression, or something else, however I can see through Soul Protect, Soul Suppression techniques... I can read most souls clearly, see mana and, now, the Green--And that's without Kisei's enhancement. The fact that something can just disappear is a far greater threat than anything else in my book... Which also means, for all I know, it could be creeping right up behind you. A good reason to remain armed, no?"

Looking back to the manor, there were two routes forward. One was to blitz in. They knew they were coming and staying put. Perhaps they were just that confident, or that there were traps. However, it was the best chance to rescue the past agents and tackle the enemies within before any potential reinforcements could pop up or any of those within could escape. The safer option was to observe and report while waiting for backup, however that bode worse for any victims within.

"...Remember our talk earlier, Dante. We can't hesitate or bicker. No one's telling you or Sara to burn down an orphanage of sick children. This situation isn't that innocent," She expressed more stoically, her smile dropping. "Orders from Kisei are orders from myself. If his words contradict mine, then prioritize mine and abide by his that don't conflict. Think you can manage that? We need to settle this before we move with next steps."

The alternative is they would have to trek even farther back and let Kisei and Dante have a boxing match, which she really didn't want to indulge. "I don't much care for preserving CIA secrets. Our mission was to find the former squad and/or pick up where they left off. The CIA can't complain if someone like the Baroness is eliminated. We should get blood-hunters or other reinforcements here while observing the manor to ensure they don't flee. Now that I'm locked onto her soul, she can't switch out with a body double like she did last time."

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul Pumpkid Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Haze-

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov
New York City - Coffee Shoppe Basement
September 26th​

Listening to the lengthy response from the woman, Nadia smiled thinly, she and Maria would likely get along well, still the lesson had proven rather educational, and promoted a couple questions, ones she would ask, but ultimately cut short to deal with the crux of the matter. Dani. Looking down at her own arm, she wondered just where that Paladin learned it. In some ways this changed everything. While her arm may have been useless for the fight, had she even used her abilities to carry out wavelength amplification, it could have just ended her arm all together and Dani was a mess as well. He had not just attempted to disable them, but to sabotage them as well. From the moment he surrounded them, he had ill intentions, and nothing would ever prove otherwise. Not easily at least.

A price would be collected for that one day. Unfortunately, it would not be today.

"Hmm... Why would the DWMA not teach that? Though it lines up partially with lessons I had in the Black Star Dojo, and what I've heard in regard to chi. If you don't mind the asking, why are you doing all of this? As to what you say in terms of my partner, that is up to her. But is there really nothing I can do to help, to clear out this energy as you put it? And I'm unsure if we even have a half of a day or more to even do this, it's not like that monster came to vacation here. But yeah, we can work out my arm now or later, doesn't matter too much."

Saying her peace, Nadia now left the ultimate decision on treating herself to Dani, asking what few questions she could that she didn't feel would derail things.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Dani) Sir Les Paul (Adrian/NPC's)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Feng Long
New York City - Eastward of Coffee Shoppe
September 26th​

"Tch, Cowards!" She said of the sniper, once she could, and would get her hands on him, he would purposefully be dropped from a very high place. He or even she, did not deserve the dignity of a rational death. Snipers as a general rule were disliked by more traditional combatants and could look forward to a frosty reception by those that they hunted like a beast. Still, this wasn't good. That Vampire had, as some of the rougher ones in her prior company would say, he had ate shit on that one. Unless his armor was really good, Crimson would be in a bad way, though Red Fang had deflected a shot meant for her. The sniper had a semiautomatic weapon then or was pretty fast and well practiced with a bolt. The question is if they were near or far, given it hit before they heard he or she was likely some distance away.

Either way she didn't have time to worry about that as Red Fang jumped through a window to find a higher vantagepoint and safety from the enemy attack. Against her better judgement, she followed him in as Aki immediately transformed and placed herself within Feng's right hand. Taking her magitech pistol in hand, she blindly stuck her right arm up "Aki, give me a bit of kick!" She said aloud and aimed a charged shot directly towards in the general direction of the sniper shot, she had no goal or expectation of hitting them, just in unnerving them. Then for good measure she grabbed her magitech pistol and leaned briefly with both horizontally, crouched low and fired a few shots in the street in general to keep the reinforcements from getting too cocky before she rolled back into the eatery, knocking away some chairs and tables, before pointing at Wes. "Wes! Help him move Crimson, better if you can do it yourself, but just see what Red Fang needs! Going to damage our surroundings a bit, I'll hold them off with Aki, up to you if you want to fight with us Red Fang."

In part, she intended to kill them all, never try and kill another person if you aren't ready to die yourself, was the motto she held near. And... Feng knew Wes hadn't actually killed or took part in killing someone, and she would like for that to be more righteous. These people for the most part were just normal humans, even if they wanted them dead, humans with some mighty fancy hardware, staying put too long would mean death. She would collect Wes if it became too much, and for now having him help Crimson wouldn't be a bad deal as it would also free up Red Fang to fight, or at least let him use one hand to fight back as they jointly carried him... He needed medical treatment.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Aki/Dani) Sir Les Paul (NPC's) Shotgunpenguin (Wes)

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Wes Kraven
New York, New York
September 26th

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul ​

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Wes was really hoping for a distraction from the current situation. Whether it would be the sound of an incoming paladin patrol that he could use to cut the conversation off, a stranded survivor that he could use to justify running off. Having a random guy try and dig up his ‘secrets’ just because he was bored was a huge pain in the neck. He’d take anything to get Fang’s mind off of him right now.

He regretted thinking that just as the sound of gunfire hit his ears, in a blink Crimson was down on his knees, coughing up more blood than could possibly be healthy. Fang acted faster than Wes could even process what was happening, deflecting a bullet that was aimed right for Feng before moving into action, scooping his partner from the ground and practically hurling himself right through a storefront window.

It was the sound of the glass breaking that caused him to snap to attention, quickly following Feng into the storefront, although his leap was a lot more panicked and thought out. Landing on the floor, his feet slid on the broken glass before he threw himself against the underside of an upturned table.

His heart was beating loudly in his ears as Feng returned fire at the sniper, once with Aki and then firing off a few shots with another pistol. He could hear seven souls come into his range of hearing, all of them quickly descending upon their little hidey hole.

“Oh, uh. Right.” He spared a look at the injured bloodsucker and his partner, before turning back to Feng. She was his partner, could he really just let her go out there without him? A nagging part of his mind brought back their mission in Egypt, how he stayed back and while Annika rushed in to engage the mummies. She paid the price for his inaction, was he really going to let that happen again?

‘She has Aki with her, and she’s been with Feng longer than you have. You’d just get in the way’. Wes swallowed the growing lump in his throat as the souls continued to close in on the restaurant. If he couldn’t help her out there, the least he could do is let her know what she was going up against.

“I can hear seven of them coming in. Not sure if the one that fired those shots is with them.” Whoever they were, they certainly weren’t a part of the church. But that begged the question, who were they, and why were they sporting firepower far beyond what any run of the mill criminal could get their hands on.

“Be careful.” He offered to the weapon and meister, giving a nod to his partners before turning and quickly moving to assist the mercenary duo. Glass crunched under his shoes as he quickly made his way over to Crimson and Fang, taking in the bloodsucker with the sucking chest wound.

For the second time today, Wes found himself wishing that Noah were here instead of him. In addition to his healing wavelength, he probably knew more about assisting someone who had just taken a bullet to the chest than he did.

“Go help Feng and Aki.” Grabbing onto one of Crimson’s arms, he helped the mercenary to his feet and slung the arm around his shoulder. He didn’t know how durable undead were, but hopefully he had enough in him to get moving. The security alarm was acting like a big signal screaming ‘they’re in here!’ to the people approaching them. And, beyond that, it was also acting as a huge signal to anyone else within earshot. Which, if their luck continued to crap the bed, would include some of the paladin patrols.

Patrols who, upon finding an injured undead, were probably more likely to try and finish it off before offering to patch up its wounds. “You’ll be a lot better help out there than I would.” His piece said, Wes quickly scanned the restaurant, searching for another way out of the restaurant. Usually places like this had some sort of back door for the staff, if it lead to an alleyway he could take Crimson and try and move through the connected buildings. So long as these guys weren't able to use soul perception, he would be able to monitor them with his own perception and stay one step ahead.