WW Resistance (1v1v1)

[Riddle78]

Silas growled under his breath,and flung his schematic at Jeanne. It displayed a monocle,with a precious opal lens,a black opal housing,diamond studding in the housing,and a brass chain. As he did so,he marched over to the large device that dominated the center of the room,the mass fabricator. The device made the laws of thermodynamics and conservation of mass its bitch. Of course,it was about as efficient as a two year old trying to push a bull elephant through the eye of a needle...


"That's what I need it for. It's a prototype. If it works,its a new weapon for us. Now,you gonna plug in,or not?"





~~~


Cutting sat,and directed his attention to Hope as he began his brief,and Chief Warrant Officer Zito dropped her arm,and replied curtly, "The asset is still in transit. It will arrive in town via rail,then be brought to the estate in an armoured truck with a mechanized infantry escort. The infantry will oversee the installation of the asset into the manor's sub-basement by the sappers. Should the asset get rowdy,we have orders to incinerate. It will arrive within the hour." Belinda turned her attention to Mordicy and his asset,and continued, "Do you think it's wise to allow your asset in public without restraints,Major?" The RSM,her points made,nodded curtly to Hope,so he can continue his briefing.


~~~


Mick burst, "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" He was fourteen years old,and Saph wasn't even thirteen. The explosion was understandable,but it was still loud. Somehow,he felt the baleful glare of Cal on the back of his head,as he had turned to address his peers. "I-I mean,she's like a sister to me..." He wheeled around as he felt his face warm up. Don't let them see... Meanwhile,Lance chuckled while Roy outright guffawed. Lance,the first to recover,and the eldest of the bunch,replied pithily with, "Well,I guess we should learn us some initiative,then,eh?" Roy was doubled over,wheezing out a few laughs as he tried to gather his breath. "How... How can we... Get more initiative... Than lil' ol' Saph?" He wheezed a couple more times,and continued, "It's like she's on a... Hair trigger..."

 

[Esme]

Mordicy's old smile was flashed at Belinda, a knowing sort of look behind his eyes. She was always one to chastise him for how he handled his charge and as he looked down at the girl who was still hooked on his arm he straightened up just a bit more. He felt Leslie's grip tense for a moment, and leveled his eyes at Belinda.


"Your assets rules do not apply to my charge. Inform yourself properly before you make suggestions next time." With a firm nod, he looked at Hope, "I apologize for our lateness, traffic was not on our sides today. But yes,I believe we are ready to start, in fact, I believe Ms. Kale had a suggestion she was willing to pass forward to you, if you would want to hear it."


--------------------------


Jeanne raised his eyebrow, setting his work object on his desk. Looking over the schematics his eyebrow dropped to normal and then furrowed in. Plucking a pencil from his coat pocket, he made two notes on the side of it, merely changing the suggested size of the object as a whole.


"If it doesn't, it's a new mass fab I'll be building."


Handing the schematic back, he glided across the room in his chair to his station, hitting the switch for the fabricator to activate in the side room it was located in.


---------------------


Cal raised an eyebrow, merely watching them silently as they went about, at least until Mick had exploded but that was normal. All the same, she shot him a look to kill. Her eyes went back to Saph, whom was a bright cherry red and almost fidgeting in her shoes.


Saph glanced behind her, towards Mick as he turned around. Shaking her head, she ignored the others. Gripping her wrap between her hands she positioned herself carefully. A flick of the wrists and she had a tight grip on the column, digging her fingers into the stone and using her feet to keep her in place as she let her arms do the pulling.

 

[Coro]

Hope raised an eyebrow as Belinda Zito and Mordicy faced off. These two didn't seem to get along. Then again, Zito didn't get along with anyone.


"Miss Zito, I do ask that you refrain from referring to Steven as an asset. He has a name, use it." He offered his view on the subject, not entirely enjoying the fact a human referring to one of his magical brethren as an 'asset'. Any human being being reffered to as less than human would be insulting to anyone enjoying the fruits of humanity's labour in Hope's eyes. But then again, being reffered to as human was an insult of it's own....


"Beginning immediately, we are going to up the amount of assaulting and raiding we do on suspected mage positions. We will begin public and broadcasted executions. When Sanctuary hears about this, they'll become ever more vigilante, perhaps even enraged. As they move more, we'll have more opportunities to capture one of them alive, and get the information we need out of them. A tactically sound plan, I assume, Jean, Belinda?" Hope asked, waving his platinum rod as if it were a toy. Upon finishing, he didn't wait for a response. "Before the night is out, we will begin the assault on this location, here, in southern Germany. Preparations are to begin immediately. Leslie and Steven will be prepped and ready for sortie if needed, Jean, you and your squad will take the lead. Any questions, ladies and gentlemen?" He wrapped up and asked of all present.


~~~


Bolt came running up, seeing Saph in the midst of some sort of challenge. Coming up behind Roy and Lance, who seemed more than just a little amused, Bolt bore a large grin.


"Hey guys, what're we doing now?" He asked of his classmates, unaware of the comical situation he missed.


Elaine stepped out towards him.


"A little slow today too eh, Bolt? That's cool, we're just each taking a turn at Porter's newest challenge from hell. Try not to miss the key concepts here too, okay?" She snarked at him, chuckling a little to herself. Bolt nodded earnestly.


"I'll try not to!" He sounded off. "..... Wait, isn't it just climbing?

 

[Riddle78]

Zito's expression,looking like she was sucking a lemon already,soured even further after Mordicy's and Hope's admonitions,by some unholy miracle. "I'll keep that in mind,Ser,Sir." Jean simply rolled his eyes,and returned his attention to the briefing. After the brief,the Colonel examined the map,and approached,plucking a marker up from the board's shelf. "We need a diversionary force. I suggest Nightrise deploys simultaneous raids on known Deathlind locations in the nearby city of Munich. These positions will likely be nothing more than safehouses and supply depots,meaning resistance will be minimal. We can capture as many hostiles as we can,within reason,from these raids,should the primary target be too tough to crack." As he spoke,Jean marked the positions on the map of Munich,which was also provided,as if Hope read his mind. Wouldn't be surprised. He's magi. But he's ours.





Jean Baptiste continued. "The Angels will deploy to the North of the target,and will split onto two teams of three. One team will strike their command center,while the other will strike at their energy production,and any targets of opportunity that they encounter. Ammo,materiel,things of that nature. After we secure the control center,I suggest Leslie or Steven be deployed,unless we require their deployment earlier,in order to mop up and crush any further resistance." Looking from the board,the map of the Black Forest had a mark,denoting the Platinum Angels' insertion and approach,while the map of the old Cold War missile base was absolutely covered in marks. "We will assume the enemy is dug in,reinforced,and outnumber us by orders of hundreds. I would feel sorry for them,but they've made their choice." He directed his attention to the rest of the room. "Anything to add?"





Zito stepped forward,and relieved Cutting of his marker,and made a single circle,right on top of the primary launch silo. "This will be Steven's insertion point. He will be delivered via SPMA-delivered HEIV. From there,he will follow the Colonel's orders."





~~~


Silas nodded,and followed Jeanne to the mass fab. Along the way,he examined the schematic,and noticed the technomage had made some size modifications. Silas nodded,seeing how those would be for the best. "It'll work. If it doesn't,I'll take a dive in Artemis' Sun."





~~~


"Hell's punishment,Elaine. This is the Spartan Way. The Deathlinds need us to be better than the best." Mick looked to the pillar,as Saph continued her slow inchworm climb up the marble pillar. "And I think Miss Porter has plans." Roy clucked his tongue,and said, "What'll it be this time? Zombie dragon from nowhere? Bo-ring! Seen it b'fore!" Lance swatted him upside the head for that. "Don't give her ideas,not unless you want to suffer her take on them yourself." Roy scoffed,and rubbed the back of his head as they all watched Saph's slow ascent.

 

[Esme]

As Saph climbed the pole, Cal let her get about half way up before she clued them in to the why behind her challenge. And what was it that Elaine had called it, from hell? While it wasn't from hell, no, it was something she herself would consider much much worse.


Cracking her neck, she tapped her heel against the pole again and braced herself. With a quick movement, the pole both grew then slammed short in size, it twisted itself, contorting out of Saph's grip. Finishing with a solid bend that put her upside down, she was finished, hitting the arena ground after struggling to regain her grip after about two minutes. Adimant try, Cal noted, but still not a success.


"Five laps, Lucardi." Saph nodded, and started into a jog, Tehri patting her on the shoulder as she passed.


"Roy, I believe you said you wanted to go next. Wrap up."


Noel let out a soft giggle of humour, with Tehri just shaking his head and tossing him over one of the hand wraps.


----------------------------------


Listening to her handler, and his collegues speak, Leslie had had an idle hope that perhaps a mage being leveled as head of the project, there would be a small glimmer of hope. Perhaps she had even hoped for more of a recritement onto nightrises in regards to what they did with found mages. Burtal executions that were televised, however.


She bit her tongue until she tasted iron and then bit some more. The idea made her stomach uneasy and she knew Mordicy could sense her displeasure. Settling herself into the confines of what covered her flesh in many layers, she kept her head bowed. While she herself was an executioner for Nightrise, it didn't make her any less disheartened by it all. Humans....what disgusting beings they were.


Mordicy however, misread her tension. Patting her hand gently, he assured her it would be alright, and that it was nothing to worry about. After all, they were getting closer to their goal.


"No, nothing." He said almost cheerfully.


---------------------------------------


"I might suggest a snow bank. Become a legend when they find your body."

 

[Coro]

"Sounds excellent to me, Jean. Make it happen." Hope noted, the whiteboard disappearing. He rubbed his hands together, glancing towards his collective subordinated one-by-one.


"Let's find Sanctuary."


~~~


Bolt chuckled as Roy was volenTOLD to participate next. He wiped his brow, feeling lucky that he didn't get selected since he'd been late. Maybe Cal knew that Axel had asked him to stay after to get the jist of the lecture? Nah, and she wouldn't really care anyways, he theorized, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.


Elaine smiled wide as Roy was called up to the plate. Patting Lance on the back, she gestured towards him.


"You did, in fact warn him. Look at who was right, once again." She more said than asked, noting how Lance usually played the more sensible one in the two's dynamic.


Bolt blinked at Elaine's words, and just shrugged, ready to watch Roy's attempt.

 

[Riddle78]

Jean nodded,and walked to the door,picking up his jacket along the way. "Thank you for the coffee,Hope. And thank you all for coming. We will rendezvous North of the rally point." The Colonel held the door open for his peers,as the convoy of Nightrise vehicles trundled down the street. A single large container truck was surrounded by LAV's. "That would be Steven. I will need to oversee his installation at the estate." Zito marched off,and hopped onto an LAV as it passed,issuing orders the whole way.


~~~


Roy groaned as he was press ganged for round two. Roy noticed that the pillar only reacted when Saph reached about halfway up,and it didn't correct itself after it flung her off. Points for effort,but that kid needs to grow up some... Roy grabbed the cloth,and wrapped the end once around one of his hands,and approached the pillar. He had a plan,and a couple backups. It's like climbing a tree. Falling down a cliff. He hugged the pillar and threw the cloth around the breadth of the marble structure,grabbing it firmly with his other hand. Hugging the pullar,Roy began his slow ascent to the ninety degree bend in the masonry...


~~~


Silas stepped into the mass fab's operation room. He was intimately familiar with this room,being the Sanctuary's primary artificer. Approaching the terminal,he began to punch in what he needed,by mass,volume,and chemical composition. Thankfully,Jeanne and Silas had compiled a library of frequently used materials,making things like rubies a simple button press. But opals were entirely new to the system. He punched in the compositions of black and precious opals,while also adding them to the library. Punching on the intercom,Silas said, "Ready to fly on this end. How 'bout you?"





~~~


At the Black Forest base,Haywood stood before a screen in the nerve center. This was the resistance's largest base outside of Sanctuary,and it was in the heart of Europe,allowing them to project forces throughout the entire continent with great effect and efficiency. Currently,their mission was to hold the Black Forest for the resistance,protect civilians from hostile wildlife,and work on subverting Nightrise forces in Munich. As it stands,the Black Forest was in their complete control,and very few civilians even set foot in the forest any more,resulting in their second objective becoming a moot point. Their third objective,though,seems to have stalled.


The mundane commander of the old Soviet-era missile base sighed and rubbed his brow. Three years. Three years,and all we managed to do in Munich was establish a handful of supply depots... He shook his head,and stood. We might have to erase the city... Blame it on Nightrise. They own the planet,and hate magi. I'm sure people will buy it. I mean,how will the sheep believe we managed to hold this place against Nightrise for three years,without Nightrise losing face? He smirked. Backup plans are excellent things.

 

[Coro]

Axel stood before Yumi's chamber, having put away his lesson plans in his (Cal's) room. He swallowed, and knocked before opening the door himself.


"Granny, you here?" He called out, poking his head into the doorway, glancing about.


~~~


The two young men sat with their commander, Haywood. Bickering with each other over a slice of pie, the two ended up launching it across the room in their scuffle, the room going silent as their dejected faces let off an aura of sadness as the pie slid slowly down the wall.


"Dammit Jones, look why you did!" One of the two piped up, breaking the sombre mood all of a sudden with a bit of a chuckle.


"LOOKIT WHAT I DID? ARE YOU STUPID, FREE? THAT WAS ALL YOU!" The other shouted at his partner/best friend.


After a quick moment of silence, Jones also began snickering with Free, while both of them looked up at Haywood, expecting a reaction.


~~~


The young man sat by himself on the arch over the pathway, leading into the deep woods. The ruins lay a bit further in. This was one of the few places he knew Alec hadn't been yet, finding magical trinkets for the Resistance. A long black scarf and hood covering his face, only his deep green eyes and a tuft of light brown hair were visible of his visage.


"She's late... Knowing her, she would have gotten here before sun-up if she were coming. Too bad I already cleaned the place out." The magical thief spoke to himself. Grinning under his scarf, he fumbled with a collection of small magical items in his pockets. Some decent stuff this time, hopefully it'd fetch a pretty penny.


The thief, waiting on the arch, sighed. The man hid his true identity, but to his contacts and his rivals, he went by the moniker Vent.

 

[Esme]

"Never thought you'd come around to me like that, Darling, but honestly, do keep your mind on work. We can talk play later." Jeanne purred, his own teasing form of a ready to go.


-----------


"C'mon, move over a few inches, I can almost see it."


"God, hold on, I'm doing the best I can."


"Jesus, don't drop her."


"Shut up, she's heavy."


"Hey!"


"Shut up, both of you. Mini, I need you to focus and get a distance reading on that light source. This isn't a plan I want to do unprepared even in the smallest bit. Nar, just hold her steady until she can do her stuff, then I'm going to need you to start throwing out some disruptions on the communications tower. We don't want any visitors dropping in unexpectedly." Folding his arms, the lanky figure in shades of emerald green watched the two others get their shit together. Leaning against the hidden passage that was their way out of the dungeonesque hole in the wall, he waited for a conformation. It was fascinating to him the things magic could do to further his plans.


------------------------


At her desk, Yumi looked up with a start, hands frozen over a portion of her shin she was expertly sewing up despite the blood that was seemingly everywhere, a mix of hers and others. Looking like she had just flown in, rather than having been sorting papers all day, she was a complete mess, and for once, almost looked her old age. On her desk was a few scattered weapons, some bloody, others not, all normally affixed into the display case behind her desk looking pristine and unused. Remnants of a war that was lingering on too long.


"I'm busy."

 

[Coro]

Blinking, Axel entered the room, closing the door behind him.


"Yeah you are. Shit, I don't wanna know what the other guy looks like. What'd he do to end up picking a fight with you anyhow?" He asked, a forced smile across his face, counter to the serious, narrowed gaze of his eyes. ".... I need to talk to you. I can't sit on this any longer." He explained his presence, figuring whatever Yumi had been out doing to end up hurt wasn't really his business to know, despite his morbidly unsettled curiosity.

 

[Esme]

"Dead don't look, they just are. " Yumi grit her teeth, pushing the needle through her skin again to pull more of the string across. "And the what is private business, though it's less a he and more an it."


Pausing for another moment to look at him, she shifted aside her weapons and leaned closer. "What do you need."


-----------------------


With a vague form of interest, Cal watched Roy start his ascent. Flicking his card between her fingers, she felt the pole right itself back to being straight up. It was waiting for something, height or balls she didn't know.

 

[Coro]

".... What's your plan now? Things worked out for you in regards to Umbralus, yours truly is right here.... But what was the point? We only look even more like the bad guys now. And you haven't sent me and Cal out since then. You know we're the best. Do you not trust us?" Axel queried, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding Yumi's gaze. He needed to know what Yumi was thinking, what the Resistance's next moves were going to be.


That Hope guy had been frighteningly powerful... If he was the enemy... Could anyone fight against him?

 

[Esme]

For a moment, entertainment flickered through her eyes. "You think I don't trust you....?" A short laugh came from her, old and full of wisdom. "Isn't that a joke. Look, if I didn't trust you, you wouldn't be here in front of me, or in the sanctuary at all. I don't humor those who I have no faith in, and you kid, you are one of the few I have an abnormal amount in. "


"You want to know what the current plan is? Just use your damn eyes. What has any of this been for? For half of those people out there, they've been living under ice for their entire life, and we've been keeping them safe. They think we're some god given gift to help bring them to the sunlight like we're messiahs. And in case you haven't noticed. We're not. We bleed, and we die. Nightrise has been claiming more and more lives of our own, both from the sanctuary and out into the world, and we've been failing in this damn war.


The plan is to give them, not us, a fighting chance. They need it more than anything else right now, and I'm going to do my best to give it to them. Which is where you, Cal, and Silas come in. We've...I've been nothing but hard on you for a reason, you three, in your own ways are going to give them one hell of a chance. We've been setting up for new blood to take hold for a while now, and it's about damn time you learn."


Yumi finished off her stitching, and started working on cleaning up the mess.


"My time here is short, and this resistance needs new ideas guiding it. A new face, a new name, a better chance. So I'm taking what I can now, blaring the Deathlind name into every bit of it so that Nightrise, so the world, can look at it and know that the enemy was me, not the mages. If this fails, and I know it will, I know that it's going to be taken care of properly, and you and they will have everything they need to finish this. "

 

[Coro]

Swallowing the lump that arose in his throat, full of guilt for ever doubting the old lady whose every word he'd followed since the day he met her, Axel shook his head.


"I should.... I should have figured. I'm.... I'm sorry Granny, I've just been on edge since the last mission.... I feel like I understand a little now, how you, Alec and Cal have had it all these years. That second voice in your head is really unsettling sometimes." He started, unable to lift his gaze to meet hers. ".... But, it can't be us. I'm not strong enough, and even if Cal and Silas are, they're two opposite ends of a spectrum, neither of which is suited to lead a bunch of outlaw mages. Please... Don't go too overboard on this whole plan of yours. We need you, Cal and I need you, here, alive." He tried reasoning with her, seeing just how injured she truly was. It was shocking. Yumi was always the one who looked like she'd taken meticulous time to prepare her image, something Axel had never blamed her for. She was the leader.


But now, injured, bloodied, the vision of this Yumi made Axel uncomfortable. It was like a revelation. So she really was a person and not a god after all.


~~~


Having met with a contact after failing to antagonize Alec, Vent the thief had decided upon a new mission. If he couldn't entice her with the promise of trinkets, he'd go and steal hers.


Trudging through the storm, he thought back to his meeting with Hope Astrumregis a few weeks ago. Despite how polite that man was, something about him irked Vent. Like they were just incompatible as people. The thief having grown up on the run as a mage, while the rich bastard lived in comfort might have had something to do with it, but it went deeper than Vent's little envious streak. Something about who they were as people set him off.


But whatever, the rich prick paid well, and he didn't turn him in, which was nice. Vent felt like he'd lucked out.


Standing in the middle of a blizzard, the magical thief looked for the entrance to Sanctuary. Hope hadn't asked where it was, only that Vent go there and steal a few items of value, maybe cause a scene. Something to draw the mages out. On top of getting to keep the goods, Hope would pay Vent too.


It was a deal Vent couldn't help but agree to.

 

[Esme]

"What you need is faith in yourself." She retorted. Pulling open a drawer, she flipped out a bottle, uncorking it and pouring some of it over her injury. She didn't seem at all phased by the smoke and smell of burning flesh it produced, though she grimaced at the pain.


"You're stronger than you think, and those two, they have their downfalls, but so does everyone else. You're young,not stupid. Take a look at your dynamic at some point, it might look familiar. Smoke?" She nodded towards the cigar box on her desk, and the lighter next to it.

 

[Coro]

Axel shook his head.


"Nah, I'm okay... Thanks Granny, not just for the cigar offer." He countered with, turning away from the old wounded woman, unsure if anything else really needed to be said. Opening the door, he strolled back out.


Heading back outside to the courtyard, he stopped at the railing, overlooking Cal's lesson. Smiling and waving, he grinned at Cal. Axel hadn't smiled that wide since before the last mission, he could feel his cheeks stretching out a bit. Heh, maybe things would be fine. Stop worrying, it's totally normal to have a demon in your head.


Speaking of me, look out Axel dear.





.... Look out? He asked Riri, just as the world went dark.


~~~


Setting Axel down gently, Vent chuckled, having dropped him with a quick blow to the back of the neck. Killing wasn't his style, simply dealing with threats before they could deal with him was a little more apt for a thief.


This guy was loaded with dark power. He would have been trouble. Glancing down, in turn waving at the class and his next target like this guy had just done, Vent hoped he'd antagonize them a little. Nothing like pissing people off to brighten your own day.

 

[Esme]

Cal had let the possibility of a smile linger for a moment, before a dark look claimed her face. Axel had....it took a moment for her brain to register exactly what was before her. There was a stranger in the sanctuary...who had dropped Axel. The pillar disappeared, Roy blipped out of existence for a moment, only to reappear being set back on the ground by a hand that came from no where. Cal slammed into the ground, the stone under her feet cracking as her she landed. the students stepping back away from her.


"Lance, Saph, Bolt, go get help." What she wanted from the rest didn't need to be said. Stepping forward, the weight of her magic extending itself outwards, a warning of death to come, the cracks following her steps. Meido seeped slowly from her skin, it's normal vibrant violet almost an inky black.

 

[Riddle78]

Roy rose up the pillar now,with growing speed and confidence. He had three plans. One was hardly likely to work. One,in his head,seemed like a fifty-fifty split,and the other seemed pretty much guaranteed. Still,this was Cal. She was a wild card,and the Blind was more twisted than a pretzel. As Roy slinked up past the halfway point of the pillar,and still nothing happened. When will it start...?





And then he was in the dark. Literally. No light. No sound. Nothing but a bone-biting chill. And then it was over,but not before he was deposited on his ass in front of the class,covered head to toe in frost.


Lance nodded,and wheeled around,looking for what had Cal up like this. It didn't take long; Some cocky looking bastard was standing over a hopefully unconscious Axel,waving like some sort of demented ass. Damn it... "On it!" Lance broke off from the crowd,dashing for the central compound. Along the way,he conjured a few tomahawks,and hurled them at the intruder. "EMERGENCY! INTRUDER! VETERAN DOWN!" He didn't stop bellowing the entire way,running off far more quickly than any of his peers.


~~~


Haywood glared at the now-ruined slice of apple pie sliding down the wall,then at Gavin and Micheal. He simply shook his head,while pointing to the nearby janitor's closet. "Clean it up,you jokers. And try to remember; No food in the command center." Looking at the instrumentation,he noticed something. "Hey,comms. Anything up? My screen says we have a lot of white noise." Someone from the communications terminals piped up, "Yeah,all frequencies are screaming bloody murder at us. We sent someone to fix the arrays. We're doing what we can here."





~~~


Silas operated the control panel expertly,lining up the materials. The mass fabricator was like an oversized 3D printer. Just,instead of plastic,it printed with whatever the Hell you wanted it to. "First phase: Black opal housing,with diamond studding - Initiating. Blueprint loaded. Fabricating... Now." His hands flew across the keyboard in a blur. He's operated this machine before.

 

[Coro]

Whispering to each other, some nonsense about their boss Haywood, the two mages nodded and silently cleaned up the mess they'd made, listening into the conversation he was having with communications.


"Doesn't sound good, Michael...." Gavin let out with a whimper.


"Does it ever?" Michael retorted with a scowl.


~~~


Bolt followed closely behind Lance, before tripping and falling onto his face. Bouncing up with a surprising recovery speed however, he pinched his bleeding nose and yelled from behind his faster classmate.


"'EAH, WHUT 'E DAID! INTRUDUR ALURT!" He screamed out, echoing Lance's cried for help.


Elaine in the meantime, rummaged through her pockets, pulling out a suitable few rings, slipping them onto her fingers, awaiting instructions from Cal. A shiver running down her spine, Elaine was worried for Mr. Forghen, this strange guy dressed in black obviously wasn't a friend.


~~~


Vent sighed, waving his hand at the sudden onslaught of metal. A wall of wind erupted forward from him, whipping up dust and debris from the cavernous courtyard arena. Deflecting the tomahawks' path, and obscuring him from view, a flash of lightning erupted from the dust, arcing up and splitting into two, one bolt shooting directly for Cal, the other arcing around and placing itself in front of Lance. As it landed, emerging from the crackling impact zone, was Vent, with Axel slung over one shoulder.


An arm stuck straight out from his body in a 90% angle, clotheslining Lance as he ran. As the boy's body skidded to a halt on the ground, Bolt, currently looking backwards and all around as lightning and wind whirled about, tripped over Lance and the two ended up in a heap.


"Kid, this guy was still right there. You could have ended up hurting him with your little distractionary tactic." Vent tsk-tsked Lance, grinning from ear to ear under the black scarf. "Don't get so caught up in the moment." He chided, pulling a dagger out from his pocket, holding it up to Axel's throat.


"Alright, Meido user, Yumi's granddaughter. Send these kids away or this guy gets it. Please, I'm not a killer, don't make me hurt him." Vent offered to Cal, the dagger sparking with electricity. "You and I are gonna have a little "1 one 1 chat"." He added, feeling the excitement of a coming battle welling up within him.


Vent lived for thrill.

 

[Esme]

Cal, for a moment, seemed to pause. As the lightning bolt ripped towards her, it seemed to stop short about a foot to her, eaten out of the air by darkness. As he spoke, she humoured him for a brief second, almost tossing up the idea of doing as he complied. But then, she remembered who the fuck she was and could do. Without a change in face, she looked towards her students.


"Code Black."


Looking back to the intruder holding what was hers, she held up her hands, palms flat up. It was then that hell broke lose. From a rift that she had opened behind, a demon that had slyly grasped at Axel's feet gave a massive tug backwards, yanking him into the blind with it. She didn't do hostages. She didn't do games.


She did warfare.

 

[Riddle78]

Shaking his head,Lance rose,hauling Bolt with him. Shit. Fuck. Way too much. Lance started to back away,this time silently. Along the way,however,he conjured a crossbow,and held it in one hand,keeping it trained on the intruder. One wrong move,and he gets a foot of steel in his torso at mach chicken. He has a knife. I can work with that.





Meanwhile,Roy got his bearings. Standing up,not bothering to defrost himself,the young mage moved to place himself between the invader and Cal. He still held the cloth he was using to climb the pillar,and now had it wrapped around both hands. "First mistake. Last mistake." He glared at the suicidal opponent with a look that can only be described as all-consuming murderous hatred.





~~~


The mass fabricator whirred and printed a monocle housing into existence,made of the purest of black opal,studded in radiant diamonds. Punching in the next step,Silas reported, "Phase one complete. Phase two: Precious opal lens - Initiating. Blueprint loaded. Beginning fabrication." Silas' hands didn't slow down. He didn't even look down at the keyboard. He was so intimately familiar with it,he might as well have built it.


~~~


Haywood simply waved off his subordinates worries. "This shit's Soviet old. Probably Nazi old. Frankly,I'm surprised it lasted this long." Looking at the screen,Haywood frowned. "I'm going to check the silo. Everyone,stay frosty. Schuller,send all reports to Steiner." "Yessir!" The commander left the command center,and headed to the main launch silo. It was enormous. You could probably drop the CN Tower inside,and still have some room for the hatch to close.


And,since it was open to the outside,it was also the base's single largest security hole.


With the communications blackout,it seemed prudent to check it immediately.


~~~


In the Northern reaches of the Black Forest,the Platinum Angels stood,waiting for their allies. Half an hour.

 

[Coro]

Taking a quick breath, Vent observed the situation momentarily before a portal to the Blind opened beneath him, and some dark force from behind him dragged away his meat shield.


"Huh, that's not good." He spat, his tone unimpressed as he tossed the knife aside, the threat useless now. Or was it? Grinning, the knife sudden shot backwards, electricity crackling from it, aiming directly for Lance's crossbow. The winds whispering in Vent's ears gave him a warning of the threat from behind. Once that knife touched the crossbow, it would zap the kid non-lethally, and turn the crossbow into a super magnet, and then unusable to anyone else. Vent was suddenly thankful he'd charged the knife with electricity to manipulate in one of his more dramatic moments.


As the knife shot backwards, the magical thief shot forwards, before blipping out of sight. It wasn't a spell he was very skilled at, but when you stole magical artifacts for a living, you tended to keep the fun ones. A necklace of invisibility, hidden beneath his back scarf. Silent winds swirling around him, masking his scent and breathing, Vent floated around the room, invisible, waiting for Cal to strike. That bitch would be the one to attack now, of all times.


Or should he take out the kids first? The more numbers, the bigger the threat, he theorized. It left a bad taste in his mouth, but he'd have to at least disable them.

 

[Esme]

"Good shot, Mini." The one called Nar said as they nuked the communications tower indefinitely. Letting her down, she folded her arms, retorting with her general sass. Rolling his eyes, he watched the two start at it again, before coughing into the palm of his hand.


"We have things to do, c'mon here people."


Moving out of the way, he let Nar open their hide out's 'door' and they started down towards the base, cutting in and through buildings at ease. Him keeping them quite, them keeping him unseen.


----------------


Out of breath, having been yelling the entire time, Saph finally hit the research building. She'd alerted a good chunk of on duty guards, and sent them all towards the arena, but a person she knew could be of actual help she hadn't found. But she knew where his second home was, at least. Ducking first int the library, she started yelling again, only to be met by silence.


Ducking back down the hall, she kept moving, feeling light headed as she let out another call for Merlot's help.


-----------------------


As he disappeared, Cal's eyes narrowed. He wasn't gone, she knew he wasn't. It was just a question of where. Fuck. Well....not entirely. Ripping the magic she had in her hand, she rocketed it towards the ceiling, unleashing another rift, rather large in size, and let through it pour out her massive spider hoard and rain down upon them. She kept her eyes moving, looking for the places of oddities.

 

[Riddle78]

The electrified knife struck his crossbow's bolt,causing lightning to arc everywhere. Thankfully,the weapon was made mostly of wood,so it didn't conduct to him. However,thanks to the resistance provided by the wood,it instead burst into flames. Now or never! Lance pointed the crossbow at where the enemy was last,now blinded by the wall of flames,and fired. He didn't hear the mechanism release; He had to assume the string was destroyed from the impact. Casting the weapon aside,Lance pulled Roy up over his shoulders in a fireman's carry,and began to haul his ass to the command compound. "CODE BLACK! WE HAVE AN INVADER! VETERAN DOWN! CAL HAS ENGAGED! SEND BACKUP IMMEDIATELY!"


Roy's glare deepened as the suicidal man vanished. He closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply,and when his eyes opened,they were aglow with magickal energy. Casting his gaze across the battlefield,he saw his opponent. "THERE!" Roy pointed at the target,and turned to face him. "You can't hide. You'll only die helpless. You can't run. You'll only die tired." Roy advanced on his opponent,his muscles beginning to bulge from the magic flowing through them.


~~~


"Phase two complete. Phase three: Brass chain - Initiating. Fabrication commencing." Silas was engrossed in his work. The mass fabricator flew into motion,creating the chain. "Phase three complete. Initiating phase four: Assembly." His hands flew across the keyboard,and the mass fabricator's printing head receded into the ceiling,and the assembly limbs rose from the printing surface,assembling the lens as per the blueprint. Just as it finished,one of Sanctuary's guards burst in. "Sir Merlot! There's an emergency!" Silas picked up the Amplification Lens,and donned it,clipping it to his left ear. "Tell Axel to take care of it. I'm sure a broken leg is hardly an emergency." "Sir! It's an intruder!" Silas turned to face the guard. "What?"





Silas wore a look of equal parts fear and rage,though it was quickly replaced with his usual blank expression. "Fine. They'll wish they were never born. Where?" The guard pointed out the door - Rather pointlessly,as there was only one. "Training courtyard! Reports are that the intruder is holding Axel hostage,and engaged Cal!" Silas nodded,and marched out of the room. "Then if they're not dead already,then we're in deep. Full alert. Go into lockdown. Nobody goes in or out until this is over!" "Yessir!" Silas left the lab at a dead run,already withdrawing his staff and wand from the Bottomless Box.

 

[Coro]

Letting out a sigh, Vent lifted his hand, electricity crackling around it. If this kid's sensory magic was good enough to see him, he was going to have to take a nap. Along with the rest of the kids.


"Voltus." He said in a calm voice, swiping his hand forward, lightning erupting from his hand and cascading forward, splitting into multiple bolts, one heading for each of the kids. It was hardly a powerful spell, a simple tazer shock. Well, maybe a little stronger than a tazer shock. He was just getting really annoyed with the interference. He'd decided on the Meido-girl, nothing was going to get in his way short of the end of times itself. Noticing the portal to the Blind erupt above him, he waved his other hand. "Ventus." He said, a dome of wind erecting itself around him, slicing apart the spiders that fell onto him. He was going to have been found by that spell regardless, he might as well erect some defence at the same time. He did so while dispelling the wind magic he cast around himself to keep hidden.


"Can you call off the attack dogs, Deathlind? I'm serious about that 1 on 1" He chimed out with a grin.


Noticing exactly how much magic he'd used, Vent made a mental note to slow down a little on the consumption. He wasn't anywhere near a limit, but he wouldn't be able to keep this up all day. He wasn't a magical battery, he was a thief, maybe a battlemage at best.


~~~


Groggily coming to, Axel rubbed his eyes, the back of head feeling like someone had bashed it. Sitting up, he found himself in the Blind, surrounded by a number of creatures.


Mommy is here she's come to visit stay for a while Mommy we missed you so much where have you been we've been worried sick since last time





Rubbing his temples, trying to drown out the noise, in which Riri was chatting to each and every single creature in his head simultaneously, Axel bit his lower lip gently, trying not to let the sea of demonic voices drown him.


"CAL, GET ME OUT!" He shouted, barely able to hear himself over the noises in his head.


~~~


Hope, appearing beside Jean and the rest of the Platinum Angels in a quick flash of light, stepped forward, surveying the scene. Dressed as he always was, in his white suit that matched his platinum hair and made his piercing blue eyes stand out even more, he smiled.


"All assets are in place, Colonel?" He asked, without looking back.