Futuristic An Agent of Maniacles

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu knelt down and stared at Owl directly in her eyes, his eyes tracing her soft and kind ones while looking for the right words to say. "Owl... You're so kind, sweet, and wonderful with how positive you are and how sweet you can be. But, dangerous people do very uncouth things. Maybe I'll show you a graphic novel with Batman later today. It'll show you what people are capable of, comics or not." Kotsu looked at Owl, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'll protect you though. And if I can't? You have the flask to drink from too. Just don't become this guy. He stumbles too much." Kotsu said pointing thumb at Clayton. "But he's got good reflexes?"

 

[Exzalia]

Owl frowns at kotsu, a bit of the old Owl peaking through. "Trust me, I know better than you how cruel people can be. sold as a child bride by my father remember? But just because others are cruel doesn't mean we have to be. We can be better than that, we must be better or else whats the point?"

She spins to Morgan. "Please. Let me talk to him."

 

[mmarage]

02 didn't leave 01's side at all that night. He simply waited there... and when he finally did awaken from the anesthetic, 02 said little, only putting the potion bottle to his lips and having him drink, knowing it would help seal the internal stitched up wounds faster, along with the fractured bones. "...Get some rest." He said simply as he took his seat in the corner of the room and shut his eyes. His dreams were plagued with nightmare after nightmare, the demon, Andros, killing everyone, and then turning on him, somehow everyone's spirits ascend, while his dream turned to pure blackness as his head was cleanly severed from his body. Being strapped to a medical table, looking down at his body as it began to melt into a disgusting sludge of human flesh, broken up bits of bone, and blood, and then simply poured down a drain, into a huge pool of similar disgusting sludge.

He tossed and turned in his sleep as the nightmares continued, unable to awaken from them. Not until the sun finally hit his face. He sat up in his seat and looked over at 01. He was still in a deep sleep. Probably aided by whatever cocktail of painkillers were being pumped into his body. He got up without a word, and walked out when he'd been alerted that anyone that was able should go to the local high school. It must have had something to do with the mage.

With a few directions from some locals, 02 made his way to the high school. Eventually he found the rest of the group and moved up behind them. He had brought his bow, along with his and 01's remaining tins of salve, the bombs he had left, and the elemental weapon enhancing fluid. He looked... very tired, and wary. "...Ms. Morgan..." He began quietly, seeming uncertain. "Um... there's something that I should probably let you all know before we begin... I... have a very low resistance to magic. Out of the entire group, I am probably the most susceptible to mental manipulation. If... I am to come... then... if I so much as look at any of you in a strange manner. I request that you terminate me immediately." He said. He knew he had to be upfront about this. He could end up seriously harming the group, he had bombs on him, after all.

 

[Exzalia]

Owl walks over to Joe with a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't worry about that I am a mind mage after all. Stay close to me and I can fend off any mental attacks that come your way. But you have to be close, and it may result in me seeing more of your memories if you don't mind."

Owl puffs up her chest and proclaims enthusiastically. "Ha, I am so perfect for this job!"

 

[GamerCarrot]

THE NIGHT BEFORE

Vivian arrived at the resort wanting nothing but to go back to her room and forget the battle had even happened, she walked up the stairs heading up to her floor and walking down the hall until something made her stop in place. There were scorch marks all over the walls and only in one area, looking around she noticed it came from one door in particular. She approached the door and knocked against the door, she could only assume who the room belonged to considering the major damaged caused.

Quentin made his way back to his hotel room and was shocked. "Yeah that's right, I did go a little crazy before we fought that guy". He stared at his charred room. Everything was burnt and black, nothing useable. "I'll have to request a new room I suppose." He went to take a seat on the ground when he heard a knock at the door. He walked over to it and swung her open. "hello" he said with a wave.

Vivian froze a little when the door suddenly swung open, giving a little wave she smiled not quite expecting anyone to answer. "Uh... Hi, sorry I just saw the scorch marks on the walls outside and got curious." taking a little glance inside she saw just how bad it was inside his room, looking back at Quentin she looked a bit curious "What exactly happened in there?" she asked before realising she hadn't properly introduced herself to him "Oh... I don't think we've properly met I'm Vivian, you're Quentin right? I've noticed you in the last couple of battles we've had."

He recognized the face. "Vivian huh. Nice name. Yeah, I am Quentin, the crazy fire mage which kinda explains this room" he said as he stepped to the side to give her a better look. "It's kinda like a long story. If you have a sec, I can try to explain it but I don't really have a seat to offer you. Unless you're okay with sitting on my charred bed"

She stepped in and smiled at him, taking a good look she couldn't help but feel a bit bad that this was the room he was staying in now. She looked at the bed and shrugged her shoulders "Oh that's okay I don't mind sitting on a charred bed, I mean I have sat on worse? Can't be as bad as having to sit in cold mud for hours whilst being on a mission." she said as she sat on the edge of his bed. "So tell me what happened? I can only assume this is the reason you came to the battlefield in your underwear." She chuckled, poking some fun at his attire in the battle.

He chuckled at her comment. "Yeah that is why I wore only my underwear. I was awoken and told it was time to go on a mission and didn't have time to change. Plus I figured I'd burn them off anyways. They were fire proof but that lighting attack was much hotter and fried those off too so sorry if you saw me butt ass naked." He looked around his room. "As for this mess, it was more or so a nightmare but at the same time wasn't. Having this amazing fire magic comes with a curse. Im pretty sure most of the power comes from the demon that I have trapped inside my body" He stood up, took his shirt off, and turned around showing her his back. "These two markings on my back stand for "fire" and "demon". When I use my fire magic, sometimes the fire symbol glows. And last night, I'm pretty sure my demon symbol was glowing as well. It's a different stage of power. I can transform in various stages of it but it's hard to control. The more i used, the more it hurts too. I had the nightmare because I was reliving the life of the demon and the destruction it caused way back in the past. One day I hope to be able to use the full power and control it. But if you ever see this symbol glow a deep red, take everyone you can and get as far away as possible."

She laughed and nodded "Yeah I saw, it was kinda hard not to see when you walked right past me. But don't apologize you couldn't help it." She smiled but her expression quickly became worried "A demon? I knew mages could control magic but I didn't know demons could be involved. How did it happen?" She asked, she didn't know a lot about being a mage since she wasn't one herself but that didn't stop her curious mind. As he took off his shirt however she averted her eyes until he turned around, the symbols on his back drew her attention. Standing up she got a better look at them "So this nightmare... what exactly did this demon do in order to you know cause this type of reaction." She gestured to the room, unsure of how safe they are if the demon inside him could just randomly cause this kind of destruction.

"The nightmare that I saw was when the demon was going from town to twin destroying everything in it's path way before any of our times. It was strange it felt like I was the one doing it. Maybe it's because I was getting stronger? I can now focus on my flames to produce blue ones which are hotter than the normal orange. But I really think it was reacting with the one we fought. But I think I'm fine now so there's no need to worry."

She smiled feeling a lot more relieved that she didn't have to worry about the demon "Well at least the demon battle is over now so we don't have to worry about you burning down the entire resort." She chuckled a little as she moved back and sat back down on the bed. "It's pretty amazing what you can do, I mean being a mage and having a demon inside of you it can't be easy. Do these nightmares with the demon happen often?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"That's actually the first one. Which is probably why I reacted the way that I did. I didn't know what was going on so bad to the point that I punched one of the vampires and actually made him hit the wall hard. Luckily he didn't fight back. And it's really not that bad having a demon inside. Sometimes I forget honestly. What about you though? What's your story?

She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed "I don't really have a story, I've been a part of the Maniacles for four years now and it's been my life ever since. Sure there were some hardships along the way you know inner demons just not the type of demon that's big and not as life threatening as the one we faced." She chuckled and smiled a little even though she was holding back on telling him about her past, there was so many things that she wanted to tell someone but she wasn't sure if she could just yet.

"That inner demon reference was a bad one, also you're a bad liar. Rubbing the neck is a sign of lies." He smiled. "It's okay though. I haven't quite earned your trust yet." His stomach growled. He looked down and then back at her. "You hungry? Because I sure could use a bite."

She laughed and shook her head "Oh no I didn't mean it like that I meant it... you know what nevermind sorry for the joke it was bad." When he caught her in her lie she put her hand down on the bed "Is it that obvious?" She felt kinda bad she had lied but he had seemed to take it well. Hearing his stomach growl she smiled and laughed a little "I would love to get a bite to eat, I dont think I've eaten since this morning. I think there's a few nice places outside the resort?"

"I would hope so although I'm not sure where. I've only been to my room and the missions. Nothing else so you'll have to show me around."

"I had a little look the other day whilst I was exploring and I saw I nice restaurant just past the resort, so I'd be happy to show you around if you want to check out anything else." She smiled as she got off the bed and heading towards the door waiting for him so they could both head to the place she was talking about.
It was a bit of a walk before they arrived at one of the many restaurants in the area, placing her hands in her jacket she looked back at Quentin "How's this? From what I can tell its not too expensive or fancy but the food smells delicious."

Quentin sniffed hard. "Ah it does smell amazing! This is perfect. Thank you!" He said as he held the door open for her.
When they walked in the were greeted by a hostess "Hello, welcome! How many?" Q held up 2 fingers and they followed her to their seats.

She walked in and smiled, following the hostess to their table and taking a seat. "There's no need to thank me, it's good to spend time with someone plus the restaurant looked really good and I kinda wanted to go anyway." She rested her hands on the table as the hostess handed them the menu and poured them a glass of water to start off with. "Would you two like anything else to drink whilst you order?" The hostess asked whilst looking at the two of them, Vivian looked down at the menu and it didn't take her long before she had chosen what she wanted "I'll have a glass of wine please." the hostess nodded and wrote down her order before looking at Q "And you sir?" she asked.

"I shall take your strongest drink! I'm up for a challenge" he said with a smirk. "I've never been drunk before so I want to experience it"

The hostess's eyes widen as she wrote down I'd order but she nodded and walked off to go get them their drinks. Vivian looked back at Q and raised an eyebrow "You've never been drunk before? Not even a little? Ooh boy you're going to be in for a rough morning then." She laughed as the hostess came back with their drinks, placing them in front of Vivian and Q. "Would you two like to order anything to eat?" The hostess asked as Vivian took a sip of her wine.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?" He looked at the hostess. "Uhhm I'll have the potato soup please."

Vivian smirked "Oh trust me being drunk you will do things you least expect, trust me I've been there before." She looked up at the hostess and thought about her choices "Could I have the fish?" The lady nodded and left Q and Vivian alone. "So I have to know why did you join the Maniacles? Surely there's a story behind your choice?" She asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh I don't know I needed money..." He looked at her and laughed. "I'm kidding. But it ties back into me getting my powers. I'm from the year 1513 which is way back. When I got my powers, I was instantly frozen in time only to wake up 2 weeks before we all met. I was confused as hell, didn't understand a thing. Before I knew it, I was walking and made it to a town and my appearance at the time gave off a weird impression that I didn't belong so they thought I was a mercenary and took me to another camp which then led me to all of you. I didn't know what to do so I rolled with it. Now there are vampires and giant man eating bugs. Shit got weird. Like real weird"

Vivian nearly spat out her drink when he mentioned the year he was from, swallowing the wine in her mouth she looked at Q "Wait what!" She ran her fingers through her hair "Oh wow, yeah I can imagine it being quite a shock coming into a world full of new technology and where humans are being augmented and where some people actually carry laser weapons." She looked down at her glass and ran her fingers over it "So what was it like back then? I can guess very different to now but what was it like living in that time?"

"Well from as far as I can remember, when I was a kid I helped out my parents around our field until that horrible day. The day that horrible people killed both my parents when I was a young boy around the age of six. Then I was found by monks and it was nothing but meditation and training from there. It wasn't too hard once my body was in shape."

Vivian covered her mouth as Q spoke about his parents "Oh god... I'm so sorry to hear that, you have my condolences for your parents." She could understand how he must've felt losing his family like that. "Do you miss your time? I could understand if you do, to us it was such long time ago but to you it must feel a bit more recent?" As she waited for an answer the hostess returned with their food only to leave with just a small nod. "Sorry if I'm asking so many questions, its not every day you meet someone from 1513."

"Its okay thank you. And you're not asking that many questions, this just means you have to tell me your story next." He smirked. "I don't really miss it mainly because for me it was 3 ½ months ago. It's actually nice seeing something else other than the same 30 dudes in the same temple."

She froze but sighed "Alright I'll tell you my story." She raised her finger at him "But only because you told me yours." She smirked back at him. "I can only imagine how repetitive it gets in a temple, do monks even do things for fun? Is that also how you became a mage? Or is that a totally different story?" She asked before taking a bite of her meal.

"For "fun" we train, fight each other, or tend to the bushes. There really wasn't that much fun going around. You weren't aloud to laugh. If you did, on the whipping block for you. As far as my magic, I found a secret passage leading deep down into the catacombs of the temple. There was a single book sitting there and as soon as I touched it, time froze. When I awoke, I was surrounded my the skeletons of my mentors and classmates. The temple was also gone. Figured it just corroded away" He took a spoonful of the soup. "This is some fantastic soup. How's yours?"

"On the bright side you can do all of that now?" She was trying to lighten the mood but she wasn't sure if she was even doing a good job at it. "I'm sorry to hear about your mentors and your classmates, it must've been hard to see them all like that." she played with her fork a little feeling a bit bad for Q, unsure of what to say after hearing about his story. But thankfully Q had dealt with that problem for her "It's amazing, how's your drink? You wanted to get drunk so lets hope it takes more than just one drink to get you there." She smirked as she took another bite and a sip of wine.

"Actually forgot about it" he picked it up and looked at it. "what the hell" and proceeded to chug the entire drink. He felt it immediately. He shook his head. "Damn that's some strong stuff. But it's definitely going to take more than one. Is that a challenge?"

Her eyes widen as he chugs down the whole thing, actually quite surprised he hand managed to do it. Smirking she beckoned over the hostess and asked for a refill of Q's drink "It's a challenge alright if you are brave enough to accept it, I know my limits but I'm curious to see yours. Don't worry if you get too drunk I'll take care of you I'm used to dealing with drunks and especially the hangovers that come with."

"I'm just as curious are you are!" He shouted. After finishing his soup he hammered the second drink. His vision started to blur and his head wobbled. "Aha this feeling is kinda weird." He said as he touched his face. "Everything tingles" he started to laugh.

Vivian rested her elbow against the table watch Q drink himself silly, seeing only two glasses she couldn't help but chuckle "Only two and you're already tipsy? Then again these are strong drinks." she picked up his empty glass and smiled "So how does it feel? Feel a bit warm inside?" she asked as a waiter brought them both another drink. She immediately drank her's and continued to watch Q "You're definitely going to feel this in the morning." she laughed quite enjoying the thought.

When saw her glass empty he took it as another challenge. He raised his glass and chugged again. Q at this point was gone. "Only tree drins becas low toler.." he trailed off. "And I alays fel warm inside. I'm mahgikal." After he said that, he showed a little flame in the palm of his hand.

Vivian smiled and laughed more, the sight of Q drunk was just too funny to her "Awww, maybe one day I can help you increase that tolerance. But I don't see you drinking me under the table for awhile." She said with a proud expression. She looked down at the palm of his hand and admired the small flame "Careful now can't have you burning down the restaurant can we?" she said ordering another drink only to down it immediately.

Q chuckled knowing full well he could easily out drink her. All he had to do was heat up his body and he could burn the alcohol off but he liked this feeling so he decided to keep it. "I'm done wiff my drinks. But feel fre to continues". He closed his eyes and started to giggle.

She looked down at the many empty glasses in front of them and she shook her head with a smile "I really shouldn't I've only just started drinking again plus I have to look after a certain drunk fire starter." She smiled and looked at the finished plate of food that she had been eating whilst they was downing drinks, looking back up at Q she kept smiling finding it quite adorable to see him drunkingly talk. "How about I take you back to the resort? You can stay in my room for tonight since your room is a little messed up, plus I can always crash on the couch in my room."

Q was looking at her when she invited him back to her room. In a giggly manner, he accepted the offer. His head way swaying back and forth. "This has been fun!" He shouted. He flagged the waiter over and said that he'd pay for everything. His attention turned back to Vivian *hiccup* "You ready?"

Vivian giggled as she watched Q's head sway back and forth, the alcohol obviously getting to him. Standing up she nodded and moved over to where Q was sitting holding out her hand for him "I'm ready, come on lets get you in a nice comfy bed. And Thank you for paying for the meal."

"No problem" he said as he grabbed her hand. When he stood up, he stumbled over his feet and fell down on one knee. He started laughing. "This is such a funny feeling."

Vivian's eyes widen as he fell over, getting increasingly nervous with people now turning and looking at them She quickly helped him up to his feet and moved his arm over her shoulders and her hand on his hip, laughing a little at his clumsiness "Lets get you into bed, can't have you hurting yourself now can we." She smiled as she helped him walk towards the resort, taking it slowly that he could keep up and wouldn't completely fall over.

"You're such a nice lady helping me back to the resort". He stumbled a few more times but Vivian was there to hold him upright. "I think I'm about due for a snooze here soon. Sorry I got too drunk to do anything else. There's always next time though."

She smiled and helped him into the resort "Thank you, I'm happy I can help since I was kind of responsible for how much you drank." She helped him up to her room, grabbing her key and opening the door "Don't worry about it too much, maybe next time I'll tell you my story... I did promise after all." She said as she walked him over to the bed and helped him sit down on it. "There we go, now get some sleep you're going to have an intense hangover in the morning." She said as she moved over to the couch and laid down.

"Woah now, I'm not going to take your bed. It's your room. I'll take the couch" he said as he walked over to her. "I won't take no for an answer"

She crossed her arms and shook her head, looking up at him and continued to lay on the couch "You're drunk and I'm happy to sleep on the couch so I'm gonna sleep here and there's nothing you can do about it." She said with a playful smirk, moving her hands behind her head and getting comfier.

"Fine, have it your way then.". He then just dropped onto the floor and put an arm under his head. "I'm still not taking your bed"

She sat up and looked down at him "I can't let you sleep on the floor." She stood up from the couch, making sure not to accidentally step on him "Fine... You can have the couch." She moved towards the bed and grabbed one of the spare pillows and the extra blanket, placing them down on the couch for him "You know for a drunk you are pretty stubborn." She said crossing her arms.

"Aha! This round goes to me!" He said has he crawled onto the couch. "Thanks again for letting me use your room since mine is uhh well burnt at the moment."

Vivian rolled her eyes as she moved to the bed "You may have one this round but next time I shall be victorious." She said crawling into bed and tucking herself in. "You're welcome, thank you for hanging out with me it's been awhile since I had the chance to relax." She looked over at the time and saw how late it was, yawning she stretched a little. "I'm gonna sleep now, good night Quentin. Sleep well." She said with a smile before closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep.

*****
The next morning Vivian woke up to the sun shining in her face, rubbing her eyes she sat up and looked over at the sleeping Q that was on the couch. Silently she got up and grabbed her phone out of her jacket news of a hostage situation at a school all over the place. She sighed, moving into the bathroom that was connected to her room and quickly getting dressed all whilst keeping up to date with the situation.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Owl frowns at kotsu, a bit of the old Owl peaking through. "Trust me, I know better than you how cruel people can be. sold as a child bride by my father remember? But just because others are cruel doesn't mean we have to be. We can be better than that, we must be better or else whats the point?"

She spins to Morgan. "Please. Let me talk to him."

Kotsu turns to Owl and Joe speaking, walks closer to Owl, holding her hand. "You're sweet, Owl. I didn't say I wasn't gonna let you talk to him. I could tie up one of the people he's mind controlling and you could talk to him that way." Kotsu reached for a cigarette and walked a few feet away from Owl and Joe to smoke. "Damn cravings... Anyway," Kotsu said as he sucked air through his teeth and clicked his tongue. The cigarette lighting red as he sucked in the smoke. "At least you don't have this habit, Owl." Kotsu said with a smile, keeping the smoke in his lungs. "But I've been poisoned 50 years ago and betrayed by the same person who led me on my career path as we forged our own business in this world. I've been shot at by multiple people because of what I do or how I look. I've been berated, treated like a bullet shield, and have ultimately seen the evils of man gauging from minute to despicable." Kotsu said, finishing his cigarette and grinding it under his heel.

"I'm just saying, Owl. You'll be shot at. They'll try to kill you. People like this don't care about people like us. They're armed, dangerous, and squads of people haven't left the building. Said so on the news as well. So just... Be careful. I care about you." Kotsu said, concern laced in his face and evident. He looked tired remembering everything he'd seen for such a long time before turning to Joe. "You be careful too. I ain't gonna terminate you if something happens, but Owl raises a point. Stick by her, please. I'll take point and be a bullet shield. One of the best things I got going for me. Won't kill me, just hurt, right?" Kotsu said with a sad smile. "Ya get used to it."

mmarage Exzalia

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Morgan wanted to decline Owl's request. The girl seemed earnest in her effort, though. She wanted to talk to the kid, reason with him, reason with all this chaos he had caused. A noble way to be. Not really a lot like Owl. Actually, the noble part was, just not the part about throwing caution to the wind. An annoying stab of morality sunk into Morgan's heart. Yeah, killing the kid was off the table, both Denton and Dionysus were pretty clear on that.

Would talking work?

How often does reasoning with the enemy work?

She thought Andras, the Pest Queen, the people she killed. The team's track record in violence was high. And shouldn't it be? They were all violent themselves in some form or another. Morgan frowned, staring at the school, then at the group. Violence isn't always the answer. Not for teenagers. She'd been there herself. A new mage, lonely, pissed off, a lot of power to throw around, but not enough brains to use it right. No one died yet. The situation was not a completely gone.

"Okay," Morgan said. "If can give Owl a clear way to him. She can talk. No big risks, though. Okay? We focus on bringing the kid down first, non lethally, and making sure nobody dies. I think we've all seen enough of that for awhile."

The group traveled to the back of the school after scoping it out. It was relatively average in size for a high school. Two stories, made from brown bricks, very large parking lot in the back. A front entrance was out of the question. Owl saw two young gunman hiding in wait there, ready to open fire on whoever came through.

Morgan thought back to her school days, remembering the gymnasium at her high school had an exit and enter door. She led them to the parking lot, telling them to keep their eyes sharp.The vibe here wasn't so bad. It was from good to be sure. yet not bad enough to be crippling or overwhelming, like Andras had been. You could think through this. A clearer fog.

There was door in the back which led to the gym. Sweet. Owl looked through it. One girl, who couldn't have been more than fifteen, was holding an assault rifle, keeping it trained on a group of students, around eleven or so. They were all on the ground, face down. Not so sweet.

"Damn," Morgan said. "I guess we found our way in. One way in anyway. I could probably disarm her. Any of us could, but busting the door down might make her start shooting. Anyone think we can find another way in or at least get in here before she starts shooting?"

***

Wheelchairs were marvelous inventions. Rolling in general was a hobby Denton took a world of pleasure in, especially the manual kind. A wheelchair was a lot like a bike, but you worked wheels instead of pedals. You could set your own pace with either, both were crap when it came to going uphill, and both were really fun when going full speed.

The pain he was in made it difficult, took away some of the fun, but he managed well enough. He stopped halfway to his destination, breathing heavily, body slick with sweat. Denton pressed on, wheeling himself to a door at the end of the hall. It took a minute struggle to open it up.

Sam laid in her bed, even more battled damaged then himself.

He wheeled to her side, a pink strawberry slurpee in his hand. "Thirsty?"

Samantha had been in a light nap. Her computer was at the motel, so she couldn't work on her little project, and she had little else to do but watch the old tv shows hospitals played. A visitor was a welcome distraction.

Until she realized who the visitor was. "Let me guess, you want to talk about something?", she said, disregarding the question.

He smiled, setting the drink on the table beside her. "Is it so hard to believe I was worried about your health?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Sam replied, "I don't expect to come out of any fight without a scratch, but you pitted the near perfectly opposite of a positive group against a demon which you specifically said positivity was key for. You're worried about my usefulness, not my wellbeing."

Denton leaned back. He wished she held a different opinion. At least not one as harsh.
"It actually went better then expected. None of us died. It wasn't perfect, but demonic situations never are. Be proud."

"Proud? I sacrificed my gear for your genie in a bottle. That bike was expensive to build, those drones aren't cheap to make, do you have any idea how expensive it is to rebuild two prosthetic legs, a prosthetic arm, and a spinal graft?" She looked at Denton as if he should have thought of this before putting the person with breakable and expensive to repair everything in a fight against destruction incarnate. "I'm not proud. I survived because there's not enough of me to break, that's called luck."

"Maniacles has more than enough power to fix and replace you gear. You're a valuable asset." Denton adjusted his seating. "It isn't worth much, but I'm sorry for the trouble. Anyway don't mistake my lies and my manipulations for a lack of caring. Andras will be useful going forward."

"Exactly, I'm an asset, not a person. And right now this number on your clipboard reads 'zero'." Every few words, Sam paused for breath. She knew deep breaths were key to keep her lungs from collapsing later, but that's hard to do when a sneeze could probably pop the bone fragments loose.

Denton sighed. "Look, you'll be well reimbursed for your work. I'll make sure HQ covers your costs. At the moment, though. I'm here to ask you to witness something. It is for Owl. I'm here for her sake. I want proof I'm playing it straight
here."

"What do you need?"

"From you? Nothing. Just to watch what is about to happen here. You'll be my....what's the word? My witness, yes. We'll need to fix Owl's memory. I contacted Dionysus. He'll be here shortly."

"Oh, you want me to sit on my ass? Sure, long as I can ask him a question when it's over." If she was to observe, she at least wanted to learn something from this, that's how science worked.

Dionysus was there. No fanfare. No appearing in a glorious light. He didn't even knock on the door. One second there were only two people in the room the next three. He looked the same as he had when they met him in the office. Overly young looking, mop red hair, white buttoned shirt, and gold rings adoring his finger.

He stared at the two mortals with impassive, colorful eyes. It didn't take much to see he was displeased.

"Alright," he said. "You have me.

Denton said, "I'd shake your hand, but I'm rather impaired at the moment. Thank you for answering my summons."

"You caught the demon. Good work. You also destroyed my orchard and ruined my newest champion. I am displeased." Dionysus eyed Sam. "Good help is very hard to find, wouldn't you agree young lady?"

"I'd say Denton's not been living up to his full destructive potential," Sam replied, "Good morning. I'd bow, but I can't get up."

Dionysus smirked. "You mortals have no shortage of destructive potential. Your team is dealing with the mind mage as we speak."

Denton nodded. "I called you in regarding Owl. Whatever she is to you. I'm wondering if you have knowledge relating to how we restore her memories. Andras did something to them."

"He destroyed them," the god replied. "It's awful. All the spunk and knowledge was torn from her, shattered. She's useless now. And Dionysus has no need for useless things."

"Any engineer will say the same thing, but maybe she can be fixed", Sam offered, "Look for potential solutions before destroying the failure. It's better to spend five bucks on repairs than a hundred on disposal."

"The possibility exists," Dionysus said. "I'd believe so. No, I know so. It is just difficult."

Denton rubbed his hands together. A hungry look upon his face. So it could be done. The chance existed. "We are willing to go to great lengths to restore what was lost, aren't we Sam?"

Sam smirked and shook her head. "For Owl, yes. For you? No. For me? Unless you've got Hades in your back pocket and he owes you a solid, I got no right to restore anything."

"Nice to know you'll be coming along Sam," Denton said. "So what do we do Dionysus."

The god colorful eyes dimmed to a darker tone and for a moment he seemed old. So very old. "You will need to a way into the Sandlands. A world inbetween worlds."

"That exists?" Denton asked, perplexed.

"Oh yes mortal." Dionysus. "The land of lost things, abstracts beings and thoughts, dreams. Impossibly large. Ever changing. Few mortals go there, few make it back. I don't do much walking there myself. The denizens of that realm don' take kindly to outsiders with goals."

"So how do you get us there?" Denton asked.

"I don't," Dionysus replied. "You will need the help of my peer. Mnenmomsye. You'll also need a way to enter a lucid dreaming state. Permanently. Mortal technology should come in hand if you all don't watch to engage in extensive bargaining with Mnenomsye."

"How permanent are we talking, here?", Sam asked, "There's a way out, right?"

"How do you escape what which never ends? You'll need someone to pull you out, someone to make a doorway in a room with infinite walls." Dionysus stared at Sam. "Finding the space which Owl's memories occupy could take anywhere from one moment to one million years, likely long. So, those are the problems you face. Getting in undetected, finding her memories, piecing them back together, and escaping."

Sam seemed to be scanning invisible calculations with her eyes, before leaning back. "Denton, this one's impossible," she said, "I'm all for finding Owl's memories, but our odds are so low you've got more chance or surviving a black hole."

Denton waved a hand at Sam. "Nothing is impossible. If the odds aren't good then we flip the board, make them work in our favor. Never compromise, never surrender." He stood from the chair, gritting his teeth in quiet agony as he did. "Dionysus what's the best way to do it."

"Memories travel to their home, sooner or later. You let Owl take point. She'll lead you to them...eventually. Once she has them. I'll have my champion back."

"Odds Owl can find them?"

"Unknown. A memory is one thing. That's easy enough, but Andras destroyed them, sent them into an abyss. Only a handful of things can get you in there."

"So, what if we get stuck?", Sam asked. An infinite la la land you need an external aid to escape that you may not even find if you search until the universe ends? Sam could barely navigate Wal-Mart.

Dionysus replied casually, as if the answer were obvious. "Simple. You stay there. No not stay really. Bad word. Mortals who go to the Dreamscape rarely survive long. The chances of being driven mad or being devoured are high, but should a doorway fail to open for you return then you will all be stranded there until your comatose bodies back in the physical world die."

"So, in an infinite la la land where you probably can't get out anyway, we've got to get in undetected, find something that can take years to find, and get out, without Memory knowing we're there?" Mission literally impossible. "We're not anime characters, we don't have the power of friendship."

"Magic and science overrides friendship," Denton replied. "All we need is a surefire way in and out. Dionysus already said someone could help us with that part. I assume you have a way to contact this person?"

"Yes, Mnemosyne."

"Excellent. I'll check in with HQ regarding if they have ever done any studying into opening doorways into the Sandlands. What's the Abyss?"

Dionysus didn't speak for a few seconds. The god seemingly doing his best to find the best way to phrase it. "All worlds have layers, yes? In some form or another. The Abyss is the deepest of the Sandlands. It is where the forgotten things go."

"I don't follow..."

"All things must form connections Denton Fisher. Big or small. Good or bad. The forgotten gods, mortals, creatures, primordial beings . They all must have somewhere to occupy. A space to belong. The Abyss is that place. Not for the dead, but for the forgotten ones. The outcasts."

Denton sucked in a long breath. "That is....a tad above my pay grad."

"Just a bit."

"I said I would help, though."

"Sounds like a party," Sam said, "When do we start?"

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu looked at Morgan. "I scoped out the top of the place. The roof is unguarded. I could bring us up there by slingshotting us up top." Kotsu suggested.

 

[Freikugel]

"Morgan how much distance can you cover with your magic? You don't need to kill her, just low her blood pressure until she faints "

States Fizzy through his earpiece, on the meanwhile he was studying the backyard, nothing out of the usual, he remained hidden from the windows

He wanted to finish quickly to go check on Sam's condition

I bet she is bored watching these old TV shows at the hospital thought as he sprinted carefully hidden

 

[mmarage]

02... or Joe, he supposed now that he was alone, looked at the two. "...I have bombs and deadly accuracy with a bow. That's all I'm saying. If I were to be controlled by this mage, I could inflict a lot of damage on this group before you all realize what's going on. I'm... not sure if I should be coming on this mission. Even if I'm close to Owl, what if he's still able to break through and use me like a puppet as he has with all of these students and teachers?" He asked.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu smiled at Joe. "Well, you're my friend, so I'll probably just slug you in the gut to knock your ass out. I ain't going back to your brother without ya." Kotsu said quietly while walking back outside and slingshotting himself up to the rooftop.

 

[Kinggunlucky]

"I'm not at my best at the moment," Morgan said. "I'll give it a shot, though. Lower her blood pressure."

The mage focused, feeling and sensing. So many warm bodies, so much blood. Morgan started to ache as the magical power coursed through her. It was hard to press through it, she stumbled. Not having a clear view of the target made it difficult.

Using magic again, so much of it and so fast made her arm feel on fire again. Damn. Morgan grit her teeth. She decided to just hit them all. The girl with the gun staggered, raised her gun again before it slipped from her hands. She collapsed. The other students passed out as well. Morgan took a knee, breathing.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu climbed into a vent and dropped into the gym, after seeing that everyone was passed out. Kotsu used his whips to wrap the girl who had the assault rifle up, and grabbed the gun for himself, dropping the clip out of the gun, and holding it like a bat. "Eh, if you can't shoot em, beat em." Kotsu said with a chuckle while he opened the door for the others. "Yo, Morgan. You okay?" Kotsu said, grabbing her to help support her on his shoulder. "Owl, I got you a gift. Go ahead and try to talk to him. She'll be restrained throughout the process so you can't get attacked." Kotsu said with a smile. He felt more like Doc Ock than Spider-Man at this point but he didn't say that.

Funny you mention that, because there was the Superior Spider-Man who was actually Doc Ock.

"Dude, really? No way!" Kotsu said to himself before realizing he should probably start speaking more in his head than anything. "Shouldn't we try to get the hostages out of here too?" Kotsu asked, scratching his beard.

 

[Exzalia]

Owl nods she puts her hand on the student and closes her eyes. eather bright and blue travels from her forehead down her arm and into the mind of the student. Owl freezes as most of her consciousness leaves her body, but she leaves just enough to keep her body somewhat aware of it's surroundings.

A minute pass's, fear crawls onto owls face, then she frowns tightening her focus, something seems to drain from her as if she were putting more of her self into her mind delve than she had wanted to. The effect is that there was less there to keep her own body conscious, as a result in the physical world she slumps over. But the magic was still streaming from her mind and her face moves with subtle expressions. She hadn't lost consciousness, but her consciousness was now even more committed to matters outside her own body. The stream of blue eather grows until it is pouring from her mind like blood from a wound.

Kotsu remembers the amount of effort it took for owl to maintain the dream scape in her second mind delve of him, how drained she was afterwards and now...

She had by now encountered the enemy mind mage in a world they could not follow to, engaging with him, speaking with him.

Maybe even fighting him.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu uses one of his free whip and turns it into a tentacle to reach into Owl's pocket and produce the flask, he brings it over to his hands and opens it before pulling her head back gently and easing some of the alcohol into her mouth and gently massaging her throat. "There, there. This'll help you with some of the strength you'll need. I've got your back. I'll always protect you, even when I gotta just trust you."

Kotsu turns back to Morgan. "Hey, Morgan? Wanna talk about Denton right now while we wait?" Kotsu asked, staring at her on his shoulder. "It ain't nothing too bad. It's just... The way we keep handling situations. It ain't good for any of us. Except this mission. You looked like you wanted to handle it peacefully already. You coulda killed these people but you opted for knocking them out." Kotsu said with a smile. "You and Denton can't be too bad, right? So why does he keep having us do so much evil?"

Kotsu then turns to Joe. "Hey, man. Are we square?" Kotsu inquired sheepishly. "I just wanna let you know that you're still considered my friend. Hell, you and your brother might as well be one of my best friends. I trust you guys and you trust me. I haven't had that for a while." Kotsu said with a weak smile.

 

[mmarage]

Joe watched what was going on, feeling... helpless. He knew he couldn't do too much, or stray too far from the group. If he did... then he could be brainwashed at any moment. He wanted nothing more than to find the mage that was doing this and incapacitate him to free all of the students and teachers that had been put under his thrall. He looked at Morgan as she fell to her knees. He walked over to her and pulled out one of the ration bars he'd brought with him, offering the wrapped up bar. "Here, eat this, it should help with recovering your energy. You're probably going to need it if we have to go any further." He said quietly. It seemed that feat of magic had taken a lot out of her.

He glanced over at Kotsu as he asked his question, he paused for a few moments, before nodding. "Yes, we're... um... 'square', if that means that we're fine. Things were just a little... well... stressful last night. I hope that our conversation remains between us and us alone." He said, his eyes straying over to Morgan for a split second, before returning to Kotsu.

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Owl scoots over and touches the unconscious teenager with eyeliner and lipstick, and wonders briefly what is must be like to go to high school. "Okay I'm going in guys try not to move me too much."

Owl casts mind delve and sinks deep into her mind.

The minds mages mental magic was still flowing into the unconscious teen, Owl could sense his will assaulting her brain in pulses. He was trying to order her to get up.
But mental magic is a two way pathway, minds that open up others are open them selfs. She shoots her own mental magic through his pathways and beams her consciousness straight into his thoughts.

Owl appears in his mind as she was mentally, a child in a yellow dress. She looks about 12 but glows brightly with psychic power. Her eyes narrow onto to him.

Bickle Farnsworth wasn't much to look at. A tall teenager, all legs and arms, greasy black hair which fell in front of his eyes, sharp features which were hidden by the large black cloak he wore, wisps of a goatee on his chin. He turned fast, hands raised defensively.

"What the hell?" His voice cracked.

Bickle started backing away, trying to cut the connection he had on the girl he'd been controlling.

He did cut the connection, but Owl was already in, and she simply replaced his with her own. "Rookie mistake, cutting the connection to the girl is the same as giving up control of it. Not a problem if there are no other mind mages nearby, but there was." Owl walks up to him with a deep frown her voice reprimanding.

"What? You thought you were the only person with this power? You thought you could flaunt it without consequence? Well I've got news mister." Owl gets in his face, though she has to float to look him in the eyes.

"You messed up, you messed up big time and their are a couple hundred people out there who will blow your brain apart and are only hesitating because I asked them to go easy on you, so before you launch that mental attack I suggest you sit down and talk." Owl snaps a finger, the lad is forced down into a chair, a tea table appears in front of him complete with cake and, well tea. Owl sits across from him humming as she pours him a glass.

"So? whats your name?"

The boy grit his teeth. "You do not know who threaten child. I am Bickle. The Doom Bringer."

Bickle tried to struggle in the chair, throwing his will against Owl's, trying to break separate this mental world, push the girl. It wasn't a strong will, but full of rage, contempt, and most of all fear. A long and desperate fear. One not hard to fight against, but hard

Owl endures the physic onslaught purposefully not retaliating with her own in an act of good faith. "Mind magic is not all about force you know, like here, watch this."

She counters his fear and rage with humor and merriment, by suddenly dropping him into his class with his pants down. It wasn't a powerful mental attack, but the simple action of making his worst high school fear come true is enough to send his mind reeling. Owl struts up to him in his teachers clothing.

"All that fear and rage you sent me pales in comparison to this little mental joke. I hope your taking notes, now...name please?"

All the fierceness in Bickle's face went away, replaced by wide eyed shock and terror at his new situation. No pants. He started breathing heavily, teeth chattering. "Uh, B...Bickle."

"Hi Bickle." owl says with a smile than snaps a finger returning them to their tea table. "My name is Owl do not fear I have not come to hurt you. But if you don't co-operate with me you will get hurt by others far more powerful then my self. Now Bickle, mind explaining to me what in Gods name you think your doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Bickle said quietly. "I'm teaching a lesson, striking back, letting my wrath be known. It had to be like this."

Owl leans in. "tell me. who hurt you? Who do you feel needs to be taught a lesson? Why are they deserving of your wrath? You can tell me I promise you, I'm here to help."

"You wouldn't get it," Bickle said. "You're just a kid. And nobody can help. Not now. Look at this. Police outside. And now you...whoever you people are?"

"I'm not just a kid." Owl transforms her self into her adult form complete with a tight and somewhat revealing body suite which does well to get his attention. "You're persona in the mental world is often different from in the physical one. This is what i look like in the flesh, trust me what ever you've been through I've been through."

Owls smiles warmly at him. "Come on, you can tell me I want to know."

"Oh jeez..." Bickle's mouth fell open. His eyes going wide. He turned his head away uncomfortably. "Seriously? I didn't even know a mage could do that....but I've never met another mage before. Except the one who gave me the book. But seriously? You were like a kid second ago. That's really freaking creepy." He frowned. "Now I'm thinking about ...aw...bleh."

Owl reverts back to her childf orm and floats up to him giving him a smack on his head with a ruler.

"Focus! I can't mentain this link forever. Look I can help you, what ever your problems are. But if you don't give me something they will kill you Bickle. And I know you don't want that, you may think that it's cool or edgy to go down in a blaze of glory now but when death comes I gaurantee you, you will not want it. Now, talk to me, please. Tell me whats going on."

"It's this place. These people. How they treat me, what they've done to me." Bickle looked at the floor. "I don't know. I just wanted a chance to get even. The book I was given. It gave me a chance."

"I get that." Owl says sitting beside him. "Trust me, when I was in this form you see now I was sexually assaulted by my late husband. Spoiler alert, I was the one who made him late, seeked vengeance, I craved it and I took it. And it costed me."

She looks at him with sympathy. "You don't have to turn out like that though, you don't have to die because these people treated you poorly. You want to get even? truly even? Out live them, out do them in life, become successful, hire them as your secretaries thats how you get even. But this? This will gain you nothing, nothing but a quick death and lots of broken families. Do you want this to be your legacy Bickles?"

Bickle understood what she said. The girl was right. He fought against it, though. Pushed. Resisted. He didn't deserve any good that came his way. Not after this. None of his classmates did either. "I tried to get away. I did. Really." He showed her his writs. They had scars. "They told me I should. Ashley Stillons, Dylan Donovan, the rest. I just wanted it to stop. It didn't work, though. So...ya know?" He swallowed. "When I got the spellbook I felt free, like I had a chance."

"You still have a chance." owls says comfortingly. "I work for an organization we were called in to...well, end this. But when i heard you were a fellow mind mage I wanted to help you so I convinced my higher ups to let me talk to you first, I get you Bickles, look I have the same power I understand. But now it doesn't have to end like this, come with me. My organization they work with people like you, like us. The pay is great, you don't have to go to school, and you don't have to die. You'll look back on Ashley, Dylan and the rest the same way I look back on a bad cold. A annoying insignificant bump on your journey to better things. And as a bonus I can teach you how to better use your powers, for good!"

She smiles and extends a hand. "But you have to let the students go, you'll show them, I'll help you show them. But not like this Bickles, not like this."

Bickle nodded, his face still pale. "Okay...I'll let everyone go. I think. No, I will. I'm really sorry. I'm really scared."

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. I'm going to go now if the police arrive in here do not resist understand? Don't worry no body wants to kill a minor they won't shoot, you may have to spend some time in jail, but I will get you out I promise you. Okay, I'm going to go now, it was nice meeting you Bickles."

***

Bickle did as he was asked. He cut the connection. The gunmen he'd been controlling all fell over. He'd been hiding in the principal's office, his huge tome of a spellbook held tight in his sweaty hands. It would be okay. He breathed out a sigh of relief. Don't resist.

That's what the weird mind mage kid said. No one died. It would be okay. It would. He slumped to the floor, shaking.

***

Company related complaints weren't really Morgan's suit, neither were questions that skated close to the edge of 'what's the nature of evil' or 'what is evil?". She didn't consider herself stupid. No. Morgan just preferred simple.

The more overly complex stuff got the more stupid it got. In her opinion straightforwardness is the way to be. It provides less questions, quick results. Morgan resisted the urge to shut the conversation down. She was in charge at the moment, this stuff was to be expected. Joe offered her a ration bar. Morgan took it and started eating it, her energy slightly restoring and pain fading. It didn't taste to bad either.

"Uh, yeah," Morgan said. "Not sure on the evil part Kotsu. We just do what we do. We got our reasons. I really like getting into deep conver - hey, when did it get night outside?"

She walked away from the group, stepping over the knocked out students. The morning light had gone, replaced by night, actual night. A full moon hung in the sky. A thick fog was surrounding the school building from all sides, so intense no human could possibly see through it. Any and all trees or forest seemed to begin expanding, closing inward around the school in a nearly maze like fashion. The police officers were coming out of the fog, advancing towards the gymnasium exit the group had come in through.

The offices had their gun drawn. A crazed look in their eyes. A red eyed bat zipped past their heads before vanishing into the great fog.

Morgan readied her magical power. She saw Owl back to.

"I'm guessing you didn't take care of the problem?" Morgan said.

"Kid?" A female voice sounded through the fog. It had an echo like sound effect to it. A voice none of them recognized. None of them except Aria. Winifred Or Vampire...as she preferred. "HAW HAW HAW! No, no, no, no, no. no. The child games are over. I hope you enjoyed these years away from us Aria. Its been so long. So long. I hope you didn't forget. I haven't. We've been watching. Waiting. This will be fun. It'll be like old times."

The woman laughed. What a laugh it was. HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW! "Only a bit of a role reversal where you are concerned, though. I'll be with you shortly. Once I have you...I'd recommend lying back and thinking of the Master. This will be a most glorious feast."

"Aria?" Morgan raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck?"

 

[Exzalia]

Owl was white with weakness but she looked to at Morgan and smiled.

"No it was a sucess. He's let go of the students, and he promises not to resist in return, we don't hurt him. And he did it, I feel his mind magic melting away. We should get to him now, he's scared and alone."

Owl tries to stand but stumbles falling to her knees. "I...I think I'm done though, it took all my power to mentain the connection. His mind magic is simple but man is his subconscious stubborn."

Kinggunlucky

 

[mmarage]

Joe looked between Morgan, Aria, and the female vampire. He drew his bow, grabbed out four arrows, and prepared a fire bottle. "Permission to open fire?" He asked, he knew that Owl probably needed more time. Whatever was going on... well... they'd have to deal with it quickly, and ensure no one got hurt in the process... well... aside from whoever this person was. How... had they made it night? It was morning only a few minutes ago... and... what was with the officer's eyes? They looked like they might open fire on the entire school at any moment.

He noticed that Owl was awake, he reached into his pack, pulled out his last ration bar, and tossed it to Owl. "Eat that, and get ready for a fight." He said. A lot of their group was still recovering... this... was definitely a major bump in their plan.

Exzalia Kinggunlucky

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aria​

Aria was about to congratulate Owl for the succes of their mission when it happened. Night came out of nowhere, fog appeared, and polices officer now walking mindlessly towards them. She might think this was a situation out of a zombie horror if she didn't knew the voice who spoke through the fog. Vampira, one of Alucard's past underlings. Vampira's voice gave her a shiver down her spine.

Oh, my. Why does she come here of all place? Even Alucard sounds surprised.

"Aria?" Morgan raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck?"

"Y-yeah. What the fuck. She is one of my... acquaintance" She was unsure what to do. If this was a mission she could just ask Morgan for an order, but no, she knew what this vampire wants... probably. "Stay here. I will talk to her first."

Aria jumped out of the window and climbed the school wall. Her fingers dig into the concrete as she made her way onto the rooftop.

"Hello, Vampira." Aria sent her greeting to the fog, not sure the exact location for the other vampire. "Can we just, talk this out? Pretty please?"

 

[Freikugel]

The situation was under control now, received Fizzy through the earpiece as he was scouting the backyard of the school

Well.. I actually did nothing this time.... thought the man relieved at the new

Yet his expression changed as soon as the whole environment was covered by fog.

"W..what's going on? "asked through the earpiece

Fizzy took a high jump using his boosters and landed at the rooftop trying to locate the rest of the team

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu turned to speak to Morgan. "Huh, you're right when did it get-" the charging of the police officers had eluded his hearing. He wasn't focused again. "I've gotta stop gettin' in my own head..." He said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand as they charged in. "Hey guys! Uh, the survivors are-" Kotsu noticed the red in their eyes before he heard an obnoxious laughter. "Who the hell got a case of the chuckles?"

Kotsu sees the bat zip past. "Are you fuckin' serious? This was supposed to be the easy one!" Kotsu summoned his whips, placing down the hostage he had wrapped in one of his whips. He tossed Joe two vials from the element vials he had received. "Catch these bud!" He tossed him another ice vial and tossed him an earth one to replenish his lost ones from the fight with the wolf. Tossing Morgan the ration bar he had, he told her. "Morgan, you did that thing earlier. Think you can do it again?"

Kotsu looks over at Owl. "Stay safe, please." He capped the flask and had one of his whips hand her the flask. "Remember. Emergencies." He cracked his knuckles and neck. He called Fizzy and told them their location. He then proceeded to tossed Fritz the assault rifle, and the magazine using his whips when he arrived. "You can probably use this thing better than me man."

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Talk? Seriously. I give a big awesome speech about killing you and that's your first reaction," Vampira said. "You should be shaking. Say something violent back. You never say anything vampirey."

"T-then. Let go of my friends. You just want me, right? Come and hit me, but spare the others." Aria extended both of her hands, letting herself open to attack.

The heck, Aria!!

"Okay," Vampira said. "You asked for it bitch."

A sniper rifled cracked somewhere from the fog. The bullet whizzed past Aria's head and blew apart a dove into a flurry of feathers. An uncomfortable silence filled the void.

"Next one is coming right for you!" Vampira shot again.

Aria heard a bullet hit the concrete ground behind her.

"Aw, seriously? Motherfucker!" Vampira yelled. "Hey, Aria...quit using mind magic to fuck up my shot. It isn't going to save you forever."

"B-but I'm not-" quit talking and start moving, Aria! If you die, I die. You know you can't talk her down. Alucard yelled inside her mind, he sounded angry and desperate.

"It's just, after witnessing Owl resolved the issue with the mind mage peacefully I was thinking that I can do it too."

Owl is Owl, you are you. You are a no brainer, so talk with your fist. First, go to the general direction of the bullet. She shot us while we are on the rooftop, so she must be somewhere higher.

Aria nodded and scanned the surrounding. She spotted the tallest building around. It looks like the campus' office building. Several floor higher than the general building she was on. It wasn't too far so Aria stepped back a bit, she took a stance and ran towards the edge of the rooftop to gain momentum before jumped.

Maybe she shouldn't done that.

Aria smashed into one of the office room, destroying the window in the process. She obliterated a desk and a set of computer in her landing. She was thinking to use the stairs to reach the rooftop but if Vampira takes advantage of this, she would be trapped in a narrow space. Once more, Aria jumped out of the window and began climbing the wall with her barehands. This time, she climbed in an unpredictable pattern to avoid getting shot.

***

A bat streaked through the fog, hovering over the rooftop of the school. It floated there awhile, eyeing Fizzy Roy with red hatred. The bat changed, morphing from its small form into the shape of a man. He fell from the sky, bending his knees as he landed a few feet away from Fizzy.

He was average sized with broad shoulders, long dark curly hair, goatee, and piercing red eyes. His clothing was from a different era, almost pirate like. A red coat with many button, baggish white cloth pants, and black large black boots. A rapier scabbard dangled from his side.

The pirate man smiled at Fizzy, revealing fanged teeth.

***

Morgan unleashed her magical energy as soon as the first of wave of police started coming through the door. Two got shots off, but the rest collapsed, stumbling over one another at the sudden change in blood pressure.

 

[Exzalia]

"Are they being mind controlled?" owl asks, "if so I can locate the source of the mind manipulation by touching them, just like with Bickles."
Owl gets up takes two steps, then stops panting. She was still drained.

"Hey Joe, you wouldn't happen to have a potion that restore manna do you?" Owl asks, she felt so weak she could vomit.

mmarage

 

[mmarage]

Joe looked over at Kotsu as he heard him. He dropped the arrows to catch the vials. "Got it!" He said, he quickly stowed them away. He didn't see where the vampire had gone... so, he'd have to keep the fire on standby for when he did see her. He quickly reached down and picked up the arrows, before looking at Owl. "The ration bar I gave you. It'll restore your energy, it might not give you everything back, but it should be enough to keep you going." He explained as he grabbed out an earth vial, pouring it over the four arrows he'd pulled out earlier. Once again, they looked as if they'd turned to stone.

He nocked an earth arrow, and then quickly fired it into the ground, close to them. After a second, the arrow shattered as the earth beneath it rose into a great spiked barricade about 6 feet high and 10 feet across. It would force the officers to have to go around them, buying them just a bit more time. It seemed the arrows were more potent when they interacted with like elements. "Alright, we need to think of a plan. We can't harm the cops, they're clearly not themselves right now. Owl, I'm not sure how strong you are to go mind delving again, and I'm afraid of what kind of results might happen. For now, I need you near me, I need you to help me keep a clear head, got it? We're going to have to find the source and take 'em down. That's the quickest way to deal with their leader, hopefully it'll break the control they hold." Joe said, looking around to see where they could go. Maybe... maybe he could get up to the roof. With his enhanced vision, he could call out to the rest of the team where their enemy was hiding out.

"Owl, roof, now!" He said as he turned and began running through the halls, looking for a staircase that would lead to the roof access, keeping one of the earth arrows nocked at all times, just in case he got a little surprise.

Exzalia