Futuristic Arcadia: Heroes World Brave

[DarKnight36]

"Deal with your past," Sasha said quietly, pain clearly written on his face as he turned away. He cleared his throat.

"There's an ongoing attack on Anthem City, looks like two factions turning the place into a battleground," Sasha continued, turning back with an expression much more normal again. "I don't know if you're feeling up to it but I might need to sit this one out myself."

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko's eyes widened at Sasha's statement of his past but before she had a chance to inquire further, he moved on.

She hadn't though.

"Woah, woah. Hold up there, speedo," Akiko said with a small frown. "You can't just play the past card and move on to the current dilemma of the week card. That's an illegal move."

She crossed her arms over her chest, noticing that the spirits seemed quiet for once. There was more she was about to say when she noticed her attire and without warning, starting shoving Sasha out of her room.

"Tell me while I change, through the door," she said as she slammed the door in his face. Akiko hesitated in her room. There was the thought she shouldn't pry further but he, and Henry and Lynne, had seen Alpheum. That was related to her past so it was a fair trade right? Not that she wanted to talk more about it either. Then again, the Russian hadn't revealed much so a chance to get information out was tempting...

"I mean, if you want!" Akiko shouted from the other side. "Like you don't have to, but I'd be willing to lisetn pally oh pal of mine. But really, what are we gonna do if we sit out? Seems kinda important!"

 

[DarKnight36]

Sasha hesitated then sighed. "The video Alpheum sent, the one to blackmail us. I wasn't in the footage."

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko stopped on the second button, looking up. Had they really missed Sasha? Her face scrunched up as she tried her hardest to remember, asking in a voice that totally conveyed the fact she had paid attention, "Oh, yeah! I totally saw that! But that's cuz you were in another form, wasn't it? I definitely remember seeing an old man in those clips."

There had been no old man in the clips of the blackmail video.

 

[DarKnight36]

Sasha smiled. "They definitely got me on camera in my normal form. And they know who I am. So why not include me?"

"You know I used to work for the Russian government, right?" Sasha asked. "I didn't exactly leave on good terms. I ran. Disappeared. And told them it would be better they not try to look for me." Sasha paused. "They've clearly changed their minds."

"Alpheum erased me from the footage at someone's request," Sasha concluded. "Maybe one of the board members. But they're most certainly tied to the KGB. Funding perhaps. Either way, they've found me and it's only a matter of time before they come to... fetch me."

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko stopped, her arm part way into her suit jacket. She looked back at the door with a baffled look on her face, question marks practically appearing over her head.

"Y-yeah, I totally knew that," she said as she resumed getting dressed. Man Alpheum really has their hand in a lot of cookie jars. The KGB was one jar she hadn't even considered. Were the lanterns making a peep? Come get Sasha?

"So what?" Akiko asked as she opened the door, dressed in her trademark suit. "You gonna hide again for a bit?"

 

[DarKnight36]

"No, but I'm hesitant to show myself on a mission like this," Sasha said, frowning. "What happens if Russian operatives arrive? It's an unnecessary complication."

 

[obscured_light]

"Hmm.." Akiko pondered the question, putting her chin on her fist. She hadn't expected Sasha to look so worried but the two barely knew each other. He probably hadn't expected to be dragged into a mega corporation's evil schemes dealing with anti-ghost insurance policies.

"Sasha," she said , clapping a hand on his shoulder, staring him directly in the eyes. "I have no idea! But I'm sure we can figure it out with the others? I mean we have a pretty capable team and being dragged into unnecessary complications is the sprinkles on top of this cookie."

She beamed confidently at him even though inside she was really wondering how much she should be promising right now with possibly having no real way to back it up.

"Trust me, we got this. You've escaped their clutches this long and we don't intend to hand you back to them."

 

[DarKnight36]

Sasha just smiled. "Thank you Akiko, but I'm not worried for myself. Truthfully the only reason I mention it is because I want you to know you're... not alone here. We're more alike than you might think."

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko raised an eyebrow and slowly withdrew her hand. Her expression became guarded again, wary. It was like the happy exterior she so freely threw out was being sucked in, leaving a rather sober and tired Akiko in its wake.

"We certainly seem to be in similar situations," she said carefully, studying Sasha's expression closely. "Intertwined, even. But I..."

Her parents, her friends, Melvin... All of their faces came up in her mind's eye. She closed her own and bit back a long sigh. Instead, she opened her eyes and smiled at Sasha though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I appreciate it, as difficult as it is right now. We should probably get going though. We have to get everyone else, don't we?"

 

[DarKnight36]

"Now who's pulling the illegal move?" Sasha said, his smile fading. "But yes, the others are gathering in the lounge."

He held back a sigh. Despite what he'd said, Sasha wasn't sure how much he could truly offer Akiko. He'd felt the Brave was a fresh start but perhaps he'd been wrong. The past wasn't so easily forgotten.

 

[MisoraUni]

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  How she's feeling...

  
  
  
  

  Oh boy there's more fleshy zombies, wowza.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
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  What she's wearing...

  
  
  
  

  Sporty sweat pants and tank top - black.

  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
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  Where she's at...

  
  
  
  

  Los Angeles, California. March 25th, 2045. At a Hotel.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
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  Mentions/Interactions...

  
  
  
  

  Lord Saethos
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

Yukisa

-----

Yukisa had woken up an hour ago, glad to finally be alone for at least a little bit.

She has some toast with chocolate spread on it in her hands very close to being eaten when she receives a text from Richard.

She taps around on her phone then views the news as Richard said to do.

Yukisa looks at it for a few seconds before understanding the situation and goes back to the texting screen.

She types: Yes please. Where are you right now? And do you have a quick way to get to Anthem City? If not then I have something in mind.

She clicks send. Seeing as his number was new to her phone, she saves it immediately into her contacts.

She consumes the rest of her breakfast then gets changed into a different pair of sweatpants and a tank top, grabs her case of throwing knives and shoves it into her backpack along with some useful rescue items like a high tensile rope, tape, etc, ties her hair up into a high ponytail, shoves her phone into her pocket and then darts down the stairs of the hotel she is temporarily staying in all within the span of 2 minutes.

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[druidquest]

• SINS Field Office, March 25th, Morning.
• SINS Senior Agent Private Office, SINS Field Office, March 25th, Morning.

• "-Listen, don't get me wrong, there are worse guys to be assigned under, it's just-" Agent Bricker stopped himself mid-sentence, casting a wary glance toward Radovan's office as another bout of his razor sharp laughter came through the door. The man had apparently been on the phone all day, though the lower agents weren't fully convinced he was working. They wouldn't tell him that, though. Bricker leaned in close to the others, lowering his voice. "Look, that guy is up to something. Something big, and we're all just supposed to go along with it? Two supers got loose in that incident at the tower- two! High profile, dangerous supers! And instead of looking for them he tells us to- to what, sit on our hands? Pretend like we're working?"
  
  "Scanning satellite images and radio chatter isn't what I'd call 'pretending'," Lidia cut in, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.
  
  Bricker threw out his hands. "Exactly! Exactly. What are we even scanning for? Its just busy work. He just wants us to look productive without actually making progress. And that's not even-" He cast a glance over his shoulder again. "-what about those supers he's got following him around everywhere? Nina's one thing, she's been here, but that other one just showed up last week, no explanation, just there. You can't tell me that isn't suspicious."
  
  "So Li got assigned to him, too," Mayer said, scoffing at Bricker's paranoia. "You have a problem with her now, too?"
  
  "What? No I-" Bricker looked around the office again. "No, I mean- how many agents do you know that get assigned to handle two supers at once? Even those pink sisters got split between 5 different guys."
  
  Lidia chuckled to himself. "I sure wouldn't mind splitting th-" He was cut off by Mehdi delivering a swift whack to his head.
  
  "They're redheads," Mayer added.
  
  Bricker stared between Mayer and Lidia for a second before finding his train of thought again. "It just looks odd. How do we know anyone ever actually signed off on that? Do the higher-ups even know about it?"
  
  "They were just at the tower, idiot," Mayer retorted. "They were seen together. If she wasn't supposed to be assigned to Radovan, I doubt they would've just ignored it."
  
  Bricker threw up his hands. "Okay. Sure. Sure! But do they really know? Did they check? Actually look at their files and verify? Or just let it go because everyone working security assumed it was already cleared?"
  
  "Do we need to start making you wear a tinfoil hat, bud?" Mehdi asked, not looking up from his computer. "9G getting to you?"
  
  Bricker groaned in frustration, pushing his chair back and standing. "Sure, I'm just crazy," he grumbled at his coworkers, pulling a crumpled pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and sticking one in his mouth. He leaned forward on the back of his chair, hissing at the trio one more time. "Just don't come crying when this all shits on our heads."
  
  He pushed off it and stormed toward the door, stepping back at the last second as it swung toward him. Nina was standing on the opposite side with her hand on the knob, blinking once in surprise as she registered Bricker standing there. Hudson slipped past her and into the building, grumbling something about the two of her and Bricker being in the way.
• Hudson strode across the office floor with long steps, not sparing a passing glance for the agents at the desks in the center. Nina followed after, offering a smile and a wave to the three agents before the pair disappeared into Radovan's office, not bothering to knock or otherwise announce their presence. As soon as the door shut behind them Hudson tossed the tablet in her hands onto Radovan's desk, tapping it once to light up the screen and reveal the live news feed playing on it.
  
  "We're going here," she stated, as though it were not a matter of debate.

 

[PiePillager]

At the VTOL, Henry took the pilot's seat as he waited for the other members of the Brave to board. It seemed almost everyone had gathered save Sasha and Akiko. "No word from George yet," he shrugged. "Probably busy with something. As for the mission at hand, I've downloaded a schematic of Anthem and overlayed it with the reported hot spots where these battles are taking place. Special markers are in place for where both factions at war are thought to have their bases set up at and for the various exit points around the city, where we can try and evacuate any civilians."

"Kind of strange how there hasn't been a huge response to this just yet," Henry wondered aloud. "I'm gonna focus on getting all the civilians to safety and we can incapacitate any of the warring forces when we can . I doubt we have much time..." Henry noted with a sigh. "Sasha can fly and Akiko's currently incapacitated. If she recovers, maybe they'll join us but we can't wait. Takin' off in five..."

 

[DarKnight36]

Albert took a seat. "You know, up until now I've been simply using my passive energy I build up over time. It'll be interesting to actually get into a fight with some of these creatures. Brawling is something I'm much better suited for." He frowned. "Sort of anyway."

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko was wheezing by the time she had made it to the VTOL, legs weak, looking as pale as the ghosts she came across. Her and Sasha had gone to collect the others but after the first few empty rooms, they both realized everyone had already left. In a foolish attempt to catch up, Akiko had sped walked her way down to the VTOL. She hadn't even attempted to summon her belt to ghost her way down as she had before when dragging Henry along. But she hadn't even gone halfway when her her body had refused to give in anymore.

Therefore, she brute forced her way down, unwilling body and all. Each step felt like someone had encased her in cement and told her to walk through a bog. Any help that was offered, if it was, was quickly rejected due to Akiko's pride on an imaginary line she liked to place haphazardly. So many aches and creaks and curses from Akiko herself. It was no wonder she had arrived with a minute to spare.

"He...HEH...."

Her attempts to call Henry ended up with her coughing like her cats had lodged a hairball in her throat.

 

[PiePillager]

"I think...maybe you should stay here. Drink some water, rest up and see how you feel later," Henry advised Akiko.

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko gave a thumbs up as she caught her breath.

 

[PiePillager]

"Okay, well stand back, then! I doin't know if Sasha's coming or not, but we're taking off. We'll be on comms if you need anything or vice versa!" Henry nodded, pressing the button nfor the VTOL's doors to shut, the vehicle soon leaving the hangar and heading for Anthem.

As they flew, he turned to Albert and asked. "You know, come to think of it...how much energy can you absorb anyway? Have you found a limit at all?"

 

[DarKnight36]

"Uh, no I have not," Albert said, flushing slightly. "I, er, tested it once. But I got a little nervous when I started glowing." Albert shrugged and laughed sheepishly.

***

Sasha caught up to Akiko. "Probably for the best to recover for a bit, Akiko. Did you tell them I wasn't going?"

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko was still catching her breath but shook her head.

 

[PiePillager]

"Well, that could be either a good thing or a bad thing in this line of work," Henry shrugged. "But hey if you want to get in on the action by taking out the attackers on the ground, be my guest. That way we can focus on the civilians and then pinpointing the source of all this chaos."

The flight from the waters of the Pacific Ocean to Anthem City would normally take around 17 hours. The normal speed of George's VTOLs would take around a third of that. But with the upgrades made to the vehicle thanks to the technological expertise of Klaus along with a few contacts of Henry's made during the day following their trip to Australia, even that time was eclipsed.

To describe the feelings of the Bedivere's pit crew, one would have to make two camps. The frustrated and the astounded. Both in reference to the fact that Klaus' apparent upgrades took place so quickly, without leaving them much room for understanding of just what was in play here or perhaps because whoever Henry had hired to make additional upgrades had done so completely unseen even by the supposed employer. Simple professional courtesy meant that all questions had, would be answered later. Emergencies always take priority.

The vehicle blasted fourth, tearing through the skies until it quickly began to reach it's destination, alighting down on a rooftop of a tall buildingin Anthem's northeast.

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko sat cross-legged on the ground, hands on her knees, looking up as she saw the VTOL disappear from view. Her heavy, labored breathing had calmed and gathered into a long, worn out sigh.

"You know," she said to Sasha, not turning back to face him. "When I wished for powers, I didn't imagine me sitting out because my souls went bonkers and decided to drain me like a juice box."

She chuckled but there was a hint of bitterness nestled within. A few moments passed before she finally turned to face him, sporting a large grin.

"Well, bird of a feather, what should we do? And can you, uh, help me up? I may be stuck..."

 

[DarKnight36]

"I can possibly help you in other ways as well," Sasha said, taking Akiko's hand and allowing her to lean on him for a moment as she regained her balance. "I do have some experience with souls."

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko snorted, "Playing the new VR MMO RPG gacha 'Souls Light' game does not count."