Over The Beyond.

[Retribution]

​

Another investigation of corruption within the Out Lands beyond the reaches of the encumopolis that is Leanadur: City of Mages. High Commander Rion of the Ivory Guard was given the task of traveling out to the Out Lands and visit each of the village one by one until he found the root of evil that had found its way to the home world of Serah. It had been over a month and still he hasn't had a good lead. Each of them would go cold once he thought he had gotten close. Though today he was sure that his luck would change and so he ordered the helmsmen to steer the airship, Vallah, towards the next village on the list.


"Take us about, we're heading for the next village. I'm done playing around, we're going to find the lead we need there."


Rion fixed his black leather coat that had white and red embroidery stitched into the hide. It also had silver wolf head pendants pressed into the coat as well along with medals and badges that signaled him as a ranked commanding officer. After adjusting and flipping his collar up over his ears he turned on his rubber heels of his boots and headed to check on Mrs. Fletcher. A female mage that was ordered to accompany him.


He walked off the bridge and into the next section of the airship. He walked rather quickly across the polished wooden floor passing by crew where working at their stations. He could feel the rumbling vibration of the engines at either side of the ship thrive on keeping them afloat in the skies. Finally he reached her room in the living quarters, he reached up and firmly knocked on her metal door with his white gloved hand and spoke out after clearing his throat.


"Mrs. Fletcher, your presence is needed in the briefing room in five minutes. I highly believe that the last village we are approaching on the list will have the lead we need to find this so called corruption", he paused for her reply then spoke again, "Mrs. Fletcher?"

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

"Ah.. Yes- Yes sir!" Came the breathless, hasty reply from within. "I will be there right away, sir!" Muffled thumps echoed behind the door, and a steady stream of what was presumably her talking to herself. It only took a moment for her to open the door, her short brown hair still damp from her recent shower. She wore a close-fitting beige shirt and thin black pants shoved haphazardly into knee-high boots.


Each article of her clothing was embroidered with gold thread enchanted to be fireproof, and for extra measure she had on a necklace with a single rune as a pendant to help her focus her abilities. It didn't happen often, but she still managed to accidentally set things on fire every once in a while. She hadn't yet on this mission, but she wasn't taking any chances. Animated brown eyes flicker across the corridor before she hurries toward the briefing room in long strides, almost but not quite jogging in her haste.

 

[Retribution]

The iron room was filled with men and women who were under the command of Rion. They had already began to discuss plans of how they would divide up the village in ways so they could question the citizens more potently. When Rion noticed that his female mage hadn't shown up yet he decided to go and get her from her room. He turned right around after excusing himself and opened the iron door only to be struck by the hasty mage who just now arrived.


"Umph!!"


The two struck each other in a awkward position. Their chests were pressed hard against each other and their faces nearly touching. Rion grunted and stepped back real quickly and gave her a narrowed eyed face of annoyance before speaking.


"You're a minute late, Mrs. Fletcher. Come, we're just discussing how we are going to interrogate the citizens. We need to get a lead as quick as possible before any more deaths come down upon us. We don't need to raze this Out Lands in search of whatever dark arts is at work here."

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again." She mutters as she takes her place in the group, trying her best not to let her cheeks get red from embarrassment. For as much as she tried, it worked not at all. So she simply ignored the flare in her face as best she could, head up in a display of confidence she didn't necessarily feel. She was likely one of the youngest people working on this, and it made her just a little more nervous than usual. Add to that the fact that many of the people she was working with were officers, and it doubled her anxiety.


Disregarding her train of thought, she tunes in to the conversation around her to pick up what she'd missed by being late, ready to offer her opinion if anyone directed a question at her, or if she had an idea to help. Her fingers unconsciously twist around each other in front of her, a habit she had when she was either eager or nervous.

 

[Retribution]

"All right, Mrs. Fletcher and I will take the eastern area of the town. I want to interrogate the local mages there. Where ever these roots of evil are, they will more than likely be there if not, then it will be where ever else you people are going to be."


Rion began to circle out areas of interest with a red pencil marks. He pointed them out to each officer inside the room and finally he turned to his partner who was accompanying him. He knew why she was assigned to him, she was here so she could pass her officers exam but successfully completing a mission under the High Commanders eyes.


"Mrs. Fletcher here is assigned with us so she can pass her officers exam. Now, Mrs. Fletcher do you have any ideas you care to share with us? How about would you to interrogating a mage, like yourself? Anything can help us succeed today in catching the evil that has been affecting the people of the Out Lands."

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

Okay. Deep Breath. She stood up a little straighter, determined to do well. "The best advice I can give, sir, is to make sure they know we're on their side. We're not there to attack them, but to help. Of course, I'm just going by what I'd rather have told to me, so I could be wrong." Inwardly, she winces. It nearly breaks through to her outward expression, but she just barely catches herself. Her advice sounded feeble to her own ears at best, but hopefully they didn't notice. Even as she thought that, she knew it wouldn't be true.


She clears her throat uncomfortably, glancing around at the expectant faces. Anything else she could say they already knew, like watch for suspicious behavior. She risks a glance at High Commander Rion's face to see if he was disappointed or not, unable to help herself from the quick flick of her eyes.

 

[Retribution]

"Indeed. Remember mages can be powerful people. If they happen to be corrupted in anyway we cannot afford them to attack us in the open. This will look bad within the media. We're here to interrogate and get to the bottom of this."


Rion gave Fletcher a pat on her back trying to get her to calm down. Seconds later the room was filled with green blinking lights from the tops of the corners. The helmsmen have turned on the silent alarms that they were approaching the docks. It was time to get ready and after Rion dismissed the squad that will be going to the town, he grabbed Fletcher's wrist and held it softly.


"Hey, you're doing all right. Calm down, ease yourself. If these mages are indeed the ones that are infected with Chaos, they cannot sense that you're nervous self."

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

Tirah gave him a smile flooded with gratitude and nods, strands of half-dry hair falling into her face. She brushes them behind her ears with an impatient hand. "Okay. Thank you, sir. I won't let you down."


She takes another deep breath, standing aside as the High Commander exited the room. After taking a second or two to regain some of her lost confidence, she follows after him. She watches his back carefully, making extra sure not to run into him again as she runs her hands through her short mane of hair, drying it with a tiny application of her natural element as she pushes it back from her face. As it usually did, the feel of magic flowing through her helped to calm her the rest of the way.


By the time the airship had docked, she was ready to go out and do her duty without fear, prepared for anything.

 

[Retribution]

Quickly Rion made his way down the spiral steel stair case down to the lower decks. The rest of the investigation squad had already been dispatched to the areas they were assigned too. The High Commander looked to his mage companion and nodded his head to her. He headed down the boarding ramp, his boots making firm thud steps until he reached the dirt covered ground. The male saw the horse and carriage arrive to pick them up. It wasn't anything fancy, a plain horse and a plain carriage with steel wheels, and a dirty frame. Rion smirked in approval, this should keep them a low cover as they do their work within the town.


"Just the way I wanted it to be. Good, now let's get going Mrs. Fletcher."

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

Tirahna tamped down a flutter of nervous excitement, her mouth turning up just barely into a smile. She follows her Commander with lighter, more clipped steps, down the ramp until she was next to him again. She fought not to wriggle too badly as she examined the carriage. She had the same feeling as her partner; This was going to be it. The corruption was in this village.


She takes another deep breath, reaching up to touch her pendant reassuringly. "Yes, sir." She murmurs firmly, stepping forward to open the door to the seating beyond. She stood to the side to let the higher ranking official go through ahead of her.

 

[Retribution]

Rion gave Tirahna a soft reassuring smile before stepping up quickly into the carriage. He sat down on the red satin seats, the inside wasn't impressive but rather plain and dull like the carriage itself on the outside. He heard the driver snap his reins and the horses began to gallop towards the town. The road made the trip rather bumpy, but it didn't bother Rion what bothered him was the overcast skies beginning to get darker and darker as they grew closer to the town. He reached out and tapped Tirahna on her knee and pointed outside passed the glass.


"Take a look, the clouds, they're unnaturally darker. What do you make of this?"


This could be a possible sign that something dark was at play here. He wanted to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. Rion took out his two large pistols from his holsters on his legs. These magic fused weapons were actually gunblades but the blade was produced as a blue energy blade and when shot it would fire the blade as a large plasma bolt. He was loading the weapon with magic infused crystal shells then placed them back into his holsters.

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

Now that they were getting closer, Tirah began to feel more and more uncomfortable; This village wasn't right. She was sure of it. She twitched as Rion taps her, the certainty clear before she even spoke that she didn't just see how wrong it was. She could feel it, too.


"I think we'll find whatever evil has been happening here. It feels... wrong." She looks out the window at the dark sky, foreboding crashing over her. She fought to suppress a shudder. "Actually, scratch that. I know we'll find it." Her eyes had gone hard, her mouth firm. Determination was made clear in the way she sat up a little straighter, even though her hands were clenched in her lap and her body didn't sway with the bumps in the road from how taut her muscles were. She wasn't sure if she wanted to end the carriage ride quickly, or not at all.

 

[Retribution]

The scarlet eyed male looked to his partner and grabbed her hand that was clenching her lap so tightly. Those eyes staring deep into her own and those pale lips curling up into a assuring smile that he would take care of her. The carriage was beginning to slow down, this was the signal that they were in the town square. When the carriage stopped Rion stood up from the uncomfortable seat and proceeded to open the door. The street lamps were turned on, but they were dimly lit. There was barely anyone outside walking about, and at this time the sun should be over head shining brightly. Rion quickly adjusted the wolf buttons along his leather trench coat then when his partner came climbing down he headed for the town hall.


Each step of his boots seemed to echo through out the emptiness of the town square. Shadows can be seen dancing about the faces of buildings, distant chatter, distant laughter could be heard. Thunder sounded over head and slowly small droplets of rain began to fall upon the ground. The atmosphere was beginning to become more uneasy as they drew closer and closer to the town hall. The building itself held a eerie feeling about it, the windows were dark, they didn't reflect and just as they got to the door a bolt of lightning spit the very sound barrier and cracked the skies just over head.

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

Tirah, who normally enjoyed a good thunderstorm, squeaked in alarm and nearly bumbled into Rion as she jumped like a frightened cat. Immediately after, a dark and uncomfortable flush of mortification spread across her cheeks. "Uh.. sorry.. Sir.." She looks anywhere but at him, biting her lip and cursing herself in her head. She had to get a hold on her terror, forcing herself to take deep breaths in the rain. It didn't stop the creeping feeling along the back of her neck, nor the chill racing up and down her spine.


"I get the distinct feeling we won't be interrogating anyone, let alone asking questions. This entire town feels.. horrible." She murmurs nervously, wide eyes darting around even as she tried to walk confidently. The dark windows and utter lack of people or light were giving her more creeps than she'd ever encountered before. As an odd sort of comfort, her fingertips glowed with tiny flames that hissed quietly as the rain pattered down. It lent a little more light to the dark, dreary surroundings.

 

[Retribution]

"Then I shall take this as good news. We can be on our way home if we hurry and get to the bottom of this."


The male felt her body bump into his due to the frightening sound of the lightning whipping the sky. It startled Rion too but he's learned to master his body, but he could feel his heart skip a beat and shift into a higher gear. He gripped the brass door knob and turned it slowly till he could push the door open. Strangely the inside was lit pretty well, though no one was in sight. He continued on wards and took a few moments to look around before looking towards his partner.


"Let's look around, but don't split up. It may take longer trying to find them but we're stronger as a pair."


Rion went towards the front desk looking for something, papers or clues of any kind but instead he found a pile of ashes. He narrowed his eyes and sighed, his partner was right the corruption is here. He looked towards her and held his hand up for her to stop.


"We have to find them. Get on the communicator and have our squad come here. The evil is in this town."

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

Tirah followed his order right away. She lifted her hand, pressing the button necessary to contact the squad. "Calling all teams, get to the town square immediately. The corruption is here, I repeat; The corruption is here. And please, for the love of everything holy, make it snappy. It's creepy as hell over here."


She waited for confirmation, tense and uncomfortable. Sparks danced between her fingers with her high-strung nerves. Her ears strained for any unusual noise, her eyes for any person, the feeling of being watched and mentally pushed at slowly getting worse and worse. Her body temperature was rising with the heat of her flames, degree by degree. If anything came at them, she'd have no problems charring it to a crisp. That was certain.

 

[Retribution]

"Ooooo weeeeee!! A High Commander from Central Magik Intelligence! Hehehehehehehehe!! AND YOU BROUGHT YOUR LITTLE B I T C H TOO!!"


Rion was instantly struck by an invisible force that came out of nowhere. The battle-mage quickly fell to his knees after dropping his gunblades. He slammed his hands to his head and cried out in pain. He could feel the witches nails dig into his brain, his nose dripping quickly with blood and his eyes rolling to the back of his head. His breathing was growing out of control and that was when he snapped and everything slowed down. He quickly stood before reaching out and used his telekinetic power to grab his gunblades. His body was glowing with a blue pulsating ward that was protecting him against the Witches dark magic.


"She's below us. I had to let her in my head just enough to get a location on her. Hand me my Mana Injector, I'm slowly losing mana..."

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

"Permission to go after her, sir." She growls, fingers flying to give Rion what he'd asked for. She made sure to put her hand out first, before touching anything. Just in case. Her free hand, though, was burning as brightly as her new-found anger. The corruption had a face now; and she was determined to burn it off for the insult, and for the injury. She kept her eyes on the High Commander to make doubly sure he was alright, distantly worried about the High Commander as she watched the blood drip down his face.

 

[Retribution]

Rion grabbed the injector after sheathing one of his gunblades. He stuck the device into his neck hard and squeezed the trigger and was instantly filled with the Mana he needed. He threw the remains down to the ground then drew his gunblade out once more. They didn't have any time to waste so he moved himself closer to Fletcher and aimed his twin gunblades at the floor.


"Hold on to me and don't let go. Down we go!"


He quickly squeezed the triggers and instantly the floor below them was torn to shreds from the sudden impacts of the energy bolts. The second floor exploded as well then the third and finally the fourth where they crashed through and landed on cobble stone. The walls were pitch black and the air smelled foul with death.


"Here we go! She's coming for us! You know what to do!"


Rion slung his gunblades back into their holsters and from his back appeared a great sword. The black and silver blade glowed red with life at the sharp edge. The screaming throttling engine that was forged into the hilt spat out flames from its exhaust pipes every time he would squeeze the throttle. The sword was just as big as his body but was able to be wielded by him.

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

As soon as she let go, she ignited her hands again. The illumination lit up a portion of the room, but she didn't hesitate before firing off a spell. The source of the corruption guided her aim as a lance of bright flame flew like an arrow from her hands. The force of the blast was a loud whump against the wall, and she cursed under her breath. At least she'd nearly hit the witch, the sparks and scattered flames seeking the evil hag's skin and clothes.

 

[Retribution]

Rion saw she missed hitting the Witch, this was the perfect time for her to practice without knowing she wasn't hitting a practice dummy but an actual evil witch hell bent on killing them. The male sprinted off into the darkness guided by the light of his red how glowing sword. He grabbed the handle with both hands and shouted a loud grunt while swinging upwards. He released the brake and with a powerful fuuum the sword released the built up energy and struck the witch. The being stumbled back before screaming and jumping into the air.


"Hit her! Calm your self and just focus your flames on her!"

 

[The_Lady_Yin]

"Okay.." She whispers, bringing her hands together with a sharp exhalation. She did exactly what he told her to, drowning everything out but the location of her enemy and Rion, her focus on the flames building in her palms. Her eyes seemed to light from within as she compacted the flames into a hard ball of volatile orange, and then they closed. Sight would do her less than hearing, or simply feeling. The world seemed to stand still for her as she aimed.


She let go of the ball with a sound like a gunshot, the flame fizzling past Rion and exploding in mid-air to an unearthly screech of pain. It lit the witch's face for a brief second before the hungry flames engulfed her body.