Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Sir Les Paul]

Yutu Tatigat​

"Astor"​

Species Meister (Werewolf)
Location Daedelon Island
Mission An Ancient Quarry


​

Tags: Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen

1127 | January 17th, 2067​

OBJECTIVES​

- Locate and Incinerate Mercenary Bodies (2/5)
- Destroy all Magitech Equipment (2/5)
- Reach the plateau atop Mount Stheno (0/1)
- Signal faction Helicopters to retrieve statues (0/1)
- Defend Helicopters until retrieval is complete (0/1)

"I'm sure we could," Astor said, replying directly to the last comment suggested by Alek, "but, that sounds like massive waste of energy."

One of the advantages of the Jorguün Needles came in the fact they were a set. A set just as effective alone as they were together - for the most part.

"Hoshi," he called, trying to get the attention of the man. Once he did, he tossed him one of the twin swords he was using to stave off the snakes. "Channel your wavelength into it and it will dispel the petty magic of these snakes," he instructed, "and if you can run on the water, then sprint to that armor and drop the thermal grenades on it."

Astor then began to excite his own wavelength, pouring it into the sword he possessed. As he did, the aura of anti-magic it generated became larger and larger. For a Witch, this would be a nuisance, but unable to outright negate a spell. For these meager snakes, it was enough to clear the area. "We have several extra, so dropping a few on a timer shouldn't hurt us," Astor told them, reminding them in case they had forgotten just how well-equipped Aegis left them.

"I doubt we can do much once he's out on the water," Astor said, turning his attention to Alek. "Though it pains me to say it, this might be a time when his speed is more valuable than anything we bring to the table," he added, demonstrating one of his few moments of humility.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

The Missing of the Giant Mountains
Investigative Mission

Local Time: 0610 (6:10 AM) - Date: 09/27/67
Location: Zelezny Brod - Liberec Region - Czech Republic​

Watching the interplay between the party, Jurgen closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, before opening them, as he marveled at the lack of professionalism, use of coercion, and general seemingly lack of respect to the team leader. For her own part, she at least had asked the right questions, so she was not incompetent at the least, some screaming in German would set all of them back into their place, but it mattered not. Events were now beyond his control and the main office was giving him 72 hours and only 72 hours from the agent's arrival to solve the case. But why had the main office entrusted it to them? Were they the stars of tomorrow, or the final page on an embarrassing chapter?

The Hoshi, likely had told them all to shut up, the first werewolf of grey was likely talking to her meister, and the second was taking her boisterous partner from the room, while the leader and the sullen looking fellow actually asked questions. How he hated being in an office position now, climbing and hiking moutains, Ah... yes I should ask.

"First I shall answer your questions, but I have some of my own in turn, call it a man of experience wishing to impart some of his field service history..."

Given the leader had spoken up first, Supervisor Wallner would answer her, pulling up the profiles of five individuals;

First was a busty young woman who looked fair of face by any measures, with a curious dog tag looking device around her neck, East Asian by ethnicity, likely Japanese, Dark brown hair and dark brown eyes finished her, otherwise she was rather unremarkable, zooming out she seemed to favor a leotard under her clothing which was a button up shirt, a harness, skirt and boots.

"Akita Nohori - Age 25, Service History with the DWMA five years. Weapon, Sniper Rifle built upon the PSG-1, Complex Resonance is a given. I will not show the full service history, but she had the ability to compress her spiritual power for long range, pinpoint attacks, to be capable of Armor Piercing, if she has any weakness, it is the fact she "see's" or senses through the scope, so it is possible to find dead zones or get her tunnel visioned, two Star Ranking, on the lower end."

Next was a man, thin framed, 5'11" tall, pale complexation, blue eyes, would not be out of place in a Boy's Pop band, it seemed he was the partner to the gun. Wearing a pristine suit and a gun harness under the jacket, he would blend in with any generic secret service force. Clean cut, and well kempt hair.

"Samuel Janus - Called Walker in Jest, his special feature, if you wish to call it that, is to ground his presence to any solid object via his feet. It is a bit like, personal magnetic field in a way, minus rather than attracting metalic objects or deflecting them, he can polarize his feet and hands with any said surface to cling to it. In effect he can walk along walls and ceilings and scale them with ease, logic dictated he should be able to handle the rough terrain. Average Two Star agent."

Next was a brother and sister pair, or perhaps husband and wife? Why he included both was soon to make sense, and would be confirmed to be the latter, the pair had dirty blonde hair with the male's being slightly darker, both were German judging by the names, and ethnic makeup. Both were a bit older than the other two agents, likely in their early 30's, both seemed to have climbing gear and wore jeans and flannel with boots and climbing gloves.

"Edmun and Glenda Henchel. Two Stars, though, I would say their purpose here and skills are from search and rescue as well as tracking. Weapon and Meister pair, fittingly one is a climbing pick, Edmun that is. The two know the region well, and in terms of special features as some might say, they had no particular spiritual or wavelength related skills. They relied on training and improving their endurance with regards to resonating. They started service at the ages of 17 and 18 respectively and were married 10 years ago." It was towards the end that the mask broke partially. There was a bit of guilt that played across his face, as if to wince at pain. Given the ages of all three, it was more likely than not that he sent them and had a history with them. But whatever it was, he quickly banished it behind the same professionalism he had shown up till now as his gaze hardened.

"Next we have the CIA Witch, Minda Xifeng. Rather young as far as witches go, from my understanding and what the DWMA would share, she is roughly the equivalent of a Two Star agent on the higher end of things, however, it is not her combat ability that got her into the DWMA's CIA." Pulling up the picture, for her in kind she was a young looking woman, with a thin and short frame, likely standing no more than 5'1", dainty and light, wearing a one-piece dress, duster like jacket, black pants, with a leotard like quality to them and black boots. Her hair was raven black and her eyes were blue, her skin a light shade that carried an ethereal quality. Curiously like the first woman shown to the group she had a dog tag around her own neck and seemed to carry around a magic rod, short in size and scope, an oddity for a true witch maybe, but it likely had a reason and it seemed Jurgen had more to say.

"Minda is around 200 years old and was very much separated from her people in some regard, taking to her early life as a mercenary for hire, from the Steppes of Russia to the Jungles of South America. As noted, her skills were not in Combat, though impressive, rather it was her nature of being a commando and for infiltration, curiously preferring to work with Humans and using human weaponry, her spells seem to be related towards masking sounds and visuals via light magic. Of course, she has generic attack spells and the like, seems to specialize in spell circles. Either way, she was as noted, an infiltrator, valuable for tasks I'm sure the Hoshi with you, would understand rather well. When the Peace accords carried through, she quickly rose up the ranks and landed in central. She is rather young and inexperienced as far as the standards of her own kind goes, as to what tier of magic, I was not shared that."

Moving on to the next set of questions, it was about what the last reports were, "Seemingly the CIA was investigating this matter from the same light I am, but rather than send any three stars or additional agents not of the area, they asked for some of mine. For reasons much like theirs, I cannot just send three stars at every problem. I don't have that authority. As far as we know she had sent normal transmissions, her last being a data upload attempt near the area you are going to now. Satellites in the region can do but so much and the data is still being looked through. There is no obvious giant monster and the region is home to a number of dwellings, remote, isolated. My men reported back to me that they had gained information in the town and were following a lead towards the Northeast, the Giant Mountains, you likely see them now, and for some time, but the main region of it is towards what they mentioned. The signals eventually became garbled, though they mentioned a villa. Likewise, communication was lost. That is why we are sending three teams with a focus on combat and tracking."

Then there was the final question, that on what creatures lived in the area, or threats that there could be, that would be easier said that done. "Man has largely pacified this region, most creatures left are largely peaceful. Or if nefarious its creatures that are part of the cycle of life. Fenrir are known to live in the far remote areas, trolls, abominable snowmen, some types of Fae, wood and mountain gnomes of note. Then there is the various species of Fauna such as wolves, deer, bears, goats, so on and so forth, some of whom are magical.

Ah yes, given new realities we are... hmm... Loath to point the finger at them immediately but there are known to be various small groups of Monster Clans, typically some Vampires in ancient Castles, wolfmen caravanners, a few giants can still be found, but they are largely pacifistic or even live among the townspeople now days, good wood cutters and laborers. There are even a few Ghosts.

However, the disappearances as I noted are in far greater numbers than usual and from among tourists or from the nearby highways, rather than among the locals."

Waiting to see if there was anything else, Wallner stares at what few of the group were still here.

"My question is, have any of you ever been in the mountains, did you bring proper equipment or know much about the lay of the land? If not, then I suggest speaking with the locals. Carefully, some may know German, Polish, some Russian speakers, a few know English, but by and far they speak Czech."

Given the Train car was a custom job and reserved for the DWMA, the man seen no reason to not speak openly, anyone that could get a bug into it, the lounge they were in, the sleeper cars, hallway or toiletry, would likely already have other ways to listen in to start with. Being closed to the public had its advantages, though they wouldn't be able to get in without the train Keycard, in general it was a high-class private coach. Though, if one wished to eat, they would have to travel to the dining car.


Interactions/Mentions: EmperorsChosen (Elly) Sir Les Paul (Kisei) Merciless Medic (Sara) Pumpkid (Dante) The Regal Rper (Zosar) Haze- (Wren)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nada Nadia Semyonov -Daniella Ethalyn - Feng Long - Aki Kiyoko - Wes Kraven
NYC - ???​

With Adrian just jumping to his, what would be death without even a shoot, the crew Sergeant laughed, bellowing as he did so with the loud roar of the engines reverberating throughout the airframe, he looked over to Nadia and shrugged. ”Hope that crazy son of a bitch doesn’t misjudge his willpower, or whatever in the hell you all do. Same for the rest of your weapons, you fuck up and get scared, you’ll take your meisters down with you. Keep calm, trust your loaders, trust us, and just jump, fear is the mind killer, let that get to you and your dead as fuck, Newton doesn’t fuck around! Now get off my plane!” A voice cut in over the comm as Nadia motioned for Dani in hand, the Sergeant connecting her rig to the runner, tugging at it a bit.

”My plane, you fucking dinosaur. ”Eh bite me! Also hold the lady downwards, don’t cut yourself, hold her up and you run the risk of tangling or cutting your rigging, then you are fucking dead.” He said to Nadia in regards to Dani’s sword form.

Nadia for her part would be next to Jump. ”Ready? I won’t lie, I’ve never did this before short of the training jump.”

Dani appreciated Adrian’s earlier gestures, but even though his logic was sound, him just jumping out of the window still made her flinch before a hand ran through her hair followed by a groan as she stood up. “Just… yeah, hold me downwards…” Dani murmured as she took a few steps closer and transformed, shooting into her hand. “Or just toss me somewhere if it gets to be a pain I guess… though I’d rather not.”

Feng for her part giggled a little before holding a hand out for Aki, fortunately a handgun was a hell of a lot easier to jump with than a broadsword. Looking at Wes she grinned, “Sure you don’t want to jump on your own? Once they put that hook on the wire, there is no going back. I’ll be going out last if you want to go now.”

“Yeah, no.” Wes shook his head, taking a few steps forward and grabbing onto Feng’s upper shoulder, assuming his weapon form and pressing himself flush against her upper arm. His red string wound itself tightly around her bicep, the end of the string looping around and tying itself into a knot.

“You can handle the jump. And the landing.” And everything that was between those two points, such as having to worry about her chute failing. Which, after her little number earlier, was something he was glad he wouldn’t have to worry about.

Aki on the other hand watched the spiky-haired boy jump out of the plane with no chut, her face revealing that she was clearly considering following suit. While she hadn’t thought about it before, Adrian doing it with apparent glee did make her want to follow along. “Ooh, how bout we race?” She asked as she looked back to the two as if they weren’t hot-dropping into a destroyed city.


With that said the team leader was next to Jump with Dani in hand, seemingly with nothing to say, Nadia jumped as the cord was yanked, pulling the chute at 3000 feet, at least with this one being a Ram-air chute it was more maneuverable than the round-type that would normally be used at a height of 300 to 150 feet… Nadia would have much rather that, she only had the flash training they taught her before this all began. Why they didn’t do fast roping by helicopter was beyond her. Some of these thoughts likely resonated with Dani as the speed they fell at grew higher and Nadia steered the chute, wishing to curse as she did so.

For her part Feng looked at Aki and got use to Wes on her arm as she shot back in her normal gallows humor, ”And they used to say I would never die with a man by my side, don’t worry, I won’t drop you… And Er, Aki, sure you want to do that? You take up a hell of a lot less area than he does, so you’ll be tumbling and spinning the whole way.”

“It’ll be fine! Indestructible, remember!” Aki said, bouncing up to her feet and lightly tapping her chest with her own closed fist. “So, can I?!”

”Eh… You better find me right after, and no matter how sick you get, don’t transform…though, I uh, don’t think this is a good idea…”

‘Eh, just let her do it.’ Worst case scenario, she gets blown off course and they'd have to find her. He agreed with Feng that it was probably a bad idea, but he didn't feel like trying to convince Aki.

Besides, wasn't like he was going to do it. Worst case in his scenario, he hits a wind gust and gets transformed into the world's deadliest Frisbee. No, he was more than fine pressed snugly against someone who could control their fall.

“Yay!” And with that, the blue-haired Demon Gun cheered, zipping to the door and past the military man. She paused briefly at the door, sticking her hand out in a motionless wave. “See you guys down there! Woooooo~!” The final shout could be heard as the girl leapt out of the plane, cheerful as ever.

Feng was quick to follow with the same tug and pull of Nadia, soon the whole team was on the way down and would achieve its landings, Feng purposefully tore the cords from her primary as they got closer to the ground, likely scaring the piss out of Wes as she deployed the back up round-chute from some 160 feet from the ground, taking a quick and save drop into a park of some sort or another, with luck she would be able to communicate and find Aki quickly, given the other should have hit the ground around here much sooner.

Aki was found in a dilapidated building nearby with the collapsed front wall giving clear view into the first floor where the girl was sat against a counter with her head in her knees groaning. “Too many spins… ugh…”

Wes shifted back to his human form, eyes slightly widened from the rush of the jump, as well as Feng's decision to cut her chute before they even hit the ground.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm down, he shot Feng a quick glare before turning back to Aki, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. ”Hope it was worth it.”

For her part Nadia kept the main chute, not having the experience of Feng, who’s experience asked a great many questions, self-resonating, Nadia’s chute got wrapped around either a power pole or some sort of phone tower, or lightning rod, she was not too sure as while slowed down from her rapid descent, she slashed the ropes with Dani and went with the momentum to swing herself into a nearby apartment building, breaking through a wall into a living room, somewhere on the 5th or 6th floor if she had to guess, dusting herself off and throwing the rest of the harness off, Nadia started off by opening communications with her teammates if able and setting a rallying point.

‘...Are we on the fucking ground?’ Dani chimed in as she heard the crashing and thud, clearly having kept her “eyes closed” on the way down.

”Close enough.” She said in a simple reply.

”Its not the first time I jumped from a plane, but ah, it seems Nadia wants us the meet up near her location, lets get moving.”

 

[Pumpkid]

Dante Holiday
Zelezny Brod, Czech Republic
Interactions: Sara Merciless Medic
/ Mentions: Kisei Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper EmperorsChosen Haze-
​

Dante kept his face covered for what felt like forever. The outburst in front of everyone was not a brilliant move. He just felt so irritated around Kisei, especially knowing who he used to be. Having to listen to him as an authority figure ticked him off even more. The thought alone starts to agitate him. Thankfully, Sara’s sudden tug brought him out of his headspace.

“H-hey! Wait, wha-” He couldn’t form words as he fumbled out of the room. He was released almost immediately once out of the train car. He wasn’t sure what was going on, and he certainly didn’t approve of being dragged. Dante takes his arm back and fixes his hoodie. “What the hell is your problem?” He huffed, dusting himself off. Being touched by Sara still did not feel right. It was as if germs would sprout, and infect him then deem him a defect from whatever fictional virus he made up.

“Yes, I am tired,” Dante admitted. “Which I have told you countless times to let me sleep in, but you insisted on dragging me along.” He ceases his movements, freezing still like a deer caught in the headlights at the mention of why Dante dislikes Kisei. What she asked was a loaded question. Memories come flooding as if they occurred yesterday. His anger builds as he recalls everything that has led him to now. It all started because of Hoshi, and it’s Hoshi that has caused him so much grief. If not for them, things would have been different. He can’t turn the clock, but he can damn well pin the blame on them.

He turns to Sara, and snaps, “It’s everything!” He bangs his fist into the wall as he steps closer to Sara towering over her as he glares down with his piercing eyes filled with hatred, deep inside lingers anguish for his former miester. Much like Sara's deduction, Dante held Rory like a vice grip. A child who felt abandoned and afraid to let go of the past. What would be left of him if he accepted what happened? No! It's the Hoshi's fault, and that will forever remain a fact. His rage entered as if a switch has been flipped inside. The one thing that triggers the male.

“I can’t stand that fucking guy. His entire existence sickens me to the core, just being around him makes me want to kick his ass.” He lowers himself at eye level. “What he did, is none of your business, so stay the hell out of it, pup. Got it?” He narrows his eyes making sure she got the memo. He doesn’t like to threaten anyone, but in this case, Dante feels the need to break something whenever his past is mentioned.

Maybe it’s himself he wants to break, the outcome is usually an outburst like a child making a fit. In the heat of the moment, he tries to inflict as much damage to push the person away such as Sara.

Dante turns on his heel and walks away. He needed to cool off by grabbing fresh air. It’s the only way he learned how to calm down by taking deep breaths.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

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

Having to keep an ear out for the briefing and most of her braincells at work for Dante was a bit difficult but she managed to multi-task thanks to her coffee this morning. She was glad she pulled him out because she could smell the rising anger from him and there would only be another outburst if she hadn't.

She didn't chastise him for being angry, just stood there with a stone-faced expression, even as Dante let loose and towered over her and said rather harsh things. But thanks to having a ton of assholes as friends or acquaintances - like Noah - and thanks to Nadia's own harsh words, she had very thick skin. All she saw as she heard him speak was someone who was still in pain and wasn't over it. Whatever it was, it had to do with Hoshi in general, not Kisei, which had given her a clue. It must've been something traumatic due to the way he paused, but she didn't expect him to punch the wall. She winced, as she knew they all must have heard that, and his yelling.

She sighed as he vented to her, even though the goal was to push her away. She was all too used to this tactic. So, she spoke up, even as he stormed off she trailed after him to make sure he heard all that she had to say. "I get it. You're hurt, but I was hoping to be quiet about this so you didn't embarrass yourself again. I'm sure they all heard that." Sighing, she continued. "Regardless, Kisei was a Hoshi, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the hallmarks still. I get that's painful. But does that previous identity really matter when we're trying to save lives and a government asset out there? Was that all worth it for our client to see us all as incompetent because of just one outburst? I get we're tired, but that's not acceptable behavior, especially not in front of a client who works for the government of another country who is asking for our help in finding his people."

She took a step forward with the intent to run to catch up to him, then stopped. Something in her urged her to not follow him.

Give him space...

Taking one last sigh, she spoke up again, showing her intentions. "You're still my partner, so I'm responsible for you and your actions, just as Elly is responsible for everyone's actions for being team lead, so she'll likely talk to you later. I'll leave you alone now. Hope you can cool off."

She watched him go, a forlornness to her look. She then turned around and walked back to the room.

She sat down next to Zosar, her mind returning to the briefing. Her happy-go-lucky expression she was known for had disappeared, and her brow was furrowed. "Sorry about that. Lost five hours of sleep, so things are more raw." She gave an excuse for Dante as she replayed all that was said.

She noticed a picture of the Witch, and she asked. "I heard the details, but can you just pass through the last three pictures again? Just so I know who I'm looking for."

So, they were looking for someone who's been an agent for five years starting at 20. That was... quite new. Normally, an agent came about when they were children, starting around 12-16 years old. The fact she started late was because she either didn't know she was a sniper rifle, or she had taken school elsewhere. Her name sounded very Japanese though.

Still, it was sort of odd. If she was someone to look out for as a missing person, why would he give an odd detail such as 'possible to find dead zones or get her tunnel visioned'? It was almost as if this man had an inkling of how she was caught. Someone must have distracted her. Her and her partner were probably good trackers at long range especially with her meister's ability to walk on walls - really reminded her of Gauss, but that didn't stop something from sneaking around while something kept to distract her and her partner. A pincer flanking movement was something her werewolf community did when hunting, usually used to distract a predator while two werewolves on each side went around and attacked from the sides and behind, taking down what would normally be a tough beast and turning them into easy mincemeat.

They didn't just get set upon by mystical creatures. Whoever did this was a hunter and was calculated. They went somewhere they shouldn't and ended up paying for it by getting caught.

The married couple was odd. Why bring a couple hikers? More recon? Did they think something was in the mountains? Or was it to get a vantage point? They apparently knew the region well, so it was likely they were on recon alone or went with the first pair, which was probably what Wallner had implied earlier. They must've been in their late 30s if they've been married and been agents for so long.

Why Wallner brought up that the Witch was a CIA agent was weird. But, after smelling Kisei get piqued by that information earlier, it wasn't hard to see that this was the reason why he spoke of it so openly. There must be something going on that this man wasn't telling them. Granted, she didn't know the significance of its ties to the Witches, just that the CIA used to hunt them, so it was a bit weird a Witch was working for them in the first place.

If this Witch was an infiltration unit sent by the CIA - whether DWMA's own branch or from the country's CIA themselves - it concerned her greatly. Though, Sara didn't know much, other than their projects were secretive. These dog tags were also reminiscent of military. Were they in-service to the military around here and not actually DWMA?

She didn't know, it was a bit confusing. Still, someone must have had something anti-magical, or she was hunted and caught. The way to hunt down elusive prey was to hurt them somehow and let the blood trail lead you to them once they've gone far enough, putting just enough pressure to let them know they were still being followed and make it difficult for them to conserve stamina but not enough to lose the trail - especially if they were faster or had better stamina than yourself. That was a number one rule of being a hunter: conserve your stamina, as having more means your prey is caught.

The last data upload was going to be in the area they were about to be dropped off at. The monsters and creatures that were brought up had Sara's eyebrows raising, but if most were as docile as he says they are, then it really couldn't be them.

The communication was garbled before it was lost. She sighed. Sounded like a jammer, which means that this villa was protected and it wasn't any ordinary villa. Northeast towards the Giant Mountains...

Honestly, it reminded her of Hansel and Gretel.

At the question, Sara nodded. As she spoke, she purposefully didn't speak up about the CIA agent. "Some of my hunting expeditions with my clan - Vena clan - takes me into mountainous terrain. I know one wrong misstep, and you are falling down hundreds of feet depending on how high up you are and even with fortification to our bodies, that's one hell of a tumbling fall. But given the people you sent out, none of them should have fallen. And given the vantage point they had and the long-range skills of the sniper duo and the knowledge of the climbers, they should've seen something coming their way. Whoever found them can think like a hunter - as I've devised a few strategies on how to catch them and the Witch myself from this information, specifically the more outward capabilities that would be knowable just from watching them for a couple hours - and whoever this was probably has communication jammers. It's possible that your people were fine for a few moments to even a few minutes after the signal was lost."

She then tilted her head curiously. "Stealing people from highways is easy, as is tourists. Nobody is going to miss a tourist here. However, being stolen from highways means that they are opening themselves up to being found. There hasn't been any eyewitness reports about strange things on the highways or on the edges?" Even after having left the traincar's cabin, she retained a good portion of this information.

She was so glad she brought sneakers used with greater grip and armor. She then spoke up. "It is highly possible whoever had done this, whoever caught them if we are going by this assumption, likely picked them out from the town we're going to or any nearby towns in this area. Which means we'll likely be watched as we head out there, and not by the locals. A train hurtling across these lands would be very obvious due to its sound, so arriving by train won't do much for us to keep us from being seen, especially if someone's keen on watching for any interesting, foreign visitors. It's something I would do as a hunter - watch the entrance for anyone coming in that would harm my ability to hunt my usual prey."

She then looked at Elly, an unspoken worry in her eyes. She was in Romania, from what Noah told her. The Czech Republic was near Romania. If they're having a debriefing on this, then it's very likely whoever was doing this must have had outside knowledge. The thought it could be the same person Elly tried to catch in that last mission never crossed her mind, but having a good few contacts was crucial to hide from the biggest hunters of them all: Governments, military, and the DWMA.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | Atlantic | Rings: 0/1

The level of damage that had been done here really was a sight to behold on person. It never really got old how much damage could be done to an area when you were looking upon it yourself


His eyes had went from observing the damage to acknowledging the massive avians that were contributing to the powerful windspeeds buffeting the surrounding area. Maria's spell was a relief, it was just a shame that not all could take the benefit it provided wholeheartedly.

Unlike Raph, Ark’s more recent learnings of Arkayis through his own grapevine, had inspired him to keep his distance even more than the time with Egypt had. Yet if things had gotten any more intense of Gauss hadn't stepped in--

A glowing gloved hand came up to Maria’s shoulder and Raphael’s, patting both to get their collective attention as he peered past them at the hunched over form of the Scythe.


“My advice, Arkayis, is to follow your partners warning before you get yourself ejected.” Stated only after Noah delivered that calming zap to the other Demon Weapon. “You may bear your fangs at us but we are a team, as much as you dislike it
You'll have to deal with the cards dealt, and focus on the tasks at hand.” Turning his eyes to Gauss, Ark at.least nodded his head on a sign of respect.

His gloves still glowed. It was, if anyone noticed, a sign he would have been ready to intercept had Arkayis taken it a step past verbal lashings. He’d seen personally the kind of hatred and contempt Rogue Witches had for their own kind and DWMA agents on the field, he wasn't as trusting with the knowledge he had of Arkayis to believe he wouldn't slip up and push it a step further if whatever had him in such a bad mood prior proved to be the best motivation for him to drive off some steam.

The tunes.on his gloves lost some of their luminance if only a little as Ark went on to ask: “Any instructions on how we proceed? I imagine with this kind of damage there's unstable areas and locations that I would need to stabilize, alter and secure along the other tasks the rest of us can do.

Mentions: Merciless Medic

Interactions: RedArmyShogun @Shotgunpenguin Meredith
@Peckinou Sir Les Paul

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar & Wren | Czechia, Duo Trouble

Sensitive ears could never lie. Like a hiss in the air, Wren heard as clear as if Dante were right next to her, whispering--

Fucking idiot​

--Her immediate reaction was inward, reeling into her own skin without letting it fully show through their link.

She felt the words on the shell of her ear like they had grown metaphysical hands and slapped her across the face. Wren’s nose wrinkled, one ear ticking compulsively as she only smiled and cranked her neck, humming to herself, trying to play things off. The street urchin side of her brain was already gauging how hard she would have to pull her strength when punting Dante in the groin— so as not to sink his following generations all the way back to his stomach, of course— while the DWMA agent simply simmered on it, bit back a scowl.

She wasn’t a 12-year-old anymore. Professionally, at least, while they were on this train in front of the supervisor, she couldn’t knock Dante’s teeth out only for a petty insult. Outside of the train, though…well, she was already thinking about it. Though her attention was pulled by Zosar who hadn't reacted. Couldn't because he didn't hear what she did. Picking on her comment.

‘Handsome huh?’ the seductive inquiry he replied with in their psychic link betrayed the rather neutral serious expression on his face. Zosar, honestly, found her remark rather amusing- but he had enough discipline and years of having the ruler to act as a reminder to maintain the decorum of gravity.

‘Yeah. Did I stutter? Ya’ blushing?’ Wren, however, lacked the propriety to keep gravity in mind. A full-fanged, shit eating grin immediately bloomed on her face as she flashed eyebrows at him for a split second. Her face dropped right after, shooting Wallner the same monotone. (not quite) Tactful, pretending to listen.

The text hadn't been looked at. He wasn't about to check personally in the moment and was about to inform Wren politely to check for him since he needed to keep an ear on things and also not get caught looking on his phone. If she could slip away to check and get back to him, that would have been preferable but he didn't get the chance to voice any of that even in the time dilated factor of soul space and psychic links. He was interrupted like they all were by the sudden, loud bang that came from Dante’s fist fiercely striking the table---

Every muscle in Zosar's body tensed immediately. As much as he shouldn't have had a thing to worry about and knew it, DWMA's past failures in recent events, did not register a total sense of safety along his list of other experiences. Wren could tell by smell as much as Sara that the second Zosar heard that bang every muscle in his body tensed, his soul flared and pushed spiritual energy throughout his body and he physically tensed as if ready to move. Would have probably already if self control didn't stop him.

Months back he probably would have been on enough edge on a mission like this to have immediately snapped at Dante the second an opening provided itself when the meeting was over. Instead he fixed the Demon Weapon with a passing glance.

The reaction was wholly uncalled for but he had to remind himself, much like he had in Hawaii with Gauss, that people changed, everyone here in FATE was here for a reason and he didn't need to take these things as offensive as he normally would even if Dante's first impression had went from being advantageous given he was with Sara as a partner, to dangerously low in the faith he had in him.

He didn't say anything to the outburst though. Wren however still had that uncalled for insult to react to now but whatever her reaction might have been, it would be stalled as Sara already dragging Dante out delayed what could have kindled into a full blown argument.

‘He’s got an attitude on him.’ A look of condemnation played across her features, knitting her brows together. Secondhand embarrassment had her head craned down, eyes toward the floor to avoid Elly’s gaze, even Kisei’s. Blocking out the fact that Wallner was there in the room with them. Just looking at the supervisor’s boots in her peripherals made her skin crawl.

Wren sighed, grumbled under her breath, as if quoting “Fuckin’ idiot...”

‘Y’ sure we can trust this guy? He’s acting like a kid.’ Wren kept her hands crossed; one eyebrow raised. Wholly amused at the sight of Sara dragging the giant man-child to the next cart over ‘Even started talking shit behind my back like I couldn’t hear him. For no damn reason too…it’s not my fault I don’t know what the hell a ‘Sower Crop’ is!’ Her tongue clicked in petty, childish annoyance in the confines of their bridge of souls. Outside, her eyes only narrowed. Her jaw clenched.

She would most definitely consider tripping Dante on their trek up the mountains.

‘Something about Kisei?’ After the bang and the shout, Wren blurted out all of a sudden. Her ears stood stiff, flicking around like antennae pinging for signal ‘He hates his guts, from the way he’s talkin’ about him.’ In her still moment of focus, Wren scoffed as she kept listening to the nonsensical whining behind them, losing the thread completely ‘Did Kisei bang his chick or something? What’s this guy going on about?’

‘Not a clue in the world.’ Came back Zosar's reply. Not like he believed Kisei to be that kind of guy anyway. He had, initially, been willing to give Gauss the benefit of the doubt before their stint the first week of the program after all, even though he already knew about his lecherous past. ‘If he does have history with this guy I feel he would have informed us to be wary’ or frankly should have at the very least to minimize the rest or their reactions to Dante's outbursts, but it was too late now. It was no doubt Elly had the files about anyone she in the team prior to the mission and as a mentor figure Kisei had access to all of them. Whatever this guy's personal issue was, something said it wasn't totally about Kisei. And if they had reason to believe that he had some insubordination issues then the message Kisei had sent about asking them to stay quiet had been a mistake in hindsight. Should have left Dante out of it and issued it to Sara so she could play middleman. None of that really mattered to Zosar like how Wren being insulted did though.

A Weapon partner as he had been taught was your other half, your closest ally in the world. That link between souls was sacred, and part of this mindset stemmed from his father's philosophical beliefs between Meisters and Weapons. Any sense of respect Zosar had for Dante, had diminished with Wren informing him alone that the guy had insulted her for no reason. He was willing to give all FATE Agents some slack given everyone was here for a reason, and in his growing experience, many had various issues that could be narrowed down with enough knowledge on psychology and the right observation but he wasn't about to let disrespectful or rude behavior fly free, not from even Sara's partner. Heat, representing his irritation within their link, instantly rose against the AW but as far as his physical and spiritual state was concerned it never registered. His expression didn't change aside from the raised brow at the closing door and he bore no clear signs of anger. Calm Mind training paid off a little, but so had years of masking his emotions, even if they had only a couple hours of practice with Kisei. Already he hadn't appreciated Dante’s outburst but this new info had turned things personal. And Wren could tell instantly, Zosar had taken offense but was keeping it locked down out of respect for the meeting they were in and the position of Elly and Kisei.

As much as he had accepted his current position and place in FATE and his new crew, he hadn't entirely cleared that anger hurdle from years of received bitterment. Affectionately, not even realizing his own protectiveness, he patted Wren gently on the back as if to draw her eyes back to the topic as Wallner spoke again to address things but in reality it was a supportive gesture as he knew she was also trying to avoid drawing the negative attention of their lead squadmates.

In their link he said with an internal sigh, keeping Sara in mind at least, ‘If he does it again, and you get the chance you're free to talk to him. Not that I would stop you anyway if he went too far. It's obvious he has some anger issues and lacks the decency to keep some things to himself, so for Sara's sake let's not bite him off too harshly unless he pushes his luck. If he does, we'll cross that road when we get there.’

To simply put it was his way of saying he would do something depending on how the situation escalated. What he did really just depended on the situation though. And leaving it ambiguous at least told Wren he wasn't just going to stand there and watch.

In a way he was creating a balance here. One that factored on Dante's situation and at the same time considered Sara, however he also was saying he wouldn't let insults go without answering if it went too far. In part Dante's brashness reminded him of an early Gauss picking a fight with him over petty reasons, and that memory merely made him deduce that if Dante was willing to insult his teammates and talk out of turn the way he had, it was likely the guy had anger issues and had no problems being petty like Gauss had in the earlier start of the program. He didn't feel sorry for Sara, but he certainly knew her work was cut out for her with his experience.

Even behind closed train doors Wren could more clearly make out whatever was being said between the two better than the others and even more so when Dante's shouting made it through.

Zosar ignored it however, focusing on the new list of individuals that Wallner listed to them. Akita being one of the first to earn an eye of interest as the briefer filled them in on her details, and then each one after. Of the group the only ones that really caught Zosar's eyes were Akita and the witch Minda. There was an appreciation for their appearances that even Wren could detect he didn't bother hiding from her compared to his more unexpected interest in their monstrous enemy.

Training on her first calm seal with Kisei had really bore its fruits. She had her head tilt for a second, letting her eyes pass over his face and perch on his shoulders, linger there for a full in and out sigh. Almost confused, puzzled at the feeling of that looming presence of his in their soul link. Shedding the rougher, outer edges of her shell the more she stewed on it.

By all stretch of the imagination, even when Zosar first reached his hand out to her back at Gluttony’s Paramour, it was still taking her aback. Kept bringing up a memory, something she’d repressed of her time with her uncle Luca. Blurred lines, bits she had picked apart and thrown away when her outbreak happened. Zosar was puzzling it back for her to look at, stitch it together, catch the feeling.
She felt whole when he was around; her soul felt right. That alone, for whatever masochistic reason, only made Wren unreasonably angry.

For what felt like five long seconds of introspection, she stood there looking off, trying to both suppress the inward feeling shown in their link and keep it under wraps in her facial expressions. Took enough restraint to separate the mind from the soul that Wallner’s voice as his explanation fell completely muted to her sensitive ears.

How long had it been since she had an actual friend, a confidant?

‘Hey, their eyes are up there, by the way.’ Wren’s focus snapped back to the real world, clicking her tongue and whistling in their link to catch Zosar’s attention. Flashing brows and gesturing with her eyes at the images, arms crossed ‘Horndog.’ She hissed, cutting and narrowing her eyes at him. It got an internal chuckle. The thoughtfulness that clouded her gaze for a while there came and went, a passing, fleeting thing— like she’d slipped into another face as if it were a mask.

Maybe he was just making her all touchy-feely.

As Her eyes skimmed over the information Wallner presented, Zosar decided not to ruin her focus with his unheard sly comment. Her tuned out, wreck of a focus gleaming back to life as she memorized the faces, hanging on their clothes. Visualizing the possible back pain some of those faces held, too. Her head perked up at Wallner’s description of their specific traits, Wren’s attention trained on him as he seemed to flip on and on through his mental notes. Like she were being presented a sprawling menu. She was already picking up their imaginary scent just listening, had it on her tongue. That little smiling jester pivoting and dancing through the empty halls in her mind, coming up with the recipes.
After a bit, her subconscious mind had decided on what to track.

However when Sara stepped back in and she came to sit on Zosar’s left side, he did offer the other werewolf an affectionate supportive touch as he had done Wren. It was the little things after all that accumulated to show you cared. Placing a combat glove hand on Sara’s closest shoulder to give her a supportive squeeze and any eye contact would illustrate he at least was saying he was going to be supportive. Even if they weren't dating he still wanted to be there for her like she had for him.


Wren had her own way of showing moral support, rapping a knuckle and playfully bumping it against the same shoulder Zosar had touched, lacking on the eye contact. Even if they weren’t officially ‘buddy-buddy’ enough to be on fistbump levels of trust. She did bite her tongue, for decency’s sake, when Sara tried excusing Dante.

‘He lost five hours of soul healing sleep??? M’awwe, poor baby.’ Of course, that wouldn’t stop Zosar from hearing it himself. Again a minor bit of amusement, even if his face didn't look it.

As Sara went on to ask her questions, the fact they were dealing with the Intelligence branch of DWMA here was not lost on Zosar. The clear likelihood they might be there for Minda wasn't lost on him. At the same time, a realization struck him: he didn't have a great relationship with the Intelligence branch, if this mission failed, how would that impact him? More importantly, how would the rest of the team look by extension? It was highly unlikely Wallner knew any actual details about any of them aside from the fact they were FATE Agents, but that didn't mean people within Cyrus and Kidd’s circle wouldn't raise eyebrows if a mission relating to a agent rescue and retrieval went awry when someone in the team had probable cause.

Most people by rumor as he knew it, only knew of his role as a spy, people like Elly, Wren, Kisei, Sara, they had more if not most info but they like the DWMA didn't know the role he also played on sabotaging team missions when he was in EAT; those parts he had played had been the most dangerous parts of his job. Of course there had been suspicion after his capture, scrutiny on every mission he had ever been, but the number of missions he had sabotaged while in EAT for his near three year tenure were in the single digits at a mere number of three, where other variables had contributed to those missions extending or taking turns that were unexpected. Mercenaries, rogue agents, or other factors that crossed paths with those teams he had been working with. No evidence to truly corroborate anything that would blame him for a mission going astray. More importantly those missions hadn't been high enough of importance for them to go so far to do a deeper investigation, and the knowledge the Enlighteners had as former DWMA from various branches of the agency made extra caution placed a necessity whenever he had been performing those activities. A little careful skewing and everything else fell in place nicely when he had other members and contacts both in and out there to assist. Right now they were being tasked mainly with helping the branch that had essentially ruined him, and that was not lost on him. Already he knew that FATE Agents weren't beloved across the Branches, the opinion, as research had shown, had gone up publicly but that wasn't all across the board internally. Strategically if things went south, he wouldn't be surprised if the blame rested on them. In fact this realization made him realize that FATE Agents were the perfect scape goats for other branches if they felt like shifting blame. That wasn’t what bothered him though. His complex history with the branch did.

Perhaps it was an overestimation, and Zosar kept that in mind but if things went badly, he wouldn't be surprised if his past got raised. There were plenty of reasons, he now realized, that someone could argue why he would be against helping the Intelligence Branch and perfectly fine slowing down attempts to retrieve an agent out of spite. From the shame of being locked in a dungeon a second time to the minor forms of disrespect and maltreatment of his earlier capture at 17, to frankly allowing rumors about his mysterious links to run out of hand, it was arguable he had plenty of reasons to let the enemy get a hold of a CIA agent if only to spite the organization. All the variables were right here for him to set up disorder in the group. Dante was perfect, he already had a rocky start with Wren and capitalizing on that wouldn’t be too hard. Especially when the guy disliked Kisei and wasn't totally listening to Sara and might not even with Elly. If he pushed things right he could force the mission to end early, and if they got to the enemy side he could sabotage things easily at risk of endangering the others.

Despite these thoughts not making it to Wren through their link, Zosar didn't consider actually acting on them. Repercussions alone would be extreme and even more so he had no interest in hurting the team. There was no motive for him to, no benefit. More importantly, as he mulled all of this, he simply made the decision not to allow his past to influence him here. Had it been earlier in the program, he might have just asked to be removed from the mission or felt slightly irritated, right now though he felt none of that. The contemplative state he felt however might have registered to Wren though especially as the conversation continued with Sara's input.

Sara’s ideas of territory and pack hunting filtered through Wren’s ear and came out spun with a different meaning. She was a mobster at heart, it was fire-branded in her brain. For Wren, it was more about foreign gangs stepping into your own slice of region. ‘Dead rats, roaming the land of the living.’ That’s what Luca used to call them.
“You suggest we stop the train and hoof it then? I don’t think it should be much of a problem if we know how to keep our presence down.” From her experience, you were only considered a ‘dead rat’ if you were caught. The smarter ones always knew how to get around their slice “This train ain’t carrying just us, right? I’m not saying blend in with the crowd, but if they’re watching the entrance like you’re saying, at least moving smart should be enough to keep suspicions shush.”

Her eyes followed Sara’s, landing on Elly’s. A lightbulb lit up above her head, and the suggestion became tangible “Unless they already know we’re coming.”

“Meh.” Wren shrugged “If we’re going by those assumptions, that means they’ll just save us the trouble and show themselves without us having to do anythin’.”

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