Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Burger Joint, Hancock Park, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
Interactions: Noise, Rosé
Mentions: Nadia, Dani, Adrian, Raph
Chibistaryuu , Sir Les Paul , RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen

Sara was busy looking at the menu when she heard someone nearby doing something… weird?

She looked over, only to see a body suddenly appear in front of her and she pressed her back against the seat’s back. It was a… really attractive blonde girl. Not that Sara was really into women, but it was surprising to see her here and that close, especially when she leaned back. It seemed Sara was unphased, as she giggled and wrapped her arms around the girl’s waist in a brief hug.

“Yup~! Nothin’ better~. I’d rather go and get it myself rather than have a vet do it, though.” She grinned as she let go. Sara had an inkling that this had some double meaning, so she went along with it. Not exactly knowing what she fully meant by that. About who this girl was, nobody else would do this to her unless this was some agent they were supposed to meet, so she acted like she knew the girl.

“Got any ideas for that?” Sara smiled, that smirk on her face showing off her sharp canines. It sounded like a silly tease to continue the joking nature, but she was also serious. She just also liked the vibe of this girl immediately.

She wondered if the her other teammates had such interesting characters as agents.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Raphael Valerias​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Ice Cream Shoppe, Hancock Park, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
Interactions: Adrian, Agent
Mentions: Nadia, Dani, Sara, Noise
Sir Les Paul , Chibistaryuu , RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen

Raphael didn’t expect to get lectured by the old guy, but he grinned more as the guy continued to speak and ‘lecture’ them.

At least, it wasn’t a long lecture.

Raphael’s eyes narrowed and he let out a low chuckle. “I can find pleasantries in the oddest of people, sir. I find the best company offers the most thrilling experiences.” He meant ‘thrilling’ as ‘dangerous’, of course. “But that’s neither here nor there. We may certainly have something to learn in this profession you lead, yet you’re here to tell us something, yes?” He raised an eyebrow, his volume lessening as he neared the end of his question. He wanted to get to the meat and potatoes. The childlike wonder he had earlier vanished. There was that look on his face as if he were listening to a teacher and soaking up as much information as he could. His mind a sponge, his gaze inquisitive.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Moelwyn Bach Mountain Pass, Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales​

While her words were hardly a kind of considerate farewell, they at the least were a type of goodbye to Carys. Zosar was even more direct with his wordage. Thus, when they elected to walk off through the mist and down the road, they did so easily, emerging from the thick cloud on the ground and into the mountainside of Moelwyn Bach. Nighttime, sure, but it was freedom, and once they burst through that misty bubble, the sky returned to normal and the sounds of insects and what few nocturnal beings around them came to life.

Elly, on the other hand, found herself walking indefinitely down the road until oddly enough through the misty peaks, she once again saw Kisei, Wren, and of course, Carys. The Gwyll kept her cocky smile on her face, even chuckled at seeing Elly return. It was one of those textbook moments of a road being warped on itself. Something one was warned about, but almost never actually happened.

"It is rude to leave without a proper farewell, no matter how poorly said one might be..." Carys mused, pointedly assaulting Elly with the knowledge of why she was not let leave.

"Oh, children.. I have seen generations of man - no different than yourself - change over time and sculpt the world with it... there was a time when your kind would look at me as a God, then a time when you revered me like royalty, and now you think of me as little more than a pest," Carys said, yet again musing over her perspective on the matter. She let herself glide over to Elly, her black eyes peering into those of the Irish lass. Each one glimmered like sapphires sat into onyx stones, covered in a thin veil of morning dew. She did have an impossible look to her. Otherworldly, yet just close enough to human to relate.

"You have changed while I stay the same..."​

"You two should know the value of shadows," Carys said. She let eyes dart over to Kisei for a moment, a quick one. "The abomination was trained to use shadows and deceit to his advantage," she explained. She then came back to Elly with full focus. "One of your greatest strengths is what you hide in the shadows," Carys commented, though she took the whole act a step further by gently tapping Elly on the chest, right at her sternum. It was not a lewd act, no. Instead, it was one that marked her knowledge of the scarab pendant.

"To you, whom dress in the shadows as if they were garb from a wardrobe, my removal of the shadows made you feel bare and naked," Carys went on, "you were not just upset or humbled, but for a moment, you felt some of your power stripped from you."

"But, consider this... centuries ago, the insight from this experience would have been considered a gift; one of which I gave you freely," Carys told them. While it did sound arrogant, it also hit on one of the topics Elly had been lauding over Kisei since the beginning; his failure to consider the perspective of others, particularly Maria.

The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Kris Orksen​

"Red Fang"​

Species Bloodsucker
Location Fitness Center on North Van Ness Street, Southern LA, California


​

Tags: EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun | Merciless Medic

2213 | September 20th, 2067​

A warm rain poured down on the streets. It hadn't yet been long enough for it to quell the humidity in the air, but it was enough to obscure the obnoxious bright lights of the area. Apparently, there was some type of Paramount Studio nearby—as if it mattered. The entire city was either gentrified or a half-step above ghetto. Still, the signage from the local theatre and tourist stops nearby made this particular area both obnoxiously bright and colorful.

Kris had explained it in a fairly straight forward manner. The cult only used the gym for meetings and initiations. No murders went down in the area. Intelligent, for the cretins they were. The activity of the nearby Paramount theatre and studio kept the traffic from their cult less conspicuous and getting in after hours was as simple as getting a man on the inside. Effectively, the group elected to hide in plain sight. A bold tactic that had thus far paid off. Not unlike how Cameron kept up his farce of job at the Cell Swap.

It was all smoke 'n mirrors.

The meeting started at 10:00 PM. The others had crashed it not long after. Rosé, Sara, and Noise began the assault. As it would turn out, Rosé had a handful of auditory abilities alongside some sonic blasts, not entirely unlike what Raph had seen Rand use. More importantly, Noise and Sara could enhance those abilities. In one fell swoop, nearly every mirror and pane of glass in gym was shattered. Absolute disregard for collateral damage, unlike most missions. The combination of the two was incredibly destructive. Rosé had memorized targets noted as priests. The trio were capable of isolating them with soundwaves capable of bursting eardrums, causing immediate loss of hearing, vertigo, and bleeding ears.

Mister Prey, Adrian, and Raphael played a different, but still important role. Using the grenades provided by the Morningstar workshop, Adrian was able to subdue several of the more durable priests and cultists that the sonic attacks couldn't. Furthermore, as expected, the combination of Rosé and Noise only worked for a short while; the cultists adapted. Both physically and by using their blood magics to create spherical shields from the drained corpses of their allies to stop the airwaves. All it took to ruin those was a little coagulant. Meanwhile, it seemed Mister Prey had some type of undisclosed ability to essentially see every exit, window, door, and so on that any individual could have taken. Raphael was responsible for using his chains to try his best to block off the perimeter, but more so, he was to activate several runes placed beforehand once Cameron escaped to prevent even more from escaping, essentially locking them into a nest of cultists.

It was then the duty of Nadia, Dani, and Kris to hunt down Cameron and his posse once they escaped. They knew what he looked like and were certain he would escape first. With Mister Prey on the look-out, they wouldn't miss him. And, they didn't.

Cameron escaped on a West-side fire hatch alongside two others, presumably priests. Mister Prey called in it, Kris confirmed it, and Raphael was given the go to lock down the Fitness Center. The magic might have seemed beyond him in scale, but Mister Prey spent several hours beforehand setting up the runes, apparently using his own mana. For Raphael, it wouldn't matter whose mana the runes were made from so long as they were, in fact, the correctly designed rune. A surprise that the elderly man with an apparently-human soul could read Witch Script and cast spells, but they were in fact told not to ask questions about the mercenaries. It would likely irk Raphael for some time, though, given that the runes placed by Mister Prey weren't just accurate, but arguably more potent than his own.

Cameron was a dark-haired man in his mid-thirties at best. According to Kris, his was a dope fiend beforehand, getting hooked when Cell Swaps became prominent and he had to work long hours or be replaced. Pictures of his last arrest and him currently made him appear ten years younger, as if the blood magics were actually doing him good. He regrew hair, had clearer skin, more muscle. Teeth were all that couldn't regrow, but gold implants fixed those. Dark-skinned, fairly tall, and currenting running Westward to the closed Paramount theatre. That was their target, all the while escorted by two others in similar dark hoodies.

The chase was on.

"Catch them from the rear," Kris instructed, barking orders and disregarding any chain of command. "I'm moving in from in front for a pincer attack," he told them and darted off. The trio had been hiding in an aluminum fabrication of sorts, built to blend in seamlessly with the duct work as to not arouse suspicion. It was the second tallest of the nearby buildings and allowed them to both see most of the area surrounding the Fitness Center and dash off in any direction. Irony of irony, both predator and prey used the same tactic:

Hide in plain site.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Aki Kiyoko - Egypt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

Aki sat and hummed as she looked at the footage, tilting her head curiously. It was said they were Two-Stars. If that were the case, it didn't sound like that big of a deal. Like Gauss said, she and Feng could take them. Throw Wes into the mix along with the others and it was a done deal. Her hand grasped her chin in thought as she tilted her head in the other direction, her other arm resting across her check and under the other. "Is this for a show?" Aki asked suddenly before shrugging.

Their costumes were similar to some of the things on T.V. Aki had seen upon coming the U.S. She could picture her mom remarking about them, about how anyone dressed like a clown were compensating for unremarkable ability. Aki had encountered sorts like those before. Usually, they were corrupted or just like her mom said. They thought being a mercenary was about catch phrases and showing off. Aki didn't understand it at the time but would after she was exposed to entertainment media more widely in the States.

The common populace had no idea what it was like in a warzone, or a military, or a paramilitary unit. Even Aki, while hyper and outspoken with most everything, wasn't when it came to combat. She didn't throw out catch-phrases or wear a costume, nor did she treat it like a game despite how nonchalant she was. It was just matter-of-fact and she did what needed to be done. It wasn't naivete.

"...Why don't we just go and shoot'em?" Aki proposed naturally before glancing over to Wes. As she recalled, he and the others had some caution with shooting even the tomb robber. That was the other thing that was different. Back when she was with her mom or other groups, even the 'newer blood' took lives when needed. Here, however, it was like most agents weren't trained to take a truly human life. It was a foreign concept here.

Regardless, it was enough for the Demon Gun to pat him on the shoulder in an attempt at consolation. "They're probably corrupted, on the border, or green. Feng and I can finish it no problem, if that makes it easier," She said, basically offering to do the dirty work for the rest.

Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Peckinou Shotgunpenguin

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

As Elly somehow came back upon Carys again, her gaze narrowed, her brows angled slightly, and her lips pursed as if to hold back a sigh or huff. She was not alone, a fate seemingly to those who did not bid the Fae adieu.

"Rude, hm..." Elly mused in a neutral tone, neither accusatory nor sarcastic. By her tone, she could very well have been considering her words. She wasn't, but her voice didn't betray her thoughts in this case.

The Fae approached, speaking about how she had watched Man change, about how she was once a god. The creature was right, she was a pest. She was no longer a god or a deity because the world knew what a real god was. There was Death and then Kidd, and Elly from simply the hint of their souls could tell a stark difference.

She spoke of shadows and secrets, which Elly listened to idly without much response. That was, until Carys touched her sternum. Elly didn't react, staring as neutrally as she had the entire time. If she didn't, it would just make what the Fae was referring to more obvious, if the hag didn't rat her out outright.

As the woman finished, Elly gave her a polite smile with a softened expression. "How generous, my dear Lady Carys, however I am but a humble servant of Death and would not have you burdened with any gift-givings. We need only the Mirror," Elly replied with a sweet tone. Then, she backed away and gave an exaggerated curtsy. "We will see you again once we have obtained your linen. Good evening, Lady Carys."

No comments were made toward her words or the supposed lesson Carys had given them. All of that was overridden by the Fae's supposed knowledge of the scarab and the fact she could point that out at anytime. That was a very real threat, and as a Fae, she would do so if she thought she could get some amusement out of it. The day prior had given Elly some anxiety when considering why she opted to go with Kisei at the time. She knew that she had grown comfortable and preferred he not die, but beyond that there was a strange feeling that she needed to go with him as well. There was also a concern with the scarab. Elly had suddenly grown increasingly concerned with the risk she carried by using the scarab. What would happen if it was discovered, by Kisei or any of the others? She couldn't say for certain, but she expected the worst.

After Elly bid farewell to the Fae, Elly turned and began to walk away again, hoping that she would not be dragged back for a second time.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze-

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Moelwyn Bach Mountain Pass, Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales
GM Post​

RETCON Originally, Wren was to reappear beside Elly as when Zosar walked out of the mist. This is being changed to Wren successfully leaving with him.

With her final words to Carys, Elly was allowed to leave the mist this time, exiting nearby Maria, Zosar, and Wren. The inverted sky and odd warmth of the realm Carys created faded for Elly just as it had for Maria, Wren, and Zosar. The four would find themselves on the same road they approached, facing the opposite direction from whence they came. Not technically the correct direction given they needed to go South, but suitable in general given their desire to leave.

Each would have exited the mist in roughly the order they did so while walking, leaving it as if pushing through a bubble into the realm world. Thus, Elly did appear some few minutes after Maria and Zosar, though not long after. Kisei, however, had not and would not emerge for some time, having allowed Elly to leave Carys and earshot before he began his own discussion with her. As it stood, there was now no method to turn back or hear what was being said despite the oddity that they were merely feet away from where they once stood.

Once again... Fae Magic was a helluva drug.

The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Daniella Ethalyn - LA - North Van Ness St, LA
​

And so the plan was enacted, Nadia has her reservations, more so with conducting the chase in somewhere so public, but it seemed just raiding the place wasn’t an option, unfortunately. With the Mercenary giving the order, Nadia was a little crossed, but that would be something to deal with at another time, now without the stupid hiding spot they were forced to stay in, the Ice Giant descendant finally had some space to herself, as she looked down at Dani in her sword form.

“I think for right now, just avoid the scorpion tail till I tell you otherwise, how are you holding up?” Stretching out with soul perception, Nadia was even more annoyed than before, well over a hundred people were in the general area, traffic was on the roadway, it was raining, it seemed a movie was playing and that a Theater was the cause of all this. Details that added up to two situations, one, the need to not allow the enemy even a moment to take hostages, and two, to identify them. Fortunately their tainted souls and general haste stood out in the movements of the crowd.

“Got it,” Dani replied simply, scoffing a bit as the mercenary ran off. “Fine… Just don’t know how I feel about all this,” She murmured to the other. This other world was dangerous and how these creeps learned of it was concerning. “...The guy said my energy is different, so I’m hoping this bishop doesn’t have a tail of his own,” She stated.

“Maybe they didn’t gain it the same way, after all you aren’t affected by it like they seem to be. We’ll have answers soon enough, one way or another.” Nadia said in sharp reply, now came the “fun” part.

“I also had a bitch that looks like me tryna kill me. They talk like they went on vacation…” Dani grumbled further. “Watch for the other hoods, they’re probably the next strongest if they’re sticking to the Bishop.”

“They may have been on vacation so to speak, but they all are mad. Bear in mind that you already had problems of that sort, yet they stand out noticeably from you. Something more is going on here, but who knows, maybe more of us will see that world sooner or later.”

“...I really hope not…” Dani said, a bit deflated.

With those words said between them, Nadia quickly burst through at a run, sword in hand, she called out as she got closer. "HALT!" It would do anything but make them stop she was sure, but all she needed was for them to focus on her, leaving the Mercenary to come in from the other side.

Interactions/Mentions: EmperorsChosen (Dani) Sir Les Paul (NPCs)

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Paramount Theatre, Los Angeles, CA​

The next few moments were a type of controlled chaos. The plan worked as intended. Kris did in fact manage to cut off the trio and shouting halt did in fact prove absolutely ineffective. Kris proved to be a man of even less words Nadia. He wasted no time once he had a clear shot unleashing a barrage of what sounded like genuine bullets at the hooded figure assumed to be Cameron. The pouring rain did little to muffle the sounds of gunshots and the lack of spiritual energy from the projectiles only further substantiated it.

The two hooded figures to the left and right were, quick, though. Not quite quick enough to dodge bullet fire, but that was never the goal. The one on the left acted as a human shield for Cameron, taking several of the rounds before blocking the rest with a shield comprised of a dark substance that oozed out from his chest. The fair assumption was blood, all things considered. The hooded figure on the right took a more offensive series of actions, running over to a lamp post in the parking lot and ripping it out of the ground, bolts and concrete being but minor nuisances to them. Given that the other cultists were easily held by steel bars, these three had already demonstrated they were on another level.

Cameron meanwhile paid attention to Nadia and Dani. He didn't bark orders to the other to, he didn't even respond to Nadia verbally. Instead, he lifted up his hand to reveal a black pentagram seemingly tattooed onto his palm. Around said tattoo were three black dots on the top, left central, and left bottom point. For what reason was unclear and there was next to no time to respond. Out from his hand fired a blast of concussive energy at an absurdly high speed--one that without Resonance, Nadia could not react to. It exceeded the speed of any firearm projectile they had seen, but luckily wasn't enough to cause terribly incredible harm. As it blasted in the shape of a pentragram, its greatest concentration would have been the horizontal line which would have landed right along the breastline of Nadia. Painful, certainly, even insofar that her ribs might be sore, but not something that would truly slow her down in the fight.

What it did was set the pace. Cameron didn't just play with blood and a Bishop was not a threat to be taken lightly.

Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Feng Long
Malta - September 22nd

​

"Eh, don't worry about it too much guys, like you said we can just shoot them... Not that I think it will be that easy, but I hope this inspector has more news for us when we land, till then lets just rest, not like we have much chance to otherwise." Feng said in the immediate aftermath before going to sleep for a quick nap. Seemingly unconcerned or unafraid at fighting these two obvious bad guys.

Within a few hours the breadth of the Mediterranean Sea was crossed, from Alexandria to Malta International Airport, it may have been too little time to rest. But it was, what it was, the DWMA had agreed was a mission of importance given the Inspector had gone to the DWMA first rather than to the Church or private PMC meisters. It could prove to be another bit of positive publicity. Or it could prove to be a disaster. On the flight in not much was given as briefing, but they were met by a surprise upon landing, a man in a trench coat, with a striped tie, stern features and dirty blonde hair with a sign of tiredness was there to meet them, flanked to each side were a couple policemen, of varying height, out of shape in a few cases, middle aged, in policemen blues, with the peaked caps you would find across most of the world. They did not inspire confidence, or likely would not in the agents, either way the request seemed honest, for those that knew a bit about Malta it's police department only had a single counterterrorism unit, facts the man would explain in quick order, alongside the briefing;

​

"Flight 17 yes? Have to be, arrived at this gate, Inspector Andrew Leonardini at your service... I honestly expected someone..." Pausing as if to think on the word, he soon comes out and says it. "Someone older, we've been shadowing the suspects, though they've skipped our net a few times, in fact we just found them again here recently, only thanks to a couple people they are seemingly set to meet, I only have limited files on most of them from Interpol, though all of them will be of interest to you, the DWMA forwarded additional orders as well, which one of you is the leader? Who am I speaking to?"

Maybe a bit stressed, he only asked the obvious after the fact, not wanting to waste time, they could talk as they moved, unless whoever was needed to be his contact could not look at files while walking, not that he minded awfully much.

"About six hours ago our surveillance System picked up the Bright Twins, why we called for you was rather simple..." A pause as he passed back a folder, the first image being one they seen before already;

​

Jansen and Jessie Bright, as noted, origin unknown, but after the initial tripwire, Interpol and even your DWMA sent some more files, and I was right to not send my men at them. They are an illegal Meister and Weapon duo, seems the smaller one, Jessie can turn into a Scythe, as unbelievable as it may be, they often do go around like that, but they rarely stay long, and not without leaving behind a mound of corpses. In addition, the pair are leading hunters for the Soul Market, all in all they are confirmed to have committed fifty murders and have suspected involvement in at least two hundred more, underworld type situations or even the police. Of noted skills, both have advanced soul perception, it is rumored the pair are blind, or have some other reason to avoid using direct vision. Though it's hard to say for sure why, or if it's even true. They pair are noted to be able to keep up with speeding cars, have what was termed bond resonance, the hell ever that is, no offense, and can conduct seemingly spiritual energy attacks from the Scythe, the DWMA considers them rogues of moderate to high two-star rank.

Jansen is known to be something of a blood knight with an excitable personality, taunting and a bit unhinged, whereas his sister is mostly calm, soft spoken and reserved. Both tend to stick to their cloaks and masks in all known circumstances of being met. If it weren't for their hands, we wouldn't even know their ethnicity and even then, its guess work. As I said we lost contact with them, when another threat turned up, two of them point of fact, who in turn we also lost and spotted a third, her we didn't lose, but honestly if she is what she is..."

Prattling a bit he handed over the second folder, it contained the image of a girl in modern casual wear and another in a suit.

​

"Miyabi Washimoto, wears a Japanese school coat, a boys one at that, a pair of cargo pants, sneakers, and no, normally she doesn't have a shotgun. That is..." A second image was behind the first as he motioned for Gauss who by now had identified himself, to turn the page;

​

"Angelica is all we have to go on. Both were first seen in Central Europe, then across the Eurasian Land Mass, they aren't criminals per see, but they are wanted for questioning and for interrogation at the Hague. She's the shotgun. They are Mercenaries with a not so clean work history, war dogs, not much older than you all, or same age range, curiously Miyabi has a military style Tattoo with 002 on the back of her neck. Mercenaries aren't something we tend to need on Malta, our Army, if you can call four companies of men and a couple PT boats a military, depends solely on donations of equipment, they can be considered roughly equal to the Brights, but we lost them near Hal Far. I'm trusting my detective hunches that they are connected."

Then a final file. A witch by all accounts who unlike the other two was not aware or didn't care to evade observance.

"We have no idea who she is, or didn't for a bit, the DWMA sent that file which took a few hours to get, seemingly had to contact the Mage Guild? Magic Guild? She's a rogue Witch, Synthia of the Deep. Synthia is believed to be three hundred years old by all accounts and was part of the Witches that rebelled against the DWMA and Coven's reproachment. She has a history of attacking the DWMA of note and for causing small scale disasters along coastal provinces, chiefly shipwrecks, her Magic power is not to be scoffed at, consisting of water elemental attacks and other magics connected to the mythos of the Kraken. Or that's what it said.

Point is we've been tailing her, and I find it unlikely by pure chance that these three groups would be meeting in the same area by chance. Hal Far is primarily a "village" that is mostly storage buildings, warehouses and depots. She's been wandering a cluster of them for the time being and we've been keeping our distance. I'll give you what support I can, but short of calling in heavy units and running the risk of drawing them into our urban areas or the ports, we don't have any trained in spiritual arts past a one-star level at best and the only witch I know of is one from England that visits time to time. This unfortunately is not one of these times.

I was also told to tell you, on behalf of the Maltese Government and the DWMA you and your team are authorized to kill or capture for interrogation. Any questions or Requests so far? Otherwise, my plan was to take you all by patrol cars to the command post on outskirts of the district.... I rather not do it, but I can devote more Patrol elements to see if we can smoke them out, if my hunch on the witch isn't right."

EmperorsChosen (Aki) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) The Regal Rper (Ark) Merciless Medic (Noah) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Peckinou (Arky)​

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Moelwyn Bach Mountain Pass, Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

As the mist faded and Elly found herself with Wren, Zosar, and Maria, her peppy expression had once again leaked all emotion by the time she was fully out. “...Okay, let's go back to town, reorganize ourselves and where Cadair Idris is, and get transport. We can go off to find Matilda from there…”

Elly proposed, however paused as she noted she was the only one to exit the Fae's realm. Turning her eyes back to the path she came from, there seemed to be nothing, and she could sense nothing.

“ Well, I assume that means Kisei won't be showing up for a bit.” It was with a tired sigh he ended with too. “Guess we're stuck here till he shows up.” With that, he advised Wren to change back, there wasn't a point in her remaining in Weapon form anymore. Kisei wasn't here yet, at the same time, he doubted to some degree when he returned he would be fuming as much as he had before the second reveal Carys had made.

“Till then might as well use this time wisely.”

Keeping off on her own, but within earshot, Maria frowns slightly and sighs, speaking for the others to hear.. ”And use the time to do what? I’m for continuing, but I’m sure he would take offense to it and threaten a couple of us again. Illusion or not, that was his nature.”

Elly kept silent for a few moments, folding her arms under her chest and resting her hands on her biceps. An idle index finger tapped irritably against her arm as she stared off. “...I don't exactly want to meet Matilda without a weapon… I also don't know why he hasn't come out. She could be holding him there, for all we know…” She mused, though her other fear was that he remained by choice and that Carys was ratting her out. Kisei could be perceptive when he wanted to be.

Which frankly, from the time he had spent with Kisei, or Midori, didn't seem too far off. Distancing him given the previous tension was good, whether it was his choice or Carys, things were too tense, Maria's mood was still shot and that wasn't bound to change even after the mission was over, and Elly, well looking at her alone, said more.

“Anyway there's nothing we can do about that.” Dismissively, “We'll spend time doing something relevant while we have it. For instance, Mari, after all is said and done and we return, I want to plan some meetups with you, don't worry about why. I haven't figured that out yet, I'm just stating my intent.

“That aside, I think we all have a bit of time to get whatever off our chest before we have to move on again. I'm not saying we should cut things here when Kisei gets back, but I am thinking perhaps this whole grind aside is starting to show the toll the last mission had more clearly. I mean, did you see the look in his eyes when he was going off earlier?” The statement tossed at Elly.

It was really a nudge to see if she knew anything about why he had snapped like that. Carys had touched on it, but was there more she had left Elly to share? What stuck out to him particularly was how for a moment he could clearly see how the Death Scythe had wanted to lay into him and Wren on some superficial level but seen nothing to use as leverage. That wasn't a normal reaction, at least not from a standard frustrated Kisei with the year of experience he had with him. Cutting personal remarks, sure.

Then again he couldn't fault him for exploding. After all that happened last mission, anyone who didn't need time to process, would strike him as abnormal.

“No justification of course for how he dug into you Mari, he's always had a way with words.,” he added, to at least keep it clear he wasn't making excuses.

Glaring at that, Maria would let Elly answer however she wished, though the whole, “way with words” remark did not help anything as she looked at him and narrowed her gaze. “And you know of him how?”

Without missing a beat: “ I'm a prisoner given a chance. When I met him, I figured it was DWMA coming to sever the loose end. I basically met him at my assumed death sentence. We fought, I lost. Had to knock me out before it ended. This ain't as bad when the guy you're working with was once your assumed executioner.”

”Oh, so it’s fine if he pretends to kill you. I will not forget that multiple times he confessed putting a knife to the throat of my mentor, nor will I forget how he treated Elly like property. But to me it sounds like you have Stockholm Syndrome. Either way, I’m not forgetting this.”

Well, he hadn't realized she would take it that way, and it showed in his face. The point had been, he had been under the assumption that Midori was there to kill him, when in fact it had been to bring him news. When you had guards that didn't do well at hiding their general disdain for you though and also sometimes spat in your food, in front of you, just the one time, it didn't paint a good image to the rest of the whole system. Still though, the Stockholm comment had to be ignored for the clearing of his throat for almost snickering at the absurdity.

Had times been different when he met the Jose he would have left.

“Not what I meant, I figured I would ask if you intended on working with Kisei again in the future, given time, but I see that's not likely.” He didn't comment on the Rand thing. He didn't know the guy, just knew some details, nor did he know of the history Hoshi and Mabason had. Kisei and him despite being buddies, didn't talk at all about their pasts, the guy had almost everything he needed on him, and he wasn't as easy to crack open.

“Care to comment on what she said?” His eyes on Elly. “As I don't know anything about the property claim she's making.”

Elly continued to stare off at the way she came, unresponsive to the back and forth between the others. In reality, she was searching for a soul, or hint of one, to signify Kisei was coming out. No avail as of yet. “The way with words Zosar speaks is that Kisei has a horrid habit of swapping goals from persuasion to malice when he grows aggravated. He's perceptive but his diplomacy is lacking when he grows irate…” Elly commented blankly. “As for his emotional state, I assume it's for the reasons you say. We didn't discuss the prior day's events. Our time was spent confirming what was similar or different from his old forms… I don't believe it's property so much as rebellion. Team leader or not, he outranks me. If he disagrees with me, there's nothing urging him to go along with it.”

”Regardless, we likely should have refused this mission, and I know a bit happened to him, but that doesn’t give him freedom to take it out on us. Either way I don’t care to be near him when he returns.” With that Maria walked a bit further away leaving the rest to their conversation, having nothing else to add for the here and now.

Wren hadn’t come out at all when Zosar urged her to, instead, she remained seated in her throne. Face buried into the velvet linen stretching over the dining table, head pushing the nastiness in those plates away from her, she bared her teeth at nothing at all. With her voice muffled, “What the fuck am I doing wrong?” she chuckled, wheezing like a madwoman. She didn’t know what was so funny herself.

Maybe the fact this had been the second time something, someone, had fucked with her head in the short span of these few days. Maybe the delusion she was spurning onto herself, wanting to believe that it’d happened because she was too unprepared, that it wasn’t something about this team.

She would’ve stayed there a while longer, be it not for the miniscule footfalls and the jingle of bells approaching her. Followed by that ugly, leering laughter echoing down the halls, one she knew to heart by now. The sudden spike of fear carried through their link before she snapped back into human form, falling back ass-first on the floor, hand still wrapped around Zosar’s wrist.

Her reaction made whatever he was about to put in, vanish. Staring with surprise. “Are you al--”

Wren jerked her hand off his, took a measured breath. The fear sunk back to the depths of her thoughts in their link, it was gone for him "Having a way with words is one thing— being an asshole when things don’t go your way is another,” She shot a glance at the ground, still catching her breath “I don’t know him personally, and I’d like to think that, disregarding all that fortune cookie bullshit about it being our true nature, he wouldn’t have said those things without thinking— but if it’s recurring enough for you to pass it down as his ‘way with words.’”

She glared at Elly “Then it’s a problem. How do you expect me to trust my superiors when they act like that?”

Wren sighed, pushing up on one knee to get up and start walking towards Maria. She broke the link with Zosar, brushing the dirt of her coat “Maria’s right, the mirror was never worth all this effort. If you want to keep going, I’ll be awaiting orders, boss. That’s all.”

She caught up to Maria, without caring to stop and listen to what Elly or Zosar might've had to say. The stress already had her stuffing her face with a protein bar, she had an oddly serious expression as she bit down on it “You're not mad at me, are you?” She asked Maria mid-bite, didn’t have the nerve to look at her while she spoke "I'm sorry for acting like a bitch..."

Elly didn't immediately respond to Wren. In actuality, Elly agreed with her, though knew some of the blame was being passed to her from the Werewolf by the glare that was shot. Both also spoke something that Elly agreed with, that the relic wasn't worth it nor was it their prerogative. The only reason Elly was here was because Cyrus offered them upon learning the relic was stolen. Elly didn't want to be here, but orders were orders, unless their superiors were simply terrible with differentiating between orders and options.

Though, this presented an issue beyond simply not wanting to. Everyone was more or less done and their team effectiveness ranged from lacking to self-destructive. Elly wasn't even sure if they could continue at all. That was also setting aside how Kisei was when he came out, if he came out at all.

“...I suppose that's that, then… We'll wait a bit longer to see if Kisei is let out… otherwise we'll go and report that a Fae is holding him,” Elly mused, mostly to Zosar who was closest to her. She wouldn't exactly be sad at the thought of bringing the hammer down on the spirit.

He was watching Wren move along when she spoke.

Fear.

Her shift had been so sudden and unexpected but the feeling in the moment before she ripped her hand out of his grip was pretty clear in the emotion.

Not about to leave Elly without a reply though, the meister merely scratched the back of his head. “Alright, if that's what needs to be done.” Eyes never once leaving Wren as he said it.

“Looks like when we do get back I'll have to see what that was all about just as much as you will yours.”

Looking at Wren, Maria took a confused look at the other and her words, before in Maria fashion, she did only what she could and would do. ”There, there. And no, it was fine… I mean, not that I wanted or would have fought you, or even Kisei as he calls himself… Though I did consider it, I considered it a lot.” Reaching over at the ‘there there’, she gave Wren a couple pats on the head, more akin to a human than that given to a dog, though some cultures would beg to differ as she withdrew her hand.
Wren reeled back into her own skin with a scrunched-up face, deflating, like she’d swallowed half-a-dozen lemons in one go, ears flicking against Maria’s hand almost on instinct. She knew they were, quite literally, over a century apart, but it still felt embarrassing in ways she couldn’t explain. Almost degrading, but she knew the witch didn’t mean nothing by it.

“Illusion or not, it felt like I meant the things I said in the moment,” She sighed, stuffing her hands into her pockets “Still feels like it…But that wasn’t me. That wasn’t you either, I think. And for my sanity’s sake, I hope that wasn’t Kisei…”

Without any other words, Wren did what she thought she needed to do at the moment, unzipping the fanny pack she had slung behind her and bringing out of her ‘special treat bag’ a stick of gum, in its bizarrely intricate, expensive looking packing, and setting it on top of Maria’s head. As an unspoken form of apology and token of comradery, perhaps.

A voice rang through. A voice exclusive to Elly. One she could hear plain as day, but in fact wasn’t present in the slightest. Luckily, it was one she was familiar with, though perhaps didn’t expect in the middle of a mission.

’Oh my Irish Angel… what the absolute fuck are you doing?’ Ulysses chimed in, speaking directly to Elly through their telepathic link. ’It feels like your soul is going from static to outright pterodactyl screeching–and it’s certainly not pleasant,’ he explained, describing the phenomenon of their normally stable connection which had presently been heavily affected by Carys’ shenanigans.

‘Not the best time,’ Elly replied calmly through the transference of her soul was anything but. ‘Almost died the past day and then our dear program leader offered us up for a scavenger hunt with Welsh Fae… Going about as well as you'd expect.’

’I hate to be contrary, but I don’t see the problem,’ Ulysses replied, still himself somewhat annoyed by the sounds coming from their connection. ’The Fae attend concerts in disguise all the time. They love music, sweets, and drugs. The ones from your verdant turf even have strict rules of hospitality. Unless you piss in their Shinigami Flakes, they’re pretty much like any other groupie,” he told her.

‘Quite hospitable,’ Elly replied curtly. ‘Perhaps I should have offered her backstage passes to your next concert. Either way, she knows of the scarab and has kept Kisei in her territory… or Midori, rather. Long story,’ She said, adding more clarification as to why their connection sounded like record scratches at the moment.

’Love, that’s not possible,’ Ulysses responded quickly.

’Why is ‘lil Mido going by a Kisei now?’ he asked, diverting the topic to her currently missing partner. He didn’t quite care if she tried to dismiss it with a vague ‘long story’ and he was a touch too persistent to ignore, as history would indicate.

‘Which part, knowing of the scarab or holding him?’ Elly inquired, a soft internal scoff could be heard. ‘We were tasked with pursuing Astilla Stein yesterday, except someone else was chasing her. One was a witch hunter that tried to stop us. The other was his old partner. She's one of Eros's golems too, and significantly stronger. She passed off some knowledge to us, one of which included how much she hated Midori and that neither of them were their old selves, among other things, and he rebranded to Kisei… that's as short as I can possibly make it,’ She said, trying to give him a gist without spending the time to reiterate the full events.

’Holding him. The magic the Fae uses has laws. They cannot hold a human captive, just redirect you or cause illusions,’ Ulysses told her, fairly matter-of-factly as well. His words didn’t make a terrible amount of sense, though. Carys did seem to return Elly to her original position simply because she did not offer a farewell. Then again, given how tricky the Fae were, without a farewell to leave, there may have been some odd technicality. Her powers didn’t seem to abide by any laws, not like those of a Witch.

Ulysses did not reply for some time, but like the faint hum of an active headset, his presence was still there for Elly. Their connection had grown over time so that when connected actively like this, there was a sense of empathy between them. She in turn could feel just how deeply he was contemplating what he had been told.

’I commend you, love. It is not often I am speechless, but that has in fact rendered me so,’ Ulysses responded, and from the internal conflict she could feel within him, it was the absolute truth. He didn’t know what to say.

’That’s a lot to take in. I remember when Fredrick lost his first partner. It took him weeks before he decided not to just give up entirely,’ Ulysses told her, reflecting back on her a sense of sadness and sympathy he felt for his cousin. Hard to consider such a cold man as Fredrick receiving such warm feelings, but the two were kin, so there was that.

‘...Yes, and unfortunately that is the bare bones…’ Elly with a slightly softer sigh, the sympathy and sadness having somewhat of a calming effect on her. She paused as well, still staring off toward the trail for a few moments before speaking up. ‘...How exactly is that not captive? Could a Fae not redirect your path indefinitely?’ Elly asked, diverting the conversation back toward the initial comment. ‘The Fae we deal with currently is said to subject those who wrong her to wander the mountains for 3 days. Then again, the little rat that told us that also told us to call her The Unmarried.’

’I don’t know if you realize this, love, but out of context, most of the things you explain come across as nonsense,’ Ulysses told her, being again quite honest in his interpretation of events. He had no idea why a rat would be talking to them, or how, or why it would matter if she was unmarried.

’Many stories they tell are hyperbolic or half-truths–pretty sure on that one. But, to my knowledge, they’re not obligated to tell the truth anyway. Most of the rules they follow are tailored around allowing the last few of them around to continue coexisting; and, they’re not keen on sharing their laws,’ he explained to her, admitting that there truly was little concrete information here, even if it did seem like he had a nugget of it.

‘Oh, I do, but you do have a habit of calling during a crisis, dear,’ Elly replied simply with a brief shake of her head. ‘So in other words, you don’t know and they very well can keep someone captive…’ She said, restating what she took from what he said. ‘Or do you have any particular information on a Carys the Unmarred that would indicate otherwise?’

The internal conversation Elly was having would just have to wait. Zosar's attention would shift immediately from her to the situation at hand.

The mountains weren’t particularly misty, but in the very specific area where the road split, there was a thick fog. It was what every member of the group thus far had emerged from. That fog dispelled and with it poured out a wave of emotion not unlike Madness, though it was faint. It carried with it a feeling of animosity and rage.

No sooner had the fog dispersed had Kisei appeared, holding what was presumed to be the Mirror of Shalott in his arms. Though, it was empty and currently held no water, so it was more like the dish of Shalott. Semantics likely weren’t the first thing anyone in the group had in mind given that Kisei had a few scuffs and marks, his jacket ripped now in a few new places, and his soul radiating a fairly serious aura of his typical still coldness from combat.

”She learned I have a way with blades, kinda like I do words–apparently,” Kisei announced, his words seething with his displeasure at how the group had elected to describe his verbal skill set. Notably, that left eye of his was still glazed over with the black star, his diluted Hoshi genetics shining through.

With the sudden change and shifting of events, the fog, the pure notion that something was badly wrong, something the Meisters and maybe the Weapon would know in greater detail, and certainty, even for one as dense as she, the actions he had undertaken and put to words were not lost upon her. And the Fae, as annoying as they were, were akin to a few magical creatures in the local ecology, key to its existence or the balance of power. To which she said sharply and in terse; ”What have you done?”

Kisei noticed the concern Maria displayed, but genuinely couldn’t help but laugh. A hearty one, almost haughty, too. He wasn’t concerned in the slightest.

”I heard every word you all uttered while I was in there; she let me watch,” Kisei said, completely disregarding her question–and doing so intentionally. ”What I can tell you is that my actions were condoned by the Shinigami, and if you can’t trust that–you can fuck off,” Kisei told her, being blunt with his actual follow-up to her inquiry.

Elly’s eyes narrowed slightly as she caught the hint of a soul, paired with anger and rage. The meister tensed as the fog disappeared and out came Kisei with what they sought. Her expression lifted slightly, confusion shining on her face as she stared at him, then the relic, then back to him. He couldn’t have killed her. If it were that easy, they could’ve started with that. Plus, he said that she allowed him to stay there and watch them all, unless he just pulled the wool over all their eyes so he could take her by surprise. However, there was obviously a fight, and if she could freeze them as she had before, Kisei’s best chance was a quick assassination before the Fae could realize what happened. What was also odd was his verbiage and explanation. It was unnecessarily vague. If he just killed her, why not say as much rather than beating around the bush. “What the hell happened is a better question.”

“What really happened, bro?” Was Zosar's follow up. “Is it something you're not authorized to talk about?” In a way, he was giving him an out here. Probably putting a target on his own back, if he had started vaguely, he probably might stick to the same story.

Kisei acknowledged Elly first, but quickly turned to Zosar. The little fucker actually pieced it together, at least to some small degree, and Kisei couldn’t figure out an answer without just bluntly admitting it. Gritting his teeth, that’s actually exactly what he elected to do.

”Yeah, Zose, that’s exactly it. Something I can’t share, something that meant no one was probably ever in any real danger with Ao,” Kisei told them, defeat pouring out from his vocal chords as he got caught out in the fact he just simply could not tell them. Elly included, partner or not. This is how she must have felt a moment ago.

He gave him a nod. “So we have the mirror now then…” he scratched the side of his head. It was a tick, when he was thinking. “Lady Carys must be beyond furious if that was her I felt when you were coming out.”

Was it too late to say sorry? The answer was likely yes and given petty bitches and his experience, sorry wouldn't be good enough unless Fae had favorites.

Maybe she could read his mind and hear him thinking the apology.

“So, should we probably start running?”

It was a genuine question.

Elly’s eyes narrowed a bit in thought. That verbiage was rather peculiar as well. Something that meant they weren’t in any danger, something that he only thought of using now or that he had known for a while? Either way, they had the relic, and if what Zosar alluded to was correct, the Fae was alive, but pissed off.

“Ah, was all that irritation hers?” Elly mused, at least taking some kind of satisfaction from this trip. “Run or a brisk walk. If he didn’t bolt out here telling us to run, I don’t think we have to worry about being pursued. Plus his clothes are torn, but he’s otherwise unscathed,” She further pointed out.

“Either way, I would prefer to get going now.” Was Zosar's simple reply. Already making the move towards their entry to these paths.

”We should probably prepare for a fight instead of just running,” Kisei responded, answering the burning question of the moment. Based on what he learned from Carys before turning on her, they weren’t getting out of there so easily. ”That, and our reputations are probably fucked with half the Fae in a hundred miles or so…” he added, knowing full well that wouldn’t matter in the moment.

Kisei waltzed forward, not really treating the moment with the gravity or urgency the others did. Truthfully, he didn’t have an ounce of worry on him. He did need to at least work on getting near Elly, though, given he would need to transform at some point.

”Matilda is likely on her way, but her hounds will be here first. Turns out, she can’t actually kill us, so as long as we can fight the hounds ‘til sunrise, we’re in the clear,” he told them, just telling them the information he picked up matter-of-factly.

Maria for her part was not so easy going with all of this as she glared daggers at Kisei, then shook her head in disappointment with the rest. The look on her face said this was not finished, but for now she simply shook her head. And with that said Maria mumbled to herself and just kept away from everyone as she made ready her equipment, fighting these so called Hounds would be more difficult than they expected.

“Wren.” Was all Zosar said as he called her to his side.

Elly went from finding some silver lining to deadpanning. Now they had to fight not one but two Fae and their dogs. She let out a long sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “You're positive we can't just outrun them?”

There was an answer, but it did not come from Kisei. Instead, an obnoxious, somewhat distorted sound perked up within the forested mountainside to the South of the path the group was on. As it neared, the sound was still distorted and horrendous, but at least more clear: it was the gaggle of geese they were warned of earlier. A warning that meant those Hellhounds were coming, and by the increasing volume, coming quick.

Kisei laid the mirror on the ground, not really sure what to do with it at the moment as he personally couldn’t carry it as a weapon. Given the tension in the group, he wasn’t about to bark out an order. He focused on his transformation, shifting into the dual sickle form Elly tended to prefer, leaping into her hands, fully ready to fight.

Upon entering her hand, there was no hiding his soul or the emotions within it. On one hand, there was plenty of excitement, though not the positive kind as if it were a date or a rollercoaster ride. It was the type of nervous energy that came from something high stakes. Beyond that were his obvious feelings of rage, but even deeper was that of betrayal and disappointment. He was mix of emotions, but surprisingly stable given how he was shouting just moments ago.
Wren didn’t have the time to piece together that flash interaction between Zosar and Kisei, neither to fully reply to the death-golem’s cutting remarks, not now that the hounds were on their tail. She looked off to the side, where Zosar stood waiting for her, feeling utterly pathetic at how panicked the thought of going back inside those halls made her feel. But she didn’t have time for that either, she couldn’t afford to be scared and mess up mid-fight.

”Right…” Wren tensed the jaw, focused. The feeling there, once she had transformed and gone into Zosar’s hand, was a quiet shakiness quivering in their link at the surface level. Something else kept it stable, deeper within, some semblance of resolve to her.

She had look at that jester in the eyes again, at some point. She figured she couldn’t delay it any longer now, she knew that much ’Ready when you are.’ The teeth on the chainblade hummed to the engine, slowly churning rounds across the contour of the blade, like a racecar waiting for the lights to go green and the flags to be waved before bolting off the grid.

“...Nevermind then…” Elly murmured in displeasure as her eyes searched the horizon, scanning for any signature to track. She caught Kisei by the midpoint, giving it a slight spin as it came to rest against her side. Sensing the inner turmoil, she opted to take some of what the Fae had said and spoke somewhat softer than before. ‘We'll sort it out later. For now we focus on this,’ She said, not so much writing off the tension as making a mutual agreement to postpone dealing with it. “Form a column, no backs exposed. If they work like normal hounds, they'll focus on flanking.”

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location Malta
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper @Meredith

"If they're a Bond duo, it means they're siblings," Gauss answered first, clarifying a frankly irrelevant detail in the grand scheme of things. He considered adding the simple-but-true fact that Bond duos were pretty much universally weaker than others, but elected not to given Arkayis' past. This bond duo was the stand out of the group, at least in terms of their oddity. The Meister with the Shotgun and Witch didn't immediately capture attention in the same way.

Gauss did wonder what specifically was going on with their vision. Enhanced Soul Perception was an incredibly vague phrase. It didn't really refer to any one unique ability he knew of nor was there any real method to enhance Soul Perception beyond training. If the duo were blind and relied heavily on their Soul Perception, it would make sense that they were inherently good with it. It was just ongoing practice, essentially, not unlike why Wes had incredibly good auditory Soul Perception. If they were in fact blind, though, there was no way they operated just off Soul Perception. Either those masks gave them augmented sight of some kind or their blindness was hyperbolic.

His speculation didn't ultimately matter.

Gauss immediately pinned down this Kraken Witch as the greatest threat. Witches of any kind tended to be problems, but going off general rules of thumbs, this one was apparently based on a mythological creature. Unless Krakens were real, which Gauss hadn't actually ever checked on. Either way, Witches tied to big-name creatures like that were normally pretty high-up in the royal line, meaning they often pretty strong. If her element was water and she was higher on the food chain than Ark, then this Witch would definitely be a problem.

The bitch with the shotgun and the weird ass masked duo didn't merit nearly as much concern.

"If we can kill the Meisters, capturing their Demon Weapon weapons for interrogation won't be hard," Gauss said, now addressing the team. "Granted, if lethal force is authorized, I don't see a huge benefit from capturing anyone. With mercenaries, though, you never know who they're working for and it's pretty standard practice for them to rat out their employers, if they think it'll save them," Gauss went on, being a little less sensitive about the fact he Aki was a former merc. A bit of a double-standard to his own weapon, but then he didn't have Aki in his head for hours of his day.

"I've been on teams in the past where, uh... people end up sympathizing with the target. Right now, we have a sibling duo and a set of mercenaries. I'm just gonna address the elephant in the room: no one is gonna have a hang-up killing one of these fucks, are they?" Gauss asked, not even bothering to beat around the bush.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Moelwyn Bach Mountain Pass, Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales
GM Post​

The following moment brought a sudden and odd realization to every member of the group.

These alleged Hellhounds weren't even fucking hounds. They didn't look, appear, or behave like canines. They were cats. Or, if anything, their faces appeared a lot like a bat. It didn't matter. Welsh mythology claimed these things were houndlike, but that same mythology didn't say anything about them having six limbs or two odd, alien tendrils from its shoulders. This was yet another example of the Fae fuckery making no sense. But, why would it? Had anything made sense this mission? Given every other issue with this mission, was it really reasonable to assume hounds would actually be hounds?

More so, these creatures were clearly magical in nature. Witch Magic. Not Fae Magic. Not the weird shit even Elly had difficulties picking up. These crazy ass felines had mana pouring out of their Monster Souls. One could waste time questioning it if they were so bold to waste time, but it did make some modicum of sense that the Fae with their apparent laws would be using more regular creatures to bypass them.

The sheer number of them would have been hard to determine for anyone in the group, in part due to their speed, but also do the cover of night and their speed. Should have focused, Elly could have pinpointed the exact number, but as it stood, there were well over ten. Perhaps twenty. And, it seemed more incoming. More so, there was that ungodly annoying sound of the distorted chirping or honking, much like geese. Combined, it made for an incredibly odd encounter of what should be a stealthy opponent instead flanking with overwhelming number.

And, flank they did. While the first half of them went in for an attack, the other was looking to circle the group.

Given that Zosar had some level of enhanced range with a chain blade, the beasts didn't attack him directly. Instead, what he found was a set of six tentacles lashing out at him from head to thigh in sufficient number that he couldn't deflect them all. Worse, given that Elly wanted to go back to back, dodging created the possibility of allowing Elly or Maria to get hit.

Elly had a different incoming attack all-together. She had but one, larger beast come at her, prowling downwards to the left before leaping forward with its longest two forelimbs readied to swipe at her midsection. A simple, more clean attack.

Maria would find herself most at a disadvantage. Not for any reason regarding her skill or abilities, but solely because these beasts decided to attack her in the greatest number. She, too, had a creature prowling low into a leap forward with its massive claws, but that was not without a whole six tentacles being flung at her from multiple directions. In essence, she received the combined attacks both her companions did.

It was not as if the speed, strength, or agility of these beasts were impossible to deal with. With Wavelength Amplification, both Meisters could have easily dodged. Maria had a myriad of options to deflect. The problem came in the fact that this was only half of the beasts present as the the others were still circling, and it appeared only more were on their way.

The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - LA - North Van Ness St, LA
​

With the sudden ambush, human shield play and what seemed to be black magic blasted her, Nadia had just enough time to mentally brace for the blow. It was more the result of experience than any reaction speed, that had hurt, and it was clearly designed for more than hurting. She had gotten lucky, something that straight laced pain in the ass Starwulf would drone on about for an hour if he learned of it. There would not be a second attack. Swearing under her breath Nadia turned towards Dani in their soul space and gave simple orders. 'Resonance, for now we'll use my wavelength, if the bishop is still too much we switch to yours, we need him alive. I'm going to close in on his minions, make use of your scorpion tail, lets show him he's not the only one with a bit of fire!'

She couldn't speak with her ally on the other side without cluing in these cultists, but hopefully he could read the situation enough to know what they were planning to a point as suddenly with deft movements Nadia dives towards the escort and bishop, aiming the blade at the bishop, she expected his human shields to enter the fray once again as they had before, even if only one of them.

Interactions/Mentions: EmperorsChosen (Dani) Sir Les Paul (NPCs)

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | Malta- Sept 22 | Rings: 0/1

Ark was still studying the image when Gauss posed the question. A Bond Resonance duo of a High Two Star status was certainly a rarity. And from what he understood of the nature of Resonance familial resonance types were one of the weakest.

Figuring out what possible tools they had wasn't going to help though. If it was Magitech they were using he would be able to determine it through his own senses.

“Not at all.” Came his specific reply, and from Feng and Aki's earlier remarks he severely doubted they would care if things went lethal anyway.

The Kraken Witch would be the real issue if anything and already he was thinking of ways to counteract that magic. Gauss with Arkayis would probably not be the greatest opponent, but Gauss with Noah would be useful given the electrical applications. The problem would be that if these three different parties were working together in some way, fighting all of them would be truly difficult if their teamwork was anything. Sticking to earth based magic would have to be his go to here. His real concern however remained with that witch.

He hadn't forgotten the meeting he had with his supposed sister. A Witch that had treated his offensive moves like they were child's play and handled the team of Meister's opposing her with relatively minimal difficulty.

The image of the Witch really made him wonder if his sister hadn't been protecting that Witchling they had been chasing, and she hadn't somehow known he was related to her, would he have survived a real fight, regardless of giving into his Pull?

He had never truly fought that many mages that could push him to go full out. Part of that was because starting out as a Sorcerer already piled a view in Wiccan society that wasn't too positive, regardless of the status you came from- it was the same everywhere. Status didn’t equate reputation, even if it was a reputation entertained, the real reputation came from what you built. With the gloves The environment was his plaything, the recent mission and Dall Island reminded him that those Demon Tools were useless against things or areas that rendered their use null. His combo magic had been barely effective and a Kraken was his exact opposite for one element.

There was also the age.Three hundred years in the Realm was akin to a veteran of the army. The Outlaws he fought in Africa when shit had went haywire hadn't often fallen in this category. Most had been young, young by Witch standards, or slightly older. Some had been around their age or teenagers like the ones his group had been chasing that led to his sister. Very few had been above a hundred, the more powerful ones had conducted other activities. He never fought those himself.

It didn't take a genius to know why given the lesson his sister had left him. The only mages he had sparred with in that age range or above it was with his own grandmother Senora and his aunt's and mother. All of them had been nothing but spars merely to measure his growth because it was necessary to ensure he was growing properly. Being a Sorcerer didn't mean shit in his House and Realm view didn't even view Sorcerer that highly unless you had the rep to back it. He couldn't become part of the House if he were to stagnate. Necessary tests he had to take every year, only postponed by his entry in FATE and the rather decent progress since the Island that had earned him a temporary break from the annually scheduled testing.

Houses tended to do that sort of thing. Breaking in their own, ensuring that they were suitable to hold the title or status of a real noble.

A kraken related type meant that she likely would be covered in all ranges, he assumed, given the age possibility. Either that or she would be more of a mid range and long range fighter. Someone of her age meant she likely could handle herself alone against a team of Two Stars on the lower end. She would be the real powerhouse. And if all these guys were working together, the real support.

Perhaps the sibling duo and modern rough housers could do Chain Resonance to bolster their defense? A high Two Star pair had to be capable of that, Bond Resonance or not, they wouldn't be that high up if all they could do were a few techniques, if they were being evaluated by DWMA.

Speculation ended when he opened his mouth to speak.

“Do you have any idea what exactly the Witch has been looking for?” if she was circling the area then she must be wanting something. It could lead them to answers on the reasons the other two were there.

Mentions: Merciless Medic

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - Paramount Theater, LA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Dani struggled to make sense of what was happening. One of the bodyguards appeared to be manipulating his own blood to provide cover from the mercenary. However, those two were the least concerning. The bishop in front of them was stoic and calm, just like the others they had fought. Dani half expected fire to expel from that pentagram, but it was instead some concussive blast.

'You good?' Dani asked after the blast made contact. Even she could tell that it had hurt, at the least.

Growling a bit, she glared at the bishop from the reflection of the blade. 'Got it...' She murmured as she went to work regulating Nadia's wavelength, combining it with a bit of her own before pushing it back through her body and muscles. Though, as she did so, she wondered of the bishop would have a similar effect to the others when the tail came out. Perhaps that would end the fight quickly, though that was probably wishful thinking.

Dani would do as instructed, waiting for Nadia to blitz them and get in close. Even though she hadn't met someone who could react to the tail, she still waited until she was sure they couldn't pull any surprises. Violent fire coursed through the sword, manifesting in the prehensile scorpion tail and shooting out like a bullet at the two guardians.

Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Chibistaryuu

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Feng Long
Malta - September 22nd

​

As Ark and Gauss spoke up, and the Policeman finished his summary, Feng was struck by one common fact. The officer really didn't understand any of this and was giving a rough summary, the only reason he called for the DWMA was as Malta could not deal with the situation at all. It was a bit like the Local Police in many areas she went into. When spiritual or magical powers were being used, they would stay well and far away. Minus the occasionally brave one, that often ended up dead.

"So, was there more than those basics? Though..." Turning her attention to Gauss, Feng spoke from experience, and it may have dawned on some why she worked so well with Aki. "Why worry about capturing the weapon? Just shoot the Meister somewhere that debilitates and doesn't kill them, nine times out of ten the weapon will drop out of form to try getting them to safety, then you kill em both." With her Chinese accented English she moved on from this topic to what was next on her mind.

"We should likely give the Mercenary pair a way out. They are wanted for questioning, and most of us here have done questionable work I think, the kill order was likely issued because of the other two, though maybe the Mercs will go along quietly. It's the witch that will be a problem, though I wonder if the twin pair has a combat rather than skill rating? Anyways, I'll kill who I need to, no worries there." Following the group, she was curious if the rest would have something to say or not.

EmperorsChosen (Aki) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) The Regal Rper (Ark) Merciless Medic (Noah) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Peckinou (Arky)​

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Aki Kiyoko - Malta
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

As the group was pulled in for a briefing, dossiers were shown of each of the five targets. Aki's perception of the hooded figures hadn't much changed, though the fact one was a scythe was peculiar. She didn't see many of those. If they had survived this long, perhaps they were stronger than she presumed. That, or they got lucky.

The mercenary pair were of more interest to the Demon Weapon, mainly as she wondered if she had encountered or heard of them. Humming as she studied their faces while listening to the Inspector's intel, she couldn't recall off the top of her head, though it seemed their area of operation was a bit different than Aki's. Most of her time was spent in Asia while these two started in Europe.

The witch was of the least interest, considering Aki deal the least with them. To be honest, she didn't really understand how a lot of them work and her history seemed more grounded in the political drama between the DWMA and the Witch Realm. Shrugging a bit, she turned her attention to Gauss. He seemed to be trying to be considerate toward them, though something like killing them just because they shared some similarities wasn't something that would dwell on Aki. There was a brief moment where she wondered if that was strange before she moved on, nodding at what Feng said.

"Yup, that'll work. If we really want to capture them, could blow out both his knees. He'll be dead weight and the lady won't be able to compete even if she has some autonomous training," Aki added nonchalantly. "The European ladies will probably be easy to deal with. There aren't a lot of jobs where going against the DWMA is seen as worth it. So, either they weren't expecting to and will back down or whoever the sponsor is is giving them a big payout to make it worth it. But yeah. It's not like I know'em or anything... I'm pretty sure..." She said, sounding less than sure towards the end.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Peckinou Shotgunpenguin Merciless Medic

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales​

Still being a bit angry about before and on guard in case of Midori, or rather, Kisei attacking her, Maria was somewhat on guard. Upon the first showing of the beasts, she automatically went for her grimoire, these were not the black dogs, not in the slightest. The Fae had lied, though no doubt this assault was prompted by the actions of Kisei. It was even more irritating to find herself as the primary target of the geese honking cats, or more like a kind of Chimera. Thinking fast on her feet, Maria remembered her battle with Gauss, that annoyance would now serve her, and what was regarded as useless flying lessons would also come in use now, or rather the nature of some tactics that DWMA Chopper pilots had passed on to her.

First she quickly called Alicia over to intercept and block the onrushing creature, as her wires glowed red, more joined the previous, recoiling under the blows as she used Strands of Dominion to protect herself during the first round of blows, from there she reconnected to Alicia and commanded the juggernaut to know the leaper off balance as she got astride her broom and displaced her presence through the created gap to somewhere above the pack, from which new position she fired a wind blast at the snarling beasts before reconnecting with her dolls, first Alicia, then two of her smaller caster class dolls, keeping some 20 to 30 feet above them all, she would dart down every so often to fire off a spell in conjunction with her two casters, the later of whom unleashed a number of wind blasts, Maria in effect had taken on the position of a CAS aircraft.

Once four to five blasts had been fired out of the other two, she would reconnect to Alicia who was now charging towards the circling hoard, Maria seemed to have yet more combat actions in mind judging by the fact the larger doll was carrying the two smaller armed ones, as she ordered the trio into the fray, intent on breaking the encirclement. Hovering some 20 feet above their position, the sword and lancer took on something akin to a pikeman's stance to meet the charge head on, while the medium doll braced behind them.

Like a specter in the dark, Maria's eyes glowed with her Grimoire, she seemed to be putting significant resources in her equipment and mana towards crushing this sudden ambush.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Elly) Sir Les Paul (Kisei) The Regal Rper (Zosar) Haze- (Wren)

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Wes Kraven
Malta, Egypt - September 22nd

Mentions: Sir Les Paul (Gauss), Merciless Medic (Noah), Peckinou (Arkayis) The Regal Rper (Ark), RedArmyShogun (Feng), EmperorsChosen (Aki)
​

Wes listened as the officer briefed their group on their new targets, starting with the Meister/Weapon pair that had been shown to them before. What interested him the most was the idea that one of or even both of them may have been blind. If that were the case, they were either relying on their hearing or some other way to view the world. If it was the former, they were probably looking at a pair that was used to auditory soul perception. Which meant that getting close without being spotted would be far more difficult.

Having had it for all of his life, Wes was no stranger to how effective the form of perception could be if properly trained. With visual perception, there always existed a blind spot at the limit of a person’s field of view. Compared to that, auditory perception allowed for a person to perceive souls in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field. Meaning that without being trained in soul suppression, there was a minuscule chance of getting close without alerting the person. Minuscule, but not impossible.

He doubted that they would always have their soul perception on. Most who were trained in soul perception only used it when necessary, to locate a soul before dismissing it and moving in. It was a drain on a person’s reserves, and the additional source of information that one would have to sift through could at times be grating on the mind. Something that Wes also knew all to well.

His own soul perception was constantly on, like a ceiling fan without a pull-cord. It keeps spinning and spinning, continually using up energy even when it wasn’t needed. You can’t stop it, short of removing the fan entirely, so all you can do is learn to live with it. Even now as they were discussing how to proceed, the constant drone of everyone’s souls acted as background noise, mixing and mingling together in a jumbled mess of sound.

Tuning back into the conversation, he caught the tail end of Gauss’s question to the group. His face fell slightly, lips drawn in a thin line as he tossed the question around in his head. Lethal force, just like with Ishmeal. The order brought up the uncomfortable image of the man’s last moments before being reduced to a red smear on the ground.

He had mixed feelings on the man’s death. On one hand, it seemed like there was very little that they could have done to prevent his demise. After their conversation and negotiation with the sphinx, it was obvious that Ishmeal would have met his end even if their group hadn’t interfered. To a creature like the sphinx, a deranged man demanding that you follow underneath him would have been an annoyance at best, and a downright insult at worst. One could even say that his death under the very power he sought to control was justice in it’s own right.

That being said, there was still a bad taste in his mouth that no amount of chocolate or grain seemed to wash away. He had no idea what the man’s last words were, whether it was a desperate plea for power or the man coming to his senses seconds before his demise. He hoped that it was the former, if only to reinforce the idea that Ishmeal was never planning on giving up and was still trying to obtain the Sphinx’s power. It was easier to accept it as a case of poetic justice rather than a preventable incident, even if there was little any of their group could have done differently.

“This sounds like a huge pain…” He groaned out, finishing the last bite of his meal bar and scrunching up the wrapper, slipping it into the back pocket of his pants. The number of targets had went from two, to four, and finally five, leaving two meisters and weapon pairs as well as a witch. In a way it was almost a mirror of their own group, since his own partner was currently recovering from the poisoning.

And on that note….

Wes couldn’t help the shiver that ran up his spine at hearing Feng and Aki’s thoughts on the matter. From the way the latter had offered to do any killing, to their morbidly efficient way of talking about maiming and disabling another person. The almost casual way they talked about it, as if they were discussing it over a cup of coffee, it was unnerving to listen to, at least for him.

“Can’t we just take down those two evil looking ones and call it a day?” Wes posed the question to Gauss, pinching and rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. “Find them first and take them down before they meet up with the other three. Be a lot easier than having to take them down all at once.”

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Kris Orksen​

"Red Fang"​

Species Bloodsucker
Location Paramount Theatre Parking Lot, Southern LA, California


​

Tags: EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun | Merciless Medic

It was difficult to believe what he felt, let alone saw. He had been working with these cultists for weeks upon weeks and had become accustomed to the repugnant nature of their souls, especially once they used any abilities they had obtained. The vast majority of them were simply enhanced physically with varying degrees of endurance and damage resistance, but the sheer volume of cultists meant that even as a minority those with active abilities were plenty common. Kris couldn't quite pin down what this new energy felt like, but it was vile; trying to describe it would been akin to trying to describe a new color to the blind.

Once Dani manifested her scorpion tail, that all changed.

Even the most powerful of cultists, Hell even the Bishop they faced, had but a fraction of the power Dani possessed. More so, what Dani had wasn't actually exactly like what the Cultists did. Not only did they simply possess far less of this odd energy, their variant was vile and revolting. What Dani possessed still coursed through her weapon form and into the tail as if it were the same indescribable color, but it lacked that corrupted, truly nasty nature to it. Of course, Kris was highly likely to have interpreted the feelings of this energy in a more visceral, impactful way than most others, Meister or not.

It would become clear why even if his opinions would take more time to reach the surface.

Kris released his own energy, his wavelength pouring through him, amplifying his own abilities and more so charging his weapons with them. It all became clear the moment his façade of a soul dropped: he was undead, and, more accurately, a Bloodsucker. It was an unmistakable Monster Soul that explained what few discrepancies existed up to this point. In the moment, though, it likely didn't matter much to either Nadia or Dani.

It would matter a lot for the priest trying to fling the massive lamppost. Not that it would matter long. The speed the Bloodsucker demonstrated was pretty impressive given he seemed to wield no Demon Weapon. Without Resonance, there was no question that Nadia couldn't match that. It would be a question whether Adrian with Self-Resonance could. The speed wasn't the only impressive part of his skillset. In terms of strength, he stopped the swinging lamp post with one hand while simply reaching out to the priest with his pistol to fire a single shot. In a blast that would have filled Aki with glee, Kris blasted a huge hole in the chest of the priest, killing him effectively instantly.

The hole itself was roughly a foot in diameter. Even these cultists couldn't withstand something like that. His heart was gone, lungs were shredded, esophagus severed in half. His knees didn't even get to buckle under his weight naturally, instead what was left of his flesh simply slumped over and fell under the weight of the air. His head and torso fell over, folding in on what little bit of his abdomen and spine were left to crumble as he just coiled down, blood and literal guts spilling onto the ground.

Kris clearly didn't fuck around.

Then again, neither did Dani with that tail of hers.

The priest that tried blocking her attack had neither the time or durability to do anything about the flaming tail headed his way. It would be somewhat inaccurate to say the shield shattered in the face of the scorpion tail. The shield of blood simply had no affect on slowing down the tail. In fact, neither did the body of the priest. The stinger of the scorpion passed directly through him, which while not as gruesome as the death Kris gave the other priest, would be enough to cause his demise nigh-immediately. Worse, Dani had the option to release her corrosive venom-flame or not. There was no need for it and it would only drain her energy, but doing so would have immediately set the priest alight with intense flames until the area around the entry wound turned to harsh ash.

Cameron went bug-eyed at the cumulative shit storm of events. Aside from the Master, he had never seen such power. His observations were similar to those of Kris, but he had a clearer idea of how this power related to what he had seen of their Master and how it actually felt to use it. It was astonishing. He would have went his entire life believing their was nothing like it if he had not seen this firsthand. It would be a lie to say he was half as interested in the Bloodsucker or the fact he blasted a hole in his other disciple, but it's not like he could just ignore it. Reality was, Cameron didn't immediately see a way out of this.

What Cameron did was slash his own wrist, causing a massive gush of blood to spurt out and hit the ground. Like snakes consuming themselves, his blood slithered onto the ground until it formed the trademark pentagram of the cult. From it, a barrier of intense red energy shot straight up around the panicked Bishop. This barrier was pretty-straight forward. It was obviously some type of magic, and fairly powerful at that. Blood made for an incredible conduit for magic. It was absurd a regular human could pull off such a feat of Magic, but there were archaic rituals used by indigenous peoples, often lost to time, that put magic in the hands of humanity, too. This perhaps was of the same kind, and if so, only added to the list of reasons the cult needed to be eliminated.

With awe in his eyes and a complete lack of color in his face, Cameron stared out at Nadia--mostly as she was the closest to him--and simply uttered, "What the fuck is going on..."

[/color]

 

[Peckinou]

Arkayis Misonuka - Egypt -> Malta
Mentions: Gauss Sir Les Paul , Noah/ Sara Merciless Medic ,@Meredith The Regal Rper , Wes Shotgunpenguin ,@Mook-LandStrider, Aki EmperorsChosen , Feng RedArmyShogun
​

Arkayis had been on a number of missions before and this one made the top ten list for the weirdest one, Arkayis was honestly expected a fight with the Sphinx what they didn't expect was Gauss to actually manage to successfully talk them down. Arkayis didn't mind not fighting dealing with them seemed like a huge hassle anyways no pun intended, instead of getting involved in that mess Arkayis simply watched things unfold. They honestly never thought Gauss flattery tricks would actually be useful, but he supposed anything was possible.

With events moving forward and Gauss went on to do their own thing, Arkayis really didn't question it and took the time to relax, clear their head and stick close to Noah. Before they were soon thrown their next mission, being put on a jet to Malta, a place where Arkayis hasn't ever really been to before but he supposed that was about to change now soon. With the briefing moving forward Arkayis really didn't know or care much for that matter of the duo, seeing it as just another mission, though having more information on their capabilities would of been nice but it was whatever. Aki simple solution to the problem elicited a short living chuckle from them "Erschießt sie, jagt sie in die luft, verbrennt sie, es ist alles das gleiche für mich" before letting out a yawn and realizing he was speaking in German. With a sigh he then let out a shrug before deciding to take a quick cat nap until the plane landed in Malta.

Arkayis immediately woke up when they landed and followed behind Noah in their typical fashion. When they reached their destination Arkayis listened to the more extended briefing, his eyes twitched for a minute when the man mentioned that their two targets were a Bond Duo. Memories came flooding back to him, but were quickly brushed off as he took a deep breath in and out and was a bit annoyed when he mentioned that the duo was also about as fast as speeding cars. Figuring that this mission was more than likely going to be quite annoying now. It wasn't until the man mentioned a Witch that Arkayis mood perked up, figuring that perhaps this trip would be worth it, gaining the opportunity to kill another witch was something that Arkayis would take deep pleasure in. Whatever her crimes were really didn't matter to him, only the fact that she was open season for him to kill. That was until he mentioned that she was a water elemental witch and had affinities to a kraken which caused Arkayis to take a deep breath in before saying "Ahhhh, scheiße." knowing full well that he wasn't going to be a good match up against her.

With the briefing completed Gauss spoke up, mentioning a few details before asking if anyone planned to have second doubts when it came to killing one any of their targets. Arkayis knew that he was being addressed in this considering the the pairing, Arkayis honestly wasn't trying to think much on it, but opted to simply point out "I'm more concerned with that Witch, I usually all for burning a filthy witch, but I'm really not thrilled about having to face a Mud Water elemental crack headed witch whose age range is in the triple digits, it's just not fun." Arkayis knew that a witch like that would be hell for him, even if he still had his sister as their partner he wouldn't be thrilled to go up against a experienced witch who pretty much counters him. He also wanted to counter Gausses concern with him taking the opportunity to woo the women that they were after but opted not to considering their present guest.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location Malta
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper

Gauss listened to the input of the entire group. Wes came up with a decent idea, in theory. It seemed Aki and Feng made a comment about maiming the Meisters instead of capturing the Weapons, which effectively would have the same outcome with less murder. Ark just asked more about the Witch. But then... Arkayis. Dear sweet Death, Arkayis. The way he talked about Witches was just sub-human. Gauss could only stare at his weapon partner in disbelief he would refer to anyone like that at all.

"Arky, buddy... I'm gonna need you to remember that there is no such thing as casual racism," Gauss replied, responding first to his partner, calling him out for his word choice there. Gauss was all for trying to enhance his relationship with his partners, but the hardcore Witch hate and blatant racism was a real problem.

Gauss sighed, having addressed that point. Now, he had the rest of the comments to deal with. He was given a fair amount of input from the group and now it had to be parsed into a plan.

"First and foremost: If the mission objectives dictate all five are targets, then we will at least give an earnest effort to eliminate them," Gauss told them plainly, though that comment was more aimed at Wes.

"That said, I believe the suggestion Wes made is a solid one. I don't like separating a team. Micromanagement is more difficult and the risks grow exponentially as we lose strength in numbers. All of that applies to our targets equally. I am not above isolating the siblings and overwhelming them with numbers," Gauss told the group, sharing his idea of strategy with them.

"There is a risk of sorts with a disjointed attack. If those two can communicate with the other duo and/or the Witch, it may alert in such a way they elect to escape before we encounter them. This means if we do attack, our best bet is to do so with an overwhelming amount of lethal force. The siblings can't alert anyone from the grave," Gauss explained, "and, of course, that would mean forfeiting the prospect of capturing the sister alive."

"The other option would be to wait for all of them to arrive in the same location with visuals and launch a surprise attack. The fight would be more difficult, surely, but not impossible. I don't care if we maim or murder the Meisters, but eliminating them from the battlefield will immediately reduce the combat efficacy of the Demon Weapons. We were at least given cuffs that suppress Wavelength use and Demon Weapon transformations, so at the very least, if we can manage to capture them, we can restrain them," Gauss told the group, offering the secondary option he saw for how to proceed.

He mulled it over slightly, but finally decided to do a different course of action.

He did take a moment to look over to the Malta police officer and gave them a stern look, one as if he had the authority. "Do you have any more information on this Witch? She is the only concern that is of any threat. If not, could you send her information and description to the DWMA and see if there is a file on her? Since there's an open mission here, they'll provide that information without hassle, even if comes from records from the Wiccan Council," Gauss asked, seeing if he could get anything from the police. It was possible this Witch had been off the radar so long there wasn't any solid information on her. If that were the case, well then luck simply didn't shine down on them that day.

"Unless there is an alternative to attacking the duo with overwhelming lethal force or a surprise attack on the group of five, I think those are our best options. I can't see a huge benefit one way or the other," Gauss told the group, returning his attention to them.

"There are seven of us total. Odd numbers make for easy voting. If we have a majority of the team believing a course of action is the best, you'll feel better about the plan. So, cast a vote for one of the two alternatives I provided and if you want provide a quick rationale for it. I'll only vote if we need to tie-break, otherwise there'd be no point in me giving you the choice to begin with," Gauss suggested, providing them a chance to decide how to proceed while the police tried to gain them information.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

"Ten... No, twenty... What in Death?" Elly murmured, following the soul signatures with her soul perception. However, when they finally made themselves seen, it was clear their appearance wasn't what she expected.

They were called hounds, yet they sounded like geese, looked like cats, and had these strange appendages at their shoulders. Elly lowered her center of gravity slight, ready to shift or react at a moment's notice. It seemed she was correct in that the creatures operated on a pack mentality, relying on flanking and numbers to take down a mark. If they were like ordinary cats, it meant they likely had good reflexes as well.

As the large one prowled in front of her, Elly's eyes drifted to it but also glanced at the others around. They were waiting for an opening. One attacks, then another while you were dealing with the first. Thus, she had to not only be ready to react right after any action she took, but if she wanted there to be an end to the conveyor belt, she needed to dispatch each creature as it attacked so that it couldn't return for a second round.

As the hound lunged at her, Elly dodged back slightly, keeping just out of range of the creature's arms. Then, with a spin, she swung Kisei horizontally, detaching it as they had done in the forest to increase the range and whip the scythe at the tendrils protruding from the feline's back. Elly continued the motion full circle, bringing the polearm around her body again before snapping it toward the cranium of the animal.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze-

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Feng Long - Inspector Leonardini
Malta - September 22nd

​

Listening to the thoughts of her teammates, Feng paused a bit at the suggestion of Wes, in just finding the others and attacking them one by one. There was a possibility there, that the Police simply did not have, Soul Perception. Though Aki and Gauss all had points to raise as well. Feng for her part nodded her head, mostly agreeing with Aki and Wes. Rolling her shoulders a bit, she was quick to speak up. "Yeah, Mercs normally don't fight past a point unless they are really loyal or really stupid. Or a high up paycheck is on the line. I find it likely this is just a meeting between em all, or one hell of a coincidence. Though, Wes is on to something there, we could use soul perception and maybe find them. Sounds like the masked pair are using their abilities to evade detection. So, we might can pick up something."

Then there was what Gauss said; "Well, I'm not sure, if they have real good soul perception, won't they notice us when we try to surprise attacking them? As to overwhelming force, that might be the best bet, though that's if we can deal with them before the rest know..." She didn't much like the odds of either plan, but having no alternatives to offer of her own she shrugs. "Get the Jump on those two and hope we find where the hell the other two were meeting, but that's provided we can find them. We could also likely jump the witch and learn what we can from her, but the firepower needed to take down a Witch I doubt we can hide."

For his part the Inspector paused, listening to Gauss's request. "Like I said, we normally only get one Witch coming out here, and the only reason we are keeping an eye on her still is as she likely doesn't fear us. But then again we are on an island close to the shore... She's not ignorant, just cocky, which pisses me off more... Anyways, let me see what more I can get for you on her." Wandering off just to the side, and letting the others converse he would speak in what was likely Maltese into his own magitech phone, a few minutes later he would interject after a few more hand voiced their opinions to the vote, a list was printed out, though it was a rather, mangled mess of conjecture, reports and what bit of knowledge the Wiccan Council would part with;

"I'll read off the printout, Synthia of the Deep, or Synthia Carmilla Raxis, is of the Raxis Family, which is seemingly a family of one of the Noble Houses, seems they have a direct connection via blood to the Maba some generations or knowing witches, centuries prior, distant it may be. Seemingly, like the old European aristocracy, that gives her a bit of a privileged standing in Witch society, and power to match. Seemingly they specialize in water elemental and related creature themed magic. As to who they serve, that is not stated. Not that it matters much, what with them rebelling, or should I say, her rebelling.

Seemingly the inspector wasn't too satisfied with some of the answers he was being given, but that's how it was. "Unless you have someone of high standing in your ranks with Witch Society, or want to pull things from a higher standing, they aren't too keen on explaining the specifics. Though if I had to guess, I would say that's as she's related to someone a bit too close for comfort and they just want this disappointment buried. But I doubt you want a history lesson... To pick up from where I left off, she is known to have, eh? Pull of Destruction?" As with the spirit side of things, the Inspector was clearly more used to dealing with crimes of a human variety, many of the terms and lexicon being used here was simply akin to speaking Greek, but at least he had the presence of mind to send for others who did know it.

"Either way she's been observed in using her hair, tendrils they look like to expand, ensnare, and to battle with. Seems to be an argument on if it's a magic termed Biomancy, or an Alchemic based magic. She's classified as a Tier Four Witch with noted skills in water manipulation, control, and conjuration. Calculation magic, Magic Circles are her main fighting means.

Extensive mana pool, high magical potency, though given the scale of some of her spells she even burns through that. Some theorize she may now be a Tier Five or is at the cusp of it. Seems to be an argument there in an intellectual fashion as to why or why not this is so...

Otherwise, she's been marked for sinking smaller personal craft, Yachts, and patrol ships, dragging them down to the depths or battering them with waves. I would say more of the typical sized ships we find here, though she seemingly has damaged a DWMA bulk freighter with eyes on her doing it and expected to have sunk a few more at Sea given the pinpoint nature of the hull breaches, provided the wrecks are found.

The problem with confirming losses to her is there are rarely any survivors to file the reports. On land is another issue, there her powers are reduced, but most that have died to her hands have been by strangulation or drowning, and she has been observed making small scale Tidal waves. The most creative ability is using water sources in storm drains and water pipes to make sink holes in urban environments...

Typically, she uses water in the forms of cutting blades, water blasts, water tendrils and hmm, reminds me of an old TV show, something they called water bending. It's noted in the folder that she can't control water inside of the body, so don't worry about blood magic." Chuckling a little, the Inspector nods his head and adds aloud,

"Seems the Kraken name is something she earned from the DWMA. Because of all the ships she's directly sunk or has likely been a factor in sinking. Anyways that's all in the report minus an index of specific sinkings, details on her personal life. Any other details or cooperation you want from our men?"

EmperorsChosen (Aki) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) The Regal Rper (Ark) Merciless Medic (Noah) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Peckinou (Arky)​