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 Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:17 pm
Raising his eyebrow at the changes in the paralyzed woman's he cracked a smile.
"Well lass, Aye would knock wood off ye in a better time."
Turning the tiny microphone in his hand he sat beside her.
"Ye didn' know did'ye."
Looking to Red he tugged lightly on his beard.
"10 Snipers there were...!"
He paused mid-sentence staring to space
"Oh bugger!"
At that time a shot rang out from the forest a spray of blood could be seen as the large man slumped to the side. Almost as quickly as he been struck he rose to his feet a large section of his face having been blown off by the shot revealing the skeletal structure of his jaw. In frightening display strands of tissue quickly knit over the damage reconstructing his face.
"Bloody ell!"
In a haze of of black essence he blurred from view and in the distance a number of trees topped over.
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:44 pm
There was a sense of alacrity surging through Mayevelyn, even though all she did was sit and wait on her boss. She was still musing over the 'lashing' she and Jared had received, though very grateful that the boss didn't take it upon herself to just read minds whenever she felt like it. Appearances being everything, it had taken her a while to get used to expressing nothing more than grave seriousness whenever the boss looked her way. Once learned though, she was quickly made aware of the many allowances she was actually allowed. She didn't mind it much, but it was a reminder to keep herself on her guard. Not everyone was as kind as the boss.
When she heard the gunshot, she immediately shifted in demeanor, her body spinning with well trained precision toward the cliffs ahead, twin Desert Eagles aimed into the patch of trees. She could hear Jared behind her drawing his own guns, but she knew - as he must - that there wasn't much hope in hitting anyone. They hadn't even seen where the shot had come from, and she wasn't entirely sure the round hadn't hit the boss. Watch her own back she was told.
She did spare one moment to check on the boss and Kravath, only to forcibly black out until her vision was back on the cliff, where she saw a blur of black come and go. That probably meant they were safe. She returned her pistols to their holsters at her hips and mentally fought back the half-image she had of Kravath having only half a face. Along with the bile threatening to burst from her stomach, it was a difficult endeavor.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 3:51 pm
The headset controls of his sniper rig had faded to snow. It seemed his feed had been compromised. Shedding the now useless gear, it was clear that the escort mission was going to hell. The snake had been compromised and the comm chatter had near died out. It was clear that he had hit the big man head on, but the freak had shaken off the damage like it was a bee sting. Flashing his optical camo he was on the move. During his briefing he had been warned that suit likely wouldn't hide him from the target, but in a preoccupied state it at least bought time.
All he had had now was his assault rifle, sidearm, a flash grenades and a ED rod. As he moved quickly over the tropical landscape, another tree and toppled in the distance. It was best to not to look back anxiety would prove likely more dangerous enemy than the approaching attacker. Thankfully, he'd likely have a drop on anyone that approached, and their training on using the weapons under optical camo made them extra lethal.
Slowing his stride it occurred to him the terrain was beginning to lose consistency grow spongier. At that point the camo would prove more of a hindrance than an asset.
Cursing under his breath sound of snapping brush caused him to take cover behind a tree. Looking toward the clearing he had arrived from he trained his assault rifle in wait.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:38 pm
Momma always told her to be extra careful when she played with strangers, because sometimes strangers played too hard or broke rules. No matter what, even if they cheated, she was not supposed to, because only bad people did that. Before she could catch him, he began to run, and then he disappeared. Maybe he felt bad for cheating, because he didn't even notice her bounding after him. It was only the fact that she could still hear his footsteps on the forest floor that gave him away. She didn't know it, but since he was heavier than she was, he made more noise, and so he inadvertently drowned out any sound of her coming after him.
She could feel his mana jump when the tree fell, and wondered if he had done it on purpose. If Momma were here, she would have asked, but now she had to wait because of the cheater. If he played fair, they could talk right now. Miss Epithany said that she could only go see Momma after Momma was safe, and cheaters meant Momma wasn't safe. So, Claudia thought, if she stopped all the cheaters, she could go see Momma. Hopefully this would be the last one. She wanted to tell Momma about school, her new teachers, and her new friends.
Then she heard another big person as a lot of twigs broke under their weight. She stopped running, and smiled fit to split her face, eyes sparkling ecstatically. She waved and pointed at the tree and made a circling motion with her arm as though to say 'around.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the shots were fired, Jared threw all caution to the wind, drew his S&W 500s and ran up the pass. He was deceptively swifter than his size and build belied, so catching the would-be sniper would be difficult for one reason only; Jared was not a tracker. Not in the least. Even as he let the forest swallow him, he knew that any number of unseen riflemen might drop him like a dead weight in the blink of an eye. Still, he had enough faith to think that maybe there was a god, and said god might reward his loyalty with a bit of longevity.
After a mild thirty yards, he paused, only to hear nothing. He could run back to the cliff, assess the likely sniper location, and then hazard a flight of path, but that just put more distance between him and the gunman. Instead, he tried to visualize, using the felled tree from earlier as a reference. Marking his path, he took off again, light on his foot because Konosuke had taught him to be so. Lighter still because he was in civvies. Nevertheless, that didn't stop a pile of twigs to crunch loudly beneath his foot as he ran over them. He stopped on instinct, first so as to prevent any potential hunters from getting a better lead on him, and again for a second reason.
Right in front of him was the boss's daughter. He would have admonished her for being out here, but she was a better tracker than he just because she already knew how to 'feel' other people's energy. If she was here, maybe the sniper was too. She waved at him in her seemingly oblivious, jovial way, and he waved back with a smile, though he didn't feel like smiling. She pointed at one of the trees, and seemed to be saying that whatever they were looking for was on the other side. From his vantage, he should have been able to see something. Fabric would be the obvious clue, but he saw none. In fact, he saw nothing. Nothing, that is, except slight indentations in the soft forest floor and was looked like disturbed brush. He checked his own tracks as reference, and the two shared characteristics. It ended at the tree, which meant, either the man started climbing, or had very good camo.
Having both guns drawn, Jared couldn't very well holster either one and draw a dirk without giving himself away. With the boss's daughter between them, he dared not do anything stupid on purpose. Instead he hoped that logic would win this battle of wits and motioned at the little one to cover her ears.
Satisfied that she obeyed, he unloaded all ten rounds of his 500s at the tree. The recoil was a b***h, even with the performance improvements and customized design of the handle. Some of the round went directly into the tree itself, and some grazed the edges in hopes of maybe landing a mark and startling them long enough for a reload. After a carefully counted tenth round, he immediately holstered his left, emptied his right, and reached for his cargo pocket where he kept extra rounds.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 5:43 pm
Bits of tinder and debris fluttered through the air as the bullets pounded the bark of the tree. Returning fire he let off a short burst at the red head. Two could play that game.
Shedding his optical camo he weaved between the trunks blindly squeezing off another burst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dropping from the tree top the emerald tressed mage dropped from the canopy her staff end slamming into the forest floor causing a upheaval of rising stone to cascade into the path of the soldiers gunfire. A wave of tumbling stone, dirt and trees tumbled atop the unwitting gun man
Glancing back the mage turned to the body guard and the little girl.
"Nice work Claudia, you see how I used the tumbling earth to carry the terrain with it? You can take inspiration from other elements to guide your spells."
Smiling warmly at Jared she grimaced.
"Claudia was to distract him, but you gunfire worked even better to draw him out."
Behind them the groan of the man partially trapped beneath rubble could be heard.
"Why don't we question him?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 6:19 pm
That worked out significantly better than he had anticipated. Having known Claudia in Konosuke's class, Jared was realying on her own magical aptitude to subdue their enemy while he provided the obvious, and threatening, distraction. That Mrs. Briefs was present proved only a greater advantage to their cause and his life.
"Concerning the boss's daughter, it was the least I could do."
Though he tried to sound humble, he wondered if he should have said 'most' instead of 'least.' After all, the situation as it was didn't leave him much room to do anything else. He knew that she knew what he meant though, so he dismissed the thought and finished reloading his right revolver. For safe measure, he decided to keep do the same for his left, which he kept out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Claudia was full of excitement from the sound of gunfire that her little hands inevitably failed to keep her from hearing, as well as the rumble of the earth beneath her feet. Miss Epithany used magic like she did, which made her giggle in admiration as she felt the ground do exactly what the older lady asked of it. Receiving praise on top of it all, and a fell stray leaves in her hair, was icing on the cake for her.
"Next time I play, I'm gonna do that too!"
She spoke with with purpose and ambition, full of anticipation for the next time someone played with her. It did not dawn on her that she might not have anything to fall from, but that was not much a problem because Momma could show her another way to do it if she couldn't figure it out. From the corner of her eye, ignoring the grown-ups in favor of her imagination, she saw the most recognizable presence approaching the small.
"Momma's here!"
Her voice rang like little bells that managed to echo through the woods even as she ran toward her mother, arms wide, eyes for nothing and no one else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She knelt to the ground and spread her arms to receive her daughter's embrace. The two hugged lovingly as only parent and child could do, and she even smiled, though she dared anyone other than her daughter to comment on it. Flanking her were Mayevelyn and Kravath, the former still armed and keeping a sharp eye.
At her daughter's greeting, and inquiry as to whether or not she saw what had happened, Red released the little girl, stood up, and took held the child's right hand in her left.
"I only saw what Miss Epithany did at the very end, but I heard everything. You did a good job. I'm very proud of you."
The compliment lit Claudia's eyes brighter than she would have thought possible, which was enough for her. Walking on with her daughter, she approached Jared with a grave expression on her face.
"I said 'watch your own back.' "
He looked a bit let down at this, and resisted the urge to rebut, but she did not permit the shame to settle.
"Though if I had to imagine, the only reason you wasted ammunition so recklessly was to protect Claudia. I will satisfy myself with that, so don't contradict me."
He was not so good at dissembling that time; she saw his knowing grin toward Mayevelyn, who no doubt returned the expression. She concerned herself instead with Epithany and the gunman.
"Thank you."
She eyed the sniper in disgust, content enough to just leave him there. Instead she ordered with a gesture of her right hand for Jared and Mayevelyn to disarm and strip him. Anything he had that she had not could prove useful in understanding one of her apparent enemies. If she knew what to expect, she could react efficiently, and prevent similar situations in the future.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:20 pm
Arms crossed over her chest, she watched as Mayevelyn and Jared carried out Red's orders. The grunt remained unresponsive as he was questioned by the two bodyguards. Sighing she wandered over to the inquisition
"You do realize they can rip the information from your head and believe me that won't be a very pleasant circumstance. You might as well work with us on this and perhaps you'll make it out of his unscathed."
When the man continued staring to space despite her plea she sighed. Turning to Kravath she frowned.
"You ever removed one of these neuro-crowns without frying these guys brains?"
Wandering over the big man grinned down menacingly at the soldier.
"Yes...Aye need ta thank this bloke fer makin' me regrow me face...."
Fully reconstructed the Kravath's flesh was still red and tender from being regrown. Scraping his cheek with a blade he had had to shave the remainder of his bear as the other half had been blown off. Catching view of the green haired mage staring at him he raised an eyebrow.
"Somethun on me face?"
Shaking her head Epithany smiled.
"No the lack of it...I haven't seen you without a beard since I met you."
Laughing the big man returned his attention to soldier, extending a long black crystal spike from his forearm.
"How abou' we'ave some fun!"
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 8:03 pm
Once she and Jared had stripped the man to his boxer shorts, Mayevelyn left the head device to Kravath and returned the rest of the items to her employer. She smiled kindly on Claudia, who was just naturally delighted about most anything, but returned her attention professionally to the president. Jared joined them and the three huddled over the bounty.
"The rifle and sidearm are nothing special. Standard issue. We could pawn them off, I guess."
Jared confirmed that he knew a guy who didn't ask questions, and though her lawful nature inclined her not to get along with him at the beginning of her service to the boss, she had since grown accustomed to it. The camouflage suit seemed almost to pique the boss's interest, but she discarded, though advised them to have it compared to their own. There was a rod on his person that seemed harmless, but the three agreed it probably had to be activated to serve its purpose. For the time, it was left alone. Jared assumed custody.
"I suppose for a sniper, he was well equipped, but they should have informed him a bit more. Jared or I would have been killed without a doubt, but they seem to think little of you, ma'am."
The boss only used enough breath to command they store the items as securely as possible. She then returned to the now naked, very stubborn, very unlucky soldier. Mayevelyn did not envy him the misfortune he would soon experience. To her knowledge, the only thing protecting him from the boss was that head device the blocked psychic interference. Once that was gone, he was doomed. The thought made her shudder. Even though she kept her thoughts to herself, she thought she heard her boss say something. Something about advancing psychic development...
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Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:14 pm
Prodding the crown with his spike he studied how the energy flowed through the object. While far from a techophile, the large man was always fascinated at the inner working of mechanical. What he could take away was that the man's biomechanical current which was naturally dispersed by way of electromagnetic field all living things gave of was being used to power it. Dropping is gaze to meet that of naked soldiers resilience despite being at such odds. He almost felt sorry for the fool. that was until the memories of having his face half blown off came to mind.
"Econumical use o' energy it is...An Idea comes'ta mind though"
Placing his hand veins of darkness seemed to snake through the man's chest a high pitch scream of agony escaping the man's mouth his eyes beginning to roll back into his head.
"Olmos..olmos...There!"
Releasing the soldier slump his skin paler and his breathing ragged.
Duplicated his wavelength...and now!
Prodding the crown with his spike it slid off with audible pop like cork and immediately fizzled on the ground.
"Single use It'appurs."
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Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:49 pm
"Less confidence in their subordinates than I thought."
She knelt down on her right knee to pick up the crown, hot, but manageable. Whether she was impressed, disappointed, or indifferent - as was her general disposition - couldn't be said. Claudia was watching the little device curiously, clearly more understanding of Red's interest in it, even if she didn't know what it did.
"It's still in one piece, even if it is useless."
She tossed it carelessly to Mayevelyn, who fumbled not to drop it.
"Kravath burnt it out. It has a limit. We'll try to rebuild it, and make it better."
Mayevelyn nodded in understanding as she turned her attention to Epithany.
"If you have questions for him, he'll talk. If he can."
Her ominous gaze then fell on the failed gunman, who couldn't tell whether to fear her and her little child or not. She gave him no indication either. Her cruelty was best when disguised as kindness. He could be made easily complacent and unaware of her hand in it. Or he could just fall asleep, and wake up believing himself involved in some nightmare. Or he could wake up with parts of his identity and memory missing. Either way, he wouldn't know it was her doing.
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Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:47 pm
Frowning at the inclination of having power over another being the emerald tressed mage sighed.
"Geez...one really doesn't recognize the ramifications of events until your asked a question like that."
Pursing her lips she grimaced, watching the worn soldier stare at her with malice in his eyes.
"Is he even capable of speaking at the moment?"
Rolling his eyes at the mage's posturing Kravath snorted stroking his chin finding the bear skin not is liking. Sneering at their captive veins of black briefly streaked through the mans flesh giving a brief sensation of agony.
"Nah need ta beat aroun' the bush lass...If don' wan ta talk to em' don'"
Furrowing his brow he turned to Red.
"Things seem ta wunding down. Wha'say ye?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:51 pm
Having nothing personally ask the soldier, she turned to Kravath and answered with her authoritative casual tone.
"If we're done here, we are leaving."
Her emphasis on the word 'we' suggested that she implied herself, her employees, and her daughter. She did not speak for Epithany nor command Kravath. Looking down toward her daughter, she squeezed the child's hand gently, who squeezed back affectionately.
"Perhaps you can join us for an early dinner."
Her invitation was indirect and noncommittal. Though Jared and Mayevelyn said nothing, she could feel the former's declination and the latter's acceptance. As for her senior mages, she did not wait on them to respond, but instead began leading her daughter toward the entrance/exit of the forest. Her duffel bag, nowhere present, seemed to have been abandoned, and she showed no sign of interest in going after it. Her bodyguards followed her, a safe distance away, but even as she drew further away, the soldier seemed to be losing consciousness.
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:49 pm
Clasping his hands behind his head the big man fell behind the slow procession from the clearing.
"Is onlya fool who'll deny'imself ah meal. Dah an there's contracts ta discuss."
At his point the soldier seemed to be an after thought most everyone else. It didn't take a genius tactician to know that the confrontation was long over. Despite this the quantum mage hung behind glancing about the surroundings. Save for the stirring wind and returning forest creatures there was nothing really to note.
Frowning she glanced down at the prostrate soldier his consciousness now but a memory and shrugged. Draping her staff over her shoulder she followed after the group at a steady pace. Though far from a trailblazer, few others could navigate the forests as well as she.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Materializing from the seeming ether a man clad in a long traveling cloak appeared over the paralyzed form of Diana. Even at first glance one could tell that man was handsome as if drawn from the cover of a romance novel. A cascading mane of dark draped over his shoulders flowing down to the middle of his back. His skin tone was a natural dark tan of an individual of middle eastern or spanish descent. Smiling warmly he brushed aside her hair which was sticking to her forehead from the overhead sun.
"How cruel, they left you here like so much discarded trash. This will not do at all..."
Scooping her up he shook his head and spoke on as if he enjoyed the sound of his voice.
"I must apologize, but I have been watching hidden from view and felt it was better in our favor to at least have a someone present in case things got too much out of hand. Sadly, it is my folly to not have acted when that brute placed his hands all over you. I shall contend with him in the future and he shall receive divine retribution."
Striding through the forest he carried her nonchalantly until they came across the half naked soldier. Placing Diana down atop a the ground he sighed.
"Pardon me a moment my dear. It seems another of the lords lambs needs tending."
Bowing down before the man he tested his pulse finding it steady, but his breathing labored.
"You my son have served the holy father quite well. You and your brothers shall be rewarded. The monitoring device the infidels have in their possession will serve General Rutum far more than you could ever imagine."
Whispering a prayer over the soldier he began to trace the symbol of the cross. Regaining consciousness the young man's eyes widened in awe.
"Oh Lord Cleric may I return to the holy father's side. To be back in flesh is so unbearable."
Placing his finger to the young man's lips Raphael smiled.
"Return just as brothers have..."
A warm sensation streamed through the young man's body it began to increase in intensity as it flowed through his cells. Soon the warmth increased into an agonizing burn as much of his tissue was rendered ash in a blaze of white flame. Erupting from the man's body, the flames readily consumed him ash an all. In his place now lay a crystal. Replacing the crystal into the empty socket of a bangle Raphael wore about his wrist he turned back to Diana.
"None shall ever truthfully die under my watch."
Scooping up Diana once more their forms vanished without trace a higher grade camo in use.
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