{Gabriel's Ship Abel, One Hour Later}

It had been nearly half an hour since Faus had let off Jace and MIR. And the trip had been almost uneventful. The most that occured was some soldiers laughing to themselves whenever they would see Jace. After they had left, Faus had personally taken Mystara's sword to keep it stored in his personal barracks until they had arrived at their new destination. The girl, however, had spent the trip up to Gia Panta alone in the cold holding cells aboard Abel. But after the trip...

Gabriel kept Mystara by his side everywhere he went, keeping a chain attacked to a shock collar around her neck. Her old clothes had been taken, along with all the items she had managed to keep until recently. In their place, she had been forced to wear an orange jumpsuit that was typically worn by the ship technicians. Though there was no chance anyone would mistake the girl for one, knowing Faus never would let a child handle such important equipment, much less a girl.

Once Abel had gotten several miles out from Gia Panta, it emitted a beacon to track down a mobile operations facility that, similar to the giant ship, was something Faus had personally had constructed for his use. The facility was heavily fortified with numerous rocket turrets, shell-firing cannons that were meant to blow through heavy armor in under a second, fully suited soldiers in power armor forming patrol units with one exoskeleton suit per unit. The suits each carried gatling guns with explosive shells, and one rocket shell mounted to the back of the suit that could be fired freely in a straight direction. The outer hull was lined with several dozen relay dishes, constantly putting out jamming waves that kept the facility cloaked from various forms of scanners, while also providing defense from electromagnetic waves assaulting the large mobile base. Heavily fortified bunkers marred the facility in several locations, manned by expert snipers with high caliber rifles used for disabling armored vehicles, with spotters that carried rifles better suited for anti-personnel action. And the inside of the nearly several hundred feet-long structure housed nearly the same number of troops that manned Abel itself, with even greater weaponry at the facility's use.

The hovering monolith of military might was stopped, merely resting in place as Abel soared in and flashed the lights of its transporters, sending Gabriel and Mystara to the metal deck of the structure. Already, a squad of soldiers were there, waiting to greet their Lord and his captive. Large suits of metal watched them both walk between the parted ranks of men, the optic sensors of the exoskeletons never leaving Mystara's sight until they proceeded into the inner depths of the facility. The mighty airship above flew off, leaving the facility to return to its movements, keeping it better hidden from prying eyes by moving out toward the nearest large body of water.

Once inside, Gabriel looked to the girl, his skull-shaped, horned helm looking over her form. "Welcome to your new home... This is Krimlo. A fully functioning marvel of technology and weaponry. I could count the number of people who know of its existence on one hand, with fingers to spare. And not a one has even stepped foot on the deck of this military-grade city of mine..." He began walking along the tunnel, stepping over the knee knockers to keep from tripping. Soon the hall opened out to a scafolding walkway overlooking a large dock. Hundreds of people were busy below, tending to their duties of keeping all the armed flight crafts in top condition. Using what new parts they had received over months of secret trades to construct more units.

Under the grated metal beneath Mystara's bare feet was a solid wall. To the opposite side from the dock she could see a large number of cylindrical containers, storing bright fluids and floating biological samples of various races throughout the planet, as well as some Mystara would notice were...less known. Several researchers calmly wandered between the large tubes, checking over instrument pads and making notes of the recent changes. One tube went dark as the fluid within turned slowly to deep red, the creature inside tearing itself apart after waking up. The bits of gored chunks floated amidst the crimson fluids, the creature having ravenously killed itself. The expressions of the scientists were only shades of annoyance as they then proceeded to drain out the liquid from the solid.

After some odd minutes of walking, Faus stopped to point Mystara to his left. Just past the corner of the forked hallway, she would see into a dimly lit room with a single, long table in the center. Various people stood by in bright white garb, the hands covered in tight, disposable gloves that they held up to keep from touching anything but air. In the center of the branching hall leading to the room, there rested a thick ring placed into the walls, floor and ceiling. Inside was a glass lid that covered the bright red electronics inside the ring. Just in front of it, hanging upon a hook on the wall was a set of white clothes that matched that of the doctors within the room, complete with gloves and a face mask.

Before she could hav noticed, Gabriel had unclasped the back of his helm after setting his sword to lean against the wall. "I'm afraid you will have no time for rest... We will have to begin work on you immediately." He seemed distracted as he removed the armor for his head, leaving his sword unattended and not watching the girl. And he'd let go of her chain leash. Her only restraints were common cuffs that held her hands in front of her body, with the rest of her limbs left free. He was confident that she couldn't escape. That or confident that he could stop her himself if she tried.

A long stream of golden blonde became clear around the head of the Undead. His hair shined from the bits of light coming out of the room and the bright red of the cleansing ring at the room's entrance used for erasing harmful bacteria that could hinder the operations. "And when I'm done..." The rest of his words drowned out as a set of options played out before Mystara.

If she wished to make her attempt at escape, the Lord's own magical weapon was unguarded nearby. The hallway was small enough that he couldn't evade most assault attempts. And his hands were occupied by his helmet. She now had a great chance to strike at the Undead and theoretically end what plans he had in store...

_________________

~~Jace~~





As the ship dropped off MIR and Jace in the hangar Jace stormed off towards the door. MIR sat behind, knowing he and Jace would be connected even with distance between them. The giant robot drove into a designated spot for robots such as himself and parked himself there.



"Dammit, this doesn't make any sense. . .I'll have to speak to lord Frosheim see if he can do anything about this. . ." Jace angrily thought as he walked down the hallway.


"I have a mind to agree with you. Lord Faus's actions were quite questionable, I wonder if the man's going insane. . ."


Jace soon arrived at Zack's office. It was unguarded save for a camera and a terminal. Well the giant steel and lead-lined doors did serve as a kind of security, but only because of what was in not what was out.


"Ahh Jace it's you, MIR has already forwarded me the information. One second, it's about time for a walk anyway. . ." The undead said.


Jace stepped back as the doors began to opened, flashing red lights also indicated much the same. There was a loud clunking as Zack emerged from his room, in suit, his feet clanking against the floor.

"Come, we have much to speak of"

Jace nodded and filed besides the tall undead. They both walked down thee corridor. Eventally Zack stopped at an elevator.

Zack stepped inside, as did Jace.


"Now, I've reviewed the information you two gathered on that sword. I have no idea what Faus is trying to pull hiding it like that. In fact I've sent an inquiry to the hierarchy, to see what they make of it. I would very much like to examine that sword more closely, so Im sure the hierarchy will decide that Faus is not allowed to keep it for his own private use, that and they'll also want to know why Faus is being so secretive, especially from his own peers no-less. Nothing is kept secret from the hierarchy they know and see all, as the jingle goes. . ."


"But what about my sister? She's done nothing wrong but simply find the thing!"

"Well in terms of actually getting her back quickly, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to get her back today. I can send in a secondary inquiry telling the hierarchy the details but we'll need proof, something you have (those video feeds will be enough for the hierarchy to declare her innocent I assume) but that it will take a few days to one or two weeks for them to act on it, it does however, blow open any secrecy Faus wold have hoped to have, now the hierarchy, as well as the other undeads, know the doings of Faus, he's no doubt in that stupid giant piece of metal his "fortress". As for the girl, She won't, however, be getting that sword back. . .not unless she tries something like joining the Empire ha ha ha. . .you don't really expect. . . .you'd really like her to be in the empire?"

"well it wouldn't hurt would it?"

"I suppose not, although I may just be over-thinking this. . ."


"I have to agree with you my boy. Lord Faus has lately been acting rather strangely, I'm afraid that man's mind is degenerating faster then his body, or so it seems. . ."

The elevator arrived at its floor and opened, Zack stepped out, Jace did not.
"Our meeting here is over, report back to 501'st hq, you're with them now my boy" said Zack as the doors closed.

_________________

*WHAT I THOUGHT I'D DO WAS PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE DEAF-MUTES*

Jazz must have been too focused on the boat. Before he knew it, an airship dropped down to pick up the trio. He quickly moved toward Sylvanas, who was about to get inside the ship, to see a large man in black armor talking about the ship as the Magic School Bus.

“The Magic School Bus you say? So where will our adventure lead us to today then…?” Jazz moved his right hand in a gesture as if he were tipping an invisible hat. However, Sylvanas came back with a mean comment. Jazz lifted up his finger to Sylvanas to say something to her, but put it down, shrugging his shoulders, lifting his hands and smiling. He found it quite amusing.

I think she got you there. Jessica giggled, covering her mouth with her hand to make it seem like she wasn’t.

“Not really. I had something to say to that.”

Not you didn’t! Don’t bullshit yourself. She began to laugh.

Jazz paced his forehead on Jessica’s head. Jessica, in response, looked up to see Jazz giving her quite a serious stare.

“You don’t believe me?”

Not particularly. No. Jessica looked into his eyes, playing just as much of a joke as he was. She was still smiling, mocking him silently.

Jazz burst into quick laugh with his sister. The two seemed to have been having some fun randomly. “You’re right though. I didn’t really have anything to say to that. Sylvanas got me there.”



“Aye. Jessica” Jazz put his finger on Jessica’s head.

“Jazz” Jessica did the exact same thing. Jessica took the extended hand, and was helped onto the ship. Jazz jumped instead.

_________________
I GOT 'DEM HUMPS.
Doctress Who:You can be my Brony bitch ;D
Droctress Who:Jas, would you like me to make you a sandwich?
JesusChrist: Well if you insist Jasthn I'll use it with you. Spread them cheeks
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Lenore Celestalis:*jumps on your back* weee~
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Chance ~ Gia Panta // Indolentia HQ

The rat chuckled slightly, nodding. “I know what you mean.” He sighed, thinking about Ivy. “I have to deal with particularly troublesome people all the time.”

“Spellcaster? Really? Marvellous. We look forward to seeing what you can do with that,” the rat nodded with a small smile. If he noticed the awkward moment, he didn’t appear to linger on it. The rodent knew from what Ivy had told him that the elves had suffered great losses, one way or another. No doubt his clan was probably a delicate subject for him.

Chance’s small rat ears raised. “I’m surprised you found this place at all! We’re usually exceptionally careful with our location. Much more careful then them lot at Stallum Street – pfft, they call that secret? They obviously haven’t seen us…which, I might add, is just the way we like it.” Chance grinned, with a wink. “By the way, how did you find us, if you don’t mind me asking?”

At the thank you and the bows, the rat shook his head. “Not at all.” Suddenly his ears lifted at the mention of ‘other’ people in charge. “Oh, I know a fair bit…or at least, about one of them” he replied with a sly smile. “There's three, including Xantara -one of them, Sven…ha hah, he makes me laugh. Especially when he gets serious. And you should see him and Xantara together…pair of nutters, the both of them, although not in the way you might think. I haven’t personally met him though, but I’ve heard a bit from Lady Xantara. She finds him utterly amusing, not that she’d tell him that…hmm, not sure where he’s got to, as a matter of fact.” Chance made a little bob of the head, “And thank you. I quite like your company too. It’s good to meet a fellow gentleman with nice manners. I’m much obliged.”

_________________________________________________________________________________


Lady Ivy “Xantara” Swift ~ Gia Panta // Rooftops – going down…

Ivy, they have sonar now.
I know that Tallis.
That’s not our only problem another voice echoed inside Ivy’s head. Take a look at what we’re picking up, Xantara. The Demi-god’s bats let her see what they were seeing under echo location, together with the information from the ‘bugged’ (literally) airships.
Shit, they’re using homing missiles? What a bunch of sissies. Do they really want us dead that badly?
That can be dealt with easily…
No Xantara! Bad Demi-god! No more powers.
Ivy inwardly giggled. You’re starting to sound like my mother.
And you’re acting like a child. This is no time for…
…Games? Come on, you’re acting like an ignorant mortal. You’re not just a cat anymore, Tallis, same as I’m not just an elf anymore.
You…just…argggghhhh…Ivy!
Love you too. Now shut up. Ivy invisibly adjusted her sunglasses, as she ran with Kaito. Mother Nature’s at work.

Continuing to run with Kaito across the rooftops, she moved her free hand behind her back. She crossed her fingers, hoping that her powers felt like co-operating. Focusing on the picture the bats were relaying to her, she could calculate exactly where the missiles were in relation to her and Kaito. Now lets turn the temperature down a notch, and condense the fog in the right area…

A combination of ‘Gaiana’s Breath’ and ‘Ice Queen’, Ivy focused on blocking the missiles’ path by manipulating certain parts of the fog. The air between Ivy and Kaito, and the missiles, decreased in temperature, solidifying until the missiles were met by a solid wall of ice. Ivy worked hard on forming a wall strong and sudden enough to cause the missiles to explode harmlessly behind them. There were more efficient ways for Ivy to get rid of them, but if she wanted to stand any chance of keeping her identity hidden, this was the best chance. It was just an extension of her fog-creating abilities…right…?

Xantara, you better hope that didn’t give you away.
Relax Tallis. And who cares? If they find out, that will just make this more…interesting…
You’re just loving this, aren’t you?
Ivy grinned widely. You bet.

Squeezing Kaito’s hand as if to say ‘trust me’, she suddenly ran to the edge. However, instead of jumping to the next roof…she just dropped. There was a big advantage to having animal agents like Ivy’s: you had the whole plan of the city mapped out in your head. A lower building was located right beneath them, and they only fell a short distance before landing, rolling, and continuing on their way. After running a short distance they repeated the process, Ivy navigating them around the rooftops so that they could use the buildings like giant steps, all the way to the ground. Ivy tugged Kaito’s arm, leading him in the direction of the quickest route out of the city. Although the fog no longer did anything for their cover (and Ivy knew this) she kept it there, just in case she needed it for other means…

Meanwhile, very slowly, storm clouds were moving in. Although there was nothing too unusual about that…

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

Captain Sylvanas. BLACK HAND.

Leaving the Harbor.

"Well then you two, welcome aboard. Love to chat, but we got places to go, people to kill, shit to blow up... you know. The works," he said as he effortlessly closed the front door. The big man turned around and gestured to a spot for them to sit. He walked slowly away for a moment like he was distracted by something before reaching up and removing his helmet. The helmet hissed slightly, and gave a distinct metal click before coming off. Black One removed his helmet and set it down on the console before turning back to face the duo. He had a strong face, bright green eyes, blond hair that was barely within regulations, and a sly grin on his face.

"So seriously, what did you guys do to piss her off like that," he said in quite amused voice. "I know she isn't pissed that he mission was canceled, and the last time I saw her this angry, she lost a bet and had to wear a pink full cover Teddiette."


501st Gunships KR-9 and KR-7.

(KR-9)
"... Wow, its-"
"Don't say it. We aren't suppose to say it out in the field or ever."
"But-"
"No"
"I just-"
"I said no. Now call KR-7 and tell them whats going on."

(KR-7)
"It's risky, but it might work." responded the pilot of the other gunship. "We have a unit on board, that's it. So guys start first, we'll take care of the building."

The gunship known as KR-9 swung around a head of the rest of the Grim airships with ease, and opened fire at Ivy and her temporary friend. The sound of gunfire was nearly deafening as the side turret and the pilot-controlled mini gun opened fire at Ivy's left, and the 40mm cannon glanced a round into a low wall at their right. The glanced round bounced up and collided into a tall tower, which might have been a radio tower of some kind.

KR-7 shoot passed and faced the building in front of Ivy. The gunship unleashed everything from the side turrets to the missiles into the building. It collapsed in on itself as the interior support failed, and the weight of the roof proved too much for them to handle. It fell quickly, and the gunship fired another salvo into it just to be sure. It rose up and flew above KR-9 and its own side mounted machine gun obliterated the path behind them as it soared by and went into a long turn.

With the path in front of them gone, and the building left wasn't an option, there was only one path out. The tower that the 40mm round had collided with had fallen, it fell onto the roof that the Ivy was currently on, making a sort of bridge, but it lead deeper into the city.

_________________
Stufflikehearts - He is a Sith Lord. I love Blood Lord :3
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Snafu's Mercypostle.

Lady Ivy “Xantara” Swift ~ Gia Panta // Rooftops – And going up…

Underneath her sunglasses, Ivy’s eyes narrowed. Not only were they trying to stop their progress, but apparently had no qualms about killing innocent citizens in the process. No evacuations or anything, just level a building or two for the sake of two people resisting arrest?

And they wonder why people rebel, she thought to herself grimly. Selfish, inconsiderate pests.

She noted the situation, and that the fallen tower appeared to be the only way of getting off this stretch of roof.
Very convenient, isn’t it Tallis? She commented telepathically to her cat.
Tallis made a sound which could have been a cat’s laugh.
I hate convenience. Ivy quickly reached in a hand under her cloak, retrieving another bottle of potion. After taking swig she handed it wordlessly to Kaito, replacing it swiftly as soon as he’d finished with it. She indicated to Kaito to go behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Hold on,” she said to him with a smile, bending her legs before catapulting herself and the boy through the air…only, at the point where gravity should have started to pull them both back down, it didn’t. Ivy and Kaito continued to soar through the air, the Demi-god well in control of where she was going. She was ready to navigate and dodge any obstacles which came her way. No longer where they running across the rooftops. Now with Ivy’s flight potion, the two of them were not only invisible still, but airborne.

Ivy giggled to herself. “Come on boys, you’re going to have to do better than that,” she teased out loud, maintaining the same speed and nimbleness in the air as they had on the ground…only now theoretically, there were less limits in terms of navigation for the two of them. She led Kaito out over the collapsed building in front of them, speeding away and continuing on their course.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

~+Gia Panta Grim Force+~

"All units, we've received a direct order from Commander Vaco,"
"Aww man, not that guy"
"Just shutup and listen. . ."
"Were just here to capture those terrorists, not kill them. I don't want anymore unneeded casualties, already the 501'st have done enough damage, that'll just give us more paperwork later. . ."

"Well in that case we can just use the nets and catch them, even if they are flying our ships are faster"
"How the hell can they even fly anyway?"
"probably anther one of those illegal potions those elf people cooked up, damn elves. . ."


The Squadron of ships fanned out trailing behind the two individuals, mid-air. It would only take a few more seconds for them to over-take the two in mid-air now. . .










++Lord Frostheim++

As Zack walked down the halls towards another elevator a message indicator came up on his visor. It was Commander Vaco, a man Zack liked over lord Faus, and in fact Zack would often consult wit him over Faus, as the other undead Lord seemed to be in his own world more these days. It seemed as if it was just Zackariah and Commander Vaco were the only ones thinking of the planet's future.


it seemed Vaco wanted Zack to look into the development outside. Of course Zack had heard about it through thew news wire, but he had thought nothing of it, it did seem like, after-all, another group of name-less terrorist. although they had a few trick sup their sleeves (Terrorists were known to be a slippery lot) Zack was sure it wasn't anything the Grim's could not handle.


"Yes, I've heard about this development. But I am a very busy man Commander Vaco. I'v just gotten through with a meeting with the hierarchy over an indecent between Lord Faus and an experiment of mine. I have no time to deal with petty terrorists, but I will keep an eye on it, I assure you."


Zack answered back the commander.

A correspondent went up to Zack as he walked.
"Sir, we've set out a ship to Lord Faus's fortress to pick up the sword as per your request"
"Good, I want all the basic tests done on it when it arrives, then we can move to to testing its "other" capabilities"
"yes sir"

Meanwhile a small transport ship arrived at the location of Abel. Even if it had been blocking it's location earlier, a huge ship like Abel cannot simply disappear off of the satellite imagery. Even if it did employ some sort of jamming from the satellites, all it would look like on the image would be a giant suspiciously blocked out spot on the ocean.


~~Jace & MIR~~


Jace, after maneuvering the various corridors, found himself at the doors to 501'st HQ. He felt he needed to introduce himself to Commander Vaco. He had been told by Lord Frostheim that Vaco would know he was there.


Jace walked up to the door, and was unsurprisingly met by two armed guards.
"Halt, state your business."

"I am Agent Hallow a specialist unit that was transferred over to the 501'st by order of Lord Frostheim and Commander Vaco. he should be expecting me. . ."

"Commander Vaco is out at the moment, we can take a message for you and pass it on to his second-in-command."
"That would be nice"

One of the guards nodded and filed into the room. the other stood and stared at Jace. It was not often that a Gato worked for the Empire, prejudice against cat-people was bad enough, that and Jace seemed extremely young for a "specialist" 501'st unit. Jace meanwhile, leaned on the wall waiting for this supposed "second-in-commands" answer, he was anxious to get out, especially after all the stuff he had heard was happening downtown. "Got that right. . ." agreed MIR telekinetically

_________________

*WHAT I THOUGHT I'D DO WAS PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE DEAF-MUTES*

“Hm…” Jazz put a hand on his chin, as if he were in deep thought. “I didn’t care what she was talking about, I picked her up when she was injured, I took her helmet to talk to someone on the HUD, I made a few smart ass jokes to her…” Jazz paused, thinking again. He knew there was more, but he couldn’t think of anything else.

“Despite how much she says she hates me though, I’ve been trying to get on her good side…”

Trying… Jessica interrupted

“Hey, I’ve been watching after her. Besides that, I had to save you AND that one random Gato from that robot. I’d say I’ve been pretty busy with you and Sylvanas.”

So did you find out how to get on her good side then? Genius?

“Follow the orders exactly. Don’t goof off, and don’t let your mind stray.”

Which means?

“She wouldn’t like the way I work. I like relax on a mission, even if for only a minute. That way, you don’t run yourself into the ground.”

Does that mean you’ll be doing things her way? Jessica smiled deviously. She was about ready to giggle from the response.

“Heal no. She needs to relax for a minute. Rest herself for a minute while on a mission. I honestly believe that even she wants to do that, but just can’t bring herself to do so...”Jazz trailed off. Even he wanted to see someone like Sylvanas relaxed. Seeing people always serious about their job just seems to make his heart ache. If they put so much effort and time into work, why can’t they put just as much effort and time into a fun life? Jazz’s face was plain and calm, but his face seemed to express a sad thought.

_________________
I GOT 'DEM HUMPS.
Doctress Who:You can be my Brony bitch ;D
Droctress Who:Jas, would you like me to make you a sandwich?
JesusChrist: Well if you insist Jasthn I'll use it with you. Spread them cheeks
Tragedy_and_Comedy: Jas is about as dangerous as a kitten.
Blood Lord:I hit your dog with mah truck. :3
Lenore Celestalis:*jumps on your back* weee~
Come check out my story in the Literature Thread. Update? It is true!
I also doodle quite a lot. Check out my art thread here!

[The following is a joint-post between me and Ro Wong]


Mystara Hallow ~ Abel / Krimlo

Mystara had spent her time on the way to Gia Panta, trying to come to terms with the situation she was now faced with. She felt a wave of despair threatening to engulf her. Why was this happening to her? She hadn’t been looking for any trouble. All she had wanted was to go the forest and remember her brother…her brother who it turned out, was alive. But she had barely been with him for a few minuets…and now she didn’t know if she’d ever see him again. For reasons unknown, she had been taken prisoner. And she couldn’t see any way out of it.

“No matter what I do, it all goes wrong,” she closed her eyes. “It’s like I can’t get away from it. And now I’m stuck here. What should I…”

She looked beside her. But there was just an empty space. There was no Sword of Asymbolus to comfort her.

“…do?...”

A lump caught in her throat. She was wretched, angry and frightened. Everything she was familiar with had been taken away from her…or lost. She hadn’t picked up her bag when they had left the Forest of Memories. As far as she was aware, it was still there...including her mother’s flute. All the other items, they could be replaced or remade, but not that. And all the possessions she’d had on her, had been taken from her too. But that sword. It hadn’t just been a possession to her – or even a weapon. It had been her friend. At the one point when she had felt most alone, it had given her hope. But thanks to Faus, she was on her own this time. Completely alone. The sword was too far away to speak to her. Too far away to console or protect her.

The young gato knew if she ever got out of here, she had to get it back. They had no right taking it from her, and no right to keep her here like this. But right then it didn’t seem like she would find a way of escaping anytime soon. The most she could do was sit tight and try not to fall apart.

After the trip, Mystara simply remained silent, not saying a word. She just took a deep calming breath, putting on a brave face, and followed Lord Faus to wherever he was taking her. It wasn’t like she could do much else, not with the shock collar and chain and everything. But all the while, privately the young girl’s mind was racing. Trying to find some way out, trying to think of something that could get her out of this mess. She still didn’t know what the Undead Lord planned to do with her. And it wasn’t something she wanted to find out. She hated and feared the Undead that was doing this to her.

But more than that, Mystara hated and feared the possibility of being unable to stop it. Out of everything, being completely defenceless was the one thing she couldn’t stand. And to be forced into a situation like this, where she could do nothing to resist or fight back, or even protect herself…it was one of the most frustrating and frightening things for her to be faced with. It made her feel useless. Unable to fight, unable to escape, unable to do anything but accept what was happening and await her fate…whatever fate that might be. She knew that even if she could, do something, the odds were against her. But to not have the chance to even try…

As they arrived at Krimlo, the gato girl’s despair only worsened. She stared around at it like it was something from a nightmare. My new home…? They’re going to keep me here? The fact that hardly anyone knew about it made her worry even more. Why was Faus sending a lowly, unimportant citizen such as herself to such a secretive location?

Unless she thought, her fur standing on end, He doesn’t plan to let me leave here. Or be unable to tell anyone.

Now she really was concerned for her safety. Jace had made it sound like she had nothing to worry over, that they were going to let her go, that they wouldn’t harm her so long as she co-operated. But now she really was scared. The sight of the large tubes and their contents made her feel sick. Horrified. They...did this to people?

And then they reached their destination. By this point Mystara was certain that whatever happened, she did not want to step inside that room. Her feeling of unease had grown so much that she barely heard what the Undead was saying to her. She wanted to get away. She had to get out of this nightmare. And she…she noticed that Faus wasn’t paying attention to her. And that his sword lay right there, just leaning against the wall.

An opportunist by nature, Mystara looked from the sword to Faus. She didn’t care how little chance she stood against him. The chance was there. And she had to do something. Anything to stop Faus from doing this.
Her urge to take action was too strong to care about the odds. She had to fight back.

Without hesitation, Mystara went for the sword, grabbing the hilt of Shekoga with both hands.



{Krimlo}

Faus froze when he felt a sharp twinge in the back of his mind. That... NO!! He immediately turned around, hoping he could react fast enough. He didn't even have the chance to try... As soon as he saw Mystara's fingers, thin and frail that they were, wrap around the grip of the hilt, he was knocked flat on his back, eyes closing tight from the immediate shockwave.

"Noooo!!" Was all he managed before a bright flash consumed Mystara, drawing the girl from the conscious world. Faus stared in disbelief, watching her float before him. It wasn't that she was floating that perturbed him. Nor the fact that he knew this bright aura made her invincible for the brief time she was being...prepared. It was the simple fact that he had never had to deal with this before. Shekoga... She took Shekoga... His fist balled tight and he shook with rage. "Dammit!" His fist made a large dent in the floor just as the girl awoke.

But despite the one second of time for Faus, much longer had passed in the girl's mind...



{Transient Hope}

The bright flash had been the last Mystara had seen of her world before her eyes had been forced shut to block the ensuing blindness. But the next she would open her eyes, she would feel warm grass tickling at her barefeet. She would feel a cool and gentle breeze passing through her hair and fur. She would see that she stood upon a high cliff, overlooking a valley of waterfalls. Bright rainbows rolled across the sweeping, giant river below, the mist of the dozens of falls on either side basking it in a glow of colors so bright that the sky itself was jealous.

To her right while looking out from the cliff, a single tree rested peacefully three feet away, its trunk naturally bent slightly. Coupled with the way its branches reached out, giving her immediate shade under the midday sun made it seem as if it were made just for her.

"Actually, it was!"

A voice, lispful and singsong, washed out from behind her. Turning, she would see more landscape that seemed to have been molded and carved straight from a beautiful painting rendering the lands of her world from long ago. From long before the world showed any decay. It was a scene of perfection... Which only made it seem that much more unreal.

A tall, lanky figure stood over the rolling hill of grass ten feet from Mystara. Far behind him stretched a grassy plain so wide that she saw no point where the grass ever ended. To some direction -- north and east seemed to have no ruling here as stars marred the sun-lit sky, and it was likely west and south wouldn't fare much better -- she could see the rise of darker greens, hintig at a far awy forest over the horizon.

The strange man waved his hands both at her, smiling wide and happy. His left cheek was bright red from deep blush caused by makeup. The right side of his mouth was lined by ruby lipstick. The left side of his hair was flowing up as if carried by a natural wind, despite if any wind were blowing in another direction. The fact that it moved as if it were in slow motion only furthered the fact it wasn't natural. His eyes were both cerulean blue, giving something of a consistent look to both sides of his face. And his clothes... He wore a long, sunflower yellow sun dress and a pair of sandals.

"Hiiiiiiiii!" His cheerful, feminized voice called to her.


Mystara blinked. Is this a dream? Hadn’t I just been…?

She stared at strange man, not sure what to make of him. How did he do that? He spoke like he knew what I was thinking…about the tree… Perhaps it was the way the man was dressed, but the gato suddenly had the urge to laugh. She bit down on her tongue, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth rising upwards a little.

It was a lot calmer here, she realised. Her fear had all but disappeared, as if…as if she knew she was safe here. Wherever here was…

Timidly the young girl waved back. “Hello,” she replied, a little hesitant. “Who are you?”

The male grinned wide in a knowing smile, watching her and placing one hand on a hip. "Ohhh, honey, you don't know?" He lifted his hand, bringing it to the left side of his face. "I'm She," he snapped his fingers, hand moving to the right side of his face, "ko," another snap and his hand was back to the left side, "ga! And baby girl, I am FABULOUS today!"

Shekoga started spinning, his dress flailing out to show off the pair of denim shorts he wore under the dress. Suddenly, the sky went dark. The sun became more of a prop in the sky. And the stars littering the overhanging darkness beamed bright, shooting spotlights down over the dancing man. He hopped forward, gliding through the air like a ballerina, landing gracefully beside Mystara.

"I'm the sword you picked up. And just like always, Shekoga is going to make the world bright!" Suddenly there was a chiming ring and Mystara was sitting in a chair in front of a desk. Shekoga was seated on the opposite side, wearing a pair of glasses with no lenses, looking over a set of papers. "Hmm... Well, your resume is quite nice. I see you've had prior experience with living weaponry... But I don't think I've met your previous blade," suddenly it went very quiet, the echoes of the waterfalls behind her going silent, "OF JUSTICE!" His voice seemed to echo as he thrusted a finger in the air, sounding as if multiple people had yelled with him. "But not to worry. We have a part-time policy that is just woderful, hun! And no, not 'wonderful', but 'woderful'. Because it is my word, and I LOVE it!"

Mystara’s ears flattened back a little in surprise. So this was the sword speaking to her? It was certainly very different from the one she’d picked up in the Cave of Asymbolus. Her sword had been very subtle, gentle and composed. Shekoga, on the other hand seemed more…loud, and bright. She couldn't help but smile at his behaviour.

The Gato could hardly believe her luck. This was the second sword she had met today with a life of its own.


“Wait, sorry um, Shekoga…I’m confused. What are you saying exactly? …And,” she looked around her. “Where am I? I mean – I just sort of picked you up, and now I’m here…am I still there, or…?” She was worried about what Faus was doing while she was here.

Shekoga jumped straight out of his chair, flipping to land beside Mystara's chair. "The biology of the people on your world makes it so you can't come here completely. In fact, that's true for most worlds!" He giggled a bit and spun Mystara's chair while she was still sitting in it. "So, I brought your spirit here. It's less substantial than bringing a mind here. And it's just troublesome to pull a soul out of a body." He glanced aside, blinking and then pursing his lips to one side. "And potentially fatal..."

He stopped her chair, leaving her mildly dizzy from the spin. "And I'm saying, exactly, that I can bestow you with some power without causing a hindrance for your earlier sword. I may be a pushy bitch, sweetie. But I'm not cruel..." His smile then faded a bit, looking aside once more. A thought had come to mind, but this time he didn't voice it.

"Anyway, while you're here, I'm keeping your body safe. But even us noncorporeal beings have rules and laws, so it can't last too long." He gently sat down on the edge of the desk, the day returning to the overhead sky. "But you'll be fighting Gabe... Faus may be a malicious bastard, but he's smart. He knows that there has always been a chance I could be taken when he wasn't looking... And he will have something ready to use to get me back."

Shekoga leaned forward and stroked a hand over Mystara's hair. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to take a side... I just wish you could have seen him... The real Him that is trapped in that...that machine of unnatural power..." He turned away and opened a drawer on the other side of the desk. He offered her a small vial with a neon blue liquid inside.

"This isn't medicine; it'll taste as great as you wish it to... This is just a basic method for giving you a gift while you are using Shekoga. Once you drink it all, you'll be sent back, and you'll have the new gift of.... Hmm... Oh, I know! I'll give you enhanced physical strength, doll. That way you can actually swing the sword without flipping yourself over." Shekoga chuckled and smiled at the amusing thought.


Mystara smiled at the last comment. Then she sighed. “I have to go back, don’t I?” She had a feeling she would have to go back, but it was not something she was looking forward to. She stared out at the beautiful landscape. Part of her wished she could stay here and not have to face it. She hadn’t felt as safe and happy as she did here, not in many years. Not since she had lost her home. And she knew as soon as she stepped back in Krimlo, she would have to fight.

Hesitantly, the young cat girl took the vial from Shekoga. “Thank you,” she said, her expression grateful. “And, thank you for being so kind to me.”

She moved the vial to her lips, but then stopped again. Something was on her mind, a question she couldn’t leave without asking. “…What do you mean by ‘the real him’?” she asked curiously. “If…if you don’t mind me asking, that is…”


Shekoga's expression suddenly and hurriedly changed. His goofy and comedic actions flaundered out, giving way to his rarely seen serious side. But for him, it was just natural to occur when talking about Him.

"Gabriel... He used to be so kind... He had a lovely wife, a strong if stupid son... And the sweetest daughter you could imagine. And he was a glorious king..." The makeup faded away, his hair falling flat to drape over his body. "He was a man of such divinity that he shined bright with a light so pure that not even the white of his armor could keep it back... And I loved being with him through it all..."

A figure emerged through a long tear from behind Shekoga. The air tore open and a light shot through, so bright it threatened to blind and burn everything. But then, something behind it... A tall figure came with the light, calming and taming it. The light seemed so gentle and warm. Pure happiness incarnate washed out over Mystara as the armored man stepped out onto the landscape. The light slowly dimmed to a golden aura surrounding his noble visage. The way it shined over his golden hair made the bright blonde almost seem transluscent. His smile... She could never forget it.

But the calm and caring gaze of his apple red eyes seemed to make the smile...loving. Shekoga looked back at the man in the white armor. It looked almost completely like the black set Mystara had seen him wear before. In fact, without the odd bits of technology she remembered from before, it actually was the same armor. But where it had been black, this was white. The reds and golds that designed and trimmed the edges made it almost holy in its true presence.

"Faus was the greatest example of a righteous hero that I have ever seen... Well, in this universe, anyway." Shekoga looked aside and grinned. "But that white-haired Ro-Shi Wong -- or Shiro, whatever -- was never that manly."

Shekoga turned and hopped forward to stand beside Mystara. "Anyway, I still have hope... I know one of his cards can do the trick, so I just need to wait!" His hair suddenly shot back up on one side, the makeup all returning to its proper place as well. As proper a placement as it ever got on his face, mind you. "You... Sorry, sweetie, but you can't stay here. I'd love the company of another lady, but I'm afraid you couldn't survive here for an extended period..."

Shekoga poofed away the desk and chair, the divine visage of the former living Gabriel vanishing with a flash. The lisping man walked over, kissing Mystara's forehead. "But I'll always exist. So you may get to come back again someday, after enough time... Just be sure you stay so cute, little kitty!" He squealed and poked at her furry ears, giggling loudly.


Mystara had looked at the past Gabriel in wonder...and a hint of sadness. He used to be like that…a good person. What happened? she wondered. That man was so different to the one she had seen. It felt strange to see Faus like that, as a divine soul instead of the cold-hearted Undead that had captured her. The idea that Faus had once been human hadn’t even crossed Mystara’s mind until now. What could do that to a person…?

The silver haired gato turned towards Shekoga. She was ready to leave now…or as ready as she’d ever be. Mystara smiled, her ears twitching at the contact. She almost laughed herself. Shekoga’s giggle seemed to be infectious.

“Ok,” she smiled. Then she launched forward, giving Shekoga an unexpected hug. “Good bye. And thank you again,” she said closing her eyes. There was a small rumbling sound...it may have taken a moment to realise, but Mystara was actually purring. Something she was rarely happy enough to manage.

After a moment, she stepped back. She held the vial in her hand. She would have to do it quickly, before she had the chance to back out. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she lifted the vial to her lips…and drank all of it in one go. The last thing she saw was another flash of blinding light, before she had to close her eyes again…



Mystara Hallow ~ Back in Krimlo

Like suddenly waking from a dream, Mystara opened her eyes, just as the last of light faded away. She felt her feet placed back on the floor, Shekoga in her hands. She could…lift it easily, she realised. Before it had been heavy, but now it felt surprisingly light in her hands. Just how much strength did Shekoga give me? she wondered. She would soon find out.

In fact had she tried to find out, Mystara would have discovered, her new strength limit would be similar to becoming capable of shattering a stone four inches thick, with one punch.

As soon as the light faded, the young gato’s eyes focused on Faus. She was afraid, but not nearly as afraid as she had been before. She felt like she wasn’t alone anymore. She had Shekoga
No longer was she panic-stricken or terrified.

Now she was determined.

Gripping the sword tightly, she sprung forward like a cork from a bottle. Her legs, which had already been fairly strong from her natural agility, felt far more powerful than she could have imagined. For someone who was already fast on their feet and capable of exceptional acrobatics, the effect of Shekoga’s enhanced strength made Mystara feel like a high-speed rubber ball. She shot towards Faus so fast she barely had time to register it herself. At the last moment she propelled herself to one side, her feet touching half way up one side of the wall. She then pushed off the wall, bringing Shekoga up and swinging it at the nearest part of Faus she could find, teeth gritted, as she sprung towards the opposite wall of the narrow corridor, pushing off and striking again. Like a bouncy ball she pinged from surface-to-surface, moving at high-speed with the aim of keeping Faus from moving out of the small hallway, attacking every part of the Undead the small girl could find.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

Amir 'Sven' Malachi--Gia Panta/Home Estate

Amir caught sight of her running form and smirked. She was going to make him work for it. He broke into a run himself, semi-catching up to her speed. She was faster than the others but he knew she would, given that she was wild. He jumped, landing on top of her, straddling those long strong legs. He held onto her hair as she bucked and jerked underneath him. With a whine and moan he began to ride her. They moved together smoothly and almost as if they were in sync. The wind came in a rush against his heated skin and they became lost within each other.

"Amir." The moment of triumph was sorely soured as Amber's voice came over the communicator and broke Amir's concentration.

"Y-yeah?" He answered in a short of breath tone.

"Were you serious when you told me to pack for travel to headquarters?" She questioned dryly.

"Of course, now why in the world would you think otherwise?" He half-laughed.

"Because I can see you and taming a wild horse at this hour of the day definitely does not look as if you are readying yourself to venture." He laughed as he looked up from the running mare's mane and did indeed catch a glimpse of Amber before he passed her in the track.

Alright, alright. Stop Freya, she may very well catch us both and eat us for dinner if we anger her any further. He mused to the wild white and brown spotted horse. The horse whinnied and came to a stop.

You seem to be the reason she'll ever become a cannibal...Why tease her when nothing of good measure comes from it? Amir hopped off the horse's back, walking it towards the estate stables.

I wouldn't tease her if you only agreed to wear the harness. I've caught you this time, that means you have to wear it.

What are you mad? Wear that ghastly thing? I think not. You may catch me a thousand times over, I will not wear that ugly thing.

Do as you wish, but you'll soon get tired of being chased...trust me, you all do.

Incoming~~ The horse sang as she was placed in one of the stable holds just as Amber came storming into where Amir stood.

"Can you be anything else other than difficult?" She seethed, folding her arms across her bosom.

"For you me dear? I think not." He smiled as she turned to leave and he followed closely behind. "Ah, my very own Jezebel seems to dislike the idea of going to the Indolentia. No worries my dear, I'm sure you'll find a way to rein in that sexual frenzy of yours."

She stopped in her tracks, mouth agape in surprise. He moved past her, taking his goggles off and offering his hand to her. "Ready to leave?"

"You're insufferable." She complained before barreling past him and picking up her pack, leaving his on the ground.

It's like a split personality with this girl. One moment she can't pry herself off me the next she's clawing my head off...

It's because you're too dedicated to work. Freya quipped at him.

Oh ho!! Freya I didn't know you had it in you. That's an entertaining way to look at it. Very interesting...With a light chuckle he locked up the stable and they made their way to the city.
~`~`~`~
Julius--Gia Panta/HQ

Julius nodded in agreement, moving his other hand in tangent as he explained his venture to the underground base. "Actually, believe it or not, I received help from a very old friend. She helps those in need by giving them tools instead of simply thrusting the answer in their faces. But each time she helps someone she grows a year older. She's quite young now but I doubt that will last long. She's quite a 'sucker' as they say for sob stories." He smirked as he remembered the conversation with the older woman.

"I've no idea if you know her by name but her witch title is Baba Yaga. She gave me a most confusing poem. But as I dissected it, I found myself moving closer and closer to the base until I arrived here." With a considering hum Julius nodded again. "...Sven...sounds most interesting...I assume the leaders are close then...that's good...You're quite welcome."

As Julius finished the headquarters was in a flurry again. Guards, soldiers and the sort began running to and fro in a mysteriously wide spread panic. Damien, curious, tripped one of the soldiers before bending down asking, "What's all the commotion about?"

"What are you crazy? Didn't you hear? Not just Lady Xantara but Lord Sven is coming also. If we don't prepare for his arrival with the normal food and cleaned research room, he'll have a fit." The man explained with wide-eyed terror as he picked himself up to scurry and finish his duty.

"Well I guess that answers your question as to where he's been." Julius offered lightly as a small smile crept on his lips.

_________________
Perhaps you are asking the wrong questions?

{Krimlo -- Damnable Killer Kitten!}

Gabriel's eyes squinted as his brow pressed forward in a furious realization. The way Mystara was even holding the sword showed that her muscular strength was no longer all she had at her disposal. Damn! That little... I would have figured Shekoga would try to balance this. Gabriel fully stood just as the catgirl began to literally bounce off the walls. First shooting straight at him from the intersection of the hallway. Shekoga was swinging down, as powerful as he ever remembered it. His arms shot up immediately, wishing he had kept his helmet on as they took the brunt force of the blade.

He nearly feel forward at the raw power, despite his armored vambraces managing to keep the sword from making a cut. He rolled forward with the momentum, dodging the next slash just in time as it had been swinging out horizontally for his neck. Gabriel's eyes turned to the side and he saw Mystara fly at him again.

She's fast... Much too fast for me to catch and attack. Gabriel paused and watched, his mind running in a hurried fashion to try and formulate a strategy for disarming her. He stopped thinking, suddenly moving by instinct as he swung his hands up. All he could see of Shekoga was a trail of a flashing streak when Mystara swung the sword, which was bigger than her. A fact Gabriel was proud he knew better than anyone. His palms clapped, swinging down just in front of the streak where the actual sword was. He caught Shekoga's blade just as it was an inch from his face. Mystara held in place in the air, staying aloft as Gabriel held up both her and the sword.

"... Little girl... I have had this sword too long to not know where it will be when someone swings it." He slowly extended his arms, lifting the blade away from his face. The fact he could move all that weight without his arms even remotely shaking showed that his power was likely even to her own boost, if not greater. He swung his arms while she held to the hilt of Shekoga, swinging her body to smash her into the wall. He knew the sword was longer than she was, so she couldn't reach him with a kick or by using her tail. And he knew she wouldn't chance just giving up the sword, so he would keep her at a distance.

_________________

Mystara Hallow ~ Krimlo ~ Mystara vs Gabriel

Mystara’s confidence faltered as the Undead Lord caught the blade. She knew she couldn’t let go of Shekoga, which of course then left her hanging in the air with no way of getting down.

However as he swung his arms, Mystara quickly shifted her position, swinging herself up and over the hilt, her hands still on the grip with her legs pointing up towards the ceiling. The young gato was in effect doing a handstand on the sword to avoid contact with the wall. As she did this, she then tucked her legs in as tightly as she could, lowering herself so that her feet pressed against the wall behind her. Her body was now perpendicular to the wall, bent so that she had as much leverage as possible from that position.

Using the wall and Shekoga as leverage, the girl then pushed her legs against the wall and leant her weight against the sword, trying to drive Shekoga back towards Faus. At the same time, carefully so as not to lose her grip on the sword, she tried to rotate and twist Shekoga from the powerful Undead’s grasp, hoping the movement would force him to let go.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Lady Ivy “Xantara” Swift ~ Gia Panta // In flight

Oh joy, they’ve decided to stop trying to kill us spoke a sarcastic voice in Ivy’s head. Got any ideas? Or are you just going to fly around and wait to be caught?

A moment ago, you were the one saying I shouldn’t use any more of my power…
No, not that either! You’re a Demi-God, you’re supposed to be ‘oh so wise and smart’ think of something.
Ok then. ‘Something’.
. . .
You know if I wasn’t so hell bent on helping you, I swear…
Ivy inwardly giggled. Tallis, you know I’m just teasing. she sighed. So much for leaving the city, they are determined not let us get away, aren’t they? Maybe I’ll have to stick around and have a bit more fun with them.
You have a funny sense of entertainment, you know that? Anyone else in their right mind wouldn’t see getting caught by Grims and risking showing your real identity as ‘fun’. Sometimes I wonder whether you want to lose…
Think whatever you want to think Tallis, Ivy smiled. Just remember who made me a Demi-god, and then it all makes perfect sense…or no sense at all… she laughed.

The high-spirited elf noticed the advancing ships. She rolled her eyes.
“Hope you’re not prone to flight sickness,” she murmured to Kaito.

She immediately flew upwards, soaring up over the top of the airships, and doing a 180 degree turn, flew at that height for a small while before descending back down, now headed in the opposite direction. She made a beeline downwards, gravity helping with the speed of the descent until they were flying just below roof-top level. She then turned in the air sharply, flying them both down into one of many twisting narrow alleyways heading back further into the city.

Meanwhile, the storm clouds in the sky had been getting darker, thicker, spreading out across the sky.
Rain started to fall, slowly at first, getting heavier by the second, until it came down in a torrent. The clouds began to swirl with the beginnings of a storm, the wind picking up, as the sky over the city grew darker. Forked lightning crackled through the sky, thunder rupturing the air with an ominous rumble. The fog had all but cleared, but now its place was a storm that not only made visibility poor, but no doubt would slow down the airships considerably, which were now right in the very thick of the storm. The wind began to howl and rip through the air, in the opposite direction to Ivy, rain pummelling every surface it could reach. The effect of the raging weather would no doubt have affected most if not all of the city.

Ivy, however, seemed to be little affected by the storm herself. She was flying herself and Kaito along a narrow alley which kept out the brunt of the storm, the over hanging rooftops providing at least some shelter against the wind and rain. Not to mention the rampant weather seemed to be simply passing by Ivy and Kaito, almost as if out of courteously.

Do you think they’ve caught on yet? Lady Xantara asked Tallis with a smile.
I hate you so much right now, replied the cat.

*

Chance ~ Gia Panta // Indolentia HQ

“Ah…” said Chance, nodding as the elf explained his story. “Can’t say I know of her personally, but then again what do I know? I’m just a rat,” he grinned.

“Ha hah!” The rat appeared to be delighted at the news. Without a word the rodent scurried up Julius’s arm, drawing himself up to full height on the elf’s shoulder. “That’s right,” he called out at the hurrying guards, “chop chop, all of you, hahaha….” He chuckled, sliding back down Julius’s arm to his hand again.

Just then, there was a muffled voice, and a scuffling, like a creature trying to squeeze through something to tight for them. The sound was coming from Chance’s entrance tunnel.

“Eh! …Chance? Chance are you in there?”

More scrambling noises. Eventually a white fluffy head poked out. Blood red eyes stared out, pink-ish white fur dripping with rainwater. The creature wriggled its body from side-to-side, trying to free the rest of itself from the hole. With great effort, the furry animal squeezed itself out, landing with a smack against the floor. It scrambled to its feet, shaking itself vigorously. It’s furry tail bristled as it shook the rainwater off itself like a dog. She was a snowy white, albino squirrel. And she didn’t look very happy.

“Chance?” Her tail twitched, standing erect. The albino’s eyes fixed themselves first on the two Gatos, then on the elf, and lastly on what the elf was holding. “Chance! I’m guessing you haven’t heard?”

The rat frowned. “You should really stop squeezing yourself through my tunnels, you know,” he commented to her. “You’ll do yourself an injury one of these days.”

Then his nose twitched. “…Heard what?” he asked slowly. “Tallis got in a huff with me and cut off communications. Is something wrong? It…” he winced, not wanting to ask, “it isn’t something to do with Lady Xantara, is it? What has the girl done now?”

“Oh, only created a heavy storm across the city, and as good as blowing her cover,” the squirrel replied. “Have you seen it out there? Look at me, This fur is water resistant, and I’m soaked. And to top it all of, she’s got Grims right on her tail, including that 501st lot.”

Chance sighed. “Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. This is Xantara we’re talking about, after all – she’s good at keeping herself hidden, but as soon as she’s challenged, it’s like all of her tact goes out the window. That girl…” the rat shook his head, then turned to Julius, distracted.

“Oh, I do beg you pardon, where are my manners? This here is one of my comrades, Tuyet.” The snowy squirrel bowed her head.

“Tuyet? This here is Julius Justin Ashton, Damien and Bijaksana,” Chance said, introducing them.

Tuyet nodded curtly. She seemed a bit…cold with them. Obviously she wasn’t as much of a ‘people’ person as Chance was. “Nice to meet your acquaintance,” the albino said out of courtesy.

Chance then addressed Tuyet with concern. “Is Tallis still with Xantara?”

“Yes. But you know Xantara. Tallis has done all she can, but…”
“She didn’t take any notice, did she?”
“Nope. Just as I expected – first sign of trouble, and the girl can’t help herself. Typical. What are we going to do about it?”

The rat pondered. “I don’t know…I would say go out and help her, but at this early stage…that could make matters worse.” Chance sighed. “Hopefully Lord Sven will have the sense not to get involved…he’s bound to know Xantara’s in trouble as soon as he sees that storm…”

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

{Krimlo}

Gabriel grinned wide, knowing the agile Gato girl would have been acrobatic enough for the job. So predictable... As long as she keeps hold of Shekoga, I have her. His eyes gleamed as he saw her feet kick off the wall. And just as she wanted, she broke Gabriel's grip and went shooting forward. The sword drew close, becoming inches away...

But to the left.

Streaks of gold flew up as she cut across the pauldrons and scraped down over the cuirass between his neck and the pauldrons that rested over his shoulder. His grin widened as he siled wide and tilted his head aside. Chancing to expose his throat more... To distract her eyes. His arm was up and swung over the blade of Shekoga. The thick cache of enchanted rubies resting upon the blunt side of the blade gave him a grip as his arm flexed, tightly holding the middle of the sword right over his shoulder, blade's edge tilted to rest between his cuirass and pauldrons to keep it from even accidentally cutting his neck.

Mystara was now within three feet of the Undead. She was in the air again, but this time she wasn't going to be swung at a wall. Gabriel's free hand clenched and pulled back, but not far enough to gather all his force. But when they both had such extreme strength, not much was needed. Which was all Gabriel needed... His strength was natural. As was his high endurance. But Mystara's endurance against the force they both now wielded...

Gabriel let loose with rapid punches at close range, aiming for the girl's face, stomach, biceps, and her ribcage. Each punch flew out in less than a fifth of a second, knowing the naturally high strength would more than be enough if all the punches could land.

_________________

Mystara Hallow ~ Krimlo ~ Mystara vs Gabriel

Uh-Oh…

As soon as Mystara saw the Undead’s hand clench, she could guess what was coming. With her hands still cuffed there was no way she could block the attacks properly, and certainly not without letting go of the sword – and that was even assuming she knew how to block it. Close combat was not her strong point…oh what she would have given to still have her Nitro-9 on her. At least then, maybe she would stand a chance, if worst came to the worst and she had to give up Shekoga. But she had none of her explosives on her.

Seeing the oncoming attack, she had just enough time to swing herself to gain momentum before the punches came. As she swung, she began to curl herself up into a protective ball and swing herself back up over the hilt again. However although she was quick, she just wasn’t quick enough…taking on a number of the punches as she tried to swing herself out of harms way. Her enhanced strength kept her from losing her grip, from being flung off or buckling under the pressure, but her pain threshold was no where near as strong. Certainly curling herself up helped ease the toll it was taking on her body…but it took every ounce of effort to stop herself from letting go – she could feel her muscles and nervous system screaming at her to get away from the attack. She cried out, wincing and groaning in pain as she swung herself quickly upwards, trying not to be knocked off-course and uncurling her self as she rapidly reached the top. Using the last of her momentum and endurance, she twisted her body, flinging her legs out towards Gabriel as far as she could reach and as fast as she could, in a desperate attempt to aim a powerful kick to his head and stop the assault.

She wouldn't have even hung on for that long, if it weren't for her utter determination not to be beaten. Despite how much easier it would have been for her to just let go, she wasn’t about to give in. Not if she could help it. She put every ounce of effort into it, clinging on to Shekoga like her life depended on it – because as far as she was concerned, it did.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

{Krimlo}

Gabriel's head jerked back as she kicked him in the face. With her enhanced strength, it made sure that the Undead could feel the force and it could do some damage. For a second, his fist stopped and hung in the air. He then lowered his head and looked back to the girl, grinning wide with his face a bit bruised. He tilted his head, popping his neck better into place again.

Undead felt no pain.

"My turn!" Gabriel's body turned and his arm lifted. While Mystara was still uncurled, his swung down with raw force straight down into her gut with his elbow. She would know it was coming for at least one second. But unlike his punches, he was actually trying to apply his power into this. The force of the blow was something the girl's body would have never been meant to take. Gabriel's other arm was still gripping Shekoga's blade, keeping it tightly settled near his shoulder.

_________________

Mystara Hallow ~ Krimlo ~ Mystara vs Gabriel

For a brief moment, Mystara thought she had done it. She’d hit him.
Then her face fell in dismay, as she saw the Undead was grinning.

The girl squeaked, ducking and dropping right down to avoid the blow, very narrowly missing it…and only hanging onto Shekoga at the last moment by her tail. The split second she felt it was safe to do so, she rapidly pulled herself back up. Clinging onto the grip upside-down with all fours, she hurriedly started to bounce on her end of the sword, trying to shake and dislodge the blade before Faus had the chance to strike at her again.
She knew the chances of her managing to dodge another hit were slim...and if he did try to hit her again, she would have to let go...

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

A loud snort echoed through the mainly empty-looking room, people, men and woman alike lay on the floor dozing, many in various comical and dirty positions, some of them having fallen asleep that way in the first place, the large sitting room’s floor was covered in sleeping bodies as well as most of the bedrooms upstairs, but the ones in the living room had fallen asleep with their clothes on, mainly. Empty wine and beer bottles could be found near most of the sleepers’ hands, at least the ones not resting on someone’s breast or crotch. The sun was just coming up in Gia Panta which meant bed time for most of the people in the mansion, so it was okay that most of them had passed out from booze.

The only rooms that hadn’t been completely partied, wrecked or defecated in was the room with the gold, diamonds, blueprints, art Chris actually personally cared for and art Ashley personally cared for, Chris’s workshops, Ashley’s gardens and the small little secret room that could only be entered after you found the little 14-digit keypad hiding behind an old, mouldy, green bag of baking soda and “The Jar of Things That Look, Smell and Fell Exactly Like Pickles”, but don’t happen to taste or sound like pickles at all.

In fact they have more in common with pickles when they’d passed out of bodies system, normally leaving violently at a speed of 12 miles per hour out the end it had entered or, if they’d actually stomached it, very, very, very slowly out the other end, suffice to say after the first person had tried one, rumour passed around and people didn’t look behind the supposedly pickle jar anymore and the person who ate the suspiciously looking pickle-like object forgot all about the keypad pretty quickly, as well as a few years worth of other memories as well.

Inside the little room was the truly old and expensive wine, a small Jacuzzi, a state of the art sound, visual and gaming system and a surprisingly decorated and fancy fireplace which had two of the comfiest chairs every sat on facing it. There was also a window but the only point of that is that that is what has kicked off Chris’s inner alarm system which is currently kicking, shouting and prodding Chris’s higher brain functions into action, not that they’re happy about this, or the pins and needles they’re now registering on Chris’s body, so after some grumbling and fumbling they decided that the best thing to do to sort out their own misery was to spread it around, mainly by waking Chris wake up and deal with it himself, the lazy, good-for-nothing wretch.

Chris grunted and mumbled slightly in the chair, causing some of the drool, collecting at the edge of his lip to drip off onto the Ashley’s lap. He blinked once, twice, three times before he managed to notice anything, the first thing being the agonising, stinging and growing pain on his left arm, shoulder and lap. He blinked again as a warm breath blew his fringe slightly into the air before stopping and letting the fringe flick back over and into his eyes. He raised his head, ignoring the friction as something black and soft slid down against the side of it and fell onto his shoulder, turned it 60 degrees to the left and 15 degrees down to look into the sleeping face, of Ashley. He blinked again as another breath spread over his face.

Chris was currently wearing a dark blue t-shirt and dark green boxers, Ashley was wearing a plain black t-shirt and grey boxers and while Chris had been sleeping on the chair, Ashley had been sleeping on Chris. Ashley seemed to have fallen asleep with his head resting against Chris’s shoulder and head, the bottom half of his legs were hanging over the right-hand armrest of the chair, while the top half were resting on the inside of the armrest. Ashley was currently sitting on top of Chris’s lap and had been leaning against the right side of his chest; one arm was wrapped under Chris’s armpit and around the back of him while the other had met it around the other side but after Ashley had fallen asleep, had fallen to rest on his Chris’s hip.

Chris sighed as he gently leaned forward, putting his left arm around Ashley’s back to make sure he didn’t fall from his position, after some awkward positioning he managed to get Ashley’s right arm out from behind his back and leaned back again for a few moments, looking closely down at Ashley’s sleeping face. After some time had passed, he sighed again, put his other arm under Ashley’s knees and jerked forward flipping Ashley off him. Ashley spun through the air, rotating around as he jerked to attention, his eyes breaking open widely, quickly trying to figure out the blurring landscape before getting a sudden close-up of the carpet.

OWWWWWiieeee moaned Ashley as he slowly got up. He glared at the now upright Chris stumbling towards the wine rack. That hurt, you bastard. He mumbled loudly as he rubbed his eyes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was an accident. Replied Chris as he inspected the first bottle. Like hell it was an accident. You’re gonna pay for that y’know? Yeah, yeah, I know. Chris muttered under his breath as he held up a finger. The nail slowly grew outwards and curved into a claw. You shouldn’t be drinking again so early in the morning, you shouldn’t be drinking it at all actually, it’s a horrible thing. Ashley groaned as he clutched his head and fell into the other chair. Chris stabbed the side of the cork with the claw, pulled it out and took a couple of deep gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He gasped as he pulled the bottle from his lips and chuckled as he stumbled back towards his chair.

This coming from you. He said as he fell back into his chair. You didn’t have any trouble with it last night. That’s because you’re a persuasive bastard that practically forced me to have some, you know I can’t help having more after the first drink. But you’re so much fun when you’re drunk. whined Chris, bouncing up and down on his seat like a little child. I hate you, you jerk. whimpered Ashley, wincing again with the pain from the hangover as he glared angrily at Chris. Every bloody time you have a party I either get drunk out there with the rest of your goons or I wait in here until you stumble in yourself and whine and bitch and lie until you get me drunk. I’m sorry. said Chris as he put out his lip and turned on the puppy dog eyes. You still love me, don’t you? He asked, with a perfect hint of childlike fear and innocence, a tiny little wobble of his lip and slightly watery eyes. Ashley groaned as he covered his face with both hands. I still love you, you bastard. mumbled Ashley from under his hands causing Chris’s face to quickly return to mischievous glee.

Right. Yelled Chris as he stood up from the chair and walked over to Ashley. We’ve got a lot of fun today. He said as he reached for Ashley’s outstretched hand and pulled him up. A small smile began at the corner of Ashley’s lips. I know, I know. He said, trying to hide the grin and put on a disapproving tone. We shouldn’t be scamming people like this, I don’t like it when you do that to innocent people. Oh come on, if they’re stupid enough to let themselves fall for my tricks, they deserve it. There’s also the petty robbery. They make it so easy sometimes, most of the time they actually have their wallets sticking out of their pockets, they’re actually telling me where their money is. Chris laughed as he put an arm around Ashley and steered him towards a long red lever at the wall. And besides, it’s not like I’m killing people. No, but you’re still robbing them, what happens if you get caught? Ashley said with a tinge of concern.

Have they caught me yet? Reassured Chris. Not yet. Exaggerated Ashley. Now, now, don’t worry, I can outrun any stupid Grims, it’s not like I’m doing anything serious enough to warrant the real powers. Chris said as they reached the lever. You’re definitely not doing anything serious? Probed Ashley as he put a hand on the lever. I promise you, I’m not. You’re sure you don’t want to tell me anything? Ashley asked once more as he glared into Chris’s innocent expression. I promise. Chris replied, his face remaining calm and innocent under Ashley’s iron stare. Ashley continued to glare for a few seconds, searching for any tell-tail signs of lies before grinning again. Good. He said as he pulled down the lever, causing the sleeping hosts to start screaming as the sprinklers turned on.

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

Commander Vaco.

(CS STARTING EQUIPMENT AS BEEN UPDATED WITH THE ASSUALT ARMOR MK III)

Gia Panta. Imperial High Command, 501st Wing. His office.

The Lord Commander had arrived at Gia Panta around the same time that Jace and MIR had. The difference between his arrival and theirs was that he slipped in, unnoticed through his private launch bay directly under the 501st Wing of High Command. This entrance was located directly under his office and the Command Center, designed for easy and quick escape in the events of an attack. The incident occurring in Gia Panta forced him to leave Echo Base before he had a chance to test out his new battle armor, the Mark Three. He’d managed to perform a few tests by himself on the way back with the four members of the Black Hand, but nothing close to the set up that Echo Base had planned. Plus, the armor’s Plasma Particle Cannon (PPC) system was never tested to see if the new safety measures would keep the armor from fragmenting during the charging process. It didn’t matter. Sooner or later he’d have to use it, but everyone would find out that he was wearing new armor before then and also the possibility of someone finding out how he got it…

For now, Vaco was in his office looking out the window, reflecting upon the past and present events within his office. It was located forty stories above the court-yard, and had a heavy Quel'Anthain theme from his home world; mostly marble and dark wood decorations, with towering columns lining the sides and a vaulted ceiling. The left-side of the room was packed high with book shelves. The right side held a sophisticated computer array, his own private armory, a door into his private quarters, and a large device devoted to removing and repairing his power armor. Towards the end was a large window that looked down into the courtyard, and Imperial flags hung from both sides of the window. Before the window was his desk, a large chair that could support the weight of his armor, and three padded chairs in front of it. The center of the room held a holo-table, but the rest of the room could also display screens if needed.

Right now it was a warzone. A table that was brought in sat piled with scavenged books from Parasela. The Holo-table had an on-going battle that was taking place in a different system. Other screens showed status reports and current operations going on all over the planet. The Command Center was now full with operatives and techs monitoring and directing the ops, and he had to commandeer a few more Operation Centers in order to meet the current operational demand. His desk was piled high with reports, lining from new recruits, requests, and the latest Intel on the condition of the deteriorating planet.

He glanced over his shoulder at the mess and quickly looked away before drinking the rest of his Jack and Coke. “Guess it’s time to go back to work,” he muttered as he closed his eyes. Moments later, he was connected into the system through his neural interface, and could interact with anything in the room, give orders, open up COMs, in a single thought. He poured himself another drink and turned back to work, his hand rested lightly on the new helmet before approaching the holo-table. Multiple screens flashed up showing all sorts of data, one was monitoring his vitals and the interaction with the suit, the rest was a little bit of everything. A few hologram’s warmed up and four people appeared; a combat general, a scientist, the Lieutenant in the Command Center, and an operative on Exalia. He began talking to them in order, but also moved other things around him that didn’t need his voice. One of them was the chase for Ivy and any data around that. He found that chase to be very … interesting.

“General Delham, Vaco. Move you’re the left flank two hundred yards down the hill to this ridge line here. Heavy gun emplacements, and a few mines below should stem the next wave. Have the reinforcement division set up manual traps from the new position back to the old. Have the right flank turn inwards toward the left. See if you can't get them to funnel towards the pass.”
“Is this the only way?”
“No. You can retreat or lose, but this is the most effective way to destroy the enemy.”
"Well then... thank you for your assistance Commander Vaco. I shall note it in my report."
“Anytime General. I'll be monitoring the area so if you need me, just call.”
“Roger. Delham out.”

“Dr Gras, the armor is performing at expected levels. No side effects yet.”
“Good my Lord. You left in such a hurry that I was worried that the suit would kill you.”
“Not yet. I haven't tested the PPC out yet. Report to me if you find anything useful in Parsela.”
“Yes my Lord.”

“Agent Lee? I assume that the Indolentia base is empty?”
“No. We encountered some Protectorates, but dealt with them. We are still looking around, but it looks like a branch base, and it has been abandoned for some time. “
“Keep looking. We may ind something, also interrogate any prisoners. I'll have Command send word to the media that a Indolentia base has been destroyed.”

“Lieutenant?”
“Sorry sir. I wasn’t aware that you were here… There is a new operative here to see you, I believe its Jace.”
“Send him in.”

He waved his hand and the holos disappeared, but the rest didn’t. He was surrounded by… everything, in the eye of the storm.

The Lord Commander raised his glass and drank from it again, and continued to work…


501st Command Center.

The Lieutenant.

Vaco's so-called "second in command" came out of the door to face Jace. She wasn't technically his second, more like a aid. The Commander hadn't had a second in command ever since his last one, his wife, died.

"The Lord-Commander is here, and is in his office. Second door on the right, you may go in. But get ready, I think he's going to send you out as soon as possible."

_________________
Stufflikehearts - He is a Sith Lord. I love Blood Lord :3
Jeffffey - Blood, you look at the information someone says, look over what really happened, and reply in a way that makes them realize what they were really thinking.
Mythrrinthael - Blood Lord, our local expert in interpretation of The Grim Tales from Down Below!
Fievel - Numerous campaigns and conquests, countless bodies decaying after the abandonment of victorious battlefields. Such is the life of Blood Lord.
Dusk_Imp - Blood Lord is like a celebrity here. Everything he does is pure awesome. ALL HAIL BLOOD LORD
Doctress Who - Why couldn't there be a Blood Lord in every forum? It would make life so much easier.
Snafu's Mercypostle.

~~Jace & MIR~~






Jace nodded at the Lieutenant's advice. Jace had been expecting as much considering the feed coming in from the network.



"Should I move out Jace?"

"Might as well, you're bigger it would take you longer so just go ahead and get within range of the "incident" down-town."

"Roger that. . ." The large robot answered



Jace followed the aids instructions and entered Commander Vaco's room. He filed before Vaco, gave a small salute and went into a parade rest, waiting for the commanders next instructions, he was Jace's new commander after-all.



Meanwhile MIR got permission from radio to roll out. The operatives made room for the large robot as best they could for his trip down the military-road down the center of the city. MIR drove through the large steel doors and down the road. After a while he arrived as near to the incident as possible. He wasn't alone, it seemed the storm had made air-ship tracking hard, and the last feeds had seen the mysterious pair go to the ground. They were in the alley's as they had started before. The Empire had done their part to set-up check points along the roads, and were also busy sweeping the alley's for them.




*ALL-HOVER MODE ENGAGED*


The robots wheels shifted into position as it itself rotated into the air. Considering he was only going onto a sturdy building, his weight, his "levitation method" he could manage enough to stay air-born. But the storm still played hell on the robots engine as it strained against the tormenting winds.

**CLOAKING ENGAGED**


As he flew onto a building, his armor slowly began to match his background, until he was completely invisible to the naked eye. As no cloaking device, potion or not, was as fast as light itself, ocasional streaks of lightening would expose all.

**SONAR ENGAGED: TARGETS DETECTED**


The small rubber dish atop MIR worked furiously to find the dangerous pair. It rebounded sound down the alleyways to get a good read on them.


The railgun on MIR's back slid and lock into place. MIR had chosen AP for more precise shots. MIR would have liked to have shot at them then, but rows of concrete were what prevented him from doing so.







"This is Unit EXC2-MIRAGE I am currently tracking both targets on sonar, I advise you flyboy's to get back to base, we don't want any of you falling out of the sky because of this storm"

"Roger that MIRAGE, we'll leave the spotting to you and the ground troops. Grim Air-force signing off. . ." The large group of ships broke off, the storm was wrecking havoc on their handling, any longer and some of them might have crashed. "Some kind of fucking coincidence. . ." one of the ship pilots said as they flew back.


"Ok troops, use those coordinates being displayed by that MIRAGE guy, close on them from all directions, they're traveling through the alleyways so it shouldn't be too hard." The ground radio-man said.








+++Zackariah Frostheim+++


Zack stood in front of a screen-terminal. replaying and playing a video. It was the footage the ships had gotten on the terrorist, the ones who were still wrecking havoc. Zack had noticed some peculiarities. The coincidental fog, the missiles that had exploded in said fog, and the coincidental storm to get the helicopters out of mid-air.




"Mother-nature must have a hard-on for this girl. . ." Zack thought as he rewound and played the footage again. The Empire had nothing noteworthy on this girl, other then that she had disappeared for quite some time and now here she was.



"Could it be. . . .?" Zack thought, his mind wandering to the rumored Demi-gods, avatars of the planets guardians.





". . . .No. . ." Zack thought, he'd go through other motions. Perhaps she was a demi-god, Zack made sure to note that, but only as a last hypothesis. He'd need more on her before he truely thought anything. Coincidence was coincidence. . .

_________________

*WHAT I THOUGHT I'D DO WAS PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE DEAF-MUTES*

Commander Vaco.

High Command.

Vaco held up a hand in partial greeting and in telling Jace to wait a minute. He listened to the newest report and gave a rare flickering smile. It had seemed that he might be correct after all, but in order to get her away from all of this now is going to be next to impossible... Still though, there just might be a chance.

"Welcome to the 501st," replied Vaco without looking up. "Forgive me for not giving you the tour, but as you and MIR are already aware, we have bigger issues at the moment." He walked away from the table and grabbed his helmet. ". And we're going in. MIR, I know you can hear me. Status report and best recommendation for travel."


501st Gunships. KR-7 and KR-9.

The pilots of both vessels frowned as they heard the news over the radio. They knew that the gunships could operate fairly easily in harsh conditions, but that was out side of cities. Wind currents are unpredictable when flying over cities at best. The wind can easily grab any airship and slam them into a building.

"Drop the men off so we can flank them. Vaco wants them to go towards the main road."

"You heard the man ladies," yelled the Sargent. "So grab your dolls and dishes, cuz we're moving out. Go light."

The gunships briefly touched down on the roof tops above Ivy and her companion. They discharged their units and took off back towards High Command.

"Alright. Fan out, five meter spread. Be careful, these roofs can be slippery in the rain," yelled the Sargent over the COM. He looked up into the sky for MIR, but the rain was too heavy. "EXC2-MIRAGE. This is Company leader 0045-6. We got sixty men here and are forming up along side the terrorist perimeters and out of your line of fire. We'll try to herd them to a better location."


Captain Sylvanas. BLACK HAND.

In ship en-route to Ivy's position.

The ship wasn't quite yet in the storm's range, and the direction they had planned would take them with the wind, allowing them a smoother and safer ride.

Black One gave Jazz and Jessica a sad smile. "She wasn't always like that," he said glancing to the Med bay doors. "Sylvanas is much more than just a Captain in the military... In her line of work, you come out with some serious scars, and only a few are physical. She's done and been through things that are difficult to imagine." He turned around and grabbed a set of coveralls and a poncho from a drawer, and began putting them on over his power armor. "Sylvanas is a gem, and a really sweet girl... but she's also so lost. We've tried to help her out, but we're not shrinks."

_________________
Stufflikehearts - He is a Sith Lord. I love Blood Lord :3
Jeffffey - Blood, you look at the information someone says, look over what really happened, and reply in a way that makes them realize what they were really thinking.
Mythrrinthael - Blood Lord, our local expert in interpretation of The Grim Tales from Down Below!
Fievel - Numerous campaigns and conquests, countless bodies decaying after the abandonment of victorious battlefields. Such is the life of Blood Lord.
Dusk_Imp - Blood Lord is like a celebrity here. Everything he does is pure awesome. ALL HAIL BLOOD LORD
Doctress Who - Why couldn't there be a Blood Lord in every forum? It would make life so much easier.
Snafu's Mercypostle.

-+-Jace & MIR-+-



Jace relaxed, and nodded at Vaco's quip about the situation. He already knew most of it, but he could do with the details.




"This storm's is going to give air-units hell if its gets any worse. I'm detecting both high and low pressure out here, don't be surprised if a tornado forms. It seems as if this super-cell formed out of nowhere, and I wasn't even detecting any such irregularities earlier when we arrived either. . .as for the terrorists, I'm currently tracking both along to the east heading west. Even with their invisibility potion I can see them quite clearly through all this crap, just hope I don't get struck by lightening up here. I'd advise you both take a ground transport of some sort and from there intercept both through the alley's, you'll see them both through the walls thanks to my data. If you can get them onto the main-road, I'll have a clear firing shot from here, In fact, I'll just switch to HE rounds so stay back when pursuing. I get the chance I'll blow them to smithereens. . .if you want me to kill them that is. . . if not I can always use the blast from the round and fire not to kill, it'll blow their ear-drums you know, that whole bit. . .and if you can't get'em onto the road, the rooftops will do just fine as well" MIR answered Vaco from both the radio and through Jace's, via loudspeaker.







At the same time MIR was talking to Vaco and Jace, he was also talking to the 501'st ground troops at the roofs. "Roger that, be advised, I will be using High explosive rounds, so the keep your distance 30 feet from the targeting reticule you'll be seeing in a few seconds. . .and a quick weather report: tornado watch in effect, as well as a warning for lightening." As MIR said this as large ball shaped looking spot would have appeared on a area some feet away from the soldiers. It wasn't there in reality, but on the soldier's HUD's it would have appeared plain as day. The soldier's were out of MIR's firing line, but a notice when using an HE round of MIR's caliber was always nice. MIR fiddled with the range calibrations. Having it fire in the air a few feet away from the terrorist would disorient them a good while. Shell-shock was never a nice feeling. Neither was a blown ear-drum.






As MIR sat at the roofs some clicking and other metallic noises were being made by the railgun. It was switching ammunition from the AP rounds to the HE rounds. The robot remained invisible behind the rain, which further helped shroud the robot. So long as he did not get struck by lightening.

_________________

*WHAT I THOUGHT I'D DO WAS PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE DEAF-MUTES*

Ishimaru Kaito - Location: Gia Panta, mid-air

"Hope you're not prone to flight sickness." Ivy murmurs as she leads Kaito through the air.

Slightly chuckling, Kaito quietly responded, "Oh, no, I'm fine. I've flown before, but never quite like this..."

As Kaito finished his sentence, his mind wandered off, bringing up memories of his past. As the heir to a great entrepreneurship, Kaito had flown all around Exalia as a child. He would look out of the windows of the airships, enamored with the beautiful landscape, naive of the world around him. He used to be so in love with the world, but that was before he began his "training" to become the next head of a major corporation and everything began to change. Kaito quickly snapped out of his trance and started to think clearly once more.

They were now flying through the alleyways, and quickly heard an airship coming from above. Kaito began to lose his cool, wondering why this onslaught was necessary to apprehend a thief that stole bread, although this particular thief did assault the Gia Panta Police. The more the GRIMs and 501st gave chase, the more irked Kaito became. His patience was slowly wearing thin. Still, he found it amusing that they had to send out the military for a petty criminal.

Kaito thought to himself, "Hmph, we've been at this for over an hour now... I wonder how they still are tracking us... If we're invisible, and they haven't been able to find us by their thermal imaging..."

Kaito pondered for a few moments... He scrambled his brain. He was a child prodigy... Though he was rusty from not having studied in a while, he was a great student, able to take tests easily and learn quickly... He started to consider what tactics would be used to track something that could not be found by thermal imaging... He had once read a book about military equipment. Battleships and anti-air defense systems used radar and sonar to pick up the signals of an enemy aircraft. Kaito quickly realized that they were being tracked by radar or sonar. And chances were that there was someone monitoring them. Unfortunately for him, he could not detect anyone who was monitoring, making it likely to be a robot. By then, the 501st troops had landed on a rooftop and began to fan out and search. Hoping for a miracle, Kaito stopped flying alongside Ivy.

"Wish me luck... Should this work, I hope to meet you again." Kaito whispered to himself.

Kaito quickly flew directly behind of an unaware 501st soldier at the very back of the line and landed. In one swift motion, Kaito attempted a rear naked choke in desperation, hoping to quickly and quietly incapacitate a soldier.

{Krimlo}

Gabriel chuckled and watched the girl bounce. As he recalled, this sort of situation was amusing, due to the sheer fact that she still had no chance. "Hmm... I'll give you some praise: You've got more endurance in you than I had expected. And you're very flexible... You really showed that you want to keep Shekoga."

His free hand went to his cuirass and reached under the heavy plates of black metal. A soft click was all she heard before a thick mist began to spray out all over Gabriel's form. "But I'm done playing around now... It's time you stopped this foolish attempt and just accepted what is to come, little one." Gabriel made no further attack, nor attempted to pull or shake Mystara from Shekoga. He simply kept her close to his body...

And let the noxious gas fill the air all around him. One deep breath and she would be out in only a few seconds. The gas quickly spread over most of the immediate hall, only hindered from entering the surgical station by the ring in the hallway. When the gas made its way to the ring, the red lights within the machine glew bright, thoroughly eradicating every last molecule of the potential threat to the room's sterility.

_________________

Rusty, Gia Panta near the battle.

The sound of explosions and gunfire was a frightful thing indeed it ecoed all around and hurt the dogs sensitive ears. though throuth it all Rusty had kept his wits about him and his calm. The dog stalked the now deserted streets in a almost menacing way as if it was stalking it's pray.
As he reached a corner he heard two men they were military, Grim to be exact. By the looks of it there searching for something.

"Have you heard anything from the others yet?" One of them asked.
"No not yet." The other one replied
"If you ask me this is just a waist of time. Were chasing after a god damn fair tail.
"Yeah well no one asked you now shut up and keep looking."

Rusty knew he had to get past them and there was the possibility they'd open fire the second they saw him. Rusty then made a small growling noise in a attempt to get there attention.

The soldier stopped dead having heard the noise.
"Hey go check that out."
"Me? Why me?"
"Because I said so now move it privet."
The soldier sighed and slowly advanced to were the noise had come from.

Rusty heard the foot steps of the solder and quickly looked around for a small hiding spot which he quickly found in a shape of a hole in the wall. He slowly backed into the hold so he had a good view of the spot where the soldier would be visible and waited for his pray.

As the soldier stopped just before the corner and pressed up against the wall with gun raise he took a good few breaths then lurched round quickly searching the area only to find it empty. The man sighed with relief and turend his back to report back to the other soldier.

As the man turned his back Rusty emerged from the small hold and crept slowly up on the man.
He was with in biting distance and ready to strike.

"Hey it's all clea-" The man was interrupted as Rusty lunged at the man. Cought off guard by the large dog he was thrown to the ground as the dog ripped into his neck. Screaming in pain the man desperately tried to get the dog off him but to no avail. As soon as Rusty was sure he was dead the dog noted the foot steps of the other soldier and went off to hide.

Hearing the scream the other soldier run to his friends aid only to find a corpse with it's neck completely torn. "What the hell?" As fast as he could he picked up the radio. " Attention Command there is something here it has just torn out the throat of one of my men, I need back up I repeat I need bac-" The man was swiftly cut off by Rusty as he lunged as his privet area and ripped away his man hood. The man screamed as he held what was left of his bloodstained genitals he slowly looked up at the dog and saw those eyes staring at him those eye were the last thing that man ever saw.

Dan Slate Gia Panta.

Dan found a good high spot were he could get a nice view of the whole incident. uesing his sinper as a telescope he could more or less tell what was going on. By the looks of it the Empire were looking for something or someone. The thing that really got his attention was the appearance of the 501 st. "Well it looks like i'm faced with a difficult choice." He said as he pulled out a coine. "Heads I help who ever the Empire is after and tails I go home." Dan flicked the coine in the air it went in a almost slow like motion before langing back in his palm, "Well now heads it is." And with that Dan whent prone and set up his sniper ready to lend a hand. "501 st huh I always wondered how good you really were."

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After mounths of rigorous trials and conducted research I have finally come to the conclusion that Modern Warfare 2 can go SUCK IT.

Mystara Hallow ~ Krimlo

The young gato stopped trying to move Shekoga when she realised what Faus was doing. The look on Mystara's face was of horrified dismay. Her ears shot up, her tail stiffened in panic. She had fought expecting to lose - but she had fought anyway, just on the smallest of hope…

Now she realised she never had even the slightest of hope to begin with. Gabriel had just been stringing her along.

“No! No…you…” her vision began to cloud over, the world beginning to spin. She struggled to keep herself awake, but it was no use. The last thing she was aware of was her hands slipping from Shekoga’s grip, before she passed out completely.

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Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.