Project Heretic: Fallen Angels

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Karakui

The Slightly Villainous One
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
Genres
Fantasy, Modern Fantasy
The usual frigid gales danced around the girl as she walked, chilling her very bones despite her thick cloak. She was trudging slowly through the snow, every footstep making a deep depression before the supporting material collapsed enough to support her weight. No one was outside. While this was the normal situation for the town, today the emptiness had a much more ominous feel to it. She looked down and covered her face slightly as a huge mechanical beast slowly floated past her, high above the town's tallest towers, and continued to shade herself for a considerably time after it left. She finally stopped walking when she reached the corner of the street where it opened up onto a wider central road. She looked over her shoulder briefly before forcing open a rather inconspicuous door with a slight depression cut into the snow outside and stepped into the pub.

Inside the tavern would usually have been a stark contrast from the siberian wastes beyond the walls, but today was different. Even the roaring fireplace couldn't relieve the solemn atmosphere. She removed her overcoat and hung it on a coat rack, but left the hood of her jumper up to look less obvious. She snuck to the back of the group that had gathered and took a seat at a small table in the corner. Most of the people had gathered by now, but a few latecomers were to be expected. Most sat or stood in silence, while some spoke in murmurs. At the counter stood 3 men, apart from the barkeep, all of them wearing the same cold but determined visage.

One of them spoke up. "Does anyone have any comments they'd like to make first, or shall I begin the explanation of why we have gathered you here?"
 
Red sat within the pub, his name and face obvious by the red apparel he donned. He felt at ease when those he considered comrades were comfortable around him, but being the assassin he is it is hard to do this in any other way than just sitting in plain sight. It's what he'd consider a risky move no matter how unnoticed he was by the prison they were kept in. Besides worrying about the various situations that could possibly happen, Red was also keeping up on his equipment. He sat alone at a table with a cloth sprawled out on top of it and various pieces to firearms organized on top of this. A blade was propped up against his leg ready to be cleaned or used if necessary. Red could feel the atmosphere get heavier the longer they waited in silence. Red started preparing for an ambush Worst case scenario... The red lenses from his goggles hiding his eyes didn't help to ease the mood as he looked around the pub. they all have long range or body enhancement abilities. Realizing he was causing others to be uncomfortable he let go of his paranoia and turned to his work on the weapons.

Red was soon finished polishing and cleaning his weapons. Left without anything to do, he started pacing around waiting for whatever this was to start. He was given some detail as to what was going on, but information was withheld, most likely to keep secrecy. Soon a girl walked through the door and one of the few men in the pub opened his mouth. How important is she? I've been here for almost an hour and not a word. I hate this feeling. I wish I could just kill them all and leave, but what point would that serve? Red stopped moving to look to the man who spoke up with his arms folded. Red's facial expression was hidden behind his mask and goggles, but his eyes pierced through the man with a hard stare.
 
Aria pulled pulled her jacket tighter against her body, letting out a brief shiver. She could see her breath condense into the air with every exhale, and felt the harsh cold begin to numb her cheeks. She absolutely hated the cold, with all its snow, and slick ice, and frigid temperatures. It permeated through the walls and very few places offered any sanctuary from it, and places that did provide warmth often became very grim ,and sullen as if all the life were slowly being drained from the room. The frost only made the mood worse and that was saying something in a place like this.

Just as Aria spotted what she was looking for an ominous shadow darkened the sky. On instinct she slimmed closer towards the walls of the decrepit buildings, her pace picking up. She reached the central road and all but sprinted across it, stopping only when she was directly in front of the Tavern door. It was warmer inside, she could already feel it. Adjusting her leather gloves on her hands, she pulled the sleeves to her jacket down to cover any exposed skin and opened the door. The air inside already began to soothe her numb cheeks so she sighed contently and closed the door behind her, knocking the snow off of her boots at the door.

She quickly took a vacant spot in the back standing next to a seated girl in a hood and a few feet behind a guy who was working on enough weaponry to arm a small militia. Aria raised an eyebrow at the collection of people present and the serious vibe that cloaked the room but other wise remained silent, at this point she just wanted to figure out what this was all about. Three guys stood at the counter their faces the epitome of business. She listened as one spoke up and nodded her head, watching as 'militia guy' began to pace the room, and then she spoke.

"It seems like the mechanical beasts are making more frequent rounds over the city, has anyone noticed that? Do you think their looking for something?" Without thinking she began to take off her gloves, the heat of the Tavern urging her to remove them, then realizing what she was doing she stopped and pulled them back on, swiftly putting her hands in her jacket pocket and remembering why she had them on in the first place.

Aria diverted her attention back to the front of the room.
 
A different man to the one who had spoken earlier responded to the question. "Yes, they are looking for something. Specifically, they are looking for us. As you probably know, the Guardians don't use normal senses like we do to see things. As far as we can tell, they use some kind of telepathic echolocation system which can penetrate buildings. Fortunately, they are quite easily confused when a lot of people with higher telepathic signatures gather in a small space, as we are doing now, so we should be able to avoid detection for the duration of this meeting at least."
 
It was such a mesmerizing thing to watch each tiny snowflake fall from the heavens above one's own head, but for Leo now was not a time to be marveling at the beauty of the Motherland. Rather now was a time for action, so off he went in long strides while his bare feet glided across the frozen ground effortlessly. Frost clung to the rough cream colored scraps of fabric that had all been tied neatly to the leather straps knotted intricately acrossed his inked skin along with the dark denim leggings that he wore. When his destination finally came into view he exhaled a soft sigh while brushing the mop of black waves from his icy eyes, and then proceeded to pull the pubs door open while the mismatched bracelets on his wrist jangled mindlessly.

He stepped inside and gradually released the minimal form of his hallucination that had been in prior use to keep himself warm against the chilling cold. With silent steps he maneuvered through the small crowd that had gathered, and made his way to the bar as his clothes started to thaw out. To most who looked upon him he would almost seem to embody the visage of a mysterious stranger, but few would know that underneath the surface lay the mind of a mad man. So finally finding a spot to his liking he quickly took a seat on a stool before speaking up quietly.

"I do apologize for my tardiness, so please do continue."
 
Arelli
"Hello, Hi there, how are you?" - Bump of chicken, Hello World

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Arelli sat in a corner on a stool, a little wayward of the counter, the best vantage for viewing the entirety of the room. He had come just a while ago, bordering the edge between the early and the late comers. For fifteen or so odd minutes, he sat idly, observing the occupants of the room, while mourning the slick feeling of stubborn bits of snow melting in his hair. There had been a couple faces of interest here and there - a redhead with a full arsenal, the three men at the counter, as well as the small handful of people that entered later than himself, all bundled up in varying winter wear. Though, as he observed, the thick atmosphere seemed to make everyone a head taller and a couple times more unsociable. 'This seems like the beginning of a joke: A handful of angels walk into a bar and ask the bartender...' he thought mirthlessly.

As the conversation began, it was clear that the frequency of the Guardians seemed to be a point of interest. As one dark haired female had mentioned, they were indeed more frequently roaming. "Telepathic, huh?" he muttered mutely to himself. Arelli was about to speak up, when the sound of the door opening caught his attention. He glanced briefly at the individual, a dark haired male with a pair of striking blue eyes. After said male pardoned himself, Arelli continued. "So," he spoke out, "Aside from the lovely weather and our friendly evolutions floating in the sky, what's on the agenda?"
 
It was the first man who spoke. "Well, we've delayed for a few minutes. We best get started." He turned to put down his empty glass, before briefly scanning the faces of the 25 or so people gathered there. "As you should know, since it is the reason why you are here, we've had a recent breakthrough in determining what the Guardians are, and more importantly, how to defeat them." The second man pulled an old fashioned video recorder out of his bag and plugged it into a nearby CRT monitor. "Two days ago, we finally retrieved this footage taken by one of the radical groups who tried to destroy a Guardian. It shows very detailed footage about how the Guardians attack." The video was clicked through, frame by frame, and even in slow motion, the bolt of yellow light had travelled several hundred meters after only a few milliseconds. The frame was changed once more, showing the bolt of light split into 6 flames were coiling around a riot shield being held by the target. The next frame showed each flame hitting the target and turning him to a pile of ash. "As we already knew, the Guardians do not have any problems attacking through solid objects, however, we now know how they do that. We think that if we can score a grazing hit on the bolt with a ranged ability, we should be able to send it off course and avoid damage." The third man followed, not leaving time for anyone to interject.

"We have also managed to get 3 dimensional scans of the exterior of one of the Guardians." He fiddled with some wires, and said 3D model was now displayed on the screen. "Unusually, we found no trace of anything that could reasonably be considered a sensor, nor could we find any kind of propulsion output. This gives us reason to believe that in addition to the light cannon, Guardians also have considerable telepathic and telekinetic abilities. For our escape to be successful, we need to be able to mass-produce artificial projectile-type abilities that we can use to deflect their attacks. We do not, however, have any knowledge as to how a machine can use the abilities of an angel. Thus, your task is to capture a Guardian and bring it to me for studying." This was met by grunts of anger and confusion - capturing a Guardian was impossible, right? He smiled. "Fortunately, through our impeccable information network, we know that two days from now, the government are bringing a fourth Guardian to this city, and they intend to test its new improved capabilities on the handy morally exempt test guinea pigs that run amok here. Guardians take 48 hours to reach functioning levels after being built. Worst case scenario, we have 8 hours. Ah, and... any questions?"
 
Aria nodded her head rather impressed with the tactic. Their large concentration sort of shielded them from detection, it confused the guardian's.... Nice. She grinned at the thought, well at least they didn't quite have to worry about being blown to smithereens while they were getting nice and cozy, that would suck on so many levels. She leaned back into the wall, one leg crossed over the other, getting comfortable while she stood. Her arms crossed over her chest and her gloved hands out of sight.

Just then the door swung open again followed by a jingling that reminded her of small bells. At least she was not the only one who had arrived late. The thing that stood out most was the eyes, something felt off about him, but the thought was quickly diminished when Aria reminded herself where and amongst who she lived. Odd one ( She had a terrible habit of nicknaming people) found a spot and the meeting continued.

Number one spoke up. Defeat a Guardian... That was on their to do list. How they would do that Aria had no clue. It looked even more impossible when he set up a video of a Guardian attack for them to watch. All that was left we're ashes. She could not concentrate on what he was saying after that. She had always wanted to go beyond the walls, to escape but those who even tried to come close to that were... Cremated... Alive. They gave their lives to escape from this place. Would it mean anything if she gave hers to try as well? A guy in the front had asked a question but she was too into her thoughts to hear what it was.

Aria chose the wrong moment to tune back into the conversation because all she heard was " Capture a Guardian." Her heart stopped. She had to have heard that wrong. But number one continued on as if he just asked them to bring him his neighbors aging dog. This was a Guardian, even if it wasn't at fully functioning capability there were measures taken to secure those things. She looked at their faces... They were serious.

Aria stood up straight. She had a load of questions but she settled for just one. " How exactly do you expect us to get one of those monstocities and keep it detained let alone get close enough to get one." She was curious, Angels usually could not put a scratch on Guardians. But he said it as if was so simple, did they have a trump card?
 
"Hmm . . . that sounds like a rather fun idea, and to control different abilities they would have to have some kind of mental capacity. If we were to . . . I don't know sever the head maybe? We might just stand a chance of taking it down, but the one flaw to this whole idea is a rather huge what if."

Leo tapped his blackened nails against the lacquered surface of the bar's counter as he waited for his words to sink into the minds of his fellow angels. Before he quietly started to wonder how many of the others have actually considered other possible scenarios that were much more likely outcomes. The plan that had been presented so far at most probably held a very minimal success rate, but even the games where the odds were one in a million still held that small chance of winning.

At some point he had become lost in his own rambling thoughts as his pale blue orbs scanned over the others in the room to get a feel for who they are based on their appearance. The most noticeable being the young man clad all in red tending to an armory worth of weapons. He wouldn't doubt if Red had become the young man's namesake over the years of the war, but no matter old news it seemed like he would be more of a showy one anyway.

His eyes moved onward to the dark haired girl who had leaned herself in the comfort of a corner. Honestly her form was rather unassuming, but weren't many others? Underestimation could be a very fatal blow in any fight or plan, but what caught his curiosity the most was the fact that she wore gloves. Why? Was there some specific reason that she had to wear them? Was it her hallucination ability that forced her to wear them? He just couldn't help but wonder about it.

Next was the young man that had spoke up when he entered the pub, but he was just as unassuming as the girl before him. Last was the mysterious girl in the hood, yet he couldn't quite figure out why she was still wearing it. Was it hiding something underneath? He couldn't help but marvel at the mystery that surrounded her slight frame. She seemed so at ease with her surroundings which overall was a bit unusual for an angel, but he supposed that here everyone was unusual in some way shape or form. It was just the name of the game at this point.

Finally he resurfaced from his deep thoughts before he let out an audible sigh, and decisively decided to elaborate on what he had been hinting at only moments ago. It had been so simple, yet not a single one had spoken up. It was just a tad disheartening to realize that, but oh well strangers will be strangers after all.

"Well to continue, what if the other Guardians decided to attack us while we're trying to capture their fellow Guardian? That would make this all one elaborate suicide mission for a cause that many have begun to give up hope on."
 
" How exactly do you expect us to get one of those monstocities and keep it detained let alone get close enough to get one."

"The answer to that is simple, but not one that you would expect. From observing the construction of the current Guardians, it seems they don't like other Guardians to be in the area, perhaps to prevent accidental damage to the mechanisms. This means that while it is being made, it will only be guarded by normal people. Usually I imagine they'd guard it with Angels, but, they got rid of all their Angels, and all they have left are normal soldiers. We'll use this short time bracket to capture the Guardian before it is built. Detaining is a relatively easy thing after that. After all, a Guardian probably won't function very well when half it's pieces are missing and I'm in the process of taking out the other half."

"Well to continue, what if the other Guardians decided to attack us while we're trying to capture their fellow Guardian? That would make this all one elaborate suicide mission for a cause that many have begun to give up hope on"

"As I mentioned just now, I don't think the Guardians will be giving us much trouble. Just in case, we've blackmailed the Hive and the Steelboys, so they should be doing some violent settling of differences in 2 days, to distract the Guardian's attention. And some may have begun to give up hope, but the sheer fact that you're in this meeting now means you at least have a little left, right?"
 
Arelli
"There’s no way my heart isn’t pounding, by all rights it comes and goes here." - Galileo Galilei, Everything's fine

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The footage that the first man presenting did indeed give good coverage of how the Guardian had attacked. It also happened to give perfect coverage of the poor soul who had been disintegrated in the process. Arelli watched impassively. Because it was only a video, he felt detached, both to the ashes and impartially to the guardian on the screen. Watching a replay ticked his mind a bit, like an itch he couldn't reach. An object he couldn't tangibly see with his own eyes lacked the depth and color he was accustomed to observing in. Moreover, it was hard to measure certain things - distance, heat, speed, among other factors that could be observed in person. The 3D model and its following explanation made sense - if there weren't detectable sensors or propulsion outlets, it seemed most logical to conclude that the Guardians had abilities akin to angels.

The logic, however, seemed to stop there as the man speaking mentioned the topic of capturing a guardian. Arelli focused his eyes, switching on infrared vision. While his eyesight gave no numerical values to heat levels like machines, he was well attuned to noticing color discrepancies while seeing in splotchy heat readings. The most common being a tinge more red than usual near the head - the telltale heart of a liar.

The man was clean of that variance, inferring that he was utterly honest about catching a guardian.

Arelli snapped out of his thoughts as a girl spoke, voicing the very question that had bloomed in his head. How were they supposed to catch a guardian when they could seldom scratch one? As the conversation continued, the brunette kept his eyes in infrared, trained completely on the speakers at the counter. As the men continued to speak about the plan, Arelli found himself agreeing in his head - 'Half of a guardian is probably the only circumstance that we even have one percentile chance of defeating, let alone capturing one.'

Then, the elephant of the room came to the table: "Well to continue, what if the other Guardians decided to attack us while we're trying to capture their fellow Guardian? That would make this all one elaborate suicide mission for a cause that many have begun to give up hope on." Arelli closed his eyes, shutting off the infrared, and reverting back to normal vision.

A couple of dark spots danced behind his eyelids. He reopened his eyes, taking in color once again. Despite the opening of the conversations, it seemed little more hospitable then when everyone was waiting in silence. The word 'hope' left a bitter taste in his throat. The only good from Pandora's box was all too often lost in the snow. But the speaker, as they had been honest before, was right in assuming that there was still some left.

Arelli bits his bottom lip, then broke the silence. "You're not wrong," he startly slowly. "But you're also not right," he turned to scan his eyes over the crowd. "Truth is, you're right, taking on half of a guardian and a couple normals is the best chance we'd ever get to bring one of 'em down. But the truth also is that we're still throwing out necks out there, whether there's half of a guardian, or a full armada. We could very well be ending up as a pile of ashes like Mr. Latecomer mentioned." 'Just like a certain man in a video from not too long ago,' he thought offhandedly.

"Is it worth the risk, though? I'm not sure. But you seem honest," Arelli shrugged. "And I've got enough h-stuff to give it a try. Better than dying of hypothermia in no-man's land," he finished with a dry chuckle.
 
Red's brain ran through the likelihood of their success when he heard the plan. They had an 8 hour window at the worst, they had to lug the giant machine back here unnoticed, and bypass security measures undetected while doing all of this. He began pacing again, twirling a knife in the air, thinking about what he could contribute for the success of the mission. The only thing he could think of was handling the security and guards. His pacing then stopped.

"I think we'll all likely die, but the small chance that we don't I'm willing to take to break free." Red faced the men who led the meeting, his voice echoed inside his mask distorting its sound as he spoke.

Red pulled out a PDA device and stylus. The technology must have fascinated those around him. "I killed those that threw me in here, but soon found I was stuck with those guardians floating about. That's my excuse." While he was talking he was also writing about what his plan was. "I don't like speaking." When he finished writing he tossed the PDA onto the counter.

The PDA read:

My abilities are the least helpful in securing the beast. I've seen most of the abilities here in action at least once. I'm a paranoid son of guy. I can cut power if we are dealing with humans and take out any of the human hostiles in our way. With the power out there is one who can see at night here, and another who can burn surfaces down. I suggest they lead us to the great beast were hunting. Other than these two, I do not know many of the abilities here. If we need resources our best bet is to head to the Metal Boys now, if not, we need to get the abilities of all our members so I can better assess the situation. That's my two cents. Now hand the device back.
 
The third man quickly examined the PDA, then handed it back to its owner. "While there are many people here with battle-ready abilities, it is true that most of those people have joined the ranks of the gangs. Whether or not they lend a hand is up to them to decide. We can attempt to persuade them, but those guys do have it relatively good up in this barren wasteland. There are also people whose abilities are not particularly damage-focused, which is problematic. We think that we should arm them with guns, but typically keep them behind the ones with the relevant abilities. We'll spend the next 2 days coming up with the best plan after further assessments of the location and based on the abilities of those who register their interest in carrying out the attempt. We'll meet again here 2 days from now, at 3:00 am, where we'll explain the strategy. Other than that... you're free to go. Those who want to give it a try, please add your name to our list. We won't hold it against you if you choose not to risk it, but in choosing not to try, to do sacrifice your free success pint." He ended with a joke to try and lift the mood, but his dull tone of voice made it fall flat. At this point, the girl with the hoodie who had sat and listened in silence for the duration of the talk simply stood up, took her coat and left without a word to trudge slowly back home.
 
Aria looked back and forth between the girl who had just left and the group that stood before her. Live the rest of her life in passive captivity or risk die fighting. The safer option was her walking out of here and forgetting this meeting even happened... But... There was a chance, a rather slim one she might add but still a chance that those who fought could get out. She looked at the door once more, exhaled, solidified her resolve and turned away from it making her way over to the group. This had to be better then sitting around and wondering what if, besides she did not feel like venturing back outside into the cold just yet, she could commit.

Aria stood at the edge of the gathering listening to what was being said. She watched as Militia guy pulled an item off of his person, fiddle with it and hand it to number three. Number three handed it back and began to speak. So people with offense type abilities would be on the front lines... Aria took the time to look at the faces around her, of those who had chosen to stay. She wondered what abilities they had, what they could do, it was always interesting to watch others exhibit their abilities, they seemed to be unique from what she gathered.

After he finished speaking and even attempted a joke to lighten the mood Aria cleared her throat to make her presence known. It was now or never, she didn't know what part she'd play in this whole ordeal but she did want to be a part of it, after all she really did not have anything much else to lose. She cracked a smile, her hands in her pocket once more "Where do we sign? I'm feeling brave."
 
"Hope? If all I had was hope then I would have died back in the war heh . . . personally I find that if you want something bad enough you will find a way to obtain it instead of wasting your time hoping for whatever that is."

Leo had rose gracefully from his seat while he had been speaking in a rather malicious tone, and every time the word hope left his lips it was filled with enough hatred to kill a man in his tracks. The mere semblance of the word had come to disgust him to no end from the four years he actually spent growing up in the war, and he had seen the destructive power of that single little word. That one little word had killed many of his brothers and sisters in arms, but if these fools wanted to act on hope alone then who was he to stop them. Though he rather fancied those near impossible odds, so what the hell why not make this whole shebang happen and enjoy those terrified expressions once some of his captors burn alive.

"Though I suppose the Lady of Luck has smiled upon you today because I rather fancy suicide missions."

He slipped through the crowd that had gathered, and then he quickly snatched the paper up between his bare fingers before anyone else could. He pressed his thumb and index on either side of the parchment as he closed his brilliant blue eyes in concentration, shortly after the air around him started to drop in temperature rapidly. He had taken in the heat around him in order to cause the piece of parchment to freeze, but normally he didn't would never need such a high level of concentration to do something so simple. So when he shifted his fingers over a space the reason why had became apparent for the others to see. In the space that his fingers had occupied was the letter "F" that had formed out of tiny ice crystals, so once his fingers were in place once again he did just as he had before while the only exception was that the temperature started of the air around him started to rise instead. Soon enough the parchment under his long, slender fingers started to smolder leaving it marked with another "F" scorched onto its surface.

Without another word he laid the piece of paper back down onto the wooden counter before turning and slipping through the crowd once again. For some it would be the first time that a face had been paired with those infamous initials, and for others just a rare sighting. He disappeared through the entryway of the pub and into the snowy world that he called home. To all he had become known as the ever elusive Frost Fire.
 
Red snatched the PDA from the man and then sat down criss-cross with his bag. He was digging through it, searching for something. Red then pulled out a cold cloth and vigorously wiped down the PDA. His eyes slowly lifted to look at the man who had touched it. A cold stare was all that was exchanged for the time that the man talked. When he finished Red shoved his PDA in the bag and rested his hand on the blade.

Red hated the space he was trapped in. This bar made him extremely uncomfortable and so he wanted out as fast as possible. Red being as paranoid as he was didn't like to leave traces of any kind. So his signature was a complex ordeal when he designed it. He went through many different stages before he finally found what he wanted to do.

Red was about to nab the sign up sheet when a bare hand, course and spiny, had scooped it up. The crowd began to pile and Red passed his breaking point, he snapped. With a simple kick he knocked an angel behind him into next week. Quick to move, Red jumped over the three men and the counter and pulled his mask down for a brief second to shoot a red pellet at the paper the man was holding. The pellet landed on then next available line and left a tiny Red dot, the insignia of the assassin. Red spun around and jumped over the crowd again rolling out and running to cover.

He circled around the Inn before jumping on to its roof. He looked around to see anyone and spotted Frost Fire walking out the building. Spotting no one else Red ran the roof tops in record time before dropping out of sight.
 
Arelli
"... I can't deny, I'm faced with a tricky temptaion." - ELISA, God Only Knows

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After speaking, Arelli simply observed quietly as people placed their own input, whether it was for or against the plan. Though many saw the inherent risks, it appeared that the right crowd was in the procession to make things happen - whether it be the salient, or the silent. Still, the crowd was more promising that he had initially hoped for. In an ruefully bold way, the near-illusory Frost Fire had signed up with a signature that matched his name well. Following the entropic meister was a larger display - the one glaringly red spot in the assembly, who had been tending to an armory prior to the meeting, made a quick show of getting his signature onto the page. After knocking over a couple people (one poor bystander standing behind said person particularly), Mr. Red dashed a simple red point and left hastily.

Arelli hummed silently, taking in what he had seen. 'For one thing, we certainly aren't lacking diversity,' he thought dryly. 'Just hope that all these stray pieces can actually come together to make a whole. Otherwise, this operation may be a 'lil bit harder'. The teen leaned back in his chair, waiting off the throng of people. He wasn't in a hurry to get home. The perpetual chill was more than enough to make him wait in the lit tavern anyways.

Once a decent number of people had left, Arelli slid off of his stool and made his way to the paper. On the parchment was an array of signatures - varying in size, pen color, and penmanship. There were a few names he recognized, a few that had faces. From his pocket, he lazily drew a standard blue pen and wrote his name: Arelli. His handwriting wasn't particularly pretty - the letters were small and slanted into each other awkwardly, but it was legible. Most people probably wouldn't know him. He was, after all, not much more a combatant than any standard infantry soldier.

But, even though he had never balked in the morbid glory of the frontlines, he had seen everything. And while most people wouldn't, likely couldn't know him, they would probably unconsciously know the influence of his eyes. Very well.

With a whistle in the back of his throat, the teen coated up and left the tavern, his prime concern once again becoming the slick feel of ice and snow in his hair.
 
Two days had passed, and once again the girl found herself in the icy world outside her habitat. They were in an old, abandoned department store's lobby near to where the Guardian was being constructed. Several hours ago the parts had been moved there exactly as planned, and there were now around 10 minutes to go before their attack would begin. She glanced briefly at the target building through the blown out glass, and saw a glimmer of strange green light that indicated her preparations were still in place. Around her stood the various other Angels who had signed up for the mission, as well as the commander from the other night, now clad in an obnoxious red coat, much the opposite of the whole "being slightly sneaky" idea. There was a low buzz of conversation, though it had a solemn tone. The girl was stood to the side of the crowd, with her hood up and headphones on as usual. Her face wore a look of exasperation, as if being here was a great effort she was only doing because she had to, not because she wanted to.
 
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