SKYWARD MIRACLES - IC Thread

Astoria · Jun 10, 2017

It was a pleasant party. Nice music, dancing, the gossip of nobles. Keyword was. Then the lights began to flicker and the entire room, no, more likely the entire ship began to shake. Either the other team was going very right, or very wrong. She hadn't even noticed Sorina at the piano, but her grandstanding and assault made it obvious, though it still caused her to gasp in surprise along with everyone else. She played better than Saki would've expected. The immediate response from the Empress and her security detail was hindered by the panicked nobles. Good, they might be caught up actually making sure no persons of note trampled each other.

Somehow, the Princess' actions weren't completely unexpected. Saki's conversation earlier made it clear enough that the young noblewoman had clearly seen right through or even anticipated the entire thing. So, she didn't show much surprise at the assist from Olivia's own guard. The rest of the knights decided to fight their peers, that was surprising. It only gave her a pause for a moment, before she made her way to the princess. "Sure thing. Right this way," Saki reached out and grabbed Olivia's hand, and began leading her away, trough the path Helen had cleared. "Stay close, if you can." Saki spread her wings, using them to shield her precious companion both from harm and prying eyes as best she could.

Charlotte had been enjoying herself, but the party was truly far from over. In fact, for her it was just getting started, as if it were transitioning into another song in a crazy debauched waltz. Funnily enough, the music did change, and the golden-haired vampire realized who had been commanding over the piano and the orchestra that had been forced into compliance. Really, they were doing exceptionally well for the chaos that was beginning to develop. She was impressed. Although she half-expected it knowing the blood devil's personality, she was still mildly surprised and amused by Sorina's less-than-subtle way of distraction, dropping her lady-like appearance and branding her multiple weapons. Charlotte was tempted to join her counterpart in the fun on some level, but as she quickly realized, there unfortunately was a more pressing objective right in front of her.

"Take you with us, princess?" Her lips formed into a sly grin as the blond-haired royal curiously approached her and Saki on her own volition. Looking at the princess and her mysterious command, she wondered what inner machinations lied within the girl but could find none at the moment. She took a brief glance at Saki before continuing, without missing a beat. "Oh my, how curious. Then, your wish is my command~" Pacing ahead a few steps, she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword as if ready to draw it at a moment's notice. Keeping her usual disguise for time being, she yelled out in a commanding voice, intent on keeping the path parted. "Make way!"

There was so much going on right now, both Saki and Charlotte didn't have time to ponder on why the princess seemed to be anticipating this very moment. The fact that there were so many turncoat guards and knights in the ballroom alone was intriguing in itself. Who had engineered this? It certainly wouldn't be the Empress judging by her reactions. "Yes." The shortest female of the trio, let her hand be taken by the dragon as she quickly walked with the dragon, slightly forward in fact as if to take shelter under her wings, making it harder for anyone else to notice her. "On the contrary, you must stay close to me or your lives are forfeit." The princess uttered, not an ounce of jest in her elegant voice.

The combination of the bombs, Sorina's rampage, the smoke grenades, and resulting chaotic panic made it possible for Charlotte to cover the princess' 'kidnapping', an act of high treason which would surely grant them capital punishment at best. While the dragon physically guided the Royal, Charlotte was the one responsible for making sure the way ahead was as smooth as possible. In the corner of her eye, she'd spot none other than Agatha. The Lughanta Captain made eye contact with Charlotte and nodded, gesturing her forward towards one of the available 'taxi' airboats. It was their escape ticket.

However, during the way, one of the nobles, a quite portly man stumbled from all the commotion. His massive body lost balance as he fell sideways, straight into Saki and Olivia. Meanwhile, Charlotte received a peculiar problem as a lost young boy, separated from his mother, stumbled into her. Just like the child he was, he instinctively clung to the vampire in need for shelter while calling out for his parent.

Saki raised an eyebrow at the Princess' response to the whole thing. "orchestrating your own kidnapping," she asked quietly. She could get the full story later. fortunately, they didn't have too much difficulty winding through the crowds unmolested. Saki followed Charlotte's lead through the throng, guiding Olivia closer to one of the many waiting airships, and their captain.

She had to let got of Olivia and turn to quickly catch the portly noble, before he could bowl the both of them right over. Being blindsided did put the dragon girl off balance, but she managed to keep her feet, and support the man with both arms, pushing him back to his feet. "Careful," she said to him. "Were I one of the more delicate ladies, that could've gone a lot worse."

She didn't waste much more time with the bumbling diversion, and quickly made sure the princess was still nearby, to resume her escort duties. "Come on, we're almost there." Someone probably had time to spot her or her esteemed companion, with that delay. She'd have to bank on getting away and worrying about any consequences later, just like usual.

"Oh, quite devious, aren't you?" Charlotte grinned at the challenge, deciding to deal with whatever plans the young princess might have put into action later. Between the actions of her fellow allies and her own presence, they made fairly good ground through the ballroom floor and to their final destination.

Unfortunately for the golden-haired vampire, as they reached the final stretch, it seemed that her pleasant, unassuming disguise had actually worked against her as a young boy suddenly latched onto her legs and greatly hindering her ability to move forward. Charlotte for a moment was tempted to just shake him off, but instead she lifts him up between his arms by her hands. "Young boy, now's not the time~ Here, I'll at least give you a little help finding your mother." Moving off just to the side in a small detour, she placed him upon one of the banquet tables, allowing both the boy a better vantage point in finding her mother, and letting Charlotte continue leading the two other girls out.

"..." While Olivia heard the dragon's question and the disguised vampire's tease, she deliberately ignored it for now. Explanations could come later. In fact, they should be worrying about themselves really, death would be a mercy for them if this mission failed.

Time was of the essence and every second count, Olivia was quite annoyed by the noble and boy, out of all people, why it must be them? With the disturbances taken care of, the three were able to continue their trek towards a waiting airboat. The driver, one of the insiders, gave Olivia a cloak and veil to hide her features as she boarded the small vehicle. Whether Saki and Charlotte followed her or not, the airboat would depart towards among so many others, heading to Deck 3 where the Lughanta was docked. They had gotten through the worst part, there would be nothing stopping her now.

Agatha witnessed this and she breathed out in relief. Objective secured. Now, she had to make sure her crew was safe, the ballroom team at least as Laura would handle the other group.

Weisenhart · Jun 10, 2017

"Wha--" Needless to say, even Herman was surprised when the brunette beauty took the bait, or rather, accept his offer. "Woah... Holy shite... Is this fer real?" He tried his best to keep calm and composed. Do not fuck this up. They approached the dance floor, where the other guests of nobility were having the time of their lives. Dancing was one of his strong suits, considering it was the foundation of his combat style. Surely, this would go well. And then... it happened.

Tremors from below ground began to manifest, causing the guests to become panicky. And to top it off, the bloodthirsty nosferatu provided even more chaos to the mix. This was it. The time to capture the blonde princess was a go. Herman glanced at the Magister, clearly in a state of shock and confusion, pulling herself away from him and rejoining the Imperial soldiers and shouting commands. "Dammit... So much for that." Herman let out a sigh, before running amongst the crowd to find the others. Hopefully Saki and Charlotte would have been successful in nabbing Kyrie's sister.

"Agh. Ow, shit! Hey, that hurt!" The disheveled crowd ran through the exit like a sea of angry mob, and he was caught in the middle of it, being pushed from every side. In the end, he managed to force himself through the brutal stampede and free himself out of it. "Geezus, man..." A sigh of relief was in order, and Herman got up and dusted his person. "Whew..." "Hope the others made it out through that..."

After a short moment of trekking, the smith noticed Agatha's presence, and was just in time to witness their target being secured by the Dragon Youkai and Nosferatu. The mission turned out to be a success, after all? "Ngh... I'm here, Cap'n... Heheh."

Beowulf · Jun 10, 2017

Taka arrived with frayed nerves and covered in bruises. He had snuck past several guard patrols, pretending to be one of them and acting as if he knew what he was doing. Luckily they fell for it, few people questioned you if you looked like you knew what you were doing. And he was at the ship, so all he had to do was board it, and be on his merry way. Now, who was.... "Gods damn it." he hissed as several soldiers appeared. And they looked like they knew what they were doing.

After introductions, the first move was made. That move being an attempt to blind their foe and wall them off. Blocking the sources of light with his wing, he turns and runs onto the ship, heading towards the helm. "Engines, engines, engines." He muttered as he looked for the ignition switch. Ironically enough, even though he was an engineer, all he could really do was guess at what did what. So, using deductive reasoning, he flipped a black switch and held his breath. The engines sputtered, and then roared to life. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes...." he continued muttering as he pointed the ship in the right direction. Quickly running out of the helm so he could be heard, he shouted to the group. "Get your asses on or I'm leaving you behind." That announcement made, he hustled back to the helm and saves the ship from scrapping along the side of the bay. "Throttle, throttle, throttle..." he began muttering as he began searching for, you guessed it, the throttle.

Karyra · Jun 11, 2017

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Specific Mentions of: @Ehb @RedArmyShogun (As The Five)

This shitshow of a mission got a hell of a lot worse one Seven threw that bomb. Sonya frantically dragged Seven through the hallways to the escape ship -she did her part now she needed to get out of dodge before things went even more sideways. Sonya knew that she was better off as compared to the others, at most she was tired from her mad dash through the ship to the evac point. Which meant... what exactly? That all the bombs just started on their own?

As the group reconvened -which was the only reason she wasn't chewing Seven out right now- a group of elites appeared because of course they would and then proceeded to shoot their mouths off.

"Huh. First time someone has ever assumed I had honor," Sonya said with all seriousness. "Also, why in Luna's name would I want to trigger the bombs while standing next to them? We had a plan. A bad plan, but a plan that didn't involve suicide bombing."

As John moved forward with the amulet that Sonya didn't know what it did, Sonya once again was the first willing to get the hell out.

"You'd think that I wouldn't be the only one who was more interested in living through this than dying a pointless battle at this rate! Get yer asses moving or I'm leaving without you all!"
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Luna's middle finger, this was all going worse than Sonya's last 'solo' mission. And she had people actively trying to get her caught.

"How in The Divine One's name did those clowns know where we were going? I thought this plan was well thought through!"

Astros · Jun 13, 2017

The dull snap of bone breaking under pressure was inaudible next to the deafening and thunderous roar of the explosion that erupted in hangar two. Only when the chaos of the blast had subsided did the momentary shock to take Venrid subside. Sitting on the floor, he noticing a numbness in his left hand and the unresponsive fingers joined to it. With a quick glance he could see three had been bent back to impossible angles. Broken completely and utterly useless, only his index finger and thumb remained.

As he made to mend his mangled hand his mind replayed the moments of eruption just seconds earlier. He had been by the entryway and had started to make for the door when a flash of light to his left blinded him as a wave of wave threatened to engulfed his entire body. Instinctively flinching, his arms had raised to raised his arms his face and head, only for him to be knocked off his feat and sent into a disorienting tumble backward. With the loss of sight and sound and faced with his flesh feeling on fire, he could only thrust a wild arm out to try and catch himself before making a run for cover Though through this act he had led himself to break his fingers as the entire weight of his body and the backward momentum combined snapped them like twigs and left his elbow to absorb the residue shock.

This realization came rapidly with a grunt as Venrid popped his fingers upright as straight as they would allow. Tearing through flesh in the process, blood began to leak where the bone had shattered and managed to pierce it. Gritting through the pain however, he took out the tape he had used earlier with the bombs and wrapped the half of his left hand in it to make a poorly improvised splint. It was obvious to him and anyone that could see, that his arm would now be more or less useless. But there were more pertinent matters at hand.

Struggling to stand, sweat mixed with blood before it seeped into his mouth and the taste of iron told him that the shrapnel from the crate had did a number on him of its own. Small and deep cuts alike dotted his body, and if not for the melted flesh of his forearms, may have been a matter of concern. Once on his feet again after a momentary struggle to regain balance, it was clear to him his bodily injuries, but there was only one thing for him to do.

Escape... ... If... the ships there... I need to get out now.

Looking around at his surroundings Venrid's spotted the mangled and charred metal of the entrance and made his way toward it. Hearing shouts and cries away from them, he turned to see the mechanics attempting to deal with his handiwork. It was from these flames that roared into the air that he realized their significance. All the bombs had exploded. Every. Single. One. Taking this small observational fact into account, it was clear as to why.

Sabotage...

It was inconceivable that all the bombs would malfunction at the exact same time. Even more so when considering they had done it twice within a span of roughly fifteen minutes. No, it was not a mere accident that had the bombs detonating ten minutes ahead of schedule and almost obliterating them all in their wake. It had been fucking intentional.

Clenching his right fist and what remained of his left, this realization settled into Venrid's mind and gut. Fueling them with quiet rage from within, it filled him with a resolve and energy which shook his mangled body and motioned him ahead toward the exit. He would find whoever botched this mission in an attempt to kill him, and wring their delicate throats with his hands.

Storming off and leaving Saone and Wukong to their own survival, he had to move. The adrenaline coursing in his veins would only block the pain for so long and if he was to get off this floating hellhole he'd need to get to their airboat. If it was still in one piece and not destroyed or taken by guardsmen.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Rushing through the corridors, his mind was made unaware of his surroundings. Only breaking from his concentrated thought as droves of guards passed him or by those asking about his condition. He continued to play the part of Imperial Guard, simply wounded and headed toward the medical bay. But as he continued through the Soverign's halls he couldn't have traveled further from it as his intended destination and distracted concentration made for him taking one too many turns when he shouldn't have.

His mind too occupied by the details of the briefing, he didn't pay attention as he rounded the same corner for the fifth time and only to arrive at side bay eighteen not eleven. Calming his mind in light of this he attempted to retrace his steps, paying attention in order to go the right direction the second time around.

But it has to be one of em.

One of the eight at the briefing who know where the bombs would be and had their hands on a detonator. Could they have been watching him and waiting? No, they would have detonated them in the hallway if so. And it was unlikely that the Gun Girl or the Monkey would have been in on it. They had plenty of chances to make their move and were caught up in the blast themselves... The blast. The responsible likely wouldn't have been caught up in it. They also would ha...

The train of thought wasn't finished. Lost again in his perpetual thoughts Venrid hadn't noticed the figure lying on the floor in the middle of the halls as he tripped over it and stumbled forward. Falling toward the stone floor his left hand shot out immediately, but only to soon be beat my his right as he propped himself upright again. Adopting a scowl he looked over his shoulder at what someone had left lying in the middle of the halls. Only to realize it wasn't a thing, but a person. The spy from earlier.

Lost for words, and almost action. It was clear enough to Venrid that the man was dead and had been for some time. His dead cold stare aimed at the equally stone cold ceiling above. A puddle of blood surrounding him had began to stick and dry to the floor. Originating from a big gash in the pale skin of his neck, it was clear a knife had been there, and severed his jugular with precision.

Wondering at just who could have gotten close enough to do such a thing and why. Venrid's thoughts momentarily drifted to the image of the man's wife and kid before a shout from the other side of the hall made him snap back to his reality.

"HALT! Lay down your arms or die like a dog rebel!"

The voice of the guardsman echo'd loud and clear off the corridor walls. With the sound of feet following it, there would be more than just him soon enough. Abandoning his comrade's body and his trifling thoughts Venrid turned before bursting into a sprint. Already planning a route back to side bay eveln, this time he would not get lost nor distracted as the guardsman kept hot on his heel in pursuit.

Paying close attention now to the turns and hallways he was aiming down, after a series of runabouts Venrid managed to give the guard the slip before shortly after his heart hammered before the entrance to side bay eleven.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, the pain of his arms and hand were beginning to intensify. Ignoring the onset of fatigue and agony that awaited him he followed through the gate and found that most of the others had already gathered there. Not sharing in the belated joy or greetings, he instead scanned the lot of them for those who had stayed clear of the bombs. Though, before he had the time to act on it the Elite Fist had shown their hand.

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It was anyone's guess why the ship was still intact with the Elite Fist present. Perhaps they had just arrived, as unlikely as that sounded. Or perhaps the ship was rigged in the event of escape to rupture into a cloud of smoke and ash like the bombs earlier had. Whatever the case may be, it remained the group's sole method of escape when faced with impending death or imprisonment. Eyeing up the air boat as the large fellow earlier strutted in his grand entrance, Venrid managed to flash a smirk at the man's flabbergasted surprise of Marcus not being an actual person.

"Nothing personal ya fat fuck. A jobs a job, too bad this ain't payin enough."

While payment was a large matter of concern for late. For now simply surviving would be enough award in itself. Watching as the battle unfolded between Team Two and the Elite Fist. Venrid didn't sit by idly and decided to draw his sword despite hardly being one fit for battle. While on the surface he was ready to put up an offensive, his true intentions didn't require of him but one arm.

Eyeing up the group around him now, he made double note of those who were lacking battle scars. Positioning himself within swords reach of each of them. He gladly chose to ignore the Inquisitors orders to flee and remained standing behind her where he could easily see their back if they chose to run. Raising his voice at the command of his sword Venrid gave clear warning to his true intentions.

"You'd think that I wouldn't be the only one who was more interested in living through this than dying a pointless battle at this rate! Get yer asses moving or I'm leaving without you all!"

"How in The Divine One's name did those clowns know where we were going? I thought this plan was well thought through!"

"Ain't it obvious? There's a fucking rat, and the next who runs gets cut down!"

If there was a rat, it needed to be wounded and left to die.

RedArmyShogun · Jun 15, 2017

Collab with Izurich and RedArmyShogun

As the five, or rather the four rush in, with the fifth holding back in support, the Mercenary John steps forward, bringing up his amulet from before to unleash his blinding attack. While it worked on most foes that were inexperienced with objects of it's kind, this was not so with Manlius. He was a as experienced as his age would suggest for a nation as violent and long lived as the Empire.

While he didn't know what the device it's self was, the faint emission of light before the burst was all he needed to react, with the other four not questioning it. "SHIELD!" The Sword & Shield user immediately stopped in his tracks, raising his shield forward, the Dragoon taking up space behind him, eyes closed. Janus whom initially was rushing for John, near instantaneously raises his Katana to shield his face, quickly peg jumping in reverse with an audible grunt. "Heh.." The swordswoman for her part, simply turns around, noticing the magical wall springing up, waits for whatever it was that the old man had stopped them for.

Truthfully more than a bit relieved as this... woman joined in with her own radiance it had confirmed his own thoughts on what was going on. Strangely however, the second in command doesn't turn away from his stride. Shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath with a fighters stance. "UWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAH!" Rushing forward, he decides to tie up Laura and if need be the others, while unarmed the old man was fairly spry all things considered. Rising to their feet with the fading lights, the swordswoman calls out to her comrades.

"Ehehehe the bastards think they are safer with us five than the regulars being here to get in our way!"

Tiberius for his raises his spear pointing at the group, though unsure of the woman's strange appearance, turns to his shorter friend. "Gaius! With me, as if this scum will just be allowed to leave!" "Alright!"

However the Katana user barks out a harsh command. "Hold that, we need to help Manlius... That woman must be removed first, he hasn't barked out any orders, she's that dangerous that he must focus.. I've seen this once before.." Angling his Katana the Demon of the Silver Blade prepares another of his rushes before stepping off. "Kill the others if they get in the way, but if we leave her be, we'll be the ones laying on the ground." Aiming for her head Manlius tilts his head and chest towards the right as the blade sails past for a decapitating strike.

Grunting the pair rush in to join the fray, five on one hardly seemed fair, but it was unusual for the Demon Blade to just command them to pile on one enemy, she had to be dangerous...not to mention that bright glow she had... Was she a celestial?

Five worthy opponents stood before her, all sworn to serve the Empire to their last breath. In her heart, Laura regretted that they couldn't meet under friendlier circumstances. Except for the rather detached only female of the quintet, they were honorable men. It just so happened their goals clashed. As a whole, The Empire had always been a thorn in the Divine-Kingdom's side, a nation of lip-servicing unbelievers who only cared about themselves. She wouldn't just stand by while the Empress sent her war machines to massacre innocents in the name of 'glory'. Israfil sent her to the Lughanta for a purpose and now, she could see why. "Thank you." The holy knight nodded at Marumei for the assistance, the cards should reduce her potential opponents to the five red-clad knights before her, "Go. Now."

Taking a deep breath, the white-haired knight readied her Executioner's Blade, a divine weapon forged by the celestials. However, it was quite obvious that the blade and her skills alone wouldn't be enough to face against five elite opponents at once. For this ordeal, she needed the power of the Archangel herself.

"Sol illuminates my path.
The Divine steels my soul.
Israfil guides my hand.
For justice, I brandish my blade!

She chanted mentally and as soon as she did, her whole form shone with the golden brilliance of Sol. Six wings made of light sprouted from her back and waist, trailing brilliant particles as they flapped, hovering Laura a few inches above the floor. "Ha!" She didn't waste any more words, charging straight ahead to meet with her opponents. The edge of her blade glowed golden as a slash narrowly missed Manlius. Even though it didn't land a clean hit, the pugilist could feel the divine heat emanating from the blade.

The 'archangel' didn't stop there as she launched at Tiberius, celestial wings carrying her forward, dodging the tip of his spear as she thrusted at him.

Whether it hit or not, Laura whipped in place, firing a beam of light towards Janus, the sun's ray of judgment blinding and harsh as it scorched all in its path.

Relentless yet tranquil, the Inquisitor seamlessly switched her focus towards Elsa, stoic discipline clashing against cackling berserker. Their blades met one another, again and again, singing a chaotic symphony before Laura launched a knee strike at the double-bladed swordswoman's gut.

"Ah.. a puppet of those angels.." Manlius states simply as he jumps back from the blade, feeling the heat from it, she was dangerous, the Demon swordsman momentarily breaks off his attack as the woman charges through, giving her incantation and summoning the power of those damn angels.

As she goes for Janus, Gaius rushes forward using his shield to intercept the blast, angling his shield back and planting his feet firmly the lancer rolls off and to the side as his partner is pushed back bit by bit, catching his tabard ablaze, though not effecting the armor seemingly. With a mighty yell he forces the beam along his shield and behind him scorching the ground and nearly blasting the airship and group behind him.

"Gaius! Be careful! Least one of those Bloody Beams pierces you!"

Marumei for her part takes a serious expression as the blast nearly strikes the airship, while waving towards the others as if to make light of the situation in a manner.

"Well Rats or not, I don't think those cats will be all that picky if we stick around!"

Encouraging the rest to get aboard, they ran a good chance of only getting in the way of Laura's rampage.

As the angelic avatar rushes forward to engage Else, the pair engage in a brief melee, as the woman sends her own knee out during one of the exchanges, making contact with her abdomen. In true Sorina fashion, the girl slides back coughing up a tiny bit of blood, but seems in daunted. "YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Suddenly the swift swordsman arrives at her back, halting her slide with a gentle hand, stepping from the side, he points his Katana directly at Laura, before twirling the blade in his hands with a single deft movement.

"Owari no Izumu.. BLADE OF THE CRESENT MOON!" With a silver strike of light, a thin energy blade fires from the Katana hurdling towards her at speed.

More of an avatar of celestial wrath than a human right now, Laura's movements were executed without even a shred of hesitation or delay. She slashed, parried, and cleaved against five of the Empire's elite without seemingly breaking a sweat. "..." An emotionless stare from her wide-open red eyes was all Elsa received from her taunt, it was useless trying to converse with a living weapon of the angels.

The Demon of the Silver Blade would find his angelic match that night as within a split second, Laura whipped back with her holy blade already slashing upwards, launching her own crescent-shaped energy projectile. They clashed for but a brief moment before Janus' was overwhelmed, resulting in him tasting his own medicine. The knight would only have a tiny window to dodge. Even then, he'd soon find the winged avatar charging straight at him. "...!" Time itself seemed to slow down as Laura and Janus came face-to-face before...

CLANG!

Janus' signature katana was thrown off from his arm. The Inquisitor managed what others could not, she disarmed the Silver Blade. Laura then lunged, about to pierce his heart with her shining blade.

"NOT SO FAST MONSTER! DID YOU FORGET ME!?! WE FIGHT AS ONE!" With a vigor matching a man many more years his junior Manlius rushes forward shoving Janus aside, as the Dragoon joins the fray, protecting the old man in turn.

Leaping high into the air, an aura of pure energy seems to engulf Tiberius. "TAKE THIS!!!!" With a cyclonic vortex of energy, the Dragoon dives forward with massive speed and power, while not as powerful as what some races could achieve it was an impressive display from a human of raw power and magitek support.

Due to the timely intervention of the pugilist knight Manlius, Janus' heart would beat for another day as the shove made the avatar's lunge miss its mark. Undeterred by all the shouting, Laura simply launched another light beam at Manlius and Janus, forcing them to retreat.

The Inquisitor seemingly stood still even as the dragoon launched himself high into the air, like a dragon locked onto his winged prey, his talons stretched as he swooped down. "...!" However, the dragon would find this particular prey to be a predator as fierce, if not fiercer, as himself.

Halfway through his dive, the holy knight turned her head up at him, catching his eyes with her emotionless ruby irises. Not a second later, Laura already left her spot, soaring up the air as she rose to meet Tiberius spear to sword. A cold shiver traveled down the dragoon's spine, all of his instincts warning him to abort the attack. However, no, he was a Fist of the Empire! He'd not back down to some angel puppet! For better or worse, he charged on.

The air itself grew silent as the two warriors met, the celestial blade clashing with the dragoon's talon. A loud clang violently reverberated through the air, soon followed by the creak of metal as Tiberius' spear was vertically split in two before his very eyes. The divine edge proved too strong for the dragon as it sliced through his right shoulder, sending the spearman falling unceremoniously towards the ground.

As if it wasn't enough, the eerily serene Inquisitor dove back down, sword raised in an imminent cleave, aiming to finish the job.

"What!? Impossible!" Hefting the pieces of buster metal, the knight prepares to defend himself dual wielding his broken Lance, though his right shoulder had more than a bit of a limp as crimson red coats his armor. He had seen avatars in action before, just who was the patron of this monster.. and why go to such lengths to stop the Empire, were they that afraid of humans guiding their own fate?

While the situation was grim, the old man suddenly rushes forward, his armor clanking as he rapidly closes the distance. "Tiberius! Fall back and link with the others, we'll chain attack! This is no longer some mortal!"

Reaching upwards with his hands, the old man seemed to be radiating energy as his hands clasp the blade in a clapping motion, catching it between his palms right above his head.

"OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHRAH!"

With a tense burst of his muscles, Manlius wretches the blade to his left releasing it, with a rapid movement of his hands and arms, the man takes a firm footing, sending out concussive blasts of visible air with each punch when suddenly, the cackling girl reenters the fray, firing bolts of electrical energy from her sword that seemingly merge with the old man's air blast, electrifying them.

Meanwhile the Dragoon with his limp right shoulder, the Swordsman and Gaius all form up for the so called chain attack, readying their weapons. Calling out in unison;

"GLORY TO THE EMPIRE! GLORY TO HUMANITY! TO PROTECT OUR KITH AND KIN! TO ARMS!"

It seemed this would be the final attack, whatever it was.

For all her might and power, the Inquisitor was still no true archangel, merely emulating one. As even Archangels weren't infallible, so too was their avatars. Laura's mighty cleave was caught between the Manlius' gauntlets as the senior knight put all in his power to stop the Inquisitor's blade. "..." Her sword was diverted, forcing Laura to recover her upper body stance. However, the short window was enough for the Knights to retaliate against the monster of an avatar.

For the first time since the fight began, Laura was the one pushed back as her body took blow after blow from the pugilist's fists. "...!?" Still, her expression was still that of an emotionless doll even as she flinched. This allowed for the combined assault of the knights to keep the momentum, pressuring the Inquisitor.

"..." After all that, the seemingly unstoppable divine juggernaut visibly took damage as bruises and cuts marred her glowing skin. Her imperial guard armor dented and scarred. For a moment, her wings drooped as if exhausted, this was the Knights' chance to finish the avatar once and for all!

...or was it?

"!!" Whipping her gaze back up towards the five, their winged foe rose back up, her sextet wings spread wide, basking the landing bay in all their brilliance. Feathers of light fell around Laura as light particles gathered on the tip of her blade. In that very moment, the sight of an angel had never been so majestic yet terrifying at the same time.

"Arcadia..." Her lips moved, at last, producing a heavenly voice with all its accompanying echoes, "Union." the Inquisitor declared, ringing the final tolls of her life as she unleashed a huge solar beam. Wide enough to overwhelm a whole airboat and swift enough to match a rune cannon, the golden beam blitzed to the knights, aiming to engulf them in Sol's wrath.

"...kuh." After unleashing her final flame, Laura's wings dissipated into thin air as she fell to one knee, held up by her sword. She could feel the end coming, the Divine One's arms reaching to her, marking the end of her journeys in Bumi before she returned to the Flow. "..heh." Closing her eyes, Laura had no regrets, she had done her best, it was up to them now. As if claimed by the heavens, her form and sword vanished into faint light particles, leaving a mangled uniform behind.

As the trio rush in for the finishing blow, Manlius gives pause, retreating slightly in his stance, they were winning, they had her on the ropes... But old age experience told him this was not so.

"Be on your guard.." Suddenly the woman resorts to a final action, offering her entire being to her gods as the Transport lifts off and away.

With a light glowing and forming, aiming to engulf the group, the shield knight deploys his ultimate trump card, as the barrier starts to dissolve, his shield taking on a large tower like form, connected to his arms, bracing his feet for footing and taking the front of his friends, Gaius had some final words for his friends and for the being before him.

"Such a pretty lass, I guess there are worse companions to accompany across the river to see the divine one. I just hope you'll know what it is to be a human again, rather than a tool of your damn Celestials!"

For his part Tiberius tries jerking Gaius from his footing, his eyes wide in shock, gazing at the beam of energy.

"The fuck are you doing fatass!? I told you not to get in the way of her beams!"

Smiling meekly beneath his mask as the blast impacts, Manlius grabs him, to pull him away. "Gaius are you sure about this?"

Surprisingly even Elsa has a strong reaction to this. "The fuck are you doing!? Who the hell will I make fun of now! Pull back! The wall's coming down." For his part Janus remains stationary but accepting the sacrifice, as the short stocky man smiles.

"Take care of them Manlius, Elsa, learn to calm the fuck down.. Tiberius my friend, no my...Urrh.. My brother." Holding his shield against the piercing light as the others are forced to back away the Guardsman stands in the way a power from gods, burning away, his shield cracking "Learn to scowl less.. And Janus, do not take this too hard on yourself.. the finest swordsman I've ever met."

As the final blast erupts, the mans armor begins to melt away as he emits a faint light of his own, be it magitek or the work of another power, he lets out a war cry during his final momments.

"Listen here and watch well Angels! Watch the power of man! We can stand on our own! I'll see you in hell!"

As the light finally consumes him in a fiery explosion, he did accomplish his task, stopping the attack. True to form and without malice in his final moments and true to his farmer roots, Gaius chuckles at the woman's smirk and brief moment of regaining herself as the light curves them apart. "Heh Let me buy you a dri-"

"GAIUS! YOU IDIOT!"
Looking at the burnt husk of armor and what was left of their comrade, Janus is first to speak, grabbing the broken remains of a sword and a helmet.

"He died as a true hero.. As did she.. No point chasing them now. To die for the sake of others.. More worth lays within than the Empires of man." Kneeling to say a prayer over the departed, the others were left to contemplate what all had taken place.

ShiroKiyoshi · Jun 15, 2017

Shit.

John dropped his amulet and gripped his sword with two hands, preparing for the worst, but then Laura had saved him with a secondary blind and took a step forward, thanking what could only be the gods and ordering him back. John was reluctant to move at first, he never backed down, it wasn't in his nature, but the more he looked at Laura the more he was brought to the reality of his situation. He was injured, so was anyone willing to fight, and those that didn't heavily outweighed those that did. These cowards! How could he have signed up with such spineless bastards, had they used their wit and number they surely could have pushed their enemy back! But, he could only grit his teeth as he slowly dissolved into the background leaving a woman to fight five foes on her own. There were many things that occurred during this mission left a disgusting taste in his mouth, but this topped it.

John turned to the group and shouted. "You heard her! Fall back! Get that ship running! We need to get clear of here!" He looked to Laura one last time before he ran to go see what was going on with their escape plan. He boarded their ship and looked around, clueless on what to do. He then noticed Taka had gone and started on the ship, knowing he would just be in the way, John held his blade and faced the battle. He spoke to his team, "If you know how to use one of these get on and help Taka! Vendrid! Worry about the rat later. We've got bigger issues!"

It was then that she- Laura sprouted wings on her back. John's eyes widened in amazement, perhaps she'd make it out? His mind then was reminded of how she acted before instrcuting them to back off. No. She'd die here, this was her finishing move, that rat Vendrid was looking for would have bigger issues when John began his search. He could only watch, his current objective being reserved to making sure they got away. Laura was amazing as she fought and he only wished he could have beside her. He could only feel anger for not helping, but it was simply a death wish for them to be in the way of her power. Witnessing it now, he'd wonder what he'd be doing had he never joined this crew.

By the time she had made it to some final explosion their ship was up in the air and flying to safety. John leaned against the rails, seated, with his blade in his lap. "I'll get my rematch..." he muttered to himself.

@Astros @Beowulf @Izurich

RedArmyShogun · Jun 17, 2017

During the aftermath of her distraction, Sorina was more than a little surprised at the attention she had garnered, dodging shots fired by magitek guns or spells. Dismissing one of her lances to reabsorb the blood, she takes the remaining blade in hand, dragging it across the hall as she flew past. Ramming into the butler on the way out, whom was foolish enough to block her path, Sorina wasn't foolish enough to try killing the Guardsmen or committing to a battle in these cramped halls.

"You peasants are lucky I don't have my armor!" Screeching that as she tore out of the mansion's entrance, under it's decorative awning. Bursting at speed into the sky, it wasn't long till a small group of fighters were on her tail, quickly gaining in speed.

What in the name of Luna, did they think I was here to assassinate the Empress...

While she could not outrun them she could out maneuver them. Flying in fast and low towards the overly built up superstructure, of the massive fortress, the Blood Devil pulls out all the stops, flying between spires and ramparts, as two of the five fighters after her crash into various structures, suddenly the other three pull off, unknown to her was the fact chaos was in the Imperial lines.

~~~

Aboard his fighter, the Wing Commander curses, with limited rounds of ammunition, he couldn't have his fighters carelessly shoot at the man sized target. Then of all things the crazy bitch had to fly in between the buildings, costing him two fighters. "Griffon Leader to all units. Break off the pursuit... Till we know who exactly is in command, we won't be going after her, or the transport, our objective will be close air support to defend the installations while they make room for us to land and rearm in the South Hangar, ours went up in smoke.." With two sets of conflicting orders, plus several more, the pilot cites his authority of commander on the scene, allowing both the transport and the theorized assassin to escape unmolested unless the outer picket fleet wished to engage.

~~~

Meanwhile in the Imperial Ballroom Daedalus curses his luck, his own orders were running in circles as that full of a magister was barking her own, then the Imperial Army and the Imperial Navy's chain of commanded seemed to be taking orders from it's own commanders, coupled with the attempted rebellion by the Princess's own guard, that Blood Devil didn't matter at all, commanding what troops were left Daedalus sets out to fight the traitorous guardsmen knowing all too well to not try and convince the Empress that her head isn't what they were after. Watching the Princess flee, he had a sinking suspicion on what was happening, but could do nothing about it at present... "Damn them all.."

Half wondering if the Magister had a part in this chaos, the Ashen Knight dismisses the thought, regardless a close examination of the crew would be needed once this was all settled... Well provided he kept his head and posting after all of this.

☆Luna☆ · Jun 17, 2017

Ever since the attempt on her life, one would expect Yumi to be unnerved, but she carried out her mission as calmly as ever. Calm breaths, even steps, one after another, Yumi continued on until she caught up with the rest of the group. Though, she wasn't the only one who wanted to catch up. A legion of strong enemies were intent on routing the group before reaching the airship. While John seemed eager to fight, he ultimately had to be bailed out by Laura, one of the few fighters left battle ready. Technically, she was among that group. Yumi may not have use of her dagger, but she still could provide pressure by following up attacks made by her allies. If there was to be any chance for a counteroffensive, it would involve her choosing to stand and fight.

Yet Yumi did not fight, or even waver in her movements. She didn't even wait for Laura to offer herself as a distraction. Being both the ablest and quickest moving of the remaining crew, Yumi managed to reach the airship before many of the others. From this point, she got to work getting the ship up and moving. In this task, her focus was so intense that she didn't even glance as Laura waged an epic struggle against the elites of the empire.

With everything she could do complete, Yumi simply takes a seat out of everyone's way watching with the same eyes as always. Yumi hears John, and her eyes come over him. After studying his behavior, Yumi picks herself up off the floor. Approaching John carefully, Yumi places a hand on his sword, steadying herself as she took a seat beside him. Yumi looked like she was going to say something at first, but then she simply hums a soft tune.

At first the tune seems too light and fluffy, to the point of being out of place, but as she continues in canon, the tune becomes more and more unsettling, almost to the point of being haunting. And yet, even delivering a tune that carried the heavy feel of death and loss, even with the sacrifice of Laura, even with the distinct possibility of being taken out by the rat; Yumi remained unmoved as she laid her head against John's shoulder.

Miya · Jun 17, 2017

Cera could see the fear in Ádalé's movements and her facial expressions. There was nothing much she could do, aside from observing the ongoing event while reciting the chants of the Divine One in her heart. While the knight attempted to do a curtsy, she ended up tripped on her own legs, sending her fumbling towards the Empress. Cera wanted to catch her, but it happened way too fast for the half-Infernal to do anything about it. The red-eyed sellsword haplessly looked at the inevitable accident in distress.

Fortunately Empress Kyrie managed to catch Ádalé before she ended up falling flat face down. What happens next however...

"I am so sorry, Empress Kyrie, I swear upon the name of my family that it was not my intention to disgrace you like that pleasedonottakeooffenceatmypoorbehaviourthatwouldmakeapeasantlooklikeamasterofcourtlygraceyourmajesty!"

Cera's expression took a swift turn, from distress to disbelief with her mouth slightly agape.

("By the Divine One...")

Even the Empress was barely holding her chuckles in when Ádalé was on the ground, kneeling. However, the expression did not last long, and she eventually changed into her usual Empress facade. After telling Ádalé to stand up and the usual stuff about shaming, the Empress walked away without any further... events. Once the Empress's entourage was away from their view, Cera lets out an audible sigh of relief.

"They are gone." The half-Infernal tapped on Ádalé's shoulder. "Seems like they still aren't suspicious of us despite the... show you have put up with."

...

The sight of the Grand Ball began to take a suspicious turn as Cera noticed some figures carrying some metallic canisters. Things that looks like military equipment of sorts. Then, the building shook and lights flickered, but the power remained on and it spooked some of the peoples there. Cera had a gut-wrenching feeling as Team 2 did not manage to cut the power and cause a distraction. The half-Infernal braced for a sudden change of atmosphere as the music changed. Cera continued to keep an eye on Ádalé as it goes on.

Then Sorina happened, revealing her true colors to the participants of the Grand Ball and attacked the first batch of Imperial guardsmen attempting to intercept her. With a terror attack officially started at the Ball, the Imperial nobles ran away in fear and scrambled for the exit. While maintaining her disguise as an escort, Cera continued to shield Ádalé from panicking nobles, preventing them from crashing into the knight.

With chaos in full effect, the half-Infernal wanted to approach Princess Olivia, but she was too far and the ongoing crowd heading towards the exit made it even harder to approach them. However, Cera could discern that they are smokes around her location, and...

("Wait, Imperial soldiers fighting each other?")

But she could not get a good view on what was going on, until she felt a large gust of wind slamming towards her. Cera would have fell if she was an average person. Upon turning at the direction of the wind, it was Helen, with some of the crowd of nobles around her lying on the ground as if she used wind magic to clear a path temporarily. Then, the half-Infernal could see Princess Olivia was being escorted with Saki and Charlotte, with Saki using her wings, partially obscuring them. There were a lot of questions played in her head, but Cera quickly brushed them away as it was the time to escape.

"Ádalé, Helen, let's go! We're done here!"

Cera shouted at the two. Before she could move however, the half-Infernal noticed that Sorina was flying away from the Imperial guardsmen, approaching the entrance in high speed. Cera immediately dived away from her as she crashed through the entrance after ramming an unfortunate butler who was in her way. Once she stood up, the half-Infernal quickly helped Helen on her feet.

"Come on, let's go before the Imperial guards notice us!"

With that being said, Cera quickly headed outside, trying to regroup with Agatha.

Ehb · Jun 17, 2017

"Wh-"

@Karyra

Seven's expression was mostly overcome by absolute immaterialness to how things had turned out with his decision to throw the bomb. It wasn't exactly what he was hoping for, to be perfectly honest. Regardless, he was dragged away by the drow, seeming to fly as he watched the plume of smoke grow further off before they went around a corner.

He just hoped it was convincing enough to look like he was trying.

...So things didn't turn out the way it was supposed, it seemed. Seven was quick to wrap a bandage around his face and head - hiding his most discernible features beyond his hair. However this debacle would turn out, he didn't want to be recognized afterward.

"How in The Divine One's name did those clowns know where we were going? I thought this plan was well thought through!"
"Ain't it obvious? There's a fucking rat, and the next who runs gets cut down!"

Seven could only look over the arrival of the 'elites' with general dissatisfaction. Venrid seemed dead set on finding the person responsible for the operation going bottoms up. Though he couldn't blame him. It seemed like throwing the bomb back there was the right move. Venrid, as well as others, seemed to have gotten caught up with the blasts detonating prematurely.

For that reason... himself and the Drow were suspect of being one of the rats by how he was positioning himself towards them. It was easy to see why he'd would conclude such a thing... on such short notice. But he was being too near sighted. This wasn't the time for such petty nonsense. If there really was a rat among them - they probably wouldn't be here, being so ostentiously cornered and about to get caught, probably. But beyond that, there were more pressing things to worry about now. How to get out.

It probably wasn't a good idea for him to get caught here. Mentally, he seconded the motion that the Drow had put fourth - leave as soon as possible.

Ultimately... Laura, the lead of the party, took responsibility for the team's safety. She offered herself to be the one to hold them off, long enough for seven and the others to leave. Seven was nearly thrown off balance as he felt the pressure from her attack radiating through him. He laid out his ultimatum to Venrid.

@Astros

"Let's leave that aside for now. We can start pointing fingers all want when we've escaped. We'll never really know what went wrong if we get caught here."

Caring for nothing else... Seven departed going after a couple others who were also running off.The others took their leave in haste. Turning to go along with them, he glanced back at the inquisitor. Even though they were on the same team... he couldn't do anything. The moment the others had accepted to flee altogether.... fighting became pointless.

( Sorry - but, Thank you. Inquisitor Laura. )

Seven escaped with the others....

Walking past Yumi and John, seven separated himself a bit. Seven took off his butler jacket and slung it over his shoulder. The damned thing might've looked the part but it certainly was not as good as the real thing. He threw it onto the ground.

He had almost died. He really was just moments away from dying multiple times now.

What the hell was up with this? If he had decided to play it the way it was planned. If he hadn't made that foolish and lazy mistake... he would've been blown to pieces. The stakes for this wasn't supposed become like this. He signed up to be a kitchen-hand! This was supposed just be a free ride.

Seven covered his face with his hand. Even though it was bandaged, he could still feel his broken composure seeping through.

He hoped the rat was able to make the first team fail. He hoped that Team 1 failed their mission and screw up just as badly as the second team did. Because if they didn't... He was bound to get dragged into something he couldn't walk away from so easily.

ShiroKiyoshi · Jun 18, 2017

[collab with @☆Luna☆ ]

John looks up from his blade as Yumi comes and reaches for it. She looks as if she were about to speak, but chooses not to leaving John curious. He doesn't stop her as she takes a seat next to him, his eyes following her with a raised brow. She had just assumed he would do nothing, she was correct, but it threw John out of rhythm. He sat there awkwardly, enjoying the company, but also harboring a feeling of wanting to be left alone. He then opened his mouth to speak, slightly turning his head, but stopped when she began to hum. It was a nice tune, despite the feeling it conveyed in its melody, it was a necessity for the group at the moment. It was a necessity for John.

"Thank you." John said, but shortly after his sensitive skin began to react to the weight of Yumi's head and he winced, breathing through his gritted teeth. He then took his hand and raised her head off his shoulder. "Ah, ah, ah-ha-ha." John peeled down his shirt to look at his shoulder, it was practically pink. "This'll leave a nasty scar…" John then looked up to Yumi once again. "Took your spot didn't I?"

John fixed his sleeve and fell back into his relaxed position against the rails, set his blade on the floor beside him, and patted his now outstretched leg. "You could lay your head here." He said before his gaze shifted over Yumi and to the Sovereign. The burns, how could he have avoided them? How could he had avoided all of this? It all started with leaving the mountain and he did not regret that, he didn't regret meeting the people he had, even his enemies. There was no questioning it, just an unlucky situation. He then looked to Yumi, whether she had taken his offer to lay down or not.

"You hurt?" He scratched his head. "Didn't even think to ask 'till now. Sorry."

Yumi seems slightly surprised when John makes a move to position her off his shoulder, but even before he explained himself, she already had a feeling she knew what had happened. Yumi wasn't the only one whose bomb exploded prematurely, and she was the only one fortunate enough to have the ability to come out unharmed in the event of being exploded. Honestly, the entire team lucked out in that they weren't next to the bombs like she had been.

Yumi smiles softly as John insinuates that he somehow took her place, laying facing away from John over the deck with her neck resting across John's outer leg. Yumi didn't seem terribly interested in eye contact at the moment, though she similarly didn't seem particularly upset or anxious. In fact, Yumi seemed to seldom express anything besides nervousness since that night John learned about Lyra.

Yumi gets around to answering John's question after settling down and finding a comfortable spot. "I'm not hurt at all. I always seem to be slipping out of danger. It's probably why I have such soft skin, even after everything." Yumi pauses for a bit before mentioning, "Well, maybe, saying I'm not hurt, isn't quite true. It's just the hurt hasn't caught up to me, to all of us yet. But, I can tell, you are feeling a little bit of it right now."

"That right?" John asks as he falls back, closing his eyes. "Hey, Yumi, what're you doing during our… free time? Yeah, I'll roll with that. You busy then?"

Yumi replies, "I don't usually have free time. I work in the kitchen, train, make rounds around the boat, and go to bed. If I need to do something extra, I usually just take time away from my training."

"Oh." John replied, disappointed. "I will be returning to my homeland. I need to pick something up, was going to ask for you to come with."

Yumi replies blankly, "Then I will be coming with you."

John's eyes snap open and he looks down. "For real?"

Yumi rubs her face into John's leg, inflecting informatively, "For real. I'll just ask for time off. When do you want to leave?"

"A day after debrief, so I know what to expect when I return." John replied laying his head back. He was starting to develop a headache moving it around so much, though the explosions might be more at fault for that.

Yumi gives a genuine smile this time, with something of a cheery note hitting her otherwise deadpan routine, "I'm glad."

Yumi doesn't say much after that. She can't truly relax with all the chaos around them, and the need to remain somewhat vigilant, but somehow, they remain undisturbed for their trip back to the Lughanta. Yumi continues to hum her melody, leaving their time on the flagship behind.

Karyra · Jun 18, 2017

Specific Mentions of: @Astros

"Ain't it obvious? There's a fucking rat, and the next who runs gets cut down!"

Luna's ass, was this really the time? Sonya skidded to a stop, turning to see the battle between Laura and the elite guards. She had been about to at least lend a hand when... the woman grew wings and then Sonya felt a twist in her gut that somehow told her Laura wouldn't be making it out of this mission alive. Her orders were to protect them and get them out of there.

Sonya didn't know how to take this. She's protecting the others. She wants everyone else to get away. That made sense. Laura probably didn't care about the Drow and was just making this move to protect the others. Sonya would just take advantage of the opening.

John reiterated Laura's orders and Sonya found herself running again and Seven just said the words Sonya was too dumbfounded to say. She fired off her grappling hook to make herself a little quicker to the ship. She slammed into the rails, keeping her balance -if only barely not flying off the airship- and slumped down, the adrenaline leaving her.

What did Seven mean he had something to live for? Did Laura have something to live for? ... Did Sonya?

And Yumi's song wasn't really helping, as it felt like Sonya was being haunted by Laura's spirit now. How did you cope with someone wanting you to survive? No. No, Laura wanted everyone else to make it out, Sonya was just part of the group in the moment.

Sonya ripped off the collar and dropped it to the floor, grateful it wasn't real. This was all.... so awful. Sonya didn't really expect all this, she didn't want it. Why was she even put on this team to begin with? Venrid probably now hated her and distrusted her because she managed to get out fine thanks to Seven's awful bomb toss, and her open cowardice.

Everyone else looked worse for wear, and Sonya was fine.

She stood up and laughed, "well that could have gone so much worse! I could use a beer or five. We managed to blow up her royal highass's big dumb ship somewhat and we all mostly made it out! Team two even managed to get out earlier than Team one, I bet! Haha, maybe they owe us drinks now! Drinks in memory of that Inquisitor, Laura!"

Sonya was always fine. At least, she would be if she acted like it long enough.

Crow · Jun 18, 2017

"Luna, Luna, Luna... what just..."

Wukong's head rang like a monkey with cymbals as she swiftly recovered from the powerful blast that knocked the three hard. The items that she carried fell upon her, one of the crates smacking her head. Fortunately, her Infernal physiology allowed her to feel it as a mere brick, which was still pretty painful.

Wukong's head sway from side to side as she saw double of everything, maybe triple. She shook her head to anchor her vision to the physical plane, getting back in the game.

It was time to get moving. Using the Ruyi Jingu Bang to deflect the rubble that tumbled, she moved forward with the others, only to be halted by Guards.

"If a rat's involved, they'll probably be prepared for everything we can throw at them too," Wukong comments, looking back as the Inquisitor Laura fights the Guards off. "I don't think she stands a chance, and I don't think this is exactly unknown information..."

Wukong had to do something.

"You think I'm going to just let her have the party to herself?" Wukong adds before preparing to rush back, but someone pulled her tail.

"Apparently I am, and apparently, I live, but she doesn't... he doesn't... gah..."

There was no choice. Laura had to die, and the crew had to live to fight another day. Even if Wukong did rush in, she was too beaten to move on.

But move on they must.

@Astros @Miya

EmperorsChosen · Jun 18, 2017

As Drayton continued with his activities of leisure, namely flirting with a couple of servants, female guards and playing the part of a faceless guard secretly wanting to stab every noble that complained to him about the manners of a slave, team two's efforts quickly became apparent. As the ground shook violently, Drayton could tell that the demolitions team did its job. The moment concussions from the explosions reverberated through the vessel, the guests began to panic and the guards began to scurry around wondering just what the hell was going on. Looking around for the princess, an insane cackle broke through the already terrified crowds as the Lughanta's own Blood Devil decided to cause some more mischief of her own. Sighing, if she wanted to push her luck grabbing for aggro, the young swordsman was going to let her. Continuing to search the crowds for the target, Drayton finally spots the Princess being escorted by the Dragon and Nosferatu. This was good, it meant he could focus his plan on getting the hell out. Unfortunately, this was the part of the plan where if anything was to go wrong, it would occur now.

Shaking his head, Drayton shoved aside a panicking nobleman that slammed into him during his retreat and began to take his leave. He wasn't going to stay here any longer than he had to.

LowDefinition · Jun 19, 2017

Silva continued to have a nice chat with Lord Limington during the party until the lights flickered and the ground shook quite violently. She knew it's time to snatch the princess as this would be the sign that the other team done their job. She kept her calm and look around for her companion before doing anything else. She saw Sorina add more chaos into the mix, while others are on their way retreating. She noticed that the target already moved with Saki and Charlotte.

Wait, The princess actually willingly walk with her would-be kidnappers? Silva questioned that fact but she thought maybe the question could be answered later on when everyone made it back to Lughanta. Silva then continued to walk out of the hall to regroup with Agatha and the others. Some of the panicked guests bumped her a few times as she walk. "Hey watch it!" Silva grumbled when she got bumped.

When she finally gets out of the hall and the crowd, she regrouped with Agatha and the others. "So much for a party." She said, keeping her calm. But there were questions that need to be answered when they get back to Lughanta.

Villamvihar · Jun 19, 2017

Could this have been any more embarrassing? Ádalé could feel embarrassment creep up her face, a magnificent flush that left her as red as a tomato. Or possibly even more so. Given her relatively pale skin, it was a rather amusing and mortifying sight at the same time. Fighting the urge to bury her face into her hands, Ádalé could physically feel the gazes on her. Everyone. Every. Single. Person. They were looking at her. Looking and judging and thinking that she was an idiot. Divine One, she just sabotaged her everything! The men who would want to claim her as their beautiful bride would hear about this! Anyone who knew what she looked like would say: 'Hold on, was this not the girl who embarrassed herself so thoroughly? I don't want to do anything with her!'. She was ruined. Absolutely ruined.

...

With a loud, almost angry breath, Ádalé let go of the tension inside of her in an effort to master herself. It did not do much good for her, but at least she had the humour to laugh at herself silently while wishing Agatha would suffocate in a spoonful of water. How in the name of Luna or Sol did she let herself to be talked into this?! The knight had asked herself the question numerous times, but she still did not know the answer. Whatever. Might as well make an idiot out of herself, huh? Cera also seemed to think so and that really did not help her mood. Ádalé was frustrated, angry and embarrassed at the same time, which was not an excellent combination to put it mildly.

Fortunately, it did not take long until the ballroom exploded into absolute chaos. At first, the knight only noticed the flickering lights along with the rumbling in the flagship's belly, but she did not think much of it. Then Sorina, out of all people, started playing the single most ominous piano piece she had ever heard right before the imperial guards turned on each other. What? Ádalé could only stand in awe as smoke canisters exploded all over the room, then the whole thing devolved into fighting. Olivia disappeared into the crowd and suddenly, there was nothing for Ádalé to do. She lacked the weapons to fight and as much as she trusted her strength to do the talking instead of her hammer, she could not even differentiate friend from foe.

This was not in the plan at all. They were supposed to grab princess Olivia, then wrangle her out of the hands of her guards and yet now those very same people were engaged in battle with each other. More confused than dissatisfied, it took for Cera's enthusiastic shout to have Ádalé notice that she had been standing in the same place for minutes with her mouth open. Right! She needed to act. Finally feeling like she was back in her element, the knight took the point along with her supposed escort, barrelling through anyone who tried to stop them. Cera was a little bit faster than her, but that did not mean Ádalé had her hands empty: one of the still loyal guards got a fist into their face when she attempted to explain that they would be safer if they calmly followed her.

"Regroup and reorganise?" asked Ádalé curtly as she pushed someone in her way aside, ignoring the panicked cry. She was in full battle mode right now, not caring about what happened as long as she executed the plan. She could barely see anything in the chaos around them. "What happened with the princess? Did we grab her?" she followed up as they rushed into the hallways. No doubt, soldiers would be on their necks soon, trying to 'rescue' them from the grip of kidnappers. With her luck on this mission so far, they would likely run straight into one of those groups.

Astros · Jun 19, 2017

THAT SOLDAMN LIGHT!

Seemingly being the only one to be caught up in the double flashes, Venrid's vision turned to a blanket of white as sounds of running feet and battle erupted around him. Swinging down his sword at the nearest suspect, it cut clean through air and nothing more. Gritting teeth and suppressing a yell it became apparent his pit of fury would be made to wait against his will. Following after the sound of retreating steps his own soon met the wooden deck of the air boat as his vision slowly recovered. Ignoring the words of the mountain boy for want of permanently shutting his jaw, Venrid instead stormed into the small craft's bridge.

Spotting the old man at the wheel he rudely brushed him aside to take control in order to make their exit as swift as possible. Seething with pent up anger he fixated his gaze frontward at their inevitable destination.

"Worry about the rat later. We've got bigger issues!"

"Let's leave that aside for now. We can start pointing fingers all want when we've escaped. We'll never really know what went wrong if we get caught here."

Idiots... the lot of them.

Izurich · Jun 19, 2017

@Team 1

With the princess secured, Agatha could focus on spotting and gathering each of her team members. Sorina would obviously catch up later as she was busy providing additional distractions to the Sovereign's airboat patrols. The Captain didn't worry much about the blood devil as the recent raid of the Golden Midas proved she was a walking - in this case flying - tank. "Right." The brunette made a quick survey of the people gathered so far. Saki and Charlotte, check. Herman, back to 'guarding' her. Adale and Cera, spotted. Helen and Silvania, by her side. Lastly, Drayton, who surprisingly didn't get into any trouble.

"Alright, everyone's here. Come on, let's go" The Captain gestured for her team to embark on an airboat she reserved. It was time to return to the Lughanta and depart as soon as possible.

Upon arriving, Agatha immediately checked for the princess. After her second-in-command confirmed that Olivia was detained in one of the officer's cabin, she went to the bridge and assumed command. With the hum of its magitek engines, the cruiser airship rose from the Sovereign's deck and flew off into the night sky, leaving the shaken flying fortress. "Olivia..." Agatha murmured. Only a fool couldn't notice the incredibly convenient timing of so many turncoats in the ballroom. Plus. how easy it was for her team to 'bag' the blonde, it was as if she wanted to be 'kidnapped'. The princess had a lot of explaining to do. However, not right now, everyone needed rest.

@Team 2

A somber mood fell upon the second team as they all sat in the vehicle with Venrid and Taka at the helm. Aside from the hushed conversations, grumbles, and whispers, silence ruled the atmosphere. They had hoped to go in, place the bombs, and come back out, a simple mission with a simple goal. No one was supposed to stay behind. Where did they go wrong? Perhaps, it wasn't their fault in the first place. The suspicion of there being a traitor amongst the mercenary company wasn't farfetched. Who else could trigger the bombs early? How could they be ambushed? Most of them were wounded, some worse than others, and if it wasn't for Laura's timely sacrifice, who knows what could have happened.

Nevertheless, one thing for sure, staying around would make the Inquisitor's death all for vain, they must leave the Sovereign's airspace and reunite with the crimson airship off the Empire's west coast

"Fare thee well, Inquisitor. From the Flow, we came. To the Flow, we shall return."

Hours later, the airboat carrying the second team caught up with the Lughanta. The smaller air vessel entered the docking bay and the crew had earned their rest for the day. Those who needed medical attention would be directed or stowed to the medical bay, treated by the sarcastic and competent doctor Kamov.

<----->

The blonde witch was one of the last people to disembark the airboat. It was at this time that Agatha herself arrived, coming to check up on the crew. "Ah..." Taking a deep breath, she put up a forced smile then approached the Nightingale. "Hey, Captain... so uh... a bit worse for wear, but alive..." She bit her lower lip.

Agatha blinked her eyes, quite surprised at how awful the witch looked, both physically and emotionally. Not only her, almost everyone from team 2 seemed to have this shell-shocked look to them. "Yes, Marumei? What happened?" The Captain lowered her voice, walking closer towards the voice. It was obvious something went wrong, terribly wrong. Speaking of which, she couldn't spot a particular individual anywhere. Oh no...

"So uh you see. One of us... didn't quite make it." Marumei's usually cheerful demeanor faltered, "She... uh... she gave her life for us."

"..." The Captain looked away for a moment, gritting her teeth. Damn it! How...?! "Calm, stay calm, Agatha. You're the captain." "I'm sorry... can you tell me what happened?"

"Of course, Captain." The Lilim nodded, "Also..." She whispered, "I think there's a rat..."

@Everyone

Tomorrow morning...

As the Lughanta continued traveling towards Venesia, those who were involved in the mission were told to gather in the war room in a few hours for debriefing. The announcement left out any details but it should be quite obvious that it was very important. Everyone wanted explanations, everyone wanted answers, and they would be given there.

Once the crew, minus one who passed away, gathered in the room. Aster would close the door behind them and stand guard there. In there, they would see two women talking with each other. One was their captain and the other was none other than Princess Olivia herself. "Is everyone here?" She observed the room, "Good. Your Highness, go ahead."

Exhaling, Olivia turned to face the small crowd, keeping her calm despite the many stares of mixed expressions directed at her. "Crews of the Lughanta, First of all, I am truly sorry for your loss. I deserve the blame, I deserve your hate, I don't expect to be forgiven." She began her speech, closing her eyes for a moment, "However, I owe you an explanation... a lot of it." then opened them, revealing serious sapphire irises, "Yes, I staged my own 'kidnapping'." The princess stopped there for a moment to let her words sink in. Likely, some of them have figured it out, especially those who were in the ballroom. "Captain Nightingale didn't know about this so please don't hold any ill-will to her, if anything, I am the one you should resent."

"I will make myself short and cut to the point." It was clear she wasn't welcomed here, the death of one of their own turned them sour, and likely some would see her as the culprit of their loss. "Politics and all of its shenanigans never interest me. I see myself as a scholar, a scientist. My passion in what limited time I have in Bumi is to discover its secrets." Olivia discoursed, "In my latest major research, I have discovered that the Divine One may not be the sole creator of Bumi, the universe, and reality itself. Just as Luna and Sol are two sides of the same coin. The Divine One too, has its own pair."

It might be hard to take in, especially for the more religious individuals so Olivia tried to use as few technical jargons as possible. "The Void, I call it. Nothingness itself. The antithesis of Reality." She took a deep breath, "If the Divine One represents existence then the Void represents emptiness. Two sides of the same coin that are separate but one."

Oh, fancy scholar mumbo-jumbo and all that but what did it have to do with them? Why should they care? Why should Laura die for this? "The power-hungry ministers of the Empire caught on to my research." Olivia exhaled a heavy sigh, "and they want to weaponize it." Yes, everyone heard it right, the Empire's glory hound leaders wanted to turn nothingness into a weapon. "They convinced my sister to agree with the outrageous plan. They took over my research efforts, forcing me to figure out a way to use the Void as a weapon and I have to tell you, my friends, you don't want to be on the receiving end of a Void-based weaponry. All of those fancy barriers, armor, shields? Nothing matter, all will turn to literally nothing upon contact with it."

The air grew heavier now but at least, the crew now knew that the rumors about the Empire acquiring a new weapon were very much true. Of course it was, the information was leaked by Olivia and her loyalists. "I tried to slow down the research, sabotage it as much as I could but... I knew there was no stopping them, I am not the Empress, it was only a matter of time before they figure out how to contain the Void on their own."

Yes, that was the problem, Olivia wasn't the sovereign of the Empire. "The only way I can stop them in time is to do this. I must leave the Empire as they kept me in a gilded cage there, tell the world of what they are planning, gain support, oust sister from her throne, and install myself as Empress. Kyrie has ruled for long enough, it's time for her to abdicate." She looked down, gathering her thoughts then backed up at the crew, "However, you don't need to concern yourself with it. I will take care of myself once you drop me off in Venesia. You have done well, preventing Bumi from certain destruction. You are heroes, all of you. I promise as future Empress that you'd be rewarded and honored as deserved." The princess then stepped back, letting Agatha took the stage.

There you have it," The Captain huffed, "Pretty heavy stuff there. We did the right thing." She cleared her throat, "Alright so, that's it with the debriefing. While Olivia said she'd tell the world about all this, I'd appreciate if you all keep this within us, at least until we deliver her safely to the Doge, a'ight?" She chuckled lowly, "Alright. Feel free to take a rest, do your own thing until we arrive. Until then, please refrain from going off on your own, the situation is delicate here. If that's all, you are dismissed. "

☆Luna☆ · Jun 20, 2017

Shortly after getting off the airboat onto the Lughanta, Yumi looked for her chance to get to talk to Marumei. Although she was spared from the explosions, one could hardly tell since she looked so ill. She originally approached Marumei right after the airboat landed, but her conversation with Agatha and various staff members made it difficult to approach. Yumi kept waiting for the right time to talk, and she finally managed to find Marumei alone. Yumi had been sneaking around her for a while, but now that the time was right she approached Marumei in her typical timid but straightforward manner. Softly and with somewhat indirect eye contact, "Hey."

Sitting in one corner of the bar lounge was one of the two Lilim crew of the Lughanta, specifically the one with blonde locks. Marumei sat there, absent-mindedly examining her remaining cards. She had left a lot of them in the Sovereign to block off the corridor, need to make more. Speaking about the Sovereign, her mind traveled back to the dutiful Inquisitor.

Laura died honorably and for a purpose. "Haaa..." Still, the fact the girl was no longer with them couldn't be ignored. "Eh?" A quiet - and adorable - voice called out to her from behind. The witch turned around, her vision graced by the sight of a purple-eyed petite girl with cat ears. "Oh, hey there, Yumi." Marumei gave her a small smile as she gestured for the halfbreed to sit across from her. "What's up?"

Taking a seat, Yumi brushes her hair over her ear before beginning. "Well, you know, it was a big day, especially for everyone on team two. And, well... I was worried, for you."

Yumi glances down towards the table. She didn't normally enter the bar, and something about the location seemed to bother her, but she also didn't seem ready to leave anytime soon. With concern, "Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah, it definitely is... hehe." A slightly awkward atmosphere fell between the two, "Thank you, but... I'm fine really compared to the others." She rubbed the back of her head. "I am fine~" The witch grinned, "For the most part. Ahem... well, what about yourself?"

Yumi manages to look Marumei in the eyes. "I, don't know how to feel right now..." Clasping her hands Yumi withdraws a bit, "I just, have to keep doing what I've always been doing." Yumi finds herself stuck at this point of the conversation. She can feel the nervous energy between them, and the surroundings weren't helping matters at all. Taking the initiative, "But, maybe, we could talk somewhere, private?"

"Ah... I see." Marumei murmured, it was rather apparent the effect of recent events was still lingering in their mind. "Unh... that should be good, yeah, we did the right thing, let's keep doing that." The blonde blinked her emerald eyes a few times at the offer. Being a Lilim, her very first thoughts regarding the word 'somewhere private' was something of a more... risque nature but she quickly waved it off. "Oh, sure." The girl smiled, "Lead the way, Kitty~"

Yumi takes Marumei through much of the ship before reaching the very back of the vessel. Throughout the trip, Yumi can be seen looking back towards Marumei, as if she might not be there the next time she looked. Fortunately, the extreme rear of the Lughanta was close to abandoned at this time, which allowed Yumi the peace she needed. Sitting down, Yumi took off her shoes, setting them asides so her feet could dangle off the side of the deck as she stared into the clouds. It was a bit chilly, but Yumi didn't seem to mind at all just yet. Speaking off her mind to try to start a conversation, "You were looking at your cards earlier."

The trip was spent in solemn silence as the pair went up to the top deck, heading towards the Lughanta's bow. "Brrr..." It was quite chilly being all high up and the airship's heating system obviously didn't work in the outdoors. Fortunately, Marumei was a Lilim and she used her witchy talents to conjure a simple heat spell. She emitted a faint aura around herself just enough for herself and Yumi. Whether the halfbreed noticed it or not, she'd certainly appreciate the warmth

While Yumi opted to take off her footwear and sat in such a way, Marumei wasn't brave or nonchalant enough to try doing it. The blonde just rested her arms against the airship's side railing instead. "Oh yeah, if you haven't noticed, they are my multipurpose tool of sorts. I can use them for attacking, defending, or even mundane utilities." She frowned, "I lost most of them after... uh... that though. I will need to make more." Ah damn it, now the mood became awkward again.

"Sooo, how about you?" Marumei raised her voice, attempting to alleviate the atmosphere, "Your sword is quite something, I have never seen that kind of thing before. Time magic? I am not sure even Lilims can do that... well, maaaaaybe one of our Matriarchs can but certainly not myself."

Yumi smiles at Marumei's actions, growing brighter and brighter as time went along. Yumi decides to play along for a bit, "It really is something. I can't tell you how many times it's saved me, in more ways than just one. I'm not sure what I even did to deserve such a weapon, but I intend to treasure it, then pass it down like those before me." Yumi laughs at herself briefly, "Besides, it would be embarrassing if I couldn't do any magic. I mean, I'm part moon elf after all."

"Well, Lilims are technically halfbreeds too. Half Succubi, Half Humans, specifically. We are just a special case, like the vampires~ Maybe Charlotte is Half Sorina, Half Herman." Marumei winked as she giggled, patting Yumi's head, stroking her ears and long hair, "I see, it must mean a lot to you, huh? Say..." She pondered for a moment, "Care to tell me more about that sword? You don't just get stuff like that in a smith's shop."

Yumi closes her eyes out of the sheer bliss of being pet in such a nice manner. In fact, she enjoyed it so much, she forgot to react at all to the joke Marumei just told. She had hardly been touched since joining the mercenary group, so she had nearly forgotten the sensation. Turning quite melancholy, Yumi replies, "This weapon is precious to me. It is actually a family heirloom that has been passed down for several generations. I don't really know anything about how it was made, or why it has the properties it does, but I do my best to protect it."

"Ah, I see~" So it was most likely an ancient relic, how quaint indeed. She'd like to get a closer look at it but Yumi probably wouldn't approve. It wasn't all bad, however, as Marumei found out that Yumi liked pets, just like her neko youkai blood would suggest. She gave the shorter girl a few more rubs before taking a deep breath, "Okay, think we should get back? Dunno about you but I'm tired, I need some my beauty sleep~"

Yumi wanted to take her time with coming to her point, but with Marumei getting tired, she knew that she'd be waiting a while before getting another chance like this. "Marumei, you are a really kind person. You are always thinking about how others feel. Even now, I notice all the little things you do to make me feel more at ease. But, I'm not really at ease. And after seeing the way you were on the airboat, I can't believe you are either. I can't believe that everything is really ok when I find you alone in a bar looking over your cards." Yumi starts getting self-conscious after understanding the implications of what she was saying, becoming ashamed of herself. Apologetically, "I, that wasn't... my place..."

"Ah...?" The witch widened her eyes when the usually quiet halfbreed spoke more words in one sitting than she ever did. "Well... uhm..." She giggled, a light blush on her cheeks, "Thank you." It was a bit undeserved as Marumei felt she wasn't exactly an altruist, in fact, she was quite selfish. The Lilim realized she had an ego, a rather big one, but maybe... Laura's passing took its toll on her.

"You're welcome and... yeah. However, I try to cheer myself up! There's no point in sulking all the time, aye?" She rubbed those twitching cat ears once again, "My cards, they need replacements, I was counting how many are left." She retracted her hand, "It's fine~ I'm glad we have this talk. See you around," She leaned and gave a quick kiss to Yumi's cheek, "Yumi~" Giggling, she went off before the halfbreed could retort.

SKYWARD MIRACLES - IC Thread

Gloriana

Weisenhart

Guest

Beowulf

Guest

Feral Wanderer

Little Buster

Runs with Axes

Neko Smasher of Iwaku's Walls

Runs with Axes

☆Luna☆

Guest

"If you survive this, meet me where Heaven falls."

Literal No One

Neko Smasher of Iwaku's Walls

Feral Wanderer

Whatever, Bullfrag is awesome.

Victory through derp

Yes, I die a lot

Man of Questions

Little Buster

Pikaface

☆Luna☆

Guest