|
|
Post by Mizumi Tai on Aug 21, 2016 21:00:19 GMT -6
Mizumi pushed out the end of the tunnel, nodding at Eve and advancing with her as per her orders. As she did so, she spoke into her earpiece, something she couldn't quiet stop herself from doing. "Be careful Dusty." The words were soft and full of worry, though there was a definite note of confidence within them as well. She knew Dusty would be fine, he'd survived many things previous. They both had, in fact, and she was more worried about being separated from Dusty so she couldn't easily synchronize with him. As she ran she continued moving Blowback, spinning it and slamming it into the ground once as she kept pace beside the teacher leading them. She was trying to keep her mind and body aware of her surroundings, but also trying to make sure not to overreact to anything. Cirsi took note of the additional footsteps falling in behind them, but decided that it was not worth mentioning and exposing herself for, so remained silent. Mizumi, completely unaware of their new arrival, continued alongside Eve.
Setek Airspace:
The captain's voice rang over the intercom on Aisio's ship. "Ah, there's Setek. Haven't been here in years, feels good to fly over these sands again. Five minutes from the drop point Lady Pendragon." Aisio nodded, sending a message through the mic of "Thank you captain." and making her way towards the cargo bay. Excalibur set into its sheathe and Flamelash on her harness, underneath her black trench coat. Her standard equipment was on, with her two crystals resting upon her back and spare crystal cartridges sitting on her bandolier. Her short crimson hair laying lightly upon her shoulders while her glowing red eyes were filled with both determination and doubt. She made her way through the airship towards the cargo bay, staring at the large opening doors as she arrived.
Ash, however, merely started getting ready for the drop. He put on his brown armor, a set of vambraces and greaves, each with extendable blades on either side. His gloves were green and weaved with wind dust for use with his semblance, and he wore a necklace with the seal of the Pendragons, a green dragon wrapping around a red greatsword. The sword was made of red dust crystal, also for use with his semblance. He pushed up his glasses and pulled out his scroll, seeking out any Vytal scrolls in the area. He had heard that they had set up a mission to do this shortly after the two of them had left, and found one Evelina Shay's scroll in the area. He sent a message to said scroll, hoping to ease their arrival and not cause unnecessary panic.
"Do not be alarmed Miss Shay, my name is Ser Ash Nuada, loyal butler to Lady Aisio Pendragon and servant to their house for forty years. I am sending this message to alert you that we are approaching Setek, five minutes away from the drop point as we speak. If you would be so kind as to lessen the impact of her arrival, my Lady did participate in the Siege of Rift, on the side of Legion. That being said, she is here for personal matters, not on Legion's behalf, to seek out the Princess. So would you so kindly not mention to the princess Aisio's involvement in her father's death, it would be wonderful. Or simply attempt to make her react less, negatively to her arrival." Ash, now at least a little more content that Aisio, who was charging in because of her emotions as per usual, would not get caught off guard or make the situation worse, went towards the cargo bay himself. Now all that was left was to wait for the drop, and go find the princess.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dusty Ghrian on Aug 21, 2016 21:22:30 GMT -6
Dusty breathed a silent sigh of relief when Mizumi said she should take to the ground for the mission, but then he realized that since he'd be on the rooftop, he'd have a bird's eye view of the street. The street that Mizumi would be running through. God dammit, why me? the young man thought to himself. Damn his unearthed feelings, damn his inability to properly address them, and damn that orange jumpsuit that keeps distracting him! Dusty was glad it was dark in the tunnel and that they were in the middle of the desert. He could feel his face heating up and he hoped that no one would notice his blushing face.
"Roger that, chief," Dusty said, giving a joking salute as he dashed out of the door. He gave a nod over his shoulder towards Mizumi with the same confident smile he always wore before sprinting up to the closest building and breaking apart Daybreaker and sheathing his twin knives on his back. As he reached the wall, he jumped, using his momentum to run further up the wall before grabbing onto the top of a window sill. As quickly as he could, he scrambled up the wall and rolled over the edge onto the roof. He came back up to his feet and drew Ardu and Leagtha, searching for any would be attackers. All clear. Dusty snapped the knives together into Daybreaker before running over to the edge of the roof and kneeling down. He looked up and down the street. All was peaceful.
"It's a perfect day for some mayhem," he said with a laugh and a shake of his head. Talk about disturbing the peace.
|
|
|
|
Post by Amber Sablier on Aug 21, 2016 22:27:21 GMT -6
“Alright, team! Let’s go!” Eve called out, directing them all to make their way through the streets. That sense of uneasiness had not left her, with her gut still feeling as if it were in a tight knot. Hopefully these students were ready for what potentially waited for them. If not, things were going to get far more chaotic than they originally anticipated. She hoped it was a long shot, but if the Cult of Saint Ashes had made it to the city, they were already running into a battle they were ill-prepared for. Shooting a quick glance to Mizumi, then to Dusty and Chrohn, Eve drew in a staggered breath as she made her way through the twisting and turning roads of Setek.
Unexpectedly, a jingle emitted from her Scroll. A message? Now? What in the hell? Without stopping, Eve quickly reached for her Scroll and peered at the message that had just come through. So they were sending in a veteran from the siege of Rift, eh? The sight of the woman that, as far as Eve was aware, played a large part in the sacking of the capital - and inevitable execution of King Sablier - was sure to be the salt in some very old wounds. “We’re going to have some company soon, team.” She said into the earpiece. “A woman from the siege of Rift, sent by Legion to help us with the mission. Please be on your best behavior. I know you aren’t just kids anymore - I want to see you all act like it.”
Eve looked around frantically, trying to catch any glimpse of their prize. The Princess - where could she be? "Mizumi, do you see anything yet? Anything at all?" She called into the earpiece once more. "Dusty, Chrohn? What about you two? Are you seeing any movement from the rooftops?"
Meanwhile, Amber continued to tremble in fear as the hooded man approached her. The black orb - the Void Dust - in his hand continued to resonate, with her clear Dust orb continuing to pulsate as if by its command. “Please!” She cried out, her voice cracking as it strained to carry through the city. “Someone, anyone! Help me!” She couldn’t move. She was petrified by the sight of this man. As he drew closer, he knelt before her, stabbing the sword into the sandy earth below. “Do you think anyone is going to answer you, Amberleigh?” His deep, gravelly voice inquired. “I’ve put far too much time and effort - years - into finding you. You will not slip from my grasp this time.”
Pulling the sword from the sand, the man raised it high above his head, just as the black form became even more twisted before finally settling on the shape of a scythe. So familiar a shape, she felt her skin crawl at the sight of it. Her own hand found its way to the hilt of the Hound, ushering a sudden sense of determination deep in her chest. Altimeda’s voice hammered deep in her thoughts, as if instructing her despite not being there in that moment. She had to fight. She had to fight. As the hooded man brought down his scythe with a heavy swing, Amber raised the Hound to meet it. The clash of the two weapons echoed throughout the city, much louder than her cries.
As if summoned by the chime, men and women clad in black - Cultists - swarmed the streets. Their target: Eve and the team.
Not far from the city, something stirred in the sands.
A twisted serpent - the city eater known as Elder Taijitu. |
|
|
|
Post by Ferr Aesir on Aug 22, 2016 8:30:19 GMT -6
Lagging behind, Ferr kept his eyes peeled for the Princess at each and every turn and corner. His helmet did not obstruct his view greatly, allowing him to scan the area effectively. This city was new to him, an unexplored place where anything could happen. This kept him on guard the whole time more than normal. Not to mention cultists were hiding somewhere in the city looking for Amberleigh too. The situation couldn't get more dangerous. Perhaps Vytal made a mistake in sending students for this job. Looking far ahead, Ferr noticed the children were having minor issues getting in formation. Obviously some, if not one, did not have the experience in scaling this type of terrain. Making the job harder and things run rougher. A sigh would escape the man's lips before noticing a change in the environment.
It wasn't just the neighborhood or sector they were currently in. The winds themselves were shifting. Ferr looked back to the city walls. Up into the dark night. And then returning to face forward. Suddenly, the clash of two objects managed to faintly reach his ears, causing Ferr to frantically search the area. "The hell was that?" He muttered to himself. As he continued to run, he noticed a presence. A number of individuals rushed into his field of view. A cold drop of sweat ran down his temple. Where did these individuals come from? Why were they dressed in all black?
That is when the revolution came. Cultists were gathering in the streets. And it was obvious from their movements they aimed to wipe-out the Vytal students. A sect emerged from behind the young team, weapons drawn. Ferr would draw his blade and hold it tight before charging full force into the backside of a cultist. He lunged towards the enemy, swiping his sword across their back. He infused wind Dust into the attack, allowing a violent gust to rush the cultists ahead. The wind would be felt by the students and Eve surely, it was a strong attack.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dusty Ghrian on Aug 22, 2016 21:44:09 GMT -6
Dusty felt like he had been punched in the gut when Ms. Shay said a woman from Legion was going to help him and she had been at the siege of Rift. That could only mean it was Aisio Pendragon, the same woman that ultimately caused the death of the princess' father. And, in a sudden stroke of irony, she now wanted to protect the princess. For what reason, he didn't know, but he decided that he didn't really like it. He placed his fingers to his earpiece. "Hey, this is just my two cents, but maybe, just maybe we shouldn't instantly trust the woman who was kind of instrumental in the princess' father's death?" he said, scanning the area once again as he spoke. "You know, just a suggestion. But what do I know, you know? Not like being there and all means anything."
Dusty took another quick scan of the area. Still nothing there for right now. He stood up and took off down the rooftops, leaping over the gaps between the buildings with Kinetic arrow notched into his bow. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out through the streets. As he went to put his fingers to his earpiece, figures clad in black flooded the streets followed by a powerful gust of wind. The young man's jacket billowed around him as he faced in the direction of the wind, only to find himself facing a group of the cultists. "Well, shit," he said quietly as he quickly kicked a chunk of his shadow towards them. He turned his head as the small chunk exploded in blinding black out before firing his Kinetic arrow at one of the Cultists and turning to run.
Dusty began punching buttons on his bracer, setting up the next three arrows as Water, Energy, and Ice. He turned back to face the cultists again, firing the Water arrow at the ground in front of them, creating a wave of water, followed by the Energy arrow shot at the wave itself, electrifying the wave to give a nasty shock to whoever got caught in the wave. He turned and ran again, leaping over another gap and firing his Ice arrow at edge of the roof. Hopefully, it would slip up any would be followers trying to take the same route as him. As he continued, Dusty placed his fingers to his earpiece. "I'm going to find the princess! Keep my tail covered and don't worry about me! I'll be fine!" he shouted as he leapt over another alleyway. He grinned confidently as his eyes flashed in excitement. "I'm a one man apocalypse, remember?"
AP: 138/150
Arrows: 57/60
Glass Dust: 10/10
Steam Dust: 10/10
|
|
|
|
Post by Mizumi Tai on Aug 22, 2016 22:16:23 GMT -6
Mizumi continued following Eve closely, and when she was asked if she saw anything she spoke. "Not ye-woah!" She yelped as her feet planted, her body swinging and pointing behind her. After moment, she glared at herself as best she could, muttering under her breath. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't do this." Cirsi did have control of her body after all, so in theory she could control exactly what Mizumi did with or without her consent. She wouldn't, most of the time, but Mizumi followed her pointing arm and her eyes landed upon Ferr behind them, whom Cirsi had heard. "Oh...We have company behind us Miss Shay!" Mizumi's hand dropped and she smiled, rubbing her neck and nodding. Then the cultists showed up, and Dusty fired at them without hesitation. When he ran off, even though he told them not to worry, Mizumi's feelings interfered with her judgement. "Dusty wait!" And off she went, sprinting through the alleyways after Dusty.
Combat Stats:
Mizumi's aura: 150/150
Charge Value: 3/200
Setek Airspace-Aisio's Ship:
Ash and Aisio stood side by side next to the massive cargo bay doors, each prepared to drop when they arrived. They casually chatted, bantering and laughing to lighten the mood before hitting the combat zone. "Uh, hunters, I think you should see this." The captain's worried voice rang through the cargo bay, shocking both Aisio and her older butler. They climbed the ship, making their way to the bridge with confused looks on their faces. When they arrived on the bridge the captain was fiddling with various things nervously, the ship gaining altitude. "What's wrong captain?" Aisio approached the glass windows at the front of the bridge, standing next to the captain and staring out. He had started to veer off course slightly, and pointed at something right in the middle of their old path. "That, M'lady. I've had to fly through a hoard of Krahe before, but not in years, and that looks a whole hell of a lot worse." Aisio followed his gaze, laying eyes upon a scaled body slowly appearing out of the sands.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed, turning around and sprinting back towards the cargo bay. Her trench coat whipped around her and she snatched Ash's scroll as she walked past. "Aisio! That was very rude!" The butler sounded affronted, but followed nonetheless and didn't try to retrieve his scroll from the determined looking girl. "You said you made contact with a Vytal teacher, I need to do the same." Ash sighed and nodded, reaching around her as she walked and tapping on the screen a few times. He set it up to send a message to Eve, and Aisio nodded at him in gratitude as he pulled his hand away and sighed deeply.
"Miss...what was her name again?" She looked back at Ash as she ran, who merely shrugged and spoke in an exasperated voice. "Miss Shay." The crimson haired huntress nodded and returned her attention to the scroll. Her voice was filled with purpose and determination, with a tinge of worry and warning worked in for good measure. "Miss Shay, this is Lady Pendragon. We're dropping early, there is an Elder Taijitu surfacing outside the city. I repeat there is a god damn Elder Taijitu right in our path." Ash's eyes widened, and they entered the cargo bay quickly. He rushed to the communication system and sent a message to the bridge. "Open the cargo bay doors captain." He got no response, but the sound of machinery whirring to life began echoing through the room, and the doors began slowly sliding open. Ash held his hand out to Aisio, who returned his scroll and drew Flamelash from her harness. "Once more, unto the breach my friend?"
Ash laughed and nodded. "Once more, unto the breach."
|
|
|
|
Post by chrohn on Aug 23, 2016 7:24:42 GMT -6
At the mention of legion, Chrohn's eyes sharpened. He hadn't lost in the siege personally, though he was sure he had lost more than a few good customers. What mattered more to him wasn't the fact that they were from Legion, it was the fact that they were on the side that killed the target's father, they were the siege of rift that caused so much strife and trouble. For the most part, Chrohn was a fairly nice and open minded person, but that event was something that was unforgivable.
"I'll try my best to remain civil," he said blankly into the earpiece as he vaulted from rooftop to rooftop. Unlike Dusty who had equipment to aid him, Chrohn just ran, jumped and kept up the momentum. That was until the cultists appeared on the streets. Orders say not to throw the first punch, so do I just sit here until they start throwing rocks at me or- and Dusty is shooting them. He started to shift weight from one leg to the other. Chrohn was paying attention, but that was before a bird almost flew into him, taking his attention away from the immediate fight.
When he returned his attention to the fight after that moment, he saw Dusty and Mizumi running off in another direction, "Uh, Eve. My allies are shooting stuff and running off in some random direction. Should I..uh...follow them?" Chrohn had more to say, but that was lost once one of the younger cultists who was without immediate weapons started throwing rocks at him. "STOP THAT, IT TOOK FOREVER TO GET UP HERE!" Chrohn sighed with disappointment as he carefully hopped down from the top of the building, revving up the slot machine. Red, Blue, Yellow, that was the order that Chrohn had put the chips into Lucky 7.
Once he was ground level, he pulled the lever on Lucky 7 as he slashed into one of the cultists, letting out a wonderfully explosive equivalent of an electric bomb that hit plenty of the cultists. "So, Eve, should I go on with them or stay here with you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by adamska on Aug 23, 2016 10:34:31 GMT -6
Collecting a bounty in Setek, Adam left the bar where he dropped off his target. As he walked out of the quiet building, the sound of clashing weapons echoed through the city and several footsteps could be heard shuffling to the location as if an ambush was brewing. Always liking a good fight, he got onto his motorcycle and revved the heavy machine, a loud roar just as loud as the clashing of weapons previous echoed through the city and in a mad dash Adam had began to race through the town, drawing his mighty Flesh Ripper and his other hand on the handles over the trigger for the machine guns. As he roared through the town a few of the rushing men were mowed down as those that weren't run over by the wheel were cut up or even shredded by his bladed cow catcher.
As he made his way to the two who clashed weapons he saw the hooded man with the advantage he yelled out "If you want a fight!" He shouts and presses the trigger of the machine guns causing them to rain lead onto the hooded man. Not wanting to get the woman in the crossfire he creeped forward in his bike and etched closer causing the bullets to be more accurate in hitting the man with the hood. Others around them that came to back up the hooded man backed up a bit and focused on Adam, ready to jump him.
|
|
|
|
Post by lilywilde on Aug 23, 2016 17:41:07 GMT -6
FOUR DAYS AGO
Lily was still pretty new to the school, and she was only just getting her bearings. She was unable to sleep, and found herself walking the grounds. Enjoying the silence, and the cool night air. She was not used to being in a place where she could be out at night without raising her guard against the Grimm. She had been thinking a lot lately about why she agreed to come be a huntress. She thought of the hunters and huntresses that had saved her, of the strength she saw them display, and of the way that they used that strength. They didn't even hesitate to save her, even though the nevermores surrounding her were numerous and larger than normal. So, when she picked up a strange conversation with her much better hearing, she was intrigued. Someone was talking to another person, though she couldn't quite figure out who. There didn't seem to be anyone in the room with him. He spoke of a person in trouble, a "Princess Amberleigh" Whatever that was. She listened for some time, learned that a plane was being prepared to transport someone in four days time to go save this Princess.
After learning what she could, she decided to approach the person she'd heard talking about all of this stuff. A day had passed since she first listened in on his conversation. She was flatly rejected. "You are not only too inexperienced for something of this magnitude, you are a freshman, you have no weapon, and you are too new for us to even be sure if we could trust you. The location that you're from-" he said, stopping himself. "Just, no. Final answer."
She would not be deterred though, she'd seen the airships coming and going, she knew where it would be, and when it would be leaving. All that was left to do was prepare herself for the journey.
She visited the library, where it was quite easy to find out a bit of information about this Princess Amberleigh. When she'd asked the librarian, she not only showed her pictures of the missing princess, but recounted the tale of how she came to be missing. The pictures were the main thing. She had hoped to find some sort of sound file with a recording of her speaking, but her inexperience with technology, and her unwillingness to trust the librarian with more details of what she planned made that a very failed search indeed. She did however learn a little bit more about the technology of city dwellers just by being in the library, and gained a huge respect for the sheer volume of things that there were to learn in this place. That alone was a resource that made her agreeing to join this school worth exploiting.
PRESENT DAY
Lily had executed her plan perfectly. She was on board, hidden, and ready for the transportation. When the one (Ferr) boarded the airship, it took off immediately. She lie in wait until the back hatch opened up, and she was confident that he had vacated the plane. She nearly jumped out after him, but it was very high, and she was a bit nervous. However, when the hatch began to rise, she felt her time to act running out. She ran to the front end of the small craft and shouted to the pilot "Bring this thing as low as you can get it!" She said, before rushing back to the back of the plane and diving through the small gap that was still left in the closing hatch. As she passed through, she used her claws to grab on to the closing hatch, and found a place to hold on at the back of the plane. Surely enough, the airship began to drop, and when it was as low as it seemed to get, she let go. She had aimed herself at a dune of sand, so that she would be falling parallel with the slope, but even so she was falling faster than she felt comfortable with. She activated her aura's defensive nature as she landed, and easily absorbed the impact. However, being primarily used to jungles and caves, she was unfamiliar with the physics of sand, and quickly lost her footing, causing her to roll down the hill with high velocity, before cashing into an adjacent dune and sending up a plume of sand.
She stood up, dusted herself off, and looked to the city not too far in the distance. It would not take long for her to arrive, even without using her semblance, she was fast. She took off in a sprint, only aware of the appearance of this princess, and determined to find her way there. She kept her ears peeled as she entered the city for any sounds of conflict, trying to filter through the noise for something that might lead her in the direction she wanted to go.
|
|
|
|
Post by Amber Sablier on Aug 23, 2016 22:48:19 GMT -6
Just as Eve was about to respond to Dusty’s comments about the Legion Huntress’s assistance with the mission, chaos erupted in the streets. What started as one man after another evolved into great swarms of black clad soldiers - belonging to Saint Ashes - setting their sights on Eve and her team. “Dammit!” She cursed, her teeth grinding together - almost hard enough to crack against one another. She scrambled to process their next course of action, regarding their very poor formation. Dusty and Chrohn were up above, while her and Mizumi were in the streets. What now? The more she thought, the more frustrated she became.
"I'm going to find the princess! Keep my tail covered and don't worry about me! I'll be fine!" Dusty shouted before leaping away. Eve scoffed heavily, her eyes shifting up to Chrohn. “Follow Tai and Ghrian.” She instructed him. “And please, be careful!” As her hand moved away from the earpiece, two Cultist fighters ran in her direction, armed with a sword and an ax. Eve pulled Skorpio, Lavender’s old weapon, from the metal clip that held it at her waist. She had acclimated to using arrows as thrusting weapons in the past, and from what she understood of the late Professor’s weapon, it would work in a similar fashion.
In a quick flurry, Eve dispatched the ax-wielding fighter, leaving just her and the swordsman. With an almost bloodcurdling howl, the man lunged at her, swinging his sword in a manner that made his movements hard to predict. It was like he wasn’t trying to specifically hit her, rather overwhelm her by flailing his weapon around. It managed to find a mark, the blade easing across her face like a knife through butter. The cut, stinging at first, was almost instantaneously healed by the effects of her Aura. She retaliated instantly, driving Skorpio through the man’s abdomen. Drawing the weapon out, she watched for a moment as the man staggered to remain on his feet, then fell to the ground.
Off in the distance, she caught glimpse of the students running off in the same direction. At least they were together. They’d be safe that way, right? At this point, Eve could only hope so. For now, she had to deal with some of these Cult fighters. Only then could she reunite with her team.
"If you want a fight!"
The large man’s voice caught the attention of the hooded assailant. Amber watched as her attacker raised her hand, his Aura manifesting in a crude crimson-red wave as it stopped the other man’s bullets in their tracks. This was her chance to launch a counterattack. With his attention not on her, Amber was completely free to move, and tightly gripped the hilt of the Hound. With all her might, she delivered a swift kick to the Assailant’s left shin. It didn’t do much good, but it gave her just enough time to scramble out of the way. This would be the first time she had fought something other than a Grimm, and whoever this man was, he was clearly a powerful foe.
Amber’s brow furrowed as her attacker raised the dark orb into the sky. Its colors pulsed, darkening the sky as the ground beneath their feet began to rumble. Outside the city walls, the sands began to shift. A growl echoed in the air as a massive black serpent - the Elder Taijitu - was summoned from the sands. The creature’s glowing fire-like eyes peered down at the city below, almost dwarfing the Kingdom’s capital. Where the sun able to break through the sandstorm that began to whip through the air, the lumbering beast’s shadow would have thrown a third of the city in darkness. For those that survived the Wills’ assault on Vytal, the giant snake was much smaller - but to those that had never seen such a serpent, it was truly a horror.
She had almost been distracted by the sight of the thing, giving the hooded man the opportunity to make his first lunge at her. Amber raised her hands, using her Aura to block the crooked scythe that had selected her as its mark. The Hound began to emit a soft whine as the parts within pushed it through its transformation process. First, the blade extended - sliding down the spine until reaching its old end. A slight spin, then the sound of a lock, and the Hound had achieved its war-scythe form. It was time for Amber to fight or die. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, giving her the strength needed to swing the large weapon in her hands.
'Fight or die, Amber. Fight or die.'
Eve's Aura: 900/900
Amber's Aura: 223/225 |
|
