The Exalted Ones [IC] [M]

[Retro Bug]

Claire Mornet
Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor

The impact her words had on the group was not something Claire expected. As a civilian that occasionally went into an active battlefield Claire wasn't entirely clueless about the war, but when it came to POW camps she was. From what was being told, Claire gathered that Fort Rancor was a deplorable place full of horrors and torturous acts, so much so that even death was considered a kindness. Her eyes landed on the woman and child, what kind of pain was to be inflicted on these two? She casted her thoughts back to the van, for all she knew it could've been full of even more Kalbionan prisoners. That didn't sit well with her, she wanted nothing more than to do something about that. Claire had failed that woman and her child, but perhaps, in some small way she could make it up to her by rescuing these other people. There was no doubt in Claire's mind that it was a foolish plan that could only result in death. If Fort Rancor could be taken down by a group of randomly put together people then the Kalbion Army or Special Forces would've done so in a heartbeat. All the individuals in this room were most likely of high importance otherwise they wouldn't be here, but there was nothing extraordinary about them that would allow them to take down Fort Rancor on their own.

Taking a bigger interest in her thoughts than the world around her Claire barely heard, "You two can get the blood off with that." A man with youthful facial characteristics had approached her and offered the shirt he had been wearing moments ago. She couldn't accept it as she didn't deserve it. The blood of that woman was on her, literally and figuratively. Down at the doctor Claire glanced, he had tried so hard to save that woman so on his behalf she graciously accepted the flannel with a nod. Gently, she began dabbing at the spots of blood that hadn't dried. The shirt was easier to use once Claire stopped for a moment and folded it, but when she did the doctor was forcefully hoisted to his feet by none other than Ryūko. Claire never liked believing rumors she heard from coworkers, especially if she had never met the person more than a couple times. All those discussions about Ryūko she had listened in on with disbelief were now starting to seem a bit more truthful. Why was Ryūko behaving in this manner? Claire stood up and watched in disgust as Ryūko slapped the medic across the face, as if that was going to miraculously heal the situation. This man's state of mind was not okay. Did she think that physically hurting him was going to make him suddenly better? Make him happy again? Her entire tirade was lost on Claire's ears as Claire had to restrain herself from doing to Ryūko what she had done to the doctor.

It took her too long to find her voice because others spoke up in her place. The man that had just given her the flannel and another woman. His words were what Claire felt Ryūko needed to hear and her words were crueler, but Claire saw them as giving Ryūko a taste of her own medicine. She was belittling everyone in a tense situation. They had witnessed a woman die! Emotions were bound to be risen and thoughts were bound to muddy. Claire lowered herself to finish wiping the blood off of the doctor when the woman shoved Ryūko. Fighting amongst themselves was pointless, but Claire wasn't going to step in. A man left the room in a flash murmuring something Claire couldn't quite catch due to the commotion in front of her. More angered-fueled words were chimed in by a third woman. All of it was beginning to overwhelming Claire. In situations like these she simply wasn't any good and she felt as if all her energy was being siphoned by these people. More than anything she craved to be alone, reading a book or tinkering with a power grid, ultimately something peaceful. Maybe the doctor had the right idea by withdrawing and not dealing with everything that was going on. As a group, they would all die if they didn't figure out something and fast. At the rate they were going they would all end up separated and dead.

One man seemed to sense that and it was the same man that she witnessed carrying the little girl in like she was his own. There's was a chance his words would reunite the group or add more fuel to the fire. He spoke names, rankings, and achievements of some of the others with absolute admiration and respect. After that he gave them their current location, Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor. What little Claire knew of Onzor she knew that Zone 6 was considered the most wild and free, in terms of its inhabitants. Orange flames consumed the man's upper extremities and her eyes widen at the sight, filled with curiosity and fear. No, no, it wasn't fire but it definitely was abnormal. She couldn't help but scoot backwards away from him in case it spread. What the hell was that? By his exclamations he didn't know what it was either.

​

Lela Evans, Germaine Memon, and Aisne Newan
Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor

A car set on autopilot was the only way Lela drove or, rather, was allowed to drive. The strict rules of the road were not her forte, which also explained why she had her license revoked on several occasions in past year. None of it was her fault, driving was tedious. And boring. Her thin brows furrowed as her fingernail clicked repeatedly on a screen that was located next to the steering wheel, GPS navigation. Voice command should've been the only option but apparently Lela had managed to obtained the single squad car that had a broken voice command system. Of course, that was her kind of luck, crappy, crappy luck. As long as she got there that was all that mattered. Lela sat back in her seat with a huff and snatched up the tablet she had not so gently tossed on the passenger's seat when she had first entered the car. Occasionally, she glanced up from its content to the road with curious eyes. Her hands returned to the screen that controlled the technology within the car, specifically the volume and lowered it. That might be considered rude to do so when one was currently involved in a three-way call. Today, Lela wasn't the least bit interested in Aisne's findings or Germaine who had shaven his entire body. It wasn't as if either of them were in her squad car, they each had their own. The Departurme was very generous and stupid this way. Partners were always a good thing.

Earlier today the report was made about a group of no more than a few or so in an abandoned building in western Grisel. A couple of them had come out and attacked a vehicle, which was transporting Prisoners of War. The driver of the vehicle had barely escaped with his life after they brutally killed a mother and her child. A sound must have spooked them because they took off and that allowed the driver to escape. That's why Lela was being sent there alongside Aisne and Germaine incase she needed back up. She wouldn't. No one had any suspicion that it was anyone other than the appropriately named Cabal. A part of the dissenting, political faction resided in Grisel and was the catalyst of all the trouble that occurred in the city. If it were indeed the Cabal that meant they had taken off long ago to stir up a different pot in another section. In fact, Lela was counting on that. A couple taps on the screen restored the volume to the car.

"What if I get shot? Do I play dead?" A deep, playful voice crackled to life inside of the car. Lela only rolled her eyes in response. The question wasn't serious as Germaine was an ex-solider in Haken (short for Ahakenzen, an Onzorian phrase that roughly translated to "the bringers of intellect"), a main entity within the Onzorian Intelligence Community, like both herself and Aisne. They were known as the Triad, Lela specialized in the most brutal side of intelligence collection, torture, Aisne was phenomenal in reconnaissance, and Germaine was the expert at covert ops. A mission went sour and they were dishonorably discharged from the military, but with their unique skill set they were quickly accepted into The Departurme.

"Perhaps, but from what I read we have the upper hand," this solemn voice belonged to Aisne. Lela really didn't feel like entertaining them with her voice just yet so she continued to solely listen.

"La," sang Germaine, it was a habit of his that Lela hated. Not the nickname, La, but the fact that Germaine sang his words to her. "You should be there within the minute!" His voice wasn't actually that bad, quite soothing, but it still irked Lela.

"Gee, thanks. What would I have done without a man to read my GPS," Lela snapped back with her usual brand of thick sarcasm. Gee was how Lela addressed the lively man.

"Gee, thanks," Germaine mocked, he often tried to copy her distinct accent and always failed miserably. No one was able to do her accent properly, she wondered why they even tried. "I wish I grew up in the Pits if I could talk like that!" Germaine howled, he then erupted into a fit of laughter. She could hear him pounding on his steering wheel. All of Lela's life her accent had been normal, but the moment she left her home and joined the Onzorian Army it was constantly pointed out and subsequently picked on. "And, technically, I sang that to you."

"At least I didn't grow up in the Village, delusional sky fuc-" Lela swore, not only at her fellow officer, but how her car had stopped suddenly and caused her to be flung forward. Her head throbbed with pain, she gathered her bearings and pushed the dyed strains of deep red hair that lingered in her face away from her squinting eyes.

Her car had pulled and parked into the furtherest point from the building in the parking lot. There in front of her was the deserted, glass building that had been described in the report. A swipe to the left on the tablet revealed the blueprints and design to this particular building. Years ago this was a research building for the war, experiments of all sorts went down here, the kind people told as horror stories. Bulletproof glass was the only type of glass used to make the exterior of this building. Movement inside of the building caught her eye and she rummaged through a compartment to find a pair of glasses. She slid them on her face and they automatically zoomed in on the scene that was unfolding in crystal clear detail. They were capable of many feats, such as facial and organism detection and recognition, thermal, night, telescopic and electromagnetic vision. A trophy she had kept from her days in Haken.

One of the members, a dark-haired female shoved another dark-haired female, distention in the ranks? By the reading of body language she could tell that several of them were involved in an argument. Her eyes darted around the room, there were a lot more than "a few", more like a dozen of them. In a blur one of them left the room after smashing apart a glass structure, where the hell was he going? On the table she noticed two bodies, a scan of them provided her that they were dead. The smaller one, a body of a child, died before the other, larger one, that's when Lela knew these people were monsters. They let a mother watch her own child die, then killed her, and kept their bodies as some sort of perverted trophies.

"Nu and Gee get here fast," Lela said through clenched teeth. "Reports were wrong, there's at least a dozen of them, still here and active. They're fighting amongst each other, there's two dead inside. Most likely the mother and child they killed." Her eyes landed on a lady who was covered in blood, she had to be the primary attacker or leader. A vast majority of those assembled lacked the darker shades of complexion that were common around these parts. Most of them were a pale or tan shade of "white"... Had the Cabal resorted to recruiting from the Village?

"What do those creeps want with a couple of dead bodies?" Germaine asked puzzled, Lela wished she knew and was going to find out.

"Probably to do another demonstration in the middle of town," Aisne answered in her usual calm tone.

"One suspect left on foot and is heading toward me, I'm going to engage and apprehend said suspect." Lela knew it was risky, considering there were twelve of them and one of her, but she couldn't allow for him to get away. Nu and Gee would be on the scene shortly. She began to pull her head away from the scene when a burst of orange caught the attention of her glasses. Had this man set himself on fire? In an instant a scan was completed over the man and the words "unknown energy" popped up.

"La! Wait! We're almost there," Germaine and Aisne said in unison, it was a phrase they frequently had at the tip of their tongues.

"What the hell..." Lela couldn't compute what had just happened, and apparently neither could the technology she was using. That was a first in her entire career as a soldier. "One of their arms caught on fire except there isn't any fire around and it's not registering as fire. Energy unknown." The technology must be bugged or was making some sort of mistake, though that would be highly unlikely and yet another first. She clipped the glasses to her shirt and exited her car in a timely fashion. On the ground, not far from where she was at, a large dark spot pried her attention away from the building. Lela lowered herself on one knee and used two fingers to touch the substance ever so lightly, blood that was still wet. In all likelihood it belonged to one of the two victims in there. A blood trail led Lela's eyesight to the side of the building.

A sight in front of her made Lela jerk her head upwards to the man that had walked out of the building just moments before, he stood a good distance enough distance away that a chase was not a viable option. "Stay right there," Lela called out to the man, she didn't trust any member of the Cabal, they were weasels. Her eyes landed on his hands and saw a shard of glass wrapped in cloth, "Departer, drop the weapon!" In her hands she held the standard-issued handgun leveled with the man's head with her finger on the trigger. The sound of two vehicles pulling into the parking lot drew her eyesight to them, Germaine and Aisne jumped out of their cars. Both of them drew their weapons, an automatic rifle for Aisne and Germaine held the same pistol as her with different modifications and a megaphone. She turned back to confront the man but he had disappeared.

"Goddamnit!" Lela screamed, and threw her arms down in defeat. She retreated to where Aisne and Germaine stood close to one another in front of the patrol cars. One look at them and it was obvious to Lela Germaine and Aisne were a couple again. Or as Lela would refer to them, a couple of sick bastards. Her lunch was coming up as Germaine affectionately ran his hands through Aisne's thin braids.

"We called in reinforcements," Germaine smiled at her, Lela saw that he had failed to shave his upper lip. That was the only part she wanted to see shaved.

"Lets have some fun," Lela smirked, Aisne frowned because fun didn't ever seem to mean following the law. "Relax, Nu, they're criminals. Who's going to believe their word over ours?" Germaine wrapped a hairless arm around Aisne and pecked her on the cheek then loaded a round in the chamber as if he read Lela's mind. "It's low-tech bulletproof glass, our standard rounds won't do much against it but if we pull out the F-59s we can shred like paper."

"So, lets give them a scare," Germaine nudged Aisne and skipped forward, which only caused Lela to laugh. She followed his led with Aisne paying attention to their blindspots, especially since there was one Cabal uncounted for. They all three wore the official Department uniform, a crisp dark gray button up that was lined with kevlar had a name tag above one of the two chest pockets, two patches on their shoulders, the flag of Onzor and the crest of The Department, a black tie, a weaponry belt, and slick dark gray pants with plentiful of pockets. Hats were apart of the uniform but only Aisne wore hers.

"Departers here, we suggest you put any weapons down and come out," Lela had taken the megaphone from Germaine in order to speak into it. "Unless, you think it's wise to resist, which then we'll have to," Lela raised her free hand and pointed at Germaine who then let loose a straight line of bullets. And when Lela meant straight line, she meant straight, there wasn't any deviation, each bullet lined up and was spread out almost perfectly. The bullets failed to penetrate the glass, but where they hit they did cause it to crack. Germaine was a show off, but more importantly he was an excellent shot.

​

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[Bitter Awareness]

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Gale Addams
Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor
​

At first, Gale was pissed off that people ignored her—her—after she'd spoken. She'd laid out a course of action that must have had some merit, because even concussed she was probably still one of the brightest minds in the room, but alas people just never could seem to handle her.

So she was stewing, listening with half an ear as a man went around listing some of the accomplishments of the other soldiers. Predictably, none of them seemed to know anything of the non-combatants in the group. Brutes, Gale sneered in her slightly fuzzy mind.

"This is Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor," he announced, though the words meant less than nothing to her. The man, who as far as Gale knew hadn't bothered to introduce himself before he started naming people, continued speaking only to reiterate information everybody already knew. "Ain't no way we were dropped off here without any weapons or support."

As though the words were a challenge to the universe, the man's arm appeared to suddenly catch on fire. The first explanation to cross Gale's mind was spontaneous human combustion, and she couldn't help her wide eyes and gaping mouth; not when she was this excited about the prospect of witnessing something that was still a scientific curiosity. This was quite literally a once in a lifetime opportunity!

The glee faded into curiosity when the man waved his arms but appeared to remain physically unharmed. She didn't smell smoke or charring flesh, and the "fire" wasn't spreading or consuming anything. With a calmer eye, Gale realised it didn't even look overly much like fire. And considering their extraordinary circumstances, she assumed that this was a man-made occurrence. Something had been done to them whle they were awake, and then they were dumped here. To examine the results? To dispose of the evidence without dirtying their own hands or having to deal with the corpses of so many highly-ranked military figures? But then… why use military at all rather than easily disposable people from the diaspora created by such a large-scale war?

Gale stepped forward, reaching out to grab the man's arm in hopes of examining it to get a better understanding of what, exactly, was happening to them. Was it warm at all? Was it aesthetic? Was it some kind of disease? A contagious disease? She needed to understand this new thing, incorporate it into her incredibly comprehensive (if she said so herself) knowledge of the human body.

Obviously, since Gale never got her way, the universe decided at this exact moment to send her the biggest distraction it could. First, she heard the sound of someone's amplified voice, yelling into a megaphone. It had been over a decade since she'd heard the language spoken, and with her garbled mind coupled with her incredibly shaky grasp of what had been her parents' mother tongue. she couldn't make out more than a couple of words. Her attention was quickly redirected from trying to decipher the language by a row of bullets punching against the glass windows. The sound of the impact and the subsequent cracking of glass were deafening, and caused Gale to wince as her head pounded back in response, even as she glared outside because that was just rude.

It took a second for Gale to remember that even she wasn't invulnerable to harm. It took another second to get her muscles to cooperate with her still rather off-kilter brain, turning over a desk and ducking behind it just in case the glass didn't hold. Even after that, it took an embarrassingly long time for her to realise that bullets meant shooters, which meant that someone found them and thought they were the enemy.

Even more frustrating was that all that came out of her mouth at this point was, "Whaaa…?" before the sudden exertion caught up with her and she had concentrate on not throwing up all over the floor.

Goddamnit. She'd forgotten how debilitating head wounds could be. It might be hours before she recovered enough to function normally, either physically or mentally. If she'd believed in a greater power than herself, Gale might have assumed that a handicap was said greater power's way of balancing the team by forcing her to stoop down to their level. Instead, Gale silently berated herself for even allowing herself to have been afflicted by such a condition. Her own carelessness led to her unfortunate circumstances, and if anything were to happen that she might have prevented otherwise, it was entirely on her.
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[Skymin]

Ryūko Katō
Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor

Ulric was first to speak up, with some passive way of 'calming' Ryūko. She turned to him, nose scrunched up and eyebrow raised. "Calm down a little. Try and be more understanding of the situation. Its confusing for all of us. No one has the right answers and Fort Rancor is our only clue. And I can't help but feel that help isn't coming."

"You think they would just abandon us here?" Ryūko shook her head in disbelief, and was about to continue before the redhead was next to talk. Instead of talking, she grabbed Ryuko by the collar. She didn't hold her up for long though, as Ryūko shoved her back.

"Just shut your f*cking mouth for one second. Stop talking down on these people like you're so much f*cking better than them. Yes we do have scouts and spies in the room, but you'd be much more helpful than me or Mr. Arroyo over there. You're from Onzor aren't ya'? So why don't you be so kind as to show us around your home?" Ryūko shoved her again, pushing her harder.

"You shut your mouth. You talk about my race one more time and you'll have something more to worry about than what country you're in, y'hear? B*tch." She almost spat the last word, locking eyes with the redhead for a few moments before the next person spoke up. Well, broke the table, silenced the room and announced he was leaving. She didn't stop him, only watching him leave the room, not volunteering herself to follow him out. He looked like a spy after all.

Gale spoke up next, Ryūko keeping the sour look on her face, but inside felt slightly relieved. Finally, someone agreed with her. She recognised the medic as Gale Addams, but didn't know much about her background.

Arroyo was next to take the floor, naming some of those around her. She didn't care much for their achievements, but at least she could put names to faces. Howaru was the hasty spy. Baratheon was the pissed off red head. Dalka was the younger soldier.

"This is Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor. To any of you who know it, that means we're kinda lucky as far as being in Onzor goes. Ain't no way we're here by accident. I dunno if Fort Rancor is our mission, but something is. Ain't no way we were dropped off here without any weapons or support. All we have to do is figure out what...what...WHAT THE F*CK?"

Ryūko took a step back as Arroyo's arms glowed orange, spitting out a few "what the hells" as Arroyo inspected his own appendages. That was nothing she had ever seen before, even if Arroyo did have a prosthetic limb. At first, Ryūko thought it was fire and stepped back to get away from it. But... it wasn't fire. It was a flat orange colour and covered a good lot of Arroyo's forearm. He didn't yell or object apart from the first shout in surprise, so it obviously wasn't hurting him. So many things swamped Ryūko's mind: was he sick? Was he an Onzorian spy? Was he going to try to kill them? Was there something in the gas? Her mind hadn't picked a likely reason, as a loud voice from outside shouted at them through a megaphone.

"Departers here, we suggest you... weapons down... come out. ... you think... wise to resist, ... we'll have to," was all Ryūko could make out. She hadn't spoken Onzorian in a while, maybe once or twice to a fellow child of a migrant or migrant themselves. Her parents when she was younger had spoken it often, and thus how she had learnt it but now she was regretting not using it often to keep it fluent. What were the Department doing here? And weapons down? Who were they speaking to? She would ask them to repeat the sentence, so that maybe she would understand all of it this time. She turned her gaze out the window, trying to make out who and what was saying what to who but at the first bullet spidering the glass, Ryūko was on the floor.

"Get down!" She yelled as the rest of the bullets sprayed in a neat line on the window. Weapons down? Ryūko had no weapons! Nobody did! They were all fishing for something that could pull a bullet out from a wound moments ago for God's sake. Unless someone could fashion a hairpin into a dagger, they were defenceless. Her thoughts then turned to Howaru, the spy that had left earlier. Had the bullets been intended for him?

She hissed a few curse words under her breath, her last plan going down the toilet. Her mind raced as she though up another plan of action, but she had nothing unless they were going to risk themselves getting shot. Her mind raced.. what weapons? She glanced at Arroyo now, his arms still glowing orange. Did these Onzorians know more about this light? Was it dangerous? It was something Ryūko wanted to ask them, but obviously she was busy doing other things right now. Like trying not to get shot.
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[Khawill]

My mind trailed off as I thought about the past month. I snapped back when one of the men's arm seemed to catch fire, the same thing that happened to me, only a different color. So I am not crazy. I thought, I wonder what t is about. I looked down at my hands, deciding that trying to make it happen would be a good idea. I looked around, and noticed a trio of Departers approaching. I heard them call out a warning, then they aimed their guns at us and began to fire. I didn't flinch or move, the fact that they gave a warning before hand meant that they didn't expect to hit any of us in the first place, and after they fired, it was clear the room was bulletproof.

The situation was disadvantageous to us, there was no way they didn't call in reinforcements. Especially if they believed we had weapons. I was almost certain few people in our group spoke Onzorian, hell, I only learned it for interrogations and street speaking. Still, I couldn't help but think that their weapons would be absolutely great to get my hands on. I wanted to kill them, I really wanted to kill them. These people who gunned down two innocents, these people who tortured and murdered for their goals. I couldn't stop imagining how justified it would be to take their lives.

A wicked smile crept onto my face, and I began to laugh at the thought of killing them. My vision began to blur, the three departers were the only people I could see, and I stared down the one who had shot at us. My intent to kill her was clear, and my laughs sounded more and more menacing. I was the first to shuffle outside, grinning, laughing, and staring down the man with the gun. I was not completely in control. I spat at the ground, "None of us have weapons" I said in Onzorian with a manic tone, "After all, guns are such a little girl's weapon, so why don't you come over here and allow me to kill you like a man." I directed this at the man,

"One, I need for you to stay right there because if you move one more step I'll shoot you dead and I don't want to get blood on my uniform, I just got this dry-cleaned!" The Departer spoke with a smile and an upbeat tone as if we were best buds. "Does this make me look fat? I think it's a bit too tight... Reckon you'd go out on a date with me looking like this?" He lowered his weapon, but the other two raised theirs in unison, and tugged at the abdominal region of his shirt with both hands.

I laughed, "Sorry I got a girl, and she wouldn't enjoy me dating a man with cat hair pasted on his lip." I held my hand up, glaring at them, "Tell me, do you guys make a habit of killing innocent women and children?" My tone was just as manic and I was still smiling.

 

[SV]

Adrian Arroyo
Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor

The sudden strange orange glow around Adrian's arms quickly diverted the focus of the room and the conversation from formulating a plan of action to figuring out what the hell was going on. There were a few more curses and bewilderment heard from everyone around, some of which turned to Adrian, believing he could explain. Yet he was as clueless as the rest of them. He had already concluded that it wasn't fire, and that it didn't seem to harm him physically in some way. Perhaps it could have all been in his head too, but the others seemed to be able to see it as well. He thought for a moment that it could possibly be some sort of virus or illness, but he soon believed that also was not the case. The main reason was because of a strange sensation he felt as the energy was wrapped around him. It didn't feel detrimental in any way to him. In fact, it was quite the opposite. What he felt in his hand was the equivalent of being stabbed with pure adrenaline, like your body being encased in full armor. It felt protective. And powerful.

However, his train of thought, as well as likely everyone elses, was suddenly crashed when the sound of a voice speaking over a megaphone was heard outside of the room the group occupied. Adrian quickly backed away when he heard the voices, seeing the faces of three individuals with weapons in their hands. They were Onzorian, probably from their Department, and it looked like they pegged them as criminals of some sort. The minute they raised their weapons, Adrian instantly ducked for cover behind the table. The bullets didn't burst through the apparently bulletproof windows, but he still ducked behind just in case that would soon break. Instantly, his mind started racing as he tried to determine what the situation was.

In his mind, there was no way they were randomly called here under the assumption that they were Kalbionian. His reasoning was that they would have likely sent a much larger force, and probably the Onzorian military instead of the Department, if that were the case. If he had to guess, they were probably pegged as common criminals, or likely a nearby citizen called it in. There was no reason to assume they were Kalbionian. Of course, Adrian hardly spoke any Onzorian aside from knowing a few swear words, so he couldn't say for sure if that were the case. What he did know, however, is that as long as they didn't try speaking to them, they could try to keep up the rouse that they were simply criminals. They were discovered by officials, but not at the highest level yet. As long as they avoided entanglements with the military itself, perhaps they could still make it out of this somehow.

This was assuming everyone would have a steady enough head to not do something stupid. Which apparently, the first man standing and laughing quite unsettlingly was keen on doing. He began to approach the outside, toward the Department. Adrian was unsure whether he was going to give up, try to attack them, or do something else stupid. "Where are you going?!" Adrian called after him, but it seemed his question was ignored, and the man went outside to apparently talk. "Damn it!" He cursed, noticing that he was also speaking Onzorian. "I sure as hell hope he doesn't have a noticeable acce- Oh f*ck what is he doing?!" He watched the man speak and apparently try to goad them into a fight. Did he seriously expect that to work? If the three had been Onzorian military, he might have been dead already.

Adrian scanned his arm again, almost completely forgetting that it was glowing a strange orange color only moments before. The glow seemed to have vanished for the moment, much to his relief, but the question was still stuck in the back of his mind on what exactly that energy was. He left it in the back of his mind to sink in, and instead focused on what they could do to get out of this situation. Engaging the three didn't seem to be a sound plan when the group had no weapons and the Departers had some. However, while the three were being distracted by the deranged man, maybe they could try and get away.

He turned to the others, some of which were also hiding and avoiding bullets in case the glass were to shatter. "While he's talking, let's make a break for it," He suggested, crawling over to the second desk with the young dead girl on it to the side of the room. The desk was closer to the side door, which could be used to try and run down the street. He exchanged glances with most of the other in the room. "Run now while there's only three of them. They might have called for reinforcements. So the longer we stay the less likely we'll make it out. Go!"

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[CarefulWetPaint]

"Bloody" Mayte Howaru
Grisel, Zone 6, Onzor

Not surprisingly, no one had the sense to leave the glass room with Mayte. Instead they defied logic and continued to argue in the massive glass room around the two dead bodies. The bodies made it much more difficult for the group to talk themselves out of a confrontation with local law enforcement, if they even manage to make it to a stage where they could talk. Mayte noticed another problem as he made his way towards the cityscape; there was a security vehicle parked in a far spot of the car park that came off the building. To make the situation even worse Mayte recognised the writing on the side of the car: "Departurme".

Mayte increased his pace, in such a way that from a distance it would seem that he was moving at an average walk towards the Departurme Vehicle, before the door opened, revealing a red-haired lady. "Stay right there," she called out to Mayte in Onzorian.

Inching forward Mayte dropped the glass blade he fashioned earlier into his hand. Two dead bodies on a table, surrounded by a bunch of outsiders had already forfeited the chance of talking his way out of the situation. Taking in his environment, he looked for an escape route as a makeshift blade from this distance wouldn't do him much good in a fight when she enviably pulled out her gun.

Seemingly on cue, the red-hair lady called out again in Onzorian, warning Mayte to lower his weapon while she brought hers out and aimed it at him. The rumble of engines seemed to take her attention away, and taking his chance Mayte bolted for the small amount rumble piled close to him. A weird feeling rushed through his body as he slide in behind the rumble, which would barely give him any protection if she did decide to shoot at him. Much to Mayte's surprise, the lady screamed out in frustration, apparently unable to locate him.

After a quick exchange with the two new arrivals the now three strong group of Departurme Departers advanced on the rest of the group which Mayte had left behind in the glass room. Carefully Mayte advanced past the three, whose attention was more focused on the sitting ducks in the room. While casing the first vehicle for weapons the sound of bullets drew Mayte's attention back to the Departers, who just unloaded a round of bullets into the wall of the building where everyone had remained.

A quick inspection of the other two vehicles revealed an annoying fact to Mayte, there was no weapons remaining, while also presenting an opportunity. One of the newcomers had left the keys in the ignition of their vehicle. Debating with himself what the most efficient course of action, Mayte rationalised that he had a much higher chance of survival in an elite group. Especially if the group had another special operation member in it.

In a moment the car's engine roared into life, tires spinning as it took off towards the room, which what looked like the foot soldier had just left to approach the Departers. He's staying here. Mayte thought as his newly acquired vehicle sped past the three Departers, garnering their attention, as well as a few bullets before sliding in front of the buildings door.

"Get in, the car is bullet proof. You have 8 seconds before I leave." Mayte declared after throwing open the passenger door and looking into the room while the car continued to take bullets.
"Eight."

​

​

 

[Khawill]

I was getting anxious. It took a lot of strength to prevent myself from just killing one of them, a trade of lives. Luckily, I got a perfect distraction. The man who had left earlier came back, with a car, and it was great. The three of them were distracted for just long enough for me to sprint forward with a mix of adrenaline, and something else, that strange glow. I willed myself to go as fast as I could, and when I closed the distance, I managed to punch the guy right in his chest, certainly breaking a few ribs. I snatched his gun away and shot one of the woman in her shoulder, making her drop her weapon. The last woman managed to clip my arm, but I clubbed her with the back of my gun, making her drop to the ground. I walked to the woman who i shot in the shoulder and leaned over her with my gun pointed at her head, "Seeing as you are police and not soldiers, I will spare your lives. But I swear to god, if I see any of you killing innocents again, I'll murder you in your sleep." I picked up their weapons and made my escape in the midst of the chaos. I knew I would have to regroup with them at a later point.

I managed to make my way into a quieter part of the city. It seemed to be in bad shape, as the buildings were either abandoned, or unkempt. I slipped into one of the abandoned apartment buildings, and hid the guns. My arm was in pain. The bullet only grazed my arm, but it was still a nasty wound, and I searched the building for any supplies. After searching through a few rooms, I managed to find a small first aid kit that had a bit of rubbing alcohol and wraps. I sanitized and covered the wound and leaned against a wall. I felt incredibly tired, though I should not have, and I wondered what that glow was. I tried to replicate it, "Glow" I muttered, "Magic!" I said, but there was no glow. "What the hell did those scientists do to me." I muttered. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and concentrated on my hand, trying to make any energy I could flow to it. I opened my eyes, and I saw a small flicker of red, but it was out immediately. "I must be drained." I mused, though I was not sure what it was at all.

I heard footsteps, and immediately went prone, there was nothing to hide behind, and the guns were in a different room, so I was a sitting duck if it was an enemy. To my relief, it was two children, a boy around thirteen and a girl around ten, who were dirty, scrawny, and absolutely pitiful. I reasoned they were homeless. They peaked into the room through the doorway, but scurried away when I looked at them. "I am not going to hurt you." I said in Onzorian.

The boy peaked in to look at me, and I set up and held my hands up to show that I was safe. "T-that is ours." He said shakily, pointing at the aid kit.

"Oh, I apologize." I said, pushing the kit toward him, "Where are your parents kid?" I asked curiously.

He rushed in to get the kit, and then rushed out. "D-dad died to war, and mom was taken by the Departers."

"Was she arrested?" I asked, and the boy nodded, "For what reason?"

"I don't know." He said with his head down. "We had guests over though, and they were taken too."

I sighed and stood up. I walked slowly toward the door, holding my hands up and asked in a kind tone, "Do you two happen to have any food?"

The boy and girl kept their distance, but each nodded.

"Do you think you could share with a hungry, inured man?"

The little girl moved a little closer to the boy, whispered in his ear, and he nodded.

I bowed graciously, "Thank you very much." They led me to a room down the hall and showed me that they had plenty of food stashed within it. Empty junk food, bread, and instant food packs were strewn about, while boxed food that had to be cooked, and cans were piled in a corner. "Can either of you cook?" I asked, getting a head shake from both of them. I wouldn't be able to cook food either without electricity or gas, "Do you two have bread?"

"Yes sir." The girl said, going to get a loaf.

I looked around and found peanut butter, a knife, and a sealed jar of jam. "I'll make some sandwiches, are you two fine with that?"

The girl's eyes lit up, "Mommy makes sandwiches!" She said, "Can you cut mine into triangles?"

I laughed and nodded, "What about you champ?"

He nodded, "I also like triangles, but I don't want peanut butter." He said softly.

I made four sandwiches and gave two to the kids, and took two for myself. We all ate quietly, looking down at the ground. When the girl finished she said, "Thank you sir." and so did the boy.

I laughed, "It is your food, I should thank you." I looked out the boarded window, and saw the sun up in the sky. "How well do you two know the city?"

"I know the city really well." The boy said, "It is how I steal the food."

"Do you think you could look for my friends?" I asked, "We are new to this city, and got separated. I don't want to leave the building because I am afraid of the Departers."

"We are too." The girl said, "but it is easy to avoid them when you know all the shortcuts."

"Think you could help me out?"

"Sure." The boy said, "But they can't come over."

"Fair enough." I laughed, "So there is about nine people, all of them are adults. One of them is blonde man with light skin, and green eyes. Another one is kind of short, and mean looking. Uhh, there's a dark skinned man with a rather dead look, and a redheaded woman, and a rather snappy Onzorian girl. Don't worry about talking to them, just let me know where they are."

"Uh, okay." The boy said, "Some of them sound really mean."

"It'll be okay kid, just keep your distance from them. Try looking for a Departer car with bullet holes in it, its the car we bought a while ago to get around. Just remember not to talk to them." The boy nodded and the two of them ran out. I walked into the room where the guns I collected were and stretched. My energy felt much higher after eating, and I wanted to try forcing the red glow to happen again, so while I waited for the kids, I began to practice and test this new energy.