Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[Phoenix]

Waylaid

"Too late," one of the guards spat back before unsheathing his sword, breaking into a sprint and chasing after Gytha and the others. "Stop them," one of the others ordered. Half of the twelve man group broke off, following suit while the rest drew their swords and guns and kept their attention on the alleyway. No one else was pulling that stunt on them.

"Hayato! Hayato, stop," Jericho called out. Up until the guards got in the way, he'd been gaining some ground, but Hayato clearly had more experience running around like this. He wasn't sure if he could catch him before he ran out of breath. "Please! You don't have to go back to Sardis!"

That had been exactly the wrong thing to say, and he realized it right as the words came out. Hayato slowed down, but only to keep his balance as he knocked over a ladder, tore down a stack of crates, and pushed over some very tall planks, likely left over from some repair work. He kept running after that, and Jericho picked up his pace, hoping to clear the obstacles and catch up. The ladder was easy to jump, but he couldn't quite clear the crates on such short notice, and his foot caught one of the boxes, which ruined his landing and sent him barreling into the planks, which were lying against the opposing building at a twenty degree angle. He ran straight into them and sprawled out on the ground. "No! Dammit!"

"Don't let them escape," one of the guards yelled as they closed the distance.

No Nonsense

"Hmm." Reign glanced around as the transport made ready to drive off. Things were still relatively quiet away from the complex, but he was beginning to notice random people. They were mostly wandering the area in very small groups or alone, all gravitating toward the complex. He noticed some guards too, which was concerning, but what to do about it ... that, he wasn't sure of. Riding off to help with the Hayato situation wasn't worth the effort, and if the guards noticed them, that would be an unnecessary risk to him, too. "Let's just go. Thought about helping but if the guards catch them taking Hayato in the act, they're going to side with him. We need to just leave him and go."

Seeking Medical Attention

"It's obvious this organization doesn't care about you in the slightest, so why work for them?" Anna asked Jethro as the two of them and Gabbie came up on Ethan's neck of the woods. Gabbie was still restraining him in much the same way as before and steering him toward the door as they walked.

"Samael's the problem, not the 'organization' as you call it," Jethro bitterly answered her.

"Samael seems pretty far up the ladder ... and I don't know what else to call it since you won't give me a name," Anna's eyes narrowed at him. He was quite the catch, all things considered, but she doubted they could get anything useful out of him without being ... a bit cruel. That option wasn't even on the table, though, so she decided to let Weyland decide how to approach this situation. "Anyway, Whether or not the world changes for the better is never going to rest on one person's shoulders, so take a break from this organization business and focus on your daughter. She's in pretty bad shape, apparently."

There was something of a reaction on Jethro's face, but she couldn't tell exactly what it implied. She just assumed it was paternal and left it at that. She opened the door to let Jethro and Gabbie through and then gently pulled it closed once they were inside. "This is really weird," she muttered to herself, crossing her arms.

[Mercakete]

"Yikes!" That the guards were pulling weapons genuinely surprised the mariner. That and the fact that they were so angry, but she supposed she could understand that at least a little bit. Being run past as rough as she'd done wasn't very courteous, after all. Though it was true that they were supposed to bring Hayato back safely, the primary concern now became getting Jericho, Synthia, and herself back to the others safely. ... Wait. Where was Synthia? The line that was Gytha's mouth dipped into a frown. If they'd already stopped her, maybe they would leave Synthia alone and let her be on her way. Jericho was still in trouble, though...maybe. It was better to be sure, though. Even if they were brothers, he could be in trouble if left alone with Hayato.

As it turned out, it didn't take long at all to catch up with Jericho. There was no sign of Hayato, either. "Whoa! Are ye a'right?" Gytha asked as she hurried over to the collapsed man. She quickly made her pistol safe again and holstered it, then grabbed his arm to try to help him up, "Those people we passed aren't too happy right now. We should probabla apologize 'r get out o' here." She didn't expect they had that much time, though, so the first option was looking to be the best.

[Snike]

Luckily he didn't have to. Jethro was marched right by Blake and off to the medical ward, it seemed. He couldn't really protest, especially not with Anna right there. Considering how their first meeting came up, and what she had apparently done, the swordsman was not interested in arguing with Weyland's top subordinate. Instead, he decided to head to the dining hall, and do a bit of thinking, or something.

***

"You could've at least knocked," Ethan said, as he turned away from Raquel's bed, a lancet in his left hand. He frowned immediately when he saw Gabriella, and the assumed patient. "Wrathdamn, Gabriella, could you not half-kill prisoners? More to the point, what did you do to his eyes? The lids shouldn't be swelled up like that."

[Eail]

"Right, I've got your back Kat, let's move!" It wasn't like there was much else Zach could say after all...

[roymbrog]

The guards were pulling out weapons… perhaps this wasn’t the best idea. Synthia stopped midway through the street as half of the soldiers charged into the alley, wondering how best to deal with this. She was only a few yards away from the group, but they either hadn’t noticed her or didn’t care… Maybe if she went around the building she could meet up with the others on the other side? The mage attempted to walk quietly back the way the guards had come from, since she was stuck on that side of them anyway.

---

Coming over the opening on the other side of the buildings, Volga landed noisily just outside the alley exit, or at least the one Kat had spotted from the air. “Halt, or we’ll shoot!” she yelled to the darkness.

[Phoenix]

Guards

Jericho gave Gytha an annoyed look; was she really asking him that question after a spill like that? Not to mention Hayato had rounded another corner and vanished ... or had he? Jericho couldn't quite recall now that he thought about it. "Which way did he go?" was all he could ask Gytha before the two of them were surrounded.

"Which way did the other one go?" one of the guards demanded, "and what are you people running around for? You were ordered to halt."

Synthia was getting slightly different treatment across the street, one of the guards simply warning her away while they figured out what was going on. Another stopped him before long though and called out to her, though. "You there! Seen or heard anything strange down by the old contractor's building?"

Sounds

There was a sound of breaking glass in the distance and then ... seemingly nothing else after Kat made her demands heard. After another moment, there was finally a second shatter.

Patients

"Wasn't me, that organization bastard burned his eyes out, messed up his hand, and left him where he fell. Ringo did the rest of the noticeable damage. I just didn't stop him roight away because I don't loike being choked half to death!" Jethro could feel Gabbie's glare cutting into him, but soon she was smiling widely, and suspiciously, at Ethan. "But I know you're a good healer, so at least Ringo's work should be an easy fix." I'm guessing he's never going to be using those eyes again, though ... she thought to herself, suddenly frowning at Raquel's unconscious form. Hope it was worth all this, Raquel ....

"Is she in here, too?" Jethro asked, with uncanny timing. "Is Raquel in here?"

[Snike]

"You could've just knocked him out, regardless."

"I thought you weren't going to help the mercenaries," Axel said, as he started to lean up.

"Lay back down, Red," Ethan said, not even turning to the patient in the corner as he went to address Jethro next. "... Yes, she is. Now, I need to deal with your external injuries. Are you going to try and choke me out like you did Gabbie? If so I'll just leave you on the floor for a while."

[Mercakete]

Before she could answer Jericho, the guards surrounded them and asked her the same question and then some. It was a good thing her hands were full, though she did nearly drop Jericho to reach for her pistol on reflex. As it was, though, she was able to leave her weapons where they were and instead make sure the man was steady. As for the soldiers' questions, it was obvious that Jericho didn't know which way his brother went, so she figured she'd just answer all of them.

"Sorra about that, sir," she began, innocently maintaining her manners and attempting to remain respectful. She wasn't entirely sure if she was using the right words, though, since land customs were still pretty foreign to her. "But ye see, I told ye I'd be haltin', n' halt I did. I just couldn't at th' time b'cause this'n n' his brother were racin' off ahead, n' it's been dangerous around here recentla. Couldn't let 'im go off alone. As fer where th' other'n went, can't say I know. I'm truela sorra I can't tell ye anathin' more r'gardin' that. Caught up a bit too late t' see where 'e went."

Edited August 30, 2014 by Mercakete

[roymbrog]

After a few moments, and the second shatter, Kat eventually realized what had happened. “COWARD!” she shouted into the alley, though Hayato was probably long gone to hear it. Wrathdammit all. “Fine, we’ll just… Ugh! I don’t know which direction he went, and he could just hide out in one of these buildings if he wanted to… We’ll see if the others lost him too, then head back,” she said back to Zach, as Volga reared back up to take off again.

---

To Synthia’s dismay, she was not home free, as one of the guards figured out it was more important to ask her questions than warn her to leave. The org building was her first guess as to what the contractor’s building was. If it would get them off her back, she could give them some information. A half-truth was easier to believe than a lie, anyway.

Shrugging, she answered back, “I think I saw some Wrathites headed that way earlier, all armed up and everything.”

[Phoenix]

Questions

"When an officer tells you to halt, you drop all prior engagements and you halt, lady," the swift guard who'd caught up to them first said, aiming his sword's sharp edge at Gytha.

"Seems more like a sailor than a lady," one of the others made a quick crack.

"Alright," a middle aged man stepped out from the group of six, his weapons still sheathed and holstered, thumbs inside his belt, "should only take two of us to handle the other one. Ken, you're with me. The rest of you get things sorted with these two then help out or come find us and let us know what all the fuss was about." After some nods, the middle aged man and Ken, the swift guard with the aggressive disposition headed off, stepping over the planks that had ended Jericho's pursuit and heading deeper into the alley.

"So what's this about that fellow being his brother?" another question came from one of the guards. "Why's he running from you? You're family, right?" The second question was definitely aimed at Jericho, but he didn't really feel like explaining all of this, not just because he was stressed out from the unbelievable crap that had just gone down, but also because he really didn't know how to explain this without incriminating either himself or his brother, and neither seemed like a good idea right now. Maybe Gytha could come up with something that would get them 'cut loose' so to speak. Then he could resume tracking down his brother.

"Wrathites?" one of the guards echoed Synthia's words, then looked to his colleagues in confusion. One of them even shrugged back at him. "What were they doing? Why were they armed?" he followed up the first question, his voice getting progressively louder as his disbelief mounted. It wasn't unbelievable that the wrathites would occasionally gather a raiding party and come out to smash a known criminal element, in fact it was usually their way of giving warrior acolytes and the like training without sending them into a real war, but they usually knew when a wrathite group was coming through due to collaborative efforts on their and the city's part, and they tended to stand out even more than the city guard did.

More Questions

Gabbie gave Ethan a look, "I can't carry this guy a hundred meters to this place in heels. Plus I'm glad Ringo figured out that I can't always give him the go'head to ruin people's days." That said, she guided ... or rather steered Jethro to one of the beds and then forced him to sit down by pressing down on his shoulder while still keeping his good arm twisted behind his back. Once his weight was on the bed, and his legs no longer offered him any balance or leverage, she released him and swiftly backed off.

"As for helping them, I almost regret it. Next toime I say I'm not getting involved, I mean it," she said, somewhat bitterly as she made for the door.

From the sound of things, the woman who'd both whisked him to safety and gotten him mauled, this 'Gabbie', was leaving. Good riddance, Jethro decided. The only significance about this though was that he was no longer being manhandled by her and might have some luck locating his daughter. When Ethan asked him if he would take aggressive action if he tried to help him, Jethro snorted, somewhat amused. "Not really interested in ticking off the doctor, too ... ... Raquel?" he quietly called to her. He didn't get an answer when he expected it and turned his attention toward the other voices he'd heard in the room. "Is she alright ...?" She wasn't conscious, that much he gathered already.

[scorri]

Erion just glared at Gabbie as she stomped out of the room. Standing up, he started pacing outside the room. Finally, with a sigh, he opened the door and slipped in. Facing Ethan, he asked quietly, "Is it ok if I stay in here for a while? I'll be quiet, I just... want to watch over Raquel for a bit, if that's ok."

[Mercakete]

Maybe I said it wrong. Gytha frowned when the sword was pointed right at her. She was also a little confused at the sailor comment. Yes, she was both. Of course, that confusion only lasted half a moment. There was, after all, that nagging stereotype about women on ships. One of the older soldiers took care of distributing their numbers, leaving them with just a few left. Then came more questions.

"Well, he is," Gytha replied, pointing right at Jericho, "As fer me, I was just tryin' t' help 'im out. See, he works fer th' same person I do -- we're helpin' a woman find 'er father. N' while we were lookin' around 'ere, we found 'is brother. I don't know th' details about it, but from what I can tell, 'is brother's gotten himself inta a spot o' trouble with some less'n savora folk. He tried t' talk t' 'im, but sounds like 'e didn't want t' listen, n' took off."

[roymbrog]

“Maybe you should get your buddies together and go check,” Synthia suggested. “Come to think of it, I think I did hear some odd noises from that direction earlier…” Amp up the fake worry, pensive frown, aaaaand maybe the thoughtful hand on chin. If by chance she could get them all to leave, ignoring both Gytha and those with the wagon, that would be the ideal situation. Or they could consider her suspicious and try to cuff her on the spot. In which case she was going to run like hell, and pray to whatever god was listening to give her parkour skills back.

[Snike]

"There was help available from the manse," Ethan responded, frowning, but it made little difference, as Gabbie left the room shortly afterwards. He glanced over at Axel, but Red had laid back down. Alright, back to business.

"Smart man," Ethan said to Jethro, when he implied he wouldn't be attacking. Unfortunately, that meant he had to tell the man what happened to his daughter since she didn't respond. "She's lucky to be alive. Among other injuries, there was a hole burned into her chest by who I'm assuming was the same person who blinded you. It grazed her heart, but the hole was partially healed just in time to prevent if from being fatal. Even still, there are some circulation problems that need to be fixed with regards to it, and it's likely she will not wake up for a while."

Before he could say much more, another man - white haired this time- came in -without knocking- and asked if he could stay around, to watch Raquel. That was... interesting, given it wasn't the same man as before, but ultimately none of his business.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to have you leave. I need to open one of her injuries up to properly heal it," Ethan said, raising his lancet. "I'll come get you and the other guy once I'm finished with that and his" -here he indicated Jethro- "injuries, if you really want to watch over her."

***

Blake arrived in the dining hall and took a seat near the entrance, mulling over the situation. So, Raquel was alive, and Jethro had been rescued. In that sense, the operation had been a success. Even though it didn't feel like it, what with their leader being in a coma and it being the beginning of a firestorm when he left. How were they holding up? Had he erred in informing the Wrathites? What could he have done to have talked his employer out of this plan? It was these questions that crossed his mind, at the moment, and it was frustrating that he didn't have good answers for them.

[scorri]

"I... alright. That makes sense I guess. Just... Yeah." He walked out, paced down the corridor for a little, before whirling and punching the wall. Wincing in pain, he shook out his hand and swore. I tried to convince her not to go. Apparently not hard enough. She wasn't ready... She was supposed to be safe. Just warping in and warping out. But something went wrong and she didn't just get out of there. Why didn't... No, I don't know what happened. But... I should have tried harder.

Continuing to walk through the halls, shaking out his hand, he found himself outside the dining hall. Heading in, hoping to maybe get a drink and some ice to help him cope both with the pain in his hand and Raquel's current state, he found Blake sitting there. Pausing, he hesitated and then asked, "I'm about to get some ice for my hand and some alcohol for... dealing with waiting. Do you want some?"

[Snike]

Erion came into the dining hall a few minutes later , apparently with a sore hand and a motivation to drink. Had he rode too hard, or was it something else...? Regardless, Blake shook his head at the offer of a drink.

"I want to keep my head clear for a little longer, at least," he responded. "And if things really went to hell back there, I'll probably have to deal with the fallout."

[scorri]

"Fair enough." Erion wandered into the kitchen and found some ice which he wrapped around his hand using an old towel and then made himself a quick drink. Heading back out there, he sat down next to Blake, and sighed. "I tried to get her to not do it. I tried. Stupid of me, I guess. To think that she would listen."

[Eail]

"If it were a proper war we'd just burn him out... that kinda thing wouldn't fly here though. I suppose we'll just have to get lucky and find him or grab the bastard next time." Zach replied to Kat, before holding onto her again.

[Ether]

"The conflagration in the alleyways appears to have escalated... guardsmen have involved themselves now." Isabella reported, as she watched over the situation... the main convoy had yet to depart, and was far easier to track due to it's size, so it shouldn't be a problem to keep tabs on this.

***

"You're right... hopefully they manage to get out okay, though..." Faatina replied with a sigh.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Ether

[Snike]

"You're talking about her father. Raquel wasn't going to be talked out of going to save him," Blake said, looking away. "You shouldn't feel bad, since we did accomplish the job. And she survived, so that's what matters."

But would it really, if she didn't wake up?

[scorri]

Erion shook his head. "She survived, but at what cost? And besides, she's still not healthy. We still don't know..." He shook his head. "At the very least we should have come up with a better plan. She just..." He slumped and rested his head on the table. "I don't want her to die."

[Snike]

"I don't think anyone wants her to die, but what can be done about that right now? Either way, now's not the time to be second guessing and criticizing the plan. Wait until everyone comes back and things settle down," Blake said, in a monotone. As much as it was nice that someone shared his concerns, he didn't need to hear what he already knew right then.

[scorri]

Erion drained his glass and slumped back to the table. "You're right. I should just... go get some more to drink or something." He shook his head against the table and sighed. Nothing to do but wait, and that was the worst.

[Phoenix]

Late to the Party

"A likely story," one of the guards scoffed.

"It's the truth! He's my brother and I need to find him," Jericho said, defiantly, but still managing to keep his anger in check. Jericho's gaze shot to one of the guards murmuring behind the others. They seemed to be interested in whatever he was saying. All Jericho could make out was something about it 'not being worth the effort'. Beyond that, nothing. "Can we go?" he asked impatiently.

One of them up front nudged his head northward. "Get going. Some strange stuff's been going on down here and we're going to find out what. You people just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Go on, get going," he urged them, and then the distant echoes of gunfire reached all their ears. Seemingly on reflex, they all whipped out their sidearms and spread apart from each other. "Get goin'," he urged again, this time keeping his voice down.

"Sounds like it's comin' from our destination. Think someone else beat us to the party?" one of the men asked, looking almost enthusiastic.

"We'll regroup and then check it out ..."

Also Late

"Fine; you don't have any business here so leave, girl," the guard demanded, though he was almost casual in his tone, as if he was working a checkpoint and clearing a few people every minute or so. His eyes were wandering to, mostly to the south where the patrol had been heading prior to becoming a part of an obstacle course. That was when the sound of the gunshots came and every man went for his piece and spread out to form a crescent whose outer center faced the source of the chaos.

"Probably telling the truth," one of the guards noted, "It's not like the wrathites to wait for backup or hold anything back themselves."

"Then this is going to be an irritating report to write up. Let's go, but slowly. We don't want to run straight into a crossfire."

Getting Treatment

Jethro grimaced, despite how inflexible much of his face had become. Samael had already come quite close to killing her ... there was no changing his mind now, not after all of that, and his own short lived bout against the man. For now, he would just have to cooperate with Weyland's people and hope Raquel made a full recovery. It was curious though, as he wasn't the only one worried about her. He didn't think for a second that he was the only one that cared at all, but he was surprised to hear a young man's voice, asking if he could stick around and watch over her. He was slightly relieved when the healer opted to keep the room clear of visitors for the time being; he didn't want to have to play protective father in his condition. Maybe after his arm had been seen to ....

Edited August 31, 2014 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Gytha was glad they were being let go, and she started heading off in the indicated direction at the first order, herding Jericho some as she did. She froze when the gunfire rang out, however, looking towards where it'd come from curiously. When the guard urged them to leave again, she nodded and hastened her pace out of there. I wonder if Synthia got away a'right. N' where's Katrina? I'll have t' go look fer 'em if I don't see 'em at th' ship. N' if the rest've alreada cast off... Well, I guess I'll just have t' do me best t' get this'un back t' Weyland's as quickla n' soundla as possible.