Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[Snike]

"Peace, Arietta. Let's get closer. They should be almost done at the latest, if they went in how I think they went in," Blake said, as he moved towards what he thought was the general direction of the complex. One hothead was gone, and replaced with another. Wonderful.

[Phoenix]

Rooftop Discussions

"Someone needs to keep an eye on things up here, though," Reign insisted. He wasn't too confident in his ability to fight with just one eye yet, that was for certain. "Should be one of us. Erion if you're going, I'm staying. It's soaked to the foundation out here from the rain so I can fall back on my water magic if something random happens."

Street Discussions

"You misunderstand. I have every intention of wating until you fail in your own objectives before striking the killing blow," Desmond countered, irritably, but with clear control in his voice. "Your approach seems ineffectual at best, and detrimental at worst, however." Desmond didn't stick around to wait for another word and quickly turned to face the others. "Fan out and surround the area. There will be no escape for these criminals. Don't bother with the emblem wielder. Clover and I will deal with her and retrieve the artifacts ourselves."

"Emblem wielder? Is he talking about Raquel?" Robin asked those nearby. <"We can't let him do that,"> she whispered, mostly to herself.

Explosive Discussions

"You want to wait here fine by me, but there's no way in hell Samael's just going to let you see Jethro once he knows that's what you're here for," Colin warned. "Well ... then again ..." He imagined that maybe he would at least consider it if Jethro crossed him before then and was cut down. "Either way, you want-" Colin cut himself off at the sound of the door opening, barely resisting the urge to get clear of Raquel, Gar, and the doorway itself. The one who stepped through was Hayato.

The kigenese swordsman spared Sardis one concerned glance, and then focused his attention on Raquel, glaring at her with murderous intent. "It's your fault this happened to him."

Raquel thought to argue against that since Anna took up the mission voluntarily and tried to take a shot at Sardis when the opportunity presented itself, unfortunately for her there was little chance that this would have even occurred if she hadn't necessitated a scouting mission in the first place. She also didn't want to argue with him because the more angry he was about Sardis, the worse it was going to be later when she warped him out of this place and back to the group. She wanted to warp him off right now and be done with it, but this was a time sensitive operation, and if she warped Hayato back and just him, that would set off some alarm bells, most likely ... not to mention show their hand to the enemy before even finding Jethro. "Fine," Raquel sighed, "whatever. Think what you want. Did you want something?"

"I was here to see Sardis, but I was also ordered to tell you that Samael will be here soon," Hayato replied bitterly.

"Good ... then I can make sure he leaves my family out of this."

"That's not going to save you, though," Hayato hissed, quickly unsheathing his sword and aligning the blade with his arm. The very edge came just a few inches from her face, causing her to lean away. "No matter what happens, I'm not going to let you do anything else to Sardis. It's over, and if you so much as look at him funny, your head's going to burn and then it's going to roll."

"Sheesh," Colin rolled his eyes.

Office Discussions

Not sure I won't need help with both, actually. I can't move Jethro, one ... but if you can maybe handle that ... "What happens, now?" Cassandra asked, glancing down at Jethro as he reached out at the sound of her voice.

"I'm sorry ..." Jethro murmured, "I'm sorry, Honey ... I didn't know ...." It was too much for her in that moment, and she looked away from him.

"Be quiet, you. Well, Cassandra, unless you're confident you can survive this place's complete and utter destruction, I suggest you go outside. However, if you are confident ... then come with me. I can only ensure Raquel's death while protecting my own life with you present. You'll survive too, of course. I won't lose you over something so trivial. It would be too much of a gamble to me, otherwise, however."

"I'll go with you, but ... I'm not ... really sure how I feel about killing Raquel, Samael. If I'm being honest, that is."

"Good, I want your honesty. There's nothing you can say that will upset me. Like you, I control my anger, only unleashing it to destroy my enemies. Now think ... what do you feel she is attempting to accomplish here ... with a bomb? Do you think she's worked out all the angles or is she merely so desperate to rescue him that she's willing to try this?"

"This isn't ... This really isn't something I would do," Cassandra mused aloud, looking Samael in the eyes after a short pause. "I wouldn't put my father at risk unless I knew everything would be alright, and even then, I wouldn't jump on an idea like this. I guess she's just too scared to fight you after what happened to the Dauntless."

"They haven't seen anything, yet," Samael rubbed his chin. "Okay then, if this is someone else's idea, presumably her partner's, I'll assume they'll kill us if they find a suitable opening ... and kill them if I see it. Let's go."

"Do you have to kill them? I'm not a fan of hers, but ... Jethro surviving won't mean anything if she dies."

"I suppose he would throw himself at us, blind or not ... and force me to kill him ... or send him back to father, gift wrapped. I'm okay with that, however. Cassandra, you're going to have to accept that only one of you should exist in this world. There's no need for two, no benefit for us in two, no purpose ... in two. Allow her to die so that these battles can finally end, and we can move forward." She still wasn't convinced, but Samael could tell by her thoughtful expression that he'd broken through at least some of the way. He realized that right now, she could no more kill Raquel than she could kill herself, but soon enough, she would see that their identical sets of memories and appearance was exactly the reason only one of them should survive.

Edited August 5, 2014 by Phoenix

[Snike]

...Understood. We'll extract him and I'll enter the complex. Just keep talking- no, thinking to me about what's going on and what you see, and I'll handle the rest.

***

"Right, so they'll handle the doppleganger," Blake said, to the mercenaries, ignoring Desmond once again as he continued down the line. "We just need to be in position to grab the four of them and go."

***

Seeker, I'm going to need your help, after all. How close are you?

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

So let's raise the bar♪ Gar laughed. "As lovely as being underestimated is... keep your hands ready to stop your jaws from hitting the floor..." Gar cheerfully commented. And our cups to the stars♪ That other guy, the one who hurt him arrived. She's up all night 'til the sun♪ I'm up all night to get some♪ She's up all night for good fun♪ I'm up all night to get lucky♪ "It's the attacker's fault, then his, then pretty much everyone with about her and me being on the bottom o' the list of culprits for cripplin' there," Gar huffed at the ridiculous claim. We're up all night 'til the sun♪ "As much as Lameal coming is a good thing," Gar readied himself to throw the flower's in the dope's face. We're up all night to get some♪ "Keep your sword down 'til it's relevant." We're up all night for good fun♪

[roymbrog]

The Wrathites had stopped not far from where Volga was lying, and Katrina had to skirt the edge of their formation to reach her. The wyvern stood up as she neared and Kat hefted herself up behind its neck before directing her out of the alley and after the rest of the group. Unsurprisingly, it was more difficult to maneuver the reptile around the soldiers, but as long as they kept out of her way it would be fine. “Excuse me! Coming through!” she called as Volga lumbered towards the others.

---

Synthia followed after Blake, chancing a glance back at Desmond after his little speech. So he was so determined they would fail, huh? She wasn’t so sure they wouldn’t. This had been a ridiculous plan from the start, but so was everything else they’d ever done.

[Mercakete]

Gytha frowned at Veronika's news. She didn't like having to knock out people they were trying to rescue...but she supposed that if it was for everyone's safety, then maybe it really was the best option. Then, though, Katrina spoke up, offering up a suggestion of her own. Gytha nodded at the idea; in her opinion, it was a lot better than knocking out Raquel's father and the other guy. When Robin called out a warning that some people were on their way over, Gytha readied her sword and turned to see who was coming.

Blake clarified that those coming were the Wrathites and that they were, evidently, coming to deal with the organization. "We should get out o' here, then -- Raquel n' Gar, too." Gytha sheathed her sword as she moved to get to the wagon. She slowed to a stop, however, when she realized no one else was trying to feel the scene. Confused, she arched a brow at the others. Th' Wrathites're dangerous... Why's ev'ryone just standin' there?

Synthia walked by about then, complaining about Gytha's own worries. Katrina also asked something Gytha was wondering. Veronika cleared some of it, up, though, informing Blake that he was to deal with them as, evidently, they coming along was his idea. What in Leviathan's name is wrong with that one's head? More than Gytha knew.

As two approached, the mariner couldn't wait any longer. She remembered the warnings back when she'd shot the captured Wrathite woman that they could all hang for the battles they'd partaken in against the Wrathites, and there were quite a few of them right there. Before they were close enough to recognize her, Gytha hurried out of sight but relatively close by. She couldn't desert her crewmates, even though they were just standing by while a dangerous enemy marched right up to them.

Soon enough, Blake began leading some of their members towards the big building. What...? I thought we were supposed t' wait here... Synthia was going, too. However, as of yet, she didn't see Veronika going that way. The mariner was torn. She wanted to follow Synthia and protect her, but if they were splitting into smaller groups, she hadn't been ordered to go with them. So, she decided to assume she wasn't supposed to go. Of course, if their acting captain started heading that way...were they all supposed to follow?

[-Cynthia-]

I wonder how the Wrathites will treat Organization members- this could be an ugly complication, Veronika thought to herself, following along after Blake for the moment. "Let's move out," she ordered those standing around- the people on lookout would see what was going on soon enough.

[scorri]

Erion shook his head. "I'll stay up here. Sniper position and such. This bow is useful but having it at a range like this is even more useful. And I suspect I can scale down a wall quicker than you, so if need be, I can just always just do that." He smirked at the man, and then checked his bow and his arrow supply. "Yeah, I'll be fine up here, unless you really prefer being the one up here."

[Ether]

"Yeah, it's not the most thought out a' plans, but... what can we do but trust that crazy girl, now? S'not like we coulda stopped 'er once she put 'er mind to it... she's got more guts than I used t'give 'er credit for, that's for sure." Arietta replied, before moving up along with some of the others.

'Blake better damn well have made the right call on this. The hell is that guy doing all the way out here anyway?'

***

"Well whoever is keeping watch up here, you guys should decide quick... looks like we're moving out, now." Faatina noted to Erion and Reign, as those on the ground began to advance towards the complex.

[Mercakete]

And there the others went. Gytha was still nervous, but she quickly rejoined their company, winding up near Synthia. She did her best not to look back at the Wrathites, but her nerves were plain on her face. "I don't like this..." Gytha quietly mumbled. She'd killed that Wrathite woman to prevent something like this. Now, if they were captured by the Wrathites, they might be in even bigger trouble.

[Phoenix]

The Roof

"The only people in range from up here are the wrathites ... not that I have a problem with you shooting them once they turn on us," Reign noted, feeling that outcome was inevitable once Raquel and Gar leveled a massive piece of city property. He had to wonder what the place was being used for before the organization moved in, though. It was an awfully big lot to be going unused and unnoticed. "Anyway, enjoy the fireworks. We're going."

The Street

The wrathites on horses raced ahead of all of the others and went around the so called vigilantes however they had to to reach their destinations first. Those on foot hurried after, but without the same level of urgency. They had to carry their equipment on foot, and beneath almost waterlogged cloaks, so it wasn't easy going by any stretch of the imagination. Desmond and Clover returned to the riders who had brought them to the area and mounted up.

<"Veronika! Veronika,"> Robin hurried after the swordswoman, still fearing for Raquel's safety. <"What are we going to do if they come after Raquel?">

The Other Roof

Gabbie was sitting down, leaning on Tacito for support and using his wing for shelter against the occasional rain. And looking quite miserable. She'd spent random amounts of time doing nothing while keeping an eye on distant events in the past, but three faction conflicts were always more trouble than they were worth. She didn't even believe Raquel or Cassandra would make it out of that mess alive until she heard the voice of a colleague in her head, requesting help. Tacito heard her groan and moved his head underneath his wing to see if she was alright.

"About two moiles," Gabbie replied somewhat loudly, stretching her arms as far as she could in preparation for the action to come. She wasn't sure she would arrive in time to be much help and hoped he just wanted coordination help. She was also hoping to be far enough away to completely eliminate the possibility of being discovered by anyone involved from any of the three groups, and in that, she'd succeeded.

The Room

"My sword's always relevant when you people are around, and I don't take orders from anyone but Sardis," Hayato spat back, leveling his blade at Gar, next. "You think just because you're carrying explosives you can walk in here, take whatever you want from us and then walk right back out?!"

"What about explosives?" came a familiar voice as the door to the room opened.

Silvia peeked in and ... "Raquel's here and her friend's got some explosives on him. No big deal, just a strong arm of epic proportions," Colin said sarcastically.

Silvia's eyes widened in surprise. Why are they all just standing around being casual about thi-okay maybe Hayato isn't but this is really dangerous. Just standing around talking is more what I would do, not the rest of them. What's she even doing here? "Oh, by the way," she looked to the mad bomber himself, "Do you have any more information on this Ornstein guy? We haven't really had time to look into it just yet, but once the group withdraws from here, we will."

"Ornstein ...?" Raquel echoed, her gaze darting between Gar and Silvia a few times.

"Ornstein ... right?" Silvia answered Raquel and asked Gar.

"Silvia, this is NOT the time," Hayato snapped at her.

"I don't know, given that you're about to try and cut him down and get us all blown through the Gate, now seems like a perfect time for casual chitchat. Anything's better than running around like a bunch of headless chickens," Colin muttered under his breath.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

We're up all night to get lucky♪ "Less think, more know I can," Gar gave a careless smirk. We're up all night to get lucky♪ Then that blonde woman arrived. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "Golden armor, helmet that looks like a lion, probably drenched in dragon blood, wicked spear skills. Actually with the attacks by dragon and fallen he could be coming back to Ur..." crap, what was the name of this dumbass country? We're up all night to get lucky♪ "Ur...sium?" Whatever. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "Well, he'll be less relevant now but ehhhh, your choice." Gar shrugged. We're up all night to get♪

[-Cynthia-]

<"Raquel and Blake made an accord with the Wrathites, they should have no reason to have a quarrel with us right now. If they break their word however, then we attack them just as before,"> Veronika answered Robin. Maybe the Wrathites will try and take advantage of this situation and take some sort of revenge on us...

[roymbrog]

Katrina reached the group about the same time the mountain Wrathites rushed by and she wrinkled her nose at them. If their presence ended up putting Raquel in danger, she was going to be pretty upset. Then again, her wyvern might give them away if they got too close. Volga was mostly dark in color but it was difficult to miss something that big. She decided to ask those in charge about it. “Hey, Veronika, Blake, should I hang back with Volga, or follow you guys all the way? I doubt they’d miss the lizard if I got too close to the buildings. …Are we even trying to be sneaky at this point?”

---

Gytha caught up to her as she walked, and Synthia looked over to the mariner. “Do you mind sticking with me through this?” she asked. As the only healer, the mage felt her being protected was more than warranted, and Gytha was one of the few here she trusted to do so. The Wrathites were going to send this mission to hell, she just knew it.

[Mercakete]

Gytha looked at Synthia when she asked her question. It helped, actually: now she had a job to focus on. Solemnly, the mariner nodded. "Aye. Ye can count on me." With that, she took a loose hold of the grip of her sword and kept her eyes alert for any enemy advances.

[-Cynthia-]

"I think all those Wrathites are going to be hard to miss regardless- our chances of survival are probably better with you along," Veronika assured Katrina. Raquel and Gar should be inside at this point anyway- I hope this doesn't interfere with their plans...

[roymbrog]

“Darn right they are!” Katrina answered. “Alright, I’ll just ride in with you guys.” If something went wrong, she could fly Raquel and another person or two out of there. It sounded like a good plan to her.

---

“Thanks.” It was always nice to have someone dependable. As they headed towards likely conflict, Synthia was ready. With staff in hand and tome in a bag slung over her back, she kept an eye out for anything fishy.

[Phoenix]

Streets

<"Very well,"> Robin conceded, still uncertain of the wrathites, as well as the situation as a whole. Still, there wasn't much she could do beyond following Veronika's lead, here. This was unfamiliar territory, and these were unfamiliar circumstances.

"Suppose I should stay here, then?!" The driver called out to the others.

The Complex

"Oh gods ... it's the army," one of the men outside the building murmured, looking around to count the heads of his own side. There weren't that many outside, which should have made the complex less suspicious, but it seemed like their cover here was blown nonetheless. They couldn't win in a straight fight against this number of enemies with potential reinforcements lying in wait, and certainly not without their heavy hitters present, one of which was thoroughly incapacitated thanks to the last attack on the complex. "Go get help! I don't care who, but be quick about it! They managed to get the army to come down on us!"

"That ain't the army," one of the others winced as he spotted Clover's purple locks. "They're wrathites."

"Huh ..." Suddenly the man's mood changed, his panic leaving him almost instantly. The army would have had an almost unlimited number of reinforcements, at least more than enough to overrun this place, but the wrathites were widespread and dealing with a crisis they'd brought on themselves. No doubt, he concluded, the numbers they saw right now were all they could spare. They could win a straight fight if at least their remaining lieutenants and Samael joined in. "Go tell them we've got wrathites moving to surround us."

The Room

Raquel tensed up when she felt the emblem pieces returning. She sincerely hoped she wouldn't have to deal with Cassandra and Samael at the same time. She wouldn't know which of them to even keep her eyes on if it came to that, and she still hadn't decided how best to deal with Hayato, and more importantly, when. There was little to be done until she knew where her father was, though.

"Here to Ursium? Maybe we can find him on our way out, then. Seems like he would be easy enough to spot, at least. Thanks," Silvia replied, managing to suppress her nervousness. In truth, she was more worried about Sardis than herself. She knew he wasn't the most popular man in town ....

"Can you not be so casual with them?!" Hayato hissed at her, his sword still aimed threateningly at Gar.

"I was just asking for informa-oh!" Silvia quickly pulled her head out of the door way and disappeared, leaving the door just barely cracked opened.

Hayato on the others only had a couple of seconds to wonder what happened before Cassandra quickly slipped into the room and leveled a golden blunderbuss at Gar's head. "Don't move," she said, with a familiar voice, but with absolutely unprecedented resolve. "If you do, I'll blow your head off and prop you up. Then she's as good as captured," she nudged her head at Raquel.

Raquel didn't think aiming weapons at Gar was such a good idea, especially not potent weapons like imbued fire swords and heavy guns like what Hayato and Cassandra had, but maybe it was just a natural threat and they didn't intend to risk everything by attacking him, even if the latter did note that she could keep him on his feet even after killing him ... supposedly word about the explosives had at least made it that far. Raquel didn't quite buy her safety measure, though.

She looked to the door to see that behind Cassandra, was Samael, slowly peering into the room. The world around her seemed to slow down as he appeared, the enemy that wanted her dead ... that's what she'd been told. It wasn't Sardis, it was this man, the one that had mangled the Dauntless and threatened to have her family murdered for her involvement. He has to listen to us. He has to, she repeated to herself, bracing herself for the unknown.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Phoenix

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

We're up all night to get♪ "Does moving my jaw to talk count? Well I'm not dead so I'll presume yes but really, if you shoot me I'm gonna drop like a rock because this is enough bombs to collapse a building so they weigh a lot and the sudden shock will detonate them if the vibrations from me becoming no-head don't first but hey who knows. I mean, I'm the explosives expert here and I totally rigged this up to do just that but maybe you all want to take your chances." Gar fought back a shrug after his explanation. We're up all night to get♪ "Oh good, finally he's here. It's about damn time, but y'know, that kind of suits me juuuuuuust fine," Gar slowly grinned between the bits of a chuckle. We're up all night to get♪

Edited August 7, 2014 by Script

[Snike]

"That should be fine!," Blake shouted over to the wagon driver, as he continued on. Hopefully the complex wouldn't blow up in front of them...

***

Alright. Could you pinpoint Jethro, for me? We'll need Tacito to get him out of the general area, but I believe Belle and myself can get him out of immediate danger once we know where he is.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Snike

[Phoenix]

Heading That Way

"They left him alone for now," Gabbie replied aloud. "Far left end of the building it look loike ... second floor. The wrathoites are moving in fast, though ... aaaand it looks like most of Raquel and friends are, too. This is going to be a massacre even if the bombs don't go off ...." After giving that report, she quickly mounted Tacito and took off. She didn't have to get involved directly, but if Tacito was going to be flying Jethro away to safety after he was extracted, she wanted to be close enough for an easy hand off.

Surrounded

The driver nodded and then went back to his reading. Around the same time, Reign emerged from the inn on the first floor, and winced at all the wrathites heading over toward the complex, nearly mixed with their group at certain points. They passed everyone up quickly, though, and moved in to try and surround the place. All he could see from the main road, though was them moving in and rounding the corner that led to the complex itself. He and Faatina would have to catch up to the others to see much else, though.

Robin stayed close to Veronika and made sure her bow, as well as her trusted arrows were ready for anything. If the wrathites did try to go after Raquel, she would be ready to stop them. What she wasn't sure she was ready for was being retaliated against. <If they come after me, I might actually be done for this time. Is anyone going to help me?> She found herself drawing even closer to Veronika as they approached their destination.

Desmond and Clover's deliverers stopped their horses right outside the main entrance of the building. Between them and the entrance was what seemed like a skeleton garrison, little more than the bare minimum required to keep the place free of civilians. That wasn't enough to stop the wrathites, though, not by any stretch of the imagination. "I take it you weren't expecting us," Desmond muttered, giving the men barring the entrance the most contemptuous glare.

"What do you want, Langley?" one of the grunts called over.

"Your executions, nothing more, nothing less."

Ninja'd

"What is it you want?" Samael said, not wasting any time as he stepped inside. Cassandra knew the plan, whether or not she liked it, but he knew she would at least do her part.

"I want my father," Raquel glared at him, "and for you to not threaten my family anymore. Leave them out of this."

Samael shrugged with a smirk, and in doing so, almost convinced Raquel that he thought her request meaningless. She thought things might escalate right then and there but with little pause between his gesture and reply, he said, "Your family is no longer in danger. That was the agreement I made with Cassandra, here."

"What?"

Why would Cassandra care about Raquel's family? Colin mused. Pretty much all the other grunts and lieutenants in the room were wondering the same thing, and Cassandra was desperately wishing Samael hadn't so blatantly blown her cover like that. She just couldn't tell with this guy.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

We're up all night to get back together♪ That was not the answer he was expecting in the least. We're up all night (let's get back together!)♪ "First off: why?" the burning question was asked first. We're up all night to get funky♪ "Second: family no longer in danger... you didn't say father gets out." We're up all night to get lucky♪ Give me something! We're up all night to get lucky♪

[Snike]

"I'm going to see what I can do about the bombs, after we get him out. See you in a bit," Uniter said, as he and Belle stopped in front of the far side of the complex. It was luck, he supposed, that Jethro was on that side, since it made it easier for the rescue to happen. Regardless, back to the matter at hand. There were no entrances from this side, and only one window. It looked like it would only fit one person, so that was out of the question, which left explosives. So much for not making a scene.

"You're going to want to cover your ears," the Disciple said, as he produced a rune and headed over to the left side of the building. He took a good ten steps back, activated the rune, and threw it at the wall, clapping his ears as he did so.

There was a flash of light, followed by a loud explosion. Once it subsided, there was now a hole in the complex's wall, leading into an empty room. Excellent. Uniter debated drawing his killer bow, but instead settled for his sword. Odds were if there was going to be any trouble it would be in close range, where the latter would be much easier to fight with.

"I'll take point. Cover me, Belle," Uniter said, as he pulled the black hood of his cloak over his head. With that said, the man entered the opening and opened the door, turning left in the hopes of finding stairs.

[Phoenix]

Judgment

"For what? We're just humble security guards minding our own business," the man replied to Desmond's dark statement.

"You are lawless criminals in possession of an important artifact and you will be dealt with accordingly," Desmond replied, stepping down from the horse and stepping out in front of his group. Clover followed suit, hoping to protect him in case they made a move before he was ready, but she feared she wouldn't reach him in time.

"Criminals?! You're the criminals, taking the law into your own hands! You have no right," one of the men yelled, drawing his sword and starting toward Desmond. He almost hesitated when Desmond motioned for the other wrathites to remain calm, wondering if the man was about to cast a spell at him. When that didn't happen, however, his boldness quickly resurfaced. "Come on, Gren, let's take them down before they send for help."

Clover quickly ran out in front of Desmond and erected a barrier, one that completely engulfed them both. "Please don't be so reckless ..." she said, practically whispering her plea to him.

"To embrace and walk the path of Lord Wrath, one must live with absolute clarity of purpose and make each and every action one of unwavering intent. To do anything less invites compromise and weakness. That said, we came here to eradicate these vermin and retrieve the emblem. We aren't heading inside, but we can at least see to these in the meantime. I won't worry for my safety while you're here, Clover."

"You talk a lot of spiel for a guy whose head's about to roll," the man hissed as he drew his sword back for a swing and marched on Clover's barrier. Desmond quickly dashed forward, aiming to grab the man by his face. "You nuts?!" the man barely managed to squeak before Desmond had him in his grasp.

"Wrath's judgment ... is upon you," Desmond said, a final chant that seemed to bring about his target's complete and utter destruction. The man was set ablaze in an instant, caught up in and quickly consumed by a crimson inferno. Desmond pulled his hand away from the screaming man just seconds before his skull hit the dirt and disintegrated. Only once every last bit of the man was gone did the flames finally subside. The whole ordeal only lasted about ten seconds. "As you can see, Lord Wrath's judgment is death ... as I believed."

Gren was at a loss. He didn't even realize he'd dropped his sword until he felt the warm breeze in his sweating palm and looked down to see his sword embedded in the ground.

Flying Low

"Be careful," Gabbie replied, somewhat automatically as she glided toward the complex. It wasn't dark enough for the night sky to conceal her and Tacito from the naked eye, so she did what she often did in situations like this, flew low, between the buildings, minding her distance between each and carefully rounding any corners that came up, while hoping she wouldn't ever come across any lines stretching between buildings. The city was by no means deserted, but with so many involved in the scandal down at the Grand Cathedral, and the city itself still in shock over the nightmare that had nearly overrun the city the previous night, she found most of the roads she traveled down completely or close to barren. The lights from candles, lamps, and runes shone through the windows of stores, inns, and apartments that had yet to retire for the evening.

Talks

"Because it's what she wants," Samael replied with an annoyed frown, as if it were patently obvious. "As for Jethro, he'll survive, but I have no desire to hand him over to the likes of you people, that's for certain," he explained, his gaze moving between Raquel and Gar a couple of times. "You don't seem to have any options to force my hand in this matter ... that don't involve suicide, so Jethro won't be joining us this evening."

"He knows ... too much," Sardis coughed, his fatigue setting in once again. He was certainly confused about Samael's change of heart, and Cassandra's part in it, but one thing he wasn't confused about was Jethro. Releasing him to the people that had been hounding them for months could cause them even more problems.

"Cassandra," Hayato spoke up, finally lowering his sword, "why do you care about her family? If you're really one of us then you owe us an explanation."

"Save your questions. This isn't the time," Samael answered for her. It was clearly an order, one Hayato rightly assumed he'd be killed on the spot for disobeying.

Meanwhile, just outside the room, Silvia was approached by one of the patrolmen. He was damp from the light rains that came and went and had the most fearful look on his face. "Silvia, Listen! I don't care what Gren thinks ... those wrathites are going to shred us! They already have this whole block surrounded, so we need to get out of here, cut through one of their lines, and escape before they close in on us and-" A slight tremor from somewhere down the hall startled him. "They're here," he yelped, pulling out a pistol that was shaking too much to ever hit its intended target.

"Calm down," Silvia winced. "When I brought you in to work for us you said you would learn to control your fear, didn't you?"

As the Smoke Clears

He was seeing stars and little else after the wall suddenly exploded and knocked him over. "The paaain ..." was all he could manage from beneath a pile of rubble.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"Understood." The woman replied, as she guarded her ears from the sound of the blast, visor deflecting the flash of light so as to make it a non-issue. By the time Isabella had shaken off what of the blast had gotten through, Uniter had already entered the complex. She supposed in a case like his, reckless abandon wasn't so reckless, but still. Following after the man, from the corner of her eye, the woman garbed in black noticed the guardsman who had been half buried in rubble, quivering in pain. None of his allies would reach him, after all... any met along the way would be cut down by Uniter.

"Suffer no longer... may The Gate welcome you." Isabella noted softly to the man, as she drew her first blade and brought it down on his throat, ending his misery. Pulling out the second blade, sheathed on the right of her hip, Isabella pursued Uniter, catching up to him after a moment.

"Resistance is scattered down the main hallway, patrolling in groups of... about 2-3 men. None are close enough to attain visual before we turn into the main hallway." She noted to Uniter.

***

As they left the inn, Faatina quickly saddled up on Sharif, and motioned towards Reign to do the same.

"Hop on, Reign. We'll get left behind at this rate." The paladin noted.

***

Damn, that was an... interesting display. Well, that man's bravado had gotten him taken care of fairly quickly. Looks like the Avatar of Wrath was more than just talk, after all. That would either make things easier, or more difficult, depending on whether they actually decided to just target the organization, Arietta noted to herself with a sigh.