Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

We're up all night to get lucky♪ Dammit not enough I can make it work. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "No one will care about your dopey plans when Raquel's pops gets freed," Gar countered back. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "'Knows too much' or no." We're up all night to get lucky♪ "Because know what? It damn well is the time to find this out!" Gar smiled. We're up all night to get lucky♪ Not yet... We're up all night to get lucky♪ We're up all night to get lucky♪

[-Cynthia-]

That's some magic he has there... Veronika noted as the Head Wrathite disintegrated the man. So he wants the emblem piece- what does that mean if Raquel also wants it? I'm not sure we can fight that... She looked over towards Blake briefly, wondering what he was planning.

[Eail]

Zach raised an eyebrow at the disintegration, it was certainly impressive, sure he could technically do the same, but it'd take a lot more out of him to pull it off anything like what this guy had just done.

Noticing the look on Veronika's face, he felt as though he had to do something "I'm with you, no matter what happens." He quietly said.

[Mercakete]

Well. That had been disturbing. "Err, Synthia..." Gytha quietly asked her friend, "I'll happila protect ye n' all, but would ye mind steerin' clear o' th' jack with th' death hands?"

[Phoenix]

Stirring

Gabbie kept her spiritual eyes on the complex while Tacito steadily approached from between the buildings. The former kept her head low so she wouldn't have to worry about being caught on any of the lines ... and there was definitely the occasional line between buildings on the main roads. She could tell that Uniter and Belle were inside, due to having visited the site before and having a good sense of its boundaries, but she wasn't sure what route they would have to take to reach Jethro. Perhaps Uniter really would just blow a hole through the floor or something. They were already making enough noise, certainly. Turning her attention to where Raquel and Gar were, though, that nearly caused her to panic. "Ah hell! It's that dragon, again! The one that messed everything up the last toime!"

Catching Up

Reign got aboard and looked back to make sure Sandrock and Riley were okay and then focused his attention forward, toward the chaos to come. "Here's hoping this doesn't turn into a three sided battle ..."

Fall Back

"E-everybody inside, now," Gren shouted, turning and running as fast as he could. He could care less about retrieving his sword, at that point. They would have to attack Desmond from a distance to even have a chance, anyway, or at least that's the conclusion he'd come to seeing one of his colleagues incinerated.

Desmond cocked an eyebrow at the retreating men. He suppose they didn't all know about the bomb inside the building, yet. "It wasn't intentional but I suppose them dying in there would save me the trouble of executing them all personally. And so long as the emblem wielder does not escape, we can retrieve the emblem from the rubble."

"That could take days," Clover frowned as she let down her barrier.

"We'll seal off the area once the violence comes to an end. It may take some time but without a wielder, the emblem isn't going anywhere, anyway."

The Pain Game

"Yes, time to find out if Raquel is the one that's going to murder her own father or if it's going to be you," Samael smirked.

Cassandra weighed her options as Gar and Samael spoke, trying to figure out some way to deal with the former without the inherent risk of just shooting him outright. Samael had only told her to keep herself between him and Gar, so she was nearly at a loss beyond that. How the heck am I supposed to deal with him without giving him an opening to set off those explosives? I can shoot him but if I mess up ... and I might ... we're dead. If Raquel gets in my way, which I'm sure she would, we're d- Cassandra's thoughts were cut off by a sudden flash of light. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a thin streak of light magic pierce through Raquel's chest, just barely grazing the girl's heart. Hayato stepped away hoping not to get caught up in any of this.

Raquel stumbled back, completely caught off guard by the attack. Holding her chest, crying out, none of that was helping even a little to address the pain Samael had just inflicted on her. As her back met the wall, and small bit of smoldering hair and cloth stuck to the wall, she curled up in agony, trying to fight through the pain so she could cast with the emblem. She reached out with her right hand while keeping the left firmly against her wound. Her body began to give off a golden glow almost immediately. Hello again, Discovery ... it's been awhile, hasn't it?

"Y-youu-u ..." Raquel's words came out on their own, but her tearful, angry gaze was firmly on Samael. Where ...?

"Slightly off target. Oh well. It's your move, now," Samael casually offered.

[roymbrog]

Synthia gaped at the wrathite leader’s hand burny powers, and it was then that it finally clicked who that man was. “…Head Wrathite Desmond,” she muttered to herself. Then slightly louder, to Gytha, “Yeah, I don’t fancy getting burned to death. How would we even fight something like that…?” She certainly couldn’t heal anyone after they’d been turned to ash.

---

Katrina had also watched the spectacle, but Desmond’s display had firmly lodged itself under her classification of ‘bad ass’. What she wouldn’t give to smite her enemies like that. Maybe less fun than swinging an axe around, but…

Her train of thought was interrupted as Volga cocked her head and turned to stare down into the complex. Kat spent enough time with the lizard to realize she was listening for something and peered in the same direction. Her conclusion: it was dark, she couldn’t see shit. It looked like the wyvern had been staring through buildings though. “Psst, guys. We might wanna keep an eye out over there,” she said, pointing. “I think Volga heard something that way.” Damn, it would suck to get ambushed.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

We've come too far♪ Gar yawned. "Attacking a defenseless girl, how daring," Gar rolled his eyes and yawned again. To give up who we are♪ Well, the golden glow probably meant something beyond his control was about to happen. So let's raise the bar♪ "Well, I suppose that'll have to be enough," he'd rather have direly wanted to scratch his head at this incident. And our cups to the stars♪ Gar coughed to clear his throat a bit. She's up all night 'til the sun♪ "As you've just clearly demonstrated, you could have stopped this at any time," Gar pointed out. I'm up all night to get some♪ "You didn't. And judging by well, everything, you don't actually care about anyone save your own damn self," Gar gave a completely correct guess. She's up all night for good fun♪ "So really, the reason I wanted you here wasn't to negotiate with you. It was so I can negotiate with everyone else here who hates your stupid ass and wants you dead," Gar smiled at the very though. I'm up all night to get lucky♪ "So here's my suggestion, we all team up, kill his dopey ass then go our own ways. You can blame his death on me to your higher-ups because hey, let's face it, it's true. Then you all get to never ever deal with someone as so resoundingly arrogant as him again," he said his words so damn cheerfully it almost sounded like childlike glee. We're up all night 'til the sun♪ "Now of course, you can point out I'm your enemy and yadda... but he's supposed to be your ally and how many people are dead because he hasn't acted? For shame!" Gar clucked his tongue at the continued splay of bullshit. We're up all night to get some♪ "Me? I don't really give a damn about any of this. But plenty of you do care, I'm sure. How much longer until he starts picking you off, one, by, one." Oh how he wished he could have flexed his fingers for that. We're up all night for good fun♪ "Hey, you've even admitted there's no way you can take him alone, but as a group, or three groups? Well maybe... juuuuuust maybe..." We're up all night to get lucky♪

[Snike]

Blake should've been surprised by the incineration, but instead just remembered the prior conversation with Desmond. That sent a chill down his spine. But there were other matters to focus on, like the impending bombing. Which probably should've happened by now, but hadn't. What was going on in there?

Then, there was mention of Katrina's wyvern hearing something in the general direction of the complex.

"Noted," Blake said, tersely. He was starting to wonder if they shouldn't just go in themselves in a few minutes, if nothing were to happen.

***

"That's good. We shouldn't run into much trouble on the way in, then. I'll just clear them on your exit," Uniter said, as he made his way down the hall, all but ignoring anyone who spotted him. Then, just as he reached a set of stairs, he fought back a curse as Gabriella told of the return of the dragon head, while Cassandra began to ask how to deal with the bomber, but cut off mid-sentence. Which meant something was going down in that room. What else could go wrong?

"Seeker, I'm on the second floor. How far am I away from Jethro, and how far away in general am I from the dragon head?." he asked, climbing the stairs. "Cassandra, you cut off. If you can hear me, don't bother trying to shoot him. Just get ready to protect yourself and whoever else you want from harm if you can. The dragon head is in the room. Announce that, if things are too tense. I'm on my way."

[Phoenix]

Rendezvous Point

"Jethro's ... you're getting really close. If you can't see him yet, start breaking into rooms," Gabbie advised, her lack of knowledge about the layout of the building making things a bit more difficult for her. At the very least she knew that if he wasn't in plain sight, there was likely a wall or two between them, still. "As for the giant trophy mount, he's at the main event, probably about to stir things up again."

With that report relayed, she landed Tacito on a two storey building, the only one of its kind on that street. It was firmly nestled between a three and four storey building, which served her purposes just nicely. She wouldn't be easy to spot up here, and it was getting darker all the time. She would wait here for Jethro to be delivered while she kept an eye on things.

Wills In Conflict

Only the faintest hint of surprise showed on Samael's face but he was genuinely impressed by Gar's attempt to subvert his command. It was less flashy than a demolition attempt, but no less impressive. Interesting move. The little wretch, certainly has ... relatively capable allies.

Raquel had little idea what was happening; between the intense pain demanding most of her attention, there was the Dragon Head again. She couldn't see him, but she could hear him in her mind once again. He spoke to her as she reached out toward Samael, unsure of what she would do. Where are you?

Why, right here, the dragon responded, and Raquel felt as if he was grinning at her like in the old dreams. I don't want you to die, Discovery so ... allow me to assist you.

How?

Well, I believe it is my turn ... what do you want the most right now, in this moment?

Her gaze settled uneasily on Samael as her vision began to blur and her pain ate away at the rest of her senses. For a brief moment, she couldn't remember why they had come here in the first place. I want him ... to DIE!

"Such blatant accusations," Samael smirked. "It isn't myself I'm concerned about so much as my purpose. A witting pawn such as such as yourself ought to understand the sentiment ... and so ought the lot of you. Do any of you know why I couldn't care less if the overwhelming majority of Sardis' people die here? It is because loyalty strictly to him is not loyalty to my father, and is thus not loyalty our the ideals that we work to bring about. You are not thugs on extensive hire, nor Sardis' personal henchmen. You are soldiers preparing to join an army that will bring this world to its knees, but until the day we begin that fateful march, you will be tried and tested, I will cull the weak minded from the strong willed, and when it is done, only those who've proven themselves will remain. If you don't have what it takes to be in that army, come and I will strike you down," Samael said, steadily transitioning from a simple explanation to a powerful challenge.

"You hurt Sardis, you're just going to kill us all," Hayato yelled, raising up his sword for a downward swing that, if it actually connected, could have left Samael short an arm, however Hayato wasn't the one responsible, neither for the words, nor the move to slay Samael. What's going on?! What am I doing?! "We need to kill him! We can deal with those two later!"

"You serious?" Colin looked on in shock. Sure, he knew Hayato would have loved to run Samael through given the chance, but he thought the guy knew better. He wasn't much of a rallying voice, either, though, so if he attacked Samael right here and now, he'd be doing it alone and would almost certainly be killed.

"Hayato, no," Sardis pleaded, his strength failing him again, his words barely audible.

Silvia wasn't sure what to do in this situation. The wrathites were outside, probably killing their people, and the situation inside was no better. She didn't think turning on the ranking officer right now was the smartest move, and not just because at least one or two of them would have to be sacrificed in order for them to even have a chance, but because it wasn't something his father would easily accept, and she knew from experience that there was no deceiving him in the long term. "We ... have a situation outside," she tried to chime in in the middle of the tense meeting.

"Of course," Samael said, not surprised by the move and crossing his arms as Hayato approached him. That was when he noticed Hayato's movements were hardly fluid. It was as if he was struggling with all his might to strike and not to strike simultaneously. Interesting, if not suspicious. Samael quickly ruled out fear, as he figured Hayato too stupid to have anything resembling a survival mechanism and simply began preparing an unseen light spell that would disarm him before the attack ever came. It must be Raquel's doing. We lost a man to such things before. And on that note ....

NO!!! "I n-eed him," Raquel choked out as she reached out to Hayato. Suddenly his body was engulfed in golden light and reduced to little more than a glowing orb floating in the room. Samael's eyebrows climbed up ever so slightly at her words ... and then the glowing orb that was Hayato raced toward Raquel at tremendous speed. There was no plan involved, Raquel couldn't think more than half a second in advance, and as the orb struck the wall, a new hole was made. Raquel was spared from the destruction, as the orb had collided a couple of feet to her left. Hayato was ejected from the building like a cannonball. Few weren't stunned by the sudden and violent spell.

Perhaps the Unpaired One, then, the Dragon Head mused. Once the Lost One notices, however ...

A Time for Action

Hayato was released from the golden light and fell the full distance and then some from the second floor to the ground. He'd crashed a short distance from the main entrance of the building and as he struggled to pick himself up, failing with every attempt, Desmond squinted in his direction. "It must be getting quite violent in there for him to have wound up like that."

"That was the emblem," Clover noted urgently, "didn't you see the light?"

"I did," Desmond nodded. "We'll wait ... but we're here to put all of these criminals to death, so go ahead and deal with that one." The two horsemen that brought them to the entrance acknowledged the order and began riding over toward the injured swordsman.

[Snike]

"Hold on. That was one of Raquel's spells. He is probably one of the ones we are here for, so do not kill him until one of us identifies him," Blake said to the Wrathites, drawing his sword. "More to the point, it looks like the explosives are not going to be in play. Veronika, we should go in."

***

"Great, and knowing my luck, that's probably on the other side of the building," Uniter said, as he opened the first door. No one in that room. The second door was locked, but after being kicked open revealed some sort of makeshift armory, but no Jethro. The third room's inhabitant tried to ambush the disciple as he opened the door but was quickly pinned to the wall and stabbed in the chest and the throat. One more to the Gate. The man wiped off the blood from his blade, then closed the door and tried the fourth room.

"Here we are," he said, as he found Raquel's father on the ground, with one burnt hand and swollen eyelids. That was not a good sign. "Belle, come over here."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika nodded at Zach, glad for the support before a familiar golden light and an unknown figure appeared. I don't see any explosions... "All rigfht, move out everybody!" she ordered to their group, beginning to move quickly towards the fallen figure. She didn't know what to do if they got into conflict with the Wrathites over this, but they at least had to get there first.

[Ether]

Moving forward once Reign had hopped on, Faatina stopped just shy of Blake, as the man began to advance... the explosives weren't going to be in play?

"Huh... what's going on, Blake?" She asked, before Veronika confirmed the word to move forward... inquire while moving, she supposed.

***

Time to go in, huh? That meant something had to have gone down... what exactly she didn't know yet. Oh well, Arietta noted, as she began to walk, keeping an eye on Desmond... that guy was dangerous.

***

"Yes, Uniter?" Isabella replied, as she walked into the room behind the other Disciple. Seems they had found Jethro, and he didn't seem in the best shape...

[Script]

A Man Called Invincible

We're up all night to get lucky♪ Well that happened. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "Now there's someone with spirit!" Gar would have clapped if he was able. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "But hey, might as well destroy your silly little speech. Give the folks what they really want to see," Gar smirked as he spoke. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "'Cull' the weak-minded? Are you gonna go around stomping out farmers and merchants and the infirm and elderly and families of no threat just because they don't meet your silly little vision? You're already targeting Raquel's family, how much longer until anyone here's family comes under scrutiny for not playing along? And how is it truly strong to do nothing but bend knee in will of another? Or is it strong-minded to just browbeat people of weaker disposition? Hm? What happens when you or anyone else gets old and useless? Are you gonna take an express route on your own hype hm?" Gar desperatly wanted to cross his arms but kept himself still even moreso now. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "I mean, if you really think about it, aren't Raquel and I truly the goal here? Strong-willed enough to stand against a bully like you? Well, fly-bye-bye too, he was neat. Granted that requires dealing with people you can't intimidate, but well..." Gar chuckled. We're up all night to get lucky♪ "Though I suppose other troubles might outweigh things now." Gar sighed. We're up all night to get lucky♪ We're up all night to get lucky♪

[Phoenix]

Plan B(ecause the building is still standing)

"Wait, why are we moving in now? The building wasn't supposed to come down until Raquel, Gar, Jethro, and Hayato were all outside," Reign asked Faatina. The last thing he wanted was for them to rush in just as Raquel and Gar were extracting themselves and their targets, and then get killed along with everyone else still inside when the explosives finally detonated. Maybe it was the light itself. If that was being mistook for a signal ... Reign quickly shook away the thought. "Ah never mind. There was no way this was going to go off without a hitch, but let's not go inside until we at least know where they are," he suggested, to pretty much anyone who could hear. Not having to split up to search the building would at least save them some time and make any encounters easier to manage.

Robin drew an arrow and prepared herself mentally for whatever might come next, be it a skirmish with the wrathites or a skirmish with any surviving people working for Sardis. She followed closely after Veronika, planning to provide cover fire if it was necessary.

Containment

"I'm not going to let you people pick and choose which of these parasites to save for yourselves without my consent. Do not leave the parameter we've established, not with any of these people, not until I've seen them up close," Desmond replied to Blake. He wanted to inspect these 'rescues' himself before letting them run off with what were essentially murderous fugitives.

"We really should just get rid of all of the outlaws hiding in there," Clover frowned.

"That would only lead to a battle against both them and Valcyn's people, and with emblem pieces involved victory could come at too high a price. For now let's wait and see if they actually go through with this demolition."

"It looks like that already failed; they're moving in as we speak," Clover said, glancing at the various people closing in on the building.

Wounded Soldier

"Who's there?" Jethro said, fatigue and strain having robbed his body of most of its strength long ago. "Where is she?" he added, a desperate thought that had been repeating in his mind over and over again.

Interference Left and Right

"Save your ranting for when you have more context. As for you two being the goal? The goal? Hah! You are merely wasted potential as far as I'm concerned. But as I said earlier, you'll at least make good fertilizer once you're dead," Samael scoffed, "Though there does seem to be something afoot here besides the two of you. Still, if neither of you plan on fighting back, I suppose I'll just finish picking you apart. Then we'll deal with this ... presence." Slowly but surely Samael's finger began to point toward Raquel's heart. Taking the time to aim would ensure her death, and he already had the energy he needed. As it began converging just in front of his finger tip, Colin rushed forward with reckless abandon, positioning himself between Samael and Raquel just as the miniaturized aureola emerged. It struck his armor plating, boring through it in half a second, and burned a hole clean through his right lung, but the spell ended, its energy all used up, before it could pierce through his entire body and reach its true target. That was all Samael needed to see to know that Gar wasn't the only ally she had here in the room. Next time, he decided, a purge spell would have to do, despite how gruesome it would be.

"D-dammit! Why did I do that?!" Colin cried out from the ground. He began coughing uncontrollably afterward.

"Not again ..." Sardis murmured as Silvia rushed back into the room and tried to help the wounded swordsman.

"-legs ... justmovedontheirown! Arraarrgh ... Sam ... dragon-again," he coughed, choked, and gasped as Silvia tried to move him out of the line of fire.

Oh no! Cassandra's face went pale. That could have explained Hayato, and there was no doubt in her mind if Colin had moved against his will. The only suitable targets left in the room were Silvia and Samael himself. Now she really didn't know what to do; it was only a matter of time before the Dragon opted to simply force Samael to commit suicide as he had with Owens. That was the only surefire way to protect Raquel from a followup attack, something Cassandra was now convinced he was trying to do. However, Colin or Silvia might be killed before then. Raquel was already on the verge of dying from her injury, or at least collapsing. If he didn't try to find a way to heal her, and fast, she would probably die anyway.

[Snike]

"We were only here for two people regardless. Jericho, let us know if that's your brother," Blake said, as he closed in on the main building. He mentioned it to make it clear there wouldn't be any negotiations about that person should he be in fact Hayato. "And I'm pretty sure throwing people out through walls was not in the plan, Reign. Katrina, could you check the hole just in case, though?"

***

"...He's blind," Uniter said, after a moment. That was what he had expected, but it was still problematic. And something he couldn't deal with, considering what was going on in the other room. "Belle, you're going to take him and leave through the hole we made earlier. Keep going until you meet up with Seeker. She'll take care of him and you'll leave together. I have to go help his daughters."

"On that ,note," the sword wielder said, moving out into the hall and walking towards an intersection, "Seeker, how far am I from the main event, and can you tell me if there's a direct path to it? Cassandra, we have him. I'm coming. Hang in there."

[Eail]

Letting out a sigh, Zach followed after Veronika, it was too much to ask that things go according to plan for once evidently, though he really should know better at this point to assume that they ever would.

[roymbrog]

Red haired swordsmen being flung out of buildings by golden light hadn’t been planned. At least, Katrina was pretty sure it hadn’t. He was apparently one of their marks though, as Veronika and Blake hurried in closer to the building. Blake asked her to check the hole in the wall, and check it she would. She wiggled the axe on her back to make sure it wouldn’t fall off, then started to climb up Volga’s neck. “I’m on it. If I see Raquel, Volga will smack the ground with her tail.” There was a chance she couldn’t just yell back down herself, so that would have to do.

Once Katrina was kneeling on the wyvern’s head holding its horns for balance, and Volga was thoroughly confused, she gave the wyvern instructions. “<Volga, up! Take me to the hole in the building.>” Well, now things made slightly more sense, anyway. The wyvern took a few steps towards the main building before rearing up on her hind legs, forepaws against the wall for support. Once her neck was extended Kat had a clear view through the hole. It was too small to climb through, but she had a clear enough view of what was going on inside.

There was Gar, the white haired Raquel copy, the guy from the fort, the chick with the sword, some grunts, Colin on the ground… was that Sardis all banged up as well? But no Raquel. Katrina pressed her hands to either side of the hole for support as she searched a second time. She wasn’t just missing her, was she? Unbeknownst to Kat Raquel was just a few feet right of the hole, just not in her line of sight at the moment.

---

People falling out of walls, certainly not something Synthia expected. At the moment she was wondering if Hayato was even alive though. She hurried to follow the others in case he was injured, but wasn’t keen on actually healing him unless he was dying.

Edited August 9, 2014 by roymbrog

[-Cynthia-]

"Everybody stay outside the building for now!" Veronika ordered, heeding Reign's advice- if an explosion were to go off and they were caught inside of it that would be disastrous- but why was Raquel warping people outside the building well before the explosion? Maybe that's the work of the 'other' Raquel... she theorized, hoping that the identification of the figure would provide some answers.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Even though the light is wandering in a far away sky♪ "Sounds like the perfect time for more context to me!" And then another one took a hit for Raquel. I’ll keep running down this path♪ "Or nooooot. Oh well, time for hugs," Gar sighed. Ah, why does the world reflect such unreliable dreams?♪ "If you're gonna shoot me do it already, it'll be your only chance anyway." Gar absently commented. That’s right, those eyes struggling wordlessly in the darkness bid farewell♪ "Because if you don't I'm gonna go hug Lameael there to stop him from just killing off everyone mmm-k?" Stars are falling through the gaps in the torn clouds, if you have extinguished your hesitation, then…♪

[Ether]

With a nice save by Reign, they were now to wait outside the complex rather than charge in and get buried in rubble. Faatina was thankful for that, atleast... though if people were being extracted already, maybe the complex wouldn't be destroyed, after all? Though that still left the problem of bloodthirsty Wrathites to deal with...

***

"Understood." Isabella replied to Uniter, before walking over to Jethro and kneeling in front of him.

"Who we are is of no consequence, right now. I'm going to get you out of here, and he is going to make sure that those girls make it out of here as well." The woman replied... his body seemed that of a strong fighter, him ending up like this was a damn shame.

"If I help you onto my back, do you think you've got the strength to hold on, or should I just carry you?"

[scorri]

Erion had been keeping an eye on things from the rooftop, and frowned at the sight of a man being thrown from the window. He recognized Raquel's warping method and wondered why she hadn't grabbed the next person and gotten herself and Gar out of there already. With a sigh, he moved over to see if he could start moving closer by jumping between rooftops.

[Phoenix]

The Sixth Sense

"I take it you're in a hallway? If so keep heading straight for now. There are a couple of regulars a ways ahead of you, once you see them check for any doors nearby ... that's where they are," Gabbie instructed, sitting beside Tacito again, her eyes closed, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Tacito meanwhile was taking in the vaguely familiar surroundings.

One thing she didn't convey to Uniter were some of the other things she saw. To sense disembodied spirits, dormant and alone, helpless against the Gate's impending call, was one thing, but sensing them so close to her area of focus was far more sobering. "I'm used to this," she told herself.

Concerns of the Moment

"Wait!" Jericho raced toward the face down swordsman. He recognized him even at so great a distance. By the time he arrived, the horsemen had their lances ready to skewer his brother. The only thing that stopped them initially was Blake's mention of the criminal being someone's brother ... and now they had some idea of who he was on about. "Put those away," Jericho demanded, barely resisting the urge to slam into one of them and knock them off their horse. All that stopped him was the possibility of being run through by the other.

The horsemen backed off a little but stayed close enough to act if something happened, and Jericho helped Hayato off of the ground. "What are you doing here? You better not still be trying to bring me back ... I'm not going."

"Just shut up, would you? None of that shit's important right now," Jericho frowned. Hayato may have had some point ... he did want to get him out of this place at the very least ... and he doubted he'd be able to stop himself from stomping all over Sardis' face if he got the chance, but for now, he was just thankful Hayato had actually survived, not just the fall, but this entire ordeal.

Reign meanwhile was beginning to worry. At first he suspected the plan was at least partially working since one of the targets was ejected from the building, but with no noticeable followup, he figured Jethro was either indisposed, or Raquel was. Either way, they wouldn't have any idea until Katrina reported her findings.

In the Dark

"Can at least tell me where we're going," Jethro replied, barely managing any of the words. Until then his whole body had been relaxed, and the pain was minimal as a result, but as he tried to move again, the throbbing returned and he found himself reaching over his eyes with his good hand. "I can walk, but ... that's about it," he said, starting to sit up, again.

Falling

Shooting Gar was a last resort, and she wished she hadn't brought it up in the first place. Unsure of how to deal with him now that he was planning--from the sound of things--to attach himself to Samael, she held her gun in her main hand and grabbed Gar by his hair with her offhand. "Turn off those explosives," she demanded. If only she could manage looking more serious than desperate.

"Why don't you go hug Valcyn before she collapses and both of you can die together since something's getting in my way." Even as he spoke, Samael noticed the woman looking in from the hole in the wall. He'd very briefly entertained the idea of sending a light spell her way but didn't know who she was or what she was up to. Furthermore, cracks began racing out from the breach almost as soon as he'd noticed her ... she was probably going to fall, so he quickly turned his attention back toward the bomber/defensive embracer, Gar.

"S-sto-op," Raquel pleaded, her anger being swept away by something far more primal. She felt her body succumbing to the injury and knew she didn't have the strength left to fulfill her part of the plan. She feared that if something happened to Gar now, they were all dead. That's why she had to do something ... anything. Hypnos, please ... save ... them .... Her father, the rest of her family, Gar, her companions that would all be in mortal danger if Samael escaped somehow ... everyone she could think of as her vision began to fail her. As her consciousness faded, however, her body began to give off that same ominous golden glow.

Samael caught Cassandra looking to her glowing, yet dying counterpart, obviously concerned. "Let her go," he said gently. He was more concerned with the enemy that could still doing something, hair firmly grasped or not. And then some of the cracks made their way to Raquel, who was leaning against the wall for support. The whole section crumbled in an instant and she fell through, her consciousness giving way right as the wall did.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Because even though the light is wandering in a far away sky, I’ll begin to find it after just one second, one step♪ "Ow, quit it," Gar scowled at the one grabbing his amazing hair. Because my hand will reach until tomorrow if the moon shines down on my firm emotions, I’ll keep running down this path♪ "Like, you don't turn explosives off. That's kind of their default state. But a spark, a sudden flame too close to me? The powder goes woosh! Like, there's a reason quick reloading for guns uses frictionless materials and paper pouches. Can't take the risk of a spark going off and suddenly stuff's exploding! Heck, just me tripping or falling or even going off balance might tip things off into the big bad boom." Ah, my quiet world is crumbling The legs that began to step forwards are trembling♪ Unfortunately Raquel was now going bye-bye with his knives and probably her own conscious state. But it did give him another completely wonderful idea! Even though I wouldn’t fear even these feelings of indecision if I could run forgetting my pain♪ "Hug Valcyn? Don't mind if I do!" Gar grinned so much he could literally picture how perfect it was like a mirror was right in front of him. He stepped in closer to the Not-Raquel and hugged her instead! "Hi!"

[Eail]

"Veronika if people aren't already everyone needs to prep for combat, the plan is shot and I don't think we've got a choice but to try to fight if we're going to save Raquel." Zach quickly said to his companion "I'll follow your lead on what you think is best, but the two of us have to be ready for whatever comes next even if nobody else is."

Something had gone horribly wrong... The wall was gone and there was Raquel, dropping to the ground

Something had gone horribly wrong indeed

"Move now! Go!"

Edited August 10, 2014 by Eail

[Snike]

Part of the wall of the building collapsed, and a body with a golden aura fell through. This time, Blake could identify the person, especially considering their long pink hair.

"Synthia, any other healers we have, get over there! That's Raquel!," he shouted, all but dropping his sword and running over. The merchant wasn't moving... At least, from what he could see. Don't tell me she's...

***

"Understood. Thank you," Uniter said, as he went down the intersection and straight down the hallway, breaking into a jog. Sure enough, there were a few of the Organization grunts standing to the left of a door. They were armed and looking at him as he approached, but frankly, he didn't have the time or the inclination to go kill them all.

"If you don't want to die, step aside," he said, as he slowed down, sword at the ready.