Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[Snowy_One]

"Do you have some light? We do not have any besides the fire down here, the fire we desire to put out swiftly!" called up Robin to Isabella. She then started to climb up the steps a bit, hoping to get away from the fire and cool down before she became a Roast Robin.

"Also, there is some debris blocking the pathway. Anything to help clear it would be much appreciated even if it is just a hammer or something!"

[Phoenix]

These New Ruins

When the main building collapsed, there had been a large gathering outside. They had rightly judged it too dangerous to enter, even to go after the few remaining survivors, and could only watch and hope that they made it out in time. Just as the last few workers emerged, the building began to shake, and then it quickly fell, sending up dust, ash, and debris into the air. Bron, whom had to carry Olga out due to the strain she was suffering from, was thankful they hadn't left anyone in there to die. He was still unsure what to make of the barricade in the basement, however. Whatever it was, it had to have been intentional.

The main building hadn't been the only source of all the smoke. A storage building to the west had also been targeted, and it had collapsed before the rescue had even begun. The smoke was clear where they desperately needed it to be, but because it was nighttime, visibility was still extremely poor within the fortress walls. It would take awhile for lighting to be established, again, and in the meantime, they would have to simply be careful where they walked. The survivors were mostly accounted for, but the dead were not.

Tranquil Fury

To both Jethro and Alexis' surprise, Belo didn't have the latter flogged half to death when she arrived. Instead, she had several of the guards cuff Alexis a second time, and lead her back toward the fortress. She then warned the remaining prisoners that they would be heading inside soon, as well. Jethro decided to follow since the healer was now looking after Wynn and he wasn't in as much danger of getting himself killed with Belo focusing on Alexis. He also wanted to make sure that Alexis wasn't killed while he wasn't looking, or anything of that nature.

On the way to the northern gate, a thought occurred to Jethro, and it made him wince. The fire hadn't been widespread, but the smoke filled the courtyard before they got everything under control, again. Jethro knew it would be a miracle if Riley and Chip had survived. Riley wouldn't take long to find one way or the other, but Chip may have actually tried to find shelter in some dark corner somewhere. It was a sobering and depressing thought, not being able to do anything for either of them. He had barely even managed to save Raquel.

"Major, I've got a question for you," Jethro began, deciding to put his horse and pet out of mind for the moment, "is it going to be safe to use the barracks or any of the other undamaged buildings? Having everyone sleep out here or in the courtyard isn't going to be good for morale."

"Once things are more ... presentable, yes," Patricia answered, a hint of somberness in her voice. She didn't really care about appearances in general, but at the very least, the bodies had to be gathered up. The dust and debris on the ground could wait until morning for all she cared. "It's pretty bad in here, though, so I imagine Langley's people will still be throwing up a camp right outside."

"How many did you lose?"

"About a third of my men survived and that's it as far as we can tell," she answered plainly. It could have been much worse, but it was still a severely high number of casualties given the circumstances, and a much higher number than anyone would have hoped. Alexis could almost feel the Major General's gaze on the back of her head just before she continued. "You're going to regret this, I can promise you that."

Once again concerned, Jethro leaned in slightly. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll need to consult with some experts after I find a place for her and get her acquainted with her new home ... then I'll see exactly how many injuries a person can live through. I'm sure I'll be pleasantly surprised. Next, I'll lay out a nice long schedule for this scum, and drag things out until her eventual public execution. I'd rather kill her myself after I get the information I want, but considering what she did, the crown's going to want this one to be public and relatively clean." That was about as awful as Jethro had imagined. He didn't say anything, though, figuring it wouldn't change her mind, and neither did Alexis.

Rats In Cages

True to her word, the Major General made sure that the remaining four prisoners were brought inside and thrown into cells. Unlike Alexis, they would be getting normal treatment. They were kept in the ramparts, and from what Wynn could tell, Alexis was being held somewhere underground. It seemed as if every scream managed to reach them, and it infuriated him after enduring it for several hours. Whatever they were doing to her, were they ever going to stop?

The boss stared up at the ceiling, a blank expression on his face. He felt bad for Alexis but there was absolutely nothing he could do for her, now. All he knew right now was that they probably wouldn't see her again, not alive or whole at this rate. He couldn't tell how Thany, James, or Wynn were doing at the moment, since they were all in different cells, but occasionally James would speak up to try and get Wynn to stop growling. The archer just wanted to sleep while he still could, though admittedly, it was just as hard for him to rest as Wynn with Alexis' bloodcurdling screams echoing faintly from the staircase.

"Hey boss," James spoke up again after what seemed like a brief respite, "they aren't going to do that to us, too, are they?"

"They know we're not behind all the murders," the boss replied, "and Alexis admitted to everything. They're probably just going to take it all out on her. I really don't envy that woman. We should be fine for now, regardless. I know it's hard but ... try to get some sleep, everyone. Hope tomorrow's a better day."

Low Power

In order to keep track of the two artificials, Gabbie had to stay up throughout the entire night. After exerting herself in battle, and continuing on without a meal, that was no mean feat. Zachary even went to sleep sometime after midnight. Rather than go into the fortress, Gabbie stayed where she was as Langley's soldiers set up tents and essentially turned part of the main road from the fortress into a massive checkpoint. That suited her just fine, as it meant she wouldn't have to move anytime soon. By morning, she was exhausted, and half asleep. She had never spread her spirit so far for such a lengthy duration before, and her concentration was all but dead as a result.

"Hey," Zachary approached with a couple of pieces of bread and some water in hand, "sorry it's not much but the place is in shambles, right now." He offered her one of the bread loafs he'd brought with him. "Better than army rations, though, right?" When Gabbie lazily took the bread and didn't reply, he decided to take a seat beside her. "Right, so how's the tracking coming along?" She looked like she was about to answer, but then she seemingly passed out and fell back. Zachary acted quickly and caught her, but had to let his own breakfast fall into the dirt to do so. "Urgh ... are you alright?!" After receiving some unintelligible mumbling in response, he carefully let her down and rolled up his cloak for her to use as a pillow. "If she's this tired we may have a problem."

"Whoa, what happened?" That was Gabriel's voice. "Is she finally out of energy?" the artificial asked as he approached from one of the nearby tents.

"I think so, yeah," Zachary nodded.

"Well, she had a good run, but we weren't going to recover in time to go after them. Might as well let her sleep it off. If they're still in the city once she's back up, we can go after them. Even if they aren't still here, I have a good feeling where they might be going, and I plan to follow. Oh, and don't worry," Gabriel added, "I'll let Anna know. You can go ahead and worry about your breakfast."

Zachary looked down at his dirt dipped loaf and sighed.

Belo's Justice

It had been an incredibly long night for Alexis. Belo hadn't wasted any time; once they found a suitable room to keep her in, her men set about severing the tendons in her ankles, wrists, knees, and elbows. Alexis doubted her screams had reached any sympathetic ears, as she had been moved into the basement level of the ramparts. It was practically a dungeon down here, only the echoes didn't travel nearly far enough to reach the outside. Once they were done ensuring she would never escape on her own, they tied her to a table, forcing her to face the ceiling.

A whole slew of things happened after that, all of them so fuzzy due to the pain she was in that Alexis couldn't quite remember what order the beatings took place in. The only thing she recalled clearly in the morning is that they were impressed with her ability to heal. Her bruises didn't last very long and just causing bruises or flesh wounds to her had proven to be quite the chore for them, so much so that some of them resorted to whipping her with chains. Any idea that didn't endanger her life directly or seem in poor taste to Patricia was sanctioned without a second thought.

Now it was morning, and there were just two guards outside of her room, and she was alone in complete darkness, tied up in the very chains she had been beaten with, and sitting in a far corner of the room. It could be worse, she thought to herself every now and again. She recalled Belo's words the previous evening, though, and knew that it would get worse, just as soon as the woman got a better idea of what she could subject Alexis to without outright killing her.

Special Sounds in the Morning

The boss had been awake and fully aware of his senses for about ten minutes, but had only just now opened his eyes. They hadn't been served breakfast yet, which made sense. They weren't exactly high on the staff's list of priorities. Alexis probably wasn't even going to be fed until starvation became an issue, so it wasn't all bad for them. What had woken the boss up was an annoying grinding sound. He wasn't sure if it was James or Wynn, but one of them was trying to break out, or at least that was what it sounded like. It could have been something else, but he doubted it. He just couldn't see to be absolutely sure what was going on, and he didn't care enough to inquire about it, yet.

The Price of Happiness

Jethro was under a lot of stress, now. Though it was a relief everyone he knew had survived, there was still a whole lot going on, particularly with the organization. Jethro found himself torn every time she came up. She'd committed a grievous crime, and that was before blowing up the main building, setting off the massive barrier, and killing off two thirds of Belo's soldiers, as well as some of Langley's. Still, she was a good friend of his, and Jethro couldn't figure out why she was following these kinds of orders after being forced to undergo whatever invasive procedures had turned her into a living weapon. He could understand remaining loyal to the cause, but not to her current superiors. Of course, he had similar problems with them that he planned on dealing with. He could have certainly used Alexis' help in that regard. There was no way he could get away with helping her out of the mess she'd gotten herself into, and once she was gone, his remaining ties to the organization would be loose at best, consisting of only Cassandra and the organization's leader, himself. Whether or not the situation as a whole was even still salvageable was still up in the air.

Jethro's gaze wandered from the floor over to Raquel, who was beginning to stir in the small bed she'd been placed in after the clean up. They were in the barracks, currently, and most of the beds scattered about the large room were now empty. Every soldier's belongings were still there, though. People had come and gone, some to visit Raquel, others to do other things or see other people, but for the moment, the two were alone, with only a few soldiers standing or sitting around the room. With breakfast being served in the mess hall, most people were off feeding themselves. One bigger, more important thing Jethro had to deal with was Raquel herself. He had to find some way to convince her to stay out of this organization business from now on, while still keeping her safe. In just two days she'd been pushed to her limits and nearly died for it. Enough was enough.

As Raquel began to sit up, Jethro leaned forward in his chair toward her. "Easy, honey," he urged, trying to keep her from making any sudden movements. "You've been out for a while." Just like usual, he thought bitterly to himself.

"Dad, my head ... hurts so bad right now," she groaned. Her eyes opened a little further, and she was shocked to find herself in a barracks. "What happened? Where are we?"

"Long story short, the two of us got blown away by a light mage," Jethro glanced sideways, irritated even by vague recollection.

"That doesn't explain this massive headache, but ... well ... did they at least get arrested?" Raquel asked as she held her head, hoping the mage hadn't gotten off easy for ostensibly trying to kill them both. Her word choice was somewhat confusing to Jethro, though. Yes, they'd taken prisoners in that battle but ... something about her wording still bothered him. It felt more ... naive than it should have.

"I took most of the spell but you hit your head pretty hard when we went down. I'm pretty sure the guy that took a shot at us got his," Jethro let the feeling go for the moment, "more importantly, most of Belo's men are dead, so we couldn't afford to try and hold too many prisoners. As for where we are. We're in the barracks. It's too far back to the inn, so ... here we are."

"We couldn't just go home?" Raquel tilted her head at him. "It's not that far from Nature's Fort. That's where Belo and her troops are, right? I mean, here, sorry."

The wording she chose was bothering Jethro, again. He looked around, trying to see if there were any dead giveaways that this was actually Nature's Fortress. He saw a few insignias, but he couldn't remember if Raquel would recognize those for what they were. The two banners on the opposite ends of the room were of course, dead giveaways. "Yeah, and I considered that," he admitted, "but it's better if we keep you somewhere with plenty of guards around for the time being."

"Why?"

"I thought that was self explanatory," Jethro gently threw up his arms, "between the chaos in the city and the artificials, this is about the safest place you can be, right now." His own words felt a bit ridiculous after the disaster of the previous night's battle, but it was still technically true, if only because safer places in Ursentius were either off limits altogether, or too far away.

"Oh ..." Raquel glanced from side to side rapidly, "the ... artificials. Right. I'm guessing they're still out there causing problems?"

"... yeah," Jethro sighed. She has no idea what I'm talking about, does she? There was one quick and easy way to find out if her ignorance was a real problem or not. "Raquel ..." he made eye contact with her, "do you still have the emblem? You didn't drop it last night?"

"I ... I'm pretty sure I still have it. I don't think I would have lost it. Let me see, here," Raquel began searching herself, but her inability to find it immediately told Jethro everything he needed to know. The emblem was actually sitting right next to her, but it wasn't in its medallion shape, and it certainly didn't resemble any sort of emblem, so there was no chance she would even suspect it was what he was talking about. He slowly let his head hang after that. He didn't mind her lying to try not to seem out of the loop; that was simply her way of trying to keep out of trouble. The real problem was that she couldn't recall the emblem piece. That was a real problem. Was this amnesia? "Okay, I ..." Raquel frowned, "I have a small confession to make. I have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe I hit my head really hard. It sure feels like I did."

"Yeah, I bet," Jethro sighed, again. This was terribly uncomfortable, but he had to figure out exactly what the damage was, and he had to find out now before anything else happened. "Don't think about it too much, just answer one more question for me, honey."

"O-okay ... I'll try."

Jethro couldn't take his eyes off the floor. There were too many questions and worries racing through his mind. "Honey ... what year is it?"

Raquel gulped. She knew she'd already been caught lying, but she could tell this was extremely important to Jethro. She also knew for certain now that she was missing something very important. Still, the same year kept coming to mind each time she tried to come up with the answer. Well, at least if she told the truth this time, she might figure out what had happened to her. "Forty-nine ninety-six. It's ... forty-nine ninety-six ... ... right?"

Jethro slowly rose to meet her gaze. Part of him wanted to laugh, another part of him wanted to drive his fist through the wall, and another part of him simply wanted to embrace his daughter. He smiled weakly, his urge to laugh almost getting the better of him. "So ... you actually think you're fifteen, again ... heh ... gods ...." Forty-nine ninety-six, that was before the organization, the emblem, their father-daughter business ventures, before Riley, Sandrock, and Chip, even before Horizon. It was before he and Caterena divorced. It was before anything Raquel considered suffering had even begun.

Aftermath: Day 66

Major General Belo and Colonel Langley's forces fought and defeated their attackers the previous evening, but several other battles unfolded in Ursentius that night, with Invictus and the capital garrisons bringing their full might to bear. Major General Bead's forces were routed during an engagement with Road and Perugia, but only after a long and gruesome battle. Major General Bead himself was gravely injured, but survived the battle, escaping back to Truth's Fort with his remaining men. Prince Athrun and Eugene had rendezvoused with the soldiers from Wrath's Fort to fight the remaining members of Invictus, but were caught up in a pointless battle with gangs and low lives who had nothing to do with Invictus. By the morning, over fifteen hundred had died in the fighting, some, Ursian soldiers, others, Invictus, some civilians, and some opportunistic gang members, looters, and criminals with little better to do than involve themselves. It was not a total victory or defeat for the capital's garrison, and Invictus' leaders were still alive, somewhere in the city.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika remained near Gabbie most of the evening awaiting any critical updates. By the time Veronika finally made her way to a bedroll to get some rest, Gabbie was still hard at work Maybe I underestimated her dedication... She listened to Zachary and Gabriel speak, getting up from her bedroll and briefly combing her hair before chiming in.

"Would you mind sharing where you think they're going- and how you know this? Chasing them alone would not be wise," she advised.

[Phoenix]

Homeward Bound

Zachary picked up the piece of bread to see just how bad the damage was. At first, he'd thought he would have to just let it go, but upon closer inspection, only one part of it had any dirt on it. He could just tear that off and feed it to the birds or mice, he figured.

"Once they finish with whatever sabotage they're up to in Ursium, they're bound to head back east. Back home," Gabriel answered. "I don't know exactly where they're held up; I was pretty young when I left, but I do know that it's on an island."

[-Cynthia-]

So he was affiliated with the Organization- that makes sense. "An island off the coast of Neviskotia? They must be working with the rebels then- there's no way they'd allow someone else on their territory without some kind of agreement," Veronika thought out loud, frowning. Attacking their base means we'd have to go through rebel territory then- that won't be easy.

[Thany]

(figures, im taken to a cell like this. locked up like if i was a brigand... along with my boss... as well as that wynn person...) :she sat at the wall and tapped her foot angerly to the fact this had all happened. not to mention the annoying noises around her just bugged her alot.:

[Phoenix]

A Lot Has Changed

"Afraid I don't know a lot of details, and nothing up to date. Like I said, I was pretty young when I left, about three, in fact, though you wouldn't have been able to tell just by looking."

"Are you sure you don't remember anything else about the island?" Zachary asked, eyeing Gabriel with a bit of suspicion. He could understand if it was just a memory problem, but he had his doubts.

Gabriel shrugged helplessly at the question, "I know that it was a stronghold with the facilities to create artificial humans and there were a lot of experimental weapons stored there. Still, that was seventy years ago, Zach. How much would you remember? Besides, if they're causing this much trouble then I'm sure a lot's changed back there."

Breakfast Is ... Thrown On the Ground

"Time for breakfast, mercs," a guard called out. He wasn't in plain view, so the boss could only judge the situation based off of the tone of his voice. That tone suggested that while there might indeed be breakfast, it probably wasn't going to be anything particularly appetizing. Sure enough, the guard approached his cell and tossed in a piece of stale bread. At least it missed the dirt, the boss thought.

"Water?" he inclined his head at the guard.

"Oh right ... yeah, I'll see to that when I feel like. Soften it up with your spit, I guess." With that, he tossed another stale piece into Thany's cell, and then headed over to James, and lastly, Wynn.

"Just enough to keep us alive, huh?" James remarked, frowning at the bread. He'd caught it, at least but this was hands down going to be the worst breakfast with the boss he'd ever had.

"A lot of the food stores went up in flames last night so this is it for now, and you can bet your asses our people are getting the fresher goods. Anyway, you folks have a meeting with the Major General today. I'm warning you poor bastards right now ... she's either going to hire you, or kill you ... so get ready to make a good pitch, 'cause it might just be your last."

The boss looked at the stumps on his hands, where his missing fingers used to be. This was going to be a hell of a tough sell.

[Thany]

"Going to kill us huh? why not just let us go so we can resume our mercenary buisness? i see no reason to die when we can go back to hunting brigands." :she asked as she didn't bother to pick up the stale bread since she didn't like eating plain bread to begin with.:

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika raised an eyebrow at Gabriel. "You're claiming that the Organization has been around for over seventy years? I hadn't even heard of them before that day in Sergio," she asked him. I don't think he's working with them directly- but he's not telling us everything either, she decided.

[Snowy_One]

Robin gave a light cough after everything was said and done. Things had worked out as best she could have hoped for. Bron, Olga, the twins, Nico, and everyone else was safe and she had survived. However, despite having been healed up, her clothes were charred and smelled heavily of smoke, she could swear she still tasted soot in her mouth, and her body felt like it had been in an oven so long that someone could have stuck a fork in her for roast Robin. Not to mention having been shot badly and drugged. Not her best day by a mile, another mile, and a half.

Calmly she tried to lie down in an unoccupied area, letting any heat that she could swear was radiating away from her still go away, before she took a look at her weapons. It was bad. In her haste she had brought her bow with her into the fire, not thinking it through in a birdbrained move. It was still usable but the string was snapped from the heat and burns and heat damage was visible. It needed replacement. Thankfully her arrows had survived... or the tips had. The shafts and feathering would need to be redone but the obsidian arrowheads were just at home in the flame.

"This has not been good." she said before calmly fingering a small hole where a cinder had burned through her clothes. "At least... No. I will not say it because I know, full well, that if I do a boulder will drop on me or something."

"That was not a good day."

[Snike]

Well, despite what Blake originally believed, Raquel and Sapphire had both survived the night. That was small comfort, though, as over fifteen hundred others had not, thanks to the general chaos Invictus had caused in the city. Word was that Major General Bead was even seriously injured, as well. Even though Invictus had been forced back, the result couldn't even be remotely called a victory for the Ursian army. Especially not while the insurgents' leaders were still free.

The swordsman hadn't spent much time with the rest of the group. After the main building collapsed, he had assisted Langley's soldiers with setting up the tents in front of the ruined fortress and other busywork. After a while, he went to check up on Jethro and the others, which was when he had found out that his employer was alive, and that Gabbie was tracking Zerachiel and Samael. With that information in hand, the swordsman excused himself to get some sleep, as, gods willing, he'd need all the rest that he could get for yet another confrontation with the artificials.

In the morning, Blake decided to go see how Jethro and Raquel were doing, before figuring out how to save Wynn. As he was heading over to the barracks, he noticed that Veronika and Zach were speaking to the friendly artificial about something. Curious, he decided to approach the gathering.

"Morning," he said in a neutral tone, before turning his attention to the artificial man. In daylight, his similarities to the other artificials were even more unsettling.

[Script]

A Howl Called Fatal

It was a night for hunting. Clad back in his own attire, Gar set himself towards Ursentius. Lamael wasn't going to be getting away this time. Invictus wouldn't either.

---

Twenty-one.

The mage barely registered the knife in his skull before falling to the ground. His companions, however, were quite a bit more lively and fired back with spear and arrow and spell.

But this was not a battle.

This was a hunt.

The Fatal Howl did not need to fight on his opponents terms. He did not have allies to follow up or absorb punishment. He melted into the darkness and allies and roofs between each kill. Each stiletto thrown was from a different point, but always towards the soft targets. Even when they wised up and shifted to protect their allies, it didn't matter. He was gone in the shadows, already searching for the next vulnerable target.

Twenty-two.

Was when it became more dangerous. The first rays of sunlight began to crane over the roofs. His knifes were running low now, from kills, from distractions. Even if he would continue the hunt, Invictus would not.

There was nothing to do about Lamael. But that in itself was a clue.

Twenty-three.

Was the last of them. Hitting a group in retreat. They let him rot on the ground, too concerned with themselves at that point.

With all humor due, if they'd turned it might have been dangerous to him.

He cleaned his knives and began walking back to Nature's Fortress, contemplating on what he had learned by learning nothing.

Xenia

45 minutes awake; fifteen minutes of sleep. That was how Xenia worked during times she needed to be up all night and boy did she have a lot of work to do. Her latest nap ended with sunshine in her eyes as she looked out over the encampment outside the fort. What a bloody mess it all was...

[Phoenix]

In the Shadows

"Longer than that, actually," Gabriel answered just before Blake greeted them.

"How's Raquel doing?" Zachary asked, figuring Blake had gone to check on her at some point.

"It's the same set of ideals that keeps coming back in a slightly different form, involving some of the same people," Gabriel continued. "They mostly worked through proxies and they don't operate under any name, banner, or use any slogans, which is probably why you hadn't heard of them, but just because you haven't heard of them, doesn't mean you haven't seen their handiwork at some point. I'm guessing they're preparing for something big right now, which is why they're being less subtle these days, but it could be something else."

In the Cells

"She might kill you," the guard shrugged, "it's up to her, but I do know she might also find a use for you people. If you're really just a mercenary outfit then that's always an option. Forget fighting brigands, girl; you're in Ursentius now, where gangs and profiteering scum are the main course."

"I refuse to work for that stupid, worthless, smug faced, bitch you call 'Major General,'" Wynn hissed from inside his cell.

"Hey, watch your mouth, kid. You want to die in here? I can guarantee you it won't be quick."

"Bring it on, you cockeyed, yipping lapdog!"

[Snike]

"She was still out last night, when I checked in. Given what had happened, I doubt she's come to yet," Blake said, before turning his attention to the artificial. It seems that they were speaking about the Organization, mainly how it was operating in the shadows. Or something like that. "Do you have any examples of their 'handiwork', other than what's happened in the past two months or so?"

[Thany]

"heh... suddenly this jail cell got alot more exciteing." :she said as she looked at the two bicker.:

[Phoenix]

Org Shenanigans? I Don't Know, Maybe

"Great," Zachary muttered. The situation probably wouldn't get any worse, thankfully, but with Raquel out of commission yet again, he was wondering if they shouldn't take some extra precautions the next time ... assuming there was a next time.

"If you don't mind taking my word for it, sure," Gabriel warned Blake. It was difficult to prove anything the organization had done when they did it with any degree of success, but there were some incidents in the past, recent and distant, that had their handwriting all over it. "The Ursian government's got a strong stance against creating artificial humans, and they're even against potentially helpful procedures like limb replacement. Of course, the abuse done by those who have that kind of power is so rampant out east that it's hard to blame them, but it wasn't always legal in Neviskotia, either."

"Like Kit," Zachary mused aloud. There was no fox girl race that he knew of; she definitely fit into the category Gabriel was talking about, though he wouldn't have called it abuse, himself. It wasn't as if she was hurting anyone with her tails.

"I'll take your word for it," Gabriel shrugged. "Back to the magic abuse. It's easier for them to train and recruit specialists if that field of study is more widely accepted. The Imperial Royal Family is against the creation of artificial humans and limb replacement to this day; they have their reasons, but what's important here is that the conclave does support it, and because of that, it's been allowed, with just enough restrictions to keep the royals from running up the walls. Now there's so few of the Loginovs left that it'll probably be fully legalized before long ... and ... speaking of the few remaining Loginovs, I've been wondering if the Imperials ever figured out what happened to Empress Yelena. I doubt the Ursians managed to have her killed, but even if they didn't, it was certainly a good catalyst for this war. Either way, our enemies thrive in this kind of chaos, and I wouldn't put it past them to do whatever they could to instigate a major conflict. One other thing I'll point out is the 'artificial incident' seventy years ago, which was around the same time I left. I know they were involved in that one for a fact. If you want to know more, I know someone with more information, but it's still early in the day. The rest can wait."

Posturing? ... Yeah

"Merz, Wynn," the boss groaned as the guard walked out of view and over to Wynn's cell.

"There are five other guys outside who really want a piece of that water mage that left us to die in here. You want me to bring them into your cell instead, punk? I'd be happy to. The Major's not going to care as long as we don't kill you before she gives the order."

"I said bring it on, you deaf slop serving grunt," Wynn fired back, "bring all six of you in here and I'll happily introduce you to each other's colons!"

"I would actually love to see that," James chimed in.

[Snike]

"I'll take your word for it, especially since it does fit," Blake said, as he thought about what the artificial had said. There had been an incident about seventy years ago which had influenced policies regarding artificials, but he couldn't quite remember the details for the time being. It seemed a bit of a stretch to believe that the Organization had had a hand in it, but then again, it seemed as though their leaders were all artificial humans as well. And given the fact that he didn't even know if artificial humans aged, it might not be that unlikely as well. As for the Empress, that was easily more believable, given that there hadn't been anything credible suggesting that the Ursian government had assassinated her. From that, the swordsman figured that the former Organization member was probably telling the truth.

"If there is time today, I'd like to meet them, but dealing with the results of last night, as well as Zerachiel and Samael take precedence," he said, eventually. If they could capture or kill either or both of those monsters, both the Organization and Invictus could be dealt a major blow.

[Snowy_One]

After a few moments Robin got up, trying to stretch herself out. Fingering her clothes again she wondered where her new clothes had gotten too. She'd be needing them after this for certain. But there were many other things going on first. Namely, as she headed out to the area with the tents and the like, she wanted to talk to Bron and the others. It had been a long time after-all. Not only that but her conversation with Amalia... and she likely needed to apologize for being so passive-aggressive to Erion, and much more.

[-Cynthia-]

"No, Empress Yelena's death is still a mystery. There are theories of course- Ursians, rebels, insane ones like Emperor Anton himself- but no proof. If the Organization is responsible and we have some proof, we might be able to get some assistance from the empire in dealing with them. However, so far we only have the accounts of people who have no voice in the Imperial Court which makes it look like we're chasing ghosts at best," Veronika noted with a small frown.

[Phoenix]

Org Talk

"I'm pretty sure the org's behind her death," Zachary said to Veronika, "it definitely fits and this whole war let's them operate practically out in the open while everyone's busy fighting each other. Though," he shifted his gaze to Gabriel, "it would be nice to know exactly what their overall goal is."

"A united humanity, peace through superior firepower," Gabriel shrugged, "the usual megalomania ... but like a lot of things, that could have changed somewhat."

"So ... saving the world not only from Wrath but also these guys, duly noted," the thunder mage muttered.

"Alright, well I'll see about arranging a meeting for you. She's the one that got me out of that place all those years ago, so be respectful. We're all on the same side, here. Lunch sound good, or is the artificial hunt going to be cutting into that?" He supposed it depended somewhat on Anna, especially since she seemed like the type to handle this all solo if she had to. That tactic might have worked for her in the past, but Gabriel knew that it wouldn't work against either Zerachiel or Samael.

The one that got him out of that place? The org's base? Zachary thought to himself, wasn't that seventy years ago? She must be pretty old by now, then.

Grim Talk

"Yeah, bring the whole garrison back with you or you don't have a chance," Wynn shouted at the guard's back as he headed up a staircase to the upper levels.

"Wynn," the boss began, sounding like he had a lot to say. Frankly, he didn't know where to start, "what is your wrathdamn problem? There might actually be a way out of this mess and you're barking mad in that cell of yours. They're not going to have any choice but to put you down if you keep this up."

"You heard what Alexis said," Wynn hissed, "they can brainwash us to fight for them. I'd rather die fighting than be anyone's, especially that bitch, Belo's attack dog."

"Serving the Major General for awhile and then finding a way to escape sounds a heck of a lot better than dying, doesn't it?" James chimed in, again, "consider that."

"... I considered it ... I'm killing Belo when she shows up."

The boss was beside himself, not sure how to rein in the dark mage. "Dammit, Wynn!"

Amber Talk

"Welcome to Langley's Outpost, weary traveler," Amber greeted Robin, "are you lookin' for someone in particular?" She hadn't quite shown up out of nowhere, but for a knight, she was awfully good at closing in on people quickly. Most of the guards wandering about were pegasus knights and foot soldiers, and not even the medical tents were clearly marked as such. "The colonel can't be disturbed right now and the lieutenant colonel's busy managing the perimeter." The private figured she might as well dash the archer's hopes early if she was there to see either of those two.

[Snike]

So the person who knew more was the one who rescued the artificial over seventy years ago? Blake just had to hope that their-her, if the artificial's wording was accurate- memory hadn't faded. Assuming this wasn't a trap, of course.

"I don't know about the artificial hunt, since Gabbie's out of it, but I have to go meet Belo at some point," Blake said, frowning. As bad as his first impression was, Wynn was still Raquel's friend, and thus he couldn't be allowed to die if they could help it. "Which reminds me, Veronika, am I to try and get some leniency for any of the other prisoners? I think you mentioned something about that last night."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika raised an eyebrow at Gabriel's statement. Is she another artificial perhaps? Few humans live that long... "I did promise the boss that I would try and get leniency for Wynn and the girl. They may have acted foolishly, but I do not think they deserve execution. We will have to see about having meetings once I speak to Anna and figure out who is going on this 'hunt' and when," she explained.

[Thany]

"if only wynn could of joined us with that kind of hatred, we could of gotten rid of so many brigands. very upsetting that it seems like we are going to die in here before we can get back to being mercenaries... sigh... why did my first mission have to result in this..." :she said upset in herself:

[Snike]

"I was already planning on looking into Wynn's case, but the girl as well? I'll see what I can do," Blake said to Veronika, evenly enough. "As for the 'hunt', I'd like to take part in it if possible."

[Snowy_One]

"That depends." replied Robin with a small sigh. "There are several people I might be looking for. For one, have you seen a sheep and a likely-heavily-drunk woman around? Or someone who can find me some fresh clothes? I feel like I have been in an oven."