Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Nine

[scorri]

Erion breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the healing energy coming from the daggers. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough that his knee had stopped hurting. He still didn't trust his full weight on it, but it was something. "I'm fine Amalia, don't you worry about me, ok? Don't--" And then she started yelling at the avian that had shot him. Trying to get him to shoot her instead. "No Amalia, don't!" He did his best to lunge in front of her, but he tripped, and landed to the side of her sprawled out on the ground. "Don't... You can't get shot, please..." He struggled to get up, trying his best to get in front of her before Road could act again.

[Thany]

:Thany looks at the marshall that retreated from her: "H-HEY! im not done with you yet, come back here!" :she chases marshall A and closed in on him.:

[Phoenix]

Use the Force

Reign attacks Lucille with Force Tome! Rolls 3,6,1!

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138754

Hit! -9 HP! KO!

+5 points for Team FTR

[Snowy_One]

Why wasn't that Seraph Knight dead? Robin could have sworn she saw Arietta strike a blow that should have felled it right then and there! She was going to rectify that mistake right here and now! She knew she could hit it with ease and it shouldn't take much more than a small tap to take down the knight. So she calmed herself as she lined up the shot... and things went to hell.

She had no idea how the Seraph Knight moved that fast. It seemed to defy logic. She had no idea how it even knew she was THERE! The only thing she did know is that the arrow fired off, barely grazing what should have been a sure-fire kill, as she felt cold. Blank. Cold... Something burning but it was getting dark. Why was it dark? It shouldn't be this dark. It shouldn't be this dark... It shouldn't... no... It was... getting... lighter? Maybe? Had she hit? She... couldn't remember. Not any more. She just needed to... be... on the ground and... just...

...

....

......

Robin attacks the Seraph Knight.

5, 3, 5. AUTO HIT... Not like it matters.

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138759

Robin deals 7 Damage (9+3-5) to the Knight! Only for the knight to be a haxxor and use Miracle.

The Seraph Knight counters for 6, 6, 6.

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138760

Robin's HP -347,748,242,737,212,832/18

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar got his gear in Gear.

Gar closes in.

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=Safe]

"Whew," Gabbie exhaled in relief. She nodded swiftly at Keeper. "Two more," she confirmed, both aloud and mentally. Hopefully he could get them out before those two powerhouses figured out what had happened ...

She carefully sat Lois down on the floor and began checking the girl over for injuries. Nothing clearly visible. The girl was just ... out of it, a little sweaty, and looking dazed and desperate. "What did they do to you ...?" Gabbie said, a little worried, a little angry, and just as confused as Lois.

[spoiler=Flash Tactics]

Alexis was blinded by the sudden burst of light. She nearly tripped over the chair as she reached it. Even without her sight, she knew Lois and the intruder had been whisked away in a light warp. That was unfortunate, but there was nothing she could do about it right now.

"Where--?!" Perugia was back on her feet, apparently unaffected by the flash. Alexis suspected she simply hadn't been looking that way after getting trampled by the lancer woman.

"A light warp," Alexis said, her gaze shooting back toward the staircase. She wondered if the two men she'd taken down had been left at their mercy or if they were going to be rescued next. If it was the latter, then it was time to move in and either take them both out or get a hold of them so they couldn't be warped away by themselves. "Grab them, quickly," Alexis called over, already making a dash back toward Zachary. Perugia was too confused by the instruction to act at first, but when she did, she decided she'd just kill them. Raising both hands, she planned to pepper the two with light spells, killing them where they lay. As soon as the first shots were off, they circled back and burned right into her dress. As they leaped into the magic seal Gabbie had planted there, Perugia cried out, fell back onto her rear, and covered herself. "The seal!"

Alexis was impressed to say the least, but didn't have time to appreciate the enemy's quick thinking. She could still deal with both of them, herself.

Pain

Zerachiel's world was dark, and abuzz with the sounds of violence and screaming, but one thing in particular stood out; Lysandra's voice was faint but his artificial ears could pick out enough of the words to make sense of it. It helped that Lucille quickly became focused on healing him and not just calling out to him.

A smile found its way to his face as he realized what Lysandra was telling him. He wondered what she'd have him do instead of listening to his father and carrying out his plans. Zerachiel imagined it wouldn't be much different from Gabriel, playing vigilante and fighting against the old man's pawns when he got the chance. Direct betrayals weren't really Zerachiel's style. He much preferred to let his weaker allies simply die if they couldn't handle themselves, or went off on personal missions that had nothing to do with his father's goals. If she meant what she said, and wanted him to make his own choices, then surely she'd considered the possibility that he might want to remain loyal. Decades of work and sacrifice weren't things he could just throw away on a whim.

Zerachiel's thoughts were brought to an abrupt end when a bullet sped by. His instincts told him it was probably meant for Lucille's heart, or her head, but she'd dropped her staff. Furthermore, he recognized the gunshot; it had come from one of Gabriel's pistols. Zerachiel chuckled, his eyes finally opening. He'd kill men but spare the girl who was complicit in all of this. They really were brothers ...

Lucille quickly retrieved her staff and prepared to treat Zerachiel, but Anna's strike team was clearly having none of this, and Reign came running at full speed. He cast a fire spell to overwhelm her guard, and then slammed into her as hard as he could, knocking her straight to the ground. Anyone not looking might have assumed she'd fallen several stories from the sound of the crash. Reign had to watch his step not to trip over or trample her, but the attacks did what they were meant to do, and she was in way too much pain to get up after that hit.

Reign stood over both of them. "If either one of you makes a move, I'm starting a bonfire with you at the center," he warned. Lucille didn't really feel like getting up, and Zerachiel, while still willing to fight, decided he would rather talk to Lysandra before anything else.

Road was hoping the smoke grenade would buy him more time, but he nearly got run through by that charger when he got the arrow out. He only had enough time to dive out of the way, wings spread to give him some lift and a bit more distance. It hurt like hell with his injury and once he cleared the smoke, he knelt back down and splashed his wound with his elixir. The pain only dulled, but the results were enough for him to at least use the leg again, though it felt almost like a prosthetic plagued by phantom pain. He supposed he'd just have to get himself back in the air if he was going to keep fighting. It wasn't looking like he would be able to escape, anyway, and if he did, he'd be the only one.

Road didn't know what to think when Amalia started shouting at him. Was she that protective? He'd been shot first, for crying out loud. It didn't really matter, since on or off the battlefield, emotion tended to rule. Emotion did indeed rule at times, and this time, Road found himself being swept up in its control, as well. "One of my own ...?" The words hung in the air for only a couple of seconds ... and then Road exploded in a rage. "You ... TRAITOR!!! You were the one who led them straight to us and now they're dying because of YOU!" He aimed his rifle right at her head, planning to end her without another word, but his aim wasn't steady, and the blast from the caduceus' barrel shook him and the gun both, leaving him temporarily blind to the results, and reeling from the recoil that had disturbed his wounded knee.

As if in response to Road's former concerns, as well as his attack on Amalia, he was struck in his left wing by an arrow courtesy of Anna. The shot had pinned a vital muscle, leaving the wing useless for flying. He couldn't believe how accurate she was. He sorely regretted not shooting her, instead, realizing he might have had a chance to escape if he hadn't gotten hit, again. "Dammit ... first a traitor to our cause, and now this ..." It was a bad day, even worse for members of Invictus. Please, Peru, get out of here while you still can ... don't wind up like the rest of us ....

Another gunshot, and Road was forced to watch the seraph knight fall. She wasn't dead, not yet, but her fight was over, and that was nearly as tragic. His last line of defense pulled out his axe and charged off toward the bulk of the enemy forces. "Get out of here, Road," he shouted as he ran at them like a madman. It was stupid, Road knew, to fight until the bitter end instead of running, but they both knew he wouldn't get very far with his armor and shield weighing him down. Don't die with your back to the enemy, then ....

ENEMY PHASE#5

Road attacks Amalia with Caduceus! Rolls 3,3,1!

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138850

HIT! -26 HP! KO!

Seraph Knight uses vulnerary! +10 HP

Marshall A switches to Tomahawk and moves to centerline!

Poison Ticks!

Seraph Knight -6 HP!

Plague Tick!

Arietta -5 HP!

Lane -4 HP!

OTHER PHASE#5

Anna activates Snipe and attacks Road! Rolls 5,6,4!
http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138852
HIT! -15 HP!

Gabriel attacks Seraph Knight with Dread! Rolls 1,1,3!

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138851

HIT! -21 HP! KO!

OBJECTIVE UPDATE!
The Enemy is standing their ground (sorta)
Bonus Objective: Defeat all enemies by the end of Turn 6
Reward: 10 Points

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAMS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENEMIES
PART II:
Zerachiel HP 0/36
Lucille HP 0/21
Leo HP 0/45
---
Road HP 6/21 Rifle (Siege Range)
Mage Knight HP 0/27
Marshall A HP 14/30 Tomahawk (Aggressive)
---
Assassin HP 0/12
Seraph Knight HP 0/30
Marshall B HP 0/30 Firewall

ALLIES:
Anna HP 27/27 Destiny Bow
Gabriel HP 30/30 Dread

PCS:
Reign HP 18/24 Force Fire Tome (On CD)
Faatina HP 10/21 Precise+ Lance (Siege Range)
Thany HP 18/21 Killer Lance (Siege Range)
---
Amalia HP 0/21 Brave Sword
Erion HP 18/24 Rune Sword
Uriel HP 27/27
---
Veronika HP 0/21 Crippling Sword (DEF)
Robin HP 0/18 Crossbow
Kenta HP 15/15 Blood Sword
---
Arietta HP 11/27 Poison Axe (Plague
Gar HP 9/9 Stiletto (Siege Range)
Axel HP 0/21 Rod
---
Isabella HP 0/24 Blitz Lance
Lysandra HP 0/30 Advance Shield Tome (Earth)
Lane HP 2/15 Night Brand (Dark Light Brand)

FINAL PLAYER PHASE

Edited September 15, 2016 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Confusion was the last thing she felt, as the Avian screamed traitor. "Traitor?" To our kind? For what? He can't mean for fighting, he's... There was little time to think on it further, as he was already aiming. It was foolish to try and block something like this, and she hadn't been able to, as the energy blast tore through her in less than a second. Her eyes went wide, and the pain took over, but she couldn't scream. The hole in her chest had gone through her lung, her shirt quickly stained red, the color spreading fast. As she coughed up blood, she collapsed onto her knees, slowly collapsing onto the ground shortly after.

A quick glance to her side made her smile, faintly, as Erion was no worse for wear. "Tha...s, good..." she croaked, closing her eyes and sighing out. He's alright... Uriel will help... me, and if not... At least I kept some, o...ne... Sa...

Edited September 15, 2016 by Narmaya

[Ether]

As the avian ducked under her swing and took to the air, Faatina couldn't help but scowl. Sadly, that was only the beginning, as she could do nothing but watch helplessly as the man lined up another shot, and took it before being shot out of the air. Turning her head, the breath left Faatina as she watched Amalia drop through the clearing smoke, the weapon having burned a hole through her chest. The paladin felt her heart skip a beat, her blood run cold. If she had just hit her swing it wouldn't have happened, he would never have gotten a shot off...! Pushing Sharif as hard as the war horse had ever been, Faatina charged into the falling Avian, catching him on her lance as he fell. He'd suffer the same wound she had, the head of her lance spearing through Road's chest, through his heart and out the back.

Promptly dropped, the lance clattered to the ground with him, as Faatina turned Sharif fully round, and charged back the other way, towards their newly wounded. It took only moments for her to arrive and leap down from her steed, to the side of Amalia, who had clearly taken a heavy wound.

"No, come on, please. Be okay, you're gonna be okay, you can't just... oh Aisha, please, I... did I just k-kill..." She reached out meekly, trying rather ineffectually to staunch the bleeding.

Faatina vs Road

Faatina(3,6,4) 21 hit - 18 evd, hit! 15 Mt - 1 def, 14 damage!

KO!

Road 0/21

Faatina 10/21

Faatina/Reign/Thany +10

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138856

[Snowy_One]

Sensation. She could still feel her fingers. Could she? There was... something... It felt like she was on a distant island looking out and, just on the limits of her 'vision' there was a tiny island. Was it her finger? Slowly she tried to touch it, to move, only for it to slip away. Then return. Then slip away.

Then, suddenly, with a massive surge, return as feeling in her finger came back! Was she alive? She didn't know. She couldn't really tell. At best she was in a sore state if she was alive as she could feel death clawing at her. Scratching at what felt like a hole in her chest. A burning hole that... didn't... feel... right.....

...

....

.......

.....

No.

She wasn't going to give up. She was certain that death wanted her but she wasn't just going to keel over on a whim. She felt weak, tired, unable to move, but she could feel. She was warm, lying on the ground facedown, with a wound dangerous at best and blood flowing still, but it was not a slaying blow. Painful, yes. Lethal without the aid of a staff, likely. Instantly-killing? Maybe it was the mail, maybe it was dumb luck, but no. She was alive.

"help."

[Thany]

:Thany looked at her surroundings to see alot of fallen bodies and injured allies, looking unsettled that so much death happened in a short amount of time, but she tried to put it aside for now as she looked towards the marshal and moved towards him, trying to taunt him: "It looks like your all alone, and we still have people to take you down, if I were you id pretend to play dead before you became dead!" :she said to him in a mocking tone:

Thany moved closer to the marshal

[scorri]

Uri had been moving to go heal Erion when Amalia was blasted. "No!" Tossing a quick healing spell towards the thief, he flung himself down next to Amalia, kneeling by her side. Summoning up every ounce of healing energy in his body and started pouring it into his fallen friend. "You'll be ok. Stay with me please. I've got you. I promise. Come on."

Uri heals Erion

+2points

+6 HP

[Nanami Touko]

...Huh? Hmm... I wonder if I am dead... Can you think after you die? Uriel was fairly busy with the others, so it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't make it to me... It'd be a shame, but, I put my life to saving another's. I'm happy with that.

Amalia stirred, gently, a weak breath escaping her mouth as Uriel did everything he could to fix the wound through her chest and out her back. She'd been lucky-- the blast had burned through her right breast, missing her heart. She was still alive, barely, and Uriel's attention was keeping her that way. She cracked an eye open, but everything was blurry, and the voices around her were so muddy... Like heavy bass, words indistinguishable. I guess that means I'm alive... But what happened to the shooter? Is he alright, too...?

[scorri]

[spoiler=Rescue time x2]With a flash of light, Keeper appeared again, this time next to Zach. "Sorry." Grabbing Zach, he disappeared for a brief second before appearing next to James with Zach. "They're with me." Grabbing them both, there was another flash of light that cleared to reveal all three men gone.

They reappeared in Weyland's dining room, where Keeper called out to the maids who had been there cleaning, "Quick, we need at least two healers down here as soon as you can."

Caught up in the heat of the battle, Erion didn't notice what had happened right away. He saw an armored man charging towards him and then Tina spearing Road through the heart before racing towards him. Pulling out more daggers, he glanced to find Amalia, only to find her prone on the ground. "NO! NO YOU BASTARDS!" He flung the knives at the enemy knight, not even looking to see if they hit the target before spinning around to find Amalia being treated by Uri with Tina next to her. "No, gods no, Uri please. Please tell me she'll be alright, she has to be alright. You have to save her. She can't..." She can't die because of protecting me.

[spoiler=Combat]

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=138907
9+6+3-4=14 damage
Dead marshall

Edited September 15, 2016 by scorri

[-Cynthia-]

"Everyone, hold your weapons! This battle is over, there is no need for further bloodshed,' Lysandra commanded, using the same voice as she used when her students were about to do something dangerous.

Veronika was still motionless on the ground, knocked unconscious by the forceful impact of the axe.

[Nanami Touko]

Amalia coughed, another chunk of blood splattering itself onto the ground, but instead of quiet down again, she seemed to stir. In fact, she... She started pushing herself to try and get up, arms not strong enough to lift herself anywhere off the ground, failing twice in a row before giving up and waiting until Uriel had done more. Things were still blurry, but at least she could hear better. "Eri... on...?" Her voice was raspy, her lungs hurt, especially her right side... She didn't quite know what she'd been shot by. "I'm o... kay..." Why is it so hard to talk? She tried again to push herself up, making it an inch off the ground before collapsing with a painful groan.

"Glad... You, are... Okay... Heh." So he's okay. That's good... And I'm still alive, so that's better. I just have to get up so I can help whoever's left.

[scorri]

Uri pushed down lightly on one of her shoulders, while still healing her. "I'm doing my best Erion. This is going to take some time. It's not an easy wound to fix. And you Amalia, just hold still. Please. The battle's over, all you need to do is let me heal you." The avian went silent as he focused on the healing, doing his best to knit the tissue together, knowing that he couldn't replace things that had gone missing. Hopefully this would be enough...

Erion gripped the avian's shoulder, watching as the hole slowly started to close. "I just... That should have been me. I'm the one who shot him, she didn't even do anything to him. Why would he do this..." I was supposed to be watching out for her. Protecting her. How did it get all flipped around. I should be the one on the ground like that. Not her. Why...

[Nanami Touko]

"I, c-can't... The, sh, shooter... Is he, o-okay...?" She mumbled her words out, trying and failing to push against the gentle hands holding her tired frame down. Erion seemed so confused too, but she shook her head as much as she could. "Doesn't matter... I got t-to help you, and that's..." She paused to cough again, no blood this time. That was a good sign. "That's what, matters..."

Things were getting less blurry now, finally spotting... "Faatina...?" Amalia was sure she knew her name, but at the moment, couldn't remember speaking with her. "I'm o-okay..."

Edited September 16, 2016 by Narmaya

[Ether]

Thank the Gods, she seemed to be okay. Well, okay was a stretch, but she was alive, and being tended to. She would pull through, which was what mattered. Then she asked of the marksman who had taken her down... poor thing, even on the ground, she was concerned that someone else might get shot.

"It's okay, you don't need to worry about him anymore. I just... I'm so sorry, If I hadn't missed my first swing, he wouldn't have gotten that shot off on you... it's all my fault..." Faatina replied, head down in dismay. How could she have messed that up like that?

[Thany]

:Thany moved somewhere else, persumably to where the boss is after the battle was done, and looks over to the people surrounding Avion: "Seems we won that one, tho they all seem to be concerned with that lady over there compared to their other fallen allies.... if they didnt want to see her get hurt that baddly they should of just left her in the backlines." :as she takes a cloth from somewhere to clean some blood off her lance:

Edited September 16, 2016 by Thany

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=Weyland's Place]

Gabbie doubted there was anything she could do to help Lois at the moment, so she decided to wait and see if Zachary and James would also survive. She didn't have to wait long to find out. By the time a maid came over to see what was wrong with Lois, Keeper was back, and he'd brought Gabbie's would-be helpers with him. She made her way over as a thought suddenly struck her.

"Where are we?" was the first thing Zach managed, "this looks like Weyland's ..." No way ... He knew they were supposed to meet back at Weyland's place, but he thought Anna meant the Weyland Enterprises building in Ursentius, not his mansion on the outskirts of Europa, a little over one hundred miles away. "What are we doing here?" Given he was a person that was dealing with the supernatural on a regular basis, he didn't really care about the how so much anymore, just the why.

James was still out of it, and trying not to roll around on the floor and disturb both his broken arm or dislocated shoulder. With all of his willpower devoted to that, his loud groans went unrestrained. He didn't care where they were, he just wanted the pain to stop. "I'm gonna need ten healers," he said, finally falling onto his side and putting far too much pressure on his injured shoulder. "Ohhhwww ... my gods, that hurts ... ... please someone just heal me or kill me, I don't give a flip which, just please do something!"

"Please stop moving so much," came a voice from somewhere out of view. James turned his head as far as he could and saw a young woman in a maid outfit holding a staff to him.

"Where ...?" Zach blinked, "where'd she come from?" Suddenly he felt his burns healing, slowly but surely. He was almost afraid to look over his shoulder ...

"I hate to ask this," Gabbie said, eyeing Keeper, "but I'm going to need to get back to the capital ... very soon. Lois can stay here since we were probably going to bring her back to Weyland's, anyway, but I've gotta let her know I got out of there alright. Tacito's also gotta be feelin' pretty lonely by now." The thought came back to her, and she held her arms up in a halting gesture. "First, I wanna say hi to Weyland and Steinn while I'm here."

[spoiler=Disillusion]

She was too late. Alexis gritted her teeth as the light faded. She and Perugia were alone in the basement ... though not for long, Alexis reasoned. She didn't sense any other mages in the house, which meant there was fighting outside. She turned to face Perugia, who was sitting on the ground, arms covering her stomach, and the burned patch of her dress. "Let's go. I've got no idea where he took all of them." Perugia didn't respond. She just stared off past Alexis at nothing. "What's wrong?"

Perugia slowly picked herself up, taking one hand away with the seal in her palm. "They've lost ..."

The avian's senses were certainly better than her own. Alexis had only been able to conclude that there was fighting, but Perugia seemed to be able to tell how the battle was progressing. Doing that based almost entirely on aura emissions was certainly impressive, though it didn't bode well for them. "That's more reason for us to go." Despite wanting to leave as soon as possible, she was curious. "Is anyone still alive?"

"Lucille is ..." Perugia answered listlessly.

Alexis winced. If she could only sense Lucille now then that meant all the mages from Invictus, Road included, were dead. "Come on," she took the seal from Perugia's hand and chucked it over the avian's head into the far side of the basement. "The two of us can't do much more than make this a slightly harder victory for them, so let's head to Zerachiel's hideout."

"Why should I go with you, exactly?" Perugia seemed to be somewhat back to normal. "I'm with Invictus, not your shadow group ... I'm ... actually its leader now if Road's really gone ..."

Alexis stood there for a moment, reevaluating the situation. "You're right. Do what you want, but until we escape, we stand a better chance together. If you disagree, then feel free go off on your own. You can fly, at least, though I'm not sure how many Invictus members survived the army's purge, last night."

"Not enough," Perugia winced. They weren't quite the threat they had been yesterday, and she knew she wasn't ready to be this group's leader. She had the raw talent and skills, even the experience needed to keep Invictus going, but the army was committed to hunting them all down now, and their forces were in tatters and scattered. Even if she could get the surviving cells connected again, their goal of toppling the government was dead. The best she could hope for now was create a network of spies and hitmen, but for what purpose? Whatever the dream was, Perugia couldn't see it, anymore. It was dying with Road and the others. It was like a spell had been broken, and now she was free to do whatever she wanted.

Perugia let her arms fall to her sides. "I'll go with you. If Road's gone then so is Invictus. If we find any others on the way, I'll try to convince them to tag along."

"Are you sure you want to join us?" Alexis asked, "we're about results, not necessarily camaraderie. They made me this way without my consent, as one example," she held out her arms, presenting herself and the changes they had made. "They might do the same to you, one day."

"Make me stronger, you mean?" Perugia tried to smirk but fell a little short, "I'll worry about that later. We're wasting time. Let's just get going and sort this out later. Follow me." Alexis was a little unsure about following Perugia toward the back of the basement. She knew they would have a fight on their hands if they tried to escape overland, but it wasn't as if there was an escape tunnel down here ... or was there? If so, no one had told her about it. This was technically an Invictus hideout, so she supposed she was on a need to know basis with them.

Sure enough, Perugia uncovered a secret passage on the far wall, hidden behind an old desk. She quickly moved the desk and removed the panel disguising it. They would have to crawl inside, but following a short drop into the tunnel, there was just enough room to stand ... barely. The space between walls was only a little more than shoulder width. It wouldn't be a comfortable escape, but it was better than trying to muscle past the force that had defeated everyone else. "We'll come out a little east of here and can decide where to go from there."

Alexis nodded, and followed Perugia into the tunnel.

Battlefield Won

The last enemy that came out to face them was down. The battle was definitely over. There might be more inside the house, Anna realized. She couldn't leave without Gabbie and Lois, but the team had taken a serious beating from the enemy and time was short. "Treat the injured, take everyone who's still alive, and go to Weyland Enterprises," she ordered. If they'd forgotten the plan, she'd just reminded them. "Get to the wagons and try not to look suspicious if you can, but otherwise go on foot! Don't get yourselves arrested or tell the authorities anything about this!" With that, she took off running for the house.

Gabriel seemed like he could take care of Zerachiel and Lucille well enough, so Reign decided to check for any other survivors. They had to leave soon, so he felt it might be a good idea to take a look around before they booked it. There were enough people crowding the injured, or at least one of the injured, and there was nothing he could do to help any of them, anyway. Lamenting his complete lack of healing potential, and lack of supplies, he made his way around the battleground, scanning the area for any signs of life beyond their own group.

He found quite the surprise when he passed the foolish charging marshall's body. There was Road, lying on his side, Faatina's lance lying beside him, and his own rifle laying roughly a fifth of the way between him and Reign. The fire mage could only conclude that Faatina had ditched the weapon to go check on Amalia, and Road had subsequently freed himself from it and then passed on. If they left without thinking, they might lose a few weapons, so Reign went over and picked up the lance. As he turned to head back, he noticed Road's weapon. It was clearly built for a left handed shooter, so it would be cumbersome and impossible to aim properly in a right handed person's hands, but it was one hell of a weapon and Reign could come up with ten times as many reasons to take it as leave it behind. He made his way back with both Faatina's lance, and Road's rifle.

"So that's the plan, huh?" Zerachiel smiled up at Gabriel, "smash and grab. You got some decent captures, too. Not bad ... though I'll warn you right now I've got nothing to say about father or his current plans. You can ask Samael for that information."

Gabriel grinned pityingly. "I'm not sure he'd tell me anything useful, either. I don't expect you to betray him, but I hope you'll make our lives a bit easier by not being a sore loser. Just ... don't fight," he shook his head, "plenty of people are already dead and if you struggle I'm going to have to cut off your arms. Brutal, but it's the only way to keep your healing ability in check." It was a long term fix for a short term problem and Gabriel really didn't want to resort to it.

"Alright," Zerachiel said, raising himself into a seated position, "I'll play the good little prisoner for now. Consider it my thanks for not killing any of my girls." Gabriel wasn't sure who these girls were, aside from possibly Lucille, but when he heard it, he knew some of the organization members hiding out here had probably escaped in the chaos. It was a shame, but then again, perhaps not. Truly, enough people had died here, already.

When Raphael arrived, things were wrapping up as far as the overall mission was concerned. Anna had disappeared into the target house, and the healers were doing their thing, though it looked like they were a few short on the whole. Such was life. The healer to fighter ratio was always going to be awful. "Don't dawdle, people. Get everyone who's not a prisoner back on their feet and get back to the wagons. We don't have long before the guards come to check this place out."

All Objectives Complete

+20 Points

Battle Average One: 7

Battle Average Two: 23

New Total: 887

VICTORY

Edited September 16, 2016 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Uri slowly sat back, starting to feel a bit of a headache. He knew the warning signs of healing strain, but he also knew that he had others to heal. Quietly, he told Erion and Tina, "I've done all I can. She should be ok but it's hard to tell sometimes with internal damage like that. At least one of you should stay with her for now. I have other people that need my attention. I will be back though." He stood up and quickly walked over to where the older woman had been knocked down. Kneeling down next to her, he started to heal her while quietly asking, "Excuse me, but are you able to heal others? I noticed you use magic, so I wasn't sure..."

As Uri walked away, Erion slid over next to Amalia. "How... how are you feeling? I mean... that's probably a dumb question, I just... I'm sorry. I promised I would protect you and then I let this happen. I failed you..."

[spoiler=Taxi service]

Keeper breathed a sigh of relief as the healers arrived. That was taken care of at least. Gabbie's next request received a small sigh followed by a nod. "I assumed this was the safest place for you all, but of course I can take you where you need to be. Just let me know. I still have plenty of magic stored up, so I can warp a few more times before I'd need to stop by my storehouse.

[Nanami Touko]

Things were... Back to 'normal'. Uriel had healed the wound as best as he could, but it still hurt, as well as her back. Still, this was a bearable pain, compared to getting torn through from pure energy. Breathing was... Taxing, but she could manage. Although, tasting her blood on every breath was less than palatable. "I feel fine," she said, with a smile, finally having sat up. It had still been a momentary struggle, but she'd managed it.

"You don't have to a-apologize, Erion. I'm glad you're safe." She turned to Faatina for a moment, her earlier wording a bit confusing. "I-Is he alright? I don't think I have to worry, but--" she finally saw past the girl, Road's corpse lifeless and unmoving. She lost her smile for a moment, but brought it back, only after seconds. "You have nothing to feel guilty about. You did your best to keep me and everyone else safe. Isn't that what we should strive to do?" She placed a gentle hand on Faatina's shoulder.

"Both of you shouldn't worry so much about me. I'm fine, see?" she said that, but her breathing was strained, and her voice was still raspy. Still, despite the pain, she smiled like nothing was wrong. "What about the two of you? Are you both fine? You seem no worse for wear, Erion, and Faatina... Perhaps have one of the healers look at you, once we're done speaking. Shall we see if everyone else is alright?" She moved to stand as if she were at one hundred percent, immediately collapsing back down onto her knees, coughing.

"Ah... How unfortunate... I guess I'm still too weak to stand, that easily. Give me a moment, I'm sorry..."

[Snowy_One]

Robin did her best to try and move about as pain burned through her body like a thousand swarming ants. She couldn't exactly see but she didn't need to to know what had been damaged. The lance had pierced through her chest right down the middle, only missing her lungs, esophagus, and other 'parts needed for living' parts by less than a micrometer, likely pushing them out of the way with its force, before coming out her backside.

"hel" she tried to call out again, trying her best to muster enough air but failing without even enough air in her lungs to give a real cough to clear them.

[Snike]

Once he thought the poison had run its' course, Axel forced himself to his feet, and, using his lance as a cane of sorts, made his way over to Veronika, who hadn't stirred since being struck down by Zerachiel. The lancer lowered himself to his knees and put two fingers to her neck to confirm that she still held a pulse. Once done, he then moved away and decided to wait for a healer, before he fell over.

***

Even before Lysandra declared an end to the hostilities, Lane switched his sword for his staff and began to make his way over to the downed mercenaries. First up was the orange-haired archer, seeing as the swordmaster was being tended to. First thing was first: evaluate the injury. To do that, he lowered himself to his knees and leaned over the patient, examining the injury.

"Try and save your breath," the healer said in response to her faint pleas, as he begun to glow purple once again. Right, so, no bones broken or organs ruptured, miraculously, but that stab wound through the chest was definitely going to be fatal if left alone. Plus,it was a lance wound, which, given his own experiences, likely meant that the injury was poisoned.

Well, deal with one problem at a time. Lane's staff glowed, and first the entrance wound in the front, then the minor tears inside her chest, and finally the exit wound from her back proper closed up, only leaving parallel scars to indicate that the woman had ever been impaled.

"There's still some poison in your system, and you'll feel a little faint from the bloodloss, but you'll be fine," the man said to the archer, as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Just don't try to sit up just yet."

With that said, and while fighting to ignore a growing headache, he began to make his way over to Veronika, his next patient.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Snike

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

One kill. One bloody kill! This was not worth the funding to secure operational success whatsoever. Then he had to deal with the guys... ugh...