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Post by { o p a l } on May 11, 2013 12:56:50 GMT -6
As the two made their way into the fringes of the neighborhood, Regina put down the binoculars.
"Kal, you in position?"
It was rare that she called her spirit animal by her nickname, but the excitement of a mission was buzzing between them, even if it was a simple one and not their own, and thus the nickname sort of just slipped out.
"I am indeed. Subject coming close?"
"He is." Regina raised the binoculars again. "About three o' clock."
In response, Kalyani turned towards the designated direction. She spotted Vincent approaching, dropping into a prowl.
The Chief followed her movements from her observation post on the rooftop patio of an abandoned apartment complex. The ocelot slunk from rooftop to rooftop, fluidly jumping over alleyways and weaving her way in between chimneys and decorations.
She turned her attention to Vincent, who was entering the alleyway she'd designated. Next to the dupster was an old, discarded safe, inside which lay his sword. The only clues were a pencil and a strip of leather with letters written seemingly at random.
It was actually a scytale cipher, with the location of the key to open the safe written on it.
Let's see how he does.
As Vincent entered the alleyway, Kalyani padded up to edge of the roof next to him. Regina could see the ocelot speaking, and their mental connection told her that she was saying, "Agent Eyvindr. Are you prepared?"
"Regina, there's not a lot of human activity going on this late, and the cloud cover's pretty low. The meteorologists back at base predicted a bit of mist settling in. You going to be watching from the air, then?"
"I was hoping to be able to. I'll double check activity before I do anything foolish."
"Happy hour's already started at the nearest pub, and work was let out a long time ago. I think you'll be fine."
Zooming out slightly, Regina scanned the alleyways for any humans. The telltale glow of a poltergeist in the wide open of a disused road told her that the fey too were taking liberties tonight. Or they were just especially stupid.
"That's where they are right now? I'll let Eyvindr lead the way, in that case."
Regina stood up, checking the entire neighborhood for any signs of activity. Nothing. How strange.
It was almost as if something more dangerous had chased everyone away... Regina would stay on her toes for this mission, that was for certain.
Reaching into the Zodiac, she summoned her steed, the black pegasus materializing in front of her. Its pelt was the color of angry storm clouds, broken only by white streaks that looked like a single bolt of chain lightning on its hindquarters.
She swung herself onto the pegasus's back, and with a final look around, lifted off into the air, finding cover in the cloud of mist that was already descending.
It was going to be a dark and stormy night.
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Post by Wildsky on May 11, 2013 14:47:48 GMT -6
Eyvindr nodded his foxy head at Kalyani and said, "Off we go, eh?" The bat took off to the air, his powerful muscles letting him fly with a great speed. He lifted himself up in the air, looking for whatever he was supposed to see.
He saw a slight glow from one of the streets -- a colour that was unnatural to the area. Not the ugly reddish-orange of the streetlights, but a much... bluer colour. He dove down into the night, pulling up and steering his way to the rooftops. He set himself down on a roof that was next to the street. He glanced around, wondering what the poltergeists were up to.
-----------------------------------
Vincent found the safe easily -- it was the only clean thing in the alleyway. A strip of leather with various letters written on it and a pencil lie next to it. The leather made no sense, and the pencil was completely random.
He sat down next to the safe, trying to figure out the piece of leather. The letters were completely random, and the pencil wasn't there for anything important, it seemed. He tried various things, such as pull the leather over the pencil and trying to order it somehow, as if it were a simple Caesarian shift.
His knowledge of cryptography was less than what he'd like. He got up, stuffing the leather and pencil in his pocket, to look around. Perhaps there was something elsewhere he was missing... Perhaps he was missing something.
After a couple of minutes of searching, he gave up on thinking that he missed something. He started playing with the two objects, hoping the solution would come through that. He got around to wrapping the leather around the pencil, his intention was to make a type of grip for the pencil, but he noticed something different. A few letters that made sense...
He kept wrapping the leather around the pencil, his heart racing. Words began to form, and his eyes raced across the leather. It told him where the key was, and he stuffed the leather and pencil in his coat pocket, running off to grab the key.
He found the place that it mentioned and went to look for the key. It was hidden well, but wasn't impossible to find. He grabbed the key and grinned. He had his sword back.
Carefully walking to the safe, he put the key in (and it worked, thankfully), and got his sword. It was about eighty centimeters long, but he could fit it to his back if he was careful. The handle would stick out a bit, but it wouldn't be nearly as obvious if he stuck it to his side. He used some rope to tie the end of the sheath to the inside of the back of his coat. It was rudimentary, but it worked like a charm.
'Where do I go, Eyv?' Vincent was getting excited himself. The fun he'd have on his first mission. Sure, Regina and Kalyani were watching him, but he was mostly solo.
'You're at the alleyway between Teresa Street and Brunsing Road? Go south till you hit New Gully Street. The poltergeist are right next to the intersection of New Gully and Bruton.'
Vincent nodded and started his way down the roads. It was a lot closer than he expected, and within no time at all he was nearing the intersection. He slowed down considerably and hid in the shadows. He pressed the com button and said to Regina, "Chief Executive, I'm ready whenever. Anything you've noticed?"
He wasn't trying to get the Chief Executive to hold his hand, but he didn't want to run into the poltergeists' fun-fest and make a mess.
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Post by { o p a l } on May 11, 2013 15:27:11 GMT -6
"That's right, Agent. Right there. You can also sense that buzzing in the back of your head, as if a bee was stuck inside your skull? That's a spirit's natural aptitude for sensing fae responding to their presence." Kalyani followed Eyvindr, not as fast, but still just as certainly making her way towards the spot.
Peering into her binoculars, the Chief spotted Vincent triumphantly drawing out his sword. "He's solved it. That wasn't too long. Well done, well done." She both whispered it out loud and said it telepathically to Kalyani.
"Regina, something's off."
"I was thinking the same thing. The cloud cover's descending, I'll go with it. I want to be close to the ground."
"Good idea."
Swooping down on silent wings, Regina came with the clouds, hovering over the landscape. Banking in an easy spiral, she watched the poltergeists from above, close enough to the ground that she could descend swiftly if necessary but high enough as to not be seen by any onlooker.
Kalyani came to a halt on the crest of the roof nearest to the poltergeists.
"Chief Executive, I'm ready whenever. Anything you've noticed?"
The Chief pressed her intercom, letting out a sigh that sounded almost like a growl. "Something's off. I do hope I don't have to remind you to do whatever I tell you should an emergency come up."
She watched Vincent leer out at the poltergeists from his alleyway. "I'm right above you. You may strike whenever you see fit, agent. I would recommend hurrying, though. The presence of a weak human in fae territory will not go unnoticed."
The pegasus tossed its head. The spirit was restless; this was something that happened only in the presence of extremely powerful fae.
Something lurked in the darkness.
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Post by Wildsky on May 11, 2013 15:47:45 GMT -6
Vincent grinned, always taking the chance to make a retort. "I'm not an idiot, just sarcastic," he whispered over the com. He drew the sword out of the sheath, and took off his coat, so the sheath wouldn't be bouncing around.
The poltergeists started to come into the street that he was hiding in, and he saw that they were orbs -- he read that, but he didn't expect them to be so... surreal. Still, he picked up the sword and walked forward to meet the poltergeists. They started to float towards him, and Vincent took the opportunity to strike.
His form was excellent; he clearly knew how to use a sword. He preferred to use a single hand, but would use both if he needed it. The poltergeists weren't easy to kill with the sword, but they went down regardless. The small tendrils of light reached out, but he rolled and dodged from them.
He realized that they would be the most deadly when they surrounded him, so he started to go to the edge of the group. They were starting to pile in around him, the occasional tendril of light hitting his skin and causing a small burn. Still, he was excellent at dodging the lights.
There were quite a few of them, but he kept on pressing on. He had read a bit about connecting to the spirit realm, and he had tried a bit of it. Taking a breath and stepping backwards some, he concentrated, just as Eyv told him to. It was hard, and it was even harder to stay aware of what was going on in the physical world, but he managed.
His left hand aimed at the poltergeists, and he let a burst of chaotic shadow energy go. It surrounded two of the poltergeists and snuffed them out, and lightly touched a handful others. Magic works well. Too bad I'm horrible at it.
There were a few more to go. He stepped back, trying to figure out what his next plan of attack would be.
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Post by { o p a l } on May 11, 2013 16:43:03 GMT -6
((I am very sorry for this wall of text.))
Kalyani followed Vincent's movements as he fought, studying his form. "Near impeccable. He's certainly a swordsman."
"I can see that." Regina cast a glance at the nearby alleyways again. "Do you feel that too, Kalyani?"
"Yes... indeed I do. I'll go investigate." The ocelot leaped off of the roof onto a dumpster and then all the way down the ground, slinking in a wide arc around the fighting.
"Are you certain that's wise? At least let me be nearby." The pegasus's spiral became lower and tighter, wingtips visible at the bottom of the hanging mist.
Shadow flashed from Vincent's hand, smothering the light of two poltergeists entirely. About three more still crowded around him-
Pain flared through her mental link with Kalyani.
It was followed by a drop in temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius.
Icy fingertips reached towards the unaware Vincent-
"Duck!"
Pegasus hooves slammed into the figure behind Vincent, narrowly missing him. Already in motion, Regina shoved off of her mount's back, flipping to the ground and rolling to reduce the shock of her landing, drawing one her blade as she somersaulted.
She stepped out of the roll, striding forward and raising her guard as the fae reached for Vincent again. Aiming the tip of her liuyedao at the monster, she let loose a crack of electricity. It rammed into the fae, throwing it backwards.
Taking up a position next to Vincent, she spoke quickly. "Dispatch as many of your adversaries as is convenient and make your escape. Draw your fight away from mine to avoid any stray sparks. I will deal with any foes left behind. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to engage this new enemy. Banshees are far above you."
With that, she drew her other sword, and assumed a fighting stance.
"Careful... Regina."
"You alright?"
"Just chipper, thanks." It was a lie, and Regina knew it.
The fae floated back into the light of the lamppost, allowing Regina to get a better look at her. It appeared as a spectral, ghostly woman, but the Chief knew from experience that her grip was freezing cold- enough to kill a person, should she get her extremely not-ghostly hands around your neck.
Sparks flashed up the blades as Regina held them at the ready, then rushed the fae.
She ran straight forward, leading the banshee to lunge for her. However, a quick twist of one foot and she was suddenly to the fae's side, dragging a lightning-charged blade across its arm. A breathy hiss escaped from the woman, and her hands morphed into spikes of ice. This close to her, Regina could feel the chill.
This was why she wore a winter tailcoat until the heat was unbearable.
A Hurricane Wing never stops moving, the voice of her mother came back to her. You must never stop moving.
The fae lunged, and Regina growled as she tried to twist away. The ice tore through her arm.
Stupid, stupid, she reprimanded herself. You haven't had a good fight in a while. You're out of shape.
Another twist of her foot, and she was dancing the other way around the banshee, taking the offensive with a flurry of quick slices and thrusts that were parried easily. The fae was gauging her abilities, to know how serious the fight was.
Regina smirked. This was very serious indeed.
Her mind and concentration expanded down the steel of her blades, sending them shimmering with a thin sheen of lightning as the Chief opened her mind fully to the Zodiac.
Become the hurricane.
She whirled out of the way of a blow, feinting high and jabbing low, relentlessly pressing her opponent as her power flared, forming an aura of lightning around her, the electricity crackling in a ring around the two combatants, keeping the fae's mobility limited, the banshee stuck in a small safe area in the center, like the eye of a hurricane.
Sudden as the storm.
Regina pulled away, lurking in her ring of electricity and the swirling cloudstuff of the mist. Above her, the clouds cracked with lightning and thunder, the two happening at the very same second as it struck close to them.
The Chief laughed.
She lunged in, striking with surprise. The banshee twisted of the way, but Regina was the mercury of lightning, unpredictable and swift. Her other blade drove itself into the banshee's torso, pulling out as she dove into a roll and twisted out on the other side of her ring of storm.
"Ah, the feel of adrenaline again!" Her eyes were as bright as the sparks around her. "It's been too long, too long since I've danced the danse macabre!"
The banshee responded with a whirl of ice shards sent her way. Regina twirled out of the way, but one hit her cheek and another embedded itself in her shin. She laughed again, then dove in with reckless abandon, blades leading.
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Post by Wildsky on May 14, 2013 19:46:01 GMT -6
Regina's words rung in his ear. Duck! Obviously, he did. He didn't want to die, after all. Still, the cool grasp of the air was tightening, more so now. He knew what a banshee was, he'd read it in a book. And a banshee? If it made the Chief Executive serious and cautious (if it could be called that), then it was far beyond him.
He could feel the poltergeists' audacity growing -- he was distracted, no longer paying attention to the "harmless" poltergeists. The tendrils of light reached out, desperate to cling onto his skin, pull him in. He didn't care about escaping, but rather, helping Regina out as much as possible. Poltergeists alone were harmless to one as experienced as Regina, yet they could cause such distractions, especially when the most important was at hand. Rolling and drawing the poltergeists away from Regina, he whipped his sword around, slicing through the filaments of light.
It was easy enough for him to draw them to the edge of the action. His sword was strong, fast, and quick. With strength renewed, he took sliced through the vicious creature's attacks and plunged his sword through the heart of the beast. The poltergeist faded away, and he turned his attention to the one on his right.
He took his blade, drew a breath, and started to lunge and dance with the other poltergeist. He had to avoid the lights, but he managed to slay that one in less time than he had expected. It seemed to not know how to defend, how to prevent attacks, simply how to grasp.
Vincent, a shadow of carelessness going through his eyes. He turned to the other poltergeist, who had seemingly 'led' the attack (though he had read that they were too simple for any idea of leading or following), and a vicious grin formed. 'Last to die, all alone -- afraid now?
He leaped forth, aiming to slice the creature in half, the mist wrapping around him. Not even off the ground, two arms wrapped around his abdomen, and pain seared through his body. He was blinded by the pain. He fell to the ground, his face slamming into the hard, rough asphalt. He knew what he had to do -- kill the monster.
He took the knife that he had carried as a side arm (and he praised himself for that, too), and sliced at the arms coming towards him. He grabbed his spatha, now trusted and well-adjusted in his arms, and sliced through the poltergeist, bravado now gone. The monster faded away, and his eyes focused on the more important one in this mission: the Chief Executive.
'Eyv, tell me anything you can.'
'Careless. But smarter than you.'
Vincent swallowed and leaned against the wall, his abdomen still numbed by the adrenaline and endorphin. 'That, she is. I'll be no help here... But I can't just leave her.
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Post by { o p a l } on May 14, 2013 20:15:50 GMT -6
Regina was barely aware of Vincent's struggle, kept informed through the bloodied Kalyani's senses.
"I think... he's realized how he... matches up, Regina."
"Glad to hear it. One moment, please leave a message after the tone." She could feel a flicker of amusement go through her spirit animal.
"Time to finish this." Regina danced backwards into her ring of storm, gathering her energies for a moment, holding one blade in front of her face, its gleaming flat parallel to her face.
She reached out and dipped into the Zodiac, pulling out one of the most powerful spirits accessible by humans.
The electricity drew itself in around her as she opened a gate into the Zodiac to allow the immense spirit to pass through.
Storm wreathed around her as a shape became visible, highlighted by the mist gathering behind her.
Out roared a huge snake of electricity, rearing behind her like an infuriated cobra, fangs of lightning on full display as it hissed at the banshee.
As one, the two lunged, the snake taking a direct route towards the banshee and Regina dancing around to the other time to strike in a flurry of blows: left, high, right, left, low, high, left, high, right, high, low.
Her mind was a center of euphoria as she reveled in the power that she had unleashed, feeling as if she were blazing with power. The cold numbed her, turning her breath into mist, and the ice shards tore at her, leaving her bleeding from scratches on her abdomen and arm. But she could feel nothing but the rush of adrenaline that the battle left her with.
The blades became flashes of lightning, each strike barely parried by the banshee as she pressed the advantage of her spirit assistant.
Kalyani had managed to pull herself over to Vincent, who was watching at the side of the battle. Panting as she licked the blood from her side, the ocelot grinned nevertheless. "Vincent, if there's one thing you want to remember about either of us from this mission..." She trailed off as she assessed her wound.
The spirit animal turned to look at him with heartfelt, wide, brown eyes. "Regina's not a little stuck-up bitch."
A smirk formed on her bloodied mouth, and her eyes hardened to the brown obsidian they were normally. "She's a little stuck-up bitch who knows what she's bloody doing."
As she spoke, her human plunged her right liuyedao through the banshee's throat and tore outwards, ripping out a huge chunk of spectral flesh.
The banshee gagged, swatting at her with razor-sharp ice. She moved out of the way nearly effortlessly, smirking as the fae collapsed before her.
"Five," Kalyani stated.
Regina sheathed her swords, dismissing her magic with a wave of her hand. The spirit flicked its tongue at her and faded back into the Zodiac, whereas the magic slowly dissipated, hanging in the mist as tiny glowing sparks for a few moments after it had fully disappeared.
The ocelot grinned at her. "A little flashier than necessary, perhaps. But well done."
The Chief Executive nodded, taking a moment to lean against the wall, panting. Her brow was gleaming with sweat. She tiredly unbuttoned the tailcoat with fingers stiff from cold, fumbling slightly (to her obvious chagrin). "I know. But it was fun. Now." She pulled off the tailcoat, revealing a black short-sleeved polo.
Regina took a moment to look unconcernedly over her wounds. "Hmm. I'm in worse shape than I anticipated." She glanced over at Kalyani. "Far from the worst around here, though. Get back into the Zodiac. You know you'll heal faster there."
"Alright, alright. I just wanted to see how the fight turned out." Something in the ocelot's voice said that she was more worried about Regina than she'd like to admit.
As her spirit vanished into the Zodiac, Regina turned over to Vincent. "You. Mission accomplished. Return to base... go sleep or something." She blinked tiredly, stifling a yawn and pulling off her gloves. "Goodness, it's hot out. Listen, I'm just gonna head to the nearest base and wash up, maybe throw up a little, then return and have myself a good night's sleep, unless the bloody fae decide to spoil it. If you need directions, just follow me."
She began to walk towards the nearest safehouse, her stride slightly less speedy than normal. "While we're at it, any questions? Consider this your debriefing."
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Post by Wildsky on May 15, 2013 15:11:30 GMT -6
Vincent grinned at the ocelot. "Stuck up bitch, eh?" he asked, a tone of relief creeping into his body. "I'm used to that." He picked up his coat and sheathed the blade, reminding himself to clean it later. Disappointed in himself, though he'd never admit it, he watched the fight unfold.
Defeated? By poltergeists?! How..? How am I so weak? So... simple? She's barely older than me -- perhaps not even -- and... she's defeating a banshee. Vincent's mind was furious, the battle was in his mind.
'You didn't lose. You won.' Eyvindr voice pierced through his mind. He hated that bat sometimes.
'Won?! I won?! Oh, was that before or after I fell on the bloody street because a poltergeist decided to play with me?! Was that before or after I decided to forgo caution and try to be a cool kid who could use a sword? I can fight a match of a sword, till I think I can win.'
'So you killed the poltergeists, cursed beasts as they are, and now, Regina is about to kill the banshee. No one died, except the fae. And you're telling me you lost?'
That shut Vincent up, for the most part. Regina came over, and while she wasn't as bad as he expected, she certainly wasn't the person she usually was. He got up and, with a smirk, began to follow Regina. 'Eyv, be on the look out. If you're a scout, make sure we're safe. And... if you see anything, get someone out here. I don't think we could take on another Banshee.'
The fox bat took off from its hiding spot and began to fly over the streets of London, watchful of the lands below.
"Why does a banshee care about killing? For that matter, why do any of the fae care about killing? Is it spite? Hate? Lack of understanding? What are they? Who are they?" Vincent never asked easy questions -- or useful ones.
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Post by { o p a l } on May 15, 2013 15:42:33 GMT -6
Regina sighed, running a hand through her hair as she contemplated the best way to phrase the answers to Vincent's questions.
"A banshee cares about killing because its master cares about killing. Sometimes they have specific targets, others are simply set loose to wreak havoc. Any person they can kill or maim is a win for their side; every time they score the Silence has to divert energy and resources to covering up that death. You might remember the grisly death of Emily Brown, that seven-year-old girl a few months back? That was a handful of imps. We had to cover up the fae's tracks even from the police." She sighed. "Every time they kill anyone, our Public Relations Bureau gets another pain in the arse. Heck, every time an agent messes up in a mission and someone sees them the Public Relations Bureau has another pain in the arse. They've got a bloody large arse to have so many pains."
The Chief coughed and seemed to recover from her semi-rant. "As for what they are, we're not entirely sure where or how they originated. We just know that when the dinosaurs got wiped out, the fae were all sealed away, and that the seals here are weaker." She pushed her hair out from her face. "We're not sure why, and I assure you that our Research Department is more than happy to look into those two subjects."
She glanced around a corner, darting out of the light of a lightpost instinctively as a shady-looking man slunk across the street and into an apartment building. "Detour." Slinking away, she motioned for Vincent to follow her down another alleyway.
"Why do they kill? To stop us from stopping them from being released. Why do they want to come out? Well, they're probably awful stuffy in those prisons. Oh, and the last time a Seelie Noble was released, the Black Plague happened. We're not keen on that going on again, and Titania's made it pretty clear that she's out to become Queen of the world."
She poked her head into a street, glanced both ways, and then continued walking forward. "Who are they? Again, we're not sure. There's a lot we don't know about them. As I said, the Research Department is eager to look into it more.
"For now, all you need to know is that the Silence is the first and last line of defense for Britain--perhaps even the entire bloody world--against the fae. And you can be damned sure we'll do our best to make sure that they never get what they want."
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Post by Wildsky on May 15, 2013 21:34:59 GMT -6
((Ending thread. Moving to prison cells.))
---
Vincent listen to Regina speak, and then shut up for a bit. There was a lot to think on, in his opinion. Still... in his opinion, there were a lot of questions left unanswered. He wanted to sleep, no more, no less.
When they arrived at the base, they were hurried in. Checked out, cleaned up, then sent off to rest. Vincent didn't even care where, he just wanted to lie down. Before parting ways, however, he said to Regina, "Thank you... I suppose. You know what you're doing." He smiled slightly and then left her to collapse on the bed.
'Eyvindr?'
'Yes, Vincent?'
'Come home now.'
'Already there, you know.'
Vincent sighed and smiled, whispering the words "thank you". The lights were turned off and he was plunged into darkness -- his favorite element.
'Do you think they hate us? All of us, Eyv?'
'Do I hate you?'
'Are you from their world?'
'Every world has its demons, Vincent. And every world has its saviors. You and I, we are the former to them. But the latter to us.'
'Can't we just... live in peace? Together?'
'Would you want the knowledge of knowing that at any moment, the other side could break through? We can't live in peace, ignorant of each other. I don't know if we can live in peace, though... That's a question for another day.'
'But where are you from, Eyv? You're from their world, but you take the shape of one of our animals.'
'I'm dancing between the lines -- just like you.'
'So if I'm a human, then you're a fae?'
'Is everything in your world a human, Vincent? There's a lot more to the Spirit Zodiac than just the fae, you know.'
'So why don't we look at that?'
'Vincent... I can't speak for your kind. All that I can say is that I agree with you. And I think we both need sleep. We can discuss this tomorrow, but for now... Just know that I'm here.'
'Thank you.'
Safety. That was the gift that Eyvindr brought.
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