Private Roleplay~ IOD

asi • 23 January 2013 at 6:39 PM

Half an hour. What would Riley do with a whole half hour to himself? He definitely did not feel like relaxing in his room, he felt like that thing might swallow him!
Well, obviously the previous Three was into swordsplay, so Riley wondered what his training room might be like... The bedroom resembled one by itself, but he knew there was a special one set aside for the number in the SIM hall. He headed off to check it out, reluctantly remembering to take his twin dao with him.

Aww crud, Raven thought to herself, pretending not to hear the instructions. Two. It looked as though while she was 'free', she was definitely not off the hook.
At least she had half an hour in which she was really free to throw heavy objects around...
Lily looked at her new roommate reproachfully.


~I has nothing else XD ~

taffy789 • 23 January 2013 at 10:17 PM

Glancing around her room, Annabell located the mission clothes they'd gave her that were specifically suited for the cold weather of mountainous A-C.
After she got dressed, she grabbed her dagger, and was half-way out the door when something caught her mind, tugging at her memory. Without a single breath, Annabell silently closed the door, and turned to look at the object yet again.
Her rock-solid pillow, laying upon her neatly made bed. Beneath it, however, laid something the girl was almost too nervous to speak to anyone about.
...Why it suddenly seemed so important to her mind was a mystery to her-just her imagination acting up, she was sure.
Not wanting to worry herself about the small object while there was a bigger mission to focus on, Annabell pushed all of the thoughts of it out of her head.

~~~Time jump! .3. (Kinda. XD)~~~~

To his immense surprise, Zach was the first to arrive at the South Gate. It was at that moment that Five realized that the clock in his office-one of the only things untouched by the rabid fangirls-was ten minutes ahead.
Five minutes later, when the teleporter, named Davey, arrived and tried to make small talk with the number, congratulating him on his Truce match, he was met by a stony silence provided by the indifferent Five. Thus, Davey and Zach waited the next five minutes in the awkwardest silence the teleporter had ever encountered in his entire life.

asi • 24 January 2013 at 12:04 AM

Raven made it to the Southern Gate promptly on time, as Lily had been kind enough to remind her exactly the four minutes it would take her to walk it beforehand.
She stopped walking as soon as Zach was in sight and coolly leaned against the wall, expression as unyielding as ever.

Riley, on the other hand, had been utterly absorbed in the SIM room and would have stayed there hours longer had not his new assistant stepped in with a subtle hint by the way of, "Oh, and did you know a team should be setting off from the South Gate about two minutes ago? I heard they should be quite formidable, having two leaders and everything...."
"..." Riley turned, sheathed his blades and silently stalked off for the gate.

"Riley?"
"Raven!"
They both spoke at the same time, stared, then looked away, each embarrassed at their own surprise.
"Uh, hi," she said shaking her head slightly in amusement at their antics.
"You got out?" he said, amazed. "You're kidding, that..." he trailed off and looked around suspiciously as if there were cameras watching. "Actually worked?" he finished carefully.
"Thought you might be the one behind it," she smiled slightly- well, he was the only one who cared, right? Lily wasn't smart enough for something like that, even if it was such a throwaway attempt.
"Y-yeah... So it's you, me, Annabell, and..." he looked over at Zach. "The new Five, huh."
He then wandered over to the Gate, ready to depart. She remained aloof just outside.

taffy789 • 24 January 2013 at 12:33 AM

Annabell had appeared at the gate a few seconds late and had given Raven a nod in acknowledgement before going to make small talk with the teleporter to relieve him from his awkward situation with Zach.
The Five, on the other hand, chose to listen in on Riley and Raven's conversation from his spot at the wall, silently trying to piece together what they were discussing.
After Riley had left, Zach merly raised a questioning eyebrow towards Raven before walking off to join the others at the Gate.
"Okay everybody, hold hands!" Davey chimed-maybe a bit too happily.
A well aimed glare by Zach quickly shut him up. A quick flash engulfed them and they were gone.

(Jumping into the region now...Loading terrain....)

Nothing but white. That was the first thing that sounded in Zach's mind as he felt his boot crush the thick permafrost under it.
Nothing but snow.
Nothing but freaking snow.
He had almost forgotten how much he loathed the cold.
The boy tugged his jacket a bit tighter around him, sighing and hoping the mission could be quickly over with.
What /exactly/ were they supposed to be searching for anyway? He wasn't even completely sure-which bothered him-for his power could not detect something for him when he wasn't sure what it was.
Although, Eight HAD said that whatever-the-heck-it-is was moving towards the border of A-D...
Zach turned slightly to his left and started for the border.

asi • 24 January 2013 at 3:36 AM

Raven caught herself smirking when she read Zach's reaction to the abrupt climate change on his face. She had never had much of an aversion to cold, much preferring a snowday to a sunny day any day. She recalled slightly that she had shared the same trait with Alex, except it had been more pronounced in the other girl, who'd particularly loved wearing sleeveless and shorts out in the rain... That made her sad.
Raven was thinking about this while trouping after Zach and the rest when she remembered a something a friend of hers had told her once about this place, one she felt just in the mood for.
She turned and stared up at the mountain. "I heard a story about A-C before. Don't you think it's strange, how there is such a cold place all year round, on such a generally warm, tropical island?'
Raven didn't care if they didn't care, she was freaking telling them anyway.
"Apparently, it was caused during a fight between Unnoen, an ice user and an Earth user. Like most of these great fights, they were both too equally powerful forces and ended up destroying each other... And these mountains are their legacy, created by the battle. Everlasting snow and ice, covering giant towering masses of earth and rock... I don't think anyone has ever climbed all the way up the tallest, Arrowpeak, or more commonly known as Flechacima by the Glaeroes," she pointed it out to them, the leftmost height, way up in the sky and half-hidden by mist. "In fact, they say it's impossible, taller- much taller- than Everest and you'd suffocate long before you made it."
The peak seemed to just fade into the sky, it was so tall. She smiled at the stupid, silly, child's tale she was about to telling. "In the legend, Earth and Ice were fighting over a girl. They fought for nine days and nights and were only stopped by her death. Supposedly, on the same day every year, the first day of summer, the unmeltable snow does just that, like he's crying for her, and mountain daisies inexplicably spring up everywhere on the barren rock, so much that they replace the white snow..."
"..." Riley looked solemn.
Raven smirked. "Oh, sorry, I just love soppy romance tragedies..."

taffy789 • 24 January 2013 at 7:42 AM

"Perhaps it just gets too hot on the first day of summer and the snow melts?" Zach interjected, revealing that he was obviously not a romanticist.
"If you want, I think a suitable tragedy would be the very creation of IOD."
"I liked the story." Annabell defended Raven, rolling her eyes at Zach's pessimistic attitude. She'd herself picked up a lot of legends while walking around the Falconian's base.
However, the ones she'd heard where mostly tales you would tell around a campfire on Halloween, not a potentially dangerous mission.
She stared up at the colossal mountain herself while absent-mindedly following Zach's lead.
"Hey, Raven?" Annabell asked, remembering something from the story that had confused her, "What's an Unnoen?"

asi • 24 January 2013 at 4:23 PM

Raven rolled her eyes. "Yes, because the first day of summer is the hottest day in the year... Is the creation of IOD also a romance?" she wondered sarcastically. "Do tell."
She had actually never heard any but the most stupidest theories on how IOD was formed. She supposed she'd always just figured it was some demented [yeep] governent jerks who'd put it together.
She thought hard for a few minutes on the best way to answer Annabell's question. "It's difficult to say," Raven said slowly. "It's sort of like a legendary rank when you reach a certain level of power. They only seem to be given the title officially once they have fought someone with that same power from the other side. And since this- without exception- results in one, if not both of their deaths, it's not something you really want... Although it's rumored that winning will grant you freedom from IOD... It's true that every survivor has gone missing afterwards," she shrugged. "There are tons of speculated requirements to be an Unnoen, or to attain the ridiculous level of power. One of the most commonly listed is a good heart or pure intentions. Or you have to completely merge with you power. Another is that you have to be chosen in some way by your side, that they all have to accept and root for you or some [yeep]. Then there are the crazy ones like you have to pull the legendary Death Sword free from the rock in which it was stuck, or you have to save one hundred lives. They're supposed to be heros," Raven finished. 'Man, if I were to ever get out of here, I should become a tour guide or historian...' she thought.
"The previous Three and Two both have rumors circulating them that they could be the next Unnoen," Riley commented. "Shouldn't One be the most likely applicant?"
"Yeah, because we all know our torturer has such a kind, loving personality," Raven scoffed. "And didn't that old Three have a complete obsession with fighting? I heard his room has walls practically made of swords! Though I've met people who oddly worship him... I don't know about One, I guess that's why no one considers them. We didn't see our One fight their way up. For all we know, they're rubbish at fighting. For all we know, they are an imaginary person to make us feel safe. Remember everyone panicking when the previous One left for IOS?"
"..." Raven's points definitely hit a chord of truth.

taffy789 • 24 January 2013 at 7:57 PM

.

"Not a romance," Zach remarked, "but it sure continues to be a tragedy." He fell silent again as Raven started to talk again.
Annabell listened to Raven's story as she talked, nodding her head subconsciously at times to show she was paying attention.
"That's interesting to think about." Annabell commented after the girl was done with her story, "There are a lot of powerful people here, so it's reasonable to think some one must be the strongest of the strong... The pure heart thing, however, makes it sound more like a fairy tale."
She laughed, but pondered the subject further.
"Merging with your power seems rather dangerous as well. The only ones I've met have been...rather wild."
A bitter laugh sounded ahead of her.
"The ones I've seen couldn't even TALK." Zach scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Annabell considered his remark for a spilt second before transferring to another topic.
"If you don't mind to keep explaining...what's IOS? ...You both...seem to know a bit about this place." Annabell glanced over at Raven and Riley, and the feeling that she was being left out of some big, great loop once again arose in the pit of her stomach.

asi • 27 January 2013 at 6:17 AM

Raven pouted. "My criteria was romance tragedy. Romance comes first, meaning the tragedy part is a subset inside the romance genre. Meaning that if it's not a romance, then it doesn't even fit into the main category. So the history of IOD definitely does not qualify. Understand, Mister Beehive-brain?" she explained in a most mocking, cutesy manner.
Riley stared blankly at the girl for several minutes, utterly confused by Raven's endearment. He eventually gave up and dropped it. "The IOS? All I've heard is that it's sort of like the other half of IOD, to the south," Riley shrugged.
Raven smiled, pleased with the chance to flaunt her knowledge. "You're half right. IOS is actually south-east of here. And it can't be called the other half of IOD, because it is only approximately one quarter of it's size in land and in population. However, things there are run very differently than here. Most noticeably, their heavy reliance on technology. I mean, we're practically living in the dark ages, what with our medieval swords and stuff. Whereas they are using machine guns and everything. The reason for this difference has something to do with trouble transporting things to them, I'm not sure what exactly. Oh, you know SIMs? The training simulators we use? Well, they come from the Islet of Silence- that's what it stands for. That's all I really know," Raven concluded. "But I wonder if they are having trouble, because I've only ever met the one person from IOS, and our One even switched bases to over there..." She couldn't exactly mention that the one IOS person she'd met who'd told her all of this had actually come from the Glaeroes side of the war. It sounded like on the Islet of Silence, the Falchions could even possibly be... Losing.

taffy789 • 27 January 2013 at 11:30 AM

"So it's actually a war zone there, then..." Annabell grimaced, shaking her head.
"A real proper one fixed for mass murder-since it's so easy to fill someone with bullets instead of trying to get close enough with a knife to finish the job..."
If Annabell had to pick a moment where she felt the most disgusted about this place...learning about IOS would be in the top ten, perhaps somewhere behind the torturing, the Truce battles, and its horrifying food.
"Yep." replied Zach sarcastically, "It just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? Now, about your story qualifications, Shadow..."
He paused, thinking.
"Once upon a time and all that crap-" Zach started to say, not bothering to put any emotion into his tragic romance story, "Two lovers washed up on the shores of an island-surviors of a capsized boat. It was then they promised each other that they would get rescued sooner or later, and were at peace knowing they had each other. They named the isle IOD, for Isle of Dreams, for they dreamt to get off the place." He paused, thinking again.
"Unfortunately, none of that was worth a load of-and they both were quickly mauled to death by one of the many deadly monsters that inhabit this island. The government sent ships looking for the stupid people who crashed their ship, and instead found this deadly isle-which they turned into a death camp for children they wanted to "disappear". As for the lovers, they were happy in the end, because they died holding each other's hands. They were not so happy because that was all that was left of them." Zach laughed.
"And they say there's a curse on the island now-whoever gets sent to it will meet a long, painful death. Which is actually very true. The. End." Zach turned, flashing a mocking smile towards Raven.
"There you go, Shadow, a nice bed time story for you, huh?"

"..." Annabell made a mental note that the new Five had issues.

asi • 27 January 2013 at 1:21 PM

"Oh my god," Raven was so surprised she laughed aloud and brushed away some fake tears. "Isle of Dreams- that's actually pretty cute..." she shook her head in disbelief, if she could have known he was going to spout such a story she would definitely have brought pen and paper with her. "The moral of the story is not to go out in a stupid boat, right?" she then feigned a yawn. "Oh no, if I get too sleepy, you'll have to carry me," she teased.

"..." Riley revealed an exasperated expression. Those two sure had a strange relationship. It looked to him like Zach would go ridiculous lengths to try and irritate Raven. He didn't know the guy, but the story had seemed pretty tasteless and even cruel to him... And her reactions seemed to vary between ignoring, like at the gate, and- he noticed a very subtle blush on her cheeks- practically flirting. If he hadn't known better he might have thought she'd been drinking. Actually, her behavior was kind of like a child who insisted they didn't want to go swimming or whatever, but actually liked it when they got there... His interpretation was starting to disturb him, so he tried to change the subject in his mind.
... They'd been walking for ages. Were they going to get anywhere anytime soon? Did Five even know where he was going?

taffy789 • 27 January 2013 at 2:38 PM

"I'm not doing that again..." Zach muttered to himself, remembering when he had to carry the fainted Raven when she first arrived on the mountain. In fact, that was in this same very region...
Zach stopped dead in his tracks, his mind flicking from stupid legends and such to the surrounding area. He glanced around, scanning the seemingly endless sea of white in front of him.
"...We should reach the border in a few minutes. I say about ten or so." he informed the group, drumming his fingers against his belt.
There was suddenly a tense air around Zach-hard to notice unless you could see the slight, anxious twitch of a hand.
The Five mentally cursed at himself for getting so distracted by all the idiotic story-telling. He should have noticed the feeling of dread sooner-stupid mistakes like that could easily cost him his life.
However, the young man was aware there was nothing he could do about the cause of the dread they were slowly heading to, for it was their mission to go figure out what the thing was in the first place.
Zach sighed a small sigh. He hated how tense he got during situations such as these. The stress always seemed to pain his neck afterword...

asi • 27 January 2013 at 5:05 PM

"A-again?" Raven could have sworn that was what she had heard. Seriously? She definitely did not remember such a thing ever happening! (He seemed more like the kind who would ruthlessly drag a girl...) Had she been unconscious? She recalled the time in this same area when they first met...
She stopped suddenly, luckily this would go unnoticed as Zach had just done the same. She still cursed under her breath. Could it be? Raven had been sure she had not let anyone get close to her between the time she arrived at the Falchion's base and when she noticed the item she had been carrying had been switched. Was it possible that the new Five had been the one to take it? Her eyes narrowed and she slowly resumed walking. All she had known was that the item had been an extremely dangerous chemical which would be used somehow on the Falchions to further the rebels' goals. She really had to find out what had happened to it.
"Riley," she turned to him solemnly. "If by any chance this helpless maiden is unable to walk by herself during the mission, Raven entrusts this task solely to you."
He rolled his eyes.

Elsewhere....
Chase slung his blade, a style fashioned after that of Goujian, over his shoulder and briefly tested the strap while he waited for the others to get ready. His gaze then flickered to the door and sure enough, ten seconds later, the girl with the silver-or-grey hair entered.
"Yeah?" he addressed her casually, unable to put a name to the face. He didn't think she had one yet anyway, so it wasn't rude. "What's up?"
"Zan says that you've been taking too many from A-C," she said bluntly, her eyes landing on a unremarkable, pale spherical device Chase held at his side.
He cussed unabashedly. "I already set the destination! This thing doesn't go that far, you know, so there isn't a lot of choice! You can't cancel the program and it takes a hundred and twenty minutes to warm up," Chase glowered at it.
She shrugged. "So sorry. You try swiping one from the IOS next time." She had fond memories of that place, so much reliance on machinery. However, she had been forced to flee right after taking over her user.
He blinked. "That was you-" he started to say, when the orb began lighting up, bathing the room in a misty blue glow. "Ah, forget it. We're teleporting near the border to A-M, so we'll cross over into there."
Grey nodded and backed away as the rebel team all gathered around Chase before vanishing in a flash of bright violet.

taffy789 • 27 January 2013 at 6:16 PM

It was obvious to see that they'd reached the border because of all the scattered, snow and wind battered trees. These were the markers leading into a thick pine forest, filled with even more snow and wind battered trees, and lead to a thicker part of the forest with no snow nor wind, since the other snow and wind battered trees protected it from such.
...
All this snow and wind reminded Zach about how freaking cold it was.

"Well, I got us to the border. The power-piggy backing stops here, I'm afraid. What do we do now?"
To Zach, the answer was obvious: Aimlessly walk around until the feeling of dread becomes an actual reason for dread.
It wasn't a pretty plan, but it was undeniably the most effective thing they had at the moment.
"We could split into two teams, and cover more ground." Annabell suggested to the group. "Then we can search for this thing we're supposed to find more efficiently."
Zach sighed at what he considered a stupid idea, but had to remember that his comrades did not possess his same level of intuition. "That idea won't work. We don't know what we're up against, and, frankly-" he glanced at the team around him, "Our powers don't compliment eachother at ALL. I tried to bring this up with Eight, but she was dead set on sending us...heaven knows what's going on in her mind..." The Five muttered the last part, hoping he would never have to discover how the Leader's brain worked- he could already tell that would be one crazy autopsy.
"So, do we just move around aimlessly then?" Annabell questioned, getting the feeling that said plan was a rather terrible one.
Zach shrugged. "Pretty much. I would say we would walk along the border, where the trees are getting a bit thicker, but we still have a pretty good view of the snow. That way, it's easier to see if something is trying to attack us from both ways. ...Sound good?" He glanced expectantly at the group.

asi • 27 January 2013 at 10:55 PM

"Okay," Riley agreed nonchalantly, while Raven didn't respond, just continued staring distractedly off into the space above Zach's shoulder. It was a complete coincidence when a blinding blue light flashed like lightning exactly where she was looking.
"Holy..." she gasped. Could it be a teleportation device? But they were ridiculously rare, at least on the Isle!
The glow slowly faded. She counted fourteen seconds of light, and her heart sank. Stella had told her that what she'd taken from the IOS had been an outdated model, and the new ones were much more efficient and didn't have such a give-away light. Still, she noticed a difference; the light had been a kind of navy color, but when she had used it, it had been pure white. Raven held onto that hope and looked to the others to see if they'd noticed it.

The first thing they felt was the cold in their feet. Though the light was still obstructing their sight, Chase addressed his gang. "All right, guys, there are one or two potential recruits in this area- probably Ferals, as the others call them. We'll just call them uneducated. Find them, meet back here in three hours. Chances are they won't have any brains to speak of, so you may want to save yourself some trouble and knock them out cold. I'll take 'Verse..."
The blueness slowly faded, now Chase could see the team. He noticed the new kid looked kind of twitchy. That's right, that one had only just been converted. "And you, what's your name, kid?"
"Uh, um... Hale's name was Hale," the boy who used to be called Hale answered.
Chase smiled in amusement. Of course it was rare to know your real name, and Hale didn't look a day older than fourteen years. "I'll just call you that, if you don't mind. You other three, head south. We'll go west."

taffy789 • 28 January 2013 at 12:10 AM

"So we're going to do that then..." Zach trailed off, but suddenly stiffened.
He quickly glanced around the area, but by this time the light from the machine had faded.
"... We should really be careful." Zach sighed, now showing visible signs of once hidden anxiety. The leader stood up, and concentrated on the direction the light had been shining for a second before starting in that direction.
"Well, when you put it THAT way..." Annabell sighed, before fading into thin air. "I'll follow your lead then."
To be honest, she more than glad to be invisible at the time. Five...seemed a bit tensed. While she wasn't completely sure what his power was...that was never exactly a good sign.
...Just to be careful, Annabell drew her knife.

(Feel free to initiate conflict. XD)
~~~

It was cold again- and snowing at that.
Charge watched as the flakes fell upon the frozen pine needles, and swirled in the air, as if part of a great ballet. It was white, pure, and actually all rather surreal to him- he would have never thought he would be able to see something even as trivial as snow falling through this pair of eyes...
...
Actually, no.
That last thought was trying to betray him. He knew that he would take over his Pain sooner or later.
Also, the entire snowy scene was getting boring.
Smiling with a new emotion- one of wild glee -the power slid one hand against the bark of an ancient pine, grinning up at its tall, snow-covered needles.
Then he allowed the sparks to fly under his hands- his free, ungloved hands, at that- and held the electricity against the bark, waiting.
After a few seconds, the wood dried, and the sparks turned into a blaze. Smiling with contempt, he pulled his hand away from the burning tree, overally happy with his handiwork.
The frozen pine was burning- catching alight and ruining years of the hard work of growing a tree.
Suddenly, Charge caught the sound of voices. Muffled voices that were coming closer...
He laughed to himself, not believing his luck.
Just as he wanted the green pine needles to turn black, he was in the mood to turn the pure white snow red.

asi • 29 January 2013 at 2:11 AM

"Stop, look!" One of the rebels mouthed, smelling smoke. Within seconds a fire was roaring ahead, one of the tallest pines had just inexplicably caught fire. In such a cold, snowy area, it didn't take a genius to work out that it had to be the work of a human, Power or otherwise.
"Is it fire manipulation?" a second asked.
The brunette looked concerned. "I heard that was extremely rare... Anyway, this looks dangerous. A minute ago our arrival sent off an extremely bright flare. If they know we are here and are still burning down trees..." He trailed off. "I'll scout ahead." The third person, the girl of the group, stepped forward and caught him just as he fainted.
A small red squirrel from a tree nearby suddenly woke up and after blinking it's eyes several times, recovering from disorientation, set off in the direction of the fire, jumping from tree to tree.
"... How long should we wait?" The remaining rebel boy was impatient.
The girl, who was supporting the unconscious brunette, was taking the liberty of pulling on his cheeks. After hearing the question, she looked up at the other's expression and pouted, but still picked the guy up bridal-style. "We'll follow, but slowly, okay?"

After a few minutes of walking, the one apparently nicknamed 'Verse by Chase slowed and said in a hushed voice; "I sense some people up ahead. Five or four."
"That many?" Chase stared, taken aback.
Verse nodded and smiled. Chances were that it was an enemy team in their way, and she wanted to play.
"We'll take a look," Chase decided. "But keep low."
The group altered their direction slightly to where Verse had gestured, treading as quietly as possible and flitting from tree to tree in order to keep out of sight. Soon they could see three figures through the trees.
"Falchions," Hale murmured under his breath, eyeing their uniform.

taffy789 • 29 January 2013 at 6:08 PM

The power stalked his prey, weaving through the trees, and getting closer and closer to the small group of rebels with every passing second.
Finally, he got a clear sight of them, and pressed himself behind a tree to avoid detection.
One girl; two boys, one of which was currently unconscious.
Their uniforms did not seem to be of either team...or, at least, what Charge remembered the Falchion's outfit to look like- it had been a long time, and his Pain's memory was very fuzzy...
Although, he was quite aware of what the Glaeroe's dress of choice was, as he was supporting one of their stolen black jackets. In all honesty, Charge quite liked how the black looked on him, and held no qualms about wearing the clothes of the recently deceased. The jacket complimented his own overall wild appearance, he was sure.
Moving his mind back to the group in front of him, he sucked in a quiet breath, and summoned a small charge to begin to gather in his cupped palm. The electricity started to expand by the second, growing into a sphere a little bigger than a baseball. Small, but dense, and filled with enough raw energy to blow a hole in the side of one of the pine trees.
The anticipation of the upcoming battle sent Charge's heartbeats into a wild frenzy, vibrating in his ear like a drum solo. A satisfied smile spread over his face, and then he took quiet aim of the conscious boy before launching the sphere at his chest.

~

Annabell found it strange how aloof Zach was now acting, considering how anxious he had been just moments before. Now, he was moving slowly throughout the forest, only minding much attention to the trees.
If they weren't on a life-threatening mission, Annabell would've thought he was just taking a casual walk around a snowy park.
Zach, on the other hand, was fully aware of the danger that was present to them at the moment. Although, warning his team mates to the danger would only tell the other- group? He wasn't quite sure- that he knew of their existence.
Also, he wasn't even exactly sure how far away they were from them, or even if they knew that there was a team of Falchions in the area... He wasn't even sure what they, or even it, was.
All he knew was that trouble was close by...and getting closer.

asi • 29 January 2013 at 9:10 PM

"No!" The rebel girl screamed, seeing the attack just before it hit. But there was nothing she could do as her comrade went down. His stomach was practically ripped through, and burns covered every inch of skin visible. He gave one last shudder then went still. The rebel was very definitely dead.
"No," she gasped again, shock and fear mixed in her tone. Her own heartbeat pulsed so loud in her ears that it drowned out everything else. She stared blindly at the tree behind which the attack had come. The lifeless brunette who she had lifted so easily seconds earlier now felt like a ton of bricks in her arms, and he dropped from her hands. The girl froze up, paralyzed by her own fear.

Riley paused mid-step. Three unknown presences had entered his range, and one of them were broadcasting their thoughts to the whole world. Four couldn't help but overhear even though he wasn't trying.
*Falchions,* the closest one was thinking. *I can see three of them. What should we do? This wasn't supposed to happen...*
Another had little protection and was easy to access, but difficult to understand, particularly as they were reeling with an emotion, surprise. Their mind exclaimed, *Leader!*
Riley assumed they meant a leader of the Falchions, as both Zach and he were.
The third had smooth, flawless barriers, and Riley didn't waste time trying to break in. He went right ahead and informed Zach, Raven and the spot which Annabell had occupied of their company.
"Three people. Not Falchions," he nodded towards the trees where the rebels were hidden.

"This wasn't a part of the plan," Chase snapped, though remembered to keep his voice hushed. "Stupid complications." Why did he have to run into Leader's user, of all people?
"Alright, we'll have to retreat," he whispered to the others, glowering at 'Verse's obvious reluctance until the Power sighed and nodded. "This just got dangerous. We have to find the others."

What the person said aloud was much easier for Riley to hear than their complex undercurrent of thoughts. Whoever this apparent leader of the team was, their thought-processes were distinctly abnormal, especially in their speed.
He related to Raven and the rest all of Chase's instructions.

It wasn't long before the squirrel found the footprints heading in the direction he'd just came from. His rusty fur bristled in panic and he let the rodent's form collapse in the snow, diving as quickly as he could back into his own body.

taffy789 • 29 January 2013 at 10:36 PM

"Only three?" Zach inquired in a hushed tone. That was better than the four or five he assumed were near... The anxious feeling which made him assume that was still present in him, despite the lessened danger, however...
"...What are we going to do then?" Annabell was mindful to keep her voice in a quiet whisper, as to not give herself away. "These are probably the people that were causing the disappearances on A-C... Are they the Glaeroes?"
Zach shook his head in reply to Annabell's question. He remained quiet, thinking.
After it became clearer to Annabell that Zach wasn't going to answer anytime soon, she turned to Riley and Raven(which wasn't that effective, considering she was still invisible). "...Do we have to take these people down?"
"...There's smoke." Zach finally offered,turning his attention to the dark clouds weaving out if the treetops to his right.

~
The panic in a walking corpse's eyes...these were the moments that Charge thought were certainly worth living for.
The sparks ignited once again on the tips of his fingers, and were softly pressed to the bark of the tree that was keeping him hidden. The tree, with its bark dry due to the lack of moisture in the cold air, caught alight once it warmed up.
He stepped back from the spreading flames, and forward towards the girl and unconscious boy, who was now laying on the ground.
Charge supposed it could be considered ironic that the scene- bodies on the ground, a frightened young lady, flames now leaping up trees, and Charge himself the cause of all of it- was almost poetically familiar to his first big debut. It made the power wonder if his little Pain was taking note of this similarity...how he sure hoped he was.
However, this encounter would end better than the last, Charge was sure.
Letting a wild smile cross his lips, the power allowed another sphere to form in his hands before batting it towards the rebel.

asi • 30 January 2013 at 6:57 PM

>Naming for the sake of not calling them, "the girl," "the boy," all the time XD<

"Voeing!" The possession-power growled out a name as he tackled her aside, and the crackling ball of electricity passed right overhead of them both. He stood up, and though a little shaky having just switched back, he still pulled out his weapon, (which was, no matter how you looked at it, a stick), ready to fight.
"Sorry..." the girl called Voeing whispered, her eyes stinging with tears. She had begged to be allowed on this mission, and now she was going to disappoint Chase... "I said I wouldn't be a burden," she sniffled.
He glanced briefly at her- not sure whether to be annoyed or amazed at the display of emotions which powers like them rarely had- then hauled her roughly up by her fur collar. "Then don't be." He unsheaved one of her own Ka-Bar knives and pressed it into her hand.
Voeing smiled weakly and nodded. After all, Sest- the possessor- had little offensive ability, between his power and that stick of his... It was really up to her.
But first, Sest had to try talking to the Feral. "Hey. You're a power like us, right? We aren't your enemies, we just want to talk," he tried cautiously. "Can you speak?"
Voeing slipped into a stance so that she was ready to charge if the Feral continued to prove himself hostile.

"Who else could they be, other than Glaeroes?" Four asked, puzzled. "They're working together, so they can't be Feral."
Raven didn't trust herself to speak at that moment, she just stared at the snow-covered ground. In response to Annabell, she said; "Riley said that they were going to find 'others', right? That means they are more. We should probably follow them and find out what they are doing here, if they are actually the cause." She crouched down to redo her shoelaces, extra-tight for fighting. This group, she knew, were most likely rebels...
Riley looked over at the smoke when Zach pointed it out. He supposed that was where the 'others' were then.

taffy789 • 30 January 2013 at 9:38 PM

"Can I speak?" Charge laughed, shaking his head, "You offend me, really." The power took a few steps closer, much in similar fashion as a large predator would stalk up to the cornered prey, but taking care to not linger close enough to make himself look like a large threat.
The people who claimed to be like him caught his interest for the time being. His Pain's memories, as scattered as they were at the moment, reminded him that he was not alone in his ambitious quest to overtake his repressor while having the brains to think clearly.
"You claim to be ferals, yet are working in a group..." Charge glanced at the two as if closely examining them.
"Explain." The command was simple, and spoken as if it was his right for them to tell him what he wanted. The fact that there were now others like him, unlike the mindless other beasts that roamed around the mountain tops without aim, made Charge excited. Stronger competition was always welcomed, and he had no real intent on letting this duo talk him into their escape.

~
"Yeah, I wonder who they could be..." Zach felt the sudden urge to elbow Raven as she was tying her shoelaces, but decided it wasn't the time nor place. In all honesty, he had assumed that whatever past Raven had behind her would not rise to a conflict on his time, but it couldn't be helped now.
"We'll follow the smoke. I'll lead, and i'll give the signal if we're about to be attacked." Zach drew one of his swords from the sheath, sighing as he did.
"That, or if you see me getting attacked, we're being attacked, I suppose..."
With that, Zach started towards the smoke.

asi • 30 January 2013 at 10:42 PM

Voeing narrowed her still-wet eyes. The thing about a 'Feral', the main difference between a human and a beast was their ability to talk. She and Sest knew all about this because they had been there. The constant struggle with her user had made it impossible to think rationally, and with her only driving force anger, it had led her to destroy everything in her path. But when, thanks to the rebels, she'd been rid of her user....
The fact that he could act like this- she assumed- without being free, that meant this guy was extremely strong or intelligent, or both. And dangerous. Especially with that attitude.
Sest spoke slowly and clearly. One innocent power had already been lost and it was important to prevent any more being hurt, if possible. "We're not Feral. We are powers who have been freed from human enslavement," he said carefully. "We're the rebels."

Chase and the others had ran as fast as they could (in Chase's case, very fast), when they saw the fire, knowing something must have gone wrong, as no one on their team were capable of such a feat. When they saw the scene, however, they kept to the shadows, not wanting to interfere and perhaps make the target freak and attack.

taffy789 • 30 January 2013 at 11:35 PM

"Enslavement." Charge practically purred. "I like your terminology."
They'd just bought themselves a few more seconds of life.
"Rebels, huh? Sounds like one of those other team-type names that get thrown around this place a lot." The power was growing restless, and started to slowly pace around the trees, keeping a watchful eye on the two.
The movement was out of pure habit. His power built up quickly, so fast, in fact, it made him uncomfortable if he didn't release it from the cage of his human body. It was an annoying trait that his Pain also had to deal with, and he used a static field to do so, constantly regulating Charge's power to prevent an outburst or takeover. The fact that the field was one of the things his Pain used to repress him made the power think of the entire ability as a bad reminder.
"Honestly though, why are you bothering to tell me all of this?" Charge questioned Sest, staring him in the eye.

(Short post reply post. XD )

asi • 31 January 2013 at 12:43 AM

"It's not like that," Sest continued. "It's an alliance. You don't have to work or fight if you don't want to; we do what we want. But for those who crave vengeance," he paused, and his eyes began to glow. Before, he had seemed as mild and tame as an ordinary human, with none of a feral's wild, raw power. Now as he addressed his obsession, he really did resemble one. "Raid will lead us to destroy everyone who has ever tried and subjugate us."
Voeing nodded to this, her expression hidden beneath her hood, giving a dark impression. "That's right! We're going to kill all the humans. Our leader is very powerful! He promised us this," she spoke as if it were the simplest thing.
"We're telling you this because," Sest glowered. "You killed our comrade. If you hadn't done so, we could have left you alone, but now you only have two options; join us, or die."
Chase silently emerged from the trees at this point, and there was no questioning what HE was. He looked as fierce as ever, his mane of long golden hair shining from the snow, sharp brown eyes and a menacing scowl. He was wearing the standard rebel outfit same as everyone; pale gray windbreaker style, sleeveless despite the weather, though lined with white fur, and with a few more zippers than strictly necessary. It didn't take much to notice how much stronger he was than the other two; everything said so, from his casual stance, lean muscled arms, long and clearly exceedingly heavy sword on his back, to the air around him which practically hummed with energy.
"Chase!" Voeing greeted him with a bright smile and a wave of her Ka-Bar.

taffy789 • 31 January 2013 at 8:02 AM

.

Kill all the humans?
Charge pondered this ambition, and was annoyed to find himself tempted to join the group of rebels on their mission. It was such a tempting goal... However, his drive to kill and seek destruction was not something he wanted to be regulated by the restrictions of "team mates". The overpowering of his Pain had bought him complete and utter freedom, and he wasn't about to give that away for a group goal.
His aversion to joining the rebels grew even more so as they threatened him. The boy who had appeared was stronger than the first two. Obviously the leader.
If they were aiming for a showing of power to force him into joining, then they were going to get one.
"Your offer is very tempting..." Charge strolled over to a nearby pine, glancing up and taking in its great height.
Suddenly, the air surrounding him and his new foes became thick with electricity, and hummed with its newfound charge. The static field was still evil, in Charge's opinion, but a necessary one. It made his attacks all that much more powerful.
Grinning, Charge slammed his palm into the side of the tree, and drove a sphere of electricity into the pine, blowing a large, gaping hole right through the thick wood. With a push of a hand, he sent the large tree in the direction of the rebels. The entire forest seemed to shake as the tree fell towards them, and Charge laughed.
"I'm not very much of a "team player", I'm afraid." he taunted, and prepared his next attack.

asi • 31 January 2013 at 1:16 PM

A tall, slim girl with dark, almost navy blue hair in a pixie cut, who was grinning with anticipation of the fight, and a much younger boy with green eyes and an almost transparent complexion- 'Verse and Hale, followed Chase into the clearing as it became obvious a fight was inevitable. They'd show this idiot exactly how much stronger their power was when combined.
The two girls leaped out of the tree's path and then ran at Chase from opposite directions, right and left, both wielding twin knives. They co-ordinated perfectly, each throwing a spare knife simultaneously, aimed right for the heart.
Whereas Sest, Chase and Hale didn't even both moving, the latter grabbed both their hands and the tree fell right through them. Voeing and 'Verse could handle this just fine, they knew, in fact, the three of them didn't dare attack the rogue power, knowing how mad 'Verse would get if they interfered. That had actually been one of her conditions for joining the team; if anyone gets in her way, she would kill them. She'd been much like Charge until they'd found her, destroying with a passion. "I want to turn this world upside down," she had told them. "Everything white I'll paint black. I'll drown the seas and then burn the land. And everything that lives, I kill. You get rid of this pest inside my head for me, I might be able to- restrain myself- in special cases."
Voeing was alright though, it'd been her fight to start with, and she was actually one of the best fighters the rebels had.
The three boys watched from the side of the pine tree, two of them sweatdropping a little at how much more viciously powerful the girls were.

taffy789 • 31 January 2013 at 9:33 PM

The power only smiled as the group ganged up on him. He'd faced ferals before, but none were as coordinated as the group of rebels. Their attacking strategy was pretty impressive, and, better yet, they were powerful enough to allow Charge to go all out. The air around the feral started to crackle and spark, as if it was awaiting the command to combust into with a super nova of pure electricity and power. All former tension he held from holding back his true power was released. Charge's eyes illuminated a bright yellow, like two suns burning. It was at this moment, operating at full power, he felt truly free.
The first thing the feral did to counter the Rebel's attacks was to shoot down the knives that were flying towards him- easily done with the help of two well-aimed bolts.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, Charge sent a small wave of electricity towards Voeing, powerful to shock or stun, but not meant for killing. He wanted to slow her down, and could easily deal with her later.
Turning his attention towards 'Verse, he aimed a bolt at the base of her feet, trying to send her flying. For good measure- not to mention to show the rebels what they were dealing with- the power summoned his electricity once more. The bolts this were not aimed towards his foes, but insteadslammed into nearby trees, catching most on fire and managing to topple a few of the tall evergreens around him.

Annabell could hear the battle raging just ahead of the group. The flashes of light, the faint voices, and the fire was a sure sign of some kind of fighting going on...
"Dang it! Move!" the command from Zach to the team came like a bolt from the blue, and it confused Annabell for a spilt second- what the heck was wrong?
Then, as the shaking that came with part of a forest canopy being thrown to the ground rocked the Earth, she suddenly understood what she needed to dodge.
The girl barely had enough time to dive to her right before the tree crashed behind her- the thud still ringing in her ears.

asi • 31 January 2013 at 11:50 PM

Voeing's eyes widened at the enemy's display of power; she was truly frightened, she'd never seen anything like this back at base. Element manipulation powers were rare, but she knew two in passing, Zan and Stella, ice and metal respectively. They never would have gone all out in the training hall, but she couldn't imagine either of them being anything like... This.
Her knees felt weak and her stomach was doing gymnastics, but Voeing kept on running. Chase was watching, and she could definitely not disappoint him.
On the other hand, it had the opposite reaction on 'Verse, who simply laughed with exhilaration. It had been a long time since she'd got such a powerful opponent, and for her, it was thrilling.
Voeing saw the electric pulse coming and knew she had to judge this carefully, otherwise it would be the death of her. With her power, this was the most vital part of the battle, the enemy's first strike. She calculated... Non-lethal. Voeing spread out her arms horizontally, and embraced the electricity. In the seconds it coursed through her, she feared she had underestimated its power and this would be her last. Her body shook and she was hit by nauseating vertigo.

"... Did he just hold back on Voeing?" Chase asked disbelievingly as he watched her being shocked. The impact had cast off her fluffy hood and revealed a face with dark, sharp but elegant features- currently clenched up with pain, but nevertheless beautiful-, framed with jaw-length bangs of extraordinary pale mantis-green hair, which was cropped shorter at the back.
"He did indeed," Sest answered with a smile.
"He's going to regret that."
"Yes he is," the brunette confirmed, then continued to say, hoping to taunt the feral into expending more power on her; "Never hold back on Voeing, ever."

'Verse grinned as the bolt shot towards her. She dive-rolled out of the way like a ninja and kept on running, in a second she was close enough to engage in proper combat, and aimed a slash for his throat. "Get over here, Voeing, or you're going to miss out on all the FUN," she simpered.
"Ugh..." Voeing dragged herself to her feet, trembling, her mind completely filled with black. Still, she managed to keep going, heading relentlessly for Charge.

"..." Raven kept silent as they approached the battle. It seemed like the rebels, if that's really who it was, were in some kind trouble. She couldn't decide if she liked that or not, so she just hoped none of her friends were caught up in it.

taffy789 • 1 February 2013 at 12:46 AM

Charge responded to 'Verse's attack by jumping back as she swung at him, and released a quick burst of electricity in her direction to attempt to push her back. Quick as lightning, Charge drew his own weapon from his belt, which was nothing more than a thick-hilted knife he'd lifted from one of his many victims.The metal blade hummed with a charge as soon as he touched it, making it a certainly shocking weapon to fight against.

As the dust from the fallen tree cleared, Zach realized that he couldn't see Annabell anywhere amongst the wreckage...which was either a good or bad thing, considering her power.
This entire mission had been drilling a hole into Zach's stomach, and now he finally knew why. They were only a few meters away from the battle...and he could feel the power emanating from the fighters from where he stood. Charging in recklessly was certainly a bad idea.
"...Four, can you get into mind-reading range? We need to know what's going on, but I don't feel like risking my butt today trying to get a glimpse of whatever caused a twenty foot pine tree to crash on us..." Zach glanced back down at the tree.
Where was the invisible girl anyhow?

There was a lot of flashes of light, and that was the first thing Annabell noticed after picking herself up from the ground. Perhaps they were from the fire that started to spread tree-to-tree despite the bitter cold.
The roaring battle that was going on just a few meters from her enticed her, tugging her curiosity and drawing her closer to it. There was certainly no harm in checking out the battle first then reporting back to the team with eye-witness information, was there?
She made sure to keep completely silent, and made almost no sound as she tread carefully on the snow laden ground, keeping behind trees for protection, despite still being completely unnoticeable. The girl creeped closer to the rebel-feral conflict, pressing against a tree a few feet left of the male rebels, and strained her eyes to see what was going on...
Wait.
What?
No.
No.
Annabell took a step backwards, choking on the words.
It wasn't possible. He had never been sent here. He was taken by a government facility. Why on Earth would he be sent to IOD after that?!
The girl did not realize she had spoken the words until after they escaped her mouth."L- LEON?"