Slavegear - Part 3

As the fastfood stand is registered in her mind, her grin widens quite a bit.

"Radiance, with me. We've found our blood bank. Let's hurry."

She tries to get to the stand as fast as possible.

"Thank you" she smiled a little, nodding. "In return, we can tell you what we know of Slavegear. Moon twitched a little, examining the surroundings whilst barely shifting her head.

(Twilight, Radiance)


As you reach the stand, several people begrudgingly step out of your way, growling something under their breath. It appears you may have cut in line, before them.

The crowd was pretty thick here. It was hard to make out what was happening, but from the corner of your eye, you thought you saw the sharp surface of a knife, briefly reflect the light, in somebodies palm.

There was a small commotion in the crowd. Elisabeth's expression changed, from her usual worried look, to a cold emotionless mask. Her eyes became empty. Almost dead. You've seen this look before. It was the look of an old soldier who's seen too much blood and slowly grew numb to it. The look of someone, just before he takes someone's life.


The commotion in the crowd continued. It was hard to tell what was happening but you saw Elisabeth make an untraceable motion, the next second, the unknown man with the knife, fell to the ground, clutching at his throat and struggling to breath.


Elisabeth turned away from him and moved closer to you. Her stare became extremely unsettling, uncomfortable to look at. She came closer, so you would be within earshot, and quickly whispered:

"...the man with the Tiara wasn't alone... there's three more in the crowd.. they're coming toward us..."


As the words leave her lips, you do notice three men with stone cold expressions, slowly surrounding you and moving closer toward you, through the crowd.



Somewhere further in the distance, you hear a small but audible explosion. It appears the stun spell that was cast on the Tiara, was just set off.

The tracking spell remained active though, and you could vividly tell that the Tiara briefly stopped, before continuing to move further and further away from you.

The crowd in the market became restless. It seems they became conscious of something happening around them.



























(Rain, Moon, Wyvern)


As you examine the surroundings, it seems that for the most part, the area is quiet. You can still hear an occasional muffled shout from downstairs, but as far as you can tell, no soldiers or law enforcement was in the area.

The skies were mostly clear, the moon was slightly peaking through the rain clouds above. You can't seem to spot any areal vehicles in the vicinity.


Kaylee waited a moment, visibly hesitating, before she finally nodded:

"..alright. From what we gathered, it seems the robot was dismantled inside the HGTS tunnels, then loaded onto five medical trucks and smuggled out of the tunnels, through the same way they came in.
To find the robot, we need to find the trucks" she briefly paused, before continuing:

"...we need the camera footage of that entire region. City streets, highways, junctions. If we had that.. we could find the trucks.. and by extension.. the robot..."



Harlequin was quiet for a long time, visibly processing the information. After a minute she spoke:
"...you're asking me to acquire this footage for you?"


".. you need permission from you employer first, don't you.." Kaylee slowly asked: "We're looking for the same thing, right? Perhaps, we could.. help each other?.."



For a moment, you thought Harlequin became tense, but it could've been just the changing shadows  cast by the moon. Halrequin is intently looking at you, seemingly trying to read your expression:

"...what.. form of cooperation would you expect from me?... How can you trust me?"

(Tarmikos)


The room before you seems to be a comfy looking office. A window on the far side of the wall. A few green plants standing around the room.

A small, featureless and practical wooden desk. A long sofa and two chairs. A picture of some kind of ship, on one of the walls.

Dr. Zarovee was sitting behind the wooden desk, his glasses on, he appears to be writing something in a notebook.


As you come in, he puts the pen down and gets up, smiling to you:

"Hello, Tarmikos, I'm glad you could make it" He goes around the desk, moving closer to you: "How are you feeling?"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Rain, Moon, Wyvern)


As you examine the surroundings, it seems that for the most part, the area is quiet. You can still hear an occasional muffled shout from downstairs, but as far as you can tell, no soldiers or law enforcement was in the area.

The skies were mostly clear, the moon was slightly peaking through the rain clouds above. You can't seem to spot any areal vehicles in the vicinity.


Kaylee waited a moment, visibly hesitating, before she finally nodded:

"..alright. From what we gathered, it seems the robot was dismantled inside the HGTS tunnels, then loaded onto five medical trucks and smuggled out of the tunnels, through the same way they came in.
To find the robot, we need to find the trucks" she briefly paused, before continuing:

"...we need the camera footage of that entire region. City streets, highways, junctions. If we had that.. we could find the trucks.. and by extension.. the robot..."



Harlequin was quiet for a long time, visibly processing the information. After a minute she spoke:
"...you're asking me to acquire this footage for you?"


".. you need permission from you employer first, don't you.." Kaylee slowly asked: "We're looking for the same thing, right? Perhaps, we could.. help each other?.."



For a moment, you thought Harlequin became tense, but it could've been just the changing shadows  cast by the moon. Halrequin is intently looking at you, seemingly trying to read your expression:

"...what.. form of cooperation would you expect from me?... How can you trust me?"

Lord Wyvern remains quite in hiding, but tries to listen in to the shouts from below.

(Rain, Moon, Wyvern)


From parts of conversations that reach you, it seems the people downstairs are trying to call the police, but none of their phones are working.


Harlequin is still standing still and quietly looking at you.

Twilight seems to ignore the surroundings, her single minded focus only wanting ketchup for the plan.

"Hello, I'm in need of some ketchup quickly. It's impor-"

Then the thud of the man falling down seems to snap her out of it, and she looks at it, trying to process the new information.

"... Of course..."

Her eyes widen as the stun fires. The following actions make her frown.

".... Sonovabitch."

(Twilight, Radiance)


You sense the Tiara getting further and further away.

Someone behind you angrily roared over the crowd: "Hey! There's a line here lady!"
It was hard to move. Too many people were in the market and they all began wearily looking around, involuntarily pushing each other.

"Twilight!" You feel Elisabeth's hand on your shoulder: "Focus! We're under attack!" she loudly whispered, looking somewhere into the crowd.

You notice three men, looking directly at you and slowly surrounding you in a coordinated move. They seem to be holding something in their palms, but you can't quite make out what it is.

Moon stiffened a little "Well, as for trust, I can't say how far we'd trust you. I have issues trusting anyone further than a professional level." She sighed

Twilight glares at the men, clearly racking her brain. But the chaos of the town is getting to her.

"Right, let's take care of them right now. First, we need room to breath."

Rain takes a deep breath casting her feelings aside, "because we are working tward the same goal... Find slavegear." she nods, "seeing how you can find ways to prove our innocence... Were thinking that mabye we can do all this at the same time... All within a fair distance of each other." she puts her broadhead arrow back, "if we develop a trust you will find everything you need for missions..." she gives a warm smile, genuine and true, "...and we can get someone to fix whatevers in your mask... Hell i could fix it." she suddenly realizes her unprofessionalism and coughs, "t-that is... I-i-if you wish to trust us.

(Twilight, Radiance)


Elisabeth nods, then suddenly pulls out her wallet and starts waving it around:

"POLICE!!! EVERYONE CLEAR THE ARE!!!" She suddenly barks at the top of her lungs. The people around her emit a startled shriek and begin to stumble away. The immediate area around you became somewhat clear of bystanders and Elisabeth immediately turned into a blur.

The next second, she sucker punched one of the three men, sending him flying into a brick wall.

The second one of them snapped into focus and charged toward Twilight. He suddenly threw his hand forward aiming toward Twilights neck and you could see the faint glitter of a knife in his hand.

The third man charged toward Johan. Johan gasped, stumbling back and becoming paralyzed in fear.


















(Moon, Rain, Wyvern)


Harlequin nodded to Moon: "A logical choice. Perhaps its best if we part ways for now"

She reached behind her back and pulled out a small folder. She stretched out her hand, presenting it to you:

"Please take this. It is the evidence on Alfred Bricgstow and all of his research. I believe it should be more than enough to clear your name"


She paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating weather to say something more. After a moment, she slightly nods to herself and decides to say it:

"....I.. have to warn you of something"

The mask was completely obscuring her face. You can't quite see her eyes but you get the feeling that she's looking right at you:

"...Don't go back into Nyx...
A lot of great powers are converging there as we speak... something dangerous may happen soon.. please.. do not go back there....... if you do... we may find ourselves forced into a conflict we do not desire..."

(Moon, Rain, Wyvern)


For the first time, you suddenly notice Harlequin change her demeanor. As Rains words reach her, she slightly fidgets, visibly resisting to take a step back:

"...you're.. willing to trust me?.." she slowly asked Rain: "..are.. you sure that is wise?..
Surely.. you won't trust me enough to travel together.. that is.."

She looks away, her hand subconsciously reached toward her mask. After a moment she speaks:

"...my.. mask is fine... I will take care of it later... it is no trouble"

"Don't take me not trusting you personally" she said to Harlequin "I only just trust my own brother" she whispered. She fidgeted with her fingers, staring at her. Her arm reached out and she took ahold of the folder "thank you"

"I think so..." she nods, "...im willing to take a chance." she smiles and holds her hand out, "but if yiu really plan on leaving... I hope to meet you again..."

Rain said these words mindlessly... Normally it would be diffrent, she wouldnt really treat anyone else with such kindness... But with harlé it felt... Diffrent.

She refused to believe she really felt anything. She keeps repeating to herself that she was just this good at faking kindness, that she held no true feelings for Harle.


She was lying to herself.

"Oh crap!"

She throws her arm up in defense, hoping to stop it from hitting something vital. She also charged up a spell, while muttering something about the robe.

(Radiance)
Opening his wings Radiance launched himself at the man attacking Johan. Closing the gap he delivered a sucker punch to the man's gut knocking the air out of him.

// Hey everyone, I'm really really sorry I've been so inactive lately,
the truth is, now that I'm back to working in the hospital again, the pressure has been steadily increasing. In addition the college tasked me with a very large project that I need to submit for next week >.<

I was really hoping I could find time to post until now but the work just left me emotionally spent.
I'm really sorry about this.

I may be posting a lot less during this week, because of the college project. Hopefully after I submit it next week, I'll have more free time again.

Again, I'm really sorry about this. I will do my best to update the rp as soon as I can

(Moon, Rain, Wyvern)


Kaylee was quietly watching, visibly tense and unsure what to expect.

Harlequin stood very still for a long moment. It was hard to read her body language, her facial expressions completely hidden behind the mask. Even then, you could still detect a level of hesitation from her. Or was it fear?
But what exactly Harlequin feared, was unclear. She didn't fear facing anyone in her vicinity and she visibly didn't fear combat, but you still got the sense that she's afraid of something.


After another moment of silence, Harlequin slowly extended her hand and awkwardly shook Rain's palm. She seems to be looking at everyone, hiding her expression behind her mask. Her body language showed that she's almost frozen stiff.

"...very well.." she finally said: "I.. will travel with you.. until we both find and stop Slavegear...
...you are, officially, still considered fugitives, after all.. perhaps its best if we travel together, so I can keep a closer eye on you, make sure you're not doing anything illegal..."

Her last sentence came out a little deadpan. Its unclear if she's trying to make a joke, or was actually serious.




"...Alright" Kaylee sighed: "I'm signalling the chopper to pick us up again" she pulled out a flare gun and aimed it upward: "We'll rejoin our friends, then continue together toward our next objective"







































(Twilight, Radiance)


Twilight appeared to have deflected the knife at the last second. The sharp edge of the blade passing frighteningly close to her neck, inflicting no injury.
The man attacking her, slightly jumped back, then began wildly waving his knife around and slowly advancing toward Twilight.
It seems he intends to inflict as many light wounds as he can, the knife dancing across the air so fast, its becoming hard to track.



As Radiance punched the second attacker in the gut, the man doubled over and fell to the ground, landing on all fours. You can see the knife still grasped in his hand, as the man entered a coughing fit.


Johan emitted a startled yelp and flinched back, accidentally running into a market stand behind him.

You hear Elisabeth's roar, somewhere at the edge of your senses. She began advancing toward the man who's attacking Twilight. The look in her eye is cold and unsettling.

Rain steps beside Harle, "you dont mind if i escort you do you?" she gives harle a little smile, "i-i mean... I should escort you..." she was just barely blushing... Just... Barely...

She must have been really good at faking this.

(Radiance)
Radiance stepped closer to the man, grabbed him by the front of shirt lifting him just enough for Radiance to deliver a knockout punch to the jaw. He wasn't about to risk giving the guy a concussion by punching him in the back of the head.

Making sure to pick up the knife and slip it into the upper inside and also un-cut pocket of his coat, Radiance then turned his attention towards Elisabeth starting to walk towards the attacker, his wings slightly open and ready to propel him forward if need be.

"Hey! Now's not the time to be adding to the death toll! We can't just go around killing everyone who pulls a knife on us. Keep in mind that there may be cameras watching us," Radiance takes a moment to focus on the heartbeat of the attacker getting a sense for how afraid or confident he was "and right now I'd be more inclined to interrogate this guy."


(Tarmikos)
"Well physically I could be better, my magic seems to have taken a major hit. Mentally, well I'd say there is an improvement but I still don't feel 100%." he returns the smile "but I didn't expect to go from shit to chandelier in one afternoon."

Twilight looks a bit confused on the succession of her parry, guessing it had to do with the robe. When he comes closer she holds up her hands by him, and her gaze turns serious again.

"Stun!"

She shoots a small attack, with the intent to stop him rather then harming.

She nodded and looked about, examining the area once more, to check for dangers before the helicopter turned up. Her fingers twitched nervously, shaking in fear of a nonexistent thing.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Moon, Rain, Wyvern)


Kaylee was quietly watching, visibly tense and unsure what to expect.

Harlequin stood very still for a long moment. It was hard to read her body language, her facial expressions completely hidden behind the mask. Even then, you could still detect a level of hesitation from her. Or was it fear?
But what exactly Harlequin feared, was unclear. She didn't fear facing anyone in her vicinity and she visibly didn't fear combat, but you still got the sense that she's afraid of something.


After another moment of silence, Harlequin slowly extended her hand and awkwardly shook Rain's palm. She seems to be looking at everyone, hiding her expression behind her mask. Her body language showed that she's almost frozen stiff.

"...very well.." she finally said: "I.. will travel with you.. until we both find and stop Slavegear...
...you are, officially, still considered fugitives, after all.. perhaps its best if we travel together, so I can keep a closer eye on you, make sure you're not doing anything illegal..."

Her last sentence came out a little deadpan. Its unclear if she's trying to make a joke, or was actually serious.




"...Alright" Kaylee sighed: "I'm signalling the chopper to pick us up again" she pulled out a flare gun and aimed it upward: "We'll rejoin our friends, then continue together toward our next objective"

"Well then" Lord Wyvern said, clapping his hands together and walking out from behind the door "Now that's all sorted out, where to next?"

(Moon, Rain, Wyvern)


"I don't mind.." Harlequin quietly replied to Rain.

Kaylee fired her flare gun, and a red flare shot into the sky. Several moments later you noticed a helicopter, descend out of the cover of clouds and begin its approach toward you.

The area around you seemed clear. As you scan the surroundings one last time, you don't notice anyone near the radio station for miles.


A few minutes later the helicopter finally reached your position and leveled itself next to the rooftop. Kaylee slid its door open and waited for everyone to climb inside.
Harlequin gingerly stepped inside and took a seat at the far corner.
Penny climbed in shortly after and went to speak with the pilot.

Before closing the door, Kaylee took one last look at the roof to make sure everyone was on board, before she closed the door and the helicopter tilted, quickly ascending toward the cover of clouds.


"The other group must be still in the middle of their mission" Kaylee called over the roaring engines, as the helicopter made its way through the sky:

"We'll regroup with them first, help them out if they hit any trouble, then we'll head toward the next objective together"



Penny returned from the cockpit and looked at everyone in the passenger seats:

"We just got word, there was another incident in Nyx.
Another Artemis building was attacked. Heavily civilian casualties, all were Artemis citizens. And just like last time, no one actually saw the attackers.

Artemis is about to send even more troops into Nyx, to ensure the safety of its citizens. I fear if another attack like this happens, Artemis will issue martial law inside Nyx...


In an unrelated incident, one of our informants spotted Marek, inside Nyx's capital city. Marek was seen moving a large shipment of cold weapons there, before he disappeared again. From the looks of it, Marek is gearing up for war"



Kaylee frowned, slowly exhaling: "..this is getting out of hand. As soon as we regroup with the others, we're heading into Nyx.
Whoever's behind those attacks, they are killing civilians. We need to find out who it is and put a stop to it, before Artemis and Marek provoke each other into open war"




"No!" Harlequin suddenly exclaimed. She was quietly sitting in the far end of the helicopter all this time, but after Kaylee finished speaking, Harlequin called out in an extremely alarmed, worried voice:

"Kaylee Brown, everyone, you must not go back into Nyx!" Harlequin called, intently looking at you: "... I'm.. sure the Artemis forces will take care of the incidents. There's no need for you to go... If you do.. it.. won't end well... nothing good will come of it...
Please, do not go into Nyx!.."





















(Twilight, Radiance)


The attacker emitted a startled yelp, as the spell hit him square in the chest. A look of surprise briefly reflected in his eyes, before he slowly fell flat on his face. You hear an audible thud, as his head connects with the pavement, knocking him out cold.

Elisabeth reached him and pulled to a stop, looking down at the man and visibly frowning:
"...pfff.. whatever.." she briefly glanced at Radiance: "...he shouldn't have pulled a knife on us in the first place. If I killed him, it would've been his own fault"



"Elisabeth!.." Johan called out in shock: "..you're.. a nurse!... how can you say that?.." he's looking at her, seemingly frightened and stunned:
"...you.. have to provide medical care to people... not.. murder them... this... this is wrong!.." he looked away, wrapping himself in his arms:

"...I.. don't.. understand... your.. a nurse... where did you even learn to fight like that? I've never seen anyone move so fast... and when we walk around, sometimes you grow so quiet I can't even hear your footsteps! It like you're not even there and then you suddenly pop up in my blind spot... Nurses aren't trained to do that... special forces are..."



"I... what?.." Elisabeth looked at him, visibly startled, her breathing increased. She suddenly became anxious: "When did I learn to?... never... never mind that..." she turned away: "...just... drop it. I don't want to talk about it"
She walked off a few steps away, looking somewhere into space:

"..T-Twilight... the Tiara.. which way?" she called after a moment, nervously breathing.