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Solace In Night [RP Thread]



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Radiant Garden
Walking at a brisk pace Acesto listened with rampant paranoia as his footsteps echoed throughout the shallow corridor he found himself wandering down. There was no alarm going off, no men in dark uniforms coming for his head, yet he couldn't help but feel as if there was trouble waiting just beyond the next corner. It didn't help that this place looked like it was made from spare scrap metal, clearly aesthetic quality was not very high on the empire's priority list. He couldn't deny that it was well built however, it was quite the nerve racking experience sneaking into the empire's largest base in Radiant Garden. It would all be worth it though, once he found what he was looking for.

Reaching a set of stairs he descended into the lower levels. "Huh..." Now this was a surprise, suddenly everything was much brighter and well maintained. The upper level's walls looked like metallic patchwork, and the halls were lit with cheap hanging bulbs. Down here it was like an entirely different place. The walls were smooth and as white as bleached eggshells. Florescent lights illuminated the hall to a near eye watering brightness. Moving at a much slower pace Acesto passed multiple rooms, checking each one for what he was looking for. Many of the rooms had strange equipment in them, he'd think they were medical if not for the sinister vibe he got from the sharp tools. "The lab I assume... Now where is it?..."


~
Riding a black Moped Shizuka sped through the streets of Radiant Garden. Thankfully she didn't have to worry much about cars as the sun had set a little while ago. She usually never delivered packages at this hour, however her boss told her that this was an important delivery. The streets were rather eerie at night, the towering complexes masking the subtle glow of the moon. Those who favored the dangerous cover of the night would be about, with little in the way of law preventing them from doing as they pleased. Many of these people were 'soldiers' of the empire, miscreants that flaunted their authority onto others. It was hardly the place for a teenage delivery girl, but in spite of it all Shizuka was content. She disliked what had become of her home, and she missed her friends in the keyblade academy, however... She knew she had to move on, if there was any good in the worlds then she knew things would get better.

Driving into an empty parking lot she stopped and got off her moped. There didn't seem to be anyone around, though she was sure this was the right address. This was a bit odd, usually the client would be waiting outside of their residence for their package, this was an express rush delivery service after all. Taking a small box fit for one hand from her moped she walked over into a nearby alley. There was a door at the end of it, which she figured was the client's residence. She was just about to knock when she heard someone behind her. She turned to look see who it was, however a sudden nick at her neck stopped her in her tracks. Her legs suddenly became weak, her vision and focus waning. Reaching for her neck she felt a thin needle. Shizuka gasped, pulling the needle out and tossing it away. Looking down the alley her vision was foggy, all she could make out was a vague figure, accompanied by an amused chuckle. Her eyelids felt so heavy, she just wanted to... sleep...
 

icmasticc

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~Radiant Garden~

+++++​

Self reflection can be a good exercise. Sometimes, the best thing to do was just to seclude oneself and reminisce on the day's lessons. The room was about as big as hotel room elsewhere, though with less belongings. The basket-hilted Claymore rested silently in the corner where two walls met. The cleanliness of the room was immaculate, as if it had never been lived in and was only recently finished. There was one window on the far wall across from the door and a twin-sized bed stood against the wall which harbored the glass pane. Multiple streams of moonlight filtered through the window and elegantly illuminated portions of the perfectly made bed and room beyond. Julian Vesperatti gazed at the ceiling fan that spun slowly, barely generating any air.

Julian's day had not been a particularly busy or productive one. Of course, he'd gotten his training and exercise in for the day but, there was little activity going on in the Garden; of course, the darkness of the night didn't help to promote any interesting activity itself. That meant any type of field mission to spice things up was out of the question for the moment and the man could only rely on himself or some of his Empire friends for entertainment. It was true that on duty, Julian was a focused, dedicated machine; off duty though, the man didn't like to be bored much like anyone else and training all day and night just wasn't realistic or satisfactory. Sitting up suddenly, Julian scanned his quarters briefly and let out an annoyed sigh. "This won't do..." He muttered.

Julian swung his legs around to the ground and pushed himself up with the same momentum. His arms flung out upwards in an exaggerated, albeit refreshing, stretch before he turned and grabbed his large blade, swinging the strap over his head and to his shoulder. The soldier had resolved to take a stroll through the streets since the day had been so boring thus far; maybe night time would provide a more interesting experience was his line of thinking. There was no point to being locked in a room all day and at least this way, he could get some much needed fresh air. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Julian journeyed from his room and was soon out in the open air on the dimly lit streets of Radiant Garden. He didn't have any particular purpose but, what else was he going to do when there was no real activity to speak of?
 
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ThePromise

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"You're sure about this?"

-

The soft clank of an empty soda can hitting the rim of a nearby trashcan didn't do much to disturb the night. From where Connor Owens stood, friends and family were gathered inside a small indoor stand, happily drinking root beer and downing hot dogs while reminiscing about the day's events. The situation in Radiant Garden wasn't terrible, but these people weren't free either, but Connor could understand the situation they were in. It was better to try and find some happiness among friends, than none at all. Rubbing his hands together as the chilly night air began to brush against his skin, he placed his hands in his pockets and set forward towards the outskirts of this place.

Back to his 'nest' as the boys back home would call it.

-
"Yes, why wouldn't I?"

"Because it gets weird outside of Elysium, if you can believe that.." The man addressing Connor sat back against a nearby desk, watching the archer prepare his gear for when he'd need to call upon it. He kept notice of how carefully Connor examined his arrows before inserting them into his mechanical-quiver. Strangely he never used the settings that allowed it to rotate and retrieve the desired arrows on his own, but perhaps that was just how serious the man took his role.

"You and your team are generally on defensive deployment, and by that I mean remaining firmly on Elysium."

"..." Connor was a little more focused on his arrow examination than initially expected. "It could just be that I want a taste of what's out there. I'll always defend my home, but even if this is the only assignment I'll get outside of Elysium, I'd like to see if the people outside of our world are as ignorant and childish as Masaki points out."

"Rika has had some significant time outside of Elysium, and unfortunately her experiences socially weren't favorable ..but you two are different people. Perhaps you'll attract more favorable company."

"I'd rather not attract anyone that isn't relevant." Rika was a different person than him, yes, but she still had the experience outside of Elysium, more than most people. She rarely had stories about the people in the outside world that were good, but she did point out that the worlds environments sometimes made the experience worth the trouble. "I'll try searching for the rebellion and keep in contact with the Operator."

Shutting the black case that stored his more suspicious supplies, Connor took the handgun beside the case and double-checked its ammo capacity. The knives were already on his person. "And ..is there any reason you've been grinning about something ever since you came in here?"

"Not much. You're fully aware that this may be bigger than any one person, and that I'll be sending additional resources to this ..'Radiant Garden'?"

"I understand ..but I appreciate you allowing me to test the waters."
Concealing the silenced side-arm in his grey jacket, he looked himself over closely to determine cause for suspicion. None. There was nothing on him indicating he was of any threat to anyone, but there was still that aura he gave off, that feeling that told people he knew what he was doing. Connor never could pretend he was stupid that well.

"If you've got something to say to me sir, now's the time."


Adjusting his glasses, the man in black sat himself up from his relaxed position and turned towards the doorway. "Do you think you can handle dealing with abnormal people? I'm well aware of how you and the rest of the task force feel about people like me."

"We've moved on from that discrimination a long time ago ..and as I've said before, I respect what you, your mother, and your grandfather have done for Arcadia. That goes for the others who, when the time comes, set everything aside for its safety." Connor looked over his shoulder towards Section III's own leader, essentially his commanding officer. "Was that all?"

"For the moment."

"All right, my turn. You really think this threat is great enough to deploy us?"

"I think that we have the power to help people, and should. The threat level against Elysium is low, its always been low ..there's never really been a world like ours. Just because we're a secure world with many powerful individuals backing it, doesn't mean others are."

"From what I know ..the only thing that threatens an Arcadian, is another Arcadian. I understand the situation and ..I fully respect your wishes to assist other worlds that may be unable to do the same. I know my priorities sir."

"Connor ..you know you can call me Satoshi, right?"

"It's a habit, sir."

"At ease ..and good luck."

Satoshi had left the room, appearing so much like his grandfather before him that it was frightening. Going against that kind of mind was dangerous, and luckily he was on the same side as him. He was doing some thinking now, and he would admit he was a little nervous to be moving so far from home. For the past generations they might have experienced the same thing when the world's needed them, and Connor sort of knew what he may need to expect. There was no speed, no strength, no strategy that he hasn't seen yet. Being born in Elysium meant that he'd seen it all and then some.

Truth was, he didn't want parents and children to get involved with this sort of situation. Your service to Arcadia and Elysium's greater good should have taken a back-seat when it came to starting families, and Connor was becoming more and more aware of his girlfriend's desires. They were still young, he was still young ..though perhaps by the time this all was taken care of, he'd consider the next step in such a relationship.

Otherwise he'd have to deal with his C.O's grinning behind his back again when it came to it.

Taking the black case's handle, he moved towards the doorway and left the room in silence. Duty called.

-

That was a week ago.

For Connor, service in Section III's Task Force was a huge honor, even if he never saw it that way before. It meant dedication to protecting the world from all threats, even itself. As it turned out, Radiant Garden wasn't so very different from home. The people acted as people did, they laughed, they argued, they went about their lives and tried to endure despite the grip of a cruel and menacing empire crushing them all. It wasn't right. An empire, any empire, should be built for its people, not built to contain the people. It didn't sit well with him, none of this had.


All he needed was one shot at the man who started all this.


He remained a civilian and purchased a hotel room to spend his time in, though there was very little he had on his person in it. Section III could send him the essentials, and most of his gear was back at home ready to be sent. His resources were high ..and the thought of resources brought his attention to who was meant to be coming from Elysium soon enough.


He'd need to make a move soon if the rebellion didn't, he needed to know what the population was doing in order to deal with the Empire in their own way. He had the people, he had the contacts, the information, the skills. Connor knew that he could make a key difference in this battle, many of his comrades could.


Taking the high-road to the edge of down, the archer kept his eyes peeled. Any mistreatment to the citizens on his way there would force his hand, but so far the night was calm and all appeared well.


Which probably meant things could go very wrong very quickly.

 

Lumine

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What was it about this place that she liked so much? Ciel couldn't exactly tell.

There was something simple and fancy about Radiant Garden. In its white, sophisticated and sightly architecture. In its old, crowded but accommodating alleys and streets. In the subtle greenery that surrounded it and laced its corners. The color and scent filled markets, the bright displays of shops. The serenity of daily lives, the buzz of People and life in the morning, and the peaceful sunset that accompanies their return home. This entwining atmosphere of the casual, plain daily lives of this City's citizens and the ever ancient, but evolving spirit of things once extraordinary that happened on its grounds, made it a merge of different worlds in one and such a wonderful sight to behold. Well, to those who could see behind the shadowing, gloomy rule of the Empire, that is... It was such a pity, that not many did.

From any bystander's point of view, it would appear like any other city, filled with a society, with necessities and Life's struggles in its cracks. But How could they miss the beauty underlying it all, that this place had its own very distinct spirit, growing with every generation. Radient Garden despite all the strife it has gone through has been always deeply nurturing a spirit of Hope and Resilience in its walls. Some call it the Heart of the world, but Ciel believed it was far more profound than just a core entity. Even behind the closed doors of their houses, where fear, anger and hatred lurked for the Empire, there also lied security, warmth and home. Home, against herself, the thought of her family and her home world brought a wistful smile to her reflection upon the still fountain's surface. And she wondered what were they doing now, back at Winhill.

There was a soft ruffle in the royal purple of Ciel's cloak as she rose from the bench beside the fountain, the tint of her light icy hair almost contrasting in brightness with the cloak's deep purple in the moonlight. Tonight's tranquil air had a slight chill to it not that it would bother many people. There weren't that many out now at this hour of night. If Ciel didn't feel like sitting in her hotel room, she would have been there now revising the latest reports she collected from the Empire's station Directors today. As usual, the signs of insurgence have been increasing lately thanks to the Unbound Hearts. While they didn't have much presence here, their news and their endeavors against the Empire have been the People's talk. Naturally, they'd shine to everyone like the beacon of hope after the infamous 'War on Key bearers' the Empire led. Their slaughter had rendered them a rarity these days. The legend of the once mighty keyblade was nearly broken against the Empire's destructive might. They, The Unbound Hearts, were the last Obstacle standing between the Empire and complete domination over the worlds. Although not necessarily potent, they were terribly cautious, and have been quite troublesome with their increase in numbers lately. The Empire has yet to identify their leader, or catch any valuable member of their ranks. Well, that was why Ciel stood here in this place, at this hour. It was her job to catch them after all.

Walking briskly towards the bridge, Ciel laid her gaze on the sleeping city and in her mind a thousand thoughts as many as the stars hanging above. In her blues, she didn't see this City, She saw a different one, a far away one lingering in her thoughts. Oh how she wished to be standing there right now...
 
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Ðari

Look at you, armor-less
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HERE THE BEAUTY WOULD WITHER

One would look upon this earth and see that the land before them was a place of wonder. Solemn eyes, indiscriminate of the substance before them. A weary sigh would be released into the night as the mercenary's impromptu schedule swept him halfway across town. Teetering on the edge of these "Unbound Vagrants" he scoffed at the very idea and quickly dismissed even the name, not even patient of acknowledging even a minor agitation. Be this not confidence as it was his own demeanor as a steel heart to do this with piteous intrigue.

Simply by snapping his fingers, the district he stood in was painted with mere refractions of faint light given by the street corners. He walked through transparent bindings of his own dusklanzer and passed the merriment that ravaged about the timid little collection of town houses. The people snugly tucked away into their houses.

A silent applause was released from his palms, this miscreant of the empire had captured more than his share of unity behind his shell. He damned his master for the discord he woefully experienced in memory alone. His fist often clenched in utterance therein of; Ansem The Wise. His premier redemption at the stake of his own two hands, he'd fortify reluctantly, but he was tasked with his loyalty to conquest within the Empire. Abrasively scratching his head, he let his hand drift and dismissed the dusklanzer abjuration.

"Now if I were an unbound heart...where oh where would I take refuge?"


He snapped his finger and but from himself a coated shell duplicate of himself. Spawning even more behind him. Eight doubles in total, the mercenary decided to thin them out and have them fan the area and peak through windows. He hopped up and sat on a floating block, high above the town and kept a casual stance. To gather intelligence seemed to be their direct order, he'd see this through along with Lady Ciel, as for the other in allegiance, the same applied.
 
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Smoofy

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Roy didn't want to venture out tonight, or any other night, for that matter, especially if it meant working for the dogs of the Empire. It wasn't like he even had a choice, he was forced into working for the Empire and if he didn't follow his orders, he would quite simply lose possession of his body to his superior. Unfortunately for him, Roy knew exactly why he was called to his superior's office. He would be told to patrol the streets, look for any signs of rebellious activity and either report to Ciel or any of the others, or to him directly. Roy was placed into a decent amount of power, being allowed to control some Heartless and having command over some soldiers, but he was nothing more than a puppet. Secretly, Roy cursed his father for ever teaching him how to use a sword.

The whiteness of the walls almost blinded Roy as he left his personal chambers. He always forgot how bright these hallways were. He had to shield his eyes momentarily as they adjusted to the light. When he was finally accustomed to his surroundings, Roy pressed on towards his superior's office. The footsteps from his boots echoed down the hallway. Only the most fleet footed of individuals would be able to silence their movements in this hallway, not that he was trying or anything.


Roy took a left down a separate hallway, passing two other foot soldiers hanging out, enjoying some time off. He paid them no mind when they called out to him and started chastising him for his age. Instead, he opened a door to his right, and stepped through.


This room was in stark contrast to the luminescence of the hallways. Soujuu decorated it himself. It was a relatively small room, but Soujuu wasn't the kind of man who wanted a large room anyway. The room's stark white walls were replaced with wood, giving the place an old-timey look. A large, ornate red rug greeted visitors as they stepped through to enter. A wooden desk was placed near the end of the room with a fancy looking wooden chair with wheels. Lined alongside the walls were two large bookcases, containing book after book after book. None of them were fiction, and all of them related in some way to manipulation, psychology and the like.


"You called for me?" Roy asked. The chair was facing away from him, shielding the man sitting in it from view. The chair swiveled around, revealing a dark skinned man with piercing eyes and stark white hair. He looked far older than he really was.


"Yes. I imagine you already know what I'm going to ask of you." Soujuu said, leaning forward and placing his elbows onto the desk. His chin rested in front of and was held up by his hands. "You're on patrol duty. Same routine as always. Meet up with another soldier on patrol, and keep in constant contact with me, understand?"


"Yes sir." Roy replied, giving him a quick nod. He clutched the large purple gemstone on his chest. The gemstone itself rested in a golden ring and attached his cape to the rest of his body. He was dressed in his more casual attire. It was more comfortable but still provided ample protection should he find himself in a fight. The gemstone itself was the link between him and Soujuu, and if Roy were to remove it... He didn't want to think about it.


Submitting to his superior's wishes, Roy turned around and exited the room. He took long, purposeful strides towards the exit. He needed some fresh air. Every encounter with that man caused Roy's blood to boil. One of these days, he'd snap, and it wouldn't end well.


He inhaled deeply as he was greeted by the crisp coolness of the night air, and exhaled slowly to calm himself down. Just do as you're told. You'll get your chance. Roy gripped his sword by the handle momentarily, making sure it was still on his person. He brought his cape about his person, concealing his weapon. He was a skilled fighter with the blade and was gaining a reputation from within the Empire but his fame didn't reach much further. It was mainly rumors and whispers for a young but skilled fighter within the Empire's ranks.


As Roy patrolled the streets, he spotted a figure from a small distance away. There was no way he could mistake that person for anyone else. Roy approached the man carefully and purposefully.


"Evening sir." Despite his recognition within the Empire, Roy was told to refer to other's by their formal title, unless they were strictly under his command. This was probably to remind him of his status within the army, of which only a few of them knew the truth. To most people, he was just a prodigy within the ranks, but he was in fact just a puppet of Soujuu. Keeping his voice low, Roy continued. "I'm just taking a walk through the streets." Julian himself would know his true purpose, but you could never be too careful in the streets at night. Too many eyes and ears, even though he was keeping his voice low, you never knew who could be listening, and if he blew their cover... Then he'd have to answer to Soujuu.


"Sir, I've met up with Julian." Roy reported.


"Good. Continue as you are." Was the only response he got.


"Would you care to join me?" He asked the man. He looked bored and seemed like he needed something to do, and besides, Soujuu didn't really trust Roy on his own, which is why he needed to constantly report to him. With someone from the Empire by his side, the restrictions may become a little more lax for the time being.
 

King Wolfe

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Radiant Garden wasn’t somewhere Caeley would pine for a vacation, to be frank. Everything felt absurdly superficial, well, to be fair this place was under considerable control and everyone here was rather loony as a consequence. But she just didn’t like this place, it felt unnatural and strange, chilling Caeley to her bones.

She stood up from her spot, a nice little aerial view from atop a random building; and grimaced as she placed her finger on her communicator to receive static. Section III’s tech was usually exceptional, but it must have been damaged, or something, during the teleportation process. Thankfully, the trip was void of any bumps or otherwise dangerous events, and her clothes weren’t burnt off, so there was that.

But she didn’t really know where she was. That never got her down though, even though Caeley loves information more than strawberry ice-cream (and she loves strawberry ice cream), her line of work often called for situations where information wasn’t as accessible as normal.

Caeley fell into the natural rhythm of her training, assess the situation, determine a safe-zone and a danger-zone and proceed to move on toward your objective. Hers was quite obvious; Connor. It would be lame for any other person to say that they traversed other worlds simply to be with their beloved which is why it isn’t lame for Caeley to say it.

Her feelings for him were strong, quite in fact, and she wasn’t afraid to admit it. Some of those spooks in Section III may disagree and psychologically analyze her as emotionally unstable, but that’s fine, it isn’t like they can do anything about her feelings or her involvement in the organization. She may be a soldier, but she has enough influence and connections that rivals a general, which, may I add, is disingenuous considering there is no official army within Section III.

Section III normally dealt with Special Operations and bred Special Forces for their own uses, there was technically an army within Sections I and II, but they were more like a… reserves. Used for mostly domestic situations, like frontline infantry against frontline infantry or even domestic terrorism. Section III was rightly reserved for the situations that the first two Sections can’t deal with.

Suicide missions, sabotage, intelligence, counter-intelligence, cyberwarfare and, Caeley’s specialty, supernatural events. You know, demons and monsters, vampires, succubi, krakons, etc, etc.

It was annoying, but she mostly did protecting jobs, making sure these monsters didn’t get out of hand but it rarely broke out into a serious skirmish.

The benefits were good too, you get dental, health, the whole nine yards.

Jumping off the roof, she landed quietly in an alley and prepared to make her way toward the street when she heard a disturbance in the universe, well, more like people yelling ten feet in front of her.

Approaching them silently, she noticed they were just a few idiotic gang members messing with a local vendor of this weird ice-cream. They were aggravated that this man hadn’t made his payments for their “protection”.

So depressingly clichéd.

“It’d be a shame if your cart got messed up,” the leader sneered, knocking over the sign as the other lackeys cackled.

Caeley rolled her eyes.

These morons enjoyed flaunting their “power” to intimidate poor people trying to make a living. The cockroaches in Arcadia were tougher than these chumps. Seriously, they were like 10 feet tall when the deathray hit them.

The leader raised his arm again, to smack off the ice-cream machine, but Caeley stopped him there. Grabbing his elbow as she walked up behind him. He was much taller than her, but infinitely weaker.

“Why don’t we play nice?” she wouldn’t be any better than this chump if she threw around her weight like he was doing, so, why not play the nice girl card first?

The man turned, as best as he could being partially paralyzed for fear of breaking his arm, “W-what? Get her!”

The other two chumps jumped into action. Or rather, they stumbled awkwardly into action. Moron #1 and Moron #2 pulled out their guns and took aim, but she wasn’t going to give them that much time. Raising her leg, she calmly kicked them both in the chest, not too hard and not very fast, when they were staggered she used her free hand to grab their guns.

Using only one hand, she disarmed the guns, dropping the magazines to her feet as she kicked them away.

“Little boys shouldn’t be playing with toys like these,” she said as the Moron Twins quickly pulled out batons from their pants. Oh god, that’s a disturbing thought, why were they storing those there?

She flicked her wrist, the one that held the leader in placed, and flipped the guy over, right on top of the wonder twins, crushing them all pretty quickly. They wouldn’t die, of course, it was just to stun them.

“Now, are we going to play nice? I’ll let you go if you just apologize to this man and shake hands,” Caeley advised with a smile.

But they wouldn’t give up. The leader scrambled to his feet, pulled out a small thing from his pockets, she figured it was another gun, but it was just a small firework.

Caeley’s face became into one of disbelief and despair. He pulled the string and a fireball flew into the sky, lighting it up beautifully as a Jolly Roger appeared in the night sky.

She was just so surprised at this display, that she simply stood there with her arms crossed, gaping at these morons as dozens of men poured from the streets and into this little section and surrounded her.

“Are you sure you can’t reconsider? I mean, I’ll still accept an apology, but if you go through with this, all of you will be bowing in repentance.” Caeley said to the entirety of the group.

Confident grins and chuckles answered her. And Caeley simply sighed, put up her hands and stepped forward, “Fine.”

It took ten seconds to detain those guys, twenty-two in total. It would’ve been faster, but Caeley had to adjust her hair in the middle of the skirmish, she wouldn’t be meeting up with Connor with messy hair after all.

She stood in front of the vendor and walked in front of the gang, arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face, like a teacher reprimanding her class.

“Now then,” she announced to her “class”, “What do we say?”

All twenty-two guys bowed at the same time, nearly prostrate, and said, “We’re sorry!”
“And?” she coaxed them to continue.

“We won’t be gangsters anymore!” they recited perfectly.

“I’ll be a masseuse!” one of them cried.

“Good!” Caeley smiled, “Now then, go home and hug your loved ones. God knows they’re the only ones who will care for you…”

Another bow, “Thank you Miss Caeley!”

Then, like the roaches they were, they scurried away.

“If this soldier thing doesn’t work out, I could be a teacher,” she mused.

~--~

A haughty laugh, good, cover your mouth, a lady must remain humble and never bare her teeth. Octavia crinkled up her nose and giggled some more as the man went on and on about his problems with his butler. She, of course, hadn’t cared for his problems, but, as a lady, she must remain diligent and listen to everything.

“You are such a darling!” his wife drawled out in that insufferable accent of hers.

Octavia smiled gracefully and averted her eyes for a brief second to paint the image that she was a shy, dainty woman, “Ah, why thank you. You and your Lordship have been pleasant company as well,” she responded perfectly in her aristocratic accent.

Her accent was probably the only thing that was real about her at the moment. Octavia stood, in perfect form, as a mature, well-endowed woman of 20 rather than her lankly youthful self. Bosom and hip enhancers were added, of course, to play the part as her underdeveloped body would never pull off this disguise. Her hair was of a chocolaty brunette in contrast to her honey-blonde color, a wig, obviously. It was done up excellently, yet produced a fringe that covered her forehead, a lady mustn’t show a prominent forehead after all. She wore a Victorian-styled red and white dress that hide her stick-like figure well and worked to enhance it from underneath. On her person, however, she held secret weapons.

Her knives were pushed down her bosom and into her corset (not properly set to prevent her from crushing her lungs and asphyxiating) and a few more knives in her sleeves in case something were to happen quickly and she needed to react fast.

Make-up was applied, slightly rosy cheeks, eyeliner, lipstick, everything she loathed. It was an onerous process, but Octavia needed to learn the ins and outs of fashion and make-up quickly to get into the business she now excels in; apparently, she isn’t an Autumn, go figure.

And, as mentioned, her accent is the only thing real about her at this point. She did grow up in a nice, comfy lifestyle and had learned her accent through time, it was the stereotypical high society accent and she hated it. It was good for disguise, but she preferred her native Italian accent (though, she sucked it).

She took one glance at the Lord and his cackling wife and quietly assessed them.

The Lord was a banker, made his money in plenty of investments, though none that seem reputable, obvious too easy in fact, he has a button pinned to his suit from a bank, but underneath she could see there were numerous papers in his inner pocket. He is incredibly inactive, you'd think he lived a sedentary life. The most he has lifted would probably be a golf club judging by his weak wrists. He has a brother and a younger sister who has tried her hand at sewing, failing quite miserably as indicted by his poorly done shirt pockets. He's been married to his wife for more than ten years, but the marriage is going down the drain and judging by the condition of their rings, it is safe to bet that these two have multiple lovers.

The woman was easier, she was absurdly superficial. She came from a poor family, where she had to work and toil to earn her way. Her father was probably a farmer or some type of hard laborer. But when she was of age, she went into acting, probably modeling, and earned the attention of his now-husband, judging by the condition of her face. Constantly remodeled to look perfect but now it was disturbing to look at, it was like her skin was pulled back across her face. She doesn't get along with her mother, probably because of her life decisions, and is closer to her elder sister. Easy to indicate, stress lines on her forehead appeared whenever family was mentioned, but her shoes were too big and slightly worn out, probably from a sister, no lady would borrow the shoe of another lady only if they are related.

Her skills were getting a little better, she was getting faster in her deductions and, thankfully, more accurate. It allowed her to befriend people easier if need be, gaining enemies was something a lady simply didn't do.

“I say, where did you say you were from again?” the Lord asked.

Octavia briefly panicked, it was so hard to remember an alias under pressure, not that it may be necessary now that she’s on a different world, but who knows, maybe some people would be looking for a strange girl named after an old Roman dude.

“Uptown,” she answered automatically, “My family owns a mining corporation along the way.”

She wasn’t Octavia Romano, no, indeed she was Ivy Montgomery, the daughter of Elizabeth and Louis Montgomery, the big oil tycoon. Lies, of course, but it sold fairly well, either these people were ignorant to the happenstance of their own world, or she was a good liar.

Octavia likes to think it is the latter.

The Lord laughed, “Ah, yes, of course! Shame I wouldn’t have the chance to meet your parents.”

“Of course,” she laughed along with him, “Mother is dreadfully ill and father is far too busy, I am here attending in his place.”

Her time spent here wouldn’t be in vain. She wasn’t charming the socialites for nothing, she figured out several things.

This was Radiant Garden, a world far from her own.

And that this shrimp was severely undercooked.

Okay, okay, I know, but it’s hard gaining information when you have to suffer through these annoying shoes!

“Ah, if you will excuse me,” Octavia muttered quietly. A lady must never explained that she is going to the bathroom, so uncouth! Excusing herself, she gracefully walked out of the “party” and up the stairs.

Maybe she’ll learn more if she does a little recon.
 
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"Ya know, I've noticed something odd..." Acesto whispered, currently kneeling in a cramped stock closet. These halls had been near empty not too long ago, however an entire group of individuals had arrived. He wasn't able to see them with his eyes, however he could sense that there was six of them. He was speaking through a small communications device in his left ear, more specifically he was speaking to the rest of the Unbound Hearts currently infiltrating the base.

"Is this relevant Ace? Do you even know where the intel is?" A chiding, sarcastic female voice resonated in his ear. Ace sighed.

"I have an idea Aya, but listen, this place-" He shut up as he sensed someone passing by, looked like he could no longer stroll through the halls as he pleased. After he was sure they rounded the corner he carefully opened the closet door. It was his job to find out just what the empire was up to, they had a good tip off about this base, a very reliable tip. Something about this place was bothering him however. Most of the rooms here looked like operating rooms, some were clean, others showed signs that bloody tests were being done, morbid tests that were clearly not in the recipient's good favor. Reaching the end of a hall he could see an office on the other side of a metal door. A gold plate was stamped unto the door.

'Doctor Atomos, Head of Research and Development' It read. Whoever this Doctor was he wasn't here at the moment, a computer on the desk caught his attention. The door was unlocked, so he entered with no trouble. Sitting behind the desk he turned the computer on. The monitor flashed to life, requesting a password. He had anticipated such a roadblock, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a device to connect to it. Instantly the computer's entire hard drive was downloaded onto a headcase device in his pocket. "Heh, Piece of cake... huh?" The monitor began flashing red as an ear splitting alarm began to blare. Ace unplugged the device in a hurry and rushed out of the door.

"FREEZE!" He was met by a duo of empire soldiers, each brandishing the standard issue long sword given to the standard issue goon.

"Well I'm not going to freeze, so uhh, you might as well just use 'deadly force' or whatever." Ace shrugged his shoulders, placing his left hand to the grip of his katana. The two men rushed at him, aiming to pierce him with their weapons. Ace took a deep breath, and waited. Ten feet... His hand tightened on his weapon. Five feet! A boom cracked through the hall as he drew his blade. His katana met the tip of each of their blades, and before the two men even had time to cringe at the boom they found their swords suddenly sticking out of each side of the hall's walls. Confused and in a panic they moved to pull them out, it was too late. His sheath in his other hand he swung it, quickly hitting the two of them in their heads knocking them out. "Aya... you and the others have it ready right? Be ready to set it off."


"Where... What?...." The once foggy world began to clear up, only to be obscured by a blinding light from above. She tried to sit up, only to find her waist bound to a surgical table. She quickly went to free herself, however a pair of uniformed men pinned her to the table.

"Easy now~ You don't want to hurt yourself." A man chuckled as the light was moved from Shizuka's face. She recognized that chuckle, it was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness. Blinking her pained eyes she saw the face of her captor, or rather just his eyes, as he was wearing a surgical mask. His eyes were golden, slanted in an intellectual manner that matched his English accent.

"What do you want from me?" Shizuka asked of him, trying her best not to make her fear show through her emotions. The man laughed again, seeming amused.

"Well, you're the first to ask that. Are you sure you want the answer?" Shizuka frowned, now looking annoyed.

"I asked did I not? Answer please." She was met with more 'amused' laughter.

"Alright I'll be frank with you darling, you are here because you are special. That ability of yours, I'm going to find out just how it works. Whether or not you will live through the testing process, is unknown.... Well actually that is a lie, so far there has been a one hundred percent mortality rate. I warned you you wouldn't like the answer."

"Hmm, I was afraid of that. I had a feeling that was the case. I wanted to be sure, just in case I was in an accident and you were simply my surgeon."

"What?..." The two men holding her down said in unison, bewildered that she could even entertain such an idea. They soon became alarmed however as Shizuka's bare arms became hard as steel, even taking on a peachy metallic sheen. She overpowered the two of them, sending a fist right onto both of their chins. They both yelled out as their heads crashed into the ceiling, their voiced muffled as they dangled like human ornaments. She ripped her bindings off ready to deal with the masked doctor... He wasn't there. "Whoa... he's pretty fast..." Shizuka let her arms go back to normal, she was ready to make her escape when an alarm went off, nearly startling her. "...An escaped patient isn't 'THAT' big a deal is it?" She covered her ears, strolling the halls as soldiers ran off in the distance. "...Wait, where is the exit?..."
 
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King Naruto

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The sound of laughter and fun could be heard from the windows of a local bar/inn that wasn't too far off from Radiant Garden's base. Inside the bar, many patrons of different varieties resided, drinking till they couldn't drink anymore or playing darts and card games. Unfortunately on occasion ignorant soldiers waded in like flies on cows, usually on break or off duty. It was a rough job to keep such a place in stable conditions but, the bar was run by an older man affectionately called Grandfather along with his teenage granddaughter named Winny. Whenever Taka visited Radiant Gardens, Winny made sure the boy stayed with them as she knew of his tragic past. Taka listened around the room, keeping close attention to the soldiers in the corner of the room. He was worried about Ace and the team as he had not heard word from them in a few yet, he was only the backup so, they would probably only send him the signal when time to go or things decided to go south.

He rubbed his eyes, wishing that he was rubbing away whatever denied him sight for years now. It was unfair how those could experience the details of someone's face or the beauty of a sunset while he was cursed to never see such things in full glory. Taka took a sip from his beverage, before placing it back on the bar and letting his head hang low. He could only think of the past for the moment until a hand rested on the top of his head. He instantly knew it was Grandfather as the man also cared for the boy.

"So what's on your agenda?" Grandfather asked while ruffling the boy's gray hair.

"Just traveling and learning about the worlds." Taka responded with a smile and hollow eyes attempting to peer into Grandfather's.

"I see. Been awhile since you been here. Still got that sword huh? Don't understand why a child like yourself needs it." Grandfather remarked.

Taka knew why he needed it.....to replace his brother as an Asura. That's the only reason that his father had even cared for him. Suddenly there was a loud crash and sound of broken glass from the corner of the room, grabbing Taka's attention. Winny was sitting on the ground whilst the three soldiers stood above her and one of them had their drink on the front of their shirt. They were yelling about something about Winny disrespecting the Empire and how they were just brainless followers. One looked ready to strike her until Taka took an immediate step in front of his friend.

"Move kid." One of the soldiers bellowed out.

"Leave it alone and walk out of here." Taka spoke in a low voice.

"Screw you. That little bit......" His words were cut short as Taka grabbed him by his throat and slammed the soldier on to the table. The other two stood behind the young Asura, ready to pounce. Little did they know that their gazelle was actually lion ready to rip apart these inferior individuals. A beeping sound resonated from a communication device on their shoulder, issuing the men back to the base because an alarm had been set off. Taka threw the man to his bodies, his mind on Ace and the others, ignoring the threats from the three men about returning and messing him up. Now he would have to leave as to not get Winny and Grandfather caught up in anything besides it sounded like Ace and the team would be encountering problems.

He quickly grabbed a small earpiece from his pocket as he ran outside. Placing it in his ear, he used his finger to operate it. "Guys. What's the situation? Heard that an alarm was set off?" Taka asked, hoping that someone would respond to him.
 

ThePromise

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Solo operations weren't foreign to him; it was actually how he began, working alone, taking out the targets no one else could reach. Yet after working with his squad for so long, Connor was starting to wish that he had brought them along. Not everyone specialized in this kind of operation, and not everyone volunteered like he had. To his squad defensive deployment was a preference, as offense was a lot more complicated. His comrades and himself could easily be sent on an offensive op but they all had one thing in common; each of them had a thing for protection.

Yet none were afraid to kick some serious ass if the situation demanded the very best.

Booker and Reina would have kept things light with their questionable enthusiasm, whereas Shen would be surveying the area along with Shani. Those four were all so different, coming from all walks of life and ending up in one of the most powerful militaristic forces on Elysium, and he had the honor of leading each and every one of them. This 'Empire' situation had come at a bad time, as most of them were outside of the city, either on their own personal vacations or taking part in ops that were designed to use their talents to the fullest. It was rare that the squad wasn't together on ops but it at least gave the enemies they faced a fighting chance.

As his feet continued to move across the cold ground, his ears began to tingle as the air continually brushed against it. As the last of the breeze subsided, he stopped, focusing his hearing onto the current location he was in. He had yet to leave the vendor part of the city, and from the sounds it seemed like some teenagers were nearby causing some kind of ruckus. At first Connor thought that it was just children being children and he had no reason to go check it out, but he also had to keep his eyes out for any sign of the rebels when he could. It could be something, but it could also end up as nothing. There was nothing to lose.

Stopping in his tracks, he took a detour through a nearby empty alleyway to follow the source of the bickering. Just as he turned the corner to get closer, he saw the sky very close to him become illuminated with an image that reminded him of old pirate books he read when he was younger. At once it appeared that many teenagers ran right in front of him and towards the source of the display. Something was indeed happening, and the closer he got, the louder everything became. By the time he reached the very street he saw the teens run by, the sound of crushing defeat and painful blows came to a halt in record time.

Easily he could name a few people back home who could deal with that amount in record time, but judging from how no one was begging for their lives yet, the list of people grew smaller.

Rebel?...No, couldn't be anyone that good..Rebellions usually failed to have superior individuals within it, and most were just desperate and non-extraordinary.

He heard a feminine voice that was very familiar to him, but it stopped before he could come closer to hear them speak further. All the young men spoke out in unison as if they were a class of some kind, or merely obedient dogs.

Coming through to another street where vendor's set up shop, Connor smiled slightly and shook his head, gently making his way towards the scene from an angle outside of the view of the one who caused all of this.

His girl.

He should've know the Director would've sent her of all people, yet there would be no complaints. Satoshi had told him from the beginning there would be back-up arriving to help get this situation under control but he figured he'd have sent more subtle units. Caeley obviously had it in her to be subtle but between the wave of young men trying to attack her and the small illumination that alerted both them and himself, this could've been handled better.It was a signal to call the rest of the goons; Caeley had obviously wounded more than his body.

Several feet away from her now, all of them had scattered off thanks to the forgiveness she had granted them. Connor wasn't expecting any less from her. Reina might not have been so forgiving, nor would Shani.

“If this soldier thing doesn’t work out, I could be a teacher,”

Having crept up on her without meaning to, but training had made it a natural thing now, he pulled his right hand from his pocket and brought it over Caeley's right shoulder, creeping over her chest and ending with his hand holding onto her opposite shoulder. Pressing his torso against her back he brought his face beside hers, cheek gently brushing against her own. "I guess that means I'll need to start going to bed with you on time, won't I?" his other arm wrapped around her waist snugly as he gently rocked her in his hands, her body following his. It was a little too chilly out tonight, but Caeley was so strong that he figured she might be too proud to wear his jacket.

"Not like you to let an enemy get a signal off ..or were you just getting their hopes up?"

Connor continued to slowly rock her even though he should have been focusing on getting them elsewhere, but as far as anyone knew they were just civilians who were in love and sharing a tender moment.
 

King Wolfe

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Ah, good, they left without another word. Children often obeyed her when she got mean, however, there were some exceptions, the young Kodaka Izumi was one of them. These kids were just that, kids playing with dangerous weapons and drunk on their own power, even if it were undeserved and earned through artificial means.

They only deserved the most minor of punishments, to learn that they certainly aren’t the toughest kids on the block and that there is always someone out there with a heavier fist and less patience than her. It was hopelessly optimistic to rely on the decisions of other people, especially those she didn’t know, but that was her when she wasn’t on a specific job; hopelessly optimistic.

Even with her honed senses she only caught on to Connor’s presence at the last moment. If he really tried, she wouldn’t be able to detect him; he was pretty good at hide and seek. But, she smiled as he walked up behind her. All of the stress from these idiotic teens and the precarious situation she was placed in disappeared as he wrapped his arm around her.
Automatically, she leaned back into him and closed her eyes and focused on the feel of his body. They had only been separated for a small amount of time, but to her it was far too long. Caeley is the type of woman to not particularly enjoy long, or short, periods of time where she is away from those she cares about.

In an almost perfect emulation of a cat, she purred under his hold, unintentional, certainly, but it had set the mood perfectly.

“Of course,” she hummed as she placed her hands over his to intertwine their fingers, “But, I don’t think we’ll be getting much sleep now that I’m here.”

Double entendre, think of that statement as you will.

When he had mentioned the goons from before, Caeley frowned. Not out of annoyance, but for the fact that she had briefly forgot about them. Connor’s hug had momentarily addled her mind, causing her to forget something that happened not ten seconds ago. It was aggravating, but almost comforting that he had this effect on her.

She shook her head lightly, “I was too easy on them,” she admitted, “But a good scolding enjoys an audience. These kids needed to grow up, I was hoping I’d be a good instructor at that.”

She smiled to herself. She wasn’t a very good teacher, I mean, she could do well in military type stuff. Hacking, spying, sabotage, you know, the basics. But when it came to public education, math, history, English, she sucked. Half the time she would be frustrated because everyone was so slow at learning and the other half she’d wanted to punch the smug looks off their faces.
 
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The buzzing drone of an alarm continued as Ace made his way out of the empire's base. With how loud it was there was no doubt that anyone out in the streets could hear it. That hardly mattered, the covert objective had been met. Turning a corner he ran into another soldier, The man swung a horizontal slice, to which Ace responded by leaping forwards. Taking his sheath in both hands he flipped over behind his assailant, placing the sheath under his chin while he was over him. His throat in danger of being crushed the soldier dropped his weapon and made a grab for the obstruction. It didn't matter, Ace wasn't trying to choke him anyhow. As he landed behind him he yanked hard on him, causing him to flip over. Once he was disoriented a quick jab to his face knocked him out. As he continued on his way out he heard Taka's voice come through his communication device. He was of course worried about the state of affairs.

"Everything is fine so far Taka, do not approach the base." His tone was calm, this mission was not a bust, not by a long shot. As long as they all kept their cool things would go smoothly. Taking a set of stairs he reached the main level, He expected to run into more resistance, however he was surprised to see a trail of defeated soldiers. None of them were dead, however they were hardly in any condition to walk, never mind 'fight.' He noticed some wore patches signifying higher ranks, now he was curious as to who had done this. Turning another corner he found his answer. "S-Shizuka?"

He knew the girl from his time in Radiant Garden's keyblade academy, she always stood out to him in a way. It wasn't just her unique ability, but rather her surreal naivety. He still remembered having to explain the concept of 'blackmail' to her, and how it wasn't simply one friend doing another a favor. His reminiscence would have to wait however, she was in trouble. Five soldiers had her surrounded, and they were not holding back.

Their blades swung wildly, striking sparks as Shizuka deflected them with her arms. As long as she kept her ability up she could keep her arms as hard as the steel trying to strike her, however she was starting to become fatigued and as she lost focus she could feel the blades chipping away at her arms. Coming from behind Ace drew his blade, slashing at the back of each of the unsuspecting men. They were bleeding profusely, out of the fight, and if left unattended, out of the game of life. He didn't like getting his blade dirty, but he saw no other choice. Putting his weapon away he turned to Shizuka. Her arms had gone back to normal, aside from a few small cuts she was unharmed. He wanted to ask her just what she was doing here, however they needed to get out of here first. "Shizuka, we need to-"

"Ace!" Her eyes lit up with a childish sheen, in spite of how tired she was a gleeful grin was spread across her face. "That was quite the impressive feat... Are you here because of that crazy doctor?" She asked, getting fully ahead of the situation. Ace huffed amusingly, he had to admit he missed her certain.... charm?

"Later." He grabbed her hand, leading her towards the exit. She knew how to read to mood, this time anyway, and ran along side him. They didn't go far before they had a posse behind them, too many to count. They could see the exit just ahead, the streets of Radiant Garden were in view. The hoard behind him had to be dealt with first. "Aya, do it now!" He yelled.

"Before you're fully out? My my, you really like pushing it don't you Acesto?" Ace shook his head, as if trying to shake loose her indignation.

"Aya!"

"Fine fine~" A click could be heard though his ear, and a second later the entire base rumbled as explosions riddled it's insides like a beaten bee's nest. The infrastructure of the base began to creak and the ceiling behind them fell to the floor, crushing their pursuers. Ace and Shizuka rushed out of the exit, barely making it as the entrance caved in.

Ten minutes later

"Do we have to go into an alley Ace? The last time I went down one I ended up getting a needle in my neck." Shizuka protested, though it was clear this was simply her way of telling him how she had been kidnapped. Already she had informed him of what the doctor was after.

The two of them reached the end of the alley, where a lone female awaited. She was around the same age as Ace, though she acted as if she were twice her age. some might call it endearing, to Ace it got rather creepy at times.

"So~ do you have it Ace?" Aya reached out her left hand, her other hand was busy fixing her head of crimson hair. Always multitasking this girl was. Ace reached into his pocket and handed her the hard case he had loaded the data on. Aya had an almost giddy grin on her face.

"I know you can't wait to dig into that Aya, but there's another thing I'd like you to look into. I found Shizuka inside the base, apparently they've been doing experiments on people with unique abilities." He explained, Shizuka herself didn't seem interested in the conversation, she was too busy looking the alley over in a suspicious manner. She really didn't want to take another premature nap.

"Experiments? How foreboding..." Aya sighed, trying to show concern, it wasn't really working.
 

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Caeley exuded an aura of calm and pleasantness as she moved her hands over his, something she enjoyed doing when they came together and were allowed some time to be this way. The similarity between the two is that they both greatly enjoyed seeing the job done and hated to leave something half finished. People easily said they belonged together. Connor didn't disagree with that statement; he was glad they were together and didn't seek to change that anytime soon.

“I don’t think we’ll be getting much sleep now that I’m here.”

Oh, she could be very suggestive and ..persuasive when she was in a very loving mood. His direct response was a kiss planted against her left cheek, before bringing his right cheek against it again. It wasn't always like this when they met up; frequently there would be more blood and screaming, or potentially a lot more running. Moments like these when they could just be close like this during an operation were not plentiful, and he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. A week without her was too long, and her suggestiveness certainly implied it.

"The night's still young,"
it was actually midnight right about now, but it was always young when they were together. "Let's see where we're at in the next hour or two."

Caeley had doubts about how tough she was on the thugs that had left, and Connor would agree with her had he seen the full extent of her battle against them. As things were, he didn't, but if she got them to bow down and speak in unison, she must have brought much fear into them. He wasn't thinking about them now, just her ..and exactly why someone was selling ice cream so late. The man who was selling the frozen treats had left, nothing but a 'closed' sign left atop the idle stand.

"You may have been more effective than you give yourself credit for. I don't think they'll sleep so soundly tonight-" An explosion from far behind him sent Connor's attention towards the large amounts of smoke and flame traveling towards the sky now. It was more attention grabbing than what signal erupted here, and already he could see many lights around them in households turn on. That would have woken most of the city up, if not all of it. Unfortunately, he released Caeley, because she would know as much as he did that their time spent together had to be a little more serious for now. "..And now I don't think anyone's sleeping soundly. Come on." Connor would take off at an urgent pace, racing towards the site of the explosion.

Intent on getting there before many of the citizens would emerge from their bed and have the more curious flock towards the base. A week of scouting the area out, monitoring what came and went, now all up in flames. He was confident it was the doing of the rebels. He would've been willing to explain what it was for Caeley but no doubt she read his reports, knew about the base on the outskirts, how the guards went about live and the citizens. They were making good time, two minutes of running and some shortcuts through key areas he discovered, but something had caught his eye enough to come to a halt. "Freeze." he said to Caeley in a hushed tone.

They weren't being followed, or had an eye on them, otherwise he would've known and told Caeley much quicker than that. Two people, a boy and a girl, had just cut through a nearby street just ahead. Connor knew how someone moved when they were nervous and concerned, and the boy looked heavily worried. The base wasn't too far from where they stood, but Connor was trusting his instincts on this and looked to Caeley. "..I think they're involved. Come on, quietly." he whispered to her before hustling towards the street the other pair had moved by.

Sticking close to the walls of buildings and other structures, Connor stalked carefully, his feet no longer hitting the ground carelessly but instead he kept up with them fine. His movements didn't cause any unnecessary stress nor did the soles of his feet hit the ground very hard. From the angles he was looking, they were definitely trying to avoid something, likely getting caught. This act of stalking took some time, and although it seemed uncertain if they had anything to do with the base's destruction, he chose to trust his instincts. They didn't steer him wrong before. For what felt like six to seven minutes of moving through Radiant Garden's streets and alleyways, Connor stopped against one last thick wall as the two cut into an alleyway. From there, he heard voices, clear as day.

"Do we have to go into an alley Ace? The last time I went down one I ended up getting a needle in my neck."

This could be it.

"I know you can't wait to dig into that Aya, but there's another thing I'd like you to look into. I found Shizuka inside the base, apparently they've been doing experiments on people with unique abilities."

There was a third one in that alley, and luckily the voices bounced around the enclosed alley well enough for Connor to hear it. Words were exchanged, one of the teens had something, but it was confirmed that the two who Connor had stalked here in silence were definitely involved. He wasn't wrong, and he wouldn't look dumb in front of Caeley.

"This is what we want. Caeley, move around the building, cut off that escape route in case they flee and don't emerge until I signal you." Connor whispered. Caeley was pretty quick on her feet so it wouldn't take very long to maneuver around this building.

The third teens name was Aya, which left the name of 'Ace' to the only male, and the female he brought with him was Shizuka. Giving Caeley a glance and a nod of understanding before she moved, she'd recognize that this was the chance he was looking for.

Establishing contact with the resistance.

"Steady."
he muttered before slowly unzipping his jacket and letting the zipper slowly creep open, not audible enough to alert them, but fast enough to have access to his pistol and a knife if he needed either of the two. He gave Caeley a little more time.


"Experiments? How foreboding..."

"I agree."He said loud enough for them to hear. Connor took his chance and stepped out from against the wall, his arms raised up with no intention of harming them. Displaying this act of surrender quickly would reduce the chances of the three recognizing him as a threat, even though as he was now he was a threat. He heard what they said, but didn't take the chance to run, and certainly didn't appear as though he was here to bring them in or kill them. Appearances could deceive, but this wasn't a time to hurt one another. After destroying a base, Connor supposed they should have called it a day by now.

"I've been trying to find you people for a little over a week now."
he stepped further into the alleyway. None of them looked a day over twenty years old. Too young for this kind of thing, but he had no room to judge. He attempted mercenary work around this time. "I can help you ..both of us can help you." that was Caeley's queue to emerge. By now he was halfway to them. "The Empire wasn't elected nor desired; what it does, what it stands for ..is all wrong. Me, her, and some very influential, powerful people from my world are here for you and yours. Will you give us a chance to talk this out properly?"
 

King Naruto

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"Everything is fine so far Taka, do not approach the base."

That's all Taka needed to hear from Ace. If Ace said things were fine then Taka knew he would just have to trust him. Ace was someone that Taka wanted to fight in order to prove himself. He had "seen" Ace fight before and it stunned him by how calm and deceptively talented. From his unique sword style to his godly ability of awareness, Ace was amazing as a swordsman which was something that left Taka unsettled. There was no way Ace was better then him with so little while Taka trained so hard to garner so much as an Asura but, he had to face him and see. He had to be the superior, an obsession that must knew about and a prime reason Taka tagged along with Ace. It was also something that scared him for the more he tagged along, the more he came to know Ace and the others which would seem like a good thing except he didn't want to have this bond and only for their comfort and friendship to be taken away from him.

A large explosion interrupted Taka's thought process and his ears picked up the sound from where the explosion came from. The Base. The plan had gone off without a hitch and now it was time to get moving. It would actually take some time to get to the meeting spot from the bar area so, he would have to not be suspicious. He wondered who all made it out of the base and within the next five minutes of walking led to meeting with his comrades.....well atleast two of them. His nose caught the familiar smell of them and the sound of their voices, even the familiarity of the vibrations of the their steps was a dead giveaway as to who was behind Taka. Gripping his shoulder, one of them turned Taka around quickly into a hug.

Taka's head was firmly pressed in between the large, bouncy chest of the neko girl of Nancy. "Aw Taka. So glad to see you." Nancy exclaimed with a large smile in a her boisterous voice. Nancy was a neko girl, around Taka's age, and probably one of the physically strongest women had ever known. Most knew her as happy-go-lucky cat-lady but, in reality she hid a much more stern and duty-driven demeanor. The other person was a man, who stood only a few feet away. He was the demolition/scientist of their little team and he made sure we all knew it. From what Taka heard from the women of Unbound Hearts, he was quite the looker too as he could woo woman with a single look...or that's what Taka was lead to believe. As of his name, everyone just called him John because he refused the use of his actual name.

"Looks like the planned was a success." Taka stated, pushing away from Nancy.

"Yeah. We should meet with Ace and Aya now." Nancy stated, inching herself closer to Taka.

"We have to move carefully. Streets are probably crawling with soldiers. We were chased a few minutes ago but, luckily we got away pretty easily." John commented and then cleared his throat, "Aya is going to kill us."

"Yeah Ya'll. Let's get moving." Taka retorted and they began walking as careful as possible with Nancy trying to hold Taka's hand at every turn.

Within six minutes, they had arrived to the meeting place. It was just an alley in nowhere but, it did the job as it hid the Unbound Hearts well. As they entered, they noticed Connor and some woman standing before Ace. Now Taka wasn't one to be entirely reckless or attack on sight but, he didn't know if these people were friend or foe.

"Ace, who are these people?" Taka asked with his hand on the holstered hilt of his sword. Nancy and John also stood at the ready in case these two were empire minions planning to attack. Then again their odds were in the negative but, who knew what they could pull off.
 
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Hearing a voice from behind Ace quickly turned to see the source. Shizuka had already noticed him, having already hardened her body in preparation of any sharp flying objects. Ace looked to Aya, who was shaking her head in disappointment. He had been followed, so much for a flawless mission. This man's hands were in the air, the universal signal for 'I come in peace.' A good sign, but it was hardly enough to clear him of any suspicion. He went on speaking, making his case of how he had been looking for them, and how he and his accomplice could help them out in their efforts against the empire. Turning around a young woman made her presence known, not only had they been followed, they let themselves be flanked. Just who where these people?

Shizuka backed towards Ace, letting her body go back to normal. She wanted to say something here, but felt it just wasn't her place. She knew Ace belonged to the Unbound Hearts, in fact she had a chance to join him at one point. She turned down the chance, feeling the rebellious life just wasn't for her. "Well, we're all ears, aren't we Acesto?" Aya chimed in first, pressuring Ace to not let her do all the talking as he so often did. Just then Taka and the rest of the team arrived, they looked ready to strike.

"At ease guys, as you can plainly..." He stopped himself, tapping his forehead with his pointer finger. 'See,' Taka couldn't see of course, the other two had no excuse however. Connor's hands were still in the air. "They mean us no harm, at least as far as I can tell." He looked to Connor, crossing his arms. "As red bird said, we're listening. We can use all the help we can get."
 

King Sora X

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It’s not out of character for Jaakuna to be awake at night. He always has had trouble sleeping when it’s pitch-dark or at least somewhere close to that level of darkness. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Radiant Garden or some other world, Jaakuna would be up at night thinking, walking, or whatever he can do to keep his mind busy. You see, Jaakuna suffers from a few mental illnesses, which could also be the reason behind his erratic behavior sometimes.

Currently, at least to Jaakuna, it feels like it’s around midnight, but it could be later. He’s not keeping track of time because he’s lost track of time. Plus, he feels a bit odd being back in his homeworld. No. Odd isn’t the right word. The perfect word would be disgusted. He’s always hated this world even as a kid, and tonight isn’t any exception. Even if The Empire is on ‘business’ in Radiant Garden, it’s still making Jaakuna sick to his stomach.

As he continues walking through the empty streets of Radiant Garden, Jaakuna was brought out of his train-of-thought when he heard two specific noises in this order: The Empire’s base main alarm, and then the collapse of that very same base. From where Jaakuna was, the base wasn’t far off. So, in that sense, he opened up a darkness portal which instantly transferred him to the site of the now turn-into-rubble that was the base.

On one part, Jaakuna was wondering what exactly happened to make the base go into complete ‘boom-boom’ mode. At the same time, Jaakuna also felt excited that something actually happened. He had almost given up hope of anything exciting happening. However, the big question remained..

“Who would be stupid enough to interfere with The Empire?”

 

Smoofy

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The alarm immediately roused Soujuu from his seat. In one swift movement, he bounded over his seat and grabbed his katana, attaching it to his side. Then, he quite literally kicked his door down. The infernal droning of the arm always infuriated him and during each drill, anyone in his path would face his wrath. A drill wasn't scheduled for today, so that could only mean one thing.

"What the hell happened?" Soujuu snarled, grabbing a foot solider by the collar.

"I-I-I don't know!" The solider stammered, fearing for his life.

"Useless!" Soujuu declared, tossing the man to the ground. Soujuu took a step and opened a dark portal. He appeared at the other end of the hallway, and his voice bellowed through the halls.

"What the HELL happened?!"

A soldier approached him, feeling that if he provided him with what he wanted to know, no harm would befall him.

"We're... not sure, sir. But the alarm originated in the lab!"

"You're telling me someone managed to sneak through the ENTIRE base and make it to the lab UNDETECTED?!" he roared. The alarm was starting to drown out his voice. The constant echoing was driving him mad. If these men were so incompetent, he'd hunt this dog out himself.

Soujuu took long, powerful strides down the hallway and took a flight of stairs down. The lab was far below him, but he assumed the assailant would already be making their escape.

He was greeted by multiple bodies. Someone had cut down some his soldiers. A couple were even of dignified rank. Whoever the hell caused this was going to pay. What the hell were they doing in the lab anyway? After examining the bodies, he looked down the hallway. What in the hell was he seeing?

Children. Children were cutting down his men. A young boy, no older than eighteen, surely took one well placed swipe against his men and cut them down. With him was a young girl with... arms of steel? An interesting power, certainly. When he was finished cutting down his men, the girl called out to him. Soujuu wasn't sure if he heard her correctly, due to the siren still bellowing in his ears, but it was rather difficult to mix up a single word.

Ace...? Was that even his real name? For people so young to make it this far, they must be highly skilled. No way would they be foolish enough to call each other by their real names in an infiltration operation? Still, they WERE kids. However, in a moment, the two were fleeing the scene.

Soujuu sprinted after them, calling soldiers to join him as they went. They were in hot pursuit of the two, when he heard the young boy yell "Aya, do it now!"

Was that the girl's name?

Soujuu didn't have time to think about it further as the whole building started crashing down. They managed to plant a bomb as well? Who the hell were these kids? They couldn't be part of the rebellion could they? When did their operations get so high-key?

Soujuu stopped, allowing his men to pass him. He wouldn't have time to make it out, now at the rate he was going. As Soujuu skidded to a halt, he slammed his fist into the wall next him, but it collided with nothing. Instead, he fell through another dark portal.

Soujuu appeared outside the front of the base, crashing to his knees. His exit wasn't the most elegant one, but at least he was better off than everyone else still within. Soujuu stood up, barely catching a glimpse of the two teens fleeing the scene. Soon, they left his sight completely. With the amount of sidepaths and other roots, there was no telling where they would end up.

"Roy." Soujuu commanded, sending his thoughts to the boy.

"Sir? What was that noise? I'm on my way to the base-"

"Don't bother. The base is gone now. We've become victim to a surprise attack. I'm unsure, but it may have been the doing of the rebels."

"The Unbound Hearts? When did they obtain the capability to take out an entire base?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems to be the doing of two individuals, both couldn't be any older than twenty. One is a girl, approximately six feet tall with long, black hair and pale skin. The other is a a tanned male with brown hair down to his shoulders. He seems to go by the name of "Ace" but it may be an alias, so be careful. I didn't get a look at their faces so that's all you have to work with. They're currently fleeing the scene so I want you to actively search for them. If you spot two people matching those descriptions, inform me of your location and wait for further orders."

"Yes Sir. Moving now."

Soujuu gripped the handle of his katana, ready to pursue the children when a dark portal appeared near by. Out of the portal appeared the one man that could potentially ease Soujuu's anger; Jaakuna. Soujuu could easily relate to Jaakuna. Both of them relished in the destruction of the weak and worthless, and they both felt a great pleasure when they caused others suffering. Where Jaakuna was quite literally insane, Soujuu was simply sadistic. Where Jaakuna was brash, Soujuu was calm and precise. They were like two opposites that bonded via one common interest.

"Ah, Jaak. I imagined you'd be up at this time of night." Soujuu was aware of Jaak's various... conditions, and as of such, he had a mild understanding of this person. "No doubt you're feeling rather bored, so I'll spare you the details."

Soujuu relayed the past few minutes to him. He described the infiltration of the base, the explosion and gave him a quick description of what he saw of the assailants.

"I've asked those under me to report as soon as they come into contact with the suspects but if they find them in a... less than healthy condition, I won't complain nor question why."

Soujuu was aware that Jaak would be feeling a little antsy at night. There wasn't much to do and knowing Jaak... he must be rather bored. And besides, if Jaak had his way with those teens, it would send all the other rebels a message. If you stand against the Empire, no one shall receive mercy. And with Roy and Jaak both actively searching and pursuing them, it shouldn't be long until the culprits are found.
 
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Lumine

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The serenity of this night must have been too much for the day to end with. It passed like those few stolen moments of sleep before someone, a very rude someone that is, roused this lovely drowsiness out of you.

Ciel had been ferried to a world of memories, tinged with the nostalgia of her childhood and days at home. Lost in the quietness of the moment. She was leaning comfortably on the rail of the bridge, resting her chin delicately upon her elbows, watching without seeing much of the twinkling stars above the sleeping City. The blaring buzz of the alarm pulled her back into reality, it wasn't close, but it was loud enough to awaken the whole district. She straightened herself quickly, and scanned with a cautious sense of particularity the source of such Alert. Traversing down the streets quietly, she maneuvered hastily between narrow, shadow tipped alleys and high, steep rooftops. Passing darkened houses, that didn't stay as darkened for long, and unwary citizens who crawled out of their sleep to investigate the source of annoyance. But Ciel already knew. It wasn't really hard to guess at this distance which alarm was this. The Labs' Security have been breached, and the intruder has yet to be caught. Well, the alarm is still on, so either the intruders are out or--

She had just rounded the corner of the street, when a strong explosion shook the ground. Reflexively, she rolled to the side and took cover, avoiding the flying debris and glass that scattered and zipped past her. Red flames flared and gray clouds of smoke rose high, sending dancing shadows across the street. Columns of fire laced around what is left of the building. People were out of their houses, surprised, scared, and confused. Some couldn't hide the grin spreading ont their face. The Building after all was the military base of the Empire, though none knew what the Base hid beneath its grounds. The Empire doesn't exactly need more promotion for their bad reputation. The soldiers who managed to get out in time were in disarray, some still stunned from what happened, and others trying to get their act together and take quick actions.

"Way to ruin my day." Ciel sighed and quickly stepped in.

Of course, it wasn't hard to know the instigator of the explosion. Who else, after all, had the guts to do it other than them? The Unbound Hearts were proving to be a much unwanted source of annoyance by the day. This can not be handled lightly any longer. But all in due time. All in due time. Her priority right now is to contain the situation before the cover of the Labs is undone, and issuing a quick chase of the Intruders. They couldn't have gone far after all, there is still a chance for capture.
Ah, precious time is ticking by...

"Hey! You there." Ciel called, motioning to an officer nearby who was shouting orders around to the soldiers. They had done little than waste time. Hopeless fools who can't even call an ambulance.

"Ma'am" he answered quickly, raising his hand with the Empire's signature salute.

"The situation is Under con-" He started to say, but Ciel quickly cut through.

"Shut up, and listen. I want you to set a magical barricade around the perimeter immediately, and no body gets in, you hear me." although her voice was low, monotonic it rang out with authority and control. These matters had to be dealt with efficiently.

"Call for a Medics Squad. I want a detailed and full damage report about this. Determine the number of causalities and see if there are any survivors. Tell your soldiers to activate Dark Portal Detectors at once and monitor the trace of those coming in and out of the city," Ciel followed through, her eyes assessing the situation with perfect clarity. This should allow us to follow them, if they ever think of escaping outside the City borders.

The soldier followed quickly with an earnest nod.

"Tell them to Make sure that a not a single gummi ship leaves the Hangar. I want you to call the other sub-bases, and tell them to send Soldier patrols at once. Those who did this couldn't have gone so far. Move out!"

"Right away, Ma'am."

The officer quickly went into motion, purposeful one that is, after some order had been settled.

Ciel stood there for a moment around her, the dampened, spoiled night air sweeping by her as she watched the mess. Her eyes narrowed, almost in repulsion. She had seen a lot of this, far worse than what that sight provided her. It still brought back bad memories. No, she shook her head. I don't want to think of this now. She cringed internally at the thoughts that started to seep in her mind. Though, soon enough her face was recomposed, and her perpetual calmness returned again. As if nothing had happened, the truth, however, was that a lot once happened.
 
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King Wolfe

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Granted, she would’ve liked to stay like this forever, it was simply relaxing and felt good. There was no fighting, no running, no escaping death, no crazy giant Sphinx trying to claw your eyes out (long story). It was moments like this that made her forget that she was a soldier, a weapon used to enact justice; a deadly vector of power.

But, the explosion snapped her out of her nice stupor. Opening her eyes up slowly, she rolled her eyes as if the explosion were a child interrupting an intimate moment, which, in a way, isn’t wrong.

Being the trained soldier she was, however, she snapped into action without lethargy or hesitation. It was drilled into her bones to react in such a way, with a Zen-like calmness and an expert handle on your emotions. Without another word, she followed Connor. It was, after all, his operation, she didn’t have much intel on this place, Connor knew more as made obvious with his shortcuts.

She followed his pace excellently, moving in a perfect cadence to his and quietly enough to remain difficult to detect but not enough to impede her speed. Her body’s undulation was perfect for stealth, naturally weaving to avoid detection and to appear perfectly naturally, as if she were merely speed-walking home rather than stalking.

Stopping on a dime as Connor told her, she peeked out and noticed the children there. Grimacing, she couldn’t believe that there were children here. They were so young, they should be at home, in bed, after all, it was past their bedtime. Children shouldn’t be involved in something like this, but, then again, she had no room to talk, after all; she was much younger when she got into this business.

Connor quietly ordered to move up, and Caeley almost smiled. Quietly? She’s all about quiet…

Well, that firework doesn’t count, she had the situation under control.

She moved alongside him, like his corporeal shadow, just as quietly, and as quickly, as him. Although she had honestly doubted the sensory capabilities of these kids, she exercised caution.

“Never run into a situation head first,” her teacher always told her, “That’s a good way of getting your brains knocked out. Never assume, always exercise caution.”

She remembered the training. Having to fight her teacher blindfolded, having to play hide and seek with her while she hunted you in a massive labyrinth, dodgeball with her was kinda fun, until the balls exploded.

They spoke. She didn’t have to strain her ears to listen, they were fairly loud. And, as expected, they sounded young, inexperienced, too green. But if they were involved, their ages don’t matter, after all, she’s met child geniuses before.

Caeley only gave him the subtlest of nods before moving out. Extremely light on her feet, Caeley half-sprinted around the building and made her way past a fence – hopped it in a single bound – through a few scattered trash bins and at her spot as he asked.

Then she waited for a full four seconds before she heard Connor make his way toward them. Hopefully, these kids weren’t as sketchy as she thought them to be. Upon his signal, she stepped toward them, sandwiching them, for a lack of a better term. She stood, imposing and indifferent with her crossed arms and poker face.

Connor had calmly explained that they were here to help and although Caeley was still unsure of these guys, she had trusted Connor. After all, it wasn’t like he picked a wrong bunch to team up with.

“Ace, who are these people?”

More showed up, the person who had asked the question was another child who kept his hand on the sword, as if these two were threatening them. Sure, they looked threatening, but Connor had made himself a nonthreatening person in front of them, and Caeley… well, Caeley isn’t punching anyone yet.

“Keep your hands off anything you could hurt yourself with, and ask us nicely,” Caeley suggested in a particularly candid and docile tone of voice.

But the other kid, Ace, was kind enough to back them up. Oh, good, she didn’t have to reprimand anymore kids.

~--~

These German locks always gave her trouble. Which is weird, because she didn’t know that Germans existed on this world. Different world, different culture, who would’ve thought there was this universal uniformity throughout them regardless of geographic relevance. The initial lock on the door was simple, utilizing her hairpin she had picked that in only a few seconds. She wasn’t very proud of being an excellent thief, but it helped in situations like this.

She had made her way into the room, it was grand and frivolous like the people who owned it. Victorian styled, with a massive king sized bed fit for royalty. There was a large vanity mirror to her left, a walk-in closet to her right, huge mirrors behind a set of dressers opposite of her and a chandelier above.

She didn’t want to brag, but her living conditions were way better than this. Her mom was a rich woman, able to buy mansions like it was nothing and spared little expense in living conditions. But, to be honest, they hadn’t interested her. Being rich, having so much was so boring and uninteresting, it simply didn’t fit her. Why is she able to have everything in the world while children are starving everywhere?

Don’t think about that, she chided herself. She needed to focus, if she continued to mentally berate herself she’ll end up with nothing soon. Besides, if she wanted to beat up on herself, there would be plenty of people willing to do that once they discover what she was doing up here.
Underneath the bed was a hidden compartment. And there was a large safe with three sets of locks. Two of them where those infernal German locks she had mentioned, and the last was the combination, except it was electronic.

It probably had two codes, one to open it and another to active the silent alarm.

Snap!

Ah, the lock fell. Good, she had put away her hairpin and worked on the combination. Taking a lamp off the desk, she set it over the safe and shone its light on it. She needed to examine the numbers.

There would be six numbers she needed to punch in. The first one was obvious, the number 2, but the others were much harder to decide.

“Thank God they don’t use gloves,” she muttered.

She was able to see which numbers were used frequently, but figuring out the order would be harder. She needs to look carefully. Octavia stopped. There were footsteps and voices outside, cripes, were they already looking for her?

Ignoring them, she leaned closer to the safe, nearly pressing her nose against it. Numbers 4, 7, 8, and 9 were hardly used. That left 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 0.

That’s the code, but what about the order?

More voices, louder footsteps.

She looked closer, her mind going into overdrive. Dragging of the finger between the 2 and the 5, indicating a habitual pattern between them, conclusion, that’s the second number. Third number, where are you?

3, 1, and 6 all had the same amount of pressure and oily build up on there, no lead there.
“… she went?” a gruff voice asked from the outside.

“… bathroom,” an equally inaudible voice answered.

She pressed 2 and 5.

“… is broken!”

3, 0, 1, 6!

Thankfully, the safe clicked three times and opened up before her. A stack of paper and huge wads of cash was stuffed in the safe, the money wasn’t anything that interested her. Octavia grabbed the papers and quickly scanned them.

Empire?

Wait, what? This certainly wasn’t what she had expected, not from a simple banker!

The door broke up and two fully armored guards came in and aimed their swords at her.

“What’re you doing?!” the first asked.

Octavia stood and hid the papers behind her back, “Oh, sorry,” she said politely with her accent, “This isn’t the bathroom huh, well, I suppose I’ll be on my way then-“

Who are you?” the second asked, stepping forward with his sword aimed at her chest.

Octavia swallowed, “That’s not really important. Now, I haven’t really done anything wrong, so, I would just like to leave and be out of your hair.”

Two more guards appeared behind the first two.

“Detain her,” the first ordered.

Oh great.

Quick as thought, Octavia used her free hand and threw two knives at the first two guards. Not aiming to kill them, they only aimed at the guards’ shoulder joints to stun them a little. Catching them perfectly, they stumbled back from the impact, giving Octavia enough time to make her escape.

Like an idiot, Octavia jumped on the dresser and leapt right through the windows.

One thing to note about jumping through glass, it is not like how the movies make it seem. First of all, you need to jump with all of your might to break through the glass and even more to make it pretty far without falling like a stone.

Second off, OW!

Cuts tore through her sleeves and on her hands and wrists. Thankfully, her face wasn’t really touched but stung a little bit, after all, a lady must maintain a spotless face.

And thirdly, never jump out of a window on the fourth floor unless you’re Superman or something.

Thankfully, however, the hill outside was elevated enough to make the fall seem like from a 2nd story window rather than a fourth. Octavia landed with a dull thud on the lawn outside. Her arm burned with pain, she probably broke it, but she scrambled to her feet and ran.

She only made it ten feet out before the explosion came. No, not from her, the explosion was from somewhere else, much farther away but the explosion was strong enough to shake her insides. Oh great, what next?

Octavia didn’t stay to mull over her thoughts, she pulled another knife out and cut her dress enough to be able to run in, and sprinted off. Ten minutes later, she was in town, particularly an inn. She had asked for a room and threw some munny at the innkeeper and he didn’t ask questions. He had, however, seemed very unconcerned about that explosion, strange, but that dull pain in her arm kept her from asking questions.

She made it to her room and pulled off her dress. Thankfully, she left her backpack elsewhere, away from the party, and hidden from any vagrants. All of her stuff was still there, change of clothes, books, blah, blah.

She changed and finally satisfied she looked in the mirror.

A lady didn’t look back.

No, it was a skinny little girl with messy hair and dull eyes. Her blonde hair tumbled down over her shoulders, it was neat yet messy at the same time, giving off the impression that she didn’t really care what she looked like (which is partly true) her face was immature and round, her figure thin and almost malnourished. She was even shorter than she appeared before.

Octavia Romano, at your service.

Her arm stung again, causing her to wince and sit down. Pulling up her sleeves, she looked at it and noticed what was wrong. There was a large purple bruise around her shoulder, nothing broken, thank god, but it didn’t look pretty.

Octavia would need some supplies, but that would come later. She looked in her bookbag and pulled out the papers she stole.

Now, what was this Empire?
 
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ThePromise

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"Well, we're all ears, aren't we Acesto?"

Excellent. The trio of young people were willing to listen to him, everything was going off well. Caeley had come out as planned but did not assume the same stance of peace as he did. She hadn't really broken the jaws of any of them, so that was pretty much the universal way of someone knowing that she meant no harm. He always told her the way she hid her true strength was very attractive, and it was especially attractive when someone ended up battered, bruised, and broken from trying something against her.

He knew how to pick them.

It wasn't difficult to hear the sound of approaching footsteps behind him, and as natural and smooth as water flowing down a river he turned on his heel in silence. His right hand had already dug into his jacket and retrieved his pistol, silencer attached and sight's being aimed down. Gripping the weapon perfectly and steadying his aim, he kept his right shoulder towards those incoming, while keeping his left towards the others. If either side planned to attack, he'd have been prepared.

As it turned out his drawing of the weapon and the taking aim down the alleyway wasn't for much of anything threatening. They were kids, children he'd call them, and they seemed just as prepared to fight as he was to kill those who would witness this. Regardless of their abilities he lowered his firearm, brought the safety back in place, and stowed it in his jacket once more. They weren't enemies; even the Empire had to have had some standards and recruiting people this young couldn't have been appropriate. Caeley might have felt him too arrogant for lowering his weapon on kids prematurely, but having known him so long she'd probably understand his actions more than anyone else here.

Having scouted the 'Empire' for a week and seeing the common age group of their grunts, it wasn't unreasonable to assume that the smaller ones at the entry to the alley were not affiliated with them but instead the rebels. Rebellions didn't normally have standards, they took normally anyone, because all it took was the will to fight to be a rebel in the end. Regardless of the small ones hand on his blade Connor had heard Ace back him up on this. It didn't exactly matter, he wasn't feeling very threatened despite how vulnerable he was even appearing as a civilian.

The agent did feel sorry for these kids though.

"At ease guys, as you can plainly..."

Turning his back on the three, Connor had figured this place would be compromised soon. The little stand-off the three did at the entry might attract unusual attention if they were idle there. A gathering like this in an alleyway didn't help either. Ace did a motion to his forehead, and Connor closed the distance with the primary three.

"They mean us no harm, at least as far as I can tell."

They still showed caution. It wasn't a surprise and Connor might have praised it if he wasn't on the bad end of things. As rebels, finding trust was difficult, even among each other.

"As red bird said, we're listening. We can use all the help we can get."

Connor nodded his head in thanks, but Caeley had something to add.

“Keep your hands off anything you could hurt yourself with, and ask us nicely,”

She seemed to have been replying to the kid who had shown up; Connor understood caution but also understood that Caeley was not one to threaten or disrespect unless you meant to fight.

It was the last thing any of them could want right now.

"Easy."
Connor lightly warned Caeley, not reprimanding her but instead trying to make it clear how delicate this situation was. These three were willing to trust the both of them and that was one hell of a start already, but they didn't have time to bicker. In his experience most children were quick to talk back in order to defend themselves; he didn't expect much different from the other three that just showed up. "If we're all mature enough to stop further backtalk, I think we can get this done with." Connor extended his arm towards Aya and opened his hand, intending to take hers. "Connor. Connor Owens." His real name would be given as a sign of trust, even if they had no means of confirming if it was real. He had no reason to lie to them, and it wasn't like he had any family out here to protect. A codename wasn't his thing.

Having shook Shizuka's hand and Ace's hand, Connor motioned his head towards Caeley. "That's Caeley, my partner. As I said moments ago, we're both here to aid you. Now." Connor lightly clapped his hands together. It felt strange; all of them were so young and perhaps it was that bias that made him think they were unfit for this sort of thing. He didn't have a choice though.

"I won't ask you to trust us immediately, but now isn't the time to prove ourselves just yet. That job you did would have put the Empire on high alert and I guarantee you they'll be looking for blood after a blow like that. I think it's smarter if we get off the streets and part ways for now. Caeley and I are willing to meet you tomorrow, name a time and place."

Connor knew time. His experiences on multiple fronts, the amount of time he had left to secure a building, to plant a tracer, to help disarm a bomb, to put a bullet into a killer. He knew time, and if he knew the enemy as well as he did the rest he came across, then the guards would be all over the place, and you didn't want to be caught in an alleyway at this time of night, especially after a military base had been destroyed.

Time was not on their side.

The quicker they were off the streets, the better.
 
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