The Aristocracy

[Wallflower]

Finally, some action.

Jack had exploded into action before Edward's mouth even moved. Eric was headed up the stairs, which, naturally, was where Jack was headed, as well. He bounded up the steps three at a time, hoping to get a jump on Eric. Apparently, he moved much quicker than he did before; perhaps it was the fear of death that motivated him to run faster? Whatever it was, Jack kept up at a good distance of about 10 feet behind Eric. It was a pretty good distance, and it wouldn't matter much anyway, since Eric was just backing himself into a corner. Jack would have just pulled out one of his guns and shot the boy, but seeing as how he was still in the castle, it would create unnecessary ruckus. A lot more bodies would be involved, and hiding them would have been much more of a hassle later on down the road. So, for now, knives would have to do. He pulled a knife out from one of his pockets, and threw it in Eric's direction. It would hit, but Jack wasn't sure where. He would have to see when the cry of pain eru-

"AHH, GODDAMMIT!"

Ah, excellent. So the knife hit. Apparently, it hit Eric in his right calf, causing him to tumble down onto the floor. A smile quickly formed on Jack's face. Keeping up his running pace until he was only a few feet away from Eric, he leapt at Eric's collapsed frame on the floor. Landing on Eric, he quickly grabbed Eric's face underneath his jaw, and smashed Eric's head into the floor. A yelp of pain came out of Eric's mouth. Jack looked at Eric's terrified face, examining it for a few second. With a sigh, he slid the same knife that he threatened Edward with into his hand, which prompted groans from Eric's mouth. As Jack was pushing Eric's jaw toward his face, Eric couldn't open his mouth, but he could still make noise. Well... Not for long, anyway. Jack gently ran the blunt edge of the knife over Eric's throat. He was enjoying this moment, relishing it. He would remember it for times to come. Once the knife ran over his throat, Jack placed the point at the side of Eric's neck, where the Cardiac Artery ran. Once punctured, Eric would bleed out in about a minute. A very painful minute. Jack gave Eric one last smile, and pushed the knife into Eric's throat. It slid in extremely smoothly, to Jack's pleasure. With a very quick jerking motion, Jack pulled the knife out, causing Eric's blood to spill across the floor. Jack stood up, and put the blade away.

"Pathetic."

Enjoying his triumph, he walked his way back to where Edward was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. He gave Edward a nod, signifying that the job was, indeed, finished. He looked around; he wasn't sure why, but he looked around. Jack could have sworn that he saw a shadow retreat into the kitchen, but Jack shrugged it off, and turned his attention to Edward again.

"Think we should be getting outta here?"

 

[Obliviongirl13]

A lady, completely clothed in black, stands silhouette like on the atrium rooftop. Amaia moves across the top of the glass roof and picks her position carefully. She stopped for a moment and waited for Maddox's transmission. “Security measures neutralized, Amaia, you’re good to proceed,”

She breathed a small sigh of relief as she began to cut an opening in the glass as she realized that Maddox wasn't done. “By the way,” he added, with only a slight pause, “I was thinking, we should probably talk about that kiss....And maybe the possibility of more like it.”

She refused to give him an answer and she finally got through the glass and dropped a single black rope down inside of it. "Going silent." She said as that was the only answer she chose to give him. She caught the glass before it could reach the ground and she placed it next to her. Amaia slid upside down on the rope and stopped to look around. She noticed that there was two guards walking and talking to each other. They were walking in the northern corridor of the mansion where Selene was currently. She gently lowered herself down and looked around for any other guards. As she slipped onto the floor, not a sound

"What kind of favor are we talking about." Selene's eyes seemed to try and pierce Amaia's but Amaia wouldn't budge.

"I've gathered information. Certain information that I'm sure you'll be interested in."

"Go on."

"I've recently heard that Maddox is one of those who seeks to destroy the Ten. I want you to deal with him."

Selene lifted her hand in protest. "So.. my feelings were true. I had thought that after I divorced him, that he might resent just me. But all of us? We've done so much for everyone."

Inside, Amaia laughed at this but she kept a straight face. Selene put her hand to her forehead, "What would you have me do Ami? I dare not kill my Ex. Repercussions could come back to me."

"..."

At this point Amaia put her guard up. She realized that this woman was playing with her. Selene stepped out from behind her desk and exposed the res of herself. She was carrying a golden handled Samurai sword. "You know," she said as she flickered her wrist to show her beautifully crafted Crane Sword. "I never thought you'd turn on me."

Amaia reached behind her neck and unsheathed her blade. She had a silver handled White Tiger Sword. She locked eyes with Selene and the two clashed. Like Titans or god above, the two females fought mercilessly. Amaia took one swipe upwards and Selene blocked. Though Amaia was a great swordsman, she was also very skilled in Jujitsu. As Amaia took the swipe, Selene caught her blade on the hilt of Amaia's and she thrust it towards the wall.

Amaia started doing back flips towards the other end of the room and Selene grew mad, following after her. Amaia stopped and as Selene pushed her blade towards Amaia, Amaia shifted and caught the blade between her two hands and twisted it out of Selene's grasp. Aggravated at this point, Selene started thrusting punches at her cohort. Amaia missed some of them, but Selene grabbed her left arm and twisted it till it broke.

Bloody after a few minutes, the two women stopped and collected themselves. Amaia was bleeding out of the corner of her mouth and luckily Selene broke her not so good arm. Though Amaia seemed to be taking most of the pain, Selene got boxed in the ear and could barely hear. Both of them stopped in an instant and both ran for their swords. As they did, they both leaped towards each other, sword in hand, clashing once again. Amaia blocked one blow and followed through with one of her own. Her ivory blade slid through Selene's shoulder and she uppercut the rest of her thrust. Ripping open Selene's shoulder.

The woman screamed in pain as she knelt down. Amaia moved her hand in one clean sweep and cut the woman's head off. Amaia stopped and took a deep breath. She reached over to her ear piece and opened the channel.

"...You might want to drive home."

Amaia returned to her rope and used her right arm and her legs to climb back up. Struggling to get up she, gathered her rope and placed the glass back to where it was and used her special epoxy to fix it. Amaia sat down on a sturdy part of the roof and waited for Maddox.

 

[The Big Lovin']

Ray snickered, pushing the drawer back into the desk. This Byrokia guy had absolutely nothing in his office. No files, weapons, nothing. Just some furniture and a computer. That program Desmond had for himself would had come in handy right at that moment, simply because Ray isn't exactly computer savvy. A moment later Desmond's voice came onto his ear piece. "Alright. I'll meet you there in a few." He said, fixing everything back into it's original place. Stepping over to the door, he peered outside the room, making sure no one was there. As soon as the coast was clear, he took off, swiftly making his way out of that part of the castle.

Eventually, he found himself in the underground parking structure. He spotted one of the drivers working there and approached the man. "Excuse me, but would you happen to have any vehicles available?" Ray asked. "I'm in quite a hurry." The driver was a short, balding man sporting a typical chauffeur type suit. Middle aged, but healthy. "Yes, we do." The man lead Ray to another section of the lot, away from the limousines. This was Ray's favorite part of the castle. It housed a huge collection of cars, everything from a Cadillac to porches. But what really caught his eye was a sleek, black Lamborghini Diablo. He turned to the driver, grinning and pointing his thumb back to the car. "Can I get that one?"

As soon as he knew it, he was speeding off towards the airport.

 

[Ulti]

What was taking them so friggen long? Nicia was sure her team went the farthest and came back first. Was killing members of the Eight really so difficult. Aye, but who could she blame? Everyone was gone. Harper was somewhere enjoy his peace. Peace. Sleep. Great Zeus, how long has it been since Nicia enjoyed the darkness behind her eyes?

Since waiting for monstrously boring, Nicia decided to take a short nap before the rest get back. But she needed an alarm clock

"Harper! Wherever you are, when the others get back, wake me up!"

Nicia said this message while walking. Jogging. Running. She could not wait another second. She slammed the door open and took a dive onto her bed. She didn't even throw back the covers or grabbed a pillow. She laid face down on the edge of her bed, finally surrendering to Morpheaus. Even Merc, who was tossed a bit hasitly beside her, joined his master in a quick slumber.

 

[Morpheaus]

Maddox hadn’t waited for Amaia’s radio transmission: having witnessed the entire brutal display of combat skill, he’d been fully aware of when Amaia had completed her task and where she would be waiting for him. Now, he found himself sprinting across an open roof top with a very fine line of woven micro-filament in hand. He had a plan, a good one, but it was risky, especially given Amaia’s current condition.

Amaia’s condition: several bruises and contusions, and a broken arm to cap it all off. Just thinking of it made him cringe inside—the pain of a broken arm could be paralyzing, and he was thankful for Amaia’s prodigious will power, but he’d have traded anything to have spared her the pain. Sudden pangs of regret echoed through him, gripping his heart with a burning tightness. Amaia’s injuries were his responsibility; he should have set his personal qualms aside and accepted responsibility for Selene’s death.

Enough, God damn it. You’re too late for that.

Shaking himself free of such thoughts, he rounded the atrium and spotted Amaia sitting nearby. The expression on her face spoke volumes about her pain levels, and Maddox once again felt a pang of guilt before submerging himself in professionalism.

“Listen, you’re not going to like this, but the alternative is worse,” he stated in cool, all business tones.

Totally unabashed by her pain or intimacy barriers, he quickly pulled her to him and began inspecting her arm with critical eyes. Luckily enough, the break was a clean one. Maddox could set it with minimal effort—and pain for Amaia, hopefully—once they were safely away.

“It goes without saying, but keep it as immobile as you can,” he ordered while gingerly laying her arm across her midsection. “Anyway, as I said, you’re not going to like this. Selene kept a private escape route from here to the garage across the street. We’ll find our getaway car there...After we land,” he continued on, reaching down to string the line of filament through the O-rings mounted across his tactical harness. He repeated the same process with Amaia’s harness, effectively tying her to him with just enough slack so her extra weight wouldn’t hinder his motions. He looked into her mismatched eyes and smile confidently, saying, “Keep a tight hold and pardon the heat.”

Just then a wave of smoldering gas ripped through the manor’s rooftop about seventy yards away, leaving a gaping maw of charred antiques, paintings, and masonry straight though all seven levels of the home. The massive brick and stone building trembled for several long seconds before a series of smaller explosions began shattering the rooftop in a deadly tapestry of fire and shrapnel.

“Huh...You know, the timers on those charges are never accurate. I used to tell the Ten to find another buyer. No one ever listens to me, though.”

A roguish smile on his face, Maddox quickly gathered Amaia in his arms, and kissed her, not losing his smile for an instant. After, he looked at her and said, “Didn’t want to leave you thinking I’d let you ignore me.”

The explosions drew nearer as Maddox launched himself towards the edge of the rooftop, holding Amaia tightly with one arm while maintaining a firm grip on the line and its slack. The blasts propelled the two of them out over the street into the open air.

Red hot piece of shrapnel and glass flew all around them; Maddox surrendered his grip on the line, throwing his other arm around Amaia to shield her, and counting on the Kevlar spine of his uniform to absorb the brunt of the damage. No sooner had the heat from the blast subsided when Maddox slammed back-first into the stone wall of the manor. A loud popping sound came from his shoulder followed by a very vocal gasp of pain. Guessing that he’d dislocated his left shoulder, he glanced down to discover that they dangled less than a dozen feet over the sidewalk.

A painful tug with the arm of his dislocated shoulder and the line yielded another yard, just enough for Maddox to cut them loose without the fall breaking their legs.

“Oh yeah, that could have gone better,” the words were said between clenched teeth. “Are you ok? Come on, I’ll get us to the car and we can go home.”

Fifteen minutes later:

A crème colored Jaguar cruised through the boulevards of Paris, moving away from the now burning manse and emergency service’s sirens with just enough speed to avoid suspicion. It wouldn’t be long before the two beaten and weary occupants arrived at the airport and boarded a plane bound for Prague.

 

[Blackest Night]

Eric ran. Eric fell. Eric died a bloody, painful, agonizing death.

I think I left my TV on.

When Jack returned to my side, I had already wiped down my gun, using handkerchief I had bought just the other day. I contemplated the entire situation. I loathe leaving behind blatant evidence, just in case something was to go wrong and one of the remaining Aristocracy members would call in some of their own contacts. My eyes flicked from Mrs. Dawes, to Eric, to my gun, stolen from some petty thief last week, and to the spot where Jack had put away his knife.

“No. Not yet.”

I walked, quite calmly might I add, to where Eric lay. The last vestiges of life were leaving him and all he had time to do before his death was glance in my general direction. In my mind, I plotted out his death. Or rather, the one we would use as an alibi. We had come here to investigate, as per the orders of the Ten. Eric had been with his mother, and upon hearing of the suspicion surrounding him, had retaliated.

Eric had shot his mother and attempted to run. I had tried to tend to Mrs. Dawes while Jack had immobilized and neutralized Eric. Now came the slightly more difficult part of this ruse.

Hands still covered by my handkerchief, I placed my gun in Eric’s hands, gently yet firmly closing them around the handle and trigger. I begun to speak to myself, a habit some people found rather unnerving.

“Runs up here…knife…drops the gun…”

I literally tossed the gun to the spot I believed it would have fallen when Eric did.

“Jack, keep the knife. Don’t get rid of the fingerprints or blood on it.”

My cell phone buzzed. I flipped it open, read the message and smirked.

“Let’s go.”

I strode past Jack, moving at a brisk pace towards the exit. My face turned away from Jack, I smiled. Actually, I don’t think it was a smile. A smile implies happiness. I don’t think it was a smirk either. I wear the same expression every time I send someone away from life. My heart never sped up in its beating, but I could feel power coursing through it.

 

[Obliviongirl13]

After the interesting escape plan, Amaia was made to sit down and wait for the on-board doctor to come. Just like usual, Maddox was told to wait. So she sat there.. Irritating, Clearly having it appear on her face and then she watched as a female doctor came in. She mended her cuts and looked at her bruises first, and then told her the she had to re-position her arm so that it could heal properly.

"Now I'm not going to lie. This will hurt, but we can make it less painful with medication." the woman said.

"I don't want painkillers, just do it."

Within a few seconds, there was a loud pop and then a crack and screams could be heard through out the plane. Breathing deeply, Amaia was now having her arm wrapped up and bandaged. Then it was placed in a cast and she was sent out. She breezed by Maddox, didn't even look at him and she made her way towards on of the closed in cabins. There, she closed the door and went to her bar. Amaia made herself one of her strong drinks and she downed about half of it, before she fell asleep.

~*~

Sun blinded the little girls view. A small hand reached up to shield her from the bright light, and a large garden appeared around her. A lush garden with green trees and a fountain covered with morning glories. Little wisps of dandelion seeds were floating through the air. Dew had formed from the morning and covered roses of every color, scattered around the garden. Pillars of gods that had fallen centuries before now are covered in mother natures veins. There were ivy vines that climbed over the pillars and across the tops of them creating their own kind of rooftop.

Laughter came from far away as another girl and a little boy ran over towards her. She lifted herself from the bed that she had taken rest on and she ran towards the other children. But when she got to them, she stopped when they stopped and looked into her brothers blue eyes and her sisters green eyes and then realized that the happiness that was given to them by the sun had faded. The children looked up as grey had swallowed them. Clouds had appeared and then.......

~*~

Amaia woke in a panic and she rubbed her eyes. She was a strong believer in what dreams meant. But she didn't understand this one.

 

[Morpheaus]

Maddox, who had sat and observed Amaia’s “treatment”—as well as her departure—with stoic patience despite his own injuries, now reflexively brushed away the doctor’s helping hands. When she insistently prodded him, he took only the effort required lift her onto his good shoulder, and carry her bodily from the room, depositing her in the main cabin, and returning to his seat without a word. Solitude was a treasure at this time, one he would be hard pressed to find later, he needed just a moment to gather his breath before the penultimate chapter of their—Harper, Edward, and himself—opened.

He replaced his glasses, activating the lens-HUD with one rapid blink, and began scanning the Aristocracy database: all operatives were being called back to headquarters by the three surviving members of the Ten, as reports of a mass assassination began steadily poured in from all across Europe. It confirmed what he already knew, the other teams had succeeded; however, that didn’t mean Maddox was ready to breath easy. Not with the remaining Three now gathering their force: if they were given some reason to suspect Harper's task force, they would fall upon Maddox and the rest of the team like a hammer blow. Thankfully, they Edward's addition to the team gave them some credibility.

Though I suppose, Nicia deserves some applause. Without her, I wouldn’t be flying home by signal fire.

A genuinely contented smile spread across his face, he’d glanced down out of the nearest viewport, and a blazing orange light spilled upward from the darkness, throwing a ghoulish light upon the smile. Drommer Castle, the ancestral home of the Aristocracy which had stood for nine centuries, bathed in an ocean of orange and red fire; four of its eight imposing towers were gone, replaced by a thick mass of still smoldering ash and stone. No doubt the blast which had wrought such havoc upon the old stone fortress had been intense; after all, the place had been built to sustain great siege. Even taking into account that the explosion had come from inside, Maddox was still impressed by the four remaining towers paying silent witness to the funeral pyre of their brothers.

“So I strike at the heart of darkness with thy divine flames, cleansing corruption from ill flesh.” He spoke the words with mechanical detachment. There existed no joy within him at the sight of a once proud empire humbled; indeed, he would take no great comfort in any of the actions necessitated by what he must do to bring the story of the Aristocracy to a proper close. The Three, as they should now be known, would not die so easily, nor would the Progeny allow them to be.

“It’s we stake our claim,” he said, relaxing for a moment before the plane landed.

 

[Ulti]

( I just realized I am in the underground room. So please ignore my last post. Sorry Keg that I ignored you D= Just pretend Nicia fell asleep on a couch )

Sweet bliss. Oh how dreaming was divine. The couch was pretty comfy. The dream was getting to a good part. A wonderful man had taken Nicia on a pleasant evening. She was just about to see his face when all of a sudden the dream ended. Nicia opened her eyes to a world of pain. She was off the couch and sprawled on the floor. Something big happened.

"Damn that hurts. What just happened?"

A faint smell of smoke filled her nostrils, but she believed it was merely the food. Something had happened. Something big. So big it created a shock. But what exactly? After what happened earlier, Nicia was fearing the worse. Maybe Harper had an idea. She waited for his response, almost ready to do whatever he said instantly.

 

[Rainfire]

Harper had been enjoying himself, it was something he rarely got to do in these kinds of situations. The alcohol was what brought him the most satisfaction. Then again, it always was. The thing with it was though... it seemed that he never really got to enjoy himself for too long. Bother.

It happened with a bang (no pun intended) and set him out of the gate thinking and moving faster than a prize race horse at the Kentucky Derby. He could hear the sounds above and knew that the sound down here would echo so badly that it could cause pain in your ears. He winced at it before thinking of Nicia and raced over to where she was crashed. It was about that time that, fate would have it, she woke up. She looked at him with a confused look and he pointed upwards as he finished his bottle of Extra Dry Gin and tossed it away.

"Kaboom. That's what's happened. I can't believe... no matter. We need to get out now, follow me."

With that he grabbed her hand, not really giving her a choice in the matter but careful not to put too much pressure or he would activate the glaives attached to his hands. He raced with her down several mysterious corridors, never running into anyone as they finally reached the outside of the castle -- even outside of its guarding walls. He looked away in the distance to see a private plane starting to land and knew who it must have been. His eyes darted this way and that, making sure there was no one nearby before finding a safe place to watch this all from. He chose a clearing not too far from where he was currently standing with Nicia and looked around, with very, very slight unease in his eyes.

"Dammit all to Hell..."

 

[Nebula Zero]

Desmond made it to the airport, which had been secluded from most things, to play on the 'private' part of the place. Getting out of the car, he reported his trip to security as 'investigation for his current assignment'. Security were not ones to question Aristocracy members, so they let him in with ease. Into the hangar, the private jet awaited him, in all of its' glory. The pilot waited outside, and upon seeing Desmond came a nod of acknowledgment. The two got in and the jet started, moving along the strip until it stopped. Desmond came out of the door and waited outside, staring into the sharp, blue sky.

"Someone accompanying you?"

"Yeah, just give them a moment. He'll be here soon."

 

[The Big Lovin']

Finally, the black lambo pulled onto the private airstrip and cruised up near the jet. After grabbing his coat, he headed onto the jet, giving a nod to the pilot and taking a seat across from Desmond. "So, where are we going exactly? I know somewhere in England, but because I couldn't get info, we're just going to have to go off of whatever you got." Ray said. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of Black & Milds. He took one out and lit it up, exhaling the smoke into the cabin. He presented the pack to Atlas, finding it to be rude not to offer one. TO ENGLAND

 

[lionheart06]

The sound of flushing could be heard...well it's more like air suction, but the point is that Robert had just relieved himself and was headed back to his seat. He took a seat in that plush leather chair that was ever so comfortable and leaned back, the plane was a few minutes away from it's destination. There was quite a view out of the window next to him especially when the sun began to set over the mountain horizon. Normally this would be the time when the castle shows up, this was not the case. What came into view was a huge still burning pile of rubble and ash with pyres of smoke bellowing from what was half of Drommer Castle. A look had taken Robert's face, it was a combination of surprise and confusion.

"What the hell?"

The young thief quickly reached into his pocket and out came his phone. He sent a message to both Maddox and Edward.

"What just happened?"

He put the phone back into his pocket as the pilot prepared to land the plane. Something was askew.