[IC] Of Shadow and Flame EP2: Investigation

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi's place

Takeshi turned around to face those that came up to train with him. With a bit of disappointment, he noted that none of the experienced mages had come to spar. A shame; he really did need some practice, or he was going to get killed the next time a turf war flared up. "Alright, where do I start. . . Well, first off, thanks for coming, I guess. If you decide to join a faction, try to remember this and not kill me if you meet me. Uh, I don't really do this a whole lot." He thought for a brief moment. "Okay. Basics first. Anyone remember what I said about transforming yesterday? I want you to try to do that. I should have mentioned, the really important thing is to want it to happen. The more you want it, the more energy you can put toward it."

Protector HQ

Gavriil saw one or two other Protectors as he walked down the hall, hurrying to somewhere or another. He eventually reached a set of doors that opened into a large, high room, with a few raised platforms constructed of empty steel containers, angle iron, and metal tubing welded together firmly - if rather visually unappealing. Windows high in the room let in a few shafts of sunlight, revealing the nature of the room as a portion of a warehouse. He could hear two somewhat familiar voices conversing, then fading has he moved inward; Noriko and Kouta. "But are you sure it's the right thing to do?" The boy's voice carried across the space.

"Hush. We'll talk about this later." The tone in her voice did not seem particularly harsh, though it was firm as usual. "Gavriil. I'd like to welcome you to the Protectors once again. I will get right to business, which I hope you'll appreciate. We are going to do some basic combat training. You look like you have some experience in this area already, but regardless of that you will need to familiarize yourself with your new abilities - and those your enemies will possess. The first step is simple: transform, as you did last night."

[Pixl]

He blinked. Combat training, was it? His skills were already top-notch in hand-to-hand combat, though his state of recovery might lessen them. However, he admitted Noriko was right; he hadn't the faintest idea as to how to integrate these powers into battle. For now, he did as she said. Gavriil took a step back and focused on that feeling inside of him once more. He let it burst out in that recognizable boom of sound as his body transformed in the same way it had before. He was even more imposing than before, and his hulking figure looked at Noriko for further instruction.

[Yash]

"All right, I'll give it a shot. Though I hope I can get it done properly this time." Krys replied to Takeshi. She started concentrating again, trying to transform like she did yesterday. Her mind raced through her life and memories. I can do this, I know it. I was tired and hungry yesterday. Today I am well rested and just had a great breakfast. Do it now. Now Krys. NOW.

Nothing happened. She opened her eyes and stared at herself, there didn't seem to be any visible change. Damnit. Why didn't it happen? I could feel something last night, but today there was nothing. I guess I am over thinking this. I should just try and do what I did yesterday. The roses. I should concentrate on them.

Krys closed her eyes. She visualised the roses again, watering them and singing to them. Taking care of her plants. She could feel it starting inside her. That energy came back, far easier than it had yesterday. She knew her transformation was taking place. She as if her body was getting stronger. She could feel some external changes as well. As if her clothes were transforming. She opened her eyes and it seemed as if they had turned all black. That is when she realised something else. There seemed to be a shiny red colour forming over her clothes. Then the armour materialised and she could feel the weight of it on her frame. Along with the she could smell roses. It seemed as if she was literally giving out the smell of the flowers. She looked over at the others standing there and smiled, happy with her achievement. "I'm doing it." she laughed.

[Felicity]

Bobby watched Krys transform. She made it look so easy...

The young man stepped aside and closed his own eyes. First he tried seriously focusing and for a second he thought he had it. He could feel his soul coalescing in the pit of his stomach... until he realised he was just tensing his stomach. Quickly abandoning that approach, Bobby tried clearing his mind, imagining hos transformed appearance in his minds eye. But then he realised he couldn't think of what the hell he really looked like transformed. He hadn't exactly seen himself in a mirror at the time...

Bobby began to get frustrated. Why the hell had he been able to do it before? Was he just scared of really trying? Fuck that, he was Ozymandias, the Warrior of the first light, bearer of the Flame of the Gods. He was a mighty warrior, he could do this! Ozymandias was Strong!

The frustration and anger sparked within Ozymandias and a whirlwind of embers enveloped Ozymandias like a cocoon, bursting outwards to reveal his transformed self, black clothes alight with embroidered fire, hair blazing and Bob the skull loosing a silent scream.

"Behold!" Oz yelled to those nearby. "My true self, blessed by the First Light!"

[Chevaleresse]

Protector HQ

"Good. Now, the next thing I want you to do is manifest a weapon. Like this." Moriko transformed in a flash, with her signature four spears materializing around her, spaced evenly. "Simply imagine the weapon you desire to wield and will it to exist. I cannot explain it in any other way. It does not necessarily have to be bound by the normal rules of practicality; given supernatural speed and strength, any number of weapons could become useable." There was a gust of wind as the woman leapt up to one of the platforms smoothly, her spears spinning around her and forming a sort of cone. She landed lightly, still floating about an inch off the ground.

[Hiss13]

Nagi made her way through the staircase entrance and up to the sliding door entrance to the roof of the building. She tapped the fake ID she was using onto the panel in front of the door and watched as it opened. She made her way to the railing and opened up her rifle case and picked up the same pair of binoculars she used the day before.

Nagi took a breath and focused herself as she put the binoculars over her eyes and looked out onto the cityscape below while paying attention to search for any odd magic signals she could detect.

[Chevaleresse]

Uptown

Bark

"Well then. That's unfortunate. I'll be seeing those documents, then." The smile she gave Bark made up for any lack of a sarcastic tone in her voice. If one didn't pay attention at all, it might have seemed genuine, but the woman seemed to be detecting an odor of bovine fecal matter.

Nagi

The assassin moved through a different path to the roof, avoiding the small fiasco involving another mage who had chosen a somewhat less subtle means to gain entry. Her binocular-assisted search did not reveal anything obvious, but the general feeling in the area - an oppressive one that seemed to sap a person's energy - seemed to come to a few focused points in the vicinity. A few seemed to be on the surrounding rooftops, but the majority seemed to be in the alleyways between buildings. One of them was situated just at the mouth of one; she couldn't see the point itself, but it was just barely out of sight. If anyone happened to walk over there, they would definitely spot whatever it was. In fact, a person was moving toward it as she scanned, and something had piqued their interest. . .

[Cyaloom]

"It seems it is my turn now." Dexter whispered. He felt like he had to do this, as the other girl, whose potential was unlocked later than his own, was able to transform... As he observed the other people transforming, it just seemed they weren't doing anything particular either to achieve that goal.

At first, Dexter was too nervous to transform: he was standing still, shivering. Then, a lot of things came suddendly into his mind: that Beast, who killed his father, himself finding his father's corpse, then Astros and the contract, and the Beast that Takeshi killed that night...

This started an interesting thought process: Astros needed protection from the Beasts like most people needed protection from criminals; while Astros would give magical powers to people, the normal humans would create the Police Departments: so, like Dexter's father, a cop, would protect others from criminals, Dexter himself would protect others from Beasts... I'm like my father then, I have a duty, and a will to protect someone from a danger. I remember he was very satisfied with his job, so I could do the same... thought the blonde guy, while still standing in the room, with the other people (already transformed) around him.

That sense of duty, those memories, and all of those connections between him and his (late) father... that was what could trigger the transformation!

While he was still "meditating" in the room, Dexter began to feel the weight of something on him, and, most importantly, the energy from within. It was a completely new sensation for him. After a couple seconds that seemed eternal for Dexter, he opened his eyes again and looked at himself.

His clothes were not there anymore; he was wearing some kind of a silver armor instead, with some blue parts. His glasses were still there, and they were the same as before, but he was still seeing everything brighter and clearer. His father's ordinary pistol was still on his right side, as it was before the transformation.

"Well, now it seems I did it." declared Dexter, satisfied with his new achievement.

For Yash, King Murdoc and Dobby:

I said this in the OOC topic even though I have changed that a million times: Dexter will now have his eyes glow slightly; the right one being blue and the other one being red. Also, since we are not in combat or anything, the blue eye will glow a bit more. Dexter though cannot know this, so I didn't mention anything about it in the actual topic; but you could just notice this particular and tell him.

[Hiss13]

Nagi did not like what she was seeing or feeling. There were multiple points in the city that had an oppressive feeling. Some were on nearby rooftops. Most where in the alleyways.

She was too far away to gather intelligence and it may have been too late to begin to do so as she saw someone who she assumed to be an innocent walking into one of the alleys with the presences. She immediately knew where she would look into first. She mapped as many locations as possible on her phone and thought things over.

She had a few options. The first was to transform and head directly to the first site while hopping from building to building. However, there was the likelihood of her being noticed while her stamina would drain. If she literally dropped in, she could be falling onto something dangerous and she did not want to take the risk. The second was to head down in the direction she came from and work her way to the site. She remembered seeing someone busy with the secretary but she missed who it was in a rush. She had no idea whether that person would still be with the secretary but it was likely that she would be more inconspicuous going back down.

So, she walked back down the stairs and headed straight back to the employee elevator as inconspicuously as possible and tapped her ID to the panel.

[Jory]

{Uptown}

Bark chuckled, offering the woman as fake a smile as she'd been kind enough to give him. "Not a problem, miss. I'm obligated by law to remind you that any attempt to open confidential Justice Department material is a felony and punishable by up to three years in prison," he said cheerily, handing over a hefty envelope that was unblemished save for the large Justice Department watermark in the middle. "Any chance you can let me do my job now?"

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi's place

"Alright, cool, looks like you've all got that. So, I think the next thing is to try and summon a weapon of some variety, unless you want to just punch things or shoot beams from your palms or something. I'll demonstrate." He glowed for a moment, and the transformation was visible; it started at his extremities and progressed inward, drawing lines across his limbs until he was in the form from the previous night. Then, he stuck his arm straight out in front of himself and focused. A bright greenish-teal light seemed to gather itself, motes of it appearing from nowhere and combining, until they coalesced into an extremely long blade, identical to the one he had wielded before. "Try to pick something you'd be comfortable with. The more practice you get with something, the less energy you'll use to do it. You can change around, but I don't recommend it. Doing this is a lot like transforming, except you try to picture the object and focus your energy into that shape."

Uptown

Bark

"Well then, I'll be glad to deliver these documents to Mr. Johnson when he gets back." She said this as she snatched the envelope away and put it somewhere behind the desk - a computerized beep sounded as she did so. "Now, can I help you with anything else?" Her voice dripped the sort of sickly cheeriness that one would expect from a daycare provider, or maybe a clerk on the verge of strangling a customer.

Nagi

The employee elevator moved quickly, and soon enough she was back on the ground. She could see the individual from before bending over to pick up an object - it seemed to be one of the focal points she had sensed before. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, until the person seemed to slump slightly while they held it. It was too small to actually see what the object was, but it seemed to be draining their energy. A dull, glazed-over look took over the unfortunate man's face, and his arms fell limply to his sides, one still clutching whatever it was. The object seemed to have vanished from his mind, however, as he continued in the direction he had been moving previously with a listless walk, almost a shuffle.

[Felicity]

Ozymadias grinned when he saw the intimidating weapon summoned by the man before him. "Very well, my weapon of choice shall dazzle you all!" What that weapon was, Ozymandias would let fate decide.

He held out his arm, allowing his mind to wander. His weapon must be intrinsically linked to himself. It would be a manifestation of his power and anger and determination, all coalescing into a single burst of power that annihalated everything before him in one grand blow...

Before he knew it, he felt a great weight in his extended hand and he had to use the other arm to support the weapon, grabbing the cylinder of the unconventional RPG. Similar to his own motif, it was black and fiery, streaks of flame tracing around the weapon as they all led to the mouth of a skull which formed the mouth of the weapon,

"Well, this is certainly destructive, though perhaps not meant for close combat..." He said. He tried again once more, though he didn't dispel the demonic RPG, just slinging it over his shoulder. This time he summoned a knife similar to what he briefly called in his encounter with the Beoar which had been unable to use. "I suppose this is better for close combat..." He surmised to himself, though he wondered what else he could summon to him.

[Jory]

{Office Floor}

Bark snatched his hand back, preventing the woman from taking the documents out of his hand. "I hope you realize that it's my job to see to it that these reach him in person, miss. No subpoena would be delivered by unauthorized personnel in an unmarked folder. You of all people should know that," he said curtly, his voice dripping in obvious condescension. "Now if he's not here I'd be glad to come back later. Good day," he harrumphed, exiting the office

[Hiss13]

Nagi headed out towards where she first saw the man picking...something up. She made a quick scan of the area and found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary so she concluded that whatever that man picked up was likely the cause of the feeling.

Rather than stay she decided it would be best to follow the man. Whatever he picked up seemed to be causing what looked like a weird combination of lethargy and emptiness. At least, that's what Nagi would describe it as. So, she kept a close eye on him while keeping a close enough distance that she would not lose him if he turned but far enough that he would not be able to notice her. It would probably not be a good idea to engage with him until they were at a much less populous area. So, she opted to wait until they were in a location with less people before any engagement.

[Chevaleresse]

Uptown

Nagi

The man shuffled his way toward one of the smaller office buildings; this one was used primarily for low-level functions such as customer service, and as such was not locked down nearly as tightly as the corporate office she had just left. He made a beeline - well, if you could call it a beeline at his sluggish pace - for the elevator inside. If anyone was supposed to be controlling access to the building's floors, they were either distracted or not around.

Bark

"Well, you'll just have to come back later then," the woman at the desk told Bark's back. Typical corporate espionage tactics. Or worse; there had been a lot of foul play in the area lately. 'Suicides,' they called them, but what happened to the former CEO definitely wasn't a suicide. If Bark had lagged a bit as he left, he might have heard the faint sound of a firearm being adjusted behind the desk.

Bark exited the office without issues. No one really cared about people going out. If he was quick, he might have been able to spot the man Nagi was following at that moment.

[Jory]

Following that one guy

Bark saw a man heading into a smaller office building that had been remarkably less well-trafficked than the larger one he had just left. Might as well try my luck in there, he figured, quickly following the man toward the elevator. When the bell dinged and the door slid open, Bark stood to the side as though he was making a grandly magnanimous gesture. "Please, after you," he said disarmingly.

[Sutoratosu]

Uptown

Faust

The German man was met almost immediately by a quite surprised guard armed with a pistol and protected by a bulletproof vest. "What the hell?" he called out in startlement before readying his gun. Before Faust could react, however, another guard knocked him over and out with a quick blow from a nightstick. The second guard sighed, standing and leaning back with his hands on his hips in a position indicating his frustration.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that. You're lucky the cameras around here haven't been working lately, or I'd be in a lot more trouble." He sighed. The man was painfully nondescript, almost as if someone had taken the population of the area and averaged them out in a computer. "Do whatever you'd like, I guess, since I don't have the power - or true desire - to stop you. I do like this occupation, however, so please don't go about stealing anything sensitive or killing my superiors. . . the latter is why I obtained this position in the first place." He spoke with a dry, disinterested tone. He was clearly unfazed by Faust's method of entrance.

"Figures, not even five steps in..." Faust lifted his attention from the fallen guard to one actually standing, letting the few flares of electricity at his finger tips begin to die along with the glow of his sigil. "Him though... talk about bland, something's definitely off here...will probably get stranger the closer I get..." "Well, I'm grateful for your help then" The German said. "And don't worry about you're employers, chances are they aren't what I'm after here anyway... who are you though, if you don't mind me asking?"

[Hiss13]

Nagi realized something. He entered an office building in a relatively empty area. He was heading for an elevator in a building with low security. Everything screamed at her He's going to jump from the roof!. Well, either that or go to a concealed office and commit suicide.

So, she dropped all pretenses of furtiveness. She acted immediately and dashed for the elevator after he had gotten in, not realizing that another familiar person had entered. If he was going for the roof, stopping him would be pretty easy. If he was going to get off at a lower floor, she'd figure something out then.

With those thoughts, she made it on.

[Chevaleresse]

Faust

"Some refer to me as Kaneus. I would hesitate to thank me for this; cleaning up after magi like yourself is, after all, benefitting myself as well." The man shrugged. "I can guess at your purpose here, however. Something seems to be causing a disturbance around here, though. . ." He squinted at Faust for a moment. "Hmm. I don't suppose you're from one of the factions? Regardless, I should be getting out of your way." He made a lazy wave at the stairwell. "That will take you further down."

Nagi and Bark

The man slid past Bark listlessly, not even acknowledging his presence except to avoid bumping into him. He stumbled slightly as Nagi collided with him on her way into the elevator, but still didn't react. His fist was still curled about whatever he had picked up earlier, however.

[Pixl]

A weapon... Materialize? Gavriil almost felt like laughing. Almost. There was some semblance on humor in the situation; this girl was just asking him to do these things as if he could... but he could. Gavriil was a sensible person, and reasoned that Noriko would not be asking this of him if he could not. Therefore, he thought on that feeling he honed in on to transform. Perhaps if he used that in some way, it could materialize a weapon.

He thought for a moment. What sort of weapon should it be anyway? Noriko mentioned that it did not have to be practical outside of materialization, so that gave him some interesting options to work with. Gavriil wanted to choose something fitting of his stature; not everyone could boast the ability of his muscular strength. The large figure then stretched his right arm out to the side, palm open. Still looking forward at Noriko, his closed his eyes calmly and focused. He willed a form to burst from his hand--and it did. Suddenly a large handle appeared in his hand and he grasped it instantly. Snaking out from the handle was a large and sturdy chain that rose up, defying physics, until it met with a giant spiked ball. This was his weapon, a giant flail, a ball and chain. Once the materialization was complete, gravity took effect and the ball fell downward to the floor. It hit the ground with a loud clang that rang in Gavriil's ears for a second. Testing his new weapon, the Russian quickly lifted his hand with much force, sending the ball into the air and across the front of his body to the left. The chain followed the ball, and he caught the end near the ball in his left hand. So there Gavriil stood, this giant figure, handle in one hand and chain in the other, twirling it occasionally for the sake of it. He looked back at Noriko, as if to ask what more she wanted of him.

[Hiss13]

Well, that was awkward. I'm supposed to be an assassin yet I made such a careless motion that I ended up colliding with my…well…he's technically not a killing target…stalking target? Nagi thought as she stumbled into the elevator and pushed herself into a corner. Still, at this point she realized that he had not even reacted. Hell, with the exception of a tightly clenched fist holding onto whatever he picked up in the alley, he was near zombie-like. So, she simply stood and watched to see which button the man pressed while ignoring Bark who was right in front of the elevator.

[Jory]

Bark followed the man inside, not giving Nagi any particular attention. Whatever's in his hand, we'll want to know about it soon, he reasoned, waiting for the man to make a move.

[Cyaloom]

"I have already a weapon... But surely it won't be enough in situations like these, with Beasts and magical people." Dexter thought, trying to come up with a good idea for a weapon.

As he was not very strong he decided to avoid swords and other melee weapons... After all, even as a random human his best weapon was ranged - a pistol.

Again, the blonde guy found some help in his past... Not very recent either. He remembered those good times he had at a funfair, at a stand where people could try to shoot with false guns (working with compressed air) and get a prize if they'd hit some targets. Of course, he was doing that with his father on his side, and what was supposed to be a shotgun - these actually were painful memories now that his father died.

The idea for a weapon therefore popped up in his mind: a shotgun.

Dexter tried to concentrate again more, still thinking about his past and letting go his other thoughts (which was what helped him transform in the first place, too). This time he actually recreated the image of the shotgun in his mind...

And then he found himself with something heavy in his hands.

It was right there. A silver coloured shotgun, with some golden parts, and with some ammo too.

As he was ready to show the others the new gun, his pain, that he had from before, began to intensify slightly. He didn't didn't talk with anyone about it and didn't want to complain now, but people could notice that anyway.

Could it be related to the magic powers he'd obtained? He was accusing it more strongly only after materializing the shotgun...

Trying to just think about his new achievement, he declared "So, here's my weapon.", looking at the others with a strained smile.

[Sutoratosu]

Faust only nodded. He still had a few questions for this 'Kaneus' fellow, but he had the sneaking feeling he'd find his answers soon enough on his own. Without another word he stepped around the unconscious guard and took to the stairway, beginning a fast yet carefully paced descent down the concrete slabs, making sure to keep an eye out for anything all the while. Getting surprised by another guard wouldn't be very good for his infiltration... even if he did only intend to just pass through.

[Chevaleresse]

Nagi and Bark

The man simply pressed the button to go to the roof with his free hand, continuing to ignore the presence of the two in the elevator.

Faust

He made it down without any issues; this stairwell ran from top floor to ground, and access to the other floors was controlled by checkpoints and locked doors at the landings. He might have gotten a strange look or two from the guards at these, but none of them made a move.

Gavriil

"Good. Not the most elegant choice for a weapon, but then again subtlety is rarely a part of our work. Now that you have that, I want you to familiarize yourself with your new strength and speed. Attack me." Noriko remained watching Gavriil after giving her next command. She didn't seem particularly worried about being harmed.