Plotlogs
A Very Hostile Takeover Sr Emmanuel 241107
In the shadows of Beijing's neon-lit skyline, atop the cold expanse of the Vetr Corp building, a team of uniquely skilled individuals, including Fayad the arcanist, Ritsuka with her blade, Brian with his tactical prowess, and the late-arriving Lilah, pregnant and underprepared, embarked on a dangerous mission. Their goal was to infiltrate the heavily secured establishment to recover blackmail material crucial to their employers, Qlng Innovations. Their objective unknown, the team braved the defenses of the Vetr Corp, facing off against highly trained and supernaturally enhanced guards in a bid to fulfill their mission.
During the tense operation, the group encountered numerous challenges, from cracking magical wards and technological defenses to engaging in close quarters combat with Vetr's security personnel. Lilah’s unexpected contribution and Fayad's magical expertise were pivotal, while Brian and Ritsuka's combat skills ensured their advance.
The mission took a shocking turn upon discovering that the so-called "blackmail material" was, in fact, a child. Not just any child, but a demi-demon named Saviour, held captive and isolated within a specially designed nursery. The revelation evoked a mixture of ethical dilemmas and protective instincts among the team members, particularly in Lilah, who saw past the child's monstrous nature to the loneliness and vulnerability within.
Faced with a moral quandary, the group had to decide: return the child to Qlng Innovations, leave it in the hands of Vetr Corp, or eliminate the potential future threat the child posed. Driven by compassion and moral considerations, they chose to rescue Saviour from his imprisonment, defying their fears and prejudices.
The team navigated their escape through Ritsuka's supernatural pathing abilities, bringing them back to their allies and towards a place of safety. However, their decision to save Saviour and return him to his so-called parents at Qlng Innovations was fraught with uncertainty. While they averted the immediate cruelty of leaving the child in Vetr Corp's hands, they were left to ponder the consequences of their actions. Did they unleash a future monster in pursuit of the greater good, or did they simply fulfill a moral obligation to safeguard an innocent life, regardless of its inherent nature?
The story concludes with the team's success in their mission but leaves lingering questions about the ethical implications of their choices and the true definition of right and wrong in a world where morality is often shaded in grey.
(A very hostile takeover(SREmmanuel):SREmmanuel)
[Wed Nov 6 2024]
At The Vetr Corp building, Beijing, China
The rooftop of the Vetr Corp building sprawls wide beneath the helicopter's shadow, a stark, concrete expanse that feels cold and unwelcoming even under the thin shroud of night. Floodlights, mounted along the rooftop's edge, cast eerie beams across the space, illuminating parts of the rooftop in harsh white light while leaving others in shadowed obscurity. Metal grates and various air conditioning units are scattered across the expanse, each one humming faintly with the building's pulse. Vetr's name looms large here, emblazoned in bold letters across a central air vent, as if to stake a claim even upon the air itself.
It is after dusk, about 50F(10C) degrees, There is a first quarter moon.
Beijing sprawls out beneath the gathered team, a vast tapestry of shadow and light, the pulse of a metropolis caught in a place between transition and relentless, moving modernity. Streets wind and twist through the city like veins, carrying life and chaos from one quarter to another, each neighbourhood working as its own microcosm of the city itself, distinct, and similar in equal measures. Lantern-lit hutongs give way to neon brightness, and stark, metallic skyscrapers that rise and claw at the night sky. Even now, during the night, the hum of life resonates beneath - a constant flow of cars, and peoples. The muffled throb of music from hidden clubs, and the distant clamour of voices that serve as a constant baseline to life in this place.
Though this background noise is somewhat drowned out for those who have been chosen for the mission at hand this evening, as they cut through the night's air in a stealth helicopter. While it is fairly quiet compared to most of its compatriots, the outer shell of this metal beast blocks out a lot of the sounds of the living city. It flies and flicks through the air like a dragonfly, skimming over rooftops with an eerie sort of grace, avoiding radar and tracking systems as it makes these risky manoeuvres. Beijing's landmarks appear and disappear beneath the vehicle as it moves, shifting in and out of focus like wraiths in the mist that bleeds across the city's landscape. Eventually they reach the financial district, where towers raise up from the depths to stab through the mist and fog and neon colours beneath.
It's here that their objective looms ahead, a fairly recent construction and addition to the city's skyline. A stark and brutalist fortress that pushes up through the district, and raises about its peers. Splashed across the side of the building are the words, Vetr Corp', with its angular design standing out amongst some of the more traditional buildings in the area. The Disruptors and their allies have been kitted out for this mission, afforded sleek, light combat suits. Weapons with silencers and suppressors, and even non-lethal munitions. The objective, as has been reexplained during the flight, is to recover the blackmail materials regarding Qlng Innovations currently held in this building by the Vetr Corp. Upon succeeding in this, and returning the materials to their people, they have made a promise to back the Disruptors efforts against the company and their eidolon, and use their budding technological influence against the overreach of Vetr Corp.
The stealth helicopter hums its way atop this building, angling near the edge as one of the men inside drags the door open, and gestures for the others to leap out, and onto the rooftop, "Go, go!" They hiss out, reminding them, "Call out on comms when you've got the objective, and we'll swing by. It's on floor one-oh-one." The rooftop of the building waits for the operatives, stretching out before them. Cameras line the perimeter, their lenses panning in slow, methodical sweeps, covering each corner with an almost rhythmic precision. The city lights, distant and defocused, provide a faint glow around the building's silhouette, but inside this concrete barricade, the atmosphere feels sterile, controlled - a space designed not to welcome, but to warn. The air is tinged with the faint scent of metal and ozone, a reminder of the corporate machinery grinding within.
Fayad lands on the rooftop and takes cover immediately. He begins to spread out a circle of rock salt mixed with powdered silver, taking up a position in the center. His dragonscale pendant gleams as he mutters quietly underneath his breath, performing a ritual at breakneck speed to ensure that what happened here tonight would stay within the premises. He intends to cast Ritual Silence upon himself to enclose the Vetr Corp building in a mystical bubble through which no communications or electricity could flow - the building would have to set itself to backup power, but it is more than likely Vetr would be able to identify precisely what's happened to them...although it wouldn't do them any good to solve it until the sunrise, considering Fayad's immense strength with magic.
"I need to hold the hand of those I am pathing with. Though she also grabs her katana but uses her short blade to cut over her palm to draw blood and then sheath the blade again before holding out her hand to Brian. The blood that touched her blade and drips from her palm flow into blue, floating lights that start to surround her. It takes several minutes before the process finishes, she looks focused, and the lights go to color changes, from blue to greens, purples or reds to orange and then to gold. And then Ritsuka and Brian find themselves into the forest with trees and their skeletal branches that reach up and out to the sky, devoid of leaves. "Stay with me, Brian. And I mean with that to stay close. Do not stray from the way or you will forever be lost. We should get you a mask sometime. I am kind of in one of my combat styles, only missing my mask."
It is only a short distance before she steps through the fog, out into a street, and then it is only a short distance to where she nods to Fayad and smiles to Lilah and the start of the helicopter ride. She does accept the equipment provides, but keeps away from any firearms, not enough experience to use them, her blade will have to just do. She remains quiet during the trip, and only takes a moment to slip on another mask over whatever the suit provided and when prompted to leap to the roof, she does so, though a little cautiously, glancing around. For now, the blade remains sheathed."
Brian drops nimbly to the rooftop, rifle up and scanning from side-to-side as he quickly moves to cover. He finds a patch of shadow and fades into it as he keeps an eye out for security, or any indication that they've been noticed. He is there to provide assistance and to protect Ritsuka, so once he settles in the darkness, he waits for instructions.
"Hey! Sorry guys!" Lilah is flat out late to this get together, and even when she arrives, there's tell-tale signs as to just what delayed - well, all of them. She looks like she dressed in a hurry, she's raking her fingers through her hair, and her cheeks are flushed. At least she's not absurd enough to be wearing heels, as well. Flashing a shameless grin to Ritsuka, she waves quickly, then slips into the helicopter where she has a moment to actually fix her hair into a ponytail, and slap on some lip gloss. By the time they reach the building and are clambering out of the helicopter, she's as ready as she's going to be, in her civilian dress. But she's not jumping out - someone's most definitely going to have to help the pregnant woman out.
Whether they pathed themselves, or were pathed by various hedge-wizards, or Disruptive allies, the group ends up together, and boards the helicopter as noted earlier. It isn't long then before they've deployed themselves atop the rooftop, and Fayad begins his ritual. It's a good sign that it begins to take at all, though the arcanist might note that it takes significantly more effort to cast his magics here than in his native home of Haven. As if there was some strange force afoot that was actively working against his efforts. Some magical charms or protective spells cast upon the building, perhaps.
The kitsune masked woman, and her Order ally, Brian, both drop onto the roof with little trouble, though it isn't long before they're able to spot movement in the near distance, as a patrol of two security officers comes into view. They gawk over toward the helicopter, muttering to one another in Chinese about it, but thankfully not quite calling on the radio just yet. It isn't unusual for Vetr Corp to have people flown in under dark, for whatever terrible machinations might take place inside, after all.
The fellow inside the helicopter who had gotten the door also assists Lilah in leaving the thing, though there is a bit of a look given to her as they take in her heavily-pregnant state. They don't question it though. Soon enough, the helicopter peels away from the buildings edge, and skitters away into the dark.
Fayad hisses, a bit higher than his ritual chantings, "I cannot be interrupted. I must break the ward. Stop them." about the two guards.
Ritsuka does not give a glance back to Fayad, and still, she does not draw her weapon and does not look to intend to do so. A small little pair of wings grows at her feet, and she rushes over towards the two individuals. She is better at grappling, but she does try to reach for one of them to attempt know the Chinese out, choosing what absence of lethality she can offer in this moment.
Brian will wait for one or both of the guards to come closer. Once they do, he will slip out from the shadow of his cover and apply a taser to the guard that Ritsuka does not get to.
The look she's given has Lilah rolling her eyes. "I know, I know," she mutters. "But I promised." So, with a hand atop her belly, she settles in to walk beside the others. Fayad's protest is met with a small shrug of her shoulders, before she looks over to Ritsuka and Brian. Before she can speak up, however, both guards are handled, so she offers a mischievous little bit of her own input, lifting a hand and sending her flames over to melt their radios.
Lepia raises the platinum chain at her wrist, twining it upon itself on loops and whorls that begin to shine with otherworldly light. "Be soft, be still." She mumbles, the sound from the confrontation diverted somewhere less audible for the moment. She steps around the now on fire guards, and slinks into the shadows, twining the chain back around her fingers as it glows intensely and then simply vanishes into nothing at all.
Lilah just tried to melt radios, not set men on fire!
It's true, Fayad definitely does not want his ritual interrupted, as he chants words of power, and tries to speedrun his way through the rather complicated ritual. One slip up, one stuttered word? He could be struck down with backlash, and reveal their intentions. That added effort of casting his spell here may just bring sweat to his brow, and force him to entirely rely upon his compatriots to protect him from the patrolling security officers.
It's when the helicopter flits off of the side of the building that those particular officers start to jog closer toward where the Disruptors and co are arrayed in the night, and shadow. And while they're surprised when Ritsuka rushes out toward them, and Brian joins in the assault, they aren't caught off-guard. These aren't your typical rent-a-cops, despite their somewhat lackadasical nature when it came to radioing in the helicopter. They're well trained, and armed, Vetr Corp goons. One of the pair immediately goes about engaging Ritsuka in a grappling contest, smashing into her with an inhuman strength. The other raises his hand to his radio, intending to call for help - only for it to burst into flames, which gives Brian the window he needs to jab at the man with his taser. There's a flash of electricity and sparking light as the volts pulse through the man's body, his teeth seizing together as he grabs Brian too while being shocked, snarling out at him.
Brian performs an osoto-gari leg reap to bring his man to the ground, hard. Once he's down, Brian tases him again. If that puts him out, he will turn to help Ritsuka with her guard, but if his man is still up, then he will remain focused on him.
Lepia raises up the chain from a nook near their engagement, staying quite low to the ground and out of sight. It glimmers and shines for a brief bit, before Brian's form emerges from utterly nowhere nearby, ruunning towards the man that was grappling onto Ritsuka and diving in a large tackle; it had no substance, but the aggressive act might distract, which is precisely what they need.
One could always make an argument for one way or another, but there is, as ever just plain the moment where a person makes one of those choices, and though she was far stronger than a person her built ever deserves to be, she was still very thinly built, she is light, and it means the heavier partner in this wrestle may very much turn out to be the one winning out. And so, if fortune does not favor it with Brian trying to help, Ritsuka looks for a slight opportunity to reach for the wakizashi she keeps to turn this into a very bloody affair.
Or the illusion Lepia cast could open up that opportunity!
Crap! It's clear that the man that Brian is wrestling with knows his judo well. Almost as well as a Police Officer arresting a man for enjoying a succulent chinese meal. They entangle themselves up with the other man, forcing their legs amidst his own, and crashing down into the ground with him, instead of alone! The taser goes skittering in the melee, given how difficult it may be to perform a two-handed grappled with just the one hand. There's a flash of fire that ignites in this security guards eyes, as flames burn around him and he starts to strike and beat at Brian with his own supernatural strength.
On the other hand, with the other guard battling Ritsuka, that illusion provided by Lepia serves to create an exploit that the kitsune-mask wearing warrior might very exploit, as they turn away from her for the briefest of motions to throw out a hand toward the oncoming mirage - blasting a wave of pure energy right on out of their palm, which crashes against some of the machinery atop the building here, and causes it to sag, and collapse in upon itself. While that poor piece of equipment suffers, it does afford Ritsuka time to draw her weapon.
The illusion likely created an opening to exploit, rather than an exploit to exploit.
Lilah doesn't have much else to add to the moment, so while Lepia uses illusions to try and help Ritsuka, she turns to hurry over toward Brian and the fellow that he's wrestling with. She's big enough now at seven months along, that her hurry looks a bit awkward, to say the least. But she does her best to move quietly and swiftly, bringing up her rifle - not to shoot, but to whack the guard across the head with the butt of it. Unconscious? Stellar. Just a bit dazed? That's fine, it'll give Brian some help. Hopefully she manages to connect at all - blunt weapons certainly aren't her forte.
CRACK! There's the smack of the butt of Lilah's weapon against the side of that poor guard's head, and he staggers somewhat to the side. The blow seems to have phased him far less than one might expected, and even more surprisingly? The butt of the weapon has become bent from the blow against him. It's clear that his bones are hardened than might be expected normal. There's a hiss from the man, something venomous and cruel as he snarls at Lilah, promising something terrible in Chinese while he struggles against Brian, trying to grab his head in both hands and start to crush it now.
And as it turns out, it is not the small blade she draws in the room that Lepia created for her now, but the katana that stays at her hip. Though it would be not so true to say that Ritsuka draws it, and more draws the sheathe off of the blade. In result, it means the katana is in position much quicker. Under her mask, a coldness has settles that forms and reaches up to her eyes, and with the time she could save, she does step forward to slash for the, in a hollow of the armor to make a deep cut.
With the first of her illusions having succeeded in distracting the guard, Lepia turns her gaze to the next, waving the chain from a place hidden. The light glints, and an ephemeral flicker shines, a non-descript goon of some variety charging at the man engaging with Brian in a seemingly coordinated effort to put the figure down...! That is, if it was real.
There's a snarl from the man entangling himself with Ritsuka as she draws that dangerous looking weapon and brings it to bear. He doesn't just allow it to hit him, but nor does he attempt to dodge the attack. He snakes out with his forearm instead, allowing the blade to catch against his flesh and crash into his bone- attempting to lodge it in his own flesh and tug the weapon out of Ritsuka's hands. All the while his other hand raises, palm outstretched toward Fayad, "The magician!" He hisses out to his compatriot, and in short order, there is another beam of pure lifeforce blasting from him and toward the arcanist!
The sheer difficult of this melee might serve to suggest just why the members of Qlng Innovations required outside help in the first place! These people are well trained, and empowered with their own dangerous abilities, and this is only the first hurdle that the Disruptors and co have run into thus far.
The man attempting to crush, and harm Brian hisses out in response to his compatriot, and then rolls off of the other man, trying to avoid the oncoming goon conjured by Lepia. One can only imagine his fury then when this particular enemy proves to be little more than a trick, and he staggers back up to his feet, drawing a heavy baton from his side.
Fayad's eyes flash with the light of the beam directed at him, but his conviction in the competence of his comrades is such that he is going to get absolutely fucking nailed without even trying to dodge if no one manages to save him from the beam. He'd rather do that than start over with this ritual...
Brian shoots a kick up into the guard's groin while he's distracted looking at the illusion. His armor might take the brunt of it, but it's probably still going to hurt. He then draws his own sword, having long since realized that these guards won't be as easy to neutralize as he'd expected them to be.
Promise threats all you will. Lilah will buy a new rifle! It's not like she can use it in close quarters anyway. And so, as the security guard is driven off of Brian by the illusionary appearance of another man, she turns, letting fire once more fly from her hand, this time lighting up the baton in an attempt to make wielding it impractical, for a moment or two. Whatever the result of that, the redhead thrusts her rifle between Brian and the guard, using the damaged weapon like a baseball bat in another attempt to fend off the guard, while Brian catches his breath. At the sight of his sword, however, she grimaces faintly, retreating and shifting herself out of the way of any potential mis-swings.
Right in the nuts! How rude! What dirty fighting! But, when your life is literally on the line, rules are for suckers. The kick to the nads has the expected outcome as the guard gasps out in a high-pitched tone, nearly dropping his baton as he staggers back and away from Brian. That 'nearly' turns into a 'does' as the weapon suddenly flashes red-white hot in his grip, and he's forced to toss it away following Lilah's magics. It takes a few layers of skin with it. Being armed does make his less dangerous, but not quite harmless, and with a growl he just bodily charges at Lilah, intending to crash-tackle into the pregnant woman despite the threat of Brian's sword!
Apparently Lepia is the one that is going to take the shot for Fayad. Team-player as she is, she charges in the space between the guard and the blast, throwing her body to take it and prevent the much more experienced Arcanist from taking the brunt of it.
Alas, to the man's dismay, he seems to not be aware at just how sharp the blade is, it does not crash, it slices into the bone, but not all the way through, that is until the man starts to come closer and Ritsuka readjusts the grip somewhat, so that the blade is pushed back along. "I am going to kill you cheap Chinese scum. Take your cheap pathetic goods and go and die." She tells the man with, for non Japanese speaker, very uncertain words. She still steps back, and with the manipulation of the blade, and forcing her opponent to levy it to how she usually prefers to fight, she angles the blade and attempts to slice across to gut the man and allow for intestines to start to spill.
It's almost instantaneous. Lilah has been practicing. As the guard comes for her, one moment there's a young woman with the uncomfortable body and questionable balance of anyone seven months into pregnancy, and the next there's a deer, planted firmly into the rooftop, with her legs spread and head lowered. Intent to use the man's momentum against himself as he plans to crash into her, she tries to leverage her head into his midsection. Her intent is to knock him back, but as we all know, for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction - can she hold her ground? Which of them will be thrown backwards?
It's almost slow motion for Fayad no doubt, as he continues to press his considerable arcane powers into the ritual, while staring at the flashing light of his likely death approaching toward him. What thoughts run through his head? What are his last words? Does he recall the good times? His family? Or is it his regrets that haunt him in this moment? The foes left unkilled, the friends left dead, and the lovers left lost in his wake? Thankfully for the man, there is salvation from what would've been an explosion of magical energies. Salvation in the form of a woman.
It's that this blast of energy is not child's play, but that doesn't prevent Lepia from rushing in and diving in front of the attack. It crashes into her torso, knocking the breath from her lungs, and stopping her heart for a single moment or two there, before she goes flying back and tumbles down onto the flooring of the roof - smoldering with heat, and energy, but alive. There may be a broken rib or two, but she'd managed to save Fayad's life in the process, and prevent the ritual from being interrupted.
Brian uses the distraction of the sudden appearance of a deer to swing his sword, turned to the flat, into the guard's knee as he tries to run past. There's a crunching sound, but whether it's a bone breaking, or just the crunch of steel hitting the man's armor, who can say?
Lepia flops over, giving a groan, staying down for the time being and occupying her time with sizzling and recuperating.
Fayad recognizes this and grimaces, but he manages to shove enough power in to finally break the Vetr COrp ward, silencing this building and cutting it off from the outside world, hopefully. The powdered silver swirls and becomes a dome over the building, shimmering faintly in the dim light. "Lepia," he murmurs, concerned, glancing over to ensure she was, well, alive...
Reinforced bones do a lot when it comes to being cut, and sliced by blades, though the sharpness of Ritsuka's weapon cannot be denied. There's a low, guttural curse from the officer as he fails to end the threat of Fayad, and just ends up blasting poor Lepia briefly into moth heaven instead. When the kitsune-masked woman begins to speak in Japanese there's another chuffing huff from the man, who then goes on to call her a variety of terrible slurs in Chinese that won't be repeated here. But poor Ritsuka definitely had to hear them. Perhaps that makes her feel all the better about sticking him with her blade, as it cuts into his guts, avoiding any of his reinforced bones in the process and sending him staggering to the side, trying to push his insides back where they belong.
All the while his compatriot goes sailing up through the air, kicked by the powerful legs of the creature that Lilah had just transformed into, and landing heavily. He crashes his head against the ground, and his brain rattles about his reinforced skull, brusing and concussing himself as he near immediately slips into semi-unconsciousness. An act that is helped along by the crunch of Brian's weapon crashing into his knee, and causing him to near overdose on pain itself.
The magics that Fayad had been working on come to completition with a crash, and a screach, like the tearing of metal, and the wards placed upon the building begin to fail as it is effectively cut off from the outside world and isolated. The security cameras dotted around the rooftop all whirl, and fall still, remaining knocked out until the backup generators eventually come online.
There's definitely a moment where Lilah can be seen to be prancing. She's much sleeker and more svelte in this form, this far along in her pregnancy, and though her sides do swell with the little fawn contained within, it's not nearly as bad. So she prances, then steps delicately over to the half-conscious fellow, and just for good measure, rears up on her hind legs, to bring those forehooves crashing down on his face. Clearly, she doesn't expect to do anything close to causing fatalities, but she doesn't stay long enough to see the results. Instead, as her nose flares at the scent of blood, and the hair along the nape of her neck starts to rise with anxiety, she lopes off to find her clothes and resurface as a woman, naked for the time it takes her to pull on her clothes again.
Lepia starts to try to haul herself up onto her hands and knees, the scent of burned clothes and flesh coming from the blast that she intercepted from hitting Fayad. He better be grateful. "Are... Are they done?"
Fayad says "I think so. You did wonderfully. Thank you all. Now we go to floor 101 and we take the blackmail, whatever form it's in. If there's computers, we take every hard drive."
Fayad leans down and extends his hand to Lepia, offering assistance in rising.
Brian says over their radio, "Ritsuka, Lepi's hit." since he knows that Ritsuka has more medical training than he does. He looks around to make sure there are no more immediate threats, then checks to make sure no one else is down, before collecting his taser and checking to make sure it still works. After that, he will check over the guards, looking for key cards, or just keys.
Ritsuka looks to the man, from behind her mask. There is some guilt that flashes over her eyes, sadness, at least in one moment, and then she goes to attempt to end the man's life in the quickest way that she may: through a cut past the man's neck, piercing as much into it as one may. Her eyes, too, flash golden for the briefest moment, and the crystals of her hair sticks begin to glow for a moment, though nothing happens following that at this moment. "Now comes the long rest. Your living heart is soon still. It beats still with mine." She mentions, quietly, perhaps so much so that it is unheard. And then she reaches around, retrieves white cloth and wipes over the blade, and over the little knick that reinforced bone has created in it. Then Brian mentions someone and she sheathes the blade again and turns around to hurry over to Lepia.
There's a pretty grotesque sound as Lilah slams her forehooves down upon the nearly unconscious man's head. His flesh is mashed, and torn beneath her sharp, hard hooves, and he quickly slips into unconsciousness while oozing blood from his various wounds, and saliva from his half-broken jaw. He'll live, but he'll likely wake up with a terrible headache. His compariot does not fare so well, if this can be considered well at all. There's guilt and sadness in the masked woman's eyes, and fear and surprise in that of the man she murders. Blood sprays from the cut in his neck as he gurgles and rasps out a death knell, still trying to hold his guts inside of himself with one hand, while the only vainly tries to stem the bloodflow from his neck. It doesn't last long, and soon enough he's collapsed lifelessly to the ground, unconscious, bleeding out, and soon to be dead.
Lepia, on the other hand, is definitely still alive, though she's taken quite the beating. It might take her some small time to catch her breath, as she's been winded rather severely, and most likely suffering from bruising, and cracked ribs. It was a hell of a blow, but it would've been so much worse if it had hit Fayad, and triggered his then unfinalized magics.
Brian is able to rumage through their pockets and persons without resistance, with one man dead, and the other dead to the world, he's able to collect some ID cards, and even a little loose change. Score one for looting. Unfortunately, it's chinese money, and thus communist, and it might just burn his American hands to handle it. We shall see.
Beneath them, in the machinery of the roof, there is a loud clunk sound. The initial signs of the backup power and generators starting to whirl into life.
The woman that the deer becomes looks down at hands that are splattered with blood, and over at the man her deer-self had so viciously pummeled. Noting that he's breathing, Lilah steadies herself, though a look at the other guard sees her paling once more. Her hands wrap around her stomach in a gesture that's not at all hard to read; she's distressed. That distress grows at the sight of Lepia, and she says, quietly, "Should we path her out of here? I don't want to risk her dying..." Her wide eyes tip to Lepia, at the offer to get her to safety. It's her call, after all, she's the hero of the moment.
"We are going to need to stabilize it, please try to not do anything too extraneous, and when we are back somewhere safe, we are going to need to put up a casing..." Ritsuka quietly tells to Lepia, pursing her lips under the mask. She looks back to Lilah on the suggestion and then looks to Lepia. "What do you want to do? There is always risks."
Fayad looks around the rooftop for an entry down below. Gotta be stairs. "No time. Come on.", he mutters. "We have to get to floor 101 before their own arcanists see exactly what's going on and counterspell us." If Lepia can't rise, Fayad seems intent on simply leaving her to lay on the roof. "We'll come back up and get her if she can't keep up. I need you."
"If you can just get me to be fine enough to keep going for a bit, that's fine. Otherwise, leave me on the roof, yes." Lepia nods to Ritsuka, and then to Fayad.
"I can't make pain go away, but I can increase your body's defenses against further attack," Lilah offers to Lepia, quite seriously. "You'll still need to be careful, but if Ritz can give you a painkiller that won't affect your mind or make you tired... give me five minutes, and I can have your defenses raised." She looks over to the Japanese girl with a look that reads sympathy and understanding.
Ritsuka grabs a roll of bandages from her satchel. It is very- on the spot. Not perfect. There is also some metal sticks that come underneath, but it is quick enough wrapped around Lepia, taking perhaps thirty to forty seconds. It should survive some stuff, but evidently not too much. Lack of training for combat related medicine, so this is improvised, the best she can offer as a makeshift casing.
Brian passes some ibuprofen to Ritsuka. "It was left from what you gave me. Best I've got apart from bandages."
Ritsuka offers Brian's pill on over right to Lepia, after unpackaging it and making sure the pill's wrapping stays with her.
Fayad is right, which is a rare thing, really, they do not have time. Lepia's injuries yearn for the time to treat them properly, but so far as those gathered can tell, there doesn't appear to be any significant internal bleeding, or fatal wounds. She will hurt, and she will suffer, but she will live. Unlike the dead man left behind by these Disruptive disrupting sorts. It's a real now or never situation, they either enter the building before those cameras and security powers up once more, or they miss their opportunity.
Lilah hisses out a frustrated breath. "It's -just- five freaking minutes," she snaps, but with Fayad pushing, she just shakes her head and gives Lepia an apologetic look. "If we get half a moment in there, I'm casting it," she promises the illusionist quietly. "It'll help." But then she turns from the girl to look at the others, lifting her hands as if to say, 'Okay, okay.'
Lepia takes the painkillers, the bandaging, and whatever else is given to her in her pain-induced desire to just make that... Stop. "Let's go, I will go until I can't. I promise you that." She gets to her feet, and with the improvised casing and the ibuprofen, she was at least good enough to keep up.
Ritsuka slides away from Lepia again. What was provided is provided, more she cannot do. The painkiller should work well enough. She does not really elaborate to anyone about it, but they are imprinted to help. Double down for the painkiller, making be less necessary and make fewer people overdose to get rid of pain. Her hand reaches back to the hilt of the blade. She gestures to Fayad and her masked gaze makes a nod to him. It's time to go on and go.
Brian nods, and positions himself near Lepi as they start to move. If the woman needs further help, he's there, and he will do his best to protect her if they run into anymore trouble.
The neon initial of Vetr Corp, VC, looms above the assembled group as they make their decision. To soldier onwards, and see this task complete. The blackmail remains inside the building, and the sounds of generators starting to power and whirl, and gurgle into action can be heard all around them. As such, they have little time to waste as they dart towards the door leading inside of the building, using the keycard felched by Brian to open it, and slip inside to a short squared-off staircase that leads into a maintence room. There's the hum of machines once more, and on the distant side of this space an elevator door. There is a support workstation built into the wall itself in here as well, and a small air-vent lingers near the roof. There are options, it seems.
Fayad says "Can't use the elevator, power's not on, and we don't want it to be."
Fayad glances around the room for, maybe, backup generators. He could turn them off or sabotage them somehow.
There are no backup generators in the room, though the console built into the wall is itself powered, suggesting that despite the power remaining down there is still some core circuit in the building that remains live. What could be more important than the power to the lights, elevators and the security feeds?
Fayad says "...hm. "
Fayad approaches and checks out the main console, frowning.
"I would have little trouble making my way through the vent. But we should probably not split up. So what is the plan after the consoles?" Ritsuka quietly asks, looking between everyone. Her blade is lowered but she draws near to Lilah, a touch protective.
Apparently without a clue as to what to do in this space, in this room, Lilah stays back. But beneath her breath, she begins to hum softly, a lilting sound, a haunting almost-lullabye. And on the palm of her hand, she starts to trace little figures in flames that dance across her skin, warping from one runic shape to the next, while she watches Lepia. "Can't make it through a vent," she warns the group, mildly, without looking up, though Ritsuka's presence draws a smile.
Brian sticks near Lepi, head on a swivel. When he hears Lilah, he chuckles, and says, "Yeah, me neither. My vent crawling days ended about twenty or thirty pounds ago, unless it's a big vent."
While the station is locked, and most of it's functionality is therefore unable to be tweaked, or modified, there is indeed some information that can be gleaned from it. Though, unfortunately, it's largely written in Chinese. There are enough context clues that with a little effort the group members may be able to puzzle out what some of the information on the screens mean. There's various status updates on the systems in the building, though one stands out in particular. Oxygen levels. Air quality levels. Humidity levels. Whatever this is regarding? It is both located on level 101, and prioritized over nearly every other system in the building.
Fayad attempts to figure out how to fuck it up and sabotage it, but he's pretty useless with computers and it shows. He repeatedly turns the screen saver on and off.
Ritsuka glances over to Fayad's work. Her eyes do look over the Chinese, trying to see if there is similarities to kanji, assuming it is traditional Chinese and not simplified, and that is also assuming she does not run into a word where the two similar symbols have entirely different meanings without being able to find the clue to what it means contextually.
Eventually the workstation locks up, freezes, begins to artifact and screen-tear and then ultimately blue screens. Whatever it was monitoring from this place is now not monitored - at least not in this room. Some other information that can be gleaned is that they are currently on the roof (duh), but this is also considered the 104th floor. While the elevators may not be working, and the vent is too large for most of their team, perhaps there are other methods of ingress they could employ.
Fayad says "Ugh, whatever this is it's not working anymore. We need to get three floors down..."
A huff of annoyance is mostly all that comes from Lepia, eyes looking around the area as they try to figure out a way down. "Are there stairs?"
"We could try the elevator shaft..." Ritsuka quietly points out.
There's certainly no stairs readily apparent, either they don't exist, or they aren't in view, or easy to find. Now, the shaft, on the other hand? The only thing between the group and working their way up and down the building's shaft is a pair of elevator doors. Doors that are famously known to open.
Brian pulls out his pocket tool and uses the knife blade to try to pry the elevator doors open. Once he gets enough space for fingers to fit in, between them they should be able to apply enough strength to open the doors fully.
"I uhh... I'm in no shape to be climbing something like that either," Lilah warns, though she looks as if she might well be ready to just admit that she's really in no shape to be doing missions like this, promises or no. Finishing off her ritual, as the group discusses, she blows across the last little runic flame, sending sparks towards Lepia. "That should help, if you're careful," she says softly to the woman, before grimacing as Brian tries to pull the shaft open. "I... think I'd better head back to town. You guys be... be safe, okay?"
Brian nods. "You too, Lilah."
"I should be able to carry you, Lilah, if we are very very careful," Ritsuka offers to the other woman as she moves closer to Brian to help with the door, in this by strength. Though she does take a moment to take some plastic gloves for her hands first, best to not leave any fingerprints.
Poor Lilah, that's rough. Still, she came, and saw, and helped conquer a number of the obstacles between the group and their goals. Climbing down elevator shafts may just be a step too far for a woman in her condition though. The doors are easily parted by Brian and his pocket tools, clearly the security of these particular elevator doors was not a large concern to the people who own this building.
Fayad prepares himself to head down three floors via Elevator Shaft. Hopefully there's like, a maintenance ladder or something.
Lepia is liable to do her last if she continues much longer herself, but she wishes to prove herself to the Disruptors as being the most.... Disruptive, perhaps? Although she winces with every step, she keeps up with Fayad, Ritsuka, and Brian.
There is, fortunately, a maintenance ladder inside of the shaft. It's a somewhat rickity thing, likely given the more lax safety requirements of a workspace often filled with supernaturally gifted peoples. Those who can fly, or float, or just jump their way around with far less concerns. The door to the 101st floor, however, in stark comparison to the one that Brian had just finangled open is reinforced, and looks like it might take significantly more effort to open through mundane means.
Ritsuka looks back to Lilah "Are you sure you want to go back or do we carefully try, Lilah?"
Another clunk echoes through the space, and the emergency lights within the elevator shaft start to light up, one by one, spiralling up the length of the void until it's lit by the orange-glow of illumination. Another backup system has come online, it seems.
"It'd be easier to hold onto the ladder than to hold onto you holding onto the ladder," Lilah admits to Ritsuka, slowly rubbing one hand over her belly and staring at the shaft and that rickety ladder with uncertainty. "Alright... I'll try." It's not like she's being brow-beaten into it, but she certainly doesn't look like she's confident in her decision. "If it gets any weirder or more dangerous though I'll... have to go."
"Fuck", Fayad hisses as he clambers down, headed down to the reinforced door at floor 101. He takes his pendant in hand and begins to heat and warp the metal, hoping that the expanding material will open up some cracks, somehow.
The hiss of burning, twisting metal fills the space, along with the fumes from Fayad's attempt. His magic is strong, but it isn't enough, and it's clear that he's going to need some help with this. Even if they do manage to warp the metal enough to loosen it? It may still need to be pulled, and drawn open.
Help with fire, Lilah can do. Perhaps it's the wrong decision, but she turns her focus onto the door with Fayad, using much the same power as he is, to try and heat the door further. "Do you have water and ice too, Fayad?" she asks, while focusing on heat, for the moment. "If we shock it with temperature, we might make it brittle enough to just -break- open." But she clearly hasn't got that to offer.
Ritsuka makes a nod to Lilah and to Lilah's fortune, she is actually five inches shorter. "Okay, Lilah, hold on to both the ladder and my waist. We will be close to another. And we will be a little slower. I will keep holding on to you, so my hand will only ever slide along as we climb down, and the hand you have on the ladder is similar. You are about half the weight of what I can lift, maybe a little bit more, slightly. But not by much, so we should not have any troubles." She explains to Lilah. And so, while in the shaft, she focuses on making sure Lilah is fine and stable.
Fayad says "I don't."
Lepia lingers near the top of the shaft; she almost certainly couldn't help with getting the door open with her magic, and she was also injured, to boot. But, if things start to bother them from within...
"Of course Emmanuel's not here when one of his damn bombs might be useful," Lilah grouses, clearly still sore about that particular matter!
With Lilah supported by Ritsuka, and her own magics mixing with Fayad's against the door, it starts to flex, and fail, and bend outwards. Then, because things can never just go right, there's a quiet hum at the base of the shaft. Like a bee, or two, or a dozen. It slowly starts to build, growing louder, and louder yet as the door continues to fail.
looks down. "Shit. The car is on its way up." Brian says. "I know you're trying hard, but do it faster?"
Brian looks down. "Shit. The car is on its way up." Brian says. "I know you're trying hard, but do it faster?"
Lilah really can't add much more effort than she's already doing, but she does have the foresight, from where she clings to Ritsuka and the ladder to call, "Fayad, get back. Move up. The door's going to fall into the shaft! I don't want you to get knocked down with it!"
Fayad winces and does his best to climb up a level or so. "But what about you?", he mutters.
Lilah is higher up the ladder still!
"Why should that be a problem, Brian? The ladders are usually not directly at the elevator. But Chinese might be too cheap to do it right." Ritsuka looks down and then to Lilah "Shall we go up fully, Lilah?"
Can Lilah see the future? Perhaps, because exactly what she had been warning Fayad of starts to occur. One of the elevator doors flexes suddenly, popping right on out of it's track and jerking out and into the shaft. It does it's level best to collect Fayad with it before tumbling down, down, down the shaft, eventually crashing against the rising elevator car. They've got some small time now to get inside before the car catches up! If that is indeed what the cause of the sound is.
Fayad attempts to alley-oop his way into floor 101.
"No, let's go in. Fayad probably needs someone at his back," Lilah says to Ritsuka, gingerly starting the climb down. She's careful, but does try to move as fast as her body will let her, with the Japanese girl offering support on the way in.
Brian brings up the rear as they make their way onto 101.
Ritsuka nods her head, and she for her own does not struggle too much as she guides Lilah along, but she is noticeably more attentive towards making sure Lilah is fine over her own well-being in this brief trip down the ladders.
The team manage to make their way inside the secured floor, 101, without losing anyone to the shaft. This is fortunate, no doubt. There's a distinctly different feel in this area, it's stark, and clinical. Sterile in nature. There is a constant hum of machinery, and the lights are all on. Not emergency lights. Normal ones. This floor is considered important enough that it's powered state was made a priority. A corridor leads onwards toward another sealed door, though the lights about the top of it suggest that it's security has someone become disabled, perhaps due to the magics that Fayad had cast earlier. That must be it, their goal. The controlled environment where the blackmail awaits.
Fayad gestures with his hands, indicating that Brian and Ritsuka should go first. "Supernaturals first, let's see what we're dealing with. Get us through that door and hopefully we can break it and leave./"
Lilah blinks a few times at Fayad's decision, but frankly she's more than happy to bring up the rear with Lepia. Already, the clinical nature of the place has her looking nervous, bordering on terrified, but she walks with the others, whispering softly, "We need to hurry... if that was the elevator and they see the doors here... it'll be bad. "
steps back out of the way. "I'm a natural. Just trained." Brian says with a grin.
Ritsuka gives Fayad a confused look, where her gaze briefly turns to Brian. Her brows raise, and she only shakes her head to Brian. It wasn't worth correcting the assumption. Still, she has to redraw her blade, and considering she did not bring a ranged option, this may as well just be for the best. She holds the blade in front of herself, both hands on the hilt, and then, with steady steps, starts to make her way forward. "Brian, cover me, please?"
Fayad says "Well, shit. Good for you then."
Brian nods and steps up behind her, and raises his rifle, covering the area behind the door once it is open.
It takes some small effort, even with the security unlocked, as Ritsuka manages to slowly, but surely, slide the door open. There's a grinding sound as she does so, and she's showered with some debris. Shards and flecks of a mineral or something, on further inspection? It's quartz.
Quartz. A secured room with atmosphere control. Oxygen levels monitored. Life systems, effectively.
The pieces may very well start to fall into place as the blackmail that had been stolen away from the Qlng company comes into view, though somewhat obscured by Ritsuka's form. The room beyond? It is a nursery. A child's room. It's colours, and warmth stand in stark contrast to the clinical nature of the rest of this area, and sitting in the middle of it, is the blackmail. A person. A child. A child with strange, ceramic like flesh, and elongated canines. A child with horns that burst forth from the flesh of their forehead, and curve upwards toward the ceiling. A child with a long, thin tail extended from their lowerback. An honest to god, demi-demon. A force of corruption, and evil, and it's a child too.
They're young, but not so young that they can't speak, or walk. They turn towards the instruders, studying them with red-flecked eyes filled with an intelligence far beyond that of their physical form. It's harder to tell their age with their inhuman features, but a good guess would set them at around six or seven.
Brian manages not to open fire when he sees what is in the room, but for a split-second he wants to, and that is enough to make him lower his rifle and takes a few steps back.
"Oh... no. You're just a child," Lilah whispers, her voice wracked with both horror and twisted affection. "You're just a child and you're -all- alone." She seems to forget everything about why they're here and what their purpose is. Even some of the people that she's close to, and their perspectives on such beings. "It doesn't matter how tough your skin is, little one. You still need love." Of course, if the little creature is Chinese, it may not understand a word she coos at it, though it's clear enough from tone and body language that the soon-to-be mother is filled with concern, worry, and even fear for the little one's safety... no matter what it'll be eventually. No matter what she's been through with someone of significantly less power than this child.
Fayad says "Oh, fuck."
Fayad's eyes are wide, and he evidently seems to be in a bit of panic on what to do here. Give the kid to the company that sent them? Is that what they want? What would be done with this child later? He doesn't know what to do. So the default is to 'do the job'. "We can't stay here. Open the Path," he commands. "Get it out of the quartz so we can bring it through the Path.", he states, using 'it' rather tellingly. "To the rendevouz point with the Chinese."
Brian turns back in the direction of the elevator, in case anyone should come up behind them.
Lepia still remains hunched at the top of the elevator, giving Brian a wave from up there, keeping an eye out from a corner near the top.
Ritsuka shrugs her shoulders, and she does come to sheathe her own blade. She holds out a hand to the demi-demon. "I know this room is unpleasant to you. Let's keep it simple, make it easy for us, we make it easy for you. I will build the path."
"Wait," Lilah says, looking at the others. "We don't know that the group that wants this child is any more likely to treat them well. I won't be a part of kidnapping a child from one set of kidnappers just to hand them over to another set." Her eyes never leave the young demon. "Where are your parents? Your family?" she asks, seriously, crouching down despite the way it leaves her body at risk if the child were to decide to leap into violence. "Where do -you- want to be?" Of course, she's one person, weak, off-balance, and pregnant. The others could very easily work around her if they felt it was necessary.
That's the rub of it here, isn't it? There's a sort of pity that might be extended to a creature such as this, a supernatural being that actually doesn't have any choice on whether or not to embrace the corruption, and give it. The choice was made for it by it's very biology, before it was even born. This is a monster. There is no doubt about this. It will grow into a monster, and many will suffer as a result - but is that reason enough to do something about, or to this child? Are the crimes of the future enough to judge the present?
"You've come to take me home?" The child wonders of the others, canting their head ever so slightly to the side as they study them with those strangely intelligent eyes, "Home to mother, and father. Away from this place." They push up to their feet, and wander closer to the barrier of quartz that seperates them from the others.
What then, do these collective do?
There are options, of course. They could rescue the child, and take them to their parents. The Qlng Innovations company would then throw their support behind the Disruptors, making it easier for them to fight against Dominus by denying him this foothold - though likely dooming many others to death, and suffering in the future.
They could leave the child, to be held and used by Vetr Corp, though this doesn't help anyone.
They could end the threat that this child presents. Here and now. It would cost them their relationship with Qlng, no doubt, but it would prevent any potential evil that this demi-demon would commit in the future.
"Yes. We'll take you home to your mom and dad," Lilah says from where she's crouched, once the child makes that clear to her. She holds out her hands to the child, her own decision made, though as stated earlier, she could easily be outnumbered. Still, there's a defiance in her, whatever the pros and cons, she's not going let this child be hurt without a fight, if that's what the others choose.
Fayad quietly chimes in, "How the hell does it have a mother *and* a father?", finding a flaw in reality there. No demon escapes Hell. Period. "Who are your parents?", he asks the demidemon.
Brian doesn't take his eyes off where he's covering, but says, "Ritsuka, I came to get your back."
Lilah arches an eyebrow at Fayad's question. "Every child has two parents," she states simply, and quietly. "Children like this are almost never birthed of demon-kind. Rituals, sacrifices, and pacts."
"Yeah, we are, today." Ritsuka supposed to the demidemon. Her own expression is more matter of factly by now. She does not get into the whole conversation behind her, it's emotion, potentially anger, there is no need to feed this monster. They just got to handle something, the world will continue to tick and a child like this won't make a difference to it. "So let's take you to your parents?"
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It seems like the group is largely choosing to do, if the do in this case is rescuing the demi-demon child. They wander closer toward them, their eyes shifting down to peer at Lilah's belly, "Kin." They note quietly, sagely so, adding, "If they make it to term. Which they won't." It's delivered matter-of-factly, before they raise their hands up, effectively asking for uppies to cross the barrier of quartz. "Take me home. Take me home to mama and papa."
Brian frowns as he hears the little monster speak of Lilah's child in so cold and matter-of-fact a way. He grits his teeth, but remains focused on covering the rear, and keeps quiet.
"She will. I'd die to keep her alive," Lilah counters the child, but with all that maternal instinct she fights but is taking over, she bends to scoop up the child shifting her body so that it sits on one hip, though probably a little big for such things. It is a quartz barrier, after all. "My name's Lilah. What's yours?" she wonders, as she turns to walk out, carrying the little one. "We need to get on the path quickly," she says to the others. "Ritz, are you calling it?"
Ritsuka draws the smaller blade and draws it over her palm again, as the beads of blood begin to form into the floating blue light. The pain that comes for it is non-existent, and she sheathes the blade before she starts to look focused. "Hai, should not take me long. If everyone could come closer and touch my hand?" She asks, holding out a hand.
Brian waves Lepia forward. "Time to go, Lepi." Then he turns and touches Ritsuka's hand.
"Uppies." The demi-demon blurts out, actually sound like a child as they're scooped up and freed from their prisoner by Lilah, easily sliding against her hip and wrapping their spinedly, strangely rough fingers around her. There's an immediate, and rough response to the closeness of this monster. As it begins to sup on Lilah's very lifeforce, whether intentional or not, "I am the Saviour. This is my name." They informs the others, staring at each of them in turn, "Food." They name Brian, "Pet," The name is given to Ritsuka, "Cripple." Fayad gets this, and when the child gets to Lepia it just pauses, and cants it's head to the side, studying her. She does not get a name.
Fayad approaches Ritsuka and touches her hand, frowning. He can't particularly deny the demon, but he does his best to ignore it.
Lepia cants her head right on back when the demi-demon refuses to give her a name, before saying, "Fine. I will say one. Lepia." Her hand reaches out and she touches Ritsuka's hand, though withered a bit in the face of the demonchild.
Ritsuka almost laughs, but she draws to keep to her focus. The floating lights change in their coloring, turning to a purple, some greens, some lighter blues, but then to oranges and then, eventually to gold. And then, they are in the all too familiar forest. Branches like that of skeletal fingers that rise to the sky, beyond the mist. And she leads the way forward, to the agreed on contact point.
That's okay! Lilah didn't get a name either. Still, name or no name, she seems content to tug along this little monster, almost seeming to find some sort of... not amusement, but understanding for its nature. She has been through and around a lot of such casual callousness, obviously, and to make it all the more tolerable, this is a child. "Be gentle if you can, Saviour," she says as she feels that slow leeching start. "Give your kin a chance, mm?" Of course, it would take a lot more time than what she plans to spend with this child to do any real harm to either her, or her babe, through the drain of life force. "This is Brian, Ritsuka, Fayad..." she introduces, though Lepia gets to name herself. The redhead steps forward, though she can't release either of her arms from around the child to hold Ritsuka's hand. She settles for simply pressing in against the Japanese woman's side. "Lepia likes moths, a lot."
With Ritsuka using her powers to drag their collective group out of the secured floor, and into the Forest Between Places, they've managed to succeed - having broken into the Vetr Corp building, and stolen away the blackmail, which just so happens to be a demi-demon child. This child, Saviour, stares at Lepia, and shakes their head at the name she offers. That isn't what he sees. She is, to him, beyond that name. Beyond that concept. But what the child sees of her will have to wait for another time, perhaps.
Now, there is the final decision to be made before this adventure comes to it's natural conclusion, do they return the child to their parents, to Qlng Innovations?
Fayad certainly seems to grit his teeth and be willing to do so, at least.
Brian will not face the creature, and remains quiet. He's here for his friend, and will follow her lead, even if he doesn't want to.
Lilah is very seriously intent on bringing this little one, this absolute baby no matter how dangerous it already is, home to its parents though truth be told it can probably get itself home, now that it's free of that energy-sapping quartz.
Ritsuka certainly tells the group. "Stay close to me. Do not wander off. You will never return." And then it is the way ahead, and while she makes her way to return the child to the parents, once she is on the other end, and steps out of the forest, she does not follow in for the return of the child, just plain leaving it to the disruptors.
Brian follows Ritsuka, stowing his weapons and armor into a rucksack once they're safely back in Haven.
// Lilah is so sorry but really is struggling to stay up any later.
Thus, it seems, that the child is handed off to Qlng Innovations - Those gathered have managed to avoid bloodying their hands with the sin of filicide, but as a result? They've allowed a monster to go free, and return to their people. They did the moral thing, but did they do the right thing?
With the support of their new allies the Disruptors are able to fend off some of Vetr's control of the Beijing financial district, and as such, they succeed.
During the tense operation, the group encountered numerous challenges, from cracking magical wards and technological defenses to engaging in close quarters combat with Vetr's security personnel. Lilah’s unexpected contribution and Fayad's magical expertise were pivotal, while Brian and Ritsuka's combat skills ensured their advance.
The mission took a shocking turn upon discovering that the so-called "blackmail material" was, in fact, a child. Not just any child, but a demi-demon named Saviour, held captive and isolated within a specially designed nursery. The revelation evoked a mixture of ethical dilemmas and protective instincts among the team members, particularly in Lilah, who saw past the child's monstrous nature to the loneliness and vulnerability within.
Faced with a moral quandary, the group had to decide: return the child to Qlng Innovations, leave it in the hands of Vetr Corp, or eliminate the potential future threat the child posed. Driven by compassion and moral considerations, they chose to rescue Saviour from his imprisonment, defying their fears and prejudices.
The team navigated their escape through Ritsuka's supernatural pathing abilities, bringing them back to their allies and towards a place of safety. However, their decision to save Saviour and return him to his so-called parents at Qlng Innovations was fraught with uncertainty. While they averted the immediate cruelty of leaving the child in Vetr Corp's hands, they were left to ponder the consequences of their actions. Did they unleash a future monster in pursuit of the greater good, or did they simply fulfill a moral obligation to safeguard an innocent life, regardless of its inherent nature?
The story concludes with the team's success in their mission but leaves lingering questions about the ethical implications of their choices and the true definition of right and wrong in a world where morality is often shaded in grey.
(A very hostile takeover(SREmmanuel):SREmmanuel)
[Wed Nov 6 2024]
At The Vetr Corp building, Beijing, China
The rooftop of the Vetr Corp building sprawls wide beneath the helicopter's shadow, a stark, concrete expanse that feels cold and unwelcoming even under the thin shroud of night. Floodlights, mounted along the rooftop's edge, cast eerie beams across the space, illuminating parts of the rooftop in harsh white light while leaving others in shadowed obscurity. Metal grates and various air conditioning units are scattered across the expanse, each one humming faintly with the building's pulse. Vetr's name looms large here, emblazoned in bold letters across a central air vent, as if to stake a claim even upon the air itself.
It is after dusk, about 50F(10C) degrees, There is a first quarter moon.
Beijing sprawls out beneath the gathered team, a vast tapestry of shadow and light, the pulse of a metropolis caught in a place between transition and relentless, moving modernity. Streets wind and twist through the city like veins, carrying life and chaos from one quarter to another, each neighbourhood working as its own microcosm of the city itself, distinct, and similar in equal measures. Lantern-lit hutongs give way to neon brightness, and stark, metallic skyscrapers that rise and claw at the night sky. Even now, during the night, the hum of life resonates beneath - a constant flow of cars, and peoples. The muffled throb of music from hidden clubs, and the distant clamour of voices that serve as a constant baseline to life in this place.
Though this background noise is somewhat drowned out for those who have been chosen for the mission at hand this evening, as they cut through the night's air in a stealth helicopter. While it is fairly quiet compared to most of its compatriots, the outer shell of this metal beast blocks out a lot of the sounds of the living city. It flies and flicks through the air like a dragonfly, skimming over rooftops with an eerie sort of grace, avoiding radar and tracking systems as it makes these risky manoeuvres. Beijing's landmarks appear and disappear beneath the vehicle as it moves, shifting in and out of focus like wraiths in the mist that bleeds across the city's landscape. Eventually they reach the financial district, where towers raise up from the depths to stab through the mist and fog and neon colours beneath.
It's here that their objective looms ahead, a fairly recent construction and addition to the city's skyline. A stark and brutalist fortress that pushes up through the district, and raises about its peers. Splashed across the side of the building are the words, Vetr Corp', with its angular design standing out amongst some of the more traditional buildings in the area. The Disruptors and their allies have been kitted out for this mission, afforded sleek, light combat suits. Weapons with silencers and suppressors, and even non-lethal munitions. The objective, as has been reexplained during the flight, is to recover the blackmail materials regarding Qlng Innovations currently held in this building by the Vetr Corp. Upon succeeding in this, and returning the materials to their people, they have made a promise to back the Disruptors efforts against the company and their eidolon, and use their budding technological influence against the overreach of Vetr Corp.
The stealth helicopter hums its way atop this building, angling near the edge as one of the men inside drags the door open, and gestures for the others to leap out, and onto the rooftop, "Go, go!" They hiss out, reminding them, "Call out on comms when you've got the objective, and we'll swing by. It's on floor one-oh-one." The rooftop of the building waits for the operatives, stretching out before them. Cameras line the perimeter, their lenses panning in slow, methodical sweeps, covering each corner with an almost rhythmic precision. The city lights, distant and defocused, provide a faint glow around the building's silhouette, but inside this concrete barricade, the atmosphere feels sterile, controlled - a space designed not to welcome, but to warn. The air is tinged with the faint scent of metal and ozone, a reminder of the corporate machinery grinding within.
Fayad lands on the rooftop and takes cover immediately. He begins to spread out a circle of rock salt mixed with powdered silver, taking up a position in the center. His dragonscale pendant gleams as he mutters quietly underneath his breath, performing a ritual at breakneck speed to ensure that what happened here tonight would stay within the premises. He intends to cast Ritual Silence upon himself to enclose the Vetr Corp building in a mystical bubble through which no communications or electricity could flow - the building would have to set itself to backup power, but it is more than likely Vetr would be able to identify precisely what's happened to them...although it wouldn't do them any good to solve it until the sunrise, considering Fayad's immense strength with magic.
"I need to hold the hand of those I am pathing with. Though she also grabs her katana but uses her short blade to cut over her palm to draw blood and then sheath the blade again before holding out her hand to Brian. The blood that touched her blade and drips from her palm flow into blue, floating lights that start to surround her. It takes several minutes before the process finishes, she looks focused, and the lights go to color changes, from blue to greens, purples or reds to orange and then to gold. And then Ritsuka and Brian find themselves into the forest with trees and their skeletal branches that reach up and out to the sky, devoid of leaves. "Stay with me, Brian. And I mean with that to stay close. Do not stray from the way or you will forever be lost. We should get you a mask sometime. I am kind of in one of my combat styles, only missing my mask."
It is only a short distance before she steps through the fog, out into a street, and then it is only a short distance to where she nods to Fayad and smiles to Lilah and the start of the helicopter ride. She does accept the equipment provides, but keeps away from any firearms, not enough experience to use them, her blade will have to just do. She remains quiet during the trip, and only takes a moment to slip on another mask over whatever the suit provided and when prompted to leap to the roof, she does so, though a little cautiously, glancing around. For now, the blade remains sheathed."
Brian drops nimbly to the rooftop, rifle up and scanning from side-to-side as he quickly moves to cover. He finds a patch of shadow and fades into it as he keeps an eye out for security, or any indication that they've been noticed. He is there to provide assistance and to protect Ritsuka, so once he settles in the darkness, he waits for instructions.
"Hey! Sorry guys!" Lilah is flat out late to this get together, and even when she arrives, there's tell-tale signs as to just what delayed - well, all of them. She looks like she dressed in a hurry, she's raking her fingers through her hair, and her cheeks are flushed. At least she's not absurd enough to be wearing heels, as well. Flashing a shameless grin to Ritsuka, she waves quickly, then slips into the helicopter where she has a moment to actually fix her hair into a ponytail, and slap on some lip gloss. By the time they reach the building and are clambering out of the helicopter, she's as ready as she's going to be, in her civilian dress. But she's not jumping out - someone's most definitely going to have to help the pregnant woman out.
Whether they pathed themselves, or were pathed by various hedge-wizards, or Disruptive allies, the group ends up together, and boards the helicopter as noted earlier. It isn't long then before they've deployed themselves atop the rooftop, and Fayad begins his ritual. It's a good sign that it begins to take at all, though the arcanist might note that it takes significantly more effort to cast his magics here than in his native home of Haven. As if there was some strange force afoot that was actively working against his efforts. Some magical charms or protective spells cast upon the building, perhaps.
The kitsune masked woman, and her Order ally, Brian, both drop onto the roof with little trouble, though it isn't long before they're able to spot movement in the near distance, as a patrol of two security officers comes into view. They gawk over toward the helicopter, muttering to one another in Chinese about it, but thankfully not quite calling on the radio just yet. It isn't unusual for Vetr Corp to have people flown in under dark, for whatever terrible machinations might take place inside, after all.
The fellow inside the helicopter who had gotten the door also assists Lilah in leaving the thing, though there is a bit of a look given to her as they take in her heavily-pregnant state. They don't question it though. Soon enough, the helicopter peels away from the buildings edge, and skitters away into the dark.
Fayad hisses, a bit higher than his ritual chantings, "I cannot be interrupted. I must break the ward. Stop them." about the two guards.
Ritsuka does not give a glance back to Fayad, and still, she does not draw her weapon and does not look to intend to do so. A small little pair of wings grows at her feet, and she rushes over towards the two individuals. She is better at grappling, but she does try to reach for one of them to attempt know the Chinese out, choosing what absence of lethality she can offer in this moment.
Brian will wait for one or both of the guards to come closer. Once they do, he will slip out from the shadow of his cover and apply a taser to the guard that Ritsuka does not get to.
The look she's given has Lilah rolling her eyes. "I know, I know," she mutters. "But I promised." So, with a hand atop her belly, she settles in to walk beside the others. Fayad's protest is met with a small shrug of her shoulders, before she looks over to Ritsuka and Brian. Before she can speak up, however, both guards are handled, so she offers a mischievous little bit of her own input, lifting a hand and sending her flames over to melt their radios.
Lepia raises the platinum chain at her wrist, twining it upon itself on loops and whorls that begin to shine with otherworldly light. "Be soft, be still." She mumbles, the sound from the confrontation diverted somewhere less audible for the moment. She steps around the now on fire guards, and slinks into the shadows, twining the chain back around her fingers as it glows intensely and then simply vanishes into nothing at all.
Lilah just tried to melt radios, not set men on fire!
It's true, Fayad definitely does not want his ritual interrupted, as he chants words of power, and tries to speedrun his way through the rather complicated ritual. One slip up, one stuttered word? He could be struck down with backlash, and reveal their intentions. That added effort of casting his spell here may just bring sweat to his brow, and force him to entirely rely upon his compatriots to protect him from the patrolling security officers.
It's when the helicopter flits off of the side of the building that those particular officers start to jog closer toward where the Disruptors and co are arrayed in the night, and shadow. And while they're surprised when Ritsuka rushes out toward them, and Brian joins in the assault, they aren't caught off-guard. These aren't your typical rent-a-cops, despite their somewhat lackadasical nature when it came to radioing in the helicopter. They're well trained, and armed, Vetr Corp goons. One of the pair immediately goes about engaging Ritsuka in a grappling contest, smashing into her with an inhuman strength. The other raises his hand to his radio, intending to call for help - only for it to burst into flames, which gives Brian the window he needs to jab at the man with his taser. There's a flash of electricity and sparking light as the volts pulse through the man's body, his teeth seizing together as he grabs Brian too while being shocked, snarling out at him.
Brian performs an osoto-gari leg reap to bring his man to the ground, hard. Once he's down, Brian tases him again. If that puts him out, he will turn to help Ritsuka with her guard, but if his man is still up, then he will remain focused on him.
Lepia raises up the chain from a nook near their engagement, staying quite low to the ground and out of sight. It glimmers and shines for a brief bit, before Brian's form emerges from utterly nowhere nearby, ruunning towards the man that was grappling onto Ritsuka and diving in a large tackle; it had no substance, but the aggressive act might distract, which is precisely what they need.
One could always make an argument for one way or another, but there is, as ever just plain the moment where a person makes one of those choices, and though she was far stronger than a person her built ever deserves to be, she was still very thinly built, she is light, and it means the heavier partner in this wrestle may very much turn out to be the one winning out. And so, if fortune does not favor it with Brian trying to help, Ritsuka looks for a slight opportunity to reach for the wakizashi she keeps to turn this into a very bloody affair.
Or the illusion Lepia cast could open up that opportunity!
Crap! It's clear that the man that Brian is wrestling with knows his judo well. Almost as well as a Police Officer arresting a man for enjoying a succulent chinese meal. They entangle themselves up with the other man, forcing their legs amidst his own, and crashing down into the ground with him, instead of alone! The taser goes skittering in the melee, given how difficult it may be to perform a two-handed grappled with just the one hand. There's a flash of fire that ignites in this security guards eyes, as flames burn around him and he starts to strike and beat at Brian with his own supernatural strength.
On the other hand, with the other guard battling Ritsuka, that illusion provided by Lepia serves to create an exploit that the kitsune-mask wearing warrior might very exploit, as they turn away from her for the briefest of motions to throw out a hand toward the oncoming mirage - blasting a wave of pure energy right on out of their palm, which crashes against some of the machinery atop the building here, and causes it to sag, and collapse in upon itself. While that poor piece of equipment suffers, it does afford Ritsuka time to draw her weapon.
The illusion likely created an opening to exploit, rather than an exploit to exploit.
Lilah doesn't have much else to add to the moment, so while Lepia uses illusions to try and help Ritsuka, she turns to hurry over toward Brian and the fellow that he's wrestling with. She's big enough now at seven months along, that her hurry looks a bit awkward, to say the least. But she does her best to move quietly and swiftly, bringing up her rifle - not to shoot, but to whack the guard across the head with the butt of it. Unconscious? Stellar. Just a bit dazed? That's fine, it'll give Brian some help. Hopefully she manages to connect at all - blunt weapons certainly aren't her forte.
CRACK! There's the smack of the butt of Lilah's weapon against the side of that poor guard's head, and he staggers somewhat to the side. The blow seems to have phased him far less than one might expected, and even more surprisingly? The butt of the weapon has become bent from the blow against him. It's clear that his bones are hardened than might be expected normal. There's a hiss from the man, something venomous and cruel as he snarls at Lilah, promising something terrible in Chinese while he struggles against Brian, trying to grab his head in both hands and start to crush it now.
And as it turns out, it is not the small blade she draws in the room that Lepia created for her now, but the katana that stays at her hip. Though it would be not so true to say that Ritsuka draws it, and more draws the sheathe off of the blade. In result, it means the katana is in position much quicker. Under her mask, a coldness has settles that forms and reaches up to her eyes, and with the time she could save, she does step forward to slash for the, in a hollow of the armor to make a deep cut.
With the first of her illusions having succeeded in distracting the guard, Lepia turns her gaze to the next, waving the chain from a place hidden. The light glints, and an ephemeral flicker shines, a non-descript goon of some variety charging at the man engaging with Brian in a seemingly coordinated effort to put the figure down...! That is, if it was real.
There's a snarl from the man entangling himself with Ritsuka as she draws that dangerous looking weapon and brings it to bear. He doesn't just allow it to hit him, but nor does he attempt to dodge the attack. He snakes out with his forearm instead, allowing the blade to catch against his flesh and crash into his bone- attempting to lodge it in his own flesh and tug the weapon out of Ritsuka's hands. All the while his other hand raises, palm outstretched toward Fayad, "The magician!" He hisses out to his compatriot, and in short order, there is another beam of pure lifeforce blasting from him and toward the arcanist!
The sheer difficult of this melee might serve to suggest just why the members of Qlng Innovations required outside help in the first place! These people are well trained, and empowered with their own dangerous abilities, and this is only the first hurdle that the Disruptors and co have run into thus far.
The man attempting to crush, and harm Brian hisses out in response to his compatriot, and then rolls off of the other man, trying to avoid the oncoming goon conjured by Lepia. One can only imagine his fury then when this particular enemy proves to be little more than a trick, and he staggers back up to his feet, drawing a heavy baton from his side.
Fayad's eyes flash with the light of the beam directed at him, but his conviction in the competence of his comrades is such that he is going to get absolutely fucking nailed without even trying to dodge if no one manages to save him from the beam. He'd rather do that than start over with this ritual...
Brian shoots a kick up into the guard's groin while he's distracted looking at the illusion. His armor might take the brunt of it, but it's probably still going to hurt. He then draws his own sword, having long since realized that these guards won't be as easy to neutralize as he'd expected them to be.
Promise threats all you will. Lilah will buy a new rifle! It's not like she can use it in close quarters anyway. And so, as the security guard is driven off of Brian by the illusionary appearance of another man, she turns, letting fire once more fly from her hand, this time lighting up the baton in an attempt to make wielding it impractical, for a moment or two. Whatever the result of that, the redhead thrusts her rifle between Brian and the guard, using the damaged weapon like a baseball bat in another attempt to fend off the guard, while Brian catches his breath. At the sight of his sword, however, she grimaces faintly, retreating and shifting herself out of the way of any potential mis-swings.
Right in the nuts! How rude! What dirty fighting! But, when your life is literally on the line, rules are for suckers. The kick to the nads has the expected outcome as the guard gasps out in a high-pitched tone, nearly dropping his baton as he staggers back and away from Brian. That 'nearly' turns into a 'does' as the weapon suddenly flashes red-white hot in his grip, and he's forced to toss it away following Lilah's magics. It takes a few layers of skin with it. Being armed does make his less dangerous, but not quite harmless, and with a growl he just bodily charges at Lilah, intending to crash-tackle into the pregnant woman despite the threat of Brian's sword!
Apparently Lepia is the one that is going to take the shot for Fayad. Team-player as she is, she charges in the space between the guard and the blast, throwing her body to take it and prevent the much more experienced Arcanist from taking the brunt of it.
Alas, to the man's dismay, he seems to not be aware at just how sharp the blade is, it does not crash, it slices into the bone, but not all the way through, that is until the man starts to come closer and Ritsuka readjusts the grip somewhat, so that the blade is pushed back along. "I am going to kill you cheap Chinese scum. Take your cheap pathetic goods and go and die." She tells the man with, for non Japanese speaker, very uncertain words. She still steps back, and with the manipulation of the blade, and forcing her opponent to levy it to how she usually prefers to fight, she angles the blade and attempts to slice across to gut the man and allow for intestines to start to spill.
It's almost instantaneous. Lilah has been practicing. As the guard comes for her, one moment there's a young woman with the uncomfortable body and questionable balance of anyone seven months into pregnancy, and the next there's a deer, planted firmly into the rooftop, with her legs spread and head lowered. Intent to use the man's momentum against himself as he plans to crash into her, she tries to leverage her head into his midsection. Her intent is to knock him back, but as we all know, for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction - can she hold her ground? Which of them will be thrown backwards?
It's almost slow motion for Fayad no doubt, as he continues to press his considerable arcane powers into the ritual, while staring at the flashing light of his likely death approaching toward him. What thoughts run through his head? What are his last words? Does he recall the good times? His family? Or is it his regrets that haunt him in this moment? The foes left unkilled, the friends left dead, and the lovers left lost in his wake? Thankfully for the man, there is salvation from what would've been an explosion of magical energies. Salvation in the form of a woman.
It's that this blast of energy is not child's play, but that doesn't prevent Lepia from rushing in and diving in front of the attack. It crashes into her torso, knocking the breath from her lungs, and stopping her heart for a single moment or two there, before she goes flying back and tumbles down onto the flooring of the roof - smoldering with heat, and energy, but alive. There may be a broken rib or two, but she'd managed to save Fayad's life in the process, and prevent the ritual from being interrupted.
Brian uses the distraction of the sudden appearance of a deer to swing his sword, turned to the flat, into the guard's knee as he tries to run past. There's a crunching sound, but whether it's a bone breaking, or just the crunch of steel hitting the man's armor, who can say?
Lepia flops over, giving a groan, staying down for the time being and occupying her time with sizzling and recuperating.
Fayad recognizes this and grimaces, but he manages to shove enough power in to finally break the Vetr COrp ward, silencing this building and cutting it off from the outside world, hopefully. The powdered silver swirls and becomes a dome over the building, shimmering faintly in the dim light. "Lepia," he murmurs, concerned, glancing over to ensure she was, well, alive...
Reinforced bones do a lot when it comes to being cut, and sliced by blades, though the sharpness of Ritsuka's weapon cannot be denied. There's a low, guttural curse from the officer as he fails to end the threat of Fayad, and just ends up blasting poor Lepia briefly into moth heaven instead. When the kitsune-masked woman begins to speak in Japanese there's another chuffing huff from the man, who then goes on to call her a variety of terrible slurs in Chinese that won't be repeated here. But poor Ritsuka definitely had to hear them. Perhaps that makes her feel all the better about sticking him with her blade, as it cuts into his guts, avoiding any of his reinforced bones in the process and sending him staggering to the side, trying to push his insides back where they belong.
All the while his compatriot goes sailing up through the air, kicked by the powerful legs of the creature that Lilah had just transformed into, and landing heavily. He crashes his head against the ground, and his brain rattles about his reinforced skull, brusing and concussing himself as he near immediately slips into semi-unconsciousness. An act that is helped along by the crunch of Brian's weapon crashing into his knee, and causing him to near overdose on pain itself.
The magics that Fayad had been working on come to completition with a crash, and a screach, like the tearing of metal, and the wards placed upon the building begin to fail as it is effectively cut off from the outside world and isolated. The security cameras dotted around the rooftop all whirl, and fall still, remaining knocked out until the backup generators eventually come online.
There's definitely a moment where Lilah can be seen to be prancing. She's much sleeker and more svelte in this form, this far along in her pregnancy, and though her sides do swell with the little fawn contained within, it's not nearly as bad. So she prances, then steps delicately over to the half-conscious fellow, and just for good measure, rears up on her hind legs, to bring those forehooves crashing down on his face. Clearly, she doesn't expect to do anything close to causing fatalities, but she doesn't stay long enough to see the results. Instead, as her nose flares at the scent of blood, and the hair along the nape of her neck starts to rise with anxiety, she lopes off to find her clothes and resurface as a woman, naked for the time it takes her to pull on her clothes again.
Lepia starts to try to haul herself up onto her hands and knees, the scent of burned clothes and flesh coming from the blast that she intercepted from hitting Fayad. He better be grateful. "Are... Are they done?"
Fayad says "I think so. You did wonderfully. Thank you all. Now we go to floor 101 and we take the blackmail, whatever form it's in. If there's computers, we take every hard drive."
Fayad leans down and extends his hand to Lepia, offering assistance in rising.
Brian says over their radio, "Ritsuka, Lepi's hit." since he knows that Ritsuka has more medical training than he does. He looks around to make sure there are no more immediate threats, then checks to make sure no one else is down, before collecting his taser and checking to make sure it still works. After that, he will check over the guards, looking for key cards, or just keys.
Ritsuka looks to the man, from behind her mask. There is some guilt that flashes over her eyes, sadness, at least in one moment, and then she goes to attempt to end the man's life in the quickest way that she may: through a cut past the man's neck, piercing as much into it as one may. Her eyes, too, flash golden for the briefest moment, and the crystals of her hair sticks begin to glow for a moment, though nothing happens following that at this moment. "Now comes the long rest. Your living heart is soon still. It beats still with mine." She mentions, quietly, perhaps so much so that it is unheard. And then she reaches around, retrieves white cloth and wipes over the blade, and over the little knick that reinforced bone has created in it. Then Brian mentions someone and she sheathes the blade again and turns around to hurry over to Lepia.
There's a pretty grotesque sound as Lilah slams her forehooves down upon the nearly unconscious man's head. His flesh is mashed, and torn beneath her sharp, hard hooves, and he quickly slips into unconsciousness while oozing blood from his various wounds, and saliva from his half-broken jaw. He'll live, but he'll likely wake up with a terrible headache. His compariot does not fare so well, if this can be considered well at all. There's guilt and sadness in the masked woman's eyes, and fear and surprise in that of the man she murders. Blood sprays from the cut in his neck as he gurgles and rasps out a death knell, still trying to hold his guts inside of himself with one hand, while the only vainly tries to stem the bloodflow from his neck. It doesn't last long, and soon enough he's collapsed lifelessly to the ground, unconscious, bleeding out, and soon to be dead.
Lepia, on the other hand, is definitely still alive, though she's taken quite the beating. It might take her some small time to catch her breath, as she's been winded rather severely, and most likely suffering from bruising, and cracked ribs. It was a hell of a blow, but it would've been so much worse if it had hit Fayad, and triggered his then unfinalized magics.
Brian is able to rumage through their pockets and persons without resistance, with one man dead, and the other dead to the world, he's able to collect some ID cards, and even a little loose change. Score one for looting. Unfortunately, it's chinese money, and thus communist, and it might just burn his American hands to handle it. We shall see.
Beneath them, in the machinery of the roof, there is a loud clunk sound. The initial signs of the backup power and generators starting to whirl into life.
The woman that the deer becomes looks down at hands that are splattered with blood, and over at the man her deer-self had so viciously pummeled. Noting that he's breathing, Lilah steadies herself, though a look at the other guard sees her paling once more. Her hands wrap around her stomach in a gesture that's not at all hard to read; she's distressed. That distress grows at the sight of Lepia, and she says, quietly, "Should we path her out of here? I don't want to risk her dying..." Her wide eyes tip to Lepia, at the offer to get her to safety. It's her call, after all, she's the hero of the moment.
"We are going to need to stabilize it, please try to not do anything too extraneous, and when we are back somewhere safe, we are going to need to put up a casing..." Ritsuka quietly tells to Lepia, pursing her lips under the mask. She looks back to Lilah on the suggestion and then looks to Lepia. "What do you want to do? There is always risks."
Fayad looks around the rooftop for an entry down below. Gotta be stairs. "No time. Come on.", he mutters. "We have to get to floor 101 before their own arcanists see exactly what's going on and counterspell us." If Lepia can't rise, Fayad seems intent on simply leaving her to lay on the roof. "We'll come back up and get her if she can't keep up. I need you."
"If you can just get me to be fine enough to keep going for a bit, that's fine. Otherwise, leave me on the roof, yes." Lepia nods to Ritsuka, and then to Fayad.
"I can't make pain go away, but I can increase your body's defenses against further attack," Lilah offers to Lepia, quite seriously. "You'll still need to be careful, but if Ritz can give you a painkiller that won't affect your mind or make you tired... give me five minutes, and I can have your defenses raised." She looks over to the Japanese girl with a look that reads sympathy and understanding.
Ritsuka grabs a roll of bandages from her satchel. It is very- on the spot. Not perfect. There is also some metal sticks that come underneath, but it is quick enough wrapped around Lepia, taking perhaps thirty to forty seconds. It should survive some stuff, but evidently not too much. Lack of training for combat related medicine, so this is improvised, the best she can offer as a makeshift casing.
Brian passes some ibuprofen to Ritsuka. "It was left from what you gave me. Best I've got apart from bandages."
Ritsuka offers Brian's pill on over right to Lepia, after unpackaging it and making sure the pill's wrapping stays with her.
Fayad is right, which is a rare thing, really, they do not have time. Lepia's injuries yearn for the time to treat them properly, but so far as those gathered can tell, there doesn't appear to be any significant internal bleeding, or fatal wounds. She will hurt, and she will suffer, but she will live. Unlike the dead man left behind by these Disruptive disrupting sorts. It's a real now or never situation, they either enter the building before those cameras and security powers up once more, or they miss their opportunity.
Lilah hisses out a frustrated breath. "It's -just- five freaking minutes," she snaps, but with Fayad pushing, she just shakes her head and gives Lepia an apologetic look. "If we get half a moment in there, I'm casting it," she promises the illusionist quietly. "It'll help." But then she turns from the girl to look at the others, lifting her hands as if to say, 'Okay, okay.'
Lepia takes the painkillers, the bandaging, and whatever else is given to her in her pain-induced desire to just make that... Stop. "Let's go, I will go until I can't. I promise you that." She gets to her feet, and with the improvised casing and the ibuprofen, she was at least good enough to keep up.
Ritsuka slides away from Lepia again. What was provided is provided, more she cannot do. The painkiller should work well enough. She does not really elaborate to anyone about it, but they are imprinted to help. Double down for the painkiller, making be less necessary and make fewer people overdose to get rid of pain. Her hand reaches back to the hilt of the blade. She gestures to Fayad and her masked gaze makes a nod to him. It's time to go on and go.
Brian nods, and positions himself near Lepi as they start to move. If the woman needs further help, he's there, and he will do his best to protect her if they run into anymore trouble.
The neon initial of Vetr Corp, VC, looms above the assembled group as they make their decision. To soldier onwards, and see this task complete. The blackmail remains inside the building, and the sounds of generators starting to power and whirl, and gurgle into action can be heard all around them. As such, they have little time to waste as they dart towards the door leading inside of the building, using the keycard felched by Brian to open it, and slip inside to a short squared-off staircase that leads into a maintence room. There's the hum of machines once more, and on the distant side of this space an elevator door. There is a support workstation built into the wall itself in here as well, and a small air-vent lingers near the roof. There are options, it seems.
Fayad says "Can't use the elevator, power's not on, and we don't want it to be."
Fayad glances around the room for, maybe, backup generators. He could turn them off or sabotage them somehow.
There are no backup generators in the room, though the console built into the wall is itself powered, suggesting that despite the power remaining down there is still some core circuit in the building that remains live. What could be more important than the power to the lights, elevators and the security feeds?
Fayad says "...hm. "
Fayad approaches and checks out the main console, frowning.
"I would have little trouble making my way through the vent. But we should probably not split up. So what is the plan after the consoles?" Ritsuka quietly asks, looking between everyone. Her blade is lowered but she draws near to Lilah, a touch protective.
Apparently without a clue as to what to do in this space, in this room, Lilah stays back. But beneath her breath, she begins to hum softly, a lilting sound, a haunting almost-lullabye. And on the palm of her hand, she starts to trace little figures in flames that dance across her skin, warping from one runic shape to the next, while she watches Lepia. "Can't make it through a vent," she warns the group, mildly, without looking up, though Ritsuka's presence draws a smile.
Brian sticks near Lepi, head on a swivel. When he hears Lilah, he chuckles, and says, "Yeah, me neither. My vent crawling days ended about twenty or thirty pounds ago, unless it's a big vent."
While the station is locked, and most of it's functionality is therefore unable to be tweaked, or modified, there is indeed some information that can be gleaned from it. Though, unfortunately, it's largely written in Chinese. There are enough context clues that with a little effort the group members may be able to puzzle out what some of the information on the screens mean. There's various status updates on the systems in the building, though one stands out in particular. Oxygen levels. Air quality levels. Humidity levels. Whatever this is regarding? It is both located on level 101, and prioritized over nearly every other system in the building.
Fayad attempts to figure out how to fuck it up and sabotage it, but he's pretty useless with computers and it shows. He repeatedly turns the screen saver on and off.
Ritsuka glances over to Fayad's work. Her eyes do look over the Chinese, trying to see if there is similarities to kanji, assuming it is traditional Chinese and not simplified, and that is also assuming she does not run into a word where the two similar symbols have entirely different meanings without being able to find the clue to what it means contextually.
Eventually the workstation locks up, freezes, begins to artifact and screen-tear and then ultimately blue screens. Whatever it was monitoring from this place is now not monitored - at least not in this room. Some other information that can be gleaned is that they are currently on the roof (duh), but this is also considered the 104th floor. While the elevators may not be working, and the vent is too large for most of their team, perhaps there are other methods of ingress they could employ.
Fayad says "Ugh, whatever this is it's not working anymore. We need to get three floors down..."
A huff of annoyance is mostly all that comes from Lepia, eyes looking around the area as they try to figure out a way down. "Are there stairs?"
"We could try the elevator shaft..." Ritsuka quietly points out.
There's certainly no stairs readily apparent, either they don't exist, or they aren't in view, or easy to find. Now, the shaft, on the other hand? The only thing between the group and working their way up and down the building's shaft is a pair of elevator doors. Doors that are famously known to open.
Brian pulls out his pocket tool and uses the knife blade to try to pry the elevator doors open. Once he gets enough space for fingers to fit in, between them they should be able to apply enough strength to open the doors fully.
"I uhh... I'm in no shape to be climbing something like that either," Lilah warns, though she looks as if she might well be ready to just admit that she's really in no shape to be doing missions like this, promises or no. Finishing off her ritual, as the group discusses, she blows across the last little runic flame, sending sparks towards Lepia. "That should help, if you're careful," she says softly to the woman, before grimacing as Brian tries to pull the shaft open. "I... think I'd better head back to town. You guys be... be safe, okay?"
Brian nods. "You too, Lilah."
"I should be able to carry you, Lilah, if we are very very careful," Ritsuka offers to the other woman as she moves closer to Brian to help with the door, in this by strength. Though she does take a moment to take some plastic gloves for her hands first, best to not leave any fingerprints.
Poor Lilah, that's rough. Still, she came, and saw, and helped conquer a number of the obstacles between the group and their goals. Climbing down elevator shafts may just be a step too far for a woman in her condition though. The doors are easily parted by Brian and his pocket tools, clearly the security of these particular elevator doors was not a large concern to the people who own this building.
Fayad prepares himself to head down three floors via Elevator Shaft. Hopefully there's like, a maintenance ladder or something.
Lepia is liable to do her last if she continues much longer herself, but she wishes to prove herself to the Disruptors as being the most.... Disruptive, perhaps? Although she winces with every step, she keeps up with Fayad, Ritsuka, and Brian.
There is, fortunately, a maintenance ladder inside of the shaft. It's a somewhat rickity thing, likely given the more lax safety requirements of a workspace often filled with supernaturally gifted peoples. Those who can fly, or float, or just jump their way around with far less concerns. The door to the 101st floor, however, in stark comparison to the one that Brian had just finangled open is reinforced, and looks like it might take significantly more effort to open through mundane means.
Ritsuka looks back to Lilah "Are you sure you want to go back or do we carefully try, Lilah?"
Another clunk echoes through the space, and the emergency lights within the elevator shaft start to light up, one by one, spiralling up the length of the void until it's lit by the orange-glow of illumination. Another backup system has come online, it seems.
"It'd be easier to hold onto the ladder than to hold onto you holding onto the ladder," Lilah admits to Ritsuka, slowly rubbing one hand over her belly and staring at the shaft and that rickety ladder with uncertainty. "Alright... I'll try." It's not like she's being brow-beaten into it, but she certainly doesn't look like she's confident in her decision. "If it gets any weirder or more dangerous though I'll... have to go."
"Fuck", Fayad hisses as he clambers down, headed down to the reinforced door at floor 101. He takes his pendant in hand and begins to heat and warp the metal, hoping that the expanding material will open up some cracks, somehow.
The hiss of burning, twisting metal fills the space, along with the fumes from Fayad's attempt. His magic is strong, but it isn't enough, and it's clear that he's going to need some help with this. Even if they do manage to warp the metal enough to loosen it? It may still need to be pulled, and drawn open.
Help with fire, Lilah can do. Perhaps it's the wrong decision, but she turns her focus onto the door with Fayad, using much the same power as he is, to try and heat the door further. "Do you have water and ice too, Fayad?" she asks, while focusing on heat, for the moment. "If we shock it with temperature, we might make it brittle enough to just -break- open." But she clearly hasn't got that to offer.
Ritsuka makes a nod to Lilah and to Lilah's fortune, she is actually five inches shorter. "Okay, Lilah, hold on to both the ladder and my waist. We will be close to another. And we will be a little slower. I will keep holding on to you, so my hand will only ever slide along as we climb down, and the hand you have on the ladder is similar. You are about half the weight of what I can lift, maybe a little bit more, slightly. But not by much, so we should not have any troubles." She explains to Lilah. And so, while in the shaft, she focuses on making sure Lilah is fine and stable.
Fayad says "I don't."
Lepia lingers near the top of the shaft; she almost certainly couldn't help with getting the door open with her magic, and she was also injured, to boot. But, if things start to bother them from within...
"Of course Emmanuel's not here when one of his damn bombs might be useful," Lilah grouses, clearly still sore about that particular matter!
With Lilah supported by Ritsuka, and her own magics mixing with Fayad's against the door, it starts to flex, and fail, and bend outwards. Then, because things can never just go right, there's a quiet hum at the base of the shaft. Like a bee, or two, or a dozen. It slowly starts to build, growing louder, and louder yet as the door continues to fail.
looks down. "Shit. The car is on its way up." Brian says. "I know you're trying hard, but do it faster?"
Brian looks down. "Shit. The car is on its way up." Brian says. "I know you're trying hard, but do it faster?"
Lilah really can't add much more effort than she's already doing, but she does have the foresight, from where she clings to Ritsuka and the ladder to call, "Fayad, get back. Move up. The door's going to fall into the shaft! I don't want you to get knocked down with it!"
Fayad winces and does his best to climb up a level or so. "But what about you?", he mutters.
Lilah is higher up the ladder still!
"Why should that be a problem, Brian? The ladders are usually not directly at the elevator. But Chinese might be too cheap to do it right." Ritsuka looks down and then to Lilah "Shall we go up fully, Lilah?"
Can Lilah see the future? Perhaps, because exactly what she had been warning Fayad of starts to occur. One of the elevator doors flexes suddenly, popping right on out of it's track and jerking out and into the shaft. It does it's level best to collect Fayad with it before tumbling down, down, down the shaft, eventually crashing against the rising elevator car. They've got some small time now to get inside before the car catches up! If that is indeed what the cause of the sound is.
Fayad attempts to alley-oop his way into floor 101.
"No, let's go in. Fayad probably needs someone at his back," Lilah says to Ritsuka, gingerly starting the climb down. She's careful, but does try to move as fast as her body will let her, with the Japanese girl offering support on the way in.
Brian brings up the rear as they make their way onto 101.
Ritsuka nods her head, and she for her own does not struggle too much as she guides Lilah along, but she is noticeably more attentive towards making sure Lilah is fine over her own well-being in this brief trip down the ladders.
The team manage to make their way inside the secured floor, 101, without losing anyone to the shaft. This is fortunate, no doubt. There's a distinctly different feel in this area, it's stark, and clinical. Sterile in nature. There is a constant hum of machinery, and the lights are all on. Not emergency lights. Normal ones. This floor is considered important enough that it's powered state was made a priority. A corridor leads onwards toward another sealed door, though the lights about the top of it suggest that it's security has someone become disabled, perhaps due to the magics that Fayad had cast earlier. That must be it, their goal. The controlled environment where the blackmail awaits.
Fayad gestures with his hands, indicating that Brian and Ritsuka should go first. "Supernaturals first, let's see what we're dealing with. Get us through that door and hopefully we can break it and leave./"
Lilah blinks a few times at Fayad's decision, but frankly she's more than happy to bring up the rear with Lepia. Already, the clinical nature of the place has her looking nervous, bordering on terrified, but she walks with the others, whispering softly, "We need to hurry... if that was the elevator and they see the doors here... it'll be bad. "
steps back out of the way. "I'm a natural. Just trained." Brian says with a grin.
Ritsuka gives Fayad a confused look, where her gaze briefly turns to Brian. Her brows raise, and she only shakes her head to Brian. It wasn't worth correcting the assumption. Still, she has to redraw her blade, and considering she did not bring a ranged option, this may as well just be for the best. She holds the blade in front of herself, both hands on the hilt, and then, with steady steps, starts to make her way forward. "Brian, cover me, please?"
Fayad says "Well, shit. Good for you then."
Brian nods and steps up behind her, and raises his rifle, covering the area behind the door once it is open.
It takes some small effort, even with the security unlocked, as Ritsuka manages to slowly, but surely, slide the door open. There's a grinding sound as she does so, and she's showered with some debris. Shards and flecks of a mineral or something, on further inspection? It's quartz.
Quartz. A secured room with atmosphere control. Oxygen levels monitored. Life systems, effectively.
The pieces may very well start to fall into place as the blackmail that had been stolen away from the Qlng company comes into view, though somewhat obscured by Ritsuka's form. The room beyond? It is a nursery. A child's room. It's colours, and warmth stand in stark contrast to the clinical nature of the rest of this area, and sitting in the middle of it, is the blackmail. A person. A child. A child with strange, ceramic like flesh, and elongated canines. A child with horns that burst forth from the flesh of their forehead, and curve upwards toward the ceiling. A child with a long, thin tail extended from their lowerback. An honest to god, demi-demon. A force of corruption, and evil, and it's a child too.
They're young, but not so young that they can't speak, or walk. They turn towards the instruders, studying them with red-flecked eyes filled with an intelligence far beyond that of their physical form. It's harder to tell their age with their inhuman features, but a good guess would set them at around six or seven.
Brian manages not to open fire when he sees what is in the room, but for a split-second he wants to, and that is enough to make him lower his rifle and takes a few steps back.
"Oh... no. You're just a child," Lilah whispers, her voice wracked with both horror and twisted affection. "You're just a child and you're -all- alone." She seems to forget everything about why they're here and what their purpose is. Even some of the people that she's close to, and their perspectives on such beings. "It doesn't matter how tough your skin is, little one. You still need love." Of course, if the little creature is Chinese, it may not understand a word she coos at it, though it's clear enough from tone and body language that the soon-to-be mother is filled with concern, worry, and even fear for the little one's safety... no matter what it'll be eventually. No matter what she's been through with someone of significantly less power than this child.
Fayad says "Oh, fuck."
Fayad's eyes are wide, and he evidently seems to be in a bit of panic on what to do here. Give the kid to the company that sent them? Is that what they want? What would be done with this child later? He doesn't know what to do. So the default is to 'do the job'. "We can't stay here. Open the Path," he commands. "Get it out of the quartz so we can bring it through the Path.", he states, using 'it' rather tellingly. "To the rendevouz point with the Chinese."
Brian turns back in the direction of the elevator, in case anyone should come up behind them.
Lepia still remains hunched at the top of the elevator, giving Brian a wave from up there, keeping an eye out from a corner near the top.
Ritsuka shrugs her shoulders, and she does come to sheathe her own blade. She holds out a hand to the demi-demon. "I know this room is unpleasant to you. Let's keep it simple, make it easy for us, we make it easy for you. I will build the path."
"Wait," Lilah says, looking at the others. "We don't know that the group that wants this child is any more likely to treat them well. I won't be a part of kidnapping a child from one set of kidnappers just to hand them over to another set." Her eyes never leave the young demon. "Where are your parents? Your family?" she asks, seriously, crouching down despite the way it leaves her body at risk if the child were to decide to leap into violence. "Where do -you- want to be?" Of course, she's one person, weak, off-balance, and pregnant. The others could very easily work around her if they felt it was necessary.
That's the rub of it here, isn't it? There's a sort of pity that might be extended to a creature such as this, a supernatural being that actually doesn't have any choice on whether or not to embrace the corruption, and give it. The choice was made for it by it's very biology, before it was even born. This is a monster. There is no doubt about this. It will grow into a monster, and many will suffer as a result - but is that reason enough to do something about, or to this child? Are the crimes of the future enough to judge the present?
"You've come to take me home?" The child wonders of the others, canting their head ever so slightly to the side as they study them with those strangely intelligent eyes, "Home to mother, and father. Away from this place." They push up to their feet, and wander closer to the barrier of quartz that seperates them from the others.
What then, do these collective do?
There are options, of course. They could rescue the child, and take them to their parents. The Qlng Innovations company would then throw their support behind the Disruptors, making it easier for them to fight against Dominus by denying him this foothold - though likely dooming many others to death, and suffering in the future.
They could leave the child, to be held and used by Vetr Corp, though this doesn't help anyone.
They could end the threat that this child presents. Here and now. It would cost them their relationship with Qlng, no doubt, but it would prevent any potential evil that this demi-demon would commit in the future.
"Yes. We'll take you home to your mom and dad," Lilah says from where she's crouched, once the child makes that clear to her. She holds out her hands to the child, her own decision made, though as stated earlier, she could easily be outnumbered. Still, there's a defiance in her, whatever the pros and cons, she's not going let this child be hurt without a fight, if that's what the others choose.
Fayad quietly chimes in, "How the hell does it have a mother *and* a father?", finding a flaw in reality there. No demon escapes Hell. Period. "Who are your parents?", he asks the demidemon.
Brian doesn't take his eyes off where he's covering, but says, "Ritsuka, I came to get your back."
Lilah arches an eyebrow at Fayad's question. "Every child has two parents," she states simply, and quietly. "Children like this are almost never birthed of demon-kind. Rituals, sacrifices, and pacts."
"Yeah, we are, today." Ritsuka supposed to the demidemon. Her own expression is more matter of factly by now. She does not get into the whole conversation behind her, it's emotion, potentially anger, there is no need to feed this monster. They just got to handle something, the world will continue to tick and a child like this won't make a difference to it. "So let's take you to your parents?"
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It seems like the group is largely choosing to do, if the do in this case is rescuing the demi-demon child. They wander closer toward them, their eyes shifting down to peer at Lilah's belly, "Kin." They note quietly, sagely so, adding, "If they make it to term. Which they won't." It's delivered matter-of-factly, before they raise their hands up, effectively asking for uppies to cross the barrier of quartz. "Take me home. Take me home to mama and papa."
Brian frowns as he hears the little monster speak of Lilah's child in so cold and matter-of-fact a way. He grits his teeth, but remains focused on covering the rear, and keeps quiet.
"She will. I'd die to keep her alive," Lilah counters the child, but with all that maternal instinct she fights but is taking over, she bends to scoop up the child shifting her body so that it sits on one hip, though probably a little big for such things. It is a quartz barrier, after all. "My name's Lilah. What's yours?" she wonders, as she turns to walk out, carrying the little one. "We need to get on the path quickly," she says to the others. "Ritz, are you calling it?"
Ritsuka draws the smaller blade and draws it over her palm again, as the beads of blood begin to form into the floating blue light. The pain that comes for it is non-existent, and she sheathes the blade before she starts to look focused. "Hai, should not take me long. If everyone could come closer and touch my hand?" She asks, holding out a hand.
Brian waves Lepia forward. "Time to go, Lepi." Then he turns and touches Ritsuka's hand.
"Uppies." The demi-demon blurts out, actually sound like a child as they're scooped up and freed from their prisoner by Lilah, easily sliding against her hip and wrapping their spinedly, strangely rough fingers around her. There's an immediate, and rough response to the closeness of this monster. As it begins to sup on Lilah's very lifeforce, whether intentional or not, "I am the Saviour. This is my name." They informs the others, staring at each of them in turn, "Food." They name Brian, "Pet," The name is given to Ritsuka, "Cripple." Fayad gets this, and when the child gets to Lepia it just pauses, and cants it's head to the side, studying her. She does not get a name.
Fayad approaches Ritsuka and touches her hand, frowning. He can't particularly deny the demon, but he does his best to ignore it.
Lepia cants her head right on back when the demi-demon refuses to give her a name, before saying, "Fine. I will say one. Lepia." Her hand reaches out and she touches Ritsuka's hand, though withered a bit in the face of the demonchild.
Ritsuka almost laughs, but she draws to keep to her focus. The floating lights change in their coloring, turning to a purple, some greens, some lighter blues, but then to oranges and then, eventually to gold. And then, they are in the all too familiar forest. Branches like that of skeletal fingers that rise to the sky, beyond the mist. And she leads the way forward, to the agreed on contact point.
That's okay! Lilah didn't get a name either. Still, name or no name, she seems content to tug along this little monster, almost seeming to find some sort of... not amusement, but understanding for its nature. She has been through and around a lot of such casual callousness, obviously, and to make it all the more tolerable, this is a child. "Be gentle if you can, Saviour," she says as she feels that slow leeching start. "Give your kin a chance, mm?" Of course, it would take a lot more time than what she plans to spend with this child to do any real harm to either her, or her babe, through the drain of life force. "This is Brian, Ritsuka, Fayad..." she introduces, though Lepia gets to name herself. The redhead steps forward, though she can't release either of her arms from around the child to hold Ritsuka's hand. She settles for simply pressing in against the Japanese woman's side. "Lepia likes moths, a lot."
With Ritsuka using her powers to drag their collective group out of the secured floor, and into the Forest Between Places, they've managed to succeed - having broken into the Vetr Corp building, and stolen away the blackmail, which just so happens to be a demi-demon child. This child, Saviour, stares at Lepia, and shakes their head at the name she offers. That isn't what he sees. She is, to him, beyond that name. Beyond that concept. But what the child sees of her will have to wait for another time, perhaps.
Now, there is the final decision to be made before this adventure comes to it's natural conclusion, do they return the child to their parents, to Qlng Innovations?
Fayad certainly seems to grit his teeth and be willing to do so, at least.
Brian will not face the creature, and remains quiet. He's here for his friend, and will follow her lead, even if he doesn't want to.
Lilah is very seriously intent on bringing this little one, this absolute baby no matter how dangerous it already is, home to its parents though truth be told it can probably get itself home, now that it's free of that energy-sapping quartz.
Ritsuka certainly tells the group. "Stay close to me. Do not wander off. You will never return." And then it is the way ahead, and while she makes her way to return the child to the parents, once she is on the other end, and steps out of the forest, she does not follow in for the return of the child, just plain leaving it to the disruptors.
Brian follows Ritsuka, stowing his weapons and armor into a rucksack once they're safely back in Haven.
// Lilah is so sorry but really is struggling to stay up any later.
Thus, it seems, that the child is handed off to Qlng Innovations - Those gathered have managed to avoid bloodying their hands with the sin of filicide, but as a result? They've allowed a monster to go free, and return to their people. They did the moral thing, but did they do the right thing?
With the support of their new allies the Disruptors are able to fend off some of Vetr's control of the Beijing financial district, and as such, they succeed.