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[Zachariel Steelblood]

As they emerged from the side alley directly before their target, Zachariel idly noted their destination. It seemed to be the large villa, indicating that their target was royalty, or at least of some noble standing. As he noted this, he also took note of the guards surrounding the Winged Fool, the eight regular ones, along with the ninth specialist. In particular, Zachariel's eyes fell on the pistol on the mans hip. This might be the only weapon that could truly harm him, even if he'd just regenerate from the wound after a small amount of time. However, he had little time or patience to banter words with middle men, though he was grateful to finally have a name for the Winged Fool. Aravae. After a moment of staring deeply into the mans very soul, Zachariel responded, his voice calm, even cheerful.
"Nay Watchman, I justify and give credence to your good organization. The time long foretold has come, rejoice Watchman for you are part of history this day!"

Of course this was a false front, as Zachariel had little care for such middle men and mere guards. Nevertheless, it would play into their believes a bit, and perhaps get them to eventually work for, or at least with, him. As it was, none aside from perhaps Titus would see it as a false front. Speaking of said man, it seemed he wanted to keep his distance. Zachariel suspected why that was. Luckily enough for Titus, he had little interest in shedding the blood of these people. They were still of use to him, meaning he would play nice. For now. Sneering slightly, Zachariel turned his attention fully to Aravae. As he spoke, he pointed one armored finger directly at her, even as those looking at him felt as if he were grinning beneath his helmet. Zachariel's voice was the same calm, cheerful, and oh so uplifting voice. It oozed confidence in both the speaker and the directed person.

"Lady Aravae, you have been chosen to save your people and this land. Ready yourself m'lady, for the time nears when all shall become clear. Know also that you have allies from the beyond, and that we have much to discuss." As he said that, smoke began to billow out from within his cloak, slowing shrouding Zachariel. He had activated a smoke grenade, one that would dissipate after awhile, but would serve him perfectly now. As the smoke billowed upwards, cloaking him, Zachariel spoke once more. "I ask you to prepare Lady Aravae, for you are the key, and you shall ensure prosperity reigns in this land. We shall speak soon Lady Aravae, and then all shall be revealed."

And just like that the smoke completely enshrouded Zachariel. Once it dissipated a handful of seconds later, Zachariel and Titus were gone, with Zachariel having dragged Titus away once more. Sure he could have spouted the entire reason for being there to her then, but that was hardly fun, and this way it played into their beliefs and what Aravae had been doing. Not only that, but this way, all who had heard would believe some sort of prophecy was close at hand, one that woul dhave Aravae help them, meaning they'd have more support. Following that, if there were any who were listening in that weren't of the savory sort, they wouldn't know fully what was being discussed. However, Aravae, and perhaps Westenra, would know at the very least part of what was going on, and knew they'd find out more soon. As such, he explained this hastily to Titus as they vanished down another alley, or ten.

Zachariel was heading to the villa, already formulating a plan on how to sneak in, though he did mention it to Titus, asking him on what he believed the best way in was, sneakily of course. Hopefully the Winged Fool and her entourage believed him, even if only to a small extent. Any of the populace that had seen this no doubt believed part of it, meaning Zachariel would have more willing recruits soon. As it was, Zachariel would have to return to them later, for now though, he'd let their beliefs take hold, hopefully aiding him. At the same time, Titus and himself needed to make it into the villa and somewhere they could easily 'run into' Lady Aravae, and hopefully all in a timely manner.


Xzeench | Westenra Mina | Drifter

OOC- heh, went with spooky instead of straight forward, couldn't resist, sorry!

 

[Xzeench]

Zachariel Steelblood
Westenra Mina

(1:14)

​

As the large warlord spoke, his eyes glowing past the eye pieces in a sort of daemonic glow. Did Aravae suddenly realize what was going on. There was something far deeper than meets the eye was going on. She not only was different than everyone else, but now. Somehow, there was a strange sort of prophecy. That she would somehow help the vanishings stop.

Sadly.

The people around her were suddenly beset with religious connotations, and fear as the man in red spoke. The fires of hell literally glowing beneath the helmet. They quickly looked at Aravae, with at least one passerby shouting at her without any fear.

"Daemon!"
"Witch!"
"Traitor!"

These weren't appealing to the sudden shift in the attitude of those outside of the Guard Circle. Infact, they formed a circle around Westenra and Aravae, pushing back angry and fearful citizens who are wrongly afraid. They had the intentions of lynching her right then and there. The presence of the Daemonic Warrior, seemed to only exacerbate this problem until he, suddenly vanished up in smoke. Leaving Aravae, Westenra and their contingent of Watch Officers to deal with the angry mob who Zachariel in his way to appeal to common beliefs. Ended up causing a massive issue, not only for Aravae, but the City too.

The Guardsmen quickly surrounded Aravae and her prisoner. Drawing their swords, Pistols, and brandishing their pole weapons as the crowd suddenly encroached inward. Attempting to pull Aravae from the safety of her guardsmen. Other individuals, went to fighting the Guards with the weapons they had on hand. Knives, Messers, Baking Paddles, even sledgehammers. They had all been roused by a fury, not unlike that of soldiers in the battlefield.

The Guardsmen surrounding Aravae, and Westenra promptly went to work of dispatching of the more unruly rioters. A skewer with a Halberd here, A sudden arm lopped off by a two handed-greatsword there. Very quickly, things went from bad to worse as the peasants suddenly turned on the guardsmen. A primal fury visible in their eyes, the work of some outside influence to be sure. An extremely powerful force user. Was the likely thing in this situation. A sudden eruption of pistol fire, from the guardsmen deafened those nearby and the shouts and clashing of steel against helmet, and steel against steel ringed true. The shouts of the Watch Officers were audible as they literally fought tooth and nail to fight their way to the Villa, where reinforcements of both the Kings Guard, and the local Dame were likely mustering as a sudden response to these riots that had just erupted.

The fight was hard, as the eight guardsmen fought against tens of the peasant-folk and burghers. Each of which overcome with some primal rage... The shouting of the Guardsmen rang true.

"Put them down!"

"Firing!"

"Clear off, You're in my line of fire!"

"For the Orrrrrrrrdeeeeeeeeeeeer!"

Then, one of the guardsmen were suddenly dragged downward, and trampled to death upon the cobbles. Another, beaten over the head with a sledgehammer that caused his helmet to dent inward like a cheap stainless bowl, sending him crashing over in a heap.... It was time to decide...

Aravae suddenly shouted to her prisoner.

"Very well! I see that we may not make it- I'll take anything I can get!"

Aravae drew her longsword, slicing the bindings with a single hand. For it would be too long to undo the knots. She then threw the Woman's sword hilt at her, indicating for her to take it up and fight alongside her. Despite the fact that Aravae did indeed have wings, she would stand and fight. For honors sake.

They were nearing the villa now, and the fighting would soon be over if they could just cross the threshold! It would take a true lordly combatant to beat their way past these peasant hordes!


z------------------------------------------

On the otherside of the sreet, Zachariel and Titus stood watching the battle suddenly start and unfold before them. Titus shook his head at Zachariel.

"You must of been wearing your helmet too tight to think that was a good idea..."

Then he saw the glowing red eyes that the Peasants all seemed to have. A sign of possession or mind-control. And his mood suddenly changed in but a moment.

"Wait... do you see their eyes- Look. Red. They are possessed... Its the Queen Mother. We have to get Lady Aravae off world, and help that other woman too. Else this place be doomed to suffer the wrath of evil..."

Then Zachariel asked him how they would even gain entry into the villa...

"Well for starters. They are on high alert, because of a sudden peasant uprising. We need to approach them coordially. And ask to meet with the Lord of the house. To get Aravae and whoever she is with off-planet as quickly as possible. I might know a place that could help us out once we get off-world. Here- Take this. This will disguise you."

​

Titus handed Zachariel a device not dissimilar to the devices used by Cad Bane during his infiltration of the Senate building. A holographic emitter that could fool almost anyone.

"This will change your form to match one of my Brothers. Sergeant Diomedes, 1st Company. It would help if you don't show your face. The people believe you to be a daemon. Simply wear it on your person and it will match the look of him perfectly. Don't lose it. Its the only one I have. Once we get Aravae, we can get off planet... I know a place in the mountains that could still have working transports from... the dark-times. Quickly, lets go."

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Xzeench | Westenra Mina | Drifter

Having vanished from the crowd, Zachariel was in the alley with Titus, having moved further in, when the peasants suddenly went mad. For a second, Zachariel simply gaped at them, not understanding why, a fact not helped by Titus speaking. When he responded, Zachariels voice was a low growl.
"I've done this countless times. They usually try to help my target or myself. This wasn't me."

It was then that Titus directed his attention to the glowing eyes, causing him to snarl in rage. Some fething chakaar had messed his entire spiel up, made him look like a fool, and worse, denied him an army. At least for the moment. Titus said it was the Queen Mother, meaning Zachariel had even more reason to kill her. Zachariel snarled once more, before responding to Titus, his voice was just as dark and daemonic as when he'd first spoken with his companion.
"I will wring her neck for this, slaughter all who follow her, and lay waste to everything she has. The wench will die. Slowly."

Slamming his fist into the nearest wall, leaving a crater and falling bricks, Zachariel let out a long string of curses, one that would make any sailor blush. Turning to Titus, Zachariel took the device and strapped it to his back, not even deigning to look at it. As he did that, his other hand drew the large sword strapped to his hip.
"I appreciate it, however it won't be of much use in a battlefield." Turning to face the main thoroughfare, Zachariel gripped his sword tighter. "I will go in and break their lines, and I'll be sure to be as indiscriminate as possible. Some will live of course, but I won't be seen as weak. At the same time, you can reach Aravae and get her to the villa. I will meet you there once I am finished with these fools. Then I'll join you inside using your cloaking device, or perhaps I won't use it. It all depends on what happens." Snarling, Zachariel gave the sword a quick spin at his side before continuing. "The people didn't believe me to be a daemon before the Queen Mother took control of them. However... I will give them a reason to think of me as a daemon, the worst daemon imaginable. And this way that worthless fool of a Queen Mother will know what is coming for her."

Once that was done, Zachariel marched towards the peasant masses, experimentally swinging his sword. Before he reached the end, Zachariel tore off the full body cloak he was wearing, simply letting it flutter to the ground in tatters. In doing so he revealed his full and horrifying form.

Spoiler

Roaring his fury to the skies, Zachariel charged into the back lines of the peasants. In doing so he bulldozed over half a dozen of them, trampling the peasants to death. In the next instant he swung and cut through a further four peasants. Continuing on, Zachariel roared his pure anger to the heavens. Each swing was without finesse, but led by a semi controlled fury. In this slaughter of the masses, Zachariel roared his challenge out to every soul in hearing distance.
"You want a daemon do you?! You want a witch, a traitor, a butcher?!?!" His voice rose in anger, finally culminating in a full blown scream of rage. "HERE I AM!! AND I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!!!"

 

[Westenra Mina]

The biot had spotted Zachariel Steelblood make his prophesy, frowning. This man, huge and imposing, nonetheless spoke in a serpent tongue, enflaming the peasantry to ferver. Now everyone else was paying for it.

She caught the Sword after Xzeench tossed to her. The Biot spun the Katana in her hand as one of the enraged peasants tried to drag another Watchmen away for death. She sighed. She hated killing. But the peasants were intent on doing the same to her and Aravae.

Yet...

The Biot was no fool. This was not her soil, not her people, and she knew anyone dead by her hand not two hours after her arrival would look bad no matter how much the peasants wanted them all dead.

She saw one enraged peasant rush at her with a scythe. She waited until the last moment before committing to the Iaijitsu technique, drawing the sword in blindingly fast motion and slicing through its shaft, before tripping her attacker up with a leg sweep and kicking him unconscious, slicing her sword tip non-fatally into shins and arms with shallow, disabling cuts, punches and kicks breaking a rib or a leg, but never a neck. She parried attacks from 007 different people, intercepting and slicing apart their torches and machetes without effort, before kicking and punching them in the face to knock them out. She didn't use full strength...someone definitely 'would' have died if she had. No, just enough to dislocate a jaw or give a concussion. So far, no one was dead by her hand, just incapacitated.

Then the big one came in, revealing his true, ugly self as he went on a killing spree. The Android was horrified. A new world full of innocent people who had almost no context for what they were seeing and the first thing he does is start taking lives. She didn't give a chit what he was here for. He wasn't getting anything save a sword to his face. Melissa grabbed a peasant and tossed him into a crowd of his own before committing to killing the huge armored warrior.

Melissa charged at him, switching on a power setting on her Katana. Its battery reserves were built to store psychic energy taken from either herself or someone else, which now manifested on the blades as writhing purple energy. The sword would be able to cut through even alchemized materials for a short time.

"NOT IF I KILL YOU WITH THIS FETHING CAN OPENER FIRST, CHITHEAD!" she shouted at him as she got in range, executing a superhumanly fast swing at his torso, attempting to disembowel him on the spot.

 

[Xzeench]

Zachariel Steelblood

(A bit of Characterization for Titus as a secondary character :] )
​

Shield Captain Titus. Once again forced to battle for his beliefs. The Man himself had stood ready for these thousands of years, but now. With his only link to escaping this planet with the Winged Fool squandered by this ruthless beast who sought to slaughter and make ruin an entire civilization. Titus knew in his bones, that this the throneworld, that he had fought long and hard to protect was now finally lost. The slaughter that the Warlord would reap would be legendary in its brutality. And he knew that there would be no Cathay to come back to. At least not now.

The stunned Shield Captain slowly rose from his hiding position overlooking the massed slaughter. He stood and spotted Aravae, standing at the center of fear and men fighting for their lives. Titus knew that she would likely be overwhelmed now that the Red Beast was loose, and her quarry free and battling against him. It would only be a matter of time before the Guardsmen fell to the overwhelming hordes of crazed cultists. He had to make a split second decision.

Secure Aravae, and make his way off the planet. Or fight his way to the Red Beast and skewer him on his blade, and die in the process. The question quickly answered itself in the Captain's mind. He quickly lept from the rooftop, toward where Aravae was standing defending herself. Crushing five mind-controlled cultists underneath his Ceramite boots. He drew his sidearm, which he had kept hidden to prevent cultural contamination. But now, there was no choice. Clutching his sword in his hand, he charged forward with his pistol raised toward those who came dangerously close to Aravae's side. He fired off rounds, large enough to sever a man in two with its sheer velocity and size. And tha the did. The rounds impacting against the boney areas of the crazed burgers and peasants. Blowing them in two, or blowing off chunks of flesh in a brutal cacophony of blood and viscera.

His charge was also peppered with attempts by the peasantry of stabbing him in his unarmored head, but with skillful strokes of his blade, turned aside their blows and hit them with ripostes of lightning fast speed and accuracy. Rending heads off shoulders, or arms from limbs. The gloves were off, and the ancient Shock Marine felt no need to commit to mercy of a people under the spell of something that he may not be able to conquer alone. As far as he knew. They were long gone.

He neared Aravae now, and crashed through the peasants mobbing the guardsmen who had just now been overwhelmed. Coming to her defense in a quick and steady motion. He shouted toward her, loud enough to be heard over the clash of battle and the eruption of gunfire from Guard Officer Pistols.

"Come! Lady Aravae! Safety is with me! Come quickly! We must go! Trust me!"

Aravae on the other hand, had quickly been knocked off her feet by one of the larger Peasant soldiers wielding a sledgehammer. She appeared to be quite fearful by the look on her face and the paltry attempts of hiding her face with her large wings, as the Peasant raised his sledgehammer high to crash it upon Aravae's unarmored head. His face full of euphoria as if he were indeed under the spell of the Great Mother.

Titus quickly, swooped in behind this miscreant, running him through from sword tip to crossguard. Its blade stained with the blood of the corrupted. He reached downward, offering a forearm to Aravae.

"Come- We need to go NOW!"

She hesitantly reached forward, as if she were confused. Were this old-man her knight in shining armor? Mayhaps. But it seemed that now she could take all the help she could get. Titus meanwhile, pulled her up to her feet with his gargantuan strength. Pulling her up and over his shoulders. As if she were but a child. Easy to say, but now. However, he thought to help at least Westenra Mina by clearing a path for her escape. Leaving Zachariel to slaughter the rest of the peasantry with minimal problems. His goal now, was to get Aravae off-world as quickly as possible.

He charged forth, toward a smaller wall of Peasants attacking from one of the emptier alleyways. He let out a battlecry of sheer rage and power. As he quite literally crashed through them like bowling pins. Sending two of them flying, while trampling the rest underfoot. Crushing them. He ran. As fast as he could down the alley. To escape.

The crashing, left a way for Westenra to escape. If only if it were a window of a few moments. The choice to run, or to fight and most certainly perish against the peasant hordes and the blood-crazed Zachariel were her choice....

(So. I've decided to give Titus a bit bigger role in Aravae's Arc. I fully intend for him to become Aravae's "Father Figure" in her story arc. Which will be coming in the following weeks!)

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Having engaged in the slaughter, Zachariel found glee slowly overtaking the rage. Unluckily enough for the peasants, his glee and rage were rather similar, in the fact that both came out in the slaughter, or when he was slighted. In this case, he was slaughtering and had been slighted by the Queen Mother, not a good combination to fight against. Roaring his mixed feelings of joy and rage, Zachariel simply continued on, swinging his sword through the masses, pushing and break those that were too close.

Sadly for him, others weren't so inclined to the slaughter, as proven when Westenra tried to stop him. Leaping backwards from the sudden attack, Zachariel felt the sword cut through the front part of his stomach armor. The cut wasn't deep and only slightly visible, showing that no true damage had yet been done. She was fast, but Zachariel was faster. He was a being with over a millenia of battle experience and enhanced to a degree that would kill others. Narrowing his eyes at the new target, Zachariel spun around himself, slicing through the peasants surrounding him, leaving a small circle that was closing as more rushed in.
"You're a fool, child! These peasants are damned already, and you are damning yourself to death by fighting me!"

Zachariel spun at those words, cleanly decapitating another pair of peasants behind him. Thankfully enough, Titus had taken Zachariel's advice and gone to help Aravae, moving to get her out of there. In doing so he gave a quite clear escape route to Westenra, prompting Zachariel to chuckle, even as he twirled his sword, staring deep into her soul. Pointing at the break in the peasant lines, Zachariel spoke.
"Run while you still can child, or I will break you."

Xzeench | Westenra Mina

OOC- Noice, sounds like it'll be fun! Does that mean this is done, or more threading in this to go into the other thread? Either way, I'm down for more, lol

 

[Xzeench]

(OOC: I intend this to be the beginnings of a 5 Part Story ARC, which will see Aravae's story, and the story of the Hegemony more fleshed out. With a full out culmination of war against the Queen Mother. From them on, I do not know! But I have plenty of time to plan! As for this thread, Titus is going to get Aravae off-planet as quickly as humanly possible. If either of you want to catch up with Aravae and help /or hinder/ her during her pilgrimage across the stars. Feel free! I will make a Looking for a Group page when Its planned and ready! So this will go on until Titus and Aravae escape in about 2-5 posts depending on any problems you two may throw my way "


Zachariel Steelblood
Westenra Mina

Titus and Aravae ran. Running as fast as they could from the ever-growing horde of blood-crazed peasants and burghers seeking their deaths. This already was extreme in the sense of how her world was completely torn-asunder forever. It may be likely that her home would be plagued by these blood-rages for generations to come... unless if there were a cure.

Titus lead Aravae through the streets. The Blood curdling screams of freshly mind-controlled citizens echoing across miles of open city territory. They charged Titus. His sword moving through their bodies as if sheets of paper. Rending crazed individuals in half, or decapitating heads with no effort more than a mortal man tore paper. And they just. Kept. Coming. Swarms of them now, the mind-control plague spreading across them like a virulent disease. Infecting the minds of more and more, until the streets were literally clogged with hordes of blood crazed crazies. Thankfully, Titus's sword work cut them down in rows of ten or more, with each and every swing. The shouts of anger, echoing from the Ancient Shock Marine's mouth and reverberating off the walls like some kind of demented musical orchestra. His voice drowning out the tens of thousands by sheer magnitude alone.

Then they both saw it, Aravae and Titus. The gate to exiting out into open terrain. Freedom and solace at last! Then they saw Her...

​

The woman who stood before them. The woman who had raised Aravae for the past few decades. The woman who made Aravae her ward, and allowed her to persue the life of nobility. The person whom she was so close with, and saw as the Mother figure she never had.

Lady Aremyah.​

Aremyah stood at the front of the gates. Her eyes, a dull glowing red. She stood alongside her likewise blood crazed retinue. Watch Officer's brandishing pistols, and matchlock type arquebuses, all leveled at Titus and Aravae, whose charge now slowed to a stop. Titus stood ahead of Aravae, using his massive bulk to defend her. His armor likely could easily turn aside a modern blaster cannon... but even these primative weapons could cause enough damage to the power coupling. Rendering it useless, not to mention the millennia of lack of maintenance.

Skipping all sorts of theatrics. The crazed guardsmen leveled their weapons at Titus and Aravae. Single-Shot pistols and matchlocks. In unison, the air was filled with a blueish gray smoke as the sounds of gunfire ripped through the air and bounced off the walls. Shots connected with Titus's armor, ricocheting off the sloped smooth surface, while others penetrated the cracked portions. Striking flesh underneath with a series of sickening thumps. The armor now, was good for absolutely nothing. Another shot connected squarely with Titus's cheek, blowing off the flesh, and a few fragments of teeth and leaving a horrible quarter sized hole in his cheek. His cheekbone shattered by the lead-ball fired, snapping Titus's head backward a few inches as crimson blood sprayed past his ear and landing upon Aravae who stood directly behind him. She stood in shock. Betrayed. Declared a traitor... This was too much, even for her to handle.

Forgetting all forms of self preservation. Aravae extended her wings and launched herself upward over Titus's head. Landing squarely infront of him and letting out a childish, if ear splitting.

"STOOOOP!"​

In an instant, a shock wave formed in-front of Aravae's mouth. It careening forward as its unrelenting force struck the crazed Aremyah squarely in the breast. Crushing her steel armor like tinfoil, and sending her flying backwards alongside her entire retinue. They flew meters in distance, each of them connecting with the stone wall, and snapping like twigs against the force created seemingly out of nowhere.

Across the city, a loud shreik spread itself across the streets. A force scream to be certain, conjured out of sheer emotion and pain.

Back in the square where Zachariel and Westenra were battling for dominance, a road was left open for them. A way out, from certain doom by being overwelmed... perhaps it would be best to follow Aravae and Titus, and make like a tree and run!

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Barely waiting for a reply from Westenra, Zachariel moved on with his slaughter, even as more of the nameless masses joined the slaughter. He had little time or patience to stand, waiting for her to act, and the horde would not wait for him. They would wait for no one, seeing as more and more simply came to try and crush him with their numbers. While they wouldn't succeed just yet, or soon, they could still slow him down. And that was simply unacceptable.

Continuing to use his sword to great effect, Zachariel drew his disruptor pistol(see pic of Zachariel) in his free hand. Titus had said not to use blasters, and he had broken that command himself. Thus Zachariel saw little trouble in using such a devastating weapon here and now. With a smile on his face, Zachariel opened fire, disintegrating the poor fools he hit with each blast. Roaring his joy into the heavens, Zachariel continued to slaughter the hordes, even as more and more rushed in, unheeding of their losses, and not caring for any non lethal wounds.

This slaughter continued on for several more moments, and slowly Zachariel was pushed back, despite his skill and his weapons. During this time, Zachariel's armor slowly began to accumulate various new scars, along with some dents from heavier hitting hammers and the like. Nothing that would slow him down or compromise the armor, but nonetheless Zachariel soon realized that he couldn't slaughter these masses by himself. Thankfully enough a cry of 'STOP' stumbled and slowed the horde, as they attempted to identify this sudden attack.

Seizing this sudden opportunity for what it was, Zachariel reattached his pistol to his hip, while grabbing the numerous thermal detonators he'd shown to Titus earlier on. Arming a handful of them, Zachariel chucked them deep into the horde. When they detonated, they cracked the stone beneath them, throwing stone, masonry, and more as impromptu shrapnel. While impressive, the more obvious effect was the countless bodies being launched far and wide. Or rather, the body parts.

Grinning widely at the carnage, Zachariel threw the rest of the detonators in his hand, scattering them even further out. The once massive horde was now reduced to a mere few hundred peasants easy for the slaughter. While Zachariel would have enjoyed slaughtering them all, he knew for a fact that more were in this city, and soon the horde would be back to the same size and strength. Without anyone else, Zachariel would eventually succumb and be captured. He wouldn't die, couldn't really, but that wouldn't prevent the peasants from doing their damndest, something Zachariel did not want to experience.

Growling in frustration, Zachariel drew more detonators from his waist and began chucking them far and wide, setting them to activate once Zachariel clicked on a detonator. Turning from the masses, Zachariel chose to run down the path Titus and Aravae had taken, dropping detonators as he went, caring little for their placement, and more for their quantity. Soon he'd by his allies side again, and then they could formulate something else, and Zachariel would be able to admire the explosion, rather than live through it, again. As such, Zachariel charged onward, sword swinging to kill any who came in his way, while his free hand dropped detonators all over, each and every last one of them ready and waiting to explode, killing so many of the masses present.

Xzeench | Westenra Mina

 

[Westenra Mina]

Melissa was about to attack, tired of his taunts, when the hoard dogpiled her. Only her inhuman strength allowed her to toss them away before more piled onto her, trying to take her sword while Zachariel Steelblood began slaughtering as many as he could. Xzeench was carried off by another and Melissa was temporarily forced to the ground, unable to prevent him killing more. Ironically, one of his shots hit the pile of enraged peasantry on top, and Melissa immediately broke into a vicious but non lethal sequence she was not about to let him go--

A scythe from behind buried itself deep into her skull. She staggered a bit, but pulled the scythe out, even though it had almost torn her head in half. The horrified peasants watched as glowing red blood came out of her skull, flesh wriggling as it sealed up. Her eyes narrowed on the armored warrior. The killer was trying to escape.

Her head completely healed, body reabsorbing the blood as she began a series of twirls and flips towards her remaining weapons, scattered on the ground. A pulse of psychic energy hit them and immediately they affixed themselves to her belt. She activated the Lightsaber, and every remaining peasant backed away as they beheld the energy blade for the first time. Its pink core and red aura mesmerizing and terrible--

The sonic shriek that tore from Aravae's lips had an unfortunate effect of arriving at just the wrong time.

See, The Android had a peculiar reaction to Sonics.

They reduced her to her factory appearance for a few hours...her armor also had no defense.

The Biots skin shuddered everywhere as it lost its human appearance, becoming mottled and gray, with slightly longer arms. Her eyes turned a glowing, burning red, mouth stretching and filling with rows of sharp teeth, the nose and the hair reabsorbed into the flesh and vanishing.

All the remaining peasants screamed and ran when they saw the stunned biot.

The Biot quickly regained her human appearance and spotted the detonators. What the hell was with this guy?

Weakened, she still managed to throw out her psychic energy towards the detonators, purple bolts of energy striking as many as she could as the maniac continued to kill. With her mind, she then hurled the detonators towards him, setting off some of their internal firing mechanisms as she did. Her swords electronics were useless, so was her armor for the next few minutes. Damn it all, if only she hadn't been tackled!

Melissa threw another psychic bolt. This time at a broken piece of roof that then hurled itself at the armored one. Not caring if any resultant explosions had injured him, Westenra charged, aiming her saber for his eyes, body already completely healed.

"COWARD! I DEFY YOU! MEET YOUR DEATH BY THE DAUGHTER OF NINE LIVES!" Melissa yelled, slashing repeatedly and viciously at his head and face with super speed and strength, trying to find a weak point in his gear and defense. He needed armor. Her power lay in the flesh.

 

[Xzeench]

The road to safety was cleared. For now. It seemed that the hordes of crazed peasants were slowing down, as if compelled to return to normal after losing their sanity. The Queen Mother seemed to hold unlimited power, but it seems that whoever she was, wherever she was. She felt the need to play with her prey.

The Peasant horde quickly resumed to normal. Their minds... returning to true. So to speak. In almost an instant, the attacks stopped, and what few could hold back the sheer psychic might of the Queen Mother, quickly descended into gibbering madness that seemed to corrupt even the most steadfast of individuals. Other were reduced to a catatonic state, their eyes stripped of any light. Any soul, behind them. Wheras others, overcome with grief and emotion at seeing their loved ones reduced to ketchup, at the behest of Zachariel. Or simply cleft in twain by his physical might. The grief that overcame hundreds of souls could of been felt in a physical level. Reinvigorating Zachariel, who literally thrived off the negative emotions and pain of all around him. Westenra on the other hand, could literally feel the suffering and pain welling up around her as the peasant's blood lust ended.

Those who weren't killed, mewled incessantly, with their blood soaking the cobbled streets. Hastily being tended to by family, or friends. Others died in the arms of those who truely cared for them. But these emotions also created a wound. A wound that would never be patched by the people of Cathay for generations to come. Then. They came.

​

Men in Dark Red Robes, of the Queen Mother's likeness. A conspiracy of truly epic proportions. A carefully planned coup to retake Cathay from the primitives. They tended to the wounded, all whispering praise of some dark Goddess as they miraculously healed grievous and unsurvivable wounds with mere chants and sentences spoken. They came out of nowhere. Guardsmen too. Men and Woman clad in Ceramite Battle Dress not dissimilar to the ancient stories of old Cathay. Brandishing weapons of unheard of power and variety, of technology unheard of. It seems that they bided their time. Descendants of the Catharian Shocktroops of old. Called to arms by the Queen Mother herself. They too, wore the blood red irises of those who had been forced to serve. But they did, by choice. They wore the armor of the Catharian Home-Guard. Rusted and unpainted in parts, as if they were a priceless heirloom kept in an attic. Dark Gray armor, and the markings of the Catharian Eagle on their breasts. They walked the streets, executing anyone who showed even a hint of resistance to their newfound occupation. The sounds of particle rifle fire, searing through flesh and burning alive anyone who stood in their path.

The people, quickly accepted their new overlords. Throwing their bodies down before the Red Armored Priests, and Gray Armored Troopers. Bowing and praying for their goodfortune. As far as they knew, they were in the presence of Demi-Gods. They groveled and begged, and were given help. Miraculous healing of grevious wounds, and mental illness all happened in an instant. Hands waved at faces to cure blindness, heads touched to cure insanity. Wounds simply chanted at to heal them in an instant.

This was unheard of.

Fortunately, the groveling gave a clear path to leave. More time to flee. Westenra and Zachariel's battle would have to wait another day, as now they would most likely see instant death if they were to battle against precursor tech without proper preparation. It was all but certain, that Titus had a lot of explaining to do. But now, came the task of leaving the city, and escaping with Titus. For it was certain that he knew safe places far away from the cities. Infact, They quickly came toward where Aravae and Titus were standing. The latter on his knees, and the former wrapping a bandage across Titus's ripped open face. They had a few moments of solace. To stop and think for once.

Titus only managed to choke out a few words.

"STOP--- This madness. Can't you see... that.. fighting each-other is moot? We have a true enemy to fight now... and you are bickering amongst each-other for nothing but morals..."

Titus could barely speak coherently. Even though his superhuman attributes gave him great resistance to damage. This damage in particular was near fatal. His cheek was ripped open from his jaw to ear thanks to musket fire. The only exposed part of his body to be hit. He spoke again.

"I know a safe place... a place to gather up all our losses... and hopefully escape before /she/ finds us."

Aravae was quickly patching the wounds across Titus's face, muffling any more that would come from his mouth. She too spoke.

"... He's right. I-I might of murdered.."

She glanced to the bloody body of Lady Aremyah laying abreast of the City Gate. Armor crushed. Eyes burst in skull. It was all but certain she was dead. A freak accident of self defense gone too far. Her voice was shaky, and in shock. A side effect of never having killed before.

"We need to go. I think he's right-- We should get out of here as fast as possible. If this whole situation has something to do with me, which I'm sure now that it does. We need to think, plan our next course of action."

Titus gave a blink, before pointing off toward the horizon. A muffled grunt came from the bandages. Indicative of going in that direction.

To safety, and away from this madness.


(OOC. A bit of mystery never hurt anyone! I will explain this as we travel to the safe zone!)

Westenra Mina
Zachariel Steelblood

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Zachariel ran from the masses, even as they seemed to slow down. Despite this, he continued to lob thermal detonators further into the city alleys and on the roofs, while dropping a handful as he ran. Westenra's lightning attack struck numerous detonators, but Zachariel had thrown too many, and thrown them far, that she only took out a third of the numerous thermal detonators. As for the ones thrown at him, they caused him to stumble at the sudden attack, caught off balance by their close detonation. Along with this, new burn and scar marks appeared across his armor, but no serious damage was to be had just yet. However, due to his stumbling, Zachariel was directly under the roof piece when it collapsed.

Growling something fierce at the rubble across his body, Zachariel spun in place, raising his sword to defend himself from Westenras onslaught. With his free hand, Zachariel the remainder of his detonators free. Laughing darkly as he parried Westenra, Zachariel openly pulled out the detonator and clicked it without a moments hesitation. Should the detonators all explode to their full, and dark purpose, they would rip through the people anywhere close to them. No amount of armor could properly defend against the simple number of detonators in the main square where the slaughter had occurred.

Regardless of where the detonators where, they detonated and destroyed both people and houses. Various houses were destroyed in their entirety thanks to the explosives Zachariel had lobbed far and wide, while the people were shredded even further, or killed completely. Zachariel noted this all and laughed, even as the detonators closer to himself and Westenra detonated, pushing them both even further away from the center, and closer to Titus and Aravae. All the while, Zachariel was defending himself from Westenras attacks, moving just as fast as her.

Laughing at Titus' comment, Zachariel would keep defending himself if Westenra kept up the attack, but if she didn't, he'd simply lower his sword with a sneer on his face. Regardless, Zachariel responded to Titus with a head titlt, and a tone that conveyed all his disdain for Westenra in those moments.
"Ah yes. Unfortunately, the child still holds to morals my friend." Turning to observe Aravae and her recent kill, Zachariel couldn't help the sinister smile on beneath his helmet, unseen by all. "You'll get used to killing Aravae, just got to get a few more notches under your belt."

It was as close to comforting as Zachariel had been in a long time, though it was unlikely the others viewed it as such. Looking in the indicated direction, Zachariel merely nodded, before removing a pair of smoke grenades. Activating them, Zachariel let them drop, thus covering their escape more effectively.

Xzeench | Westenra Mina

 

[Xzeench]

Westenra Mina
Zachariel Steelblood

Many perished in the explosions. Imploders, exploders, detonators. All had their desired effect. Toppling wooden structures and causing stone work to splinter in area of affect shrapnel. Cutting down anyone stupid enough to stay standing at that point. Leaving more of the populace dead or dying. Either from collapsed roofs, or internal damage from the explosives. But, the armored Troopers who had just went to work securing the area, caught sight with Zachariel as he turned and ran, while battling Westenra for every inch of ground.

They didn't care who they hit. Around ten of them leveled their Particle Weapons at both Westenra and Zachariel. Firing off bolts of blue electric death which zipped through the air, and kicked up dirt wherever it impacted nearby. Burning holes in wooden walls, and breaking apart cobbles as if it were merely wet paper. They burned hot, the bolts. Singing the hair during near misses and causing slight burns. It was as if they were firing miniature suns at them.

Thankfully, their accuracy was to be desired. It was likely they had no formal training with such advanced weaponry. Peasants firing a particle rifle were still peasants. And aimed as such. This gave the pair ample time to run. The smoke grenades clouding their movement too. Their shots never landed true.

​

Titus stood from his knee, reaching a armored hand to Aravae, who continued to look upon the shattered corpse of her mentor with shock. Her eyes read it all. Wide, and confused. As if it hadn't sunk in yet. She was frozen like ice. That is until, the hand of Titus landed upon her shoulder. She turned, looking up. The tears welling up faster than she could staunch them. It hit now. She killed them. She /murdered/ them. A power she didn't even know she had. And because of it. Her Mentor, and five of her closest friends were now dead. Because of her. Her eyes read it all, while her face showed no emotion. Titus only moved his head in the direction of the forest. Indicating it was time to go.

They ran. As fast as they could. Aravae running at Titus's side. No one was truly sure of the pain. But if anyone knew how the Force Worked. The pain will turn into anger, and the anger into hate. They ran as far as the deep forest, far enough inside to throw off any search parties. Titus had mastered the art of concealment and hiding places during his millennia long prison sentence. The group soon, came to rest inside of a cave. Safety at last.

Aravae sat on a log, far away from the group. Idly grooming her wing with a hand as she looked out toward the city, visible yet still through the brush and trees. No one could know how much pressure she was indeed in at this very moment. Her entire world had been turned upside down, her mentor dead, and now. She caused something that even she couldn't fix alone. Maybe, she couldn't fix it at all. She was only a single person in a Galaxy of Trillions, against an enemy tens of thousands of years older than she. She eventually stood, walking slowly but gracefully to where Titus was sitting, nursing the wound in his cheek.

"Why. Why did you save me."

She could barely choke out the words. She sounded angry, sad, but mostly angry. Titus only looked up slowly with tired eyes, and then spoke.

"You are the key. We may have unleashed a curse across the Galaxy that could damn well destroy it. But- thats besides the point. You are connected with the Queen Mother somehow. We all feel it, and I know it that it's certain."

Aravae spoke, hardly able to say anything between a rising sob within her breast.

"H-How? How can we fix this? WE CANT! YOU SEE! I'VE BROUGHT THIS PLACE TO RUIN. We might as well consider ourselves lucky to survive tomorrow let alone the next year..."

Titus knew that tone of voice. He had heard it many times over his career doing battle for the wretched Hegemony and its twisted leader. He knew that she was right. It was all but certain that everyone before them would have assassins chase them for the rest of their lives. Or be plagued with horrific visions that could twist the mind and rend it from the skull. Subject entire populations to mind control. For what? To get this key?

"I'm sorry. I am Titus. I was connected with this curse somehow. I ask that you do not forget. We have a chance to fix everything. But we can't do it alone. For if we do- we will certainly perish. The Queen Mother's legions of mind controlled servants are innumerable in this sector of space. I'm sure that now- we can't simply return to the Galaxy to ask for help. The Queen Mother has control over space itself. Seal it off at a whim. Conjure storms that could unravel entire battlefleets. Which is why we must find the Queen Mother and force her to stop this madness."

Two and two clicked within Aravae's head.

"You are connected!? With them! You--"

She barely could contain the emotions at this point. Literally tears falling in waves off her face. As she turned and swept her wings downward and flew upwards toward the cliff above. Leaving Titus, with their two guests to chat, and consider their next move.

"I'm sorry you both had to see that. This... entire situation is bigger than her, bigger than all of us. I didn't know the measure of the Queen Mother's power. I knew she could destroy worlds. But I didn't know she could mind control billions of sentients... We need to think. I propose that we band together... if only temporarily. To bring down the Queen Mother. It may not be what you came here for, or even bargained for. But fate--- has that cut out for us."

"I know a place nearby. It was a... military depot for the Shock Marines stationed on Cathay. I'm sure that the automated maintained systems kept the machines and vehicles running. I've never seen the inside of it myself. But I am sure, it could carry goods and equipment to help us escape off-world at least. Maybe weapons and armor, far superior to what you may have... If any of you wish to back out. I will not stop you."

(OOC: Okay. SOOO some clarification. From here on, you have the choice of leaving this plot-line all-together, or joining in for the next 2 or 3 story lines following the path of Aravae and Titus's story. If you choose to leave! Then I will not hold it against you! Provided that you both accept, Titus will take you to this compound and continue the story from there. We're nearing the end of this thread plot for sure! Thank you all for sticking with me this long "

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Laughing as the explosives detonated, Zachariel breathed in the fear, the destruction, and the death surrounding him. He did in fact thrive off of the negative feelings, much more than anyone truly should, not that he cared. Compared to the blandness of before, this freedom here was a breath of fresh air, one Zachariel intended to take to its full length. Ignoring the various blasts coming towards him, Zachariel simply kept moving, eventually escaping thanks to the smoke, unharmed.

Running along with Titus and Aravae, Zachariel kept a constant eye on their rear, looking out for any pursuers. Thankfully enough, nobody was coming, at least not yet. Eventually, Zachariel came to the conclusion that nobody would be looking for them just yet, though he didn't know why. Sighing somewhat in disappointment, he turned to take in the cave they'd come to hide in. By doing so, Zachariel noted the depressed look to Aravae, along with the injuries that Titus had received.

Shaking his head somewhat, Zachariel sat himself down on a nearby boulder, placing his sword on his lap. With a worn cloth, he began to clean the blade free of all the blood it had acquired, even as he listened in on Aravae and Titus' conversation. Sighing at the girls reaction, Zachariel turned his attention to Titus as he addressed both himself and Westenra. Rising to his feet once his fellow augmented being was finished speaking, Zachariel flicked the remainder of the blood away, before bringing it up before him. Smiling darkly beneath his helmet, he smoothly sheathed the blade by his side once more.
"You know as well as I that I enjoy a slaughter, and this looks promising enough to be one. Besides, the promise of more armor and weapons, I won't turn that down." Walking towards the cave entrance, Zachariel spoke over his shoulder to Titus. "I'm all in. But for now, I might as well go see to our 'charge' and make sure she's ready for more."

With that said, Zachariel left the cave and clambered up the cliff face. He was going up to have a talk with Aravae, and to make sure she was ready for the coming task. After all, it would do little good to say he'd be there for the slaughter, only for their charge to run away unexpectedly.

Xzeench | Westenra Mina

OOC- Welp, I'm in for more threads! And thank you for making this interesting story, I can't wait to get more of the story, hehe. As for Zachariel approaching Aravae, if you want, we can do it IC and actually thread the talk out, or we can do it OOC. If we do OOC, we just say what happened, something something, Zachariel motivated her to keep going, XD If it's the latter, we can go over specifics and whatnot if you want, via DMs on the site, or on discord work for me! NuMo#0475 for discord

 

[Westenra Mina]

Melissa's battle with Zachariel Steelblood had been fast and vicious, carrying them through the streets, but the heavy warrior was deceptively fast and strong, his blade meeting the furious assault of hers.

People were still dying though. The detonators were still going off. A piece of large shrapnel imbedded itself in her head, then her chest, and she didn't even notice the horrible looking wounds as they fought ferociously.

But then real trouble started to arrive. Armies of people with advanced weapons who did 'not' look friendly. At all. Along with armed peasants.

There was no choice. In spite of all that monster had done, the pain he had caused, the horror of his victims that infuriated the Android in a way she had not experienced since The Amalgam's Atrocities against Castagne, she had no choice but to make a run for it with him, his sneer at her provoking a Toecutter-worthy hiss of primal disgust in turn, obsidian fangs bared at him before running from the particle beams, impeded multiple times along the way, by peasants trying to flank her, forcing her to disarm one with a punch to the jaw, taking his new weapon and then sprinting to join Xzeench and Titus, pulling the shrapnell out of her body, her suit's system kicking back in. The electronics in her sword were still fried. They ran through the Forest, Melissa keeping perfect pace with the others, evading the patrols and hiding in a cave. Aravae was beside herself...she had apparently discovered she was Force Sensitive.

This whole day had gone to hell. She wasn't even supposed to fething be on this planet. Melissa leaned against the cave wall itself and listened to Titus explain everything...including the need to fight the Queen Mother.

"I'm in...can't let a monster like that get their way..." she said. "We'll need to head for that depo as soon as possible."

When Steelblood said he was in for the slaughter it was all Westenra could do not to leap for him and try and drink his whole mind. But she restrained herself. There was too much at stake. Aravae was hurting and in danger.

When the armored killer announced he would check on her, Melissa immediately followed, both to make sure Aravae was stable enough psychologically...and so that Zach couldn't feth with her head.

Melissa exited the cave and began using her psychic powers to leap up great heights at key parts of the cliff in order to reach Aravae befor Zach could.

When she finally reached the woman on her perch, Melissa set aside her weapons.

"I'm sorry I hurt so many of your people today, Lady Aravae. It was not what I wanted. I'm sorry for not being able to save anyone. I wish I could have done more. How are you feeling?"


OOC: Im in for all subsequent plots!

 

[Xzeench]

Westenra Mina
Zachariel Steelblood

In her mad dash to escape from the City. Westenra secured herself one of the vaunted and legendary Catharian Particle Rifles. Literally designed to destroy matter at a molecular level. Via rending of the atomic bonds holding their cells together, which causes catastrophic heat generation in a localized area. Turning anyone hit with it to ash within a moments notice. As they arrived to safe harborage within the cave. She had time to examine the weapon she had taken from one of the peasant troopers.

It was faded in coloration, once white. Now with the dark gray ceramite frame shining through worn down polymers of a hyper advanced design. The holographic sight, which once connected to a soldier's Heads up Display no longer worked and was cracked. The exterior had signs of, oiling by some primitive process. It must of been an artifact or heirloom passed down through the millennia. Even then, for a weapon as old as it. It still worked. Though, its power systems were failing, and were in desperate need of resupply. It could still rip apart anything shot with it. However, it appeared that the focusing crystals used inside were misaligned and cracked in places. It was a miracle that it didn't simply blow up in the Trooper's hands when he tried to fire it.

​

In regards to Aravae, Titus was left at the bottom of the cliff-face to plan their next move unimpeded. Deciding which routes to take, and where to go to avoid the highest probability of encountering mind-controlled soldiers was a daunting task. Even for the former shield Captain. Westenra and Zachariel ascended the cliff-face, coming to the top and seeing Aravae sitting on a log looking toward the Horizon and now setting sun. Metaphorically, this was a phase of her life that she had to close forever, and begin anew.

Aravae was steely eyed. With her crow-like wings draped loosely over the back of the log as if she didn't care. She still had dirt and a few bruises on her delicate facial features. And her hair was dirty and messy. The armor she wore, which was a steel breastplate hung tightly still over her chest. And her helmet, the highly decorated winged Sallet that it was sat on the ground nearby her foot. She was leaning forward on the pommel of her sword in its scabbard. The Scabbards tip was buried about a inch in the ground at this point. She was still teary eyed, with various droplets falling from her eyes as she sat hunched over. Westenra approached slightly ahead of Zachariel and spoke. Her words, seemed to be genuine enough. Aravae only mumbled a response back. Still overcome with emotion, and how she basically ruined her own life. It sunk in sure, but still hasn't fully came about yet.

"There's no point to calling me "lady" anymore. I removed myself from that the second I murdered them."

Aravae groaned. Was it grief, or pain? It was anyone guess at this point.

"It's fine that you hurt them. They didn't know who I was or, what your intentions were anymore. I guess there's no point in holding back anymore. They think us as Daemons now... and those men... those robed men..."

Aravae looked up, meeting Zachariel's gaze now, alongside Westenra's.

"He is speaking as an insane man. How am I connected with this. Why am I the key, to solve everyone's problems. He said that I'm connected with her somehow-- but how. I'm only twenty two. And she... or whoever she is. Is far more ancient than I. Why should I trust him? Why should we trust him? How can we even DEFEAT HER?"

Aravae looked like she was pleading to nothing. There was no one who knew more than Titus, or anyone else for that matter. They too were dragged into this mess and forever stuck trying to fix, an unfixible problem. She was about to shed more tears now, or collapse into uncontrollable sobbing at this point. IT seems that murdering, and the grief of knowing you ruined your own life at a moments notice caused this.

(OOC: Alright! A bit of more insight on the mental state of Aravae now. Traumatized, but confused at the same time. After this interaction is finished up, we'll head to the Depot, send a few more lines there. And then move onto the next plot point! WOOOO!"

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Chuckling at Westenra's reactions to what he did, Zachariel shook his head. The innocence of youth displayed by both Aravae and Westenra would eventually be broken, whether by war, or worse. However, he did respect her decision to continue on with this mission, even if it was for something far different than what Zachariel wanted. Unfortunately, that also extended to Aravae, seeing as Westenra rushed past him to reach their charge.

Sighing as he reached Aravae at last, Zachariel heard what Westenra said and couldn't help but snort. And at Aravae's comment about being seen as daemons, Zachariel merely smiled beneath his helmet. He was proud of who and what he was, and nothing could change that.
"Let them view us as daemons, for it proves their ignorance, and is merely one more excuse for our enemy to use against us." Turning to face the city, Zachariel chuckled darkly. "They can call me what they will, but I will be far, far worse. A mere daemon, pathetic. ... Titus may be insane, but not as much as you believe. Besides, in this matter, he speaks true. Why else would they go to such lengths just to kill you, why else would the Queen Mother take control of the masses just to kill one person. It's because you can make or break her." Turning to face Aravae again, the cruel grin under his helmet grew. "And I will help you break her."

"Why should you, or we trust him?" Sneering somewhat, Zachariel took a step towards her, looking down at Aravae. Jabbing a finger at Westenra, he spoke. "Why should you trust her," Next he pointed at himself. "why should you trust me?" Shaking his head, Zachariel stared directly into Aravae's eyes, piercing into her very soul with his gaze. "You shouldn't. But I see in your eyes, in your body, you snivel and cower now, you grieve for what you've lost. This is normal, but once that's done, you will want revenge. Revenge for what's happened, to get back at the Queen Mother for making you kill your mentor and friends, for having your people turn against you, and for you failing to do anything about it. To get that revenge, to get some semblance of freedom again, you'll have to face the music and fight. And to do that, you will have to trust that we hold your best interests in mind."

Chuckling, Zachariel turned at stood at the edge of the cliff, looking back towards where they'd come from, enjoying the glow of the fires still raging. He did enjoy a good slaughter, and that had been one of the better ones in a long time.
"Your life as you knew it is over, destroyed in an evening of betrayal and bloodshed. You have the Queen Mother to thank for that. Thank her for the destruction of everything you hold dear, for losing those closest to you. While others may blame you for what's happened, you know the truth. Take that truth, use it, use your grief, your rage, and everything in you. Use that against the Queen Mother."

"You ask how can we defeat her. I ask, how can we not? You have with you two of the deadliest beings in this galaxy, one of which isTitus, the other is myself. We will also have access to weapons of true power, unlike the weak trash employed by the rabble of the Queen Mother." Looking over his shoulder, while clasping his hands behind his back, Zachariel continued on, voice taking on a gentler undertone. "Weep and gnash your teeth now Aravae Lialynn, weep and gnash for all you've lost. Then steel yourself for the storm we shall bring, and the mission we shall fulfill. The absolute destruction of the Queen Mother."

Xzeench | Westenra Mina

 

[Westenra Mina]

"Their deaths were not your fault, Aravae. They were the Queen Mother's. Whatever she is after, whatever she wants from you, blaming yourself will only make her seem that much more unbeatable. But as a well off criminal I met a long time ago once put it; 'If anything in this life is certain, if History has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.' They all have a weakness. A side unguarded, two slow to swing or dodge, or too fast for their own good. We'll free your people. But to do nothing is to hand her a victory without even a sword swung or shot fired. We will free your people and restore this land to peace." Melissa promised, trying to counter the vengeance and hate in the words of Zachariel Steelblood . "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I fight bad people literally all the time. I could never abide a tyrant. I promise to remain fighting alongside you as long as it takes."

The Android said no more, instead hopping down the cliff face to speak to Titus.

"We need to get to that depo, and fast, Warrior of The Ancients." she spoke to Titus. "I was thinking I could cause a distraction to draw the patrols away. I also excell at stealth and scouting. Whatever you feel is best." she told him.

This depo intrigued her. If it had gamna ray technology...she could easily give Aravae few hundred warriors to work with...

"Oh, and we might as well know what to call each other. I am Melissa Io. Scion of House Li-Ves. Daughter of the lethal Alchemist and Warrior Nine Lives."

Xzeench

 

[Xzeench]

Zachariel Steelblood
Westenra Mina

(OOC: WARNING. ALOT OF PICTURES IN THIS ONE )

Aravae watched on as this twisted alien gave her a near legendary peptalk. She thought about it for a few minutes after he had finished speaking. She thought of how nice it would to get revenge. How it would make all her problems right in but an instant. But then she thought a bit more about it. In the chaos to take the Queen Mother down. How many innocents will have to die first? She had seen first hand Zachariels calloused nature in regards to civilian attack. But now- She was unsure. Should she try and kill the Queen Mother? Or could there be another way... nevertheless. Zachariels comments gave her planety to mull over.

Aravae only nodded slowly in quiet contemplation now. The tears were now slowly drying up at this point as she could barely bring herself to look up at Zachariel. But the quiet was suddenly interrupted by shouting coming from the bottom of the cliff-face. It was Titus of course, his voice being heard clearly even from such a height.

"My friends! We must go. There's a shortcut through the woods here. It should bring us straight to the entrance, after approximately five minutes."

IT seems fortune favored us today. Their misaligned rout from the City lead them in nearly the right direction. A few more miles to the west, and they would be hopelessly out of range of the decaying radio signal coming from the Base.

Aravae soon spoke.

"Thanks. Zachariel- I guess..."

She stood up from the log, walking toward the cliff-face. She pitched forward, as if she were simply allowing gravity to overtake her. Falling from the cliff while using her wings to speed her descent to the ground. It looked as if she were plummeting into the ground on purpose. Probably to end the suffering and pain in but an instant. But it seems, she quickly righted herself upward. Using her crow-like wings as an airbrake to slow herself down before hitting the ground with a skillful landing.

She looked upward, and watched as they descended the cliff in whichever way they choose. Be it psychic floating like Westenra, or simply brute forcing it like Zachariel. Once all three now stood at the bottom of the cliff before Titus. Things were about to change. Certainly for the better.

Titus greeted them at the bottom, his face serious and slightly more wrinkled than it already was. The Shock Marine opened his mouth, and began to lay out the game-plan for this evening.

"In approximately, 1 hour. It will be too dark to travel anywhere without a proper guidance system. The only radio GPS I have, is the one that is connected to the Battle Station in orbit, and it had been decaying slowly for decades. The transponder I have will still work mind you, but I need a visual object to triangulate our position properly. So we must set of now. Follow me closely, and for the Force's sake. Stay quiet."

Titus slowly stood up from the rock he had been resting on, while nursing his head wound. He just about managed, though the servos and joints of his rusted armor protested heavily with the sounds of grinding metal and squeaking steel. He waved his arm, indicating for them to follow. He moved off toward the Southwest, With Aravae following close behind, with her wings tucked tightly against her upper back.

They walked as a group through the forest from which they came, the light already starting to dim now in the late evening. Had it really been that long? It felt like only an hour had past since it had been morning since both of them arrived in this horrendous situation. Titus eventually spoke up, giving some backround information on their destination and objective.

"This installation was once known as codename Nevarro. Named after some desert on a planet somewhere in the mid rim. It was used as a storage facility for some of the Hegemony's more dangerous inventions. Weapons like hand-held Particle Blasters, Gene Craft material, extremely durable materials, even experimental vehicles. All I know, is that it still hasn't been raided by the Clergy. Which means, there still could be a chance that all of these artifacts are still there. But, its been almost two thousand years. There is no telling what the ravages of time have done to them."

Aravae soon piped up, making sure to wait until he had finished his explanation before speaking.

"Wait a moment... I thought they were all destroyed during the cleansing a hundred years ago..."

Titus returned her statement.

"Yes. Most of your Clerics managed to destroy most of them. Except this one. I fear that what you may see, might confuse or even terrify you. It would be best to be careful. Even I do not know the technological depths the Hegemony held before its fall."


Titus soon came to a stop, the moment they had exited the forest and entered what looked to be a massive clearing. Approximately three football fields wide, by three football fields deep. There were remnants of rusted Armored Vehicles, and the remains of ancient armor buried beneath the grass. There appeared to be a collapsed structure at the far end of the field. A tower perhaps. Long since taken by the ravages of nature and time. A peculiar object lie in the middle of the field.

​

A large circular disk of some sort of metallic material. Of which, a small metal pole jutted from the center of it. As they approached it, the metal pole was tipped with some sort of rusty mechanical device of a strange origin. Wholly alien to conventional devices. Titus approached first, scanning the area with his eyes before moving up to the pole and examining it briefly. It beeped, in a distorted manner at him. Then, spoke in a series of garbled phrases. To which Titus responded:

"Alpharius. Tius, Lebenus. Code T94-322."

It garbled something back, far too alien to understand. Titus spoke again.

"Shield Captain Titus. Thirteenth Battlegroup. 'Blood Marines'. Authorization Code, 44634 Gamma, Delta."

The machine beeped in confirmation. It garbled something again before Titus turned to speak again.

"Wait a few moments...."

Annnnd- There was a loud rumbling beneath the ground. As if something were alive beneath it. The rumbling of ancient machines mayhaps. Then it happened. The ground ajacent to where Titus was standing suddenly peeled upward like a massive banana peel. Exposing weathered metal to open air, for the first time in centuries. It was a massive ramp of some kind of Durasteel Material, leading downward to a massive blast door. The emblem of the Catharian Hegemony, visible on the floor showed true. Its paint weathered, but visible. The Catharian Eagle, clutching a world in its talons. Magnificent.

"There- That should do it. I can't believe that worked..."

Aravae looked on with hesitant fear, or confusion. It was enough to see a drone move on its own volition, but a door to open automatically from nothing was nothing short than extraordinary for her. And her agape face, and shocked expression only drove this point home.

Titus entered first, traversing down the ramp toward the blast door. Which slowly unlocked itself and opened, revealing a massive room. Three times the size of the field above. Stacked from floor to ceiling, shelves and storage containers jam packed with Ancient Artifacts and Technology. Visibly, there were markers indicating which set of shelves or storage containers contained what. Something about "Prototype Armor" There, and "Experimental Weapon" here. There were also stasis pods suspended in the ceiling, large enough to contain a Shock Marine. But, it seems their systems failed long ago. And its occupants reduced to nothing but a skeleton suspended in green goo. It seems, these Shock Marines stored her were to be used in a catastrophic disaster. Likely, new variants of Shock Marines to render obsolete the ones like Titus.

There were doors, leading off to other unseen areas of the complex. With signs in basic ranging from. "Laboratories X1" to "Weapons Manufacturing" It seems this place was supposed to be used as a kind of headquarters in the case of total galactic collapse through some disaster or otherwise. And it was breathtaking.

A few loose items were stored in large stasis containers, designed to keep the objects inside of them safe for generations. Unchanged. There were plenty of notable objects hidden within these treasure troves.

The first, appeared to be reminiscent of Zachariel's Armor. Similar to his in design, but bearing wholly unfamiliar insignia and changes to its overall structure. It was massive and horned like some sort of great beast of ages long since passed. Judging by the insignia super imposed on its right pauldron, it was a traitor that Titus talked about earlier. One of the fallen Shock Marines who betrayed the Queen Mother by falling to an unknown entity. It appeared to be of some kind of high-ranking individual, judging by its heraldry and extensive modification. Titus made sure to give an explanation to everything that was loose within visual range.

"That was the Armor of Hatred. Used by one of the ancient Imperial Heralds. They were one of the traitor Battle Groups. This-- I believe belonged to a Sword Sergeant. I think it may suit you Zachariel. I have no use for it myself."

The second notable object being, a large display cabinet. Contained within, a ordinary looking piece of equipment. Appearing to be made of some sort of hyper-advanced polymers. Which morphed from Male to Female idly within. There was a Terminal stuck on this display cabinet, and appeared to read something along the lines of:

"Bio-Marine Armor Mark IV. Designed for use and comfort in mind, this armor is suited for the psychically gifted individual. Made of Hyper-Impact Polymers. This suit can turn aside a blow from a Scout Walker with ease."

The rest was sadly corrupted. Though even then, it seemed to be a great fit for Westenra's arsenal. It seemed to be equipped with a series of psychic amplifiers located in the wrist, that could allow blades to be conjured from nothing. It was unique in that fact, it looked like a plain leather trenchcoat.

Now there were other items available. But time was short, and they had to get underway quickly. Titus spoke again..

"Take what you can carry- and meet me in the hangar in ten minutes."

He quickly walked away, vanishing into one of the doorways. Leaving Aravae, Westenra, and Zachariel alone in this maze of a treasure trove.

Aravae was left standing there. Mouth agape. And quite in awe. She quickly extended her wings and flew upward toward the ceiling. It seemed that something caught her eye...

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Grinning darkly at Westenra's words, Zachariel said nothing, letting Aravae choose which answer best suited her. It mattered little to Zachariel, for either way, he knew Aravae would fight on. Waiting those few minutes of thought in silence, simply staring out across the grassy plains, Zachariel stirred at last when Titus called up to them, an unknown amount of time since Westenra had gone down. Giving his assent to what Titus said, Zachariel turned to Aravae as she spoke to him. When he responded to her, his voice rang true, filled with a twisted joy.
"My pleasure Aravae."

Watching in silence as Aravae pitched herself off the cliff, Zachariel followed her path, taking note of how she used her wings to the fullest extent. There was more to those wings than anyone knew, Zachariel knew it, and he planned to find out what exactly it was, eventually. As for his way down, Zachariel did indeed brute force it. Stepping off the edge of the cliff, Zachariel plummeted down quickly, and landed with a dull thump, leaving a small crater behind. Rising to a full stand once more, Zachariel stepped out of the small crater and made his way towards his companions. Nodding to Titus, Zachariel laughed at the keep quiet part, though did little else to show his response.

Marching along, Zachariel found the time pass immeasurably quickly, surprising him slightly. Time truly did fly when one was having fun, and Zachariel had plenty of fun so far. Eventually they received some information regarding this installation, along with what happened to other such places a mere century ago. Eventually, upon seeing the entrance to the base, Zachariel couldn't help but laugh again.
"This Clergy must have been incompetent to miss this, or they purposefully left it for whatever reason., or they just couldn't get in. Regardless, oh so very foolish of them."

Watching their surroundings with a keen eye, Zachariel made sure to memorize all that Titus said to the machine. One never knew what such information could eventually reveal. When the door finally rumbled open, Zachariel laughed once more, staring directly at Titus as he spoke.
"I don't believe any noise we could have made would've been louder than this."

Chuckling again and shaking his head, Zachariel chuckled again upon seeing Aravae's face. Then, without a further moments hesitation, Zachariel made his way towards the entrance, walking side by side inwards with Titus. Taking everything in, Zachariel found himself truly surprised for the first time in a long, long time. Everything in here was, to some degree or another, bent towards destruction, and far more advanced than any such planet should ever have any right to. Shaking his gaze from that, Zachariel found his gaze peering deeper into their surroundings, looking for anything else special.

Eventually he directed his attention to the armor that Titus pointed out. While impressive and formidable in its own rights, he recognized that his own armor was more robust and easy to maneuver in. Partially due to advances in tech., partially because he was so used to it already. After a few moments of contemplation, Zachariel responded.
"I'll stay with my own armor for now, however I may come back for this later."

The 'come back later' portion was followed by Zachariel making a note of their current location in his HUD. Everything here would be extremely useful to both himself and his suppliers, even if some things were outdated, others were advanced. Making his way deeper into this treasure trove, Zachariel did exactly what Titus had said to do, take whatever he could carry, and then some.

Xzeench | Westenra Mina

 

[Westenra Mina]

The Android Vampire listened as Titus explained, joined shortly by Xzeench and Zachariel Steelblood . Melissa was not worried about the dark...her design came with night and thermal vision modes.

"I see everything..." Melissa said under her breath.

(Opening notes of Terminator Theme plays.)

Following through the woods was easy for The Biot, though when Titus explained how old it was, The Biot started to worry whether it was worth it to make the trip as they reached the large clearing and Titus summoned the entrance. This fear was averted when she saw the actual facility.

This place was loaded.

Westenra could not have been dumped in a better place. She made note of Titus's advice to grab what she could carry. Then she began to explore the rooms, noting the Armor pointed out and keeping it in nind. But what she was really after was weapons, equipment, engineering tools, spare parts, and electronics. She sprinted through the highly advanced complex, going into one room with a repulsor cart to take the choicest bits she found, in addition to the armor.

She spotted Gamma Ray tech and immediately siezed it, along all the tools necessary to make weapons and armor on a hand fashioned basis. She siezed a tray of lightsaber crystals and parts in a conteaband section, siezing some sort of Catharan laptop supercomputer, solar collection dishes, and a whole bag of expensive looking electronics. Among the weapons, she siezed a Cathar honor sword, a Vibroshield, and a pair of short, straight double edged vibroswords, a jeweled vibro rapier of Catharan Origin that fascinated her, and a set of Cathar Developed Electromesh Armor that glowed green. Westenra took all of this in addition to the psychic armor, siezing a few more particle rifles and the like and heading to the Hangar. When she found Aravae, she began explained some of what she found.

"Aravae, given the extreme lethality of our present situation, the time has come to prepare you for a deadlier form of warfare. This sword here, its a Vibro-Rapier. Vibro as in Vibrating. Its blade has a special mechanism in it that makes it move at very high speeds, almost imperceptibly. But this movement heavily increases its cutting power. You can shear through standard heavy armor with it easily. But U also would like to show you how to build and use this..." she trailed, holding up her lightsaber, and activating it. Its pink core and ruby aura flared out.

"The Lightsaber. The final word in melee weapons. Its blade is nearly unstoppable. The only trade off is the hum that gives your position away. But people don't pull out a Lightsaber to be quiet. A Lightsaber can be a great symbol of hope to the oppressed and a symbol to dread for the wicked, but can also be used for terrible evil. But for now, we'll stick with what is more familiar."

Westenra then took the time show Aravae the controls to the sword, and how each button worked, but placed it nearby, ultimately leaving it up to her to try it out or not. She then went to work repairing her sword, as well as assembling a Gamma Ray Lamp.

"It occurs to me..." she said to everyone once they were present. "That this facility is too important to abandon. We should keep it at least lightly defended. I have the means to ensure this. Try not to panic. What I do next won't kill me..."

She activated her vibrosword and snipped off a finger, letting it drop to the floor. She then cut off a thumb, and both severed appendages grew back slowly but visibly. But it was when she shined a gamma ray lamp on the severed fingers that it got weird.

The fingers broke down into small piles of writhing, mollases like tissue that grew larger and larger, until they had formed into whole new clones of Melissa that looked like they were clad in metallic pink catsuits.

"Guard this place." The Prime Melissa ordered her clones, who complied immediately and ran off into the depths to take defensive positions, taking one of the Gamma Ray lamps she had built.

She turned to Titus. "What next?"