NationStates Jolt Archive

Slider was about to leave the kitchen when the Elf had a discussion with the Vampire, as they exchanged a handshake Sliders sensitive ears heard the cracking in the Elf injured hand. She paused by the kitchen table "Why don't you get that hand checked out? Your no good to us if you can't operate at a hundred percent efficience, my sister always said." Slider pauses and closes her eyes to help her remember and in a sing song voice continues "Only the foolish refuse to ammit they are in pain when they are hurt, for by hiding their wound they weaken the pride as a whole." Slider looks back at the Elf an continues in her normal voice "Think about it why don't you." And with that she skips out of the dining room on her way to find a servent she can pump for information.

Elfira looks at Slider with a surprised face. "You have spoken wise words, little one, but my hand can heal alone, and my combat efectiveness is seldom affected by little injuries. I have fought badly wounded before. Anyway, How could I check it out?. I don't see a doctor or a medic around here".

Omnus stopped his practicing. Barely prespiring, Omnus collected his belongings and returned to the castle. Along the way, Omnus sheathed his two swords and strapped them to his back. Omnus walked slowly to the castle gates glancing back towards the forest and marveling at the majesty of the scenery. Pleased with himself, Omnus walked into the central citadel, ready for anything.

Omnus couldn't wait for the first mission to begin...

As the Elf's finger snapped out of place again, Amethyst looked over at the bloodstained cloth wrapped around it.

"I'm the closest you're going to find to a doctor around here, and I'm probably better, too." Rith said, walking up to ShadowElf. "Let me see that finger."

Cliff sat back in his sofa and looked at the elf. Such a raw and uncontrolled temper... yet she didn't rail nor so much as raise her voice to that small girl. Who would have thought that a small girl could command so much respect with only common wisdom? And that the elf would listen to her without getting defensive? This castle was magic. Cliff laughed.

"Hey, flying boy, Are you mockering me?", says ShadowElf, glancing at Cliff. However, in her lips formed a little smile, it was funny after all. A grown woman and a tough soldier like her being quarreled by a little girl, and with a good reason.

Then she turns to Amethyst, "Don't worry, this finger will heal alone. Anyway, I don't like to be touched. I have the perfect medicine for this", she stands and search for a bottle of wine.

First day and we're already bickering. Great fun when people of different countries come together. Few get along.

Dom just snickered and then smiled. He was once told that he as a really creapy smile with the fangs and he uses it all the time because of that.

"Fair enough." Amethyst said, a twinge of disappointment in her voice.

She looked around, letting her gaze fall on each of the others for a moment.

"If we're going to be fighting together, perhaps it would be useful to see how we work as a team." She told them.

Slider wandered the halls of the castle looking for any servants, she still hadn't found any yet but she had seen several interesting rooms. Slider thought to herself "I wonder where they keep the book's on pressure points? My defence teacher said that such knowledge would be useful in self-defence, but I didn't get a chance to look it up back home."

Dom spoke up at this. "I agree. We should work together, not fight. Don't let prejudices and grudges get in the way."

"Might not want to let drunkeness get in the way either," said Cliff pointedly to Elfira. He laughed as she shot him a dirty look, but just at that moment, Ha Nozri entered the room.

Dom looked sharply at their 'boss' or whatever he was. Something about him just never seemed right.

Oh well, a jobs a job

Rith was on the verge of saying something to Dom, but as Ha Nozri suddenly entered the dining room, she turned to look at him.

"Need something?" She asked pointedly.

Tinker observed as the being known only as Ha Nozri entered the room. Finally! Now maybe these mammals will stop their rattling of gums.

As Ha Nozri enters the room, Elfira quickly hides the bottle of wine and her wounded finger. "The boss have arrived, looks like he's finally going to give us some orders", she says, her face a mixture between a serious expression and an amused smile.

Crisula stepped out from the shadows, and stood behind Blood. "I'd like to see what we got ourselves into," she says softly. Her hazel eys dart around the room as if searching for something. She notes Elfira's hand. She only could contemplate about what the orders could be.

Omnus stepped into the room, wiping his Yin Sword with a cloth, cleaning it. He glanced up at Ha Nozri and said, "Just the man I wanted to see... Ha Nozri, I have become restless... What is our first mission?"

"Restless? Missions? Boss?" Ha Nozri laughed at the faces of the team, "And here I was thinking that you had managed to think up some more puzzling and complex questions. Shame on me." He walked over to where Elfira was sitting and held out his hand to her, palm upwards, "Not in the morning, please," he said, talking about the wine.

After he had obtained it from a sulky Elfira, he turned to all the others and said, "First day's mission is the easiest. Ha ha. You all look so depressed about that. Well, here it is: I have hired an army of mercenaries in a castle that is placed 5 miles due south of this one. That means walking through mountain passes to reach it. You will see it from about 1 mile away, so don't worry about getting lost. I will show you the pass to start at, it is right outside the south wing of the castle. When you get to the neighboring castle, I want you to infiltrate it and get something for me. A crystal painted red with a few symbols etched into it. I will not disclose the location, you will need to find that out on your own. I have put some double agents in the castle, by the names of Foxtrot, Tango, and Marengue. You will dress as the mercenaries, so that when you infiltrate the base, they will not be able to tell you from the others. If you can locate the double agents, they can help you find the crystal. But be warned: I have given the mercenaries orders to kill you if they find you are not one of them. They are already on the lookout for any suspicious behavior from other mercenaries, so be cautious. When you have retrieved the crystal, come back here to me and show me. By the way: this mission is bloodless. I don't want any deaths unless absolutely necessary."

Dom was intrigued. "No blood, eh. Stealth. Haven't used that in a while."

Tinker blinks both sets of eyelids. "I should get to work then. I'll make something that should make the mission a bit easier. I am no mercenary, and probably would be 'made' first."

Slider had given up on finding a servent and had retured to the dining room just in time to overhear the trial mission.

"Oh great, and how am I to pass for a mercenary? Don't you think a 8 year old Slagkattungerian would raise some questions?" Slider asked with a raised eyebrow, her tail swishing back and forth while her left ear twitched in the direction of Tinker. "It might be wiser for me to stay behind and do some study, like the study of pressure points to disable opponents."

Crisula raised an eybrow, and ran her fingers through her orange hair. "Oh nothing out of the ordinary," she said musing. She looked at the people around her. She had a notion of this entire mission. "Infiltration?" she asked. "Sounds interesting...Well then. Let's get started."

Omnus collapsed into a chair in disgust. "I learned infiltration from a ninja, who taught me honor and loyalty. A mercenary's honor and loyalty have been bought and they were loathed by my ninja master. I will not dress up as a mercenary..."

"Oh please, shut up", she said turning to see Omnus "We're not here to be stopped by such things like honor. I had a better opinion of you in that matter, and ninja aren't honorable, as far as I know. You can dress as an honorable mercenary if you want to".

She turned to Ha Nozri, smiling "Wonderful, this is my favourite kind of mission. But I need to return to Aelosia to find some superb equipment for me and for the others. Things like Ellösar invisibility cloaks and non lethal ammunition. That crystal will be yours soon".

Omnus glared at the Elf angry at her impudence. Finally deciding that he should maintain the team, Omnus decided to go...

"I will go then... I have a plan. We will split up into two teams. While one team infiltrates, the second will launch a sudden attack to distract the castle guards... And no, Ha Nozri, we are not going to try to kill any of them."

"I don't need any special weapons. I can knock a person out with my hands before they even know what hit them. If it comes to it, I'll even use my sword sheath as a weapon."

"That's wonderful, but I still need some equipment. Maybe I should talk with Tinker, I'm sure he can figure out something if I explain it to him properly", said Elfira, her eyes looking at the room's ceiling.

"How straightfoward is this mountain pass? If it is difficult, I can guide the team. I have lived in the mountains all my life." Amethyst said, looking at the others again. "I might need a crash course in infiltration, however."

As Elfira talked to Omnus in a sharp tone, Rith raised an eyebrow slightly in her direction.

"This is a crash course in being a team," said Ha Nozri, "And it is for me to ascertain which levels you all are CURRENTLY on whereas infiltration and such are concerned."

He snapped his fingers, and they were suddenly standing in the middle of a mountain pass. The ten looked down at themselves, finding identical uniforms, of a greyish-brown nature, donning them. The suits were made of leather, a decent adaptation to the cold weather.

"This is the pass you will take," said Ha Nozri, pointing, "That is due south. You will not get nor need any special weapons. All you need is what you have, because when it comes down to it in the end, that is what you have to fight with. That is all that you will have to fight with, in the end. Any members wishing not to participate may feel free to leave. Now. Well?"

Nobody raised their hands. And, surveying the disdain but acceptance, Ha Nozri gave a final 'Hmph', a nod, and then snapped his fingers, vanishing. The ten just stood there, mouths agape, wondering what had just happened.

"That son. Of. A. Bitch." said Cliff.

"Well, it's not my ideal situation, but we can do nasty things together. I can figure out what Hellrider and Blood can do, close combat in the best expression, but what about everybody else?. We should start to trust each other. Maybe I was a bitch to many of you, and I'm sorry about that", says ShadowElf, lowering her head.

"But", she continues, "if we are going to take that castle, we need to work together. And please Amethyst, about what you said to me in the kitchen, maybe I'm interested in what you can do about my finger, I'm sorry about the words I said before", she blushes and she extends her hand to the cleric.

"Okay, so what's our plan. I can probably pull the best distraction to clear an opening for you to get in."

"Certainly." Amethyst said, smiling sweetly at the Elf.

She looked at the finger for a moment and, finished with her diagnose, placed a hand on the broken finger. A soft golden light surrounded the injured hand for a second, and then faded from sight.

"Give it a minute or two and it will be good as new." She said, and then went on further to explain. "I just channel the energies of your body to focus on the one spot where you are injured, and your body does the rest, accelerating the healing process drastically."

"I think the basic idea of this is to infiltrate, quickly and quietly. A distraction may be needed to get out, but one going in would probably make this mission fail before it begins."

"We need to get a schematic layout of the building."

"Agreed." Rith said, looking over at the usually quiet Sakkran. "How would we get a layout, though? We don't have one of Ha Nozri's books."

"Well, for one thing we would need an aerial view of some sort. Also a scouting excursion around the whole area, including entry/exit points, guard detail and scheduled patrols etc. Also their demeanor should be noted. These are only ideas, however."

Blood looked at Swimmer. "You can get the aerial layout, right. I can stay out here and supply a distraction when you people need to get out. "

Crisula looked at her outfit. "Charming..." she remarked to herself, and looked toward the others. "If we can get close enough, I can open the doors...an entrance will not be a problem. We just need to stay clear of the security."
Her orange hair was tied back and the bleach blond roots were at her hairline. It weaved and twisted into a french braid that fell to her waist. She slowly took out a black bandana and tied it around her head. She wasn't cold, and welcomed the temeperature. She blinked rapidly for two seconds before her eyes adjusted to the light. A wry smile crossed her face. She leaned against a rocklike formation and rested. Something caught her eye however. It was a small red stone, prismatic and aweful. She looked at it intently, and reached out as it soared into her hand. She looked at it and smiled. It levitated inches above her hand. Apparently she was more interested in this stone rather than the path ahead of them.

"I can get an aerial view, but what's with all this 'sneaking in' stuff?" asked Cliff, "We're dressed just like them, let's just report back or something from a fake scouting expedition." Looking around to the others, he saw mixed approval. But he went on, "And, one more thing: This names rule. I think it's bullshit. Why shouldn't we know eachothers' real names? Everybody, my name is Cliff Thurgood."

Crisula smiled softly. "In case we need an access key or something...I'll be able to open the door." She looked at Cliff for a moment. Then slowely came to agreement. "Alright. I'm Crisula Jentulen, the infamous demonic hybrid." She smiled devilishly at the last title. Indeed she was infamous in her line of work, yet she said nothing about her work. The red stone dropped into her hand and she looked at it momentarily before setting it down.

"Too right, um... Cliff. Codenames are impersonal, I've always felt. You never get close to people whose names you don't know. And I feel if we're going to work together as much as I suspect we will be, we'll have to know each other far better than we already do."

"Although, you lot will know me a little better thanks to the little sob story I put out back in the castle. As... Rith already knows," pointing to Amethyst, "I am James Tarantov. A secret operative. And a little too talkative, it seems."

"I'm sure getting in will be no trouble once we've worked this thing out. The normal trouble with stealing things, especially noticeable things like this crystal thing, is normally not in the getting in, but the getting out."

"My name is Jheer, of the family Uaah, of the ..... (he rails on for a full minute), of the Swamp Expanses. Hmmmm...perhaps it should just be Jheer for now. We are dressed like the mercenaries indeed, but do we act enough like them? And do we act as if we are familiar with the layout about us? I would venture no. We must be convincing."

"Yeah. I'm Dom Wrathe. Just Dom. Real names work better." He put on his weapon vest over the merc clothes and made sure everything is attached. "And on the mission, I could cause a great distraction. They'd hit me but I wouldn't fall. Mess with their heads a little." He grinned.

ShadowElf looked at her hand, smiling at Rith as the finger started to move again "Namárië", she just said.

"Elfira...just Elfira", she said, refusing to use her false family name until she finds the right one. "About the Jheer's comment, acting like mercenaries is easy, you just need to look rough and arrogant. I have been surrounded by mercenaries almost all my life, even I worked for some of them a long time ago. I suggest to leave the talking to the comrade Tarantov, anyway. However, I think we should wait until the Flyn...Cliff comes back with the intelligence report".

"I just need the info about the sentinel's patrol. I can take them down from afar without making any noise. I could use tranquilizer darts, Ha Nozri's orders were no killing".

double post.

Cliff flew back in, landing slowly.

"It's fine. I'm supposing that Ha Nozri hired these mercenaries just so that we could pull off this test..." He explained to them the castle's outer layout in detail. There was no more than a castle. There was no moat, no inner buildings, but one large building built of stone. It was in a square and had one tower that extended into a lofty spire directly in the middle of the castle. There was no courtyard, but rather balconies with vantage points of surrounding grounds.

Patrols of mercenaries dressed in the same clothes as they walked the balconies, making sure that no others came near to the castle. Small patrols also walked around the grounds outside the castle, switching every half hour, as the ones on the balconies.

"Should we pretend to be a patrol?" asked Cliff.

"Too many men in the balconies to take them out from here without raising suspicions. Better to use subterfuge in this one. I vote for Cliff's plan", says Elfira, raising her hand, looking at Cliff's eyes with surprise.

"Your plan sounds fine Cliff. A basic castle, yes? Hmmmmm...." Jheer rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well my real name is Lotus Purrlinda; I think I had better wait inside the castle out of sight, because there is no way I'm going to mistaken for a mercenary.....I will try not to fall asleep while waiting for you to catch up. What do you want me to do once I'm inside anyway? I'll have plenty of time to look around." Lotus pauses waiting for their reply.

"I vouch for acting as a patrol as well. If anyone gets suspicious, I bet James can talk us out of it." She said, smiling over at James. "You all can call me Rith, Rith Har'Xel."

"Indeed. Does anyone mind if I act as the patrol leader? Not on any part of arrogance, of course, but just so I can control the situation if they get suspicious, as Rith said. And of course, they might do if they're alert, and check patrol rotas and troop numbers and suchforth. Of course, that's only if they're well paid... the morale of a mercenary is famously lacking if there isn't a coin in his hand."

James smiled, specifically at Rith. Of course, if anyone objected, he could always change their mind. Except the elf, of course. As the other non-humans that he'd never seen before... well, he'd just have to see.

"Shall we get going, then?"

Omnus considered the plans, "Cliff's plan should do... I suggest we split up into two patrols, as to not keep our eggs in one basket..."

"I agree with that," Crisula said softly. "If we split up, then we have a less chance of looking suspicious, and can cover more ground that way."

"Two patrols sounds fine to me," said Cliff, "I vote for one being lead by Elfira, and one by James. They seem to me to be fine and influential leaders. Who wants to go in which group?"

Crisula thought for a while. Indeed she was not a leader...her brother was, but she was not. She looked toward the two. In the end, she had to make a decision. "I will go with James," she said, readjusting the black bandana.

Omnus stood up and stretched. "Before we split off, we should see what abilities will work well together... And we need somebody to coordinate, if Ha Nozri doesn't."

Elfira pulled out her handgun and gave it to James saying "Take it, you will look like a more convincing mercenary if you're armed. But now I have a question, What are we going to do after we enter the castle?, we need to plan that before we enter".

"Also, do we have any way to communicate in case someone gets in a bit of trouble?"

Omnus pulled out ten state-of-the-art comlinks.

"Everybody takes one..."

Omnus put the comlinks on the table and took one for himself fastening it on his head...

(There isn't a table...)

Dom accepted the link and put it on.

Crisula took on and fastened it through her bandana above her ear. Apparently one of them had come prepared. She slightly had suspicions of Ha Nozri...and sensed something about him she wasn't too pleased about. She couldn't put her finger on it, so chose to ignore it.

Elfira takes the communicator and place it on her ear. "Namárië, this was a good idea. Now, I want to know how are we going to divide..."

"Which group will cause a distraction in case we need one to get out? I should go with that group, so I can keep them fighting." Rith said, fastening a comlink to her ear.

"Always prepared, eh?" said Cliff to Omnus, fastening the comlink into one ear. He heard a lot of people asking all these questions, but who was going to answer them? "I say we just split up into two groups and mix strength, persuasiveness, and stealth evenly in the two. From there on, the group leaders make the decisions."

Lotus sighed "Adults!" she thought "Always overlooking me, no one has even suggested what they want me to do. I told them I could get in but no one has suggested what I should do once I'm in, ok I'll try again."

Lotus put her hands on her hips and pouted "Is anybody even listening to me? None of these plan's make use of my ability to slow or stop time...you did know I could do that didn't you?"

"OK, as a team leader, I pick Cliff, Lotus, C.J., Ariel and me. The harder guys, Dom and Omnus, should go with the distraction team, as well Amethyst", said Elfira, in a different tone of voice, the tone of a drill sergeant giving orders to her men. She was relatively comfortable in that role. That was her best role, the thing that she has done all her life, and for what the Aelosian goverment pay her for.

Jheer tried to fit the communicator on his ear with difficulty. It seemed they weren't made for beings with only ear-holes, as opposed to full ears. He cobbled together a fastening device, though, which used light suction to keep it in place.

"Hhhrrrr...good. Hmmmm, I guess I could go with the distraction team. All Sakkrans from neonate up are required to have some military training. I will fight with the distraction team. Omnus, do you have another communicator? I have an idea for non-lethal weaponry."

Rith nodded in approval at Elfira.

She looked down at Slider and said, "Good point, Lotus. Heck, I bet you could go in there and get it yourself. But then none of us would have any fun. How could we incorporate you?"

Lotus looks back at Rith "Well I could find it by myself if all the doors were open, but somehow I doubt that they would make it that easy. I can't move objects when I stop time altogether, so i would have to switch between the two modes I can use to do it. Then I will have to sleep for a month or two as a result, not an attractive idea as I would be unable to participate in anything else during that time."

Rith laughed a little.

"Yes, we wouldn't want you sleeping for that long. What can you help us with, then?" She asked the small catgirl.

Lotus thought for a moment "Well if I use my abilities in sort bursts I can avoid the need to sleep straight away, so how can I help.....hmmmmmmm" after a short pause she started to purr "Well I can steal things in plain view without them realising it, things like keys, guns, communication devices. Also I can tie shoelaces together without being notice as I am moving between seconds so I won't be notice by the five sensors."

"Yeah, fuk with em. Make em think the place is haunted or something."

Lotus gave a small squeal of delight "Ohh I like that idea but are we not suppose to retrieve something instead of scaring them?"

"We can do both..." said Cliff, winking.

"Sounds good to me," she said in approval. She looked at the cat girl. "Maybe...is it possible for me to move objects when you slow the time?" She said walking closer to her. "My power does not rely on how much weight I can lift."

Elfira was surprised, almost astonished. They were talking about powers beyond her own imagination. She had seen sorcerers, psychics and wizards in her homeland, but that a catgirl could stop time was another matter.

"Looks like...a wonderful plan...I will cover you. I will try to disable the defenses while you retrieve what we need", said Elfira, her mouth still half opened.

Omnus accepted his assignment. "We still need somebody to coordinate the strike... Ha Nozri (if he is still in the room) will you coordinate?"

"Omnus, are you with it? Ha Nozri isn't here, neither are we any longer in the room or the castle."

James toyed slightly with the gun Elfira gave him.

"So, I'm in the distraction team. Do we start fighting as soon as we get in the castle, further in, or what?"

"Oh whoops, the semuta must be getting to me..." Omnus sheepishly answered. Then pulling out his twin swords, Omnus began twirling them.

"If it is, I don't want you twirling any sharp objects for a little while. Otherwise I may end up looking as if I fell into an industrial strength mincer."

Omnus laughed. "I can see you can crack a good joke... Very well..." Omnus sheathed his two swords and began to walk along.

Hmm.....a druggy.

C.J. let out a sigh of frustration. Boys will be boys... she thought to herself silently. "Be careful," she said to the distraction team softly, but keyed in on Dom. There was something about him that seemed familiar as if she had seen him before. She shrugged it off. She cracked her fingers slightly, and looked at the others. "Let's do this."

Cliff wondered who exactly Lance was. But he shrugged the thought away and turned back to Elfira. "Let's go then," he said. And he was off, swimming through the air 10 feet above the ground towards the castle. The rest of his team of 5 followed along, Elfira leading them, and the second team stayed back so that they could come a bit later and not arouse suspiscion.

As he headed off, he saw the castle rise. It was indeed half a mile away, rising between twin peaks of light snow and rock. As he swam higher and higher, he broke the tops of the few peaks around him, and saw over the entire range. There they were, walking below him. And there was their own castle behind them, and this new, simpler one before them. What would await them... nobody knew.

Ha Nozri, meanwhile, paced back and forth. As if The Master's mind was pondering different options, the image of Ha Nozri flipped randomly between a cat, a dog, an old man, a beautiful woman, a beautiful man, a fat man with no teeth, a skeleton... What image would hold the most influence with people?

HE finally settled on one image he liked particularily: a grey cloak with no face. Very nice. The image finally flickered out and reappeared in the heart of the castle. The hooded cloak looked around, surveying the room, and then held its hand out to a jewel with markings sitting in the middle of it. The jewel flew into the invisible hand of the cloaked being, and it inscribed in the stone a few simple runes, then layed it down on the floor.

Dom watched as Cliff and the rest of the insertion crew left as he leaned against a rock. "Well, now to wait. How about we go check out what the merc patrols are."

Rith nodded to Dom and watched the infiltration team silently stalk off.

"Yes, lets." She said simply.

Lotus followed after the rest of the infiltration team and answered the question the telekinetic had asked "No you won't be able to use your ability my power applies to myself only." with that she shifted to go slow walked around to the other side of the lady and sped up, it appeared to the rest of them as if she had teleported from one side to another in a blink of the eye.

Meanwhile, the distraction team plots....

Jheer has removed his communicator from his ear, and is feeling it out with his mind. "Omnus, if you have a pair of spare communicators, I have an idea for a distraction that will distract like none other."

"Impressive," she said softly, but made no show of her own power. She watched as the groups divided. Let's see what this place has to hide.

Omnus rummaged through his satchel at his back and pulled out two more comlinks and a lot of C4.

"These are my spares comlinks and some C4 to go along with it..."

OOC: I typed the wrong name in earlier...

Jheer looked over the parts and felt them out. "The comm-links are useful. the C-4, however, will not produce the desired result." He hands it back gently, and begins working with the inner mechanics of the comm-links.

Elfira just walked forward, looking at her companions. Suddenly she noted the advancement of Lotus just ahead of her. "Phew, amazing. Can you teach me how to do that?. Well, I'll go and dispose of the guards. Cliff will find the artifact, and you Lotus will retrieve it. C.J., you will help Lotus with that. Meanwhile, I will try to get rid of the nearby guards".

Crisula sighed to herself on the inside, but would help retrieve the artifact. She looked at Elfira. "Might it help to disarm them first?" She inquired.

"I'll find the artifact? Hidden somewhere inside there? I don't mean to challenge your leadership, Elfira, but how am I supposed to find it? C.J. and Lotus can both help me find it," Cliff said. He then turned to Ariel and continued, "And can't you shapeshift into a liquid form to get inside of the room if it's behind a locked door? That would help us once we've found it. But until then, I propose you lie low, since we'll need you. My powers are pretty useless here."

And then, Cliff continued again to Elfira, "And I thought we weren't supposed to kill any guards... so what do you mean by 'take care of them'? Unless we get busted, in which case we'll have the backup/distraction team."

They were standing not 100 meters away from the castle... yet Cliff still didn't know how they were to pull this off.

"I can easily remove the bullets from their guns if there is some sort of distraction to turn them away from looking at their weapons. They wouldn't be too keen if they saw the bullets slowely slipping from their guns." she laughed slightly.

Dom looked down at the guards, using his enhanced senses to pick out where they were. He used his SOET training to make note of the weapons they were using. This would be a snap.

Elfira looked at Cliff, midly dissapointed, midly confused "I thought you could find it from the air, nevermind. And I didn't meant to kill them, I remember exactly Ha Nozri's orders, I meant disabling them, render them inconscious. Ariel and Lotus, go with Cliff and find the artifact. Ariel, please protect Cliff, I know you can do it, he's not in the best situation to take advantage of his powers. Crisula, come with me, I like the idea of the bullets, that's perfect, but don't scare them too much, I don't want to start all the alarms".

She took off a pair of buttons of her shirt, showing part of her bare chest "That should be enough to take the eyes of the guards from their guns, Crisula. I will wait for your signal", she quickly left, trying to approach the nearest guard.

Crisula laughed to herself. She gets to have all the fun... She immediately began her work. The first guard, more than easily distracted by Elfira, had left his gun, unattended on his side. It remained there as it opened quickly, but the impact could not be felt. The bullets slipped out quickly to be covered in the ground, and the gun was closed once again. That was one down. As she worked along them, it became easier and easier to use her powers. After many of them had been unknowingly disarmed. C.J. looked to Elfira with a smile. The bullets were pushed into the ground with footsteps, and many remained in C.J.'s hand, which they could use for extra ammo. She slighlty wondered what would happen if they found out all the bullets were gone...but she wouludn't be suspected....she didn't get close enough to them to cause suspicion.

Glancing at Jheer, Omnus put away the C-4 and suddenly believed he knew Jheer's plan.

"Are you gonna cause a squawk with those comlinks?"

A bit of solder here, some adjustments with the capacitors there, and numerous electrono-gimmickery later Jheer was finished.

"Yes, you could say it will be a 'squawk'. What the premise is, is that these comm units will feed-back against each other at high frequencies, and will be broadcast over certain frequencies. If we could find what frequency the mercenaries are using, I could adjust this to isolate and broadcast over their comm systems. Very painful, but not deadly. Hrr hrrr hrrrrrrr."

Elfira quickly acted. Four guards, three seconds to disable all of them before the alarm started. She launched her whip to the throat of the first one, at the same time placing a kick under the second man's chin, trying to break his jaw. She pulled the whip, to bring closer the first man, hitting the side of his head with the backside of her free hand.

She stroke the third man's throat with the tip of her fingers, stopping him from screaming, but saw the first man raising from the floor behind her with the corner of her eye. This guy is tough, that kick wasn't enough to take him down

She faced the last guard, now without the surprise factor. "Ahem, I could use some help here", she said to the rest of the team, her gaze still fixed in the man's eyes.

"She could have just asked to be let in..." thought Cliff, and Ariel dragged him inside. Who was she, anyway? He had yet to find out. He felt useless, however, and allowed himself to be dragged along as he looked back at Elfira. Yeah, right, like that wouldn't set off the alarm.

Lotus sighed as she slipped into go slow she quickly moved over to the now statue like pair, she pulled out a long ribbon from her pocket and tied the legs of the last guy together and then returned to the other and slipped out of go slow.

"Thanks Lotus", said Elfira, smiling at the little girl, placing her boot over the soldier's throat, rendering the man inconscious. "Now help me to hide these beautiful dormants, Cliff and Ariel should be on their way in".

Crisula looked at her. "Why, there was no need for that." She said. She reached for one of the fallen guard's guns and strapped it to herside. She did the same with another. Her hazel eyes flashed slightly. She hadn't used her abilities like this in a while, and it was invigorating. Crisula looked at the bodies and a smirk crossed her face. She held out her hands, and moved them at her will, dragging them off to the side, two at a time.

James stared down at the infiltration team as Elfira made quick work of the guards.

"Hmm. Jheer, work quickly. I see the word "infiltrate" appears not to be in Elfira's vocabulary. We may have to do something a little faster than expected."

He switched on his comlink to talk to Elfira. Starting rather calmly, his voice rose as he went on.

"May I politely ask what the hell you're doing? I thought you were supposed to be an infiltration team. Kind of suggests secrecy, stealth, subtelty. It would have been more subtle just to blow up the entire place and pick through what was left!"

He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down.

"Okay, okay, that was slight hyperbole. But the rest of what I said still stands. Go more carefully until Jheer rigs up his distraction. You'll know it when you see it."

"Anyway, How the heck you want me to deal with the door's guards?. And you didn't heard a shot. Didn't you?, that was a stealthy fight, about secrecy, Cliff and Ariel are already inside. And subtlety is for the cowards", said Elfira through the comm link.

Then she turned to C.J: "Good job, now let's get inside, Cliff and Ariel might need some help", she said, rushing to the gates.

The device itself was completed, as it only required simple jury-rigging.

"We need to isolate the frequency the mercenaries use in their comms, so we don't get an ear-ful of sonic screeching." he shakes his head at James's statement to Elfira. Subtlety is lost on a warrior sometimes.

C.J. rushes after Elfira. The hybrid travelling as fast as possible. She slightly wondered if this was just a big set up...and wondered if this was real at all. She had her doubts, but she didn't want to have to take a bullet to find out.

"Both of you, be quiet." Rith said into her comm. "Despite Elfira's little show, the mercs haven't gotten suspicious yet, so let's keep it that way. Arguing with thin air isn't going to help stealth at all."

She sighed slightly. Her team had a long way to go if they were going to actually be of any service to Ha Nozri.

Dom had watched the whole thing. They were lucky that none of the patrols came by while they were removing the front door guards.

Cliff and Ariel were now in the dark and somewhat dank castle... they looked around, down the corridors, and saw CJ, Elfira, and Lotus running in behind them. Cliff turned around and said to the others, "I think it would be best if we split up to look for it, yet kept in touch on the telecom thingies."

Lotus listens to Cliff short speach "Ok I'll come with you two!" She replies sweetly in a whisper. She shifts into "Go Slow" briefly coming out of it when she had joined Cliff and Ariel.

"We're looking for a ring?. Any clues about where it could be?", asked Elfira, her eyes dancing from face to face of her companions."Crisula, maybe you could try to visualize that ring inside your mind?".

Cliff had taken off as the others discussed plans further in the hallway. He made his way down the stone corridor and turned, coming into a grand ballroom. He made his way through a wooden set of doors into yet another ballroom, but this one empty and bare, devoid of any furniture or objects barring a glass and metal chandelier hanging from the cieling.

"Who are you?" rand a voice from behind him, "Show yourself!"

Cliff turned around and saw, standing there, a mercenary guard with a scimitar outstretched. "Erm... might you know of a large crystal residing in this castle somewhere? It's umm... red... and has runes and stuff..."

The guard walked towards Cliff, scimitar outstretched. "Congratulations, mate," he said, "You just gave yourself away. I knew you were one of them imposters. Well now you'll have the honor of being a shish-kabab imposter!" And with this, he lunged at Cliff. But Cliff was no longer there. The guard looked around, and then heard Cliff call down to him, "Up here!"

The guard looked up, only to see Cliff sitting in the rafters. Infuriated, the guard threw the scimitar up at him. It spiraled in arcs round and round, faster and faster, and came to rest sticking into the rafter Cliff had been on. But he was now in midair. And as the guard tried frantically to pull out a rapier, Cliff cut through the chains of the chandelier in three hacks.

It came crashing down on top of the guard, leaving him a mess all over the stone floor. As Cliff grounded himself, three more guards rushed in from the more lavishly decorated ballroom, drawing sabres. "Quick!" Cliff yelled, "One of the imposters! He killed one of our comrades and headed off toward the crystal!" Cliff hoped they would buy the line.

"Really?" said the woman who appeared to be the head of the three, "Well my two 'comrades' here will go off to the room, and I, meanwhile, will be sure to see to it that YOU are not also an imposter." She pointed her sabre at Cliff, holding the scimitar. The two other guards rushed past her out the room into one of the many stone halls, and Cliff then turned to her.

"We can't waste time! I have to persue the villian! I-" but Cliff was cut off as the guard jumped forward and slashed at him. "Not so fast," she said, "First, you have to prove to me you are one of us."

Elfira heard the noise inside the far room, and a lamp crashing against the floor "And there died the rest of our stealthy mission", she said as she ran quickly to the door of the hall. Suddenly a pair of mercenaries came out, armed and in a hurry. "Now I can figure out what happened", she said as she fired her handgun, loaded with a tranquilizer dart. The dart hitted the first merc in the throat, dropping him to the ground.

The second one slashed at her, forcing her to parry with the hilt of the gun and step back from him. "Crisula, Ariel, Lotus, Are you here?, I could need some help"...

Crisula was right behind her. Raising her hand, her eyes flashed a deep red as the second mercenary was thrown against the wall. The further she advanced, the more intense the pressure became. "Well, there goes my cover..." Her hazel eyes darted to Elfira. Her mango-colored hair had fell out of the iron clip she had used, and fell in sections to her shoulders.
"Come on," she said motioning to her. "We have a mission to complete." She looked at the missionary, and raised her hand, bringing him up from the wall. His legs touched the ground, enabling to walk. A click could be heard, as C.J. cocked the gun. "And you're going to lead us exactly where we need to go. And If you don't...you'll be kissing the floor with a bullet in the back of your head...don't be deceptive. You lead us in the wrong direction, kiss your life goodbye, and your dignity as good as gone." She had a threatening demeanor about her. Maybe she did have a darker side.

Rith sighed as she listened in over the comm.

"Looks like we might be needed soon." She stated for anyone who hadn't been listening in on the comm chatter.

"I heard that, Rith," said Cliff, as he parried a blow from the guard. She was a tough fighter, and he was an inexperienced one. That meant there was only one way to go: up. As he flew towards the rafters, he yelled into the comm link, "I could use some help here, guys!"

She looked up at him and laughed, then slowly reached her hand into a pocket. And out it came with a gun.

Lotus heard Cliff's call for help, once again she sighed and entered "Go Slow" mode thinking "I'll be lucky to only miss a week after this." Lotus ran pass the statues that were really people moving extreamly slowly, she quickly arrived next to the lady aiming a gun at the statue of cliff. Lotus quickly focused on the gun and used her limited telekinesis to remove the clip and the chambered round from the gun. Then she pulled out another two pink ribbons, tying one around the ankles of the lady and the other around her mouth. This done she found a place to hide and came out of "Go Slow" to watch what happens next.

Dom had been listening to the chatter over the radio.

Amateurs.

He leaned forward away from the rock and stretched. "Almost time for a distraction." He made sure his pistol was secure and his blade was where he needed it.

Jheer sealed up the fiddled-with comm units, and stood. "The 'Screechers' are ready. I've surfed around different channels and isolated the mercenaries frequency. Suffice it to say, they will get an unwelcome surprise." A WHIFF sound escaped his nostrils, the approximation of a chuckle.

"How long can you maintain it?" Rith asked, looking over the "Screechers" Jheer had rigged.

"Well, with these lithium batteries, the surge can last about 8 minutes. Any more than that, and permanent damage may be the result. If it was the old-style cadmium batteries, 2 minutes tops."

"Eight minutes. That's plenty of time. But wait until they get the target first."

"Eight minutes is enough..." Omnus stood up and began doing backflips...

"Wish I could go in and start practicing on the mercs..."

"Thanks, Crisula, it looks like we make a good team...", said the elf, amazed to watch the dark side of her partner.

Elfira entered the room running quickly as she heard the call from Cliff calling for help. However, she barely saw Lotus running forward her, at an unearthy speed. This girl gives a new meaning to the word "speed", she said to herself, smiling.

She loaded the gun with another tranquilizer dart, then jumped in the air to launch a flying kick against the woman chest, trying to push her away from Cliff. I hope she don't fire first, she thought, just to see as the woman suddenly dropped to the floor tied by the ankles with a pair of pink ribbons. Her kick stroke the woman's chin as she fell, launching her against a wall.

"Wonderful!, Who did that?, Can I learn how to do that?", said Elfira, smiling and picking the woman's weapons from the floor.

C.J. pushed the gun into the back of the Mercenaries head. "We make an extremely good team...as to you sir...show us the way, or you will never see the light of day again. I'm not talking about death...I'm talking about years of painful, non stopping torture that would make you beg for a death to come." She was extremely feirce. The half-breed looked at the others, then shoved the man forward. "After you..."

Lotus popped her head out of her hiding place and looked at Elfita "I did it and you must be born with the talent to be able to do it, so I have to say no you can't unless you have been holding out on us."

Cliff had thought he was finished. She had pulled a gun on him! That was supposed to be against the rules! And suddenly... she was down on the floor, with ribbons tied to her. And in her place was Elfira, kicking her down and smacking her around... and Lotus, sitting in the corner and laughing. These people were crazy.

"Ok, kids. I think they know we're here now," said Cliff, and then, over the comm links, "Guys, we could use a distraction now. Subtlety is kind of... gone. So... get your asses in her and help us." He then turned back to Elfira and Lotus and said, "Time to find that crystal... thing," and ran through one of the doors.

"Oh, a shame, it could be so useful, specially when you try to dodge bullets", Elfira said, answering Lotus comment. Then she turn to Cliff, "Let's go. Crisula, Can you read that man's mind and try to visualize where is the crystal?, I don't know nothing about mental powers, but maybe you could do that and save us a huge amount of time".

"Oh, a shame, it could be so useful, specially when you try to dodge bullets", Elfira said, answering Lotus comment. Then she turn to Cliff, "Let's go. Crisula, Can you read that man's mind and try to visualize where is the crystal?, I don't know nothing about mental powers, but maybe you could do that and save us a huge amount of time".

Jheer transmits on his comm to the 'infiltration' team. "Let us know when you reach the target, and a distraction would follow immediately. To do so too early would be ..... bad."

"Well, they say they need the distraction. Start the noise." Dom said over his shoulder as he proceeded to a vantage point where he could see the mercs. They were rushing around on high-alert.

"Very well."

Jheer dials in the merc's comm frequency, and presses the button to activate it. A horrific high-pitched screeching eminates from the merc's comm units. Clutching of ears and spasmodic fits should be the result on the part of any who receive this nasty transmission.

Dom watched as a merc fell over clutching his ears, trying to take off the headset. Dom strolled up and kicked the merc in the head, rendering the writhing man unconscious. He moved to the next merc, doing the same. He keyed his com unit."Get the target and get out. We're here."

Rith walked nearby Dom, her quarterstaff in both hands, ready to help him if he were wounded or engaged by a large amount of people. But, Jheer's screechers were working well, and she was unsure if she would have any fun. She grinned slightly at the thought.

Lotus exited her hiding place and started searching the fallen mercenaries, looking for any clues on where the target was and anything else that could be of use.

Dom could hear the mercenaries heartbeats. They were moving fast, they must all know the presence of the infiltration team. Dom came to the door through which the infiltration team had entered. "They might need help."
Dom pulled a special pair of gloves out of his pack. They had sheets of metal laced into the knuckles and back of the gloves. Great for rendering someone unconscious. Dom put on the gloves and tightened them. He gave a test punch against the wall. Large cracks formed in the wall around where his fist impacted the wall.

Perfect.

C.J. looked at the man. "Well if they know we're here..."

bang...

C.J. looked at the man on the floor, then to Cliff, Elfira, and Lotus. She put the gun bag at her side, and took out a white scarf to wipe the blood from her hands. The shot had been heard no more than a punch. "I love silencers..." She looked toward them, their eyes questioning of her actions. "He could have turned on us at any time...and if they know we're here...we should probably find that crystal as quickly as possible."

"I like your attitude, C.J., but that was a violation of Ha Nozri's orders. I don't think he will like it", said Elfira, smiling at the psychic. "Anyway, that woman pulled a gun first. This will be easier now".

"This isn't my normal demeanor," she replied to Elfira, her eyes quickening. "Don't you sense anything strange about this entire thing? Excuse me for having doubts...but a paper happens to blow by me in the park saying that they wanted people with unusual talents. I go check it out, figureing I could find someone to relate to, and I got chosen. So I went. Then I realized I just signed up for something I knew nothing about. A man named Ha Nozri shows up, tells us nothing about himself nor who we are really working for. Sure we asked questions, but none that required a great deal of thought. We were sent blindly into a supposedly easy mission with a, Oh yeah, by the way...if they find you, they'll shoot you. But don't shoot them...it would be horrifically mean and unethical! Why should we not just walk right up to them and ask to play russian roulette! All we were told was that we have to find this crystal. What's it's purpose. What is this 'league of extrodinary gentlemen' really called for. Excuse me if I'm stepping over my boundaries. When I came here I was quite reserved for the most part, but as soon as the first shots were fired, that control was lost over me. It seems like a set up...like they're using us for pawns in their sick game of chess. For God's sake I don't even know who THEY are!"
Her hazel eyes flashed for a moment as rage arose within her. THe clip form her hair had been lost, and her hair fell in soft waves down her back, the bleach blond roots exposed fading sharply into an orange. Her berry stained lips were parted slightly as to say something more, though no words came to her.
"Forgive me," she said softly in her usual tone. She looked over the body, and looked at his hand. The index finger slightly bent as it had been tensed before the shot, the ring at a sixty degree angle. This aroused suspicion within her. She flipped the man over, and searched his coat. A gun was halfway pulled out. She began to pick it up, but let it drop back into the holster. He would have killed us...he was going to. At least now I know what type of people we're dealing with... She stood up to face the others. "What's the worst that can happen? He attempts to kill me? I rather I die than anyone of you." She paused momentarily, collecting herself. "Let's move on."

Lotus was shocked at what she had seen, she hadn't realised how dangerous the people she had though friends were. She looked at the dead man then at the psychic and made up her mind, with a quick bounce she was off determined to find the target before anymore people were killed. Lotus hoped she could find some information on the location of the target object quickly or she would have to search the whole building while switching between "All Stop!" and "Go Slow" and that would mean months of sleeping afterwards.

Dom heard the shot, even though it was silenced.

Wonder who broke the rules?

Elfira took the gun and cocked it. "Without that stupid rule I'll behave more freely. Let's find that stupid crystal once and for all".

Crisula looked at the gun and it the bullets were forced out. They crashed to the ground, skittering across the floor. With a sigh she continued, "The rule still holds, and whatever the out come may be for breaking them, I don't want it to happen to anyone else. And who can behave freely in a world made on rules right?" She smiled slightly. She looked at Lotus for a brief moment, then began toward their destination down the long corridor. The bullets had be collected into her hand. She didn't need a gun to fire them, and she had already broken the rule. If they were threatened to a great degree, it would be a last resort. "Here crystal crystal crysal...come on.." she said softly as if trying to get a kitten to come to her."

Sounds like things are going south. Maybe I should help.

Dom began walking down a hall, further into the castle. He was aware of many mercenaries rushing around the castle around him, and even ducked into an alcove to dodge a merc at one time.

Some of the hardware these people are packing, the infiltration group may be in a lot of trouble.

Omnus stopped when he heard the shot and swore colorfully under his breath. Unsheathing his two swords, he nodded towards the other members of the team.

"We should go check it out... I believe something has gone terribly wrong..."