Genesis Crisis: Resurgence IC

Ergo
Nadenka Orlov

'I have a feeling my last mission is coming up soon.' Said him, wrapping Nadenka with his strong arms. 'Until then, stay strong, okay?' Nadenka let her head rest on his chest. 'What if I don't want you to go?' she asked, the man kissed her forehead. 'I am doing this for our future... I want our future life to be peaceful...'

Nadenka opened her eyes, somehow she was able to fall asleep. Perhaps she was too tired? Then her eyes drifted to the place where Belobog made his disappearance.

Then the scene of herself inspecting the cold body her lover disturbed her mind. But that scene did not last long as she shook her head to prevent herself from drifting to such thoughts.

She sighed and she stared at the key, resting her fingers on it to start the engine; the reason why Nadenka decided to return to the army was not only because her lover was fading from her memory, but she had discovered ugly truth about her lover's death.

The cold body of his was not the doing of his enemy, but it looked like someone who he trusted had ended his life.. Someone betrayed him.

But this idea was only build upon what she had saw from his wound and the lie that covered how her lover met his doom.

It was then she had started to crafting the theory of how to empower her own strain to remove other's strain, but so far no success...

She curled her lips, and removed her fingers from the car key. Her eyes again drifted to the direction where Belobog disappeared. Is she waiting for his return?

Or perhaps, she is looking for something to hate her own country? Some reason to blame her country for doing something not right so that she could destroy the country that her lover tried to protect?

Is she waiting for someone or something to force her to do something that would betray her country just like how her country has betrayed her lover?...

She bite her lips, and her fingers tapping on the steering wheel nervously....

Aegis

- Marcus -

Marcus vaulted over the table as the woman connected her weapons and rolled to her feet. She yelled at someone name Alexei before throwing something on the ground. For a moment, he thought it might cause some kind of explosion, but then it all made sense. She'd been on a com with someone, and by stepping on it, she'd destroyed the evidence.

As he processed this, she began swinging her weapon at him in an erratic pattern, forcing Marcus, who was unarmed, to block her strikes as best he could with his forearms and thighs. More than causing actual damage to him, it was slowly numbing his movements, but with the speed boost provided by his magic, he could still keep up. The fact that she moved so well without any apparent magic of her own startled him though. This was someone with military training.

When she swiped at him with a wider arc, he smirked, stepping into the strike, putting himself in line with her arm instead. "That was a mistake." He growled, catching her by the forearm and digging his thumb into the tendon to make her drop the weapon.

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- Lisa -

"They could be making a run for it." Lisa responded, glancing in that direction. "I'll stay on watch, in case it's some kind of distraction."


"You, go offer support to Rise and James." She scanned the horizon, looking for Keynes and Luke. Where had they wandered off to?

---------------------------------------------------------------------

- Keynes -

With a growl of frustration, Keynes kicked a rock by the power conduit. "Nothing wrong with this thing. They must be interfering with it remotely somehow."

He turned back towards the facility. "Something like that can't have much range on it though. They would need to be practically on top of the lab, which means if Lisa didn't flush them from the woods, they're not in there."

Arusians
- Ehlana -

Slowly she was gaining ground. Whoever her opponent was, he didn’t seem expertly trained even though he had the advantage as a strain user.

When he suddenly grabbed her wrist, Ehlana gave a sound of pained surprise, but chose not respond to his remarks. More or less involuntary, she dropped the bo staff.

However, the calm never left her eyes. She needed to break free. Instead of pulling away, she took a step forward and elbowed Marcus in the chest, aiming for his solar plexus. Then she dove around under his arm to twist it around his back and kicked at the back of his knee. Trying to keep him off-balance, her free arm curled around his neck to cut off his air.

Ergo
Luke Jaron

"If this is not the problem... what else would cause such disturbance?" Luke asked Keynes as he was the expert of the field.

Luke sighed, he was not an idiot, but he was definitely blind on what today's technology is capable of. It looked like he needed to do some reading on such things if he wanted to be helpful in fighting such cunning enemies.

"What should we do now?" He asked Keynes.

Arusians

"Heading to Ergo research lab, where are you?"

"What?" Alexei said, hardly believing is ears. "No, Belo, abort. We're already here, and it's going badly. They can't have all three of us."

The distraction earned him a blow to the back, and he staggered against a car. That James kid was back up, holding a pipe wrench. Alexei glowered at him and raised his weapons before flicking his eyes to the jammer. If they were going to fail, they could at least do some collateral damage. If it came to it, the jammer would make for a handy bomb.

"All right then," he growled. "Let's go."

He connected his two batons into a staff and rushed for James.

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Aegis

- Rise -

Rise was relieved to see James back on his feet and nodded quickly in response to his question.

"Yeah, I'm good," she said, turning her attention to the hulking brute of a man now glaring their way. "But this guy means business."

She raised her fan and conjured her magic circle before her.

"Maragi!" she called, sending a spread of fireballs at the man. He twirled his staff and deflected them aside before swiping his staff at James.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

- Lambda -

"They could be making a run for it." Lisa responded, glancing in that direction. "I'll stay on watch, in case it's some kind of distraction."

"Roger," Lambda said, turning in the direction of the parking lot. Her thrusters engaged, and she zoomed off in that direction. It didn't take long to notice a third person whose facial profile she recognized in a moment as one of the men she had driven off during the hunt for the Redcape.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

- Kokonoe -

It was fortunate that Kokonoe worked well under pressure, as the constant chaos in her lab would have made it otherwise impossible to deal with the Redcape crisis. As it was, she'd already narrowed down the source of the problem. Now, to get that poison out...

Her gaze flickered over to the battle going on, and she waited for the right moment to dash over to her cabinet and retrieve a jar of Dia strain crystals. Some Posumundi crystals would get rid of traces of the poison, but repairing any damage that had been done would also be imperative. Only one Recarm crystal was available, but it would have to do.

Aegis

- Marcus -

Marcus forcefully exhaled as an elbow was driven into his gut. He'd thought that the woman was right where he wanted her, but even unarmed, she was proving to be difficult to pin down. She slipped through his fingers as she spun around behind him, and any hope he had of inhaling again was cut short by the vise of her arm around his neck.

His fingers immediately wrapped around the limb obstructing his airway, but after one failed attempt at pulling it away, he could feel his head beginning to swim. Time for a new tactic.

"Ta. Ru. Ka... Ja." Marcus forced the word through his constricted vocal cords, and suddenly the woman on his back felt lighter. That could just be his consciousness slipping away though. Only one way to find out.

Digging his fingers into the woman's arm to prevent her escape, Marcus crouched down and kicked off from the ground, throwing both of them into the ceiling of the lab and crushing her between it and himself.

--------------------------------------------

- Keynes - 

"The only thing we can do is look for the source of the problem." Keynes responded, glancing around the area.

Just then, a metal orb landed on his shoulder, causing him to jerk away from it. The orb hovered for a second before dropping to the dirt and drawing an arrow that pointed back towards the lab, or more specifically, towards the parking lot.

Frowning, Keynes watched the orb sail skyward once more, headed for the dot that he assumed was Lisa.

"Looks like we've got some action on the other side of the building. Let's go!"

Outside Ergo Research
- James -

James’ eyes followed Alexei’s to the jammer. They couldn’t allow him to stall much longer.

“We need to shut off that jammer,” James said and almost missed a dodge when Alexei came for him again with his staff.

Out of nowhere he could hear a noise and as his eyes searched the sky for a moment, he saw Lambda approach.
“Lambda,” he breathed. Hopefully, with Lambda’s help, they could overpower Alexei and finally shut off the jammer.

-------------------------------

Ergo Research Lab
- Lenka -

Eventually she had given up on being patient. Curiosity had won out. One last look at Millie assured her that the girl was still fast asleep before she silently closed the door.

Quietly she walked along the dark corridor back to the lab. When she approached she could hear the noise from what seemed to be a fight. Her pulse quickened. What was happening in there?

Slowly she opened the door and moved inside. Lenka froze when she saw what was happening, her eyes darting from the fight between Marcus and an unknown intruder to Kokonoe and the Redcape.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

-------------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

Even as Marcus tried to pry her arm away from his throat, Ehlana refused to move. Her muscles tightened around his neck and she kept her weight on the ground. She could already feel his resistance lessen.

Suddenly he tried to speak. It had to be a spell, but she couldn’t understand which one. Her body tensed in anticipation.

Before Ehlana could move a muscle, Marcus seemed to have found new strength. He suddenly jumped, lifting them both from the ground.

While her mind was still trying to assess what he aimed to do, they suddenly hit the ceiling.

Pain coursed in her back and the air was driven from her lungs. Naturally her grip loosened and she let go of Marcus’ throat.

Then they were falling. Ehlana tried to straightened out, but there was not enough time. She landed hard, her knees hitting the floor painfully before she could roll off the momentum in a forward motion.

For a few seconds, she could only gasp for air. Finally, she got up on her hands and knees, still breathing heavy. There was a metal sound when she moved her hand and her fingers curled around her bo staff, feeling a slight relief run through her.

Somehow she managed to get up. Inhaling deeply, she turned towards Marcus, raising her bo staff. There was still cold determination in her eyes when she stepped towards him once again.

Ergo
Luke Jaron

Luke nodded wordlessly, and quickly moved towards the location where James and Rise should be. Even though he trusted James and Rise to fight off the enemy well-enough, the encounter with bear-man reminded him how hard it was to take them out.

Luke just wished that they were against someone who isn't that tough.

_____________________________

Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

"What?" Belobog was surprised to hear what Alexei just said; the implication of that statement is too huge.

"I am coming for the support! If we are going to get away, I am not leaving without you!"

Belobog hoped he makes it on time to cause distraction for his comrade to get away.

Aegis

Rise's gaze darted toward the jammer, then quickly back to Alexei.

"You know you're the only one who can figure that out," she said. "I'll try to hold him off."

She raised her fans as Alexei came in for another attack. Rise darted in front of James and deflected the staff aside, only for a sweep of Alexei's leg to knock her off her feet.

"Go!" she yelled to James, who showed every sign of hesitating. Rise dodged back, getting to her feet with a swiping slash of her fans to give herself some room from her attacker.

"Lambda," she heard James say. Rise looked up just in time to see Lambda dive down from the sky like an avenging angel.

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Arusians

Alexei followed the gaze of the other two up and had to dive aside just in time as the mobile doll they called Lambda smashed foot-first into the ground where he'd been standing.

Alexei rolled across the ground, swinging his staff aside just in time to deflect the punch aimed to cave his head in. Unfortunately, the crimson eye on Lambda's face lit up and discharged a last. It hit him squarely in the chest, throwing him into a car with a smash.

Alexei groaned, reaching for his pocket. He hadn't come unprepared since the last time the mobile doll had crashed their party.

Lambda dove toward him, the thrusters on her legs propelling her like a missile. Alexei waited, tensed, then hurled the metal sphere in his hand and dove aside. It latched onto Lambda's torso, delivering a shock of electricity through her system. She screamed as she sailed over the car and crashed to the ground, twitching.

"Lambda!" the girl cried, sending a rush of fire along the ground toward Alexei. Alexei jumped onto a nearby car and leaped to another, poised to strike. He stopped, however, at the sight of a fourth figure entering the fray.

"Dammit, Belo," he growled.

[OOC: Nex, have Belo go after James to stop him from deactivating the jammer.]

Arusians

Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

Belobog just reached in time with his gun ready and quickly jumped into the fray and his guns were pointing at the direction of jamming device that looked like it was set up by his comrades.

With his gun steady, he fired it at the man who was going for the jamming device so that he would move away or be injured so that could buy them time.

"Come on, I found a way to get away from here quickly."

Said Belobog to Alexei, and he also fired at the car that was nearby Rise and James as the electromagnetic charges infused in bullets would highly likely make it explode in few seconds.

_______________________________________

Aegis
Luke Jaron

Luke hurriedly passed the corridors where they went separate ways, he was now not too far away from James and Rise.

He was sure Lambda would be there and already supporting them; it would give them high advantage against those enemies, for sure.

Hope Lambda would not go easy on them like how Lisa did with some part of the forest. This guys deserved more than just few punches on their guts after what they tried to do back there.

Aegis

- Marcus -

As his feet hit the ground, Marcus dropped to his knees and rolled over his shoulder to land on his feet once more. Turning back towards his opponent, he massaged his throat with one hand, drawing in oxygen with a croaking wheeze.

It should have, but seeing that she still shakily rose to her feet surprised him. What was this woman made of to get back up from that? Considering how heavily she was leaning on her staff now, he doubted she could keep up the fight for much longer. After another wheeze, he considered his own condition to be almost as bad though.

Oh my god.

His eyes darted to the door, where Lenka stood. Thankfully, the woman hadn't seemed to notice her though. She was still moving towards him instead.

Time to end this.

Grabbing an empty glass jar from the desk beside him, Marcus hurled it at her face. Anticipating that she would raise her staff to block it, he darted forward, under where her guard would be and sank his fist into her solar plexus.

----------------------------------------------------------

- Keynes -

Keynes dashed along behind Luke, trying his best to keep up with the young man. Age wasn't doing him any favors though, and neither were the years of smoking. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the stitch in his side, he pushed on. Even with Luke pulling further and further ahead, he was determined to keep up. Kokonoe was in that lab, and so was Millie. No way in hell would he give in to old age now. Too much hung in the balance...

Outside Ergo Research
- James -

James hesitated. He knew in his head that Rise was right, but leaving her alone to fight Alexei? There was no way she could overpower him.

Then Lambda appeared to turn the odds in their favour. Surely that meant the others couldn’t be too far behind. “Fine,” he agreed. Be safe, he thought.

There was a loud crash and when he looked up from the jammer, he saw to his surprise that Lambda had crashed. How did that happen? No. “Work the problem, ignore the distraction,” he said to himself and turned his focus back to the jammer.

It looked remotely like a modified flux compression generator. He could see the explosive primer and the wrappings of copper coil that generated the pulse that was interfering with all the electronics. At the front end of the flux he noticed an additional piece.

James sighed. A vircator. It acted sort of as an amplifier to turn the localised jamming signal into something that could affect the entire research facility. He needed to separate the flux from it, otherwise the surplus charge could blow the whole thing up.

Focused as he was, he failed to notice the approach of Belo when suddenly shots were fired around him. James instinctively ducked and dove out of the way. One grazed his shoulder, causing an electric shock in addition to the pain. It wasn’t life threatening, so he went back to the jammer, determined to turn it off because if any more gunshot hit that thing, it could possibly cause a huge explosion.

He had just finished removing the amplifier and was now focused on the circuit box of the flux, trying to find the right wire to cut. Finally it turned off and James sighed with relief.

---------------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

She wanted to move faster, but it was somehow impossible. Like she had slowed down and the world kept its normal pace.

Ehlana saw the glass jar and deflected it, breaking it  and leaving the ground covered in shards of glass. Then suddenly Marcus was up close.

How did he get here so fast?

Ehlana buckled over under his attack and dropped to the ground, desperately trying to stay conscious, but failing ultimately.

---------------------------------

Ergo Research Lab
- Lenka -

It seemed she had entered just as the fight came to a close. The assailant sank to the ground and she took a few tentative steps towards Marcus and Ehlana.

A few seconds later the lights in the hallway flickered back on and the normal power in the building resumed.

“You didn’t kill her, did you?” she asked Marcus quietly.

Outside Ergo Research

- Alexei -

Sure enough, Belo had refused to stay away. The man couldn't follow orders to save his life. Literally.

There was a screeching of metal, and Lambda tossed aside cars as she got to her feet.

"Go, go!" Alexei shouted, shoving Belo away from the parking lot and breaking into a run. Lambda was bearing down on them, but a sudden explosion from a nearby car divided them from Aegis with a wave of flames.

Alexei wasn't sure why he was bothering to escape. With failure upon failure, there was little reason for Maxim to keep them around. Still, he would let their superior make that call. His orders never involved suicide.

"I hope your escape route is close," he said, gritting his teeth as he forced his body past the pain.

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Outside Ergo Research

- Rise -

"James!" Rise screamed as another one of those men appeared, firing a strange device at James. Fortunately, James dodged them and switched off the jammer.

Lambda seemed to be up, so Rise hurried over to James' side.

"Are you okay?" she asked, stroking his face. Just then, an explosion came from nearby, and she fell back with a scream, James on top of her, as flames swept the parking lot near them.

"James?" she called, helping him up. "Are you hurt?"

She searched for the men, but they were escaping now, Lambda still in pursuit.

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Ergo Research Lab

- Kokonoe -

"We can only hope," Kokonoe said in response to Lenka's question. The indicators on the Redcape's monitor had stabilized, and the alarm stopped beeping. Kokonoe leaned against a nearby cabinet and sank to the ground, wincing. The adrenaline of the moment had helped her through, but now that pounding that shrew had given her was really catching up.

"You," she said, pointing to Marcus. "Secure her."

She looked over at Lenka and grimaced.

"Ad you," she continued. "Go to tell Keynes and the others what happened."

Leaning back, Kokonoe winced and brought her hand away from her head with traces of drying blood. Hopefully, she had a few Dia crystals left.

Ergo Research Lab
- James & Lenka -

"Yes, I'm okay. It's just a scratch," he said. His cheeks flushed lightly under Rise's touch.

Suddenly there was another explosion and the blast sent them scrawling on the pavement. He could feel the flames and the heat rage above them until they dissipated.

"I'm fine," he said after they got up. Softly he tucked a strand of loose hair back behind her ear. "Did you get hurt?"

The two men were escaping now, but at least they had managed to turn the jammer off.

Suddenly his communicator buzzed and he pulled up the screen for both of them to see. It was Lenka and it seemed like she was running.

"You have to come back quickly," she said, sounding out of breath. "Someone got into the lab and attacked Kokonoe and the Redcape. Marcus managed to subdue her..." Lenka spilled out. "Oh, Rise please hurry, I think Kokonoe might be hurt and Marcus doesn't look unscathed either." She sounded worried now, the words coming out less than organized.

"Are Lisa, Keynes and Luke with you?" she asked, trying to see through the small screen. "They need to know too."

"Lenka calm down," James said, feeling quite alarmed. How had someone managed to get that close?

"We're on out way back from the parking lot. I will tell the others. I don't want you out here getting lost while the bad guys might still be around."

Lenka nodded and hung up. After being lost for words at the situation in the lab, Lenka had quickly turned around to comply with Kokonoe's request to inform the others and headed outside. She was already at the entrance door, but stopped just outside. Maybe James was right on this one. She could probably be more help in the lab.

"Rise, will you go back to the lab?" he suggested, his fingers still curled around hers. He gave them a gentle squeeze. He was more worried about Kokonoe than he allowed himself to show. "I will find the others and send everyone back to the lab."

He looked up, calling for the person who was most likely to hear him and know where the others were.

"Lisa?"

Meanwhile Lenka had skidded to a halt when suddenly Luke turned around a corner and then a few seconds later Keynes came running around as well. Apparently they were headed off towards the parking lot.

"Oh thank God you're here," she said after her initial surprise. "We have to get back to the lab. Someone managed to attack Kokonoe and the Redcape." When she saw their worried faces, she quickly added more details.

"They are still alive. Kokonoe and Marcus got hurt before he managed to overpower the attacker," she tried to say calmly. "And I already talked to James, Rise is on her way back."

Arusian

"Follow me!" Said Belobog, quickly firing electromagnetic shots at Lambda, and rushing through the forest that was not turned upside down by any explosion.

Belobog made sure he kept firing at the direction where Lambda was making her pursuit.

What Surprised Belobog was what was after the thick forest.

"She did not leave?" Belobog muttered in surprised manner and she even surprised him by having the door opened.

Nadenka shouted, "Quickly, get in!", Belobog looked little dissatisfied, but his face quickly changed and looked back to check where Lambda was, "Alexei, come on!" Belobog urged Alexei to get in.

___________________________

Aegis
Luke Jaron

Lenka's sudden appearance surprised Luke as well as it relieved him to see her safe. However, such relief was short lived as she brought news that it made his heart race even faster than it did.

Someone tried to kill his friend, a friend of his that he cannot replace with. Luke could not catch what else Lenka have said, Luke quickly passed Lenka with ease and entered the lab.

Luke quickly went to the monitor that shows Mark's vital signals; he could not tell if it was the effect of being redcape put his friend to the risk or the attack from the assassin was successful as it was already low.

However, he trusted Lenka to speak truth and his eyes quickly scanned the lab. Then there she was, the researcher who he had felt strange vibe... Who he thought suspicious from the beginning, a threat that he let it slide, because he thought he himself was thinking too much.

Luke walked towards the unconscious target, step by step. His eyes became cold and deadly, his ears were not working anymore. Was somebody calling to him? He couldn't care anymore.

He almost lost his friend because of his carelessness and also because of this person who is at the moment unconscious. The right hand of his was turned its edge. He was going to break the neck of this assassin to make sure there weren't be any more threat that would put his friend in danger.

But before his hand's edge could even raise to strike, his hand's edge weakened and was clenched with fist. A statement that once was said by his friend suddenly rang his head.

'Luke, no matter what happens, I will make sure you just need to sing.'

Luke sighed and helped Marcus with securing the unconscious assassin, and he looked at Kokonoe's direction. "Sorry, what else do you need me to do?" Luke asked, his cold and murderous aura was no longer with him.

Aegis

- Marcus -

Was she seriously worried about the invader? Of course she was. This was Lenka, after all.

"She'll live." Marcus croaked in response. He put an arm around the woman and lifted her over his shoulder, grimacing at the pain that ran up his arm from the effort. That staff of hers hadn't hurt so much at the beginning, but now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was definitely feeling the effects of taking a few hits.

With a grunt, he flopped her into a chair and grabbed a handful of plastic tube that wasn't connected to anything. Hoping that it didn't have an important purpose and was just extra they left lying around, he and Luke bound her to the chair with it, making sure to tie not only her arms, but also her legs and torso.

--------------------------------------------------------

- Keynes -

Keynes braced himself against the wall with one arm, breathing heavily. All this running around was for the young, but thankfully, it seemed like everyone was more or less alright.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he stepped into the lab to assess the situation. Several pieces of equipment had been turned over. Broken glass littered the floor beside no less than four of the desks, and one of the ceiling joists was cracked. What exactly had happened in here?

Marcus and Look stood beside an unconscious woman, who was bound to a chair. That was probably the culprit, but he'd deal with her later. His pocket buzzed, and Keynes pulled out his communicator long enough to glance at the name displayed on it. Jax. Shit, the council meeting. He flipped it on long enough to spew out the important details and then cut it back off without waiting for Jax's response. Ergo attacked. Redcape still contained. Some damage to the lab and a few injured, but no casualties. One prisoner.

Walking up behind Kokonoe, Keynes enveloped her, ignoring any protests about public displays and people watching them. He'd been scared for her, and he needed to feel her up against him to know she was okay. "You scared me."

--------------------------------------------------------

- Lisa -

Lisa dropped to the ground beside James, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Keynes and Luke went in through the back door, but they didn't come back out this side. I assume they headed for the lab."

She glanced at the machine sitting on the ground. "Do you need help carrying that inside?" Her gaze traveled to Lambda, who was standing close by, eyes trained on the horizon. Having her transport it would be easier, but she was needed out here more.

"Lambda, can you sweep the perimeter a few times to make sure they don't try to sneak back in with all the confusion?"

Ergo Research

- Rise -

Rise was hesitant to leave James right now, but she realized that it wasn't just about him and her. There might be people in the lab that were hurt and could use her help. She nodded, squeezed his arm, and ran for the lab.

As she made her way inside, it seemed that no real damage had been done to any of the facility or staff. It wasn't until she reached Kokonoe's lab that she found where all the mayhem had occurred. Her eyes scanned the area, noting everyone's conditions. Kokonoe seemed to be in the worst shape, so she hurried over to where she and Keynes were.

It was a testament to her condition that Kokonoe only gave a half-hearted protest as Keynes embraced her. She rested her head on his shoulder for a few moments before noticing Rise approach them.

"You all right, Kokonoe?" Rise asked. "Here, let me help."

Rise folded her hands, as though in prayer, as she conjured the magic circle.

"Diarahan," she said, enveloping Kokonoe in a soft light. The injuries healed instantly, and Kokonoe regained a steadier posture.

"Thanks," the researcher murmured. She pulled away from Keynes and gave him a steady look.

"They'll probably want you at the capital," she said. After a moment's deliberation, she gave him a firm kiss. Rise smiled and turned away to survey the others. Marcus would probably need her attention next.

"Hey, you all right?" she asked him. She felt a bit awkward, having firmly vetoed his presence here before. She'd probably have to make some measure of peace for that, but at the moment, tending to injuries was more important.

-------------------------

- Lambda -

Lambda stopped in her pursuit of the attackers once word came of infiltration from inside the facility. Much as she would like to track them down to the ends of the earth, her primary directive was always to ensure the safety of the facility and Kokonoe.

She retreated back to the entrance where Lisa and James were and nodded.

"I shall scan the perimeter," she told them. "Issue the shut-down procedure of all ferries to the island. And please ensure the safety of Kokonoe and Millie."

She bowed her head slightly. This sort of thing was exactly why she was stationed here. She should never had allowed this to happen.

-------------------------

Arusians

Alexei piled into the back of the getaway vehicle Belo had obtained, trying to calm his breathing. Once he had enough wits about him to sit up, he narrowed in on the driver.

"Who is she?" he demanded from Belo. She wasn't an Arusian, that was certain. Why would she help him and Belo?

Arusian
Belobog & Nadenka

"A friend" Said Nadenka as the car head out away from the facility. Belobog curled his lips, he sighed and answered Alexei. "A crazy woman who wants to get rid of everyone's strain."

Belobog checked his weapon, they still had enough bullets to kill a running target. "I am not going to get you away when we get to the terminal." said Belobog coldly, Nadenka, however, calmly shrugged, "Well, do you have any means to go back to main land?" She asked, her tone though sounded like she already knew their answer. "I could get you guys back to the main land, I doubt normal ferries would be able to leave the terminal with the troubles you guys have caused."

Belobog bite his lips, what she had said was true. With those explosions and such, the ferry terminal would be in tighter security and also might be restricted.

"Why are you helping us?" Belobog asked suspiciously, Nadenka bite her lips, a question that she was not so sure how to answer. "I have my own reason, but do not worry, by helping you, I am helping myself." She answered it calmly, she was a good liar.

____________________________________________________________________

Aegis
Luke Jaron

With Rise coming to lab, it looked like situation was becoming better.... or somewhat manageable....

Luke eyes drifted to his friend's direction, walking to the redcape who looked way weaker than he had left it.

"....Mark..." Luke called out to his friend in whisper, scared of losing him, but at the same time, his good and stupid heart could not selfishly just ask Aegis to do something for his friend as they all needed healing and patching... and perhaps need to reorganize themselves....

Could his friend hold on? Luke was not so sure... But his heart was definitely aching to see his friend being trapped like this... and losing his life force slowly because of the virus.....

Ergo Research Lab
- James -

“Okay thanks, let’s hope we’ll meet them in the lab,” James replied to Lisa and turned his attention to the jammer. He removed a few pieces from the circuit board and then pulled the core out.

“It’s non-functional now, we can retrieve it later,” he said to her. “Let’s go back to the lab.”

They hurried back inside and when they finally arrived, the situation was much calmer than he had anticipated from Lenka’s story. Luke and Keynes were indeed there and the intruder, a woman with grey hair, was tied to a chair. Meanwhile Rise had begun taking care of Kokonoe and Marcus.

James walked over to the nearest computer and ordered the shut-down procedure for all the ferries to and from the island. In addition he enabled the emergency protocol, which would call up security to check the ID of everyone registered in the facility. That woman had to have gotten in somehow and they needed to know how.

When he was done, he headed over to Kokonoe and Keynes, seeing the remnants of Kokonoe’s injuries. “I’m sorry. Someone should’ve stayed here with you. We knew the Redcape could be a target, but I never thought they would dare to attack inside the lab.”

------------------------------

Ergo Research Lab
- Lenka -

Lenka stared after Luke when he bolted off as soon as she broke the news. However, she and Keynes hurried back as well, arriving shortly after.

While Keynes walked over to Kokonoe, Lenka approached Marcus who had restrained the unconscious woman.

“I think you were pretty brave, taking her on like that,” Lenka said to Marcus. “And I’m glad you survived it.”

Then her expression became a little mischievous and she grinned. “And I promise not to tell anyone at University, that a girl beat you up.”

------------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

With a low groan, Ehlana came to slowly. She felt disoriented and the pain she felt all over her body was evidence that she wasn’t dead ...yet. There were sounds and voices around her, but it all faded into the background when she realized she couldn’t move. Ehlana tugged lightly on the restraints binding her hands, but they didn’t move.

Well, she concentrated on breathing evenly for now, which was somewhat painful. Her head was still tilted forward, her grey hair covering her eyes. She could also feel something warm run down her temple. Blood. It dripped down very slowly to the floor.

So what now?

Aegis

- Keynes -

“This is one of those times when I wish you were wrong about something.” Keynes responded, taking another moment to hold his wife. “But, as usual, you’re right. They’re expecting me anytime, and now I’ll have even more to report.”

He sighed, releasing her and taking a step back to assess the damage in the lab. “I’d venture a guess that you’ll be pretty busy for a while as well.” With a sad smile, he turned to James, who had just entered the lab and approached them.

“James, do me a favor and keep everyone in line for a few hours. I need to deliver my report to the Council, and we’ll see where things go from there.” He put a hand on James’ shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze before stepping past him.

“I’m going to go check in on Millie one more time, and then I’ll have Lambda transport me.”

————————————————————————

- Marcus -

Leaning against a desk, Marcus observed the captive as she began to stir, at least until Lenka walked over to him, drawing his attention away from the bound woman.

“You’ll promise not to…” Marcus let the thought trail off without finishing and threw his head back laughing, which only caused his ribs to hurt worse.

“Ow. Ow.” He groaned, gripping his side. “It hurts to laugh, but it feels good to know I still can.”

As he returned her grin, Rise approached them as well. Great. What had he done wrong this time? Marcus glanced around the lab. Shattered glass covered the floor. One desk had been turned over, and there was a visible dent in the ceiling. Okay, yeah, he’d trashed the place. To his surprise, she actually asked about his health though.

“I’ve had better days.” Marcus responded to Rise, giving her a tired smile. “The beating didn’t help, but I think the lack of sleep is the worst of it.”

“Hopefully, I can crash for a few hours now though.”

————————————————————————

- Lisa -

Lisa winced at the carnage of Kokonoe’s lab as she entered it. The woman would definitely have the place cleaned up by tomorrow, but she felt sorry for whoever had to actually do the cleaning. Everyone in the room seemed to be okay, aside from a few cuts and bruises. So, she could breathe a sigh of relief on that note.

Her eyes drifted to the one unknown figure in the lab though. Considering her history, the sight of the woman bound to a chair definitely didn’t help to settle her nerves. In fact, it looked like she might be coming around.

A quick glance around the room told her that no one else was really paying attention to the woman. So, Lisa wove her way through the desks, getting close enough to observe as the woman came around.

“I wouldn’t pull on those too much.” Lisa said when the woman flexed her arms, trying to free them. “They’ll only dig in more painfully if you struggle.”

Arusians

Alexei listened to the words fly back and forth between the woman and Belo. At the moment, he didn't really have the patience to deal with it all.

"All right," he said gruffly, stopping any further attempts to argue. "We'll... rely on you for now."

They didn't have much choice but to rely on her, or they wouldn't be getting off this island. Trusting her, though, was an entirely different matter. That he had no intention of doing. Whatever her agenda might be, he had a feeling she would turn on them to fulfill it if she had to.

"So, how are we getting away then?" he asked. "We need to get down to... the south."

Better not to tell her exactly where just yet. If they were captured, the less she knew, the better.

-------------------------

Ergo Research

- Kokonoe -

Kokonoe watched as Keynes left the lab to say goodbye to their daughter. Thankfully, the threat had been contained in here. The memories of Legion's invasion into the lab years ago - of the intruder who had slipped in unnoticed and made sure their daughter's namesake had never woken from her bed - still haunted her.

"I wonder if I'll ever stop feeling like a target," she muttered, suddenly wishing she had a cigarette. She settled for a lollipop from the front pocket of her labcoat. A few had been crushed in the tussle, but a cherry one was still intact.

James approached her to apologize, but she waved it off.

"Don't sweat it," she said. "It all happened too fast."

She was more concerned about what to do now. Thankfully, the Redcape was now stable, if weaker than ever. She would need to get working on that cure. But for right now, they had a more pressing concern.

"What are we going to do about her?" Kokonoe said darkly to James, nodding in the intruder's direction. "I can think of a few inventions to test out."

They probably wouldn't let her, but she wasn't entirely serious anyway. Mostly.

------------------------

- Rise -

Rise smiled and nodded to Marcus. She cast a Diarama spell to heal his wounds, which didn't seem as severe as Kokonoe's, and turned her attention to the captive.

"Maybe you should go ahead and catch up on that sleep," she said to Marcus. "I don't think you and Lenka need to be here for this."

Unfortunately, she and the rest of Aegis were familiar with interrogations and torture scenes, but there was no need to expose Marcus and Lenka to that. Luke either, come to think of it.

Rise approached the captive, who was being talked to by Lisa. Rise had a suspicion that the idea of interrogation would get to Lisa more than anyone, but Lisa wouldn't want to leave. She'd want to make sure things didn't get out of hand, they way they had when she'd been captured by the Army.

"What's your name?" Rise asked the woman. "Who are you working for?"

Ergo Research Lab
- Lenka -

“Take it easy, Marcus,” Lenka said lightly. When Rise approached and healed Marcus, Lenka’s face became more serious again. Her eyes wandered over to the bound intruder when Rise suggested they should leave.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she declared. “If I’m being sent away everytime something remotely exciting happens, then what’s the point of me being here?” she asked.

However, she did take a step back and leaned against the wall. “I promise, I’ll stay right here and just watch.” Her eyes were pleading with Rise before the other girl turned and started asking the bound woman questions.

-----------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

Ehlana looked up when Lisa spoke to her. Through the untidy strands of her grey hair, her eyes glared at Lisa. Did that woman really think she cared about the pain if it meant she had a shot at getting away? It was pointless anyway. She had soon realized that she was not getting out of her bonds. It was better to conserve her energy.

It appeared whatever commotion had been going on was coming to an end and more members of Aegis approached. The one she recognised as Rise was the first to question her.

Ehlana turned the glare of her steel grey eyes towards her.

“My name is Amy Taylor,” she said, unable to hide her accent fully. She was stating the name that was on her lab coat ID tag. Then she pressed her lips together. She had no intention of saying anything relevant.

-----------------------------

Ergo Research
- James -

James nodded. “Sure,” he reassured Keynes. “Good luck.”

He watched as Keynes left the lab when Kokonoe’s nonchalant threat to torture their prisoner pulled him from his thoughts. “What??” he asked. “No way,” James insisted. “I know you’re upset, but let’s try talking to her first.”

It appeared Rise had already started an interrogation and James was just about to join her, when a security guard approached Kokonoe and him.

“I have a list of everyone who should be in the building,” he said and handed it to James. “We verified the presence and identify of everyone except Amy Taylor,” the security officer explained. James was looking over the list, only half listening to the officer.

“Okay thanks,” he said distracted. “Could you send someone to her residence to check on her?” The security officer nodded and turned to leave.

He then approached Rise and the others.

“Well that’s probably a lie,” he commented at Ehlana’s answer, wondering about her strange accent. "Why don't you try again?"

Ehlana glared at him, but gave no answer.

Aegis
Luke Jaron

"She won't talk, she is probably prepared to die if she had to protect her identity. Just like the spies from the Legion and spies from Kaddath." Said Luke, his voice was cold and there was lack of emotion in his voice.

"I don't know who you are, and what you want. I don't even know why you are doing this. But, do you know what you did in my life?" Luke came close to the woman who was tied to the chair. Luke turned the chair around so that the woman could see the redcape and him. "You destroyed it." Said Luke, pointing his hand at the cage of redcape. "Not just mine, but you also destroyed my friend's life. You probably did it because you think you are doing it for greater good..." Luke's voice started to shake, he could no longer control his anger. "Two years ago that ideology left scars in Kaddath, and no. before that scars are completely healed, I could see it happening again because of you." his hands clenched to fists. "I met so many of your kinds... It sickens me...." Said Luke, staring at the woman's eyes murderously. "You people think so highly of yourself, but the way I see it, you are doing it to just follow orders, without knowing what you are really fighting for." Then he walked past the group, "She won't talk, you guys probably need to do more than speaking nicely to make her talk." Said Luke, Leaving the lab.

Luke had it enough, and if he stayed there he felt he could not suppress his murderous thought; the way how Aegis trying to be nice to the person who tried to kill his friend sickened him and his urge of wanting to kill the woman was getting stronger by each second.

His heart was heavy and he felt like he had no one to talk to, no one to understand him... Perhaps he should pursuit this mysterious group by himself? Maybe....?

Luke came out to the parking lot without much thought. His eyes drifted to the forest, perhaps he should take a walk? Would that make him feel better? Luke sighed and walked into the forest to cool himself off.

Then he remembered a song that he sang two years ago....and he started to sing... not so loud, but for he himself could hear it...

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Aegis

- Marcus -

To catch up on sleep or stay here. Life was full of tough choices, but when Lenka said she wasn’t leaving the room, Marcus couldn’t keep himself from grinning. With a yawn, he made his way towards the door. Lenka would probably tell him about the meeting later, when he’d be better able to process it. Between his talks with Lenka and Lisa, he already had a lot on his mind, and with the way this last skirmish had gone, Marcus was fairly confident his previous experience had more to do with the blow to his head than anything else. Now that he’d come to that conclusion, sleep seemed like his best option.

———————————————

- Lisa -

Licking her lips nervously, Lisa glanced at all the other faces in the room. This could quickly get out of hand, and she wasn’t sure how much it would take to dredge up the wrong memories. Most of the original members were more tactful with their comments, which Lisa was thankful for.

Luke quickly changed the tone of things though, yelling in the prisoner’s face before storming out of the room. Feeling less comfortable with the situation as the seconds passed by, Lisa once more glanced at the faces around the room.

Despite her own reservations, she couldn’t just leave. That would be turning a blind eye to what might follow in her absence, and although she trusted her companions to make good decisions, it was better not to leave that up to chance.

“Perhaps, there’s a better place for this discussion than the laboratory?” Lisa suggested.

———————————————

High General’s Office

“Come in.” Alina glanced up from her notes as the knock sounded on her door.

A slightly disheveled Keynes entered, his features grim. She rose from her chair, enveloping him in a tight hug. “I’m glad everyone is alright.”

“Sorry to worry you.” Keynes responded, giving her a pat on the back before she retreated from the embrace. “Shall we go face the den of lions then?”

“If your report is prepared, I’m afraid so…”

[OOC: Kokonoe's computer should now display an alert that Ergo security forces are to apprehend Luke and confine him to quarters until Jax can speak with him.]

Ergo Research Lab

Rise peered at their captive. There was something weird about her voice. An accent? It wasn't one she recognized.

"Do you know if there's any Amy Taylor who works here?" she asked Kokonoe. Kokonoe shrugged.

"I don't remember anyone's names around here," she said. Rise sighed, but fortunately, a security guard approached Kokonoe with a list of everyone present in the building.

So, no Amy Taylor then. Did she steal Taylor's identity?

James approached them and tried to press their captive for more information, but she didn't seem to be budging. Out of nowhere, Luke suddenly flared up, his words vicious as he ranted against the woman. Rise watched him, wide-eyed, never expecting this to come out of the ordinarily quiet guy.

Luke stalked off before anyone could stop him. Kokonoe just shook her head, but their attention was suddenly diverted to an alert on the computer.

ISSUED BY CHIEF MATHIS:

Apprehend Luke Jaron and contain until the chief's arrival. Further orders will be issued then.

According to the time stamp, it had come in sometime during the power outage. Rise frowned. What did Jax and the police want with Luke?

"Well, someone better go after him," Kokonoe said. She turned to Lisa, seemingly more concerned with their captive situation.

"I agree. We should move her to a more confined location."

She signaled to James and Lisa to move the captive and led the way out of the lab. Rise approached Lenka and motioned to the computer.

"Do you think you can find Luke and bring him back?" she asked. "We can handle that woman."

She squeezed Lenka's hand, then hurried after Kokonoe and her entourage. Kokonoe led them down the hallway, through a door, and into a smaller hall. Kokonoe indicated the door to her right.

"This is one of our containment rooms for high-risk tests. We can put her in here."

The room was small and white, completely devoid of anything but walls, floor, and ceiling. A thick glass panel was located high up on the opposite wall from the door, probably for viewing experiments.

"Set her down," Kokonoe ordered, and they placed the chair and the captive in it in the center of the room.

"I'm going to head up to the viewing room and lock the chamber," she said. "If you'd feel safer asking your questions from up there, then follow me. If you want to take the risk, you can stay in here."

Kokonoe left the room. Rise looked at Lisa and James and fidgeted, not sure which she should do.

-------------------------

Council Chamber

Jax took a deep breath as he surveyed the room. Elena and the rest of the Electorate had arrived and were looking thunderous. The Praetorate looked calmer, but grim. Everyone waited in silence for-

There they were. Alina and Keynes entered the room, all eyes on them.

Jax hoped Alina had a plan, or things were going to get ugly.