Domination Break! IC (Started/Accepting/PG16)

[Magnet Soldier]

Michael sighed. "She seems to be ignoring me." Then he chuckled. "Ah well, I never did have a way with the ladies." And he jumped out from behind the boulder and fired his guns, for he had drawn the other one. Each bullet hit its' target, one sinking into Thors right hand, one into the Gods left thigh. Michael heard a groan from Thor, but was too focused on his objective to hear it. He holstered his guns, deciding he'd used them enough, and drew the Katana from his back. It was a Normal sword, as Michael knew, so it wouldn't work as well as the guns on the God, but it would do the Job, and it wouldn't break. He dashed behind Thor and shifted the blade to his left hand as he flicked his hand along the blade. "Flash Blow." He muttered. The sword glowed brightly for a few seconds where he'd rubbed it, before dulling. It was still brighter than it normally was, and the edge was a bit sharper if you looked close enough. "Die, [i]God[/i]!" He shouted, almost sarcastically as he said the last word. He sliced sideways with his left hand(Should have said, he's a lefty) towards the middle of Thor's torso."

[.Nu-13]

Harald saw Thor staggering from Michael's hit. Harald thought [i]Now I have a chance![/i] He had a chance to finish him, once for all. Harald ran to Thor's back, and said - [i]Sorry... Dragan[/i]. Then, he pierced Thor with Gungir. At that moment, Thor's Rune Tablet that was lying on the floor broke into 2 pieces.

(OOC: Yeah, short, but encaptuer instructed me to leave dying Thor to him)

[encapturer]

It was an amazing sight.

Zack, equipped with both his sword and the sword provided by Nimue, ran at full speed towards Thor, accompanied by Michael, using a sword he carried on is person. Before the two reached him, the two bullets from Michael's guns struck Thor in his hand and thigh. Before he could even notice what hit him, several bolts of water from Nimue struck Thor from the opposite side, causing him to recoil. The hardened ground was beginning to crack, but Thor didn't get far in his escape before Zack and Michael slashed him on opposite sides at his waist.

Such an assault would easily kill any mortal being, but as bloodied and battered as Thor was... he was no mortal man. However, Harald still held Gungnir, bathed in cold flame, in his hands. Coming up from behind the god, he took the spear and shoved it deep inside, all while apologizing to his friend for his actions. The flame covered Thor, who screamed in agony as the pain from his previous wounds caught up with him, before burning to ashes within the purple fires of Harald's weapon.

Was Thor dead? Defeated? Zack did not know, but the tablet associated with Thor seemingly cracked on its own at the end of the battle, so perhaps they will not be seeing him again. He looked at the unconscious Brave and Dragan, the latter a pawn used to summon the god they just fought. It was unfortunate that the two had to get drawn into this fight.

Zack then turned to the others, the three Released found in the city of Eldwund. "We should leave," he said solemnly, still a little surprised at how close they were to losing that battle due to Thor's mastery over lightning. "Those two can awake at any time," he continued, pointing to Dragan and Brave, "and since they aren't Released like us, we don't want to be here when they do."

[Magnet Soldier]

"You're right, but I'm not having myself risk my life for some idiots, and then let them die of frost bite." Michael said, tossing Brave over his own shoulder and dragging Dragan over to Harald to carry. "Dont drop him. I dont usually risk energy." Michael dropped Dragan at Haralds feet, laughing, "He's the heavier one, good luck." Michael started jogging down the mountain side, but stopped when he realised the others weren't moving. "I just took on roughly a hundred trained cops, and killed a lot of them. They aint gonna send more unless they're sure they can capture us. I'm sure you lot killed a fair few cops on your way here." Michael said, before turning back down the mountain. "And hurry up!" He shouted behind him.

[encapturer]

"Trust me, killing those cops meant nothing; you could destroy an entire city and still be hunted down." Zack said as he helped Harald carry Dragan. Michael was right; the guy was seriously heavy. "But, I guess it wouldn't be right to leave Harald's friends like this, so let's dump them by the road at the edge of town. Someone'll will probably find them and get them patched up." As they began to follow Michael down the hill, the man snapped back at them for being slow. Zack shrugged and ignored it; right now, he had more important things on his mind.

[hr]
The group successfully dropped off Dragan and Brave near Eldwund by using the forested area south and east of the city. It was necessary, as police and army vehicles were patrolling the roadways. Afterwards, the group retreated deeper into the forest to avoid being spotted, as the last thing they needed was another hot pursuit. Once deep into the woods, Zack turned to address the Released.

"So, you guys are pretty much wanted the world over at this point," Zack said in a strangely calm manner. "As you saw, they'll even employ the power of gods to kill you... and they have access to even greater power than that, believe me. Tell me," Zack paused, looking Harald, Nimue, then finally Michael in the eye. "What are you going to do now?"

[Time Psyduck]

"Well," Nimue replied thoughtfully, "I suppose getting back into the city is no longer an option, at least for the moment. It's a good thing I don't have anything to do there anyway." She paused, weighing up her options. There weren't many of them. "I either head out alone, or head wherever you guys are going, and since I have nowhere that I need or want to be, I guess I may as well have the company. Plus I think I'd like to meet this Adraian person for myself." [i]I guess I'd be safer with companions trained in combat - not that I'm telling them that.[/i] "So, who is going where then?"

[encapturer]

"Well if you have nothing to do, you can join up with Evan Adarian." Zack said. "The kid can be stubborn, but something tells me he'll need your help; especially given what happened here today." Zack sidestepped to the left, since the setting sun was getting in his eyes. "He said he was heading to Mercado last I saw him, and that was a few days ago. He'll probably try to refuse your company, but if you tell him what happened here, I'm sure he'll reconsider."

[Magnet Soldier]

"I'm sure he wont refuse me. I've met him properly once, more than you two can say, I'm sure." Michael said, aiming the last statement at Harald and Nimue. "He knows what I can do, and I surprised him, which I believe not many have done. Anyway, I have ways to make him take me, and you two if you're coming." Michael once again aimed this at Harald and Nimue, knowing that, no matter what, they'd come. Human curiosity was just too much. Michael sighed, and grabbed a few twigs from the edge of the small clearing they were in. He threw them in a pile and placed stones in a circle around them. He pulled a revolver from it's holster, once again with that unnatural speed he seemed not to realised, and aimed it at the pile. [i]Fire Shot[/i] He thought, simply, and a burst of flame spat from the revolver, making a small fire. "So, what you two doing, and why aren't you coming, Zack?

[Time Psyduck]

"Well, if this guy is the reason that we're different, then I want to meet him," Nimue replied, "and if you're going to meet him as well then we'll be heading the same way." She paused. "I guess we'll be going there together. I don't suppose we could wait a little though," she added, laying back from her seated position. "Running and magic don't mix well, so I really could use maybe half an hour or so to recover. There's no need to waste the time; Zack almost certainly knows more than he's already said, and has probably only told at least something to only one or two of us." She closed her eyes. "I'm still awake," she told them.

[encapturer]

[spoiler="Date: Present Day | Location: Abandoned Mercado Mine"]
"If I wasn't wanted, I'd be rich..."

Evan Adarian traveled alone through an abandoned underground crystal mine. The crystals within were often used for enchanting and the forging of magical items. Evan was completely baffled at why the mine was abandoned; crystals still lined the cavern walls, and large loose fragments were scattered all over the floor. Being a once-in-a-lifetime event, Evan took a few crystal fragments off the ground and pocketed them; who knew when they would come in handy.

The mine was simple to navigate, thanks to an abandoned map Evan found near the entrance. He had to fend off a pack of monsters as he went deeper, though his trusty blade easily dispatched of the creatures with little effort. Near the bottom of the mine shaft, there was a path that went deeper that was not marked by his map. Evan took this path, since he was here for a reason, after all. His research pinpointed this mine to have something to do with the Domination humans were under. A few steps in, his work proved true - the chip welded to his arm began to shimmer white.

Rushing deeper in, Evan found himself at a dead end, but could not believe what he saw. The whole area he stood in was glowing bright white. The chip on his arm responded in kind, with a glow that seemed to engulf his entire arm. The most surprising thing was the crystals that were emitting the light weren't normal. These were Xeno Crystals. rumored to cause clinical insanity and incurable cancers, only safe when carefully processed. They are said to contain much power, and if Evan was correct, these crystals were what he was searching for...[/spoiler]

"Hah, yeah," Zack replied when Nimue suggested that he knew more than he was letting on. It was probably obvious, but he couldn't just tell them [I]everything[/I], it'd just be too much. "I have my own part to play in this mess, though I can tag along for awhile, if you want." Zack paused for a moment, wondering if there was anything else he could do. "Hell, I can teach you all the detection spell so you can spot other released without me."

[Magnet Soldier]

"That's be great. Though I doubt there'll be many." Michael murmered, leaning against a tree, eye's close to shutting themselves. "And I'd really love a rest, if only for half an hour. I've been running from the cops for about 2 hours straight, and then a fight with a God. I'd love a quick nap." Michael added, looking around at the clearing. The fire create odd shadows behind the trees, and on one he could have sworn he could see some eyes, the he realised there were holes in the tree's trunk, creating the odd eye like orbs of light on the ground behind it. Michael sighed and relaxed, waiting for whether they had to go straight away.

[encapturer]

[spoiler="Date: Present Day | Location: Eldwund Police Station"]The television on the desk was tuned in to the news. The rest of the desk was spotless, with nothing on it besides the TV. Commander Linus Mathews wondered why the desk he borrowed was so clean; he found imagining the type of person who'd do this difficult. The chair was comfortable enough though, and allowed him to relaxed after being chewed out by his boss for letting the fugitives in the city escape.

Glancing at the screen, Linus caught eye of a news reporter in Mercado reporting about Evan Adarian's actions. [i]That terrorist must've moved to Mercado to evade us,[/i] Linus thought. After watching the rest of the stroy about him causing terror in the northern regions, he turned off the television set and left the room. Even though he screwed up here, he had a new mission, and resolved to succeed this time, no matter what.[/spoiler]

"Alright, alright," Zack said in defeat. "I get it you guys are tired." He slumped down by a nearby tree and relaxed, though he didn't fall asleep, not at all. Even though he was wide awake, he enjoyed the fact that he got a chance to rest.

"Okay, we'll move out tomorrow, then." Zack said, not sure how many people were awake to hear them. That just left the problem of getting in contact with Evan himself. He brought out a small box from his pocket with an antenna sticking out of it. For a moment, there was a soft blue glow coming from the box, and just like that, Jack pocketed it once again.

"He's going to Nesland, huh. That's perfect..." he muttered to himself. For a change, things were going smoothly.

[Jake the Sage]

Kaito looked around aimlessly as he wandered throughout the port city. He had no idea where he was going or where the object he was looking for might be docked. Hell . . . for the past month and a half Kaito didn't know where he was most of the time nor what time of day it was; you might as well forget about weekday he was so clueless. Making his way through the hussel and bussel of the townspeople he would snake in and out until he finally arrived at a pub, tired and having nearly ben trampled six times, and slipped inside. The clouds of cigar smoke was thick and so heavy it burned his eyes, nose and the very back of his throat. Ducking to get some "better" air he inched his way until he stopped to sit at the bar stool and waited for the bartender to arrive. once he did Kaito spoke quietly, "A small glass of gin and vodka . . . no ice . . ."

[encapturer]

[spoiler="Date: 3/1 | Location: Capital City, Mercado"]Franklin Ettada... the Crowned King of Mercado. Chosen over all the other royalty to rule over Mercado, Franklin spent most of his time in public appearances. Yet somehow, he runs the country well even though he is never seen making any major decisions. Like his counterpart Karl Sanders, it was a mystery, though no one really questioned it, figuring he's using some insane magic to put his brain in overdrive or something.

Today, however, he was standing in his office alone, looking out the window of his office more than 30 stories above ground. He was here because he needed to confirm something firsthand. The papers scrawled on the table confirmed what he was told the day before: The port town of Nesland... contained a large amount of Released.

"Zack... did you do this?" Franklin said to himself while lighting a cigar. Contrary to what he said, he was sure that Zack would not do such a thing; it was not his style. And that fact made the sudden outbreak of Released all the more worrisome. He took a large huff from the cigar before turning away from the window, now with a faint smile across his face. "Looks like I finally got work to do..."[/spoiler]

Date: 3/3 (Present Day) | Location: [I]The Flounder[/I], docked at Nesland, Mercado.

The Flounder was one of the many ships that traveled between the two continents of Osalia and Mercado on a regular basis. Thanks to Zack getting tickets of them, Harald, Nimue, and Michael were able to get a ride without having to deal with such things like background checks and the like. Zack himself was not with the group, having left them after teaching them the detection spell and giving them their tickets. Before leaving, he did tell the group that Evan should be waiting at the pier, and Michael would be able to spot him easily.

Of course, things did not go as planned. The boat docked as planned, but all the passengers were told to stay put in their rooms due to some unforeseen circumstances. Jack was cheap with the tickets, so all the three Released shared one room, which kept them all together at least. While waiting for further announcements, the group heard footsteps approaching the cabin door....

[hr]

Date: 3/3 (Present Day) | Location: Bar in Nesland, Mercado

The bartender didn't respond verbally, instead he silently fulfilled Kaito's order and slid the drink from the other side of the counter. While the bartender kept quiet and continued serving other customers, some of the other bar patrons began yelling loudly, generally complaining about the state of things. Next to Kaito, two people were talking amongst themselves, though they were loud enough for him to hear clearly.

"So you couldn't leave?" It was a woman, who was seated closest to Kaito.

"Yeah, something about an outbreak." A man spoke this time, who sat on the other side of the woman.

"Outbreak, haha, yeah right," the woman replied, laughing. "Everyone here seems fine!" she added before downing some of her liquor.

"Well, the DC is taking it seriously." The man was referencing Disease Control, or DC for short. A government organization formed to help prevent outbreaks and to raise health awareness.

"Bah, it's probably something small," the woman said.

"I guess..." the man said solemnly, before drinking the beer that was sitting in front of him. If Kaito wanted to hear more about this 'outbreak', it wouldn't be hard; practically everyone was talking about it...

[Jake the Sage]

Kaito glanced over at the other two patrons and quickly downed his own drink. Standing up he let the glass be on the table top before moving in between the two whom he had been listening too, "Excuse me but what is this outbreak everyone's talking about?"

Kaito had tried to sound as if he had heard the information from another person, not wanting them to know he had eavesdropped on them, and remained standing. As he waited for an answer he thought to himself that he had never heard or seen another with such an 'infection' during his long travels. But then again he hadn't seen much of civilization since he set off, since he was bad at directions, so the chances of him running into someone with the disease was highly unlikely. Sighing he looked back at the two and shook his head, "Uh never mind I guess I'll find someone else. Oh! Before I forget do either of you know where I can find a ship to board?"

[Magnet Soldier]

"We've arrived. I guess we ought to....." Michael didn't finish the sentence. His left hand was already at his left hand holster, and his Katana was already half drawn. "Someone's coming." He muttered, moving over to the door, hiding in the gap to which the door would open. He motioned, not trusting speech incase whoever it was outside heard, for the others to hide and get armed, and totally drew his katana, held calmly and still infront of him, aimed straight forward. The footsteps were getting closer and he thought he could hear weaponry, but wasn't sure. If his hunch was correct though, he knew he heard right. He thought the other two would be able to hear the footsteps by now, and hoped they would hide soon.

[Time Psyduck]

Nimue hadn't been entirely pleased with what accommodation Zack had obtained for their voyage - sharing wasn't too much of a problem for her, but it was two men she didn't know very well, at least to begin with, although it had given them time too get to know each other. Right now there were footsteps approaching the door, and since passengers had been told to stay in their cabins it was almost certainly the crew. Michael thought it was bad news, and she had to agree, but where to hide? She quickly hurried to the empty wardrobe and clambered in, having to bend to fit within it. The door was formed of slats, allowing her to peek out at the room. It wasn't an ideal hiding place, but it was fairly small, meaning they may not think anyone would bother, and although she could see out, it was too dark for anyone looking in to tell she was in there.

[encapturer]

"If you leave here and turn left and follow the road south, you'll reach the docks. About 30 minutes by foot, actually," The man said, pointing in the general direction. "Good luck getting past the DC, though."

After Kaito got his answer, more people poured into the bar, and it was starting to get crowded. In the far corner of the bar, two men suddenly began fighting each other; Kaito could not hear why they were fighting though, since everyone was making noise in the bar now. Two burly men pushed pass Kaito to go quell the fight while they cheered on the fight, though even those two had trouble stopping them. The two men were emitting a faint blue glow, as if they had cast magic on themselves...

[hr]

The door swung open, but no one came in. Harald had hid himself behind the wall opposite of Michael just in time, though the door would hinder any attempts to do much of anything. Nimue could see that one of the crew was looking inside the room, but did not enter it. Instead, he turned around to speak with another crewmember who just came into her field of vision.

"What are you doing? We need you on deck now!" The second crewmember seemed to be reprimanding the first.

"I was told to make sure everyone was in their rooms," the first one replied.

Before the second one could say anything else, the loudspeaker came on. A voice belonging to a young man came flowing through, echoing throughout the ship. "Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. Right now we are docked at Nesland, however there has been some sort of viral outbreak. Do not panic, as it has not spread to this ship. As such, we will be leaving shortly. Mercado's Disease Control has reported that a cure is being developed, so those of you who have business in Nesland that can not wait, we will be letting you off here before shipping off. If you want to enter Mercado, follow the crew's instructions and head up to the deck. I repeat, to enter Mercado and stay there until the cure is distributed to everyone, head up to the deck now."

After the announcement, the two crewmates left, leaving the door open.

[Jake the Sage]

Kaito looked over as the brawl began to heat up, offensive spells flying off at the handle, and laughed to himself as he left; after all he had no reason to stay and help, despite the other patrons having assisted him. [i]"Talk about not being able to cast a defensive spell to save their lives,"[/i] he chuckled as he swung the door open, but something in his heart froze his feet in place as he remained in the doorway. [i]"It has nothing to do with me, they are just random people we will never meet again,"[/i] one half of his brain argued as the more reasonable side came back, [i]"But I can't just leave them after getting such needed information . . . ugh!!!"[/i] Slowly closing the door Kaito had made up his mind, despite whatever conciquences he might be given, he was going to help the bar owner by kicking the unruly patrons out and then moving on his way.

"Excuse me," he said before completing an amazing matrial arts combination with ease, knocking one of the unruly patraons out immediately. Rising from his knees after flipping the large man to the ground the other attempted to strike at him from behind, but a delayed magical barrier shot up to negate the attack, and Kaito was given enough time to take out the second man- all without ever being touched. With both men down and out Kaito brushed some dust off his shoulder, not to look cool or cocky, but because the floor was really . . . really grimy and began to head outside. On his way he stopped at the two people whom had given him the initial information and asked with an almost unbelievable childish face, "So turn left and then head South, right?"

[encapturer]

The people in the bar began to clap for Kaito after he singlehandedly stopped the fight; impressed at how well he handled himself. It was quite different than what would usually happen to him; no one was randomly claiming him to be a criminal for one. In spite of the town being quarantined, everyone has been pretty calm about the whole situation. The people who Kaito first spoke to, for example, spoke cheerfully when asked to confirm the directions to the docks. "You've got it right, and I hope you have better luck than me getting out of here," the man said.

[hr]

The pier itself was empty, save for a few unmanned boats docked and the [i]Flounder[/i], a large ship which was the last ship being allowed to drop off passengers into the town. The area was crawling with Disease control personnel, waiting to scan anyone for the disease, which they haven't gotten. Three were already on the flounder, waiting for anyone who really needed to get into town.

[Magnet Soldier]

Michael sighed and holstered his gun, but still holding his blade loosely in his left hand. "False alarm. Sorry, I thought I heard weapon holsters." Michael explained, moving to the door, and checking for anyone on the corridor outside. "So, we need to get off here? As in, right now, dont we?" Michael asked with a grin as he exited the room, walking briskly down the corridor, getting questioning - and scared - stares from passengers. After all, here was a hardened man who looked as if he'd just got out of a western flick, with a Japanese Katana, almost running down the hall way, with a grin spreading quickly on his face. "Hurry up you two!" He shouted backwards at the open door, not looking back as he approached the staircase up to the deck, sheathing his sword.

[Time Psyduck]

Nimue clambered back out of the wardrobe. It wasn't exactly comfortable in there, and she preferred being back out of it. When the announcement had come through, she had wandered whether or not the others would want to get off. Obviously they were planning to meet this Adarian person, but leaving here would trap them in this town - sure, they could try to leave, but that would probably raise too much suspicion, and being in a city would increase the chances that someone would get one of them with one of those detection spells. She headed out of the door behind Michael, which seemed to draw attention away from her for the most part.

"Hurry up you two!" Michael shouted. She tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm right here, you know," she pointed out.

[Magnet Soldier]

Michael spun around quickly, almost losing his balance on the stairs. "Oh, well he isn't. And he better hurry up before we leave him behind, and he's stuck sailing back to Eldwund." Michael said, walking back up the stairs to the deck. However, he was going much slower now. "So....what's your story? When were you released, and why are you here?" Michael asked as Nimue walked besides him. "We know your some sort of Sorceress, but you haven't told us much." Michael pointed out, impatient to see Adarian. "And why do you want to meet Adarian. I've met him before, and have some questions for him, but what do you want to get by meeting him?"

[Time Psyduck]

"My story," she replied, seeming almost confused, "I don't really know. It's not as though I'm anyone special or anything; I'm just talented with magic, so I use it instead of being armed like most other people. I guess I was released a few months ago, maybe. I'm not really sure, because I always had this kind of feeling that there was something wrong with the world, but it was about then that people started to be suspicious of me, so that must be it," she decided. "As for why I'm here, I guess it's because I don't have anything else to do, and I have a few questions I'd like to ask as well. But what about you? You say already met Adarian, how did that happen?"

[Jake the Sage]

Kaito hadn't noticed it at first, but as he continurf walking down the winding road he began to realize something was off. He checked his pockets, ensuring that everything was accounted for, and then he noticed what was causing it. He was feeling . . . at ease . . . as he walked down the dirt road. Normally he would be looking over his shoulders to see if anyone was following, hell most of the time he'd remain away from roads dirt or not, and would often be at odds with anyone. Looking up at the sky Kaito let out a sigh of relaxation, [i]"Guess things are finally looking up for me now . . ."[/i] After a breif pause to enjoy the warm snlight Kaito began making his way towards the intended destination; attempting to make it in half the time given by the two bar patrons.