Project: 13 [ IC / Started / Not Accepting ]

[.:Blu:.]

[center][size=5][b]CHAPTER 2: PROPHET OF RAELYTH[/b][/size][/center]


[spoiler=Chapter 2 Synopsis]Just two weeks after successfully finishing a mission in the Arma capital of Lorica, Unit 13 is suddenly assigned another mission by General Valen. However, this causes Nine to raise suspicions about the General's intentions.[/spoiler]


[color=#ff0000][i]The following week after my comrades and I had retrieved the data for the Grand Army, the emperor and High Commander of the Batillus Monarchy, Emperor Balastien Rupis Concarda II, in an hour-long speech, announced to the world that the Kingdom of Arma has fallen under the might of the Batillus Republic and the Grand Army. Only in a short duration of three weeks, a kingdom that has reigned for millennia was wiped from Oresha's map, and in its place, an expanded Batillus Republic now dominates. And we were a key part of it. Thanks to the data we had retrieved, the Grand Army launched a final assault using Anima-powered weapons collected from locations stated within the data to obliterate the remaining forces of Arma. In just three hours we had changed the world... Although not in the manner that we wanted...[/i][/color]

It has been two weeks since Unit 13's last mission - a mission that caused the fall of the Kingdom of Arma. It also further increased the military strength of the Grand Army due to new Anima springs founded and Anima-powered weapons collected from several locations detailed within the retrieved data. While some of the members did not want to state it out loud, they knew that by retrieving the data, they have now caused the war to bring even more bloodshed than before. Arma did not have the sufficient technologies to process Anima into a more destructive state nor did they have the talent to perfect their Anima-powered weapons, but the Batillus Republic does; so with these new resources now clenched tightly in the palms of their hands, the Grand Army will, without a doubt, use it to further conquer the other nations and spread more blood in their wake. But fortunately for now, the war has returned to its previous stalemate. However, there actually is a single piece of news that can only be described as life-changing. Emperor Concarda II has, recently, played with the idea of peace negotiations with the Oriens Alliance and the Nox Empire; the reason being the precarious positions that both the Oriens Alliance and the Nox Empire has now been placed in after witnessing the fall of Arma. Furthermore, Emperor Concarda II is a man of greed and he sees this as an opportunity to gain control of the economic markets of both powerful nations without the need to spend his own jewells for military purposes.

[1 Week Ago; Radiaya Conference]

Officials and generals of the Batillus Monarchy and the Grand Army respectively entered through a pair of gargantuan, ornate wooden doors, opened to them by Peristylium servants, into a room colossal in scope. The room is made completely out of whitestone, a type of mineral said to contain essences of naturally-found Anima that is said to be able to increase vitality in people. Whitestone is extremely expensive and very difficult to find, but amazingly, the Batillus Republic has found enough to be able to build two massive rooms, one which is the room the officials and generals are currently in, the Peristylium Conference Hall, and the other one is the throne room of the emperor of the Batillus Republic. The main feature of the Conference Hall is the long, wooden table with an onyx surface. Thirty masterfully crafted chairs surround the table and are used to seat the officials on one side and the generals on the other. Upon a raised platform near the table is an exact replica of the throne used by the Batillus emperor within the throne room. Naturally, Emperor Concarda II is the only person allowed to be seated there. He is the overseer of all conferences within the Conference Hall, and always has the final say in every matter.

Even before the officials and generals have arrived, Emperor Concarda II had already taken his seat minutes earlier. Standing beside the emperor are two highly powerful guards, extensively trained in both weapon combat and magic combat. A Peristylium servant is also present within the room whose sole purpose is to activate and deactivate a panel built into the whitestone wall near the two massive doors that can create an absolute soundproof barrier to prevent any noises from leaking outside the Conference Hall. At the same time, it prevents any noises from leaking into the Conference Hall and disrupting the proceedings of conferences. With that being said however, there really aren’t many people that would stand around in the halls while conferences are being held. Another thing to note about the soundproof barrier-creating device is that it is always activated an hour before the emperor and the other participants arrived. After the participants have taken their seats, the conference began.

After an hour of discussing about minor problems and their solutions, Emperor Concarda II brought up his idea of negotiating peace with Oriens and Nox. "I've been cogitating about this notion for quite some time now, and I'm interested in seeing what all of you will make of it. I believe that it is the best time to enter peace talk with the Oriens Alliance and the Nox Empire in exchange for control of their economic market. It is the perfect time to do so after we've demonstrated Batillus' might by conquering Arma; we've pushed them into a corner." Emperor Concarda II stated. "Excellent idea my Lord. I support your wise decision." one official quickly answered, although only to court the emperor's favor. "My Lord, while that is an excellent idea, I do believe we should continue on this path of conquering the other nations. We must completely dominate them." a familiar face, more exactly, General Valen, stated. "Have you not grown tired of spending the Monarchy's jewells for such an action, especially seeing as how it is now frivolous and trivial? My plan would favor us in more ways than one. We would look like saints in the eyes of the people of Oresha for ending this prolonged war, at least I will." Concarda II explained.

"I understand my Lord but what about the other two nations' Anima sources? Surely, if not by force, they will not hand those to us." Valen argued. "Sure they will! They are backed into their own dark corners shivering in fear at Batillus' might. We will be able to persuade them to hand the Anima sources over, with the appropriate [i]incentives[/i] of course..." Concarda II explained, giving a slight chuckle at the last part of his response. "I still believe we should continue our current plans my Lord. General Alchaeus, surely you agree with me, don't you?" Valen asked the general sitting next to him. "Emperor Concarda is right..." General Alchaeus replied as he lifted his head up to reveal a strikingly young [url="http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz46/wirespy/Alchaeus.png"]appearance[/url]. General Alchaeus, despite how he looks, is actually a man in his early sixties, but due to an accident that exposed him to a mysterious Anima byproduct, General Alchaeus's physical appearance has changed to being that of a man in his late twenties or possibly early thirties. The byproduct has also increased the physical and mental attributes of the General vastly, in the same manner as the Project 13 serum. However, the General's exposure seems to have not afflicted him with any symptoms reminiscent of Anima Syndrome. Furthermore, General Alchaeus has retained his deep, elder-esque voice instead of having it revert into a youthful tone.

"What...? But General Alchaeus-" Valen was quickly interrupted by the emperor. "You see Valen? Even General Alchaeus agrees and he was the one who suggested and coordinated the surprise invasion of Arma in the first place." Concarda II revealed. "The Emperor is right... He is always right, and you must know that General Valen... Know your place..." Alchaeus stated, a tone of intimidation and warning resounded off of his commanding voice. With that, Valen became quiet. Clearly Alchaeus has proven himself to be a man feared and respected by the other generals and officials; even the Emperor, himself, holds Alchaeus in high regards. The conference continued for about two more hours before Emperor Concarda II decided on finalizing the plan for peaceful negotiations. After that, the officials and generals were excused. In the following days, the Emperor announced to a few of his most trusted servants his plans for peace and hinted for them to spread the news of his greatness for deciding to end the war. Word got out fast and soon, Unit 13 heard of the proposed plan from some servants working in their manor. Needless to say, they felt overjoyed; especially Eight who actually burst out into tears of happiness, although it was mistaken as sorrow and Eight had to be comforted by some of the female members of his team.

[Present]

Unit 13, about ten minutes ago, had been called to General Valen's office for a mission briefing, much to their confusion. After all, Unit 13 only performed missions vital to Batillus' advantage in the war, but seeing as how Emperor Concarda II had plans to end the war, Unit 13 shouldn't be needed at the moment. As Unit 13 walked to Valen's office, they thought about their plans for the future once the war was over. "So what are you guys going to do after the war has ended?" Cinque asked her whole team in general.

"Hard to say. I'm just taking things easy for now and living in the moment ya know? When I get there, I'll naturally figure things out." Dis replied.

"A typical answer for Dis hehe." Ace stated with a smile.

"There's a lot of hope for the future, and a lot of things for me to accomplish. I may open a dojo to train people in martial arts so that they can reach physical nirvana." Eight said.

"Physical what now???" Dis asked, confused by Eight's choice of words.

"I will be devoting my time in studying every aspect of this world. To gain more knowledge, that is why I live." Trece stated.

"Great, just don't come bothering me to explain things..." Kat responded to Trece. "As for me, maybe I'll become some kind of female vigilante, kicking ass and taking names!" Kat ambitiously stated.

"I'll probably just stay with the military..." Elva said, a rather bland goal for the future.

"Won't be much action, ya know? With the war done and everything." Dis said.

"You idiot, my purpose in the military is not to constantly look for 'action'... I merely want to protect the innocent." Elva explained.

"Jeez, aren't you righteous?" Dis mumbled to himself.

"That actually sounds... nice. I may join you in doing that." Nine said to Elva.

"I want to perform in an orchestra..." Dual said shyly.

"We get free admission right? Right...?" Dis asked to which Dual only giggled in response.

"How about you Ace?" Cinque asked.

"I- I don't actually know, sorry... But what about you?" Ace replied.

"Just being with you guys is enough for me." Cinque responded, smiling.

After a few more minutes of walking and casual conversation, the thirteen of them arrived at Valen's office. Walking inside, the team took their usual position, albeit they are more attentive since this is the mission briefing and not the end mission evaluation. "Unit 13 reporting." Elva said, saluting. "Umm, before you brief us, is it true that the Emperor is thinking about peace negotiations with the other nations?" Ace asked. "I see... Yes it's true, and because of it, this mission that I've called the thirteen of you here today will be different than your previous ones in the sense that it will not involve the war." Valen explained. "I see..." Ace said. "This mission requires the thirteen of you to eliminate a man who goes by the name of 'Naitus'. He believes himself to be a prophet and the '[color=#0000cd][sup]1[/sup][/color]Gais' of this world. He has amassed quite a few followers, powerful magic-wielders more exactly." Valen explained. "So why is he such a threat...?" Nine asked, much to the surprise of others who rarely, if ever, hears Nine talk during mission briefings.

"Naitus and his followers have taken over Raelyth and have made it their headquarters." Valen replied. "Raelyth? The coastal town south of Milites?" Ace asked. "Correct. Raelyth is a large export-import town that allows Milites to transfer and receive many goods and valuables from and to other parts of the Batillus Republic. It is vital to Batillus' economy and with Naitus and his followers destroying shipments and killing citizens of Raelyth, soon the town will be abandoned and Batillus' economy will have taken a heavy blow." Valen explained. "You couldn't have sent soldiers to take care of this problem?" Nine asked. "No, I want Naitus and his followers eliminated with minimal casualties and damage to the town as quickly as possible. That is why I've decided on sending Unit 13 to take care of this." Valen replied. "You also must not underestimate Naitus and his followers. His ideology has caused him to do some drastic things and unless you want the blood of numerous innocent civilians stained on your hands, you better take precaution." Valen added.

"Understood." Elva said. "A military vehicle will take the thirteen of you about a mile from Raelyth. You will then infiltrate the town, find Naitus, kill him, and then kill the rest of his followers to liberate the town. Contact the military vehicle afterwards and they will arrive at the town to escort all of you back to Milites. It sounds simple enough, but as I've warned: do [b]not[/b] underestimate Naitus and his followers." Valen stated before handing Elva a picture of [url=http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz46/wirespy/NaitusIcon.png]Naitus's[/url] face which was then passed along to the others. "Prepare your equipment at your manor and head back outside. The military vehicle should be there by the time you finish preparing. You are dismissed." Valen said. Surprisingly, the mission briefing was extremely short, having taken only ten minutes to explain everything. However, this caused Nine to become suspicious of General Valen's intentions. Some things didn't seem to make sense to him. As Nine walked out the door, he was suddenly stopped by Valen. "You were awfully talkative today Nine... Is something the matter?" Valen asked. "No, just curious of the mission details... Can I leave now?" Nine asked. "Yes..." Valen replied.

After the mission briefing had ended, Unit 13 headed back to their manor to prepare their equipment, not knowing that there was more to this mission than what has been said by Valen.[hr]
[color=#0000cd][sup]1[/sup][/color]Gais (Gai-Is): A term used in the Passage of Celestia, Verse I. The Gais is a messiah and savior prophesied in ancient mythology to appear at the same time as the appearance of the calamitous one, a being that is said to bring forth an apocalyptic calamity.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Tolv was probably hit the hardest by the news that had been brought to the group. Peace meant a lot less action and a lot less action meant a lot more boredom. It also caused him to wonder what exactly he would do when peace time struck. That's why he stayed quiet for a while when Cinque asked what they were going to do once the war had ended. An idea finally hit him when he heard Kat's idea. "Vigilante, eh? That sounds pretty fun. But Kat already took it so I'll guess I'll just go with being a cop. Maybe a member of a swat team. Not a fan of paperwork but there's still bound to be some action. Or maybe I should become some sort of international playboy. That's one kind of action."

Tolv did as he normally did at these meeting. He simply walked in a circle the whole time while paying some attention to what was being said. He was glad this briefing only took 10 minutes though and was rather simple. Get to this place, fight a cult, and leave. Actually sounded pretty fun to him. The idea of beating the tar out of a bunch of overzealous religious freaks only made the mission sound even better. Tolv couldn't help but wonder how many more missions they actually had left though.

Tolv eventually set his thoughts aside so that he could properly prepare for the mission. They had left the mission briefing room a while ago and had already returned to the manor that they lived in. Tolv made no hesitations in getting ready for the mission. He didn't even touch his game system or any of the many action movies located on a shelf in his large room kept clean by the manor's staff. He made sure that his belt was full of bullets before putting it on. He had then loaded his twin revolvers, Gemini, and holstered them. Tolv then proceeded to head to the lobby and wait until the others were ready.

[Hotaru987]

Hearing that there were peace negotiations happening Sei was overjoyed. For one that meant that her, and the others wouldn't be risking their lives and getting hurt anymore. Not only that but they would be able to be with each other more without wondering if today was their last day alive. Hearing stories from Trece about the things from outside and what he believed to be out there made her curious about it. She wanted to go to a festival, and do all the other fun things that other people were able to do. She was surprised when Eight burst out in tears after hearing the news, but Sei assumed he was even happier than she was. After all he never liked killing on missions, and he never did if it was avoidable. She patted his back, [i]'Don't cry Eight. Here[/i][i] you can have this picture. I was going to give it to Sheva but you need it a lot more." [/i]She reached into her coat pocket and unfolded the paper handing the [url=http://oi45.tinypic.com/2qaskde.jpg]picture[/url] to him with a smile.

That incident happened a couple of days ago, and now Sei was heading to General Valen's office for another mission. As they walked the question of what everyone would do came up. Everyone had their own ideas and Sei just thought to herself for a while. What would she do? After a while she sighed, [i]"I don't know what I will do. I guess just find a place to stay and play my guitar. Oh, and still color of course! Though I would like it if we could all get together sometimes to have fun." [/i]A few moments later they arrived at General Valen's office, Sei once again taking a seat in front of the couch on the floor. She made an effort to pay more attention than the last time since it was a mission briefing, but to be honest Valen's voice sometimes annoyed her. The only thing that made her really pay attention was the thought of this being the first of the few mission they would have left. The faster they finished this, than the quicker their last mission would arrive.

After 10 minutes the briefing was over, with Nine surprisingly asking questions, and the group left to their manner to gather their equipment. Sei only needed to grab her scythe, but along with that she also brought a small black bag with her, before she left her room heading over to the place where they would meet up before being shipped off. When the others arrived she went over to Trece and Nine grinning happily, "Here these are for you two! I already gave Elva the one I made her, and these are the ones I was going to make for you two!" The first [url=http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2ewzcrn&s=6]picture[/url] she handed to Trece and the [url=http://oi45.tinypic.com/346lxkh.jpg]other[/url] to Nine. [i]"I think I'm gonna make Tolv one next."[/i] She showed them the bag she brought with her, [i]"On the way there I was going to make one to pass the time." [/i]

[Elƒie]

Sheva wasn't sure what to think of the rumors about a peace treaty. The last time she heard something along the lines, it just turned out to be a cold war for a little bit. She hoped the rumors were true, but she knew better than to get her hopes up high. Eight, however, didn't know better. That, or he was just so happy to finally hear that there's a chance at peace, that he couldn't keep the tears in. She wanted to comfort Eight, but every time she's tried to comfort someone(save for Trey), things just felt awkward at the end. She also knew Eight's tears were of joy, not sadness, so there wasn't much need for consoling from her anyways.

Anyways, a week had passed since the rumor was initially heard and Unit 13 was called in for a mission, [i]'Kinda fishy.. If there are going to be attempts at a peace treaty, then why are we needed? Maybe it's to escort the King? Nah, he's got his own damn crew to do that.. Well.. I guess we'll find out in a few what we're to do..'[/i] As the group walked to the meeting, there was casual talk about what they wanted to do if the war ended. Looking to Trey, she asked him what he wanted to do, "What about you, Trey? What do you want to do if this war ends? Knowing you, you'll probably want to open up a hair shop for either people or animals.. Or maybe a floral shop.. Oh! That reminds me, how's that daisy ya got a week ago? Is it still growing strong?"

Before, during, and possibly even after Trey's answer, Sheva was wondering about her own future. [i]'What could I do? Being a merc has some possibility.. But that requires in having trust that the client will pay you afterwards and that its not a trap.. I could stay in the military, like Elva and Nine, but the only person I truly trust is Trey, and that'll cause a problem in the long run.. Hell, probably even short run.. I couldn't do anything with people.. People's stupidity constantly piss me off, so I'd have to do a self-ran thing if I wanted to deal with people.. I might do pet grooming, if Trey goes that route, but I don't have the patience.. Maybe play in a group, like Dual? I am learning the harp.. I'm not that good at it, though, and Dual's been doing it for years.. Besides, most places what tall, beautiful people, like Dual, to draw people in, not temperamental people like me.. What can I do.. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU- *Sigh* I guess that's what I get for not thinking down that aspect of possibility for the future.. I figured the war would be over long after I die, either from combat, old age, sickness, etc...'[/i]

Sheva was on the tittering point of either all out rage or pure sadness, but luckily for her, the pre-mission briefing was there to distract her. At least she though it was. The meeting had only been about ten minutes long, barely long enough to get her attention off of things. As soon as the group left to go get prepped, Sheva practically exploded, "DAFUQ WAS THAT?! Not even ten minutes and we're done! If it weren't for the questions, it'd probably would have been five minutes! Seriously, what kind of balls of a General does that guy have for calling one of the strongest weapons Batillus has for a mission that only requires TEN DAMN MINUTES to explain!? FUUUUUUUU-" Sheva cut her own fury off when she decided to kick an outside bench, putting a dent in it's metal working before quickly splitting off from the group to go prep for the mission.

After a few minutes in her room, Sheva was ready to leave. Putting her hand on the handle of the door that lead to and from her room, she suddenly stopped when the General's warning about not underestimating their target chimed in her head. Looking to her right, she spotted Ryuuhime's summon crown still stuck to the wall from a week ago. "I can her along just in case things do get really rough, but she's probably extremely pisses at me.. And knowing her, she'll start screaming in my ear the moment a fight starts, throwing me off of my game," she debated out loud, mostly to herself. After a few moments of thinking on it some more, Sheva grabbed the crown and quickly made her way to the group, ready to get this mission done and over with before it even began...

[Kyng's Old Account]

It went without saying that Trey was finally, without a doubt, over the moon as the word of peace was thrown around, and as such, he couldn't not smile when he was making his way down to the office for, what he imagined, was their final mission ever as a Unit of Warfare; he needed not to say his profession, following the end of it all, was professional sports, maybe an Panolympic Athlete or, heck, even a professional wrestler: he'd probably end up playing on the heel side of the kayfabe side of wrestling, but by golly his body would make him very proud, exceptionally efficient, and it'd be a shameful waste of the blessing from the serum to not push his body to the limits. He remained silent of his aspirations, however, since he wasn't the most talkative; rather, he decided to keep them to himself. He'd expect a laugh from someone, especially Dis, and as such he'd keep his dreams in his little box, which the man had encrusted with pretty little jewellery for the record. As such, as he was asked by Sheva for said aspiration, he whispered his response into her ear shyly. "Professional Sports." Afterwards, his normal posture retained, he said "Lilly-Anne is growing very well, despite the original state she was left in: if not for you, she'd have died in a day; thank you so much Sheva." as he pet her head tenderly.

According to the General, it was a Search and Destroy mission rather than a simple assassination, and in a very well known place too: Trey couldn't help think there wasn't something peculiar going along, but he didn't think much of it; this man was killing innocents, who gave him the right to who lived and who dies? Ironically, Trey's own task was the sort, however it was the General's hands in which the blood was guilty for, he was merely an agent. Regardless, he sympathized for the soon to be deceased target. Leaving the meeting with his adamant look, getting prepared for the mission, he had swiftly abandoned his group to tend to the little daisy, him wearing a smile of genuine joy on his titanic mug. It reminded him of Sheva, simply due to size, but yet also of Dual, and Cinque, and even Sei; it seemed most of the males were not as sympathetic as the females, but then again it was natural, he supposed.

[.:Blu:.]

After packing all of their necessary equipment, the members of Unit 13 exited the manor and was quickly greeted by two Batillus soldiers. "Reporting for duty. I am Pvt. Jura." one of the soldiers said as he saluted to the clearly superior members of the Unit 13. "And I am Pvt. Dek. We'll be the ones operating the military vehicle for this mission." the second soldier stated. Parked outside the manor gates was the large [url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_OI9Ri99j-g/TjbfQrO2ZMI/AAAAAAAABpY/WK4Xgh_JJGw/s1600/sam_brown_01.jpg"]military vehicle[/url]. This particular model was built for carrying fifteen people and so it was more than enough space for the entire Unit 13. It was a good thing that they would be traveling in a spacious vehicle, because the trip to Raelyth will be a long one. "Hey Sheva, I hope you cooled down now or else our ride might have a dent in it soon hehe." Dis playfully teased. Dis knew Sheva would probably react negatively to his comment and so he quickly hopped on board the vehicle while also pulling Tolv in front of him in order to use Tolv as a human shield just in case Sheva decided to react... physically. After everybody had boarded the vehicle, Elva walked to the front of the vehicle to speak to the two soldiers. "How long will this trip take?" Elva got right to it.

"Best guess is about four hours give or take." Jura stated. "Four hours? And it can't be helped?" Elva asked in response to Jura's answer. "'Fraid not." Jura said. Elva gave a sigh and walked back to her teammates, talking a seat next to Dis and Ace. "It's going to be a four hour drive. We don't have the luxury of traveling to Raelyth by warship like our last mission in Lorica so that means we'll be stuck in this vehicle for quite a while." Elva explained. "What?! Four hours in this vehicle with no air conditioning? Or video games?! And Trece???!!!" Kat complained before hanging her head down. "Just take it easy guys. Think of it as a four hour nap time." Dis said, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back on the metal chair built into the interior wall of the vehicle. Right as Dis was beginning to relax, the back of Elva's hand came crashing into his face with quite an amount of force. "Ouch!" Dis cried as he quickly covered his hurting nose. "This is no time for being in an easy-going mood. Get your mind set on doing this mission dumbass." Elva stated in a rather calm, yet intimidating, voice. "Okay, okay, jeez... Yo Dual, you mid switching seats with me?" Dis asked. "Not at all..." Dual smiled and responded before getting up to switch seats with Dis. Dis took his new seat next, fortunately, next to Nine, someone who won't hit him in the face.

[color=#ff0000][i]We spent the next three hours, forty-six minutes, and twenty-seven seconds in somewhat of an awkward silence. Well... for the most part anyways. Even Trece didn't have much to say. There were a lot of things going through our minds. For me, I thought about what kind of future I would have when the war was finally over. When Cinque brought up the topic, I didn't have an answer. Hopefully, by the end of this mission, I will...[/i][/color]

After an excruciatingly long ride, the military vehicle finally came to a quiet halt at the drop-off point - located approximately one mile from Raelyth itself. Both Unit 13 and the other two soldiers exited the vehicle to discuss the important issue of picking up Unit 13 after they have completed their mission. "Here are your headsets. They are now programmed with the channel of the vehicle's radio so whenever you're ready to leave just contact us." Pvt. Dek explained. "Very well. We'll take things from here." Elva said as she put on her headset while the others do so as well. "Alright. The quicker we do this, the quicker I can go home and tend to my garden." Eight said. "It'll be another four hours back. *Sigh* I guess it can't be helped." Cinque stated, not looking forward to the prospect of having to sit in the vehicle for another long period of time. "At least we'll be able to stretch our legs now. Let's go." Ace said. Unit 13 then left for Raelyth while the two soldiers stayed back at the vehicle. After they got far enough away, Nine walked in front of his team and stopped, signaling his teammates to stop as well. Without speaking, Nine pointed to his headset and motioned his hand in a way as to direct his teammates to turn them off, which his teammates did so.

"Is something the matter Nine?" Ace asked. "This mission... I have a suspicious feeling that Valen merely wants us away from Milites for a while." Nine proclaimed. "Interesting... What led you to believe that?" Trece asked. "The short briefing was one strange thing he did... Usually, Valen is very deliberate and detailed when it comes to mission briefings, but this time around he seems to just sped through the entire thing in order for us to leave Milites faster. He didn't give us any information at all on Naitus besides a picture and he kept emphasizing that we should not underestimate Naitus. While this may be true, it's obvious he's pushing that detail in order to keep us here in Raelyth for as long as possible." Nine explained. "Yes, I see what you mean... He wants us to be as cautious as possible, knowing that that would mean we would take a longer time to approach our enemy. The sly bastard does seem awfully pushy during the briefing." Trece stated. "So what? Are we suppose to kill this Naitus geezer quickly and get back to Milites to confront Valen?" Dis asked.

"Not exactly. This Naitus could actually still be pretty powerful and we should be cautious. However, it could be possible that Naitus is working under Valen's command. Should we interrogate him?" Ace asked. "Every aspect of this mission does seem suspicious when placed into context... If we can, we will interrogate Naitus." Elva replied. "What if you guys are just over thinking things? I know Valen isn't exactly a good person, but after all these years of working with us, what would he gain from fooling us?" Cinque asked. "Whatever the case may be, we should approach this with caution. That way, we can find out more about Naitus and Valen won't draw any suspicion towards us cause we'll be doing exactly we he wants." Ace stated. "Settled. Then let us continue." Elva said before the group continued on to Raelyth.

Just a few minutes of walking and already Unit 13 has encountered enemies. As the team reached the peak of a fairly-sized hill, they could see a large group of twenty people dressed in Batillus soldier uniforms patrolling an open area in the valley below. Needless to say, these individuals aren't Batillus soldiers. Batillus soldiers, as with all soldiers, patrol in a formation; meanwhile, these individuals are merely walking around at random, ready to open fire on anything they see as being suspicious. "These guys aren't very bright are they?" Dis asked rhetorically, referring to the fake soldiers. "Cult followers usually aren't." Eight stated.

"Alright, clearly these guys won't be much trouble to deal with, but we should do it as quickly and quietly as possible. Dual and Cinque, you two draw their attention and keep them busy. The rest of us will launch a surprise attack on them to quickly dispatch them. Trece, you stay here to offer long-range support." Elva explained the plan. After the explanation, Dual and Cinque took a path down the hill and towards the group of fake soldiers while the ground assault team took a hidden path through the nearby forested area in order to get behind the fake soldiers while they are being distracted by Dual and Cinque. Meanwhile, Trece, on the hill, took aimed with several arrows, ready to rain down his Arrow Shower just in case things go wrong. Back on the ground, Dual and Cinque cautiously walked up to the fake soldiers, hoping the deficit of military knowledge of the fake soldiers would not allow them to recognize the two girls as part of Unit 13. "Stop! Who are you two and what are you doing here?" one of the soldiers asked as he pointed his rifle at Dual and Cinque. "S-Sorry, we were just hoping if you could give us directions." Cinque stated while in mind she thought, "(They don't recognize us.)"

"W-We're lost... Please, help us... Surely Celestia will grant you good fortune for helping us..." Dual said, appealing to their religious belief. Although these individuals look to Naitus as being the Gais of this world and the main figure of their cult, fundamentally, their religious devotion is still aimed at the goddess Celestia. "You are children being guided by Celestia's light as well?" the soldier asked. "Yes, and we seek salvation from Gais, the chosen one..." Dual said, giving the ground assault team the signal to attack.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Nodding in the bushes, Trey decided there and then he'd do his best to divide the group, pre-briefing the concept with Elva of course, with her having explained, and then wrapped a bandage around his mouth, that his usually vocal mannerisms in this battle had to be died down; a sneaky plot in mind, Trey's bulk slipped out through the bushes as he watched the two sister-like units of 13 easily decieve the fake soldiers with the typical damsel in distress; needless to say their own phyisical attraction worked wonders on the groups; they were ensnared in the charming web of Cinque and Dual, and now was the time to strike: as such, Trey turned and patted Sei's back twice, whispering to use Heaven Destroyer when he gave the signal, before getting his ground and holding Achilles Quake by it's head like a javelin. After watching Nine use his weapon so profficiently, Trey had mastered Hammer Head, however this variant was a little tribute to him.

Grinding his teeth softly, he spotted Cinque in the distance and did his best to contact her, eyes only since his mouth was covered, to take after his own attack, and then, pulling back his hammer, as he had done before which, unfortunately, had a gruesome aftermath, he ran a bit of distance, before throwing the hammer straight for the 20 soldiers, the centre of them ideally, in order to attract the attention to him: this would, in essence, give Cinque the opportunity to take out a portion of her own, which would bring the attention back to the girls; and, of course, with Sei's Heaven Destroyer technique, another chunk would be out of it.

It went without saying Trece's range, and pressumably Kat's and Tolv's, would allow the fake soldiers to be caught in a sneaky crossfire, although due to Kat's loud weapon, the firearm users would need silencers of some sort; this would have to be quick in order to work well, however Trey had proud faith in his ally's. Heck, knowing Unit 13, many more openings could be evident for the other's to use for a quicker, cleaning massacre. Whatever the case, Trey, following the course of events, would recover Achilles Quake, however following this, a fate he hadn't predicted, he was shot in the heel (+1 rep for referrence) by a rifle shot, having to limp on one foot as such. He needed help, and he was foolish not to have underestimated the Naitus.

[Elƒie]

As she walked back to the others, Sheva had her eyes glued to the ground as the crown rattled in her hand. An all-out mental argument was in full gear between her and Ryuuhime. As she waited to get on the vehicle, her eyes were still glued to the ground, but the crown was now in its holstered place on her belt. The only time her eyes moved from the ground was when she faintly notice someone saying, [color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]"Hey Sheva, I hope you cooled down now or else our ride might have a dent in it soon hehe."[/background][/size][/font][/color]. Lifting up her right foot, she hopped towards Dis with an [url="http://th02.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2009/345/9/b/Evil_Ed_by_Lonedragonwolf.jpg"]evil face[/url] that everyone knew was just her acting, "Yeah, you better fear my foot! Bwua. Ha. Ha!" Chuckling a little as Dis quickly retreated into the vehicle, using Tolv as a meat-shield, Sheva went back to staring at the ground, putting her full attention back into the argument between her and Ryuuhime. Being the last one to get on, like usual, Sheva was about to step in when she suddenly froze for a moment. After about 2-3 seconds, a small wave of magical energy, hardly noticeable, emitted from her before she fully climbed aboard and took her seat next to Trey.

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

It took almost every ounce of self-control Sheva had to keep herself from ranting on about trust and people when Nine had stopped the group to talk about his suspicions about the General's intentions about the mission. Instead, she simply let out a scuff before the group started walking again, [i]'We can't even trust the people that hands us our assignments.. Just like we couldn't trust our parents to raise and protect us! [color=#ff0000]F*CK[/color] THIS WORLD!'[/i]

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After Trey had thrown his hammer, Sheva took off towards the group of soldiers, aiming to clear a path for Trey to retrieve it. As the hammer landed, taking out a few men, Sheva readied her own strike, thrusting Septyni downwards as the soldiers turned around to see where Trey's hammer came from. For one unlucky soldier, he wasn't even fully turned around before he was fatally wounded by Sheva's whip sword, "One of the few things I can't stand in this world are lousy impostors!" With that said, Sheva then yanked Septyni to the left, taking out another soldier before she swung her sword around her back, aiming to swing it back down to take out another soldier when she heard a gun shot and stopped in her tracks. Looking behind her, she saw Trey, limping with some blood dripping down from somewhere on her body. She didn't know where, but it didn't matter at this moment.

Quickly looking back at the soldiers before her, they stiffened in fear at the look of rage on Sheva's face as she said calmly, but with much hatred, "[color=#ff0000]You're all dead now..[/color]" Taking one step forward, the soldier's began to immediately fumble with their rifles as they tried to aim it at her. immediately after taking her one step, Sheva began to quickly rush at the men, swinging Septyni horizontal and slicing the rifles almost in half just as they finally managed to aim them at her. "C-Celestia, guide us!" was the last words one the soldiers said before Sheva brought Septyni down on the one on her far right. Without wasting time, Sheva began to swing her weapon to the left, slicing through the others as she continued Septyni's momentum by spinning to the left, taking out another soldier by slicing his legs at the same time as Sei sliced through his chest. Nodding to Sei, Sheva continued on with her rampage by running to her right as a soldier as he aimed his gun at Trey and fired off one shot before getting taken out by another member of Unit 13. Luckily for Trey, Sheva intercepted the bullet by using her own body as a shield, the bullet piercing her chest and narrowly missing her heart by an inch or so as she dropped to her back.

Sheva laid on the ground, still, for a few moments before her left hand moved to the skull on her belt and pulled it off as she slowly rose to her feet. By now, there were only a few soldiers left, but Sheva was too stubborn and was determined to kill as many of the men that dared to attack her friend, Trey. As she fed magical energy into the skull, taking her time with it, Sheva jogged back into the fight. While taking out a few of the last remaining soldiers, Sheva got hit with another bullet in her left shoulder from a ricochet, causing her drop to one knee, panting hard a few times before fully collapsing to the ground, the [acronym=now cracked]skull[/acronym] rolling out of her left hand. Talking weakly, she said, "S-Someone toss the skull up and tell Agari to heal Trey first, then me.."

[Hotaru987]

The ride to Raelyth was a silent and uncomfortable one. Even Sei was feeling the unease of the strange mission. Nine's observance to General Valen's uncharacteristicness, and the oddity of the mission itself was even causing the usually happy Sei to stay quiet. She kept to herself, sitting next to Ace her back resting on his arm using him as a brace. Her feet were on the seat next to her, making her knees draw up to her chest which she used as a table to draw the picture for Tolv. In order to not think about the mission and all that other stuff she concentraited heavily on the picture, a small smile and a few quiet giggles escapeing ever so often. [i]'I think I'll make Trey and Sheva one next. Then Ace and then Cinque and then...' [/i]Her thoughts continued until she had her next two rotations of who she would make pictures for. She wouldn't be surprised if each person already had dozens of pictures for her. She was sure that some of them were thrown away, but it didn't matter. Sei just liked making nice things for her family.

She managed to finish her picture by the time they go to their destination, but decided to hold off on handing it to him at that moment. Instead she folded the paper and placed it in her pocket as she followed the others out of the millitary vehicle. Sie followed the others as they quickly began their mission, and it didn't take long for them to find their objective. On top of a large hill were groups of people walking around with guns. Sei wasn't sure whether to call them soldiers or foot pawns the way they semed to walk around looking for anything and everything to shoot. Dual and Cinque decided to create a diversion, which proved that the soldiers hadn't a clue as to who they were. Trey was the first to act, running in to try and bring attention to himself. Snatching the opening Trey most likely created, Sei took the initiative to attack with her own range attack [i]Heaven Destroyer. [/i]Her scythe emerged from the trees heading for any soldiers that happened to be in the way.

Looking around her eyes widened when she saw that Trey was hurt. Her eyes turned [url=http://www.ratemydrawings.com/tutorials/images/119_647037.jpg]feirce[/url] and instantly she shot out into the open, only moments after Sheva. Sheva whent on the rampage Sei wanted to also go on, but the angry unit 13 member took out so many of the men that Sei only was able to snatch a few, with onf of them losing both of his legs and upper half of his body due to the two of them workign together. Sheva was the first to run to Trey and Sei followed after, going to his other side. She reached out and touched his arm, [i]"Trey! You should let me heal you!" [/i]Just as he thought he declined, but Sei didn't want him to stay hurt, [i]"I can take it. Pain is what I'm good at whether it's recieving or giving it. Your wound is nothing to me just let me take it away." [/i]Sei frowned when he declined again and she dropped her hand away. She knew he didn't want to get better at her expense but she was fine with it.

Sheva, however, wasn't about to wait for his ok, and began to summon one of her monsters; It was Agari. Sheva filled the skull to the brim, but before she could complete it she fell and the skull rolled out of her hand. She instructed someone to toss the skull up and tell Agari to heal Trey than herself. Sei, being the closest, nodded with a salute and scurried over to the skull, then tossing it into the air. That triggerd Agari's uber awesomely epic summoning sequance. Looking at the creature Sei quickly told him, [i]"You need to heal them! Sheva said to heal Trey first and then herself." [/i]Though Sei wasn't too sure if Sheva's summons could understand her. She hope it did. While waiting she looked around making sure no soldiers tried to attack Trey or Sheva.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Tolv did not like being used as a shield by Dis. "What the hell are you doing you ignoramus?! Don't use me as a shield! She'll kill us both! Use Trey!" Contrary to what he had said he didn't actually fight back and just got into vehicle still being Dis' shield. The ride for Tolv was probably one of the most excruciating ones for Tolv ever. With such little time he had completely forgotten to even grab a handheld game to try amnd keep him busy. Of course it probably wouldn't have even if it were the most action packed game ever. He was Tolv after all. By the time they finally arrived in the destination Tolv was upside down in his chair. He was also one of the first few to get out and stretch his legs even though he may have been on of the farthest from the door.

For a rare moment Tolv actually stood still and listened to Nine and the others. "So we need to make this quick, right? Point me to that douchenozzle's direction and I'll slaughter them all." It wasn't long until they actually ran into the first group of enemies. Just a bunch of imposters of Bautillus Soldiers. They were barely worth Unit 13's time. Tolv was ready to rush in and just kill them all himself. They certainly didn't seem like any sort of challenge. Elva on the other hand wanted to take a different approach and surprise them so to do that they'd have to be quiet. One of the many things Tolv didn't like doing but Elva was the boss so he'd have to follow.

Given the signal Tolv was going to instantly jump into the fight. He was until somebody charged into his back, succesfully slamming him to the ground. It was non other than Kat whom had her foot stationed on his back keeping him laying there. "What are you doing on the ground, Tolv? I'm going to get way more than you."

It was then that Trey had charged in. Seeing that really pissed off Tolv. "What the hell, Kat?! Even that slowpoke got ahead of us! Trey! Ahead! Of me! You little c*nt!"

Kat let out a small giggle. "You're right. I better go out there. You just have fun there on the ground." She was about to run off but soon tripped herself. Looking back she could see Tolv grabbing onto her leg. "Tolv?!"

"You're not getting away that easily."

"RAPE!"

"Wait, wh-AGH" He was cut off by a foot slamming into his arm. Looking up Tolv could see Eight. "Eight! You can't seriously believe i-OH GOD, STOP PUTTING PRESSURE ON MY ARM, YOU F*CKING BASTARD!" With the increased pressure Tolv finally let go of Kat's leg.

With her foot now free Kat got up and quickly dusted herself off. "Eight, you're my hero!" She then proceeded to run off not even noticing Eight's massive blushing.

Eight turned his attention back to Tolv. "How could you even consider such an action, Tolv? I never thought your aspect would really encompass such a vile action as well. I never want to hurt a comrade but it appears it must be done for the sake of all females in the world. Especially Kat."

Tolv let out a sigh. "Well there's obviously no convincing you and in my current position I'm pretty much f*cked. Guns holstered and I'm pinned on the ground. F*CK YOU, KAT!"

A few minutes later the fighting seemed to be over. The soldiers were dead. A few members from Unit 13 were wounded due to what Tolv would say is foolish yet do himself anyway. He couldn't though since at the moment Eight had him in a reverse german suplex. It wasn't until Kat came by and told him he could stop that he finally let him go.