Post by Delashano on Apr 29, 2014 6:14:07 GMT -5
Jen let out a heavy breath as she attempted to relax herself and allow her power to fade back to its normal levels, allow her Efreeti nature to return to the back of her mind but for a brief moment it felt as if the power fought against her efforts it worried her for a moment but as quick as the worry began to rise the power faded away and Jenn let out a brief laugh, perhaps it was simply the extensive use of her 'full' strength she'd never been pushed so much and so often it was probably just a bit of a subconscious need to be as strong as she could be all the time but of course the rational side of Jenn knew better, even with all the energy that form provided it still had a drain on her, nothing noticeable during a fight but to use it for the long treck through the building could potentially leave her weakened for whatever was to come and OH was she certain that this had not been her last encounter, these two had been tough but not neither was individually nearly as strong as the first woman had been... Tsuki? Yes that had been the name that the eye patch had pulled up when she had looked at her, yes Tsuki had been MUCH tougher than either Ixia or Erebos and had it not been for her being caught off guard by the arrow there was a very good chance she would have also put up a more difficult fight than the dynamic duo combined. But despite everything that had gone on there was at least SOME luck on her side, she'd taken out Tsuki handily and with that same luck Ixia and Erebos had not been NEARLY enough to handle her full strength.
Of course if she'd tried to fight Ixia with Erebos enhancing her movements there was actually a pretty fair chance the woman would have posed a rather significant risk... which reminded Jenn of something that needed to be taken care of she could hear the idle sounds of Ixia adjusting herself in hole the wall that had been made when Jenn had blasted her away, with a surge of power Jenn took to the sky and darted across the room to Ixia not giving the woman any leeway to move anywhere before she took action, she'd advised the woman to stay put and thankfully she had complied but Jenn had no interest in letting her stay conscious, her ability to move at high speeds posed far to much of a danger and with that in mind Jenn lashed out at the trapped woman nailing her in the face with a quick right eliciting a short grunt of pain as Ixia slumped over unconscious much like Erebos. Jenn nodded to herself as she floated down to the ground and made for the nearest exit, the map on her eye patch showed that the technically 'faster' route to the next floor was through the other doorway across the room but Jenn had a different plan, Ixia and Erebos were not a team that seemed to be sent do take her down they were simply too weak to handle that job and unless she was being underestimated which while ideal was not something that she could bank on, then she had to assume that they were intended as a distraction or as a means of delaying her perhaps in order to set up another attack.
Until now she had been taking the most ideal routes throughout the building getting herself as quickly from point-a to point-b, taking this detour through a slightly longer route would make it a lot less likely that she might run into whatever trap they might be setting up for her on the route that she was more likely to take. Jenn also began actively using her sense once again, Ixia and Erebos were proof enough that not everyone that posed a threat here was undetectable and with any luck there was a chance she'd be able to avoid any others like them by just keeping her wits about her, heading down the hall Jenn suddenly felt a strong power reading making it's way towards the hall from around the corner, the slow manner in which it moved made her feel that there was a chance whomever it belonged to didn't actually know she was here specifically and thus hiding might be an option and so Jenn ducked into the nearest room slipping through a door as quietly as possible the energy signature trudged past just as slowly as it had been passing the room she had ducked into without so much as a pause as it continued on down the hallway. Jenn let out the breath she'd been holding since the moment she entered the room and grinned, maybe her luck was really beginning to turn around?
Jenn turned around to take a look at the room she had ducked into as now that she was not wholly focused on the energy signature that had passed by she began to notice the sounds coming from the room, the sounds of water and soft beeps. Turning on her heel Jenn found herself faced with a room equal parts strange and disturbing, it was filled with large glass containers attached to some of those metal-and-light things that she had been attached to when she had awoken, within the large glass containers however were strange creatures of varying sizes and shapes, some even vaguely humanoid in their shape. Blinking in confusion Jenn stepped forward to take a better look at first she assumed the creatures to be dead, they were all floating in water and few actually appeared to be sea-creatures but as she stepped closer she saw that the creatures were breathing normally. "The more I see of this place the more I hate it..." Jenn muttered to herself as moved through the room curiosity taking hold of her, a part of her wanted to try freeing the creatures as surely they were prisoners much like herself but she had no way of knowing how to do so without just blowing things up and while that FELT like a good idea she knew it was likely not so easy. Reaching the far side of the room Jenn saw what was perhaps the greatest oddity in the room not because it was stranger looking than the various other creatures she had passed, no rather it was because of how normal he looked. The being in the tank looks like little more than a normal young human man. Looking upon him the eye patch fired to life
Jenn stared in confusion over the new information, none of the other creatures had produced anything from the eye patch, why did he? Was it because he was a human? Jenn frowned in frustration as she looked over the device that was attached to his container "Come on now there has to be a way to get him out..." Jenn said with a scowl and with a frustrated growl Jenn slammed the key pad and by a strange occurrence of luck the tank containing Project Hero began to beep, the liquid within it beginning to quickly drain and the front half of the glass began sliding down. Jenn stared in utter amazement not entirely sure WHAT to think, she hadn't actually expected hitting it to do anything useful and had really just been trying to vent a bit of frustration, a small smirk spread across her face at her luck. "Whoever said violence can’t solve problems was clearly quite wrong." Jenn said with a grin as the last of the liquid drained away leaving Project Hero lying on the base of the container, Jenn could hear him slowly beginning to awaken and grinned at how simply this would be as she took a few steps forward. "Hero? That's your name right?" Jenn said softly not wanting to startle him the young man's eyes slowly opened in response to her voice and he gave her a brief nod as he slowly began pulling himself to his feet.
"Hero I'm not sure how long you have been here but I'm Jenn, whoever runs this place captured me as well, I can help you escape." Jenn said hoping that Hero was at least somewhat aware of the situation, it would make getting back to the whole escaping bit MUCH faster, sadly however Hero seemed to be barely understand her, he clearly understood the words but didn't seem to be quite understanding what she meant "Captured? Escape? I... Miss Jenn I don't quite understand. Where are we?" He asked hiding none of his confusion as he began taking a few tentative steps forward to which Jenn stepped back to give him the space he needed despite how tentative his movements were he didn't seem injured more just unsure, now that the confusion of the discovery of Hero had faded and she had a better chance to look him over she realized something rather amusing that she had utterly passed over, her new companion was very much lacking in the clothing department a fact that he too seemed to become aware of as the cool air of the room brushed across his skin.
"My tunic... my clothes I... I " Hero stammered slightly as his face flushed red as he began looking about hoping to find his clothes folded somewhere nearby but alas that was simply not the case. "Calm down Hero I can help, just give me an idea of what you'd be comfortable in and I'll handle the rest." Jenn said reassuringly earning a slow nod from Hero as he described his normal attire a green tunic, white undershirt, beige leggings, brown leather boots and gloves, and his hat. Jenn did her best to recreate his standard attire from his description choosing not to manifest the chain mail that Hero claimed to normally wear between his tunic and undershirt after explaining that she lacked the means to create armor that would be useful to them and that it would only serve to slow them down. As Hero dressed himself Jenn found herself wondering about the young man, his attire was QUITE odd for someone of this era from what she could tell in fact he dressed quite a bit more like someone from her own era. “Better now?” Jenn asked with a grin as Hero adjusted his gloves, he gave a shy grin as he looked over at her “Much better, thank you Miss Jenn, now perhaps you might be able to help me understand what is going on?” he asked clearly trying to remain calm in the face of a rather strange situation.
“Of course, we don’t exactly have A LOT of time but you need to know at least the bulk of it, were in… well truth be told I’m not exactly sure WHERE we are, I was hoping you might know more. But wherever it is it’s a place known as UNITY and its run by some rather nasty people, they were trying to figure out how I do my magic and work for or with the man who’s taken over the Earth by force.” Jenn said to which Hero’s expression shifted from confusion to DEEPER confusion and then rather suddenly to a determined focus. “I’m not sure why but I can tell you’re being truthful Jenn, and if there is a threat to the Earth as you say in both this place and the ‘new’ King then I will face it. I need only find my shield and sword to be truly ready for battle.” He said once again looking around as if expecting to find the items he sought simply lying nearby, when it was clear they were not he frowned slightly. “Alright hold your horses there, I can understand the fact that you want to put an end to the bad guys, trust me I know but we can’t just head into this wild, I for one can’t even actually fight Kemuri, he’s the King, he’s got something of mine that will keep me under his control for the time being sadly. As for this place… there is a lot more to it than even I know, in order to take this place down on any level we might need more than just the two of us and barely any information.” Jenn said placing a hand on Hero’s shoulder.
“I… I suppose you are right about this place. Once we understand the threat better, have more allies, and I am properly armed for battle we can return. It is unfortunate that you are under the sway of the evil King, perhaps I might be able to free you though!” Hero said with a grin causing Jenn to chuckle “Maybe, but first let’s focus on getting out of here eh? You really work to live up to that name of yours dontcha’ “ Jenn said with another chuckle as she motioned for Hero to follow her as she made her way back across the room, Hero simply shrugged in response evidently not quite getting the joke “Miss Jenn is there any way you could perhaps provide me with a weapon? I am capable at hand to hand combat but much prefer the use of a sword and shield, you’ve made it clear that this place is not safe and I would prefer having a means of fending off enemies.” Hero asked as they approached the door, without thinking much of it Jenn manifested a sword and shield for Hero both made as strong as she could manage for the time being. “With any luck you won’t have to worry too much about fighting, Ive been able to handle most of what they can field on my own.” Jenn said with a grin earning a look of slight confusion from Hero as they exited the strange room and entered the hallway, as nice as it was that Hero was willing to fight Jenn could feel that he wasn’t exactly up to the task of facing the level of power that she’d been encountering, even Ixia or Erebos would have posed more than a threat for him “Miss Jenn I apologize but I had not taken you for a warrior.” He said sounding quite impressed and earning a shrug from Jenn
“Yeah people seem to say that a lot, they are a lot less surprised after they see me in action though.” She said with a grin as she lead the way down the hall “I’m more a magic user than anything else but I’ve had many years to practice physical combat as well and quite a few opportunities to test myself. I lack a lot of the telltale signs of a traditional warrior though in part because of what I am and in part because of one of my abilities.” Jenn said with another shrug before giving Hero a sign to keep quiet for a moment as they slipped past another energy signature, evidently now UNITY was beginning to send out more people to actively search for her once the danger was past Hero spoke up once again “Well then I hope to eventually get the chance to see you in battle though perhaps ideally not in this place.” He said with a chuckle as they moved down another hallway to avoid a pair of energy signatures Jenn had felt coming down her intended route. “Yeah… with any luck we’ll slip out of here without any other complications.”
---
“So exactly how does allowing her to tamper with a rather important piece of company property exactly aid in your grand ‘plan’ Shiori? Because as far as I can tell all this is accomplishing is requiring the wasting of additional effort to handle TWO rogue projects” Shiori rolled her eyes at the question as she turned to look upon the man who had asked it, Bakin, a rather constant thorn in her side. “Bakin I do not have the time to answer you nor am I required to, Lady Toiu placed me in charge of handleing this as I am the member of the security force most capable of dealing with the issue at hand. The only reason you are even involved-“Shiori began but was cut off as Bakin spoke up “Is because you require the help of the Cybernetics Division. Your own forces aren’t exactly up to snuff for dealing with a threat like her.” He said a wide grin spreading across his face at the jab directed at Shiori.
“No, more because I don’t trust that you’re prototypes will hold up in the field Agent Saruto WAS only equipped not three days ago, you are the head of the Cybernetics Division and the one to personally design the agents augmentations it was only logical that I have you present on the chance that the cybernetics fail or if Agent Saruto requires attention after his encounter with the subject.” Shirori said her tone cold and clinical but not without a few thinly veiled jabs at Bakin herself, the Cybernetics Division head scowled and was about to speak before Shiori darted off slipping in and out of his vision too quickly for her cybernetic eye to lock onto, he scowled as he pressed forward receiving the data from Shiori a few moments later on where to meet up with her.
That woman infuriated him more than anyone else in the entire company, even the oafish Barragon was simple enough to tolerate he didn’t like people and would gladly avoid being around others and remain mostly silent even when required to be around others, There were of course others that tested his patience numerous members of the security forces and the research forces fell into his ‘annoying idiots’ list but Shiori Kusunoki was the tops, that damnable girl had been a constant thorn in his side ever since the day he’d augmented her, just a few short years ago she’d been NOTHING barely even an agent and yet now somehow she had climbed so quickly that even he had to lower himself to taking orders from her, and the most frustrating thing of it all was that it was all but certain that she belonged in such a position. Toiu rarely if ever made mistakes and it had been Toiu herself who had appointed Shiori to be section head of Crisis Management.
Shiori darted through the halls, data streaming from her mind information being delivered to the various agents posted on the floor and more specific information to Bakin personally. It was perhaps a bit petty of her to leave him behind but his constant berating of her tactics and general frustration caused by his presence made for sound logic in departing from him for the time being, she still had to keep up with the situation and ensure that Mahajenn moved into position things were contrary to her statements NOT going as planned, until now Mahajenn had moved in every way that she had needed her to move, subtle prodding had gotten her back on track the few times that she had begun to move away but now... A fight could not have been allowed to occur in the Lab, especially not with Hero in stasis, fixing physical damage to the project was simple enough but to allow damage while his mind was synched with the stasis tank was far too great a risk for a project of such high priority.
Truth be told Shiori didn’t exactly see the reason for Hero’s high priority status but of course she had no reason to question Lady Toiu’s decisions, if Lady Toiu believed Hero to be of such importance then he would be treated as such, from what she had heard of the conversation between the two Mahajenn appeared to be implying that she would handle any combat though Hero appeared not to have picked up on such, an ideal situation for her as it meant minimal damage would be done to Hero and ALSO Mahajenn would be more likely to seek to protect Hero an even more ideal situation because it meant that there was potential for her to put herself in poor tactical positions in favor of protective Hero. Shirori allowed herself a small grin, with any luck such an opportunity would occur and it would be simple to explain that that was the intended reason for Hero’s release. She was already rather certain Lady Toiu would NOT be pleased with Hero’s release but there was little that could be done now, she would accept whatever punishment she faced as it HAD been a clear failure on her part.
Taking not on the current positions of Mahajenn and Hero Shiori’s form shimmered slightly as she began darting through walls quickly overtaking there pace through a combination of greater speed and the ability to outright ignore obstacles she would arrive at the exit that Mahajenn appeared to be most likely to be headed for, already she had sent for Agent Saruto to be positioned here and thankfully he was as prompt as usual, he stood motionless in the center the small room that would stand between Mahajenn and the exit upon Shiori’s arrival one of the Agents augmentations spring to life, a small metallic tendril attached to his armored headpiece the tendril’s tip ignited as energy began building up within it as it aimed at Shiori, it was an impressive piece of technology capable of reading even slight shifts in air flow in the general area, if they persisted long enough the tendril would proceed into an offensive mode prepping for attack.
The tendril’s attacks would not actually be able to harm her as she was but the fact that it could indicate to Agent Saruto the location of invisible and mostly undetectable targets such as herself was amazing in and of itself, a truly impressive feat of the Research Department and one day soon the eye-drives would possess similar such abilities once the Research Department worked the final kinks out of it and then they could begin phasing out the use of more traditional scouters entirely, Agent Saruto’s eyes opened slowly as he noted the activity of the tendril as Shiori returned to normal prompting a single ‘warning’ blast from the tendril the blast was quickly swatted away as one of Shiori’s own mechanical tendrils as it sprang into action to reflexively defend her, where Saruto’s was a singular small tendril Shiori possessed three incredibly large tendrils, at their base length they were almost as long as Shiori was tall and could extend a few feet further than such if necessary, integrated into her body they responded to her will much like extra arms.
“I apologize Miss Kusunoki, you’re means of arrival is one I am still unaccustomed to and it took longer for me to realize who it was then it should have.” He spoke formally as his now cyberneticly enhanced eyes looking her over and taking in significantly more information than once possible. “I trust you have adjusted well to the enhancements? It is not common for someone to have so many enhancements done all at once, especially so many which are so fresh out of the testing stages…” Shiori trailed off as she looked him over, it was strange to see Saruto like this Saruto had of course always been a rather rigid man, it was something she quite respected about him, his devotion to his work but still... sometimes not everyone responded so well to the enhancements some lost themselves and became more machine than person even in these behaviors, even artificially intelligent beings such as Lady Toiu were more emotive than those who responded poorly to enhancements, the fact that Saruto had opted for cranial enhancements only exacerbated the potential risks.
A small familiar smile cracked the stoic mask on Saruto’s face almost immediately giving Shiori a sense of relief “Nothing to worry about, it has certainly not been an easy adjustment but I have managed well enough.” He said letting himself drop just a bit out of his stoic stance, it was an exceptionally rare sight for Saruto to be anything resembling relaxed but he found it much easier when Shiori was present “What made you decide to put me in the thick of things? If you were worried about my condition that is” He asked causing yet another rare occurrence Shiori dropping her usual impassive expression as she blinked and visually fumbled at a response “I… I suppose I wished to make sure that you were fine myself. This was one of the few ways to pull you out of the Research Department.” She said receiving a not entirely surprised grin from Saruto “Yeah, I figured as much, I bet nobody even batted an eyelash at such a strange order if it came from you, they don’t expect you to be doing anything that could even come close to bending the rules.” Saruto said with a laugh earning a scowl from Shiori “Takeshi…” she growled out his name narrowing her eyes at the implication, while it was technically true she didn’t like it being voiced. “Ok ok, so what’s the plan. Your updates indicate two high priority targets, I know one is Project Hero and active combat with him is not advised if possible what can you give me on the other one?” He asked resuming a slightly more serious tone, Shiori instantly recognized why as Bikan’s energy signature was approaching quickly and Mahajenn and Hero’s signatures were also not excessively far, there would be time later for more friendly interaction. “The other target is another personal ‘project’ of Lady Toiu, she’s a mystical being that is capable of both long range combat and melee combat we have not seen the full extent of her melee capabilities which if you are unable to restrain her I would advise giving us as much of a visual on as possible, but her ranged abilities are at a fairly high level as she managed to take out Tsuki with a single well placed attack, she has also stolen the mystical artifact known as the ‘Staff of One’ that was in the possession of Agent Erebos, the full results of which are unknown but the staff is known to bring out latent abilities in it's wielder. I advise keeping the battle close, she will likely use her shield technique to defend but your blade and skills in melee combat should be enough to deal with her.” Shiori finished her assessment and suggestions receiving a nod from Takeshi
“Sounds like she’s got a lot of tricks up her sleeve and with my luck she’ll have more than just what she’s displayed until now. Taking out Tsuki isn’t an easy feat all things considered, but hey if I can deal with her and Hero then maybe it’ll mean a bit of reassessment on the command of Physical Security if it turns out that I’m more capable then my superior.” He said giving Shiori a wink before Bikan entered the room quickly approaching them “I trust everything is holding up well Agent Saruto?” Bikan said barely even looking at Takeshi himself and instead immediately moving to do a few quick diagnostic checks on the status of his enhancements “Of course, I’m ready for anything.” Takseshi said once again returning to his more formal tone of voice.
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Slipping through the facility with Hero in tow made actually avoiding detection MUCH harder than Jenn had anticipated, he was a pleasant person but unfortunately appeared to have little understanding of stealth, already they had been forced into accidental encounters with security members and Jenn had needed to dispatch them quickly THANKFULLY however these security men were barely even worth mentioning it had only taken a few swift strikes to take them out often doing so before Hero even had a chance to raise his sword and shield to charge into battle, and while his look of astonishment every time this occurred was amusing the constant encounters were beginning to very much slow there progress. "Miss Jenn perhaps I could dispatch the next few guards, allow you a bit of time to rest. I cannot imagine it is easy to move at the speeds you do in order to deal with them." Hero said as they pressed forward earning a light chuckle from Jenn, it was a bit adorable how vested he was in being the protector rather than the protected.
"If we can keep are movement quiet there should not be anymore encounters, if there ARE however I will deal with it, I know you mean well Hero but it really is not draining on me at all to deal with these people, there so far below my level of strength that I've barely even been trying, in fact I've been needing to actively restrain and suppress my strength against them the first couple I definitely hit a bit too hard and while I'm not a fan of this place there's no telling how much these idiots even know about what is going on here so I can't exactly just off the lot of them despite how much easier it would be but unfortunately you're about in there league as far as I can tell, a bit stronger and probably once you've recovered from whatever it is they've been doing to you you'd be more than capable of dealing with them but right now it'd take you too long and draw too much attention." Jenn said stopping momentarily to give Hero an apologetic look, she didn't LIKE having to tell him he was too weak to deal with the problems as effectively as she could be it was necessary she could feel his energy flare every time it looked like he might get a chance to enter the fray he was just TOO eager and if he did get involved it would just draw unnecessary attention.
As such she'd continue dealing with the guards personally and while doing so work on her ability to restrain herself, it had never been a talent she had put a huge amount of stock into, if she needed to fight it was usually because either A) she WANTED to dispatch an enemy as quickly and brutally as possible or B) she NEEDED to be as strong as she could be in order to actually fight them. Now though these guards were just so weak that the first few she had HEARD bones cracking and snapping off of LIGHT hits, it was almost sad really and it had pushed her to work on pulling herself back, so far it had done a well enough job most of the others that she had taken out after the first unfortunate few were likely just receiving various levels of significant but not long lasting injury, mostly just enough to keep them unconscious for a few hours whereas the first few would likely find themselves HOPING to remain unconscious longer if medical attention did not reach them soon, Jenn cringed a bit at the thought did this place even HAVE people capable of providing medical attention?
"I suppose if that is the case then I will leave it to you, I simply had hoped to aid you in some part because of how much aid you have given me. Without you I would likely have remained in that... thing..." Hero said clearly a bit distraught that he could not lend any aid. "Don't worry about it Hero, you can help me. Once we get out of here I need you to do me a favor you need to go to the Earths Lookout, its beneath a massive totem style pillar in the wilderness, if you ask enough people WILL be able to direct you to it. That is where you will find the Earths Guardian, he can help you get stronger, maybe strong enough to defeat Kemuri and help free me." Jenn said once again pausing in order to impress the information onto Hero not wanting him to forget, Hero listened intently and gave a nod "I swear Jenn once we are free I will find the Guardian and set you free. On my word as a hero." He said and as he did so he held up his right hand which for a brief moment glowed a bright yellow, Jenn identified the strange energy as a sort of magic OLD magic that related to pacts. Hero did not seem at all phased by it and much as she wanted to question it she knew time was of the essence. "We are going to be talking about that later Hero, lets go." Jenn said and with that they began back on the path, her map indicated the exit to be just at the end of the hall, simple enough and with any luck her plan would have worked.
Of course already it was obvious that the plan HAD NOT worked, Jenn and Hero zipped through the hall within a few seconds entering a larger room not nearly as spacious as the room that Jenn had faced Ixia and Erebos but surprisingly more barren giving it more than enough space for what was to come, it was clear upon first glance that the room had not always been so empty, the signs of things having been removed from the room were everywhere and the why was quickly identified as in the center of the room Jenn spotted a man clad in armor immediately she was on guard and prepared for the worst he gave off no energy signature just like Tsuki and a strange red light on a strange metal tendril focused in on her, he was wall and stood confidently very obviously awaiting there arrival as they entered the lights on his helmet blinked to life giving his helm a pale blue glow as he began looking them over just as thoroughly as Jenn had been looking him over.
So focused on what was almost certainly her next opponent Jenn was taken by surprise as the eye patch provided her with the mans name and 'division' he belonged to, if she remembered corectly that was the same division that woman Tsuki had belonged to, her first assumption would have been that perhaps this man would have a similar method of attack constant concussive blasts BUT that was quickly thrown out the window as the man placed his hand on a sword hilt at his side and drew from nowhere a massive blade nearly as long as he was tall with multiple serrated blades Jenn cringed slightly at the look of the blade THAT was a dangerous weapon if she'd ever seen one. "You're a bit late." The man called out as he sunk into a fighting stance wielding what should have been an incredibly unwieldy weapon as if it were little more than a greatsword or Katana. "I'd expected at least a few minutes earlier but then again it looks like you picked up a friend." He said with a laugh making a gesture toward Hero earning a glare from both and causing Jenn to take a step forward to stand between Hero and Saruto.
"You should keep your eyes on me, he's not the one you're going to be fighting. Hero's going to stand back and watch." Jenn said and despite her focus being entirely on Saruto it was very clear the last part was not meant for him as Hero gave a resigned sigh and pulled back moving to one of the far walls but remaining in a ready stance, even if Jenn was confident in her ability to deal with this man alone now he would remain ready to jump into the battle and lend some aid if the need arose. "Fair enough, we'll keep it to a solo duel then." He said with a nod "Might want to get you're self ready" He said and rather suddenly he was moving across the room, Jenn had only seconds to twist out of the way as he swung that massive blade at her, it was a terrifying thought to realize that if THIS man had Ixia's speed she would have likely been cleaved in two before she could ever even react.
Turning her twist into a roll Jenn tumbled away from him and with a burst of energy sprung back with a back flip, she needed this for two reasons, to give herself the space necessary to actually prepare herself, manifesting a bow in her left hand and a light shield strapped to her right, the shield was smaller than the last one she had used it needed to be so for it to be even passably usable with her bow and in addition to preparation she felt it necessary to put distance between herself and Saruto because he was a clear melee fighter but perhaps giving herself some room would also give her a chance to see what he could do outside of melee any techniques that could close the gap between them or protect him or even just ranged offense. With that thought as Jenn reached the peak of her back flip she pulled back the bowstring and let fly two arrows at Saruto, he had already begun moving to intercept her and these would hopefully halt that progression either by means of forcing him to avoid of defend against them or by hitting him and delaying him in that way as she landed Jenn heard the distinct sound of one of her arrows making impact she looked up to find it clashing against Saruto's blade which now glowed green with energy a few moments later he twisted the blade slightly sending the arrow flying at the ground and the blade returned to normal, now wanting to let up now Jenn fire off two more arrows as she began to circle around Saurto following up by shooting off several more 'basic' arrows, the swordsman quickly found himself under a hail of fire and he could only swing he blade and twist his body so much before a few began growing too close and THAT was when the extra layer of defense came into play, the glowing red tendril atop his helm fired up and began shooting down the weaker arrows that slipped through Saaruto's more active defenses.
Jenn frowned in annoyance, as much as she was displeased but at least she was doing as she had set out to she'd gathered a bit of information on his defensive capabilities he ahd amazing reflexes, his blade was capable of clashing with energy techniques and not just weathering the attack but fending it off entirely, on top of that the stupid little tendril packed enough power to shoot down her basic arrows if his reflexes and blade proved to be not enough overall it made him a rather frustrating enemy to combat, Jenn kept p her hail of arrows mostly keeping to basic ones this allowed Saruto to begin making progress in reaching her but also showed her something important, the tendril could not fire as quickly as she could that much was certain now as Saruto continued actively defending and now that she didn't need to pull back as far she she could fire off more arrows and found that when Saruto focused on moving it gave just enough leeway for a few to slip through his many defenses. A small smirk appeared on Jenns face as she began pulling back as Saruto approached, theoretically she could keep this up indefinitely and take him down this way, the arrows didn't do MUCH but they clearly did some damage and a few lucky hits in the face might open him up to harder hits, the only problem was time. The plan as it stood would likely take a LONG time to accomplish and Jenn wasn't entirely sure how much time she had before they sent someone else to backup this guy.
Jenns worries on how long her plan might take were however put to rest in perhaps the most frustrating of ways, Saurto backed off slightly and with a wide sweeping arc released a wave of energy that was enough to fend off most of the incoming attacks and forced Jenn to dodge, while Jenn was dodging she heard tell audible sound of a surge of power and as she spring back to her feet she saw a visible aura around Saruto a dark green much like what his blade had given off when he had sued it against her imbued arrow, she didnt ened to be able to sense his power signature to tell that Saruto had kicked things up a notch and not about to let him press that advantage Jenn reached out and took hold of her own full power another surge of energy rocked the room as Jenns smoke shifted dark red, as she powered up however Saruto managed to close much of the distance between them invigorated by her surge of power Jenn threw her bow at Saruto delaying him just long enough for her to rebuild her shield into something more suitable for what was to come, Saruto brought the heavy blade down on Jenn clashing with the shield in an explosion of energy as the blade ignited with green eenrgy upon contact with the red energy of the shield each strike that fell upon the shield released another wave of energy green and red washed across Jenn and Saruto singeing exposed skin.
As Saurto reared back with he blade for another strike Jenn saw something new in his eyes and saw energy surging up his arms and into the blade as the blade surged with energy Jenn took in a breath and unleashed a gout of flame into Saruto's face catching the man off guard and causing him to stumble back as he let out a shout of pain a look of vicious determination flashed across Jenns face as she gripped ehr shield NOW was her chance as Saruto stumbled back she pushed forward closing the meager distance he had made and striking at him nailing him in the chest plate with her fist and shield cracking the armor plating in the process as the tendril began firing at her with all it's might, Jenn took the blasts barey flinching at as they impacted her her mind utterly focused on one task, defeating Saruto, for once her more traditional mindset and her efreeti instincts were in tune with one another there was no holding back she needed to take Saruto down as quickly as possible, she let loose another wave of fire onto Saruto and followed up with a kick sending him tumbling as his blade clattered to the ground and in an instant Jenn was on him again and Jenn quickly found herself lacking the means to reign herself back in her anger towards UNITY was too much, her shield was gone now and in it's place her hand reshaped themselves growing powerful claws, Jenn drove her claws into the cracks she had made in Sarutos armor ripping it from him revealing a strange mix of metal and flesh, Jenn could see exactly where this was going and try as she might she couldn't reign herself in time, a claws hand pulled back and drove itself through the swordsman's heart. Her fury sated with the action Jenn felt herself regain control her aura returned to it's normal blue as she began to calm... she found herself feeling conflicted, she didn't LIKE the fact that she had killed him, she still knew so little about UNITY in general to go about slaughtering them wholesale BUT he was one of those actively pursuing her he had KNOWN who she was and he would have willingly handed her back over to them.
"TAKESHI" Jenn heard an unfamiliar voice shout and in an instant she was thrown from the body of her opponent sent flying across the entire room until finally she hit a wall, she barely even remembered being HIT and hadn't even had the time to catch herself to stop from hitting the wall, a light groan and Jenn blacked out for a moment, as she returned to the concious world she saw a woman kneeling over Saruto's body massive black bladed tendrils whipping around her like snakes in a very clear effort to keep anyone and everyone away. "No no Takeshi, just hold on Bakin will be here soon he'll patch you up." The woman said and from her voice alone Jenn could tell she was crying and rather suddenly Jenn felt a massive wave of regret hit her, THIS had been what she wanted to avoid. "BAKIN WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" the woman screamed furiously, Jenn began slowly pulling herself up from the rubble, much as she was regretting her methods she was keenly aware that this woman was probably a few moments away from taking all that anger out on HER, scanning the room quickly she spotted Hero who had been slowly making his way to her his expression a mixture of confusion and a bit of fear. As Jenn took a step out of the rubble however she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise and a cold chill run down her spine, the sort of chill the preceded something VERY bad.
And oh was it bad, in an instant the woman was across the room and her fist connected with Jenns face sending her BACK into the wall before the four black tendrils were set upon her ripping her back out and restraining her as the woman began thrashing at her violently screaming incoherent words and there was nothing Jenn could actually DO about it, she couldn't dodge her efforts to free herself both increased the woman's fury AND proved entirely fruitless as the tendrils held firm no matter what she did even pulling on her efreeti power did nothing strong as she considered herself this woman was in an entirely different league and with every passing second of the woman's assault Jenn began fading out of consciousness. "Enough Shiori" called the cold familiar voice of the woman who was responsible for all of this, and to her surprise 'Shiori' stopped her assault though she made no effort to release Jenn and in fact tightened her grip. "L-Lady Toiu" "Let her go Shiori." "But Take-" "Let. Her. Go." there was a long pause and then Jenn felt the grip on her arms and legs release and she fell to the floor, she was only barely conscious, just enough to listen. "If you hurry you might be able to get him to Bakins lab in time. Go." Toiu said and Jenn was certain the woman practically flew across the room.
"Mam I thank you for helping Miss Jenn but I need you to step away from her." Jenn recognized Heros voice and wanted to groan she had hoped he would have run sought an escape for himself "Don't worry Hero" Toiu said her voice slowly losing the metallic tinge it normally had becoming far more 'human' in the process "She will be dealt with, now sleep my Hero." and with that Jenn heard the sound of someone falling to the floor, almost certainly Hero himself. "Oh my, you're still awake? Thats rather impressive Jenn." Toiu said her voice now back to normal as she knelt close to Jenn "Thankfully you won't remember most of this, you'll think Hero made some brave stand to let you make your escape. Maybe he even fought of Shiori for you, wouldn't that be interesting?" She said with a small chuckle "We'll figure out the details later, for now you need to sleep, sleep and heal." and then just inside Jenns view she saw Toiu stab a needle into her leg and the cold embrace of unconsciousness quickly followed.
Of course if she'd tried to fight Ixia with Erebos enhancing her movements there was actually a pretty fair chance the woman would have posed a rather significant risk... which reminded Jenn of something that needed to be taken care of she could hear the idle sounds of Ixia adjusting herself in hole the wall that had been made when Jenn had blasted her away, with a surge of power Jenn took to the sky and darted across the room to Ixia not giving the woman any leeway to move anywhere before she took action, she'd advised the woman to stay put and thankfully she had complied but Jenn had no interest in letting her stay conscious, her ability to move at high speeds posed far to much of a danger and with that in mind Jenn lashed out at the trapped woman nailing her in the face with a quick right eliciting a short grunt of pain as Ixia slumped over unconscious much like Erebos. Jenn nodded to herself as she floated down to the ground and made for the nearest exit, the map on her eye patch showed that the technically 'faster' route to the next floor was through the other doorway across the room but Jenn had a different plan, Ixia and Erebos were not a team that seemed to be sent do take her down they were simply too weak to handle that job and unless she was being underestimated which while ideal was not something that she could bank on, then she had to assume that they were intended as a distraction or as a means of delaying her perhaps in order to set up another attack.
Until now she had been taking the most ideal routes throughout the building getting herself as quickly from point-a to point-b, taking this detour through a slightly longer route would make it a lot less likely that she might run into whatever trap they might be setting up for her on the route that she was more likely to take. Jenn also began actively using her sense once again, Ixia and Erebos were proof enough that not everyone that posed a threat here was undetectable and with any luck there was a chance she'd be able to avoid any others like them by just keeping her wits about her, heading down the hall Jenn suddenly felt a strong power reading making it's way towards the hall from around the corner, the slow manner in which it moved made her feel that there was a chance whomever it belonged to didn't actually know she was here specifically and thus hiding might be an option and so Jenn ducked into the nearest room slipping through a door as quietly as possible the energy signature trudged past just as slowly as it had been passing the room she had ducked into without so much as a pause as it continued on down the hallway. Jenn let out the breath she'd been holding since the moment she entered the room and grinned, maybe her luck was really beginning to turn around?
Jenn turned around to take a look at the room she had ducked into as now that she was not wholly focused on the energy signature that had passed by she began to notice the sounds coming from the room, the sounds of water and soft beeps. Turning on her heel Jenn found herself faced with a room equal parts strange and disturbing, it was filled with large glass containers attached to some of those metal-and-light things that she had been attached to when she had awoken, within the large glass containers however were strange creatures of varying sizes and shapes, some even vaguely humanoid in their shape. Blinking in confusion Jenn stepped forward to take a better look at first she assumed the creatures to be dead, they were all floating in water and few actually appeared to be sea-creatures but as she stepped closer she saw that the creatures were breathing normally. "The more I see of this place the more I hate it..." Jenn muttered to herself as moved through the room curiosity taking hold of her, a part of her wanted to try freeing the creatures as surely they were prisoners much like herself but she had no way of knowing how to do so without just blowing things up and while that FELT like a good idea she knew it was likely not so easy. Reaching the far side of the room Jenn saw what was perhaps the greatest oddity in the room not because it was stranger looking than the various other creatures she had passed, no rather it was because of how normal he looked. The being in the tank looks like little more than a normal young human man. Looking upon him the eye patch fired to life
Project Hero
Jenn stared in confusion over the new information, none of the other creatures had produced anything from the eye patch, why did he? Was it because he was a human? Jenn frowned in frustration as she looked over the device that was attached to his container "Come on now there has to be a way to get him out..." Jenn said with a scowl and with a frustrated growl Jenn slammed the key pad and by a strange occurrence of luck the tank containing Project Hero began to beep, the liquid within it beginning to quickly drain and the front half of the glass began sliding down. Jenn stared in utter amazement not entirely sure WHAT to think, she hadn't actually expected hitting it to do anything useful and had really just been trying to vent a bit of frustration, a small smirk spread across her face at her luck. "Whoever said violence can’t solve problems was clearly quite wrong." Jenn said with a grin as the last of the liquid drained away leaving Project Hero lying on the base of the container, Jenn could hear him slowly beginning to awaken and grinned at how simply this would be as she took a few steps forward. "Hero? That's your name right?" Jenn said softly not wanting to startle him the young man's eyes slowly opened in response to her voice and he gave her a brief nod as he slowly began pulling himself to his feet.
"Hero I'm not sure how long you have been here but I'm Jenn, whoever runs this place captured me as well, I can help you escape." Jenn said hoping that Hero was at least somewhat aware of the situation, it would make getting back to the whole escaping bit MUCH faster, sadly however Hero seemed to be barely understand her, he clearly understood the words but didn't seem to be quite understanding what she meant "Captured? Escape? I... Miss Jenn I don't quite understand. Where are we?" He asked hiding none of his confusion as he began taking a few tentative steps forward to which Jenn stepped back to give him the space he needed despite how tentative his movements were he didn't seem injured more just unsure, now that the confusion of the discovery of Hero had faded and she had a better chance to look him over she realized something rather amusing that she had utterly passed over, her new companion was very much lacking in the clothing department a fact that he too seemed to become aware of as the cool air of the room brushed across his skin.
"My tunic... my clothes I... I " Hero stammered slightly as his face flushed red as he began looking about hoping to find his clothes folded somewhere nearby but alas that was simply not the case. "Calm down Hero I can help, just give me an idea of what you'd be comfortable in and I'll handle the rest." Jenn said reassuringly earning a slow nod from Hero as he described his normal attire a green tunic, white undershirt, beige leggings, brown leather boots and gloves, and his hat. Jenn did her best to recreate his standard attire from his description choosing not to manifest the chain mail that Hero claimed to normally wear between his tunic and undershirt after explaining that she lacked the means to create armor that would be useful to them and that it would only serve to slow them down. As Hero dressed himself Jenn found herself wondering about the young man, his attire was QUITE odd for someone of this era from what she could tell in fact he dressed quite a bit more like someone from her own era. “Better now?” Jenn asked with a grin as Hero adjusted his gloves, he gave a shy grin as he looked over at her “Much better, thank you Miss Jenn, now perhaps you might be able to help me understand what is going on?” he asked clearly trying to remain calm in the face of a rather strange situation.
“Of course, we don’t exactly have A LOT of time but you need to know at least the bulk of it, were in… well truth be told I’m not exactly sure WHERE we are, I was hoping you might know more. But wherever it is it’s a place known as UNITY and its run by some rather nasty people, they were trying to figure out how I do my magic and work for or with the man who’s taken over the Earth by force.” Jenn said to which Hero’s expression shifted from confusion to DEEPER confusion and then rather suddenly to a determined focus. “I’m not sure why but I can tell you’re being truthful Jenn, and if there is a threat to the Earth as you say in both this place and the ‘new’ King then I will face it. I need only find my shield and sword to be truly ready for battle.” He said once again looking around as if expecting to find the items he sought simply lying nearby, when it was clear they were not he frowned slightly. “Alright hold your horses there, I can understand the fact that you want to put an end to the bad guys, trust me I know but we can’t just head into this wild, I for one can’t even actually fight Kemuri, he’s the King, he’s got something of mine that will keep me under his control for the time being sadly. As for this place… there is a lot more to it than even I know, in order to take this place down on any level we might need more than just the two of us and barely any information.” Jenn said placing a hand on Hero’s shoulder.
“I… I suppose you are right about this place. Once we understand the threat better, have more allies, and I am properly armed for battle we can return. It is unfortunate that you are under the sway of the evil King, perhaps I might be able to free you though!” Hero said with a grin causing Jenn to chuckle “Maybe, but first let’s focus on getting out of here eh? You really work to live up to that name of yours dontcha’ “ Jenn said with another chuckle as she motioned for Hero to follow her as she made her way back across the room, Hero simply shrugged in response evidently not quite getting the joke “Miss Jenn is there any way you could perhaps provide me with a weapon? I am capable at hand to hand combat but much prefer the use of a sword and shield, you’ve made it clear that this place is not safe and I would prefer having a means of fending off enemies.” Hero asked as they approached the door, without thinking much of it Jenn manifested a sword and shield for Hero both made as strong as she could manage for the time being. “With any luck you won’t have to worry too much about fighting, Ive been able to handle most of what they can field on my own.” Jenn said with a grin earning a look of slight confusion from Hero as they exited the strange room and entered the hallway, as nice as it was that Hero was willing to fight Jenn could feel that he wasn’t exactly up to the task of facing the level of power that she’d been encountering, even Ixia or Erebos would have posed more than a threat for him “Miss Jenn I apologize but I had not taken you for a warrior.” He said sounding quite impressed and earning a shrug from Jenn
“Yeah people seem to say that a lot, they are a lot less surprised after they see me in action though.” She said with a grin as she lead the way down the hall “I’m more a magic user than anything else but I’ve had many years to practice physical combat as well and quite a few opportunities to test myself. I lack a lot of the telltale signs of a traditional warrior though in part because of what I am and in part because of one of my abilities.” Jenn said with another shrug before giving Hero a sign to keep quiet for a moment as they slipped past another energy signature, evidently now UNITY was beginning to send out more people to actively search for her once the danger was past Hero spoke up once again “Well then I hope to eventually get the chance to see you in battle though perhaps ideally not in this place.” He said with a chuckle as they moved down another hallway to avoid a pair of energy signatures Jenn had felt coming down her intended route. “Yeah… with any luck we’ll slip out of here without any other complications.”
---
“So exactly how does allowing her to tamper with a rather important piece of company property exactly aid in your grand ‘plan’ Shiori? Because as far as I can tell all this is accomplishing is requiring the wasting of additional effort to handle TWO rogue projects” Shiori rolled her eyes at the question as she turned to look upon the man who had asked it, Bakin, a rather constant thorn in her side. “Bakin I do not have the time to answer you nor am I required to, Lady Toiu placed me in charge of handleing this as I am the member of the security force most capable of dealing with the issue at hand. The only reason you are even involved-“Shiori began but was cut off as Bakin spoke up “Is because you require the help of the Cybernetics Division. Your own forces aren’t exactly up to snuff for dealing with a threat like her.” He said a wide grin spreading across his face at the jab directed at Shiori.
“No, more because I don’t trust that you’re prototypes will hold up in the field Agent Saruto WAS only equipped not three days ago, you are the head of the Cybernetics Division and the one to personally design the agents augmentations it was only logical that I have you present on the chance that the cybernetics fail or if Agent Saruto requires attention after his encounter with the subject.” Shirori said her tone cold and clinical but not without a few thinly veiled jabs at Bakin herself, the Cybernetics Division head scowled and was about to speak before Shiori darted off slipping in and out of his vision too quickly for her cybernetic eye to lock onto, he scowled as he pressed forward receiving the data from Shiori a few moments later on where to meet up with her.
That woman infuriated him more than anyone else in the entire company, even the oafish Barragon was simple enough to tolerate he didn’t like people and would gladly avoid being around others and remain mostly silent even when required to be around others, There were of course others that tested his patience numerous members of the security forces and the research forces fell into his ‘annoying idiots’ list but Shiori Kusunoki was the tops, that damnable girl had been a constant thorn in his side ever since the day he’d augmented her, just a few short years ago she’d been NOTHING barely even an agent and yet now somehow she had climbed so quickly that even he had to lower himself to taking orders from her, and the most frustrating thing of it all was that it was all but certain that she belonged in such a position. Toiu rarely if ever made mistakes and it had been Toiu herself who had appointed Shiori to be section head of Crisis Management.
Shiori darted through the halls, data streaming from her mind information being delivered to the various agents posted on the floor and more specific information to Bakin personally. It was perhaps a bit petty of her to leave him behind but his constant berating of her tactics and general frustration caused by his presence made for sound logic in departing from him for the time being, she still had to keep up with the situation and ensure that Mahajenn moved into position things were contrary to her statements NOT going as planned, until now Mahajenn had moved in every way that she had needed her to move, subtle prodding had gotten her back on track the few times that she had begun to move away but now... A fight could not have been allowed to occur in the Lab, especially not with Hero in stasis, fixing physical damage to the project was simple enough but to allow damage while his mind was synched with the stasis tank was far too great a risk for a project of such high priority.
Truth be told Shiori didn’t exactly see the reason for Hero’s high priority status but of course she had no reason to question Lady Toiu’s decisions, if Lady Toiu believed Hero to be of such importance then he would be treated as such, from what she had heard of the conversation between the two Mahajenn appeared to be implying that she would handle any combat though Hero appeared not to have picked up on such, an ideal situation for her as it meant minimal damage would be done to Hero and ALSO Mahajenn would be more likely to seek to protect Hero an even more ideal situation because it meant that there was potential for her to put herself in poor tactical positions in favor of protective Hero. Shirori allowed herself a small grin, with any luck such an opportunity would occur and it would be simple to explain that that was the intended reason for Hero’s release. She was already rather certain Lady Toiu would NOT be pleased with Hero’s release but there was little that could be done now, she would accept whatever punishment she faced as it HAD been a clear failure on her part.
Taking not on the current positions of Mahajenn and Hero Shiori’s form shimmered slightly as she began darting through walls quickly overtaking there pace through a combination of greater speed and the ability to outright ignore obstacles she would arrive at the exit that Mahajenn appeared to be most likely to be headed for, already she had sent for Agent Saruto to be positioned here and thankfully he was as prompt as usual, he stood motionless in the center the small room that would stand between Mahajenn and the exit upon Shiori’s arrival one of the Agents augmentations spring to life, a small metallic tendril attached to his armored headpiece the tendril’s tip ignited as energy began building up within it as it aimed at Shiori, it was an impressive piece of technology capable of reading even slight shifts in air flow in the general area, if they persisted long enough the tendril would proceed into an offensive mode prepping for attack.
The tendril’s attacks would not actually be able to harm her as she was but the fact that it could indicate to Agent Saruto the location of invisible and mostly undetectable targets such as herself was amazing in and of itself, a truly impressive feat of the Research Department and one day soon the eye-drives would possess similar such abilities once the Research Department worked the final kinks out of it and then they could begin phasing out the use of more traditional scouters entirely, Agent Saruto’s eyes opened slowly as he noted the activity of the tendril as Shiori returned to normal prompting a single ‘warning’ blast from the tendril the blast was quickly swatted away as one of Shiori’s own mechanical tendrils as it sprang into action to reflexively defend her, where Saruto’s was a singular small tendril Shiori possessed three incredibly large tendrils, at their base length they were almost as long as Shiori was tall and could extend a few feet further than such if necessary, integrated into her body they responded to her will much like extra arms.
“I apologize Miss Kusunoki, you’re means of arrival is one I am still unaccustomed to and it took longer for me to realize who it was then it should have.” He spoke formally as his now cyberneticly enhanced eyes looking her over and taking in significantly more information than once possible. “I trust you have adjusted well to the enhancements? It is not common for someone to have so many enhancements done all at once, especially so many which are so fresh out of the testing stages…” Shiori trailed off as she looked him over, it was strange to see Saruto like this Saruto had of course always been a rather rigid man, it was something she quite respected about him, his devotion to his work but still... sometimes not everyone responded so well to the enhancements some lost themselves and became more machine than person even in these behaviors, even artificially intelligent beings such as Lady Toiu were more emotive than those who responded poorly to enhancements, the fact that Saruto had opted for cranial enhancements only exacerbated the potential risks.
A small familiar smile cracked the stoic mask on Saruto’s face almost immediately giving Shiori a sense of relief “Nothing to worry about, it has certainly not been an easy adjustment but I have managed well enough.” He said letting himself drop just a bit out of his stoic stance, it was an exceptionally rare sight for Saruto to be anything resembling relaxed but he found it much easier when Shiori was present “What made you decide to put me in the thick of things? If you were worried about my condition that is” He asked causing yet another rare occurrence Shiori dropping her usual impassive expression as she blinked and visually fumbled at a response “I… I suppose I wished to make sure that you were fine myself. This was one of the few ways to pull you out of the Research Department.” She said receiving a not entirely surprised grin from Saruto “Yeah, I figured as much, I bet nobody even batted an eyelash at such a strange order if it came from you, they don’t expect you to be doing anything that could even come close to bending the rules.” Saruto said with a laugh earning a scowl from Shiori “Takeshi…” she growled out his name narrowing her eyes at the implication, while it was technically true she didn’t like it being voiced. “Ok ok, so what’s the plan. Your updates indicate two high priority targets, I know one is Project Hero and active combat with him is not advised if possible what can you give me on the other one?” He asked resuming a slightly more serious tone, Shiori instantly recognized why as Bikan’s energy signature was approaching quickly and Mahajenn and Hero’s signatures were also not excessively far, there would be time later for more friendly interaction. “The other target is another personal ‘project’ of Lady Toiu, she’s a mystical being that is capable of both long range combat and melee combat we have not seen the full extent of her melee capabilities which if you are unable to restrain her I would advise giving us as much of a visual on as possible, but her ranged abilities are at a fairly high level as she managed to take out Tsuki with a single well placed attack, she has also stolen the mystical artifact known as the ‘Staff of One’ that was in the possession of Agent Erebos, the full results of which are unknown but the staff is known to bring out latent abilities in it's wielder. I advise keeping the battle close, she will likely use her shield technique to defend but your blade and skills in melee combat should be enough to deal with her.” Shiori finished her assessment and suggestions receiving a nod from Takeshi
“Sounds like she’s got a lot of tricks up her sleeve and with my luck she’ll have more than just what she’s displayed until now. Taking out Tsuki isn’t an easy feat all things considered, but hey if I can deal with her and Hero then maybe it’ll mean a bit of reassessment on the command of Physical Security if it turns out that I’m more capable then my superior.” He said giving Shiori a wink before Bikan entered the room quickly approaching them “I trust everything is holding up well Agent Saruto?” Bikan said barely even looking at Takeshi himself and instead immediately moving to do a few quick diagnostic checks on the status of his enhancements “Of course, I’m ready for anything.” Takseshi said once again returning to his more formal tone of voice.
-----
Slipping through the facility with Hero in tow made actually avoiding detection MUCH harder than Jenn had anticipated, he was a pleasant person but unfortunately appeared to have little understanding of stealth, already they had been forced into accidental encounters with security members and Jenn had needed to dispatch them quickly THANKFULLY however these security men were barely even worth mentioning it had only taken a few swift strikes to take them out often doing so before Hero even had a chance to raise his sword and shield to charge into battle, and while his look of astonishment every time this occurred was amusing the constant encounters were beginning to very much slow there progress. "Miss Jenn perhaps I could dispatch the next few guards, allow you a bit of time to rest. I cannot imagine it is easy to move at the speeds you do in order to deal with them." Hero said as they pressed forward earning a light chuckle from Jenn, it was a bit adorable how vested he was in being the protector rather than the protected.
"If we can keep are movement quiet there should not be anymore encounters, if there ARE however I will deal with it, I know you mean well Hero but it really is not draining on me at all to deal with these people, there so far below my level of strength that I've barely even been trying, in fact I've been needing to actively restrain and suppress my strength against them the first couple I definitely hit a bit too hard and while I'm not a fan of this place there's no telling how much these idiots even know about what is going on here so I can't exactly just off the lot of them despite how much easier it would be but unfortunately you're about in there league as far as I can tell, a bit stronger and probably once you've recovered from whatever it is they've been doing to you you'd be more than capable of dealing with them but right now it'd take you too long and draw too much attention." Jenn said stopping momentarily to give Hero an apologetic look, she didn't LIKE having to tell him he was too weak to deal with the problems as effectively as she could be it was necessary she could feel his energy flare every time it looked like he might get a chance to enter the fray he was just TOO eager and if he did get involved it would just draw unnecessary attention.
As such she'd continue dealing with the guards personally and while doing so work on her ability to restrain herself, it had never been a talent she had put a huge amount of stock into, if she needed to fight it was usually because either A) she WANTED to dispatch an enemy as quickly and brutally as possible or B) she NEEDED to be as strong as she could be in order to actually fight them. Now though these guards were just so weak that the first few she had HEARD bones cracking and snapping off of LIGHT hits, it was almost sad really and it had pushed her to work on pulling herself back, so far it had done a well enough job most of the others that she had taken out after the first unfortunate few were likely just receiving various levels of significant but not long lasting injury, mostly just enough to keep them unconscious for a few hours whereas the first few would likely find themselves HOPING to remain unconscious longer if medical attention did not reach them soon, Jenn cringed a bit at the thought did this place even HAVE people capable of providing medical attention?
"I suppose if that is the case then I will leave it to you, I simply had hoped to aid you in some part because of how much aid you have given me. Without you I would likely have remained in that... thing..." Hero said clearly a bit distraught that he could not lend any aid. "Don't worry about it Hero, you can help me. Once we get out of here I need you to do me a favor you need to go to the Earths Lookout, its beneath a massive totem style pillar in the wilderness, if you ask enough people WILL be able to direct you to it. That is where you will find the Earths Guardian, he can help you get stronger, maybe strong enough to defeat Kemuri and help free me." Jenn said once again pausing in order to impress the information onto Hero not wanting him to forget, Hero listened intently and gave a nod "I swear Jenn once we are free I will find the Guardian and set you free. On my word as a hero." He said and as he did so he held up his right hand which for a brief moment glowed a bright yellow, Jenn identified the strange energy as a sort of magic OLD magic that related to pacts. Hero did not seem at all phased by it and much as she wanted to question it she knew time was of the essence. "We are going to be talking about that later Hero, lets go." Jenn said and with that they began back on the path, her map indicated the exit to be just at the end of the hall, simple enough and with any luck her plan would have worked.
Of course already it was obvious that the plan HAD NOT worked, Jenn and Hero zipped through the hall within a few seconds entering a larger room not nearly as spacious as the room that Jenn had faced Ixia and Erebos but surprisingly more barren giving it more than enough space for what was to come, it was clear upon first glance that the room had not always been so empty, the signs of things having been removed from the room were everywhere and the why was quickly identified as in the center of the room Jenn spotted a man clad in armor immediately she was on guard and prepared for the worst he gave off no energy signature just like Tsuki and a strange red light on a strange metal tendril focused in on her, he was wall and stood confidently very obviously awaiting there arrival as they entered the lights on his helmet blinked to life giving his helm a pale blue glow as he began looking them over just as thoroughly as Jenn had been looking him over.
Security Agent, Saruto Takeshi
Security Division Two
//Unknown
Security Division Two
//Unknown
So focused on what was almost certainly her next opponent Jenn was taken by surprise as the eye patch provided her with the mans name and 'division' he belonged to, if she remembered corectly that was the same division that woman Tsuki had belonged to, her first assumption would have been that perhaps this man would have a similar method of attack constant concussive blasts BUT that was quickly thrown out the window as the man placed his hand on a sword hilt at his side and drew from nowhere a massive blade nearly as long as he was tall with multiple serrated blades Jenn cringed slightly at the look of the blade THAT was a dangerous weapon if she'd ever seen one. "You're a bit late." The man called out as he sunk into a fighting stance wielding what should have been an incredibly unwieldy weapon as if it were little more than a greatsword or Katana. "I'd expected at least a few minutes earlier but then again it looks like you picked up a friend." He said with a laugh making a gesture toward Hero earning a glare from both and causing Jenn to take a step forward to stand between Hero and Saruto.
"You should keep your eyes on me, he's not the one you're going to be fighting. Hero's going to stand back and watch." Jenn said and despite her focus being entirely on Saruto it was very clear the last part was not meant for him as Hero gave a resigned sigh and pulled back moving to one of the far walls but remaining in a ready stance, even if Jenn was confident in her ability to deal with this man alone now he would remain ready to jump into the battle and lend some aid if the need arose. "Fair enough, we'll keep it to a solo duel then." He said with a nod "Might want to get you're self ready" He said and rather suddenly he was moving across the room, Jenn had only seconds to twist out of the way as he swung that massive blade at her, it was a terrifying thought to realize that if THIS man had Ixia's speed she would have likely been cleaved in two before she could ever even react.
Turning her twist into a roll Jenn tumbled away from him and with a burst of energy sprung back with a back flip, she needed this for two reasons, to give herself the space necessary to actually prepare herself, manifesting a bow in her left hand and a light shield strapped to her right, the shield was smaller than the last one she had used it needed to be so for it to be even passably usable with her bow and in addition to preparation she felt it necessary to put distance between herself and Saruto because he was a clear melee fighter but perhaps giving herself some room would also give her a chance to see what he could do outside of melee any techniques that could close the gap between them or protect him or even just ranged offense. With that thought as Jenn reached the peak of her back flip she pulled back the bowstring and let fly two arrows at Saruto, he had already begun moving to intercept her and these would hopefully halt that progression either by means of forcing him to avoid of defend against them or by hitting him and delaying him in that way as she landed Jenn heard the distinct sound of one of her arrows making impact she looked up to find it clashing against Saruto's blade which now glowed green with energy a few moments later he twisted the blade slightly sending the arrow flying at the ground and the blade returned to normal, now wanting to let up now Jenn fire off two more arrows as she began to circle around Saurto following up by shooting off several more 'basic' arrows, the swordsman quickly found himself under a hail of fire and he could only swing he blade and twist his body so much before a few began growing too close and THAT was when the extra layer of defense came into play, the glowing red tendril atop his helm fired up and began shooting down the weaker arrows that slipped through Saaruto's more active defenses.
Jenn frowned in annoyance, as much as she was displeased but at least she was doing as she had set out to she'd gathered a bit of information on his defensive capabilities he ahd amazing reflexes, his blade was capable of clashing with energy techniques and not just weathering the attack but fending it off entirely, on top of that the stupid little tendril packed enough power to shoot down her basic arrows if his reflexes and blade proved to be not enough overall it made him a rather frustrating enemy to combat, Jenn kept p her hail of arrows mostly keeping to basic ones this allowed Saruto to begin making progress in reaching her but also showed her something important, the tendril could not fire as quickly as she could that much was certain now as Saruto continued actively defending and now that she didn't need to pull back as far she she could fire off more arrows and found that when Saruto focused on moving it gave just enough leeway for a few to slip through his many defenses. A small smirk appeared on Jenns face as she began pulling back as Saruto approached, theoretically she could keep this up indefinitely and take him down this way, the arrows didn't do MUCH but they clearly did some damage and a few lucky hits in the face might open him up to harder hits, the only problem was time. The plan as it stood would likely take a LONG time to accomplish and Jenn wasn't entirely sure how much time she had before they sent someone else to backup this guy.
Jenns worries on how long her plan might take were however put to rest in perhaps the most frustrating of ways, Saurto backed off slightly and with a wide sweeping arc released a wave of energy that was enough to fend off most of the incoming attacks and forced Jenn to dodge, while Jenn was dodging she heard tell audible sound of a surge of power and as she spring back to her feet she saw a visible aura around Saruto a dark green much like what his blade had given off when he had sued it against her imbued arrow, she didnt ened to be able to sense his power signature to tell that Saruto had kicked things up a notch and not about to let him press that advantage Jenn reached out and took hold of her own full power another surge of energy rocked the room as Jenns smoke shifted dark red, as she powered up however Saruto managed to close much of the distance between them invigorated by her surge of power Jenn threw her bow at Saruto delaying him just long enough for her to rebuild her shield into something more suitable for what was to come, Saruto brought the heavy blade down on Jenn clashing with the shield in an explosion of energy as the blade ignited with green eenrgy upon contact with the red energy of the shield each strike that fell upon the shield released another wave of energy green and red washed across Jenn and Saruto singeing exposed skin.
As Saurto reared back with he blade for another strike Jenn saw something new in his eyes and saw energy surging up his arms and into the blade as the blade surged with energy Jenn took in a breath and unleashed a gout of flame into Saruto's face catching the man off guard and causing him to stumble back as he let out a shout of pain a look of vicious determination flashed across Jenns face as she gripped ehr shield NOW was her chance as Saruto stumbled back she pushed forward closing the meager distance he had made and striking at him nailing him in the chest plate with her fist and shield cracking the armor plating in the process as the tendril began firing at her with all it's might, Jenn took the blasts barey flinching at as they impacted her her mind utterly focused on one task, defeating Saruto, for once her more traditional mindset and her efreeti instincts were in tune with one another there was no holding back she needed to take Saruto down as quickly as possible, she let loose another wave of fire onto Saruto and followed up with a kick sending him tumbling as his blade clattered to the ground and in an instant Jenn was on him again and Jenn quickly found herself lacking the means to reign herself back in her anger towards UNITY was too much, her shield was gone now and in it's place her hand reshaped themselves growing powerful claws, Jenn drove her claws into the cracks she had made in Sarutos armor ripping it from him revealing a strange mix of metal and flesh, Jenn could see exactly where this was going and try as she might she couldn't reign herself in time, a claws hand pulled back and drove itself through the swordsman's heart. Her fury sated with the action Jenn felt herself regain control her aura returned to it's normal blue as she began to calm... she found herself feeling conflicted, she didn't LIKE the fact that she had killed him, she still knew so little about UNITY in general to go about slaughtering them wholesale BUT he was one of those actively pursuing her he had KNOWN who she was and he would have willingly handed her back over to them.
"TAKESHI" Jenn heard an unfamiliar voice shout and in an instant she was thrown from the body of her opponent sent flying across the entire room until finally she hit a wall, she barely even remembered being HIT and hadn't even had the time to catch herself to stop from hitting the wall, a light groan and Jenn blacked out for a moment, as she returned to the concious world she saw a woman kneeling over Saruto's body massive black bladed tendrils whipping around her like snakes in a very clear effort to keep anyone and everyone away. "No no Takeshi, just hold on Bakin will be here soon he'll patch you up." The woman said and from her voice alone Jenn could tell she was crying and rather suddenly Jenn felt a massive wave of regret hit her, THIS had been what she wanted to avoid. "BAKIN WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" the woman screamed furiously, Jenn began slowly pulling herself up from the rubble, much as she was regretting her methods she was keenly aware that this woman was probably a few moments away from taking all that anger out on HER, scanning the room quickly she spotted Hero who had been slowly making his way to her his expression a mixture of confusion and a bit of fear. As Jenn took a step out of the rubble however she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise and a cold chill run down her spine, the sort of chill the preceded something VERY bad.
And oh was it bad, in an instant the woman was across the room and her fist connected with Jenns face sending her BACK into the wall before the four black tendrils were set upon her ripping her back out and restraining her as the woman began thrashing at her violently screaming incoherent words and there was nothing Jenn could actually DO about it, she couldn't dodge her efforts to free herself both increased the woman's fury AND proved entirely fruitless as the tendrils held firm no matter what she did even pulling on her efreeti power did nothing strong as she considered herself this woman was in an entirely different league and with every passing second of the woman's assault Jenn began fading out of consciousness. "Enough Shiori" called the cold familiar voice of the woman who was responsible for all of this, and to her surprise 'Shiori' stopped her assault though she made no effort to release Jenn and in fact tightened her grip. "L-Lady Toiu" "Let her go Shiori." "But Take-" "Let. Her. Go." there was a long pause and then Jenn felt the grip on her arms and legs release and she fell to the floor, she was only barely conscious, just enough to listen. "If you hurry you might be able to get him to Bakins lab in time. Go." Toiu said and Jenn was certain the woman practically flew across the room.
"Mam I thank you for helping Miss Jenn but I need you to step away from her." Jenn recognized Heros voice and wanted to groan she had hoped he would have run sought an escape for himself "Don't worry Hero" Toiu said her voice slowly losing the metallic tinge it normally had becoming far more 'human' in the process "She will be dealt with, now sleep my Hero." and with that Jenn heard the sound of someone falling to the floor, almost certainly Hero himself. "Oh my, you're still awake? Thats rather impressive Jenn." Toiu said her voice now back to normal as she knelt close to Jenn "Thankfully you won't remember most of this, you'll think Hero made some brave stand to let you make your escape. Maybe he even fought of Shiori for you, wouldn't that be interesting?" She said with a small chuckle "We'll figure out the details later, for now you need to sleep, sleep and heal." and then just inside Jenns view she saw Toiu stab a needle into her leg and the cold embrace of unconsciousness quickly followed.