Of Death (Open)

//OOC: To Alan: The drug takes advantage of the fact the human body operates at 33% until being in a certainly-lost life-and-death situation. Which Alan wasn't in, really. Thus, by making the brain go 'alert mode' and switch to 100%, it does triple the 'normal' physical abilities. Also, you got the clarity right. Only irl it also comes with a slight slow-motion.

//For effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZKPuV34tso The first person to guess what happens next gets a net cookie. Nerd isn't allowed to play though.

The black-and-white host lost the smirk from underneath the mask and focused. The enemy was letting himself prey to rage, and that made him a lot less of a threat than the calm man that orchestrated this whole ambush. It still didn't mean that one could allow himself to rest easy, as he still was a quite worthy opponent. The 3DMG blades couldn't hold much up to the veritable claymore in his hands though, as he only needed to push it forwards in a thrust. Now, if Severin continued his assault, he would have gotten killed long before he could reach the host with his blades. From that position, he could also switch into a lateral (or vertical) swing if the adversary tried to just evade the blade yet still advance. At the same time, the fact we wore armour underneath the cloak allowed him to take a number of hits from Severin without caring much, effectively being able to offer woefully uneven trades of blows. In this situation, he had almost every advantage one could think of.

In the meantime, the other host just threw the bow a bit behind, leaving the arrows there too. The distance was just too close, and the enemy too fast, for that to work. The 3DMG blades though, while certainly not as good as a claymore meant for human-to-human combat, would at least place him on equal ground. That, if they would have been battling one to one. In this case, the man was most likely doomed. Except if one thing happened... But hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

*****

From the distance, Hydrargyrum made a few last leaps from the Wall and onto the buildings, into nearing very close. The distance had given off the impression they moved slower than they did in reality, as they very soon jumped right inside the building. The need for words was long since gone by this point, and they split up naturally, four crashing inside the hallway where the hosts faced off the attacker, and the rest into the main dining room.

The four in the hallway had split up by a further two, each pair landing about two metres from the hosts to both their left and right, each placing their swords in special grips on their shoulders and aiming a pair of guns at the intruder, waiting for a chance to shoot him down as soon as he'd disengage the hosts. They couldn't serve as proper sheathes, they were able to keep the swords there while aiming another weapon, but could be retrieved at any point directly into attacking position. Just a small ingenious way of skipping the need for AP-3DMG. At the same time, the specific Hydrargyrum was the same as always: steel-reinforced uniforms, virtually armours. While this did sacrifice a bit of sheer speed, with their skill, it lead to much more fluid movements and more overall mobility due to fine manipulation of the momentum, without even counting the protective capabilities.  

The others, the main force, performed in a similar fashion. Blades on the shoulder grips, dual pistols. Only, they shot, too. And 60 shots from dead-accurate marksmen weren't something to ignore. A simply huge amount of attackers fell to that first salvo right away, and a number more got killed by the guards while being surprised at the situation. That didn't mean they stopped though, as they simply took advantage of the landing second to shoot, and wasted no time or momentum in taking back their blades and rushing over the rest of the room. Whatever looked armed and unfriendly was immobilized, whatever tried to shoot back was outright killed. In the few seconds after they landed, they have already covered the entirety of the room, before the last man landed, standing upright and assessing the situation. They had done a wonderfully good job.

But they weren't here for that. 'Expectation. Fire. Wind. Unity.' meant a lot more than simply some attacking guys. Thus, they were still tense, as a much harder deed was looming overhead. Hopefully avoidable, but men who lived long didn't count on hopes.

//OOC: I expect that either Severin is going to Titan Shift or that the cloaked figures will turn out not to be Adar and Auth. Also, I'm back for sure now.

//OOC: My guess is that the Hydrargyrum will end up killing Adar (For whatever reason, I dunno). Perhaps Severin will use him against them, or it'll be part of some ingenious plot by Adar.

//OOC: obviously I cannot say anyone is right or wrong. You'll see for yourselves in the next posts.

If Alan's fight was a dance, it would be a dance to the death. Despite his best efforts, more and more of the Roseman's men appeared to take swing at him, and the effects of the drug were weakening. Alan could feel stings all over his body, where knives met their target, and an unsettling itch where his leg's bone was cracked. He realized he was panting from the effort of fighting. That being said, he still had quite a bit of power left, and could still easily handle the masses around him. His mind was still clear, which was the most important thing for Alan.
Alan was considering taking another leaf when a great, horrible sound rang through the hall, and all the windows broke at once. Men clad in dark robes swarmed into the building, and fired almost instantly at the attackers.
The Hydragyrum Alan sighed internally, in relief. Is my fight over?
People dropped dead to the floor, left and right. Alan stood calmly and watched them fall down, feeling sad. He wondered if this was the fate of all who stood against Adar and his empire of power.
Soon, he realized the fighting stopped, and all the attackers in the room have been taken care of. He looked over at the men filling the hall. Indeed, they were the Hydragyrum. Alan, who was still under the effect of the drug, managed to spot the Military Police logo upon their chest, along with a silver droplet.

Around him, Alan saw people finally recovering, either standing wide-eyed and horrified, or mourning their lost ones. Servants were taking care of the wounded, and the elite Military Police squad was pacing around, making sure there was no more trouble to be had in this room.
Alan examined the faces of these men, and came to a sudden realization.
He did not recognize a single one.
He did not know any Military Policemen from the Hydragyrum.
Alan's mind was spinning. The Military Police has been known for corruption, but secrecy? How many more things is the Military Police hiding, that I do not know of? I must inquire, to make sure justice meets her mark.
Alan was not trusting of the Hydragyrum. They appeared to be good, noble men, and they have served alongside Adar, but Alan couldn't fully trust someone until he knew of their worst. He could cooperate - even with crooked Military Policemen who did horrible things - because he knew what they were capable of, and what he could do to stop them. These dark-robed soldiers, they were unknown to Alan, and posed a threat, because as far as he knew, they were capable of anything.

Alan approached one of these men. He was tall, but his stance was a bit odd. His back was a little bent, and his posture was rather lazy. His hair was unkempt and he had a rather detached look in his eye. Still, he seemed to survey the room with his eyes, and Alan was certain his appearance had nothing to do with his deadly capabilities.
"Alan Katlewande, Military Police patrolsman." Alan stated, saluting the stranger. He must have looked pretty queer, considering he was wearing the gowns of a jester, and blood covered his face.
"I was tasked by the lady vi Rauco to assist your squad in any way possible. I helped in holding off the assailants until your arrival Why I find your methods a bit too harsh, I must admire your effectiveness. How may I assist you?"
Alan looked up, unblinking, at the robed man. He was not very fond of receiving orders from a man he did not know, but he knew that he would likely be dead or dying without the help of Lady Sangwa. The least he could do is do as she told him.
A sudden thought crossed his mind.
"If you do not mind, I have received considerable injury during this fight, and I may need some patching up before I could be of more service. Furthermore, my superior has been killed during the attack. Some of my... friends attended this event, and I know not of their fate. I ask for permission to see a medic and look for these people before I help you with whatever comes next. Would that be alright?"
Mitsuo... Auth... I hope you have fared better than I have.

Mitsuo's sight was blurry, he didn't know why - it could have been shock, lack of energy or something else. He saw a figure approach him and then suddenly he was hoisted to his feet. A deep voice called out, "This guy needs a medic!" Mitsuo was shoved into someone else who lead him to sit down on a chair. It didn't take long for the mechanic to figure out the fighting had stopped. The young Shimura stopped paying attention to what was going on as he felt dizzy and tired. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and screamed in agony for a quick moment. What was happening was the medic seeing to Mitsuo was looking in his wound for the bullet. Once the medic found the bullet he got a scalpel and started digging it out. This made the mechanic scream louder for a while longer. Once the bullet was out, the medic bandaged up Mitsuo's shoulder and moved onto the next patient. Mitsuo was told to sit still for a while to recover and so he did what he was told.

//Semi-OOC:A few quick notes about the Hydrargyrum: All of them are men and women of over 40 years of age, and, in theory, there is no such thing as 'squad Hydrargyrum' in the military police now. They were disbanded when Adar left the MP. They are known for using 3DMG while armoured, and for having taken up 'impossible jobs' and succeeding at them multiple times. That's about what 'people' know of Hydrargyrum. I won't give any more details of this OOC. (these are exception due to the fact people would know them, even if no longer a strong memory)

//OOC: The fact that the squad was disbanded does not mean that all its members have left the Military Police. With that in mind, Alan would normally be able to recognize at least some of its members as current Military Policemen in different jobs. The fact he didn't recognize any of the members simply points to the secure nature of the Hydragyrum. Alan is just naturally curious :)

Severin was indeed letting himself fall prey to rage. But this was not a normal rage. This rage was calculated...combined. He fought with the rage of an abandoned child, of a man whose family he had witnessed die, of a man whose life had been ruined, of a man aiming to bring an evil man to justice. He struck with the rage of all the people Adar had killed, them seemingly reaching from beyond the grave just to kill the bastard. If anything, Severin was more of a threat in his current state, especially to the swordsman. He kept the cloaked figure under a constant barrage of sword swings, a storm of steel washing over the man.
"Not even the Hydrargum can save you, Adar! Not like in Hermiha, you sorry excuse of a father!" Severin swung up an landed high on the wall. "Does Auth know what you've done?" He chuckled. "Probably not." Changing targets, Severin lunged at the bowman.

The 'bowman', now armed with 3DMG blades, almost expected the change of targets. Perhaps not in this exact moment, yes, but at some point. Thus, it wasn't too hard to get into a stance from which to fight at full as soon as the man turned to him. It was inevitable, after all.

The man attacked, full of rage. They were wildly calculated strikes, but they still were strikes. And strikes were human. And humans had limits. One of which was experience. Another of which was equipment. And yet another of which numbers. And no matter how you looked, glanced, glared or stared at it, all three of these limitations leaned in the favour of the 'house'.

Thus, the man simply begun fighting a defensive battle, focusing on disallowing his opponent speed and mobility more so than actually attacking him. After all, a man with a claymore stood there in the back to take care of that. And should the rose change targets again, the roles of the hosts could change roles just as easily. No matter what, the man would always have a defender in front and an attacker at the back. Which, quite frankly, wasn't a very favourable position.

* * * * *

In the main room, Hydragryrum had begun trying to take care of the wounded, patching up those who could be patched up, hearing the last words of those who couldn't before sparing them the pain. It was a heavy job, on par with that of the Survey Corps. While it wasn't the first time they were doing this, it never became less horrifying. They just got better at hiding it deep down.

Titans killing humans was one thing. Humans killing humans... that was a whole different thing.

The leader of the squad saw Alan in his bloodstained jester outfit approach one of the men standing guard. He approached, having heard the full request of the jester.

'Pardon my intrusion, but I believe I'm the most qualified to answer that in this situation, apart from Captain Adar, of course.' He took a very short breath while giving a fleeting salute to the man. 'Peren of Hydrargyrum, Vice-Captain. If lady vi Racuo herself recommended you, then you have to be something. I wonder what, though.' He looked around the room a bit. 'Indeed, you are allowed to do however you please. Just be warned. Things might go to hell in one sudden instant at any point from this moment onward. And for you to make yourself an idea of 'how bad', well, what you looked at now was humans slaughtering humans. More often these days, we heard of titans doing that. Today, you might hear of both at the same time.' With that, the Vice-Captain nodded in Alan's direction, to show that he had nothing more to add. A vibe of fear mixed with disgust had been in his voice when talking of what could have been coming their way.

Outside, the storm was growing louder and harsher.

A voice made Alan turn. Alan was met with another man clad in the dark clothes of the Hydragyrum. His eyes spoke of wisdom and weariness. As he made his entrance, he gave a brief salute to the laid-back soldier Alan was talking to, previously. He introduced himself as Peren - Vice Captain of the Hydragyrum. Alan fixed up his posture a little bit and stood straight when he heard of that. He found it was always important to leave good impressions on those of importance.
Alan smiled shyly when he heard that Sangwa's actions may have had some higher meaning. He has always tried his best to help those around him, and make the world a better place. If people noticed that, it meant that Alan indeed was making the world a better place, one step at a time.

Alan was given his leave, and gave the vice-captain a salute before leaving. He noticed he was feeling pain quite a bit now, so he decided to stumble his way towards the nearest medic. He sat down in front of the medic and looked at the line of corpses up against the wall. The Military Policeman was given a small drink to reduce pain before the painful process began. He had to grit his teeth when the medic put his leg in a cast, and started wrapping slowly. A piece of wood from the debris was attached to it, so less pressure would be put on his leg. He only winced a little bit when an alcoholic solution was applied to his cuts and bruises, but nearly screamed in agony when it was applied to his ear.
Whatever happened there, it sure left a mark he panted I'll probably have a scar for quite some time.
After that, the medic told him he was free to go and do as he please. He wasn't nearly the worst victim in the hall, even when not counting the dead. Alan walked towards the corpses lining the wall, from brim to brim, and scanned them slowly, looking for any of his friends.
All their bodies were covered with spare cloth of blankets, but they were all stained with both rainwater and blood. The storm's rain was pouring into the house through all the broken window, but because the hall was so large, shelter from the rain was not hard to come by. Alan didn't mind getting a little wet. It felt refreshing.

He kept walking on a little bit, scanning all the people that were once here but were no more. Some were young, and some were old. Rich or poor, brave or craven, it mattered not.
He noticed the white-haired woman that he talked to before any of this began. Her tight dress, that once filled him with lust, now just filled him with disgust - it was nearly completely covered in dark red.
Alan finally stopped by a large stump he quickly recognized as captain Ralf Volkard. Alan stared down at the face, but the face only looked up at the ceiling, wide-eyed and expressionless. The crooked captain's body, that was once full of life and food, now lay limp across the cold floor.
Volkard, although he was a terrible man, was a happy man, full of joy and laughter.
He will never laugh again Alan though, miserable He will never smile again, or answer for his crimes, or cry again. I have failed, but I can move on. He will never recover from this drink.

"Ralf Volkard, Military Police Captain." he heard himself say, but was not sure of what caused him to "You are charged with terrorizing competing businesses, mis-using of your position of power, assisting a murderer, and protecting a murderer from the blind eye of justice.
You lived a happy life, born to a wealthy family, and bought your way into the Military Police, into a life of further luxury. You didn't need to commit any of the crimes you have committed in order to live a good life, but you did so anyway. How do you plead?"
Tears slowly started gathering on Alan's face. They stung when they went across his cuts.
"You did terrible things, but lived a life free of guilt nor punishment. You died, but not for what you did. You died because life is not fair, because people are cruel, and above all else, because I failed at my job.
I am sorry. I am so sorry."
Tears freely rolled down the Military Policeman's face. He sobbed quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mitsuo, still dressed as a mechanic-gentleman, sitting on a chair with little to no movement. He was glad to see he made it through the fight, but he did not watch to approach him. Not yet. He didn't want his friend to see him like this.
I am the ideal of justice he told himself, as he settled down I cannot show others signs of weakness. I need to be strong, so they can rely on me and draw inspiration. So the could believe in a better tomorrow. So they may hope.

//OOC: Skip me. DOn't have much to right. Mitsuo just has to recover really, which he'd probably do by the time of my next post.

Severin knew he was on the losing side. Two versus one wasn't a very favorable position.Still, Severin kept up the combat, keeping both combatants beneath a constant barrage of blades. But he could not go on like this forever. He was human, after all. Mostly. After a few minutes of switching between the two cloaked figures, the Rose leaped into the air, securing himself onto the ceiling with one of the 3DMG cables. Shoving a blade through the ceiling, he angled his waist towards the claymore and shot the cable, aiming towards center mass as bits of said ceiling fell off, showering the area.

The two hosts kept up the same style of combat they had all along: switch roles as the adversary switched targets. It worked quite well, albeit a bit slow. That, to the point where Severin sprang into the air. Mistake.

The hosts merely stepped back and took a somewhat lower stance. At about the same time, which was Severin's hook hitting the ceiling, the four Hydrargyrum around shot. They kept track of the rose all along the combat, and only looked for the first occasion to shoot their barrage on him. 8 shots, re-align aim for a split second, 8 more shots, then dropping the guns and taking new ones, spending no time in aiming again, in case the target didn't die.

At the same time, 3DMG cables didn't tend to move even quite as fast as an arrow, so it wasn't all that hard to dodge the cable. Now, given the cable would strike the floor, and if the enemy was still alive he could use that to reel into a very quick attack, the Black-and-White host extended the sword in a slight diagonal forwards. This way, the man would be more likely to cut himself down than fulfill his attack. True enough, the man could just plain not do anything, and not plan to, but it was a risk he couldn't afford.

*****

Back in the main hall, stuff hadn't changed much. People came and went, carrying wounded and dead and all that. Morbid job, it was, but someone had to do it.

Peren watchfully eyed the entirety of things. Among others, he saw Alan talk to the corpse of his dead superior. It wasn't hard to presume who the dead man was. Especially when lip-reading was among your skills. Peren wasn't really a man to needlessly spy on others, and most of the time voluntarily forgot any secrets he saw spoken. But this man, Alan... Sangwa always had a habit of putting people to work for others, but most of the time she made proper choices. By how this particular man behaved, he had potential to truly change some things in the MP. No one could do it entirely - Hydrargyrum itself was definitive proof of that - but ever bit counted.

Peren smiled to himself. If the times were different, he would have considered requesting Adar to test out this man for entry in Hydrargyrum. But the squad was now no longer, just a thin shadow of its former glory. It wasn't any less efficient, no, but simply... dormant. Not doing anything. And, perhaps, unable to ever really do something again.


Outside, the wind howled devilishly...

After a while, Alan calmed down, and his eyes dried up. He put his hand inside the collar of his jester outfit, and pulled out a handkerchief, made of green silk, and lined with golden string. He dried his eyes, and then pulled out of his collar a pair of round glasses. He cleaned them up as well, using his handkerchief, and set them upon his nose. Alan's eyesight without glasses was not terrible, but with them, his eyes were almost as sharp as his mind.
While Alan was all dried up, it seemed that outside the weather was just growing wetter. Alan payed attention to the howls of the wind, and to the sound of raindrops echoing through the hall. He wasn't planning to leave this horrid place any time soon, but he was glad that he wasn't going to, at least right now.
Alan turned and walked slowly towards Mitsuo, who was still sitting on a chair. While he was able to walk relatively normally now, it still hurt him a little bit to walk quickly, so he decided it would be best for him to take things slow.
However, when he saw the various bandages covering the mechanic, he forgot his pain and waddled quickly towards him. Alan nearly tripped on a weak older man who was laying on the floor, when he finally got to Mitsuo.
"How bad is it?" he half-asked, half-shouted at the silent mechanic. He didn't mind that Mitsuo could now clearly see his face and know that he was the jester the entire time - as if that ever mattered.
Mitsuo looks bad. Like, worse-than-me bad. It's very likely he decided to fight against the invaders as well.
Alan sighed internally. He had to fight because of his occupation. Mitsuo, on the other hand, decided to fight regardless. Alan assumed, that the poor mechanic had to fight using what he could find, instead of a proper weapon, like Alan brought along. No wonder he seemed so wounded - this was hardly a fair fight.

//OOC: Do you guys mind if I post again, after Mitsuo does? Alan needs to interact with both Peren and Mitsuo, and he can't interact with Peren until he finishes up with Mitts.
Is that alright with you guys?

//OOC: fine by me

Mitsuo heard a half scream which he assumed was directed towards him. He looked up to see Alan. 'So he was the Jester...' was the first thought that entered the mechanic's mind. "Alan, calm down, I'm fine." Mitsuo gestured for his friend to take a seat. "I only got shot in the shoulder, it should be fine... how about you? I'm sure you have a few wounds," the young Shimura asked politely. He wouldn't be surprised if Alan was hurt badly, 'It was pretty much a war-zone.' Mitsuo sat and thought quietly for a moment before speaking up, "Do you think they will let people go... I'm pretty sure I saw that Rose guy slip out... we need to make sure the Hosts are fine," he turned to face Alan. Hesitation swept over the Scout but then he smiled, "shall we serve up a sweet meal of Justice?" The mechanic chuckled a little before stopping and collecting himself, becoming more serious. "For those who have died, Alan, we need to catch this man." Mitsuo stood up adn looked around; people crying, the corpses, the Hydrargyrum. He made his way towards the door.

Alan kept standing for a while, before finally sitting down beside his mechanic friend. Mitsuo's distant and relaxed gaze helped him calm down. He was surrounded by wounded people - civilians, military-men, guards and assailants, but he seemed to pay little mind to them.
"Personally, I wouldn't go with 'only got shot in the shoulder'" Alan remarked, but he managed to smile a little bit. It was good that Mitsuo was taking things calmly.
"I'm... okay, more or less." Alan replied, when Mitsuo questioned him about his situation. He didn't want to go into details, so he didn't list what he experienced.
However, when Mitsuo mentioned the Rose and the hosts, Alan stiffened. He was reminded far too clearly of how the Rose dispatched of his captain, how Alan posed such a little threat to him that after evading his attack, the musician just left. Humiliation is something Alan was used to, but this was almost another level.
The target of the unknown assailant was surely someone from the vi Rauco family. Probably Adar, because Auth has less of a history with people, even with his constant involvement with everything. If that's the case, the Rose must have left off to finish his job. He jumped outside, and did not return here. That means that somewhere in this building, probably a higher floor, the hosts remain... and so does their attacker.
Alan stood up abruptly, looked around, and located the vice-captain of the Hydragyrum, across the hall.
"You're right, of course." he said to Mitsuo, and turned his sights back to him "The hosts are in grave danger. We must make sure they're okay."
Alan helped Mitsuo up, and walked over to the vice-captain of the Hydragyrum, who was exchanging quiet words with another soldier.
All the dead around me - both the innocent, and the attackers alike - they're all dead because of the masked Rose. He is guilty of trespassing, breaking and entering, likely use of black-market weaponry and gear, multiple cases of murder, and assistance of murder. The courts would definitely give him a death penalty.
...Is that okay?
Alan approached Peren, and gave him a brisk, proud salute.
"I am ready for any further orders, sir." Alan stated, and relaxed his stance a bit. He nodded with his head to Mitsuo, and added "This is my partner, Mitsuo. He was involved in the fight against the assailants. He's part of the Scouting Legion, and a close friend of mine. He is easily more capable than I in a confrontation. I'd like to ask your permission to have him accompany me for these future tasks." Alan waited for a second, before continuing. He doubted the vice-captain was going to object
"I have seen the man behind all of this attack - the Rose Musician - make his way outside through the window using his 3DMG. It is my calculated guess he's still here, and he's still after either Senior or Junior vi Raucos - or perhaps both. I'd like to make sure the lords of this house are safe and sound. Auth..."
Alan's voice wavered for a second, but he continued as normal soon afterwards.
"Auth is a close friend of mine. I can't let him stand in harm's way - even if it's for his father's sake."
Alan stood patiently, and awaited his orders. Whatever he wanted to do, he still had to remember he was injured and bewildered from the fight. Therefore, his judgement may not have been the most accurate or precise.

Severin had just begun moving when he was shot. The Rose fell to the ground, rolling a bit and staining the carpet with blood. He ended on his knees, facing the group. Steam could be seen emanating from the wounds. Coughing up blood, Severin looked at his bullet-ridden right arm, which had taken four musket balls. "Shit."
He promptly cut the whole arm off with one of his blades.

(Here comes Big McLargehuge)

Orange lightning struck the vi Rauco mansion as an extremely large figure suddenly appeared. Lightning flashed as it stood up from the rubble and,above the thunder, an inhumane, deafening roar tore across the city. Two orbs of bright red shined like searchlights, 35 meters in the air.

The Red Titan was in Hermiha, and the real storm had just begun.

//OOC: This is the post where you could easily join in, LateComer101.

//OOC: due to thesis, I'll be only posting tomorrow. Not enough time now. LateComer, indeed this is the point when you should post, or from here on out at about anytime.

//OOC: I knew it...

//OOC: Apparently Will didn't believe Herdir when he told him about rogue Titan shifters on the site.

//OOC: "Rouge "?

//OOC: The post says rogue not rouge.