Ringing the Dinner Bell [Closed]

As the woman named Vixen spoke, Cheshire looked at Rory, his eyes narrowed and serious. "If that is the case, then when the time comes... I will show you my resolve once again."

Cheshire made a finger gun with his hand and pointed it to his head. "Let me tell you something I only told Liseran," Cheshire murmured, "The reason I became a hunter... was because suicide is pathetic. For a long time, I was ready to die on the field and I hoped to with every battle. You threatening me with some gun would have meant nothing to me before. It was Liseran who gave me a true will to live. Without her, I have no reason to keep that will. Do you understand..."

Rory nodded silently.

"I understand," Rory said.

Vixen sighed.

"The only reason I turned the suspicion onto you..." she said. "Was so that I could try to stop this event all together. A foolish attempt to have none of you die. I'm afraid it is not so. I admire your bravery, young man. And your love for Liseran much more. It'd be...a shame...if you left her side..."

***

Weeping Cerinthe's silver blades stabbed through Zan's chest, but Zan was smiling. His hand came on Liseran's, clasping it gently.

"You've forgotten my semblance, haven't you?" he smiled crookedly. As Liseran looked, her whole hand went through his torso and Zan sort of passed by her in an intangible state. He moved behind her, swiftly clasping her waist in one arm while the gun pointed at Mistress Stay.

"You're going to do what I say," Zan said. "Or I'm going to shoot Mistress Stay and kill everyone one by one."

Aeden had been thinking of confronting Cheshire. He wanted to yell at him for everything, tell him to not go, but Rory beat him to it. After Rory's words toward Cheshire, Aeden could feel the guilt tear his heart a bit. I was thinking of how to stop Cheshire while Lise's in trouble...Dammit. Aeden walks over to Rory and gives her a hug offering his shoulder should she have the desire to cry anymore. "Rory I promise we're going to bring Lise back safe and sound." Still hugging Rory, Aeden turns his head and looks at Cheshire. "You're right I am suspicious of you but now's not the time for that. I promised Lise I would stop you if you tried to go after her...but I also said I wouldn't go myself. If I'm going to break one part of a promise I should break the other part as well and don't even start to think i'm not coming along. She's my friend and I'm not going to let her be in danger."

Lucina opens her eyes and sits up. She has a serious look on her face and she glares at Aeden. "I know what's going on and I'm coming...you can't stop me..." She crosses her arms and then takes out Aetherius from under her dress. She says, "I can change out into my combat gear...and yet again I'm coming..." She gives Aeden the look of 'don't even try it.' She stands up on weak legs and attempts to walk around the corner into the hall to change.

"Now we are waiting..." Sylvian is starting to lose her calm. Then she turns to Chesire and Aeden. "I still didn't get to trust you men yet, but the most important thing right now is to bring Liseran back. It doesn't matter if we trust each other or not, as long as you have faith in Liseran as a friend, I will give it my all, and I'm not hoping there is anyone with different thought among us." Sylvian picks up and disengages her Impala Gracia into resting form, then heads for the main gate when Lucina is done with her combat gear. "We are moving out, there is no time to waste."

Cheshire glanced at Aeden for a moment but said nothing. He just turned back to Vixen. "Alright. So how do we get to these archives and how do we get there fast?"

"Follow me," Vixen said. She was about to lead them downhill until Liseran's three godmothers began running towards them.

"Wait!" Merriweather cried out, one of her hands holding up a letter. She rushed up to Rory panting while Flora and Faun followed behind her. She handed it over to Rory. "It's the letter from Liseran's father. If...if anything, maybe you can change her mind with this."

"We're sorry we can't go," Flora told them. "I've picked up some people heading towards the cottage. Bad ones. We're leaving."

"There's also been a trace of where Liseran's motorcycle went," Faun added. "There seems to be a parcel...we'll track it and tell you by scroll what we find. Good luck. We only wish for our baby to be brought home safely. And all of you be safe! Especially you, Rory."

"Of course," Rory said. The three godmothers looked to Vixen.

"Guide them well," Flora said. The three godmothers took out small silver sticks from their apron pockets, each of them glowing. Three seals came from beneath them: a flower, a bird and a cloud and it lifted them into the air to a distance. Vixen gave the young group a brief nod and continued to lead them downhill until they came to a shore.

A small airship was gently hovering over the water, it's door opened at the docks. Vixen led them inside.

"I'm sorry," Vixen said. "But this ride will take an hour to thirty minutes at most. Hold on tight, until then...Aeden, you've been awfully quiet. Something on your mind?"

Aeden hadn't been paying much attention to the events going on and was slightly startled when Vixen directed a question at him.  "No, I'm just worried about how this is all going to end." Aeden grips reaches int his jacket pocket and draws Frost Fang and Deception X. He had taken the time to retrieve Deception X from Phantom but had to remain in his dress clothes. No armour have to be careful...but I can't let the others get hurt either. Aeden takes a quick look at Lucina and Rory but quickly turns away as worry starts to fill his heart. Aeden starts to walk toward the airship and boards. "It doesn't really matter now anyway. We have to set off, the longer we take the more danger Lise is in." He turns away from the others not wanting to show them his look of worry.

Vixen sat in the cockpit and asked everyone to sit down and buckle up. The air ship soon lifted from the dock, the water under it stirring furiously as it did. It hovered into the air and shot into the north west direction.

"It's not going to be easy," Vixen told them. "The Vale Archives is now heavily guarded by people who work for the Fares family. A corrupt family that's been gaining power in its region by marriages, assassinations, extortion and bribing. They're not as highly skilled as Hunters would be, but they are many. Everyone's gathered in one room there at the moment. The women have been taken hostage in their own hold by a man named Zan."

***

"What do you want?" Liseran said, trying to keep her voice calm and steady.

Zan smiled.

"To marry you, of course," he said flatly.

Liseran clenched her teeth.

"Don't lie to me," Liseran said. "Because I will slit your throat regardless."

Zan sighed and twirled the gun in his hand.

"Alright, you got me," Zan said. "Your father Zephyr Veiller was one of the few people to have the Sight semblance. We once employed him to do work for us, but he strayed off...we want you to do the same. See the future for us. You know, like how we're going to kill off the next unwanted region candidate...or perhaps the next biggest Dust supply...give us a heads up, I mean. Of course, if you married me, it'd make it all the more fun."

Liseran had the strong desire to spit at the man in front of her. But before she could speak, Mistress Stay did.

"Liseran is in no longer in anyway obliged to such," Mistress said. "That betrothal was cancelled by Zephyr years ago and you know it."

"I'll use my semblance, fine," Liseran said. "But that's it. Now let everybody go."

***

"I need you all to split up, though," Vixen said. "Two of you have to come with me while I dissemble a bomb. The others will wait on signal to ambush the men in the main room. I'd prefer if Sylvian and Lucina go with me as that's how I saw it in my vision. Any reactions?"

"So now... there's a bomb?" Cheshire deadpanned, "Anything else life threatening, dangerous, and explosive you want to tell us before we go in to save the girl I love?"

Vixen paused for a bit.

"Aside from the regular guns and swords, not really," Vixen said. And then a little hesitantly, "Though you may be surprised to find someone else trying to bribe Liseran into a marriage."

"You know, I think I can see the future too," Cheshire murmured looking into the distance, "Yes I see me... standing over a corpse... His features are appear fuzzy though. Can you give me a description?"

"He's the only one of the men in different clothing," Vixen told him. "He's about Liseran's age, wears noble's clothing and has dark brown hair, and a snide grin. Very killable, but don't be deceived. He has a special semblance. At will he can become intangible and not receive damage."

She paused for a bit as she steered the ship towards a high wall.

"Do kill him for me."


***

Just to be sure, Liseran's hands were tied up with a golden cord. She was permitted, at least, to tie her hair up again. Zan kept Weeping Cerinthe in his own belt and he tugged on the rope.

"My father always said to keep women on tight leashes," he remarked smugly. "They're always trying to do the wrong thing."

***

The walled building looked more like a castle than a library, but the lights were out almost everywhere and it made it look like an abandoned one. Vixen slowly descended the airship into the water, but she didn't stop there. She sank it underneath until there was a tunnel. Propelling the ship forward it resurfaced inside a wide cave where a rowing boat was.

"We're here," she said.

She led them out and showed them up a stairway where a door was. There was a wooden door where a circle was in the middle and there was something inscribed on the side:


Vixen bit her finger to draw out a small peace of blood and drew a tear in the circle. The door opened to two stairways.

"Rory, Cheshire and Aeden will go on the left one," Vixen directed. "It will lead you to an opening just above the main room where you'll see everyone. Lucina, Sylvian, follow me."

Cheshire did as he was told and went left first, already drawing out Baskerville and walking up the stairway.

Rory had been quiet throughout the ride and was even quieter as they walked up a spiraling marble staircase. Already, she could smell Liseran and she could hear someone. This "Zan" most probably. They tried to run up the stairs as fast as they could but it took a great ten minutes before they reached a trap door at the top. It led them to a dark circular balcony that stretched 20m wide in diameter.

Below them, brilliant light shone down on the main room which looked much like a ballroom. However, there were no dancers. Instead, women dressed the same as Liseran were tied against the walls and there were about twenty armored men. In the middle, a young man in an overcoat with two sai blades crossed against his back showed Liseran a paper of some sort. It looked like he was trying to make her sign. Nearby was another woman also tied up, a man pointing a gun to her head.

"I want to go down there so badly right now," Rory said aloud. "But we have to wait for Vixen's signal. When she does, how do we intercept? Cheshire, Lise said you were a tactician."

***

Vixen led Sylvian and Lucina to a much stranger path. From going up, they soon descended down into what looked like catacombs. Two guards were there.

"Can one of you take them out silently?" Vixen asked.

"Twenty armed men, one woman taken hostage. The one who is presumably leader is in front of Liseran...." Cheshire whispered lowly as he scanned the area, "According to Vixen, he can turn intangible at will... But if he were to be taken by surprise..."

Cheshire crouched down and aims Baskerville at him but doesn't make any movement to fire.

"But if he somehow sees me coming and dodges...." Cheshire slowly moves Baskerville and aims at the soldier pointing a gun at the woman. "If he were to use a hostage we would be in a compromising position. The best method would be to find a way to free the women and take out the guards first... Rory, Aeden, brief me on your semblances, specialties, and combat capabilities..."

"I focus on close combat," Rory said. "I use two axes so I deal large blows, but it takes some time. However, I do have a rifle."

She showed him Fusilier.

"It works like a shotgun so not the most subtle weapon," she told him. "But it can take out more people at a time. My semblance isn't really useful right now. It's foresight. I can see events ten miles away. I think my best use for it is to know where Vixen, Lucina and Sylvian are."

OOC: Catacomb (maybe we should seperate the location by an initial OOC like this)

It's more than 30 feet from where they hide to guards. Not an easy task to defeat them both without being caught. "Quickly, yes, I don't know if I can make it silently..."

Not waiting for the others to response, Sylvian immediately boosts her aura and charges in with her teleporting-like speed, grabs both of them by their head and slams them to the floor, knocking them down. A faint crashing sound echoes inside the catacomb.

"Oops..." Sylvian waits until it completely fades away. Nothing happens then.

"It's clear." She calls for Vixen and Lucina, then gets down and looks for anything useful on the guards. Nothing seems useful other than a ring full of old keys.

Vixen nodded and pulled her cape closer to her.

"That worked well enough," Vixen said as she came to the keys. "But we won't need these. The bomb's still a bit of the way. It won't detonate unless Zan activates it. Now..."

She led the two deeper down, passing the mossy catacombs and the horrible stench of old water and remains. Her magenta cape dragged on the mossy floor, making it heavier. Finally she opened a door to a giant room of bookshelves.

There were guards walking here and there and the faint beeping could be heard.

"It's lodged in one of the bookshelves," Vixen said. "I see five guards on the left area and seven on the right. There are two within each aisle ahead. The bomb is disguised as a book. I'll find it, you intercept the guards as you please. Be swift. We cannot have them know above."

Aeden holds up his weapons showing them to Cheshire. "Deception X is for stealth kills and immobilizing enemies using ice and lightning dust, I can fire a the main blade at an opponent, its spring loaded and completely silent. Frost Fang is different, its for loud combat and fires ice and fire dust. My specialty is stealth. I'm fast, silent, and blend into the shadows." Aeden looks down at his clothes and grabs his hair. "I'm not exactly dressed for stealth though. In regards to the hostage I can silently repel down and when I'm close enough make an ice wall to separate the girl from the man with the gun."

"There are twenty armored men all over the place who can just get a replacement hostage," Cheshire murmured, "We have to take out those men first.... Rory, you said you have very good eyes?" Cheshire lifts up Baskerville. "How good would you say you are with a quick shooting sniper rifle?"

Rory held up Fusilier and
"I can hit three men in ten seconds," she said. "These are non-lethal, so it won't kill them, but it'll leave them knocked out for awhile."


***

Down below Liseran finished signing a "contract" saying she was willing to undergo the procedures needed. She handed it bitterly over to Zan.

"Let them go, now," Liseran demanded.

Zan took the paper and rolled it up gently. He smiled at Liseran for a bit and then tugged on her to pull her forward, forcing her into a kiss.

Cheshire's teeth were gritting, clenched tightly as he bared his fangs, his ears were flat against his head, his eyes narrowed like a wild beast preparing to pounce and tear apart his prey. He slowly holstered Baskerville and clenched the handle with both hands, slowly pulling to draw out Vladimir and Elizebeth inch by inch.

"I'm going to break him," Cheshire murmured, "I'm going to make him suffer. He will die... I swear I will murder him... right... now...."

Cheshire's hands shook still clenching tightly around the handles of Vladimir and Elizebeth, already halfway drawn. The faunus seems to be struggling with all his might not to lunge out right then and there but the small bit of his mind that remained rational made him hold back, but it wasn't going to stay that way for long by the looks of it.

Rory shook Cheshire by the shoulders.

"Cheshire, calm down!" Rory said in a strict whisper. "If you blow it now, we're never going to save Liseran!"

It's only then that a small yell comes from below. Liseran had somehow managed to kick Zan away from her and he guarding the part of his face that had been kicked with her boot. She stood there shaking furiously, her hands trying to get out of the golden cord that tied her. Zan glared out her.

"You'll pay for that!" Zan yelled.

It's only then that Rory noticed Zan rushing towards a sort of remote on the ground while he snapped his fingers at the man near the hostage leader.

"Kill her!" Zan shouted.

The man is about to shoot but Rory shot a round into the air, making the man fall and drop before them.

"Cheshire, the trigger!" Rory shouted. "He's after the trigger!"

Cheshire's image flickered and he immediately teleports right over the remote. Snatching it from the ground he steps backwards and draws Helsingr from its holster, holding the rifle with one hand while he held tightly to the remote with the other. He takes a firm fighting stance, his eyes trained on the man named Zan.

Rory began shooting rounds as Cheshire teleported to the trigger.

"Aeden, help me!" she cried out.

The women had suddenly scattered towards their leader and Rory focused hard on shooting down the guards as they tried to harm them.

Down below, Liseran stood struck in awe as Cheshire stood in front of Zan and here.

"Cheshire..." Liseran muttered. "What...what are you..."

She  couldn't speak. She didn't know what to feel. That Cheshire was here right now filled her with happiness, but at the same time a terrible dread. From where Zan was, he was surprised by the sudden escalation of the events. He motioned his hands to the guards to stop intervening. There were people above, he knew. He gave his pager a tap in hopes to send some guards there. He then looked at Cheshire with disgust.

"And who are you supposed to be, animal?" Zan said. He raised his own gun at Cheshire. "If you want  to know, I'm not afraid of being shot."

It was then that Zan noticed the expression on Liseran's face and that on Cheshire's. He raised his eyebrows.

"What's this?" Zan smiled. "Don't actually tell me, Lise...have you been seeing someone else while I was gone? And a faunus for that matter? That's hilarious!"

He laughed out hysterically. He pointed the gun at Cheshire again, ready to pull the trigger.

"Hand over the remote," Zan said. "Or I'll shoot your brains out."

OOC: Inside the catacomb-like library

"Sounds like the fight has started up there..."

Gunfire's sounds are loudly echoing from above, making the patrolling guards distracted. Sylvian's blood is now on fire, as she craves to destroy the ceiling and comes to where Liseran is. But Vixen's touch stops her from doing so.

"Damnit... Gotta be calm... " Sylvian engages her Impala Gracia into combat shields mode and unleashes her aura. "I'll be charging in. Lucina, cover my back, would you?"

Sylvian's semblance activates, as she jumps into the panicked guards' formation and breaks them down with her shields. Immediately, all of the remaining guards around the area turn their guns toward her and launch their barrage.

"Not that easy!" She covers herself with the shields to block the bullet shower. This should keep them companied long enough for Vixen to reach the bomb.