Rescue Mission (Michael's gang)

[michael]

The Pandemonium, as Michael had now lovingly dubbed his increasingly crazily crewed freighter, drifted quietly in orbit over the planet Earth. Michael was sat quietly in the pilot's chair, his feet up on a small footrest he had picked up during their last shopping trip, while he watched the continents of the planet below slowly move by as they moved in the opposite direction to the planet's rotation. Quietly he sipped from a cup of tea in a properly English manner, apparently having decided he was taking the day off.

It had been three and a half months since Michael had been surprised with the arrival of his fellow Midnight Society officer, Cristofer Bessette. As of yet he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the young man being on board, it was a constant reminder of home and the life he had left behind, but on the other hand it seemed Chris had no desire to speak of home or past lives either so perhaps it was not all bad. A beeping came from the communicator built into the control panel and Michael sighed, reaching over to hit the button and allow the communication through.

"Sanford-San!" And elderly japanese man appeared on the screen, stood in the interior of what looked like an old buddhist temple.

"What is it, Matsudi?" he asked, sounding distant while he continued to watch the world go by.

Matsudi was one of the few people on Earth who knew of daemons, that hadn't had contact with anything from off-world, or with Michael until he had brought the spirit of nature who they had named 'Rhea' after an ancient goddess to the temple to be safe. He was a part of the Akitou clan, an ancient clan who in his home universe had also had powers much like Michael's own, in the prime universe however they had no such abilities - that did not mean that they did not have all the guile and skill in samurai swordsmanship as their counterparts however.

"Rhea has been taken!" he exclaimed, his calm demeanour failing him. "The Vaticanus came in the night with sorcery and daemons, they stole her away!"

"What?!" he cried, suddenly kicking back so that he came into view properly in front of the screen and had spun his chair to face it. "We'll be there shortly."

He saw Matsudi give a bow as he cut off the communication and turned the ship toward Earth, activating the cloak as they came down over Japan unnoticed. Allowing Pendant to stop the ship he walked over to the ship intercom, pressing the button so that it beeps all over the ship to indicate a message was coming through.

"I want everyone in full gear in the bridge, five minutes ago." he said, releading the button before he went to his own room to get his uniform on, along with his sword and sidearm.

---

Cristofer Bessette:

Chris, who by this point had made himself at home in one of the several cargo holds on board, sat surrounded by computer systems both human and alien - some were fully completed computers and others parts to make them. He looked up from a circuit board he was working on and frowned, putting it down and sighing to himself.

"Oh, 'e sounds angry." he murmured, pushing himself up from his position cross-legged on the floor. "Better not keep 'im waiting."

He made his way out, grabbing his glock and sabre on the way out along with his uniform jacket, throwing it on while he walked through the bowels of the ship up toward the bridge all the while wondering what had made Michael sound so agitated. He could only presume they would likely be going into some sort of situation, otherwise they would not be asked to be in full gear.

"What a drag, 'e interrupted my gift making." he complained, to nobody in particular as he climbed up a deck.

[sarah]

Sarah glanced up from the flaring blow torch melting metal together carefully, turning the flame down she squinted through some musky goggles. Throwing down her tools she grabbed her gun and headed to her room taking out a pair of black combat trousers, knee high doc martins coloured a metalic dark blue and a three quater length black vest top. To the side of her bed layed out was her old army jacket which she grabbed and wrapped around her hips and a bullet proof vest, even though she knew it provided little protection in the universe it felt stupid to leave without it on. Turning around to her mirror she nodded pulling her hair up which had recently been given a cut so that it was now shoulder length into a high pony tail, the fringe as always swept off to one side. "Presentable.. now.." Bending over she'd rummage under her bed and grab her duffle bag already filled with weaponary that Sarah had always felt best for her combat style, other such useful materials such as rope, first aid etcetera that would help them all. Her clothing was already laden with her weapons meaning she was quickly ready for combat. Forgetting about her musky goggles lodged to her forehead she went out to the bridge with a sniper rifle that she had adjusted to suit multi-verse standards hoisted on her shoulder waiting for everyone to cluster. She had made it a personal goal to not talk to the new commer as she still reffered to him as unless absoloutley neccessary, she also had began becomming less social on the ship even with pendant and Michael, spending most of her time alone at her work bench. It would have been two weeks since she last came out ready to spare more than one word to either of the three in habbitants. Reaching to her pocket she took out a lolly pop and stuck it in the corner of her mouth leaning against the metal wall as she waited, always reliable to be ready and listening no matter her mental state.

[joseph]

Joseph sat cross-legged on the floor of his room. His breathing was steady as he meditated, though he still found it difficult to calm his mind. Michael barking orders over the intercom didn't help that either, but from the urgency of the command Joseph knew this wasn't a drill.

He stood up and quickly got dressed, having been only wearing a pair of shorts. He put on a black tank top, some urban camouflage combats (the camouflage more a style choice than a functional one, he admitted), a pair of old black leather boots and a leather motorcycle jacket, since he couldn't find a proper combat jacket in his size. He completed the set with a pair of black aviator sunglasses, a semi-automatic pistol in its holster strapped to his left thigh, and an automatic rifle hung over his shoulder. He had to stop to check himself in the mirror before leaving his room and heading to the bridge, still dwelling on how "cool" everything about his new life was. He arrived on the bridge shortly after everyone else had assembled with a "Sup?"

[michael]

Michael was standing with his left hand holding the hilt of his sabre, the other resting on his hip and a grim expression on his face. They had done little in the way of field work, because Michael had wanted to entire both Joseph and Sarah were ready for what they would face, of course Sarah was a already a competent soldier who was experienced with the use of many different kinds of firearm. Joseph on the other hand was a fifteen year old boy and he was sure many would consider him mad for allowing the boy to join them in the field, but then he looked at Chris who had been in the field with them from the age of thirteen and felt more confident in the decision.

"We have a situation," he said flatly, pacing the bridge floor in front of the main controls. "I was hoping to save this information for later, but I've got no choice."

"What is it, Michael?" Chris asked, looking more serious than he normally did between working on computers and flirting with Joseph.

For a moment he paused looking at the floor, he was more phased by this than they would have seen him before, perhaps with the exception of Chris. Rhea had put her trust in him, he had sworn to protect her, she had proclaimed him her knight which made have been a childish folly for her but he had taken it to heart. The spirit of Earth needed to be protected, now she may well be used to unlock the gateway to Earth's destruction and the end of humanity.

"It's a long story, but to explain it simply, every planet has a sentient spirit. The daemons have been seeking Earth's for a long time now, it's the sacrifice they need to open the Hellgate required to invade Earth." he explained, looking up at the three of them. "I named her Rhea, she appeared as a little girl and I gave her to Matsudi of the Akitou clan in Japan to keep her safe. But they have found and taken her, we have to find and rescue her - if we don't then... well I'm sure you all know."

There was a very faint shudder as the ship touched down on the grounds of the Buddhist temple in Japan, outside Matsudi awaited them in his traditional kimono and his wazikashi traditionally kept in the sash which held his kimono together, he looked every bit the old fashioned samurai. Michael walked past all of them and hit the controls for the ramp, walking down it and naturally expecting them all to follow, Matsudi bowed to him respectfully and Michael gave a half-bow in response.

"Sanford-san," he said in greeting. "The Vaticanus have not gone far, I do not believe a daemon helped them and so they are forced to stay on foot. They are in the mountains."

Matsudi turned and pointed at the famous Mount Fuji, Michael looked up at its peaks and frowned, if there were no daemons help them they would need to use technology. Chris placed a hand on his temple, he had a faint headache whenever he looked in a particular direction, he knew this as a sign there was advanced technology in that direction and he looked the others.

"Zey 'ad advanced technology, I can feel it in zat direction." Chris said, pointing in a north-easterly direction toward one of the mountain peaks. "We should go zat way to begin wiz."

[sarah]

Sarah silently listened as Michael half explained the happenings of this emergency, a rescue. She wasn't surprised at the odd secrets that had molded into their relationship, simply nodding in a recipricative manner. When the ship landed and Michael exited to greet the japenese elder she stood at the door way in ear shot of the conversation, bowing her head respectivley as she knew from the culture before turning her head towards the mountain, she was already conjouring a good map of the landscape in her head. Geographically she was rather knowledgable and could help survivability out of combat. It would mean scaling it though, something she wasn't sure the scrawny boy would be able to do, especially if his boyfriends googling at him the whole way. She just hoped they both knew how to shape the hell up, even she knew that she had to. Staying silent as usual Sarah kept her emerald eyes on the mountain, hand locked on her gun as she readied herself for battle. Mental preperations something not many people realised they would need. But she knew she did. As her guard fell she began thinking about numbing the pain of killing lives, no matter the evil it was lives she was going to take. Something any normal human felt scratch at their heart each time.

[joseph]

As Michael explained what they were getting in to, Joseph felt an unexplainably high level of anger towards those who had captured Rhea. He clenched his fists and bit down hard on his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out. He eventually managed to calm down as they all made their way from the ship.

He looked around in awe at the landscape surrounding them. He had always wanted to visit Japan, and seeing it now for the first time made him feel a sense of wonder at the beauty of the land. A calm breeze blew through his hair, now completely back to its natural green colour due to a lack of hair dye. As Chris pointed in the direction he believed the kidnappers had gone, he found himself agreeing.

"I can feel something too, definately that way."

Without waiting for a command to move out, Joseph began walking quickly away from the ship in the direction he somehow knew was correct. He loaded a magazine into his rifle and took the safety off, a grim look of determination in his eyes.

[thomas]

On the opposite side of the mountain, a much smaller and more worn-looking craft was hidden in the tangle of the surrounding flora. It had clearly been badly damaged in the past and at least partially repaired; the tell-tale scars of welding criss-crossed the hull and what was visible of the engine looked like it had been cobbled together in a scrap yard. But it flew, perhaps not at high enough altitudes to reach orbit, but it was enough.

In the cockpit of the three-roomed vessel sat Thomas, dressed in a dark trenchcoat and formal-looking black shirt, dark purple eyes flitted between the various screens mounted to the walls. The array would have been almost impossible for anyone else to make sense of, with a mixture of telivision screens, makeshift radars, ancient looking computers and what looked like an oscilloscope all working together as a scanner. The multitude of wires alone would be enough to put most people off.

Thomas however, understood it perfectly. He had after all been the one to build it out of whatever he could scavenge. And what he saw disturbed him. He had come to Japan because the long range scanner he used to gather signals from his hi-jacked satellites had picked up an energy signature unlike anything he had seen before. In his experience, only demons or their heretic worshippers gave off the type of energy he searched for, and levels this high of it had to mean trouble.

Rising from the bank of monitors he made his way into the cramped cell that served as his bedroom. The only furnishings were a spartan bunk nailed to the wall, a crate containing loose piles of clothes and in the corner, a small table. Kneeling before the table, he lit the pair of candles upon it -using matches, though he could have done so magically- before placing his hands together and closing his eyes, bowing slightly before the beaten crucifix mounted above the table. He prayed as he always did, for forgiveness for the violence and he was about to commit then rose silently, touching his hand to the metal cross around his neck before moving to the other room.

This, by comparison, was much larger and packed with various items. Several crates near the back held a large number of books, some relating to religion and the supernatural while many others simply classical works of fiction. In the corner sat a gramaphone, currently silent. Against the largest wall a workbench rested, upon which sat a carefully maintained broadsword and oak crossbow. picking up both weapons reverently and gathering together the handcrafted crossbow bolts, he prepared to leave the ship. He would need to climb the side of the mountain to reach the source of the energy, but he was unfazed. This was just another step.

[michael]

Michael and Chris glanced at one another when Joseph showed such unexpected and unusual confidence, the grim look of determination in his eyes and the fact he actually took point was completely unlike him. Both Michael and Chris decided they might as well follow his lead, he seemed to know where he was going even better than Chris did with his faint headaches when looking in the direction of high technology.

The group would continue into the hills toward the mountain, keeping off the paths to ensure they were not ambushed easily, but it seemed that whoever had Rhea was not leaving traps this far behind them - it was likely as they got closer things would get worse. Chris, despite what Sarah might have expected him to be doing, moved up to walk with Joseph but made no attempt to flirt with him. His left hand rested like Michael's on the hilt of his officer's sabre, which looked a little less flash than Michael's much like his uniform's epaulettes.

"You seem to know where you are going, Josef." he said, looking serious when talking to the boy for once. "I can't 'elp but wonder 'ow."

Even though he spoke to Joseph, Chris' eyes remained alert on their surroundings, not actually looking at him when talking. Walking just behind them Michael seemed to be paying little attention to things as he kept holding and rubbing his head, as though he was having sudden but brief pangs of pain. It took then around ten minutes to reach the foot of the mountain and by this point the pain was increasing, he raised his hand for them to stop to discuss their plan before they continued.

"Alright, we need to be careful." he said, pointing up toward the peaks. "They're sure to know we're coming."

"Michael," Chris said pointedly. "Your nose."

Michael lifted two fingers to press against his nostrils, when he felt something wet he pulled them back to find blood staining his fingers. He gripped his head tighter and closed his eyes firmly, then suddenly he gripped the sides of his head with both hands as a screech none of the others would be able to hear filled his head. He cried out in agony and the pain was so severe that he fell to one knee, his eyes clenched tight and the bleeding from his nose continued as the blood of one nostril ran down over his lips and across his chin.

"Michael!" Chris cried, running to his side and grabbing him as he finally collapsed. "Don't do zis to me big brozer. Come on, you can fight zis."

He lay Michael back and looked up at the pair of them, Chris seemed to know what was going on, but then he would having known Michael for years now and having fought with him back in their own universe.

"'e is under intense mental pressure," he explained, "Zat explained ze enemy's advanced technology. Zey are using it to give off a frequency psychics are susceptible to. If we can find ze machine I can easily deactivate it, but 'e will not be able to continue until we do."

His eyes rose to Sarah, who he gave all respect due to her rank now, she was in charge after all with Michael unable to act. "It is up to you, captain. 'e is incapacitated, you are in charge."

[sarah]

Sarah despite her love for michael made no advancement in a hurry towards the collapsed man. Instead she reached into her duffle bag retrieving a purple velvet first aid kid which she threw to Chris. Pressing her knuckle to her lips she gazed ahead slowly exhaling as she began her measurements, her other hand idoly tapping at her gun. "Chris, take Michael back to the elder he's only weighing us down now. Your the fastest of us all and I have faith you will be able to relay the message of what is happening to him best. Meanwhile myself and Joseph will continue a scouting mission ahead, traps and such will be marked with red strips of cloth if we have not been able to disable them so that you are aware when to keep an eye out. Please be sure you pick these up or hide them when you return. We will wait at a vantage point where we can keep a close eye on our enemy, as Joseph knows the way it'll be profitable for him to lead us there." Pausing, not for a rebuttle but for her own quick double over her plan she parted her lips to nip her knuckle. She was a completley different person when she had lives on the line, her eyes seemed far more aged and experienced as she relieved the correct strategies she learnt about. Throwing down her bag once again she'd retrieve a flare gun holding it out to Chris along with a communicator ear piece. "Use this if your in trouble granted it'll be a life or death situation due to the factor it'll give away your position. Don't use it lightly, I can't garanetee we'd get to you before the enemy. Secondly, use this-" Holding her hand up she'd subtly signify that he should use channel 4.5. She wasn't taking chances that they might already be under serveillence. Again she'd pause for a minute to try and see the gaps in her small plan, she would make up a more sound action orientated plan when they knew what they where up against. "We might be spotted as our colours do not match the surrounding of this mountain and I highly advise if we can to stick to a more hidden route, even if it takes us longer I want us to avoid the enemy for as long as possible." With that she waited for the two to comment a rebuke to her plan, though she was sure that it was by far the best they had to go on. Meanwhile she glanced at Michael as she fought back a wave of tears, she was scared without Michael she was nothing but a nieve human, and she was scared for what was happening to him. But her sturn expression did its best to hide the compassion in her eyes.

[joseph]

Joseph fidgetted constantly as they made their way over the mountain. He was like a dog on a fox hunt, anxious and brimming with energy. He responded to Chris with a mere shrug and nod of his head as he indicated the way to go - he was too focused on the task at hand to really pay much attention to anything that was said to him.

When Michael fell, Joseph didn't show concern like Chris, or do anything as practical as offer first aid and a plan like Sarah, no - he waited, clenching and unclenching his fists while Sarah gave her orders, then without much warning he punched a nearby rock, splitting it in half.
"Let's go then!" he shouted, "We've wasted enough time as it is already. They're getting farther away, and Rhea's really frightened. Come on, Sarah, let's move it."

Unlike before, Joseph didn't wander off on his own, but rather waited for Sarah to get a move on as well. Now that they were closer to the enemy, he didn't have quite as much confidence, which would be clearly noticeable by the way he hesitated with every step, and by how much his hands were shaking.

[cris]

Chris took the earpiece from her and placed it on his ear, setting it to the channel she indicated and then he lifted Michael up, slinging him over his shoulders carrying the man quite well considering how skinny Chris was in comparison to Michael's more athletic build. "I will meet up wiz you as soon as I can." he said, his eyes flickering to Joseph briefly as he acted strangely and completely unlike himself. Turning on his heel he took off back down the hills toward the old temple, Michael slung over his shoulders and unresponsive aside from still breathing.

"Everything will be alright, Michael. Just 'ang in zere." he said reassuringly, though he had no idea whether or not Michael was even able to hear him.

He hoped the others would be alright, this was surely their first time facing the Vaticanus alone, he had no idea how Sarah would handle it and Joseph was acting erratic and strangely concerned over the well-being of a girl he had until that day never even heard of. Inside the temple, Chris had Michael placed on a traditional Japanese bed, meaning that it was on the floor and then bade Matsudi farewell as the old man knelt beside Michael with water and a cloth to at least clean up the blood on his face due to the nosebleed.

"Be careful!" Matsudi called after him.

"I am always careful!" he called back, the trek back up was going to take much longer.

[sarah]

Sarah watched as Chris left before advancing to grab Joseph by the shoulder and turn him around catching his chin with her other hand as she glared with aggrivation, though her voice showed understanding that was all too well felt on her part from her experience yet she had learnt herself to control such raw emotions. "Listen princess, right now there is a little girl out there who is scared out of her mind and she dosn't need things being worse by a guy who's freaking out before he's confronted those ahead of him. So either calm down and help her, or go back home. And I don't mean the ship. I mean go home." She let that information sink in for a moment before ascending by herself, her gun being held in both hands now as she came to the end of the makeshift path looking up at the place they'd have to scale. What she said was true, people who panic get people killed, people who snap at their team members are even worse. She'd be better off alone despite the longer length of time it would take her to reach the hostage. Figuring a safe route out she turned to see if Joseph had made up his mind, her eyes glaring accusingly at him then with pity to the shattered rock. She was going to show no compassion to the boy, she would treat him like one of her men. He was following her orders now, atleast she hoped he'd have the common sense to. She'd shoot him if it came down to him deciding to run off alone. Stop him being able to run.. she knew it was for the best if it came down to the options. But for now, she hoped he'd understand that patience is the only option for them.

[joseph]

Joseph said nothing as Sarah reprimanded him. He forced himself not to make eye contact, and when she walked away he stood perfectly still for some time, staring down at the ground with a vacant look on his face. He hadn't realised just how he had been acting until now, and didn't even know why he was so angry in the first place. He adjusted his jacket and dusted off some dirt from his knees.

As Sarah stood staring at him, he slowly walked up to her. "They've stopped for now, must have made camp. They're about a mile and a half away." He pointed in the direction they should be heading so that Sarah had a better idea of where to go. "Maybe you should take the lead this time."

All the while he talked to her he still didn't make eye contact, instead looking down at Sarah's boots. He looked every bit the dejected teenager after being told off. Finally, he gathered his nerves and looked up at Sarah's face. He stood to attention and saluted, "Ma'am."

[sarah]

Sarah nodded with the reamended pride of a superior as she looked up at the rock surfact spinning her gun around to her back. "Keep an eye our for any traps, though I am unsure if we will be able to spot them as their native race and choice of armoury is unknown." As she said this she raised her hand to the rock and began to scale up the surface, there was a ledge to their right just visable if they craned their neck high enough. As she diagonally ascended she held up a hand craining her neck to an odd angle noticing the catch of the sun against a reflective metal. Turning her head she made sure Joseph was with her before adjusting herself so she could lean with her back against the rock surface and her hands free for her gun to take aim at the metal through a scope. It was small and just by chance she had caught sight of the small metal turret ready to blow a small painful hole through one of their legs to stop their movement no doubt. Taking aim she fired the gun sending the turrent into pieces before placing a ripped piece of red cloth around a stuck out branch. "Let's keep going.. dosn't seem to be much advanced traps ahead, but those turrets will be a pain." She continued with that ledge as their goal, missing the numerous well hidden turrets in the cracks of the mountain. Shooting them all would take too long they only hoped Chris would find the cloth.

[thomas]

Oblivious to the group ascending the mountain, Thomas clung to the side of the steep cliff he was trying to scale. his wings flared out behind him, shifting continuously to help balance him as he climbed. While he could have flown to the top, he would have stood out painfully- scraggy black feathers and scattered dull scales covered the twisted limbs with claw-like bone spikes protruding where the ribs ended. His wings looked more like they belonged to a daemon than a devil, the likelihood being that Thomas' inability to distinguish between the two was subconsciously causing him to change their appearance.

Reaching a ledge, he slumped back against the rock to catch his breath and view his surroundings. Climbing the mountain had forced him to start circling round it in order to find handholds, bringing him closer to Michael's group. Close enough to see them for the first time.

From his higher vantage point, he was able to make out a blur of movement coming from further down the cliff. Pressing himself closer to the cliff face, he tried to make himself less visible while trying to get a better look. A second later, he caught sight of Sarah and Joseph moving along a mountain trail below him. Once he confirmed they had no obvious demonic features, he relaxed slightly and reached into a pocket for the minaturised radar he had built from a digital watch and a smartphone. Noting that he was high enough now, he pocketed the device once more and turned his attention to moving along the ledge and finding more handholds.

He also noticed that the two humans below seemed to be heading in the same direction as his scanner pointed; that concerned him a little, but he was willing to consider it a coincidence. They could be tourists for all he knew. If they got too close to the demons then he would either have to save their lives or end them when they too proved to be the damned masquerading as the living.
"Whatever God's will is will be." He murmered.

[joseph]

As the pair continued to scale the mountain, taking out several more turrets along the way, Joseph prepared himself for what was to come. He knew they were getting closer and closer with each minute that passed, and the constant sense of Rhea's position reassured him that the group hadn't moved. He expected to be worn out by now by the amount of physical exersion involved, but he still felt fresh and not tired in the slightest. This puzzled him, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and focused only on the objective at hand.

When they had been hiking over more level terrain for several minutes, Joseph suddenly grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled her down behind a large boulder.

"They're just over the next ridge, I'd say about two hundred meters in that direction." he pointed towards where he sensed Rhea's presence, just west of their position. "I think we should wait for Chris. We don't know how many of them there are.."

He looked Sarah directly in the eyes now, pleading with his eyes that they wait for Chris to catch up. He gripped his rifle tightly in his right hand to stop his arms from shaking, which by this point was pointless as his entire body shook with nerves, something Sarah would surely pick up on. He was suddenly very aware of how unprepared he really was for something of this magnitude. It would surely be a trial of fire for him, and a shadow of doubt hung heavily over his thoughts.

[sarah]

As she was grabbed she nodded without glancing at Joseph staring over to where he had pointed. The brown dirt was dusted in a thick layer of snow, the altitude alot colder where they had reached but adrenaline kept Sarah warm for now. Ahead of them around the corner sticking out was the sign of a comouflaged tent, very well hidden against the white background. Placing down her duffle bag she began to set up a silencer for her gun along with a small multi-verse technilogical device she picked up at a market. It was a small camera that would allow them to see just around the corner but nothing too far away as it was still in repairs. For now the footage would only show them to exteria of the incampment. Steering the vechile into place she turned around to a small tablet poking out of her bag that showed a massive space on the ledge that was amiss, the tents dotted around it with no real visable sightings of people. She frowned staring at the screen as they both had no choice but to wait of Chris, she slowly plotted her next move that would involve Chris being able to spot the technical sides of things which is what she needed to know. Meanwhile she turned to Joseph, pulling him next to her as she huddled to him to keep warm, the adrenaline wouldn't last that long if they had to wait. She commented in his ear to calm his nerves as she felt him shaking “When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything. But Joseph, right now I am sure that I will not let anything happen to you, Chris, Michael or Rhea. But I need you to do this for me. I need you to stay level headed and on your toes. I'm not asking you to kill, I'm not asking you to throw your life down or to not be scared, i'm asking you to be behind me the whole way. Can you do that?" Her piercing green eyes looked with determination and strength of a leader providing that courage that he could feed off.

[thomas]

Now crouched on a ledge above the encampment, Thomas adjusted the position of his crossbow in his arms as he studied the scene below him. From this position, anyone within the camp would only see him if they looked directly at his vantage point, unlikely when the surrounding snow would likely half blind them. However, because of the angling of it he would be easily visible to Joseph and Sarah, though wether they would notice him in the heat of the moment was uncertain. Nor was it something he considered. His entire mind was focused on analyzing the situation.

What puzzled him most was the lack of life in the tents below. He had encountered groups of sorcerers before and normally there would be at least some activity. Yet as he stared down the sniper's sights attached to his weapon, he could make out nothing. He planned to wait a few minutes more at most, then he would go to investigate. The longer he waited, the more likely the blasphemers would try to set a trap for him.

[joseph]

Joseph had begun to shake even more as the cold set in while Sarah scouted the area. He wrapped his arms around his knees and pulled them close to his chest after placing his rifle down on the ground beside him. When Sarah pulled him close to her, he was stunned for a moment. After how she had been acting, this was the last thing he expected. Her words of comfort soothed him, and helped to calm his shaking slightly. His nerves were mildly eased, but the cold still remained.

In response to her question, he simply nodded. Then, without a word, he pressed his head against her shoulder. In that moment, he was reminded of how his mother comforted him when his strange powers first revealed themselves. She had held him in much the same way as he cried into her arms. Again he pushed these thoughts to the side. He needed to focus. He needed to be strong. It was too late to turn away now. He just hoped Chris would get to them soon. The waiting around was the worst part of all - it gave him too much time to think.

[cris]

Chris had just reached the field of traps, the simple ones were easy to traverse, but suddenly he was forced to go prone as the automated mini-guns fired over his head. He swore quite colourfully to himself as he crawled across the floor, just under their arc of fire because they could not lower only turn from side to side. "Oh zey zink zey can get one over on me?" he muttered, crawling further and hiding behind a fairly thickly trunked tree as bullets continued to pelt it it was thick enough to provide him cover at least for a while.

He closed his eyes and let out a stressed breath, focusing his mind in the way he had been taught during his time in the society, reaching out he felt almost like Neo in the matrix as his mind almost literally delved into the coding of the turret targetting computers. He managed to re-write two of them in his mind alone and they turned, firing on the other turrets which couldn't react because they were not programmed to fire on something just because it was firing on them. "Ah, take zat. You cannot beat ze technopaz."

He stood up when the turrets ceased firing and ran about picking up the two he had reprogrammed, deciding they would come in useful he carried them both over his shoulders before beginning to run, only to pause and look at them both on his shoulders. He smirked to himself, "I am ze fucking terminator," he told himself, laughing quietly and then shaking his head. "Alright, enouzh games."

He sped up again not having to ask where they were, he merely used his powers to follow the signature of pulses he recognised from Sarah's communicator. Once he arrived he put the turrets down carefully as he too went down to ensure he remained out of view, he pointed at the turrets sheepishly and gave a grin. "I zought zese may be useful to us."