Mission: Search and Recapture

The Forest of Annou, a large forest area that covered a large part of Central. Sirix could feel the magic from the place almost pouring out of the place. Fitting that they would hid here, with the forest's magic covering the area. It'll be difficult to track them down.

They continued to walk a little further in, while Sirix asked, Can you sense any of our targets' mana?
I'm afraid I can't. The magic around here is messing up my senses. My apologizes.
Don't worry about it.

A girl was running when she tripped on the roots of a tree. "Gah!" The rest of the group looked back.
"Hey don't slow us down! Hurry up!" The eldest of the group lifted her to her feet. "We can't let those witch hunters catch us!"

[STD]

A storm started to brew over the Forest. It started to rain lightly, it was only a matter of time before the full force of the storm was to be in full effect. The sound of thunder was heard in the distance and periodically the flash of lighting appeared. The forest's magic was soon to be invoked once the full force of the storm was to appear.

[/end]

The storm was coming faster then he had expected, the black depressing clouds were already about to burst. Thunder sounds were roaring nearby. It was just how he remembered the last time he was there; fear, cold, and hopeless mixed inside him, as it grew worse with the storm. He didn't take notice of the little witch who fell and her comrades which were a few steps away. He was about to scream until something came over him, the feeling from before were gone, he felt a different urge, it was the urge to senselessly kill the bloody witch infront of him. He tried to slap some sense into himself, but the images he saw turned gruesome, even his nightmare was becoming real unlike before he had already forgotten what they were doing.

He grabbed Sirix soft slender shoulders, hesitated before saying a word. "Sirix, somethings not right, and I'am not quite not right at the moment, ARGHHHHH."

In that moment he had lost it, he felt endless power coursing through his veins. His grip got tighter and tighter, stuggling to not injure Sirix. The tip of the dagger, poised at her neck,"Sirix, do you have a gun..., if you do can I kill you, pretty please."

[STD]

The storm was in full effect. Rain was pouring heavier, thunder and lightning appeared through the sky more frequently and in a periodic manner. The visibility became took a turn for the worse with all of the environmental factors.

In the assignment folder, there's a description of each witch written by Arkrius.

"Yasu: The youngest of the four witches. She appears to be around thirteen. She looks rather pale, light brown hair, seems to be around 5'2.

Selina: She appears to be around fifteen or so. She has black hair and is fairly tanned. I'd say around...5'4

Elina: Last I remember of her...she had green hair and a little bit pale. Height...5'5...

Hana: The eldest of the four. She looks to be around her late teens, real age unknown. She's tanned, dark brown hair. 5'6."

On the bottom of the page, there's a note: "Oh, if you can, get me one of their hats. I need the mana recharge. Thanks."




[/end]

Sirix could feel the distortion of magic in the forest. It was sinister, so much that it prickled her skin and gave her a headache. Suddenly Vorst had a dagger on her throat, while asking, "Sirix, do you have a gun..., if you do can I kill you, pretty please."
"I don't, and..." In an instant, Castro used piercing needle. He aimed to inflict scratches on his hand, and the rest aimed for his clothes, nailing Vorst to a nearby tree. "..I'm afraid I'll have to reject that offer." She reached for her rings, just in case he would go berserk.

Bullets came showering at him, as he quickly dodges to the right, leaving dagger on the ground, however part of his clothe didn't make it, some were torn apart by the impact. He took them off, and charged right at her. Just as he was about to strike, he was gone and out of sight. He was standing behind her, with maher poised at her neck again, trickles of raindrops poured down, every single drop that made it's way on maher turned frozen solid. It made maher look like an indestructible sword, where only the grim reaper would use.

While in reality, the bullets were actually needles and he left his jacket stuck on a nearby tree. Any projectiles he sees will look like bullets to him, since to Vorst dream and reality had completely been fused togather and telling them apart is almost impossible.

(mana: -20)

Castro wouldn't let him get a chance to hurt his master. Needles started appearing all over the cloak until it was completely covered with spikes. At this rate, we'll just exaust ourselves and waste time. She activated her rings, which turned into chakrams. She could feel the mana flowing in her, preparing to attack as she didn't have any intention of letting this fight last.

(Mana - 4)

Vorst looked over his shoulder, and saw one of the weirdest things he had ever seen. Tiny gun barrels were poking out of her cloak, all pointed towards her surroundings. Soon realizing that she was an ally since the witch he was after doesn’t manipulate guns rather bullets. He put maher down but didn’t take his eyes of Sirix even for a second. Because he felt someone else was there right behind her, and it was no cat or dog in the least. In mere seconds, a giant hand came swooping down in the air after, aiming for them.

Vorst wasn’t in the mood to fight giants, after this little friendly fire episode. He didn’t said a word, standing calmly as he stared at the arm. An enormous black portal appeared in front of Vorst and so did another in the far right. It went inside, and reappeared as loud “KLANG” trailed not far behind. He took a look to his right and saw the thing which looks exactly like nemesis. He felt like it was just the other night, he watch “Resident Evil 2” while screaming himself to death.

(mana: -10)

Hysterical laughter echoed through out the forest, even reaching central headquarters. For a second the world went silent as they stayed quite for it to end yet it didn’t, more voices were joining, grew and grew until it faded, and the world went back to it’s normal ways. Acting like nothing had happened. A warm cozy feel came hovering in the forest, it was more like a welcome sign to the witches as they hurried on and disappeared inside the trees.

Nemesis, however was gone the moment someone started to laugh. Vorst sighed, realizing he had just wasted a good amount of mana on it. He really wanted to kill himself from such an embarassment, wishing he had realized sooner what Nemesis intended to do. He walked back to where his jacket was, his face faced down, sulking. It was proabably the second time he had fallen in delusion, the forest cast and now he must pay the price. He thought to himself how Sirix will see him now,”What have I done, I almost killed her, and because of me we lost them and will have to pull an all nighter. I knew something like was bound to happen but didn’t expect it to be this quick. Ahhh.... What am I going to do now, the situation is pretty messed and I’am still seeing things, even I’am seeing Lycan stripping in.... Boy does she look hot, wait what am thinking.” Vorst slapped himself a few times and did a pretty good job on hurting himself.

He stopped just inches away from the tree where his jacket laid stuck upon. He took a look inside its pockets which were still unharmed. He found some candy, and a frozen nut bar. He couldn’t fit all them inside, so he ate the nut bar and tossed some candies to Sirix.

“Here catch, your going to need all the energy you can.”

STD

There was a quiet growl throughout the forest. It seemed to come from all directions of the forest thanks to the vast size of it. There were faint blue fiery eyes that appeared throughout the entire forest. There was a horrible smell...it smelled like rotten flesh.

Vorst thought he had left them in his past, nothing more then mere dreams yet he was obviously wrong. By the hungry sound which echoed on and on, he could tell they were coming and of course they were the main dish. He found himself staring of into the woods, as the hundreds, restless, foot steps came near. He closed his eyes, wishing they were gone the moment he opened them yet it became louder. With the equipments he had left, it was only a matter of time before judgement falls. He knew they had to work fast, but how?

A flashback on they’re first encounter with them, played inside his head, but the screams, and the blood were all he could remember. “It was something about escaping, or upgrade... darn can’t seem to recall what happened. I was wide awake so theres no need for me to forget...” One by one they were out of the woods and were heading towards Vorst and Sirix. The smell would had easily made Vorst vomit if it weren’t for the tobacco smell Arkrius had always had. He scanned the surroundings, looking for a way in. He couldn’t find one without exhausting himself before the real fight except charging foward and kill all who stands in his way. “Well this is going to be bothersome and fun” He grinned at the idea.

He remembered what his mother said to him when fighting large numbers. “Listen, I’am only going to tell you this once and only once and don’t make me repeat myself. If your running low on mana and theres alot after you, don’t just ran away. Charge at them, while keeping your eyes and head focus, just swing your sword a couple of times and I don’t fuckin careif they miss. Just swing your sword like a wild man, and don’t forget to bash them on the head from time to time or else they’re going to get ya.” She laughed afterwards. There was one time when she actually did what she had told him to do in those situation and worked; for once he smiled. He charged right at them, with a roar so loud that the entire forest quaked in fear.

“Let’s get it in on BITCHES”

STD

The eyes had stopped appearing all over the place and stood still for a moment. There was heavy breathing and a loud growl before it attacked. It rushed towards Vorst at an amazing speed, clearly beyond human capabilities and had it's talons extended. It had attempted to cut and dig it's talon's into Vorst.

(You cannot instakill this zombie.)

Sirix ate calmy, despite what happened. She calmed herself, trying to prevent Castro from attacking Vorst. Feeling the surroundings, she felt an emotion of some kind. What is this? Anxiety?[i] She felt some kind of timgle inside her, a kind of sensation that she couldn't describe. It was very strange for her.

Footsteps were heard, and Sirix went on the defensive. She twitched from the awful smell in the air. [i]This is great. She saw Vorst charge with enthusiasm. She waited a few seconds to charge up on her left chakram (her chakrams were still out this whole time) and used Chaser on the incoming opponent, aiming at its arm to weaken its attack.

Vorst kept on charging forward despite the fact he was out numbered, the first waves of zombies were rather slow and some even fell on they’re own. It was funny watching your enemies fall before you without having the need to attack yet something felt wrong seeing them that way. Instinctively he held his guard, and they came leaping at Vorst, it’s arms stretch far apart, like leopard pouncing its prey. Vorst saw one that came with its jaws wide open. He plainly stabbed it through the mouth as the force did the rest. He took a step forward, swings maher around in fiery spin, as he danced alongside them with his blades drenched in blood. He didn’t bother blocking most of the attacks since they were barely on target, though some scratches and bruise started to appear. Four more fell yet one got up again, desperate to move with its limbs missing.

The zombie circled Vorst, stood well away from his range. A murderous growl came from above, with metallic sounds not far away. He looked up to see a bunch of zombie wielding weapons falling they’re way here. Vorst Impaled the ground underneath using maher and little patches of ice appeared on the ground below. Glacier shards burst into the open, killing anyone who stood in its path. There were cries of pain and death, leaving the zombies disembodied. Those who survived had lost most of its body part and left with nothing but the head. For a moment the forest looked like an icicle waste land. Iceberg V2

The zombies from above landed with loud “THUD”, weapons held high in the air as they slowly moved closer, taking each step with care. Vorst who had exhausted nearly all he had, knew they were quite different from the rest. He needed more time before he could get moving.

(Health: -100, Mana: -235)

More zombies landed nearby just as Vorst got rid of the ones in front of them. They started to approach them, and Sirix noticed how exhausted Vorst was. She took off her cloak and tossed it aside.
Master!
Just wait. I'll call you when I need you
Castro had no choice but to lay there like an inanimate object, obeying his master's will.

Sirix had her left chakram come back to her hand and ran to the nearest zombie by Vorst. She sliced its hand that held its weapon and it yelled with fury. Kicking backwards, she kicked Vorst away, seeing how he wouldn't be of any help if he couldn't fight. With no one in the way, she sliced through the air, and quick flashes of light appeared. The zombies fell, their limbs have been cut off, screaming. Blood splattered everywhere, covering the ground all red. {Raging Fury}

She sighed, rubbing her arms and glad that the tattoos didn't show. She was about to turn around to face Vorst when she heard a slashing sound on her left shoulder. She gripped it, blooding flowing from the wound. She saw that one of the zombies had thrown its weapon, slicing her shoulder. Its right limbs had regenerated, as if it had never been cut, and its left limbs were slowly being reattaached to its body. The others followed, some being able to stand up or hold their weapons again. Not good.

(Health - 50, Mana -40)

Vorst was sent back to the rear by her kick. It was rather embarrassing being tossed aside by some stranger and a girl as well. His own pride was getting to him yet he stood firmly still, watching her move gracefully in the air, leaving down pour of blood upon her. He was stunned to a point he couldn’t say a word. One of the zombies however took this advantage, silently rushing forward as to not wake Vorst from his daydream. He was a couple inches away from dealing a deadly strike but Vorst caught its scent. Its body was large and had a tiny opening between his legs. It carelessly took one larger step, making a fatal mistake as Vorst slides underneath, impaling maher onto its crouch. It fell down hard on both knees, with its back completely opened. Vorst stomped on its head, making sure it wasn’t going to move anytime soon as he got closer for the final strike. He held dagger high in the air, suddenly two more came after him. It was close but he somehow manages to dodge them with one quick jump, struggling with the landing and got himself up on his feet.

Damn, they aren’t going to make it easy, are they? Mahers stuck and two zombies are guarding it.

He took another look at them; the sight wasn’t pretty but just enough for another wild idea to appear. He threw dagger near its neck, from how they reacted, a zombie’s head was sent flying in the air. Vorst watches with delight at the both of them completely fooled by their own aggressiveness. A smirk appeared on his face, meaning they were next to fall.

“Those two are mine; you can handle the other two.” Vorst said with an evil grin at the idea he had in stored for them.

Sirix decided to go with Vorst's idea and faced to the two other zombies. They made larger steps each time they approached her, in order to get the advantage with numbers. She merely waited for them to get closer, until they were about a feet away from them. She jumped, and landed on their backs. They fell forward, and landed face-first into the ground.

Sirix walked a bit before turning to see the zombies had picked themselves up again. They looked a her and growled, their fowl smell filling the air. She stepped backwards, and they stepped forward, following her. That's right, come follow me. Looking back to see where her supporter, she thought, Castro, get ready. She kept going back, at the spot where Castro was.

Sirix was just about a few steps from Castro. Hey, I apologize in advance for this.
Master?
She jumped backwards and landed right where Castro was with a "Thump!" She could hear her supporter's words as if he was yelling. Gah! The zombies followed, jumping just to where she was, weapons high. Sirix immediately retreated, and the zombies also landed on Castro.
Now Castro!
Whip like ropes suddenly appeared from the black cloak, wrapping themselves around the zombies until they couldn't move and their weapons were pryed out of their hands. They struggled, yelling and trying to rip apart the ropes, but to no avail.
Caught like rats. Nice work Castro.
Yes, but did you have to jump on me?
Was it on your face?
No, master.
Then I don't regret it.
Sirix walked up to the zombies, who were still struggling to get free. She sliced their necks, decapitating them as blood poured down their bodies. She went to where their heads had rolled, lifted her leg up high, then brought it down, crushing the heads. Blood splattered on her feet, staining them red. Looking back, the bodies of the zombies fell, the ropes letting them go, unmoving.
That takes care of one detail.
She took out some spare bandages from her pack, and wrapped them around her shoulder wound.

One insane idea after another poured inside his mind, bursting with new excitement like a child getting a new toy. He simply decided to go with them all and see how long they would last. The zombies looked irritated at Vorst who was simply leaving an opening, mocking them while waving his hands in the air and left dagger unraveled on the ground. They looked at each other, nodded with agreement as they rushed forward with their weapons aimed for Vorst. Vorst was quite amused at how careful and quick they’re approach turned out to be; thinking someone from above must had told them what to do. Before anymore thoughts came to mind, they had already arrived within range.

Vorst spun dagger in an endless sphere motion yet they came closer without delay. They forced their way inside, parrying dagger before it could do any harm. With every impact the swings became much faster, accurate and stronger but the chains could hardly keep up, more joints were twisted. One swing however made its way upon the left zombie’s neck, quickly binding it in a deadly tie Roa. The other zombie rushed forward, as it tries to break the chain before anything else happens but Vorst who was already pulling back, made a disappointed face leaving all trace of excitement he had. The chain shatters into tiny little pieces as the blade connects, the brute however made the chain which was binding the zombie to tighten, crushing its neck, decapitating it.

The zombie didn’t look happy, as it stood alone for quite some time like a statue. A high-pitch yet gentle whistle came buzzing through the woods, birds flew out from the trees in scrambles, distracting any leaving beings, Vorst covered his ears from the whistle, by the time he opened them it was already gone without a trace only leaving a pair of large footprints on the ground where it once stood.

"Sirix, don't move, something large is moving." Vorst shouted with his nightmare slowly taking over.

This mana feels strangely familiar... could it be her? soon it disappeared, and the storm was getting worse then he could had imagine but the trail it left behind was still there.

Sirix tied up the bandage, and her wound seemed to feel better, but it was a small matter to her. There was a high pitch sound in the air, and she flinched at the sound. She wondered what it was when Vorst called for her to be careful. She looked around, a zombie body that Vorst defeated and a pair of footprints in the ground. Do we really need more trouble?

The wind blew fiercely, and the storm seemed like an omen of bad things to come. Suddenly, Sirix felt a pressure build up inside her, and she felt pain around her body. She clenched her teeth, trying not to show her agony. A disturbance in mana? Urgh... Castro immediately went came and covered her. Master! Sirix sensed a flow of mana coming to her, soothing her pain. Stop it Castro, I'm fine. She looked up at the grey clouds in the sky. We better not stay here for long.

(Castro mana -30 = 470 total, Health +30)

STD

The four escaped witches have been panting as they have been running away for the past little while. The storm had taken a toll on their bodies and they stopped. They were in the middle of the forest and they looked around. Visions and images of the past, present and future were displayed in front of them. They were confused and started to freak out.

"Calm down. Calm down. If we can lose the Witch Hunter's here, we're home free. We must get to Port Dace, then escape." said Hana.

She motioned for the others to follow. They were still confused and scared by the visions, but followed her. However, little did they realize is that they were walking towards Sirix and Vorst. The magic conflicted with their senses.

Sirix was being to calm down, hardening her mind so she wouldn't be swayed by her emotions. Despite being indifferent about everything, she still had feelings, which she thought were troublesome in times like these. She heard footsteps heading in their direction, and she saw four girls walking out of the forest. She recognized them from the folder Arkrius gave her as the witches they needed to capture. Their faces showed panic and confusion, like they just saw a ghost. Sirix assumed they must be affected by the distorted mana here, so them acting this way wouldn't be a surprise. We found our targets, let's get this over with.

Sirix took out a premade Fire circle from her pack and stuck it Left. She threw it, and it caught on fire. It circled around the girls, creating a ring of fire around them. She heard them shriek from surprise of being trapped. She looked at her right arm, which started to glow. She sighed, it didn't matter to her to keep them a secret anymore.

She was about to call Castro in order to capture them, when suddenly something landed in front of her with great force. She held her arm up in defense, and peered over to see a giant figure twice her size in her way. Judging from the smell, it was zombie, but it was much different than the ones before. It held a giant sword in its back to match its size, and clothed with metal-plated armor on its shoulders and lower body. It stood up, doing nothing at first, then turned its head to look at Sirix. It looked the opposite way to see the girls trapped in the fire.

Another nuisance? Sirix threw Right at the giant zombie. It clanged when it touched its skin, like it was hitting metal, and fell to the ground. The zombie turned towards Sirix, looking at her for a few seconds, then grabbed the sword on its back to swing it down. She managed to dodge, and the sword crushed the ground that Sirix fell back a little. Her eyes widened when she saw that the blow had created a mini crater where she was standing. Looking back at the circle of fire to see it weakening, the flames getting weaker.

Sirix stuck her hand out, calling to her fallen chakram, which then came back into her hand. She had to find some way to get rid of this thing and fast.

(Mana - 50)

Vorst didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the distortion of mana, and was taking it pretty well. His nightmares were gone for the most part but he couldn’t shake off the strange yet familiar feeling he felt. He walked towards maher which was impaled on the ground, as he walked closer, something big landed with loud “Thud” violently shaking the forest. Vorst took a look at the witches who were full of themselves since it landed wiping the scared face they had, surprised to see them trapped by a fire circle.

He quickly pulled maher out of the ground with ease. Vorst aadjusted his footing for a better start, and stares down at it. The armor was something he didn’t expected but the brute force it had was something else. The crater it made just excited Vorst even more. He wanted to charge right at it but it would be a fool fight only counting on luck to win. He watched Sirix, waiting for her to make the first move.

Sirix looked at the seemingly hopeless situation against a tough opponent. Her eyes kept looking back from the giant in front of her and the fire circle starting to weaken. She noticed Vorst nearby, but he didn't seem to have any intention on confronting the enemy. Smart boy. She sidestepped as the giant swung its sword again at her, the ground cracking from the force. It doesn't seem to be interested in anyone but me. Hm...The giant looked up to stare at Sirix, proving her point.

Sirix withdrew her mana from Right, turning back into a ring. She quickly attached it to her belt and put her hand in her bag to look for a blank paper. She never took her eyes off her opponent, who was blankly staring into space. Sirix felt a crackling in her fingers, and grabbed the paper from her pack. She quickly wrote the magic spell circle using her ink finger. When it was done, she threw it at ground underneath the zombie, which started to freeze. Ice cracked, crawling up the zombie's legs and freezing it. It was a few seconds when the zombie looked down to see his legs frozen, and it was unable to move.

Charging up mana, Sirix advanced towards the zombie, not afraid of it now that it couldn't move. She aimed at the legs, and sliced. She managed to make a deep cut, when she intending to cut it completely off, nonetheless, she was satisfied. The zombie looked down at its gashed legs, then looked up dumbfounded on how she could have cut it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Castro looked from afar at her master gaining the advantage in the fight. He was glad that she wasn't hurt, but something seemed off. He noticed after the disturbance in the mana, her tattoos were reacting strangely by distorting her mana. It was balanced throughout her body, but now it was unstable. He began to worry for his master's safety.

(Mana - 65)

((You're free to continue on without Frost. He's been away for a little too long. ))