Forums » General Roleplay » On the Wings of Freedom: 1x1

"Very much worth it," she said in response to her words. She truly felt she would rather die, than go back to those demons of the labs. If they captured her now, she knew there would be hell to pay.

The lack of view caught her off guard, and she attempted to pulsate a light from her body, to clear the area. But Alexis was on her by that moment. She raised her sword, letting the small blade slide away from her against her own in a parry and jumped back, using her wings to get a greater distance than normal. Dark and light... she only experienced such things a few times while in training. She raised her hand, with her pal upward, in front of her. Several orbs of light rose from nothingness around Alexis, swirling around her for a moment, before the flew at her in an attack.

Erasai was pushed back a lot further than she had expected. The wings were certainly paying off at keeping the blonde at a safe distance. the bright orbs that magically appeared around her left her at a stand still. At this point she was in a panic and she raised her arms to defend herself, her lips struggling to call the incantation for a dampening field. The air around her grew heavy and rippled in waves as the light orbs danced around her. By the time the orbs moved in, the field had already begun absorbing the energy, shredding some of the light's potency before they finally struck their target.

Alexis was knocked back, uniform torn more than before and body smoking from the heat. She coughed for air as she looked up at Erasai in the distance. She was definitely a multi-billion dollar project. Alexis knew she couldn't win. But she wasn't going to show it. The mercenary was there simply to buy time. So long as she can put up a fight and survive then all of this would be worth it in the end. Alexis chanted the incantation again, minding her energy reserve which was steadily being used up by the field. If Erasai was going to do that again, at least the dampening field would reduce some of the magic. Again she charged with the bubble of dampening waves surrounding her. "You're going to have to try harder, Erasai," she cried out, firing off three rounds of her gun as she closed the gap again.

She didn't want to try harder than that. She knew she could win. She had been trained to win. But that would mean Alexis would end up mortally wounded, if not actually dead. "Alexis..." she said, wanting to tell her to stop, that she didn't want to fight like this. But instead she just shook her head, as the girl fired three shots. Another thick wall of light rose in front of her, slowing the bullets to a stop before they could hit her.

But then Erasai nearly stumbled, feeling a sudden drop in her energy. It was fading fast... the only draw back to not completing her training. She clenched her teeth as she stood straight again. If she was going to make an escape, it would have to be soon. That meant, she would have to attempt to incapacitate her opponent.

She raised her hand again, and the orbs of light rose once more around their target, flying in another attack.

If it weren't for the light barrier Alexis would be on top of her by now. THe wall had stopped her bullets again as well as slowed her to a stop. If her bullets weren't going to penetrate her defenses, what chance did her blade have? When the dampening field came into contact with the shield, her spell waned at the light's intensity. The spheres were circling around her again and she knew there was little she could do except hope the dampening field would hold.

They flew in, striking the mercenary and she fell limp on the ground. She was still breathing but her mind had gone blank. Moments later, the magic field disperesed, leaving her lying in nothing but crumbled asphalt.

Three black jeeps came rolling in, bearing the mark of a different mercenary group from Alexis. Having dealt with the majority of her mercenary group during the fight, her organization was forced to retreat, cutting their losses in hopes for another chance to strike. They stopped at the end of the road, the gunners at the back of the jeeps pointed Erasai out and signalled in the rest to move in.

More of them. That was the last thing she wanted to see. She was feeling more and more drained the longer she maintain this state. She knew there was little chance of fighting them all, and winning. There was very little choice in what to do. This wasn't going to end well... not unless she ran again. She could fly away, but what were the chances they were ready for that? Did they have anything that could take her down? She might be able to block an attack while flying, but that would send her down, her energy levels would be depleted and she wouldn't be able to maintain her wings.

But she had to try. Running seemed to be her only option. She didn't have nearly enough energy to take them all out with her bigger powers. She barely had enough energy for that when she first took the form.

She watched them, their guns, there movement. And then, her wings expanded to full width behind her and in a smooth motion, she took to the sky, giving an attempt to flee. If she did manage to get away, she didn't know how far she could make it.

Alexis lay motionless, still unconscious from the attack. Her severely damaged phone buzzed and sparked as the broken hologram spoke, "To anyone still on their feet: we're pulling back. I repeat: we're pulling back to HQ 3 that's Henry Quai-" The phone died as the jeeps rolled past the girl. Mistaking her for a civilian casualty with the clothes she wore they simply ignored as they chased after their target.

She didn't know how long she had been out but the sounds of sirens from firetrucks and ambulances finally woke her. The first thing that came to her mind as she tried to move was where Erasai had gone off to and how she can capture her. The second was how to get a hold of command. She needed more than just herself to take the girl down. The sight of her crushed phone was all she needed to see to know that getting a hold of the others wasn't going to be easy. When an ambulance drove by her, Alexis crawled her way to the sidewalk. Recover, she told herself, then I'll figure out how to get a hold of command.

She watched as the jeeps chased her, though they didn't seem to have a means to take her from the sky. She would use that to her advantage. She would slip between large buildings quickly, trying to confuse them, but the light she was giving off seems to make her rather easy to find again. So she continued, having one last idea to lose them.

She flew straight out of the town, into the northern forested area that topped the region. From her studies in Geography and the landscape of the region, she knew there was a lake nearby. And she knew it would be harder for her pursuers to follow on the less than paved paths and roads.

Soon, the sparkling reflection of the slowly rising moon shimmered like a million stars on the watertop of the lake as it grew on the horizon. She picked up her speed, though it drained her even more. Her breath slowly grew heavy, and her vision began to fade, making it harder to see in the distance. But she didn't need to...

Once over the water, she cut of her powers, freefalling from the great height she was at. With any luck, her pursuers would continue looking for her light, rather than watch for her to fall into the water.

The impact into the cold liquid hurt greatly; pain erupted through every part of her body and she felt like every bone in her had broken. Her body sank motionlessly into the depths, before she mustered the last of her strength into swimming under water toward where she thought the lakeshore might be. She surfaced after a short time, gasping for breath and finding herself close to land. She finished the swim, but didn't make any effort past throwing her body onto the shore and passed out there.

Alexis had managed to limp her way back to her apartment and stow away her secret cache of guns as well as some of her and Erasai's clothing in a large cardboard box before the investigators came in to take a look at the damage. Her landowner was pissed. Not at her, of course. He had no idea she was partly to blame for the gaping hole that tore down her wall and some of the second story floor and he was nice enough to give her a vacant room until the recently announced lockdown was lifted. And so she locked herself in, took a shower and dressed in the only available clothes she managed to take from the scene: the ones she bought yesterday. There was no real shirt or blouse to wear so she settled for the bikini top and zipped up the fluffy jacket. The new skirt was off season but she had no choice. And so for the rest of the morning Alexis tried on the apartment phone to contact anyone from her group that didn't have an encryption code on their phone but to no avail. Since her cell was destroyed she had no way of reaching anyone without hearing a bunch of garbled nonsense. She was truly alone now and she didn't like it one bit. The television didn't help either, broadcasting nothing but the news about last night's events, serving as a constant reminder of her failure to capture the target.

A "terrorist attack" they called it. At least that's what the media said. Everyone was informed to remain indoors and keep all doors and windows locked until further instructed. In truth, no one knew what had happened. All they knew was that a hole was blown on one of the Sunny Hill Apartment buildings and some kind of fire fight occurred in between there and the middle of the industrial district leaving the area covered with bullet holes and destroyed road.

What was she going to do now? She had no idea. No one was there to give her orders. Should she go home? But what about P0X5? For once in a long time she had free reign to do something without a preplanned motive and she was afraid. No, she thought, I have something to do: catch P0X5. As she sat alone in the dark room, Alexis finally let sleep get the better of her, the last thought in her mind being an agreement with herself. Stick with the plan.

Sunlight... that was what woke her. But where she awoke was a surprise to her. She recalled the events from last night, long before she actually opened her eyes, but when she did, she didn't recall at all when she would have come to this quaint little house... cabin. Whatever it was, it was very unfamiliar to her. She sat up slowly, noticing she was still wearing her clothes from last night.

She looked around the room. It seemed like any other home, with the basics, except that the walls made it obvious it was a cabin. And that made sense for the location she had fallen. The only explanation she could come to was, that someone found her, and brought her in to safety. But, they may have called the authorities after placing her in bed, so she wouldn't be able to stay long.

She made her way around, holding her arm gently, still feeling a bit of pain from last night. It had probably been broken, along with other bones, but they were well on their way to fully healing.

She found the door, and made her way toward it. She didn't see any sign of anyone being home, so it made leaving unseen a little bit easier. But she still wasn't sure where she would be going.

There came a loud knocking at her door around the late afternoon. It shook her from her sleep, causing her to nearly fall off the couch. Looking through the peephole, she saw a short black man dressed in a nice suit complete with tie, fedora, and leather jacket. Why he was out during the lock down was beyond her. She didn't answer at first but incessant knocking and that knowing grin he gave when he looked at the peephole suggested he knew she was there.

"Evenin' ma'am," he said when Alexis finally opened the door. He looked to be in his early 30s and he tipped his hat at her. "Mind if I step in? It's mighty chilly out here."

"I really can't let anyone in. It's the lock down sorry-" He stuck his foot in before she could close the door and he shoved his phone at her face as a hologram began to play. She couldn't see anything specific except for distinct orbs of light floating under control of this bright presence off to the side.

"Now, I don't know what the hell's goin on in this here video but I sure as hell know you're the one gettin your ass kicked right here... Mind if I step in? You could close the door on me and I could expose you to the media. Your choice." He smiled again when she let him in.

The second the man stepped in, however, Alexis shut the door and pressed the barrel up against head. "What makes you think I'll tell you anything?"

There was a soft click and Alexis felt the pressure of another gun pressing up against her chin. "Cus I can get a gist of what's goin on. You want this person. I know where she went. I'm willing to help."

"And what's it going to cost me?" Alexis asked.

"I'll discuss my terms and you fill me in on what I need to know."

"Location and Observation, Wolfe," came a nearly silent voice over a small radio.

"Sunny Hill Apartment, watching new target location. No movement," said a smooth voice, as a man, sitting in a chair leaning on the back legs watched out a window across the street from the said set of apartments. And just because he was tired of being asked the same question every ten minutes, he turned the radio off. He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head a bit.

Nothing had happened over the past few days, most likely due to the lockdown that the area was under. That only made his job a bit more difficult... and boring. He took a drink of his bottle of water, and his eyes looked back up out the window.

He stood now, leaning nearly against the window. Someone was at her apartment now. A man, dressed rather nicely. A boyfriend? No, she wasn't reported to have one.

"Well, well," was all he said, as he took his special lenses to get a better look. But the door soon closed, and he found himself irritated that he couldn't see what was happening. It was his target, and he finally saw a glimpse of her only to have the door shut in his face... almost literally. He looked to his radio, wondering if he should call this in.

Apparently word had spread quickly about the "angel" in public. Whether this was good or bad had yet to be determined but its news brought nationwide celebration to the religious with the more radical groups opting to take advantage of the heavenly visitor. The man in Alexis' apartment went by the name Soolazu, Zuzu for short, and was the end of a somewhat complex chain of hirees in search of the angel. His job was to simply protect and bring the individual to his employer. How he would come about doing this was completely up to him provided that she is brought back alive and unharmed.

"So let me get this straight, you're a mercenary hired to capture this thing but you got a bunch of rivals pokin' around and when it got down to business you were left for dead while your friends ditched you?" Zuzu asked, smacking his lips in thought. They sat opposite each other on the dining table, both their guns laid out in the middle to show that both were unarmed.

"They didn't ditch me," Alexis replied, "I was unable to respond when they called the retreat."

"And... you still want to find this thing?"

"Correct."

"What are you going to do when you do catch it?" Zuzu smiled when he didn't get a response. "I have a proposition. I know the general direction of where she went, you help me find her, we split the pay. Ten percent sound good?"

"Forty."

"You want the info or not? Twenty five. Not accepting anymore."

And so it was settled. The lock down was removed that same night and Zuzu made it clear that he wasn't the type to waste his time. When the all clear was given, he rushed out the apartment to a black jeep. "You say your powers work better at night, right? We're going to the forest now, then. Spend the night lookin for her, bring her to my employer by day break. Get paid. Easy," Zuzu said.

"You're really optimistic about this. You realize she can fly, right? What happens then?"

"I'm a decent shot. Got a couple tranq darts in the back." He started the car and peeled out onto the road.

And so Wolfe sat, just waiting... like he did for the past week. Or so he thought. He had lost track of the days, and he just knew it felt like a week. He watched the TV, and when news came of the lifting of the lockdown, he couldn't help but nod his head and grin. Maybe now things would start up. He was really tired of just sitting in this room by himself. He wanted some action out there.

He was in his chair once again, looking out the window and across the way. Sure enough, the apartment door opened, and the unknown male, and his target left, heading for a black jeep. Finally he would get out of this place. He went to report through the radio, but stopped. He thought for a moment and placed the device in his pocket instead. He would call it in when he needed to. He needed to follow before he could confirm they were heading to find the experiment.

So he left; walking quickly to his own vehicle. A dark blue SUV soon followed at a safe distance behind Alexis and her companion.

----

Erasai looked up to the starry sky, not quite sure what she was going to do. She shivered slightly, noticing the temperature difference the farther north she went. But she didn't feel like she had travelled very far at all. Her golden eyes looked toward the city, still seeming so close even though she had travelled for most of the time she was awake. And then she looked to the lake, which was a little further than it had been when she fell into it.

How had things gone so bad? She sighed, pulling her legs into her chest, partly to comfort herself, and also to keep her body heat. Her clothes were torn, dirty, and very unpresentable. She wished now that she had taken those clothes she had bought. Or had gone back to her home to get things she needed. But she knew that would be a huge risk.

She mumbled quietly, her stomache growling as she laid back on the ground. She really didn't know what to do. Go to another town and start over? But the same things would just happen again. An endless cycle. She would just have to keep moving... keep running forever.

They traveled up the road as it became less and less lit the deeper it led into the forest. It eventually turned into a gravel road after fifteen minutes of travel that stopped at the lake bed deep in the forest.

"Why here?" Alexis asked, stepping out into the chilly night. This was yet another reason why she would rather not wear skirts.

"Them religious folk said it dropped here the night of. Figured we'd start searching here."

Alexis said no more and climbed down the rocky slope into the sandy lake shore. She wasn't much of a tracker since her specialty was urban affairs but it wasn't too hard to search for human footprints thanks to the city-wide lockdown. After half an hour of walking along the lake shore, she ran into rather distinct sneaker prints that led into the forest.

Zuzu flipped on his flashlight as they walked in. "Ever get paranoid of places like these? I mean tall trees, nothing but shadows in the distance, dead silence... Now I ain't no superstitials with the witches and what not but I ain't gonna throw out the possibilities-"

Alexis shut off the light. "Shh," she said standing completely still.
"Aww, hell. What is it? Witches? Where're they? I got a message for em right 'ere," Zuzu pulled out his gun and sweeped it around, looking into the darkness.
"No. The light makes it hard to detect movement," With the light gone, the shadows were no longer moving under the cone of light. The ssmall imprints seemed to lead all the way to what looked like an unoccupied cabin then out again eastward parallel to the lake shore. Where is she going, Alexis said to herself.

"It doesn't seem like the person she is with is someone she knows... so it can't be on of her 'team'," Wolfe said to himself as he stopped his vehicle back a ways. He stepped out quietly, making sure he had his guns and his knives on him, in case he needed to use them. All there. But he wouldn't be able to engage Alexis with the newcomer there. Or until the experiment was in sight. That was his only objectives: Get the experiment, or get the girl that had interacted with the experiment.

---

Erasai stood, dusting off her skirt as she decided to continue trekking toward the north more. That seemed the only logical thing to do. She gave a heavy sigh, feeling deja vu with the venture to find someplace knew to live... If she could find one. She hadn't exactly kept herself unknown to the world by giving the city a show the other night. There would be so many people after her... looking for her. This would be a lot harder than anything she had done before.

(hey, just wondering if the rp is still going to go on with the issues going on. i'd still like to)

(oh okay. i thought you got in trouble and stuff. plus you blocked me when i tried to ask through messages so, yeah i thought it was done)

The two trudged through the forest, now away from the lake, as Alexis led the way through the darkness. Having Zuzu around was nice since she wouldn't be alone but lugging him around in the forest, tripping over branches he can't see every few seconds, made the trek more frustrating than anything else. She was moving more quickly northward, deeper into the brush. Despite the few days that past, Erasai hadn't gone far. She might have left the cabin only recently for the tracks to be this fresh. The deeper they went, the more unwanted movement she picked up. Deer, foxes, the occasional wolf, all stirred at Zuzu's fumbling.

Finally, around a large wall of trees, she picked up distinct bipedal movement. Whether it was her or not, she didn't know but the tracks had led her this far. "She's here..." ALexis said, raising her hand to stop Zuzu.

"She's, what? Oh shi- you mean the angel?" Zuzu dusted himself off and cleared his throat, "Hey! Hey, you out there? We come to help ya'll. Angel!"

The loud voice caused the blonde to cringe as he was practically yelling into her ear. She had planned a more subtle approach, possibly catching her by surprise and knocking her out but Zuzu, she was reminded, was here to find and protect her until she was brought to the fanatics.

Wolfe stopped where he was when he heard the man shouting... like an idiot. What was he even talking about? Was he calling the experiment an 'angel'? Were there really people that naive, and so quickly? He gave a sigh and leaned against the tree, peering around it just enough to keep the two in his sights. If they were in fact calling to the experiment, then this would be an amazing oppourtunity for him. He reached down for his radio, so he could call back up if needed, but cursed himself lightly as he realized he had left it in his vehicle.

Well, there were only two of them at the moment. And he was expertly trained to take in the experiment if needed, so he felt he could do it if he needed.

Erasai turned quickly, suprised not only by the voice, but the fact that anyone was out this far. It really could only mean those people where looking for her. And that only meant she didn't want to interact with whoever it was following her. She continued, but at a faster pace now, trying to get some distance between them before they realized that she had begun to move faster.

Erasai's shadow profile lurched upon hearing Zuzu's voice and, unsurprisingly, began to move at a more brisk pace. She questioned why she was even letting the man tag along in the first place. She already managed to find her with his insight but he was going to make money out of this. How much exactly was still in question but she had to endure to find out.

"She's moving! You idiot what are you doing?" Alexis scolded.

"I'm a bodyguard. How the hell am I supposed to protect something that's running away from me? Riddle me that." he replied.

"Wait here and let me catch her."

"Aww hell no. And let you run off with her and leave me to rot in the forest? Angel! I'm here to help! I, no, we back at the city want to protect you. We'll help you find your way back to heaven or wherever it is you came from!"

Alexis remained quiet, doing her best to follow Erasai's shadow through the brush. She was getting closer. Whether or not Zuzu was right behind her didnt matter so much. Just as long as she could get her hands on Erasai she'd at least feel accomplished in that sense. The brush cleared for a moment and she got a glimpse of the so-called "angel" once again. Feeling there was no time to waste, she literally leapt from the shadows on top of the girl, struggling to get her in a decent hold.