School House Rumbles 3: Act 3. Warriors and Liberators.

[Tami]

Marko and Eisen are last through the breach before it closes behind the cadets, leaving them alone inside the sealed off area.

The large tower looms over them, the temporal abnormalities registering on their senses.

The lobby and reception area is empty, with no one close by. The disturbances seem to be taking place on the top most floor of the building.

OT: You cannot scale the outside of the building as the barrier protecting it is skin tight. You'll have to go up floor by floor until you reach the top.

Ramilia frowns. Looks like they're going in blind. "Great."

She smiles up at him and draws her own sword. "Let's get this over with so we can finally go on a proper date."

Rivia tries to moves in closer to Cas, Max and Ramilia not wanting to through this building alone....

Suddenly, swirling green portals appeared and swallowed Cammy, Casimir, Eisen, Takeshi, Maxana, Ramillia, Rosemary, and Selma, leaving behind Boss, Iresia, Mack, Rivia, Sloane, Robert, Marko, and Skye.

Just after the portals swallow the first group, a man walks down the stairs toward them, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He wears a suit haphazzardly and is dark hair doesn't seem brushed recently. A sword hangs from his right shoulder as he saunters in.

Sergei Stoneback.

_____

The first group finds themselves portaled into a blank looking white room, about a hundred feet by 100 feet in each direction.

Rivia cursed under her breath, then looked at him, "You...you're the stone man, the golem in my vision. You told him, didn't you?"

[Cleric of Hell's Brigade]

Suddenly, swirling green portals appeared and swallowed Cammy, Casimir, Eisen, Takeshi, Maxana, Ramillia, Rosemary, and Selma, leaving behind Boss, Iresia, Mack, Rivia, Sloane, Robert, Marko, and Skye.

Just after the portals swallow the first group, a man walks down the stairs toward them, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He wears a suit haphazzardly and is dark hair doesn't seem brushed recently. A sword hangs from his right shoulder as he saunters in.

Sergei Stoneback.

_____

The first group finds themselves portaled into a blank looking white room, about a hundred feet by 100 feet in each direction.

Last post curse.

[Yun Lao]

Suddenly, swirling green portals appeared and swallowed Cammy, Casimir, Eisen, Takeshi, Maxana, Ramillia, Rosemary, and Selma, leaving behind Boss, Iresia, Mack, Rivia, Sloane, Robert, Marko, and Skye.

The first group finds themselves portaled into a blank looking white room, about a hundred feet by 100 feet in each direction.

Those portals were awfully familiar and the mere thought brought a smile to Rosemary's lips. She wasn't one to often hold a grudge, but if she right about this hunch, she would enjoy this confrontation.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Suddenly, swirling green portals appeared and swallowed Cammy, Casimir, Eisen, Takeshi, Maxana, Ramillia, Rosemary, and Selma, leaving behind Boss, Iresia, Mack, Rivia, Sloane, Robert, Marko, and Skye.

Just after the portals swallow the first group, a man walks down the stairs toward them, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He wears a suit haphazzardly and is dark hair doesn't seem brushed recently. A sword hangs from his right shoulder as he saunters in.

Sergei Stoneback.

_____

The first group finds themselves portaled into a blank looking white room, about a hundred feet by 100 feet in each direction.

Perfect. Maxana remembers the green portals from Casimir's memory.

Carmen.

A sinister grin reaches her lips. Finally, she can do all the things she said she would do to that four-eyed bitch.

[Eternal Torment]

She'll end up missing the entrance by inches, sorry.

OOC: Ah, well. I suppose this was to be expected.

IC: Three inches was all that separated her and the interior of the building. But that critical delay in saying her farewells had denied her the opportunity to enter. The shadow stopped immediately as the barrier sprung back up, cutting her off from the entrance.

She stared increduously at the sight, before she started gnashing her teeth with rage.

Damn it! We can't rely on those fuckheads getting this done right!

She resisted the urge to punch the shielding. She wasn't exactly the kind that could actually survive that discharge.

Instead, she just held out her arm.

"Fuck. I was too slow." Her words were strained with anger.

A few seconds. For her, it might as well have been a lifetime. Never before had such a thing happened to her. She had prided herself on bringing justice to the guilty, the enemies of peace who had avoided punishment despite being unquestionably evil. They were small-time, but she knew that she'd be able to do something important one day. She'd prove that their form of justice wasn't wrong, that it was necessary in an imperfect world like theirs. They were needed to clean up the Paragons' mistakes.

And in that trivial gap, she had been shut down. An untrustworthy band of crazy little shits was going to take away her chance to do something right for the City. Her chance to make things right, to matter.

The air swirled gently for a second, before it was pulled into her grasp. The breeze become a gale, then a mini-tornado, then a raging vortex. It was like listening to the screams of dying angels as they were being torn apart, as the swirling maelstrom formed into a hammer in her hand.

It was a large weapon. If set on the ground vertically, it would be as tall as she was. Just over 6 feet of highly concentrated air that could crush and shred whatever it hit.

She turned around, a look of disdain on her scarred face. Volkov would not die at her hands today.

Fine. Perfectly fine.

So, she would just have to kill everybody that worked for him. Better now than later, when they had a chance to scatter.

She tapped her earpiece.

"Sorry, Milly. I couldn't get there in time." She sighed. "Well, you know what's next. It's the usual from here on out."

The first swing was done gently. She wanted them to understand what was going on, what they were up against. Wiping them all out with one attack wasn't going to let them understand their mistake.

She appeared in the middle of their group, and lightly tapped the floor with the hammer.

It was like a skyscraper was dropped into their formation. The soldiers were reduced to liquid, metal was reduced to dust, and all were swallowed up in a cacophony of wailing death. Blood and flesh shearing granules blasted out at multi-mach speed, killing even more people. They died horribly, sandblasted into a grisly carpet of half-shorn corpses. With that one swing, their ranks were broken.

She stood in the center of that inhuman carnage, utterly unscathed by the results of her attack. She stood there, slowly counting down the seconds.

1. 2. 3.

Okay, that was enough time for them to process it. Time enough to realize that they would never get a chance to leave here alive.

She continued her attack at full speed, annihilating Volkov's forces with ease. Neither her nor Milia would be affecting the battle that really mattered, so they had no other option.

If there was nothing life-affirming, nothing important for them to do... Then they would simply do their job.

After all, they were garbage collectors. And there was so much human trash here. Every single piece had to be disposed of properly.

Oh, it was tedious work. But somebody had to do it.

[Cthulhu_of_R'yleh]

Casimir saw Rivia moving towards him and smiled fondly, glad that she seemed to be alright, before being pulled through a portal.

Suddenly, swirling green portals appeared and swallowed Cammy, Casimir, Eisen, Takeshi, Maxana, Ramillia, Rosemary, and Selma, leaving behind Boss, Iresia, Mack, Rivia, Sloane, Robert, Marko, and Skye.

Just after the portals swallow the first group, a man walks down the stairs toward them, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He wears a suit haphazzardly and is dark hair doesn't seem brushed recently. A sword hangs from his right shoulder as he saunters in.

Sergei Stoneback.

_____

The first group finds themselves portaled into a blank looking white room, about a hundred feet by 100 feet in each direction.

Casimir sighs in annoyance and anger. "Oh goddamn it." With a casual thought, he starts glowing blue-gold again, powering everyone up, while at the same time using his free hand to out one of Iriesia's remaining crystals.

"Anyone hurt?" He asks, as he sets it to work on himself.

[Cleric of Hell's Brigade]

Rivia tries to moves in closer to Cas, Max and Ramilia not wanting to through this building alone....



Rivia cursed under her breath, then looked at him, "You...you're the stone man, the golem in my vision. You told him, didn't you?"

Sergei quirks an eyebrow as he puffs on his cig.

"Hmm, to what do you refer to, miss? I can't say I understand what you mean.

He sits down on a step and puffs, sending a few smoke rings into the air.

[Cleric of Hell's Brigade]

Perfect. Maxana remembers the green portals from Casimir's memory.

Carmen.

A sinister grin reaches her lips. Finally, she can do all the things she said she would do to that four-eyed bitch.

"You seem pleased to be here."

Carmen Altero appeared before them on the other side of the room, still dressed in her buisness suit. Her glasses reflected the light in the room as she smiled at them.

"Welcome to my humble workplace."

[Cthulhu_of_R'yleh]

"You seem pleased to be here."

Carmen Altero appeared before them on the other side of the room, still dressed in her buisness suit. Her glasses reflected the light in the room as she smiled at them.

"Welcome to my humble workplace."

Casimir put the crystal away.

"Humble is right," he responded. "I mean what? Does Volkov not pay you for doing his dirty work?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"You seem pleased to be here."

Carmen Altero appeared before them on the other side of the room, still dressed in her buisness suit. Her glasses reflected the light in the room as she smiled at them.

"Welcome to my humble workplace."

"Very. My mates and I have been waiting a very long time to see you again."

[Cleric of Hell's Brigade]

Casimir put the crystal away.

"Humble is right," he responded. "I mean what? Does Volkov not pay you for doing his dirty work?"

She shrugs.

"This is simply a place where I like to play with my toys before I break them. I'd prefer not to waste a better place on trash like you lot."

[Cleric of Hell's Brigade]

"Very. My mates and I have been waiting a very long time to see you again."

"Indeed. You'll have to tell me how you all survived my attack at the Academy. I was quite vexed when I found out you had all survived. Actually, don't tell me. I'd prefer to have Volkov rip it out of your skulls."

[Cthulhu_of_R'yleh]

She shrugs.

"This is simply a place where I like to play with my toys before I break them. I'd prefer not to waste a better place on trash like you lot."

"Indeed. You'll have to tell me how you all survived my attack at the Academy. I was quite vexed when I found out you had all survived. Actually, don't tell me. I'd prefer to have Volkov rip it out of your skulls."

"Ooo. I like you." Casimir smiled, a nicer one than his fiance's. But it was laced with an undercurrent of malice.

"Question; how'd you find out we were still alive anyway?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Indeed. You'll have to tell me how you all survived my attack at the Academy. I was quite vexed when I found out you had all survived. Actually, don't tell me. I'd prefer to have Volkov rip it out of your skulls."

"We will see about that. If you are lucky, we will kill you quickly and not slowly and painfully like some of us want to."

"Ooo. I like you." Casimir smiled, a nicer one than his fiance's. But it was laced with an undercurrent of malice.

"Question; how'd you find out we were still alive anyway?"

"Her friend, the bodyguard, told her and her boss. Right, Carmen?"

[Cleric of Hell's Brigade]

"Ooo. I like you." Casimir smiled, a nicer one than his fiance's. But it was laced with an undercurrent of malice.

"Question; how'd you find out we were still alive anyway?"

She shrugs.

"Not sure. Volkov told me less than an hour ago that you had all somehow survived. How he knew is anyone's guess."