The Alfred Nobel, despite looking like a starship, was a Medical Cruiser dedicated to the transport and support of Magical Peace Corps members. It held, within its facility, hospitals, storage rooms, learning centres, and a library, as well as strong energy shields to protect it from storms and the occasional pirate. It also carried a suite of sleeping gas sprayers, instant seed launchers, and an EMP Pulse that can shut down machinery.

Thus, it was well-armed, yet still pacifistic, at least technically so. And, in one of the lecture rooms, which were inside the learning centres, was a boy, a boy about 15 years of age, who was giving his team, a team of people much older than him, a lecture about their destination, theCity of Baler, Aurora in the Philippine Islands.

"Due to the Philippines' Armed Forces and Police being in disarray due to the Rider War, Baler has become vulnerable to the predations of Organized Crime and Foreign Subversion, subversion speculated to come from the Philippines' former ally, the Chinese Democratic Republic. The CDR, which came to power after the overthrow of China's Communist Regime in the Late 21st Century, after the Coming of Magic* is now under a revanchist regime..."

"A regime that sees the Kalayaan Islands - the Spratlys, as rightful Chinese Territory siezed by the Philippines after the overthrow of the Communists. This is seen as a betrayal by the Philippines, especially as these demands came after the country had just saved the world from the meneace of the Riders. So, the two countries are now at logger heads, and the CDR is, as said, speculated to be sending out Magical Agents to cause damage in the Philippines."

"One example of such damage...is this." Ascot then showed the group a picture of Baler's Public Market, once a haven of commerce - raw materials can be created with magic, but skill was harder to duplicate, meaning that hand-made handicrafts were high on demand, as well as 'naturally-grown' fruits and vegetables - but now a blasted ruin, strewn about with corpses.

"The attack that took down the market was speculated to be Magical in nature, and killed about a hundred people, wounding hundreds more. It is one of the worst terrorist attacks since the end of the Moro and Communist Industries in the early 21st century, and caught a nation unprepared. Now, we are sent to repair the damage, and restore hope to the town. Oh, and to engage in fun and games afterwards."

"I won't lie; the Magical Peace Corps is not an armed force. Nor is it a band of mercenary killers. However, it is a naked truth that we are much better-equipped, and, in technical and magical terms, more powerful than many armed forces around the world. Our main objective is to fix things, cure injuries, and help the people rebuild. However, it is also a naked truth that the Philippine Government wants us to fill in for their decimated armed forces and police, meaning that if we come across a crime group or remaining Chinese terrorist, then they will leave us to our own devices and force us to use our technical pacifism to contain the threat. It is sad, and it is a violation of the spirit of our mandate, but I won't lie; it's also our implied orders."

"One more thing. You guys all know that in our stopover in Japan, we picked up a new member, a teacher of Magic. Jonathan Alexander Vanderswift, a Mage who seems to be trained in the Samurai Arts, long dying in Modern Japan. Jonathan Alexander Vanderswift, despite said Samurai training, has agreed to join the Corps and engage only in Technical Pacifism for the duration of his stay. However, he will also be teaching you some self-defense lessons. Also, he's a bit of an asshole, so beware," Ascot chuckled and smiled. "Oh, and said self-defense lessons will include not just how to defend yourself with your body and weapons, but also magical techniques; Jonathan is a talented Mage." He smiled.

"You'll learn a lot from him."

*OOC: This is an edit.

Jonathan stood relaxed against the wall looking over the class. The classroom was average in size… whatever average was considered on this behemoth of a ship. Ascot was young but really talented, something else about the boy that bothered Jonathan. Ascot spoke to the people within the ship as if he were a king. In what seemed like too long, in Jonathan’s opinion, Ascot had informed everyone here about the situation. Talking about things that the people here would probably forget within a few hours. Finally he introduced Jonathan and with a grunt he pushed himself off the wall.

“Greetings students, this is when I take over right?” He asked looking at Ascot and he stared at him. The look said that Ascot may leave… or perhaps that if he wasn’t a student that he should leave. After a few moments he got back to the class.

“I’m sure you’re all great mages, the pick of the crop. But seeing as I don’t know if you even know the basics we will begin by implementing Virtual Reality Training Simulator. Also known as VRTS or Verts as some call it.” Jonathan revealed as he held the VR device.

“Now Verts isn’t like any normal VR, it’s an A.I. I created. Say Hello Verts.” Jonathan Encouraged as he tapped the side of the VR as if it was broken.

“H..hello.” Came a small shy voice of a child.

“Not only does Verts help you learn but helps find how you learn. There are three different types of learners. Auditory learners, those that like to talk and listen. You know those people… the ones you can text and they will call you? Those are most likely auditory learners.” Jonathan Clarified as he walked over to a table and leaned against it.

“Visual learners learn from seeing things, people who like to read and read a lot. These are the kind of people who will probably only text you. They shy from actually wasting time with audio preferences. Although some are balanced between these two and using both seems to make them learn that much faster.” Jonathan informed as he looked over the class and pushed a button on his cuff. A hologram appeared of a tall man.

“You all take a good look at this man.” He continued as he looked at everyone after a few moments he pushed the button making him vanish.

“What was the color of the man’s eyes?” He quizzed the class. More than half of the students raised their hands. “You there.” He pointed to a young looking boy.

“His eyes were yellow.” The boy answered, Jonathan nodded and looked around the class. Most students seemed disappointed they weren’t called on.

“This was just an exercise, you won’t be graded on it. Also don’t worry if your grades drop. I will make sure that you all pass, probably because I’m an asshole and hate everyone equally.” He Joked and laughed a little.

“The third type is Kinesthetic. These are the doers. The people that seem to never stop moving. People that draw while in a regular class can be considered a kinesthetic. Somehow they look at a specific part of the drawing and recall the entire class… I’m a mixture of all three, it is really rare but does happen. I believe that Ascot is one as well, due to his enhanced learning capabilities.” Jonathan divulged as he walked around and pressed another button on the seemingly endless buttons on his cuff.

“This is what my Verts became after my development. I named her Amethyst and yes you get to choose male and female. As well as naming them if you like.” Jonathan revealed as he walked around the class.

“Most don’t have a Verts yet, probably because I was a bit stingy with them. It is like letting strangers take your children and have their way with them. That kind of trust is hard to come by but I will trust each of you here with the Verts. Verts are a manifestation of you progress. Once you get to a specific level with the Verts they will continue to help you gain skill. Also each will learn your preferred way of learning and use that to teach you.” Jonathan clarified as he walked over and pet Amethyst on the head. His eyes actually revealed happiness for a second, but as quickly as it was there it vanished. His mask of “asshole” came back. She moved away from the Dragon portion of the hologram and it vanished. Afterwards she sheathed her sword into a sheath on her side. Her eyes were looking over the students and soon the glow within dimmed revealing beautiful violet eyes.

“Remember each Verts is going to be monitored. So if your training in anything forbidden… is there anything forbidden?” He asked more to himself then to the class. “Anyways, do any of you have questions?”

Sitting in the front row, Myriad had little trouble understanding the words and implications that the teacher was offering. He eye'd the amazing spectacle that he called a "vert" and even more so, couldn't wait to obtain one for himself. Alexandria, a brunette beside him with blue eyes nudged his shoulder in secret; when he turned towards her, she smiled and raised a thumbs up. He figured she saw the excitement on his face, so he responded with a small smile and thumbs up as well.

He directed his attention back towards the man before she did. Ascot as usual left him feeling irked -he hated the way his words implied violence- and this new guy had him feeling a bit uncomfortable. Teachers often tested their students and so far, every teacher he's had had discovered his hidden ability. It might be harder this time around, He told himself, worrying over the reaction of his peers. This teacher seems perceptive. If he outs me to the entire class, I'll be scrutinized. That's more work for me.

With that in mind, Myriad kept his pristine eyes on the man in front of him, his lips tightly closed as he asked for questions. He was determined not to ask any, even though he had so many swimming in his head. Perhaps, one wouldn't hurt, He convinced himself.

His pale hand rose up, its arms covered by a beige tunic that was loosely tied by the neck. "Real quick, I wanted to know how you plan on testing to see which way we learn? and is it possible to be a genius without tendencies from all three?" his lips quirked to the side a bit, a gentle frown twitching his youthful face."It seems a bit... discouraging is all."

John surveyed the room as he waited for a question anything showing interest. His thumb idly ticked against his katana handle, a nervous tick.

"Real quick, I wanted to know how you plan on testing to see which way we learn? and is it possible to be a genius without tendencies from all three?" his lips quirked to the side a bit, a gentle frown twitching his youthful face. "It seems a bit... discouraging is all."

Johns eyes shot to the student almost like knifes cutting the flesh. This Boy? No young man asked a question about the learning styles he had explained. He had assumed that the “children” were all just that. That they would fawn over the Verts and not even hear what he had to say. As the question was asked a lot of the glazed over looks vanished as they started to pay attention again.

“Well, it’s not that one is a genius when learning with all three. It’s that teachers are usually too dumb to know how to teach with all three.” He began. “Imagine this. You have a classroom full of people that that learn visually and the teacher is teaching through recordings. These students will have a hard time learning unless they jot down every word and read it all. But a classroom full of students who learn through listening find the class a breeze.” He walked over and took his cup of tea drinking the entire thing in a gulp. Speaking sure did make the throat dry.

“Also I’m not sure if I should teach through the Verts. I know they want to be bonded with people but it’s just…” He paused almost looking as if he took a hit. “It’s like letting a child go to people I don’t even know.”
John walked over to the box where he had all the Verts laid out. His hands caressed each one as he looked back at the students. “So I suppose I could teach you and until you gain my trust, none will gain a Verts. A class experiment.” He smiled as he looked over to Ascot, who had in a way gained his trust. It was also a way to ensure that no one got a verts. Then again they were created for this purpose. He looked troubled. “Any more questions?” He asked.

"Nah, I'm done," Myriad let his hands fall into his lap, only turning around when he felt the playful push of a student behind him.

"Curious Myriad strikes again." uttered Nao with a chuckle before leaning back into his seat.

Stuffing his hand into the pockets of his pants, Myriad spoke in a hushed and playful tone. "Idiot, someone has to ask the important questions." His lingering smile faded as the teacher waited for questions from any other students. The light-blue haired youth doubted any one would have any; the Verts were occupying their thoughts, so it was only natural that a few groans filled the room at the man's stipulation.

The new teacher has seen death before, Myriad noted, the man's piercing eyes still imprinted on him. It was hard not to react to the intimidating glare. I wonder what exactly he's done. Eyes like those don't just appear from witnessing death, they come from being the cause of it. Returning to his complacency, Alexandria beside him with prying eyes that seemed to course around his features, Myriad simply stared off at the wall behind the teacher.

accidental double post.

Hibiscus sat in the back of the room. Her sunken eyes peering over the heads of the other students. She could hardly see the first speaker, a child. It hardly mattered, he had a loud voice and a large vocabulary.

'Technical pacifism?' She scoffed, thinking to herself 'So much for being a 'peace' corps.'

Behind her, curled up, was a dog. Sort-of. From afar the canine appeared to be a limber and lean doberman. Up close, one would notice the beast had no eyes. The hound was curled up, his back to hers, appearing to sleep.

Next up was the samurai, tall enough for Hibiscus to see clearly. She listened passively as he went over 'learning-types' then the 'verts'. A younger member with blueberry hair asked a question. 'Hah, afraid that he is not-so-clever after all?'

She didn't understand the emotional connection that the samurai had for the 'Verts'. 'Like children? They are only constructs.' She doubted this man had any actual children. Perhaps it was a way for him to fulfill his paternal yearnings.

She didn't know anyone else in the room, she was new to the corps, and she didn't have any questions. So she leaned back, waiting, while her hound continued to sleep.

Ascot smiled as everyone began looking at the VERTS with expressions on their faces as though each unit was a bag of candy, as well as took a glance at Myriad and Hibiscus, the only two students uninterested in the VERTS. Myriad in fact managed to ask Jonathan a question, a very good one in Ascot's opinion.

It was all in good fun, Ascot thought, and, well, it showed that he had at least two exceptional souls among the class. Encountering exceptional souls was what made him heal after...what happened then, and that was one of the perks of joining the Magical 'Peace' Corps. While he hated being drafted again to the fight, the fact remained, that he had to tackle it, to save lives.

You just have to save lives, do you, Ascot? his own mind told himself, and the boy was briefly reminded of what he had to go through before. He was tempted to shake off the impulse, but he was in public and that might get taken the wrong way. Then, suddenly, the intercom sounded; it seemed as though the Alfred Nobel was approaching Baler City!

"Everybody," Ascot announced calmly, "as you heard the Intercom say, we are approaching our destination. Please go to the lockers to recieve your MPC equipment, which includes Carbonadium/Dura-Ceramic/Fatesilk armors, Instant Seeds, and one injector containing Pure Technology Medi-Gel. Oh, and Mana Batteries; you'll need them." He then gazed at Jonathan, and spoke:

"Sorry to cut the class short," he then turned back towards the class. "Anyway, I'll be teleporting to Baler for now, to join with the MPC Vanguard that has been teleported there." When news of the attack reached Baler, a few MPC members had been teleported there right away to help in the rebuilding; the Alfred Nobel was just further reinforcements sent, along with moving infrastructure - the ship - to further help in the rebuilding, and, while they were at it, the brawling. Ascot hated breaking the spirit of the MPC's laws, as mentioned before, but he had seen the execution of Regular Peace Corps members by Arcana Unlimited Remnants back in Africa, and did not want that to happen to his people.

And with that, he blinked out, vanishing into nothingness.

A Few Minutes Later

The Alfred Nobel had arrived in Baler, a city where futuristic buildings co-existed with bungalows and stores that looked as though they were built in the 21st century - which they were. It was the sterotypical beach, with sand and coconut trees, but the waves were higher than the usual coasts', earning it the love of surfers everywhere. When Magic arrived in the 2070s, the portion of the coast frequented by surfers became an Energy Demesne, due to the power of the waves and their imprint upon people's memories. Of course, building a Manse, aka a building that was able to properly harness the small-e energies of the Demesne, was out of the question, so there were relatively fewer benefits than the Baler Public Market.

Said Baler Public Market being a Desmene due to its age, the number of people going into it, and its status as a Market, which made it a Fate Desmene. Now, however, due to the terrorist attack, the BPM was about to becoem a Shadowland, albeit a minor one. Nevertheless, even a minor Shadowland would harm Baler's tourist prospects, due to its tendency to poison the land and raise zombies. That was probably what the Immortals - once leaders of the Anti-Communist revolution, now almost as bad as the Commies themselves, were going for. Ascot was still apprised of some events going on in the world of Espionage, courtesy of the services of Balthaar 'Thaz' Carlton, his uncle, Heinz Harper's, successor as the head of The Agency...

Jonathan roamed the room and tried to pay attention to each student… “What the hell is that?!” He yelled as he walked over to the eyeless dog. “How cute, so affectionate to you. What do you feed it?” He asked as he smiled looking at Hibiscus, although he still didn’t know her name. He started to kneel and acted if he was going to pet it but stopped looking up. His hand slowly crept back as he stood up, his smile vanished. The intercom started squawking some nonsense about arriving at some area. He didn’t really care but when Ascot started speaking his eyes widened. “ASCOT!” He yelled but a bit too late, the boy vanished.

“Idiot!” He sighed loudly. As he walked back to the area where his Verts were sitting. Quickly he scooped them up and stood in front of the door, awaiting to hand each student one.

“Come with me after you gather your equipment.” He said, to Hibiscus, Myriad, Nao and a few others. He followed them and waited for them to get their things. After he led them to a ship.

“This is the Glyph it will get us to the location. Best way to train greenhorns is in the field. Don’t worry I’m sure we won’t die.” He joked as he climbed aboard. There was room for them all with a few seats left open. If they followed him. He shut the door by pushing a button and plugged his Verts into the console. “Systems all green!” Came a female voice as an image appeared walking around. She looked human with a military suit on. “Roger! Everyone buckle up!” Yelled as the engines came on, a cool hum filled the ship as he turned it around.

“This is the Glyph, can we get an exit?” He asked the command of the ship.

“Command to Glyph. Clear for launch.” Command confirmed as the hatch opened. The sun was just barely in the sky, as he plunged out of the much bigger ship.

“Can you find us somewhere to land, Amethyst?” He asked as she moved back into the ship.

“Path and landing located.” Amethyst stated producing a landing course.

“Quick as ever” He complimented her as he plummeted to the ground. It felt like as if your stomach was now in your head. Soon he touched down, it seemed effortless as he touched down. There was almost no landing turbulence.

“Everyone out of my ship!” He yelled as he opened the door. It was mostly because he didn’t want people to puke all over his baby. He waited for everyone to exit and then did the same. He made sure everyone had some kind of weapon and then placed the leftovers back in the ship. An earbud in his ear spoke to him.

“Take care of yourself Amethyst.” He pleaded as the ship took off and left. He looked over everyone and pulled out a gun.

“Well, this is in the field training.” He said with a grin.

“If you’re wondering, yes I am paranoid. I always take precaution and will most likely always do so. We could run into nothing here but just in case we should be ready.” He clarified.

It didn't take long for the intercom to spark to life. The news of Alfred Nobel's locations closing in on Baler sent a small jolt up Myriad's back, it had happened quicker than he thought, though, it wasn't like this was his first mission. His hand landed on the table, his fingertips rubbing the smooth surface with a controlled tension. Its always been hard to shake this anxiety, its like a hand slowly tightening around my heart.

He felt a warm hand touch his own and looked up to see Alexandria smiling at him. "Its going to be okay, don't let it get to you," She reassured him, giving him a comforting squeeze before letting go. "You're our lucky charm so we need you in tip-top shape, kay?"

A pair of hands soon clasped his shoulders, the rough movements on them hinting at Nao's eavesdropping. "Don't piss yourself on the battlefield, Myraid. If you're scared, I'd love to take your place beside Alexandria."

He shrugged off Nao's hand and turned towards him, ignoring the assumption that Alexandria and himself had something going on. "Aye, try to keep your petty thoughts to yourself, Idiot Nao. Its unbecoming of a future janitor," He jested, a chuckle resonating from him as he raised out his seat. He gathered his things and under the orders of his new teacher a few others and himself traveled to the lockers to get ready. He fixed on the materials, his own suit being fitted around his casual.

When he was ready, he walked out and was greeted by Nao and Alexandria waiting for him. Alexandria raked her hands through her brunette hair as Nao smiled warmly for reasons that he couldn't discern. "Alright, let's do this!" Nao barked before leading the three of them towards the ship, of course there was others following either in front or behind them. Getting seated, the ride to Baler was rather quick and natural. A bit of turbulence on the way there but that was all smoothed out. When he stepped out, he grabbed a small sword and twirled it in his hands, he preferred the intimacy of a blade, it fitted him better than a gun, besides, he always found himself a bit disgusted with them.

By the time all of them had held a weapon, Myriad was standing absentmindedly beside some Hibiscus. He made no move to speak but when Alexandria and Nao popped up beside him, and their teacher had begun to share, his mind begin to flutter. Paranoia only accompany those that are experienced. Just as I thought, this guy is dangerous.

Holding up a bow, Alexandria smiled at Myriad. "I got your back, Myri."

Nao stomped his staff on to the ground and cried loudly. "Aye, aye, cap'n!" He shouted with a playful chuckle, though his heart showed his enthusiasm for the situation.

He believed the two of them were like friends, but even he felt some strain on his mind. It wasn't like being in the MPC guaranteed their safety. "Yea, and I got yours. Both of yours."

“What the hell is that?!” The samurai yelled at Hibiscus. As she scratched the inside of her ear, he approached and changed his tone. “How cute, so affectionate to you. What do you feed it?”. The samurai smiled at her, then knelt and reached out toward the hound.

She sat back, keeping her face a mask. She considered intervening, thought about answering his questions cordially and politely. She might have said something in a soft but shrill voice such as:Wait, he’s sleeping and doesn’t like strangers! Oh and I feed him flesh tee-hee. Instead, Hibiscus decided that experience was the best way for anyone to learn not to pet strange-sleeping dogs.

Instead, the intercom interrupted the action, the samurai drew back before he got to close to the dog.

He left her before Hibiscus could say anything, the samurai was cursing the boy and giving new orders.

She let the others file out first. When Hibiscus stood so did her dog, the hound looked around the room with empty eyescokets, and kept closely to her right side as she walked.

When she opened her hands to receive her own Vert, the samurai said “Come with me after you gather your equipment.”

’Is he impressed by my dog?’ she wondered.

She followed the others to their lockers. “Let’s see what kind of equipment a magical peace corp requires…”

“Let’s see… Armor made from Carbonadium, Dura-Ceramic AND fate silk? I’m impressed, this operation is well funded…” She struggled with the armor for a few minutes, unsure of how to wear it. When she was finished she felt like a caterpillar strapped into a too-tight cocoon. The hound sat a few feet away from her and waited. “Does this make me look fat?” She asked him. The hound said nothing, regarding her without eyes or opinion. The tip of his tale wiggled ever-so-slightly.

“What else do we got in here. A few instant seeds, interesting. Medi-Gel, hm. Mana batteries.” These stored energy in beautiful blue gemstones. “Pretty.” She put the gems and gels into the various pockets and pouches provided by her armor.

When she was done she and the hound met up with the samurai and a small group of students. They entered a smaller ship called the Glyph.

Hibiscus sat, and her hound occupied a seat beside her. She buckled him in and then herself. She was surprised to see the Samurai connect his Vert to the ship, his personal artificial digital lady appeared instantly before them, and began to ‘assist’ with the takeoff and navigation.

’These are more than just training devices. She thought to herself, and wondered at what their deeper purpose and function might serve. She closed her eyes to ponder the matter, and remained that way for the rest of the rather-rough-ride.

[/i]“OUT OF MY SHIP!”[/i]

Unbuckling the hound gave Hibiscus the excuse to, once again, be the last out. He handed her a gun.

The cold metal felt awkward in her hand. “Yes, we come in peace.” She muttered, quickly tucking the thing into a holster.

She thought it odd to ‘train on the field’, however, perhaps the man was speaking in jest or sarcasm. Her fellow ‘students’ likely had their own experiences and talents, even Blueberry seemed to know how to use a sword. These recruits were not unskilled novices, they were only new to one another.

The other possibility is that the Corps had no choice, the situation here was so bad that they had to arm and send out the newest recruits at the drop of a hat.

Hibiscus set her eyes on the horizon and held out her hand. The hound’s nose touched her palm instantly. Reassuring one another with this brief connection.

The Glyph left the group alone to face the trouble ahead.

Blueberry and his friends, gathered and talked in a jovial manner.

The necromancer tuned them out, she stooped, placing her left hand on the ground. The soil was uneasy, the dead within it did not rest. Hibiscus imagined that they would rather itch, scratch, and pick at themselves, they were hungry, they could smell the living that dared to tread above them. It was as if the weight of the dirt itself was the only thing keeping them still…

“Has this place become a shadowland?”

"Yes!" a voice sounded from literally nowhere, a voice that undoubtedly belonged to Ascot, who was using Timespace and Energy to project his voice across a distance. "Anyway, we're in trouble, and we need help now!" It was clear that Ascot was juggling many things at once.

Once the group reached the Baler Public Market, or rather, its ruins, they found five MPC Magi, plus Ascot, attacking Zombies with blunt, but enchanted, weapons, with Ascot himself holding two sticks of Rattan - a type of Bamboo-like palm, some species of which had very hard stems. Said sticks of Rattan glowed with silver-white energy, which inflicted damage on the zombies that didn't heal. However, looking up, it was quite clear that the Zombies were not the real problem - for two dozen terrorists; the number can be sensed by Mind or Life Magic, were hiding in the ruins, on occassion taking potshots at whatever Magi appeared to have weakening shields. On seeing the reinforcements coming, one of the terrorists drew a two-stage weapon...

...A weapon that shot out Microwaves that destroyed all magical shielding, then followed it up with a laser two seconds later - a heavy weapon that was clearly intended to destroy reinforcements when they came, as well as kill off Ascot's group. Other terrorists deployed red-black drones that shot out red bolts of lightning, grenades that were 'charged' with Death energy (small e), and, of course, their own guns.

"Dang you, dang you dang you!" Ascot was shouting. "Dang you terrorist scum for forcing us to compromise our ways of peace!" He was telekinetically crushing drones and grenades now, causing the latter to detonate prematurely. It was quite clear that the boy was angry, had been angry since Africa. However, how smart the boy was was shown by how he focused on multiple fronts of the battle at once...

...lifting the stone and the earth to block the Microwave + Laser Gun's beam (it didn't work, but it halved the beam's power), lifting more rocks and pieces of metal to block the potshots done by the terrorists, and, in between smashing zombies, causing flocks of birds, mostly sparrows, to 'empty their waste' on the terrorists to blind and distract them. However, there was plenty for the group to do, because there were 30 zombies left - Ascot and the five others had destroyed 20, but more were still coming. If the laser beam heading for the reinforcements, which, again, was only halved in power, was successfully blocked, hopefully by more matter or the armor each MPC member was wearing, then the MPC reinforcements would be able to join the fight...

He was almost surprised when they arrived but not really. He liked to be prepared for these moments for a reason. “And they call me paranoid.” He thought but recalled he called himself it. He used short bursts of blood magic mixed with blood bending to move his body into the way of the beam.
“Perhaps they should think me injured?” another thought within his mind but it quickly left. A flash of light appeared in front of him, his sword had severed the beam. Another use of his blood mixture. The beam split and hit two drones that were flanking them. He looked back with a surprised look on his face.

“Well, don’t just stand there smash something!” He commanded them.

Upon arrival onto the intended location, the wind blew a very eerie whistle. It was a rather creepy gust of air, its very substance seemed to carry an emptiness and desolation on its eddies. Stepping up in front of Alexandria and Nao, Myriad seemed to noticed the oncoming danger of the beam, though he was unsure on how to protect the others. He was sure his own body would simply let the beam pass through it -he himself going unharmed- but it would ultimately wipe out his friends. In his panic, he was reduced to clutching the metallic hilt of his straight-sword with fervor, his mind struggling with a life-altering decision.

The moment passed by, his heart and body remaining still. If not for his teacher's intervention, he was sure that his friends would had died. A part of him wanted to thank his Fate magic for this outcome but he couldn't always depend on such "luck" to protect his friends. He would need to steel his heart for the next conflict.

It was a quick command, and the orders were followed soon afterwards. Bringing his sword to his side, Myriad dashed towards the zombies that were left, not many but enough for everyone to get a good bit of experience with. As he neared the hoard, three arrows whizzed pass his face and stuck into the skulls of three different zombies. Alexandria was a good shot. With sharp thrust into the nearest zombie's head, Myriad felt the crunch of the its cranium split between the steel in his hand. He pushed it from his blade with a powerful kick to the chest.

Looking around, he noticed Nao taking on a few on his own. He called out with a hardened worry. "Don't let them surround you! be careful Nao!"

Nao was focused on the guttural moans of his opponents, slamming his staff into one of their heads and sending them face-first into the ground. "Aye, aye...mother," he called out in his usual playfulness.

A agitated tsk left Myriad as he slashed down another undead. That idiot. Jumping into the fray, he went to work against the zombies, determined to put in some serious work without disclosing his true strength. "We can do this," He muttered to himself, a ghoulish hand narrowly missing him. "Yea, we can do it."

It wasn’t long before the group entered chaos.

The child-lecturer was there, raining down an immeasurable amount of destruction at his will. Hibiscus stood back, watching light and birds and energy swirl about at his will. She found herself glaring a bit, both from the harsh light ahead of her and because of her reaction to the violent scene before her.

Hibiscus felt a wave rush over her, her armor seemed to change, all it’s magical properties were gone. Then, before she saw it, the Samurai took a leap into the air, blocking a beam of light headed right for them. He deflected the beam into other enemies. He, and the Kid, urged the others to fight.

Blueberry and company were more than happy to oblige. Swords and arrows lodged themselves into the undead.

“Puppets.” Muttered Hibiscus. She stepped the the side and the hound followed. He barked twice as three undead corpses hobbled toward her. Their eyes empty, but their crooked teeth were gnashing, hungry for flesh.

Hibiscus raised her hand toward the trio. She focused her will, taking a deep breath. “STOP.” She finally bellowed.

The trio came to a halt, their teeth still gnashing, their limbs twitching every so often.

She extended two fingers, then flicked her wrist. “TURN!” Two of the three zombies about-faced, Then began walking the other way. “Hound, attend them.” The two zombies and the hound would not attack, but would defend Hibiscus from any oncoming volley or attacker, she needed to focus.

She approached the last zombie, who still stood obediently in it’s place. She gave the body a thorough look-over. It was once a woman. Her head was in-tact, with only a few bruises and splotches of mud. Most the damage was seen in her crooked legs, and an unnaturally twisted wrist. Her clothes were tattered, Hibiscus reached up and touched the fabric, was she in some sort of uniform? She was fresh, she was injured by not rotting, the blood on her wounds bright red. Hibiscus thought it was very likely the one who killed her was the one who brought her back.

She thrust out her hand clutching the dead-woman’s throat and squeezed, as if to choke her. “SPEAK!” She growled.

The dead-woman stopped gnashing, her body shuddered and convulsed, then began to open and close her mouth, her dry lips cracked as they moved. No noise came forth, something was wrong…

Hibiscus ripped open the front of the woman’s shirt with her free hand. Before her death there may have been a sight to appreciate, but her violent unnatural breath had stolen any grace or beauty she once had. ’Her lung is punctured’. Hibiscus winced. There’s only one thing to do about that… luckily this wound is small.’

She drew a knife, and cut open the woman's flesh under her breast, then worked her free hand into the dead-woman's torso. She found the rib that punctured the lung, and pulled it out. Then she covered the hole with her palm, took a moment to make sure that everything was as it should be, then her fingers squeezed the lung.

“Speak.” Hibiscus said, this time more softly. “Do you remember who killed you?” Hibiscus spoke her question slowly and deliberately, so that dead-woman could understand her as much as possible.

The un-dead could not speak as they once did in life, this would be a struggle for her broken body. Hibiscus had more questions, but if she asked something to complex or asked to many questions at once the dead-woman would become confused or overwhelmed. She was unsure how many questions this body would be able to answer, every one had their limits, so she though to ask the most important first.

The ‘zombies’, and the drones, and even their living opponents were merely puppets. Hibiscus intended to find their master.

"Isang...Tsino...o baka Hapones (One Chinese, or perhaps Japanese)," spoke the Zombie, giving Hibiscus a hint that either it was the Immortals, or the Yakuza who were behind this. Of course, in a world where illusions and shapeshifting were possibilities, basic descriptions were likely to be wrong, and it could be an attempt to frame those two organizations. Nevertheless, it was a lead, albeit tenuous.

The number of other zombies was dwindling, thanks to the rush of the reinforcements. Alexandria, Nao, and Myriad were making a dent in their numbers; same for Jonathan; until there were about 5 undead left, causing the terrorists to step up their game. Now, some of them revealed themselves to be Magi, causing lightning - red lightning - to fall down from the sky without a cloud in sight.

Others, meanwhile, rushed straight for the MPC members, having cast magical shields upon them; some grew unnatural claws; empowered by either Life or Otherness magic, while a few more drew Chainswords, aka swords with chainsaw blades. Ascot charged to meet them, his rattan sticks magically toughened to the point where they can withstand even the chainsaw blades and claws.

Remember, guys! he found the time to telepathically message, you must not kill anyone! The MPC's pacifism might be in tatters, but it is Not. Gone. Yet! The boy punctuated for emphasis even as he brought down a terrorist with his sticks, then cast an illusion of one's worst fears on another. In the meantime, one terrorist, one who seemed white, but who was actually a shapeshifted Asian...

...Not that Hibiscus or Myriad or their companions knew this; Ascot and Johnathan only knew because of their Life Magic, went up to the highest pile of rubble, revealing himself. He drew two pistols from his belt, and shot at the group. The slugs were Orichalcum, a material that reduced the power of magical shields and inflicted damage upon the enemy that cannot be healed by magic. The nastier forms of Orichalcum slugs also scattered themselves throughout the body, creating Metal Poisoning that also cannot be healed by magic. Pure Technology Medi-Gel can cure the damage, but, well, that would take a period of peace, and it depended on where the bullets struck. These bullets were also one of the few things that can conceivably threaten Ascot or Jonathan...

Jonathan stood, sword still a little red from deflecting the beam. He could feel the life-force of everyone around. The blood pumping through each person’s veins at different paces. One stood out among them all, someone whose heartbeat was beating as if they were resting. This made him feel uneasy as he watched everyone move into action. It was strange to him that they were actually doing so well. He tried to focus on the one who didn’t fear or get excited. This was the one who would be a problem. As if they had done this many times over. Killing and creating one undead necropolis after another.

His blood bending was starting to make his inner demon surface. It reminded him of his past when he would slaughter countless people. Quickly he pushed the thoughts from his mind as he saw one of the females from his class. She was off playing with some dead… controlling them. It was strange to him that she was so good at it. He couldn’t feel any life but it was more like the lack of it.

“What are you doing standing there little fool!?” A voice whispered into his ear. He moved as fast as he could looking around looking for the voices origin. In his strange episode he felt something hit him. Not once but twice, one shot in his left arm and the other in his right leg. He fell forward and snapped back into the fight. He stood quickly ignoring the pain. The time for words was gone and he focused on the life-force he sensed before. Time was running out as his senses were getting dulled. There was only one thing that could do this to him, Orichalcum.

“Don’t kill them!” Another voice screamed in his mind. “Ascot.” Jonathan thought as he dodged an attack from a chainsaw? Using the momentum from dodging he spun and back fisted the man in the head. He fell limp, like a sack of potatoes. Another got in his way his sword coming down on Jonathan. He blocked with his sword in his left hand. The wound he had gotten before spewed blood from the impact. Again he had ignored the pain as he went under the man’s guard and uppercut him with his right arm. The man’s teeth clattered and some of them shattered from the punch. Again another one was down and Jonathan fell forwards onto his face. His pain becoming unbearable.

If only he was paying attention before he could have severed his limbs and transformed into something else. Sadly these voices were playing with him… wait they were warning him and he failed to listen. “Such a simple man after all.” The first voice called to him. “The only reason we can chat with you is because of this death zone.” The second explained to him. “Those that control death can help you reach us boy.” The first said and then they were both silent. He could feel his sword in his hand and could tell he was about to black out. “So much for being a great teacher. I can’t even protect myself let alone them.” He thought as he forced himself up.

He pulled out a knife and stabbed it into his arm deep. As he did the bullet pushed itself through his flesh and out the other side. A loud popping noise followed then a suction noise as he pulled the knife out. More of his blood streamed down his body as he pulled out some medical gel and injected it into the hole. Next was his leg, sadly someone had appeared behind him. He quickly pulled out one of his pistols and shot two shots so fast that it sounded like one. His foe was hit with two tranquilizers, both hitting his chest.

“Stupid tranquilizer gun it jammed after the second shot.” He noticed as he placed the gun next to him and thrust deep into his leg. Another loud squish along with a pop as the bullet tore through tendon and muscle to escape his leg. Blood and veins escaped the exit wound. He pulled the dagger out of his leg and placed it in his scabbard. More medical Gel, sadly it took more to seal this wound. He sat for a while tinkering with his gun, fixing it after a few moments. He was going to allow the others to fight for him and he collected the bullets in a special container. It would take a long while for his magic to come back even with the healing agents in his body. Perhaps he could invent something that would help with that but couldn’t at this moment recall if there was.

Striking down another undead, Myriad skidded to a stop as another arrow whizzed passed his face and into another skull. He watched as a strand of his hair floated pass his sights and onto the ground. Turning a eye onto Alexandria, he cocked his brow at her. She shrugged her shoulders, and smiled coyly in response. "Sorry about that, Myri. I'll try not to cut it so close next time. Just, that look you make is hilarious."

He turned to face her. Silly girl, he joked to himself, taking a step towards her. I'll have to thank her for this later. She makes fighting just a bit easier.

A gush of wind swept pass his head, pushing up against his face as shadowy figure flew just barely over him. He turned his head to his side, only to see Nao slamming his staff into the neck of an undead, yelling all the while. "Get ya head in the game, Myriad. Stop fawning over Alex or else you'll become zombie chow!"

"Yea, my bad," was all Myriad said as he swirled around Nao and hacked a undead in half.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Nao yelled, twirling his staff around his body around before pointing it towards three more undead around them.

Myriad soon felt Nao's back against his own. From afar, Alexandria's laughter touched the air, then in a moment that quieted his heart, it turned into a heartbreaking screech. Together, Nao and himself turned to look towards Alexandria, only to see her being chomped on by two zombies, one that bit down on her neck and another on her opposing torso.

"ALEXXXX!" yelled Nao as he charged forwards.

These were the rules for counterspelling a spell: One needed Law, plus the School one was countering. Ascot, due to his previous...career, had both, and with Law + Energy, he cancelled out the red lightning blasting down towards them, causing the bolts to vanish before they reached any of the MPC members. At the same time, he was multi-tasking, 'bending' the earth to block a claw-thrust, using his natural agility to evade a chainsword, and generally trying to keep himself from being surrounded. The other MPC Magi from the vanguard were helping him, throwing Instant Seeds at the enemy, tripping them with telekenisis, and generally making themselves a nusiance to said enemies. It was clear that, though talented, the five MPC vanguard members were more 'Pacifist' than 'Technical'.

Then, suddenly, Ascot heard the heartrending screech. With a gesture, he teleported Alexandra out of the Zombie's clutches and to beside him, before creating a dome of matter that would protect the two from the terrorists. Using his own Life Magic, he searched for the remaining pulse of life (small-l) inside the bleeding girl and infused his energies to reinforce it, healing the wounds in the neck and torso - the girl was almost dead, but was quickly healing thanks to magic. In moments, she was safe, but unconcious. Then, while still inside the dome of earth, ice, and hardened air, the boy decided to reveal that he was more powerful than expected, calling forth strength from his former, hidden, life. Reaching into the flow of tainted Mana below, the boy, using a mastery of Law that was rare...

...Suppressed the Shadowland temporarily. This sapped the strength of the zombies, who were weak anyway, and allowed the MPC vanguard members, as well as the still distraught Myriad and Nao, to wipe them out and take the fight to the terrorists, who also seemed to be weakened by the suppression of the Shadowland. Their leader, the one who had shot the Orichalcum shots, spoke:

"I knew threatening those whom you love will cause you to reveal yourself. And you foolishly love too many people. I proclaim victory this day, even though none of you have been beaten." And with that, he threw down a smoke grenade, one filled with Orichalcum Chaff that was dangerous and toxic to everyone, even Nonpracticing Magi, and, once said smoke grenade was gone, vanished.

Ascot was panting.

"He won. I revealed my power to soon; made myself a target." Then he parted the dome of matter to reveal the sleeping, but alive and healed Alexandria. "But, it was all worth it, in the end."

Jonathan laid back for a while catching his breath and allowing his focus to return. He could hear a few people breathing near him. Unconscious foes laid out, as he looked them over they looked like good people. His mind ran over the situation and everything that was said. Perhaps these pool fools were being manipulated into doing this. He got up and pulled out magical cuffs and cuffed all three of the people he knocked out together. Feet and hand cuffs were harder to get out of but not impossible. These were magical nullifier handcuffs made out or a special blend of Orichalcum. The interior part of the cuff had an Orichalcum inlay and the outer portion of the cuff was Mithril. In between both of the metals was some kind of meteor metal. These things cost a butt load but they made mages and non-mages easier to handle. He attached a chain to the three and began to walk, he made his way over to Ascot and pat the young man on the shoulder.

“Good job.” Jonathan praised, something rare for him and then smiled; something even more rare. He looked Ascot in the eyes and nodded.

“He said he won but look we are all alive!” He yelled so everyone could hear. “In my book this is a win.” He continued as he handed the chain to Ascot.

“Amethyst.” He spoke into a watch.

“Sir?” A voice could be overheard.

“Scan the battlefield for survivors we need to save as many people as we can. I don’t care if they are close to death or not we save them!” He yelled and his hand shot up to his head. His brain was pounding within his skull. He felt as if the plates in his skull would separate and his brain would come pouring out of his flesh.

“That bastard shot me to get your attention.” Jonathan assumed.

“He wanted to get you out here for some reason. Perhaps they have an advanced scanner and have someone keeping notes of our abilities.” He theorized and shivered.

“They knew enough about me to stop me from doing anything really helpful. This Orichalcum had to come from somewhere. I will ask around and see if anyone knows anything. Again don’t let this get you down or I’ll have to kick your ass.” He joked as he moved around looking for people. Anyone else that could still be alive and need help. The attack had crippled most of the area. He could see small fires here and there. He was sad to see this but didn’t show it on his face. He was cold and collected once again becoming the asshole that everyone knew him as. He helped a few people that were trapped under rubble escape. Lifting big rocks and using leverage to his advantage.

“Strength means nothing if it rebounds back. Speed is great as long as one gets all the small details.” He thought, his masters words ringing in his head. He knew it was strange to be thinking of these words but it helped him move forwards. Like a machine he worked, his magic was gone and his muscles were getting tired. Something he hadn’t felt in a very long time. It made him feel alive in a way. The pain that he was in and couldn’t just heal. His wounds were healed enough so that doing these things wouldn’t bring him down.

Sweat beaded over his skin. He looked up and realized that the sun was huge. Well, maybe it was always that size but damn it is a hot day.