"The Body is a Temple," Ajax said as he completed another repetition of four point push ups, just as he had said after each of the previous 99 repetitions. He let out a sigh as he got himself back up to his feet. He glanced over at his phone and noticed that he had a deployment order. He read over the details of his deployment and saw that he had plenty of time before it was necessary to report to transport. He moved over to the weights on the walls and strapped 50lbs weights to each wrist and each ankle. He was a glutton for punishment as he worked to build the strongest temple. He repeated the Mantra again as he squatted and lunged his way across the rubberized floor of the gym. Even with all of the marvels of modern science and the awesome power of spirits, the space was still permanently etched with sweat. The smell permeating from the floors and the walls. But, for Ajax and many others in WMD, this was home away from home. Even more so than the dorm room for Ajax. In the dorm it was a tight space. It was spartan. It was necessary, but it did not even offer enough space to do anything more than rudimentary stretches, at least not for the hulking form of Ajax Armstrong. The gym had everything Ajax could ever need, all the space he could require for his daily ritual. Healthy food and drink on demand. Even those unhealthy energy drinks that some people were so obsessed with.

"The Body is a Temple," the mantra repeated again, this time through effort as he began adding more weights and changing the movements. Soon sweat began to run all over his body as it attempted to cool the overworked muscles. He continued on in this fashion for some time, adding more and more weight as he progressed until his veins could barely be contained within his skin. This was a daily practice, part of his mantra. However, today he ended it early on account of the mission. After all, Ajax didn't want to burn through all of his stamina when there would be more work to do later. He showered, put a shirt on, and went back to his dorm where he would rest until it was time to go. When his phone reminded him that it was time to get up and prep, Ajax quickly rolled out of bed and gathered his things. He carried his war hammer and his satchel into combat and little else beyond what was required. He strapped on his combat boots and made his way to the garage.

Checking over the details of the mission once again he found the correct transport and Celise. "Ah, good day! Are you joining us on this mission, or just getting us to it today?" Ajax asked, recalling from their few prior interactions that she was in Navigators.

---

Jomen looked out ahead of him and saw the large pond where his family had lived all their lives in deep, vibrant colors. The blue waters sparkled white as the fiery rays of the sun coated the small lake in its gleam. The trees shook their merry green trees in response to the strong breeze that played across the area. Jomen took in a deep breath of the fresh air and felt tension leaving his muscles, fingers lightly tangled in the grass. His eyes closed as he took in the warmth. A cry of pain and surprise shattered the quiet reverie and Jomen’s eyes burst open but he saw nothing. Not the water, not the trees, not even blackness, just nothing. The cry wavered and distorted, changing form to the ringing of a loud alarm.

Jomen waved his arm quickly outward to where he knew his alarm clock lay and in process knocked over on of his his prosthetic eyes resting in its recharging station by his nightstand. He heard a muffled thump below him as the eye landed somewhere below him on the carpeted floor. Uttering a mild curse, Jomen slowly and carefully moved his arm to where his other eye sat recharging. The eyes were efficient enough not to need recharging particularly often, maybe once a week or so, but wearing them overnight for extended periods of time was also not recommended due to the delicate nature of the prosthetics. Carefully, he lifted it and placed it into his augmented socket shifting it gently from side to side as the scene of room around became visible once again.

Jomen’s room was neat and clean, and that was about the most one could say about. No posters or art lined the walls. The various shelves and tops of furniture in the room had no personal items at all, save one small, black journal that Jomen wrote his experiences in and the staff that he carried with him both on and off the university grounds at all times leaned against the closest bedroom wall. Jomen’s feet settled against the mildly scratchy carpet as he slowly bent down and scanned the floor attempting to gauge his surroundings as well as his skewed depth perception. He spotted the dull gleam of his eyes, facing pupil first into the carpet beneath his bed and carefully reached forward to grab it. He closed his fingers once he thought he had, but only grasped at empty air. A gentle pushing sensation emanated from his fingertips. Jomen tensed for a moment torn between annoyance and gratefulness, but let out a slow breath of air as he settled on the latter.

"Thank you, my friends," he gently whispered. A small blue fin rose out of the skin of his hand, leaving the skin undamaged and guided him directly to his lost prosthetic. With a few moments of careful observation and manipulating, both eyes began to give him the sensory input he found so essential to his life as a field healer. A notification sound on his phone informed him where he would meet the rest of his assigned squad: the Academy Garage by vehicle 94. As he glanced through the ID numbers he saw that both Celise and Ajax were part of team as he had saved there contact information for easier means of identification and communication. He nodded at the screen at the names, certain they would make for valuable assets to the teams objective. The battle at Ledale would not be an easy one, the city having become overrun with those infected with the Stigma, but there forces would have need of all available medics to continue the fight to save the town and eradicate the disease to victory.

With this thought in mind, he grabbed his entire supply of the Exalt Catalyst that he owned. The inexpensive, though effective catalyst would boost his healing potency allowing him to extend his abilities to far more people than he could on his own at the moment. He would be able to save as many as the infected people as he could from the horrors of the Stigma. Jomen noticed the skin pulled tight across the fist he had apparently made while lost in his thoughts and forced himself to loosen up. He took the time granted from his early alarm to shower, shave, and overall make himself look professional. His outfit was basic military fair, with the exception of a large blue coat that denoted his status as a medic due to his affinity with spirits of water. He wore his gleaming badge for all to see his status as a Guardian training at Oakridge pinned right above his heart.

Though no doubt the outfit would be dirtied in no time at all considering his duty, his first appearance would mark an important first impression for the regular men fighting at Ledale affecting morale. It was therefore important to display himself as professionally as possible to inspire confidence. He pulled his sidearm from a small locker in the room, confirmed that his maintenance the night before had been effective and holstered the weapon at his side. He held his staff in his hands as he exited his room and made his way to the Atrium for some breakfast.

After a somewhat bland, but nutritious meal and the purchase of several protein bars in case the need should arrive. He left the cafes of the Atrium and descended down below to the Academy garage. As he walked by the vehicles in the cool hangar towards number 94. He got the mission details displayed on the holographic display of his phone, reviewing the layout and strategic strongpoints of the city. As he neared, he spied both Ajax and Celise past the display and turned the device off briefly to give the both of them silent nods of greeting.

_{O A K R I D G E A C A D E M Y A T R I U M}



Day broke in a tide of amber light, washing over the horizon in a lucent flood. Even when the world is on the brink of chaos, even after the Jenova crisis - some things never change, and the day will go on like it always does.

Montero Timberson did not know how he felt about that, staring over the balcony railings, out at the sun rise. Was such continuity comforting? Or disturbing ...? Like the world itself didn't care at all. Not for humankind's fate, not for it's guardians' fates -even if they were fighting with their lives for it ...The planet wasn't the grateful sort, it seemed.

He closed his eyes and took a deep lamented breath, then unhooked a small silvered cage that hung by the rungs before shambling off to the fire escape.

A pity this tranquil night was now over.

In the center of Oakridge's residential area, bridging the four dormitories, was an Arboretum - a collection of living trees and plants of various kinds packed into a crafted landscape. As the lift doors opened into the wide open space, the sweet dew-tinged scent of perrenial flora greeted his nose, followed by a chilly breeze that made him cross his arms even tighter.

Scanning the grassy landscape, he saw very few moving figures amongst the monuments that dotted the garden. The large empty hollow logs strewn across the trush, remnants of some great trees now perfect hiding places for the weary student to find respite. Nor the shady banks of the streamlets that wove through the scene. Perhaps he was, for a change, early. Hah. The anxiety that came before Deployment day was probably to blame.

But Montero was not here to await the inevitable rush hour that would soon follow. Composedly, he started sauntering over a small bridge, diverging sharply off the beaten path once crossed and into a morsel of the woods that used to be. There in the midst of a hidden alcove was a tiny Shrine, painted red wood arched over a lit dimunitive altar, bamboo grass now blooming, jealously hiding it from prying eyes. He knew not who built it in the first place nor who still kept it as it is, but this little spot of quietude remained pristine for as long as he knew it. Montero unlatched a charming little lantern from one of his many belts under his trenchcoat, raising it before the edifice. And in that moment, the light within the shrine stirred and flickered, golden wisps bled from the wood like lambent droplets before pulling free and into the lantern.

"Morning."



_{O A K R I D G E : D E P L O Y M E N T G A R A G E}

He had thought that there was plenty of time left but after much procrastination, Montero had little choice than to purchase his first meal from the vending machine just before the Hanger. A questionable drink of hot herbal tea and two raw egg yolks swimming in the center, slowly cooking in what little heat was left. It was one of the Academy's seasonal attempts at introducing new foods to the student body, supposedly this one was a staple breakfst in Cetra. He pinched his nose and forcefully downed it after reading the ingredients label, feet shuffling past the garage door. The aftertaste was ...suprisingly pleasant.

Clearly late, as usual, but Montero kept a straight face as he approached the vicinity of the other students like he meant to be so - nothing wrong with it. Amidst them were a couple of students, of the two was a well put together silver-haired girl, from his point of view, it looked for a moment like she was engaging in some very questionable behaviour to another male student. But a quiet detour around them revealed that she was just warming up, thankfully. Still, warming up for what was essentially a car ride? Still slightly questionable. Then he recognized her partner she was leaning on, not by much, but the word 'Voyeur' came to mind as well as several flashbacks of awkward situations at the gym back when they were in the same class.

Systematically, he took a roundabout route to the side latch of the APC 94, depositing a only a standard-issue personal defence pistol and a spectrometer analysis kit within it's confines. Compared to what was already inside, his weapon was modest. There lay an elegant straight sword glimmering in the back, seamslessly put together by it's crasftman. He took a moment to run his fingers along the flat of it's cold, steel blade, mumbling something to himself as purviewed it's details. He was not expecting to take down some large monstrosity in Ledale and even if they needed to, but if the other's weaponary are any sign of their preparedness, they had it covered. ...Hopefully.

Closing the compartment door but not locking it, Montero promptly got into the cabin of the vehicle, doing nothing more as he took his seat at the furthest corner on the right, save for the two glances he took through the window at the fellow with the weird greenish eyes.

"Oh? I wasn't aware that Ledalle was your hometown. If you've mentioned it before and I forgot, I apologize. Do you know, is your family well? You might recall I have a long family history in the military and coming through the academy here. I suspect that I have some cousin or another currently on the ground there, probably Gregor... He is the black sheep of the family, went into intelligence... We Armstrongs are not known for our intelligence," Ajax responded to Celise as he moved into position to help her stretch, "I was at the gym when I got the notification of the mission deployment, but you can never stretch too much! Come, come, that is the way, feel the stretch all the way through the limb."

The stretches were slow and long and surprisingly full of grace, despite the massive form. Some might recall some of the stretch forms from a meditation class, others might see the soft and slow movements and think that it was something erotic going on. The way that Armstrong lead Celise to stretch each muscle focusing on each area individually, getting each and every muscle fiber to respond and lengthen, well to the right person, perhaps it was erotic. But Armstrong did it for the muscles, it was the best way to release the tension that slowed movement and hindered muscle growth and performance. Such deep stretches could even lead to a heightened metabolism and quicker rejuvenation if done regularly, and correctly. Of course, done incorrectly and it could tear the muscles and could leave a limb useless until the muscle has a chance to reknit the pieces back together. Of course, spiritual influences can protect against such overreach or speed up recovery after the fact, but the honest truth is that it should be avoided as much as possible. Jomen approached at somepoint in the middle of the stretch session, "Hello Green Eyes, care to join in the stretching?"

As Ajax finished helping Celise with her stretches, he noticed Montero quietly entering the personnel carrier. He allowed Celise to lean on him a moment until she was ready to move on her own again. He simply gave him a nod. Ajax gave Montero a nod of greeting and little else, leaving him to his solitude. It would be good to have him around. In a way, Montero served two roles, though more focused on sciences and research he did have a little bit of a background in Warfare, so he could throw a punch or two if he needed to. "Always remember, Celise, the body is a temple. You must always take care of it... Maybe drink more water and fewer of those energy drinks you are so fond of. Otherwise, it might start to show in that soft skin of yours- You'll start to wrinkle!" He ended abruptly with a hearty laugh. The kind that made most people at least smile even if they didn't really want to... except for Green Eyes... he never laughs.

---

"Hello Green Eyes, care to join in the stretching?"

Jomen glanced over at Ajax, avoiding meeting his eyes, as he asked him if he wanted to join noting the deep stretching routine that he and Celise were undergoing. Such was not an uncommon sight when one trained with Ajax. The man was entirely focused at such times at the improvement of his body and physical toughness in Jomen's opinion. However, through their time spent training together Jomen knew that the purpose of such intensive training was not for vanity's sake, but rather to increase his effectiveness on the battlefield to better protect his allies in times of conflict. That was something he could respect as another professional, despite the man's overly casual attitude. He briefly considered accepting the offer, but the draw of gaining more tactical information about the upcoming battle seemed a more advantageous decision.

"I thank you for your offer Ajax, however I need additional time to examine the battle conditions to ensure that I am working at maximum efficiency. I would also like to remind you once again that my name is Jomen Sury, rather than Green Eyes.

With that he continued to memorize the mission information and also pulled up additional maps of the surrounding area just in case. He noticed several shrines in the vicinity of Ledale, and made a mental note to mention them to Celise sometime along their journey. Another student, Jomen vaguely recognized from his own department but went inside the vehicle, though Jomen noticed several glances in his direction. He ignored the behavior though as it was extremely common among his classmates. He was distracted from the fellow research student as Ajax let out a hearty laugh. Jomen looked up at him for a moment and cocked his head at an angle and looked at him briefly, his face completely blank before looking back at his holoscreen.

"Holy eyeballs... and here I thought that I had some magnificent green eyes... Those things shoot lasers?"

The question jolted Jomen out of his focused reading as a flash of annoyance rushed through his system. His eye flicked up and met the light-greened eyes of well built student standing before him and then away. The annoyance melted away under his layer of well developed professionalism. "They do not.
They allow me to see at slightly further distances than normal and give a minor level of night vision. However, that is the extent of their abilities. If you have further questions as to my capabilities, please feel free to ask them at a later time." With that he turned and sat opposite of the fellow research student inside the vehicle, ready to leave. He glanced briefly at research student before shutting his eyes turning inward for meditation. His eyes continued to glow slightly past his eyelids.

---

Freshly dressed and out of the shower, Roland made his way to acquire some food. Walking in a usual paced manor, with hands clasped behind his back, he hummed something almost silently to himself. These early moments in each day were pristine. The air was always cooler, fresh with dew and the aura of the place was clear as glass. Pardosa smiled faintly to himself, swimming in the small moment of solitary enjoyment. His pale face gentle yet harsh, his eyes bright yet cold; swept by swathes of light and dark as he walked alone to the cafeteria. He was an early riser, like most of the guardians. This allowed him to sit and eat in peace, having a well balanced breakfast while he reviewed pages in his journal. Bathed in a beams of light he held a piece of brown toast in one hand, while he fingered through self written pages. As if on cue while he wiped his hands and began to stand to get rid of the refuse, his device lit up with the formal order. A simple nod of acknowledgment towards it and scrolled down the screen to find the numbers. With whom was he to work this time?

He took note of each number. It was hard trying to memorize so much data, but he was nearly positive he knew who each of these people were. He cross referenced the notes he made and found himself right on most accounts. Of course the one number stood out like a sore thumb. He sucked crisp air behind his teeth and feigned a grin to no one. One Miss Celise Lelievre would be in the same troupe, which was always an interesting time. He wondered if she had his number memorized like he did hers. With a silent chuckle, he tucked his journal under his arm and began walking back to his domicile. He doubted it.

Sitting in his room Pardosa switched which journal he used. Moving the one aside for another. The first colored white, the second black. As he tuned into the news, he took different notes on the situations as they developed. He sighed out his nostrils and sat back, chin resting on palm, with an absent finger taping on the desk. How much more information did they really have? How much more would they need? How much could he acquire? His tapping got more fervent, rising in beat and volume until it was a steady staccato. Slowly a hand of shimmering wispy white off to his side pulled his deep seated concentration away from himself. His trusted spirit making it's presence known to bring the young guardian back down to earth. The young man sighed and nodded, no need for words. The arm vanished behind him and Pardosa pushed his seat out, getting ready to leave. After changing into his all white outing gear and arming himself, he set on where to go. He had just enough time to grab one more coffee and show up fashionably late.

Arriving at the hangar he made his way to the designated vehicle with the same paced confidence he did to breakfast; despite knowing this meal would not taste quite as good. On his approach he saw the large bodies of Ajax and Duke first, followed by Celise and Ulva. While the latter were much smaller than the first, they were distinctive to him in personality, as well as their relationship with each other. He seemed to have walked in on a conversation between the titans and Jomen. Deciding to steer clear of that he simply rounded the car and seated himself. As he sidled the large vehicle he spotted the last present member of the team. "Good morning, Mr Timberson." He offered as he sat down. While Pardosa had an interest in all the guardians around, Montero drew him in more. Few would have noticed these slight differences, the twitch oh his left eye on sight or the perhaps three extra questioned he's asked the man. But to Pardosa, it screamed attention. Of course after the short greeting, he didn't even look at him for a response. Can't come off as too involved can we?

_{O A K R I D G E : D E P L O Y M E N T G A R A G E}

The cabin was not so empty anymore, it was a fact that quietude was a luxury not easily afforded at Oakridge.

But this one seemed to stir up the very air itself during her peregination into the vehicle, not in a comfortable way, had there not been this pressence that he would have never noticed her entrance. For she prowled into the vehicle, literally, shoes not making a single sound. Montero could not help but retaliate her eyes of blue looking him up and down, with a glance of his own. Compared to her sleek, dark outfit that meshed her body, screaming battle-readiness, his was substantially more ...civillian. A khaki trenchcoat over formal attire, hiding most of his frame except for the straight cut auburn trousers and steeltoe shoes. With a lantern sitting on his lap. Looking very ill prepared comparatively.

He nodded back in greeting, a silent acceptance of her, though brows furrowing at the unkempt, no ...feral, yes that's the word, aura - when she wasn't looking. When one spends so much time interacting with spirits, one tends to be able to read things people don't usually see, hear or feel.

And such was the case too when another being arrived just on cue.

"Good morning, Mr Timberson."

Mask. Persona. Duality. His face was too clean, in more ways than one. Mien. Too professional, unlike Jomen's natural finish. His words felt riddled with complex second meaning, Montero looked straight into his eyes to try reading them for only the briefest of moments.

"Morning."

A slight semblance of a smile to reciprocate the jovial gesture, however, the overly formal choice of words and use of his last name prompted loud mental warning bells.

They made very little eye contact after that but that didn't mean they intended to do nothing about each other, Montero was a Researcher and finding facts were a trademark skill of theirs'. Turning his phone sideways to look like he was playing a game, Montero started scanning through the squad details and referencing them to Oakridge's online resources.

Ulvar. Specialist. Stealth.

Pardosa. Specialist. Guerilla.

...Both in Intelligence.

Montero Timberson's expression quickly drained of what little mirth there was. Perhaps it was not known to the other divisions but the Research and Intelligence sects of Oakridge Academy don't see eye to eye often, to put it lightly. Whatever Research personnel did, Intelligence operatives always had to meddle in. Rarely was their meddling benign either, for behind closed curtains their scrutiny had a say if projects recieved any funding at all. Worst still, they never mention their real criterias. Just observing, maybe asking ...but never contributing.

If there was an enemy to the very concept of progress, the hiveminded, ironically named Intelligence division would be it.



"Huh."

Montero knew his studies weren't exactly popular with the board of directors, or at least that was his impression from the three past denied proposals within the last year alone. Now working on his fourth: Was it sheer coincidence that the very first two other members to crowd him and Jomen, two Researchers, in this tiny cabin, were from this particular department?

He wagered not so.

...But alas, if there is a cold war of rights and privacy to be had, Montero was alone. For looking at Jomen, who looked so placcid as he retreated into meditation before the very enemy, noting that as he was he would make a very poor ally in the struggle for dignity of their good work.

Montero gazed despondently away from the screen and up at the ceiling.

All it took for evil to triumph, was for good men to do nothing.

----------------------------------

When the driver called the Guardians in so that they could set off, Montero turned off his phone then slid it into his pockets along with his hands - just in time as the stretching girl from before came in to throughly invade Ulvar's personal space. Nay, violate her personal space.

His eyes briefly lingered upon their ministrations.

"Oh, being in intelligence isn't bad at all, it is just that none of the Armstrongs in our long history have ever been anything other than Warfare division, or the equivalent of it for the time," Ajax explained, "But he was a bit weird in other ways too... we don't talk about it much in our family, not that I minded personally."

"Uh oh, is that a Knight I hear? The loud clanging of your armor gave you away again, my friend!" Ajax said as he turned to greet his longtime companion, "Maybe someday, if you keep trying hard enough, you'll get promoted to a King and only have one name!" Ajax erupted into a one-man cacophony of laughter which echoed and layered in the long concrete and steel garage. Nobody else laughed at the stupid joke, that was okay, Ajax didn't care.

"Oh! Looks like it is time to go! Come, Duke, let us find our glory on the battlefield!" Ajax turned as if to get into vehicle 95, which was empty and without a driver, and when we realized this he turned back, his stoic face contorted as if in horror at the realization that he was going to have to fit inside of 94 with everybody else. He looked at Duke and quickly shouted "Shotgun!" And ran for the front seat position next to the driver. When he opened the door the driver had already put his hand out and was shaking his head. It was apparent that he, nor anybody else, would get the luxury of that particular seat, "Well, I am sorry everyone, it looks like I will have to cram myself in there with the rest of you, I tried. To make it up to you all, I promise to lead you all in a round of post-arrival stretches to work out the cramps and fatigue of the road! It will be grand!"

And so with efficient effort, Ajax forced himself into the back of the unit and there he sat crumpled up as small as he could get himself to be. It was quiet for a while as the vehicle began the run down the road. "So, uh, for those of you who do not know me, I am Ajax Armstrong, as you may have guessed I am in Warfare. I specialize in defense. I am the front line, I am the wall. I am your shield, so stand behind me, and you will never fall! HaHA!" He laughed at his own limerick. It wasn't intended, but he felt extra clever for it for the moment. Though he noticed that the burst of laughter only came from him and that nearly everyone in the personnel carrier winced a little at the volume, "Sorry. I will try to keep it down."

The ride on the rather overcrowded APC was far from joyous to the Guardian, not that there wasn't any space on the vehicle - but the inevitable road bumps led to aggravating disregard for his personal space - which he highly valued. Of course, the company was made slightly more uncomfortable by Ajax's lack of an indoor voice, the soldier was clearly excited to get off the bus and mentally scar all of them as soon as possible.

But at least Abysso was here, the oil stain on his shirt and elbow evidently gave him away as to why he was late. When he looked Montero's way, the navigator would see Montero's uncomfortable scowl at an empty wall between the two Intelligence's heads - momentarily change to a single raised eyebrow, a sideways glance and the sassy upward twinge of his bearded smirk at the smear that went uncleaned. The two had an amicable relationship, abundantly based on the shared opinion that daytime's heat and noise was most banal to productivity. The serenity, chilly air and irresistable aroma of fresh cocoa soufflé from late nights at the atrium's Cloud Cafe was far better suited for any sort of work to be done.

...
...
...

When the APC stopped, Montero immediately flung the doors wide open and hopped out of the vessel, going straight to the weapon's compartment to retrieve his gear. He sorted through the pile, running his hand along some of the other equipment for a moment. Once Celise was done debriefing the team, he chucked into her hands, handle first, her weapon. Commenting.

"Nice sword."

Before turning on his heel, flourishing his coat and giving them a backward thumbsup of acknowledgement, heading off elsewhere swiftly. He would rue the day he had to participate in the inelegant proceedings of group stretching.

---

Jomen sat in the transport vehicle eyes closed, stirring only as he felt Celise's hand upon his arm. No doubt this was meant to be a calming gesture after his interaction with the Warfare division member, however Jomen was uncertain whether he required such a gesture. Still it would be wise to seem ungrateful. He opened his eyes slightly and glanced at Celise's eyes, nothing more just a simple acknowledgement of touch and comfort received. Manners satisfied, he closed his eyes once more and plunged down deep within himself. He lost himself in a blend of meditation and near lucid-dreaming entering the realm inside himself that either his spirits resided in or he imagined them too. As his eyes closed, his eyes opened once more. Rather than the vehicle and his fellow guardians cramped inside with him, he found himself of a large water lily on still waters. His face became sore as his mouth stretched upward at first slowly then more surely, pleased at the surroundings.

Since his last visit the pool of water inside of him had stretched further with more vegetation and lift. In the shallow parts of the water he could see kelp stretching upwards from a vast acre of posidonia, or sea grass as it was commonly called. Both indicative of healthy water life, though his inner pool did not seem to follow the traditional rules of a body of water. Jomen reached out and pressed his hand flat out against the surface of the water and pressed down against it. Large, circular ripples of water came from the furthest edges of the pool and rippled inward toward his hand at the center calling his spirits to him. He briefly attempted to push further into the water, but felt a gentle force push back matching his own effort. Despite his efforts, he still could not penetrate the surface of the water, something pushed him away. He pulled his hand back not particularly surprised, but felt some of the sore muscles in his face relax.

Three forms in the water moving toward him took his attention away as his spirits arrived. The first to manifest and by far the largest was a large amount of spirits in the form of black and blue Manta Ray that had been with him in one form or another since he had begun to collect spirits within himself. The second formed in his opening days of the academy into the shape of a mandarinfish, well known for its beauty but also poisonous to the the touch. His third and final spirit manifested itself into the form of axolotl as his healing abilities reached their current peak. It was much smaller than the other two, given how recently the spirits had formed into its shape, but would no doubt grow larger as he absorbed more spirits into himself. He talked to them briefly about the upcoming mission before he felt his physical body call him back to reality as they had arrived at Oakridge City.



Jomen's augmented green eyes opened like the doors of a forge fire as he saw the others exiting the vehicle. He followed them out taking a moment to allow his eyes light sensors to adjust to the sunlight. Celise looked them over and explained the mission rules that Jomen had already memorized. He made no comment to this effect however as such briefings tended to be beneficial to those teammates that were not particular apt in the art of information retention. As Celise left, Jomen made as if to follow her, having little interest in seeing the city itself, but stopped as he heard the sound of sirens echoing from a few blocks away. The sounds cause Jomen's foot to stop and turn in midair as he decided to investigate the event in case his skills were needed. He paused by Ajax and muttered by his ear, "If you would be so kind as to come with me Ajax, some civilians may be in need of our services."

With that he set forth, easily locating the scene from the sound of the sirens and crowd spectating the event. With Ajax's size and both of their prominently displayed Academy badges on their chest it was not difficult to get the crowd to part around them without a word. A number of conflicting looks were aimed at his eyes some angry, some fearful, and some even with respect as they glanced down at their own lost limbs. Several UDF soldiers were pushing back members of the crowd from the road ways as a Guardian approched both himself and Ajax. The guardian wore armor that did not completely cover the extensive scarring that seemed to have occurred all over her body. The women seemed mildly familiar to Jomen though he could not place where he had seen her image before.

"Final Year Academy Students Ma'am. I am Jomen Sury of the Research Division and this is Ajax Armstong of the Warfare Divsion. We are passing by on our way to the Battle of Ledale and thought our services might be needed." Jomen was going to ask more before spotting a police officer standing by the blockade in front of what appeared to be an office complex. He strode away from Guardian Sicario leaving Ajax to speak more to the more experienced guardian as he briefly flashed his badge, made direct eye contact with his unsettling gaze, and asked the officer in an authoritative tone, "Officer... Sator, What is the current situation?

The young policeman, clearly inexperienced at his job, nearly saluted Jomen in his haste to answer. "A number of augmented extremists have overtake this building sir. We are having trouble securing the situation especially with Marshall Angelos in town riling up the opposition."

Jomen nodded as he looked around and back over to Ajax, waving his hand at the man to indicate that he had found a way through. "I will be heading in." With that the officer removed the barricade and called ahead to indicate the groups arrival. There was an open square between the police and the entrance to the office complex, Jomen walked through it not hesitating. At it's center, he stopped and placed his staff open the ground, roots spread out from the bottom of the staff easily penetrating through the ground below to dirt keeping the staff upright. Jomen removed his holster containing his sidearm and hung it from the top of his staff before placing his hands above his head. He approached the building, aware that Ajax would soon follow and called out to the guns trained on his approach.

"I am a healer and I wish to speak to your leader." He kept his voice calm and steady as a gentle rain, hands remaining atop his head nonthreateningly as he entered through the doorway.

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@Prisk@deadpixel101

The water lapped fruitlessly attempting to enter into Jomen's waterproofed boots as he walked through the streets of Wolfwater surveying the damage the creature that had been dispatched to deal with had caused. The rally point they had designated was not too much further and the data that he collected here with the methods the Research Division had taught him could mean the difference between victory and failure in their hunt. The mission details had included a note that he had found difficult to stop thinking about "ability to bend water to its will." At first, he had dismissed it as an untrained eye observing a powerful water ability but now looking at the town and the devastation leveled at the town from the flooding. Now his mind was sorting through the possibilities of what could create such an ability and what its implications where. If one could attain such mastery over water and its own healing abilities, would it be possible to even cure the Stigma?

Jomen shook himself and returned his thoughts to the mission at hand. Something was causing the creature to attack now of all times, whether if this was just the first group of humans that it had come across or some other reason in particular. As a place to start, Jomen had requested the mayor have ready maps and records of its current whaling operations as well as all locations the creature had attacked. It was possible that the whaling had disturbed something that it ought not have and could possibly lead them the location of the creature that they were hunting.

Jomen reached the rally point and looked around for Celise who had apparently already arrived before him and the rest of the team members. A flickering of light from a nearby alley gave him the answer, he approached quietly and observed Celise kneeling in front of a makeshift shrine. He watched the candles slowly dim as some of the spirits found shelter inside their newest visitor. As he observed the scene, a light rain began to fall from the sky sprinking against the wooden sides of the shrine, threatening the dimly lit candles. Jomen quietly moved the staff in one, slow flowing motion as next to the shrine a plant began to sprout next to the shrine. It grew at and accelerated pace till coiled around it then grew several thick large leaves, covering the shrine and protecting it from the elements. One large leaf extended out to cover Celise's head as well despite her poncho. A small protection he could give to the shrine at least for the moment. Jomen then turned to depart allowing Celise to pray in peace, as he waited for the remaining member of their team to arrive for their meeting with the mayor.

The group filed out of the transport, Ajax waiting until everybody else was out before him. Celise started the mission brief and Ajax waited patiently for her to dismiss everybody. "Alright, wonderful! We have two whole hours to stretch and do a light warm up before we get on the boats! Everybody, all together now, rank and file! Wait- Where is everybody going?" Ajax exclaimed excitedly. He may be extremely well adapted for combat, but for all his exuberance, he would probably make for a better teacher of combat if he ever made it to an old enough age to retire from active combat deployment. He loved the opportunity to not only work to better his own body, but the opportunity to help others in their voyage of templedom was an exhilarating opportunity for Ajax, one which he would never pass up. Which was why every time he had an opportunity to train with somebody he took the opportunity to do so. However, this time, the group was not so willing. Ajax looked around dismayed as the group broke up and started to go their separate ways.

Ajax turned to retrieve his War Hammer from the transport, which was basically just strapped to the roof as it wouldn't fit inside the compartment. As he put his hand on the shaft of the hammer he heard the sirens wailing in the distance. "Could be we don't need a boat after all," Ajax said to himself as he hefted the heavy weapon onto his shoulder, continuing to look in that direction. Ajax saw Jomen stop suddenly and turn, looking the same way. Before Jomen even reached Ajax, he knew what he was going to say. "I will be right behind you."

As Green-Eyes and the Giant made their way through the crowd they were intercepted by the senior Guardian. Ajax knew who she was on sight. Between being in the same division and his family having their long tradition of attending the academy, Ajax's older sister, Olgara, had been in the same class as her. Ajax knew her before, and part of the training in warfare is going over old mission reports to try and learn the strategy. What worked, what didn't. Ajax knew as much as anybody who wasn't there could know, which wasn't a lot, but he did know who she was. It had been many years since he had actually seen her, but still, the difference in appearance was startling. "Ma'am," Ajax greeted with a salute after Jomen made the introduction. They may be students, but they were still military students, and she was a ranking officer. "Looks like there might be some trouble in that building over there, Jomen is our group's healer, he was concerned over civilian injuries, which is what brought us here. I am in Warfare division, but I am a defender more than an offensive type - though some of my classmates might disagree!" It was a joke, a badly timed joke, one that he was sure nobody would have laughed at even if there was anybody around to hear it that knew him. "Ah- Uh, Anyways. It would be an honor to assist you in dealing with this situation, or if you would assist us if you aren't too busy?"

As Jomen entered the square Ajax made it past the barracade, but where Jomen announced his intentions of going inside Ajax stayed put. "I am NOT a healer, and I'll be staying out here... but don't give me a reason to come inside..." Ajax announced as Jomen entered through the doorway. The passive threat worked to get most of the guns off of Jomen as he approached the building.

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Inside the insurgency scurried. They had hostages, and they had made it clear that they were more than willing to do what they had to in order to get what they wanted. They had cleared out the main lobby and moved everybody off of the first floor. Desks had been pushed over to make cover walls and baracades at the top and bottom of the steps. Four men crouched behind the desks at the top of the steps and two men were on the wings of the balcony, all where perfectly visible for Jomen or anybody else who entered to see. "Stop it Right there, buddy. Not anot'er step from you. We know you ain't no heala. Guardians don't get implants! Now tellus whatcha really after and maybe we kill ya quick?"

Further upstairs the hostages were moved to another room by a single gunman. His entire forearm had been replaced with the Gatling gun of a weapon, he sucked down on a short, fat cigar with his left hand. "Move it, Move it, don't do nothing stupid, yeah?" He said gesturing with his gun arm for the people to move quickly. They were being moved further inside the building now, harder for them to be seen from the outside, too many drones in the air, and now there were people walking right up the front steps and knocking on the door. At the windows facing the square Ajax stood stoic with his warhammer in hand, ready to leap into action at any sign of trouble.