[IC] The Fourth Realm

[Polaris North]

Vincent - Axis Agent and Layla - Halfbreed Angel

Layla turned to Nyra's general direction as the latter began speaking. A smile made its way to her face as Nyra corrected herself. It was a rookie mistake. She was used to it by now. Deciding that it would be best not to comment about it, she answered, "No, there's nothing out of the ordinary. But... I do feel something odd... like there's something trying to... well, let's say 'block' for lack of better word. I don't know what it is but I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. Please do be careful." She told Nyra. The brown haired female was frowning, not really liking how her only use is being restrained. She gripped her cane tightly but she seemed calm.

Vincent shrugged in reply to Sonya. Yeah, she had a point. There was nothing else to be checked here to be completely honest. Why send them here when there's absolutely nothing left to be investigated. He then looked at KB as he questioned why Ichi was barking earlier, "Whatever it was, the halfbreeds probably found it and are investigating it right now." He replied then looking at Sonya and then following her, right hand in his pocket as he did so. He really was doubting there was anything in this building anymore.

He stopped near the halfbreeds, kneeling down to pet Ichi and then looked at Tamara as she activated her power. Although he wasn't too comfortable with the idea of probably setting the room on fire with all of them inside, he trusted this insane halfbreeds enough to let her do her thing. However, it was at that time that his dog seemed to be feeling something. Vincent looked at Ichi unsurely, softly calling out to the dog. He wouldn't be too alerted with what Tamara had been doing. Ichi had seen far worse than that and he knew that Tamara was an ally, so why?

Vincent stood up when Ichi began growling. The black haired male reached for his pistol under his suit, his fingers wrapping around the handle, ready to whip it out at a moment's notice. He had heard Blake whistle, as if to alert them of something else. At that moment, however, Vincent wasn't sure what happened. He had taken out his pistol when Blake was blown away, but before he could shoot... or even see what had attacked, he was already on the floor, pain radiating from his stomach as if something had punched him there with force.

Sonya's scream did well to immediately make Vincent recover. However, he couldn't see anything. The room was dark. But he felt a familiar sensation, something he had just felt earlier in the meeting. It was Blake. It seems the half-demon has lost control of himself.

Layla's head snapped towards the group's direction. She heard a scream, and a lot of thumping noises. Worried but ultimately knowing that she couldn't do much of anything, she stayed her hand. What she can do is what comes after. It would be horrible if they couldn't get up anymore. She truly did wish that they were alright. Although she found something odd, she hadn't heard anything other than the ones she's with. So how... when did that get there?

[GoredGuar]

Nyra turned bright red when she realised her mistake, the smile on Layla's face making it all too clear, and mumbled something of an apology.
"No, there's nothing out of the ordinary." She gave a sigh of relief, though it was short lived. "But... I do feel something odd... like there's something trying to... well, let's say 'block' for lack of better word. I don't know what it is but I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. Please do be careful."

"Ah," Nyra patted her jacket, to make sure that the comforting bulge of her handgun was still there, as Layla's words didn't sound too good. Normally she would have rolled her eyes at 'psychics' talking about sensing things, but she was a half-breed as well. That meant that Nyra trusted what Layla said completely, and was worried by the fact that she was gripping her cane a tad rather tightly, as if anxious about something. "I'll try to be, I guess? Really though, I'm not sure how much help I'd be anyway, haha." She raised her eyebrows at Tarn, who was hurrying down the stairs outside, clutching his forehead. "Okayyy...."

The next few minutes exploded in what seemed like an instant. First there was the sound of a dog growling, which by itself was cause for concern, but when followed by a high pitched scream.... Gritting her teeth, Nyra gently tapped Layla on the shoulder, then hurtled up the stairs, gun drawn, just as Blake yelled the agent's name.
Strange how he reacted so strongly. Nyra frowned, but her attention was drawn elsewhere as she entered the room to see nothing but darkness. Now this she could help with!

"Targin, Felas, Rupin!" She yelled, and three huge winged lions leapt out from behind her, running to separate areas of the room. They were made of pure, bright light, but she had names for them anyway, as it made them feel more real to her, made the light easier to control. Aiming her gun, she waited to see what would be revealed from behind the darkness.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Tarn was at Layla's side. He was about to follow Nyra up the stairs when he realised she was alone, and so stood to one side of her, keeping an eye out for any other intruders on their floor. He didn't think it was wise to leave their one healer alone, despite the fight going on above their heads.

[Kidd]

[ Flynn ]

When the dog started growling, Flynn narrowed her eyes, suddenly alert. Her fingers cracked with electricity as the tension built, and she was struggling to see or hear or smell anything--something was preventing her and the others from using their senses to their full ability. Then there was yelling and--what was happening? It was too dark. The crackling in her hands grew louder as her hands moved closed together; she was putting more power into the electricity she controlled, hoping to light up the room, but the stronger it got, the more deadly and more difficult to control it was. Lightning was unpredictable, and even when she made it as big as she felt comfortable doing, it barely lit the dark. "What's going on?!" she shouted as Blake yelled.

---

[ KB ]

"Shit," KB muttered, pulling his gun. "We need to leave, now!" he snapped so everyone could hear. If the half breeds--their muscle--couldn't even deal with this threat, there was no way they were going to be able to. This was supposed to be an investigative start to the whole mission--now they may have already lost an agent, based on Blake's yelling. If anything, the halfdemon sounded genuine, which surprised KB. Still, there was nothing they could do in this...advanced darkness. So, he started retracing his steps toward the exit, assuming everyone else was following suit. Their funeral if not.

[Thundercrash]

While Tamara didn't exactly know what would happen, she figured that something would when she let her flames begin licking at the blood on her palm. So when the lights went out, and she heard Sonya scream as something hit her, Tamara dropped to the ground and drew her wings over her back like a shield. Sure enough, something hit her from behind, but instead of knocking her over it tripped over her instead, apparently not expecting her to have reacted so quickly.

“Awe, you didn't like that,” she purred, her eyes flaring purple. ”Let's see what our little friend loo-” she stopped, then snarled. Fuck!

The… thing, was humanoid in appearance, in the sense that its shape was vaguely reminiscent of a human’s. Which was hardly comforting, but it wasn't what had Tamara infuriated. No, it was the fact that the thing was cold. To her thermal vision, it should have lit up like a christmas tree against the background, the same way Sonya, Blake, and Tamara’s own hands did, but no, she might as well have been looking at the floor. Which was a problem, because it was moving. Cold things didn't move, because cold meant dead, and dead things were not supposed to move. So this thing should have been either warm or not moving, not the opposite of both.

Plus, from the sounds of things, either it or another one like it was mostly likely the reason for her babysitter’s scream, which meant they were probably there to kill all of them. And Tamara’s search was too important for her to die, and even if she didn't, the rest of Axis probably wouldn't take it well if she let her babysitter die. In conclusion: Tamara was gonna have to save the girl's little bubble butt, and never let her forget it. Joy of joys.

First, however, she had to take care of a little problem. Smiling nastily, she tensed her legs beneath her as flames began licking along her wings. ”The dark’s where all the fun stuff happens, but it's rude to not show your face first. I think you need to be punished!” She lunged forward, her wings shifting into claw-like hands that seized the… creature by its arms as she tackled it, wrapping her own arms around what she hoped was its neck while her own body blazed, forcing back the darkness with roiling violet light.

The creature staggered from the impact, but what Tamara was unprepared for was the sudden howl it made as her flames spread onto its body. The unearthly sound drilled into her head with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, causing her grip to slacken. She might be missing nearly the entirety of her life from her memory, but somehow, she was sure that she had never heard anything like that. And its existence triggered a deep-rooted revulsion in her, like every fiber of her being was screaming at her to get away from it. Not that she got the chance to; now mostly unimpeded by her attempt to restrain it, the creature grabbed her by the arm and almost effortlessly yanked her over its shoulder, slinging her through the nearest wall. She cried out as her wings and back exploded with pain, almost as bad as what came from her shoulder when it gave a sickening “pop” that had her vision tunneling.

When her eyes cleared, they settled on the creature that was following her through the flaming hole she had left. It moved slowly, seemingly unconcerned by possible attempt at retaliation she might make, until it was standing over her, one shapeless foot on either side of her waist, pinning her wings to the floor. Seemingly regarding her for a moment, it bent down and reached towards her neck.

Tamara wasn’t having any of that. As its fingers started wrapping around her throat, she grabbed what were approximately its wrists and pushed as hard as she could. What little room that gave her allowed her to suck in a deep breath, and roar as only a demon could, directing a concentrated stream of violet flame straight into what she hoped was the thing’s face.

Either that did the trick, or whatever it was decided that she just wasn’t worth the effort; it got off of her real fast and didn’t come back. Coughing for breath, she massaged her throat, then pushed herself up, gasping as all of her injuries, including a new one in her leg, burst to life. Supporting herself with her wings, she staggered through the hole in the wall, taking in her handiwork. The hotel room was, well, a write-off. Her flames had given way to ordinary yellow-orange, and she’d be lucky if the hotel was going to still be standing when all was said and done. Sonya was probably going to be pissed about that, but at the moment Tamara couldn't care less. She'd damn well better be thanking her for still being alive to complain.

[my Lalia]

Blake Helsing - half demon

The blackness could be felt on his skin, like cold fingers lightly scratching him. He welcomed it as his demon side began to take over. He could feel his body changing as he lost control, he could feel himself becoming more in tuned with the darkness. He could feel the emotions of the others in the group, but he couldn't feel anything from the things that was attacking them.

Blake let out an unworldly roar just as three winged lions made of pure light leapt into the room, though they did little to lighten the room. He turned to see who had sent the light to see Nyra. If she could see him, she would see that his eyes were black, his right arm covered with spikes and his hand more claw like and that he now had horns and sharp teeth. There was no doubt that he had no control now.

Suddenly Blake was on the ground again with something on his chest. It burned him and he screamed in pain before he brought his clawed hand up and hit the thing, hopefully in the face. The thing wasn't expecting it but it remained on his chest though the burning stopped. That was when he heard Sonya scream again only this time it sounded like she was in pain. Without thinking he reached up and pulled the thing on his chest down and bit into it. Liquid spilled into his mouth but it didn't taste of anything. The thing shrieked before it tore him off and threw him across the room.

Free from the thing he searched for his sister but he couldn't see her, though he could sense her fear. He ran into the darkness giving another roar. He ran into one of the creatures that was attacking the female half demon, though as he did so one of her lightning bolts hit him. It was painful but his need to save his sister overrode that pain.

Suddenly the room was light again and he could see everyone. Everyone but his sister.

Panic suddenly set in as he spun around searching for any signs of his sister, but there was nothing. No blood, no body, no sense of her emotions.

"Sonya!" He yelled though his demon half screwed his vocal cords and his yell sounded more like a growl.

He spun around again as if in hopes that he simply missed her the last time. But she wasn't there. That was when his black eyes fell on Vincent.

"We must find Sonya! They took her! We must find her!" He said in a heavy growl panic. The sense of panic and urgency grew heavy in the room as Blake's own emotions began to effect the others. He no longer cared if the others questioned why he panicked over the loss of an Axis agent. He had to find his sister, he just had too.

I can't have failed! I was to protect her. I promised to protect her! I must find her! He thought as he looked at the others, though he noticed some were missing. But he could feel them, they were still here.

His hands shook as his demon side wished to take more control and he was ready to give up his human side. This was the first time he had ever lost control like this.

[Polaris North]

Vincent - Axis Agent and Layla - Halfbreed Angel

Vincent could hear KB say something about retracing their steps and getting out of the room. Yeah, that would probably be for the best. He could hear Ichi growling beside him. With a light tap, Ichi then began running towards the door while dragging the rifle case, or where he remembered the door was. Vincent, on the other hand, stood up and grabbed his other pistol. Ugh, he couldn't see anything in the dark.

However, he saw three winged lions made of light. It did little to light up the room and he still couldn't see what he was fighting with. But it definitely wasn't a halfbreed. He was sure about that. If it was, then Ichi would've been able to pinpoint where it was and attack it mercilessly. But the dog couldn't. He heard an unwordly roar come from somewhere near him. At first, he thought it might be the creatures that were after their blood... but really, he couldn't care less. For all he knew, it was Blake who released that roar.

The black haired agent began making his way back to the door, following the sound of his dog. But something had pushed him down once more. He felt the cold hard ground beneath his back and the familiar pain that came with it. He could feel its claws sinking into his sides but it did little to stop Vincent. He raised his two pistols to where he assumed the... lifeform was, and then began to shoot. Round after round, the special bullets made to defeat the halfbreeds shooting straight at the lifeform. It let out a shriek and went away leaving Vincent.

He wasn't sure why but the place suddenly felt hotter. After focusing a bit, he noticed that the room was on fire. He could easily guess that this was Tamara's doing. This was bad, they needed to get out as quickly as possible.

He heard another roar. It was definitely one of them. It seems that the creatures shriek, but did not roar. Vincent struggled to get up. He could feel the wetness of his own blood. It was nothing compared to his old injuries but it's still painful as hell. He was glad that they decided to bring Layla along.

In that moment, the lights went back on. He looked around and heard that Blake was yelling out for Sonya. Why, he wasn't too sure. Vincent began to assess where the others were. Everyone was fine it seems... everyone except Sonya wasn't here. The creatures weren't there as well. And now he could finally see the raging fire properly, but they still had time to get out which was good.

Vincent slid the two pistols back in their holsters then placed his hands over his sides in hopes to stop the bleeding. Blake then turned to him and he could feel his emotions of panic rise. This guy... "Indeed, our priority is to find Sonya. But first, we need to get out of here." He agreed, meeting his black eyes with calm ones. He wasn't the least bit scared at Blake's appearance, having been fighting halfbreeds for a long time now, it shouldn't surprise him. He was worried for the other agent as well. Vincent gestured for him to follow as he made his way towards the hallway, out of the room. He'd rather not stay in there for long again.

Ichi had begun running downstairs to where Layla and Tarn were. Layla heard the dog and then began to grow even more worried. She knew that Nyra had gone up after she had tapped her arm, but there was another soul besides her. Perhaps the person decided to stay to protect her from potential harm. True, she cannot defend herself. Not in the state that she's in. "Come, let us go up." She told him before making her way upstairs, one hand on the wall and the other tapping where the next step is. It was a slow process but it was certainly faster than most others.

Vincent had sat down and leaned on the wall behind him, blood was still being secreted by his wounds. It seems he was the only one that got injured. Good for them, bad for him. He was best in long range after all. Haha. He watched the room they were in be engulfed with fire and then spoke, "KB, can you contact the top brass? Make a report of what happened and tell them that we need to find Sonya. We can't afford to lose a teammate... no, rather I don't want to lose one. I'm sure they have some way to track her." He was sure that the other agent was older than him but he didn't care. He then looked as his blind friend came up, "Over here." He called out to her. She began making her way towards him and then knelt beside him. He began recounting his injuries, but all of them were minor so it didn't take long for her to heal him. "If you feel any pain... physical pain, I want you to tell it to Layla. It will be for the best if everyone was in top condition."

He turned to Blake. "Blake, I know you can feel emotions... so you probably know where Sonya was right? Did she simply disappear like the enemies? Or was she taken away?" He then turned to the others. "Did anyone else come into contact with them? I want to know more about this enemy that we're fighting. Because I'm sure as hell that... or rather those weren't halfbreeds. Or if it is, it's not your average one."

[GoredGuar]

Well that was unexpected. Nyra gritted her teeth in annoyance as her lions did virtually nothing to light the room. A dying candle would've looked more impressive, it was pathetic.
It was difficult to see in the darkness, but there was definitely some serious damage being dished out...and not from her 'side'. Eyes widening, Nyra stared as she saw a terrifying visage.
"What the hell, is that Blake?!" All horns and demonic spikes, she was sure that the terrifying half-demon would be more than a match for the creatures they were facing.

Her hopes were soon shattered by one of their assailants pinning Blake to the floor. "Oh." Nyra shuddered as he let out a scream of pain, her own hand clenching to dismiss her lions - there was no point wasting her energy, her only power was useless. If those like Blake - and Tamara, Nyra thought, rolling her eyes at the fact that she'd sent the hotel room up in flames - couldn't hold their own -with- powers that actually worked somewhat, what was she supposed to do, shoot at pitch black and hope she didn't hit one of the team?

That's when she noticed a creature staring at her. It stood, all cold and dark, and Nyra could almost swear it tilted its head.
"Fuck this," she muttered, holstering her gun. "I'm not going to join in this, I'm leaving". The darkness seemed to smile, as Nyra turned to walk down the steps out of the room.

"Where the hell are you going?" There was a fist grabbing at her clothes, and Nyra snarled, knocking Tarn's clawed hand out of the way. "They might need you up there, why are you leaving?"
"Fine words coming from one avoiding the fight entirely, hey?" She ignored the fact that Tarn was attempting to protect Layla, as even so, it seemed much less dangerous than up...there. Perhaps it had something to do with him clutching his head earlier. "I'm completely useless. My powers don't do anything, at least the others can fight back, so why the hell should I stay around? To be a meat shield? I don't intend on dying just yet, so no thanks," she left the building. "I'll be at a pub if you find a use for me," Nyra laughed.

"Come, let us go up." Tarn agreed, making sure Layla made it up the stairs ok, but she was more than capable. He felt foolish for assuming she wasn't. Annoyingly, or thankfully, the fight was over, and Tarn sighed - he wished he could've helped more. The only problem was that an agent was now missing.