Salvation Awaits [Plot Thread]

[bradums]

[Staff Note: This is a plot thread, and will be treated as such. Specific characters are key players, but all others in the area are welcome to RP along with the plot line. Though the outcome is fixed according to the plot, the interference of other characters may alter certain aspects, so feel free to play along. In this thread, the "immortal" Captain Tristan Leodegrance is finally infiltrating Penglai Island to steal the Third Princess, Ayame li Britannia, back from the Order of the Black Knights.

If anyone needs any details at all, send me a PM and I'll clarify anything else you need.]

---

It was raining lightly, and despite the almost pitch black darkness of the night, Tristan could see well enough to get inside the perimeter of Penglai Island - the base of operations for the Black Knights. After what Anderson had done to him, the young Captain found that his eyesight had been one of the many improvements to his body. That horrible experiment that had sewn his essence together with that of an Immortal would be considered a gift to most people. His strength was doubled, he was faster than ever, and whatever wound was dealt to his body would simply...correct itself. He was like a demigod from the ancient myths, with advanced abilities.

However, he felt more like an abomination. Tristan's life was complicated enough before, which was part of the reason he left behind the world of Britannian nobility to enlist as a standard officer in the Military. Now, it had gotten much, much worse.

Yet here he was, whatever he was, to keep moving forward on the path he had chosen - whether or not Anderson believed it to be his own. Ayame had been kidnapped and taken to Penglai, and Tristan was here to take her back. Although he wanted to keep himself isolated from his former friends and acquaintances, it seemed fate was pushing him back. While the Britannian Military could've handled it, the recovery of Ayame would be an all-out battle that would prove deadly to most involved. Instead, Tristan would enter alone and achieve the same objective with a lot less noise and explosions.

Entering into the headquarters through an air duct, Tristan quietly placed the grate back on and checked his pistol. He was in some sort of storage room, which didn't really help him in terms of location. It was take some time, and some luck, to find Ayame before Tristan himself was found...

[All Black Knights who wish to participate, go ahead and post.]

[kevin]

Kevin was in HQ and was literally pissed off. He was signed for night duty. Something he didn't like since if he was going to be doing night duty, he couldn't get his beauty sleep!'Darn them for making me do a night shift'thought Kevin. He walked down the hall and looked left and right. Who was going to be here anyways? Nobody would try and come into the Black Knights HQ in the right mind. They had guns, Knightmare Frames, and other people doing night duty as well. However, Kevin wasn't used to this.

He made his way into the kitchen and opened the fridge and took out a can on soda and them popped open a bag of chips. It was a small bag of chips which he finished in about 3 minutes and then finished his soda. Them something came over him. Should he do it? Should he not do it? Would she kill him?'Who knows'he thought as he opened a cabinet. He looked up to where it would be and found it. Sakura's stash of tea."MUWAHAHAHAHA!"he whispered both loud and quietly with a grin on his face.

He took out a Sakura tea flavored bag. He boiled some water, took out a disposable cup, pured the boiling water into the cup with the tea bag inside, mixed a bit capped the cup and walked out the kitchen. He made his way towards the main balcony past Sakura's office. He knew if he would go to close to her room, the Sakura tea would wake her up and not only will she see Kevin was drinking her tea, but also kill Kevin as well. So, he walked towards her office's way anyways and made it next to her office. He took a sip of it and saw the smell come out. He was imaginging it went into his room and could see how horrible that would be. Suddenly, he heard a creak ontop of him.

"Eh?"said Kevin. He tried to hear for the noise again but couldn't hear it. He took another sip of the Sakura tea and thought he was just thinking about it. However, he then suddenly heard a noise from the air duct but it then vanished again. Something must have been happening and once he heard the slight touch of metal on metal, he could for sure know someone was breaking in? But how? The BK HQ was guarded by many people other than him. He quickly thought on what he should do. Go to Sakura, tell her what happened and see her not only forget about the noise but kill him for going into her tea stash.

He took a deep breath, took a last sip of tea, cleared his throat, put the almost half way full cup of tea next to a plant and knocked her door. Kevin cleared his throat and spoke."Sorry to disturb you at this time Sakura, it's urgent"said Kevin as he smelled his breath which smelled like tea. He chocked on air and then took steady breathes and waved his breath aside.

[Zane Burnlight]

Zane was tired. Dark circles hung heavily under his eyes and a cigarette hung - dejectedly and unlit - from his lips. He was on his way to the surface to smoke, hoping that the nicotine would help him sleep. It was the sound of the island that kept him awake. It had a certain quality to it - too loud for oppressive silence but to quiet to be obnoxious.

He turned a corner, grateful that he had finally learned enough of the layout to get where he needed to go, and raised an eyebrow when he saw someone at Commander Shizuka's door. As he approached, he saw that the person was the Subordinate Officer from the Ghetto. Zane plucked the cigarette out of his mouth and approached the man.

"What do you need, Parker?" he asked, stifling a yawn. "I'm sure we can take care of whatever it is without bothering the Commander at this unholy hour." He caught a whiff of tea and saw the cup in Kevin's hand. "Especially if that's some of her tea."

[Sakura Shizuka]

‘…and then we’ll have Fifth Division look over this section…still have to check on that shipment arriving…and then there’s that bloody princess still on board…what the hell are we supposed to do with her anyways? She obviously doesn’t know anything…or does she?’ Sakura sighed heavily as she tapped a pen softly against the wood of her desk, careful not to wake up her roommate. Sakura’s eyes slid over to the door of her room. Hopefully Anju was sleeping…woman had been working more than normal nowadays, with the arrival of a princess it was no doubt that the Black Knights would soon be at war. Again.

Sakura sighed a second time and leaned back on her chair. How bloody long was this going to take, anyways? Sure she wasn’t in any rush or anything, but really…wars should be clean and short. Not dragged out like this. Her nose crinkled. Typical of Britannia, wasn’t it? Bloody stubborn idiots. Glancing out of her window, the moon was high up. An eyebrow rose. That late, huh? She hadn’t realized that it was so late in the evening…but then again, when did she?

Taking a final sip of her tea, Sakura decided that now was a good time as any to hit the sac. Quickly changing into her sleepy-time-red-plaid-pajama pants and dark green camisole (complete with fuzzy socks), and crawling into bed, Sakura’s head hit the pillow for no more than half a second before a chill ran down her spine, causing the young commander to bolt up straight. Head turning, Sakura’s eyes fell upon the cause of her problems.

The bloody window was open.

Even though it was opened a fraction of an inch, it was enough for a steady wind to enter her room, making the room several degrees lower than she would like. Sakura was cold. Sakura hated being cold.

Muttering curses to herself and blaming her own stupidity for not closing it sooner, Sakura lowered and locked the window securely before crawling back to the many blankets on her bed. Sleeeeppp…just a little bit…just enough to get her going tomor-

drop. drop. drop.

Like a zombie rising from its grave, Sakura rose, her head turning slowly towards the window.

drop. drop. drop.

Eye twitching slightly, Sakura slipped out of the warmness of her bed and peered out her window.

drop. drop. drop.

Rain. It was raining. Not even rain, but drizzling which was so much more annoying than rain. The only thing worse than the slow, yet frequent drops of a drizzle, was a thun-

A loud crack of thunder, followed by a crash of lightening.

Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her shriek. ‘Sakura, relax…it’s just thunder…stop acting like a child…you know that there’s nothing to fe-

Another round of thunder, followed by lightening.

Quickly turning her back to the window, Sakura took several measured breaths, trying to calm her nerves down. Honestly. Being held at gun point? She could handle it. Being dropped from several hundred feet? Easy. Dealing with a thunderstorm? Not so good. If Sakura had any weakness that she was ashamed of, it was this. What sort of soldier was afraid of a thunderstorm? It was embarrassing, to say the least. But it was something she dealt with since she was a child…she thought she would grow out of it, like most childish fears, but no…this one stuck like a baby to its bottle. And she despised herself for it. Immensely.

Deciding that maybe she should just try to go back to sleep, Sakura crawled back into her bed, and shoved one pillow over her head, trying to block the storm outside from reaching her ears. “Just go away, will you? Some of us have work in the morning…” she grumbled lowly under her breath, her body curling into fetal position as another flash of lightening brightened up her room momentarily.

knock knock

Sakura’s eyes opened halfway, but her body made no motion to move. ‘Maybe…they’ll just go away…’ she silently prayed, her eyes closing again. She was in no condition to see anyone right now…not right now…just go away…

"Sorry to disturb you at this time Sakura, it's urgent."

A mix of a groan and a growl escaped her throat and Sakura slowly sat up for a third time. "It's Shizuka..." She mumbled/grumbled automatically as she reached over to her bedside and attached her sword loosely around her hip, running her fingernails through her hair. Sakura stared at herself in the mirror for a few seconds.

...dear god she looked like shit.

Sakura grumbled softly under her breath before slapping herself on the cheeks. “Snap out of it, Sakura…” she whispered, jumping slightly at the sound of thunder. “Get a hold of yourself…” Despite being in her pajamas and having a slight breakdown, fact didn’t change that Sakura was still Commander. And as such, she had to act like one in front of others, regardless of the time or place.

Quietly exiting her room and entering the living room of the flat that Anju and she shared, Sakura’s hand extended towards the door when a voice caught her attention.

“…that's some of her tea." All sleepiness gone, Sakura slammed the door open in time with another crack of thunder and lightening, her mind so focused on that simple statement that she didn’t even notice it.

The moonlight reflected off her eyes, making them brighter than normal.

She loosened her sword slightly from its hilt in a menacing manner.

“Care to run that by me again?”

[bradums]

"Kill anyone who sees you," kept ringing in Tristan's ears. Anderson clearly had no regard for any life but his own. Tristan was an experiment, his assistants were tools, and anyone in the way of Tristan's mission was supposed to die. It didn't sit well with Tristan. Tactically speaking, it made sense. Killing all who saw him would ensure no one lived to tell it was a Britannian, and - harsh as it was - the more Black Knights killed, the less would be left to threaten Britannia.

Still, he couldn't come to terms with it. Killing was a soldier's job, but he wasn't much of a soldier anymore.

Shaking the subject from his mind for now, the blue-eyed infiltrator continued down the hallway, keeping his ears steady to listen for any sound. His enhanced senses made it easy to hear the myriad sources of noise in the area, but he couldn't quite pinpoint their distance. Clearly, he hadn't gotten used to the finer details of his "evolution", yet.

[kevin]

CRAP! CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP! Why did Zane have to come at this time and see Kevin with Sakura's tea? DARNIT!“Care to run that by me again?”said their Commander. What was he to say? What was he to do? If he said the truth, she would kill him and if he lied, she would some how find out and still kill him."Erm.."he was so stuck on words that all he could say was that. Then he took aa deep breath and thought of something."What he meant by 'her tea', he meant like the type of tea"said Kevin. However, he wasn't quite done yet, he had something good up now.

"All of us Black Knights know that you love Sakura tea, so its 'your tea'. Not only that, but the fact that its after your name, I think our Senior Captain here meant 'her tea' referring to it as though 'her favorite tea names after herself'"said Kevin. Though he knew something that would take them all out of this topic and into another.

"More importantly, I'm here to inform you that while I was walking down to the balcony, right next to your door, I heard some weird noises"said Kevin. However, he still had more to say."What I heard was a rattling from somewhere near by. However, at first, I thought I was just thinking of it until I heard it more than once and I heard the sound of metal touching metal. And I'm pretty sure that the noise was coming from the air duct but I don't know where the voice went though like I said before, I heard a metal touch metal which can only mean one thing"said Kevin as he looked up and tried to listen for noise.

Then he out his head back to its regular position facing Sakura and said."We have an intruder in the BK HQ!"said Kevin and he then looked at Sakura, to Zane and then to Sakura again waiting for what she had to say.

[Zane Burnlight]

The door slammed open, revealing the Commander. She was irate - to put it mildly - and had a hand on her ever-present sword. Her form was briefly silhouetted by flash of lightning and there was a strange gleam in her eyes. "Care to run that by me again?"

Zane cursed his big mouth and Luck's whimsy, afraid that he might have just accidentally forfeited Kevin's life. Luckily, Parker was a quick thinker. Zane wasn't sure if the Commander would believe what Kevin was saying, but hoped fervently that she would. He made a mental note to buy her as much tea as he could at the first opportunity; hopefully that would be enough to placate her.

"More importantly, I'm here to inform you that while I was walking down to the balcony, right next to your door, I heard some weird noises." Zane took out his pack of cigarettes from a pocket in his jacket and put the one in his hand away while listening to Kevin's story. "We have an intruder in the BK HQ!"

Like a switch being flipped, Zane's mind shifted into officer mode. "That's quite the conclusion, Parker." Such situations had to be handled carefully. A noise like the one that Kevin described could be anything from malfunctioning equipment to rodents to an actual intruder. Zane hadn't had been able to read through all the procedures the Black Knights employed. He didn't know how they reacted to allegations of infiltrators. He looked at the Commander. "Want us to check it out, ma'am?"

[Sakura Shizuka]

Hand on hilt, glare not lessening in intensity in the slightest, Sakura forced back a snarl when her eyes flashed to the right, seeing a cup by one of her favorite plants.

The snarl came forth when the scent reached her nose. That was tea. And not just any tea, no…it was her tea. Her Sakura tea. Her favorite.

It didn’t take much of a super-genius to put two and two together. There was the scent of tea in the air, a single cup where a cup should not be, and a Subordinate Officer looking like he wanted to crawl back to Mummy.

If Sakura were a vampire, fangs would’ve been bared by now. “That’s it Parker, you’re fucking dead.” She hissed, her body ready to launch. Screw weapons. She’d kill him with her bare hands.

If there was one thing the Black Knights learnt about their Commander, it was that she was a tea fanatic. Her tea collection was as dear to her as Lockjaw was to Anju. You don’t fudge with them. And darling, sweet, naive Kevin over here just did. Clearly the man did not fancy living.

Oh well.

"What he meant by 'her tea', he meant like the type of tea"
“Haahh?” she snarled, eyes flashing over to Zane and then back to Kevin. What was this? Little thief tries to talk his ass safe? How cute.
"All of us Black Knights know that you love Sakura tea, so its 'your tea'. Not only that, but the fact that its after your name, I think our Senior Captain here meant 'her tea' referring to it as though 'her favorite tea names after herself'" Sakura blinked slowly, her brain processing all of what Kevin just spouted out.

Did he seriously think she was going to buy that? Did he honestly, truly, in that single-celled brain of his think she was going to believe something so…stupid?

Sakura’s eyes flashed over to Zane. Well. Man wasn’t objecting to this statement. But he didn’t look like he was agreeing either. Rather, he looked like he was doing an internal prayer, hoping to some divine deity that she would fall for it.

She snorted. Another cutie pie, eh? Lovely. Cold eyes turning back to Kevin, Sakura cracked her wrist, disgusted look gracing her face. “Shut the hell up, Parker. I don’t want to hear your petty excu-

“More importantly, I'm here to inform you that while I was walking down to the balcony, right next to your door, I heard some weird noises.” Sakura growled lowly under her breath, her patience becoming thinner and thinner. Little brat wouldn’t shut up, would he? First he makes up some lame excuse to cover stealing her tea, and now he tries to change the topic? Tsk…she was disappointed in him. Thought he had more creativity than this old tactic.

But, Sakura decided that perhaps she should humor him and listen to the rest about these so-called ‘noises.’ It was late. She was angry. She could do with some entertainment. “I'm pretty sure that the noise was coming from the air duct but blah blah blah though like I said before, I heard blah blah which can only mean one thing…” Sakura sighed, hands on her hips as she leant forward, eyes rolling heavenward.
“And pray tell what that would be?” she muttered duly.
“We have an intruder in the BK HQ!” It took every bit of training and resistance to prevent herself from slapping her forehead. An intruder! Of course they had an intruder! Why, a sound from the ventilation system must simply mean that it was an intruder! There was no possible way that it was just a wind (lets ignore the storm outside, shall we?), nor could it just be a passing rodent. No, it simply had to be a bloody intruder!

Hands still on her hips, eyebrow twitching slightly, Sakura searched for the right words. “Ano sa, Parker…”
"Want us to check it out, ma'am?" Emerald eyes snapped over to Zane. Boy was back in military mode. She sighed slightly.

A flash of lightening illuminated the hallway for a split second. Sakura quickly closed her eyes, making it seem as if she were just trying not to snap. In reality, she closed them so that way her two subordinates wouldn’t see the look of fear in her eyes. “Alright…” she began, her tone even.

In all honesty, Sakura did not see why Kevin was all worked up over this apparent sound. For all they knew, it could be just an animal. And, to be honest, normally she would have bonked the man over the head and rebuked him for calling her out over such a small thing as well as for jumping to conclusions. But tonight was not the normal night. She was wide awake now and was in need of de-stressing herself. While her first choice would have been to use Parker as the punching bag, this so called ‘intruder’ could prove to be a sufficient substitute.

Eyes focusing on the two men in front of her, Sakura slipped off her fuzzy socks before tossing them back into the living room of her flat, leaving her barefooted. “No need to go yourself, Burnlight. I’m awake now.” She flashed a glare over to Kevin. “Might as well see what’s gotten Parker’s knickers all twisted up…” she said as she brushed past the two and padded silently down the hallway. “Besides, I could use a little workout.” She paused mid-step and turned her head over her shoulder so that she was staring straight at Kevin. “Oh and don’t think I’ve forgotten about the tea, Parker.

A humorless grin crept up the corners of her mouth. “Next time you decide to steal from me, make sure you have a better excuse ready.”

[Anju Saravati]

Be-beep. Be-beep.

The room was darkened, soft sounds emanating from the storm outside to echo softly inside the room. The round bed in the center twitched as the slumbering occupant woke slightly.

Be-beep. Be-beep.

An arm reached out from under the mound of blankets, and groped for the edge of the bed. Finding it, the arm pulled the owner closer so it could blindly search for the irritating beeping thing. The source was Lockjaw the Second; miniature primate model, Capuchin exoskeleton. It was resting, curled up in a ball around an electrical outlet port in the floor where it was in recharge/standby mode. As the beeping reverberated from it's vocal cortex, it slowly came to life, systems turning on and electrodes firing. Disconnecting the socket at the end of it's tail from the port and closing the protective cover over the tongs, the little monkey automaton shook itself, before scampering to the wandering hand.

Be-beep. Be-b- wake up, please.

With a muffled groan, the body under the blankets dug herself out. Bleary eyed, Anju blinked at the monkey delicately gripping her fingers. She sighed, then pushed herself up, pulling Lockjaw with her so it could sit on her lap. She rubbed her face, and scratched idly at the metal covering of it's skull.

"Right. Awake. Report." Anju was tired. Insanely tired. With the return of Zero came more work as they now had a goal with an actual plan to be working toward. Which meant she had to be in the engineering bay constantly, into the wee hours of the morning. Don't get her wrong, Anju loved the smell of engine grease and creating life through wires and bolts, but she was only human. Sleep was a necessity, one which Sakura had demanded she partake in 'or else.' She had no idea what the 'or else' was supposed to be, considering she was the only person the ex-Knight seemed to never physically abuse when pissed, but it was a lovely excuse to drop the wrench and literally drop.

Except now. Fuck. . . Wait, since when did Lockjaw communicate outside of chirps and whistles? She shook her head and grabbed her glasses from the edge of the bed, blinking to see in the darkness. What had she programmed LJ to speak human for? Normally, she didn't mind the the obvious conflict in communication because she had written the dialect herself and could understand it fine. It only bypassed the language barrier when-

Disturbance detected in south wing. Movements in oxygen ducts seven and twelve. Believed to be organic. Organism is larger then resident rodent population. 83 percent chance of human infiltration. Organism exited oxygen duct twelve three minutes and twenty-seven seconds ago through grate 17-A.

Oh fuck.

Anju jumped off the bed, stumbling as her feet tangled in the mass of blankets, and grabbed for a pair of combat boots. Yanking them on, she pulled her lab coat over her shoulders, disregarding the fact that she was only wearing a pair of underwear and a sleep tanktop. Fumbling her hands through the arm holes, Lockjaw ran for the door, opening it as she barreled through.

Sakura was at the door of the flat, barely exiting. LJ screeched, echoing off the metal walls of the flat and latched onto the younger woman's head. It yelled again as Anju rushed to them. "Oi. Saks. Somethings up." She held the frame of the door and swung herself into the hallway and startled. What were Parker and Burnlight doing here? Whatever, backup. "Someone's playing hide and seek in the south wing. Came in though the air ducts and left them like four or five minutes ago."

She suddenly remembered she was half naked in front of two of the hornier males of the resident stationed BK population and quickly closed her coat, scratching irritatedly at the tattoo's on her face.

[vierre]

Soft footsteps padded through the room while silent hands neatly flipped open cupboards and drew out drawers. Eyes, adjusted to the dark, scanned the shadowed storage containers, systematically searching the room for the target package. There were traces left behind of someone recently in the room, but they were gone now. And there it was, stacked neatly in several well-formed rows, possibly even categorized in its abundance. A gloved hand reached for a number of the desired units and slipped them into a small black felt bag, just large enough to hold the items. With the same deft silence, everything was put meticulously back in place, and left alone almost as if no one had disrupted the room on this quiet night.

-----

Vierre roamed the vacant halls, moving deeper and further down into the Black Knight facility. The 1st Division Captain was not on-duty, but neither was he ready to go to bed for the night. Instead he was wide awake and active, moving through the base armed with his twin side arms but otherwise out of full uniform.

Outside in the night sky, the moon hung high, casting its wide swathe of melancholy light across the island. The bright moon illuminated the courtyard in alternating bands of soft moon light and heavy, stretched shadows draped from trees, buildings, and other structures. But moving down into the subterranean levels of the Black Knight base, Vierre could no longer glance out any windows to see this. The elevator door slid open with an audible hiss that stood out from the night hush. He passed a pair of Black Knight guards, patrolling diligently on active night duty. He nodded to them, and they promptly saluted back. He wished they wouldn’t do that, but he passed on without a word. There wasn’t much point in trying to change their behaviour. As he continued on through the hallway, the distant footsteps belonging to the pair of guards faded back until they disappeared entirely.

One of the hallway lights flickered, complaining with an electric hum as Vierre walked by. He stopped and looked at the fixture, and it flickered once more leaving the hall dim for the briefest of moments. He looked forward and then back. The hall was now empty in either direction, the malfunctioning light providing a foreboding air. Mostly foreboding anyway, but somewhat annoying too. Vierre frowned and made a mental note to have the maintenance teams take a look at the problem.

Vierre had more important matters to attend to than a broken light anyway. He was finally approaching his destination, where a couple more guards stood silently, attempting to look attentive, but were more likely incredibly bored. They immediately sprung to attention upon seeing the Captain.

“S-sir! Everything is under control here, sir!”

“Mmm hmm… right. Good.” At the moment Vierre was not particularly interested in status updates. “Open the door, would you please?”

“Of course, sir!” The guards disengaged the locks to the room and stepped aside.

“You may lock the door behind me.”

“Yes sir.”

Vierre stepped through the door and it swiftly closed behind him. “Good evening, Princess,” he said, but then stopped and corrected himself. “I mean, Ayame. Good evening, Ayame. I hope I did not wake you, but I am a man of my word.” The light of a troublemaker glinted from his eyes, as he removed the gloves he was wearing and offered the Britannian princess the black felt bag in his possession. Inside, tightly packed together, was a quartet of small rectangular boxes, filled with none other than Pocky.

((Sorry Sak, I don't mean to force a reply from Ayame. But I figure she would have to be in this thread eventually. Take your time though. I'm fine with skipping my turn if necessary so the other characters can continue.))

[Ayame Li Britannia]

“428 flying coconuts…429 flying coconuts…430 flying coconuts…this one hitting Demon Seamstress in the head…431 flying coconuts…” A monotonous voice bounced off of the walls of the dark room. Ayame Li Britannia, Third Princess of the Imperial Family, status currently kidnapped by ubber dangerous terrorist group yo, could not sleep. “432…”

Sighing heavily, the spazz case sat up and shuffled back a bit so that way she was sitting up fully. Plucking up Pon-Pon, she stared into its big black eyes for a few minutes.

…..

Nothing. She sighed again. Usually staring at Pon-Pon’s eyes knocked her out like a lamp. Maybe she shouldn’t have had that 10th cup of coffee…

Bending her legs up, Ayame rested her chin on her knees, sighing for a third time. And felt her heart beat quicken. Uh oh. This wasn’t good. Sighing three times in the time span of one minute? This could only mean one thing…she, Ayame the happy little firecracker, was becoming emo.

Golden eyes lowered slightly as Ayame curled back into a half ball. Well, yea she supposed she was entitled to feel a little bit weird…after all, how long had it been since she was snagged anyways? A month? Give or take? Sure she was having the time of her life, and sure teaching Frenchmen how to flytackle properly was way better than learning how to sip tea, but still…as much as Ayame liked being here she couldn’t deny the empty feeling filling the pit of her stomach.

She was homesick.

Little hyperactive monkey was homesick. She missed her daily games of Cat v Mouse with Sensei. She missed bribing the guards with her brownies so she could run out of palace grounds. She missed meeting her snazzy peeps back at Ashford. But perhaps most of all, she missed her Nee-samas. Sylvie and Nia. She missed teasing Nia and doing crazy stunts just to get the girl all freaked out. She missed ruffling Sylvie’s feathers by not going to class or hearing her vent out about Frill-san. Ayame hugged her knees closer to her. “Nee-sama…”

Of course by now Ayame had tried several times to contact her family, even if it were just to tell them that she was fine and in no need of the rescue brigade. But unfortunately, her cell phone had no signal whatsoever and Ayame was not allowed outside of the Base unless accompanied by (at least) five heavily armed men. Which baffled her, frankly. Sure she was known to bite people when provoked, and sure she carried a stuffed panda that was classified as a WOMD by the Britannian government, but really! She was squishy! And snazzy! Sending out nearly half a dozen men was a little extreme, dontcha think?

Ayame scratched the back of her neck as she yawned loudly. Well. At least the jammies were comfy. Of course, Ayame had not exactly planned to get kidnapped so she didn’t bring any spare clothes with her…fortunately the peeps over here weren’t as nasty as news reporters made them appear, and they lent her a couple spares. She had specifically requested for shorts and a tank top. None of this long pants or sleeve business. Limited movement. Was confining. Ayame hated being confined.

Slipping out of bed with Pon-Pon, Ayame hoisted herself up on the windowsill so that she was hanging loosely. Despite them treating her (relatively) nice, her windows had bars. Guess that was to expected, she guessed. While they might’ve played with her, odds were they were all just waiting for her to whip out some crazy weapon (other than Pon-Pon) and blow off their heads.

Drop. Drop. Drop.

A flash of lightening illuminated the dark room for a brief moment. A soft smile crept up her cheek. Thunderstorms. How much she loved them. Nights like this she would’ve climbed up a tree and just chillaxed…and then get scolded by Sensei for lounging up in such an “undignified place.” Ahh Sensei…wonder how the woman was doing without her precious disciple?

Hoisting herself up fully, Ayame swung a leg over and adjusted herself so that she was sitting on the window ledge, one leg dangling loosely while the other’s knee was up, Pon-Pon resting on her stomach. All of this because of bloody Quack-san. Him and snagging her darling Wounded-san. Her eyes narrowed slightly. If anything wasn’t snazzy with Tristan…forget Sylvie’s wrath. She would Pon-Pon that Quack of a doc into submission. “You better be ok dude…”

The sound of keys jiggling in the keyhole. Ayame turned her head to the door, and eyebrow quirked upwards. Who the flying fudge? Who the hell would be up at this hour? And why were they opening the do-oo!

“Good evening, Princess, I mean Ayame.”
Ayame visibly perked up. Blondie-kun! It was Blondie-kun with the Booty that everyone wanted! He was a snazzy one. Kinda reminded her of Bishie-kun. Both were snazzy. Bishie being a more cuddly type. Blondie-kun over here being the fun/daredevil type. The type she could relate to more.
“Blondie-kun!” She swung her legs over, a wide smile on her face.
“I hope I did not wake you, but I am a man of my word.” Ayame rolled her eyes. Did she look like she had been sleeping? Sure she was in PJ garb, but still.

A faint scent caught her nose, making it twitch. Wait. That smell. That was…

Blondie-kun’s eyes held an all too familiar glint. The glint of a pure blooded troublemaker. The glint Ayame’s eyes usually held. Her grin widened. “Oh, you’ve got balls dude.” She said before she sprung off from the ledge, flying to the First Division Captain. Legs instinctively clinging around his waist, Ayame engulfed the man in the biggest hug she could consume. “You. Fucking. Kick. Ass!” With each word that came out, Ayame delivered a kiss to the man’s cheek, the smile never fading off of her face.

She glanced down the packet in the man’s hand before looking back to his face, legs still clinging firmly. “Sooo…does your beloved Commander know of this or what?”

[vierre]

Growing up as a Britannian citizen on the outskirts of Pendragon, Vierre was no stranger to the media coverage of the royal family. He was barely a 5 year old child when the new channels were a buzz with the birth of the Third Princess of the Imperial Family. Not that he could remember the news report from so far back, but over time the Britannian media provided its people a certain sense and a glimpse into the people behind the royal titles. What Vierre was now finding out to be quite interesting was that the media failed to capture anything about Ayame’s surprising speed.

“Oomph,” Vierre staggered back a single step as the princess jumped on him with an enthusiastic hug and a kiss to the cheek. He kept his arms out by the sides, unsure of what to do with them. It was an extremely good thing that the media was not around to make a record of this particular event. There was no telling what kind of fallout would result if the world somehow came across a picture of a Britannian princess wrapped around a Black Knight captain, who just happened to also be a former up and coming member of the Britannian military. The potential amount of rumour fodder was so absurd that the supermarket tabloids could have had a field day.

“You. Fucking. Kick. Ass!”

Vierre chuckled and shrugged nonchalantly as best he could, more than willing to accept the compliment. “I do try my best.”

“Sooo…does your beloved Commander know of this or what?”

“Oh she certainly does not, and I intend to keep it that way as long as possible. Shall we agree to keep it a secret? A perfectly innocent white lie of course should anyone ask.” He jostled the packages lightly, emphasizing their delicious contents.

Vierre placed his hands on the sides of her shoulders and attempted to gently nudge her off, though she clung to him firmly. He was cautious not to push away too abruptly, as he did not want the action to seem offensive. She was still a princess after all, and expectations to be courteous to royalty were still hardwired into Vierre from an early age. “Ah well… alright then, time to get down now though. It wouldn’t do for someone to walk in on this, eh? Might be a little difficult to explain.”

“Besides,” he continued. “I am still technically the enemy, I believe. Surely, your eldest sister would flay me for this.” The First Princess’ decorated military service was not unknown to him either. His expression grew grim. “And I’m afraid it is also the sad truth that there are many in this very compound that want nothing more than to see you suffer, or perhaps even worse. I don’t necessarily share their sentiments in that regard.” He loathed being the bearer of bad news, but it was important for the adventurous princess to remember that her current situation was far from a harmless game.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

Legs firmly clinging to Male Blondie-kun, Ayame eyed the box of Pocky in his hand like some bird attracted to a shiny object. Or a squirrel to a chestnut. Either or. Quickly claiming it for her own, Ayame grinned at the idea of her midnight snack. And to think, the guy had the balls to steal from Hot-headed Chick. She knew she liked this guy. He radiated fun. Not to mention, he looked oddly familiar…

“Ah well… alright then, time to get down now though. It wouldn’t do for someone to walk in on this, eh? Might be a little difficult to explain.” Vierre’s voice snapped Ayame out of her thoughts. Eh? She blinked, confused, as he placed his hands on her shoulder in an attempt to pry her off in the nicest way possible. She titled her head, not sure where she fudged up. She was giving him a hug! A la koala. Everyone loved koalas. They were cute. And plushie. Like she. “Besides, I am still technically the enemy, I believe. Surely, your eldest sister would flay me for this.” The Third Princess’ eyes lowered slightly at the mention of her elder sister. Sylvie…she missed her. And Nia. And, cue gasp, Sensei. She missed all of them. Sylvie and Nia were probably freaking out about whether or not she was still in one piece, and Sensei…well, odds are the woman was worried if Ayame was behaving like a proper lady, despite being in the company of terrorists. Ayame chuckled slightly to herself. Oh yea…let alone Sylvie, if Sensei ever saw her like this…

Ayame’s eyes fell back to Male Blondie-kun’s. Sure she knew he was the “enemy.” But that didn’t mean she didn’t have to get along with him. After all, weren’t these wars founded on the fact that people didn’t get along with one another? She was practically being a diplomat here! Ok, sure, most diplomats didn’t go koala-hugging one another, but the idea was the same, no? Settle disputes over flan, not FLEJIA?

But of course, deep, deep down, the part of Ayame that was rational and a proper princess (as a shrivel of a part it may be) knew that this was all naïve thought. Deep down, she knew that the world was not full of gumdrops and jellybeans, and people did not solve differences over cake and cookies. They solved it by pushing shiny red buttons.

“And I’m afraid it is also the sad truth that there are many in this very compound that want nothing more than to see you suffer, or perhaps even worse. I don’t necessarily share their sentiments in that regard.” Ayame gave Vierre a small smile. She was right. He was a nice dude.

“I know.” she said simply, as she hopped down from Vierre, walking over to her bed where she sat cross-legged. Opening the box of Pocky, she popped one in her mouth, before holding out it out to Vierre in offering. “I know all of that. I may be immature, spastic, and high on sugar, but I’m not stupid. I know the situation I’m in. But I kinda made this promise to someone once that no matter what shit I’d end up in, whether it be kidnapped or whatever, I’d always go laughing my ass off. Call me a nutjob or whatever have you, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t give two pieces of a monkey’s uncle who you guys are. As long as you let me have my fun, all is cool in my book. As so far, you guys are epically snazzy. Well, at least some of you are. Hot-headed Commander-chan is wee bit too serious for my liking. Though the techie she hangs out with is pretty cool. And Bishie-kun. Oh, and of course, you fall under the “Snazzalicious” umbrella too, MaleBlondie-kun.” Ayame gave Vierre a cheeky grin. “So yeah. I get that odds are more than ¾ of the peeps here want me decapitated, thrown into the Iron Maiden and then have my corpse fed to vultures, or maybe both, but who cares? I can see why they’re not so happy with me. I am a spawn of the Empire. S’only natural they wouldn’t be too tickled by my presence.” Ayame shrugged lightly as she bit down on another piece of Pocky. “So yeah. In a nutshell, I don’t give a damn. If Sylvie-nee-sama ever gets a whiff of this, I’ll make sure ya don’t get hanged or anything.” She gave Vierre a cheeky grin. “So no worries, okies?” The sudden crash of lightening made Ayame turned her head to the window, a grin on her face. She loved thunderstorms. Back home, she would go for a run and let the rain drench her. Only to be scolded afterwards by everyone in the palace for being such a lunatic. A sad smile began to replace the grin. Home…
“Ne, Male Blondie-kun? As much fun as I’m having here and all, I was wonderin’: when are y’all gonna send me back? I mean, you guys snagged me ‘cause you wanted info, right? Well, it’s been established I don’t know any more than any of yous…” She turned her head to Vierre, golden eyes wide and innocent.

“When can I go home?”

[Zane Burnlight]

"No need to go yourself, Burnlight. I’m awake now. Might as well see what’s gotten Parker’s knickers all twisted up… Besides, I could use a little workout." The Commander started to walk away from Zane and Kevin, but looked over her shoulder at the Subordinate Officer. "Oh and don’t think I’ve forgotten about the tea, Parker. Next time you decide to steal from me, make sure you have a better excuse ready." The grin that made its way along her lips gave Zane an uneasy feeling.

Zane fell in step a little behind her. "Understood, ma’am." He was just about to ask what the rules of engagement would be if they actually found someone when some sort of screeching… thing came hurtling through his peripheral vision and attached itself to the Commander’s head. Zane got just enough of a good look at it to determine that it was a mechanical primate. His confusion over the matter of why someone would build a robomonkey, however, would have to wait.

He turned to see the Chief of Science standing in the door way of the apartment, clothed in little more than she likely went to sleep in. "Oi. Saks. Somethings up. Someone's playing hide and seek in the south wing. Came in though the air ducts and left them like four or five minutes ago." And suddenly, Parker’s argument held a lot more weight. Without sparing so much as a glance at the woman’s largely-uncovered form, something he would have gladly done under different circumstances, Zane turned back to the Commander.

Zane reached into his jacket, pulled out his sidearm, and held it at his side. "Commander, I would like to take point," he said in an even tone that held just the slightest undercurrent of anticipation, almost as if he was looking forward to whatever was about to happen. It was time to earn his keep.

[Sakura Shizuka]

‘Stupid, annoying, stupid, moronic, stupid, numbskull, stupid, aho…’ Sakura’s tongue clicked in annoyance as she padded down the hall. Seriously. What the hell was up with Parker? ‘We have an intruder!’ he says. Pssh…why the hell should she go and believe someone who just stole from her? And of all things to steal…

Stupid moronic fool.

Sakura sighed to herself. Ah well. She supposed she ought to give Kevin a tiny bit of the benefit of the doubt. The man heard something he thought was suspicious and reported it to her. Which, in retrospect, was the correct thing to do. Granted it seemed a little farfetched and a wee bit paranoid (in her eyes, at least), but what Kevin had done was nothing short of correct protocol.

She felt a tiny twinge in her stomach, a feeling strikingly similar to that of her darling Conscious poking her. Great. Just what she needed: guilt for being her bitchy self. She ran an aggravated hand through her hair. “Stupid, idiot, stupid, fuck- Sakura froze as her ears twitched. That sound…was that…
screeching? Sakura blinked to herself. There was only one thing she knew of that would make that sound. But why…

The sound of metal bounding down not too far behind her.

Sakura turned her head, a look of pure confusion on her face. “Anj-oommph!” Sakura stumbled several steps backwards before landing solidly on her rear end, a muffled curse following suit. A hand reached up and plucked the metallic assaulter off of her face. She blinked twice. She knew it.
Lockjaw the Second: the metal monkey of doom and destruction. Sakura could only blink silently as the robot continued to screech in her hand, speaking a language only it and its maker knew.

"Oi. Saks. Somethings up." Sakura let go of Lockjaw II as she turned her head over in front of her where Anju sto-

The urge to cover the woman with the nearest curtain bubbled up inside the young Commander.

Standing practically stark naked complete with combat boots was Anju, who apparently took note of her attire and was making an attempt to be as modest as possible. Sakura sighed heavily. “Anju-san, you might want to cha-
"Someone's playing hide and seek in the south wing. Came in though the air ducts and left them like four or five minutes ago." Sakura’s mouth snapped shut as an eyebrow rose. What the hell? There was an actual intruder? Parker hadn’t been some paranoid freak and was actually right about this? Sakura blinked silently. Huh. Guess miracles do happen on occasion.
Brushing herself off as she stood up, Sakura grimaced as she felt another twang hit her head. Ugh. Cue bitch headache. And the party hadn’t even started yet. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. Tonight was going to be a blast…

‘But…who the hell could it be? I trust Anju-san’s network…if she says there’s an intruder…but who? Who in their right mind would-

….
Oh she was an idiot.

"Commander, I would like to take point." Emerald eyes slid over to Zane’s and simply stared, eyes not blinking. He was serious about his position. He was eager to prove himself. She knew all that…

Sakura’s eyes moved from Zane’s face to straight ahead of her.
“Burnlight, you and Parker are to accompany me. Anju-san, I need you to maintain surveillance watch-keep us informed if you see any movement. Also, please inform the other division captains as discreetly as possible. Last thing we need is for the intruder to know that we’ve sensed him.” Sakura said, her tone back to that of a Commander’s. A cold smirk graced her face “ I think I have an idea where who our guest is and where he may be heading.”

It really didn’t take much of a super genius to put two and two together. According to Anju, the intruder was in the south wing. The south wing was where the hostage was. Hostage was third princess of Britannia.

Sakura turned on her heel, a grin creeping up the corners of her mouth. Looks like she would get her workout after all. “Excuse me for a moment…” Sakura quickly stepped back into her the flat she and Anju shared and slipped into her room where she found, hiding behind a mountain of paper, her gun. She grimaced as she picked it up. ‘Looks like I may end up using you, after all…’ She couldn’t exactly put her finger on it, but she had a faint feeling in her stomach that her sword would not be of much use. Stepping back out into the hallways, gun firmly clasped to her wrist via chain and bracelet, Sakura turned her head to Anju. “Anju-san, I’ll leave security watch to you.” she said, tilting her head slightly before flashing her eyes to Zane and Kevin. “Shall we go, gentlemen?”

Silently dashing off barefooted, the warrior blood in Sakura began to boil. It had been a while since the BKs last scrimmage (either for good or for worse), and the war beast in her was begging to be unleashed. Hopefully tonight her quench would be satisfied.
Suddenly, Sakura stopped, her body frozen. She held up a hand in a silencing manner as her ears twitched slightly.

Footsteps. Careful footsteps. As if purposely being as quiet as possible, cautious of one’s surrounding.

The footsteps of an unwanted guest.

Peeking her head around the corner, her eyes fell upon a figure whose back was towards her. Tall, blonde hair, black knights uniform absent.

The stature of an unfamiliar person.

Sakura internally chuckled. ‘Found you~’
Turning back, Sakura faced her two comrades and mouthed the following words: ‘I’m going ahead.’ Her eyes flashed over to Zane’s for a few seconds before glancing back behind her and then back to Zane. The look she gave was clear: ‘should things fuck up, I’m counting on you.’

Clutching her gun with both hands, Sakura bolted from her position and quietly dashed down the hall, her gaze focused on the man’s back. Silently creeping up behind the intruder, she pressed her gun to his side

“Konbanwa.”

And fired.

_{OOC: so, I hope this is ok with everyone…just trying to speed things up ^^;; Tristan, feel free to dodge the bullet or whatever okies?}