Chapter Three, C :: The Fallen

[Lawric]

Crap...

Lawric sighed a little, trying to look as if her words disappointed him. It wasn't far from the truth actually, he was kind of disappointed with what little information he'd managed to get out of her so far. But what more could he ask without starting to sound suspicious?

"Alright," He matched her pout with a little one of his own. "I guess you're right. But when did you say you're getting off?" He smiled. "Maybe I could meet up with you here and take you somewhere... ?"

[waterlily43]

Jun's expressioned hardened. The more she tried not to think about what was going on inside, the more it kept sneaking into her mind. And besides she and Stardst were just standing around doing nothing.

Pushing herself off the wall she strode towards the waste area and knocked one of the scurrying rats unconscious with the hilt of Tien Nu and picked it up up by the tail gingerly. With her other clean hand, she ruffled her hair into an unruly mess before venturing back towards Stardust.

"I'm going ahead with the pest exteminator idea. If those to comeback tell them to stay. I may need a crew if my idea works." She tried to say without cringing, holding the rat at an arm's length distance while tossing her sword at Stardust. Stardust's expression didn't look pretty.

She walked purposefully towards the tower and headed straight for the receptionist counter. Lawric was still flirting with her and mentioning about a date. Well not if she could help it.

With slouch she leaned on the counter deliberately shoving Lawric a little wth her shoulder and interrupted the receptionist before she could form a reply.

"Hey Lady. I found many rats running around your premises. Wanna engage in our Pest Extemination services?" She grinned holding up the unconscious rat and dangled it at the receptionist.

[Jax Ridean]

"Newscast?" Jax blurted out loudly.

A national broadcast goes out about a new sorceress and Leonhart forgets to mention it to them?

Or maybe Timber's censoring of all their outgoing media?

Something wasn't sitting right...he knew this because his stomach was beginning to squirm uncomfortably...and he already had a large lunch...

Catching the confused looks of his "interviewees", Jax suddenly chuckled out loud in a hasty attempt to maintain his cover.

"I mean..of course I saw the newscast!" he grinned forcefully. "Why wouldn't I have seen it? I do live here after all."

More confused looks followed.

Jax coughed and pretended to scribble onto his "notepad."

"But you know.." he stuck the pencil behind his ear. "We at the Timber Maniacs always want the word from the people. Thats the P-E-O-P-L-E Harry. I want to hear every delicious thought that goes through that fat fleshy brain of yours, eh? How's that sound?" He leaned in and muttered, "But in terms of being prosperous, I mean you've heard about the last sorceress. What makes you think we can trust this one?"

While he was talking, Jax maintained his visual on a tall gangly person sticking out from the rest of the crowd. The fact that the person was wearing a bright Otaku mask made him even more obvious to spot.

Deo?

It looked like he was wandering towards the edge of the stage.

Now where does he think he's going?

[Storyteller]

Lawric and Jun

"Eeeewwww" Anne screams leaping out of her chair, "Thats the most disgusting thing I've ever seen!! Take it outside right now!"

"We have our own pest extermination system. That certainly wasn't in our building! Get it out of here!" she hisses glancing at Lawric before shooting Jun a dirty look.

"If you don't remove that right now I'll sound the alarm" she threatens lifting the receiver off her phone near by.

Jax, Stardust and Deo

Suddenly you hear the woman's loud booming voice from the stage floating out over the ground. It is heartbreakingly beautiful and all though you may not want to be it seems to have an almost enchanting affect on you.

"This city will soon be free of it's occupation by the Deling police. Even now they are claiming that there are bombs underneath this festival in the sewer because they want to make us leave. They want to destroy your happiness" She exclaims holding her arms wide, her dark eyes sweeping over the crowd as a little smirk curls up her lips.

"You know as well as I that our friends in the DotNA keep this city safe from terrorists. It is due to them that we enjoy this peace. They have managed to keep the SeeD far from us and for their deeds Timber shall prosper. We won't let the Deling police ruin our day of celebration" she continues on her voice strong and vibrant.

Jax you are practically deafened when Harry lets out a loud cheering roar along with the rest of the crowd. The people almost seem mad with joy. Only love glitters in their eyes as they stare up at the woman.

"Ya see" Harry says as he elbows his friend before looking back to Jax, "She's gonna take good care of us all"

[Jun]

"Oh! I'm sorry." Jun quickly removed her hand with the rat dangling from it away from the receptionist counter, with an apologetic frown that was in stark contrast to the evil little frisson of pleasure that she took from Anne's exaggerated leap and disgusted expression. "I was just trying to show you some proof. See I know a big and official building like this is bound to have their own pest exterminators but they aren't really doing a very good job. I saw a few of this little buggers outside trying to get in. They didn't do a very thorough search you know. But we can clear your problem immediately." She paused an innocent expression pasted on her face. "And there have been reported problems of electric outages caused by rodent infestation due to electrical cables being chewed through by rats. I mean, it's your call, if you're comfortable with having rats running across your legs, that's really fine by me....aaaand I can see I'm not getting through to you." Jun sighed, shaking her head. "Oh well, thanks for your time."

She pivoted on her heel and started towards the exit with nary a glance at the receptionist or Lawric.

[stardust]

Soo sorry >___< Incoming late reply XD
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Stardust still wasn't pleased at the fact that Jun just shoved her her precious Tien Nu after it came in contact with a filthy rat.

Exterminator? Exterminator. she thought. She had no confidence it would work. What happened to the mad bomber plan? And why was Lawric taking so long when he was supposed to act like the mad bomber to scare the people away? He was taking an awfully long time getting some stupid information. She felt like dragging Jun out of the building already.

Suddenly, Stardust caught sight of Deo who looked...lost in the crowd. Jax was probably somewhere in the crowd here since he certainly wouldn't be inside the broadcast tower.

"Hey! Don't get lost." Stardust walked to a little further to grab Deo from straying off somewhere. It would not be beneficial if this guy got separated. "Where's Ja--?"

It was just then that she noticed the exotic woman standing on the open stage. She sounded like a preacher of DoTNA gospel. Stardust finally understood why there was a huge crowd here in the street.

/It really took you that long? Hmph./ Diwata piped in, indignant. /I can relate. She looks mediocre anyway. Certainly not eye-catching./

Stardust frowned at the woman's message. "As I thought...these people wouldn't budge an inch unless they see a bomber." She bit her thumb in annoyance. Fortunately, she managed to spot Jax's head in the crowd.

"Jax!!" she shouted in her spot, expecting he would hear her. Thanks to the woman, this evacuation didn't look as easy as they anticipated. "What are you doing?!" They should talk about this some more.

[Jax Ridean]

It felt as if he was trapped in one of those sci-fi films. As soon as the sorceress started to speak, the entire crowd was stunned into silence--each and every one of their faces wiped blank, their eyes glazed over as if they were being hypnotized.

"You know as well as I that our friends in the DotNA keep this city safe from terrorists. It is due to them that we enjoy this peace."

This is bad...really bad...

"They have managed to keep the SeeD far from us and for their deeds Timber shall prosper."

We've walked into a fuckin ambush.

When she had finished speaking, Jax had not prepared himself for the animalistic roar that came from the crowd. Harry, the bumbling and pleasant fellow he had just been spoken to, now looked deranged with giddiness with his eyes wide open and his mouth wretched in a grotesque smile.

Slowly backing away from the spectacle, he heard someone call out his name. Searching the crowd, he spotted Stardust standing not too far off with Deo. She was hollering something at him, but her words were deafened by the noise of the mob.

He had a sudden idea. With his remaining scrap of paper, he scribbled down a message:

^{Tower. Don't follow me. We got a sorceress.}

Folding it into a tiny slip, he walked briskly towards the two.

She's going to kill me for this.

Brushing past the left side of Stardust, he slipped the paper into her pants side pocket.

Two people walking together, but three was suspicious. And considering the circumstances, he wasn't taking any chances. If they had been taking precautions before, they were going to have to do a better job. This place was wrought with Dotna spies. Surprisingly enough, it seemed like in this case, the Deling police was going to be their best ally. Unless they get in the way...which was inevitable...

Reaching the corner across the street from the Tower's entrance, Jax was puzzled when he saw no sight of Jun or Lawric.

"Now where the hell did they go?" he mumbled.

[Diego Stanton]

The checkered screen in front of the Otaku mask's eyes darkened Deo's surroundings and he was startled when he felt a tug at his arm. But even the Otaku mask couldn't darken out Stardust's bright pink hair, and he felt his heart return to normal pace when he realized it was just her.

"Hey! Don't get lost." she said forcefully.

"Sorry... I tend to kind of.. wander off." Deo replied sheepishly before someone abruptly knocked against Stardust and continue walking. Deo saw a flash of yellow being deposited in Stardust's pocket.

"Hey!" Deo said angrily, about to grab the guy and make him apologize to her. He saw the stranger's head bobbing away and realized it was Jax. "What the hell?? Wh-- he put something in your pocket." Deo shoved his hand in her pocket and took out the piece of paper without even bothering to ask for permission.

Tower. Don't follow me. We got a sorceress.

"Sorceress?!?" Deo blurted, suddenly swiveling around towards the direction of the stage, "where?!" Deo squinted but couldn't see clearly enough with the mask on. He lifted it and suddenly the woman he'd seen earlier flashed into view, her beauty taking its toll on him once more. His mouth dropped open and he stood there, gawking, dropping the paper to the floor.

[waterlily43]

Jun made her way quickly out of the entrance, having half a mind of throwing the rat on the ground and leaving it there. The fakeness of the receptionist's reaction disgusted her even more than the rat dangling from her hand, but of course it was bimbos like such that attracted guys' attention better than bees to honey. Especially charming guys like Lawric. Really, did she have to try taking her eardrums to hell with such a scream? Should probably reconsider a career change to B-grade horror movie starlet.

She exited from the doors tossing the rat at the side. With any luck it would go back inside and cause some real screams in there. She blinked. Stardust was nowhere to be seen. Why did her teammates keep going somewhere else? Was it that hard to stick together instead of wandering like puppies without leashes on them?

With a sigh she started towards the street across from the building, and caught sight of Jax who didn't seem too happy.

"There you are. Did you see the others anywhere?" She asked him immediately as she approached.

[stardust]

"Hey!!" Oddly perturbed by the paper Jax slipped in her pocket, Stardust frowned even deeper when Deo shoved his hand in her pocket to get the piece of paper.

"Sorceress?!?" Deo blurted, causing her forehead to wrinkle. "where?!"

Sorceress? What? She was about to take the piece of paper from Deo when the guy let it fall on the ground. Suppressing the urge to yell, "WHY DID YOU DROP IT", she went ahead to pick up the paper. Inside was an irrational message from Jax.

A sorceress? Jax was saying not to follow him because he was going to go to the tower? "Did he just make up a plan on his own?" she concluded appalled, swinging her gaze around to look for Jax who seemed to have faded from the crowd. Wasn't that irrational. It was then Stardust reverted her gaze back to the stage. Deo seemed to be drooling at the woman in front. Then, it clicked.

"Maybe she's the..." she mumbled, staring skeptically at the gorgeous 'gospel preacher'. Letting out an exasperated gasp, she whacked Deo on the back.

"Let's go! We have to find that Jax," Stardust demanded and began sifting to the throngs of people---Deo in tow.

[Jax Ridean]

Impatient to wait any longer, Jax started across the street before spotting Jun who was fast approaching him.

"There you are. Did you see the others anywhere?" Like him, she seemed frustrated with how poorly this operation was going. Although, he was partly to blame for the whole "splitting apart" thing..

"Yeah they should be getting here soon. But first..." he lowered his voice. "I have some news." Glancing over her shoulder, he noticed that there were several civilians standing nearby. Placing one hand on her arm, he guided her across the street into the alley between the Tower and the adjacent building.

"So you know how there's a festival going on?" he was speaking in a hushed tone. "It's for her. The new sorceress." He paused to see Jun's reaction. "Apparently she is in league with Dotna, and they've practically brainwashed this entire city into believing that they're the good guys and we're the bad guys." He stopped for another breath. "So we're not just dealing with the police, but the entire goddamn city. Every person around us is a potential threat. In fact, I even had to make sure that Stardust and Deo didn't follow me on the way back-- to avoid suspicion, you know?"

Jax picked at a loose thread on his sleeve. He had to keep his hands busy when he was tense. Such a trivial action, but it was a way for him to channel his nerves.

With a sharp tug, the unraveling thread came loose. He flicked it to the ground before looking back at Jun. "Anyways, I was just going to ask. What's progress on getting in this place?"

[junkuroki]

"New Sorceress?" Jun cocked an eyebrow, keeping her voice low and level with an effort. "How do they come up with these evil sorceress? I thought we'd have a moment's rest after Adel." She exhaled a long sigh, her eyes following distractedly the movements of Jax's fingers as he moved to tug a loose thread. She tensed at the thought of having the entire town turned against Garden. Why were these people so blinded? After the horrendous acts by Dotna, they still believed they were good? What kind of poison was in their drinking water?

"The progress is nil." She said in a voice as lively as a flat lined electrocardiogram. The entire mission looked about as promising as the odds of the new sorceress suddenly advocating peace with Garden. "Lawric's still in there trying to charm the information out of the receptionist, but what I heard had nothing to do with the mission. We just might have to barge in there with physical force just as we were warned. I know it's not the best solution, but, what can you do about it?" She gritted her teeth. "But the most pressing problem right now is the townspeople refusing to heed the call of evacuation. What, are they not concerned about their lives? Then I say one of us should take that sorceress hostage and tell them we do indeed have a bomb in their midst. I hope they'll have the sense to flee then, or else they're seriously wacked in the head."

[stardust]

Draggin Deo, Stardust finally caught sight of Jun and Jax across the street. They were hard to miss. She stomped her way towards the two of them.

"........sorceress hostage and tell them we do indeed have a bomb in their midst. I hope they'll have the sense to flee then, or else they're seriously wacked in the head." The pinkhead overheard some of Jun's words and her resolve to confront Jax dissipated.

"Sorceress? So she IS a sorceress? What about her?" she barged in on the conversation and briskly continued. "And where's Lawric? Isn't he supposed to be cause a diversion right about now? We're running out of time." Unless they have something else in mind, then she would like to hear it.

[junkuroki]

Jun turned towards Stardust, bringing her finger up to her lips with a little "shh!".

"Lawric is tied up." Jun said in an airy voice that sounded as natural as the colour of Stardie's hair. "We can't afford to wait for him to be free for what needs to done so we need someone else to do the decoy thing." Her voice lowered a notch, mindful of any eavesdroppers who might catch their conversation. "So this is the plan. Decoy gets up on stage and announces that he or she's a suicide bomber, tells everyone to disperse or he would trigger the thing. Or..." She paused, eyes shifting towards the direction of the stage, then back. "The other possible plan is to hold the Sorceress hostage and tell the people to disperse. Both plans have their associated risks, any suggestions, objections, spit it out now."


---

I know that the Sorceress said that the bomb was in the sewers, but Jun doesn't know that, someone else please point it out

[stardust]

Stardust's jaw dropped, her forehead creased. "Tied up?" she repeated. "How---" She listened as Jun tried to revamp their plan. After that big talk, Lawric couldn't just 'disappear' on them. It was obvious Jun was hiding some disappointment and was just trying to make the "best" of the situation. She grunted. With this sorceress on stage, a number of different possible worst-case scenarios can happen aside from the one their planning.

"That 'sorceress' said the bomb was supposed to be in the sewers, but that doesn't matter. Her presence made everything more complicated no matter what we do." She shot a look at the sorceress. "I can act as a decoy in place of Lawric. But should everything fails. Just make sure one half us will infiltrate the building, and the other will make sure noone will get hurt once the tower hits the ground." She placed a hand on her hip. "Once they see that huge piece of metal falling from the sky. They will move out of the way."