Verjil
Auz
Nyxella
Zombiedude101
Punished GN
autumoon
Estylwen
Meifeng Zhao, & Jiao-Long Liu.
(collaboration between @Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101)Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_"Good work, RAVEN," Maximilian Cornell's voice appeared in the earpieces of all the RAVENS nearby. "We lost a lot of good men and women fighting in this battle, but we succeeded, the Founding Family's base was destroyed... But it's not over yet. We still have much work to do out here, and we have to search for survivors."
RAVEN cleared the base pretty quickly after the battle, and anyone with a brain would do the same. Unfortunately, there were many who were unconscious, dead, or on the verge of dying.
RAVEN and DOVE vehicles were all over the place; as the building collapsed, they had to look for survivors. Fortunately, they evacuated the area before the whole battle began. Hell, it was a mess out here, with few people to clean it up. There were Secretaries, prisoners, injured, and dead, being hauled around, and it was a train wreck to deal with. Not to mention all the liberated Secretaries... Meifeng didn't want to be the one to deal with this mess, so she made sure to beeline for Uncle. She had much to talk to him about. He was sitting on the back of a RAVEN van, with his wife in hand. When he looked up at Meifeng, he jumped to his feet, and shook her hands.
"Thank you, thank you so much for saving my wife," Jiao-Long said.
"I did what was right..." Meifeng rubbed the back of her neck as she looked off, avoiding eye-contact with Jiao-Long.
"Meifeng..." Jiao-Long immediately picked up on her hesitation. "...What is wrong?"
It was time to come clean.
"My mother... your sister... is dead," Meifeng finally said. "Biyu killed her."
Jiao-Long's eyes went wide as his heart started racing. "Wait, B-Biyu...?" Jiao-Long said, before he bowed. "Please forgive me, Meifeng. I could have stopped her--"
"Don't, Uncle," Meifeng stopped him. "There was nothing you could do... and there's no point mulling about the ifs..."
Jiao-Long nodded his head. "I am still sorry... I will do all I can to comfort and help you."
"Just be happy in knowing that the Liu Family is okay..." Meifeng said as she stormed off. She just needed to be alone right now... but before she could mope, she had plenty of work to do. She pressed her earpiece. "Quent? What's the status of the scientists? More importantly, I want to know how our Hands friends?"
"Under wraps," the veteran RAVEN reassured her, a little more confident about things this time. "We'll be questioning them soon enough, though I suspect more than a few were working under the same circumstances as your Uncle. As for our friends, I'm personally making sure those two remain in our custody, complete with an escort."
She paused for a moment as she added on. "...And Reed, is Cindy okay?"
It took a short while before she got an answer, though the Investigator-turned-de facto representative of DOVE's field agents was somewhat more reserved if his tone was anything to go by. "Short answer? Yeah, she's in one piece, but... look, we'll talk about this in person, yeah? No need to jam the comms."
"Right, your position?" Meifeng asked.
This time, she got her answer almost instantly. "Just by the perimeter."
Meifeng immediately nodded her head as she went over to Reed. Wading through all the chaos was definitely a challenge; adding in the rain... Meifeng found Reed quickly, and crossed her arms. "Well, here I am," Meifeng started off. "She's under the mind control that was mentioned in those logs that Shizuka gave us... it has to be. There's no way that Cindy would betray us - betray everything that she stood for and believed in at the drop of a hat."
"No shit.. this isn't something that can be reversed in a few days. Whatever they've done to her, I'm not a psychologist but I know it's going to be a long road ahead for her, and that's assuming we can remove any control they might've had over her."
"For Cindy... I'll do whatever the hell it takes," Meifeng said. "I'm not going to lose her..."
Meifeng shook her head. "Where is she now?"
"Don't... right now, this isn't something you should see." He knew more than anyone else tonight that it was the last thing she needed.
"Fine... I'll take your word for it," Meifeng said, letting out a sigh. "Know what? I think I need to be by myself." Meifeng said as she turned away from Reed, and marching off. Marching away from the RAVEN perimeter... disappearing into the darkness of the city. It was desertion, yeah, but Meifeng had enough.
Enough violence, enough losses... enough of this.
Malik Jakane, & Rhea Harlow.
(collaboration between @Mr Allen J and @Estylwen)Courtbridge, Prince Ed-Field_It was a challenge getting everyone out of the FF base... but, Malik and 'Team Spy' - as Shizuka had called them - pulled it off.
Afterwards, the group watched the destruction of the Family's base (hey, did the Machine's explosions travel that far up the building?) from the safety of a distant rooftop. Malik sat down on the edge of the roof with his legs crossed, as he watched the base go up in flames. Malik just sighed somberly. The woman who killed Marcelle apparently split off from the group... and perhaps, it was for the best. Malik had to find it in him to forgive her... not now, but maybe in years. Heh, it's funny, Marcelle and him were never romantic, but just very close friends. Losing her felt like losing a lover.
But, instead of getting hung up on her death, Malik was going to see this as a new opportunity. With the Family dead, it was the start of a new era! Perhaps it should be a new Malik... happier and chipper than ever!
Instead of mopping, Malik was going to make conversation with the others. He hopped up to his feet. "While it's sad that Marcelle really died... I think she died for a good cause," Malik said, as he got close to Rhea. "Without her, we would have never have gotten this far... so, I'm going to try to stay positive about all of this."
He walked over to Rhea. "But, I have bad news, and good news, friends..." Malik said. "Bad news... I'm going to be leaving America, soon."
"Really, Malik?" Rhea asked.
"Yes, it is true... there is... nothing more for me here in America," Malik said as he looked at the expanse. "And I have another promise I have to fulfill... buuuuuut..."
"'Buuuut'?"
"...How about some of you come with me?" Malik said as he pulled his friend into a close hug. "I think everyone should leave their country once..."
"I don't know..." Rhea said.
"It doesn't have to be for long... Remember, it'll be our world adventure." Malik said. "...Platonic world adventure." He had to say, making Rhea chuckle.
"Either way... I don't think there's much more we can accomplish by watching a burning buildin'," Malik said as he extended a hand to Rhea.
She took it, and Malik turned into his storm form and flew off into the distance... while Marcelle is dead, this was going to be a new beginning.
Veronica Davis, & the Black Hound.
(by @Mr Allen J)Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_After the destruction of the base, Veronica made sure to split off from the group.
There was nothing worthwhile to gain from hanging around them. Especially since Malik found out she killed his friend. Veronica stood in the shadows of an alleyway, as she watched the frantic RAVENS and DOVES try to piece this disaster together. Well, Veronica could not give a shit about the others - as she already helped by liberating the Secretaries - and instead focused on her sisters. Damn. A part of her wished that she fled with Shizuka, at least that way, they could be in her hands... But, this was for the best.
The sisters were denied a normal life for far, far too long, and honestly, it was probably Veronica's fault that they got pulled into this in the first place. Veronica stepped back behind into the shadow of the alleyway and shrugged. If anyone was going to save them from a life of servitude, it would be DOVE. Honestly, Veronica should just stay out of their lives... it was almost like she brought misfortune to the lives of anyone who got close to her. She grinned as the prospect made her chuckle a bit. It was finally here, the death of the Family, and she couldn't be anymore happy.
Now... now, she had to abandon her old life in favor of a new one.
Veronica walked over to a nearby dumpster, and took off the IU armor piece by piece, until she was in nothing but a tank top, and cargo pants. She threw it all in the dumpster, save for her weapon and ammunition... it was going to be a long walk home.
"...Ms. Davis," the voice of the Hound spoke from behind her, and she immediately whipped around with her pistol in hand. "I mean you no harm."
"Then you won't mind if I keep this locked on you?" Veronica asked, only to realize that tiny bullets like this wouldn't do a damn thing to him, and she lowered the weapon.
"Good..." the Hound said, as he kept a healthy distance. "I want to say that I knew from the beginning... Your intent to betray the Family."
Veronica narrowed her eyes at him.
"Your subtle acts of insubordination... It is why me, and the Foundation Woman, argued against killing you for so long," the Hound said. "Because we, too, wanted to destroy the Family."
"So, that's all you had to say, Houndy?" Veronica asked, rolling her eyes. "If you--"
"--But, it's not over yet," the Hound said. "Me, the Foundation Woman, the Phantasm, and Bonecrusher, are going to build something new... a means to a new end. And we want you in it."
Veronica sighed as she turned around. "Sorry, Houndy... but, I'm done with playing soldier for everyone and their stupid goals. As of now... I live for myself, and fight for myself."
"Very well..." the Hound said, as he stepped back into the portal. "...We have come to terms."
The portal closed, and Veronica kept walking away.
She meant what she said - she was now her own woman. No longer a tool for the Three's insane ends. She was going to make life great for herself.
Cindy Keagan, Jennifer Caspin, Haruka & Shizuka Takashiro.
(collaboration between @Mr Allen J and @tsukune)Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_Leaving the troublesome logistics for the unfortunate low-ranks to do had always been Shizuka's usual job routine (he had already changed out of Veronica's retarded joke and was now in a long-sleeved shirt and comfortable jeans). One could say that he didn't want to deal with the aftermath, to clean up the huge mess left behind all thanks to the Family's madness, and he would use any means just to slack off from such mundane work.
Only that this time, it wasn't about his own procrastination. There was somewhere else he had to go, someone else he had to attend to.
Whatever that was left of the BPD, the DOVE and RAVEN forces that Maximilian had summoned over to their aid were all scuttling around some were hauling whatever they could recover from the ruins of the fallen Family Headquarters, while the others were trying their best to restore order around the area, keeping curious onlookers and frenzied reporters at bay. Holly was doing a good job regulating the mass of victims enslaved by the Family's mind control, where one of Veronica's sisters would then reverse the effect and liberate them from their mindless state. the two girls would be under DOVE's custody; maybe even be placed under the protection program, especially after what they had been through.
As for the freed Secretaries, they were led to the RAVEN vehicles in groups, where they would be transported to the BPD building (the only law enforcement office that was miraculously unharmed, and also the nearest) to sort out the administration matters before they could be sent back to their homeland in batches.
Strolling through the barking officers and running medics, he reached his destination: at the end of the chaotic scene was a tent guarded by two burly RAVEN officers. They both gave him a stiff salute, which Shizuka waved it off. "...How's she?"
"She's been behaving herself so far," one of them began, eyeing Shizuka's defenseless state with an raised eyebrow. "But better be careful. Agent Keagan is probably one of the strongest Metas among all of the DOVEs and RAVENs in Baybridge."
Shizuka rolled his eyes at the warning. "Who d'you think you're talking to?" Without waiting for a response to his rhetoric question, he walked through the flaps.
Cindy was sitting in a chair, with her arms cuffed behind her - if Shizuka were to take a good look, he would see that Cindy's legs were also bound to the chair that she was sitting on.
"Hey," Shizuka kept his eyes fixated on the cuffed agent as he greeted her. "It's been a while since we last saw each other, huh?"
Cindy hissed, "Don't mistake us for being friends, Shizuka. I always thought you were a deluded idiot... I serve the Three, not stupid 'friendships'."
Shizuka let out a mirthless laughter, unfazed by her act of defiance. "...Right. So, what did those Three Fags promised you with that you're so willing to turn your back against everything you've been working so hard to protect?"
"A better life... a better world... and so far, under their liege, I've had both." Cindy said. "And don't refer to them out of name. Call them the Three."
Shizuka continued to watch her closely. "Really, that's all they're going to pay you for killing your best friends? That's really a cheap bargain... to throw away the people most precious to you for something that doesn't even exist. You're pathetic."
"And you're stupid for resisting change."
Shizuka let out a low whistle. "How loyal... But what if I tell you that your beloved Three are all dead? Will you kill yourself to join them in the afterlife?"
"I will avenge them." Cindy said.
Shizuka shook his head and straightened up. Even Cindy, whom many of those in DOVE and RAVEN admired her as a strong woman and leader, could be easily reduced to such pitiful state with that ominous mind control ability. Seemed like she was only exploited as a mere pawn for her superpower and position within DOVE to keep the good guys busy, nothing more. Part of him wanted to record all this to show it to her later... but he decided against it.
"...Mechanized Memories, Release."
It took a moment to register - her eyes went completely dead for a few moments - before her eyes reverted back to usual. Shizuka watched as his friend slowly came to her senses; Veronica wasn't lying about this, but it only made him wonder how she knew about the keywords. No matter - they were only acquaintances with a common goal for that short moment, and now that both of them got what they wanted, he could care less about that slut.
"H-huh?" Cindy said as she looked around, rather groggily as the mind control wore off. She tried moving her arms and legs, only to find out that she's bound. "...The fuck?"
She swore as she looked up at Shizuka.
"Shizuka, why am I tied?" Cindy's eyes went wide as she came to another conclusion. "Oh God, did I get drunk again? Please tell me no one's dead..."
"Well..." Shizuka rubbed the back of his neck, breaking eye contact with her. "If only you were just drunk... but it's a hell lot worse than that." He then gave her a very short brief about the mind control, how she killed their own people... and even tried to kill Meifeng.
"...Reed was the one who incapacitated you, and then you're brought back here under watch, which is why you're tied down like this."
"Oh my God..." Cindy didn't have any words for what she had done. "I... I killed all those people?" Cindy weakly asked.
"You were under the influence of the Family's mind control when you massacred the forces under your command back at the HQ," Shizuka started off, still not looking at her. "But it won't change the fact that you're the one who killed them all."
He finally turned around to face her again. "We can't undo what's been done, so... uh, well, don't be too hard on yourself about this." This was one of the rare occasions that Shizuka dropped his usual smug attitude, and showed a bit of empathy for someone other than his twin brother, his own family. "No one can truly blame you for what you did, because it's not out of your own free will - you were controlled by the Family."
"You're right..." Cindy groaned. "But I need a little bit of time to myself... if you don't mind."
She looked down at her binds. "...Also, unbind me, please."
Shizuka let out a sigh. "Your personal space can wait. First, we need to remove that mind control from you, permanently." He reached out a hand to her shoulder. "Ready?" Phasing her out of the restraints was much faster than removing them one by one.
Freed from her bounds, Cindy massaged her rather sore wrists from being bound for so long... She nodded her head at Shizuka as she said,
"Thank you."
Shizuka filled Cindy in with the news about the downfall of the Family as he led her out of the tent, then kept his mouth shut for the rest of the walk. Many things had happened, but they all built up to such an anticlimactic end... which really explained a lot about the Founding Fags and their so-called perfection. He couldn't help rolling his eyes at that thought.
As they were nearing the tent where Veronica's sisters were kept, Holly walked over to greet them, though it didn't hide the tiredness on her face. "This way," she waved at them to follow her, leading them away from the crowd to a more deserted route. She then turned to Shizuka. "So, anything new?"
Shizuka shook his head in response. "Where's Haru... and Jennifer?"
"You'll see them soon enough."
She showed them to the back of tent. Inside, Sophia had pulled a glowing blue orb out of Jennifer's head... it was like a bubble. Definitely a strange sight to walk in on, as Cindy, without context, raised her eyebrow at the scene. In fact, Sophia was removing Mechanized Memories from Jennifer. Causing the bubble to explode, fading away forever. Jennifer smiled.
"Shizu!" Haruka went over to his brother the moment the silver-head had entered. He peered around Shizuka's shoulder and saw Cindy. "Um, hi. Are you feeling alright?"
"...Yeah." Cindy weakly said.
"These girls--" Shizuka explained as he gestured at Veronica's sisters, "--are the ones responsible for the mind control and the other shenanigans, but they were being imprisoned by the Three to do their bidding. They can reverse the mind control on you, like what they've just done for Jennifer." He then gave Cindy a slight push on her back. "Go on."
Cindy nodded her head... everything was being thrown at her at once. While Shizuka's intentions were pure, his methods weren't the best (then again, she had to remind herself this was Shizuka she was talking about). She sighed as she walked over to the teenage girl, the black-haired, green-eyed, girl.
"Come here..." Sophia said... as she vividly remembered applying Mechanized Memories to this woman.
When Cindy got close, Sophia put her hand on Cindy's forehead, and a glowing light appeared as she pulled a small bubble out of Cindy's head... the same with Jennifer. The bubble disappeared into thin air, as it was destroyed with ease.
"There, it's all gone." Sophia said.
Cindy sighed, "...Thank you."
"I'm so glad that you are okay, Cindy," Jennifer said, smiling. "I didn't even know that something happened to you until it was all over... if I had known..."
"It's not anything that could be helped." Cindy shrugged.
"But, there's something I have to tell everyone..." Jennifer said, looking between her group of friends that she was hoping would include Meifeng - but for now, she would tell her later. "Julia told me something about... about me... during that little encounter I had."
She didn't cry, or show hesitation. It was almost as if that was gone after the death of Julia, and the loss of her Mechanized Memories.
"You know during those few years after Verthaven? Before I showed up in Baybridge?"
"Yeah?"
Jennifer sighed... realizing the time wasn't now to beat around the bush.
"I... actually died in Verthaven. When the Devil pulled me under..."
The twins exchanged looks with each other, but Haruka was the one who voiced out the elephant in the room, "...What?"
"Julia revived me for some reason... she said I had a part in her plans," Jennifer said. "I wish we didn't kill her before I had a chance to ask her what plans... but, she blurted out that my old boss Megan had a part in it."
Jennifer nodded her head.
"And even though I died... I guess I'm going to make the most of my second chance," Jennifer started off. "Finding out and defining a new me... and finding my old boss, and getting answers out of her."
"I'll help you," Haruka blurted out before his brother could stop him. "I mean, I want to be of more help to you."
"Hold on," Shizuka turned on his twin. "You're not even--"
"You need to stop babying me," Haruka shot him down. "I didn't have the chance to tell you this with all the Family madness going on, but I've already quitted college." In actuality he was kicked out of the course to shoulder the unjust blame for the hostage incident, but none of that trivial details mattered now.
Shizuka narrowed his eyes at the older twin. "...Right. But what does that have got anything to do with going off to get yourself killed for nothing?"
"I've finally accepted the offer the Academy gave me that time when I was about to graduate," Haruka said. "To join DOVE. But now, schooling and all can take the back seat when there are more important matters to deal with." He glanced at Jennifer. "Like helping a friend in need."
"I mean... I'm not really in need, I just think I should..." Jennifer stammered out the words as if she was socially inept, before it finally hit her. "Oh... thank you anyway, Haruka. I promise, if you help me, I'll repay you any way I can."
Shizuka didn't want to let his precious brother go - he opened his mouth to protest, but in the end he could only let out a sigh of resignation. Haruka was right, he had to stop being so overprotective of him. They were both technically adults now, and Haruka was the older of the two. If the Academy and DOVE could see Haruka's true potential, he could no longer keep lying to himself that they had to stick together for the rest of their lives. "...Fine. I know a losing battle when I see one."
As he watched his twin walking over to Jennifer, he could only say, "Look after him for me," before he turned on his heels and left the tent.
That was surprising coming from Shizuka of all people. So surprising that Jennifer lost her composure for a moment. Eyes going doe-eyed, and her hands feeling weak... by the time she collected herself, Shizuka was already gone.
"Y-yeah... I will," Jennifer said, before she turned to Haruka. "...While I am determined to find my boss... find Megan... I still think there are things here we need to take care of first." She scratched the back of her neck.
"Such as... picking up the pieces of what happened here..." She started off. "...And being there for Meifeng."
Haruka was equally amused at Shizuka's reaction, but grateful that his twin was becoming more honest with himself. "Yeah," he agreed with Jennifer. "We still have work to do here. Let's go." He gave her his hand, but he didn't forget about Cindy. "How about you? Now that you're free, what are you going to do from hereon?"
"Um..." Cindy said. "I have to think about a lot of things..."
Haruka knew the sign of someone who wanted to have some personal moment for themselves. "Oh, okay. I guess we'll take our leave first, then."
As he was exiting the tent with Jennifer, Holly poked her head in. "I just saw Shizuka storming off to a distance. I hope everything's alright?" In which Haruka only shrugged in response.
Then her green eyes fell on Cindy. "Ah, Agent Keagan? If you're already done here, we'll need to get you to the hospital to get you checked and make sure you're okay." She pulled the flap further up to let Haruka and Jennifer through, then waited for Cindy to come over.
Cindy merely nodded her head.
