[u][b]Collab Between Sage and Skai[/u][/b] It wasn't long before the soldiers began taking a rougher approach. They had to pick up their pace, and in doing so, their searching turned to pillaging, and their pillaging turned to ravaging. Who cared, anyway? These apartments were usually empty. Only a fool would dare enter the district known to be held tightly in the military's clutches - and it was true, too, that the military paid special attention to the complex in spite of the large collections of conduits residing within its shadows. "Anything?!" called out the captain, his increasingly frustrated tone quite eminent in his booming voice. After a brief pause, the loud cry of a woman could be heard, and an obvious struggle with it. Moments after, one of the Vanguard Squaddies emerged from an apartment clutching a woman by her arm. "I dunno if this one's a civvie, she was actin' all strange, cap'n." The woman cried aloud, tears streaming from her eyes as she begged to be freed. "Please! I've just been searching for my family, my kids, I'm not a host, I swear it! PLEASE!" --- Kisheto's ears perked up and he instantly frowned. "Shit!" he called out before running to the door and yanking it open. It faced the street, and the Vanguard's path was perpindicular to the door. With a glance, Kisheto saw the woman in the man's clutch and shook his head, "We gotta save her!" he called out before preparing himself to dash towards her. Arianna grabbed Kisheto and pulled him away from the doorway, pressing them against the wall so they wouldn't be seen by the vanguard outside. Her heart was racing from the fear of the military she had developed over the year of their totalitarian reign. The adrenaline rush was good, though. She could feel what spirit she had left flowing through her, ready to use at any moment. [i]We have to think of a way to help her without getting ourselves killed as well,[/i] she told him telepathically. She peeked out of a busted, dirty window at the scene outside of the apartment. [i]Any ideas?[/i] She asked. Kisheto tried to struggle at first, but quickly stopped realizing he had to think before acting - something he wasn't good at. Before he could respond however, a loud, high pitched hum rang through the street. Kisheto peaked over the doorway to see that one of the soldiers had shot a broadsword beam at another civillian, who barely escaped it. "You tryna die, mate?!" he yelled, as the civillian backed off with his hands up. "N-no, sir, we just wanna p-pass through..." the man muttered in fear. As if on cue, a number of other civillians emerged from the alleys, all halted in their attempts to escape. The captain shook his head and drew his broadsword, "SO! Anyone wanna vouch for this host? She a freak... or no?!" The woman cried once more, "I PROMISE YOU! I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR MY FA-" The captain struck her across the face and hushed her with a quick jerk of her head. "Shut it you. Host's don't got family... you hungry mongrels would devour your first born given the chance." He then turned to the crowd and called out again, as his broadsword started glowing a crimson color. "IS THE FAMILY OF THIS WOMAN HERE? NO ONE TO CLAIM HER AS A HUMAN, THEN?!" --- Kisheto looked to Arianna and then back. WIth a quick push of his arms, he flew past the door way and jumped down the stair case. He then began running towards the captain with his arms reaching out, "STOP! THAT'S MY MOM!" he called. The captain looked at the approaching man and readied his broadsword, "STOP RIGHT THERE, KID!" Kisheto skidded to a stop and put his hands in the air, "Please, sir! She isn't a host, I swear it, she was just trying to get me and my sister out of here before..." he spoke in a hurried tone, successfully disguising it in a voice of fear and anxiety. The captain shook his head, "What the fuck are you saying? Get you out? Before what, hm?" Kisheto looked to his left and right quickly before looking down and sighing, "...b-before the witch attacked..." The woman in the captain's arm was left speechless, and she had stopped struggling altogether. The captain raised a brow under his helm and looked to his soldiers before turning abck to the boy, "The hell are you sayin, lad? What witch?" Kisheto inched closer to the captain whilst looking around frantically. "Sh-she... she's the witch of the district... She hunts people and kills them in their sleep. Legend has it that she marks targets by... by..." The captain, quickly growing frustrated, jerked the woman forward, letting her go as he extended his broadsword to Kisheto's face, "BY WHAT?!" Kisheto caught the woman in her arms and sat on one knee, supporting her in her state of shock. "...she kills you from inside. She speaks to you in... your mind, and the second you hear her voice... if you're still within vicinity, you'll be dead in minutes..." Kisheto then blinked twice rapidly, forcing fake tears to stream from his eyes. "Th-that's how they got... our dad..." he began sobbing quietly, holding his "mother" close. The captain shook his head and took a step forward, "You little runt, c'me-" While Kisheto had been down below, trying to save the woman with a lie, Arianna was listening from inside. She trembled slightly from fear, clutching her hands into fists to try and subdue it. She couldn't let the civilians die, but wouldn't stand a chance against the military's forces. As Kisheto's lie continued, she began to pick up the hints he dropped. She began to calm down, a plan forming in her mind. She closed her eyes and focused on the Vanguards, slipping past their mental barriers easily. Suddenly, their minds were invaded by her voice. She made it sound eerie and rough, enough to sound anything but scared of them. [i]You're too late, my little soldiers. It's been a while since I tasted thoroughbred military thugs,[/i] she hissed. [i]You can run, but you can't hide from me.[/i] The captain instanly flinched and looked to the side, "Did you he-" "Holy shit!" "You hear that?!" As the Vanguard turned to itself and lost the confidence it had walked in with, Kisheto couldn't help but smile briefly. [i]'Nice job, partnah''[/i] he said in his mind in a mock cowboy tone, knowing Arianna could probably hear him. The captain looked back and noticed the crowd of people staring at them blankly and he grew angry. "SHE'S AMONG THEM! SHOW YOURSELF BITCH!" He then drew his blade and triggered it once more before taking a step forward. Kisheto realized he had only thrown them off balance, instead of fearing them away. He stood up quickly and clutched his head, "OH SHIT! SHE'S HERE!" He ran forward and "unintentionally" rammed into the captain, causing him to lose balance, "RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIVES!" he yelled as the captain shot an accidental beam towards a building, knocking it off its final support and sending it toppling to the streets. The scene instantly broke into a state of panic as people ran in every direction, while the military struggled to maintain its bearings. Kisheto grabbed the woman's hand and ran towards Arianna's apartment as fast as he could, while the sounds of beams hitting concrete rang out from behind him. Before long, he stopped in front of the entrance and the woman looked around frantically, "I... I... Than- I..." Kisheto looked up at where Arianna stood and then turned to his left, "Let's go... NOW!" The woman put a hand over her mouth and continued to look around. "My... MY FAMILY... they're out at the end of this road somewhere... in the alleys... th-they..." she spoke in broken segments, her fear much more obvious than before. Arianna made sure the coast was clear before she jogged down the stairs, skipping a step or two at a time. "We need to go. We'll find your family," she told the woman, gently touching her arm to try and comfort her. She was still frightened of the military that was just outside the door in the street. The woman heard screams as the military began to regroup and try to contain the mess of civilians running through the streets. "Joseph!" She yelled and dashed from the building, running towards her family at the end of the street. If she had been a bird, she would have left feathers floating in the air where she had stood. Arianna attempted to go after the woman, but ducked behind the wall as she noticed the military. "There's a back door," she whispered to Kisheto, nodding in the direction of the door. Kisheto looked at the door and squinted as he thought for a moment. He then shooked his head and peered out the door momentarily, "Nah, the roof tops. I'm tellin yah, they'll never get us." He felt much more comfortable on the high ground, trusting his knowledge of roof structures and agile movements over the hopes that they wouldn't meet any other military squads on the ground. Arianna nodded, peeking outside. When the military thugs were looking the other way, she dashed up the stairs, heading for the balcony. The sliding doors had been damaged when the house next door collapsed onto her apartment, but the fallen building also provided a good ramp onto the roof from the balcony. She had noticed this when she was upstairs, and intended on using it to her advantage. After stepping through the broken glass of the sliding doors, she surveyed the makeshift ramp and nodded. "It should hold us-" Kisheto flew past her, cutting her off in a flash as he jumped up and stepped off the weak railing using the least amount of weight he could. With a kick, he flew forward and upward, towards the high end of the ramp, and upon landing, he broke into a dash forward. At the end of the "ramp", where the house divided and left a gaping divide in the structure, Kisheto jumped and somersaulted to the other side, rapidly progressing along the rooftops. Arianna's eyes widened as she watched him. She took a deep breath, starting to rethink how she could get to the roof. The sounds of the military spreading out and towards her old apartment caught her attention, giving her the final surge of adrenaline to make her commit to this odd parkour. She climbed onto the railing and jumped, barely making it onto the collapsed building. The footsteps of the military men running upstairs forced her legs to start moving and she quickly climbed up the makeshift ramp and jumped, tucking and rolling onto the roof. "Ugh," she groaned softly before standing and running after Kisheto. Kisheto was running full speed, almost smiling at the familiar rush of adrenaline and the sensation of the wind breezing past his face. He felt free, and his speed began to increase rapidly as he jumped, flipped, and rolled past the roof tops, nearly forgetting that he had no idea whether or not Arianna could follow. Meanwhile, Arianna was struggling to keep up. For the past year she had kept to the ground, where it was easier to hide. This rooftop running wasn't as easy for her as it was for Kisheto. She managed to jump from one rooftop to the other, but jumping and flipping over obstacles on the roof wasn't her forte. At one point she was forced to stop and find an easier way to climb over and onto the other side of a wall where the two houses were divided. She could see Kisheto getting farther and father away every time she had to stop and think her actions through. [i]Kisheto,[/i] she warned, [i]I'm losing you.[/i] Kisheto looked up as he heard the voice and then skid to a brief halt near the edge of a roof before jumping backwards and backflipping towards a lower rooftop. [i]Oh! My bad... just... hurry! It's not much farther to the guard tower! We'll be safe up there.[/i] He landed with a quiet thud and whirled around before dashing off again. Arianna furrowed her brows, looking around for the guard tower. She nodded once she saw it and took off running again, trying her best to hurry across the difficult rooftops. The inexperienced parkour drained her of her energy, leaving her panting and tired when she arrived next to Kisheto. Her legs ached from running and jumping, and her hands were scuffed up from the rough landings. "How are we going to get inside?" "Run, jump, and climb for your life!" he said with a smirk as the military's roars grew louder. The guard tower resembled a large flight control tower, except much taller and wider. It was a fair distant from the nearest roof top - without a proper jump and grasp, any one foolish enough to try the maneuver would surely fall to their death. Kisheto chuckled under his breath and dashed forward, kicking off the edge of the last building and flying through the air for a full three seconds. He twisted his body just right to clutch an indentation and swing himself using an angular momentum. He found himself swinging upward and used the momentum to fly up to the next ledge, then the next, and next. He scaled up the wall rapidly, like a monkey in a forest. This was how he got around for years before the apocalypse, and the year after. It was his life before, and his survival now. Arianna remained on the roof, staring at him incredulously. Doubts ran through her mind like a raging fire, but the military's shouts behind her increased her courage just enough to make her commit to the insane action. She backed up to the end of the roof and concentrated, then took off. She jumped into the air, focusing on an indentation and grabbing for it. She gripped it with both hands, wincing as the rest of her body collided with the side. "Damnit, Kisheto," she hissed before finding another indentation for her feet. [b][i]Relax and focus, Arianna. We can do this.[/b][/i] Castiel spoke, encouraging her to continue. With a deep breath, Arianna nodded and began to scale up the side of the guard tower. --- "They're spreading out!" called one of the Vanguard soldiers. The captain clutched his fist in anger, "SHE'S AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE!" he yelled. In his fit of frustration, he whirled around and slammed his fist at the M.A.T twice. In response, the M.A.T lowered and rooted itself to the ground as a high-pitched, rapid whirring sound filled the air. A hatch on the roof of the M.A.T opened in a circular shape to reveal a large pillar. It rose about five feet over the M.A.T. and had a three foot radius. It was lined with kinetic cores and cores that would have been used for acceleration or construction utilities. The Captain held his hand up in a fist as he looked around. He then uncurled his fist and held his open palm even higher, causing the M.A.T to respond with an even faster, higher-pitched whirring. The ground began to vibrate crumble near the M.A.T, and the Vanguard instantly regrouped towards the Captain, making a protective dome. The Captain then thrust his palm downwards, and with it, his shield, covering off the top of the dome. In response, the pillar thrust down at a blinding speed, sending a massive shockwave throughout the entire street. The shockwave had a one hundred yard diameter, and anything living in its wake would have been rendered immobile, stunned, or paralyzed. Inside open buildings, doors were blown apart, desks were overturned, and windows were cracked. The Vanguard remained unharmed, as their shields began glowing and humming in response to the activation of their kinetic shield cores. --- Arianna looked up, relieved to see the very top of the guard tower closer than it had been at the beginning. She saw Kisheto climb over the side and turn to make sure she made it, but a distant rumbling caught her attention. She turned her head to look at it and noticed the ground shaking. Without a thought, she quickly focused on climbing, hoping to get to the top before the shockwave hit the tower. The edge was just an arm's length away when the shockwave hit, shaking the building violently. Her grip began to slip as holding onto the rumbling building became harder to do. She reached up for the edge, but was too late. Panic set in as she lost her grip, gasping for what could have been her last breath. Kisheto rolled off the edge, appearing to somersault down the wall of the building before twisting to grab the ledge with his left hand and swinging his right over to catch Arianna's own hand. Arianna shut her eyes tightly as she expected to hit the ground, but Kisheto's firm grip on her hand sent a wave of relief over her. She looked up at him, glad that she hadn't been scaling the wall alone. Kisheto grunted with effort and pinched one eye shut as he quickly pulled upwards to prevent dislocating either shoulder. As he balanced their weights he shook his head and chuckled, "Y'need practice, yulie." He then nodded upward and moved her to the left before attempting to swing her over the ledge on the right. Arianna grabbed the ledge as she neared it and quickly scrambled over. She collapsed against the ledge, panting. "Dear Aeros, don't ever make me do that again," she muttered, glad to feel something sturdy under her feet. Kisheto chuckled, "Psh... it's fun, yo!" he said jokingly with a nudge of the elbow. He then sniffed and sat against the ledge, properly hidden from the military below. "This is where I would spend my nights, y'know. Well, this tower among many. Everything's so scary out there, but once you set foot here, you feel so... safe. Gotta get it where yah can, I guess." Arianna looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "It might be safe in here, but the journey up here is dangerous." She looked around at the tower, resting her head back against the ledge. "There has to be an easier way to get up here without climbing." Kisheto looked down and chuckled, "Heh... there is. Actually a staircase connecting to a perfeclty safe skywalk near the apartment we dipped from." He couldn't help but a laugh a bit more as he looked to Arianna. Arianna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Lovely," she muttered. "We're using that to get down." Kisheto shrugged and mumbled, "Not as fun, but whatever." Arianna elbowed him gently in response, smirking lightly. Kisheto looked off into the sky in the distance. The perch of the guard's tower had a sort of crow's nest structure, where the top floor was more of a rooftop setting, allowing one to look past the balcony ledges and into the streets and buildings outside. "Hey... you think..." he squinted and twisted his mouth as he thought whether to speak or not. [i]'Wonder if things will ever be okay again... hmm...'[/i] he thought, momentarily forgetting it was futile to hide things within the recesses of his mind. "I mean... y'know...nice weather, right?" he said with an innocent smile. Arianna smiled softly and looked over at him. "I'm sure it'll be alright, eventually." She sighed. "We just need to get out of this hellish cage." Kisheto raised a brow and then shook his head in embarassment, realizing he failed in his attempt to hide the subject that had been pecking at his brain for so long. "Yeah I guess it is a hellish cage. But it used to be the crown jewel of Leginia before. The city that couldn't be toppled, corrupted, or controlled. Kinda like... kinda like the military is now, y'know?" He then smiled and looked off again. "We'll get out. I believe it. We just needa unite. Like in those scenes in the superhero movies after the superhero has a fight with his sidekick and starts losin', y'know? Then they make up and whoop ass!" Arianna chuckled. "I guess that is a proper reference. Especially since most superhero's fight doomsday scenarios. On the subject of the military, I'd say that it has been corrupted. My father never really trusted the military, and now he has a reason not to." Kisheto sighed, "I used to want to be in the military, y'know? Bein' one of those superheros from the movies savin the day and all... Imagine all the glory, and all the-" Kisheto quickly glanced at Arianna and then back at the sky in front of him, "Man, a year of solitude and you forget how to have a conversation," he chuckled, "Sorry for ramblin'." He looked over his shoulder above the ledge and peaked down below. He then returned to his resting position and shrugged, "Military's scoutin'. Might as well get some rest, y'know?" Without a moment to waste, he adjusted his position and rested against the ledge with his eyes shut. "No need to keep watch. These idiots will.. never...*yawn*... good night." Arianna smiled softly as he rambled, then nodded in agreement. She could hear the military's thoughts down below, making it hard for her to even think about sleeping. The commander's thoughts sent chills down her spine. [i][b]I can stop the telepathy, if you'd like?[/i][/b] Castie'ls concerned voice murmured in her mind. With a small nod, Arianna agreed. She suddenly felt strange as the silence filled her mind. Even as she positioned herself in a closely comfortable position, she lay awake for a few minutes just to enjoy it. Her eyes drifted shut as the yells of the military slowly faded, sending into her a blissful sleep.