[h2]Omnibus - [color=C2b280]Fleo[/color], [color=red]A[/color][color=orange]r[/color][color=green]i[/color][color=blue]e[/color][color=purple]l[/color], [color=black]Annalise[/color] and Trinity[/h2] Fleo soon after found herself in the little infirmary clinic, under the pretense of getting some sort of medication for her 'burned' arms. Aside from one other patient sleeping in a cot, she didn't turn up much of anything interesting, though she probed each door for strange sounds within. It suddenly and critically struck her that she hadn't seen Annalise since before the group had arrived at the bar, and in a panic that the poor girl had gotten herself lost, she rushed out of the college to look around the perimeter. [color=C2b280]"Annalise? Where are you?" She called repeatedly, to no avail."[/color] Trinity took to a third building, containing the magic and science labs. Seemed a likely place to carry out weird experiments, right? Though she didn't find anything like that, she found some kind of set up with two tables and multiple electrodes on each. The two tables were hooked up to a machine between them, like something you'd see out of a mad science flick. She counted 19 electrodes on each table, but... she couldn't tell what it was for. With further inspection, she found a diagram on the side of the machine, labeling the points for the electrodes. One at each shoulder, knee, hip, elbow, foot and hand, and then seven up the back and on the head. Chakra points...? Interesting, but she had no evidence that it was related. She found a few various and sundry other things, but nothing else as interesting or suspicious. Upon her return outside, the young lady spied her dusty companion bursting into the gym building with some urgency. They must have found something important? Not in any particular mood to talk, Ariel just started toward the gym silently. How many places could they use to hold someone hostage? Given how uninterested she looked, she might be able to go for a while without trouble. Wandering around, it occurred to her that perhaps they would be in the locker rooms. Following the signs Ariel found and put an ear to the door of the men's locker room. Very abruptly, the locker room door swung inward. Either it had not been fully shut, or the knob mechanism did not actually connect to the doorframe. Regardless, due to her position, Ariel could not help but stumble inside. Mercifully, the place appeared to be empty. At least, it was devoid of human life--it harbored a strange and fascinating anomaly in one of the adjoining doorways. Though the door itself was wide open, in its place was a two-dimensional sheet of what appeared to be fire: a magical barrier. Suspicious enough to warrant investigation, but Ariel was alone now. Perhaps wandering off on her own was not the greatest of plans. If these guys could use magic, then it would probably be better to have backup. Turning away from the barrier, she headed back out of the locker room and put the door back the way she found it. Apathy did not make for much urgency, so her movement was a normal walk. Hopefully, she would find Fleo or Trinity before long. Being outside would probably make her easier to find, so she pointed herself to an exit. As it happened, the exit through which Ariel planned to travel burst open with a loud noise, admitted a very worried Fleo. Barely managing to keep herself from running into her teammate, the dusty woman uttered a short yelp of surprise before beginning to babble. [color=C2B280]"Ahh! Ariel! I can't find Annalise anywhere. I think she must have been taken! Have you found any clue where the kids...er, adults, uh, kidnap-ees are?"[/color] Trinity appeared behind her. Fleo's sudden entrance didn't seem to phase Ariel, other than stepping back to avoid the door swinging toward her. After listening to the dust mage's panic, she answered the question. "[color=black]There is a magical barrier in the men's locker room. I was looking to find you and Trinity so we could investigate.[/color]" Her voice was still monotone and her expression dry. It was like Ariel soul had been drained out of her. There was no response to the news of Annalise missing. [color=C2B280]"A barrier? Walls designed to keep people out. Show us the way."[/color] A few moments later, the group stood before the blazing barrier. Fleo narrowed her eyes, not quite over the loss of Annalise but resolved to remain strong. [color=C2B280]"I bet it'd fry us if we tried to touch it."[/color] Her gaze landed on Ariel. [color=C2B280]"Hey, you can do water, right? Maybe that would work."[/color] Nodding slightly, Ariel turned blue and let out a soft sigh. "[color=slateblue]I don't like the dark magic much. Alright let me try.[/color]" Conjuring up some water, she splashed it against the barrier and it went down. Easy enough, until directly behind where it had stood, a new barrier flared to life. This one seemed to be made of water, and it undulated and whirled with such force that no passage through it was possible. "[color=slateblue]Uhm. I don't think I have a good magic to counter that.[/color]" Ariel attempted to use her control of water to take out the barrier, but though her magic coaxed a few pulses out of it, the vortex proved ultimately too furious to be handled. "This?" Trinity stepped up from behind and flung the lesser ice arrow she had conjured earlier into the water barrier. Though one would have been right to think such a thing impossible, the water hardened into ice upon contact with the arrow, but still in frantic motion. After a few seconds, however, the glaciated barrier shook itself to pieces. Behind it, another wall popped up, this one of a rippling, inky blackness. "This is quite the barrier. Well, now that we've started, we shouldn't stop. They may be able to tell we're breaking it." Groaning slightly once again, Ariel changed her magic, thing time to light. What in the world could be behind all this that would require so many barriers? Forming a ball of light around her hand, she flung it against the black barrier. The whole thing grumbled, as if the shadows themselves were alive, but could not beat back the radiance. It melted, dripping down like a heap of sludge, and spread across the floor until it was thin enough to evaporate into gas. In the moment before a new barrier sprang up, however, the three ladies could see into the warded hallway. It continued for a short way before turning into a staircase on the right side, heading downward. More importantly, however, they could see sigils traced on the floor, walls, and ceiling of the hall. Three were ashen, disturbed and scattered, but three remained. And the next one was green. From the walls of the hallway protruded a curtain of roots and vines. Growing faster than possible, they entwined and entangled until they were an impassable obstruction. Its mottled surface, however, oozed a transparent but oily coating, one that gleamed in the locker room's light. "Ariel, be ready to douse the flames." Trinity, after giving the smaller mage a chance to get ready, conjured a fire arrow and stooped down to draw the tip of her arrow across the base of the plants. "Fleo, can you make some kind of sawblade from your dust?" [color=C2B280]"Wait wait...wouldn't it be better not to set it on fire?"[/color] "Probably." Trinity stopped, turning her head to watch her friend, instead. She seemed to have an idea. After stepping back, Fleo held up her hands, bemused. [color=C2B280]"I can make the shape, but it won't be sharp enough. I might be able to cut into it with a Silver Wind, but I don't know if I could push all the way through. Let's see...Haiiro no Kaze!"[/color] Fleo slapped a hand on her head to keep her cap from flying off, and traced a horizontal line in front of her. Where her finger moved, a miniature tornado of dust formed, and when she released it a horizontal line of glittering dust shot forward. It buried into the plant wall, ripping its surface with the sustained force of hundreds of thousands of particles, but it could not go all the way through. Fleo shouted over the noise of her Silver Wind, [color=C2B280]"I've got it! There's no oil in the center of the vines! Fire now!"[/color] Trinity rose to her feet quickly and requipped her bow into her hands, already in the motion of drawing the arrow. She aimed quickly and released, the fire arrow piercing the center opening. The fleshy cores of the vines smoldered, and the verdant wall burned from the inside out. By the time the oil caught fire, it was mere drippings on the floor, and soon died out. A second later, the next barrier activated, a rippling, red-tinged screen covered with wailing, lamenting faces. [color=C2B280]"Huh..?" Fleo said, and summoned a Dust Bomb. She threw it against the wall, and recoiled in surprise as the faces actually reached out and devoured the attack. [color=C2B280]"Ah, well...hmm. That's mildly disturbing.[/color] "What... is...?" What a horrible sight! The young lady of white gazed at the new barrier with a subtle horror, taking half a step back. "Tormented souls...?" It took her a moment to calm herself, but with slow breathing and a calm mind, she was able to center herself. "I think I know how to pass this one." The minstrel set her bow against the wall nearby, and stepped in front of the barrier. She closed her eyes and brought her hands in front of herself. "May the bonds of love grant strength and peace. Love Arrow." A golden orb formed between her palms before it took the shape of an arrow. It was then that the quiver on her back shone softly, and the golden arrow solidified into a pink arrow, with a gold trim and a heart shaped tip. Trinity then tenderly took the arrow in hand, and slowly offered it to the wall, touching the tip against the barrier. Greedily the faces devoured it, but their expressions altered soon afterward. The apparent hatred that held them together dissolved, and the faces fell apart in a horrible yet strangely heartwarming fashion. Fleo glanced at Trinity dubiously. [color=C2B280]"Love arrow? Uh, heh heh, do you rent those?" The last barrier galvanized into action, very literally. A torrent of electricity blanketed the hallway, ready to incinerate anyone foolish enough to step in. "Why, you want some?" Trinity grinned at the dusty woman and winked flirtatiously, before turning her eyes to the new barrier. "Ah. Fleo, you're up." The sight caused Fleo to grin; just yesterday, she'd had a similar experience. [color=C2B280]"Ah-hah! Finally, time to be useful. Dust Craft: Bowling Ball! Hup!"[/color] She composed herself, then step forward and rolled the dusty sphere forward. It went straight into the wall, drawing all the electricity into itself and diffusing it through the floor. A moment passed, then another, but no more walls appeared. The way was clear. "[color=khaki]Wow, finally. That was crazy.[/color]" Her expression dimmed slightly as now they could see into the hallway better. This place was creepy. Since it looked like nothing else was popping up, Ariel started into the hall and followed its path down the stairs. At the bottom, a room opened up, and within lay a most haunting sight. Three dozen people lay on cots spaced evenly along both sides of the chamber. Though they all lay still, the soft sound of breathing in the air accredited the idea that they were asleep. There were no visible restraints, but beside each of the cots was a small table with a magical device connected via electrodes and wires to the peoples' heads. All of the devices had a lacrima attached to them, all glowing faintly with the prismatic colors of the rainbow, except for one. That one, however, had something else. Beside that final cot, on the other side of the room, was a chair in which a familiar figure silently rocked. Annalise sat, bent over the sleeping figure, her face hooded but her sorrow none the less palpable. The woman over whom she leaned was beautiful, in her early thirties, with faint purplish hair that must have once been dyed. Her features were eerily similar to Annalise's, but they were far more still. "... found her." Trinity [i]had[/i] been wondering where the woman had gone, but it wasn't as though they could hold her hand like a child. Fleo's eyes widened, and she rushed across the room toward the cot, kicking up dust. Likewise, Ariel went to check on those laying on the cots. What kind of twisted experiment was this? If it was one, it was what it looked like. Ariel was about to speak, but Trinity got to it first. All these people... Trinity stepped slowly into the room, inspecting one of the cots and the people attached to the strange devices. "What are these? Annalise, will you tell me?" They didn't seem like the device she had found in the magic and science labs, but perhaps they were more similar than she thought? She couldn't tell. The electrodes weren't hooked up like the diagram, so she would guess not. It was not Annalise's voice that greeted them first. [color=E9FFDB]"How the hell did you get past my barriers?"[/color] came a reedy, indignant male voice from across the room, seizing the attention of the Phoenix Wingers. A door opposite the staircase slammed shut, and two people approached the intruders. One was a goateed man with a blonde pompadour, garbed in casual green clothes and a white overcoat. His short stature and rather effeminate slimness made him seem particularly small in the company of his companion, a bespectacled woman who towered above six feet, with brown hair tied in a ponytail and a large, brutish figure in a matching purple jacket and pants. The man continued, [color=E9FFDB]"You must be wizards. Guild wizards too, I'll bet. Angel, if you'd go ahead and bury that mustached moron we let escape afterward, I'd greatly appreciate it."[/color] He frowned and crossed his arms. [color=E9FFDB]"I hate to do it, but it'll be years before people come to see how necessary and important my research is, and how much good it'll do in the world. Until then...well, you'll find out shortly. Don't bother calling us machiavellian. It gets old after a while."[/color] He pointed in the Phoenix Wingers' direction. [color=E9FFDB]"Time for you lot to beat it. Actually, let Angel do the beating, that'd work out great. Then you can join my little group therapy session. Go get 'em, sweetheart."[/color] His companion grinned and charged the wizards' way, straight through the center aisle, her hands thrumming with a crimson power.