[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/LjFjyMp.png[/img][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/YWqLekM.png[/img][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/A0ETWbS.png[/img][/center] [sub]banner credit to [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/hellis]Hellis[/url][/sub] [center] [h1]The Heist Part 3 Featuring… [@VATROU][/h1][/center] [center]---[/center] [b]--In the Office--[/b] Back in the office Bach continued to grow, sprouting branches from his shoulders and arms in every direction. The branches finally broke through the magic bubble, flooding the area with his own brand of magic. The branches that escaped the bubble grew green and leafy with yew leaves, twisting and gnarling. The trunk widened out, his body effectively disappearing into bark. It was several minutes before the tree was large enough outside of the bubble that Bach’s hands reached through the bark hauling himself out. He looked around, the furniture of the office was still floating but his partner was nowhere in sight. He panicked scrambling down the branches back to the ground. “[color=darkseagreen]Odette![/color]” He shouted, eyes wide with fear, his imagination racing. He followed the trail of destruction carefully avoiding the magic bubbles. Neither clumsy nor fool enough to run into another one. He got to the edge of the hole in the wall looking down to see one of the rubber golems standing over someone. Bach backed away then took the stairs down to the main floor. He approached from behind, seeing Odette pinned beneath the golem. She was alive albeit very angry and muted. He was unsure if the golem would notice him, constructs made from the soul of a human. His most recent time spent around Mandate said they could very well learn to see Fey if not outright. They weren’t human. The golem’s ‘head’ unnaturally snapped at his approach. Odette struggled again, wiggling as much as she could against its grip trying to distract it. Bach sunk to the floor his hands glowed green against the concrete, his very spirit fueling his magic. It came from his core as opposed to the arcane stream, oh how he hoped one day to understand or harness the power of the arcane stream. A little envious of humans and of Odette by extension. The concrete moved beneath his hands then with unprecedented speed a spear of concrete pierced the golem’s head, but not quite tearing through. Odette stared up at the golem, it’s grip having not wavered. She struggled again glaring at Bach. “[color=darkseagreen]Tough, yes?[/color]” He said with a little awe, calmly he stood from his spot eyes on the golem. He licked his lips, recalling what he knew of golemancy. They had worked briefly with golems once before when Odette was young. She still was, as far as he was concerned. The bonding of the human soul is what animated the construct, removing the bond would require melding his energy directly to pull it apart. There were such spells to do so safely without contact hidden in the pages of Odette's grimoire, but it wasn't an option. The Golem struggled against the concrete spear that was by extension apart of Bach, it had embedded itself deeply into it’s head and attempted to forcefully remove it by pulling at it. Gun shots rang out through the warehouse making Bach and Odette jump, startling them. Her eyes grew wide, she wouldn’t have been able to hear Lekh’s, they must have been from the vampires. She turned her attention back to the golem, impaled by concrete. Struggling again, grunting in her throat. She turned her head to the side noticing someone approaching from her peripheral. “[color=darkseagreen]Perhaps if I hop on it’s back it’ll at least let her go…[/color]” Bach mumbled, noticing the new person. He squinted too realizing before Odette, he was no man but one of the vampires stalking about. “[color=darkseagreen]He’s a vampire.[/color]” He said to Odette, who in turn huffed angrily against her gag. The golem stubbornly refusing to move off of her. “[color=darkseagreen]I can only slow him down.[/color]” He whispered, tensing as the vampire approached. Unsure if his invisibility still held up against the likes of him. The Vampire cackled, a annoying sound as he approached Odette. “Oh man, wittle witchy got trapped under a big mean golem, looks like Klein wants you alive.” Stopping just short of her he ran his tongue across his teeth under his lips. “I’m sure a little bloodletting couldn’t hurt, I happen to be quite parched. What do you say, offer a guy a drink, what’s that?” He said holding his palm to his ear. “Gladly, well don’t mind if I do.” He quickly bent a knee and grabbed Odette’s wrist, his finger punctured her skin tenderly slicing down a small section to expose her blood to his lips. “Such delicious blood, you’re a fit one, athlete maybe. Don’t mind me just enjoying the fruits of your labour. And such sweet fruits you have.” If looks could kill, Odette’s glare was as sharp as daggers. Her temper boiling away any fear as the disgusting vampire spoke. The slice into her skin was painful, she grunted against the pressure of the golem. Her blood welled out of her wound, cooling as it rolled over her skin. The vampire took no time in latching on like a leech drinking it up. Bach glared deciding then what to do next. Nobody was allowed to touch his partner, much less the filthy undead. His invisibility held against the vampire, Bach pushed into a sprint at the golem jumping onto it’s back. Immediately the golem began to struggle, trying to shake the pesky imp off it’s back while trying to keep Odette pinned. Bach gripped with little purchase to the golem’s back. His hands glowed, his energy seeping into the porous rubber. Settling quickly, he anchored himself to its back try as the golem might to shake him free. Bach made short work taking control of the golem’s limbs, seeing glimpses of what the golem could see. It was muddled, only enough sight to tell one shape from another with little detail. Incredibly simple constructs. Simpler to unravel still, he reached for the spirit powering the golem. His magic insidiously wrapping about the soul, fleeting images of the person the spirit used to be. He snuffed it out. The golem lost its core, the hard rubber pieces immediately lost grip of Odette. She rammed the heel of her now free hand into the vampire’s nose, rolling away now free. Her wrist bled on, she pulled her sleeve down to wrap around it. The rubber still in her mouth. “That was wholly unnecessary girlie. I was just complimenting your nice and supple skin but now that you’re free by whatever magic you used I have free reign to feast upon you however I see fit, your wonderful thighs will be saved for last.” With claws extended he went for a straight thrust towards her stomach pulling back his arm and thrusting from his hip. Odette tensed as he spoke, guessing correctly he’d initiate another attack, she side stepped. He was incredibly quick closing the gap of space between them within a blink, she brought down her elbow over his extended arm cutting the attack short. She gripped his shirt, with as much force as she could brought up her knee into his groin. He doubled over, using her elbow once again, she brought it down over the back of his head. Bach was nearly free of the golem, he stumbled off the top of the pile. His hand extended, the spell he shouted was in common fey green light disintegrated the rubber gag. She spat, glaring into the eyes of the vampire looking up, she worked her jaw. “[color=thistle]How [i]generous[/i] of you to save my legs for last. When I’m done with you - [i]you will be ash.[/i][/color]” She pulled the stake free from her belt, holding it with her good hand, without another pause she aimed for his heart. “Stake? What, no wine? Perhaps you should pour me a glass of your blood and maybe I’ll ignore your improper dinner etiquette. Well, I’ll take the honor of this dance while your head rolls.” He smiled, as he pushed off from his back lifting him and Odette off the ground, his arm popped in the process and was hanging loosely from its socket. “Looks like I dislocated it, no matter. Worth it.” Readying himself to lunge at Odette who had lost her advantage over him. Bach was off the golem, throwing seeds at the vampire’s feet. Odette stumbled away creating more distance from the undead creature, quickly regaining her composure. Her wrist throbbed, blood dripping at an alarming speed. Bach willed the seeds to grow, thick green vines wrapped around the vampire’s legs crawling from his ankles up to his knees tightening a terrible grip with enough strength to crush an ordinary man’s bones. They wrapped without prejudice anchoring the vampire where he stood. Giving Odette a few precious seconds to dash forward, with an underhanded swing she used both hands to plunge the stake deep into the vampire’s heart. Odette’s heartbeat throbbed in her ears, she could smell her own blood on his breath. Snarling out her spell, “[color=thistle][i]Incinérer![/i][/color]” The stake caught in a burst of brilliant flame, Odette took several steps away shielding her eyes from the sudden heat. The shrill screams of the vampire filled her ears, dying shortly after the flames consumed him from the inside out. Almost too quickly to take satisfaction, he turned into ash. The embers of his body glowed brightly as the fire spell found nothing left to fuel it’s flame. She gripped her wrist to slow the flow of blood, her vision blurry. “[color=thistle]Bach! Stop the bleeding![/color]” Bach stepped up to his partner, his brow furrowed as he chanted a healing spell using her sleeve as an anchor for it. Letting out a grateful sigh of relief resting her head against his shoulder, the pain ceased as he worked the spell. The bleeding had stopped but the wound was an ugly gash, sticky with blood. “[color=thistle]I [i]hate[/i] vampires.[/color]” “[color=darkseagreen]We need to find what we came here for.[/color]” She shook her head, “[color=thistle]No, we need to narrow down our search and meet with Silence. Bach, I need you to search for the prize.[/color]” She pointed to the office. “[color=thistle]I need to meet with Silence.[/color]” “[color=darkseagreen]It would be faster with you.[/color]” “[color=thistle]Perhaps. We haven’t heard a sound from Mandate’s fight and now we hear gunshots? Something has gone wrong. Don’t argue with me.[/color]” She said warning him, her patience run out. “[color=thistle]Come find me when you find what we need.[/color]” Odette clicked her heels ascending to the top of the aisles, well out of earshot Bach muttered, “[color=darkseagreen]I hope for both our sakes you find him with a bullet through his skull.[/color]” --- [b]--Warehouse floor - Silence--[/b] [color=bc8dbf]“Gowno.”[/color] The bleeding criminal muttered, as he used a knife to slice through the bottom of his shirt. He ripped a long strip of material out of his own clothes and painfully hefted up his vest to wrap it around his lower torso. It would serve as an impromptu bandage for the time being, but he was gutshot, which meant if he didn’t receive urgent medical attention, and soon, he was a dead man. Not to mention being shot fucking hurt. Groaning, as he wiped his bloody hands on his cargo pants; he picked his gun up where it was lying on the ground and pushed himself to his feet. The quiet told him the fighting elsewhere in the warehouse was mostly done, but there could be more of the Barron’s men waiting for him somewhere. In his condition, any further fighting would not be pretty. His hand reached for the bottom of his mask and pulled it back into place, once more concealing his pale and rather pained face. He had a lot of ground left to cover if he was going to find what he was looking for, but now he had twice as many reasons to go searching for a miraculous cure all. Above the warehouse floor and its occupants The Ambassador hopped from one shelf to the next pausing to scan the floor below for any signs of movement or a clue. Making her way to the outskirts, keeping an ear out. The quiet worried the sorceress. Mandate was doing well and keeping their tougher opponents focused on her while they moved about.. She hoped Silence fared better. She resumed her search, squeezing through gaps in crates or climbing over them. The effort was minimal, comparable to an upper body workout. She tried to keep weight off her bitten wrist, Bach’s healing spell was a temporary bandaid, healing was not a skill he was particularly good at. Something Odette forced him to learn along side her when she began practicing magic. Slowing again to a stop she looked down noticing a couple piles of ash, she climbed down to investigate. Her feet enchantments absorbing the last of the jump. Crouching low, she was now able to see the small pools of blood and droplets leading away. The ashes meant the vampires were dead, their small arms were among the dust. Odette followed the trail of blood. She knew Silence was injured but was able to walk away, a good a sign as any. [color=bc8dbf]“Must be losing my edge.”[/color] Silence cursed quietly. [color=bc8dbf]“Should have approached this differently, found out exactly where the desired items were kept, gone in quiet. This was sloppy.”[/color] His eyes roamed the crates to either side of him, looking for any sign of an item he was after. All the while he dripped blood onto the floor behind him, but in his pained mind the significance of leaving such a trail behind was lost on him. On the plus side, it would be fairly easy for Odette to follow the dark red marks on the grey concrete floor, to the end of the aisle and turning left at the end. Silence’s own ears perked up before she got to him. [color=bc8dbf]“More vampires? Come, then, kill me if you can.”[/color] He called, foolhardy, it was not like him to issue such a challenge, but the gun in one hand and the stake in the other proved he did not mean to go out without a fight. She picked up her pace following the blood in time to hear Silence call out his challenge. When she rounded the corner, she froze at the sight of him his gun raised and a stake poised. His voice the first clue it was him, her eyes trailed down to his shirt the bloody strip soaked through. “[color=thistle]Bold challenge for someone injured.[/color]” “[color=thistle]Can you please lower your gun?[/color]” [color=bc8dbf]“Ms Ambassador.”[/color] He sighed, dropping his weapon with relief. It seems he wasn’t to die pointlessly fighting Vampires in a warehouse. Not today at least. [color=bc8dbf]“I see I am not the only one to run into trouble with Vampires.”[/color] He nodded at her bloodied wrist and lifted his own armoured forearms. [color=bc8dbf]“Unfortunately my precautions did not prepare me to be shot multiple times by a creature that cannot be easily killed with bullets.”[/color] He coughed a few times, the wracking cough of the badly ill, and the pain shot up a notch as he felt his heartbeat, pounding in his head.[color=bc8dbf]“Please tell me you have had more luck than I, in securing what we seek?[/color] “[color=thistle]I knew something had gone wrong as soon as I heard those gunshots.[/color]” She stepped right up to him getting a closer look, worry lined in her expression. “[color=thistle]No, Bach is looking in their inventory files as we speak. Sit, I know first aid and if you were shot I can remove the bullet.[/color]” She began rifling through her purse looking for her first aid kit. “[color=thistle]Sit.[/color]” She said a tone not meant for argument. [color=bc8dbf]“Was surgey covered in your first aid class, Ms Ambassador? I have been shot in the lower abdomen, the bullet is lodged inside my body somewhere, possibly fragmented. Unless your magic can replicate hours of lengthy surgery, I am not sure what you can do.”[/color] Despite his complaints, Silence walked over to Odette and sat with his back to one of the metallic supports for the shelves, keeping his pistol and stake close as he hefted off his battered vest and lay it on the ground beside him, he pulled off his mask so he could breath better and winced. Crouching on his injured side she laid out the kit, pouring hand sanitizer over her hands then slipping on a pair of blue rubber gloves. Gingerly she peeled away his makeshift bandages, squinting at the injuries leaking blood, moving around did him no favours. “[color=thistle]I have a spell to remove metal based things from the body. It works for iron poisoning and removing bullets. Painful but it works. Why haven’t you applied any of the salve I gave you?[/color]” Turning her judgemental gaze onto him, having noted his other injury. [color=bc8dbf]“Ah. Well, the salve you gave me is back in Lost Haven.”[/color] He shrugged apologetically. She sighed irritably then flicked him on the nose. “[color=thistle]What kind of idiot leaves a healing salve at home before participating in a heist?[/color]” Removing the bandage completely, she pulled a sterile gauze pad from the kit to ready it for when the bullet was removed. “[color=thistle]This is going to hurt. Don’t shout.[/color]” It was the only warning she gave, straightening her back holding both her hands over the injury, closing her eyes. The spell began quietly, typically as they always did in French. Her hands glowed blue. Distinct memories of the last time she used the spell came to the forefront of her mind, removing iron directly from her body was a relief and searing pain. The magic seeped into his injury coiling around the bullet, gently as she could manage began pulling it free. A cold sweat broke out on Silence’s pale face, plastering his mousey brown hair to his scalp as his forehead furrowed in pain. A long tirade of hoarsely whispered Polish curses filled the air as the criminal experienced the suffering of the bullet lodged in his torso slowly worming its way out through his ravaged flesh. It pulled free, seemingly intact, with a literal flood of blood pooling from the wound. Silence had likely been saved graver injury by his vest after all, things could have been a lot worse than a flesh wound like this. Though if you were to try telling him that as he sat there with his hands balled into fists so tight his fingers started to lose circulation, he would have thought you mad. He groaned quietly as the bullet freed itself from his flesh, his own hand seeking to stymie the flow of blood. Letting out a long sigh, the exertion noticeable. When she opened her eyes she caught his hand, snapping, “[color=thistle]Your hands are filthy![/color]” She wet down the gauze pad with antiseptic solution, applying it directly with adequate pressure. “[color=thistle]Stitches next. Please hold it down like this while I get the needle ready.[/color]” While she turned away, she felt a little blood dribble down from her nose. She paused patting her nose with her arm and grimaced. [i][color=thistle]I should have finished that basket of fries.[/color][/i] Quickly stringing up the needle, she dipped it in disinfectant then returned to his injury. He dutifully removed the gauze to allow her to work. Sewing up the wound quickly with practiced hands, her brow furrowed as she concentrated. When the stitches were complete, she retrieved a new gauze pad, cleaned the area free of blood. Using clear tape she tapped the pad over the wound, securing it. Leaning back onto her heels she said, “[color=thistle]There, that should hold until you can see a professional.[/color]” Stripping the gloves free she deposited them into a yellow plastic bag, zip locking it. She grabbed a tissue cleaning her nose properly looking none too happy. [color=bc8dbf]“You do not mess around.”[/color] Silence observed, as he probed the sewn up area with a wince of pain, running his gloved hand over the gauze. He allowed his shirt to fall back down over the wounded area and groped for his pistol. [color=bc8dbf]“Thank you, Ms Ambassador.”[/color] Pushing himself to his feet, or rather, climbing partially up the racking and dragging himself up until he was able to stand, he turned to her as she wiped the blood away from her nose. Apparently her magic was not without cost. [color=bc8dbf]“Shall we see what Bach has discovered then? I am eager to be done with this place.”[/color] “[color=thistle]You’re welcome.[/color]” She replied packing away the kit, “[color=thistle]He should be along shortly.[/color]” The kit disappeared back inside the purse and she fished out a protein bar taking a quick bite. The blood loss must of sapped more of her energy than she assumed. As if on cue she felt his approach, a few aisles away. “[color=thistle]This way. Are you alright to walk on your own or do you need help?[/color]” [color=bc8dbf]“I can walk, lead the way.”[/color] She shrugged, “[color=thistle]Suit yourself.[/color]” Eating the protein bar as she led them to Bach. Tension was tight in her shoulders, in truth she could barely stomach to eat it. She forced herself to eat knowing they still had to escape and approaching her limits now was much too soon. They caught Bach rifling through a crate a couple shelves above their heads. He looked down over his shoulder, pulling a face at seeing Silence. “[color=darkseagreen]My Lady, Silence. I found what we need. Barron isn’t storing any finished products but he has stock piled loads of ingredients that can easily make a potion to heal anything and everything.[/color]” Bach said excitedly, “[color=darkseagreen]Unicorn horns, dragon’s teeth, golden fleece, even strands of hair from the original gorgon sisters! Also this.[/color]” He tossed something down for Odette to catch. It was a petrified hand still adorned with it’s rings in a vacuum sealed bag, she pulled a face of disgust. “[color=darkseagreen]You are holding a lich’s hand, [i]perfectly[/i] preserved. I’ve never seen anything like this![/color]” She turned to Silence, “[color=thistle]He said he found some rare ingredients that can be used to make a cure all.[/color]” She tossed the lich’s hand away. “[color=thistle]Grab the fleece, the horns and the dragon’s teeth for ourselves! We haven’t the time to window shop.[/color]” Bach gave her a thumbs up, packing a few spools of golden fleece into his pockets. Pocketing the horns into his jacket and the teeth into his pants pockets. Generously grabbing as much as he could carry. He shimmied down the shelves, passing off the spoils to Odette. Holding up the spool of golden fleece, it caught the light glittering beautifully. “[color=thistle]Excellent.[/color]” She smiled at Silence, genuinely pleased. “[color=thistle]If you want I can hold on to them while we escape.[/color]” [color=bc8dbf]“Seeing as how I have no idea how to use any of those materials, I think that would be best.”[/color] He looked around furtively for a moment longer. [color=bc8dbf]“I would like to look around for longer, but I am afraid if we run into any trouble I am in no condition to hold my own. Would you say those materials are sufficient to create a curative?”[/color] “[color=thistle]I’m certain. They’re imbued with incredible healing properties and are very rare. Combining the unicorn horn and the golden fleece could cure cancer. Much more potent than the salve.[/color]” She replied solemnly. Licking her lips she added quietly. “[color=thistle]I would be completely confident if I knew [i]exactly[/i] what you were hoping to cure.[/color]” [color=bc8dbf]“I will explain when we escape this place. Will we need to retrieve Mandate, or can she extricate herself?”[/color] Odette nodded then pursed her lips, worry washing over her once again. “[color=thistle]It has been too quiet. I don’t want to assume she’s alright until I see her.[/color]” Bach commented, “[color=darkseagreen]I’m sure she’s fine. She shrugs off bullets and our spells bounce off her.[/color]” Odette shook her head, “[color=thistle]Illusion spells, she deflected illusion spells.[/color]” She argued on, “[color=thistle]That mage specializes in golemancy. He would know how to hurt her, how to get beneath her armour.[/color]” “[color=thistle]I apologise Silence, I know you are in no condition to be here any longer but we need to see to Mandate first before we leave. She is an asset.[/color]” She said, chewing away at the inside of her cheek still tasting the bitterness of the rubber. Silence’s eyes narrowed as he considered his options. Risking his life for Mandate was not something he wanted to do, but the Ambassador was the only one who knew how to use the materials. If Bach couldn’t convince her to leave the golem, Silence wasn’t too confident he could either. [color=bc8dbf]“Fine, then we had best be going.”[/color] [b]--Meanwhile…Mandate vs Klein--[/b] For a moment, Mandate did not know where she was. She did not, in fact, know anything, except that she was lost in a darkness that was not. Memories and emotions, a hundred facades to an ephemeral fractal. Twining together with endless complexity, spiralling eternally. There was a tug upon the fractal existence from the outside, a foreign touch that pulled crudely at some of the many. It would take more than such a simple touch to break through the wonder that was the systems that constructed Mandate, but the tool was appropriate for the task of gaining a reaction. With a crack that was more felt than heard, Mandate’s strained souls snapped back into their proper place, and [i]pain[/i] followed with them. Mandate did not think. Rather, she screamed, a sound like an agonized chorus, as she felt the sting of pain deeper than any flesh for only the third time in her artificial life. Her arms curled inwards, as if she could shield herself with a physical barrier, and the rubber golem was brought along for the ride. She paid no attention to the fact that she was smashing the golem against herself with an unreasonable degree of strength, such that the air rang and the dust shook with the impact. Her wail echoed through the cavernous expanse of the warehouse interior, ephemeral and haunting and full of mingled rage and memories and agony. [color=LightPink]”I’LL [b]KILL[/b] YOU!”[/color] she hollered. Her words were lost against the rubber golem, but her intent was clear in the vocalized rage. As Klein stepped back his feet slowly being placed behind the other. “This, this is not a Golem, it is far worse. I know not what magic created that thing, nor how they vaguely shaped it in the form of a Golem. I should not be here.” Klein looked upon the Golem with fear, he saw that it was no mere creation, while Golems have had implanted personalities they were artificial nothing more than the voices they put in phones. His own Golem was at the mercy of Mandate’s grip and while she couldn’t crush it it also couldn’t break away Mandate could not understand the human through the haze of pain, but she could certainly hear him. Her scream resounded again, equal parts pain and rage, and she slung the golem in her grasp in an uncontrolled arc in the man’s general direction. It was without aim, but the 6 foot tall golem was thrown with a dangerous speed behind its weight nonetheless. Klein dodged out of the way as his Golem bounced and collided with the shelves, he needed to lead her somewhere more advantageous and as his Golem stood on it’s feet he called out. “Pull back.” The Golem obliged and Klein taunted Mandate again by trying to tear at her souls, if Mandate didn’t notice it he was pulling her towards a certain spot in the warehouse one not far considering how large the warehouse was to where Mandate crashed through the roof. Mandate stumbled as the outside force reasserted itself on her existence once more. Like a rubber band, the displaced souls snapped back into place, bringing flashes of memory and terrified isolation. The magic that held her together would not allow separation from such a simple application of force, but the very presence of another against her structure strained her mind. Mandate pushed off of the floor with force sufficient to shatter it, unleashing a scream that was more of a horn than a human sound. Dust and debris was kicked up into a cloud as she stumbled into a sprint, her massive stride allowing her to come hurtling through it in minimal time. She stumbled briefly over the trenches left by where her feet had dug into the floor, but her attention was solely upon Klein. She charged onwards like an incoming train, ignorant of the man’s plan. Klein ducked and weaved through the shelves, Barron would not be pleased with their destruction however there wasn’t much he could do to stop the rampaging Golem; taunting it proved highly effective and dangerous to his own health but just a few aisles down he knew where to find the Mimic. It was a creature of a certain magical nature that collaborated together to lure in prey and devour them, a octopod like thing small as a baseball but as one dangerous enough to kill bears. Checking back over his shoulder he could see the silver golem charging recklessly fueled by it’s own anger, smiling he came to a halt and held out the small totem and readied himself to dodge her charge. Mandate’s charge was relentless, and it was only after her shoulder crashed through one of the shelves without stopping that she began to evade them. Miss Ambassador would already be angry with her, for taking so long and making such a mess. As angry as she was, some small part of her kept her swerving in an attempt to avoid further damage. It was a mostly vain effort, of course; the concrete shattered beneath her feet, and the errant swinging of her limbs left dents that ruined the entire structure of whatever shelf she would strike. Still, onwards she rushed, and Klein’s sudden pause simply encouraged her; she was confident in her ability to crush his opposition, and then his body. With a last second lunge Klein tossed himself out of the Golem’s way as his own Golem came rushing after him. Mandate rushed straight into an odd looking chest just out of the way of the other isles and immediately something retaliated against her, as tendrils wrapped themselves around her mercury arms as the chest itself grew teeth and uprooted to deal with this new prey that wandered into it’s mouth. Mandate’s first reaction to the obstacle before her was to stumble as she suddenly found herself off-target and assaulted by an unknown factor. Her second reaction was to swing with a good degree of force, as it was with most obstacles. [i]1 ton,[/i] a corner of her mind registered. Her arm tore its way free of the tendrils, and slammed into -and through- the creature. Rather disconcertingly, this did not seem to stop it. [color=LightPink]”I’ll kill you too!”[/color] Klein took this opportunity to flee, his rubber golem scoped him up in its arms and began running through the warehouse inching closer and closer to the exit until he saw a blue haired woman. [b]--Warehouse Floor - Ambassador & Silence--[/b] Odette picked up her pace at the inhuman sound of Mandate’s roar, the increase in noise hurried her along. She threw a look back at Silence trying not to get too far from him in case there were more vampires lurking about. If they hadn’t already attacked she assumed an ambush awaited them. She saw the mage first, Klein’s head snapped at her and her fists clenched. Odette knew she had a little energy left, it would be well spent on removing him of his power as he did earlier with her. It was only fair. “[color=thistle][i]Se vider! Restreindre![/i][/color]” She shouted the Words of Power, like a coil the blue light of her magic surrounded Klein binding his arms to his torso, wrapping around his ankles and wrists. The spell was simply crude, it was constructed from pure energy of the Arcane Stream to drain Klein of his magic and restrain him where he stood. Blood dribbled anew down her upper lip, she paid it no mind. Focused entirely on the mage before her. Klein was yanked from the golem’s grip bound by petty magic, but effective for the time being. As he felt magic draining from him he commanded his golem to attack. Bach wasn’t far behind Odette, without a word he planted his feet beside her. Sharply his arms swept up in brilliant green light a ward erected just behind Klein in time for his rubber golem to collide with the brand new ward. With no time to slow down, it bounced off the ward with all its momentum stumbling backwards a few feet. “[color=thistle]Mandate! The golem![/color]” Odette shouted. The rumbling and crashing which had been echoing from the direction Klein had come ceased for a moment. Then, it resumed, growing rapidly closer as something ploughed through obstacles. Truth be told, Mandate had only heard the Ambassador’s voice, not her words, as loud as her brief confrontation with the Mimic had been; it was simply a beacon of welcome reprieve. And so it was that the golem came charging onto the scene with the Mimic in question still hanging onto her form, an unwanted passenger. Registering the scene before her, she came skidding and stumbling to a halt. [color=LightPink]”Miss Ambassador! He hurt me!”[/color] she shouted, as if it was a most grievous sin. As his magic drained faster than he could fight the spell that held him, his golem that had smacked into a barrier turned as Mandate came running in. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, just stay down.” Bach jumped with a start at Mandate’s arrival, the rubber golem was turning on Mandate once again. He raced forward meaning to take the distraction as an opportunity to destroy it. Odette clenched her fist, the restraints squeezed tight enough to cut off his blood circulation. Her glare was sharp and unmistakably angry. “[color=thistle]So I heard.[/color]” She replied to Mandate casting her gaze away seeing and recognizing the mimic clinging to her like a statically charged sock. In a blink she snapped her fingers with another spell to burn the mimic off of Mandate, “[color=thistle][i]Incinérer.[/i][/color]” Similar flames that had burned away the vampire ate into the flesh of the mimic. The spell drained the last of Odette’s energy, she dropped to her knee with an audible grunt holding her nose, her sight going blurry. The Mimic loosed its grip upon Mandate it’s collective consciousness too frail to continue to devour the Mercury Golem it crawled off as the tiny pieces fell away and hid under the shelves. Silence peered around the corner of the racking at this point, having lagged some way behind Odette as she ran towards the sound of her distressed ally. Lekh didn’t really care either way about Mandate, so he saw no need for urgency at the risk of tearing his stitches. So it was that Silence only reached the scene as Odette scorched the mimic off the golem’s body and seemingly another construct made of rubber turned to attack Mandate. His instincts, ever sound, told him it would be wise to hunker right here behind the corner of the racking and let these forces fight each other. Even if he were in any fit state to fight, there was no way for him to obtain any advantage if he just ran straight in. Sighing as his feet and perhaps even his conscience outweighed his better judgement, he started moving. Turning back around at first he quickly moved down the aisle adjacent to where the battle was taking place, reloading his weapon as he went. He could make out Odette, kneeling, apparently exhausted by liberal use of her powers. Her magical opponent was before her, though for how long she could restrain him with magic was up in the air. Lekh couldn’t do much, but perhaps the man was as vulnerable to bullets as any flesh and blood. Startling pops filled the air as he fired round and round through the racking and over the tops of crates and through fabrics and magical supplies, saturating the area around Klein with gunfire, many of those shots looked to be on target. Klein didn’t even have a chance to stumble the bullets and his lack of magical protections from the witch’s trap left him defenseless, no dramatic death grip, nor a life flashing before his eyes moment as one would expect in movies. By the time his body hit the floor his life was gone and his golem carried out his last orders to the letter, swinging away at Mandate despite how futile it now was. Bach sprinted on not sparing a glance at the very dead Klein, making a beeline for the rubber golem, meaning to do the same as before. Remove its soul from the construct. He took a running leap onto it's back, “[color=darkseagreen]Mandate! Hold it down while I remove it's soul![/color]” Struggling at the unseen force the golem thrashed around until someone could bind it. Mandate would have whined about the sudden onset of death in her primary target, if it was not for the distracting assault from the familiar rubber golem that forced her to backpedal. It was a big disappointment, but at least there was this thing to help Miss Ambassador with, and the silly human was dead as dead could be. [color=LightPink]”Okay!”[/color] she chirped, her good mood slightly rekindled. She switched tactics without warning, lunging forward and slamming into the smaller golem. Her foot raised up and came crashing down onto its leg in an attempt to drive it down, and her hands moved to grapple it by its arms. Bach had begun to sink his feet into the golem but his hands hadn’t the chance at the sudden impact, he flailed his arms about. “[color=darkseagreen]AAAAHHH![/color]” When the golem dipped forward onto its knee Bach flopped forward his hands grappling for purchase the light of his magic sinking into the rubber of the golem. He searched again for the soul, finding it this time deep into its pelvic region as opposed to its chest as the one before. Bach sunk deeper nearly up to his neck reaching for the soul, when he finally grasped it in both his hands. The memories flashed before his eyes, he clapped his hands around it wiping the light out. In that moment the golem fell apart in heavy rubber pieces collapsing to the ground. Slowly he pulled his face free, looking up to Mandate. “[color=darkseagreen]It is done.[/color]” Mandate peered at Bach for a moment. Her face briefly seemed to shift from its smile, before it returned as she reached some conclusion. The golem unceremoniously released the pieces of rubber she had still been holding. [color=LightPink]”That was interesting! Can you do that to humans?”[/color] she asked, tilting her head and briefly peering over at Klein’s corpse, followed by her own Miss Ambassador. Then, she froze. Without a supernatural predator clinging to her, more details came to her attention. [color=LightPink]”Miss Ambassador! They hurt you too?!”[/color] she all but yelped, hurriedly sending the rubber pieces of golem skidding with a kick as she made her way to the human’s side. Her hands hovered uncertainly, the presence of Silence and the disconcerting abilities of Bach momentarily forgotten. [color=LightPink]”Are you okay?”[/color] He worked his way free again, looking over his shoulder at Odette kneeling, “[color=darkseagreen]Not directly.[/color]” He replied to no one, watching Mandate go. He hopped struggling to free his foot last then hopped down to the ground strolling back to Odette’s side with Mandate hovering over her. Bach kneeled beside her and asked, “[color=darkseagreen]Do you need a little?[/color]” She cast a tired eye up at Mandate then replied to Bach’s question. “[color=thistle][i]Oui, s'il vous plaît.[/i][/color]” Odette muttered, she held her nose to try and stop the bleeding. Bach placed both his hands on her shoulders, the light of her tattoo glowed through the fabric as he transferred a little of his magic to her, just enough to get her back on her feet. Too much would overwhelm her and force possession. The blood slowed, Bach offered her a handkerchief. Shakily she climbed back to her feet accepting the cloth, her hands a bloody mess. She looked to Mandate her tone flat and filled with exhaustion, noticeably slouching, “[color=thistle]Could be better. We are leaving, we have what we came for.[/color]” Mandate’s smile had firmly reverted to its opposite configuration, but she nodded nonetheless. With Miss Ambassador on her feet, she instead began to turn her head to and fro to nervously scan the area. The recent memory of pain had made her skittish, and now Miss Ambassador had evidently had a rough time herself. Finally, after a pass over the corpse of her attacker, her eye settled upon Silence. Silence looked at her through the racking, nodding slowly as he stuck his pistol back in his waistband. [color=bc8dbf]“If we have what we came for let us get back to the vehicle, quickly, before more of the Barron’s gang arrive.”[/color] Silence’s voice was pained, but steely all the same. He was a survivor if nothing else, it was not in him to lie down and catch his breath, nor to die here if he could help it. Silence would split off from the main group, tracing through familiar paths with his ears alert to any sounds. By this point, he expected any remaining gang members to be in disarray, or they would have come to the aid of their golemancer. As if to prove his point, he went unmolested back to the side door from which he came, pulling it open and staring out into the open air to look for company. So far so good, he ran outside and hugged the warehouse wall all the way to the fence, vaulting it with an audible grunt as his wounds tugged and bled beneath his shirt. He wasn’t getting out clean, that was for sure. Odette beckoned leading Mandate and Bach to follow Silence out. She stumbled a couple times catching herself and carrying on. The three of them escaped through the backdoor, in time to see Silence vault over the wall. “[color=thistle]He moves like he wasn’t just shot.[/color]” She muttered, picking up pace now out in the fresh air once again. Odette used Mandate’s back to climb the wall she had easily hopped over before, landing on the other side with a stumble. Bach helped her find her balance again while Mandate pulled herself up over it herself. The street was still rather quiet and with luck whatever reinforcements that arrived would be caught in her traps she set at the entrance. It was a brief thought, with the van in sight. Odette jogged up to the van, then climbed into the passenger seat. Bach followed up behind Mandate into the back closing the sliding door. He finally revealed himself, lifting the veil for only Silence’s benefit. “[color=darkseagreen]Off we go then.[/color]” [color=bc8dbf]“Not exactly how I would have planned it, but good job everyone. Now, time to leave.”[/color] Silence breathed a final sigh of relief, put the rental into gear and sped off.