[h2]C H A P T E R [s]1[/s][/h2] [b]N o t A S i n g l e S t a r[/b] _________________________________ [h3]Fort Hood, Texas —- // JANUARY 23[/h3][@Zoey White] The [url=https://i.imgur.com/EKPoSBE.png]perverted handler[/url] stood dumbfounded with a mouth agape as she responded to his kind words by calling him a 'weirdo', the nerve of this creature. "[i][color=black]Antoine Gaudi is not a weirdo, rather, I'm a purveyor of fine things. And I would classify beautiful women as 'fine things'. Now you, I wouldn't even classify you, #2 as a woman.[/color][/i]" His dark eyebrow raised as her figure began to walk towards the door, not quite knowing where the hell she thought she was going or what the directives from the church exactly were. These higher numbers were beginning to act like pubescent teenagers whom thought they knew everything about the world, when this was hardly the truth. But Antoine was not the type of person to get worked up over such meager things, and instead just followed 2's guide and approached the door politely stepping outside before politely speaking in a faux tone. "[i][color=black]An outsider will be giving parcel to the perso we are meant to meet, then they will meet us outside a convenience store called The Silver Dollar. The one with all the tacky Texas-themed gift shop decorations, horrible place, but once I get that package we can move on to the second part of the plan. Which I will not brief you on yet, due to your behavior.[/color][/i]" He smirked wry from ear to ear, goading the tattooed creature with a fixation for flora almost to confrontation. They themselves were able to secure a home on base through the church, and it served as a base of operations right next to where their operation would take place. It were almost as if god himself wished for the tragedy that would soon occur to happen. A small black pickup truck sat in the home's driveway, which is the destination that Antoine intended for them to make. He made his way to the drivers door and waited for #2 to enter the passenger-side before putting the vehicle into drive and taking to the road. The base was heavily guarded but they both had proper identification to move around Fort Hood freely without issue. They passed waving families with smiles, stopped as a gas station to refill the tank, and then they would make it to their destination. That cursed convenience store with a cowboy aesthetic. “[i][color=black]Now, we wait for our company.[/color][/i]” [hr][h3]???, Romania ——// JANUARY 23[/h3][@OwO] [url=https://imgur.com/gallery/x3Vo52s]Constantin[/url] maintained the shit-eating grin as he rose from his chair and stepped towards the girl placing a heavy hand atop her head. His bare hand creepily sifted through 6’s black hair for a moment before grumbling to himself and making his way to the door of their office and quickly making his way out to speak to baldy. “[i][color=black]Two hours, I want that stolen Hagglund and a patrol or competent men. Make it happen if you know what’s good for you.[/color][/i]” The handler commanded the Romanian captain life a peasant boy who lived to serve, and to Constantin he may as well have been. The bald officer stood and stared with a look of disgust, but he was obedient and saluted the man without question. “[i]The girl, I mean it. It is staying here, correct? We are allowing the church to move their troops through the countryside and if things go south we need insurance.[/i]” The captain maintained his composure, eye contact strongly set with Constantin’s. But then he looked over to 6, his sights searching for her emerald pupils to perhaps see if she could ah e some sway in this decision. Futile. “[i][color=black]Guards, you heard my order yes? It sounded quite urgent don’t you think?[/color][/i]” The handler slit his azure sights so thin that they nearly shut for a moment, and then his right hand traced down to his waist plucking a steel dart from a small pouch and tossing it swiftly in the captain’s direction. The thin sharp projectile slid right through the membrane of the captain’s jugular, blocking off his airway and allowing blood to begin to flood down into his neck. The handler’s sights returned to 6, he was eager to see her reaction as always. She wasn’t a very vocal creature, and this, whenever he could get some form of reaction it brought him joy. “[i][color=black]And this is why we don’t talk back. Now one of you men, please make sure the things I requested are here. Two hours, I’ll expect them near the entrance of this god-forsaken base.[/color][/i]” They would make their way down the hallway, passing several armed Romanian men whom simply watched with a pained grimace upon their face. Reaching the single double-door Constantin pressed through allowing the icy winds of outside to enter the building for a moment. The man would frown as painful winds smacked into his face, and his march would turn into a wade as his boots transitioned from carpet to snow. He didn’t know how to drive, so it would be a good five to ten minute walk in the freezing temperatures till he reached the holding center near the entrance. Just the thought of it made him shudder, but then an idea! “[i][color=black]6 dear, would you travel along ahead to the entrance gate for me? Get one of the guards to send a car so I don’t have to walk all that way. I’ll reward you if you can do it then less than five minutes. What do you say?[/color][/i]” [hr][h3]Murmansk, Russia —- // JANUARY 23[/h3][@ERode] “[i][color=black]This, this is why I hate men. #13 do you know what makes a great leader? Resolve. That man in there? None of it, he’s just some brown nose who sucked asshole to get where he is now. Don’t end up like him, even if someone makes it seem really appealing![/color][/i]” Augustine snorted in disgust, this place, it smelled of stupidity. The woman’s rampage was not over yet, she marched herself directly to a public-use phone fixed to a wall with a small bench in front of it. The easily side-tracked woman audibly huffed and puffed in infuriation and reached her painted fingertips to crunch at numbers, constantly looking at #13 with a look that would translate to ‘You agree? You better agree’. She didn’t want the young creature’s approval, but there was just something comforting about others agreeing to outrage. “[i][color=black][url=https://i.imgur.com/IFN6fU6.jpg]Saint Augustine[/url]. Identification Number 1231. No I don’t need funds, I want to speak to Theo! If you don’t get his pompous ass on the phone in thirty seconds I will reach my— Theo? Yes, I made it to Murmansk safely. Yes, he told me that the air raids would suffice for securing the border. Well I figured, if you’re going to send three numbers to Russia you may as well get use of them. The Hermitage, okay, I understand. No, nobody is listening but #13. Yes sir.[/color][/i]” She slammed the phone back against the wall cracking the plastic device with ease as she did so. She rose from the bench and continued her advance out of the building. The clacking of her boots against the tile floor would grow fainter and fainter as she calmed down over time. But as they reached the glass doors of the building’s entrance #13 would notice a large helicopter awaiting their arrival. A soldier held two pairs of ear protection, an adult and a kiddy sized, extending them out to the two parties before giving them the thumbs up. Their destination had already been set, and it was a long trip via helicopter. As the two entered the Augusta Bell 212, all sound other than than the roar of the propeller blades was cancelled out. It could be a serene flight, or it could be chaotic. Either ways the view would be amazing, but the cold- dear god the cold. [b]••SETTING CHANGE // Varkhaus Military Bass, Finland[/b] [hr][h3]St. Peterburgh, Russia —- // JANUARY, 23[/h3][@Kazemitsu][@Rune_Alchemist] Both soldiers rolled their eyes at the two who had been sent for their mission. They really did have bad luck! Two really strange creatures, emphasis on the strange, to contrast the just two normal dudes who happened to be really good at special operation missions. But they had heard rumors about the Promised Children and what they were capable of, so who were they to dictate what they did? “[i]Hold on, as much as I’m sure you two are capable of taking on more enemies than the two of us. There’s a reason we are doing this discretely. For one, if the Russians find out they sent you two here they are likely to send all kinds of attention to this city and that’ll make it harder for the people coming behind us. Second, we actually have zero intel on what type of protection the building has. I say, we go quiet and do things as planned— but if shit hits the fan, you two can do whatever you want, I’ll probably be dead anyway.[/i]” The dark-skinned operative went on for a good while on his speech about the mission, impressing his friend enough to nod with purses lips and a hum in acceptance. “[i]I’m for that, what about you two?[/i]” The compatriot asked politely, maintaining his level-headedness because the two numbers who arrived didn’t seem to be sane. His friend had seemed to get his head on straight, which lifted his spirit a bit. They were in enemy territory after all, and going off trying to get killing sprees probably wasn’t in the best interest of the humans who had people that would miss them. Not that #3 or #11 would care about all of that. “We w-[i]rrrr[/i]. Arrival in 02-[i]rrrr[/i]” Each radio received the same message simultaneously broken message. It was nearly showtime, and the two soldiers started to prepare at the moment static entered their radio channel. They dropped back to the concrete and began to unzip their backpacks pulling out black face masks and coveralls for their uniform. There was no more time for chit-chat. [hr][h3]Tokyo, Japan —- // JANUARY, 24[/h3][@Melkor] The muscular woman had finished her research and snapped her laptop shut in a rush. Standing and packing it into the satchel hoisted across her chest, she walked straight to the single cashier in the shop dropping the few cooks onto the desk in front of them and exiting. She didn’t even have a lead on 5, which I mean, it’s hard to find one when he is designed the way he is. Maybe she should call for help? No, she just worked her ass off the climb the ranks and even landed the job in Japan. Henrietta Tattenbaum would not fail her first and only mission! She would hunt this motherfucker down and make him heel like the creature he was. The only reason she had gotten herself into this mess was because of her leniency. Strictness, sternness, and a bunch of other words would definitely need to be exercised when she got her hands on him. Tokyo was just filled with way too many people, and due to 5’s ability he would quite literally flourish in this environment. It was his perfect hunting ground, and the only thing that would get him caught is a mistake. Which is what she was relying on him making, so was it a race against time? Would the Japanese Police find him first, or would it be her? “[i][color=black]Ma’am, do you know the area where those children have been going missing? I’m actually with the Public Safety Department, would you guide me to that part of town so I may investigate.[/color][/i]” The tall woman towered over the elderly Japanese woman, she looked petrified by the woman’s appearance and seemed to accept mostly out of fear. This part of the city was packed with large apartment buildings and alleyway housing establishments. It would be rough, but she would need to be one step ahead of the police if she wanted to catch 5. They had more manpower, but she had time, and she knew 5 better than most. Her eye was drawn to a tall shabbier looking apartment building. This is where her investigation would start. [hr] [h3]Geneva, Switzerland —-// JANUARY, 23[/h3][@Eleven][@TruthHurts22] There was only a few moments of peace before the handler of #10 drew his katana. People at the table widened their eyes in attention of the man’s aggressive outlash, but what is more interesting is the high pitched frequency that was emitted by the man’s sword. Not many would hear it, but those with an acute sense may sense the piercing reverberation in emitted. It is likely that not even 7 would hear such a noise, after all, the weapon was not meant for her and thus it would serve no purpose for her to register such a thing. But to 10, this frequency was the absolute worst. His teeth would ache, mind throb, but most importantly his body would become so weak that it would be difficult for him to even speak. A tailor-made deterrent specifically for the promised child he was charged, it wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last. 7 on the other hand would get off a bit easier. “[i][color=black]Does the bird wish to be put back in its cage?[/color][/i]” Emmanuel bluntly spoke directly to the fair-complexioned promised child, his sights not even offering her the attention that his words would carry. She would know what this meant, minutes, hours, days, locked up with minimal stimulation. This was true hell, no television either! While the children were being punished, upon the stage was a completely separate event to behold. An execution. The men who held the ceremonial swords took steps until they stood behind a bound man. The two whom spoke were the first selected. Large men in white suits and pants came from each side of the stage driving a heavy-handed punch into the gut of each of them causing them to fall to their knees. The executioners would then hold up their swords, speaking something not quite audible to the audience to themselves before driving the swords down upon their necks to release their heads to roll down the stage. The guests who stood closest to the stage even may have gotten blood on themselves, but still they stood. Everyone but #10 would likely be standing as the audience roared into an applause, whistles and cheers even being heard. But Friedrich nor Emmanuel partook in these applause, rather both looked quite somber in this moment. “[i][color=black]May you find rest.[/color][/i]” They both quietly muttered in unison in those final moments.