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[b][code]The Streets of Tampa.[/code][/b][/center][hr]

[quote=Mistress Spooky Ho][color=D3D3D3]“...I’m going with them to finish the forgiven.”[/color]
[/quote]

Madison pursed her lips at the statement.

She had a hand on her hip as she looked at Lyss and couldn't help [i]but[/i] put in her two cents - as much as it made her feel like Vashti. "... Like this, sis?" Madison looked her up and down and noticed that Maya's comment was fully correct. She did look like shit.

"We aren't going to raid their compound just yet," The Director answered when she raised a finger. "We need to allocate the resources [i]and[/i] let Maximilian and the others catch a rest. Ideally, I want to attack the Forgiven in the next few days... but, we're gonna keep eyes on them in case they decide to cut and run."

[quote=Penny][color=goldenrod]“I’m Penny Lawson. I was working with Kimberly Walton to track down Annabelle. If you’re planning to go after Saul I would love to help but… Could I see Kim first?”[/color][/quote]

"Of course," The Director said with a smile. "Let's get on, we need to get Liao to a hospital as soon as possible."

Madison nodded her head at Lyss as she took flight... and hoped that she could remember where Vashti and Emily were. She was certain that Maya would just go with the DENS, no offense to sis but she would honestly hold Madison back... and she knew that Maya would probably kick Emily while she was down and she didn't have the energy to stop her.

The Director and the others moved into the helicopter as they cleared the area, and prepared to give Saul what's coming to him.

[hr][center][hider=The Beginning is the End is the Beginning][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naYqePsQIzk[/youtube][/hider][/center][hr]

When the mushroom cloud faded and on an unassuming roof a swirling mass of orange sparks and embers appeared. When they faded, the Messiah and Saul were on top of the rooftop, the former of which walked to the edge of the roof with their hands behind their back. When their foot touched the edge of the roof, they stuck their hand out as if they were presenting the chaos of what Saul unintentionally caused.

"Do you see this destruction?" The Messiah asked in a monotone whisper. "Do you see the evil that spawns from the false light? What Mother is protecting you from?"

Saul walked to the edge and saw downtown Tampa in pieces... was this caused by Annabelle Heart? His jaw almost dropped as he gazed upon it all. He stammered out the words, but awkwardly, "... Yes."

"Fortunately, thanks to my machinations," The Messiah turned around as they put their hands together from underneath their robe. "The demon died in this battle."

"Wait, Annabelle's [i]finally[/i] de-"

Before Saul could finish the sentence, the Messiah shot him a glare from underneath the robe that he could feel... he wasn't sure if it was Mother's power being channeled through the Messiah or not.

"̸̙̭̂͛͆̊́̽͒́N̶͉̬̆̍̀̓̽́͊͘͠͝ơ̸͖̜͓̜̄̒͛͐̇̀̓̋̅͘ ̷̣͚̼̭̏͋͋̈́͗͗̌̈́̊͝͠ț̷̢̯̙͔̍̇h̶̺̯̋̈́͘̕͝a̶͚̝͉̤̰͇͔̓́̕n̶̢͈̪͉̞͕͖͚̥̣͊͐̆̕ķ̵̰̩̙̤̹̖̜̀̏̽͛͌̓͠ş̷̠̰̣̹̱̻͉̩͇̉̏̽͝ ̶̣̍̐͛̔͑͘t̷͖͙̥̳̂̑͑̋͊̋̑̓͊͛͝ó̷͓̪̬̪͕̲͈̤̯͔̆̀͋̅̇͌̈́̾ ̸̙̇ͅy̸̧̯̤̠͍̓̓̏̿o̴̡̹͉͉̼̼̣̐̄ư̵̢͙̬̪̯͍͕̘̬̝̦̇̕ŗ̵̤̥̠̜̘͚̙͎̺̣̔̈́̇͒́͂̈́̂̕ ̴̢͈̯̭͓̲̇̌̅͋̈͋̈́̿͋̚õ̵̡͙̖̖̙͕͕͕̀̌̊̔̽͐͋̒̕w̶̧̼̘̠͔̦͎̜͉͕̜͐̒̑͒̔͐̊̑͝ǹ̸̛͈̅͂̾̅̌͐͒̕ ̵̙͍̫̂̅̆́̐̉̌͝͝â̴͈̤͛͊̌̄̔̌c̸͖͉̝͈̙̬̓ͅt̸̠͙̗̙͋͑̔̾̊͜͝i̵͖̗̩̙̗̣̟̘͙̹̱̘͊̕o̷̠̠̣͈̍̈́̄̀̆̑̃̆̉̽n̷͉͈͈̙͓̣̅́͝s̶̡̪͚̤̳̩͇̝̭̍̅̉̄͆̿͑̉̓̍̀̕.̶̼̪̟̪͎̼̰̀͜ͅ"̴̨̳͚̩̥̱͔̟͇͈̂̕͜͝

The Messiah took a few steps away from the edge of the rooftop before they came to an abrupt stop. "They're going to come for you, next." They spoke the words that would etch their way into Saul's mind, "[i]I want you to let them.[/i]"

"Messiah!" Saul tried to protest. "Are you insane, we have to lea-"

The Messiah whipped their head around and shot him another glare as they said the simple words, "Are you lacking faith in Mother?"

Saul was quiet.

"Well, are you?" The Messiah said, "If you are, then I can always kill you and find another church leader."

"... no, I am not, Messiah."

"Then let's go," The Messiah said, "We will have plenty of time to prepare while they lick their wounds."

The Messiah raised their hand and they disappeared in a mass of swirling orange sparks and embers.

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[b][code]The DENS Base.[/code][/b][/center][hr]

It was pouring down rain, not unusual for Florida but it felt like a strange portent for some reason. Madison was never all that superstitious but maybe the world of magic had opened her eyes to such concepts. The rain barely bothered her because she had on a hooded windbreaker that caused the rain to slide off of her. She stood around in the rain by the treelines looking up at the skyline... Tampa wasn't going to be the same but they should, at the very least, finish things. Because if it wasn't for Saul; Kayla and Izzy would still be around - though, Madison would be here all god damn day shunting the blame around when they could just go stop Saul now.

Lyss asked her and the Coven to help with the Forgiven raid, and some people declined but Madison was going to follow Lyss to the ends of the earth - For better or worse. Though, in her own eyes, the Coven was no more... she didn't see the Coven sticking together after this - especially with a majority of the group injured, dead, or disliking each other. Though with the latter she could see some people coming around, like how she feels a little differently about Vashti now.

Herik and Mariah cut and run and Madison couldn't blame them. They probably had less of a deathwish than her, but she felt like she was rambling to herself. She looked over her shoulder at the secret facility that the DENS has just outside of Tampa... it was a lot more active than usual with cars and trucks moving in moving supplies. Madison didn't pay attention to it all as she kept her hands in her pockets and sauntered over inside the building.

Madison quickly found the meeting room with the various DENS agents - and some of her Coven sisters and friends - gathered around a table. On the table had a blueprint of a building... which she [i]guesses[/i] is the Forgiven compound. Madison didn't make a scene as she entered.

"Is everyone here?" Director Alcott said as she rolled up. "If they're not here, then we're gonna have to fill them in. Maximilian, begin the briefing."

Maximilian leaned over the table and placed both hands on it as he looked around the entire room. "Alright, so the objective of today's operation is the capture and detainment of Luther Saul and the upper echelons of the Forgiven cult. Here is a blueprint of the compound, however, we have determined that there are [i]many[/i] secret passages throughout the building."

He looked to the side and saw Leon who gave him a nod.

"One leading straight into one of their sacrificial altars and dungeons... that has people in there."

"One of our priorities is liberating anyone that they have captured," Director Alcott chimed in. "However, our first issue is that we have determined that the Forgiven is heavily armed with weapons that they have acquired [i]somehow[/i] - and the fact that the facility is crawling with children."

Alcott shook her head as Maximilian continued.

"I brought up that it is a likely possibility that the Forgiven [i]may[/i] use them as hostages... or they may hunker down and a simple raid could be stretched out to [i]months[/i] if they play their cards right."

"However, it's likely they are already prepared for a full-on raid," Alcott said as she put her fingers together. "They most likely aren't going to suspect a small team or two going in and grab Saul because he is the top priority."

"Which is where we come in," Maximilian nodded his head, "We can sneak in, grab Saul, and then extract him without the Forgiven knowing about it [i]then[/i] we can take care of the rest of the group. However, Saul is the top priority here."

Director Alcott nodded her head.

"Any questions?"