After another tumble and skid to the ground, Lukas felt Feng falling for one of his illusions. Like a spider sensing its web tingle, Lukas scrambled to face in the direction of Feng, and crouched like a hunter. As the team all around him started to cooperate on leveling the threat, and protecting each other, Lukas could finally work safely. As Feng was obviously panicking out there, Lukas instantly sharpened his focus on her, so to keep her fractured reality going. It was as if he'd unleashed a beast though, and with such a weak leash, he couldn't start tugging for control to help Cristina, or anyone, just yet.

It was terribly difficult to get a better hold on her under the loud and chaotic circumstances. Without eye contact, even more so. The villain was ferociously attacking the young TFO agent while screaming, and Lukas, like everyone else, could only rely on Cristina's resolve while preparing their attacks.

Lukas' advantage was that Feng had already fallen for his simple tricks, and as her growing distress became Lukas' fuel, his illusions would only grow stronger, if undisturbed, that was.

Still crouched, Lukas started the second phase of his combo. By pressing his spread palms against the ground, Lukas grounded himself, and by clenching his jaw shortly, he brought focus to his powers. While also using more illusions of sound, Lukas knocked on Feng's mind to learn more of her. Her shield bashing against Cristina's sword would sound like familiar cuttlery, and when Lukas noticed the team sending Henri rushing towards her while still occupied, Lukas caused her to hear a distant scream of pained hunger, in a direction that would make her turn her back on the charging hero.

It was all Lukas could do at this point. He could only hope Henri would make it.

It was because Lukas chose to trust in those around him, and because of his own mental resolve that he was not surprised or distracted by all the colorful elements thrown hither and thither all around him. The teleporting bullets as well as live ammo being shot through the air apparently from nowhere would have to be dealt with later. For now, he needed to keep Feng occupied, and that was it. He hoped for a reward later. At the very least.

---

Cristina wants to believe that she makes a living of evading certain death as if he is a familiar dance partner, she almost died at the dam, she almost died at the party, she almost died, she almost died... Well, she made her point.

And right now, the same is going on and yet despite that something is different.

When she finds herself in this situation, her opponents due to either arrogance or pride is usually treating her like a game or a collateral to the real objective. Even her sister is not immune to such act but not this pig, not this girl. She could feel it.

She could feel her fear.

She could her desperation.

And like a reflection of a mirror suddenly manifesting in the real world, Cristina couldn't help but receive the blow in shock as she finds herself kneeling to the agressiveness.

Desperate she made a swing and hope for the best.

Peony wasn’t sure if she was helping or not. The Arms Master was deceptively quick and kept darting away from where the Flux landed. She liked to think that was at least distracting her but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Boar from attacking.

It was enough for the shield wielder to grow tired of her and hurl a particularly large meteor at the sword wielder. Peony’s eye grew wide and she backpedaled to the side. It was still too close. She held Plunging Tesseract in a guard stance between her and the rock. Even being clipped sent her flying, skidding against the ground before landing in a puddle of shimmering Flux.

A part of her was terrified, this was the first real taste of combat she had experienced yet paradoxically, that part felt distant, detached. Strange and a little concerning, but she didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.

She staggered back to her feet with the help of her sword, sending ripples across the impossibly deep puddle. Liminal Tesseract wasn’t as good as a proper shield but having a layer of separation between her and the burning rock spared her from serious burns. The impact did little to protect her non-transmuted arm and side when the blade was forced against them. There would no doubt be a nasty bruise but she didn’t think anything was broken.

By the time she recovered, it looked like the battle had turned in their favor, the Boar was getting hammered from multiple angles and her composure was unfurling. Yet, Peony frowned. Maybe it was a dangerous feeling, but she pitied Feng, she wasn’t built for this. She had a powerful Noble Arm and was their enemy besides but she was essentially sent out to fight, and potentially, die alone in a foreign country she was told to despise. Would that be her fate?

She shook the thought free and yanked her sword from the floor. Her resolve didn’t waver, she wouldn’t be consumed by the Arms Master and she wouldn’t let those trapped within remain sealed even if her contributions in freeing them would ultimately be minor.

The blond haired Arms Master was doing… something with portals while the rest were getting in position to attack if whatever she was planning didn’t work out. Ultimately, she would fall in the latter group, she couldn’t risk inflicting Flux upon one of her comrades at a critical juncture and she had no idea how Liminal Tesseract would interact with portals. All she could do was stand by and prepare just in case Feng tried something desperate.

Intermission Five - Aftermath of Victory

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 9:20 AM, UTC+8

Henri's shield hit Feng's, causing a bright flash at the point of collision and an explosion of force punctuated by motes of glittering matter.

"You!" Feng shouted at Henry as she staggered back, her shield opening up to reveal a maw of darkness that spat out three limp figures in red-and-black clothes that marked them as given by her. "I guess... You win."

Mirage Space collapsed, and the three prone figures were revealed to be shellsocked, semi-concious, but recognizable men; one was Noel Alonso, Task Force Obsidian's captured leader, the other was Mykhailo Martinez, a captured Pilot who must have gotten his Noble Arm in Chinese captivity, and the third was Shen Tu, a former aide to the Zodiac member Huo Ren until he was charged with treason shortly after Huo Ren's death.

Feng's body, which had transmuted itself to Magical Ether in the height of the battle, was dissolving into more motes of light, and as she tried to stop it, she was saying, "No, no, no... It cannot end this way! Please, someone, save me!"

Now, will they let her die, or could they improvise some way to save her?

Any option was valid at this point.

@Amidatelion@Chiro@Nimbus@Digmata@Ducksworth@Gerlando@Lloki@Creative Chaos (if returning) @Paths of Parity@Gerlando (if returning).

As the three people were freed from their horrendous fates, and Feng started screaming for her own, Lukas realized he still maintained the mental link. Panting, he remained with her through her panic, to figure out what to do with it.

While letting it be up to his group, he maintained the link to be a tool for them, and to learn, for himself. If a clue to saving her would present itself, Lukas could try it through his powers. It was obvious Lukas was still using them, by how undisturbed his stare on her was, though if no one had figured out his powers yet, or had a clue to save her, all he could do was watch and feel Feng fade.

Even though he had shielded his eyes momentarily from the light erupting from the collision, and was horrified at the sight of three people randomly falling out of her shield, like long since captured zombies, Lukas had instinctively held on to her mind. While keeping his eyes sharp on her like traps ready to shut her down should she look inside them, he could only wait for a new piece of information to use on her senses in the meantime, like before. At the moment, he only knew her weaknesses. He did not know anything about why she was fading. Could it help her turning herself into matter again? He could freeze her mind, through eye contact, in case it was somehow her consciousness or subconsciousness doing the fading.

Can I help her? Can we help her? Do we want to? She is a villain after all. But I do not care. I am waiting for orders. Lukas' mind went. Lukas wanted to be useful after all. He wanted to be liked. He wanted friends. He would help in any way he could, or drop her if that's what gained him points.

Sweating and panting Lukas stood on standby, ready to create illusions or voices inside Feng's mind to help, or release her forever, and move on. The first two things on Lukas' mind after all this was over, was chocolate cake, and becoming religious.

Henri's shield hit Feng's, causing a bright flash at the point of collision and an explosion of force punctuated by motes of glittering matter.

"You!" Feng shouted at Henry as she staggered back, her shield opening up to reveal a maw of darkness that spat out three limp figures in red-and-black clothes that marked them as given by her. "I guess... You win."

Peony relaxed as the Boar admitted defeat. She let Liminal Tesseract hit the ground though she wasn’t going to recall the weapon while the Boar was still present. The roiling Flux that made the Arm’s form faded away, once more becoming a dull dark grey. As it did so, the Flux turned into an inert, near-black shale that cracked readily.

The Arms Master implanted the sword into the dirt and leaned against it as the Mirage Space fell. The fight had been more mentally exhausting than physically. While it was terrifying, dangerous, and harrowing, it was also very quick, like splashing alcohol onto a fire. Despite all that, she knew it could have gone a lot worse. Everyone on her side still lived and the town was still standing. This was a victory pure and total.

Feng's body, which had transmuted itself to Magical Ether in the height of the battle, was dissolving into more motes of light, and as she tried to stop it, she was saying, "No, no, no... It cannot end this way! Please, someone, save me!"

As Feng began to fade, Peony’s eyes widened in shock. She stood back up and pulled her sword up but didn’t level it at their disappearing foe. A deep hollow dread formed in her core. Peony wasn’t naive enough to believe she would get through this war without seeing death or inflicting it herself but she didn’t want the girl to die even if she was their foe, even if she tried to consume her. The thought still sent a shiver down her spine.

She looked down at Liminal Tesseract’s dull grey surface. She earned it by saving a life, she believed that with all her heart, but it couldn’t save Feng. How would Flux even interact with Ether? It was as liable to consume it wholly as it was to do nothing.She felt useless.

“We’re not… We’re not just going to let her die, right?” She uncertainly asked, casting glances at her new comrades. It felt weird, suggesting to a group of hardened soldiers, none of whom she knew, that they save an enemy's life, one who devoured a few of their own. Then again, she had surrendered and there were rules about that. She was pretty sure, at least.

Triumph. Raw, glorious. They’re all safe.

And they’re back! Noel, another she didn’t recognise and… Huo Ren’s aide? Her mind processed that in a flash – she’d last seen the boy at the conference preceding the disaster at Phnom Penh, mouse-like in his bearing, and had distinctly resolved to try to remove him from the Dragon’s grasp. That chance had vanished with… Everything. God, you’ve got a sick sense of humour… Antiquarian, clearly – what power could your Arm have – what little could you know that made you worth risking here?

Such questions could be answered later; the satisfaction of it still thrummed through her. Noel was back! Nil was safe! Their newest teammate – unharmed!

Their foe, powerless, pleading.

Callie felt scorn. You wanted to kill them. You bargained with thousands of lives. Why should –

BECAUSE YOU CAN, AND SO YOU MUST.

What was she thinking? A person, stripped of any power to harm, was dying in front of her. No past grudge or crime changed that – such things were the logic of states and armies, not of people. Not of her.

That resolution coursed through Callie’s mind, seeking thought to actualise it. The woman ahead of her, clearly, was energy, wounded and bleeding – and energy was information, and information was something she had processed and channelled before. She could reach out herself, here and now. Do… SOMETHING. It might work.

(Some part of her mind, barely aware amidst the weight of her current impulse, recognised the feeling… Reverberating.)

But there was a surer way, to be followed by one whose power’s form, not merely its purpose, was already suited to the task. She knew it. And she would not commit even her enemy to sacrifice on the altar of her ego.

And so, with a call of, “Myron!” another portal formed, bridging space between a Feng caught on the edge of death and an intelligence officer capable of capturing her in a form that would not die so easily.

---

Cristina would breath a sigh of relief as she her control return as the space collapse. Leaving them in a familiar sky. Only for her eyes to widen at their enemy dissolving.

Cristina knew that they are in a war, that death is a common part of it. She also knew that the woman before her tried to kill her and yet...

She cannot just afford to turn a blind eye.

"Is there anything we could do, any ideas." Cristina asked approaching Feng and holding her hand, this started when she freed those she devoured. So perhaps...

But is that really their only option?

Intermission Five - Aftermath of Victory

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 9:21 AM, UTC+8

"On it!" Myron said as he dashed towards Feng and placed his shield on hers', transmuting her into data - a process made easier by the fact that she was already magical energy - and then saying, "Quick thinking, Callie. Also..."

He turned towards Cristina and said, "I think we can stop Mirage Space now."

Then towards Lukas and Peony (?) he said, "You two did well; we've gotten Noel back, along with another Prisoner and Shen Tu - I suspect he got limped in with them due to betraying Huo Ren and the PRC during that combat in Cambodia..."

His next words were, "Either way, welcome to Task Force Obsidian; we all need to coordinate better, so we're going to need more training, as well as to get to know each other. Thankfully, Callie and Cristina have been here since the beginning or close to it, so you can ask them for help. As for me..."

He looked at the unconcious Noel.

"I have to see to a friend's mental health..."

@Chiro@Nimbus@Digmata@Gerlando@Lloki@Creative Chaos (if returning) @Paths of Parity

Once Feng got contained into the shield of Myron, Lukas could finally let go. He sighed deeply, and bowed his head with relief as he was no longer inside her head. Marble disappeared, and deactivating his powers Lukas tried to shake off the throbbing in his head before standing with a small stagger. When approached by the guy who seemed to have the same powers as the attacker, Lukas didn't move. The trained, raven haired assassin listened intently, and nodded in gratutude for the compliments. He said properly, hiding just how disturbed he was with the whole situation "Certainly."

He didn't like presenting himself to new people the way he was now. He suspected he, as well as half their environment, smelled burnt, and he was covered in dirt. Lukas didn't like having his hair undone in public, either, and took a quick look around for his black hair tie. Suspecting it had gotten burnt to crisp by the meteorites, he did his best to hide a pout, though as he tried pulling his hair back, he mainly looked annoyed at the entire encounter with Feng.

As he couldn't make himself any more presentable, without his powers anyway, Lukas approached Callie, whom he suspected would start informing everyone about what to do. Lukas hoped it wouldn't take too long until he could shower and rest. It had been quite a day.

---

”Right, give me a moment.” Cristina spoke as she finally regained control of her powers, turning the reflection of space in the sunlit sky, revealing the city untouched save for its municipal hall. She really came out of nowhere.

”So what now?” she asked the task force as she checked her former before leaving Myron to deal with it. She would then turn to everyone else as she got reintroduced as a veteran.

In a sense, she is indeed one.

Seeing Feng disappear into Myron’s shield was jarring and confusing but based on the other members' reactions, it seemed that the Boar still lived in some capacity. When she recovered, she let out a relieved sigh and let Liminal Tesseract dissipate, leaving her arm looking normal once more.

Then towards Lukas and Peony (?) he said, "You two did well; we've gotten Noel back, along with another Prisoner and Shen Tu - I suspect he got limped in with them due to betraying Huo Ren and the PRC during that combat in Cambodia..."

Peony nodded at the praise even as she drew her lips into a thin line. She wasn’t sure how much she helped if she was being honest. Maybe she distracted the Boar but potentially contributing wasn’t enough to end a fight much less win a war. Training would be necessary, she needed to become stronger.

She looked to the other members, struggling to see herself as one of them, when it dawned on her she never got the chance to properly introduce herself. Ambushes tended to get in the way of plans.

She took a fortifying breath and cleared her throat. “Hello, my name is Peony Loris. I’m an Arms Master from Saipan. I look forward to fighting alongside you all.” It was perhaps overly formal but she meant every word of it.

Callie sucked in a breath – assessing, revising… Calming. He got her. Good.

That was… She shook her head, tuning back into the conversation. Analyse later. Concentrate now, on… A pause, to process what Myron had said while her thoughts spooled down from their prior hyperactivity. His aide betrayed him in Cambodia? What? Callie pursed her lips, taking a moment to purge the adrenaline from her system and the fragments of half-realised foci from her mind. Missed far too much from that mission.

Letting Charter drop from her hand to reach instead for her fallen rifle, Callie flicked the safety back and checked it over, the practised process steadying. Nothing wrong, at least superficially, and so she half-jogged to join Myron beside the three half-conscious souls, kneeling down –

“Thankfully, Callie and Cristina have been here since the beginning or close to it, so you can ask them for help.”

Oh, so that’s how it is. Not that she truly minded, least of all with the complicated expression on Myron’s face as he stared down at Noel. “Right,” she answered as Cristina worked, rising again to greet their newest recruits and manifesting a half-smile. “Shame about the circumstances but glad to have you with us, Peony – and Benjamin, good job out there. We’ll get you both properly onboarded, soon as we can.”

“First thing, though…” she said, turning as reality peeled back in around them, to see what she expected: the giant space rock that had, in their absence, fallen onto, then through the half-collapsed building that had as of five minutes ago been their base of operations. She sighed, summoning Charter to her hand again. “Anyone without an Arm that can do some excavation without putting yourself or anything that might be in there in harm’s way, I’ll portal you to liaise with the hall’s personnel so they can update us, then do a quick sweep myself. If Feng was acting alone, they’ll call off the evacuation and we can get a new place to stay. Anyone who does have one… Don’t relax yet but once you get word to stand down, well, you know what you’re doing.”

Callie knelt once more, steadily reaching around to cradle Shen Tu’s limp form. “All goes well, I’ll be back to join you. Before that – need a volunteer. Three people here who’ll need a proper antiquarian medical specialist to check them over, after what they’ve been through.” She smiled. “Glad to say I know where we can find one.”

Henri sighed in relief. He had considered touching the Boar with Leonidas, but had come to second thoughts after realizing said touch might, instead of stabilizing her, erase her completely.

Leonidas was powerful, but enigmatic.

Luckily Myron had a more practical solution. Not a permanent one, but at least stable.

”So what now?” she asked the task force as she checked her former before leaving Myron to deal with it. She would then turn to everyone else as she got reintroduced as a veteran.

"Good question." Henri agreed with Christina "That assassin wasn't part of the planned schedule. Or at least I hope she wasn't."

"Speaking of." He continued, "Chinese intelligence should know us by reputation at this point. For them to send a single soldier against well-known Zodiac killers I can imagine three reasons. One, they're desperate. Two, soldiers are being eliminated in preparation for an internal coup. Or three, there's a reserve of Arms-Masters ready to replace the lost Zodiacs. The first two would be advantageous to us. The third means the worst is still ahead."

"Speaking of." He continued, "Chinese intelligence should know us by reputation at this point. For them to send a single soldier against well-known Zodiac killers I can imagine three reasons. One, they're desperate. Two, soldiers are being eliminated in preparation for an internal coup. Or three, there's a reserve of Arms-Masters ready to replace the lost Zodiacs. The first two would be advantageous to us. The third means the worst is still ahead."

"It could be she attacked us under her own volition." Peony suggested. "She seems somewhat impulsive, not to mention Feng's... pretty young." She pointed out, still perturbed by the fact. "I don't think we should just assume the worst or best at any rate. That being said," She added, addressing the rest of the group, "do we know how many Zodiacs they have?"

While her determination to fight didn't waver, the sword wielder wasn't in any rush to fight another one so soon.

---

Cristina pondered the possibilities laid before her by Henry, everything felt painful on her but surprisingly it is nothing new at the story that is her life.

"There should be twelve if we're basing on their namesakes or thirteen if we are including the cat. But if we consider the amount killed by us and the possibility that no one seat is replaced it is definitely lower." she answered sharing the sentiment.

Intermission Five - Aftermath of Victory

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 9:21 AM, UTC+8

Jin Li decided to demonstrate his continued usefulness by saying, "I have an answer as to why you were facing only one member of the Zodiac in both the last mission and this meeting. Suffice to say, there's been serious attrition among their ranks in recent months, according to our sources in the Mainland. The war has become unpopular the longer it goes on without the easy victories of its first few months, and Laos and some of Cambodia defecting has not fixed that. So only one Zodiac member - One who survived, by the way - was there to face Task Force Obsidian in the decisive battle of the war and only one Zodiac member was able to try and take us on here."

He smiled at that and continued, "I guess the Chinese Communist Party is running out of A-rank Arms Masters to send at you..."

Then Jin took out a USB from his sleeve and handed it to Cristina, saying, "No, they don't have the Cat, but here's the data I got on the CCP's 'Zodiac'; I have been gathering my own version of the group, by the way."

Looking at Callie, Jin would pre-empt any accusations of holding back information from them by saying, "I was going to reveal that information if the meeting had not been interrupted by Feng, by the way. Consider it a... gesture of reciprocity."



Then Jin added, "The Dragon and Rooster are already dead; good riddance. The Snake, Lei Qingshe, was both our forces' cornerstone until she was killed through treachery. As for the Rabbit and Goat... they're either dead or defected."

He left it unspoken as to who they defected to. Then he finished the discussion by saying, "Well, there doesn't seem to be much damage to the town due to Feng's actions, but the nearby river still needs to be cleansed of IEDs. So if you'll excuse me..."

And then Jin Li, formerly the pretender to the Qing Empire, now Party Secretary of the New Chinese Democratic Party, walked off, giving no instructions for the party; not that it was his place to give them anything to do.

As for Bahram, the Persian Mercenary from Broken Sword, he had vanished along with Levi Orienko, the other young merc. Crown Prince Shinyahito, meanwhile, glanced at Callie and Cristina, waiting for them to give orders; Myron assigned them authority, after all...

But what to do in this war-ravaged town?

@Chiro@Nimbus@Digmata@Gerlando@Lloki@Creative Chaos (if returning) @Paths of Parity

Lukas, or Benjamin in this case, offered his full attention for a spot where he could help, while observing the group with the intention to learn, both team work, and them as individuals. He had time for a soft smile to the girl introducing herself, before looking expectantly at Callie as she said she knew where to find a healer.
Whether the raven hair was silent due to being shy, or lacking in either confidence or powers, was hard to say, though his burning desire to be of importance was clear as day. He had proven he could take care of himself, at least, though he was hesitant to open up, about his powers, and himself. Stepping up to Callie as she seemed to have a plan, Benjamin made it clear he volunteered to help, or at least hear her out. With this many people, Lukas was not comfortable, nor used to, speaking.

---

Cristina stared at the files with a clinical eye, memorizing the contents for later before giving her answer. A textbook answer but better than none.

"Calling the military, getting a chain of command here? Then reassuring the populace while we wait." she spoke as she looked at Callie confirming if she everything right.

Peony nodded. “I can’t do anything about a chain of command but helping the populace sounded like a good idea. We can at least assure them that their home isn’t in danger of being crushed by meteors at any rate.”