[IC] Light of The Rebellion

[MegaraFoxfire]

Bane paused then said “your at the meeting right? I’ll get her to the phone while I get the van ready” there was a pause then Iris picked up.

“Matias? What’s wrong? Is Dante or you hurt?”

Dante was pulled the vest buttons off and checking the wound with the first aid kit open. He looked over and when Matias was waiting said “don’t say her name over the line. Not sure if it’s secure or not”

Midnight was breathing hard, her wound getting worse. She cursed and said “k I’mm sorry…both of you…i thought…”

[lepidope]

"It's not either of us, it's--"

Matias pulled the phone from his ear for a moment to listen to that stupid, annoying vampire talk again. Those two adjectives were justified in his mind, especially after what he just heard. He grit his teeth into a snarl.

"Sure, call her without saying her damn name. Real smart. Thank you."

He put the phone over his ear again.

"Anyway," he continued, "I can't really explain right now. Just get over here quick."

Once again, he pulled the phone away, noticing Midnight's condition getting critical.

"Put a cloth or something on that thing, damn it! She's bleeding out!"

He ran over to do just that, dropping his phone to grab a piece of gauze and stick it over the wound. He could feel a bit of the warm liquid running past his fingers and tinging them red. With his clean hand he grabbed another piece and stuck it over the same place.

"Mierda..."

[MegaraFoxfire]

Iris voice rang out on the phone “Matias? Matias! Dang it we are coming now just hold on!”

Dante was keeping his face turned away as he said “we need to get to the wound now” he couldn’t get close or touch the blood. Donny moved and helped lay Midnight down and said “I thought I secured it…”

Midnight gasped and said “they were perfect Donny…I hit the table…must have popped them…such a dumb move…”

[lepidope]

Matias kept a tight pressure on the wound even as Midnight was laid down. The second layer of gauze was practically dyed red at this point. He grabbed yet another piece and slapped it on, maintaining the pressure. From here he grabbed a small roll of surgical tape and started taping all the layers onto Midnight in a rush.

"Can't be dumber than you knocking Iris out and leaving when you haven't fully healed," he snarled, pressing onto the makeshift bandage. "Seriously, why'd you do that? What'd you get out of lying to everyone?"

[MegaraFoxfire]

Midnight sighed and close her eyes. Dante was trying to stay away from the blood so he didn’t take any chances.

Midnight said “I couldn’t risk the team…I just needed to get out and patch up…I was meeting you guys here and to keep my cover I needed to be here…and I can’t let the others find out…if anyone of those we face find out…they will be targets. I don’t want to risk anyone…not for me…”

Dante glanced at her and said “isn’t that our choice?”

[lepidope]

Matias did not move. His hand stayed on the wound as he listened to Midnight speak. His breathing was steady albeit audible. After Midnight spoke Matias took a moment to process what he had heard. A coy smirk flashed on his face for a moment as his throat shot out a harsh chuckle.

"That makes no sense," he said, "We'd have been perfectly fine knowing about your double life, we'd just have to keep quiet about it. And look; now we all know. I don't get the secrecy, at all."

Once he decided that the bleeding had been stabilized, Matias took his hand off. His fingers were practically drenched red. He didn't bother with cleaning them just yet, however; he had a boss to chew out first.

[MegaraFoxfire]

Dante moved so Midnight could see him and said “I understand why you thought you had to hide. If you were found out, the captial would have taken your place. Your work would be at risk. But there’s not reason to hide from us, lady midnight…we are family remember? You brought us together…”

She smiled weakly and a couple tears ran down her cheek. “I’m sorry…I didn’t want anyone suffering because of me…I protect the people…in the light and shadows…but your right, I should have told you.” She flinched and Donny said “this is lovely but we need a way to stop the bleeding.” Midnight smiled and said “Iris will be able to help…she is the best….

Dante stood and checked his watch. “They should be here soon…we need to let the front desk know to let them in…”

[lepidope]

"The goat man's right," Matias muttered, attempting to clean off the excess blood on his fingers with some spare gauze. "That bandage I put's only a temporary solution, and I don't know how long it's gonna take for Iris to get here."

He peered over at Dante's watch; between the phone call and now, they had been at it for a good ten minutes. Midnight was still alive, sure, but Matias dreaded what could potentially happen in the next ten.

"I'll tell them," he said, "Keep an eye on her."

If there were objections, he didn't get to hear them because he was already out the door. Running made the way to the front seat much shorter, although he was quickly out of breath. He practically collapsed at the counter, panting like a madman.

"If you see some silver haired chick," he wheezed, "let her in. Just let her in. God dammit..."

He slid onto the floor like slime.

[MegaraFoxfire]

Dante nodded and said “we got her. Go for it” he moved to try help with the wound as much as he could.

The girl at the desk jumped up and said “what’s happening” the main doors opened and Bane ran in with Iris right behind him. Bane made it to Matias and said “we are here what’s going on?”

[lepidope]

Matias was in the middle of picking himself up from the ground. A sharp pain in his ribs threatened to shove him back down, but he fought it as much as he could. He was heavily and shakily breathing still, even as Bane approached him. An equally tremorous finger pointed towards the vast stairwell.

"They're upstairs," he panted, "Huge damn fiasco going on. Dante said he needed you..."

He swallowed the spit accumulating in his mouth and sucked in a bucketful of air.

"Follow me."

His body was practically begging him not to run, but he did anyway, right up that stairwell. His climb was staggered but determined. By the time he reached the office door, he was on the brink of collapsing. He got down on one knee and gripped his chest.

"Just go inside and help them," he wheezed, "I just need to sit down..."

[MegaraFoxfire]

The pair ran after him, jumping up the stairs. When they made it to the office Iris ran in and Bane caught Matias before he fell. “What is going on? Who was injured?”

Iris ran into the room and almost dropped her bag. “Holy crap…it can’t be…” she moved to Midnight and said “Boss?”

[lepidope]

Matias used Bane as a crutch up until he reached the closest wall to him in that room. He held himself up with one arm as the others scurried over.

"I fucking told you guys," he huffed, "she shouldn't have been running around like that... Why she's here of all places, I don't know. Turns out she was a government head the whole time..."

The small bit of energy that accumulated in him allowed him to stand a little straighter.

"I put a bandage, but it's just to hold off the bleeding. She needs something more intensive..."

[MegaraFoxfire]

Iris was working on her and turned to him. “Sit down. I got this. She must have thought there was a problem that couldn’t be…” that was when Dante cursed loudly. He was looking over the file to give Iris more room.

“BecUse of this. She’s running the case remember? It turns out we were missing a big piece of information. All those taken including the niece were slaves at one point”

Midnight was barely awake now as Iris was treating the wound, placing the smart skin back in place.

[lepidope]

Matias hobbled over to Dante to get a closer look at the file. The aforementioned information was on this particular sheet, barely discernable in the ocean of condensed font but still there.

"Then there's gotta be a slave owner," he said, "that might clue us in. Then again, I feel like this might be a collective effort..."

He then looked towards Iris and company.

"How's the boss looking? Think they'll make it?"

[MegaraFoxfire]

Iris looked over and said “we are pushing luck here but she’s not human so it’s helping…I think I’ll be able to fix this…” Bane was by the window and looking around. “Think we can get her out of here? It’s going to look bad if any office worker walks in”

Donny nodded and said “yes, there’s a escape door in her private office. Just in case of something like this. She has nothing else on her schedule today”

Midnight coughed and said weakly “no…it’s too risky…don’t risk yourselves for my sake…”

[lepidope]

"Me cago en la..."

Matias threw his head up from the file, his fist slamming against the desk. He was glaring directly at Midnight now.

"Will you just let us help you?! If we stay here, we're gonna be in even bigger trouble, and you might just die right here. I get you need your anonymity, but seriously."

Matias stood up, hands on his hips.

"Where's that office? We can't waste any more time."

[MegaraFoxfire]

Donny jumped up and opened the door to the next room. “In here. Behind the bookcase. Go down the stairs and there’s the coach waiting there. We always keep it there in case of emergencies”

Bane nodded and went into the office with the fawn. Iris moved back and said “she’s stable enough we can move her. I get her back to the warehouse and I can finish this”

Midnight sighed and said “I’m sorry…I thought this would be safer…with the notes everyone keeps finding…I didn’t want to add more risk…”

[lepidope]

Matias let out an exasperated sigh, his head lowering slightly as his eyes closed tightly but briefly.

"We can worry about everything else later," he said, "but first we have to worry about you. Now come on."

He stepped over to Midnight's left and hooked her arm in his. With Iris's help he carried the boss over to the room as directed. Past the bookcase sat the staircase, just as promised; still, he almost tripped in his haste. Thankfully, this flight of stairs was much more forgiving than the ones he traversed previously, but Matias could already feel his legs start to cry.

"Don't even make me think about stairs when we're out of here," he grumbled.

[MegaraFoxfire]

Iris held her up as she said “promise. No more stairs. You thought fast.” Bane was at the bottom and opened the door, heading outside. When they reached it there was a black coach sitting out front with a robotic horse sitting in front waiting. Bane blinked then helped the pair get Midnight to the coach.

“This thing is kinda cool. Old school meets nowadays”

[lepidope]

While Matias had to admit that it was his first time seeing a horse-drawn carriage in person– let alone one as modernized as this– he had little time to visually appreciate it as the three hauled Midnight inside. He scrambled in place a bit as he tried to find the steps (More stairs! What did he just say?!), but he thankfully did, climbing up and setting himself down on the first seat he could find.

But then his hand went to his mouth.

"Wait," he said, "Where's this thing gonna take us? The warehouse?"