The Archmages (A-079) (06-03-2022)

== Back on Base - [06/03/2022] | GEO-7, Camelot ==
The sun was starting to set over Arthur's Bay when the expedition team came back from A-027. Specter, Luca, and Void all looked out the window of the AV as it began its approach to the aerodock, seeing Wizard being hauled off in a stretcher. "What the fuck happened?" Luca muttered, his anxiety clear in his voice. "Shit. He really failed, didn't he?" Specter whispered. The pilot took the AV down and landed in Dock 7, letting all of the members disembark. "Keep me in the know, alright V?" Henry said as he patted Void's shoulder. Void responded with a simple nod and ran off to see Wizard alongside Specter. They both bolted to the infirmary, inquiring about which room Wizard was in when the Director entered. "You two are back earlier than expected," he said, but he already knew they had caught on to how dire the situation was.
"Is he going to be okay? Are we going to be okay?" Void asked in a panic. Specter remained silent, but it was clear he shared the same worries. "Just... don't worry about it for now. Head to the briefing room, we're having an emergency briefing as soon as I'm done talking with Wizard." It was clear that even he was worried about what was happening. Wizard wasn't the type to go down easily, and the fact that he only barely made it out of the Aurette Coast made it painfully clear that this was a threat that wouldn't be handled without a fight.
== The Plan - [06/04/2022] | GEO-7, Camelot ==
The meeting room had a stillness in its air. Void walked in with the dossier they were each given prior to the meeting, a folder containing arcane rituals, magical history, and even old fuzzy photographs of carvings and scenic vistas. All of which had one common thread between them... Item A-079. Witch was at the front of the room, presumably ready to click away at a slideshow to help the Council get an idea of what type of threat they're up against. Specter, Thunderbolt, Hypersonic, and Reptile were already seated at the roundtable, with Strongman and the Director himself following shortly after Void. As soon as they all were seated, Witch had began the briefing.
"Let's cut to the chase about A-079. I'm not going to sugarcoat things either. This is one of the most dangerous entities we've seen... barring some exceptions. It was widely known in the mythos of multiple magical societies as a powerful demon with immense arcane abilities, and to this day... we had no reason to believe it truly did exist."
She clicked the remote in her hand, as the screen in front of the room was plastered with a massive expanse of land terraformed around A-079's radius. Crags, spires, and miniature mountains shielded the creature from the rest of the world.
"The Aurisian Military has been pushed back by smaller entities, A-079-Beta. While their soldiers have the perimeter secured, they can't push any further than they are now. And the kicker?"
She clicked the remote again, this time showing a shockwave of energy from orbit.
"It's choosing people. According to the research Wizard and I had conducted on the Archfiend's legends, it needs powerful mages to break the seal."
The Director finally broke the silence amongst the audience in the table, "And what are we supposed to do about A-079 itself? Wizard had already tried everything he could to seal it away again, none of it worked."
"The Mages, Archie," Witch said with a grin. "If we can get just one of these seven 'Archmages' on our side, they'd be able to seal A-079 away with ease. The problem though... we don't know their allegiances. The wave could've hit anyone, Chuckleskull operators, PlutoCorp investors, even some poor hot dog vendor out in the Capital. But with that, we have a lead."
Witch clicked her remote one last time, bringing up a satellite photo of a city in the Straille. As a blue-tinted overlay came across the image, the councilmembers could see two distinct blips out of a dozen others. "We've nailed the location of two Archmages. If our calculations are correct, their powers will be coming in today. We move now, and we can still have a fighting chance against this monster."
"Then it's settled, you, Void, Specter, and Strongman are shipping out to Straille. I'll inform them through proper channels," the Director said, turning his gaze to Calliope, Thunderbolt and Reptile. "You three, I need you to oversee the preparations for when we attack this thing."
"And you, Director?" Void asked inquisitively.
"I have some calls to make."
== Taking Flight - [06/04/2022] | GEO-7, Camelot ==
"You weren't followed, were you?" Void questioned. He saw Nikita as soon as he entered his lab, sitting down at the holoprojector table. "I'm not an amateur V, what about you? Completed the drop for that magic bread loaf?" Void nearly snickered, pulling a dossier from his jacket. "I'm assuming you have the tissue sample."
"V, we need to talk," Nikita said, instantly serious. He stared down Void, nearly piercing the black veil that hid his face. "Whatever that thing is. It was gone when I got back here. Containment Division channels said it happened while they were moving that Roundtable member."
"Wizard? Wait, it's alive?!"
"It would seem so. Was dead enough when I got to it and took the tissue sample."
"Shit, shit, shit! Is there- fuck... I can't talk about it right now."
"I heard, Straille? Be careful out there V, I'll try to glean as much information as I can."
Void laid the dossier down on the table, giving Nikita a second look before exiting the lab. "We're talking this through when I get back, I think we're close to whatever the Council couldn't figure out." Somewhere else in the facility Strongman was honing his physique and abilities in the training area, fighting a crowd of new training androids shipped in just last week. Around five of the automatons surrounded him, and after a moment of waiting one moved to strike. Holding a baton, the first android swung a baton at Strongman's gut. But within an instant, Strongman sidestepped the blow and delivered a swift strike to the back of the android's head. And just as easily as he took down the first, he felled the others within mere minutes.
And further into GEO, a flock of crows fly away as an explosion rocks the firing range. Witch is still trying to prepare herself for the recovery mission, trying the explosion spell she and Wizard had made specifically for something like this... a spell she never thought she'd have to use. The explosive beam blew the target to bits, on par with most of the Group's explosive ordinance. She nearly jumped when a small hologram was projected from her wristwatch. "Witch! The AV is departing in 7 minutes." It was Kaori, the Group's diligent digital assistant. Witch didn't hesitate, she packed up the rest of her gear and started walking to the aerodock, just as Void and Strongman departed for it as well.
"Took you three long enough," Specter said as they arrived. He was already nearly in the cabin of the AV, carrying a small laptop as well as an equipment case. Witch broke the ice with a short chuckle, "It's easy to get places first when you're part ghost." Strongman, Void, and Witch stepped into the AV, with Witch closing the AV door behind her. And in seconds, they were airborne. "So, the briefing," Witch started, tapping at her wristwatch until the holoprojector activated. "We're looking for two different suspects in Saint Kay's Quarter, a student and an office worker. The student, Hibiki Tsubana is from Yepren. She's supposed to be in Straille for studies. And the office worker, Oliver, is a Straille native. We've already been approved to take them into our custody, it's just a matter of reaching them and restraining them."
"Which is where these come in handy," Specter said, patting the case. He opened it up to reveal two pairs of handcuffs engraved with various runes, some that the others recognized as A-015. "It'll keep them from using their hands to cast any magic," Witch explained. With the briefing done, all they could do is wait until they got to Straille, mentally preparing themselves for whatever might happen.
== Power, and Defense I - [06/04/2022] | Saint Kay's Quarter, Straille ==
A suit-clad man sat atop the building, taking a drag off a cigarette as he saw an AV flying overhead. Just as he was about to turn his gaze from it, a resounding voice rumbled through his head. "They have his scent on them. The Archmage of Defense can wait," it said, in a deep inhuman growl. The man took another drag from his cigarette before putting it out on the concrete balcony before jumping off shortly after.
The team was ready to deploy. The pilot had found a good place to let them out of the AV, and they had all their equipment on hand. Witch jumped out first, then Void and Strongman, and finally Specter floated to the ground with a trail of ghostly essence. Void drew his revolver, scanning the area while Witch took a good look at the map on her tablet. The arcane signatures were coming from two separate areas, with one being just meters away from them. And for just a second, she felt it in her bones. The whine of pure magical energy building in the air rang out through the evacuated city.
"Agua, V!" Witch shouted, casting a ward right in the nick of time. As the purple-hued protective field went up, a massive column of pulsing red energy smashed against it, eating away at it as Strongman grabbed Void and dove down just before the ward shattered. Following the cue, Witch and Specter got into cover as well. "What the fuck was that?!" Void shouted, him and Strongman deafened by the beam. "I think that's our Archmage of Power, we don't stand a chance against him right now!" she shouted, pointing towards a nearby car Logistics had left in the landing zone for them. "We just need to get out of here, if we can lose him I can cast a cloaking spell so he can't find us again!"
Specter immediately sprung into motion, dematerializing and flying towards the car as Void unholstered his revolver. "I'll hold him off, you guys get to the car!" he shouted as he started firing at the Archmage of Power. Witch and Strongman started running towards the car as Specter cranked the ignition, all the while Void and the Archmage traded precision shots at each other. Although the revolver wasn't very accurate, it did its job of suppressing the mage while the rest of the team piled into the car. And as soon as Strongman and Witch entered the car, he turned to run. 
But with a supercharged column of pure destructive magic, Void was vaporized before the team's eyes, leaving behind a cloud of darkened smoke. Whether out of well-placed composure, or pure panic, Specter floored the throttle as the car sped down the street away from the Archmage. They rounded a corner in the car, with Witch casting the cloaking spell as soon as they broke line of sight, silencing her footprint on the mana around them. "Fuck, fuck! He could've just killed us all!" she shouted as soon as they were on a straightaway. "Look, we need to focus on the task at hand, we're fine now and that's all that matters," Specter said in an attempt to calm everyone in the car down. Witch took a deep breath, pulling out her tablet and taking a look at the arcane energy readings. While they were leaving the Archmage of Power in the dust, they were hot on the trail of the Archmage of Defense. Everyone in the car just hoped that they'd go easier than the energy-beaming madman. 
== Making A Call - [06/04/2022] GEO-7, Camelot ==
Archangel enters the Roundtable meeting room and looks around his chair. He feels around the workspace and perks up when he touches the item. He quickly grabs it and reveals that it’s a special modified pager. He presses the large call button and out pops a gigantic projection on the wall. It has a green tinted background and text comes up saying “Contacting…”. It rings a few times and the image transitions into a feed of the inside of an aircraft. Hellscream looks over and smiles at Archangel and greets him casually saying, “Sup bro. Whaddya need?” Archangel smiles a bit at this and responds, “Good afternoon Hellscream. I wish the situation of me contacting you was more light-hearted today, but I must ask for a favor.”
Imperialist and Bloodclaute walk into view. Imperialist chimes in and asks, “Sure Arch. What do you need?”
“Well, there is a predicament going on. We’ve located two Archmages and from the last time I spoke with the Roundtable they were pursuing the Archmage of Power. However, the Archmage of Defense also must be secured. I was hoping I would be able to call upon some assistance from you.” Hellscream’s face lit up and gave a wide smile and exclaimed, “Oooo magic! I’ve always wanted to see how that works! Bria we should go check it out!” Imperialist looks and smiles at Hellscream and then looks at Bloodclaute. She responds to the look with, “I’m down to do something. I’m bored anyways.” Imperialist looks off-screen and nods at seemingly two others and looks back at Archangel confirming, “Alright, we’ll help you out Arch. We’ll pick you up from CACG HQ and go from there. I have to ask though, how have things been?”
Archangel looks down and says in a somber tone, “Wizard of the South has been critically injured. We’re…not sure if he’ll recover. And if he does, he won’t be the same.”
Hellscream chimes in casually, “We’ll just have Liandren heal him. Easy enough.” Archangel is a bit taken aback and asks a bit thrown off, “C-Could you repeat that?”
“12th Disciple? Our Vice Head of Health of the Seraphim. She’s pretty sweet. She can heal Wizard in no time. We’ll pick her up and send her to your infirmary!”
“Our best doctors are struggling to keep him stable. 12th Disciple is...able to assist?”
“More than assist. She’s got that totally. We’ll swing by Jericho real quick to go get her.”
“I…thank you. I am in your debt.”
“Nah don’t worry about that. Anyways, we’ll be there in a few minutes. Sit tight. And I won’t bust into a wall this time. I promise. See you soon Big Bro!”
Hellscream smiles and as the other wave, the feed is cut. Archangel sits down and thinks. He hasn’t felt this much stress before. It’s getting to him. He looks at his necklace and remembers the training he went through with the Seraph. He snaps out of it and says to himself, “I will do my best to save the world.”
Soon after, he hears the sounds of an aircraft landing, to which he responds by walking out to greet the members of Seraphim coming out of their fighter. Hellscream and Imperialist walk out first, with Virulentus, Bloodclaute, Volume 0, and 12th Disciple all following after. They’re all wearing unique clothing but with the same Seraphim brand stitched on. Archangel bows a bit and the other CACG agents salute. Hellscream runs up and hugs Archangel, nearly crushing him under his strength. “Archie I’ve missed ya!” Archangel responds with a grunt as he tries to utter words. Hellscream realizes he’s constricting him and lets go. “Oh, my bad,” Hellscream giggles. “Alright, Liandren’s here so she can head down to where Wizard is.” Archangel looks over at 12th Disciple, who shyly waves.
Archangel leads them all to where Wizard is. 12th Disciple walks up to Wizard’s bed and looks at his wounds and the heart rate monitor. She speaks in a soft manner, “This will take a few minutes. Please give me the room with the patient.” The CACG nurses and doctors look at each other and then Archangel, to which he answers by simply nodding. The nurses nod as well and walk out. The lead Doctor stays and says, “I would like to see what methods will be attempted on my patient.” A nurse tries to pull him away but 12th Disciple speaks again and says, “As you wish. I would only ask that you not interrupt me.” The doctor reluctantly accepts and sits at his desk he set up in the room. Archangel looks at 12th Disciple and thanks her. She responds by smiling warmly and assuring, “Wizard will recover just fine. Everything will be fine.” She then turns back to Wizard’s bed and closes her eyes. Hellscream taps Archangel’s shoulder and whispers, “Time to go Archie.” Archangel nods and follows the Seraphim out of the room. They all walk outside and enter the aircraft. Hellscream readies the ship and has Archangel sit next to him. He turns to him and asks, “So, where we headed?” Archangel answers as he uses his phone to ping the Roundtable, “Straille. I’ll ping for Witch’s location and we’ll head there.” 
“Hell yeah. We’ll be there in about a few minutes. This thing’s fast. Built it myself. Fastest ship in the multiverse. Maybe one day I’ll do a drive around a few star systems.”
Archangel smiles and finds Witch’s location and transfers it to the ship’s GPS. Hellscream locks it in and says, “Remember to wear your seatbelts everyone. It’s very important for safety. Don’t want anyone flying to the bridge as I take off.” Imperialist chuckles as she looks at Bloodclaute, who defensively says, “Yarad didn’t warn anyone that time!” Virulentus laughs and shouts to Archangel as the jets start roaring, “Welcome to the Precocious Squadron, Archangel. It’s nice to meet you.” 
The ship reaches a high altitude above the clouds and jettisons to Straille. Archangel anxiously waits as the team reaches the destination. Hopefully things pick up. He has to prove to the Seraphim that they’re useful. And prove that they can hold their own in the face of imminent World destruction.
== Awake Again - [06/04/2022] | Saint Kay's Quarter, Straille ==
With a deep heave, Void woke up in the forest. A deadened gray nightmare, a place he know uncomfortably well. Emerging from a pool of black liquid, he coughed up some of the inky black substance as he tried to clear it from his throat. "Well... fuck. That guy killed me, seriously?" he asked himself, briefly remembering the flash of light before he woke up here. "That little magic shit. So help me god-"
A rustle. Just the innocuous snap of a broken twig and the crunch of leaves under a creature's feet, but this wasn't a place for a creature to be. Void looked up, and came face to face with a pair of pitch white eyes just beyond the veil of darkness in the clearing. He wanted to do something, anything, but his body wouldn't react. He felt his feet sink into the ground, and before he knew it, he was yanked back into the inky black pool.
"Heyo, I see some weird shit down there," Hellscream says, squinting his eyes, "Wait a minute, is that the extradimensional guy on your team?" 
Archangel walked up to the cockpit as Hellscream put the Nazareth into hover and looks at the face-down figure on the ground underneath them. "That's Void, it looks like he just resurrected. Can you put this thing down in that parking lot?" Archangel said while pointing. Hellscream complies with a "You betcha" and lands the Nazareth right where the original team dropped off. 
"God, I need to stop doing that," Void said to himself, weakly prying himself from the ground and into a sitting position, just in time to see Archangel rushing towards him before manifesting Pendragon. "I'm assuming one of those Mages did that?" Archangel said, visually sweeping the area for hostiles. Void looked down at the charred ground underneath him, as well as his scorched revolver. "You'd be right to assume that. Fucker got me just as we were disengaging." Archangel took out an injection pen, shooting a dose of adrenaline into Void's arm. "That should get you back on your feet." 
The rest of the Precocious Squadron exit the Nazareth and scan the area. Hellscream walks out last and floats over to still smoldering crater that the Archmage created. He inhales the smoke from the burn and lets out a sigh saying, "That's good shit. It's a bit too fresh for my blood though." Virulentus scoffs and baps Hellscream upside the head and comments, "You're so weird. Do you just go around inhaling smoke all the time?" 
"Not all the time. I just...get curious sometimes." 
"Sure buddy." 
"You act like I didn't catch you drinking out of my laundry detergent." 
"That was one time! And you said you wouldn't tell anyone!" 
"Well maybe ya shouldn't have judged me for breathing in magic smoke. Who knows, maybe I'll be a smoke wizard now because of it." 
"Fine fine, I won't judge you. For now." 
Volume 0 puts her ear to the ground and stands still for a few seconds, then goes up to Archangel and says in a low but mellow and soothing voice, "There are no hostile footsteps in our radius." Archangel responds, "Thank you Ms. Iridesca. Void, you only met Imperialist once, but the rest are new to you. This is the Precocious Squadron of the Seraphim." Hellscream floats over and puts his arm around Void's neck and greets himself, "Sup bro? I'm Hellscream but my enemies call me 'that dusty fuck'. You can call me Hellscream though. I'm not your enemy. At least I hope not. I'm sure not." Volume 0 waves and smiles. 
Bloodclaute walks up to Void and curtsies while saying, "Murietta Kavalier, but you can call me Bloodclaute. You can probably guess why I have that name. I serve to protect the my dearest Seraph. Anyone who even thinks about hurting him, dies. I sincerely hope you don't ever think about laying a hand on my dear. I will assist you in the name of His Sublimity." Hellscream whispers to Void, "Bloodclaute's kinda...not all there but she's cool. Has a thing for Big Bro. I suggest never talking bad about him around her. If you value all 10 pints of blood in your body. Wait do you...have blood? Imma just assume ya do. Dude one time, I made a joke saying Seraph was an old man and she rushed all the blood from my legs to my head and I couldn't walk until I said sorry. Granted I can, you now, fly, but flying gets boring sometimes. There was also one time where-" 
Virulentus flicks Hellscream's forehead and interrupts, "Let's not talk the guy's ear off now, Yarad. Wait...does he have an ear? I can't see one. Oh well. He can still hear us. Hi, I'm Lexi, but you can call me Virulentus. I make toxic explosions and whatnot. Can even make new viruses out of random. Don't worry though, I'm not a biohazard at the moment. Only to people I wanna fuck up. Also that's Volume 0 over there. She can hear at very long ranges and when she screams, can silence the sounds of anything. Even body functions, which cause them to stop. So heart beating? Now it isn't. Instant heart attack. It's crazy." 
Imperialist walks up to Void and reintroduces herself, "Hey Void. You may remember me from our first meeting. If not, a quick refresher is that I'm Imperialist. I absorb abilities. I would keep the formalities going and talk more, but sadly we have an extremely powerful mage to catch. Can you brief us? Were you able to identify the assailant?" Void nodded his head, pulling out a cloth to wipe scorch marks off his revolver before activating his utility gauntlet's holoprojector. 
"The mage who attacked us on arrival was the Archmage of Power, I don't know much about magic myself, but Witch explained that he has mastery of all magic that focuses on raw power and destruction..." Void pointed towards the crater, "Like shooting a beam that did this." A picture of the Archmage's face was projected from the gauntlet, and a small map of the area came up beside him. "The observatories are only picking up two arcane signatures, and you were sent to capture two mages, so that means... Witch must've cast a cloaking spell," Archangel remarked. There was one small problem, however. The two signatures were getting closer together, meaning the Mage of Power was going after the Mage of Defense. 
== Power, and Defense II - [06/04/2022] | Saint Kay's Quarter, Straille ==
"I'm telling you, I'm getting some bad vibes here," Strongman idly said as they pulled up to the university. The students had been evacuated like everyone else in the Quarter, all but the Archmage inside. Specter put the car into park, getting out while Witch and Strongman followed suit. "Specter, Agua, there's guns in the back, go ahead and grab one before we head in," Witch said, taking a small disc from her bag and tossing it into the sky. The small drone started to float as it reached the peak of its arc. "Kaori, you're getting all this?" Witch asked, while a Kaori responded with a short, "Yes, camera feed is live and recording."
Strongman and Specter returned with a CACG issued submachine gun and shotgun respectively. "We ready to breach?" Strongman asked, chambering a round in the SMG. "Well, I guess we are, let's go." With a swift kick, Strongman breached the door and lead the three of them into the entrance. After a short sweep of the reception area, they started into the building's corridors. The small drone whirred as it followed them, all the while they were systemically scanning rooms and moving further in until they got to the dormitories. "Her room is 407 D, fourth floor," Witch said gesturing towards an elevator in the hall. All thee of them got inside, not holstering their weapons in case this mage was as violent as the last. 
"We don't have any time to lose then. Hellscream, we need to get there before that mage does," the Archangel said, as serious as ever. Hellscream grinned, "Finally, some action." Archangel helped Void get back on his feet, and sped to the Nazareth with the others. As soon as the entire squadron was strapped in, the Nazareth took off and flew towards Witch's coordinates, the Saint Kay Polytechnic University. 
"You are now on, Dormitories Floor 4," a robotic voice said as the doors opened. Witch, Strongman, and Specter all visually swept the area as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, wary of possible hostiles. They advanced further and further, still shaken from watching their friend get blasted away just minutes earlier. But they had a job to do, and so they kept walking until they found the dorm room of the Archmage of Defense. Strongman readied himself to kick another door down, but was stopped by Witch. Without another word, she came up to the door and tried the knob. The door wasn't locked, and swung open as all three of them saw a girl sitting at her bed, looking at her TV in horror at the government message to evacuate the quarter. 
"Hibiki Tsubana? We're with the Camelot Anomalous Containment Group," Witch said softly, resting a hand on her pistol. Hibiki looked at the trio with fear in her eyes, but upon seeing the patches sewn onto their vests she calmed down somewhat. "Are you here to arrest me for not evacuating? I didn't see it, honest!" she started saying, speaking at a mile a minute before they were cut off. Witch's eyes widened in shock as she saw the Archmage of Power in the building across from the massive window in the Defense mage's dorm. "Get down!" Witch shouted, running to protect Hibiki just as the girl effortlessly casted a deep blue ward, just in time to block a hit from a column of pure destruction magic. 
"What the fuck is this?!" she shouts, recovering from the initial adrenaline and seeing the magical wards coming out of her hands. Witch grabbed her and ducked down with Strongman and Specter as the Power mage started to recover. "Look, the short and skinny of it is that there's some magic demon out there that gave people powers. Luckily today, you aren't one of the batshit insane ones trying to kill us like him." Hibiki looked at her in awe, and then again at her fingers. "So, how do I do that shield thing again?" she asked, but Witch was mortified. "You can't do it again? Are you trying?!" she asked panickily. A blue fizzle came out of the mage's hands, but nothing more. 
Sensing the fact that they were already pinned down, Strongman popped up from his cover and started firing at the mage. He managed to get off a few good shots before getting a shot of destructive magic through his calf. He went down, and Witch looked on in horror in realization that she could hear the Power mage charging up a massive beam, ready to blow the entire dorm room out of the building. She closed her eyes, and as a few seconds went by, she couldn't hear anything anymore. Not the whining of pure magic, not the panicked breathing of Specter in cover. And then, the almost futuristic sound of an engine tearing through the sky at breakneck speed, and a dull thud. 
"Excuse me big scary man in a suit, is this spot taken?" Hellscream said over the loudspeaker. In a swift movement, Void dropped out of the Nazareth and onto the Archmage of Power, with Archangel jumping out just a few meters away. "This is for killing me, you fuck!" Void shouted, hardening his right forearm with A-007 before swinging it straight in the Archmage's face. The blow connected with a satisfying crunch, causing the Archmage to recoil if only for a second. "You call that a punch?" the mage growled, surrounding his body in magical energy with a bloody red hue. 
"What about this then?" Archangel retorted, charging up to the mage and swinging Vryheid into the mage's chest with all his might. The force exerted by the hammer sent him flying backwards and into one of the roof's railings. The steel nearly bent under the force the mage carried, but just by a hair, the Archmage managed to recover. "Shit, nice save boss!" Void quipped, looking over to Witch and the others while giving them a cheeky thumbs up. Imperialist, Hellscream, and the rest of the Precocious Squadron disembarked on a neighboring roof, shortly after landing the Nazareth. The Archmage of Power was surrounded, and they were all about to see just what they were up against in full force. 
== Boiling Point - [06/04/2022] | Saint Kay's Quarter, Straille ==
"You shitty little brats!" the Archmage shouted, sending a shockwave throughout the area and nearly knocking some of the less-prepared off balance. His body swelled with magical energy as his musculature grew by the second, nearly doubling his size and leaving him standing above everyone in his presence. He ran straight towards Archangel and Void, ready to pound them both into the cement. "Look alive! Or dead...whichever you prefer." Hellscream quips as he turns his lower body into smoke to hover over across the divide between the rooves. He slingshots a chunk of smoldering coal, with it exploding into a cloud of smoke around Archangel and Void. "Smoking isn't all bad. At least not for our side over here...but I dunno about you though," Hellscream says as he floats over the now enveloped roof. Sensing the opportunity, both Archangel and Void get out of the mage's line of sight as the rest of the Precocious Squadron moved in under the cloak of the smoke screen.
But as they all made it onto the roof, gusts of wind started to pick up as a red glimmer emerged from the smoke. In mere seconds, the Archmage unleashed a cyclone, dispersing the smoke and letting him lock onto Archangel. Inhumanly fast, the mage managed to land a devastating blow on Archangel, sending him three feet into the air. Before he could lock onto another, Bloodclaute came in, jumping and latching on to the towering mage's back with two blood pikes, whispering in his ear as she siphoned his human essence through the blades, "You touched Archie...you're lucky I can't kill you. But I can make you hurt more than he did..." As she slowly dragged the blades down the mage's back and he struggled to get her off, his fury built even more. With a roar, he managed to get a grip on her, powering through the rapid rushing of blood to his legs and throwing her off like a paper ball to which she elegantly recovered with a cushion of blood. 
She giggles softly but maniacally and licks the blood off her hand. He wonders what she's giggling for, until he starts to feel a bit woozy. Are those...fumes? He covers his mouth and looks over to see Virulentus standing there with her arms spread out. She smirks at him and quips, "It usually doesn't smell like this around me, I promise." The fumes seep through the mage's hand and it begins to burn. He gives a muffled grunt and staggers a bit from the strong, almost anesthetic scent of the gases Virulentus is sending out. She puts her arms down and waves, seemingly at him. He looks confused on why she's waving, until he realizes she isn't waving at him. 
The few moments he was distracted gave Imperialist enough time to walk up from behind him, patting him on his shoulder as he recoiled and faced her. It was all she needed, just enough contact to absorb a portion of the overwhelming power the mage had tapped into. And soon as he realized it, it was too late. "This was all you had? I'm disappointed. For someone titled the Archmage of Power, I expected more," she casually said, staring at him while he looked on in disbelief. She looked at her hand, feeling the power coursing through her as she gently pointed her finger at the stunned mage. "Don't worry, I'll hold back," she said, smiling. The Mark in her right eye illuminates and shortly after, a crackling beam of concussive energy slammed into him with the force of a freight train, driving him back and up against one of the walls on the roof. By the time Imperialist had stopped firing, the mage had left a human-sized imprint on the wall. 
Watching from afar, Witch slumped down and finally let out a breath. "Specter, call the extraction team," she said as she rushed over to Strongman. She uncapped a small vial, pouring it over his wounds. "Ah, fuck," he said as the serum painfully reconstructed his leg. "You couldn't've just let me bleed out?" Witch chuckled at the remark before looking over her shoulder. Void had just helped Archangel back up from his brush with the mage. "Ey Archie! Catch!" she shouted, using a bit of magical power to throw a pair of the warded handcuffs to him. "Should I call the extraction?" she asked as he caught them, but he was cut off before he could answer. 
A maniacal giggle filled the air. First, there were sparks, and then a small cloud manifested beside the Archmage of Power and the Archangel. A man with piercing green eyes stepped out of the mist, followed by the source of a giggle, a woman that took her place right between her partner and Imperialist. "Thanks for retrieving our property friends!" the woman said before her companion sent the incapacitated mage through a portal surrounded by a similar mist. Nearly everyone on the rooftop trained their sights on the pair, with even Strongman and Witch drawing a bead as well. "I think you misunderstand," the man from the mist said before staring straight at Witch. Before he could continue, Void shot two blunt slugs at the pair, just as Imperialist fired another concussive beam at the man. But before they could hit either of their targets, the projectiles were stopped midair by a wave of the man's hand. He glared at Void and Imperialist who smirks at him and remarks, "Bad guys who talk too much end up losing. Just some advice." He looks back at Witch and says, "You have till the next blood moon. Go ahead and bring your little wizard friend too." 
Before Imperialist, Void, or Strongman could get off a shot, the mist washed over the pair. And once the cloud had dispersed, there was no one left, just a crater where the battered Archmage used to be. Witch could only look on in awe, as the Archmage of Defense peeked over the hole in her dorm room at the scene. Archangel stared at the crater as Void collapsed from exhaustion. Hellscream, Virulentus and the rest of the Precocious Squadron group up with Imperialist and look at Archangel. Volume 0 bows her head down and says, "I'm afraid I wasn't able to silence the two intruding parties. I apologize. I was also not able to hear their approach." Archangel waves his hand in dismissal and responds, "You did enough in your help with the Archmage of Power." Hellscream chimes in, "Yeah! I mean silencing Imperialist's footsteps so he didn't hear her coming was smart. And screaming is pretty tiring so, all good." Volume 0 blushes and fiddles with her hands in response. Bloodclaute holds Archangel's face and has a look of concern. She asks, "Are you okay? Are you bleeding anywhere? How hard did he hit you?" Archangel stammers and explains, "I'm fine really. He didn't hurt me much. I appreciate your concern Murietta," 
"I can kill him. I can make him hurt. I'll rip him limb from limb if I have to." 
"Honestly, it's fine!" 
"We'll get Priestess to check on you. Make sure nothing got damaged." 
"The only thing that got damaged is my shirt. I promise." 
Bloodclaute lets go and bites her thumb. She looks at Imperialist and asks, "So, should we hold back again next time?" to which she responds with, "Still no killing, but they could possibly be broken." Bloodclaute gives a mischievous grin at this answer and types things into her wristwatch. This turns on the Nazareth and it slowly hovers over to the rooftop they're on. It lands gently and the hatch opens. Bloodclaute walks in saying, "I'll see if there is any residual magic on the ship." Imperialist nods and looks at Void and Archangel. "Those two were stronger than the Power guy there," Imperialist comments. To which Void and Archangel nod in agreement. "They don't look like slouches. You sure you're prepared for that? You were already struggling with just one." Archangel looks down in shame and responds, "That is true. We couldn't have had the upper hand without you. We need to improve, we need to adapt." 
"Maybe contact Seraph again? You're still young in your powers." 
"I will do that. Thank you Bria." 
Hellscream looks over at the dorms and sees the rest of the Roundtable with the Archmage of Defense. "You all look like you need a ride." he says as he floats over into the hole that the Archmage of Power left. "Nice room decor. Shame a lot of it got vaporized. The Archmage of Defense looks at Hellscream and timidly asks, "A-are you also CACG?" 
"Nah, I'm part of the Seraphim." 
"You mean those guys on our moon?" 
"Yeah, well that's some of us. There's a lot more in our universe." 
"...Universe?" 
"The Group will fill you in. Anyways, hold onto me y'all." 
Witch, Specter, Strongman, and Archmage of Defense all slowly grab onto Hellscream. He giggles and turns him and the others into a cloud of smoke that travels towards the rooftop and reconstructs everyone. Imperialist, and Virulentus both enter the Nazareth and Volume and Hellscream follow suit but stop at the hatch. Volume 0 says softly, "The Nazareth is ready to depart to Arthur's Bay. The travel will be 3 minutes long." She enters and leaves Hellscream there, to which he looks at them all and asks, "Well, you coming?" 
== [Post Operation Summary] ==
GEO-7 Aerodock received all operatives deployed on assignment. Extraction of A-079-Alpha subject confirmed. SACA cleanup teams arrived on scene shortly after CACG-Seraphim departure. Evacuation order lifted for Saint Kay's Quarter with an exclusion zone around areas of engagement.
Following arrival to GEO-7, the Director has instated Stage 4 combat readiness protocols. Task Force "Wizarding Wardens" and the Arcane Research Division have been placed on standby.
Category:Parables
Category:Archfiend Arc Parable