Liberty: Hargeon's Angels Style

Spoiler:

”Where did she say to meet again…”

Hargeon was bustling as usual, especially since she’d accidentally shown up on the side with the very popular fish market. The job had been – like many others – the idea of Aiyana, well at least inviting Mao. As far as she remembered, the job actually came about at the suggestion of one of her guild mates, a shy girl as her friend described the other mage, and figured they could help with the job. The other shtick involved a nasty sounding slave trade type deal, one that the very social mage would no doubt be eager to see fall.

Worse than simple slave trade they targeted women specifically, which lead many minds to assume the darkest of possibilities. Mao didn’t want to assume anything however without proper proof, her mind not wanting to budge beyond the facts on this one. Not that there’d be any really good conclusion to being sold in slavery regardless of the client’s wishes because in the end these women were ripped from their lives and family.

Finally she recalled the little café the green-haired mage mentioned and escaped the fishy nature of the wharf. The crab smelled tantalizing, but she could really go for something sweet about now.

The place looked rather homey and out of the way, a more Mom n’ Pop shop compared to some of the larger chains. Upon entering she loved it already since a lot of the chairs looked rather plush, a few of them nothing more than bean bags ready for someone’s butt to sink into them and likely resort to rolling maneuvers to escape. However as tantalizing as the chairs looked she’d opt for one of the booths with the velveteen benches, sinking down into one of the sides with a pleased hum after retrieving a spot of breakfast. The cocoa smelled delightful and the pastry positively oozed cream onto the plate the moment she bit into it. So enraptured with food she’d forgotten to double check if they’d arrived first or not, merely zeroing in on the treats.

"Ma'm we have told you a hundred times you can't order anything here."

"But... I have the money!"

"Last time we held an all you can eat buffet, you thought that meant go back into the kitchen and eat everything!"

"False advertising, I was in my full rights as a customer!"

"We lost hundreds of jewels because of you!"

"Get better locks on the fridge that's what I do!"

By this point, the cashier was done talking with Mei and simply waved her off, and headed back behind the counter to the bakery part proper, probably installing locks everywhere. Mei normally wouldn't mind, but it was the way they had said it. "Come on in, all you can eat buffet of sweets!" Seriously she thought it meant everything and firmly believed the owners to be foolish in how they described it. Huffing a bit Mei went to go and sit down at one of the tables, she had gotten a message from Aiyana that apparently something big was going down in town and that it would be best if they put a stop to it all. Mei probably shouldn't have been informed about it at all honestly.

The fact that slavers were here in her hometown was causing her normal shy demeanor to be filled with a little bit of a blood boil. She didn't like them, actually that was incorrect it wasn't that she didn't like them, she loathed them. Mei didn't hate many things, you could go so far as to say she didn't anything at all except for slavery. The cruelty of what happened to a slave  made Mei start to wander into darker thoughts. Thankfully she didn't have long to wander as a girl with puffy tails walked into the shop, and though it had been a while Mei recognized the girl, she had been there when Mei was cosplaying in the cafe... oh now she was slightly embarrassed as she remembered what also happened that day.

Now Mei couldn't help but try to hide her face a bit from the puffy tailed girl, in a futile attempt to prevent the puffy tailed girl from seeing her face.

[362]

Aiyana couldn't believe a slave operation had managed to go unstopped in the town she currently lived in. It was outrageous to believe woman were being kidnapped and sold to others a stock to be used as for whatever the owner wished! Everyone deserved their basic human rights, especially freedom! When she had told one of her good friends, Mei, about it she had reacted quite strongly to it as well; even agreeing to go on the job with her. Not wanting to do the job with just the two of them, the bandaged mage had contacted Mao, the closest friend she had. Her two friends had met once before, on the girl with the cat eared hat's first job; the Cosplay Cafe of which she still had her costume.

She had told both to meet her at a small cafe the woman frequented when she wanted to avoid the, sometimes, unsavory crows of the larger places and taverns. Aiyana was sitting in a bean bag chair, making small movements to stay comfortable as she ate the cheapest meal one could think of; break and water. In this case it was actually toast and water, the complimentary strawberry jelly being drained onto the toast and eaten in small, crunchy, bites. The multi grain bread was almost completely eaten before the first of the two girls accompanying her showed their faces.

Mei argued with the lady at the register, apparently having eaten the place out the one time she ordered the buffet if one understood the argument properly. The woman wandered off, having given up on her ever eating friend, as the miasma mage found a seat at one of the tables. Before she could get up to move over to her Mao entered the cafe as well. The bunny eared girl ended up buying food, a cream filled pastry to be exact. Finishing her toast, Aiyana stood up and began walking towards Mei's table first.

”Good morning Mei, let's go sit at Mao's table to we can figure out how to do this.” Holding her empty plate and glass half full with water, the young woman led the way to the velvet-laden benches and sat down so they could all sit together. ”Morning Mao! Once you finish eating we can start figuring everything out!” Not being one to ever want to ruin a mean, the young woman would sit there drinking her water until both of the other girls were ready. Once breakfast was done they could move along.

The ruckus hadn’t phased Mao in the slightest, mostly because it’d occurred just a bit before she showed up. Unfortunately despite the excellent recording of memories she possessed, Mao failed to notice the somewhat familiar face as it’d been a fair while since they last met – and the ending to that had been “interesting” to say the least. To the woman’s credit however, Mei had hidden off to the side, keeping her face more or less from view. Tie in the tempting allure of food and it wouldn’t be a fully rude action on her part, but she’d still feel a bit bad about it later if she realized.

When the other two joined her table though it caused the woman to pause mid nom, ’Uh oh…did I simply ignore them?’ She should apologize, but not with a huge bite of creamy bread filled goodness…no wait she had that backwards. Gulping it down she was about to apologize when Aiyana cut in, cheerful as always. Well, there still was no excuse so before she started down the road of questions Mao started with, ”I’m sorry…I guess I was looking more with my stomach than my eyes. I didn’t mean to ignore you both.”

With that out of the way however she soon enough launched into the queries, ”What do we know of this slave operation? You said it was here in Hargeon and that they’re targeting women specifically…but any ideas where it might be? How large it is? What else we might be dealing with or expecting?” The details had remained a bit vague, but the girl wasn’t surprised either seeing as they’d been communicating via lacrima and in person they wouldn’t have to worry about someone possibly hacking the channels or the like. Or…maybe she’d been reading too many spy novels again, because honestly Mao wasn’t sure how often that was even a problem or if it’d been the mere imaginings of some creative person.

Suddenly a wild Aiyana appeared or had she been here all along? Perhaps that wasn't the question to ask, especially since they seemed to be getting down to business fairly quickly, in fact it was pretty much right away that Aiyana started asking some questions, which was a good thing as Mei had a lot to chime in on. The normally timid girl would now be the one to fully speak out against such raiders, and ruffians with all of her bottled up might, rage, and hatred in one fell swoop.

"The only thing that needs to be known about slave drivers such as them is how they like to prey upon those they view as weak. They try and take those who have a happy life and cripple it into oblivion, to rob the very thing that makes them human, and humiliate them, force them to do whatever their twisted minds rely on, it's a power trip of the sickest kind.

They deserve no mercy, no respite, only war. Their way is far too grim for anything of this world. They know this fact and try and hide in the darkness, the fact is if we don't do something about it, in the far future they might control this entire town."

The entire time Mei was stating this she was just looking towards the table, her hands folded into a Gendo Ikari pose, and her eyes darker than normal... if one could be darker than black that is.

"As for where they are located we have nothing to go off, but we are three women who could easily appear helpless right? Mao's exotic... Aiyana is energetic, and I'm a for--...

Anyway we should probably start by tricking one of them into try to kidnap us and then be-- get information out of him. I'd be the easiest thing... unless one of you has a better idea..."

Turning towards Mao, Mei changed her expression to be slightly kinder.

"Oh and it's good to see you again Mao."

[338]

It wasn't long before the group finally got down to business, Mao starting the questions for her to try and answer. The normally overly clothed girl with the bunny ears launched into the normal questions she had expected for the type of job they had accepted. Making sure not to dwell on the girl's beautiful tail, Aiyana listened to her Sabertooth friend intently until her quick line of questions stopped so that she would be allowed to answer. Aiyana opened her mouth to start answering the questions, having a decent amount of information with all the friends and acquaintances she had made in the home town of Lamia Scale. She was, however, stopped from responding by the normally quietest member of the team began to speak up to be heard. The bandaged mage could only watch in silent surprise at the outburst the girl went through at the thought of the slavers. 'for-...for-what?' The canceled sentence caused her to grow concerned for the girl, surely there was something she wanted to say to them. After giving her idea of how to get in, Mei said a bit to Mao before silence returned for a bit.

”Well, we know that most of the women disappear at night. Not to mention they HAVE to be around the docks, probably one of the lesser used ones, if they're shipping them off.” The young woman lifted her glass of water to her lips, a small sip being taken of the cold liquid before she continued speaking again. ”A little trap, making it seem like they're going for a single girl to capture, does make sense. But that would mean going down the darker areas of the town unless we wait until tonight. Or just wander the more abandoned docks and see what happens.” With that said she took another sip, awaiting to hear from Mao as well as anything extra Mei might add in to the plans.

’Err…well…she’s not wrong…but…’ Mao only somewhat remembered the girl from a previous job, primarily her quiet aura and air about her. This however, this was vastly different from that recollection as a sort of strength and anger came out. It…well it almost sounded like she might want revenge or something against these people. Not that such could be entirely blamed either given the cruel and dirty nature of such a job, and how many families and women suffered at the hands of these immoral people. The fact remained however that the outburst really hadn’t answered the questions Mao posed. The constantly cut thoughts also intrigued her, though Mao suspected some dark connotations behind them.

’Be…behead?’

The sudden change of attitude left Mao speechless for a moment, merely nodding as if on auto-pilot, ”Yes…good to see you again as well…”

Aiyana finally cut through the somewhat awkward silence, answering some of the possibilities, though it sounded like little else was known. ”Hmm…a bit left to chance, but without knowing any other good target zones it’d probably be best to try and ‘get captured’ closer to their base of operations then. If they’re not at the docks then I’d imagine they’d be close to ensure the best escape…are there any buildings on the wharf or port that they might even be able to park a ship inside? It would seem to me that if I wanted to move sensitive cargo such as people, I’d want to hide them somewhere others couldn’t hear them too well, and load them out of sight if possible. Otherwise I suppose they could do so at night, but too much extensive guarding would draw attention at some point or another.”

Thinking on it a bit, and ultimately not wanting either woman to suffer – and she held a few qualms about having Mei play the part - Mao offered, ”I can play the target. I’m not sure if I’m really ‘exotic’ or not as you say, and I’m not sure if people with tails have a market or not…but I’ll do my best. I’ll need you guys to hold my equipment for me though while I pose as a helpless and hapless traveler.” The notion of walking around unarmed didn’t really appeal to her, but being something of a grappler when needed wasn’t an issue for her either, capable of moves others could only dream about if only thanks to the extra and large limb stuck above her rump. ”My only question is how far the act should go: do I get captured and you guys follow, or do we lure out some of their henchmen and have them lead us back?”

"Mao, you can't possibly get more exotic than you, unless you also had a tan, in which case they probably would have already tried to kidnap you, and we might not be having this conversation..."

In the grim darkness of the Mei there is only snappy dialogue and unwitting phrases, also Mei was being kind of a jerk with that comment. Putting it lightly Mei didn't cut any edges now, the normally shy and nice girl was quite upset, especially since these people were within her new hometown. Leaning forward in her chair Mei simply tried to add onto the conversation, and this time in a more productive way, or rather a less insulting way.

"The docks? Odd I handled a burglry that happened and they tried to escape there... perhaps the same thugs are in on the slave trade, maybe I should have just-- eh I suppose that means we might have to deal with bandits like them too, which means it's going to get quite dangerous, annoyingly so."

Mei sighed to catch her breath, she wasn't used to speaking this much, or this passionately.

"I volunteer as tribute, I mean as the one to be the distraction for them, if they somehow know me from the previous job I took care of all the better, revenge might just blind them to the true danger that I... we present. Sounds good?"

Mei stated with a rather serious tone, normally she wasn't one to focus so much on planning out actions, or to really think about taking someone down but her blinded hatred of them was directing her motions right now. She couldn't help but wanting to see them face to face so she could know the scumbag who was doing this, or at the very least helping them to pull off this goal.

Still Mei and Mao seemed to have their own ideas of handling this little problem, so hopefully Aiyana would be the final little say in this matter, or else all three of them would probably end up walking into a trap all thinking they were the better bait. Such was the way of fools, or in this case Mei.

[364]

Things took an interesting turn in the conversation after Mei's initial outburst. They were talking about one of them being bait! In any other circumstance this would be considered an insane thing to talk about! But here they were, sitting in a diner trying to decide which of the trio of women would be allowing a bunch of slavers to capture them and bring them to their base of operations, or force them to divulge the information if needed. Aiyana could see this going poorly if she was the one to be captured. One; she hated being out on her own in any situation. Two; She felt she would be the most likely to end up not being attacked of the three. She had bandages wrapped around her hands and arms, something most people would find a little odd.

'Mao is exotic enough to be a high valued target for the operation we're trying to take down. But Mei seems to know what she's talking about for some reason, and seems intent on getting to be the one as bait no matter what. Well she's cute too, but not as cute as Mao is...But then there's also the fact that we'd have to hold onto Mao's equipment...' Aiyana's mind raced as the other two girls gave their reasoning and spoke on the topic of bait. Maybe it was her turn to chime in? It seemed the other two had both volunteered as it was and her vote would be the decider.

Looking forward, looking at neither of her friends as she spoke up, Aiyana gave her handful of jewels on the situation. ”Well Mao would be a good choice, but having Mei as the bait would be easier on all of us. It's clear she wants to, and she doesn't need for us to hold onto any equipment for her. That means an easier transition to combat when it comes to it.” Her reasoning all flooded out into the decently long explanation, surprising herself with how she was making a decision for the group when the Lamia Scale mage was usually the last to be making decisions for others. The bandaged mage would have to celebrate that one day, she was learning how to lead and not worry too much about every single detail that could go wrong every step of the way.

’I’m less and less sure of this job by the moment.’ It was an odd, foreign, and disturbing thought to have before they’d even begun. Part of her wasn’t really sure about allowing Mei to be the bait if only because this job struck some sort of cord with her. Pushing certain boundaries unnerved Mao, yet the girl couldn’t bring herself to point this out either and instead internalized the worry. ’Well it’s not like we’re going to let her wander off and do this alone,’ she compromised, ’so if something does happen she has back up as well.’ Plus Mao wouldn’t be unarmed in this scenario, not that going without the gauntlets was the worst thing since she’d still have her magic...among other things, but oh well.

”Very well then….shall we go capture ourselves some terrible people then?”


Night collected around them, the starry sky lovely even as the lights of the town blocked them out somewhat. Those who could shine despite the challenge however proved their brilliance, and yet Mao couldn’t allow herself to enjoy them right now. ’There’s something discouraging about sharing the sky with such questionable people.’

Crouched atop one of the clustered warehouses, Mao kept the hood of her dark jacket over her head, ears safely tucked inside even as the stretchy collar of the undershirt reached over most of her face. If nothing else the girl enjoyed the ensemble because it reminded the bookworm of some of her assassination novels that involved these things called “ninja.” Down low she stayed close to the building, keeping her eye on Mei as she traversed the lonely roads below, and tried to keep as quiet and invisible as possible whenever she transferred rooftops. Yet as much as she might’ve liked this and thoroughly enjoyed the “reenactment” the woman couldn’t relax with things at stake. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Mei, but the words were hard to grasp as something of a mix of worry for Mei and what might happen.

The member 'Mao' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

This was excellent Aiyana had made a wise decision, Mei was the perfect choice for this mission. Frankly if Aiyana hadn't picked Mei, well she would have questioned Aiyana's leadership qualities if you could really call it that. Actually why did Mei even think that, why did Aiyana suddenly become the leader of this little band of brigands? Well, Mei certainly wasn't up for the task, not with her tendency to be shy, for some reason though right now hatred was making her less so. She couldn't really explain her tendencies to be shy it just seemed to be natural... well almost, it was like she couldn't actually speak even though she wanted too. It was a strange feeling, regardless this moment wasn't to dwell on this little quirk, it was to dwell on the most insidious revenge plots she would probably ever come up with, or at least try and get away with. She didn't know why but the thought of hurting them, just made her feel good, made her feel right, made her feel... a little empty, a tugging at the back of her mind saying no, but a stronger one saying yes, saying take them out however you feel.

"Alright sounds good, I suppose we should get started then? I'll make sure that they don't go anywhere, and we can take as long as we want to know who is really the one responsible for these crimes against humanity."

In reality, she didn't want to leave them alive, but she would suppress that hatred since it go against her main goal... killing the leaders, that satisfaction would be the main thing that'd allow her to sleep at night.

---

The night air did nothing but heat up mei's passion, she could feel them nearby, the docks, the sound of the sea's waves, she could sense them. The sub-human scum was coming, patrolling, whispering, scheming, and she'd be the one to stop them. They didn't deserve any mercy, the only sort of mercy that she would show was to further her own goals. In a way, the darkness of night represented Mei, she was in a grim mood, and the darkness around her yelled out for no mercy... no respite...

Only war.

Thankfully she didn't have to lie in wait for long, her blood's temperature probably couldn't have handled it if she had too. Several of them were appearing, of course of them spotting her around the corner. The dock's area being perfect for such traps, and Mei was busy pretending to pack a few boxes, of course the boxes had nothing within them, just air, the very air that Mei had tainted with her Miasma and kept hidden from the scum that would approach.

Then after a few moments, the sound of footsteps shuffling along the cement surface approached towards her, Mei seeing all seven of them via the use of her item, hidden away within her body. Such a helpful little trinket that she had picked up in a town a while ago... in fact it was with the help of a boy who stopped a shoplifter from stealing it that now allowed her the upper hand. If she ever met him again she would be sure to give him extra thanks for this moment.

"Well what do we have here, little dame what are you doing out here so late."

Not even turning to face them Mei smiled a little bit under the shroud of darkness around her, the small street light cascading her back in its glow but obscuring her face, just like her true intentions tonight...

"I was just packing these larger boxes."

"Packing those large boxes huh? Whatever for my darling?"

"I thought I'd stuff your bodies within them when I am done."

Before they could react,t hey had fallen into the trap, and Mei sprung it. Lifting them into the air by their throats Mei started to cackle a little bit. The bullets from two of their gun's passing harmlessly through her as her body distorted into a Miasma and reformed seamlessly.

"Such arrogance, I wouldn't expect more from the likes of you ANIMALS, but I suppose that your desire to still retain some of your dignity in attempting to shoot me is... respectable, that is if I could respect such inhuman filth in the first place."

A few of them gasped for breath as Mei simply reshaped her body to face them.

"Oh my, I suppose I am being a little too harsh aren't I? Well, maybe you shouldn't have been so harsh to others huh? Now be good, I and my soon to approach associates are.. well, we are going to take our time with the lot of you, and I can assure you, it'll be time you will wish never happened."

Mei signalled her hand for the other two to come down and approach the gang, a few of them effectively down for the count with the others struggling... of course since Mei wasn't paying attention to anything she could have missed them already coming down, but whatever her job was done... for now.

---

HP Total: 100%/100%
MP Total: 88%/100%


Choking Cloud Duration: 1 Post(s) Remaining.
Choking Cloud Cool Down: - Post(s) Remaining.

[856 words]

"Yeah, the sooner we start preparing the sooner we can get this job done and get rid of these people." She would definitely sleep better knowing that the slaver organization was no longer in existence, and that the one's captured and hadn't been shipped off would be freed if they got there in time.


The smell of the sea was calming, almost too much so, for Aiyana as she stay crouched on a warehouse rooftop as Mei readied herself and her trap for the group they would be ambushing. The bandage wielding mage had faith in the plan, but was still worried about the girl. She had changed so suddenly with this job that the Lamia Scale guildmate was thinking about asking her about it. 'For what?!?' That last comment that Mei had spoken, and suddenly cut off, was almost enough to drive her into a rage? What could the last part of the sentence have been? What was she hiding? Were they not good enough friends to trust each other implicitly with ANYTHING about the other? Maybe Ai had thought too much into it and just reading too much into the simple phrase. For all the girl knew the comment had been something useless that had been rescinded as she was trying to say it.

It was as the line of thoughts on that single cut off phrase ended that the show began, a decently large group of slavers falling for a trap that showed a side of Mei she had gotten only a glimpse of in previous times. The scene was quite intense as her miasma wielding friend choked all seven of the slavers with her magic at the same time, knocking some out in the process as she did so. It was as this happened that she quickly, and silently, made her way to the successful trap. She wasn't sure what to say at that point, the third girl continuing her spell as Aiyana stood there silently hoping that it wouldn't turn to murder; She'd hate to be involved with a death that one of her friends dealt directly.

’I guess she was the better after all.’ It was with a bit of surprise, the group that approached shocking the woman. Did they normally patrol in such numbers, or had they been lured in by a hint of desire for revenge, as Mei suspected? Such a group would’ve proven more problematic for the gemstone user, but with that cloudy magic – miasma she’d called it – the group turned into an easy bunch of lumps.

Down they went, some quicker than others, but all the same she could deal with the lot in one fell swoop rather than the backup Mao would’ve required. Hopefully at least one would remain conscious for them to interrogate as she descended from her perch to join the other two. Nearing the group however Mao’s worries came to a slight fruition as she glanced at the already fallen so to speak. Hard to notice at first, the closer she walked the more apparent it became that even those unconscious continued to experience an invisible grasp upon their throats as they floated unmoving.

”Mei!” she cried out, surprise etched into the call, ”Mei, you can stop now! Most of them are already out, any more than this and they’re liable to die!” Much to the woman’s relief whatever spell Mei had upon the group released and the many unconscious hit the dock like bricks of meat. One fellow managed to even flop close to the edge, but was pulled back to relative safety by Mao’s tail as the trips tugged by the grunt’s belt. When he seemed to be rising from his stupor a swift slap with the entirety of the limb sent him back to slumber as the Sabertooth mage sighed in relief. ”I was afraid you might honestly and truly kill them…scum as they may be, I do not think it is our place to pass judgment on them…plus it might be harder to get information out of one of them if they’re all gone.”

Sure it might’ve scared the wits into the lone survivor, but how much better would they all be for taking lives when these men actively and constantly stole them from poor women? There was more to be gained by keeping them alive than offing them, at least for now since Mao couldn’t quite say what their punishment might be in the face of the law. She wasn’t a Rune Knight after all.

Mei, absorbed with the chaos around her, and the raw enjoyment she was getting from their suffering she almost didn't hear her comrades approaching from behind. Perhaps this was the way of the world, the churning of the chaos within the everlasting flow, she was for the first time actively enjoying her powers, it made her feel good to inflict such suffering upon those who deserved it, and if she didn't know any better she was getting a little excited by it. Then reality snapped her back into a proper motion, a rhythm that matched her more even tempo, one that made her feel less dirty deep down than she did but a moment ago. Mao was calling out for respite against these hooligans, and while Mei didn't want to oblige, she decided that it was for the best, after all they would lead them to the real root of the problem... now wouldn't they?

"As you wish..."

Dropping them from their graceful and painful hold, Mei let the magic simmer a bit before dissipating from them. Moving to go and lean up against one of the buildings Mei looked over the bodies that laid spread about the docks now, their pitiful forms once threatening, were now helpless thanks to her.

"Question them, find out where their base is, and then let's throw them to the rune knights for punishment. I'm sure they will enjoy being caged up just as much as those they subjugated to it. Just get the questioning over with, I don't want to look at these sacks of shit for much longer."

With that Mei got quiet and her eyes got a little darker, if you could get any darker than black that is. Perhaps it was the atmosphere or her blind hatred, or maybe it was the magic she had been using. All were possible reasons for this darker side that was now showing itself, readily avaliable for everyone and anyone to judge.

Mao stepped in before Aiyana could work the nerve up to do the same. Once in a while, although she really liked being around her, Mei had a tendency of spooking the bandaged woman. Most of the time it was when she was using her magic. It just seemed to bring out darker emotions in the poor girl. It didn't help that they were also doing a job against a group of people Mei seemed to hate with a passion beyond the understanding of the other two young woman that were along on the job with the Miasma wielder. Right now she was violent, and uncaring. It was like the magic put her personality into a darker place than was natural for the girl that she was in the same guild as.

Mei told them to interrogate them for the location of the warehouse, but Ai had no real experience in doing so. That meant she would have to go with it an hope for the best. If she didn't do this they wouldn't be able to successfully complete their mission! Walking up to one of the conscious men, Aiyana wrapped his arms and legs in bandages, using her magic to do so, and lifted him up into the air. He asked to be put down, fighting against the lightly wrapped bandages before Aiyana started speaking to him. ”Tell us where the warehouse is and we'll leave you to the Rune Knights.”

”You kidding kid? If I blab the bosses will string me up for snitching!”

Apparently he didn't realize the 'gravity' of the situation as she suddenly lowered the bandages at a quick pace, causing the man to think the bandaged mage had simply let him go while he was fifteen feet into the air. The terrified scream that left his lips, as he thought he was going to fall and hit the ground on his back, was suddenly stopped as she tightened the bandages and lifted him up again. Slightly tighter, the bandaged would start to feel uncomfortable, adding to the fear the man now felt. ”Want to try again?”

”Okay, okay! Just don't drop me! It's the second to last warehouse! I'd rather deal with the Rune Knights than you crazy mages!” After hearing about the warehouse, the rest of the man's words were said as she wrapped her bandages to the point where he couldn't break out of them; cutting them off and using them as a way for him to avoid escaping after they left. She proceeded to do the same for the others, if Mao didn't so anything with them that is.

’At least it was easy.’ For a brief moment the bunny-eared woman feared it might turn out like various fictional novels she’d read wherein they might have to fight their friend over the matter or possibly restrain her. ’Or at the very least slap.’ Instead she backed off and told them to question the fellows, probably a good idea given her actions mere moments ago. What shocked her the most however was Aiyana stepping up to the plate and threatening the man with the very act of gravity. As creative as the usage of her bandages was however, it still surprised her for the usually passive Aiyana…’Hmm…to be fair…she does hit things and people a lot with that exotic blade of her’s. I suppose I shouldn’t be THAT surprised.’

Normally Mao wouldn’t mind tying people up, having done plenty when she dealt with those thieves a while back, but by the time she’d really considered it Aiyana already had half of them ready to be picked up by the Rune Knights. ’I’m starting to feel pointless,’ she mused, more joking as rare as that might’ve been for the girl. Mei took care of the group and Ai had them all tied in pretty bows – metaphorically speaking…probably – but she shrugged as the trio left the mostly unconscious group behind.

The man bespoke of a fabled “second to last warehouse” that they could now see. Their only problem was that people likely milled about, the group more active at night when the rest of the town sat slumbering so they could get their dirty work done. ”Any infiltration ideas? Do we stick together or split up?” To be fair someone should probably stick to Mei if they did, but it would probably be best for the trio to stick together. This felt a little thrilling though, like one of her spy novels or ones about “ninja.”

"Should have dropped him into the water, a big bad swim is the least of what he deserves."

Mei was still huffing and puffing about she was told to stop hurting them, they deserved far worse than what they were getting right now, but Mei supposed that the two others with her were right... for a moment, the information was somewhat helpful; the slaver's were somewhere here huh? Well, that's just dandy, they deserved getting smashed in the face, if not worse. Mei was thusly a little excited to take care of all of them once and for all, to eliminate all of the threats to this town, and most importantly to get her revenge on the side.

"Well what are you two waiting for, they aren't going to get punished if we just stand around right? Mao you can lead us towards the villains, I have a feeling that if I go first you two won't have any fun left."

Mei stated with a darker tone, she was trying to not make it too obvious, or rather make a joke out of all of it. She probably failed, but it was an attempt never the less, considering how they probably viewed her as insane right now. This couldn't be farther from the truth, Mei knew exactly what she was doing, she was exacting the justice that these guy's needed, and if she enjoyed it a little bit well then all the better right?

Aiyana ignored the slight outbursts that Mei was having currently. There really was nothing to say about it at this point, so why not let her take it out on the next back. So long as they kept her from accidentally, or purposefully, killing one of them they would be just fine for the mission. The short girl just hoped she wouldn't have to stop her friend with force. The last thing she wanted to do was injure their friendship in any way, shape, or form.

"Well, the second to last warehouse shouldn't be too far away. Lets be careful and stay quiet. And we should stick together. We don't know how many there are, nor how strong the leaders of this stupid organization are.” The bandaged mage would allow Mao to take the lead on this one. Mei had brought up the idea for it, and Aiyana hadn't really allowed Mao to take charge in anything as of yet for this job; it was only fair to let her now. She walked next to the bunny eared girl as they began their search for the proper warehouse. ”I'm worried about Mei,” the lamia scale mage whispered to her Sabertooth friend. ”If she stays this aggressive she might try to pull something she'll regret later on. Let's try to keep that from happening.” The look of worry on her face was all too clear, even though she would try to keep Mei from seeing it at all costs. No sense making it worse, right?

Wait how did she become the leader? Mystifying circumstances aside she had to agree with Aiyana, though she’d been wary since before they left the diner. Between the earlier scuffle and the way she spoke however only furthered the concerns as Mao murmured quietly, ”I know…” They’d have to keep an eye on her during this and make sure she didn’t slip off during any commotion or such. It might not be easy since the women would have to watch their backs as well, but hopefully they’d manage just fine.

Silently the trio snuck inside the warehouse without any the wiser, the door casually left open of all things. Perhaps they should’ve been worried, but even the hallways remained relatively dead. ’Hopefully everyone’s on some sort of lunch break.’ Whatever the case they managed to make it for ten minutes without interruption before a guy stumbled out of a room – half a sandwich hanging from his mouth no less.

”…huh?” the man intelligently grunted, his expression that of one of pure brilliance: in a complete stupor. Whether he was in the midst of a food coma or a hypnotic parlor trick from one of his cohorts there was only one thing to do in this situation: Mao took her gauntlet covered fist and slammed it hard into his head. Pathetically the sandwich slapped against the ground as his cranium crashed into the wall and left a dent in the old wood as he slumped to the ground. Unfortunately it sounded like they were close to the “cargo” as feminine wails and pleas for help quickly started up. In less than two seconds they went from a dull hum to a symphony of sound, rattling chains and metal hitting bars adding a spooky element to their unintended “song.”

”Darn…we better hurry,” Mao yelled, trying to be heard over the incredible volume as she socked another unfortunate man in the face: probably the guy’s dining buddy. If the women could make such a spontaneous noise how in blazes had they remain unfound here? ”Unless…maybe there’s some sort of sound proofing on this old building?” A weird thought, but one she paid little mind to as her pace quickened into a run to find some place they could hide – though it was probably a fruitless endeavor by this point.

The member 'Mao' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Mei could only hear a white noise as she approached the little warehouse and thought about all that was going on within. Perhaps the little noise that filtered was her two companions speaking... or maybe it was just nothing but the sound of her sweet revenge approaching. The daunting task of handling such a mystery wasn't within her mental capacity right now, the only thing she could think of was the abolishment of those who were oppressing others. So when mao entered the warehouse Mei simply smiled underneath her now darkened eyes, yes this was the right place, Mei could see them within contorting with the girls and with their own foul desires. Corruption was root and Mei was going to be the flame that burnt it out, she would purge those who were unclean.

Phasing through the wall Mei went invisible, only to sneak skulk about the place and head towards the back rooms where the others seemed to be keeping them, torturing them and one even trying to "enjoy" the spoils. Mei couldn;t help but briefly think about how these people's parents had done a poor job raising them, before smiling about how she would be the one to teach them about all of it. Should Aiyana and Mao take a bit getting to the back room they would see one of the men, who was clearly more experienced running out of the back room to save his life, while there was, screaming and a little bit of red along the walls. Mei had taken the liberty of knocking one along the side of his head, so what if a little blood spilled it was no more than what he deserved.

A few more of the less experienced, about 3 ran out with one of the more experienced also trying too, only to see that he was thrown down to the ground upon leaving the door, a loud thwack ringing throughout the area. Mei was on the hunt, and hopefully her companions could take care of the remaining vigilantes before Mei got a little too carried away. otherwise she may just go for another prize, those who ran this place.

The beautiful woman named Mao led them to, and into, the building that they had been told was the headquarters for the slaver's. The intrusion went well for a decent amount of time, until the eater of sandwiches intruded upon their stealth action. The poor chap didn't stand much of a chance, Mao knocking the guy out and causing his delicious looking sandwich to fall to the ground; was that turkey? As the man's head made noise as he hit stuff, the sounds of desperate woman began to ring out from further in; the captives lucky enough to not be shipped out just yet. Her mind slipped away from the sandwich for but a second before she picked it up, making sure Mei and Mao were ahead of her so she would remain unseen in her cheap gluttony.

The sandwich did not last long, the woman catching up in mere moments to see three inexperienced men making a mad dash in a chance to escape. ”Oh no you don't!” Those words would be all they hear before two suddenly fell to the floor unconscious, bandaged whips striking both on the back of the head and causing them to hit the ground hard. The last would turn to find the young woman swinging her Khopesh at the man's face, the blunt side of the weapon striking across the temple to put him out for the officials to find later. It would be impossible for her to catch up to the last man standing, the guy having gotten too much of a head start. It was likely they would have to deal with everyone soon, as the last slaver was most assuredly sounding the alarm as fast as he possibly could.

This was all good and well…if one didn’t mind some of the bloodshed that went on in that room, a slight tinny scent in the air. ’Damn it Mei…what’s going on with you?’ For whatever reason this job was affecting one of them greatly, Mao’s worries proven since her wonky feelings from the café discussion. ’Things might get a little more difficult if we have to stop her too alongside these people,’ Mao didn’t relish the thought of fighting her more for the sake of unnecessary fighting, but her powers would definitely prove a hard fight as well.

Whatever further thoughts or worries she might’ve had vanished completely as something not only sped by her, but partially struck the woman. The sheer force of it sent Mao spinning up into the air and she just barely managed to land on her feet…and hands to a degree. Back arched and tail curled the woman blinked a few times as she pondered, ’What the hell was that?’

”Sorry about that love,” a sultry voice coo’d, a couple of clicks joining the voice, ”My first mate is…often a bit eager for a good bout and seeing as your friend over there’s taken out so many fellows…well it’s only fitting he deal with the problem child. Me? Well, I like my prey a little softer. A captain deals with enough shit after all, I don’t want to have to dirty my hands so kindly stand still will ya?”

Mao sprang into action before she heard the pulling of the trigger, the spot she’d been standing in mere moments ago now sporting a scorch mark from the explosive rounds. ’Lovely.’

”C’MON LOVE, WHY DON’T YOU JUST MAKE MY LIFE EASIER?! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” she cackled, becoming a little trigger happy as she pulled each trigger multiple times, the bullets creating quite the dark cloud between them. The corner Mao once hugged had been reduced to Swiss cheese, though she’d moved further around the corner after the first one. Click, click, click went her heels as the vibrant red-head leisurely walked towards the corner, reloading her psitols, ”You can’t hide for long love, best you show your face now while it’s still good lookin’. I want to remember you as you are, not what I’m about to make you! Buuuut…if you come along quietly I might let you live…but I’ll sell you for a pretty penny or few!” More cackles ensued, causing the mage to grit her teeth.

It didn't matter what was happening around Mei right now, she was like a shark and the trail of blood had only just begun to flow. One of the little bastards had escaped, this was good, he would now be able to inform the bosses about the problem going on, and they would come here to resolve the problem, or run away. Either way the fear of god would be put within these foolish heathens. Wait, how odd, why would she have a thought like that, she was just a person, and it was supposed to be the fear of her, not of some god that threw her aside! perhaps this was the truth, the penance that they would have to endure and that she might have to by going through with her evil plans.

Regardless it didn't matter, soon they came running in, and one chased after Mao while another went after Aiyana. Mei had to make a choice who she would save, and obviously the answer was Mao, she was innocent and pure, never capable to killing someone with such violence or force. So she, of course, wouldn't be able to kill off the scumbag that attacked her, and deserved it. Mei would solve this problem.

Tracking Mao's opponent till the arrogance boiled over into words, Mei let out a dark chuckle and made sure that she could hear it. Turning to look around with a bit of a chill down her spine.

"Excuse me, but who might be around here huh? Another victim for my pis--"

Before she could finish the sentence Mei struck her in the face with her fist, and backed off, of course invisible the whole time.

"I watch from the ageless void..."

Firing off towards where she was hit, the women clad in red was suddenly struck from another angle, this time in the stomach.

"An enlightened shadow of my former self..."

Firing off a barrage but not knowing where the blows were originating from left them... a bit defenseless. And then panic set in as a third blow, this time to the back of the head caught them.

"I have waited to for a long time to see the human form of this scum..."

Finally, another blow directly in the face blasted the woman and she fell to the ground, not defeated but battered.

"I am the hand of god..."

Slowly Mei faded into reality.

"I am the dark messiah..."

Fully appearing to the world around her, Mei leaned into the woman, Mei's face looking blank and demented as she stared coldly into the slavers eyes.

"I am the vengeful one!"

The woman tried to blast her pistols towards Mei, but the bullets merely passed through, as Mei let out quite the evil laugh.

"You can't defeat me, or my hatred for your kind, nor my friend about to bash you in the face..."

Of course, she would let Mao get a blow in after all Mei was willing to share a little bit if it meant that these slavers torture would be... prolonged.