I half expected the always-fun sensation of appearing in a medical teleporter and nearly falling flat on my face, but instead I woke up to see a smashed crate
and lots of cans of cat food. I rested for a moment, somewhat confused, only to get a sudden burst of energy and pull myself out very quickly as the damn crate
caught fire. My armor came back online as emergency power cells emptied their charge, the forcefields shielding me from the heat, which was a good thing, as
the fire roared out of the crate and came at me. Cursing, I kicked off into the air, only to be hit by another burst of pain as flame washed over me from
behind.
This time at least, my suit didn't die as I dropped to the ground gasping. The fire circled around me, forming a wall that Sword couldn't get through.
To his credit, he tried, ripping a fire extinguisher off the wall and spraying its contents into the firewall. So, somewhat greedy and mercenary, but he could
be a team player.
Then the flames crashed inward, and I forgot about making assessments of my teammate for the moment. The flames struggled with my forcefield for a moment
before worming their way through, tearing through armor and cloth, burning through my skin... I've experienced all sorts of pain over the past year, from
bullets and knives, to dark magics that rot the flesh and Ritki mind attacks that leave you fumbling with sanity. I'd class this as slightly below having a
squad of Council Galaxies beat you senseless with the taint of the Nictus.
I remember screaming. There was a lot of screaming, I suspect. Then, it just ended and I dropped to the warehouse floor, the flames gone. It was oddly cold, as
though all the heat had been leached out of it. I was shivering as well, the sweat against my skin ice-cold all of a sudden.
"Knight, you okay?" Sword asked, kneeling down next to me. A moment later, he got his answer as I threw up. "Ah, Christ!" he growled,
leaping back up as the vomit nearly hit his pants. "Yeah, that was needed."
"Sorry man," I said, wiping at my mouth. "Sudden need to toss my cookies."
"I hope there's no need for more cookie tossing?" he asked, amusement visible in his voice as he held out a hand. It occurred to me that he may
well have been a mercenary with a license, greedy and maybe something of a jerk, but I liked the guy. I grinned, taking his hand and letting him help me up.
Groaning, I ran a hand along my spine. "Oh yeah... be a hero, smite evil, discover all sorts of interesting new aches and pans," I joked, drawing a
laugh.
Sell-Sword let me lean on him for a moment as we looked over the room. The fires were all out and the smoke was dispersing. Apparently they'd all been
pulled into my little circle of hurting, saving us the trouble of running for the firehoses, or the exits for that matter. As for the Hellions, they were all
on the floor, some out cold, others making various noises of pain from broken bones and bullet wounds.
After a moment of looking over the battleground, Sell-Sword looked over at me. "Say, where'd that crystal go?" he asked. I blinked and looked
down at my hands. The last I remembered, I'd been holding it. "You lost it?" Sword grumbled. "Dammit, MAGI would pay good for that
thing."
The tone of his voice did the trick, as I broke down laughing. "You don't even know what it is or what it does," I protested, wincing. Laughing
right now was not the wisest of ideas. Sword laughed as well, mock-apologizing as he guided me to an intact crate... before a sudden flare of heat behind us
made us both stop where we were.
A moment later we both spun, my gauntlets crackling with energy buildup... only for the both of us to stop and stare. The fire had reappeared, a large sphere
that shrank into a humanoid shape before burning out, revealing one of the most surprising sights in my career.
It was a woman that looked to be in her early to mid twenties (Heck of a figure, I'll admit), dressed in a duplicate of my costume almost entirely, with
the single exception of a massive pair of red and black butterfly wings emerging from her back in the place of my cape. Tiny embers danced across her armor as
she looked at us with an expression on her face best described as utterly confused, especially when she looked at me.
"... Who... Who are you?" she asked in a weak voice, before her legs gave way under her and she dropped to the ground. I stepped forward and knelt
down, wincing at the complaints my body made, before checking her pulse.
"She's not in good shape," I said, reaching into my belt and taking out a teleport beacon.
Sword knelt down, taking a look at her. "Any idea who pixie-girl is?"
"Not a clue," I admitted, clipping the beacon to her armor.
"She's dressed like you," he pointed out, as though I hadn't noticed that odd fact yet. I gave him a look that made him shrug. "Right.
Obvious."
Grinning weakly, I tapped my comm-link, switching to the medical frequency. "Medicomm Control, Knight of the Peace is requesting a beacon transport to
Atlas Park Chiron Medical Center. Unknown woman, possible magic origins, currently unconcious." I brushed back her hair, noting the long, pointed ears.
"Possibly some sort of fey creature, she's winged."
While I worked on that, I saw Sword moving to tag the various Hellions, stripping them of their weapons, and more then a few smaller items. The snarky thought
that not all those items would show up in the report flickered across my mind, and was shoved aside as unimportant right now. Forcing myself to my feet as the
girl vanished in a shower of light, I pulled out more beacons. "Need a hand."
Nodding, he moved over to me. "So, are all your days like this?" he wondered.
"What, Powerful artifacts in the hands of idiots, getting set on fire, and a winged elf-girl appearing out of nowhere in a duplicate of my costume?"
I replied. "No, that's strange even by my standards."
and lots of cans of cat food. I rested for a moment, somewhat confused, only to get a sudden burst of energy and pull myself out very quickly as the damn crate
caught fire. My armor came back online as emergency power cells emptied their charge, the forcefields shielding me from the heat, which was a good thing, as
the fire roared out of the crate and came at me. Cursing, I kicked off into the air, only to be hit by another burst of pain as flame washed over me from
behind.
This time at least, my suit didn't die as I dropped to the ground gasping. The fire circled around me, forming a wall that Sword couldn't get through.
To his credit, he tried, ripping a fire extinguisher off the wall and spraying its contents into the firewall. So, somewhat greedy and mercenary, but he could
be a team player.
Then the flames crashed inward, and I forgot about making assessments of my teammate for the moment. The flames struggled with my forcefield for a moment
before worming their way through, tearing through armor and cloth, burning through my skin... I've experienced all sorts of pain over the past year, from
bullets and knives, to dark magics that rot the flesh and Ritki mind attacks that leave you fumbling with sanity. I'd class this as slightly below having a
squad of Council Galaxies beat you senseless with the taint of the Nictus.
I remember screaming. There was a lot of screaming, I suspect. Then, it just ended and I dropped to the warehouse floor, the flames gone. It was oddly cold, as
though all the heat had been leached out of it. I was shivering as well, the sweat against my skin ice-cold all of a sudden.
"Knight, you okay?" Sword asked, kneeling down next to me. A moment later, he got his answer as I threw up. "Ah, Christ!" he growled,
leaping back up as the vomit nearly hit his pants. "Yeah, that was needed."
"Sorry man," I said, wiping at my mouth. "Sudden need to toss my cookies."
"I hope there's no need for more cookie tossing?" he asked, amusement visible in his voice as he held out a hand. It occurred to me that he may
well have been a mercenary with a license, greedy and maybe something of a jerk, but I liked the guy. I grinned, taking his hand and letting him help me up.
Groaning, I ran a hand along my spine. "Oh yeah... be a hero, smite evil, discover all sorts of interesting new aches and pans," I joked, drawing a
laugh.
Sell-Sword let me lean on him for a moment as we looked over the room. The fires were all out and the smoke was dispersing. Apparently they'd all been
pulled into my little circle of hurting, saving us the trouble of running for the firehoses, or the exits for that matter. As for the Hellions, they were all
on the floor, some out cold, others making various noises of pain from broken bones and bullet wounds.
After a moment of looking over the battleground, Sell-Sword looked over at me. "Say, where'd that crystal go?" he asked. I blinked and looked
down at my hands. The last I remembered, I'd been holding it. "You lost it?" Sword grumbled. "Dammit, MAGI would pay good for that
thing."
The tone of his voice did the trick, as I broke down laughing. "You don't even know what it is or what it does," I protested, wincing. Laughing
right now was not the wisest of ideas. Sword laughed as well, mock-apologizing as he guided me to an intact crate... before a sudden flare of heat behind us
made us both stop where we were.
A moment later we both spun, my gauntlets crackling with energy buildup... only for the both of us to stop and stare. The fire had reappeared, a large sphere
that shrank into a humanoid shape before burning out, revealing one of the most surprising sights in my career.
It was a woman that looked to be in her early to mid twenties (Heck of a figure, I'll admit), dressed in a duplicate of my costume almost entirely, with
the single exception of a massive pair of red and black butterfly wings emerging from her back in the place of my cape. Tiny embers danced across her armor as
she looked at us with an expression on her face best described as utterly confused, especially when she looked at me.
"... Who... Who are you?" she asked in a weak voice, before her legs gave way under her and she dropped to the ground. I stepped forward and knelt
down, wincing at the complaints my body made, before checking her pulse.
"She's not in good shape," I said, reaching into my belt and taking out a teleport beacon.
Sword knelt down, taking a look at her. "Any idea who pixie-girl is?"
"Not a clue," I admitted, clipping the beacon to her armor.
"She's dressed like you," he pointed out, as though I hadn't noticed that odd fact yet. I gave him a look that made him shrug. "Right.
Obvious."
Grinning weakly, I tapped my comm-link, switching to the medical frequency. "Medicomm Control, Knight of the Peace is requesting a beacon transport to
Atlas Park Chiron Medical Center. Unknown woman, possible magic origins, currently unconcious." I brushed back her hair, noting the long, pointed ears.
"Possibly some sort of fey creature, she's winged."
While I worked on that, I saw Sword moving to tag the various Hellions, stripping them of their weapons, and more then a few smaller items. The snarky thought
that not all those items would show up in the report flickered across my mind, and was shoved aside as unimportant right now. Forcing myself to my feet as the
girl vanished in a shower of light, I pulled out more beacons. "Need a hand."
Nodding, he moved over to me. "So, are all your days like this?" he wondered.
"What, Powerful artifacts in the hands of idiots, getting set on fire, and a winged elf-girl appearing out of nowhere in a duplicate of my costume?"
I replied. "No, that's strange even by my standards."