May the Grass Grow Long [IC]

[Obscurejones]

Dr. Adam Essex
Dragging the bodies behind the desk, Essex kneels between them. Tracing a hand down each of their faces he closes their eyes, and says a quick gentle prayer that they find peace. Then with a savage grin he pulses his anima through the corpses. With a soft hiss the bodies puff into red mist, each cloud congealing in an instant into a metallic crimson orb, blood red shot through with bolts of silver. Essex snatches the orbs up, rattles them once like a pair of dice, and shoots them down his throat, dry swallowing the terrorists' hearts blood.

He pops back up from behind the desk with a deranged grin plastered across his face.
"Bodies are sorted. Old surgeon's trade secret. I could tell you but... Well you know the rest."
Creeping up to the door he pins an ear against the thin wood and takes a few sniffs, sorting the blood and sweat in the room from that outside, the mingled cocktail of teenage hormones and teenage fear. He listens for the gentle thud of militant boots, distinguishing it from the squeak and rustle of terrified youths huddling together and shivering from fear.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Still using Sense-Sharpening Change, at five motes, for both Smell and Hearing. It duplicates the effects of both Unsurpassed (Sense) Discipline and Keen (Sense) Technique.
Perception+Awareness (8d10)[2][10][5][2][10][7][10][2](48)
18 sux before stunt, if any.
Stunt, if any (3d10)[9][10][8](27)

Stealth + Dex being rolled without the benefit of stunt, but with the previous application of fifth excellency still in effect. (10d10)[6][6][3][1][1][7][6][4][2][3](39)

[Tome]

DAPHNE Come on, don't let the mortal show you up.

You can see Cassidy trembling as she starts to stammer out "T-they have him, in the security room. He told me to run, when the lights went out...". Then she pauses, closes her eyes. She takes several deep breaths, falteringly at first, then calmer, and says with certainty "We've gotta rescue him".

"Daphne, we've gotta help Niall".

[Tome]

SERAS

You hurry the remaining distance towards the school complex proper, slipping into the foliage lining the road for cover. Circling the complex to enter form the rear, you see the lights flicker off as you pass one of the buildings, followed by bursts of gunfire and and screams. Then shouting, a few more gunshots, and the screaming stops.

You can see blood splatters on one of the windows.

[Tome]

ABBY, NATE & NIALL The Coward, the Monster and the Failure. Which is which, I wonder?

You head out, travelling carefully. You're forced to stop at an intersection in a corridor, Nate's hearing picking up the would-be guard patrolling in time for you all to take cover.

He passes by, unaware, and you make it to the rear exit to the admin building. Along your right lies the more recent addition of the IT labs, low and squat, while along your left is the staff car park. Off in the distance, Nate's hearing picks up the sound of sirens and closer, the roar of an engine that sounds half way between a breaking storm and a raging dragon.

You move along the side of the IT labs, staying low and under the view from the windows... until Niall bumps one of the cars, setting off the alarm.

Damn, that's loud.

You can hear windows opening, in particular, the one above you...

[Kell_tamer]

Abby shakes her head at the sound. Well if there is one sound there can be others. Time to phreak it. Cars like this usually possessed some kind of network tracking to a company. Whoever had this one probably had daddy buy the best. Her phone sniffed out a signal and she jacked right into it. Feeding through there she gets to the main database and with a few sweeps and a tap of her thumb to the screen the one car is joined by a cacophony of others in all the lots. Hard to track when you don't actually know where it originated. Her hand reflexively pulls Nial down to cover as the sounds confuse the terrorists.

Spoiler: Taking lemons, cloning them to make super lemons.

Show

Abby is hacking into basically whatever hte equivalent of On Star is here, DayStar? not important. it's a miscellanious action to do so and she negates 3 points of external penalties. she spends 3 motes personal and another willpower to add her essence in successes +1 successes for her phone. Looking at a net 1 successes before dice and excellencies which she spends 5 motes peripheral to add 2 to. She should be at 14 peripheral and 1 personal. She's down to 4 Willpower. (man talk about a burn)

10 dice, 4 int 5 lore 1 hacking specialty + a net of 3 successes extra.
(10d10)[8][4][9][9][2][7][7][8][10][3](67)
Any stunt if applicable
(3d10)[4][8][10](22)

[josienoms]

Daphne gasps, but nods.

"Alright, let's go get him."

She cracks her knuckles and takes Cassidy's hand, leading her back out into the hallway and towards the security room.

[JonRG]

Niall grits his teeth. "Way to go, idiot." Suddenly, a hand yanks him down to the pavement by his shirt. He tastes asphalt a bit. "Ow." Niall glares at Abby's shoes. "Ok, focus. She's givin' you a chance to fix this." The car he bumped into is actually more of an SUV. Very high ground clearance. As the window above him opens, Niall scoots under the SUV in the hopes of giving himself some cover.

Spoiler

Show

Okay, spending a WP to make sure I don't mess this up.

Dex+Stealth: (5d10)[2][2][10][9][4](27) + 1 suc
Stunt: (3d10)[8][10][3](21)

[Tome]

ABBY, NATE & NIALL

The windows open. There's shouts in Udelph as they sweep the parking lot from the windows. None of them see you.

There's more shouts, and the windows are closed again. It's quiet, for now.

Spoiler: For those who speak Udelph

Show

They're confused, but suspicious. They know there's someone running around the school, including Nate's war form and the sniper, and they've clued in to the hacker antics too. They're going to attempt to use the hostages to flush out anyone in hiding whilst they check the car parks.

Spoiler: For Nate and his super-hearing

Show

They're ordering some of the hostages to their feet and out of the classrooms. You can also hear a patrol - two men - heading for the car park. Probably via the door just ahead of you, if your guess is right.

[Tome]

DAPHNE

Cassidy shows you the route she took. It's... obviously not a good choice. Even you can tell that.

She pulls you along anyway. You could swear you saw one of the terrorists through a window, conspicuously looking away as you go past.

[JonRG]

Niall grits his teeth. "Damn it all," he mutters. "They're sendin' hostages out here. They don't find somebody, there's gonna be a bloodbath." He wiggles unceremoniously out from under the car. "You two hide. I can explain this to 'em. Trust me." Niall smiles, but Nate knows him well enough to know there's something hinky going on. He lights a cigarette and waits for the bad guys to come.

[josienoms]

Daphne starts to get worried, but she trusts Cassidy with her life. She was her only true friend, after all. Or so she hoped.

She follows, keeping her mouth shut, also hoping that it was all just a coincidence.

[ChaosArchon]

As Seras was moving around the backside of the building, she heard a ton of car alarms suddenly go off and one of the terrorists looking outside the windows at it. As she sees a red-haired man go out to speak with the terrorists, she pauses and waits. "How high ranking can this man be if he's able to walk right up to these men and not face death... I think I'll watch for now."

Spoiler: No choke-slams for Seras

Show

just surveying the scene, Per (5)+ Awareness (0). wow my sniper has 0 awareness... I might need to fix that eventually)
[rollv]5d10[/rollv]

stunt if necessary: [rollv]3d10[/rollv]

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[Tome]

DAPHNE

It's nerve-wracking, following behind cassidy as she attempts to sneak back through the halls, but eventually you reach the security room. There's no one in the hall outside, but the door is ajar and you can hear two people within, talking quickly in another language.

You peek through the crack. Two men in black military gear, holding assault rifles.

Spoiler: Udelph, should you speak it

Show

"If he's not here..."

"Enemy action?"

"No, not even that thing could kill the captain. Not without a fight."

"Damnit. What do we do next then?"

"Follow the plan, as best we can. Keep the hostages contained, make our 'demands' when the police arrive."

"Without the detonator though..."

"The backup plan is in effect."

"We need to get the VIPs out of the operation area then."

"Agreed. We'll just have to hope that they police show up soon."

[Kell_tamer]

Abby lets nial do his thing. She is far more interested in getting out of the school. Utilizing the fact that these guys are patrolling now means they are focused. Focused people make mistakes and tend not to notice their periphery. She exploits it. In and out through the cars she weaves. She slips between and past, occasionally poking her head up to glance through windows. Her essence and the sound masking her movements. In moments she is at the guards gate. She hunkers down and waits for her dad to get there.

Spoiler: Sneaking

Show

2 successes bought with 2nd excellency shes effectively harder to spot thanks to anima (+2 difficulty) 4 motes personal.

7 dice + stunt
(7d10)[8][7][1][5][3][3][7](34)

stunt
(3d10)[10][10][3](23)

[josienoms]

Daphne doesn't speak Udelph, though she sits and listens all the same.

"Cassidy, can you understand them? I have, like, no idea what they're saying."

[Tome]

DAPHNE

Cassidy shakes her head. "No, but Niall does. We need to get them out of there so we can save him".

[josienoms]

She nods, frowning slightly.

"Okay, let's get him." She tentatively tries the door, to see if it's unlocked.

[Obscurejones]

Dr. Adam Essex
Crouched behind a car a few feet from Niall, Adam frowns. Sniffs the air gingerly. His frown deepens. He takes a long gulp of air. Tips his head to let a little more into his right ear.
"Well, ****. Niall, where's Cassidy?"
Niall's face goes bleak around his unlit cigarette and his hand falters on the lighter.
"... ****. She oughta be outta there by now."
With a heavy sigh Adam goes turns back towards the school. Rolls his shoulders.
"Thought so. Sit. Stay. I'll get the girl. You save everyone else. Fair deal?"
Without waiting for a response the young doctor is off at a sprint, vaulting vehicles with ease. He skids to a stop beside the doors to the car park. He takes a deep breath and snaps his arms downwards, a silvery spike falling into each hand. The shards glisten with a fine sheen of gore, twin daggers that were only moments before part of the bones in Adam's arms.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Ossific Shard Shot. Two motes per Dagger. He's only going to shank them if they see him. Otherwise the plan is to duck into the school as they head out. Should I roll stealths boss?

[Tome]

ABBY

You make it to the guard post easily enough, finding it deserted, and settle in to wait.

DAPHNE

The door is moves as you touch it.

Cassidy looks at you nervously, but grits her teeth, assuming that you have a plan.

NIALL

Sure enough, it only takes a few moments before the fire door to the car park swings open and two more flak vest wearing terrorists emerge out of the building.

Whereupon they promptly notice Niall standing out in the open and level their rifles at him. That seems to be happening to you an awful lot today, must be your winning personality.

"Hands in the air" one of them yells in accented meruvian.

Spoiler: NATE

Show

Yes, roll stealth.

[JonRG]

Niall smiles at Nate's retreating back, then his gaze snaps to the fire door. "Showtime," he thinks while lighting his cigarette. Niall casually raises his hands. "Sorry, mates!" he calls out in fluent Udelph. No one else was here. Why beat around the bush? "Boss man said my sis and I could leave. Dropped my lighter. Bumped into a car trying to get it back." Niall pauses in thought. "You rounded up a bunch of hostages already. Why not just let 'em go? Show some good faith before the cops get here." The car alarms were making hard for him to think. Hopefully, the noise would make the terrorists a bit more pliant.

Spoiler

Show

Manipulation+Presence+specialty: (8d10)[10][4][3][10][2][1][2][9](41)
Stunt: (3d10)[5][8][2](15)

[Obscurejones]

Dr Adam Essex
Don't breathe.
I have to breathe.
No, I mean don't breathe right now.
Are you certain? Because this seems like a good time to gasp dramatically.
...The sarcasm isn't necessary.
It's a little necessary.
As the paramilitary thugs burst through the doors, Dr. Essex's eyes go wide. Somehow, despite expecting it, you're never quite ready for large angry men with menacing accents to suddenly appear in front of you and point guns at your best/only friend. Still, it is the sort of thing one has to deal with in the moment like it or not. Tucking himself close to the out flung door Adam flips around it, keeping his back to the cool metal and glass, slipping silently behind the baddies. As he starts down the hall, his panache takes a momentary hold and he pauses.

Stops.

And waves to Niall from behind the soldiers. Mouths a quick silent message.

[Hi Niall!]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Dexterity + Stealth, Dexterity still under the effect of the Fifth excellency. (10d10)[8][2][1][8][5][4][3][1][1][2](35)
Stunt, if any, and come on, that was funny give it at least a two, you know you want to. (3d10)[7][2][7](16)

[Kell_tamer]

Abby not one to jsut sit on her laurels gets to work form her new hiding spot. Tapping back into the communication systems of the terrorists she begins sending feeds, frequencies and the like to the police so they can zero in and make the most of her rather bloody screw up. She pulls up a feed for herself of a camera on the proceedings with Niall and keeps her thumb at the ready to launch a program if things look like they are about to go bad.

Spoiler: dice things!

Show

Stunt and equipment auto sux. just a 10 die roll 4 int 5 lore 1 spec.
(10d10)[2][4][6][8][4][9][7][2][10][2](54) +1 sux

Stunt if any just become successes.

[josienoms]

Daphne peeks into the room, and once realizing that Niall isn't there, she pulls back immediately.

"Cassidy, he's not in there!" She speaks in an urgent whisper.

[Tome]

ABBY

It's easy enough to track the frequencies the terrorists are using. Triangulating them would require a bit of extra work, but you can easily track the transmissions and forward them.

Spoiler

Show

1 die stunt for you.

There are 64 generic terrorists in security uniforms running about the school, as well as 4 slightly more elite folks in proper milspec gear.

[Tome]

NATE

You slip past the large angry men with menacing accents, and you do it with style.

There's the smell of day old bleach in the corridors, mixed with cordite, a cocktail of explosives, fear and blood. Not the most comforting of scents the find in a school. You can hear whispers and whimpering in the classrooms, and bellowed orders from the thugs still inside.

They seem to be moving the hostages about actually, now that you're listening.

Spoiler

Show

Three die stunt for you.

[Tome]

NIALL

There's a pause, as the two brainwashed soldiers try to think through their conditioning, before the one on the left replies "That's... doable. We're already supposed to be releasing the VIPs as soon as possible You can handle the presentation when the police arrive?". He seems almost glad for the opportunity.

The other man looks less welcoming of the idea, but stays silent for now.

Spoiler

Show

2 die stunt for you.

Both dudes have MDVs of 5. The one on the left has a three dot principle that knocks his MDV down to 2.

[JonRG]

"Sure. S'not a problem." Niall inhales deeply, dreading the answer to his next question. "Anyone need medical attention?"

[Tome]

DAPHNE

Cassidy looks shocked, but forces herself to remain focused. "We've got to find out where they've taken him then"

"We need a plan... Daphne, what should we do?"

[ChaosArchon]

Seras watches the exchange but cannot understand it,"Still," she thinks,"I cannot attack now or it might result in the children being harmed, also there is that demon still running around."

As she says that she checks her phone and views the live feeds from the cameras The_Signal linked her to, try to locate any disturbance or the demon whose attack she had seen the remains of earlier. Furthermore she messages The_Signal,"Demon loose near the school, might want to alert the officers and dragon-blooded agents who approach".

Spoiler: Free Wi-fi during attacks!

Show

rolling for Per+Awareness again if required [rolllv]5d10[/rollv]

[Tome]

NIALL

The guy on left shakes his head. "The VIPs are not to be harmed" he replies, almost by rote.