//------------------------------//
// CH 37: Caged Bird's Flight 
// Story: Bridging Ages, Bridging Worlds 
// by BlueDWarrior 
//------------------------------//


=== BABW: A New Conflict ===


=== Chapter 37: Caged Bird’s Flight ===




~~ = - = ~~



[ March 10, 2082 – Manhattan, New York City, USA – Society Headquarters ]
=========================================================================


        “So do we understand the procedure, Secy. Yanokovich?” Peter Vaughn asked of his untitled field commander in Washington D.C., as the somewhat portly Secretary of Foreign Intelligence nodded with nervous anticipation. 

“Yes, Sir, Leader-1. We will proceed with Operation Canary in the next 72 hours,” Yanokovich responded, as he looked at his leader through the videophone.

“And upon successful conduction of this mission, you and the rest of the new American Leadership will find yourselves very richly rewarded. In fact, you should find that you will be able to buy the very top of the line of private accommodations in the Arlington Dome System, and quite easily I would add,” Peter reminded his commander, knowing how easily the man was motivated by what would seem like petty needs and means.

“Sir, I do not know what to say in regards to your kindness and generosity, except for this: I will personally see that this mission is conducted successfully, and that President Aguillar gets what she so richly deserves for having instigated this entire situation,” Yanokovich replied, his nerve steeled as Leader-1, as he referred to Peter, dangled the delectable carrot of material gain in front of his face.

“We know, Mr. Secretary. Now we will leave you to the day-to-day preparations for Operation Canary, that is all for now,” the ‘sweet’ voiced Leader-2 said, as Claire ended the conference call, and took a heavy sigh once she was sure the line was cut. “It is so… strange that a man of such a position could be motivated by such a relative pittance.”

“Well, he is from what we’d consider the lower-rung of the Domed Citizenry, just having a private home with all the amenities we’d take for granted is enough to satiate them for quite some time,” Nathan replied, knowing full well how people like Yanokovich thought.

“Still, putting your neck on the line for a house we might consider a rabbit hutch? It is beyond my understanding, personally,” Claire replied, as she fanned herself with the yellow mask of ‘happiness’ she wore in her public appearances as Leader-2.

“We don’t need to understand their motivations, just make sure they do the job we tell them to do when we tell them to do it,” Peter remarked, staying mostly silent and neutral on the conversation regarding Yanokovich. “These recent jailbreaks of the world leaders who spoke in opposition to us, at least before we destroyed their militaries… And it’s obvious they are going to try and save the biggest of the big fish for last with Aguillar. We need to ensure that there is no one that can challenge us for supremacy, be it now or in the future. We have to show, by whatever means necessary, that we are the only power in this world.”


“Speaking of motivations, are we sure we can trust Speaker, and soon to be President Williamson? The rumors are flying that he has his own plans separate from ours regarding the United States, and by some extension the rest of the world,” Nathan inquired, somewhat worried about the over-eager crony they’ve placed as Speaker of the House.

“True. He may have ulterior motives, but I trust we can keep him within the lane we need him to drive down. If not… we can always find ourselves a new driver, as it were,” Peter concluded, not thinking that Williamson was any real threat to their operation.

“Fair enough, but it is something to keep in mind,” Nathan replied, as his thoughts shifted to the fight with the various resistance militias, and their HEA backers. “Now about these resistance forces… they are becoming too emboldened for my tastes.”

“Agreed, we’re losing functional control of most of the major megalopolises. At this rate, all we will be running are the Domes themselves. Which means we’d be in control of a lot of resources, but a bullet can’t stand up and put itself through a resistor without someone to fire the gun it’s in,” Claire remarked in addendum, as the two of them looked at Peter who was in a thinking repose.

“Tell Mr. Kenneth that we want to move to full production of the combat drone line he dry ran in Los Angeles. We have to find a way to match numbers with the resistance forces until we can bring Project Driver fully online,” Peter requested of the youngest of his fellow SPH Leadership.

“Consider it done. In fact, I think he will be pleasantly surprised by wanting to move forward so quickly despite the… inadequacies the early prototypes showed against the White Knights,” Nathan replied.

“Inadequacies or no, we need a bulwark until our Second Generation Thaumatic projects can come into production. We lost some of our advantage once those rats figured out that stealing our equipment whole was of actual use to them,” Peter groused, not liking the position the HEA was putting him in.

“Nevertheless, we will show them what a species forged by war and strife can do, won’t we?” Claire asked, knowing the answer she was going to get from the eldest of the Leadership.

“Of course we will. Because we know no other way…” Peter replied.

Of course you know no other way… but that is fine… that fits into my plans quite nicely… a voice said, as she sat in silent observation of the plotting by the triumvirate that ran the Society.


|| A short while later, in Nathan’s private office ||


        “You ask quite a lot of me, Mr. Nathan,” Ken said as he looked at his benefactor, to a large degree, through the screen of the videophone, as the two of them were on a private line.

“Listen, I know it’s quite an imposition, but those damned White Knights are putting us into a position where we’ll barely be able to hold control of the Domes,” Nathan replied, showing more anger than he usually did while meeting with the rest of the Leadership, but still restrained in his volume and overall tone.

“It is quite an imposition. Especially since we cannot figure the total capabilities of the HEA, regarding both the alien contingent that makes up at least half their forces, and the magi-technology they’ve developed in their own right. Boy what I wouldn’t give to have access to their internal systems and blueprints right now…” Ken thought, as he started drifting off into his own wants and needs for a few moments.

“Focus, Ken!” Nathan exclaimed, as he tried to keep the arms developer’s mind focus on what he, as Leader-3, needed. “Whatever we need to do for resources to make sure that you can get those drones off the assembly line, we will do, but you have to actually develop a manufacturing plan for us.”

“Neither of those will be a problem. I’ve been developing the mass production mechanisms and facilities for the drones at the same time I’ve been developing the drones themselves. And as far as resources are concerned… well let’s just say that we shouldn’t need to be doing any landfill diving or deep-earth mining barring an unforeseen circumstance,” Ken replied, with a highly reassuring tone.

Nathan was somewhat incredulous of the last claim, knowing what he knew about the problems with finding fresh veins of minerals without exorbitant discovery costs. “Now how could you pull something like that off?”

Ken just shook his head while wearing a wry smile on his face. “Trade secret, my good sir. But trust me, we shouldn’t be wanting for resources to drive the war machine we’re building.”

“Alright, fine, play coy if you want to; but remember where your bread is buttered, that’s all,” Nathan replied with an acerbic tone, not taking Nathan’s sudden unwillingness to divulge very well at the moment.

“Anything else you need to relay to me or request of me?” Ken asked of his benefactor with his usual charming tone.

“No, that’ll be all,” Nathan replied, as he ended the call.

Ken lingered at the console that received the phone call, as he thought about the recent discovery he wanted to keep secret as long as possible.

“Cutting a pathway directly to motherlodes of raw materials, compounds not found anywhere near Earth… it may be the trump card I need to ensure that… well… no matter who wins, I’m always on top.”

The arms dealer chuckled as he looked on at the service drones being prepared to explore the pathways his researchers had found, as they were tapping into a vein of magic none of them recognized at first, not even the dark-purplish color the mana took as it was being used.

“Of course, the most special materials, once they are identified, should be reserved for only the most top of the line, custom work. I do have a reputation to uphold after all,” Ken thought to himself, as he straightened out the lab jacket he wore over his suit-vest, and returned to the research wing of his sprawling complex of arms development.



[ March 11, ????+2 -- Ponyville, Equestria ]
============================================


        “This is very good stew, Ms. Blaze,” Steel Valve said as he drunk the last of the potato-laden stew from his bowl, as he held an audience with the Conduits of Terra and Spike, who had received the missive from Celestia heralding Steel’s arrival.

“Thanks, I needed an excuse to use the recipe I got from one of the local restaurants, and now was as good a time as any to use it, I figure,” Red Blaze replied, as she and Blue Vague started clearing away the dishes from the living room-come-dining room to be cleaned later.

“The story you told us was pretty… weird… though. I mean I don’t think you’re lying, that axe on to the side is enough verification for me…” Hana started, as she looked at the broad axe that was on Steel’s back as he first arrived, and now lying along the wall near the door to one of the storage closets.

“Truth be told, I thought Princess Celestia was having some fun with me when she sent the letter saying a Minotaur was on the way here wanting to discuss business with you all. I mean the last time we had a Minotaur here, we were stuck for a whole day trying to talk down a hyper-aggressive Fluttershy,” Spike recounted, thinking back to that incident a couple of years ago.

“Hrm, that must have been a sight,” Golden Storm figured, as he contemplated Fluttershy, of all Ponies, trying to throw her weight around.

Their thoughts were interrupted by an audible sigh – a sigh coming from the bound spirit of a certain human dressed in charcoal gray and black armor.

“It still… perturbs me some that the great Champions of the Elements are… Beast-Worlders…” Oscurio groaned; his discontent evident to everyone in the room.

“You know you could use the modern name for this place… calling us something like ‘Beast Worlders’ just makes you seem a little… I dunno…” Vague started as he popped his head in from the open doorway leading to the kitchen.

“Out-of-date?” Hana added.

“Exactly,” Vague replied, as he went back to helping Blaze clean all the dishes and cookware.

“I mean I’ve only been out of commission for a few dozen millennia,” Oscurio complained, his phantom body propped against the wall as if he were lying on a sofa-couch.

“Yes and everyone you’ve been talking to has been trying to get you to call this place by its modern name – Equus,” Steel asserted, as he looked at his partner with a face of equal discontent to the one Oscurio had.

Oscurio merely shrugged as he continued to lie/lean against the wall and floor. “Just a whole lot has changed in all of these millennia. I can’t imagine what Terra looks like after all of this time.”

“Speaking of, what was the Earth like back when you were alive?” Hana asked, as Vague and Blaze sounded like they were finishing up with the dishes in the kitchen – from the sound of ceramic and metal clinging each other and the sink faded and the sound of them hitting the wood of the cabinets picked up.

Oscurio thought for a moment, as he manifested at the table of four (soon to be six, again). “From what I’ve seen through Ser Valve’s eyes, Terra during the time before my relocation and eventual ‘retirement’ here was a world much like this one now, except… well you could say there was much more liberal use of crystal in architecture and magic-imbued tools and devices. I believe you all have coined the term magi-technology for that?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. And we should show you some photos of Crystalia in the Crystal Empire, might remind you a little more pointedly of the old homespace,” Vague replied as he and Blaze walked back to the table the other four were sitting at.

Blaze took that cue to pull out a photo book that Princess Cadence sent to them showing the sights and architecture of the rechristened Crystalia – something that did indeed remind Oscurio of home.

“I should be surprised that this place looks a lot like the old world… but I’m not. If there is one thing you all knew how to do, even back then, it was reverse engineer the technology we would develop and show you all. I dare say that once upon a time there were a lot more crystal cities like this. Otherwise how could you name the place the ‘Crystal Empire’?” Oscurio replied, and then wondered aloud.

“Hrm, that is something to think about, indeed. I might pose the question to the Princesses when next we talk. I have a lot of questions regarding the arc of history on this side of the Bridge,” a stern, matronly voice said, as myriad colors of sparkles shimmered in a corner of the living room all seven figures were sitting in, heralding the arrival of one Keeper of Terra-now-Earth.

“Wait, Gaea? What are you doing here… and here like this?” Storm asked, the four Conduits of Terra and Spike all stunned at the unannounced arrival of the entity in charge of managing Earth’s mana flow and trying to direct the development of humankind.

“Hrm, how best to put this: for one, I took notice when I felt the Magic imbued in the Vanguard Spirit suddenly reawaken with no provocation on my part – I have you to thank for that Mr. Steel Valve,” Gaea started.

“Thanks?” Steel replied; confused as to why there were now two human figures where there should have been only one (at most) in the house he was a guest in.

“Secondly, I was just taking a cursory observation of the state of the mana flow between worlds, and I can’t very well do that if I don’t observe from both worlds and the connecting spaces in-between. At least I couldn’t do it very well,” Gaea continued.

“No, I suppose not…” Blaze thought as she thought about that angle for a few moments.

“And thirdly… well, I just wanted to see how the Champions of the Elements, as Ser Oscurio would put it, were doing. It’s harder for me to see this side of the Aurora unless I take some time to manifest a piece of myself here. Thankfully I have recovered enough of my power to where I don’t need to completely manifest in this plane of space to observe it, otherwise who knows might sneak across without me seeing…” Gaea concluded, to nods from everyone else there.


  ---- Meanwhile… Somewhere unknown, but likely in North America ----

“Ugh this place feels so… dry…” a feminine figure stated, as she looked out at the horizon. As far as the eyes could see, it was nothing but deciduous trees, in various states of health from ‘alright’ to ‘would probably fall over in a stiff breeze’.

“It would be most difficult to manifest the rest of the clan in conditions such as these,” a male attendant reported to the female figure.

Said figure stood almost six feet tall, body voluptuous by most human standards. Her skin was a somewhat tan color, and her immodest, form fitting dress and back-length, curly hair were a bright - almost radiant - fuchsia color. It was clear that if she was designed by a higher power, her design was for capturing and holding attention - especially the attention of a red-blooded, straight male.

Another thing that would have held a man’s, or really anyone’s, attention would have been the bat-like wings attached to her upper back and hanging from her near her forehead. She had all the look of a busty model, or a featured actress of pornographic production, to be perfectly honest, that was cos-playing quite convincingly for a Halloween party (that would have been over half a year away).

The male that was with her, while not possessing absolutely equivalent visual impressiveness, was still quite easy on the eyes. The royal blue suit-vest and slacks he wore matched the ice-blue, neck-length, straight hair on his head, and his wings draped over his back and shoulders like a permanent cape attached to his person.

“Madame Morrison…” the younger looking male said in almost a plaintive tone, trying his best to get his apparent superior to realize what was going on. “I think the reason why everything feels so dry is… um… we’re not near any kind of populated area.”

The good Madame, folded up her wings, and struck a thoughtful pose as she contemplated what her adjutant stated to her. She took measure of the air, felt the currents of the ground, and came to a conclusion. “There isn’t a significant human settlement for at least 50 miles from where we stand.”

“Right…” the adjutant said as he looked around, not sure why it should have taken formal use of their abilities to tell that.

“So the first order of business, as Madame Agnes Morrison of the Unified Incu/Succubi Tribes…” Madame Agnes started, as she pointed to the dusk sky, her wings unfurled in excitement as she made her grand proclamation to an audience of one. “Is to procure a map and figure out where the nearest large human settlement is, and then actually come up with a proper plan!”

The adjutant just stood there, entirely unsure of how to react to such a grandiose tone to such a mundane course of action.

“Excuse me, Mr. Ewan…” Madame Agnes asked of her adjutant in a suddenly serene tone, as she re-furled her wings along her back and shoulders, creating the same cape effect as the younger looking Incubus that was now in front of her.

“Yes… Madame?” Ewan nervously replied, as he could feel something welling up in the voice in his rather excitable superior.

“WHY ARE YOU NOT EXCITED ABOUT THIS ENDEAVOR?!” the Succubus shouted as she grabbed the young man (or near enough equivalent), and threw him at a tree as if he was nothing more than a rag doll.

I don’t get paid enough to deal with her… Ewan thought to himself; and being used to his leader’s outbursts, he calmly unfurled his wings and clung to the tree he was thrown at, as if he were part cat as well a little bit of bat in his physiology.        


 ----------------


“In any case, what Ser Oscurio speaks is the truth. The cities and settlements of what you all could call the Age of Magic on Earth were built to a similar fashion as the Pony city of Crystalia…” Gaea commented, after pausing for a bit, wondering about the odd feeling that suddenly went through her temporarily conjured body. “… though the scale of the population per Ancient Terran city would have numbered easily into the six figures for the largest of them.”

The human converts thought about one of their city districts built out of crystal, and populated by all manners of humans and creatures and beings of myth and legend as Gaea continued.

“In any case, I came to give you all a warning. Day will soon come when the beings that Red Blaze referred to as Mythiks will be manifesting in earnest and number. It is imperative that the governments of Earth are stood up and restructured in order to cope with this threat, for I fear that many of the leaders of the Mythik tribes and societies will be spoiling for a fight to re-establish their ancient homelands.”

“Right, the last thing the world needs is a mad scramble for territory and resources with a bunch of humans and magical entities throwing who knows what around to do it,” Vague reasoned, to the agreement of all involved.

“In the days of old, the title of Champion went to the being, human or not to be honest, who best exemplified usage of a recognized skillset, be it magical, martial, or whatever have you,” Ser Oscurio remarked, changing the focus of the conversation to the four Ponies in the central room of the Greystone Conductor. “The competitions to gain the title were always fierce, and quite often deadly, as the title of Champion conferred all numbers of benefits to the holders – benefits of all manners and possibilities.”

The four Conduits looked at themselves, starting to wonder what exactly Oscurio was getting it.

“To put it plain, I do wonder if you are the best examples of a hydro, aero, pyro, and geomancer that exist on Earth at this time,” Oscurio said, his curly black hair partially drooping over his face as he did; his tone was not angry in any way, but he was clearly concerned with the 4 young-looking Ponies arrayed before him, and was entirely unsure if they were worthy of the artifacts that they claimed possession of at the time.

“Don’t you think that’s being a bit presumptuous, Oscurio?” Valve asked, not wanting to cause some kind of incident with the masters of the house, especially over something like the question of if they deserved the Elements of not.

“I presume nothing – I want to see for myself if these four are worthy of mine and your loyalty that would be required of a Vanguard,” Oscurio concluded.

“Yeah, but… I dunno, that just seems a bit harsh don’t you think?” Spike remarked, as he looked at the contemplative looks on the four Conduits as they sat at the table.


        “Gaea… I…” Vague started, though he stopped once he realized he didn’t know at all what to say to the conundrum posed by the human spirit embedded in the ornate axe some Lengths away leaning along the room’s wall.

“I can certainly understand the trepidation felt by Ser Oscurio. He was the last of the Vanguards, their kind slowly dying out as their small outpost here in Equus could in no way support a sustainable population of Humans. I remember watching over him as he made his fateful decision, to bind his spirit to that axe, and pray someone would come along later and figure out what it was and unseal him,” Gaea stated, trying to remain neutral to the question posed by Oscurio.

“Untold years basically dormant, even avoiding the damage from Discord’s reign of terror; I want to know I am in service to those deserving. I want to know that I’m not dragging Ser Valve into a situation he will not regret. These are all questions I need to have answered,” Oscurio added.

“At the same time, all stress of our Conversion and trying to grab hold of this power, all the work we had to put in just invoking the power a little bit…” Hana started.

“And all the strain holding the Element put on my being, even driving me over the brink, however brief that was. But through it all… not once did I think I was not worthy of the title and the artifact conferred to me. Even with all the global conflict that has engulfed Earth, I still don’t think that,” Vague continued.

“As I look into the future, and all of the crazy stuff that could happen to us and both worlds, I can’t say that I ever thought that I shouldn’t be helping in whatever way I could. Especially given what happened to get the four of us to this point,” Storm continued.

“As Madame Gaea told us when we Converted and our Sparks awakened, to dispossess us of this title is to take away a fundamental piece of us. And if someone or something out there wants to challenge for this title and this power… then we will meet and surpass that challenge,” Blaze concluded.

Oscurio thought about it for a few moments. “Then, my friends, I will accept your conviction. At the same time, you will need to show me that you all truly are the Champions that the Elements of Terra deserve.”

The phantasmal human in black and charcoal armor then stood up on the table, as he finished his remarks. “However, do not take that to mean that I will simply have Steel Valve stand idly by as you help the current day humans build the world that could be. No sir! I will still be your Vanguard. Just so long as you act in a manner deserving of such!”


The human ghost continued to stand there, as his multi-color fringed cape billowed in the phantasmal wind, the pride beaming from his partially hair obscured face.

“So I guess we got a new pair of allies?” Spike asked of Vague, who was still thinking about what the caped human ghost just told him.

“Looks like it, Spike… I guess…” Vague figured inconclusively.



[ March 13, 2082 -- Seattle, WA, United States ]
================================================


        “Woooow, this place is amazing~!” Yume said, as she and several other Midnight Blossom operatives walked through one of the many safe houses the HEA had built in the last couple of months; the purpose for this one was planning joint operations with unaffiliated but allied anti-SPH groups and militias.

“I’m fairly certain the HEA’s main facility would be more impressive; though similar to the situation with our base, they cannot allow just anyone to enter the premises,” Ryuusei'nen stated as he walked through the retrofitted building, waiting for the briefing detailing the mission; his horn lit as he used scratched out some notes on some potential techniques that could be used in a fight, and the relative mana requirements of them all and how they could be made more efficient.

“If that’s how they want to play it, I guess,” Yume thought, as she looked over at one of her contemporaries aside from Ryuusei'nen.

The brown and blond-streaked hair young man, slightly older than Yume (having made 20 the October previous) looked at the older men, some in national military uniforms still, but the white armbands of HEA beneath where their flag patch were. “To think a rag-tag, hodge-podge group like this is almost single-handedly stalling the progress of the Imperial Dawn and the Black Shield.”

“I mean, if it weren’t for them, we probably wouldn’t know how to use this energy to fuel legitimate ninjutsu. I thought I would only be able to do stuff like this in a game,” Yume chuckled, as she mimicked a hand sign, and created a phantom image of herself and projected it near where the young man was sitting.

“Yeah but this isn’t a game, and there is no reason to do a hand sign for something like that… What if we get into a firefight in D.C., you gonna take the time to do something like that?” the young man replied, as he waved his hand through the image of Yume standing right over him. Said image mimicked the response of Yume in the moment – mocking derision of his sudden upset.

“I know this isn’t a game, I mean that much is obvious. But if I can’t have a little fun with it during the down times, I’m not going to get the chance to, Baku,” Yume added.

“Whatever, just remember our training when we get to where we’re going,” Baku replied, as he pointed a finger at Yume like a gun. “There’s no telling what might happen and too much ceremony might get us in trouble like *bang*.”

Yume yelped as she felt the minor but noticeable prick of pain as Baku created stinging mid-air burst, right in the line created by his outstretched pointer and index finger and the rest of his arm. “That was uncalled for Baka-Baku.”

“I should do it again just for calling me that, Baku is bad enough without you adding baka in front of it,” Baku replied, as he stood up, noticing that Master Kagemaru was walking toward the three of them.

Ryuusei'nen for his part just looked on with some mild level of concern and displeasure, and somewhat cursing the fact his half-human-height frame wouldn’t allow him to try and deal with the two without having to resort to Magic. I really wish Yume and Baku would get along better when we weren’t in the middle of a mission…


        “These must be the Screaming Eagles that I have heard so much about,” Master Kagemaru said, as he sat at the hastily set up conference table in the middle of the room.


“Yes that’d be us – the Screaming Eagles of the Mid Atlantic Resistance. Best damn fighters East of the Mississippi I’d say,” the apparent leader replied, as he approached the table to sit and discuss the final draft of the plan to be commenced in a couple of day’s time.

“That’s good to hear, although you know the Sunshine Volunteer Force would argue that last bit,” Captain Julio added, as all the principals sat at the table. “In any case, I believe you all received my missive from a few days ago about the rough outline of the plan, right?”

“Quite. It is to be a two-pronged attack: the Screaming Eagles and the SPH contingent conduct a raid near the Capitol Domes attempting to draw the SPH’s attention, and the Blossom slip in the proverbial back door,” the Mid-Atlantic commander recounted from the short letter he received through the secure line he had with the HEA ‘Central Command’.

“I see nothing wrong with this plan…” Master Kagemaru started, before trailing off a bit.

“Something amiss, Kagemaru?” Captain Julio asked of the near-fifty year old Japanese man sitting at the table.

“It’s just that… I wonder how well Commander Tylor’s contingent will be able to resist the temptation to fully engage the SPH in one of their strongholds,” Kagemaru replied, the concern evident on his face.

“Hrm, you’d be right to be worried. Plenty of my men and women are spoiling to pay the Black Shield back, with interest,” Cmd. Tylor started. “At the same time, I fully believe they have the cognizance to realize our time to strike-back may not be today, but it will come soon, and much more soon if we rescue the President alive.”

“Master Kagemaru, would you mind if I sent few of mine with your group?” Captain Julio asked of the other commander at the table.

“Do you not trust my group to properly execute this mission?” Kagemaru asked, piqued a bit by the request.

“It is not that, but it’s always nice to have an… insurance policy or three,” Julio retorted with a knowing tone.

Kagemaru chuckled, as he read between the lines of what Julio was getting at. “True, true. Some people can be rather insistent about walking the path of the ninja. Fine, you can send a detachment with me. As much as I hope that the Screaming Eagles can draw out the SPH forces, they would loathe removing those guarding the White House itself. At least I could easily imagine that.”

“So it is settled, once the Midnight Blossom force is positioned inside the dome with our contacts, then we will conduct daytime raids on the SPH camps. If they do what we think they will, it will draw their attention so that they cannot respond with full force when the Blossom execute the jailbreak,” Cmd. Tylor surmised, as the other principals nodded.


--- Sometime later, in the lodging section of the safe house ---

        “So that’s the gist of the plan, everyone. Once we’re inside, we wait for the Mid-Atlantic Resistance to attack the SPH outposts near the Capitol Domes. If the Black Shield behave as we think they will, that should give us the opportunity to break into the White House compound, get President Aguillar out of there, and be on our way,” Master Kagemaru said to his three nin and the two HEA members that made up the attaché Captain Julio offered them. 

“Everything sounds like it should go well enough… but where does that leave me?” Terry asked of his partners for the mission, entirely unsure of why he was selected along with the other human standing next to him.

“To be honest, if everything goes right, you would just be our ‘wheelman’ if you will, and get us and the President away from the scene,” Baku replied in a curt but still polite tone.

“At the same time, if we are drawn into an extended firefight, then we’d need someone who is better armed, and more importantly, armored, to help protect us and the good Madame President,” Ryuusei'nen added, the aura around his pad still humming, as it was now half-filled with notes and calculations, up from the quarter-fill back in the main meeting hall.

“Ok, well… that’s a fair answer,” Terry replied as he shrugged, understanding that if everything went according to plan, he shouldn’t need to see any live action other than driving the armored van back to the checkpoint they had established.

“My purpose is the intelligence I had gathered in order to establish our contacts and the checkpoint, plus I believe I should have the proper gear and training in stealth and deep urban combat to act as point command for this venture,” the Japanese (appearing) man to the side of Terry added of his own volition.

“I don’t like the idea of taking orders from anyone except Master Kagemaru; but I’m a stranger in a strange land, and you have all the details on how to get in and out most efficiently, so I’m not going to argue the point further,” Yume replied, as she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in.

“So Kyotaro, you said you had extensive training?” Terry asked of his other temporary partner.

Centuries worth, my good man… the disguised Silentclaw thought to himself, as he quickly came up with a proper alibi. “I was a mercenary both here and across East Asia, doing all manner of things - corporate espionage, a little bit of private detective work. As far as my urban combat experience, well, let’s just say that a lot of companies and drug rings don’t like you disrupting their work…”

“Right…” Terry replied, not sure what to make of the answer, but recognizing that Kyotaro wasn’t about to go into any particular detail about his past in the current setting.

I thought he would have come up with a more detailed alibi; then again, no sense in saying more than what needs to be said to move the proceedings along… Kagemaru thought about the Dragon’s deflection.

“So what exactly are we to do when we get to the American capital?” Yume asked of Kagemaru and Kyotaro.

“As implied earlier, we will meet with some Dome resident contacts I have made in the last few months,” Kyotaro started, much to the chagrin of Terry.

“Are you sure we can trust these contacts?” the lone American said, wondering about the veracity of the plan.

“As sure as a person can be. Also, you should be grateful for any help we can get from inside those kinds of places,” Kyotaro replied, with a bit of a joking tone toward the end.

“Yeah, I guess. I mean Councilman Edwards himself is about as deep in the Domes as you could be given how wealthy he is. And he’s done right by us all so far…” Terry figured, as he internally resolved to go with the plan unless something broke particularly badly.



[ March 14, 2082 –  Capitol Domes, Washington D.C., USA ]
=========================================================


        “I hope the lodging is to your liking. I know you all won’t be staying long, but we don’t want to be inhospitable if we can help it,” a young woman with bright pink hair and all manners of electronic effects said, as she watched her housekeeper bring up a tray of fruit and pastries for the five humans and one Pony.

“I’m surprised my presence isn’t more upsetting to you or the hired help for this residence,” Ryuusei'nen said, as he had an invisibility cloak (of his own design) tied around his neck and laid across his back like a cape.

“True, but Annie and me are pretty cool with you all, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to be your waypoint for mister Kyo there,” the lady of the house replied, as she had a piece of her attention on the news feeds through her sub-dermal ‘Net implants.

“We thank you, Madame Jessica, for all of your assistance, and rest assured you will be duly compensated regardless of the success of this mission,” Kyotaro replied in gratitude, keeping an eye out for anyone who might blow their cover.

Hopefully we don’t run into any SPH sympathizers here… the disguised Silentclaw mused internally, keeping his mind’s eye open to ill intent.

“In any case, my uncle’s old catering van, that Kyo modified, is in the garage waiting for you. Although I’m nowhere near being a fighter, I… still want to wish you all good luck on your mission. I actually kinda liked President Aguillar, and I think what the Society is doing is wrong so… yeah,” Jessica explained with a bit of a nervous tone, not sure of what exactly to say to the resistance force operatives in her home.

“Not the most strident endorsement of our cause I’ve heard, but anything that helps is certainly welcome, Ms. Jessica,” Terry replied, as he shook the hand of the pink-haired lady of the house.

“So now we just need to wait for our cue, and we can get started,” Baku mused, as the cadre of five went to the garage where the modified van was located.

“Do you really think they can get Madame President out of the Black Shield’s grip?” Annie asked of the lady of the house.

“I would hope so. I don’t trust the SPH in the least to run the country right, let alone the world,” Jessica replied, as she looked at the van pull out slowly from the garage and started to make its way to the White House proper.


--- Some minutes later… ---


        “All of these Black Shield ops are making me antsy as Hell,” Terry said, as he drove the van through the various checkpoints, Ryuusei'nen’s mind manipulation magic allowing them to slip past the more discerning of grunt soldiers.

“True enough, but we are almost at our objective - we will be at the service entrance to the White House proper, and I have the false documentation to get us inside,” Kyotaro said, as he had the docu-slip[2] with their group’s credentials ready to go.

“So this whole situation has me wondering: just how is this whole front working?” Baku asked, as he, Ryuusei'nen, and Yume all checked their armor and made sure the disguises their armor were projecting were proper (and in Ryuu’s case, that his invisibility cloak was still in working order).

“Because the SPH are having a celebration and were quite generous with the catering contracts,” Kyo replied.

“And they’d be celebrating what exactly?” Yume asked as a follow-up.

“The fact today is the day they formally rid themselves of President Aguillar,” Kyotaro replied with all manner of gravity.

“THEY WHAT?!” Terry shouted in surprise, before his brain caught up with his mouth. “I mean why today of all days? You’d think that would have been the first thing they would have done.”

“That I cannot answer. I can only fathom they wanted to ensure that there were no residual loyalists in the government left, but all the time they took to ensure such a thing allowed us this opportunity to at least attempt this rescue, and I for one will not let this chance slip by,” Kyotaro replied.

I want to do this your way, Madame President. But if push comes to shove, I will tell Safe Haven to forcibly evacuate you… Silentclaw thought to himself, as the weight of the situation was now fully evident to the rest of the crew in the van that was now nearing one of the service entrances to White House itself.


 ----=----

        A few minutes later after arriving in the White House, as the different (legitimate) caterers were all setting up tables, the Midnight crew were in one of the myriad kitchens, preparing themselves to strike.

“So we’re all in agreement of what to do once we get to the President’s chambers?” Kyotaro asked of the other three with him.

“Yeah, we keep everything on the level as we are bringing the trays to her chambers. Once we get close enough, we take out the last guards near her room, spring her, and we bail out back to the van. Sounds simple enough on paper,” Baku replied, as they performed a final check of their armor while protected by Ryuusei’nen’s Anti-Perception Shield.

“I think our distraction is working, because there doesn’t seem to be too many guards around, given who it is they are supposed to be guarding,” Yume wondered aloud as she thought about the fact there weren’t as many SPH militiamen as she expected there to be.

“It’s that or they feel that no one inside a Dome would even bother to try and rescue the President; so as long as they keep the edges and the surrounding urban areas under their control, they can get away with minimal security inside,” Ryuusei'nen offered.

“In any case, we cannot take any chances,” Kyotaro said, as he checked his equipment and loaded some thick-looking but empty briefcases onto a service cart.

“And what’s all of that for?” Baku asked.

“The President requested that we bring these document cases with us when we broke her out. Apparently she has been doing a lot of writing while in captivity, on actual paper no less, and she doesn’t want to lose her work,” Kyotaro replied, as he closed the drawer doors on the lower parts of the service cart he was to push. “And with that, I am ready to proceed, how about you three?”

Ryuusei'nen took his position beneath Yume’s service cart, while Baku manned his own, the two humans giving the thumbs up in agreement, while Ryuu nodded as put the hood of the Invisibility Cloak over his head and ducked underneath the cloth covering for the cart. At the same time, Kyotaro laid a talisman near the floor behind one of the cooking stations, making sure it was out of the line of sight of anyone who’d walk through, or the security cameras.


        Another short while later, they proceeded down the halls and around the bends, as they made their way from the East Wing, up to the more secure second floor; service carts full of food and one ninma keeping up a more weak version of the Anti-Perception Shield, allowing them to proceed more or less unmolested down the halls to the President’s private chambers (and makeshift prison cell).

“Sirs, Madam, your identification?” the two SPH guards asked of the three caterers, as they were set to deliver what the guards were assuming to be President Aguillar’s last meal.

“Here you go, I would trust they are all in order?” Kyotaro said, as he looked on with a neutral face to the guards, and the two (much) younger nin behind him looked on with smiles (hinting at some mild level of anxiety).

The two guards lifted their visors to take a better look at the three IDs. After a few moments of conjecture and contemplation, they eventually relented and activated the electronic lock on the President’s chamber.

“I trust you all won’t be too long in there. There are some… things that the President and the rest of us have to discuss in due time,” one of the guards asked, as he returned the IDs to the three caterers.

“No, just long enough for the President to have her meal and for us to clean up,” Kyotaro replied, curtly but politely; as he did, for a brief moment the cloth covering Yume’s service tray fluttered, as Ryuusei'nen laid another talisman, different than Kyotaro’s, along the base of the wall and the floor and away from where the two guards were standing.

“Anyway, go ahead and go in,” the second guard said, as the three carts were wheeled inside, and the door shut behind them all.

“Of course we’re here on guard duty while the Suppression Force is fighting those damn Screamin’ Eagles again,” the first guard complained, not having been out of the White House on guard-duty in weeks.

“Yeah, it sucks. But we get to be here when the President has her little incident, that should be more than an adequate consolation prize,” the second guard replied, pointing out the bigger picture.

“Fair enough, but still, it feels like we aren’t doing all we can when we aren’t out cracking heads,” the first guard concluded.

 ----

        “For a place that is effectively a very large prison cell… it’s not necessarily a bad place to be locked up,” Baku said, as Ryuusei'nen stretched out from being cramped up underneath Yume’s service tray.

“I didn’t hear any alarms or shouting of guards, so I would guess that you arrived here without much incident?” President Aguillar said, as she ate one of the sandwiches that was on Kyotaro’s tray, trying to settle her nerves for what was to come.

“Yeah, it was mostly without incident, though there were some more observant guards on the way here looking at the van funny. Thankfully Mr. Ryuusei'nen’s Perception Manipulation magic is quite strong for his age.

“Yeah… thanks…” Ryuusei'nen said with thanks, as he had a sudden flash of insight. “Kyotaro, um, could you answer a quick question for me?”

“Sure…” Kyotaro replied, as Yume and Baku were carefully putting the bound notebooks and loose-leaf paper full of legal notes and prototype legislation into the briefcases that were on Kyotaro’s cart.

“That spell you used to seal off this chamber information wise… that wasn’t Human magic was it?” Ryuusei'nen said, which made Baku and Yume come to a slow and then a full stop.

“No, it wasn’t, Ryuu,” Kyotaro replied, no change in the tone of his voice as he did.

That fact surprised Ryuu, who was expecting the third human of his cadre to show some sign of anxiety or defensiveness. “You answered that so casually, what’s going on… and why did I feel Equaan mana coming from your body?”

“Wait, Equaan mana? Isn’t that stuff poison to humans when it’s raw?” Yume asked in total surprise.

“That’s what I remember reading, anyway, I’d like to know what’s going on too…” Baku said, as he loaded another small stack of papers into a briefcase.

“Let me ask you, Ryuusei’nen, one question before I tell you I need to tell you,” Kyotaro stated, a big smirk on his face as he did. “What did you perceive exactly when I cast the spell that cut off information in and out of this room, as you put it?”

“It… um… it felt like an Invocation… which’d imply that… oh…” Ryuusei'nen realized, as he put all the pieces together.

“That’d imply what, Ryuu?” Yume asked of her diminutive alien friend.

“That’d imply the man before us is no man… but a Dragon,” Ryuusei'nen stated.

“And that implication would be ultimately correct, wouldn’t it be President Aguillar,” Kyotaro chuckled as he looked knowingly at the President.

“Mr. Silentclaw, I should have known that you’d involve yourself in my rescue, one way or another. Ugh, if people knew about this, especially my husband, they might start assuming things they really shouldn’t,” Melinda responded, as she put her hand on her temple and shook her head in mock disbelief.

“What can I say, Madame President, your dedication moved me beyond mere words. And I would honestly like to see what Fate has in store for you once we restore you to your rightful office and power,” Silentclaw stated, exposed but not transformed back into his natural form.

The three nin merely stood by shocked, as the disguised Dragon and the deposed President talked, however briefly, like they were old friends when they couldn’t have met but a few times in the last few months.

“How… I… wow…” Baku stammered, as there was nothing about Kyotaro to show that he was anything but a well-read but still ‘ordinary’ human.

“But why you, Silentclaw?  I didn’t think the Central Council would get personally involved in Earth’s matters outside of the HEA’s still narrow scope,” Ryuu said, recovering from his shock a little faster than his partner nins.

“You could call it a matter of personal pique. I became intrigued in the type of human that President Aguillar was when I confirmed her good health here in this compound, and I told both the Central Council and the HEA’s ruling committee that I would personally ensure that the President was delivered safely to the HEA, so that we could begin the work of restoring this nation’s government,” Silentclaw stated with firm resolution.

“Well then, um… could you show us your Dragon self?” Yume asked, one part still recovering from her shock, and one part intrigued at how an alien could mimic a human so thoroughly.

“I will once this mission is firmly concluded. At both Madame President’s and the HEA’s request, we want this mission to involve as little alien presence as possible,” Silentclaw said, as perked up his human ears, and his body could feel myriad points of mana approaching the chambers they and the President occupied at the moment.

“That’s why I’ve made sure that as few cameras as I can manage are able to recognize my visage,” the mostly cloaked Ryuu said. “The more this looks like a purely human operation, conducted with only minimal HEA assistance, the more faith the public will put in all the forces opposing the Society, instead of trying to pile everything on the backs of the Alliance.”

“Seems like a fair enough point,” Baku replied, not entirely sure if that theory would bear out over the long run, but it was better than looking they were completely reliant on the HEA to solve all their problems.

“In any case,” Silentclaw started, as he snapped his still armored and human fingers, causing a large, charcoal gray cloak to appear in his arms. “… Madame President, I request you put this cloak and these goggles on.”

“Hrm,” the President hummed inquisitively, as she threw the cloak over her shoulder, and started putting on the goggles. “If I am not mistaken, these seem like refined versions of bullet-proof goggles and bullet resistant overcoat.”

As she did, Baku, Yume, and Silentclaw dropped the cloaking mechanisms on their armor, devoting all the mana from the armor and their bodies to combat and related functions. Aguillar silently noted how each armor was a different color, wondering why - before thinking if they were in full combat mode, being able to completely blend in all the time might be moot. She also noted to herself the choices in color - Baku wearing armor somewhere between aqua and cerulean, blue with a slight hint of green, Yume in a color somewhere between violet and fuchsia, and Silentclaw in an inversion (somewhat) of his natural colors, navy blue with black ‘highlights’.

I guess it doesn’t really matter what you look like so long as they can’t see your face or any distinguishing body features. Who knows, it might add to the mystique when an armored warrior suddenly appears out of nowhere… Aguillar then thought, as she noted Silentclaw was about to answer her after those couple of moments of pause.


“Indeed, and you are going to need them in a few moments time; my mana sense is picking up a couple of dozen moderate Terran mana signatures, far larger than a human should output by themselves, but not as high as a actively casting mage would put out…” Silentclaw started.

“Then either we’ve been found out, or the Society has decided that now is as good a time as any and are ready to make sure President Aguillar never lets another word leave her lips,” Yume figured, as she steeled herself for what was about to be Hell in the next short while.

“In any case, I’m ready to be quit of this place, even though I loathe to think that that bastard Williamson might be calling it home for however long in the near future,” Aguillar stated, as she had all of her person underneath the bullet resistant cloak, and her face more or less covered by its hood now.

“Alright Ryuu, get ready to activate the teleport point when we return to it. Baku, Yume – we’re about to have a little fun with these SPH grunts before we bail out of here. We do have to put on a bit of a show after all,” Silentclaw said, as everyone began to move away from the corridor created by the main door of the President’s chambers. Yume pressed a couple of buttons on the right arm of her armor, released a pair of camera-laden mini-drones.

“And we have to make sure that the show is recorded for all posterity; this is as much a PR mission as it is a rescue,” Yume mentioned as the two golf-ball sized drones began to orbit around her upper body and head.

“Terry, how are you doing outside?” Ryuu asked over the magi-boosted radio to the armored van that was still parked in the ‘yard’ of the White House.

“Everything’s clear with me and the van; a couple of SPH transports arrived in the last while. Nothing but grunts and a couple of field commanders, though, and they went straight into the compound proper,” Terry reported, as he sat in the reinforced catering van, waiting for the now group of five to return.

“Baku, when they open the doors, throw a couple of smoke and flash grenades to disorient them. Yume, you’re with me on point and we’ll open up a path. Ryuu, keep the anti-ballistic shield up as much as you can so we don’t risk Pres. Aguillar,” Silentclaw ordered of the three nin and one VIP behind him, as he stood on-side the door opposite Yume. The rest of the group nodded in acknowledgement, as the cloaked President went to one knee next to Ryuu, and Baku took a one-knee-down position in between Ryuu and Silentclaw, ready to throw the grenades he magicked up in his hands out into the crowd that was assuredly around the door.

----


        “Alright, President Aguillar, time for your just reward,” the SPH field commander said, as he stood in front of the door with an automatic rifle ready, two guards on each side of him with guns ready in similar fashion.

He motioned silently to another grunt to open the door, and with that the panel was scanned and the door unlocked. The door quickly slid open, only to reveal… and empty central room, or at least it was apparently empty.

“Wait, they should have all been in the center room… what’s going on?” the field commander asked, as he couldn’t see anyone in the room, not even the copious writing that the President had been doing the last few weeks.

“Should we go inside and check?” one of the grunts asked with a confused tone, and not paying attention, as a pair of balls were rolling around on the ground in front of the two dozen or so SPH soldiers in front of the President’s chamber door and in the hall near it.

All anyone could remember hearing in the moment was a crackling sound, then a pair of loud *bang*s as terribly bright light and fog obscured the entire hall in next to zero visibility conditions.

“That’s our cue, we’re out of here,” Silentclaw said as he and Yume immediately began carving a path through the left-hand side of the door, Baku pushing the cart behind them with Ryuu and the documents Aguillar had painstakingly wrote, and Aguillar on side, her 50 year old legs aided by a Quickstep spell Ryuu had cast on her before the door was opened.

        “What the hell is going on!” one of the grunts shouted, as they were completely disoriented by the flash and smoke grenades, and then began feeling heavy impacts into their body armor, some piercing and some slashing.

“Someone is trying to get Aguillar out of the compound, we need backup,” another grunt shouted over the radio for the SPH forces as he tried to aim his gun, but found his vision was nearly dark, as his eyes hadn’t recovered from the flash and the smoke wasn’t making things any easier.


“Keep running! The charm we laid to get us back to kitchen is around the next bend,” Yume said, as Baku and Aguillar were doing their best to keep up as their loaded down bodies could.

“This is Terry,” said SPH attaché radioed in to the three nin and one transformed Dragon. “I just intercepted a distress call from those grunts, at least I’m assuming it’s their distress call. Anyway hurry up out of there before we have to go to our ‘last resort’.”

“Understood, Terry,” Silentclaw replied, as he turned around and put his arm out, once he was sure everyone was behind him.

“What are you doing?” the President asked, as she lifted her hood slightly to be able to see through her goggles what the transformed Dragon was doing.

“Trying to keep any stragglers from chasing us down from behind, we’re apparently going to have company outside,” Silentclaw said, as pulled his arm back, and thrust it forward. “ Suddenly a gout of blue flame spread through the center of the prism created by the rectangular walls and floor and ceiling of the hallway.

With the screams of a half dozen SPH grunts, Silentclaw was confident that the first step to stopping the SPH from stopping them was done. “Alright, let’s go!”


A few moments later, they reached one of the talismans they had laid on the wall the near the floor. 

“Ryuu, how long is it going to take for you to sync with the talismans and get us downstairs?” Baku asked of his Pony compatriot.

“About 20 seconds, give or take,” Ryuu said, his voice somewhat muffled by the cloth around his snout and over the edges of the cart’s side.

“Yume, you got your blades on you?” Baku then asked of his other human partner.

“When do I not have my blades on me,” the kunoichi replied, holding a pair of one-foot long, skinny blades, one to each hand.

“Good point,” Baku conceded. “Alright, let’s try the Rei-Kamaitachi[3] combo we were working on a couple of weeks ago.”

As a few more grunts approached their position, while Ryuu was still synchronizing for the mass teleportation, Baku took a temporary front line position with Yume, with his fists clenched, as Yume channeled mana into her blades.

“Haa!” Baku shouted, as he popped his fists open into spread out palms, and as he did, aquamarine sigils could be seen on his palms. This served as little warning to the seven grunts in front the group, as frost and ice began to form, and quite quickly, along the feet, legs, and hips of the seven grunts.

“What the hell is this, I can’t move at all,” one of the grunts shouted, struggling to move his legs even an inch.

“My gun’s totally jammed, it’s like it’s frozen solid,” one of the grunts added, as he tried to pull the trigger, but the gun beeped in warning as the mechanisms failed due to the sudden localized drop in temperature.

“Yaa!” Yume shouted, as she almost slipped the notice of the grunts, their attention now too focused on their unmoving legs or their failing weaponry. They couldn’t prepare themselves for what was coming, as Yume swung her blades through the air, and as she did, faint gold projections of blades flew out along the path that she was cutting through the air.

They screamed in pain and shock as their armor was cut apart; their limbs and torsos slashed and gashed by the ‘vacuum’ blades flying past and through them. To say nothing of their weaponry, which were carved up just like their armor; the thauma-guns even began to explode as their batteries were breached as the wind mana of the blade-projections interacted with the aggregate fire aether in said batteries.

“Goddamnit, who the hell are these people,” the couple of still able bodied grunts shouted as they tried to retreat after the explosions from the cut-up guns shattered or melted the magically conjured ice.


“Done! Let’s move on down before any more of them come,” Ryuu said, still beneath the cart.

Baku quickly gripped the cart, as Aguillar gripped hers, and the five of them teleported down to the kitchen.

 ----

Terry, for his part, continued to look out of the windows of the van, now magically tinted to only allow light in, so no one could see who or what was going on inside. “Guys, two more transports just arrived in the ‘yard’. Looks like they’re the same size as the first two so that should be another couple of dozen grunts altogether…”

“Ok, we’ll signal if we need your backup,” Baku reported, as they did a quick check of their armor and made sure Aguillar and her documents were alright before they moved on out of the kitchen.

“I just want to state that this situation is absolutely insane on its face, but I guess it is well within reason given the events of the last almost two years in total,” Aguillar mused, as she was still under the influence of the Quickstep spell, which helped ease some of the strain of all the running she had been doing in the last few minutes.

“I will have to regale all of you sometime of old missions I was involved in, during my more active days as a spy for the Dragon Nomads,” Silentclaw figured aloud, thinking it’d be quite the tale to tell once things were more calmed down.

“I look forward to that Silent, once we all get out of here in once piece,” Yume replied, a bit more cheery than she had been in the last few moments, taking the short pause as a chance for a mental breather.

“Same here, I always wanted to know the things one of the greatest Dragon spies who ever walked the face of our world done as a youth,” Ryuu added.

“Then that’s something to look forward to once we get Madame President to our Safe House,” Silentclaw stated, as they all prepared themselves to move out.


        They all were almost outside, before they were stunned by what they saw as they were reaching the double doors that they had come through some time ago as innocuous caterers.

“Ugh, of course the security shutters would start closing now,” Aguillar groaned, realizing someone in the SPH must have gotten their head back on their shoulders and started shuttering everything.

“President, do you know what these shutters are made out of? I might be able to breach them anyway,” Baku asked knowing time was of the essence but the knowledge was slightly more important.

“Mostly Titanium, with Nano-Carbon pseudo-lacquer,” Aguillar responded.

“Alright, everyone cover your noses, I’m going to a need a few moments with some chemicals,” Baku said.

The young man laid a talisman on the floor, as he charged it with mana; after it charged, out *poof*ed a water-filled, four liter jug with a sprayer attached, and what looked like a large canister of talcum powder next to it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

“Say what’s going on Baku, I don’t know what a spray jug is gonna do for… oh wait… I think I see where you’re going with this,” Yume started, initially confused, until she realized that Baku had several talents aside from causing explosions with even the scantest of mana supply. 

And one of those talents was applied chemistry.

“Yeah like I said, turn on your re-breather or cover your nose, I’m about to hose this whole shutter down in mana-charged lye,” Baku said, as he began using a bit of Earth mana to convert the powder into potassium hydroxide, and dropped it into the jug of water, which he was charging with Water mana.        

Silentclaw traced over the hood with Wind mana, which would neutralize the fumes from what Baku was about to start doing and allow President Aguillar to breathe normally.

“A little bit of shaking…” Baku sung in a bit of a chipper tone, as he was now pretty much sure the KOH was dissolved properly into the water, and the mana had super-charged the reaction to be able to eat through nearly pure carbon of the lacquer on the shutters. “And away we go…”

Baku quickly began to hose down the shutters in the magically-enhanced lye solution, which began to visibly, and quite aromatically, react with the carbon covering the titanium alloy shutters.

“Alright, don’t need that anymore,” Baku said as he tossed the now empty jug down the hall, well away from the rest of the group. Afterward, he threw a few more talismans on the ground, and *poof*ed some plastic explosives into existence.

“Can I get a blast shield up, Ryuu?” the young man asked, as he quickly plastered the explosives all over the shutter for maximum coverage given the amount of time he was working with, which was not much.

Ryuu silently complied, creating a faint aquamarine barrier between Baku and the rest of the group and the door, which was still smoking from the magically-charged lye eating away at the nano-carbon coating on the shutters.

Baku stood in silent concentration for a few seconds, with his arms outstretched and his fists clenched. With a loud yell, he threw his fists open to show his palms, now covered (though no one in the group could see directly) in the red runes of Fire Magic, as points of red lit up the plastic explosives, and ignited the thick, putty-like substance, creating a massive explosion.

----

“The blue hell was that?” one of the assembled grunts yelled in question, standing several dozen yards outside the shuttered double door that suddenly flew apart in bits of shrapnel, as a massive explosion blew apart not just the door and the shutters covering both sides, but a good chunk of the door frame as well, creating a rather large misshapen hole where a double door once stood, and lots of smoke, dust, and a bit of flame pouring out from the same.


        Back inside, Silentclaw cast a silent Invocation to help stop any ringing ears from the very loud explosion that just rocked that corner of the building, as they made their next move.

“Yume, remember that combination technique we were working on,” Ryuu asked, of the lady standing next to her who was only regaining her bearings in full in the last few moments.

“Oh, um… which one was it… I think the Hyaku-Ma[4] was the one we were trying out that’d be relevant now, right?” Yume thought for a couple of seconds, before coming up with the best-fit solution as far as she could see.

“Yeah, even if they don’t cause them to scatter and run off, we can still attack through the light-clones, so we should be able to make it to the van assuming no one else is out there…” Ryuu figured, as he dropped the anti-explosion shield, and readied the gen-jutsu[5] necessary to transfigure the clones from his kunoichi partner.

Yume channeled the necessary Light-aspected mana and crossed her arms, which caused a dozen duplicates to form all around the still smoking hole from Baku’s explosion. “Alright, when you’re ready to go, Ryuu!”

“Just a moment,” Ryuu replied, as his horn was almost done weaving the projection across the much of the East Wing of the White House and the nearby grounds leading to the parking lot they needed to reach. “There! But my horn has to stay lit to make the illusion last, so we need to hurry so someone doesn’t notice it from under the cloak as we run to the van.”

Baku, Yume, and Silentclaw nodded, noticing that the cloak wasn’t designed to completely stop light from the inside from bleeding through it, disrupting the invisibility effect.

What I wouldn’t give to have my Special Ops learn similar techniques once all of this is said and done… President Aguillar thought to herself as she made sure that nothing fell off her cart and her cloak was covering everything it could.


        A few moments later, as the SPH grunt soldiers gathered closer to the slightly less smoking-hole caused by that sudden explosion, they all noticed things going slightly and unusually dark for early afternoon, as if there was a sudden solar eclipse in that one tiny sliver of the Earth.

“What’s going on, why is it dark all of a sudden,” one of the female grunts asked, as turned on the flashlight of her rifle, as midday suddenly became dusk.

Before anyone could really figure what was going on, they heard horrible yelling and wailing coming from the hole, as well as gouts of blue flame.


“Do you think the flame is necessary, Mr. Silentclaw?” Baku asked, as the disguised clone-projections leapt from inside the hole to perform their act.

“Whatever will sell the impression of those ‘things’ crawling out of the depths of Terran Hell,” Silentlclaw replied, as he waved his arms, creating more arcs of blue fire near the hole going out.

“MONSTER! WHERE ARE THESE MONSTERS COMING FROM?!” they could hear one of the grunts shouting over a microphone’d helmet; and the rapid fire *ratta-tat-tat* of automatic gunfire, trying to kill the ‘demons’ that had suddenly sprung forth from the hole they blew out of their chosen door of exit from the White House.

“And I believe the first half of the plan is working, let’s slip out of here before they realize they are fighting shadows, in a sense,” Silentclaw surmised, to the agreement of everyone else.


        Unbeknownst to the now panicking grunts in the front of the hole, trampling the grounds as they were trying to fight off the Light Magic-based phantasms, the two entities responsible, along with the other three of their temporary travelling party, scrambled out of the hole and made as fast as a dash toward the parking lot as they could. 

All of this was to the mild bemusement of the twenty-something year old American watching everything through the binocular ‘app’ in his helmet.

“Man, this magic is crazy stuff. Like I’m legit watching a high-grade animation or a live action movie…” he thought out loud as he watched the four figures (and he easily assumed the fifth shorter figure to be right next to them) run as fast as they could toward the parking lot, almost entirely unmolested through the grounds… but not entirely unnoticed.

“Wait, what’s that in the… oh hell, someone must have seen through that illusion one of them cast…” Terry figured, as he saw some SPH grunt with a thaumatic bazooka, or at least it looked like such, and they were hanging out of the now open window on the second floor aiming at where the grunt might have seen Kyotaro’s group running.

“We’re just going to have to do something about that, now aren’t we, Terry,” Terry said to himself, as he activated the targeting system for one of the small, but potent, Fire-Magic powered mini-cannons installed on the roof of the van.

“Alright, and… fire,” Terry ordered, as he pressed a button on a console, which triggered the cannon, firing a bolt of Fire Magic directly at the grunt halfway out of the window aiming the apparent launcher at the figures running away from the chaos in front of him.

And in an instant, there was a flash of red, and similarly colored smoke coming from the now partially wrecked and melted window the SPH grunt was trying to shoot from; the grunt for their trouble fell out the window flat on their back, clearly unable to fire the launcher, or even so much as tell what day it was.

“Wow this thing has more kick that I thought. I hope the HEA doesn’t get billed for all the damage we’re doing to the White House,” Terry thought aloud in surprise, not thinking the cannon would blow up the whole bottom section of the window, even though he aimed it at the grunt in particular.


“What was that explosion behind us?” Yume asked; as she kept up her mana output help maintain the illusion.

Silentclaw took a moment to look behind, seeing the smoldering ruin of the window that Terry had fired at, and quickly put things together. “Hrm, so that’s what it was. I wonder if the poor sod survived.”

“Does it matter?” Baku replied, as they could see they were almost at the parking lot.

“It shouldn’t. Terry, open the back door, we have the VIP and we’re ready to load her and her material so we can get out of here!” Yume replied before she shifted her attention to the wheelman a few dozen yards in front of them.

“Alright, back door’s unlocked. Let’s load it up!” Terry said as he hopped out of the van to help lift Aguillar’s cart into the back. “The Screamin’ Eagles part went by perfectly. So much of the SPH’s forces got sucked outside we should have clear shot back to the checkpoint, and then we can get out of here.”

“We definitely have to make sure Madame Jessica gets her recompense before long. Every bit of intra-Dome support we all can get will be invaluable in both the near and far term,” Silentclaw replied, as he looked all around to see if any more vehicles were inbound.

With the all-clear, the all the doors were locked, and the van was off.


 --==--

“And with that, I implore everyone within the sound of my voice to resist the forces of the so-called Society for the Preservation of Humanity. As the events of the recent past and today have shown, they are nowhere near the invincible vanguard of the new Humanity they purport themselves to be. They may wear the garb of the revolutionary, but they are nothing more than the continuation of those who hold the philosophy of the Second Golden Rule – ‘He who has the Gold makes the Rules.’ We should never place our faith in those who simply possess a wide breadth and depth of holdings, or have any myriad digits in their bank accounts. Those are not the true measure of a potential leader. All potential leaders should be judged by their prior experience and their proposals, all current leaders measured by the conditions in the present, and all past leaders by the results they achieved during their leadership – for good and ill. I should hope that all of the world leaders that we have been able to successfully rescue will join me in this grand endeavor to restore the leadership of this world to those whom it always belonged to begin with – the people of our various nations.” President Aguillar concluded her brief address to the public, on one of the HEA’s secure net-channels[6], from the Safe House[7] that was built in Badlands National Park (in South Dakota).

And this fact absolutely infuriated a certain trio of sometimes-masked men and women in the towers of Manhattan Island.

“This… this is the indignity of indignities… I just have no words left…” Peter said, his calm tone masking the absolute cauldron of rage he had become in the last 12 hours.

“It was such a basic plan, and yet they carried it out about as perfectly as you can expect of such people,” Claire thought as she tried to figure out where everything had gone wrong in the last couple of months.

“Truth be told, in either case that would have unfolded today, we should be able to swear in Williamson as President within the next three days, as soon as we can convene the Congress,” Nathan reminded the other two Leaders of the Society.

“Which is perfectly fine – our long term plans only require willing puppets in the nation’s governments. But this string of jailbreaks, culminating with President Aguillar right from under our noses… it’s nothing more than a PR nightmare for the lot of us,” Peter figured, as he tried his best to remain calm and in control, while inwardly cursing Aguillar and Richards’s very name.

“They might not be in power now… but they still have political cache with the rest of the public. Our hands are being forced now – either we start putting our boots on the necks of the Outsiders overtly, or we will lose our grip on this world that we just began to tighten,” Claire said, as she realized the SPH and their affiliates worldwide were indeed truly beginning to lose their grip on political power.

“I will talk with our internal and external arms developers to see what we can expedite and what still has to remain in the oven. I doubt we can move all of our schedules up, at least if we want to have effective equipment for our still meager human numbers,” Nathan figured, as he thought about the problem some more.

“Fair enough,” Peter said with a heavy sigh, as he slammed his fist on the table in disgust. “The last thing we can afford to do is to stretch ourselves thin and end up losing to those damn White Knights in misbegotten battle while trying to save face. No, we have to redouble our efforts in building this machine, and ensure that we are the source of power in this world.”
 

“To wit, I believe I have some candidates ready for the first phase of Project Therion. Something has been bothering me about what our field commanders have been reporting ever since that explosion of thaumatic radiation near the Louisiana gulf coast almost a year ago. Hopefully this project and others will put that little worry to rest, along with our bigger worries,” Claire stated with a bit more of a hopeful tone.

“That’s some good news for once. Project Therion, along with the drone war machine we are creating, can ensure our and our descendant’s power indefinitely,” Peter said, as he felt confident that the setback of today will be quickly made up in the coming months.




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