JASMINE woke up not knowing where she was, it was starting to get annoying how often that happened. She sat up from the small cot and looked around, she was in a holding cell of some sort, with Mac sitting on a second cot.
"Surprisingly, this isn't the worst cell I've ever woken up in." she commented to herself as she looks at Mac, "You okay?"
Mac nods, "Yeah, but I can't use magik."
"No surprise," Jasmine said, looking up at the mechanism on the roof, "that's a null magik jammer,"
"Where's Ryan?"
"Let me check," Jasmine said as she activated her aurum oculus.
"I thought these jammers prevented you from using magik?" Mac asked
"They prevent us from releasing magik to cast with, but we can still circulate it internally." Jasmine explained with a sly grin
"So, what do you see?" Mac asked
"There's another room opposite us with—" Jasmine stopped as, to her horror, her vision got very blurry and then everything went dark,
"I… I can't see! I CAN'T SEE!" She cried, panic seeping into her voice, "¿QUÉ ME ESTÁ PASANDO?"
"Please refrain from that," she heard a calm cool voice say. She recognized it as that woman who captured her, Ness, "your voyeurism wouldn't be much appreciated by my contemporaries. Do not worry; the effects aren't permanent, your visual impairment is only temporary."
"What did you do to me?" Jasmine demanded, turning towards the sound of Ness' voice,
"You may have godly eyes that can see through all," Ness explained, "But there are powers in this world that can blind even gods."
"You said you were lord Crowley's assistant, so why does he want Ryan?" Jasmine demanded
Ness raised an eyebrow, impressed, "Lord Crowley's motives are none of your concern," she said in a very professional tone,
Then, there was a beeping from her coat, so she took out a device from her pocket, similar to a ranger's badge, except it was black instead of sliver. The screen lights up and projected a hologram of Crowley's head.
"Ness!" the man says, "Have you captured the Reins boy yet?"
Ness bows her head respectfully, "Yes sir, he is already being processed."
"Good," Crowley says,
"Sir, if you would forgive my boldness, I had the companions of the young Reins brought in,"
Crowley looks irritated at her reveal, "This is a covert op, Ness; no witnesses."
"I know, but this is Jasmine Sumner…" Ness protested
"I know who she is." Crowley snapped, "She's quite the accomplished ranger, especially as a half-blood. The famed White Fang of the 45th, truly an exquisite magus."
"She possesses the aurum oculus, sir; a rare ocular gift similar to the Enstiens." Ness explained, "And the other one is Mac Torris, a biotic."
Crowley thought for a second, "the biotic secrets have long been a mystery to our sponsors. Very well, Ness, I suppose these two will make fine additions."
"Addition to what?" Mac asked
"Have them prepped for harvesting,"
As his image faded, Mac stuck her tongue out at him, "one-eyed weirdo."
"What was he talking about, Ness?" Jasmine asked, as her vision was finally started coming back to her.
She didn't answer.
"As a Proctor of the 45th branch, I demand to know what he was talking about."
Ness looked at her, "I've heard of your accomplishments, Ms. Sumner, I have the greatest admiration for all you have managed to achieve in your short life, especially considering your biologic circumstances. My respect for your accomplishments is the only reason you are entitled to this information, so listen closely because I will only say this once."
Jasmine nodded.
"You are in a branch 0 black site, as part of Project; Ares." Ness started, "Lord Crowley wishes to create perfect augmented warriors by harvesting the magikal elements possessed by certain magi and using that to create our superior soldiers."
"That's impossible." Jasmine said,
"Our arkans have discovered otherwise," Ness said, "they are already successfully harvesting the magik gifts of all the purebloods we've acquired."
"But you can't do that." Mac said, "You're perverting pureblood gifts,"
"That's all I will tell you." Ness said, "I am truly sorry for the agony you will have to endure. Someone of your standing exists even here… it is truly a pity to leave you to such a fate."
"You can't do this. Hey, listen to me!" Mac said as Ness walked away, "Bitch."
"This is just impossible." Jasmine said, "They want to replicate magik gifts."
"It's crazy is what it is," Mac snapped, "they can't just make another biotic by sucking out my magik juice and pumping it into some poor schmuck, magik doesn't work that way."
While they were talking, their cell was suddenly pumped full with gas, and they quickly fell to the ground, paralyzed. As they lay there, three people in arkan robes approached the cell with armed guards, the guards opened the cell and carried the two girls off to waiting stretchers.
"What are you doing?" Jasmine demanded, fighting the paralysis that made her words come out slurred.
One of the arkans looked down at her, running a device over her body "Don't worry, we are just going to run some tests. We just want to know the secrets of those marvelous golden eyes of yours. Unfortunately you'll need to be conscious for the process to work."
Jasmine and Mac were taken to what they would assume was an examination room with stone walls and high windows. They had their clothes removed and their bodies were studied intimately under strange machines. The process lasted for at least two hours, with them being thoroughly poked and prodded as the doctors took various samples.
After what felt like hours, they were wheeled back to their cell. In order to preserve what was left to their modesty, they were dressed in hospital gowns once the examinations were complete.
Their paralysis started to wear off after they were put back in their cell, and once they could fully move, they were not pleased.
"Those bastards," Mac snarled, "I've never felt so violated in my life."
"We need to get out of her," Jasmine muttered, "Who knows what else they have in store for us?"
… )]≥( …
15 Months Earlier
Crowley was in High V'hax, in the office of his longtime friend, Havran St. Klaus, the Keeper king. The two of the sat across each other playing a game of Crown Uprising, the game table before them looked similar to that of a chess board, but more complex and much larger.
[Crown Uprising is a crazy complicated strategy game, it's what magi have instead of chess.]
"How long have we been friends?" Crowley asks as he moves his siege piece forward
"About a hundred or so years now," the Havran replies as he counters with a cavalry piece,
"And in all that time you still haven't learnt how to play this game," Crowley grins as one of his pieces surround a castle at the other end of the board, "no matter how many times I warn you about your stronghold fortification, you always leave an opening. Victory!"
The Keeper king gave an exasperated sigh as he flips his king on its side, "I am beaten."
"How can you still make the same idiotic mistakes after a century of losing to me the same way?" Crowley jokes
"I don't always lose," the Keeper king huffed, "I've beaten you in about a quarter of our games, and we've tied a bunch of times too."
"But I hold an overwhelming frequency of victories against you." Crowley boasts, as he removes the game ring on his right thumb and the board starts to clear itself, the miniature landscape returns to a flat checkered plane and the dozens of pieces scattered around all melt back into the two crown pieces.
"So why have you come to see me?" the Keeper king asks, "not just to boast of your gaming abilities?"
"I have a new proposal, Project; Ares," Crowley states, "My arkans say that it should be possible to actually transplant the magik element from one person to another."
"I think I know where this is going,"
"Our dream of magikally enhanced super soldiers is finally within reach," Crowley finished, "right now we are just in the theoretical phase but we can commence live testing soon."
"Live testing? Have you already secured funding and test subjects?" Havran asked
"Not yet," Crowley said, "but I already have some volunteer candidates in mind."
"Then I look forward to seeing your proposal to the council." Havran said
"The elder council?" Crowley sneered, "why does that assortment of petty aristocrats and their armies of bureaucrats even need to know about this? Every year new problems arise, under the watch of the council, and they bicker and squabble, dragging ARGUS down in their infighting. My friend, we don't need them. With just your support, we can push this project forward without their interference."
"I know that as the head of branch 0 it's your job to analyze worst case scenarios and propose countermeasures, but such a project needs to be brought up to the council." Havran stated, "this is experimental magik research of questionable ethical and legal implications, this could even be in contradiction to the terms of The Treaty. Before we move forward with it, we need to cover our bases; have the council look over a proposal, let the nobility debate and argue for a bit until we can secure enough support to proceed. That way the nobility, and especially the elders, are satisfied to be recognized while we get the actual work done."
"And that's the problem with ARGUS today," Crowley barked, "the nobles and elders exercise too much control over out inner workings, second-guessing ever decision we make. There used to be a time when the two of us would have the final say in anything that went on in ARGUS."
"Then we went through a couple wars that left us in a bit of a sticky situation." Havran said, "the nobles offered their support in exchange for a more involved role in ARGUS, you already know this. Hell, you even agreed with it at the time."
"And I know now that I was wrong, ever since the nobility took a more direct interest in ARGUS, their growing influence and factional conflicts has been tearing it apart. Now nobles get to sponsor and promote keepers who comply with their own interests instead of what is best for upholding the Treaty, ranger units are made to satisfy their whims." Crowley countered, "We no longer know who is loyal to the cause anymore, but with Ares we can take back ARGUS, make it a force to be reckoned with once again."
"This is starting to sound like an insurrection against the nobility," the Keeper king scowled, "that's lese majesty, Crowley."
"Do you hear yourself?" Crowley said, "you are the Keeper king, and still you fear the power of others who haven't involved themselves in upholding the Treaty. There are threats out there that require swift decisive action, can you tell me that the nobility, or even the elders, are up to the challenge?"
"You forget that I am also from an elder family," the Keeper king states, "I was only made king by the support of the others."
"Please, my friend, you have trusted me with your life more times that I can count, trust me on this," Crowley pleaded, his sincerity evident on his wizened face, "if you side with me on this, you no longer need the oversight of the council."
"I'm sorry, I cannot support you in this." the Keeper king sighed, "until you bring this up with the council, Ares is to be suspended."
"But—"
"Have I made myself clear, Keeper Crowley?" the Keeper king orders
Begrudgingly Crowley nods his head, "Crystal, king St. Klaus,"
It was that day that over a century of friendship came to an end.
Now
Crowley is in his office, reminiscing on the last conversation he had with his once-friend before he gave the order for Project; Ares to proceed in secret. In those many months since, he has gone against the wishes and interests of the Keeper king and the elder council to achieve his vision, the perfect soldiers, raised and conditioned for absolute loyalty, imbued with the magikal abilities of the most powerful magus bloodlines known to ARGUS. A force no mortal power can oppose, loyal only to him.
As he reads a reports of the progress of Ares, Ness walks in.
"What is it?" he said,
"Forgive me, lord Crowley," Ness said, "but I thought to bring this to you personally" She said presented the Grimoire to him, seized from Mac's belongings.
"Good work," he said, as he snatches it from her, "Ness, you are truly a valued asset, thank you."
With her face void of any sort of emotion she simply bows her head before him, but even she hasn't seen such appreciation in him before "Thank you, sir,"
Crowley went back to his desk, and Ness followed him, "Sir, if you don't mind my asking; why did you want that book?"
"Let me tell you something, Ness," Crowley said as he looked out the window at the city, "When the world was tearing themselves apart, it was ARGUS that put an end to all the fighting. ARGUS set the rules of this new age and maintained them, and has done so for millennia."
"Yes sir, I am aware."
"But now, ARGUS is decayed, ARGUS is broken, ARGUS is dying from the rot of noble greed, and I am going to fix it. I had thought that Havran wanted the same thing I did, but he was the one that allowed ARGUS to fall so far. Ares will be a new light in the darkness."
"But what about the book?" Ness asked
"In my endeavor to save ARGUS, I came to learn about a particular book that contained great knowledge and lost secrets, this book was supposedly lost to history but had later come into the possession of a certain extinct noble family. With this book, I can steer ARGUS in its right direction after we have burned away the filth."
Ness nods her understanding as Crowley clicked the lock open and then perused the pages,
"What is this?" he demands
Ness looked over his shoulder to see the glyphs inscribed on the page.
"It appears that the knowledge is encoded." Ness says
"I can see that." Crowley hands the book back to Ness, "I need this deciphered, get it done."
"Yes sir." Ness bowed as she took the book and walked out of his office.
He doesn't yet know the true value of this book, she thought to herself as she closed the door behind her.
Soon.
… )]≥( …
After the invasive study into their person, Jasmine and Mac spent the night in their cell. Once morning comes, they are once again gassed and wheeled out by guards and arkans.
This time, they arrived at a large chamber, a lab had been set up with monitors and scanners and all sort of complex and sophisticated equipment. There was a shelf of magik shells [magik containment bottles]. In the center of the room were five harnesses with all sorts of probes and prods attached. Three of them were filled by Ryan, Ross Suzzen –another pureblood ranger that had recently gone missing— and Angela Prantis, the daughter of a famous magus artist family, they were similarly dressed in hospital gowns.
"Put them in the harvesters." An arkan said, as Jasmine and Mac were strapped into the other two harnesses.
Once they were secured, the paralysis went away, "Unfortunately, we can't have you under the influence during this process." the arkan apologized, "It might compromise the purity of your magik."
"No, God no! Oh please not again!" Ross begged, he looked terrible, his skin was pale and his eyes were sunken, he had also emaciated as he shivered and whimpered in his harness.
"W-what is this place?" Angela cried, "what have you don't to him? what more are you going to do to us?"
Jasmine looked across from her to the harness that had the still unconscious Ryan Reins,
How are you still comatose? She wondered
"Ready the dionyl-zaprophage." the arkan said to another.
"Zap?" Mac asked
"Zap is illegal." Jasmine said while Ross whimpering and begging increased.
"W-what is zap?" Angela asked as the other doctors brought out small vials of green-gray liquid
"Well before we can harvest your magik, we need this to over-stimulate your magik webs," the arkan said, "zap is the most powerful magik stimulant ever known,"
"It's also highly addictive and can rob you of your ability to use magik if you take too much." Jasmine said as the doctors loaded a vial of zap into the side of the harness.
"Before we begin," the lead arkan said, "I would like to thank each of you, once again; you will be remembered for your sacrifice and the contribution you gave to the advancement of magik science."
Jasmine felt as the needle pierced her flesh and the zap was released into her bloodstream, she felt the sudden burst of energy flood her system, as well as the odd tingling sensation that was probably her magik web starting to burn. Her senses went into overdrive as power was forced through her, and her magik went wild, exceeding even her natural ability to manage. Her eyes started to sting as the magik burning through her triggered her aurum oculus. Her body became shrouded in a glowing golden halo of power as her aura flared uncontrollably
As the same phenomenon happened to the others strapped in their harnesses, a large machine descended from above to the middle of ring of harnesses. Dishes extended from this machinery and was positioned before each magus, then the machine started humming.
What happened next was the most excruciating thing Jasmine had ever experienced. The magik that had triple inside her was being forcibly ripped from her body, and it burned. Her overabundant aura was being absorbed by the dish in front of her; they were stealing her very soul.
She screamed.
She screamed louder than she has ever screamed before, this was the most she had ever wished for death to take her; she just wanted the pain to stop, then it did.
When the machine stopped, Jasmine was sweating and breathing heavily, there was a burning under her skin and her mind was filled with static and pain. As the central device rose back up, she noticed that it was sizzling and smoking, some wires and other components seemed to have melted.
Everyone was as confused as she was, even the arkans, but then she sees Ryan's harness, partially melted and his harvester a charred mess. Ryan himself seems fine, only that he was crackling with electricity.
With her aurum oculus still active, she could see that putting zap in Ryan's blood had a different reaction, instead of pumping out magik energy to be sucked up by the harvester, he generated an electric charge that surged through the machine frying it.
"My god," the lead arkan said, "He burned through all that zap in his system, and overloaded the machine."
"Is that lightning?" another doctor asked, examining the energy crackling around Ryan.
Then, Ryan raised his head and opened his eyes a crack, "Hmm… huh, whe-where am… I?"
He's awake? Jasmine thinks, "Ryan!"
He looks at her, confused, "Ja-Jasmine? Where are we? What's going on?"
Before she could talk, Ryan spasms as more electricity is discharged from his body, and the machinery in the room start to go haywire.
He is then removed from his destroyed harness by guards, strapped to a stretcher and carried off.
"That was incredible," the lead arkan said, looking at the monitor, "his stimulated magik energy generated electricity? Is that a part of his pureblood gift, or is it an innate talent?"
"Doctor Lanstrum what do we do now?" another arkan asks
"He is as unpredictable as we were informed," the lead arkan stated, "We need to study him more closely,"
"What about the others?"
"We have what we need for now," the arkan stated, "and this harvester unit is beyond repair. Take them back to their cells,"
As they were taken back in their cells, the guards didn't bother paralyzing them, they were already out of it from the harvesting process. Even ten minutes after the procedure, their bodies hadn't fully recovered, Mac just curled up on the floor and Jasmine was no better. The zap had overpowered her eyes, she read so many strings, saw so much suffering, so much sorrow. So many had been gone through that torture, all for this experiment? She had to stop them.
"We need to get out of here," Mac groaned as she forced herself up, "Ryan's awake, we need to get him."
"I know," Jasmine said as her mind raced.
Whoever these people were, they had to be stopped. If they were to discover that Ryan had a secondary source cluster… they would tear him apart.
She couldn't let that happen.
During the commotion, as Jasmine was being removed from the harness, she had just enough time to grab something from the table by her side. It had held a number of magik medical tools, including what appeared to be a thin crystalline needle, which she had managed to snag before she was carted away. Luckily, the guards hadn't thought to search her agonizing form once they deposited her back in the cell, or they would've found the needle that was now in Jasmine's hand.
"Now we just need to escape." She said as she slid the needle into the lock of their cell
… )]≥( …
After being out for who-knows-how-long, Ryan suddenly wakes up with a surge of energy. Then, in the midst of all the chaos and confusion, he was carted away by people in robes like lab coats.
"What's going on?" he asked, still groggy
"Incredible," one robed figures said, "the subject seems completely unimpaired by the side-effects of the stimulant."
"Subject?" Ryan said, "Hey, where are you guys taking me?"
By now he had figured out that these robed people were arkans, the magus equivalent of doctors and scientist. They took him into a room and strapped him into a device that looked like an MRI machine.
The machine thrummed around him, and he felt his lightning magik stir once more, causing the inside of the machine to spark in a way that Ryan doubted it was meant to.
"His lightning magik is quite strong," the lead arkan stated, as the machine started to smoke.
"Doctor Lanstrum," another arkan said, calling the head doctor, "Look at this."
The head arkan looked at the screen and her eyes widened, "Impossible, he has two magik source clusters?"
"Uh-oh" Drake said in Ryan's head,
"What?" Ryan said aloud, too out of it to remember to speak in his head
"These quacks are trying to do something very not good."
Since when do you care about what happens to me? Ryan telepathically asks the voice in his head.
"I don't, I care about what happens to me," Drake said "and since my survival depends on yours…"
Right, you have no choice. Ryan recalled, Your continued existence hinges on mine and all that…
He smirked at the irony that once again, Drake needed to keep Ryan alive in order to stay alive himself.
"Unfortunately," Drake said
So, what do we do?
"Don't let them put more of that in us." Drake said, Ryan looked on and saw the arkans bringing a large vial of zap. The vial they used before was the size of a tube of toothpaste, the vial they just brought is the size of a thermos.
"What are you going to do with that?" Ryan asks as they strap him into another harvester
"Before, the amount of zap we gave you was instantly absorbed by your body, so we're quadrupling the dosage." The head arkan said, "I believe that that second magik web is an exact clone of your first, so if I bombard them both, the magik you expel could give such interesting results."
"Do you even know what giving me that much would do?"
"It is unclear what will happen to you afterwards, we have never administered that much zap into a live patient before, but I would love to study the effects."
"You can't do this to me." Ryan said
Then the zap was set in the harness, and injected into his system. As all that zap was emptied into Ryan's bloodstream, he went nuclear.
… )]≥( …
Elsewhere, on an isolated monastery set atop a mountain, a lightning storm rages in the skies above. Inside the monastery, two monks –one older and one younger— murmur to each other as they walked down a long corridor, on one side are windows looking out at the storm on the other are arcane artifacts gathered over the centuries.
"I don't know what happened, master," the younger monk reported, "she just started screaming, then she rushed back to her room."
"That is such odd behaviour," the older muses, "she has never acted out like this for as long as I have known her."
"Master, I am curious, why did you let her in?" the youth said
"I saw no reason not to," the older monk said,
"But master, this monastery is a place for scholars of the arcane and the esoteric," The younger says, "and she is a mundane; she has no magik ability to speak off."
"I never liked that term," the older monk commented, "referring to non-magi as mundanes seems so short sighted. That girl may not be a magus like us, be she is far from powerless."
They reach the end of the corridor, which led to the dormitories. The climb up the tower was not as arduous as one would expect, but they soon found themselves at the top of the tower, standing in front of the only occupied room this far up.
The older monk knocked on the door softly to state their presence before opening the door, inside, was a fairly large room compared to the others in the tower. They pass a bookcase twelve feet high stacked with all manner of tomes and scrolls, some so ancient their content is barely legible. There was a modest bed with its sheets neatly made as if it had never been used, several worktables stacked high with books and charts, with notes and papers plastered across several walls. A wardrobe sat open with its contents neatly folded and arranged. The room was even tidier than that of some of the other monks.
By the balcony, a telescope has been set up, only it is positioned downwards to the base of the mountain instead of up towards the heavens. Pacing outside the balcony was a woman with deep purple eyes and bright green hair, she was dressed in similar robes as the two monks before her, though she didn't seem to have noticed their intrusion.
The older monk cleared his throat loudly, making his presence known.
She turns and faces them, "Master?" her eyes looked wild and unfocused, distracted. Not like her at all.
"I heard there was a disturbance in the library." he began,
"Disturbance, is that what they're calling my mental breakdown?" she said with a rueful grin that didn't last,
"What has happened?" the youth asked, "witnesses say you suddenly keeled over and started screaming."
"I'm leaving." she said suddenly
"What?" both monks exclaimed at the same time
"But our work on the tablets you brought is still incomplete," the older monk protested, "why would you leave so suddenly?"
"Something has come up." She replied as she made her way towards her wardrobe. "I don't know how long I'll be gone for, I… I may never come back."
"Easy, child," The elder monk said calmly, "Since you came here almost a decade ago, you haven't stepped foot outside of these walls, and now all of a sudden you wants to leave, maybe forever? What about the work we were doing, what about the tablets you brought?"
"I don't know what to do," she sobbed, her eyes watery, "something came over me during my freak out,"
"you've described this phenomenon before," the older monk commented
"yes, but this time felt different." she said, "I felt someone else, another like me."
The younger monk looked confused, but the older monk's eyes widened, "I thought you said there were no others like you,"
"I know. There weren't, they were all killed." the girl said, "that's why I need to leave,"
"I'm sorry, but we can't just let you leave as you wish," the younger monk said, "your work with the master is too important."
"Are the tablets safe?" the girl demanded
"They are stored in the under-gallery." the older monk said, "none but those of our order may even enter there."
"That is good," she breathed a sigh of relief, "It is imperative that ARGUS never gets their hands on them."
"We know," the monk replied, "there is little love lost between our order and the arkans who guide ARGUS. They would have turned you away, or worse had you killed for the knowledge you possess."
"They do not appreciate any power that is beyond their narrow understanding." the woman said bitterly, "that is why they murdered my people. But if there is another like me out there, I need to find them before the inquisitors do."
"But why would you put yourself at risk like that?" the younger monk asked, "ARGUS could still be hunting for you."
"Do you think I do not know that?" she snapped, sparks of black energy crackling from her eyes, "But one of my own is lost and along, the same protections of this monastery that keep me hidden from ARGUS also prevents me from sensing them. I only just felt a jolt from them, a brief surge of unimaginably intense power that must be excruciating. How could I not try to reach them?"
"Very well," the older monk sighed, "but please, allow us to offer whatever assistance we can provide. You are one of us, and we must protect our own."
She smiled and nodded.
When she had first washed up here, she never thought they would be this accepting of what she was, especially after everything ARGUS and their arkans had done to demonize her kind. Now there was a new one out there, and she had to be the one to save them.
… )]≥( …
Ryan was convulsing from all the zap he was forced to endure. He started glowing as lighting began to crackle around him. he could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage, threatening to burst from his chest.
His eyes gave off an electric glow and any sound he tried to make came out distorted and full of static. He had never channeled so much lightning before. Along with the blue electricity that arced across his body, red sparks would sometimes discharge from his body.
"He's practically bursting with magik." The head arkan said,
"He's geist-ing" another arkan reported
"Ready the harvester." the head arkan said
A harvesting dish was brought in and the harvesting began. Ryan felt himself ripping apart as all the lightning he generated was being absorbed by the dish.
In his head, he could even hear Drake screaming.
The harvester dish started to spark as it stole his magik, the machine connected to it started to smoke as it was overwhelmed
"Doctor Lanstrum, the harvester is reaching its limit." Another arkan declared.
"That's enough for now, terminate harvesting. I want this subject brought in for examination."
They put Ryan in another machine and scanned him once again, this time was not as easy as his lightning was interfering with their instruments. It soon became apparent that there was a problem when they detected that his aura was rising.
"What's going on?" doctor Lanstrum demanded, "his magik aura should be minimal."
"According to these instruments he's regenerating his aura at an inhuman rate, and it doesn't seem to be stabilizing yet."
The entire room began to shake, monitors frazzled and sparked and lights blew out. Cracks started appearing along the walls, all coming from Ryan. His eyes started glowing brighter, now illuminated like lightbulbs and he started having spasms as he started to tremble uncontrollably, as if trying to split in two. The lightning that he was generating was getting wilder, surging around Ryan and building to critical levels. The restraints that held him burnt away and all hell broke loose.
A pulse of energy emanated from Ryan like a wave of pure chaos. Every electrical device plugged into the room was instantly overloaded. Within seconds, the pulse had ripped its way through the entire facility, frying all electrical equipment and devices that were plugged into the grid, the entire base had just gone dark.
… )]≥( …
Using the tool that she had swiped from the lab, Jasmine was trying to jimmy the locking mechanism for the door. But it was slow going since the magik dispeller also hindered the magikal device.
Then, the lights went out.
"What the hell is this?" Mac demanded
"I don't know, but we're in luck," Jasmine said pointing up at the dispeller, it was blown, overloaded by the power surge.
"Our magik's free." Jasmine said, "get us out of here,"
Mac smiled, "Yes ma'am."
She closed her eyes and concentrated, the glyph glowing to life on the back of her right hand,
When she opened her eyes again, she closed her hand into a fist, and struck the glass barrier. The first punch splintered the barrier, with cracks spider-webbing from the point of impact, when she stuck it a second time, her fist went right through it, shattering the barrier and creating an escape.
Once leaving their cell, Jasmine made a B-line for another cell. Using her aurum oculus she was aware of several other cells that were currently occupied with unwilling participants in their Project Ares. The cell Jasmine arrived at was occupied by Ross and Angela, both also coming down from their magik shock.
"How did you get out?" Angela asked, Ross was lying on the floor in the fetal position.
"The dispellers went down with the power. Now get clear, we're getting you out" Jasmine said as she cleared way for Mac who charged through the barrier at full sprint.
Jasmine and Angela had to help support Ross, he looked worse for ware, something was definitely wrong with him.
"Now what?" Mac asked as she brushed fiberglass out of her hair
"We find and free the other purebloods they have here," Jasmine said, "then we get out."
"How do we do that?" Angela asked
"Step two is still a work in progress." Jasmine said as emergency lights slowly flickered on and alarms started blaring.
"Good news or bad news?" Mac queried
"When are alarms in a secret lab ever good news?" Jasmine hissed as they continued at a hurried pace
Jasmine figured two things from their current situation. One; this facility must be underground from the fact that all she's seen are long endless hallways and no windows, it must also be fairly large too, with so many tunnels. She also noticed the lack of the guards as they made their way to the other cells on this wing of the facility, freeing all the captive magi.
"We still haven't found Ryan," Mac pointed out
"I know," Jasmine said, "and that bothers me."
By now they had about a dozen magi with them, all in different states of shock, so far only Ross seemed to be in sever condition.
"Sōbi, aruiwa sukunakutomo sentō ni tekishita fuku o mitsukeru hitsuyō ga aru." said Mira Tanaka, a ranger from the Japanese sanctum, who had gone missing months ago.
"I agree," Jasmine said, understanding her instantly,
Even with emergency power up and running, the base was barely operational, the power surge that fired their circuits had also set up several serious fires around the base, some tunnels had collapsed, personnel were wounded and/or trapped. It was a disaster.
For the escapees, their objective now was finding equipment they could use to facilitate their escape. They had overpowered a lone guard that was manning a security point but they were under no misconception that more wouldn't be coming once the situation was under control.
Luckily, from the security point Jasmine got directions to lock-up, where all their confiscated gear and equipment had been taken, they even managed to recover their clothes.
Once she had gotten dressed, Mac started to pack up Ryan's stuff. As she picked the wand from the basket of his personal effects, she immediately had to drop, it waving her hand in the air to cool it.
"Damn, that's hot." She said,
Jasmine came to check on her and looked at the wand on the floor, with the smoking gem that was glowing very brightly, "Oh no."
"Jasmine, what's wrong?" Mac asked
"A person's wand is keyed to their magik aura; its strength reflects their strength." Jasmine explained, "So I wander how much magik Ryan is channeling for that to happen?"
"Oh no," Mac said, "What if they gave him zap again?"
"For him to have this much magik, he might be geist-ing." Jasmine said
"We need to find him, fast." Mac said
"And I think I know a way how," Jasmine said as she went back to the security point, holding her badge to the terminal.
"Badge, access secure data." Jasmine said
The badge sounded a buzzer before replying in a monotone voice. Cannot comply. Anti-tampering hardware detected.
"Dammit." Jasmine cursed. She also wanted to copy the data on the terminal, but without it there would be no hard concrete evidence of what Branch 0 was up to.
"What's wrong?" Mac asked as she and Mira approached.
"I can't copy the data off this terminal." Jasmine said, "it's shielded."
"Hoka no denka seihin to onajiyōni ageta kata ga yoi node wanaidesu ka?" Mira asked
"But it isn't," Jasmine said, activating her aurum oculus, "there's a sage box in this terminal."
"Kono yōna jōkyō kara mamoru tame ni, subete no tāminaru ni 1tsu zutsu setchi suru hitsuyō ga arimasu." Mira surmised,
"Well, if the data is in the sage box—" Mac mused, then she punched through the screen of the terminal reaching in and yanking out a box the size of a brick, she ripped out the cables and wires connected to it, "—here you go."
Mira and Jasmine both looked at her, incredulous
"What? I've always wanted to do that,"
"Dō yatte sore o yatta ndesu ka?" Mira demanded
Mac looked at Jasmine, "What did she say?"
"She wanted to know how you did that." Jasmine translated
"Koko ni watashite," Mira said, taking the sage box from Mac, then grabbing her wand, muttering to herself, "ējibokkusu ga kanari ganjōna no wa yoi kotoda."
She ran her wand up one face of the sage box and then her wand chimed.
"Hai, sekyuriti taisaku o risetto dekimashitanode, akusesu dekiru yō ni narimashita. " Mira said, to Jasmine,
"Good, tell it to look for Ryan Reins," Jasmine said
… )]≥( …
The last thing Ryan remembered, he had exploded. Now, he wasn't sure what was happening, but his body was in overdrive, crackling with so much electricity he was basically a living lightning bolt.
Right now he is bouncing off the walls uncontrollably down a corridor. He can't seem to keep still and everything around him seems to be moving incredibly slow.
He was currently looking for Jasmine, Mac and Ryd, but it seemed that the section he was in had been sealed off.
Finally, after bouncing for what felt like hours, he finally found them… well, not exactly found, more like he could sense their familiar bio-energy signatures.
It's about time. He through as he honed in on their signatures, discovering that they weren't alone.
Mac was worried about what state they'd find Ryan in, she could still feel the heat coming off his wand in her jacket.
The sage box she had liberated from the terminal detected a powerful energy signature loose in this section of the facility –which was probably why it had been sealed off— and was currently guide them towards it.
"Are you sure that thing knows where Ryan is?" Jasmine asked
Then, as they were about to turn a corner, a mass of electricity flashed by.
"Pretty sure," Mac ask, then she felt something shifting in her backpack. Checking it, she saw it was Draxonn, the sword handle was restlessly shifting in the direction as the mass of lightning. "Follow that lightning!" she declared
"Sore wa anata no tomodachideshita ka?" Mira asked shocked,
"Seems like," Jasmine sighed as they followed
For a mass of living lightning, Ryan wasn't moving very fast, however, he was also making catching up with him very annoying. He couldn't stay still.
"This is taking too long." Jasmine groaned
"Hmm, I think I have an idea." Mac said as she took Draxonn from her bag
"Be careful with that thing," Jasmine warned, "It doesn't seem to like other people."
"Good to know." Mac said as she held the handle with both hands, muttering to herself. "please don't kill me,"
Then she pulled the trigger just below the guard at the top. The blade emerged from the black mass that exploded from the top and she had to hold on with all her might just to keep the blade from flying off.
Her idea seemed to work out, though, the mass of lightning seemed drawn to the infernal metal like a lightning rod.
Mac let go of Draxonn as the lightning got closer and when the two collided, Ryan appeared in a similar medical garb, holding Draxonn. electricity was crackling around him and he couldn't stay still, vibrating so fast he looked out of focus.
"Ryan?" Mac said,
"Guyswhereareweareyouguysokaywhywereyouinjail." Ryan was firing off questions at incredibly speed, his voice sounded distorted
"What did they do to him?" Angela demanded
"They gave you zap, didn't they?" Jasmine asked
"Thatswhatthatstuffiscalled?" Ryan asked as he struggled to stay still, "Yeahtheysaidtheygavemeaquadrupledosedidtheygivethatstufftoyoutoo?"
Mac gasped, "That much, no wonder you're geist-ing. How are you still alive?"
Ryan shrugged… or it seemed that he shrugged, he was moving too fast to tell.
"So what now?" Mac asked
"We need to find a way to get out of here," Jasmine said, "If we can-"
Ryan then stumbled before dropping to a knee, "guysIdontthinkImfeelingsogood."
"We're burning out," Drake told him, "that stuff they gave us is wearing off."
Damn, Ryan said as he collapsed.
"Not this again," Mac whined
… )]≥( …
Crowley sat at his desk in his office, waiting for his people to decode the book he had gotten, when an urgent call pops up on his desk screen. He accepts and is almost relieved to see the woman on the screen.
"Doctor Lanstrum," he greets, "how go things?"
"We have run into…complications," the doctor says
Crowley sighs, lately everything was getting complicated, "Such as?"
"We've had a breakout of the surviving subjects," she said, "it was caused by the Reins boy."
Why was it always Ryan Reins? That boy had caused him more grief in the last week than he had experienced during the last civil war.
"What happened?"
"While we were harvesting him, he had an… explosive reaction to the stimulant. He was over-energized and managed to break free crippling the facility infrastructure. We've gone into lock down with this critical power failure and there are reports of fires and collapsed tunnels."
"That boy is becoming a problem," Crowley said, "any good news?"
"Yes," she with a smile brimming with pride. "We have completed phase one; all the desired samples have been harvested and analyzed. We have already begun synthesizing the magik and we are proceeding with phase two, it should be completed within the week."
Crowley widened his eyes in surprise; that was good news, very good news. He smiled.
"Um, sir," The woman asked
"Yes arkan?"
"About the escaped subjects, I've already dispatched a recovery force."
"Do as you see fit. I'll provide you with whatever you need."
"Thank you, sir, I would like to study the Reins further."
"That's up to you, all I care about is the success of Ares."
"Very well," The arkan nodded respectfully, "Goodbye."
"This is very good news indeed," Crowley thought to himself as he sat back in his chair.
… )]≥( …
Jasmine and the other escaped purebloods had been wandering for hours. The section they were in was one part in a massive underground complex that went on for miles, it was similar to an ant colony.
One good thing was that there weren't that many guards in their section and while it was still locked down, they were safe, so they had decided rest and regain their strength.
"Sore ga karena no ka?" Mira asked looking down at an unconscious Ryan resting with his head on Mac's lap. "Saigo no Reinzu-san?"
"Yep," Mac smirked, after Jasmine translated, "The noble family that was said to have built ARGUS to what it is today, one of the greatest families in magus history, and here is the last surviving heir lying passed out from drug overdose."
"What happened to them?" Angela asked, "My father once told me that the Reins were so rooted in magus history that there was no great magus event where they wouldn't be mentioned."
"Karera wa zetsumetsu shita." Mira said, "Sukunakutomo watashi ga kiita hanashide wa, kare dake ga nokoru made, zen'in ga nakunatta. Tochi mo shisan mo shigen mo, subete ushinawa reta. Kioku ni nokoru kagiri, ikka ni furikakatta saidai no sainandatta. Soshite, sono riyū wa daremoshiranai."
"Can you imagine what it feels like, to be the last son of a dead legacy?" Ross asked.
They all watched as Ryan tossed and turned in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent.
"Tonikaku," Mira started, "Tsugi wa nani o sureba ī? ARGUS ni renraku shite, kono-ken o tsutaenakya. Dare ga haigo ni iru no ka, mada wakaranai nda."
"It's Crowley," Jasmine said, "Apparently, this is an off-the-books Branch 0 initiative to create super soldiers using our unique magik gifts."
"Why would they do that?" Angela asked, "My family has always worked well with ARGUS."
"Well, whatever they intend to use Project Ares for, they obviously can't let us walk," Mac said, "We know too much already,"
"You mean they'll try and kill us?" Angela asked worried
"Tameshite mite? Karera wa sudeni jikken de watashitachi no ōku o koroshita." Mira said, "Karera wa machigainaku watashitachi mo shiboritotte itadarou,"
"Not to mention the people they slaughtered to get at us," Ross asked, "Briar and Zoe were good people, and that cleaver waving bitch cut them down with a smile on her face."
"Seraz? We've had run-ins with her," Mac shivers,
"We need to survive," Jasmine said, "Once we contact ARGUS we can report this and shut them down."
"I never trusted those Branch 0 guys, anyway." Ross said
… )]≥( …
After hearing of the commencement of phase two, Crowley ordered his fastest warbird, the Basilisk, to be prepped for travel. He had been put in charge of security for the summit after the last attack and had opted for a delay while he got things ready.
Now, he waited in his warbird as he rushed to the private facility where Branch 0 conducted all its clandestine research and development. He turned to his side, where Ness sat waiting with the black talons.
"Ness," Crowley started, "There are two hundred crows at Branch 0, find me the best candidates for Ares."
"At once, sir." Ness said tapping into her tablet.
"Sir," Ramsey protested, "I was led to believe that the black talons were to be candidates for Ares."
"You were," Crowley replied, "but then you failed continually to capture a boy, then one of your members killed another, then deserts to unit entirely. As far as I'm concerned, your mission inefficient. Consider yourself lucky you're even standing here right now after so many failures."
Ramsey bowed, "Forgive me, lord Crowley."
"Alright," Crowley scowled.
"Sir, I have compiled a list of potential candidates from the reserves; they are young, inexperienced, and willing to prove themselves."
"I leave the decisions to you." Crowley ordered, "Just get me ten crows worthy of becoming my first generation Ares warriors."
Ness bowed as Crowley walked off, she turned to the black talons, "You three, I have a special assignment for you, you depart when you are ready."
"But, lord Crowley said—" Ronan started
"Lord Crowley has dismissed you from active duty, and as his aide, I am authorized to make use of assets as I see fit." Ness said calmly, but with authority, "Now, get yourselves ready, you leave when I say."
"Yes, ma'am," Mika said.
Inside the facility, known as 'the Farm' to the researchers, Crowley stood with Dr. Lanstrum in her lab. On a shelf were shells full of the harvested magik power. He looked on amused at the energy flowing inside the container like a lava lamp.
The good doctor however was occupied studying one special shell. It was a mix of electric blue and sinister red, swirling together violently, entwined in a vicious dance.
"What's so interesting about that sample?" Crowley asked
"This one came from the Reins child," the doctor said, "I discovered something extraordinary about it and with it, I believe I can revolutionize the future of magik science."
"I believe you will," Crowley said, "Just don't forget who found you working in a back alley clinic and gave you a chance to use a real lab and equipment."
"I will never forget what you have done for me, lord Crowley," the doctor bowed, "I owe everything I have now to you, and I promise I will use everything I have to see you get everything you desire."
"Thank you, doctor." Crowley nodded, "When will we be ready to begin the procedure."
"Phase two is ready," the doctor informed him, "at your convenience."
"Good," Crowley said, "let's begin at once."
As Dr. Lanstrum walked away to start the procedure, she thought to herself, Soon I'll be able to make all that man's dreams come true, just like he did mine.
She hummed to herself as she went to get herself ready to make history.