The Dark Shards (IC)

[Lambrinisia]

Francesca finished her coffee and left through the back entrance of the coffee shop. If Serafim followed now, he would cause so much suspicion and be risking death. She weaved through the back alleyways until she came to a secure door with a keypad with slot. The redhead reached into her coat and inserted the master key as well as typing in the codes. The door opened quietly and she let herself in, retrieving the keycard.

Inside, she made her way to the main control room in the basement where the alarm system and computer servers were. The Cult leader cast her rejection on the lock, rejecting the action of locking the door earlier in the day and entered it. Quietly she locked the door got to work, casting her rejection over the Security Server. This began to reject itself into oblivion, rejecting the action of the item's own creation, taking with it the storage for the CCTV and parameters for the alarm system. The beauty of it was that the CCTV would still relay a live image to the security control panel but nothing would be stored. Francesca took a seat in the room and waited.

The CCTV was concentrated to watch the main entrance, back entrance to the canal and the exhibits. The security panel was close to the main entrance. As the main control room remained locked at night, guards had no reason to come down to it.

[Len Hyet]

Silva snorted. "You pay me for two things. Killing and spying. Suffice to say I am a master of both. That is how I found the Helmet. It is in the Palace. Unfortunately, it's probably due to be stolen tonight or tomorrow night at the latest. Thus, we need to move. There's a G5 on standby at Heathrow. Cab is outside, meter is running."

[Ouearotion]

Silva snorted. "You pay me for two things. Killing and spying. Suffice to say I am a master of both. That is how I found the Helmet. It is in the Palace. Unfortunately, it's probably due to be stolen tonight or tomorrow night at the latest. Thus, we need to move. There's a G5 on standby at Heathrow. Cab is outside, meter is running."

Etani looked over at Silva, "Ben calm down for a second, we can't be too rash about this, we need a plan. I say that Sylvia should be distractions by raining locust on all of the outside cult forces, Walker, and I will take the cults inside of the palace. Ben, you'll keep guard and make sure that no reinforcements come in." He then turned his head towards Heinz "And you Heinz, you will have to steal the helmet before they do." He then took a deep breath, keeping calm with the help of the round table "Now is that a plan guys and gals?"

[Liriena]

Serafim knew that Francesca had seen something suspicious about him, and he wasn't taking any more chances. So, he refrained from following her any further, and instead decided to walk around Venice while he made a call to St. Petersburg.

"Vorona?" He spoke into his phone.

"Sveta? Why are you calling?" A soft female voice on the other side, with a thick Russian accent, enquired.

"I hope you haven't relayed the info I gave you to the Protectors?" He asked, sounding nervous.

"You know I did. We play for both sides in this game, Sveta...and none at the same time...For the time being, you will stay faithful to the Cult, and I will focus on manipulating the Protectors."

"I don't want to get killed." Serafim spewed, sounding fearful and furious at the same time.

"If you stay loyal to the Cult, you'll be fine." The voice spoke to him, and then gave him a farewell. "Hail the Tsar. May the House of Romanov rise again and live forever...Good luck, Serafim."

"Fuck off." Serafim blurted and shut his phone off, instantly feeling a pang of guilt for his manners. But he dismissed the emotion as he walked back to his residence, ready for the suspicious looks he just knew he'd get.

And then there was the cold gem in his pocket.

"Fuck you...little piece of shit..." He insulted the mighty object as he walked through the threshold.

[Len Hyet]

Silva rolled his eyes. The Higher Ups never seemed to grasp that a pond hop was a perfect amount of time to come up with a plan.

"We have a plane ride to come up with a plan. Two birds, one stone. Let's go."

The same paralysis that had plagued American decision making seemed to have infected the Protectors. Instead of moving quickly and decisively on accurate intelligence from a reliable source, and trusting the insertion team to plan the particulars, they insisted on going over every minute detail, most of which were inconsequential or could be worked out later.

[Carathon]

Heinz shook his head slightly. Looking towards the various other protectors seated at the round table. " Nein, I say we let them get this one. " He paused, letting the shock set in. " No doubt they are going to use all their powers to get their job done as fast as possible. Infact, they might be so arrogrant as to show off all their abilities. I suggest we lurk in the shadows, observe them as they steal the helmet. Identify the members, the leader, their Modus operandi and perhaps even follow them to their base. Trust me when I say knowledge will be infinitely more useful then an single artifact." He leaned back in his chair, sliding out an Mauser C96 and began polishing it.

[Ouearotion]

Etani laughed at Silva's hasty comment, "Ben, the Cult isn't just a bunch of cavemen who are going to strike in just a day. Believe it or not but the cult will be prepared for this, and if we just rush everything and miss one aspect, not only do we lose the share but we might also lose a team member. Now come sit down a chair and feel the power of the round table, it'll clear your mind and help you think straight." He then pulled out a chair near him and signaled Silva to sit in it.

[Aldares]

Serafim knew that Francesca had seen something suspicious about him, and he wasn't taking any more chances. So, he refrained from following her any further, and instead decided to walk around Venice while he made a call to St. Petersburg.

"Vorona?" He spoke into his phone.

"Sveta? Why are you calling?" A soft female voice on the other side, with a thick Russian accent, enquired.

"I hope you haven't relayed the info I gave you to the Protectors?" He asked, sounding nervous.

"You know I did. We play for both sides in this game, Sveta...and none at the same time...For the time being, you will stay faithful to the Cult, and I will focus on manipulating the Protectors."

"I don't want to get killed." Serafim spewed, sounding fearful and furious at the same time.

"If you stay loyal to the Cult, you'll be fine." The voice spoke to him, and then gave him a farewell. "Hail the Tsar. May the House of Romanov rise again and live forever...Good luck, Serafim."

"Fuck off." Serafim blurted and shut his phone off, instantly feeling a pang of guilt for his manners. But he dismissed the emotion as he walked back to his residence, ready for the suspicious looks he just knew he'd get.

And then there was the cold gem in his pocket.

"Fuck you...little piece of shit..." He insulted the mighty object as he walked through the threshold.

"Out for a walk, hmm?" Lucius awaited his partner patiently. The only way he had gotten to the room before Serafim was his artifact, which allowed him to walk through walls. After he had found the Russian suspicious, he made his way following him discreetly, but knew where he was going when he put some of his thoughts together. The rush of cold air that greeted Lucius made him shiver a bit, but he was slowly getting used to it.

[Len Hyet]

Silva remained standing.

"They have just murdered four men who were uninvolved with either of our operations to move closer to this grab. They have four of their most powerful artifacts in the hands of four of their operatives. One new comer, the Shadow Pup, the Italian, and one of their other senior members. The grab will be inside of forty eight hours. They would not risk keeping such a cell together for too long. Please tell me what we're missing. We have the identification of their cell members, the target, and if we move quickly, the element of surprise."

[Lambrinisia]

Francesca stayed in that room for a few hours, spending her time going over the layout of the museum and the security patrols in her memory. She glanced at her watch. The dial read a little after 8:30pm. The redhead wondered if she should pull in a certain favour from the ranks of the Metropolitan Police.

[Lucantis]

Made it, I thought. Before the taxi went, I hopped onto another shadow and headed inside. I kept switching shadows until I got to the correct gate. The plane wasn't going to Venice directly. It would make 2 stops; one in London and one in Rome. I will have to hitch rides at Rome, I thought. I am sure someone caught on to me.

[Ouearotion]

Silva remained standing.

"They have just murdered four men who were uninvolved with either of our operations to move closer to this grab. They have four of their most powerful artifacts in the hands of four of their operatives. One new comer, the Shadow Pup, the Italian, and one of their other senior members. The grab will be inside of forty eight hours. They would not risk keeping such a cell together for too long. Please tell me what we're missing. We have the identification of their cell members, the target, and if we move quickly, the element of surprise."

A wide smile then appeared on Etani's face. "Look at you Ben, on top of things like you always are." His smile then turned into a frown "Though seeing how murders of innocents are beginning to happen means that the Cult is moving faster than before." He stood up from the round table and walked over to Silva. "I was wrong before, we have to hurry and steal the helmet before they do." Now having lost all of the influence the table, Etani took a quick glance at his bracelet before looking back at Silva. "Okay let's get going, we have a helmet to steal."

[Lambrinisia]

It turned midnight at the museum and the guards changed around. Francesca had dozed in the room, conserving energy. Now, as her phone silently vibrated its alarm, she awoke. It was time.

The leader of the Cult cell moved quietly, avoiding the guards' patrol paths and headed for the Roman exhibit, stopping once to open the back entrance for her team. She was relieved to find them all there, waiting for action.

Everybody had their part to play and she would trust that everybody would do so. Shadow would eliminate security, whilst Lucius and Serafim would remove other pieces to hide what their true aim was. Her own mission was clear. To steal the helmet at all costs. She carefully made her way into the Roman exhibit and looked around. The Cassis was located in a corner, near the archway that served instead of a door to the room. It would be out of sight for any guard patrols who walked by. Francesca picked up the Cassis of Venice and slowly lowered it onto her head.

[Nova Imperius]

30 miles outside Moscow, Vladhilm Manor

Alexand Petrovitch III was now sitting at the Iron table, over looking his vast expanse of garden. His bultler, Barnsley, stood strode over to his side and elegantly lifted his cleaned plate away. Petrovitch's attention now was drawn to the Moscow Times which was looking unusually thick today. As he lifted the Paper from the table a bundle of documents fell out with the words "Интеллект докладе о культе" printed on the front. This translates as "Intelligence report on the Cult" in English. Petrovitch callec to Barnsley to check on the Hounds, which were located at the opposite side of the estate. This would give at least half an hour to Petrovitch to read through the report. As he fell deeper into the report his eyes grew large and heart went racing as he read of the spherical ruby. As he heard references to the destruction of the Ruby into many shards he glanced at his pocket watch. After 35 mins he was only a few pages from the conclusion of the report when he began to notice rouges becoming present. He read down a chronological list of all the the assasinated member of the Cult and the Protectors and a shiver riped down his spine. He was a Target. He glanced around him and, as an ex-militaryman, noticed thousands of locations in trees, bushes, and long grass where a sniper could hide. Feeling uneasy he hurridly walked towards the house and bolted the doors as he entered. He was not prepared for a life in the Cult, at least not yet. As he walked, thinking of his mortality, he came to an elevator. After entering the doors closed behind him and the lift remained stagnant, then a small screen appeared and Petrovitch pulled out the Pocket watch and held it an inch from the screen. After seconds of scanning the lift came to life and began lowering Petrovitch down. As he waited he read the final lines of the report,

"...We are also pleased to report that the requested facilities for Vladhilm manor have been build and installed and all further documentation has been destroyed. As you leave the Elevator you shall be met with a 30cmx30cm lead box. Please insert this document into the box . Within the box a series of explosions shall fully atomise both the Document and the Box."

The doors opened and as promised the Box was there, along with a few other things. As Petrovitch wandered this new facility he mumbled,

"Now, i am prepared!"

[Liriena]

It turned midnight at the museum and the guards changed around. Francesca had dozed in the room, conserving energy. Now, as her phone silently vibrated its alarm, she awoke. It was time.

The leader of the Cult cell moved quietly, avoiding the guards' patrol paths and headed for the Roman exhibit, stopping once to open the back entrance for her team. She was relieved to find them all there, waiting for action.

Everybody had their part to play and she would trust that everybody would do so. Shadow would eliminate security, whilst Lucius and Serafim would remove other pieces to hide what their true aim was. Her own mission was clear. To steal the helmet at all costs. She carefully made her way into the Roman exhibit and looked around. The Cassis was located in a corner, near the archway that served instead of a door to the room. It would be out of sight for any guard patrols who walked by. Francesca picked up the Cassis of Venice and slowly lowered it onto her head.

Serafim found himself smiling at the works of art he was stealing, each more beautiful than the last, and a voice deep inside his head told him that it was a pity he had not visited this palace before.

Then he remembered his awkward conservasion with Lucius, only a few hours before.

"Well, Lucius...the lack of a social life and the prospect of some warm sunlight was too alluring to ignore." Serafim responded with a warm smile. He liked this man already. "I assume that's the same reason why you were walking yourself behind me?"

There was an uncomfortable pause, a silence full of tension.

"I may not be a clairvoyant, but I'm not stupid, Lucius. You were following me...quite inconspicuously. A man with untrained senses would not have noticed." He told the man with praise in his voice before he began to walk away. "I'm going to go have some tea and bread. If you want some, feel free to ask."

His mind clicked and he was back in the present.

"Francesca..." He whispered as he held onto the most beautiful porcelain vase he had ever seen. "What do we do after we are done stealing these works of art?"

[Jormengand]

Pedro landed behind him. "Good day, fellow crystal user. How are you, and would you mind giving me your shard?"

That came out wrong. Fucking evil form.

Nathanael saw the man and was a bit surprised by his appearance and especially how he introduced himself. So he simply backed up a few steps and disappeared from all sight after making a smokey black essence taking the form of some kind of spirit, standing where he originally was, and decided to speak through the essence.

"Who are you?" It asked, speaking with many different voices at once, all echoing as if a spirit was talking, while it was just Nathanael talking through it. "How do you know about the crystal? And why do you want it?" He asked through it, hiding as he awaited a response, sending a text from his phone as he spoke through the essence conjured by The Reaver Crystal.

"I am Pedro Diablo Ignacio, a disciple of the god Drach'jya'lor'tu. I know about the crystal because he told me, and I want it to resurrect him fully, because he kinda quasi-died fighting Mushussu which is the only reason you have the freaking crystal in the first place. Also, I'd like to point out that I have twice as many artefacts as you, so you're probably going to get your arse kicked if you try to fight me. Any more questions?"

[Naretion]

After being silent for a few seconds, the shade of black essence disappeared, and Nathanael walked out from behind Pedro and uncloaked himself. "I was almost thinking of running for a second. Getting my friends to come, maybe help me. But nah...you can find me whenever you want, you know where I live. However the only reason I am alive and well right now is thanks to my crystal." He said, pulling out his bow and knocking an arrow into it, having black essence seep around his feet and lift him off the ground so that he was in a way flying. "So there's really no running from you is there?" He asked with a half-assed smile. "And I suppose that qualifies as my answer for 'do you have any more questions'." Nathanael said.

[Jormengand]

After being silent for a few seconds, the shade of black essence disappeared, and Nathanael walked out from behind Pedro and uncloaked himself. "I was almost thinking of running for a second. Getting my friends to come, maybe help me. But nah...you can find me whenever you want, you know where I live. However the only reason I am alive and well right now is thanks to my crystal." He said, pulling out his bow and knocking an arrow into it, having black essence seep around his feet and lift him off the ground so that he was in a way flying. "So there's really no running from you is there?" He asked with a half-assed smile. "And I suppose that qualifies as my answer for 'do you have any more questions'." Nathanael said.

"Indeed. Plus the fact that even if I can't see you, I can tell that you're behind me." He didn't turn around, just to add to the dramatic tension. "Although - the only thing keeping you alive, you say? Perhaps if you helped me attain more artefacts, I could remedy that. So, what sayest thou?"

[Naretion]

OOC:He uncloaked himself, you can see him =P

He stared at Pedro. "Not as in, if you take it, I die. More as in, I have nothing in my life to keep me from using the gun in my house from killing myself. Except my crystal. Without it, I'd have no place to live. I'd have no food to eat. I'd have been caught by cops for disposing of those that would do nothing but harm me. The crystal has given me purpose, and if you'd eventually need to take it from me whether I help you or not, then you are promising me nothing more but an expiration date extended to when you fulfill your desires." He said.

[Jormengand]

OOC: you said you were behind me, and I didn't turn around.
"So glad that we understand each other. And in any case, however worthless you think your life is, I'm sure we can do something about it, once the small matter of god being dead and the crazy dudes trying to free a bloody monster have been resolved." He turned around, and unsheathed Reasoned Strike. "So what'll it be? Definitely die now, or maybe die later?"

[Carathon]

Heinz scowled. " So only now you find it evident to alert me to the information you have gathered, instead of telling me first thing when I stepped in? " He sighed. " I suppose I could " convince " the Italian police to step in, in large numbers they could be useful cannon folder, maybe even an decent distraction. " He mused, while polishing the walnut grip of his pistol.

[Naretion]

Nathanael looked at the ground in contemplation for a moment, then looked back up. "If I agree to eventually give you my crystal after helping you collect others...."Then he stopped. "There's nothing you could do for me." He said, interrupting his sentence completely, then just staring at Pedro. "With this one crystal I can accomplish whatever I need to do to make my own life better. You're going to have to kill me, but first....you're going to have to find me." He said, re-cloaking himself and using the essence from to crystal to lift himself higher into the air and flew right out of the forest completely and to a nearby outdoor mall which was basically right nextdoor, and then landed in a mix of cars in the parking lot near the mcdonalds, quickly sending his friends another text, who luckily for him, were right outside the mcdonalds.

He waited in the mix of cars to see if Pedro would follow him.

[Jormengand]

Nathanael looked at the ground in contemplation for a moment, then looked back up. "If I agree to eventually give you my crystal after helping you collect others...."Then he stopped. "There's nothing you could do for me." He said, interrupting his sentence completely, then just staring at Pedro. "With this one crystal I can accomplish whatever I need to do to make my own life better. You're going to have to kill me, but first....you're going to have to find me." He said, re-cloaking himself and using the essence from to crystal to lift himself higher into the air and flew right out of the forest completely and to a nearby outdoor mall which was basically right nextdoor, and then landed in a mix of cars in the parking lot near the mcdonalds, quickly sending his friends another text, who luckily for him, were right outside the mcdonalds.

He waited in the mix of cars to see if Pedro would follow him.

Eighth power of the dragons: See invisibility.
Is that not kind of cheating?
Hey, he just went invisible. I think I'm kinda justified.

Pedro didn't show his minor surprise at a god's use of non-standard English.
Can we turn invisible?
Not yet.
Aww.

They followed him, with the sword put away. Approaching the crystal-user from behind by taking the long way around, Pedro jumped down behind him.

"Boo."

[Naretion]

When he heard the 'boo' behind him he leaped forward quickly with the strength of the crystal and across a street over a car, and then with the crystal's aid, sped towards the door of mcdonalds behind his friends in his gang that were at the mcdonalds and got rid of his invisibility and pointed to Pedro. "Get him!" Nathanael shouted, as they all turned to look at him. There were currently 16 of his gang members outside the mcdonalds and a few of them quickly pulled out hidden pocket knives, and certain others cracked their knuckles. One opened his car door and pulled out a bamboo stick.

As they all got ready to join the fight, Nathanael quickly aimed down and fired an arrow at Pedro, using the crystal to increase the speed the arrow flew so that Pedro had but a second to act before it would reach him.

[Nova Imperius]

30 Miles outside Moscow, Vladhim Manor Underground Facility

As Petrovitch walked further into the secret facility he grew more and more amazed. Everywere he turned he saw gleaming scientific equiptment, advanced weapons, and vast stores of food and essentials. It was just 3 months ago that Petrovitch discovered that his Father had spent millions building a Nuclear Bunker at the hight of the cold war in the 1960's. Upon discovering this bunker Petrovitch commisioned a team of scientists, engineers, and researchers to build a high-tech base with one idea in mind, to find the Shards! He had now walked into what appeared to be the central control room. This vast, spherical room was the control point of the whole base and had over 20 men sitting at pieces of equiptment or running back and forth between differnent workers, collecting Data. All these workers lived, worked and never left the base. They were on a year contract and were each promised $100,000 at the end of the year. All together over 50 men and women ran the base. At the centre of the control sat a small, transparent, crystal case that was currently open. Petrovitch walked forward to the case and shouted to the workers,

"Comrades! Today we make history! Today we pull away the veil of shadow that has blinded the Cult for millenia! Today we find the shards!!!!"

The case that that Petrovich now stood next to began glowing red. At this he unclipped the pocket watch from its chain and placed it in the case. At this sparks burst from multiple machines and scientists ran, frantic, around the machines. Then finally the glow in the case became green.

"The shard has stabilised!" shouted a small scientist with slightly bashed glasses.

After this proclomation the scientists broke into cheers and then applause. Then, without any warning a vast map of the world appeared on a 20 by 10 metre screen. A small red dot then hovered just at the edge of the O of MOSCOW. Another scientist then shouted that scanning was now in process. A broad, sinister smile now broke out over Petrovitch's face