Regardless, Zaeco forced his feet forward. This was going to be the only exit out of NorthRend, and Zaeco had no intention of getting left behind. Unfortunately, however, his legs were clearly not working properly, nor was the rest of his body as he found that he was constantly losing his balance if he even tried to walk fast in a straight line, and now understood why no one seemed to be walking straight.
And his fucking ears would not stop ringing!
As time passed and he made his way into the open, however, his balance was restoring itself, and the ringing in his ears were fading slightly. However, the sound of the explosions and loud cracks that were before him hardly brought any sense of comfort of having his hearing restored. Even if he didn't believe his ears, it was clear to see that explosions were occurring further ahead along with rapid movement, the dust cloud of the initial fireball strike now long gone.
Zaeco paused at the sight. That was a battle further ahead. Not practice, not a game, not the Graduate Tournament. No, up ahead was a real battle, and a mix of emotions flowed through him as time seemed to stop.
However, a passing Dragoon did not allow him to stop for long, and announced her presence to Zaeco by patting his back, and Zaeco turned to her and shouted 'Let's Go!' as she took him by the arm and forced him forward.
Now Zaeco Gregor's humiliation was complete and absolute. A girl was forcing him forward against his will, showing a much stronger sense of pride than his own as she forced him towards the battle further ahead without any sense of fear.
Fury rose through him, and after several steps of being lead forcibly, he broke the girl's grip from his arm and sped past her, refusing to allow himself to be lead by a girl any further.
As he proceeded further towards the battle ahead however, his restored ears forced him to slow down and look up on his left side, hearing a loud sound above him which he did not recognize at all.
It was about six to eight of the low flying machines that had been flying around NorthRend, and right now, they were flying directly towards Zaeco himself and the other Dragoons which had made it into the open, attempting to join the battle taking place at the south end of NorthRend.
His eyes widened as he saw small flashes emerging from the flying machines, almost like little flashes of fire, and every trained instinct within him screamed for him to get down, which he did, dropping to his stomach as flat on the ground as possible as he began hearing 'puts' which began striking the ground around him in an insanely rapid, kicking up small patches of dirt and grass as the enemy's weapons began striking the ground in an almost perfect and very unnerving line.
Now on the ground, Zaeco began to notice how many others were around him, and most of them were trying to run forward rather than trying to take cover or evade the flying machines, and Zaeco watched as one of the lines that were being kicked up in the ground shift rapidly towards a few of the moving targets, and Zaeco witnessed first hand what happens if someone was touched by the moving lines.
The individual was blown apart into two halves as red exploded around the individual, sending shockwaves into Zaeco's mind as he watched the blood and two separate pieces of what was once human, now dead, as they fell to the ground.
The image now burned into his mind, he turned up to the flying machines of terror as the flashes of fire continued, and Zaeco prayed to both the Dragons and Osirus that the machines did not notice him on the ground, perhaps even fly over him and giving him a chance to escape, since it had been beaten repeatedly into him that the weak area of these machines was directly below them, where they could not target anyone with their weapons.
However, this did not happen. Instead, Zaeco felt a gust of wind pass over him, and watched as some kind of invisible force struck two of the nine machines, (Zaeco had miscounted the first time) and they suddenly flew backward and out of control, striking two others which exploded into large fireballs which fell to the ground.
This sight brought Zaeco to his feet once more, and he ignored the flying machines as he pressed forward.
The fight further ahead, Zaeco saw, was now wearing down, and even saw other Dragoons began moving on past the fight, though Zaeco saw that a few others, including two ahead of him who were watching out for the flying machines as the Dragoons escaped NorthRend.
General Johnson slammed his fist into the arm rest of the chair he was sitting in as he watched the battle of NorthRend unfold on the multiple screens displayed before him, still aboard the Orion.
"Tell all units to discontinue pursuit. They got away." He growled in a frustrated voice. It was over once they had broken out into the open.
Then again, in all honesty, General Johnson felt he had no right to be frustrated or angry. It was his call, after all, to try a gamble and attempt to surround the Magi while hiding behind their barrier before his initial schedule.
"But sir, we can still continue-" Colonel Sanders attempted to say, but was cut off.
"No we can't Colonel, the boss is right, they got away. You should know that by now. The open is their greatest advantage, not ours." Johnson's aide, Lieutenant General Jax answered on behalf of SCAN.
Colonel Sanders went quiet, then answered with a nod. "Yes sir."
Colonel Sanders, Johnson knew, had been recently been promoted, and was now getting his taste of the bigger picture, something that somehow seemed so different than the pictures that are painted when commanding from the front.
"I do want to make something clear to everyone in this room, and bring our attention back to the lightning strikes earlier." General Johnson spoke next, the event he was speaking of bringing a silent shudder which seemed to shake through the entire bridge. Not one person on the bridge missed that sudden flash. And besides, even if one didn't see the flash on the screens or even in the distance, the sound of that strike was enough to echo through the Orion's hull, and nearly everyone on board had heard that strike.
"I would like to begin by saying that what we saw earlier is not something that is common among the Magi. In all of my time in fighting the Magi, I would easily put that as one of the top ten most powerful displays of power I have ever seen. Perhaps even the top five. Regardless, whoever he, she, or they are, they are our primary target from here on out."
"I want everyone to review all of the videos, transcripts, everything, everything we have on identifying who carried out that strike. They are our true enemy that we must defeat first. We absolutely cannot afford to have whoever that was throwing around their power like what we had seen. I can tell you right now, if we let them live, they will undoubtedly force us back into the North Sea, and perhaps even as far back as to our side of the desert. Understood?"
"Yes sir!"
General Johnson nodded as he stood. "Good. I'm retiring to my quarters. Lieutenant General Jax, it's all yours. Get everyone on the ground as quickly as you can before they counter attack, and possibly force us to start over."
"Yes sir." Benjamin Johnson heard from his aide as he turned and left the bridge.
Just who the fuck were they? Who the fuck still has that kind of power among the Magi? Johnson hadn't added the little fact to those among the bridge thatthose lightning strikes was the first display of that kind of power in years. Had Johnson been wrong? Had they put a stronger emphasis on the north than expected? Enough to send Class One Magi?
After all, only Class One Magi, Master level Dragoons, could perform such feats like that. Even groups of Class Three or even Class Two Magi could not match that kind of raw power.
Now Johnson felt real concern as he laid down, preparing to sleep for the first time in over 36 hours. Just how many hidden trump cards like that did the Magi possess? After all, Johnson understood only too well that just a handful of powerful Magi like that could turn the entire war around.
"I WANT ALL DRAGOONS SENIOR CLASS OR ABOVE TO ASSEMBLE TO ME!" Veteran Hailey demanded in an echoing voice which caught the attention of all who were present that had escaped from NorthRend. Although thinned out slightly, Veteran Hailey saw that the breakout had been a success, and casualties appeared to be minimal.
While Veteran Hailey waited, she took the time to dwell on the three special Graduates, and the rampage that the three of them had unleashed.
That kind of power...it was frightening to behold. Power of that level is not seen until decades of harsh training in the life as a Dragoon, and power of that kind should only be wielded by the old and wise. (Well, as old and wise as one could possibly be.)
The fact that that kind of power was in the hands of Graduates who were still so young, around ten years younger than herself, that was the true reason why it was so frightening. Were they even mature enough to wield that kind of power? Worse still, Veteran Hailey was now finding herself now relying on that same power, one that she feared might backfire someday if they were pushed to the brink.
Now she was starting to understand why she had been told to tread lightly concerning these three. She had not witnessed their escapade during the Graduate Tournament, but now had a far more appreciative understanding of why she had thought that others were just overreacting. They weren't, it was that she had not properly understood the situation as a whole.
"Go find our special three, quietly if possible. I'd rather not announce to everyone here that I'm relying on them, even if everyone knows it." Veteran Hailey told Veteran Brandall, who nodded and walked off.
Fortuna Iona wiped the sweat that were threatening to spill into her eyes, breathing heavily and feeling a little faint as she did so.
Not surprising, really. Once the barrier of NorthRend came down, the deepest pits of the Abyss opened, and chaos ruled the world around Fortuna. First there was the lightning strike which had knocked Fortuna to the ground while being nowhere near where she had been when they struck. That had been...that was something Fortuna felt was beyond this world.
Not even the Grand Dragoon's own Fury of the Skies, which had been unleashed during the Graduate Tournament, came anywhere close to what that had been. Her ears and head were still in pain from that event, which was now over an hour ago.
Regardless, she found her feet, and had made it to the outside. By the time she had made it to where the Tech soldiers had been positioned, most of them had already been taken down, allowing Fortuna and others to pass by and continue on without harassment to their next assembly area which was to be determined by the Veterans who had already gone on ahead to lead the withdraw from NorthRend.
Fortuna thought that they would never stop as she continued to run almost non stop for almost forty five minutes when she saw that everyone further ahead had finally stopped. And thank the Dragons they did, for Fortuna herself had been running on fumes as she finally forced herself to stop, puking when she did.
Fortuna felt shame flow through her as she retched. Long conditioned runs were a norm among the Magi, and this kind of distance she should have been able to do without being so worn down.
At the same time, a run of this kind was far different when running for your own life, rather than a controlled conditioning run.
"Geez, you're a hot mess. You alright?" Fortuna heard a familiar voice, and looked up to see Azreal standing above her as he gently patted her shoulder. To be honest, Fortuna thought that he didn't look much better than she did. Sure, he may not seem to be as physically exhausted as she was, and wasn't breathing heavy or sweating up a storm.
But his eyes...he honestly looked like he hadn't slept for days, and his tired smile of comfort barely had any life in it at all.
However, he still seemed to be the same old Azreal.
Fortuna felt a rush of emotions surge through her, and without thinking, propped herself up and jumped into Azreal's arms, who barely caught her before she knocked both of them over.
"Woah, woah, woah! Easy-"
But Fortuna was ignoring him.
"Oh by Osirus Azreal! I'm so happy to see you! I've been-I don't even know! I've been going crazy! Everything is fucking crazy! I-"
"Fortuna, seriously, chill out." Azreal cut Fortuna off, who was now crying.
"But-but-"
"Just relax. We're here, so everything's good now, okay?"
"What about the others? Who else made it!? I-I saw-"
Azreal pulled her tight to his body. "Just relax, okay? Don't think about anything you saw out there. Just calm down, you and I are here, and for the moment, that's good enough. Don't try to stress yourself out anymore." Azreal said in a calming voice, almost betraying the inner turmoil going on within himself, and had to hold back a shudder when everything he had seen flashed through his mind.
Thankfully, it was hard to put together clearly, since everything had happened so quickly that Azreal hadn't had time to observe the environment in the heat of the moment after the initial lightning strikes.
But it was enough.
Azreal himself had a personal hand in everything that had happened. As planned, Azreal had kept his distance from the enemy and attacked them with mostly fireballs, and he himself had sent dozens of humans aflame, enemy or not.
Although it was hard to see anything in detail from his distance, a couple dozen yards away, but the screams...the screams by far were the worst.
Azreal had heard screams of pain or suffering before over the course of his life, (Especially when around Angelus, who loved picking fights all the fucking time. Back in the day, anyway.) so he was somewhat accustomed to hearing people scream out when a they were struck hard with something, or a broken bone here or there.
But that, that paled in comparison to the voice of someone who was being burned alive.
"I am sorry, Graduate Azreal, but I must ask you to come with me." The voice of Veteran Brandall cut in, causing both Fortuna and Azreal to turn to him, seeing that he had somehow approached them without them knowing it.
"B-but-" Fortuna almost began, but Veteran Brandall cut her off.
"Another few minutes, then you are to come with me, Graduate Azreal. Veteran Hailey requests your presence." Veteran Brandall said as he turned and walked a handful of steps away to give them a small sense of privacy.
Fortuna and Azreal looked to each other, and without thinking, Fortuna tried to close in for a kiss, but it was Azreal who stopped her with a finger on her lips.
"Sorry, I'm not doing it to be mean, but to help us both. Let's just put that on the side for now. I've still got your back, okay?" Azreal answered, and Fortuna nodded.
"And I've got yours." Fortuna answered with a smile as she and Azreal gave one another one last hug before breaking apart.
"Catch ya later." Azreal said with a wave as he turned to join Veteran Brandall.
"Good luck!" Fortuna called out in response.
Angelus perched himself up against a tree and sat down tiredly, sufficiently far enough from other people. He just wanted to be alone. But, he knew it was coming. Where was it? It was just around the fucking corner somewhere, the annoying little fly that never stops annoying him.
"You shouldn't be by yourself, Angelus." Aegis' voice cut into Angelus' thoughts.
And there it is.
"Well, I'm here anyways, so that shows how much I care what you think." Angelus spat tiredly.
"And I'm here to show you how much I care. Deal with it." Aegis said as he perched himself up against the same tree with Angelus.
"Fuck you're annoying." Angelus sighed.
Aegis let out a slight laugh. "To be honest, I'm relieved to hear you be as rude as you ever were. It's refreshing, you really haven't been yourself lately."
Angelus grunted.
"Hey guys." A random, tired, and very unexpected voice weakly called out. Both Aegis and Angelus turned, and found themselves surprised to see Barka standing before him, a couple of bandaged cuts on his tattered battle dress.
"Barka, you actually made it out!?" Angelus blurted out, and Barka flinched slightly. Aegis sighed as he shook his head.
"No common sense at all. And I'm pleased to see you made it out Barka."
Barka's head sank in a little. "I didn't do much. I just got lucky, I guess. I-I even tripped along the way. Those blasts you guys did..." Barka stopped as he saw Aegis and Angelus tense a little.
"Not your fault Barka, I haven't really thought about all of it myself, it was due to start sinking in eventually." Aegis explained.
"Yeah. Anyway, lucky or not, come have a seat with us." Angelus offered, causing both Barka and Aegis to blink at him, stunned.
"R-really?" Barka asked.
"Sure. You made it this far. Even if it's just luck, I know I'd want a little luck around for when I'll need it." Angelus replied.
Aegis was even more surprised than Barka was. He wasn't expecting something like this from Angelus at all.
Angelus' head shifted between Aegis and Barka. "What? What's with the look? What, I can't fucking invite Barka to sit with us!? What the fuck!?"
"Relax Angelus, we're just surprised, that's all. Have a seat Barka." Aegis offered.
Barka hesitated slightly before sitting down on the other side of Angelus.
"So..." Barka awkwardly began. "Can, can I ask how you guys did it?" He finished.
"Did what?" Angelus answered, half playing dumb and half not.
"I'm afraid not. That question is best left unanswered. But yes, the glaring obvious truth is there. We are not...normal." Aegis answered.
"Oh...okay."
"Don't feel bad. No one is supposed to know, aside from the obvious." Aegis followed with.
"Why?" Barka asked.
"...if you must know, we are under direct orders not to talk about it. That is all I will say." Aegis said, causing a period of brief silence between the three men until Angelus spoke up.
"How did you make it out Barka?" Angelus asked.
"Me? I uh, I just followed everyone else, honestly. I mean, it was hard at first with those blasts, I was all messed up. But, you know, once I got myself together a little, I just followed everyone else. I didn't get into a fight or anything, by the time I got outside, the fight was already over and everyone was moving on. But those flying machines, they are really scary. I thought for sure they would kill me, but thankfully they didn't." Barka explained.
"Really? Well, I guess I didn't have a real run in with them. I saw them trying to get to us, but they were taken down before then. They also seem to be really fragile, since I only saw what appeared to be blasts of wind take them down."
"That's true for all of their flying machines. They are not designed for real flight like birds are, so when compared to that, their flying abilities are limited. A strong blast of wind easily knocks their machines down." Aegis explained.
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