Quirenyun's Imprinted [RP]

"Xanadu..." As an unexpected sigh of anxiety escaped from Raiden's lips-- for once, he called her by her name-- the poor Diclonius nodded his head and shrugged. Hearing her talk about the possible chance of consuming human flesh and collecting blood for that sweet yet dangerous vampire made him tense up. But he had to come to terms with it. She was, after all, a heartless wretch of Rion, said the nurses when he stayed in their infirmary for the first few rough days of his stay in Zhennka. At last, Raiden grabbed Xanadu's hand and began to gently tug her his way, heading out to the main building that loomed overhead. His thoughts swirling, clumping together as the vampiric girl spelled out in verbal cheer--

"OOH! Ooh! A mission, a mission~!"​

A death, A death.​

A promise, A promise​

A head for the lord​

A shattered light?​

A dream forever torn? ​

Chapter Zero: Fin​

 ​

~​

 

"Xanadu..." As an unexpected sigh of anxiety escaped from Raiden's lips-- for once, he called her by her name-- the poor Diclonius nodded his head and shrugged. Hearing her talk about the possible chance of consuming human flesh and collecting blood for that sweet yet dangerous vampire made him tense up. But he had to come to terms with it. She was, after all, a heartless wretch of Rion, said the nurses when he stayed in their infirmary for the first few rough days of his stay in Zhennka. At last, Raiden grabbed Xanadu's hand and began to gently tug her his way, heading out to the main building that loomed overhead. His thoughts swirling, clumping together as the vampiric girl spelled out in verbal cheer--

"OOH! Ooh! A mission, a mission~!"​

. . .​

A death, A death
A promise, A promise
A head for the lord
A shattered light?
A dream forever torn?​

Chapter Zero, End

Chapter One: Behind the Iron Curtain​

7:20 am, Zhennka Shi main building, meetingroom briefing
​

A red folder slammed down on a black-glass table which expanded out throughout the room. It's dim light only ever-so slightly illuminated upon the head of the Major General- his head slowly rising to meet the gazes of the unit before him. Softly, he took in a breath and sat down "It's never too easy to break down a mission..." he whispered under his thundering breath, opening the folder and scattering around some paper. Around the now calm Major stood around two guard dressed in drag black. One carefully stepped to the Major's side and whispered into his ear, then took a pack of papers from a shelf behind him and began to give each unit member a total of 7 pieces of paper. Raiden looked at the guard curiously for a moment and quickly clenched the papers between his fingers, feeling the excitement and anxiety of his first mission. Although he has never been here or has ever experienced anything like this, the awkward Diclonius stood respectfully silent and gathered his papers in a neat stack and placed it in front of it until the Major turned his chair around. "We got ourselves a little predicament involving a possible bio-terrorist ploy.."




"A...what?" Raiden asked suddenly. The major didn't even consider to answer his question as he moved on, clapping and turning on a projector. Funny enough, it showed the face of a beautiful blonde woman. Although the picture itself was in black and white, one can see and pick out that her outfit was a rather lightish yellow-white tone. The woman in the picture held out a certificate in one hand, and a pistol on the other. Raising a brow, Raiden couldn't help but make his presence noticed once more. "A girl..?" Looking back, he stood quiet for a moment and then continued."Not just any girl. This...is why we're here." Chuckling, the major continued, "This woman here is Professor Lilia Lange- a professor based on our sister military property and base called Sushana-Nalj. Now, before anyone wants to interrupt or ask why this woman is our first slide, let me clarify a few burning questions...First of all, she is the center of our worries right now.." 

The picture changed into another picture of a fighter plane formation, dropping endless bombs on the coastlines of a tropical area not close to Quirenyun's frigid cold bay area. The picture seemed very old. ​

"The year is 1691: Bay of Denalii, Iyozake`. The war of independence within the Sinchaunese continent and the Pyokarzai/Iyozake regions was coming to a bitter end. The hold in which the Finlandian forces were keeping on the native Mantuanese- whom were very brave enough to assemble into militias and challenge the Rosean Prime- were finally beginning to loosen. Their forces were grand...their weapons far beyond our time....and yet we were gaining the upper hand. However, as our bombers from our first division flighter squad of the Colony of Quirensushana-Feing mercilessly dominated the skies and destroyed bases like devils within the heavens, there was a much more diabolical war happening within this one. A war in which shed as little blood as possible, yet, had a new reputation to betray those who played the game. This war...was one which had no victor....

The Genome War. "​

The picture changed again, showing a group of scientists pouring a bit of fluid within the mouth of a helpless war captive. He was squirming, gripping the armrests and tearing the leather coating which adorned it. ​

"In order to keep a balanced tab between the Rosean-Throats and the ever-so honorable Mantuanese coalition, our hero ..the Mantuanese developed a virus in which was categorized as a auto-immune attacking agent. Their original plan was to use this on invading forces from the Rosean Imperial Army. To plague them and make it so that even the slightest puff of air could infect them with ungodly agony. However....as this new biological miracle began to take it's form, it was abused...





Their developers took their creation and hid it from the entire world shortly after a breakthrough was made. Nobody knew it's whereabouts, but, they indeed knew the fact that this new virus came in the form of a liquid. It has been tested, been modified, and the men who were left out of this project had no clue whether or not these hijackers would use this on the Rosean forces or on their own people. Since this virus had such great potential...many of those who were part of this project to create it feared that one day...it will return to haunt us all. And so the war went on.....We won, our country was born, and that virus was never heard of again....until now, at least.."

 

The Major turned to Ziera and bowed his head for a moment. He took in a breath just as he pulled out a paper, turning it around and showing off an intricate chart decorated with complicated equations. However, on the bottom of the paper..contained some sloppy writing. It was a paragraph long-- all written in capital letters in the native language which the general knew but nobody else did. Grenian. "Take this virus as a common ailment for Miyoku, for example." The Major folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket. "Nature has many complex pathogens which for some of it's children create illnesses. While for others it does not take any effect. Nature itself has created a web of diseases as a way for population control, evolution, and other essentials. And as you may know, some sicknesses our fellow kin contract do not affect us. And finding a way to manipulate this...can bring you a lot of power, wouldn't it?" A soft and calm voice began to harden. It seemed as though the Major himself was hesitating on something in his mind, making it hard for his lips to utter out something before he snapped and the picture in the presentation changed. A fluid transition interrupted Major's conversation with a photo like no other. It was lop-sided: black and white and aimed up to the skies although it did not reach it's intended angle. One could see a muddy floor from the bottom right corner while on the top right peaked a pale, arched foot. Whoever took the picture seemed to have done it in secret. But beyond the picture was something far more chilling up ahead. Two legs standing in front of the woman. 3 tendrils dripping with fluid-- some fluid itself not even dropping to the floor. And with that, Major spoke up again. "Professor Lange; She intended to help us stop this fiddling of nature's delicate system of control once piecing the puzzle together."

"What is this puzzle exactly? It started out as a merely minuscule problem..." The picture soon changed into the world map of Mantua. " More than a few years ago, we began to track unusual activity in our very own country and from the eastern provinces of Mantua by means of migration and unusual "veins", as we call it, of money being transfered through a struggling country out east up to a country that...well..really isn't as stable as you may think. This kind of strange pattern attracted a lot of attention by the governments of the Sinchuanese continental regions and Chiroken. The money that should have been going into our economy was mysteriously vanishing at an alarming rate. " The Major glanced at Raiden for a moment, whom looked right back at him before he moved on. Raiden pressed his lips together before raising a hand. "So this is all about 'who's taking our money?' How does that relate to this virus you introduced to us?"

The Major slowly sat down and pressed his fingers together. "It gave us a hot trail, really." Nodding, Raiden sat back on his chair. "How so..?"

"First of all, we saw that the money vein that was sucking our country's status dry began within a community in Ojigra. Immigrants from Naedel began heavily settling there, working, and then our agencies began to notice that their incomes did not reflect with the normal spending families here usually do when earning a certain amount. Nobody was spending. They were just sending it down to other people in other countries within the vein's path." People? Coming here? The poor Diclonius couldn't wrap his head around that concept. From the moment he arrived in Quirenyun, he found it quite desolate. Only remembering one village, Raiden once came to a conclusion that Quirenyun was scarcely inhabited. Apperantly he was wrong, but then again, he never left Zhennka Shi's property. So with that, Raiden added onto his list of burning questions. Still following the Major's lead of information, obviously. "Now..you're saying people come here to work..and have less fortunate families at home...so they transfer money away..?" He lingered for a moment. "Taking into account that they are earning a lot yet spending little, the info you're giving me isn't clearing anything up...its--"

The Major sighed with annoyance. "Let me finish." Raiden quickly silenced himself and waved at Major to continue on. "Once looking into it, we found that transfering-- the act in which immigrants send money they earn here to their families-- was at an all-time high. From here to the vein and then ending up in Naedel, obviously. It went both ways..."

"Suddenly, we began receiving a massive influx of...oddly enough, mail. Packages from families in Naedel which at first seemed to have been a result of mighty thankful family members 'repaying' their relatives in Quirenyun for giving them cash. In the light of that, we ignored it...which we regret to this day." The Major stayed quiet for a moment and then continued on. "After such influx, a strain of what we believed to have been a lethal form of inhilation Anthrax came around. And believe me, it spread mercilessly across heavily populated areas all around...thankfully, Zhennka Shi is too remote to have ever gotten in this strain's path." 

Raiden blinked and leaned in."That sounds really horrible.."That mysterious strain, Anthrax, was something he did not hear before. The Major took out the paper he folded and then placed it down. "It spread like mad...killing off many of the innocent people around here. But something struck us in surprise which was unusual....nobody let out any panic. At such a time where your family fell one by one with such a wicked illness, not many showed fear within the Ojigra county and area."

Raiden snapped his fingers in realization. "So the virus was the anthrax within the surge of mail?"


"Yeah, we began to think that the virus was being spread through the rapidly-developing mail vein. So this is where Professor Lange came in: We sent her to Ojigra to collect samples after the wake of this strain. She insisted in finding out if that strain was the virus being introduced into the public. It all seemed shady to us even before we sent her out there-- it was strange how we got the strain of anthrax shortly after tracing the path in which our money along with currency from other countries was vanishing to. The money vein reflected the path in which the strain affected through. They ran through the same countries, the same cities, the same people. And the money vein's trail, to us, seemed to have been a ruse created by who knows who back in Naedel in order to slowly introduce the strain to our continents and countries."

 

"While that would be utterly fantastic, I'm afraid that the strain which is in our focus has already been studied extensively. But, there was a catch to it when we finally began breaking it down-- mind you, this anthrax strain consistently changed.." With a breath taken in after a statement towards Gavvin, his gray eyes rolled down to the piles of papers with an intent to find something. He then looked up and snapped his fingers. The picture changed once again, showing the very virus in a microscopic scale. Everything seemed...strange.

Raiden looked down for a moment as well as he tried to connect stares with his pile of papers, looking up momentarily at the Major while shuffling his papers together. The Major pointed at the screen."After a couple of tests, our only viable samples of this strain died out. And knowing us and how we test, it was only a matter of hours before the strain itself vanished. With our breathing masks at hand, we began to travel around the affected areas...even across the Royale sea to our brothers-- Nothing. The strain came and went without any reason, affecting what seemed to be a specific type of animal-- Sky serpents, what is a majorly large minority within our country and others."

"As I've read," The Diclonius began, "Sky Serpents are known to be fairly resistant to illnesses. Most of the time their immune system would break down the ailment and reduce it into a venomous discharge released through their fangs...which . . ."

Immediately, the Major gave out a smirk and nodded his head in slight amusement. "They bite their aggressors with in self defense, correct. You at least figured out how the strain eventually began to spread to the human population just before dying out unexpectedly. It began to give us more reason to send out our ever-so willing Professor Lange to our suspected source: Beyond Naedel."

" Now for final remarks just before handing you all some rolls and sadly transferring some of you in groups or other parties of importance towards this issue, as the Grand Premier stated in the letter." He quickly said just before glancing at the clock stationed just above his head.

The first mission. The first jolt of excitement, the first sound of final remarks. Those remarks, from the point of view from the many team members around, were always filled with such purpose. Dripping and overflowing with bone-chilling details about the objective to come as if it solidified into a mere, sticky liquid out of a small jar. The moment the screen went blank, the obvious new member of the team's eyes connected with each member rapidly. Even shooting off a glance of excitement towards Xanadu, in which Raiden quickly retreated due to the fact that he might provoke her and spread his twisted joy to her. It was a beginner's way of communicating joy, but a rather foolish thing to show to a vampire. And it was not enough to notice it pulsing out of Raiden's being silently with glances and occasional smirks, The Major himself crossed his arms and tilted his head down in response to give out his next words. "Despite the fact that we studied the strain before, our professor and the informant of our sister ally were sent out to investigate the suspected source of production of the strain and relayed to us some important information regarding their status in the area in which we will be sending you tonight." He stated, turning his back on the unit to wave his hand off at the guards. They knew what they had to do. Once giving a salute, the drag-black men walked out the door and stationed themselves outside of it. Raiden blinked in response. "To...Tonight..? I read that immediate departure requires a live-or-death situation to be at hand with the assignment. May I remind you-"

He stopped the young man immediately with a raised hand. "May..I remind you that this is a literal life-or-death situation involving our own security and citizen." One finger snapped up, then he turned his head rather strangely. "One: Our informant, professor Lange, lost contact with our head of security a few days ago. She used to send messages through her partner informant which accompanied her. And her messages of help are rather grim. She mentioned in one of her messages that so far she came to the conclusion that the substance of our worry is highly dangerous and should not be handled with bare hands. It has been proven to degenerate one's body at an alarming rate and of course...lead to one's eventual death. So by Rion's grace do /not/ let it touch you." A second finger then went up. "Two: She informed us that the place in which she is staying is heavily armed and guarded with some traces of warheads at hand. She also included a statement in which our new little enemy wished to tell her, hinting to us that he knows what we're doing. After that, the frequency in which she sent us updates of her findings within the area began to lessen."


"Three: Professor Lange herself grimly warned us that we should prepare-" Please...please please please be careful...I've seen their experimentation and participated along with them upon their poor, soulless captives.. "- for the worst if we don't take action. Because these veins were just a trail carved out as a ruse to unleash the perfected liquid hell upon us. Even a remote land like Nahiho wouldn't stand a chance. And neither can a young woman like her."

He slowly turned around to meet his unit, not even breaking his steel complexion. "And now four: my unit. Your mission, if accepted, will be to infiltrate the source of production of this genetic abomination and bring two items for us. "

"Carefully bring us a large, lasting sample of this new danger as quickly as possible for examination-- we need to prepare ourselves for the worst, and knowing their game will put us ahead of it. And of course, break out our Professor if she is found alive. I will split you in groups of two for maximum efficiency and time, as we do not have much time to remain there without attracting attention."

 

"Xanadu has proved to be an important force within the unit based on strength and speed."The Major began with an eyebrow raised at Lucea's strong statement. Lingering behind the iron clad vibrations escaping his lips was an essence of dark words, inconsiderate tones. He continued anyway with his gray eyes stuck on the photoimperist. "A force not to be reckoned with as a fool, therefore I've already taken the liberty to assign her to your unit for safety measures. I'm well aware of her potential, so let us make sure we don't waste it within follied hands."

The Major himself had finally taken a pause just as his hands reached down bellow to the papers handed out by his guards only moments ago. Fingers scrummaging through every thin piece, eyes scanning each letter print and picture of evidence. The Grand Premier had outdone himself this time, he said as a hidden thought statement in his head. The evidence in which foul play and danger were stated was heavier than ever. It almost provided a filthy aura to it. Once finding a particular paper, the Major's finger slowly plucked it out from the stack and snapped it out in front of him in order to straighten it out for reading. "The good professor sent her last distress message a few days ago, so there isn't much time to waste among ourselves. You all will be transported to the Zurika Island just east of here and located within the far reaches of this planet itself. Both search parties will be united in the beginning of the mission and will be expected to reunite once both missions are complete within reason. " He looks at Raiden for a moment, then looks back at the paper. "Lucea, Raiden, and Xanadu, you will be working together in team A. This team will focus on a very risky hostage retrieval mission in Kamo-Nagasi Prison Camp. This camp is located south-west of the dropoff point-- the main island of Zurika. " With a nod, Raiden smirked and grabbed the stack of papers handed to him. "Heh, super."

"Ziera, Tatsuo--" Only two names call out before the Major continued. "Since you two will be dealing with investigating the production site and snatching a sample, I'm afraid your team will be small in order to not increase chances of detection. You two have a vital job, mind you. And working as a duo will secure a quick and successful infiltration." With these kinds of assignments, stealth and secretive movement was an agent's best friend. The world itself-- being the myriad of governments commanding and protecting their pools of masses and societies- never knew what other countries were doing behind their backs. The job of an operative was to ensure their homeland's safety and nothing more. Their measures, being the missions that they partake in, were always wrong in retrospect. But nobody was to ever know that. If the governments knew, the world knew. And the world would have more than enough excuses to deploy their own flawed efforts to topple down weaker establishments. That in itself would topple down order as a result. And so these unit members were to be unknown, non-existant to the mortal world, only belonging to the secretive alternate reality of war games. This was their way of life.

The Major gave a nod and then turned to the silent man Gavvin, putting out his hand for a moment to address him."Gavvin, you will remain here and will be sent to our sister base to join the medical core group which will be investigating the sample Ziera and Tatsuo brings home. I trust that you will faithfully follow their orders as much as mine."

"Now...we shall move out to get ready. I expect you to get your needed equipment and meet me at the blackfield training ground at once. There you will be transported to the starting point just off the coast in which lies Zurika. Move out, head to the weapon clearance table out front and you will recieve your weaponry for the mission as well as supplies." The Major commanded swiftly, placing the papers down and stepping to the door. Raiden quickly stood up and did the same, only glancing at a photo of the professor laying about in front of him. Then with a deep breath in, he exhaled and walked to the door.

"I trust...that you will not hinder this important assignment, Ni-honho."

Raiden narrowed his pthalo stare and reached for the door slowly, then opening it and allowing the Major to leave first. "I wont. Unless you doubt the entire group behind me too." All the Major did was chuckle softly as he stepped out. "I don't in the slightest."

 

Nightfall: 16 hours remain.​

6th of T’eshǎji, 1729. 9:42 PM Zurikan Time.​

From all the preparation that took place before leaving the safe haven that was Zhennka Shi, propellers finally roared across the sky to mark the start of a dangerous mission. It was morning in Quirenyun when the unit and their grand cargo plane left. But as for their location, Zurika islands, the trip itself was found to be more expansive than anyone thought. The two tiny islands of Quirenyun's interest were located on the other side of the world, making it seem as though the night was ever-lasting once the plane began to pass the Mein' Gung continent, then Pyokarzai, and dipping deep south past Iyozake` towards the Arc of Flames region where it was barely entering its shift of the night. It was far from enjoyable. Very far from a nice, action-filled adventure for everyone on board. Looking across the aisle from where he was sitting at, Raiden glanced at the Major before looking down and observing his new uniform placed on him: A black sneaking suit. Double-padded on the collar bone, shoulders, and knees for extra protection. The curious and tired Diclonius gave out a simple sigh and patted down the straps on his shoulders. They were there for something, some reason. And just before Raiden got the oppertunity to talk, the Major rose up and looked to a soldier sitting in front of a door leading to the cockpit of the plane, giving him a slight motion of his finger. "Alright now, we've hit Zurikan oceans. Due to certain aero and aquatic sanctions placed in this region specifically in my times of young age, we only have 4 minutes each to drop both your groups into your starting points before our aircraft is caught by surrounding radars stationed on the west and north of our current point in space." With a small, civil nod, the Major tapped his shoulder and looked at each of his unit members. Thankfully for Raiden, he was going to at least explain what the straps and the little baggage in his back was for. Carefully, he walked over to the other end of the plane and placed his feet on top of a slightly elevated platform, then spoke with grace. "To ensure your safety and the safety of Operation: Ribbon Seeker, you will all arrive at your destination by sky diving to it. Simple as that, and the least complicated method of entering enemy soil. I expect you all to use your time wisely once hitting the front lines, men-- and women." The Major gave a brief glance at the three women on board. "I...expect great things from this generation of black operatives. Carry on the torch your bretheren before you carried, and burn the bridges to lead the way for Quirenyun's sake."

He blinked, feeling the belt buckle holding him down on his seat suddenly slide off his form. A crackling roar of metals unlocking, clashing and sliding off his form and sliding off the forms of the others one by one. The hand of Zhennka Shi's young unit pulled down on the leaver with force and then opening the gate that separated the unit with the outside skies of the world. A twisted look of panic soon engulfed his otherwise calm composure upon feeling the sudden wild gales of the outside world. The Major cocked his head to the side to take a good look at the land bellow before yelling out. The winds of the night sky were so strong that even the Major found himself struggling to make himself heard.

"Lucea! You will be the first to jump! I shall contact all of you once you've arrived via codec, and remember to wait for the rest of your small unit to arrive as well! Oh, and before I continue on; Pull the lace on your shoulder to activate the parachute TEN seconds after you jump, understood?!"

Jump?! Thought Raiden with panic. Instinctively, the Diclonius rose from his chair forcefully and nodded his head, running to the middle of the aisle before looking around with panic. "M-Major! Sir! SIR! You never told us we'd have to jump out of a plane to arrive! I thought we were going to land!!"

"Land in what, the fucking jungle? Has your Southern Finlandian brain gotten the best of you?!" The Major growled back, motioning the Diclonius to get closer and prepare. "You have a double parachute on for a reason, boy. You'll be aiding Ms. Paperblack on her decent too due to her...well, 'restraint problem'." he pointed at Xanadu and her black tablet quickly. Time was certainly running out, and the unforgiving winds let in by the opened gate of the plane's far end was making it riskier and riskier to let it's riders jump. With anxiety coursing through the Major's veins, he yelled out and forcefully slashed his arm to the opening with annoyance. "Now get ready, Ni-honho! Lucea! You may now jump, and good luck!!"

"YES SIR!" Raiden yelled out in response. It was only a matter of time. And the uncertain world bellow awaited team A...

 

Raiden's eyes flickered back and forth in anxiety upon stepping onto the platform leading to the vortex of winds. Danger screamed in his mind, in his chest which pounded in an uneasy tempo-- the only thing the Diclonius wanted to do was rip his way out and break free, to let the power of his beating heart shatter the confines of the plane as soon as possible. It had only been three minutes since Lucea jumped before Raiden was due to follow suit. The soldiers standing by near the entrance of the cockpit were busy relaying hand signals between some of the supporting pilot cadets to the Major himself, each hand signal telling them from the conditions within the plane to the conditions, pressure, and geography they may face down bellow in the uncertainty of the Zurikan grounds. One soldier gave a nod and turned his back on the cockpit and faced the Major silently, twirling his index finger enveloped in the thick black fabric of his glove at him-- It was time.

Raiden shook the thoughts out as quickly as possible and snapped right back to attention. For a moment he looked at the soldier giving the signals with intrigue, gazing upon his interesting blue eyes which flashed at him with a familiar cold look, but then his eyes flickered back at the Major and proceeded to give the Major the final signal.

" Ni-honho! You know what to do." His stalwart voice roared, tapping the metal walls encasing the entire plane. "Get the professor and for the love of Zhenn...Don't...just don't drop Xanadu...!"

Raiden looked back at Xanadu and released two vectors and proceeded to wrap her tightly between their psychokinetic hold. Knowing how dangerous and unpredictable the girl can be, Raiden retracted his two vectors back just enough to pull her body close against his chest. Upon doing so, the Diclonius tightened the grip to make sure she was not able to move or fall during decent. All was well in preparation, however, the awkward feeling of being so close to someone made him uncomfortable. Not to mention the aroma of the vampiric girl filling up his nostrils with the scent of death and decay. Raiden's face almost shrilled up with the lack of comfort, but composed his expression just enough to grant Xanadu a small, simple smile.

"I know you're ready... I wont keep you waiting, Miss." He whispered, then with a deep breath he finally stepped to the platform and leaped forward, feeling the powerful scrapes of the winds hitting his entire body. A fearful tinge turning into a rush like no other. The silver lining of the moon, the dark and majestic clouds, the carrier plane that carried them to their destination began to swirl uncontrollably and distort around as the duo spun almost wildly. Raiden's head dipped down and pointed bellow in order to have his body and Xanadu's point straight down in total control.

One.

One arm tucked in while his two ghostly limbs wrapped tighter around Xanadu.

Two...three...

Soon enough, a chain of mountains unveiled itself from the shrouds of a blanked of gray rainclouds in front of Raiden's field of vision.

Four....five....six.....seven...
Feeling the cord in his fingertips, Raiden allowed his index finger to slide through the ring and maintain a grip on it. His mind was slipping fast. Not only was the adrenaline rush weakening, it was carving a deeper gash in his sense of control. Even the diclonius's fingers began to shiver with the need to flail, the need to snap into protecting himself.

...Eight....nine.....T--
Pulling the cord, the only lifeline he and Xanadu had gracefully detached from the strap it was attached to

--T--Te-

...but nothing happened. Raiden's finger let go of the failed string and watched it dart up above him helplessly.

---Te---​

That was it.​

 

Out of sheer bad luck was the freefall from hell. Raiden's entire being stayed frozen well beyond the point of parachute deployment; there wasn't any point in pulling the second cord for the second parachute anymore. Both of his frightened eyes remained stuck on the speeding sight of the vast wilderness phasing past him, memorizing the Diclonius into complete inactivity. Then it hit him. Just in the nick of time after Xanadu broke away from his weakening hold, the very fabric of ghostly mass that were his vectors flickered in and out of existence, weaving through the barriers standing between tangibility and intangibility. It was as if the jump and the scenery held a gruesome grip on him, allowing his head and arms to slump forward and let the wind become his power. Soon enough, his vectors materialized once again and darted forward, grabbing onto each branch fluidly to save himself from the fall.

And--


/Ni-honho. Report your status with Paperblack./

The Major stood against the wall, intently listening to the iron clads of the pistons bringing up the cargo's door. Like any mission, codec transmission was vital for communication between MCU (*Mobile Command Unit) and the SOA.(*Special Operations Agent) By pressing his index finger in his ear slightly, where the codec receiver was placed, instant communication was granted. Or was it for Raiden and Xanadu? Turning his back on the cargo door, he faced Ziera and Miyoku with an empty expression and lowered his hand. "You should double-check on your equipment, even your Codec. Even the most complicated of Retro-Grenian technology can malfunction at times. But if our goal is to succeed in this mission, we must make sure our only means of communication is open." Silence. "The political sensitivity of this mission is nothing more than a thin line that separates you, the operatives, from receiving aid by our Government or anyone in that matter. You're all alone, and your only companion is the code-"

It was as if time slowed without warning. It only took one glance, one freak chance of luck for the Major to spot something terribly wrong behind Ziera-- The cockpit entrance. Above the door flashed a thin ethereal string hanging down and enveloping around the gloved finger of a soldier. The young soldier squinted his blue eyes at the Major mockingly, contracting his chest in a chilling laugh. He could only see the strand for more than a second before it vanished before his very eyes. The soldier finally spoke, this time in an empty tone:

"Kaboom."​

"WH--"​

One intricate chain of blasts burst all around the area of the cockpit in order to split it into an almost-perfect half. Over the distance could be heard two additional explosions from the engines just before the plane; more or so the two halves of it, began to dip down to the earth in a forceful freefall. On one end was the Major, Ziera, Miyoku, and Tatsuo....and on the other was a now-happy soldier holding onto the melted edges of his half of the plane.

"Welcome...to Zurika."​

 

The element of surprise went hand-in-hand with the unknown, so much to have caused the most solid man in Quirenyun to break his civilized image of a true Quiyon man. Fingers dug deep in the boiling metalic edges of the plane with pure anger surging just above through his cold slate eyes. The pain between his gloved fingers and the heat were ignored with two goals of the moment that were important for the Major: Leave the plane and kill the one's responsible. There was no time left to decide on which would go first anymore from the looks of it. The proud Major stuck his head out the cut off plane and felt the humid winds blow one direction in particular. Behind him were only remains of burning scrap metal and destroyed equipment that in no time were to be part of the coastline or the ocean below.  He only had to take in the breeze for a second before letting go and darting off the plane in a fury of feathers. Brown and silver cascades that took the forms of wings.

It was every man for themself now.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyuwan Forest, 10 minutes after deployment.

Below the firey showers of what was left of the Quirenyun cargo plane was a much different story. A story which brought no action but mystery. Silence away from man made industry covered the land which was named the forest of tears, Kyuwan. This area of Zurika housed the most dense population of towering trees connected by massive vines, waterfalls, valleys and energy. Energy that surged through revealing roots, in which the people of Mantua named "Eon." Above the forestlines were the mountains cutting across and around the lands much like Zhennka Shi. The Ta'na shi mountain range, much like any other high point of the desolate and humid island chains of Iyozake overlooked much of the land and served as a protective shield to monsoons before. As for tonight, though, Ta'na shi simply allowed low-altitude fog stream down it's bends much like water traveling downstream.

Under the ever-reaching moonlight revealed a man hanging from a branch by just a mere psychokinetic limb. Due to the fall and an expected switch to survival mentality, the young and dangling Diclonius aroused from a brief time of being out cold to only find himself between a couple of branches and vines. He let out a startled gasp and out of sheer instinct released two more vectors and proceeded to wrap one around the tree and another one at a branch just under his toes. In no time he made it to the forest floor, crushing a sinking bed of dead leaves and mud and almost giving off a dull chuckle of relief that he had yet again escaped the grasps of death by falling. The last time he fell, his memory and consciousness also betrayed him. By just taking a moment to recall what had just happened, Raiden couldn't help but chuckle at his weird luck. Once situated down below, Raiden's eyes began to scan the area around to only observe almost complete darkness in the forest that held the solemn cries of animals he did not even know about. Raiden willed his legs to march forward with much care despite the obvious sounds of leaves crunching beneath his special traction boots with each step he took. Even if the Major had mentioned to him the importance of keeping a low profile, Raiden could have easily came to that conclusion on his own judging by his mere instincts alone. He knew by experience that any sound one makes could betray them, one move can cross out their chances, and keeping in the shadows guarenteed them a chance to survive.  Nothing, absolutely nothing was around him but mystery, therefore his senses and overall mindset were almost glued to moving forward as carefully as he could. However, Raiden couldn't ignore the much more....trivial side of him: The lack of life and civilization. It almost made him paranoid knowing that such area as Zurika, a terrorist enemy camp, could retain no signs of human life so far. It seemed all too strange to him. There were no signs of life he knew and began to grow accustomed to or life he was warned to avoid. No buildings of any kind, no technology, not even a threat to his own life to keep him busy with something to fight or run from. Each step he took was a lonesome one. Each breath he took in was heavy, difficult, obstructing his very ability to swallow any spit stuck in his tensed up throat from the walk. What did he get himself into? How? If it weren't for the parachute failing, he would've landed in his designated area in a much closer range to his objective-- the Nagasi Prison Camp, the closest form of feeling some security in what he was doing instead of walking around in a shroud of the unknown and lost. Raiden gave a sigh and retreated to lean on a tree after walking for a few minutes. Just above his shoulder he suddenly felt a strange vibration eminating from the trees...almost...pulsing with some force before it stopped for a moment. The Diclonius blinked and proceeded to place a hand on it's almost luminescent, mossy surface, allowing his fingers to feel the pulsations pounding from it's trunk in a near-perfect rhythm.


The pulse felt like someone was either hitting the other side of the trunk with both their arms one-by-one or...

it felt like somebody was...almost walking on it. No matter how long Raiden's hand remained there, he couldn't quite make out the reasoning behind the stop-and-go pulse the tree trunk had. Maybe it was his imagination? No. It was time to begin asking questions. Raiden placed his finger into his ear until stopping on a small circular device placed within his ear-- The Codec. His fingertip slowly felt around the small button-sized device until feeling a small bump on it's surface, then pressed it until hearing a brief crackle of radio feedback. Then reaching down, Raiden pulled up his right wrist and began to tamper around with a black bracelet adorned with a turn dial until he began to see the dial stopping on a pair of numbers: 289-9. He closed his mouth slightly and began murmuring so quietly nobody near would even tell he was ever speaking.

\Major, this is Raiden. I've infiltrated enemy ground in peace. I'm in need of some assistance, though.\ Raiden paused momentarily and ran his availible fingers down the tree trunk as the pulses began once again. \Major? Do you copy? I'm in need of some assistance-- Something...-- I don't know if you by any chance could clarify me of Zurikan plant life-- Erm, trees specifically. Do...do they...pulse?\

Nothing was said in return but an eerie wave of radio disturbances fizzing in the background followed by some occasional "blips" and "pops" from the Codec itself. Strange, I thought this was new equipment...'must've broken on my way down here....I guess I'll try again to prove that theory right I suppose.

\Sir? Major, do you copy? This is Raiden from Team A, do you copy?\

Nothing. ​

Raiden cursed under his breath. "Shit. Raiden, you have no choice but to keep walking....you'll hit inland soon...yeah...." Looking up, the young Diclonius observed the only magestic sight his phtalo eyes can fixate on: The ridge lines of the Tan'na shi mountains. "They would never hide prisoners near the coastlines where any guy could just swim in and out with them....no, they have to be more inland...more isolated.."