-Neil Gaiman (Batman)

"Lady Brighton, we are approaching target! Make yourself ready for battle!"

"You hear that, John?" Moira barked, glancing through the port that she had opened only a few moments ago as the van began to speed up. "We are approaching rapidly to reduce the chances they can prepare something that might interfere with our entrance. This van will be stopping - abruptly - in a matter of moments, and the instant that it does, those doors will open. From then on, until we are safely locked away here again, we are in a war zone. Our objective is the complete and total annihilation of any Cabal inside this building, as well as the destruction of every piece of equipment, enchanted item, or stash of Foriian Dust we find, in addition to the reclamation of any Order property. If you find any clues as to what they might have been doing with our stolen goods or if you become separated and need assistance, use this."

Saying that, Moira handed John what appeared to be a simple radio, but based on his experience with Tricia's technology and the Order's general capabilities, he was quite sure there was more to it. Most likely it was designed to maintain integrity and communication through Barriers, that way the Cabal wouldn’t be able to isolate them.

"Thank you."

Moira only nodded as John took the item. John's stomach was thrown for a loop and his body was very nearly rocketed to the front of the cabin as the APC slowed down at a jarring pace, then came to an abrupt stop altogether. Amidst the cries of surprise from the rest of the occupants of the vehicle, Moira threw open the back doors and stepped free.

"Everyone, spread out! Search all rooms, clear your assigned floors, and leave nothing unturned. We have no idea what alterations have been made to this building - stay sharp and let no Cabal go unpunished!"

"Assignments? I thought you told me everything?" John asked as he and his allies stepped free of the van, setting foot in what was apparently more or less a warehouse. There was a large enough open area for every one of the Order's dozen-plus vans to cram in, emptying out knight after knight. Soon the area was swarming, and although there was no one in the immediate area that John could see, by the time he had finished his sentence, the pained cries of - he hoped - Cabal soldiers falling to Order knights was filling the air.

"I didn't tell you this part - because your assignment is to stay by me," Moira barked, raising her shield as she turned purposefully toward the far end of the area. "We are going to search the offices and secure the most dense area of this production facility. Given your tantalizing nature for any Cabal here, by my side is the most sensible place for you, and given your power and the aid of those around you, it would be foolish of me to not take advantage of your strength."

John nodded, with little else he could do. Without knowledge of the building around him - knowledge the rest of the Order apparently possessed due to some building schematics or such that was distributed without him - there was little he could do except stick to others. Perhaps it was John's absurd levels of empathy, but he wanted to see how Moira lived up to her acknowledgement of John as a 'friend'.

The two of them set off at a fast jog, aiming for a solid wooden door. John was rewarded for his patience in not asking what the plan was when Moira smashed through the door herself, raising her shield and setting off a light just the moment before splinters of wood were sent flying in every direction. John's moderate awe was nothing compared to the amount he was impressed when, a few seconds after her initial entrance, Moira's shield was assaulted by no less than a dozen blasts of mana. Fire, lightning, darkness, and light all burst apart on contact with the Shield Warden's unyielding guard. Meanwhile, she raised her hammer and let fly with an incantation of her own.

"The Lady shields us, blinds our foes, and renders all asunder before Her Light!"

Moira's shield lit with what must have been the wattage of ten thousand spotlights, causing even John to shield his eyes as the room before her was coated in raw energy. More attacks struck her but their accuracy was notably decreased as various elements and magical conjurations were dissipated upon the Order's emblem while Moira continued to stride inward.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?! Come, Newman, let these Cabal thugs show you how insignificant their efforts truly are!"

John was both impressed and off-put by Moira's zealotry, and her confidence, as she pressed farther inside. She had been so bold as to completely give away his presence, as evidenced by the few bolts that now shot past her instead of into her, erringly flying into various bits of the large warehouse around him and shattering, sizzling, or simply fading away on contact with various surfaces.

"Seras, Sophia, stick together and make sure I can keep an eye on your health bars. Don’t- shit, I forgot to add Moira to the party!"

John cursed his insolence. True, Moira was probably among the least likely of them to need healing - but he couldn't afford carelessness at the first minute of actual war! John glanced to where Moira was and cast a quick Observe.

Moira Brighton
Level 21 Paladin
<Warden of the Golden Rose>
1042 / 1050 HP
Relationship: 45
Alignment: +89
Status Effects: Blessing of the Golden Rose

"She got another level… but only one? She got a level in just a couple days before; I haven't Observed her in a long time. She must have been crazy busy with preparing for this war…"

John had already equipped all of his armor in the van, but he summoned up the Order sword he was finally becoming accustomed to utilizing and followed Moira in, choosing to use the other excessively wide door into what he hoped was the same space - there were far too many random blasts flying at him, and he didn't have a shield, unlike her.

Not for the first time, he regretted that decision. Though the door had no proper lock on it, there was a makeshift barricade on the other side of the door. Really, it was just a pile of loose objects, but it was enough to cause John to stumble, and as they realized their second entryway had been breached, some of the Cabal mages shifted away their targeting. Most were haphazardly thrown in an attempt to discourage entry, but a lone needle apparently comprised of ice did hit John's right shoulder, shattering as it contacted the armor.

-0 HP! [19 DMG negated by Runes of Disruption 1-4]

"Prep really is king. Team Batmaaaaan!"

John threw up a hand at the nearest mage who had been focused on him, pointing two fingers and fighting the urge to say "bang" as he released his mana. Light filled the room - almost as brightly as Moira's shield had done - and the Cabal soldier reeled back clutching at what once had been a functional arm as the half-assed magical barrier he had been able to erect shattered, and so did his elbow. The bolt of lightning had not only pierced his shield (and flesh) but had apparently passed directly through the joint, judging by the awkward way that his arm was hanging.

60 DMG!

"Ew, magic physics suck - I'm pretty sure that real lightning doesn't do that, right?" John groaned as he took cover while glancing over the room. More bits of arcane energy in various colors and forms collided with the space around him, while he ended up huddled behind a particularly large metallic desk with a massive scale atop it. This must have been one hell of a shipping and receiving station, because multiple blasts of energy impacted the scales and desk alike and neither budged an inch. The room was an office area but with massive walkways, presumably for pallets since there was a forklift awkwardly parked in the center of the room. Also most likely why it had two doorways, and speaking of which… Moira was tearing her way through the right side of the room, drawing a massive amount of attention to herself and thankfully keeping most of the fire off John and his arriving companions.

Sophia barreled in through the doorway with a grace John had not managed, tucking herself in behind a large metallic shelf filled with stacks of paperwork. Seras didn't bother to enter at all - she had positioned herself at the doorway, only her right side visible as she leaned into the partly-opened doorway and perched her rifle atop the handle. In such close quarters Seras didn't need the advanced scope John had purchased for her - it was safely tucked away in his inventory where it couldn't suffer from any unexpected damage. Using only the iron sights, Seras took aim and let hell rain in that tiny little office.

Two Cabal soldiers fell within a second of each other, one with a bullet through his forehead and the next with one through his shoulder as he tried to fling himself behind cover following the explosion of his ally. Sophia was fairly well pinned with her lack of ranged- oh, shit.

One of the Cabal soldiers raised himself up to strike, holding up a blue orb as Seras began to reload after depleting one of her magazines. Before he could do so, a flurry of crimson streaks connected with his chest, embedding themselves with a particularly wet "thunk". As the man cried out, John glanced over to see Sophia with one of her wings formed, extended, and… somehow rocketing several of her feathers off. The battlefield changed in an instant.

John's spine rattled in fear. His mind froze as he took in those around him - Seras had been the only person to ever accompany John into a real fight, and then in a situation so **** he never considered her status. As well as that, she'd been dismissed for her necromantic energies so often that John had forgotten about the uniqueness of the creations he was walking around with. Truthfully, given the sorts of incredible things he'd seen in this world between people like Tricia and a thousand schools and variations on magic, John wasn't sure most of his creations would normally stand out. But these people knew something about him. How much he wasn't sure - but it was enough. The reactions across the room confirmed what John feared. In his foolish haste to join this effort, caught off-guard as he was, his failure to warn Sophia not to expose herself had made its consequences known. Some of the Cabal were rightfully afraid, others confused and awed - a few, though, including the man that Sophia had struck, were shockingly… disturbingly… gleeful.

The blue orb snapped forward in an instant, locking around Sophia's wing near the base. A long tendril expanded back to the man as he began to pull it both physically and metaphysically toward himself, while others flung spell after spell at John as he stood slack jawed. Bullets rained upon the room from Seras, but the men had united behind the attempted kidnapper. Multiple barriers rose up between Seras and the man, and every time one fell, another two would form in the time it took her to fire again or reload.

Sophia grunted and started to dematerialize her wing, golden sparks forming as it evaporated quickly from the tip down. Before she was fully freed, another branch came off the orb and caught her closest shoulder, then began to wrap around her chest. She fought back powerfully, but three more men grasped the one holding her and added their strength to his own. Slowly, Sophia was being pulled from her covered spot, and one of the Cabal nearest her was beginning to incant with a blue haze seeping up from the floor. John cast Observe, hoping there was some hint as to its purpose. To his surprise, the technique worked on the spell.

Numbing Mist Variant - Biomechanical - A haze which is designed to incapacitate a target physically by magically disrupting their body's biochemical processes, including the nervous system and the body's blood flow.

"They want to capture her!"

Status Effect Gained: Shard of Bishamonten: Activated [10%]
Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Libido increased by 10!
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma decreased by 15!

"Get away from my fucking daughter!

82 DMG!
79 DMG!
-34 HP!

John's roar carried through as he brought himself directly into the blue haze to strike at the mage sending it forth. His strikes worked; however, as his second swing silenced the man's scream of pain by cutting harshly into his ribcage, John's left leg was caught by an unexpected red whip of what appeared to be red-hot steel somehow moving. The **** behind it was not as great as John had dealt with before, but his leg refused to listen to him and compensate for the tugging insistence, and a moment later he fell to one knee.

"Fucking- this shard- I knew this would happen, why did I-" John couldn't complete a thought as he fought against his own body while the mist was busy disappearing. Not only had he leapt blindly into the mist rather than utilize something ranged or more adaptable to moving around the room, he'd completely exposed himself. Magical barrages assailed him, completely depleting his Runes of Disruption in just moments as he worked his arms and flailed his uncooperative legs to slide behind a divider which provided only the barest protection possible, multiple blasts outright tearing through it.

John cast Lesser Heal on himself frantically as his health started to dip below half, draining his Bronze Ring to replenish all that he could from it. Thankfully, John's final act with functional lower limbs was to free one of the only two people close enough to help. Between feathers and bullets, most of the Cabal that had taken advantage of his prone position were **** back down, several for the count. Seras moved into the room when the moment made itself available, setting her rifle down on the desk John had covered behind.

"You 'eard the red'ead, Master," Seras growled, lifting not only the massive scale but the entire desk itself, "smash what we can't use!"

Seras proceeded to chuck the entire thing at a frightening pace, soaring just over John's head. The scale fell free, along with a computer and a mound of paperwork, destroying one of the lesser wooden desks that a Cabal had been hiding under and smashing his leg. The desk then proceeded to **** a cluster of the soldiers to dive rapidly out of the way.

"Right, let's-"

John paused, thrown off-kilter as a wave of magic passed over the area. One of the Cabal, a man in the back who had been relatively passive, disappeared. So, too, did Moira. Everyone else stayed where they were. Which left John, Seras, and Sophia alone against a small Legion of Cabal.

"He's got her trapped; grab 'em and run!"

The entire weight of the Cabal forces started toward John and his creations, and suddenly the flimsy barrier was nothing. John's limbs had finally recovered enough of their strength to move, but even when he slid himself behind sturdier cover, it was a stopgap at best.

"Still almost two-dozen of them, and they're ready for us. There shouldn't be this many here, right? Didn't Moira say they should divert their forces? Were they ready, or are there really just this many Cabal? I-"

John slowed himself down, trying to **** away the panic. Seras was locked behind a copying machine, once again letting fly with every round she had. Sophia was frantically throwing objects and feathers alike, but her skin was becoming rapidly torn and marred by scorch marks as the Cabal took advantage of every exposed position they could to wear her down. Wear all of them down - and capture them. John's health was just over three-quarters after his healing, and his mana had dropped to well under half. John Siphoned all of Seras' but didn't touch Sophia's - her feathers seemed to drain mana, though in smaller amounts than he would've expected, possibly due to it being such an integrated part of her.

"Doesn't matter how many there are. Doesn't matter how much they're kicking your ass. Deal with it, or die. That's what it's always been, just… this time there's no one bailing you out. So do something. For once in your life, do something, John Newman."

His moment of self-loathing bubbled up from the anger in his core, blended with the fresh memory of Sophia being very nearly literally dragged away from him, and at the sight of so much blood being shed by both of his companions. His eyes lit with a rage less bright but every bit as intense as the battle lust filling Sophia's.

"I'm tired of letting everyone else save me. If I'm gonna get pissed and do stupid shit every time I get in a fight from now on… might as well make it count."

Status Effect Gained: Shard of Bishamonten: Activated [25%]
Damage Inflicted to Enemies with Negative Alignment: +50%
Damage Received from Enemies with Negative Alignment: -50%
HP and Mana Regen halved!
World Shift, Create Barrier deactivated!

Shard of Bishamonten: 10% Integration
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma increased by 15!

New Skill Learned!

Shard of Bishamonten: Activation - Activate the Shard of Bishamonten up to the current level of integration. Mana Cost: N/A

John stood from behind the cluster of filing cabinets. A yellow javelin conjured from lightning was immediately launched at him - his blade managed to sever and deflect it in one motion, only a wave of static passing over his arms. Blue birds conjured from ice dove at him, only to shatter against the flat of his sword or crumble on contact with the ground he'd been on as John bent low to the ground and shot forward in a burst of speed.

He was angry, even enraged, but it no longer felt like a driving ****. His mind was not cluttered or obscured, and his thoughts were crystal clear. If anything, they were sharper. As sharp as his blade. John had come on this mission at Moira's insistence and to protect his friends from these scum if they ever attempted to steal him away again… but his purpose had changed, he realized.

"This faction must be cleansed. It must be wiped from the earth, scoured from the city, and its only memorial shall be a bloody stain as a reminder to all who would follow in their footsteps."

No, John's anger was no longer blinding.

It was righteous.