Runes and Mercenaries

Fedor, Vulsegardt and Celestia sit down around a small round table in the neighbouring room.

"Alright, tell me what is going on." Celestia asks.

"The Marker in Ares is doing this... Whatever is happening now. These monsters." Vulsegardt answers.

Celestia frowns. "What happened?"

Vulsegardt also frowns and takes a breath. "We were sent to Ares, to examine the Marker, but..."

"It came to life, raising the dead." Fedor finishes Vulsegardt's sentence.

"I know nothing of this, who sent you?" Celestia asks.

"Atlax and the EarthGov." Fedor answers before Vulsegardt gets the chance.

Celestia thinks for a moment. "I was afraid of this."

"What do we do now?" Vulsegardt asks.

"The Marker. It does require very high magic skills but... It can be shut down." Celestia answers.

"I activated it." Vulsegardt says with an afraid voice. "I couldn't help myself. It's like it took control over me."

Celestia looks at Vulsegardt with a surprised face. "You activated it? But you're not even an Alicorn!"

"So we go down there and turn it off like a switch of a light?" Fedor interrupts.

Celestia thinks. "The Marker has powers you two couldn't begin to comprehend, once started it is not easy to be stopped. Only one man fully understands the power within it and he's missing."

"Can't we simply destroy it?" Fedor asks.

Celestia stands up and steps next to Fedor. She looks at him closely with a suspicious look on her face. She looks him in his eyes. She opens her mouth to ask something but is interrupted by a knock on the door. She sighs and turns to the door. "Come in."

The door opens. Ryan Atlax enters the room along with a woman in a leather jacket with EarthGov markings on it. Ryan steps forward. "You called Celestia?"

Celestia looks at him. "What do you think you're doing? The Marker project was closed down, it's to unstable too be pampered with!"

"Yes, well, I think we should discuss this in a more private manner." Atlax suggests. "I have already set up a table for a meal, we can discuss it there."

"Yes, we have much to speak of." Celestia agrees.

"Right away then?" Atlax begins to show the way.

Celestia begins to follow him. "Yes, now." She turns to Vulsegardt. "Stay here. That goes for both of you." She looks at Fedor.

Ryan turns around. "Ah, yes." He looks at the woman who entered with him. "Lilith, be an angel and make sure our friends here don't get into any trouble?"

The woman smiles. "With pleasure."

Ryan for a second looks at Vulsegardt with a slightly angered face before closing the door.

Celestia's raised voice could be heard shortly afterwards.

The woman sits down across of Fedor and Vulsegardt. "You two sure like to test your luck."

"Just the right people being on the wrong places." Fedor replies after examining Lilith. She had a holster on her side with a revolver in it.

"Oh no." Lilith smiles. "It was the perfect people at the right place, doing the right thing."

Vulsegardt begins to look at Lilith suspiciously. She felt uncomfortable in her presence. She was looking directly at Lilith's face, which had a malevolent smile while looking straight at Fedor.

Fedor gets up. "I need a drink." He walks slowly around the table staring at Lilith as she stared back. He takes a bottle of what looked like wine and a glass that were right next to Lilith. He fills the glass and slowly drinks the wine out. "And what do you mean with that Miss?"

Lilith giggles ."It means that everything is going according to plan, of course."

"Oh yeah? And what is this plan of yours?" Fedor asks.

"Oh, not mine." Lilith answers.

Fedor thinks for a moment. "Atlax's?"

Lilith chuckles. "You two are ponds in something you'll never understand."

"Celestia will put Atlax out of his position for this violation." Vulsegardt says.

Lilith responds with laughter. "Celestia will get what's coming to her."

Vulsegardt looks at Fedor with a worried expression on her face. "What are you talking about?"

Lilith puts her revolver on the table. "You two are coming with me."

"You're insane..." Vulsegardt states.

Lilith turns to Vulsegardt. As Lilith turns away Fedor quickly grabs the bottle by its neck and tries to hit Lilith. She dodges the attack and pulls out her revolver. She points it at Fedor. She smirks. "Now now, you gotta be alot faster than that."

Vulsegardt gets up. "You can't aim weapons at us! The tip of her horn begins to glow. "I'm warning you..." Vulsegardt threatens.

Lilith still pointing the revolver to Fedor. "You wouldn't want me hurting your friend by accident do you?"

Vulsegardt calms down. "No."

Lilith chuckles. "Good girl. Now you two are going with me."

"I ain't going nowhere with you." Fedor resists.

Lilith stares at Fedor for a few seconds. She dashes forward and hits Fedor with the bottom of her revolver. He steps back, quickly shakes his head and attempts at punching her, but she is to quick and dodges his attack again. She trips Fedor down and begins to smack his face with the revolver.

Vulsegardt panics. She levitates up the wine bottle and throws it at Lilith. The bottle hits and shatters on Lilith's back. she yelps and begins to charge towards Vulsegardt. Vulsegardt levitates a chair and throws it at Lilith as she is running towards her. Lilith dodges the chair and jumps on the table, Before Vulsegardt could find anything else to throw at Lilith, she kicks Vulsegardt by her muzzle, jumps off the table and kicks Vulsegardt in her stomach, knocking her down. "Now, you made me mad."

From behind Fedor quickly charges at Lilith and pushes her down. He sits on her and punches her face two times, at the third attempt Lilith points the revolver at his fist, pushing it straight between his fingers in his right palm. She smiles and pulls the trigger. Fedor screams as his palm is penetrated by the bullet from his revolver. Lilith smacks him and pushes him on the ground. She quickly gets up, kicks him in the chest and punches him in the face, slightly breaking his goggles and making him faint.

Vulsegardt gets up but Lilith quickly turns around and points her revolver at her. "Why don't you put that..." Lilith chuckles. "Combat magic to use and drag your friend here, so I don't shoot his brains out, sounds good?"

"Why are you doing this?" Vulsegardt asks with fear as she is stepping back only to be stopped by a wall.

Lilith doesn't answer. "Drag him." she points at Fedor.

Vuslegardt takes a deep breath as she begins to unwillingly drag Fedor by his legs with her magic. Lilith opens the door and begins to show the way. Vulsegardt follows her. For every corner they come across Lilith makes sure that nobody would see them.

Vulsegardt sees Guards with Celestia's mark on their armour in the distance. She considers screaming for help but notices Lilith staring at her with a sinister face. "Call them." Lilith says as she points the revolver at Fedor. "Go on. I dare you." She smiles sinisterly. Vulsegardt looks on the ground with anger.

Lilith smiles. "Good."

They both wait for the guards to move away. Lilith leads the way through a small corridor. By the markings on the wall it is seen that they are going in the part of the castle where EarthGov politicians reside. They end up in what seemed like a detention area. Lilith opens one of the doors.

"In here."

Vulsegardt enters the room with Lilith as she drags Fedor inside. She looks around the room and examines it. It had a medical table, a chair with straps and a small holding area resembling a cage.

Lilith points at Fedor. "Put him on the chair."

Vulsegardt rebels. "You have no right!"

Lilith pulls out a pocket knife while staring at Vulsegardt.

Vulsegardt begins to step back. "Please..."

Lilith begins to step towards her.

After a short while Vulsegardt bumps into a wall being unable to avoid Lilith. She closes her eyes and begins to breathe with panic.

As Lilith reaches her, she grabs Vulsegardt's muzzle sticks the knife right below her left eye and cuts her along the cheek. Vulsegardt cries out and attempts at hitting Lilith, but she grabs Vulsegardt by the neck, stopping her resistance.

Fedor wakes up and begins to slowly get up. Lilith hears this, releases Vulsegardt and quickly turns around with the revolver. "You're awake. Lovely. Sit down." She points at the chair.

"Make me, bitch." Fedor resists.

Lilith sticks her knife next to Vulsegardt's neck. "With pleasure."

"Alright, alright!" Fedor raises his arms and sits on the chair. Lilith smiles and looks at Vulsegardt. "Tie him down."

Vulsegardt sniffs and does as instructed. Fedor is tied down by his legs and arms with straps that were attached to the chair.

"Good." Lilith walks past Vulsegardt and picks up a small machine that was on the table.

"Exactly what the hell are you doing with us?" Fedor asks as he tries resisting the chair.

Lilith ignores Fedor and steps to Vulsegardt. She crouches and attaches the machine from the table on Vulsegardt's horn. Vulsegardt being to afraid, does not resist.

"Do some magic." Lilith asks.

Vulsegardt attempts at undoing Fedor's straps, but as soon as she starts the machine on her head glows and shocks her horn and head. She stops and begins to scream.

"That will keep you well behaved." Lilith smiles.

Vulsegardt slowly begins to sob.

Lilith turns her eyes around and sighs. "Aww, we can't have that now can we? I suggest you stop." She looks at Vulsegardt with a dead serious face. "Now..."

"Hey!" Fedor raises her voice. "Get away from her."

Lilith gets up and steps in front of Fedor. "Or else what?"

Fedor spits at her.

Lilith unimpressed begins to laugh. "You sure got me."

"Go to hell." Fedor replies.

Lilith smirks. "I'd be careful of my language if I were you... Fedor Conhanger is it? You and your friend there visited Ares?"

"Fuck you." Fedor says.

"You were tasked of examining the..." She takes a deep breath. "Marker, along with analysing it and bringing back a sample."

Vulsegardt wipes a tear of her face. "We were attacked before we could do anything."

Lilith looks at Vulsegardt. "No translations? No sample? Heh, Atlax won't be too happy hearing that."

"You ain't getting nothing." Fedor smiles.

Lilith turns to Fedor and sticks her finger down his wound in his palm. "Does that still hurt Freddie?"

Fedor cringes and begins to moan. "Stop!"

She pulls her finger out. "That's not how you talk to friends Freddie."

"The name is Fedor." He says as his hand is shaking. "And we're not friends."

"Oh, but we are. We have more in common than you realize." Lilith answers.

"I'm not like you. You're a psychopath!" Fedor raises his voice.

Lilith leans to Fedor and grabs his left shoulder. She begins to rub it and his back locating the branded number. She smiles and let's go. "I have one to." She takes off her jacket and turns around, revealing that below her left shoulder she had a branded number four.

Fedor looks with surprise. "Where did you get that?"

"Now that would be telling." Lilith doesn't answer.

"You were in the army?" Fedor asks.

"Maybe I was..." Lilith taunts. She sits down on a chair opposite of Fedor and begins to play with her knife. "Having... Memory problems Freddie?"

"No, I was captured and the number was given to me by some insane locals in the African dessert. I remember everything." Fedor answers.

Lilith smirks. "If you say so..."

For twenty minutes or so all three were silent and waiting in the interrogating room. Fedor strapped on the chair staring at Lilith, Lilith staring back at him and Vulsegardt trying to stay as calm as she can in the corner.

The door opens. Ryan Atlax enters the room. He looks at Fedor and Vulsegardt. "I told you to detain them Lilith, not kill them."

Lilith gets up. "Oh, they are very much alive. But they only carry bad news..."

"Is that so? What bad news?" Ryan asks with interest.

"They don't have a shard or translations..." Lilith tells.

Ryan takes a deep breath. "I send you to do one thing." He raises his voice. "One thing! And what happened, you went there, started a convergence and left with absolutely nothing?!"

"Hey! It was your failed attempt at telling us we would be going in our deaths!" Fedor also raises his voice.

"I never said that you should summon the necromorphs!" Ryan replies. From his pocket, Ryan pulls out a stone. He steps to Fedor and points it at him. It begins to faintly glow. "I don't understand. You couldn't have done this!"

"Maybe..." Lilith points at vulsegardt. "It was her?"

Ryan looks at Vulsegardt. He steps to her and points the stone at her. It begins to glow brightly. "What...?" Ryan looks at the stone with confusion. "I knew I should have called one of my agents instead." He turns to Lilith. I change my mind. Don't kill her, I want them both." He puts the stone back in his pocket.

Lilith slightly frowns. "As you wish."

"Now..." Ryan crouches and turns back to Vulsegardt. "You must have something. It's not possible that you touched it and it happened. You needed to be there for a short while, enough to get something translated."

"We don't have anything." Fedor joins the conversation.

"You're lying! You must have put interest into it. When you read the markings they spoke to you and took over. If you don't have it written down you must have it in your head!" Ryan begins to scream at Vulsegardt.

"Why do you want this anyways?!?" Vulsegardt screams back.

"Because..." Ryan stands up. "It holds a power. A power you couldn't possibly imagine."

Ryan's phone begins to ring. He picks it up. "What?" He listens for a short while. "No, no, no, not so soon!" He listens for a while. "Alright, alright, call the men and get into position, I'll be right there." He hangs up the phone. "Lilith, I have to go, if I can't have a shard I want the translations before we leave."

"What's going on?" Lilith asks.

Ryan begins to heavily cough. He spits out a small amount of blood. "Celestia is on to us."

Lilith looks at the coughed blood with interest. "Did you drink that wine?"

Ryan coughs again. "Yes. Only affects magical beings, so I should be fine." He opens the door and turns around. "Be ready for anything, I want as much as information as possible. And try not to kill them." He closes the door.

Lilith looks at Fedor and Vulsegardt with a sinister face. "I'll try."

Fedor looks at Lilith with an angered face. "You're getting nothing."

Lilith smiles. "Oh yeah? That hand? Still hurts?" She turns to Vulsegardt. "You're more cooperative than your friend here, why don't you tell me what you have?"

"I don't have anything..." Vulsegardt answers.

Lilith sits down at the chair and frowns. She sits there for a few minutes, silently thinking and laughing to herself.

"What a shame..." Lilith says as she gets up and walks to the medical table and picks up a bonesaw. "For you." She chuckles as she walks back to Fedor. "It's your lucky day Freddie. I'm going to take that pain in your hand away." She smiles malevolently.

Fedor begins to shake his straps. "Ryan said alive!"

Lilith closes her eyes as Fedor resists. "You'll live, besides, your friend over there needs a jog of memory..." She puts the saw above Fedor's right hand.

Vulsegardt stands up. "Wait no! I know something!"

Lilith looks at Vulsegardt. She smiles and begins to grind the saw on Fedor's arm. He responds with intense screaming as the saw cuts through his flesh, causing blood to flow down the chair.

Vulsegardt gasps and dashes forward towards Lilith. Lilith responds with taking the revolver out of her holster and pointing it at Vulsegardt with her left hand, while she is cutting Fedor's arm with her right. "And you remembered only now?"

Vulsegardt stops and begins to breathe in a fast manner. "Stop, please! I beg you! I wrote down the translations! I lost the books but I know where they are!"

Lilith ignoring Vulsegardt, still cutting on Fedor's arm while he is screaming at the top of his lungs. She cuts of Fedor's right hand, picks it up and throws it at Vulsegardt. From Fedor's arm blood begins to spill out in a fast manner. Fedor faints. "You have some medical supplies there, why don't you help your friend over here." Lilith points to the medical table.

Vulsegardt quickly runs to the medical table and with her mouth she picks up a first aid kit with her mouth. She runs to Fedor and spits the case on the ground. "I don't have my magic!" She says angrily.

Lilith smiles. "Thought you would have tried. It would amuse me." She picks up the first aid kit and opens it. She takes out the gauze that was in it and begins to wrap the whole amount that was in it around Fedor's wound to prevent the bleeding. She clips the gauge together. "There. Ain't that a pretty package tied up for Ryan." She turns to Vulsegardt. "You said you wrote something." She looks at her without her smile.

Vulsegardt steps back and begins to mutter. "Y-yes..."

Lilith approaches her but stops. From outside of the room an alarm is going off. "Already?" She turns away from Vulsegardt and steps back to Fedor. She quickly unstraps him and rushes to Vulsegardt taking the magic blocking machine of her horn and points the revolver at her. "Alright sister, just like we practised, you drag him and I don't pull the trigger."

Before Vulsegardt could resist a strong force begins to slam on the door.