MISSION: Attack on Two Sides

[Reila Tsukino]

It was a bright and early morning, the sunlight leaking in through the open window onto the quilt atop Reila's bed, though the girl herself was no where to be seen. She was too busy trying to find ibuprofen to do anything even remotely similar to sleep. It wasn't in the cabinet where she left it... or in the drawer--or anywhere else for that matter. She sighed and collapsed onto the couch in a heap, feeling like she had been poisoned. Well technically she had...drinking all those shots was like being poisoned. Regardless, there was no way in hell she was going to do anything today. If anyone even talked to her too loudly, she'd kill them. Sighing again, Reila pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes. Maybe she would just veg all day and watch movies. Yoshi may even watch them with her and possibly Ilona... Yes, that sounded perfect. She rose from the couch, ignoring the pounding in her head and waltzed out the door, stopping briefly to make sure she was wearing something decent. She froze, trying very hard not to laugh at herself. What on earth had happened last night!? She really wished she could remember now. She was wearing the same leather jacket as the night before, but she only had a bra on underneath. She noted that her pink and black stripped shirt was strewn over a chair in the corner. As for her pants...they were by the bed. The pink miniskirt she had on was definitely not worthy of being worn without those pants...

With an aggravated sigh, she stripped out of everything and threw on a clean military uniform from the closet, clipping her tachi to her hip like usual. At least to get breakfast she had to appear normal...and not look as terrible as she felt. It also put her in a bad mood no less. She made her way from her room and to the cafeteria, kicking open the door angrily. Just as she was about to grab a milk carton, a loud bang echoed throughout the morning's silence and resonated against the empty walls. She froze. What on earth what that...? Was some idiot messing with something so early in the morning? Ugh she would kill them. Then the alarm sounded ...and she wanted to die. Clutching her ears, she made a run for it, carrying the milk with her. She raced to the nearest lookout and burst outside into the freezing cold. Wrapping her free arm around herself, she squinted out into the piercing light that consumed her eyes. Shit. What she saw just pissed her off more. Couldn't they attack tomorrow? Why now... seriously?! She clenched her fist and took a gulp of milk. "God dammit. I just finished the last attack's paper work."

[Guest]

Houka had been training with her new sword when the bang was heard and the alarms sounded. She grimaced. Why did she have to be right about these sort of things? She knew someone was going to attack whilst they were weakened. She headed up onto another lookout able to see Reila from here. She looked out into the distance and saw the attacking force. She sighed deeply. "Let's end this quickly." she whispered in annoyance. She grabbed a radio and radioed the watchtower Reila was in.

"Major General. What are your orders? Shall we wait for them to come to us or go to them?" she asked a smirk appearing on her face. This area was their domain and they knew how best to use it to their advantage whether within Briggs or its surroundings. She radioed down to the garage to find out the status of the jeep. "The jeep is ready if you want us to go greet our unwanted guests, but I reccomend staying here where we have the defensive advantage"

[Dai]

Dai hadn't gotten much that sleep that night. Even with the masses of alcohol that he'd consumed the night before, he still hadn't slept. Thank you insomnia, Dai thought to himself, holding his throbbing head. He rubbed his forehead, and stood up, slowly but surely. His blurred vision slowly came back into focus, and he looked down at his two hands, one metal, one covered in metal. His eyes narrowed, and he moved towards the door. He needed nourishment, and he needed it now. As he slowly walked down one of the halls, a loud BANG resounded in his ears. Ow. He stumbled over to the window, looking out of the slightly frozen-over glass, and he then groaned. No way. No fucking way. He didn't need this today. With a sigh, he shuffled into the nearest bathroom, turning on the cold tap, and washing his face with the freezing water. He stood back up, not feeling as tired, but definitely feeling better than before.

He moved back to his room, faster than before. He sat down on his bed, brought his hair out in front of him and picked up the whip that lay next to him, before threading it into the red locks. The metal slid through the hair, and down to the tip. He then hooked the metal handle over the top of the ponytail, and then stood up straight. His eyes narrowed, and Daigoro Ito broke out into a run. His footsteps rang out in the hall, and he reached the same lookout that Reila had come out on. Shit. SHIT. His eyes narrowed, and he turned to the woman that he respected, no, from what he had said the night before...

"Looks like fun. But it just had to be after last night, huh?"

[Reila Tsukino]

Reila turned and saw Dai coming toward her. She grabbed the radio from the control room nearby. "Hold on." and then turned to her redhead with a bright airy smile that spoke of pain, annoyance, but also malicious intent. "Yes..." She hissed, her golden eyes on fire with unvanquished rage. "After last night..." But there was no time to stand around and converse over their terrible luck. She grabbed the radio and put it to her lips. "Alright listen up, Troops activate Plan CrossScour and then seal all entryways with a battalion at each. Yoshi meet me in the jeep: of course we'll greet our guests; it's only polite, ne? Now, Dai take all other able men and prepare for a defensive battle. Let's get this done quickly. Go!" Reila boomed over the PA-system, the radio, and all headsets. Her hands were on her hips and she lowered them, heading for the door Dai had just come out of. She winked half way through with a smirk on her face. "Our luck," She said simply and the door fell closed behind her running figure.

He sword jingled at her side as she ran, thoughts flowing in the air down the hallway. She flew through a different gate and found herself in the freezing air of the garage. She was elated by the fact that all her military skirts were in the wash and she was in fact wearing pants for once. The long-haired girl jumped into the front of the jeep and pulled it around front to wait for Houka. Over her radio she decided to debrief her while she was getting there. Switching the channel to Houka's she spoke in a clear voice. "Yoshi, as we speak, tons of melted snow are being poured over the walls. We need to freeze it. After that, we are going to use that tactic we practiced earlier in our spar, remember?"

[Guest]

So, that's how it was going to be, huh? Standing among the rebel forces was a green-haired man in a white suit. This man was getting some interesting looks from the other soldiers, but he wasn't surprised. He wasn't exactly normal-looking. Menoitos sighed, and looked up at the Fort that stood before them. This was what he had been hired to help take down? He sighed, and put his hands onto Skill and Finesse, the two blades that sat by his sides. He smirked, and activated the power that sat behind his eyepatch. His Ultimate Eye would be of plenty of use in the coming fight. Suddenly, a voice came up behind him, and he quickly turned to the sound that flowed into his ears.

"You the Merc we hired? Glad you could come and help."

"I am. And I'll be of as much assistance as the funds you paid me to do my job. No more, no less. We understand? Good." Menoitos turned back to the wall that stood before him with a grimace. He drew the two blades, and smirked.

So long as they're paying me...

[Guest]

A pair of grey eyes scanned the other end of the Fort. He grinned wildly, and turned towards the multitude of soldiers that stood at attention behind him. They'd been marching for a while, but it was nothing. Drachman soldiers were used to this kind of punishment. He looked up at the building, and brought his head back in a wild laugh. They were there. Fort Briggs. The one place that stood between them and Amestria. He walked forward slowly, and drew the saber from his side, holding it up into the sky.

"Hail, good soldiers of Drachma! We are here at the Fort of Briggs, and our objective is simple! We shall destroy it! It shall be burned to the ground, and our masses of troops shall cross the breach into Amestria, and take it by force! DRACHMA shall rule!" The commander turned to his lieeutenant, and grabbed the megaphone from him, turning the contraption on and speaking into it, a bit too loudly for most.

"Soldiers of Amestria, hear my voice. We have your Fort from the rear, and it shall be your day of reckoning! Do not resist, and you may live! Our pact has been broken, you are at our mercies!" He handed the megaphone back to the soldier with a smile.

Spoiler:

[Guest]

Sashura stood amongst his men which seemed to be rallied and prepared to fight by the commanders speech. Sashura sighed, not understanding why someone so... foolish, would be put in control of such an important mission. He sighed slightly and walked forward and was handed the megaphone by his commander, and he handed it down to a lesser ranking soldier. He turned his back to the wall and stood before the vast army that was Drachma's great military. His left eye lost its grey-blue color and now seemed to be a crimson color. Many of the soldiers that stood before Sashura knew who he was, for he was one of the few Lt. Colonels to recieve the honorary wing pendant on their jackets. He wore the usual militry uniform of a Drachman Lieutenant, and carried his saber in his left hand, with his right hand resting gently on his sheath. He wore a single earphone with a speaker attached to it to communicate with the other forces, such as their air support.

He spoke to soldier after soldier who ran up to him asking him a series of questions about the upcoming battle and any preparations that needed to be made. He turned around and looked at the fortress and sighed, as he had plenty of missions that had to be completed, but hopefully his plas were being carried out swiftly and proficiently. He then noticed the green haired man who stood out in the group of Drachman militants, and slendered his eyes when he suddenly remembered who the man was. His General had given him a case file on the mercenary, thus making him as usedul as some of the men already here. The commander caught the corner of the Lieutenent's eye, and he sighed heavily when the commander boasted and threatened the enemy fortress. He did so foolishly and without hesitation... surely this guy wasn't truly one of their men? Well, maybe he'd have an 'accident' on the battlefield, then maybe Sashura would be able to fix his screw ups. He looked to his persoal entourage and whispered something in their ears, and they took off into the snowy wasteland. He then heard someone speaking on his headphone, and intercepted the message, catching time to know that his plans were progressing and all was going well. Sashura nodded slightly, and stepped forward on the platform to give his own speech to the soldiers. Since the commander had announced the threat towards Amestris so openly, he was left with no choice but to rally his soldiers further.

"Move as one, and swiftly eliminate the threat of Fort Briggs without showing any sign of mercy! If we fail, more citizens will pay the price. So let's show Amestris... Our Resolve!!"

The soldiers roared at the end of his speech, and Sashura simply nodded, striking his saber into the air. The blade glistened, as the steel was cleaned to perfection, and the markings of his alchemic symbols were vividly noteable, as they were in black. He then slashed through the snow filled air and turned back towards the fortress, ready to attack when given the order.

"Alright l'Cie, don't fail me..."

[Murazar Dauthi]

{Outside In the Drachman Army}

Murazar wore combat armor, not just a vest or anything but the full thing. Even a helmet with a tactical visor on his left eye that kept track of his bodily functions for optimum performence in the field. He had not just his two pistols in chest holsters, but the dirt bags on his waist and a assault rifle in his hands. Ammunition bandoliers were crossed over his chest in a X fashion, and the pistol ammunition was over his waist and held the dirt bags. He was decked out for war.

Murazar spoke to several drachman soldiers to see the Lieutenant Colonel, that one in particular. After many, very many persuasions and threats he finally made it over to him. Murazar looked over at the Drachman officer as they were alone, apparently it was the same man as he had fought in creta. He saluted for a moment and remained standing as he spoke, " I'm guessing your the one who sent me the e-mail and the funds transferred to my account that equal out to half of the price to be hired, and more than I would earn in briggs by staying for two years? I read the description, you want me to escort in saboteurs and blow parts of facility up and escort in a strike team to work with them on a diversion. I will do that as soon as you escort me to the soldiers I will work with. Sir."

He spoke sir as only a sign of respect, he repeated the information to make sure it was clarified, and made sure that the funds were from the man and he would get more upon completion of the job. He heard the man on the megaphone and grimaced, the fool was declaring them already? Dumbass, use the surprise while you have... Had it. Moron, announcing yourself to the enemy gives them time to prepare. Briggs will be ready within the hour to attack, most likely a defensive posture and holding their ground while giving none. If offensive it would be a feint or something to strike their artillery. He waited for the Officer to respond while he thought about his own course of action.

His headache, wishing to puke, and all of that was mitigated with medical pills from his personal stash of things to reduce it to something tolerable. He just hoped that no one in briggs would feel any emotional ties broken with him. Houka maybe, dai he would bear it fairly easily, reila he didn't know. To him she was far too naive, not skeptical enough. Or at the least not open enough in a negative manner to him for him to respect her. Houka, houka was the only person he wouldn't pull the trigger on at this point. Oh wait, his earpiece was off. He turned it on to recieve, that way only he could hear the Briggs force talk while when he spoke they wouldn't hear it.

[Guest]

Life was miserable every since he left Xing. He thought life was miserable there and boy was he wrong. He really should have listened when they said the north was cold. At least he thought they said the north was cold. He could never really understand the languages of foreign lands. They were so awkward and not the least bit fun to speak in. It was really rather irritating in all honesty. Why couldn't these people just learn to speak a proper language?

Inability to communicate was only part of the problem here however, the other part was that these people he ran into decided to take personal belongings, such as food, very seriously. The young Xingese warrior had been apprehending trying to relieve a camp of it's crackers. He was quickly spotted, not having been accustomed to the abdundant amount of snow at the time, and tackled. They even wrestled the cracker away from him.

After a good long interrogation where neither party understood each other, they determined that Teimo was indeed not an Amestrian spy, just an idiot. They had use for idiots though. They directed him to go outside and fight, at least he thought they did. In reality they handed a weapon to him and threw a cracker at him and shoved him out with the rest of the troops. Having a cracker didn't quite do enough to console him.

That is how we arrive at the present predicament. A good many rows above him an angry man shouting in an equally angry sounding language was glaring vehemently at a giant wall. What he was saying was lost on the small boy but it was apparently motivating. Numerous whoops and yells filled the air around him. Not one to miss out on a party, Teimo shouted too. Excitement shouldn't be put to waste after all.

There was one man within eyeshot that wasn't whooping or yelling. He was dressed in full white, with two swords drawn and glaring in an eerie fashion up at the giant wall. It had dawned on Teimo, believe it or not, that the wall happened to be their target. Everyone else however was just kinda excited to fight, kind of like a child with a wooden stick. This guy however just looked...odd. He felt odd too. What should be done when something is odd? Investigation of course!

Super sneakily, the young Xingese boy snuck out of line and made his way over to the white clothed man and sidled up next to him. It was time for an interrogation and his menacing little toothpicks were not going to deter Super Sleuth Zihao Teimo! Well actually they probably were. In the event the man decided to sever his top half from his bottom, that'd deter him rather considerably. Semantics like that weren't important though. He'd go with Amestrian, everyone knew Amestrian right?

Wey do yoo weer all Wheat? Won it get dur-tay? Deer-tee? Or is it Deer-tay? Not afray of deer-tay?

That was an obvious and easy to understand question to be sure. White did get very dirty very easily. Why would you where white on the battlefield, especially around really angry people? Then it donned on him, an epiphany of fascinating proportions. This slippery man was not going to sneak anything past Teimo or he wasn't a super sleuth!

Ah ha! E got it! Yoo aer Kaw-moo-flogging! Yoo crawfty misser!

Of course, the boy hadn't realized how seriously grave the situation around him was. That wouldn't happen until the bullets started flying.

[Guest]

He turned to the boy that stood next to him and blinked. What... was he saying? Because Menoitos really didn't understand the words that came out of his mouth. He seemed to be tryign to speak Amestrian, but ihs words were disjointed and strange. What was he trying to say? Maybe Amestrian wasn't his first language! Menoitos sighed, and attempted to speak to the boy in a varied amount of languages.

"Do you speak this?" Amestrian.

"Do you speak this?" Aerugese.

"How about this?" Drachman.

"What about this language?" Cretan.

"Or is it, in fact, this language?" Xingese.

The homunculus sighed, and yawned, before turning back to the wall in front of them. Geez, that was gonna be some bitch of a wall to take down... He grimaced, and moved forward, towards the front ranks of the rebels, swords in hands. He might have to take off the eyepatch sometime, it was beginning to affect him slightly. Ah well, can't have everything you want. Except for money - that was pretty easy to get... Especially if you tried. He sniggered, and nodded his head slightly, before peering up and seeing a billowing mass of red hair standing on the rooftop.

[Dai]

Dai nodded at Reila's command. While he would've liked to have gone out in the jeep himself, he knew that he'd be better off here in the Fort - defending their walls from being breached was definitely important. He sighed, and went to follow her out the door, when something caught both his ear and his eye. His red eyes narrowed, and he scanned the area to the rear of the fort. Shit. They were surrounded. His hand instantly went to the radio on his ear, and he spoke quickly, directly to Reila.

"We have Drachmans. They have us surrounded, Reila. I don't think we're going to be getting out that easily this time..." The Alchemist sighed, and started moving, much faster than he had originally anticipated. As he reached the barracks for his Alchemic elite, he realised that they were already suited up and geared for battle. Dai simply smirked - he'd trained them well. Instead of rallying them, as it was usual for him to do, he turned on his heel, and waved for them to follow when they were ready. His men followed him up to the roof of the building. He smirked, as the soldiers took up arms on either side of the fort, aiming their modified rifles towards the two opposing armies, incendiary rounds loaded up.

He sighed, and walked over to the wall facing the Drachman armies, but his thoughts were still clouded by the alcohol, among other things.

[Reila Tsukino]

This time? As if the other times were easy... She sighed audibly into the headset, massaging her temples. Maybe easier than this was going to be though. "Dai. Remember who you're speaking to." She smirked without realizing it, a cold shine growing in her eyes as she stared straight forward at the opening garage door. "I'm Reila." She threw the car in drive and sped out towards the sunlight, switching her radio back to Houka's channel while steering with one hand. "New plan. Take the other jeep we have: the gray one. I'll meet you out there. Something tells me we have to make haste." She flew out over the snow and through the intricate maze of concrete she knew by heart. She was probably driving too fast.

As she approached, the large towering walls drew deep shadows over her and the white jeep. This was going to take a lot of effort. She pulled up to it, and got out, a gust of glacial wind instantly whipping around her, lacing cold to her skin. Placing a soft, callused hand against the surface of the wall, she pulled her radio speaker to her lips, adjusting it to the correct frequency. "Now at 34.6." Almost immediately, water poured from the metallic insides of the area in front of her. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, her fingertips glowing a vibrant cyan color. Slowly in an upward plunge, the water crackled into ice, coating both sides of the wall in a sheen of strength. Reila sighed, stepping back to admire her artwork. No time! She jumped in the car and raced to the next coordinates and then got out again having just thawed inside. "35.8 go." Reila barked into the speaker. Then she repeated the same thing again, but quicker this time, focusing on speed. The intense morning sun scratched against the surface of the ice-covered wall, reflecting rays of blinding light straight at the enemy lines. She adjusted her headset back to Houka. "Yoshi, take the front wall; I'll meet you half way." Then Reila quickly switched to Ilona's radio set, hoping she had it on. "Ilona if you can hear me, take the enemy from above and fire at will. Even if they haven't begun their attack, it's crime enough that they dare stand in our country." She hissed and continued her grueling plan, moving onto the next sector, and ordering her men to activate the frozen snow ducts. She did so with amazing speed that would have made any other ice-wielding alchemist gape with awe. She was the head of Fort Briggs after all.

As her throbbing head swam through a sea of battle tactics, and her fingertips ached with alchemy, she realized something crucial. Where the hell was Mura? If he was still sleeping off his hangover...she would give him a piece of her mind. Somehow...she felt that wouldn't be the case. Maybe he was busy with something and couldn't contact her? But he always was asking her questions. There was something wrong. She switched to his frequency and as she drove to the next section of the wall, spoke in a dark voice. "Mura, where are you?"

[Murazar Dauthi]

{Outside In the Drachman Army}

Murazar grimaced lightly and held out a hand to the officer to pause him, he told the man." My former boss is trying to contact me. I'm going to stall her, just bring those men to this spot and i'll be right back." He jogged over somewhat further and popped himself into a tent that no one was in. Now it was more quiet, but the background noise of the Drachman army was still there. He turn it on so he could speak, he spoke harshly and quietly since it didn't matter at the moment since the communication device would hear everything around him.

"Quiet! I'll try to come back, but i'm between a rock and a hard place. Have someone leave the entrance to the maintenance area of the sewage pipes of the south quandrant open on the drachman armies side. Not open, but unlocked. I may or may not make it so keep radio chatter to a minimum after you confirm." He made sure to not directly lie, just omit critical information that her whole defensive plan was going to partially fail and create a weakpoint the drachman's would use to push into the fortress. His voice contained enough urgency, harshness, and was quiet enough to make it seem like he was sneaking right out of the drachman camp or some such.

Once he was finished he returned the frequency to recieve and walked back out to the officer and where the saboteur team and the elite fighting force he was to be the guide and team mate for there. He had a fiercely controlled expression on his face. He just hoped Reila didn't see through his facade until too late, if she didn't die along with everyone else he would. Hell if he stayed with the drachmans he might die anyway, who knew. Death however was in his cards he supposed, eventually.

[Guest]

Ilona woke up instantly at the sound of the alarm, causing her sight to mess up right bad. She was never good with loud noises but always surround herself with it. Gunfire. She ran out of bed, grabbed the nearest leather jacket she can find, strapped on her boots and put on her gauntlets, whilst grabbing her cane and running down the hall. Damn, I forgot to wear a shirt. Oh well I hope me wearing just a bra will distract the enemy..
She looked outside the window, seeing the enemy. They were numerous but it's nothing Briggs cant handle can they? No time for doubt. Ilona ran further into the hall and eventually made it outside, ignoring the blistering cold. Everyone one else seemed to do their part, she'll do hers. Ilona then recieveed a message from Reila, listening to her order.
"Roger that."She said through radio. Ilona then ran to the Snipers nest, transmutation her cane into a highly powered sniper rifle. Not her choice of weapon but in current state, she can't do anything overly reckless....
Ilona laid low, not wanting the enemy to see her. Even though she was blind, she can see them as clear as the day. Then she started open firing, making the enemy troops confused and scatter as she shot one of them right behind the eyes. At this position, the enemy cannot determine her position yet and if they do..Well..The fall isn't that much of a deal....

[Xan]

Xanthus Icarus stood amongst the ranks of the Rebel troops, staring up at the massive fortress that he once called his home. He was dressed in his arctic matrix style gear; a long white trench coat covering a white long sleeved shirt tucked into white slacks. Beyond that, he was wearing white boots and socks as well. Basically, everything that he had on was white, even the massive cloak that he was wearing over his trench coat. Including the white mask that he was wearing, the outfit made him resemble his Leviathan alter-ego, only with white clothes instead of black. This had not been an accident, nor a mistake. He had chosen his attire especially for the event. The white clothing would make him as a ghost on the battlefield. Even if someone were to look directly at him, they would most likely have a hard time distinguishing him from the snow and ice so abundant in Briggs.

‘How ironic, that I should return here…to where it all began. And it’s even more ironic that I should be here, dressed in these clothes, standing amongst these men that remind me so much of RIOTE. It seems that even though Leviathan is dead, his legacy doth endure.’ Xan’s musings were cut short when he heard the sound of clumsy Amestrian being spoken. He looked around to see who had spoken, and he saw a Xingese looking man conversing with…oh great. It looked as though Wrath himself had come to join the party at Briggs.

Xan had recognized Wrath immediately because of his green hair; something that he had been warned about by the Fuhrer.

The Fuhrer…

Xanthus remembered the sole purpose for this trip to Briggs with a slight grimace. There was work that needed to be done here. But first, perhaps it would be a good idea to separate that Xingese man from Wrath before he got himself cut in two. In fact, Xan could find a use for the Xingese man, provided that he wanted to be useful and make A LOT of money...

Xan walked over to where the homunculus and Xingese man were apparently conversing and stepped in between them.

Hmm...hey you, you might not want to bother this one. He's got a bit of a nasty temper, and is very good with his swords if you know what I mean. Instead, I'd like for you to come with me. I have a little something that needs doing, and I'm afraid that I'm going to need a little bit of...armed help.

Then, turning towards Wrath and whispering in his ear, Xanthus said:

And as for you Wrath, would you mind ordering the troops to begin the attack? I'm sure that they'll charge toward Briggs without even stopping to wonder at who gave them the command. Oh, and in case you're wondering, my name is Famine.

[Guest]

For a few moments, his words were only met with a vacant stare. Did he not speak Amestrian? Everyone spoke Amestrian. Some better than others but the Xingese youth assumed everyone at least pretended to know the language. If he didn't speak Amestrian, then there were really in trouble. Or was that Amestrian? The other few attempted languages were ignored, as Teimo was far too busy trying to figure out if that was the right language or not. The final one, on the other hand, punctured his relatively thick skull.

The small boy's eyes lit up as he heard something he could understand. There was some hope in this world. Someone knew a more civilized tongue, oh joyous day. This was going to work out in his favor. He found someone who could understand him and was simultaneously scary looking with those swords. He wasn't a fan of fighting rank and file like these people expected him to, hiding behind this capable looking fellow seemed like quite the blessing. He might even cheer him on a little bit if he felt like over-exerting himself.

"Why as a matter a fact it is! It's nice to be understood for a change. You're not dressed like the rest of these angry lookin people. Did you get caught stealing fo...are you a deadly mercenary too?"

He caught himself just in time...sorta. Hardly important, but if he was trying to be impressive he shouldn't go with "I got caught stealing food." That just made him look stupid. No no no, he was a deadly mercenary, a feared mercenary. In addition to being a super sleuth of course.

His inquiry was quickly cut off as another man cut in front of him. The rudeness displayed was quickly overshadowed by the fact that another person could speak a proper language. Maybe he got captured by the right people. The first step to getting some food in his stomach was letting it be known that he was hungry.

His heart sank when he finished speaking. He didn't like the idea of armed help. That would mean he'd have to fight, and not cower behind the strangely dressed sword person. He liked the idea of cowering far more. This guy seemed important however and he knew the white dressed guy though, and disobeying an order while surrounded by a bunch of angry people and the white dressed guy didn't sound like a good plan. He watched, head slightly tilted, as the new comer whispered into the other's ear. The boy could barely hear, much less understand what they spoke about. It probably didn't concern him.

With a sigh the boy made a dramatic motion and pointed at his stomach.

"I would be far more inclined to cooperate with an armed assignment if I could have something more than a cracker to eat. Maybe a warm cracker? Multiple warm crackers?

[Reila Tsukino]

Reila had to think long and hard about the transmission she suddenly received over the radio from Mura. What was he talking about? It almost felt like he was still drunk for all the sense he was making. How come she hadn't heard about this before? Her golden eyes narrowed as she froze another section of the wall and stalked back to her prized jeep that was stalling nearby. She sat in the blasting heat and contemplated. For once...she didn't exactly feel what he was saying was right. Leave the door unlocked? It just pissed her off. Did he think she was an idiot?! "I don't think so; I do not confirm. Did you happen to look outside at the fact that we are being surrounded by Drachman soldiers?" She jammed her foot on the gas in a fury of rage, the engine roaring in the background as the four-wheel drive carried her quickly to the next part of the wall. Her men were reading her whereabouts now and began to automatically expel the water as she reached the sector of the wall. "Mura where. are. you?" She hissed, getting out, and slamming her palms against the wall. The water simultaneously turned to thick ice. She smirked in sadistic satisfaction but, worry secretly etched itself in the back confines of her mind, making her headache worse.

[Guest]

‘Hmm…. What rhymes with orange?’ Jay had his thoughts going on and about for the past 20 or so minutes trying to come up with this seemingly impossible rhyme. Whatever caused him to even want to make a rap song based on the word orange was beyond him but he just got the sudden urge. 2 months… two straight months on central service and he has not gotten the chance to right. He only did a few freestyles by himself in order to cure his urges but hasn’t been able to make some real magic due to his rhyme-book being left behind in order to fulfill his duties successfully, which proved to be worth but in the end, he just felt empty inside.

‘Oh well, least I got paid.’ Jay thought to himself as he continued to write his last real line before “orange” was to come up. His headphones were blasting with instrumental music in order to help him out with inspiration and to also help drown out any distracting noises, especially since he just got back a couple hours ago, not feeling like bothering to find anyone since his thoughts were completely drowned into fulfilling his destiny of making music now that he had gotten some new equipment.

After a while, Jay’s eyes started to catch a look at the outside. ‘Hmm… what’s all the commotion?’ Jay turned the music off and took a look outside. Confusion started to rise through im but if he had remembered correctly from being side by side with his supposed greatest enemies, that was a sign of an attack. ‘Yeah, I think that’s the sign of attack…’ As Jay recited the obvious to himself, he went ahead and grabbed his jacket so he could get on his way to head out and maybe start some ruckus. Taking it upon himself to pick up that earpiece/microphone that was supposed to let him speak with the entire brigade. “Yo yo yo, Jay Electronica in the hiz-house, waiting to know what’s next on his list of things to do.”

[Xan]

Xanthus turned away from Wrath to look at the Xingese man again. So, the guy wanted food in exchange for his services? That would be pretty easy to obtain. Xan had an idea…

Tell you what, I'll make you an offer you can not refuse. I can get you food after the battle...or better yet, I can get you food afterwards and while the battle is going on. You and I are going to infiltrate that fortress and we're going to be passing by the kitchen on the way to our ultimate destination. While we're in the kitchen, I'll give you some time to raid the the pantry and the refrigerator. And after the battle is over, I'll give you enough money to buy enough warm crackers to fill a house. Do we have a deal? Lots of food and money, and all that you have to do is follow me around for a little while. Don't worry, we'll be perfectly safe.

After the word 'safe' was uttered, Xan noticed that a sniper had shot a man between the eyes relatively close to his position. 'Only Ilona would be sniping at a time like this. The battle proper hasn't even started!' Xan grinned and pointed at the man.

If you don't come with me my friend, you may end up like this guy. The Harbinger Alchemist, the one who's sniping, is a crack shot with a sniper rifle. However, I myself am completely bulletproof, as are those who stay close to me. I ask again...do we have a deal?

[Guest]

The small boy's eyes grew quite wide as the man listed off the reward for his services. Well, at least wide for him. They were going to go by a kitchen? He liked kitchens. He hadn't had a warm meal since he left Xing. Roaming on the streets without a penny he could use made for some pretty crummy meals. Not having the requisite finances for survival was rather miserable. The man was even throwing money into the pot, in addition to a lovely kitchen. Of course, the possibility that he was just telling him what he wanted to hear had donned on the boy, but it was an infiltration mission right? Infiltration was what he was good at...normally. He was also good at disappearing, even if the boy did suspect treachery he'd be up and out of there before anyone noticed.

Before he could respond, a soldier a few paces off was blown off his feet from a bullet to the face. Teimo could only absentmindedly blink at the situation. The wall was firing now was it? The next thing the man said went out one ear and out the other. All that was playing through Teimo's head was that he shouldn't be out in the open. All he caught was a claim to be bulletproof and asking him if the terms were agreeable. This made the small boy snap out of it.

He turned back to the man, a wide toothed grin stretched on his face. Scratching the back of his head and chuckling slightly, he gave the man his answer.

Ya had me at kitchen mister. What is our ultimate destination? Away from the bullets hopefully?

[Guest]

Ilona managed to take out a few of the enemy troops but they don't seem to be scattering. They were a huge group, it'll take awhile to make them scatter. She, using Reila's cover, ran to the next sniper's nest, changing position so no one would determine her exact position.
Ilona took up position and started to open fire, this time, powering the bullets with alchemy. She never tried this before but always wanted to test it out and this situation proved to be quite useful...Ilona shot an enemy solider and instead of him just falling, his head exploded due to the alchemy powered bullet. She whistled, now thinking that the enemies morale should go down abit...Ilona decided to fire a few more shots, the soliders heads blowing up one by one. Then, admist it all, Ilona spotted Xan.
Well well well..Look who came into the party....
She aimed her sniper staright for Xan's head, preparing to fire but decided not to. Instead she fire a few more shots, the heads popping in a gruesome sound, even she could hear it.
"Time to move."
With that, Ilona stood up again and ran to another birds nest....

[Guest]

Sashura had been making plans in his head when he noted a few familiar faces. It appeared that Drachma's elites had arrived, which meant it was time to attack. Then, he noticed the strangest thing... soldiers were being picked off one by one by a sniper. Sashura's left eye suddenly began to glow, and he started tracing the movements of the enemy military, his eye llowing him further sight than most humans, and trace the slightest movement with ease. He suddenly saw a bullet heading towards a soldier, and smirked when he saw who it was that had opened fire. Sashura felt like an entirely new person after what happened last night. He had read a strategy book by a famous general of the Auregese army who was feared throughout the land. Along with that book, he had been studying ancient battleformations used by great tacticians such as Mitsunari Ishida, Zhou Yu, Sima Yi, and Zhuge Liang.

"It seems like this battle won't start untill the commander gives the order. Hmph, and i highly doubt the commander would listen to my suggestions... his pride would merely step in the way."

Sashura sighed lightly, and simply decided that he'd fight fire with fire. He grabbed a sniper rifle, Soviet Standard of course, from one of the soldiers and laid down in the snow, removing his jacket, and hiding within the crowd of Drachman soldiers, only to open fire on the enemy, taking them down one by one. Sashura was not to be taken as lightly as the enemy thought, and untill the commander ordered for a cease fire, or an advance, Sashura would continue to snipe down soldier after soldier from the wall. He suddenly found another sniper, and remembered his important tasks that he needed to complete. Giving the sniper various directions, he ran over to where Murazar was, and quickly noticed Xan. So much work he had to do, yet such ample time.

"I'm sure you know what to do with these men, right Dauthi? Get them into the main hall and position three on that wall, i want it to come tumbiling down, understood? Good."

Not giving Murazar any time to ask another question, he began speaking on his communcator with Xanthus Icarus, who was supposed to be on the other side of the wall. He spoke softly so that only he could be heard only over the communicator. He had important information to relay to the man, but couldn't let the soldiers know about. The soldiers were already restless, and upon hearing this message, surely they would become even more bloodthirsty... and tempted to do 'unpleasent' actions. It was these type of men that Sashura hated that snuck into his army, but he had no choice but to work with them and teach them right from wrong.

"Ilona Szilagyi is not to be harmed, understood? The General has ordered this action for a reason, so let's just listen to his rules. She's to be apprehended and brought back with us."

Sashura eded his conversation with Xan, and whistled for his soldiers to bring his horse. Three soldiers approached holding a white steed by the reigns, and handed it over to Sashura who grabbed the reigns and leapt upon the horse skillfully and quickly. He looked down at Murazar, his crimson eye seeming to glow behind the snowy mask that covered the air blocking off most sight. He smirked for half a second before he made his next move. He suddenly grabbed a white mask and wrapped it around the midpoint of his face, covering his nose, mouth, and chin. Sashura spoke, his voice masked and quite hard to hear behind the mask and sound of the heavy winds.

"Murazar, do you have any questions about your mission?"

[Guest]

Another joined the ranks of the Rebels. It was a tall man, almost 2 meters high, his clothing looked more like armor, a short white ponytail could be seen coming from under his bandana, he had a cigar in his mouth and three scars of his face, one stretched to his mouth, one to covered his eye, another reached to his goatee. He had a look of a viking warrior, but the strangest thing were two metal rods coming out of his back. It was Draco - a rouge alchemist. He was perhaps the last one to arrive to the scene with his forces. It seemed that everyone were here already and the assault was about to commence.
Draco brought out a communication device that had a link directly to the Drachman commander:

"Sir, when are we ready for battle? Me and my Drakkars are ready to slaughter every single one of those puny Briggs soldiers." - Draco exhaled cigar smoke and grinned.
A Drakkar officer came up, saluted and gave a report:

"Sir, we have 4 teams of elite Drakkars, 3 Basilisk artillery armor vehicles and a Drakkar sniper ready for action. We'll have hell break loose and tear them apart sir!" - the officer was surely grinning under his helmet, but no one could say for sure. But Draco's wide bloodthirsty grin was seen clearly.

The Drakkars - an elite Amestrian force - brutes and butchers, rouge soldiers, previous convicts. Some of them were given a life sentence, but were released to serve as soldiers of the front lines. They had an infamous reputation, but they were surely good in battle.

Draco's forces began deploying - making their artillery positions unseen, while he himself spoke to the Drachman Commander again:

"That bunch will never give up - let's not waste time and drown them in their own blood!" - Draco still waited for the signal though.

Drakkar soldiers:

Spoiler:

Basilisk artillery armor:

Spoiler:

[Guest]

Houka moved swiftly through the fortress heading for the garage and leapt into the jeep. Unlike the one Reila was driving this one was not equipped with weapons. She moved quickly driving to several points following Reila's example and freezing the other half of the wall using her alchemy. She headed towards the point she mentioned to meet. The drachma soldiers would be a problem. Rebels they could handles as they would not likely be used to the cold climate of Briggs, but Drachma was used to harsh if not harsher climates then those at the fort. It seemed unlikely the two of them had randomnly attacked at the same time. It was obviously a co-ordinated attack, which likely meant they were relying on eachother for success. The boom of artillery hitting the walls made her realise what their primary target should be. She put the radio onto all Briggs frequencies.

"Take out the artillery. Without them they will struggle to break our defences." she stated calmly. Then she switched back to Reila. "So...we are going with that strategy are we? Who shall we use it on first?" She was ready to launch the attack whenever Reila was ready.

[Murazar Dauthi]

{Outside Near the Drachman Army Nearing A Maintence Shaft With Drachman Troops, Hidden by Fog}

Murazar had nodded in response to Sashura and as he came back he was asked if he had any questions, he replied quickly." Negative, but you should know that briggs will most likely attack. Probably to destroy equipment or heavy weapons, then fall back and create a barrier of some sort to prevent you from harming them while they wipe you out. The rebel army on the other side should cause a good diversion, if you can i'd suggest you figure out how to take command and then follow me up after I enter and cause explosions. Around the quandrant, nine-five-four-three-two by six-two-four-four-five-eight there i'll open up a entrance that you can pour troops in. It will be a bottleneck so i'll try and clear out as many guards as possible while moving on to the main objective."

He saluted for a moment before taking the troops out into the snow and a slight fog so the briggs snipers wouldn't spot them. It was partially mountaneous and would lead to the maintenance shaft for the sewage. He gave a signal to the men to continue with him, but that he would communicate with briggs in order to fool them. They simply responded as normal and looked as if to only acknowledge it. He turned the frequency back to reila, " Ma'am, I passed out in my room, and woke up earlier in the morning than I thought of. I decided to just take a small hike outside for excercise and to see a sunrise, before I knew it I was hiding out from the Drachmans and..." He paused a moment and motioned the drachmans to talk, but for only a few moments.

Afterwards he continued," Right now, i'm two zero zero, five zero meters from the maintenance shaft. Can you just get some one to unlock it for five minutes then relock it, I can make it. If not, I will blow the ever loving shit out of that part of it. I am not going to die yet." He kept his voice quiet, urgent, and yet around the end it had a bit of urgency as he clicked the comm back to recieve only. It wasn't really unusual for him to vanish in the early mornings and go outside for a handful of hours past the sunrise. He never told anyone why, but it was just to scope out the terrain. He may have wished to die, but he didn't want to die in a pathetic way. He was a warrior, which made what he said fairly more believable.

The other soldiers didn't pay attention as they neared the shaft entrance, there was a fog or mist coming over the entire area they were at. They stopped for a moment to tie a rope to each of their belts to not get lost and murazar kept moving forward. They could make it to the shaft well within two minutes and the shaft if it even opened no one would see them until it was too late.[center]

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