Harper Davlaman's Story

Sixteen hours till death and all was well; The rain was falling now, but that was not on the minds of two soldiers as they stood watch. Inside the cell they guarded sat a lone figure in slate white garments, more akin to a stereotypical prisoners garb, but missing the stripes. They watched, taking a glance from time to time and making sure nothing was amiss. However that never changed, because there Harper sat in the middle of his cell. Reading a rather thick book that he requested as his final wish before his sentence was carried out.

They all believed that he was safely secure, chains and shackles that anchored him to his singular bench. While the rest of the room was bathed in a nearly painful amount of florescent light. Thanks to the numerous amounts of bulbs under plexiglass that lined his cell. But still there he sat, with a thumb turning page after page and not looking up from leather bound text. One of the guards tapped on the bars to get the attentions of the interred and his eyes woefully gazed up, irritated from being pulled from his reading.

"Oi.. Harper.. Why not use your damn wish on something useful? Like a meal.. or a woman?" The other guard chuckles as he voice himself. "Or a second chance." Both men erupt in laughter as one nearly goes to slapping his knees in his joy. But Harper returns to his book and says nothing. One of them arches an eyebrow and puts his face to the bars squinting because of the lights. "What ya readin any ways?"

Harper gives a cursory glance before flipping another page.

"A Farewell to Arms.. By Hemingway."

"Not that the two of you know who that as.." He said with a slight roll to his eyes.

The books long wide pages were his resolve as he read on, nearing the end of the long story and his lips mimicked several syllables at a time as he continued. Only for several footsteps to signal that someone was coming.
This also caused the two soldier to snap back into attention as they readied themselves. Thanks to the small tapping in between the steps Harper could tell who was coming as well and sat the book beside him, after marking his page with a strand of hair.

In several moments there were a new set of eyes staring at Harper, one he knew all too well. "Evening Lexi.." He said as the bars slid open and he felt the contraption connected to his shackles power on. Knowing that full well any movement on his part would prompt the guards to activate his chains and electrocute him like a rabbit on an electric fence.

This woman had the look of an imperialist outright form the start. She was tall and well framed by her uniform that bore white breasting and gold buttons. Her golden, amber hair was held back in in a small tight bun and her icy blue eyes contrasted heavily with her marble smooth skin. Save for the ruby shading on her lips she would seem so pure to the eyes, but Harper knew better."

"Well Harper.. only a few more hours till the firing squad. No chance you want to rethink my offer and take that position with me. We could do so much together.. think of it. Me the fabled hunter and you the man slayer."

He felt a sharp pain in his stomach as she jabbed him in the stomach, the pain came from her trademark. An extendable staff that she used her powers of light to augment. It was this that made the tapping noise as she walked and she was not one to part with the staff easily.

Harper grins for a moment as he looks up. "Hmmm.. so tempting, either kill for the government and hate myself or have the chance to work with a cheery, sadistic, little miss sunshine.. As long as the option to stick my nuts in a carrot juicer are off the table I would happily accept." The smile on his face earns him a rather drastic rebuttal.

Lexi strikes him against the face with her staff and sends him falling back off his seat before storming out of the cell with a fuming look on her face. Her voice was infuriated as she rattled on "Lets see how you like the next few hours with no privileges." Harper spit a small wad of blood on the floor of his cell as the hum from his chains popped off. Then a voice came from down the hall that took the soldiers attention. "And take that fucking book away.."

---

Silence had befallen the calm before the storm, and nobody dared anymore venture into the dark if they valued their lives. A thick eerie fog had set in the heart of New Eden, so no one could make out the ungodly bloodshed occurring in one of its alleys. Blood painted its streets and splattered its walls, and what remained of the lifeless carcass that it once belonged to found itself slumped onto the ground – with its head neatly displaced nearby. “Fucking disgrace against your own kind.” What came next was enough to send chills down the spine of any ordinary person as he dug his fingers into the man’s skull; the excruciating sound of mutilating flesh as he removed its right eye. “An eye for an eye.”

“Bastard.” Spitting on its corpse and taking up his sword, he became a mere silhouette in the enveloping darkness that continued to writhe its way through the city. Slowly the skies began to grow dark and the streets ran cold, the silence broken by thunderous applause overhead before the rains came. Still clutched in his palm was the slimy sphere he had taken from the mage; but he wasn’t any ordinary mage. He was a dog of the government who sold out his own kind for a few pieces of silver and a warm bed. The only use he would ever serve was giving his assailant access to one of the most heavily fortified lockups in the city.

If there was a hell, this prison was it; inside was every unimaginable horror ever committed to anyone who ever called themselves a mage. Torture, genocide, and worst of all traitors. But soon enough they would all be taught a lesson to know what fear truly tastes like. Raising his arm and smirking in the distance, he closed his eye, and with a wave of his hand you would think he was maestro to Beethoven’s 9th as lightning violently struck the control tower. Screams echoed in the courtyard as chaos ensued, all the while the maestro stayed true to his ballad of death.

When the guards finally took notice it was already too late as he had made his move, slaughtering the men as if they were sheep. “Too slow.” Coming up on his last victim, he grinned as he drove his sword through the man’s back, bursting through his sternum as a spew of blood poured out just as he removed his blade. Alarms triggered, calls for backup could be heard screamed over the intercom. Using the eye he had procured earlier, he overrode the retina scanner to gain access to the inside – and was welcomed graciously to a firing squad on the other side. “For me... ? You shouldn't have!"

“Belial…”

As the lighting began to spread outside the two soldiers tensed up for a few moments.
Harper still lay on his back on the floor of his cell, a small draw of blood pooling from his face and then his face is overshadowed. The guard with the cockney voice was leaning over his and grabbing him by the cuff of the neck. Picking him back up, returning him to a seated position. "Well.. ya heard ah.." He grips the book snatching it off the bench and slides it under his arm.

They both look shaky for the moment as the other looks out the window. "Man it looks bad out there, never seen a lightning storm like this before. Think the power with hold out for the lights?.." He ask with a trembling tone in his voice. The cockney soldier responds as he finishes getting Harper upright. "Lights got they own power.. no storm ta worry bout." He goes to withdraw himself and stand, only to feel two sets of grips on his elbows. He looks down to see Harper staring back at him and a smile runs across the mages face. "Its not a normal storm and its what I call a second chance."

"Your lights aint going out.. and your not getting out." It was then that a sizzling sound came to his ears as well as the smell of burning wire and he could see over Harper's shoulder. It was the blood that pooled slightly and had begun to work its way down the edges of the glass, pooling at the base of the lights. Harper's smile grew as the lights began to flicker in an ever growing circle before they puttered to nonexistence.

A sudden onset of pain ran across his face as Harper's fingers dug deep into his skin and he stood, now holding the soldier aloft. The other reached for the small device that controlled the flow of power to the shackles and pressed the button. Holding it out towards the mage as if it was button to stop fate itself and the room filled with a lite buzzing noise. Harper tilted his head and the young man, months of conserving energy for this chance would not be left to waste as he tightened his grip.

Were it not for the small bands of dark energy that now separated his flesh from shackles. He clenched and spun the man to gain momentum, snapping his restraints free in the process. He threw the soldier from the cell, through the open bars where he collided with his comrade and crash into the wall. Harper is quick to follow and stand over their bodies, reveling in the darker sections of the corridor. He looked down and lost the smile as he spoke "I wish I could I would miss our time together.. but I would be lying." The last thing the two noticed was Harper's bare heel coming down form on high to crush the last of the life out of them.

With that done he took his time, switching from his clothes into those of the two men. Taking what he needed and ripping a weapon from still, cold, lifeless hands. He was soon dressed more reasonably now and had their weapons to boot before going to the wall and pulling the panel from a power access conduit and with relief pulled the wires from the wall. In an instant the power to the corridor was cut and he felt the familiar embrace of cold dense darkness hold him again, after so long.

He felt a calming feeling now as a hand lay on his shoulder. He looks back to see an all too familiar figure standing behind him. "Koshka.. its been too long." She was standing there in her stark dress, its was tight and almost looked as if a layer of skin on her form. Its cloth covered every inch of her aside form the sides of her neck that look stone cold and pale. The mask adorning her whole head was all the she ever wore since several years ago. That was the time she last changed form for him.

"Yes it has.. that mage is being useful. You could at least return the favor..." Her image dissolves as she finishes and her voice. Sounding like two blades being slide against one another being carried away on the air. Harper nods for the moment in a strange method of agreeing with himself all around. The mage outside responsible for this was in the act of defiance against the government and Harper could always use a bit for slaughter to make up for lost time. He kneels and pulls the tags from the necks of the lifeless bodies on the floor.

He stands arms astride and drinks in all the darkness from the space that he can muster before launching himself out the window. The time for waiting has passed and now he was ready for some well earned fun.

“What?” the waitress across from Laiq loosed a shrill squeak as the milkshakes she was carrying over to a booth surged in their cups. Drinks, sauces, and even the frying oil in the kitchen roiled violently as Laiq's magic bled into the nearby atmosphere. He stared at his phone, grip threatening to crack the screen. Whoever was on the other line spoke a few more times attempting to relay the information again and gain confirmation that the agent had heard, but hung up when only raucous answered them.

Laiq was already storming out of the restaurant before anyone could muster up the courage to ask him to leave. She was at it again. No matter how many times they spoke, how many times he tried to explain it to her, she still did not understand. That, or my likely Laiq realized, she didn't care. Etoile kept on maiming and killing captive mages for little to no gains. Magic-users that Laiq had captured in many cases, ones that he unwittingly delivered into the waiting clutches of one deranged earth mage.

Etoile Couvier was a bit of a sore spot as far as other agents were concerned. Laiq enjoyed her strength, her determination. She brought an impulsiveness that got things done where other members of the ACO would falter and fall back to rethink. Laiq frowned upon recalling the first time he had witnessed the darker side of Etoile.

Similar to many companies and government-funded facilities, the Arcanist Corrections Organization was a privately owned organization. As a result, it is assumed by the ruling government that they follow proper procedure. Assumed. Just like in any corrections facility, the jailors make the rules. They are the law. Human rights violations are as common as their perpetrators would like. Prisoners and non-compliants become plaything for people like Etoile to break. What she and her ilk did not realize was that they set the bar. If they extended basic human rights and proper living conditions to captured mages and their supporters, the horrible ghost-stories surrounding the ACO would vanish like smoke. People would see the value in their organization, not just the common folk who fear mages but other magic users themselves who are not so near-sighted as to believe regulations on magic have no merit.

A cab slowed near the curb in response to Laiq's hasty hailing. If I make it back to the facility soon enough, she may not have time to hurt the poor soul too badly. If not, well... best not to dwell on “ifs”.

---

New Eden City | ACO Holding Facility | 3:15 PM

“By all that is holy, what on earth...?” the words tasted ashen in his mouth and his intentions to reprimand Couvier dissolved. The sky above the compound was a rolling mass of black shot through with veins of lightning. Above the din of thunder Laiq could hear the klaxon of the alarms going off. Faintly, he registered the sound of the cab driver speeding off to leave Laiq alone in front of the compound entrance.

The woman in charge of overseeing the gate stood motionless with her back turned. Her gaze was reserved solely for something out of sight. Laiq called out to the guard, and her attention snapped back to the present. Her rifle was leveled in Laiq's direction for a tense few moments before she realized that she was poiting her weapon at a sanctioned mage.

“Agent Kassem!” the guard relaxed the grip on her weapon and gave a half-hearted salute. It was obvious she was torn between wanting to assist in the defense of the ACO Facility and not wanting to abandon her post. The guard filled Laiq in before he could ask. “Reports have been spotty at best, but if what I have gathered is true, Belial is launching an assault on the Class-A criminal cell block.”

Laiq motioned for the guard to let him into the gatehouse. The man made a b-line for the lockers in the back of the wall-affixed building. Within a few moments he was dressed in the ACO guard uniform, a padded suit of white and blue built to absorb a great deal of trauma as well as resistance to temperature fluctuation. It was not much, but it afforded ACO troopers some measure of protection against the various abilities of mages.

Last was the helmet. A shock-resistant polymer covered the entirety of the piece, except the blue-lenses that served as eyes. The comm within the helmet sparked to life as the suit's basic micro-hydraulic systems activated. Mixed reports from across the compound flooded in. Belial's location, the number of wounded, several hostile magic-users were already running free.

There was no mistake where he was needed most. The guards could subdue what prisoners were freed, and there would be at least two-dozen Agent-Mages such as himself on the facility to assist. Laiq began sprinting through the corridors of the compound. He pressed a finger to the armor at his neck to activate the speaker-end of the comm.

“Agent Couvier. Agent Couvier, respond. It's Agent Kassem.” the hiss of mercury running through the power-system of the suit was a constant thrum in the background of his message. “Ignore any and all escaped detainees unless they immediately threaten you. There is a priority-1 target on the grounds, designation: Belial. He is a tier-1 Storm-Mage and to be killed on sight.” there was a small pause before Laiq spoke again. “I am heading to engage the target now. I will require assistance. Kassem, out.”

The double-doors opened outward into the courtyard overlooking the Class-A block. Bodies littered the stone and a large chunks of the building had been collapsed inward by some sort of tremendous force. Ahead, the source of the devastation was plain to see.

“Ex-Agent, designation Belial.” Laiq called out across the courtyard, his voice amplified by the speakers in the suit. “You are hearby ordered to laid down you arms and turn yourself in. Should you comply, your execution will be swift, and those aiding you will be allowed a fair trial.”

Not expecting a positive response, Laiq was already girded for battle. The storm provided all the moisture he needed to form eight spheres of water each the size of a small car. They hovered in a ring roughly ten feet from Laiq in a liquid bulwark, already churning with violent energy waiting for release. The agent fell in to a boxer's guard and allowed his mana to flow freely. He was already expecting a lightning strike. This is going to hurt...

At the same time, a sleek flash of pale flesh trailing shadowstuff leaped from a gap in the solitary block and into the storming outside. Oh no. Not Davlaman. Not taking his eyes from Belial, Laiq activated the comm bead once more and set up a feed with the firing squad a few dozen meters away.

“Detain the detainee, Davlaman.” scrambling for what information he could recall about the high-prority convict, Laiq hastily added: “Keep him at a range. His abilities make melee dangerous. Pump him full of lead, he will run out of mana to maintain his defense relatively quickly if you all focus on him.”

Without anything more than a ping of confirmation, the twenty-four ACO guards opened fire on Harper. Among them was a sanctioned Speed Mage, Lydia Cooper. The stocky woman wielded ten custom side-arms at the same time with her augmented speed, pumping out rounds towards Harper at twenty times the pace of the human members of the squad.

Sadly, that left Agent Laiq Kassem alone against the infamous Belial. For the moment, at least.

---

---

Etoile walked aimlessly in the corridors. Somewhere, far away, she heard the echoing sounds of shrill screams. The cacophony of destruction and death that usually surrounded the facility was like music to her ears and it made her heart pound with excited vigor against her ribcage. She wasn't really aware of the background behind all the chaos that had suddenly sprung up, but she saw the cloud of black that rose up like the devil's fingers inching torturously slow and about to devour the very ground she stood on. She appreciated that, the theatricality of everything. It set up the mood and the stage for a battle that would not leave the minds of men for years to come.

The lights flickered overhead as her heels clicked against the carefully waxed floor. Behind her, her long dark locks swayed like a demon's tail, swishing with every movement of her hips. Her crimson eyes are hooded, bored, but clear enough for her to remain focused lest someone attempt to sneak up on her. The tip of Genocide slid on the floor, creating that deafening friction that made some people's teeth clench. For her, it was the sound of a promise. Her other hand clenched around a couple of seemingly ordinary rocks, special items that she had procured years prior for special cases such as what she was sure she would find in a while. Adrenaline coursed through her body like fire and the monster in her mind grinned maliciously.

The light stopped flickering overhead and disappeared completely, plunging the hallway into complete darkness. Etoile slid to the walls and kept her breathing shallow as the sounds of hurried footsteps echoed. Her grip on Genocide tightened, but she slipped the rocks back into her pockets. No, this one was not worth it. This one wasn't a threat moving to murder her. This one was running, like a coward. The person, she quickly discovered to be another mage, turned the corner and ran into her hallway, blind to the danger that dwelled within. His eyes were wide and afraid. He was pathetic.

She didn't have to wait long before he was killing distance. With one swift swing of Genocide, she separated his worthless head from his body, which slid on the floor due to inertia and stopped a couple of feet away. She caught the severed head in a fluid motion and held it high for her eyes to examine. He was nothing worth describing. Even the expression on his face at death was pathetic.

A hiss sounded from the lapel of her shirt. "Agent Couvier. Agent Couvier, respond. It's Agent Kassem,” came the rough voice from the tiny communicator that was pinned to her clothes. She had forgotten about that. “Ignore any and all escaped detainees unless they immediately threaten you. There is a priority-1 target on the grounds, designation: Belial. He is a tier-1 Storm-Mage and to be killed on sight.”

She looked at the decapitated body of the man she just killed with a blank face. "Oops," she said to nobody in particular, but with a smile tugging at her words. Laiq would probably give her an earful about this and she wasn't in the mood for any of that. She threw the head in the opposite direction of the body and heard it land with a sickening thump. She just wouldn't tell him about this little mishap.

“I am heading to engage the target now. I will require assistance. Kassem, out.” Etoile nodded, despite the fact that he would not see her. She swung Genocide in an arc and rid it of the pathetic swine's blood. With that, she made her way to the courtyard, where she felt the tremendous pull of chaos swirling like a whirlpool. It didn't take her long to establish a visual of the place and saw how much ruin had taken place. Her stomach flipped with anticipation.

She quickly spotted Laiq and moved to walk towards him when she felt a atronger force from the side. Her head tilted to the side as she examined this person. Harper Davlaman. Etoile's heard of him before and she couldn't help the smirk that reached her lips. Davlaman was strong and would be a worthy opponent, but there were already others dealing with him. Belial, on the other hand, had only Laiq to oppose him. Etoile shrugged as she pulled out her stones and pushed her power into them, willing them to bend to her command. They shone a magnificent emerald before shifting in her grip and forming her other sword. After a few test strikes, she moved out from behind the shadows and walked up casually beside Laiq. In her peripheral, she watched as Belial raised that sword of his.

"Sorry to join this party so late, but I'm here now," she offered another shrug. She turned her head to Belial and gave a simple curtsy. "Enchantee."

New Eden | Government Holding Facility: Multipurpose bunker | 3:07 pm

The sound of a large, steel blast door shutting and the engaging of it’s locks.
Yet again, Briar found himself in a room, although this time much more spacious and accommodating. Another thing that differed that it was holding significantly more people than in the previous room. The Bureaucrat; who had introduced himself as Hayim Dahan a few minutes ago, was now seated in a leather recliner busily talking on his phone, and gesturing towards one of the armed men to hand him a bottle of water out of a fridge, placed not so far away from them.

A bit further to the left in the room, another person was holding a conversation on the phone, while also frequently tapping a tablet screen. She, whose name was Priscilla Hogarth, was Hayim’s secretary. She had a stoic expression splayed upon her bespectacled face, and her answers on the phone were so short and direct, it bordered on being brusque.

Armed men were spaced in even distances in the room and stood on standby. Everyone was doing something, except for Briar, who stood in the middle of the room, still cuffed. It took a bit of waiting before the debonair man had put down the phone. He took a gulp of water, and screwed on the cap of the bottle with a satisfied sigh. “Alright kid, even you must’ve noticed things aren’t going according to plan. I’ll be brief with you. A few minutes ago, this facility has been compromised by one of our past employees; an air mage of considerable power has gained entry to this facility and has taken down the control tower, which in turn took out our automotive turrets.”

Briar frowned. A system seeming to be so intricate, and disabled so easily? “But how could that be, don’t things like that have back-up systems, or something?” “Oh, but it does.” Hayim answered quickly. “It’s in the same damn tower as the main system! I’ve been telling the higher up’s for years that this was beyond irresponsible, but then they’d say things like “cost-efficiency”, “Economize” ,”Recession” and “Rotational Velocidensity”. You know, i looked that last one up because i didn’t know what that meant. It had to do with quality loss in audio files! Hell, that’s been dealt with back in 2031! They were talking out of their asses, but now i’ve got them by the balls, and you can bet i’ll be proposing for things i have wanted to for a while now. But that’s stuff for later. For now, we’ll have to do something about this mess going on now, and with “we”, i mean you. You’re an employee now, and it’s high time you do your part.”

“What can i do?” Briar blurted out without much thinking. “The files mentioned you were a water mage. What *can* you do? Turn into mist? Shoot highly pressurized water from your eyes? I don’t know what you can do, so you tell me.” “Well, i can create, and control ice.” He answered truthfully, but without going into too much detail. The bureaucrat nodded sagely at the younger man’s words. “Good enough for me. Now here is the plan. You’re going to make your way to one our armouries. Any hostiles you encounter along the way are to be eliminated. On arrival, you’re to make sure no one has breached it. When that is done, you are to enter and suit-up. Afterwards, you’re going to keep the area clear until further notice. Priscilla here will inform you as to how to get there.

New Eden | Government Holding Facility: Armoury III | 3:15 pm

The repeated clenching and unclenching of a hand. Briar looked at his own reflection, displayed on the surface of a mirror he had created out of ice himself. He was no longer wearing the clothing he had previously worn. A winged helmet with an amber colored visor adorned his head. A helmet he personally found to resemble that of a bird of prey. Body armor that covered the upper chest and back, his shoulders and most of the upper arms, but not the lower back and chest. Vambraces and gauntlets whom were segmented for easier flexibility and articulation. A metal codpiece which was there to protect the important bits, and, would’ve looked downright silly if it weren’t for the very long steel boots that ended up around the hips. And underneath that all, he wore a full body suit, which was surprisingly thick and black in color.

He found it to be funny really. The get up resembled those from shows like Kamen Rider or other Super Sentai, but didn’t feel like he had anything in common with those heroes. How could he even, when he hunted people just like himself, just so he could live in relative peace? Briar wasn’t able to dwell on it too long however, as a feminine voice was speaking through the sound system within the helmet. “Status report” Was what the voice belonging to Hayim’s secretary, Priscilla demanded.

“One prisoner made it’s way towards the armoury, but has been disposed off by me and the guards stationed here.” Briar was referring to a inmate on his left side, a reasonable distance away from him. The man’s body was laying on the ground, riddled with bullets, while his feet were still frozen to the ground. The voice spoke again, short and straight to the point. “Your next objective is to neutralise a mage by the name of Harper Davlaman utilising Dark magic. He has last been seen in the area marked on your map, about ten seconds ago. Proceed with caution.” “Understood.” Was what Briar said, just before making his way towards his new objective.

The door ahead of Harper gives easily as he swings a large dark fist into his lock, ripping the bracket from its foundation and splintering the stone wall. His last encounter with the bases guards had gone the same as the two before. They point, they shoot, they die.

Harper walks the corridor with a steady calm, not wanting to wait for the chance to make it back outside and into the open air. It would be night time in only a few hours and he has been missing the look of the moon for over a year now. He still feels the same feeling on his back, as if he were being lain against and a calming hand were on his shoulder. That would account for the voice being spoken into his ear at some oft moments. "Its so good to be with you again, all those days in the light stole you from me.." Koska was not going to leave him so readily, it was obvious that she missed him after all that time. Though she still looked mostly like a large black mass that had crawled up on his back.

The armory was ahead of him, though it wasn't a weapon he was after. More like the vehicles stored in the maintenance bay beyond it. All he needed was something with enough punch to break through the gate and he would be back where he belongs, in the world outside. Wine, woman, and fine living were his ultimate goal to reach at the end of today's trials.

An iron door now stood in his way to the armory and that would far as well as the other doors in his, because over the course of a few years Harper learned that you don't really need a key. He dropped the assault rifle to his left hand and pulled back opening his palm. Gathering a focused sheath of dark matter around his forearm and hand he grips the middle of the doors frame, letting the tips of the fingers penetrate the iron. In a moment he gripped the body of the door causing it to buckle around the edges and pop its hinges and letting it fall into the room.

As the door fell he heard the voice of a guard over the ambiance yell. "FIRE!!"
In that instance a hail of bullets came pelting his way and he covered his face with his free arm. The shots scattered on for several seconds, he could feel the light pocking impact of each round over his body before the chaos ended and as he stood in place, all was well. In an instinctual act he had covered the from of his form in a sheeting of dark mass that blocked the rounds. Like a long curtain to weather a storm.

He dropped the curtain as the sound of firing pins sounded the fact that they were empty now and he looked on. A mass of nearly a dozen men stood ahead of him standing on the armory platform and one other. By the looks of him, Harper could tell he was a member of the government institute and his outfit pointed him out to be on of the mages on their pay. Harper only smiled for a moment before speaking. "Ahhh.. Lapdog..." Koshka's head and a partial amount of her torso grew from his back, looking over his right shoulder. "More toys to play with..." There was a happy, yet agitated chirp to the edge of her voice.

He puts a hand on the back of his head as he scratches and speaks.
"I don't suppose your one of the talkative ones are you?" He said as he looked the mage over.

New Eden | Government Holding Facility: Armoury III | 3:20 pm

A heavy crashing sound could be heard as a fist, wreathed in darkness, punched right through a steel door. The force of it ripped it from it’s hinges, as the wall surrounding the door crumbled to pieces. Before Briar could even react, one of the guards shouted for the men to fire, and almost immediately the thundering sound of multiple firearms going off could be heard, as it filled the surrounding area, and muffled all other sounds. As the sound of shooting finally died down, he saw a figure cloaked, in what seemed like, a curtain of pure nothingness? In any case, all the bullets fired at the figure impacted upon the surface of the curtain, but weren’t able to pierce through it.

The figure dismissed the curtain with a flourish, revealing himself to be to a tall and broad man, whose skin was slightly pale, and possessing grey hair that’d reminded one of a charred tree.
And on the mans back, a upper torso and head, feminine in shape grew while the man mouthed the word “lapdog”, likely directed towards Briar. “More toys to play with…” the figure on the back said in a tone that disturbed Briar quite a bit. So much in fact, he almost forgot to keep Hayim’s secretary in the know how of what was happening, whom in turn informed him that that person was infact, the one he was tasked to “neutralize”. He hadn’t planned how he’d do it though, but he had an idea. “Ma’am, could you close the gate that’s behind me, and order the guards to retreat behind it?” True to his request, the guards all retreated, just before a thick steel wall rose from the ground, closing off the armory behind him. It was thick enough to prevent Harper from gaining access, should Briar fail, or at the least slow the man down long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

"I don't suppose you're one of the talkative ones are you?" The sinister looking mage asked him, all the while lazily scratching the back of his head. “I have one more request, could you turn on the sprinkler system in this area?” he asked the women on the other side of the connection, and she responded with a curt “yes”, and within five seconds, water came pouring from the sprinklers in abundance. Briar took a deep breath, and around him, rain gravitated towards the centre of five different spots, forming small orbs of water. These balls of water in turn froze solid, and grew further outward, rapidly expanding, until they were roughly twenty inches in diameter, and weighed three hundred and fifty pounds each. Exerting his power further, he began radiating cold, slowly freezing the surrounding air.

By the time Briar set his first step towards Harper, cold mist started to take form around himself, while all the rain in a radius of four inches started to freeze and turn into snow, while with every step he took he left an icy footprint. “Quite the contrary, i can be very talkative when in good company-” Briar’s speech became slightly strained as the sphere’s started to rotate around him, and swiftly picked up speed until they were but blurs. “Though you two don’t seem like the kind of people it would be fun to hang out with, nor is this the time and place for banter.” He had stopped about sixty five away from the prisoner, and without much warning, three of the five cannonball-like projectiles came speeding towards his direction. “So let’s get down to business, and show me how you’ll deal with this!”

Harper looked on as the soldiers left the room and he took this moment to eye the area he knew they would trade blows in. Koshka only just kept her eyes on the mage, though seeing so would be nearly impossible. The shroud like mask covering her face and the partial resolution of her halfway formed body was enough to distort her physical form to somewhat of a blacked silhouette.

The evidence of the dead prisoner riddled and trapped was more then enough to tell him that the mage across the room from him was an ice wielding water brand. A sigh ran through his mind; seeing as the governments of the world are full to bursting with peons like him and the fact that the soldiers played a part in the mans death spoke volumes of his skill.

He was shorter and more calmly then Harper, though in this day and age appearances mean very little in the world now. Seeing as there are eight year old's that start infernos when they reach the age of magical maturity. A term in both aspect of truth and testing that made Harper grin with a small chuckle. "Good choice.. they would just get in your way at this point." Harper was absorbed in the moment as the mage gave the message that would tip favor into his corner. The sudden onslaught of cool clean water was a mixed blessing. One being that he hadn't had a bath in three weeks and two being that it would allow the ice mage more options of power.

It wasn't until the moment that he began to approach that Harper dropped the slight smile to his face. He had been locked up for eighteen months, barely fed, and deprived of the embracing dark for so long. He would have to wait for his opening and conserve his power till he could siphon more. Thankfully for his case the florescent lights in the armory barely illuminated the floor and the mage did no know it yet, but he has given Harper his own options as well.

“So let’s get down to business, and show me how you’ll deal with this!”

Harper widened his eyes and braced for the attack; ducking his head to dodge the first and swerving once to avoid the second, Koshka herself dissipated her form to let the large orb pass though her and over Harper's shoulder. But the last was center mass and Harper hefted his arm sheathing most of its form with a massive gauntlet and braced. The orb made contact and he brought the other arm to bare as well, its sheer force and weight driving him back on the heels of his feet. His body forming small plates along the remaining exposed portions of his arms. This impact caused the orb to grind to a halt and destroy most of its mass in the process. He crushed the rest in his grasp as his arms fell and he adjusted his stance, the impact leaving him only a few feet from the wall.

He looked on at the mage and found he was too far away for his first plan, so he would need to close the distance. Sighing for a moment he gave a dejected sway of his head, he brought his right hand above his eyes for a moment. "You will regret siding with them when I am done with you..." He draws the hand down as if he were closing a visor and his body ripples to life with dark energy. The lights begin to strain from the tension in the room as the shadows themselves crawl along the drenched floor towards Harper and proceed to climb his legs. The process was forming a chitin like armor over his body and from his head to his toes plate after plate were synching together. The sheer speed of the action was a testament to his skill from more advanced years over his advisary.

He took a massive leap forward from the edge of the loading dock and the impact of his feet shattered sections of the concrete floor. A note of how much mass had been compressed on his body and he stood before the mage now, a form akin to an ebony clad knight from the days of old. "Use this time to contemplate your choice..." He removes the rifle from his shoulder and crushes it in his grip before taking a rather offensive stance. Growing a long wide blade from the top of his right arm and take a large thrust in the mages direction, the flooring cracking under the tension of his presence.

Briar’s expression behind the mask turned grim, as the mage made quick work of his assault.
The projectile that did manage to hit him only managed to push him to the back of the room, and now after a disturbing sequence of flickering lights and shadows moving like limbs; a powerful jump had Briar’s foe standing right in front of him, fully armored in something that reminded one of chitin. While the projectiles were initially to gauge his opponent, he had still hoped they would’ve had more effect than they did.

It wasn’t over yet though, he still had enough materials to work with.There was water in abundance, the space around him rapidly dropped in temperature, and the clear, cold mist drifting off only served in expanding that area. His foe seemed to disregard all of that however, as he seemingly tried to intimidate him by bending a rifle, and that within arms reach. Why would he though? Two projectiles were still at his side after all. Did his enemy regard himself as victor already? If so, he was in for a surprise.

While Harper had posed himself to strike with his sword at anytime, Briar stood perfectly still, in anticipation of his foe’s move. “I’ll make you regret underestimating me” was what he thought to himself. Right when the sword came thrusting towards him, a sculpture of Briar, an exact replica made out of ice, lunged forward, intercepting the sword with it’s body, while he himself hopped back to the left. He could see how the sculpture was pierced effortlessly. It shattered in a dozen pieces, that flew in all directions, temporarily concealing himself from Harper. Using his powers, he willed ice to form on the floor behind Harper, which grew at an explosive rate, angled at his back. At the same time, one of two remaining ice projectiles was launched straight at his face.

While a rapidly growing pillar threatened to impact from behind, and a projectile from the front,
Briar didn’t leave it at that. With a slide, he had manoeuvred himself at Harper’s right flank, where he would expand his last projectile to five times it’s original size. It was so heavy that he could no longer hold it suspended in the air with just his mind, so he had to pose as if his hands carrying something, just to support it’s mass. With another motion of the hands, the sixteen hundred pound ball of solid ice was shot towards Harper with such force, the recoil threw Briar backwards, which in turn allowed him to slide further away from the man, to the point were his target had to leap again to close the gap. He wouldn’t let that happen so easily again though, and to counter that, he froze water around the underside of his boots till they formed a blade of ice under each sole; much akin to figure skates. Seeing no sense in standing in one spot, he made sure to stay in constant motion. He shouldn’t assume his attack did anything significant, but he sure hoped it did.

As Harper's blade came closer to his target he could no longer keep himself from following through. Even with his augmented strength stopping his momentum dropped away from being an option. Though it was no surprise that the mage dashed away from the attack. He was not in the same range as Harper and it was easy to see that he commanded more power from range then up close. However as the copy shattered, Harper lost vision of his target and he could no follow as the shattered form scattered over his armored form.

At this point he half expected a rebuttal from somewhere else off his flank, only to be met with another of those same spheres that came parading through the shattered ice and connecting with the edge of his head. Had he not been augmented at that moment, there was a good chance the impact could really do serious damage. But the strain of his body kept his faculties in place and his body from feeling the full impact. Though he could feel that a twinge was now apparent in his face, circling around the center of his nose and that was followed by the warm glide of blood coming from his one nostril.

The impact only caused him to recoil slightly back onto his heel, as well making him bring his arms back into a defensive position and the sound of ice forming causes him to react. Spinning around and using his elbow to shatter the leading edge of the approaching pillar. But at that moment he was too late to see the other threat, coming ironically from his flank as his head was beginning to turn.

His opponent had skill enough to generate a massive orb of ice and throw it reliably.
For all intensive purposes he was flat footed and could not really dodge from his position and was forces to stand his ground against the onslaught of ice. A feat that he had done similarly in the past, but he was not malnourished and deprived of his own powers for over a year prior in those days as well. So with a grimace behind his mask he clasp his hands before him and extends his armor to a point ahead of him right before impact and he is pressed against the wall by its sheer mass and force.

As the sphere pressed him into making contact with the wall, he narrowed the end of his projection and widened its base around him. Causing the ice to split like a log. Though the impact was great and his armor absorbed a portion, he could feel the impact take effect inside of him as his body was put on a considerable amount of strain. He was however in better shape then the rest of the room, pipes and wires were suffering from the intense cold generated and the impact now caused a large fissure to appear across the ceiling and floor in parallel to one another.

Harper let his power go for a moment, the wedge he generated was holding the ice in place and with it gone the two halves fell to each side. Rolling on each half end and crashing into containers all around the edge of the room as he stood to look at his opponent. Wiping the small trickle of blood from his nose he smirks for a moment.. "I see..You do have some skill." The lights began to flicker and sputter as the wracking chaos around them brought the filament inside to a strain. Then in that moment the lights cut out with a last whining snap through the air and then the emergency lights turned on. The room became flush with a low tone red aura, as if it was slowly coming to a boil.

Harper can see a steady stream of dust and debris pouring from the crack in the ceiling and a small smile slid across his face as he looked on. "But all things must come to an end.. eventually." He placed an open palm ahead of him and extended his arm towards the ice mage. A small disk of dark mas was forming on the flat of his hand and began to expand rapidly, its coverage becoming a large black wall that blocked the view of most of Harper's edge of the room. Not giving much time to reaction he slams his other hand against the back of the wall and causes a rather spry reaction. Several dozen points formed on the side of the wall and began to sprout out, growing as if like wild vines with a mix of crazed thrashing on the side. An attack that he would have rather used closer to his target, but this was not entirely meant to hit off the bat.

As the lashing tendrils thrashed their way across the body of the room, they mulched and destroyed nearly everything that came over their path. The walls, ceiling and floor suffered the same treatment as well as the wiping barbs did their best to destroy everything in the room.

“Send in reinforcements, i can’t handle this guy on my own. ” He said as he undid the clasps of his helmet. He did not wait to hear the response coming from the built in headset, for he had already pulled it off his head, and thrown it to the side. It would only get in the way after all.
The icy cold, and water cascading upon his head was a welcome sensation after the stuffy helmet.

The situation he found himself in was dire. Black tendrils wrecked through the fundamentals as they steadily made their way along the room. Even through the dim red light and rain, dust particles could be seen falling from the ceiling. Briar raked a shaky hand through his rain-slicked hair. The idea that he had to deal with both the the tendrils and falling debris had his heart rate increase.

“No time to waste, let’s get to it.” Briar gave himself a mental slap in the face. He had no time to waste as his next move would take long enough. Exhaling, he tried to relax his body as best he could. When he inhaled again, he didn’t just take a breath. The mist, that had covered a bit more than half the room, started to roil, steadily floated towards where he stood, and entered his body through his mouth. The mist, the ice, even the cold was drawn in; all in one lengthy inhalation.

The temperature in the room rose in conjunction with how much mist was left, until everything reached a pleasant temperature yet again, except for Briar, whom now embodied absolute cold in that wide space. Time hadn’t stood still however, the tendrils had come uncomfortably close, and pieces of concrete fell from the ceiling. It was high time he’d tackle the root of the problem again.

He willed the cold, spread throughout his body, to the centre of his body, and molded it into a sphere. He drew from that sphere, and with a shout, a gale of unearthly cold raced through the room, freezing the tendrils and all the water, from the droplets in mid-air, to the now ankle high water on the ground solid, as it passed along. Harper and his wall were left untouched. More debris came falling down in increasingly shorter intervals.

Inhaling exaggeratedly once more, the sphere; a translucent, ghost like blue, rose from his stomach towards the back of his throat. It was now or never. With a roar, that same eerie blue; now a continuous, focused beam of cold, came crashing into the wall, trying to break through.
It made an awful sound, as if screaming like a banshee. It reverberated throughout the whole room and the icicles it had shaped along it’s path. Water no longer cascaded from the ceiling for even the sprinklers were frozen. The only rain that fell was debris, thick and heavy. He had to break through, before he’d get buried underneath it. He had to, and fast.

Harper felt as the temperature on the other side of the wall began to plummet, even going so far as the extend from the wall itself and he could feel the water on his forearms solidify into ice crystals. Giving a moment to breath he could feel the warm wet slide of blood over his bottom lip and in that instant he started to hate the idea of staying. Being deprived of strength and sustenance for the year prior was not his ideal way to start a jail break.

Even now he was still drawing more strength from the growing paleness of the room, but that was being spent as soon as he could draw it in. He felt a pressure on his shoulder as Kohska materialized once again. "I believe its time we take our leave of this puppet and be gone of this place.. like was planned." He gave her a quick nod, despite the fact that such a transaction between the two of them was unnecessary and even though it strained his power he acted on the decision.

The wall shrank drastically before a group of four tendrils erupted from its surface, not heading for the mage ahead but up and embedding into the stonework of the ceiling. He stepped back on a single foot gave a grunting heave as he pulled on the dark raven like cords and pulled the fissure in the ceiling wide.

Like a flood unleashed, tons of debris came pouring through the opening. Sections of stonework, boxes, portions of bedding.
It seemed there was a berthing over head, all complete with the walling from bathroom stalls and trashcans.

Koshka herself was taking matters into her own hands and extending a small dome from her arm, using it to swat away bricks that would otherwise endanger her and Harper as the room collapsed inward. Harper exchanged looks with the opposing mage before a section of wall blocked his vision.