Jylat - Starting Over Again

[Yolanda Riona]

[Map for convenience~


]

Dromar had only been three doors down the hallway before he saw the glare of a flashlight... No, two. Three. He didn't bother to count the rest as he backpedaled into Alindel. Dromar just about had to bite his tongue off to avoid any comment from breaching the silence they were currently gifted with. Instead, he reached and grabbed Alindel the first chance he had, yanking her into one of the nearby rooms. With his free hand, he held fast to the handle and quickly but cautiously closed the door.

"Alindel, I'll need your eyes."

His whisper was harsh and frustrated.

__________

My ears twitched. Had I just heard... Voices of strangers were ascending from the staircase, yelling "Clear" here and there. I gulped. Something was wrong. Just then, I heard the pounding of footsteps accompany them. I ducked into the nearest doorway and swallowed hard. Fear was causing my fur to buzz in that awful tingling sensation.

I looked around. Crosis and Esmeralda's bedroom. I felt vaguely out of place, but I dismissed it. Under the bed would be one hiding option. The other would be the giant clothes closet. I could even probably fit inside the giant chest in the corner. Why would they need something like that anyway? I finally bit the bullet and decided to stick it out behind the planter siting by the window.

'Just who are those people...? F4? It can't be...'

[Links Tyrell]

Alindel noticed the difference in light ahead of them even before Dromar had started backing up. She stopped dead, nearly squeeking as Dromar reversed into her. She didn't have time for another word though as she was tugged into another room.

For a moment she paused, her mind trying to work out what was going on. When it couldn't come up with an answer she simply nodded at Dromar's statement. "Y-yes of course. What's going on...?" She paused, gasping quietly. "What about Jodie...and Links...?" The last part of her sentence descended into a very hushed tone, the feline closing her eyes for a moment and balling her fists. "Don't do anything foolish Links."

[Chadin]

Our heroes managed to avoid being detected by the approaching gun men for the moment, but as the two four man squads reached the second floor level they split into three teams. One team stacked up beside the Master Bedroom at the top of the stairs while the second lined up outside Laurelle's room. The third group moved on to Jodie's room.

A trio of crashes followed as the three teams smashed their way into each room. Each team waved their flashlights around searching for what they came for. Closets could be heard being thrown open, clothes, furniture and any hiding places checked. The men even dropped to the ground and checked underneath the beds for that which they sought.

So far they found nothing, but it was only a matter of time before they discovered the hiding places of everyone on the second floor.

[Just a note, I'm not entirely sure which room everyone is in, so for now I'm assuming the rooms the intruders have entered didn't have any of you in them. If I did find you, then please play it out accordingly.]

[Yolanda Riona]

[Jodie is in the master bedroom. Dromar and Alindel are in the storage room next to it.]

Dromar kept his voice deathly low.

"You said yourself that your fiancee can handle himself. He's also got pops and 'Ma to put up a fight with. As for-@#$%. She probably hit the-See if you can find anything useful. Preferably something that can hit hard."

He wasted no time feeling around the room for something, anything that would arm them slightly better. The first thing his hands gripped was something light and squishy and Alindel would easily see him toss aside a foam sword.

"This must be where my 'Ma stuffed all her trinkets from her old work..."

Boxes. Boxes everywhere for as far as Alindel would be able to see. Some marked, some unmarked, some opened and scattered across the floor, some sealed tight and probably untouched since they were first moved. On the sides, a long rail collected all her costumes. Roughly half of them were still in traveling bags or wrapped in plastic. Shoes were sprawled all over the floor as well as scarves, gloves, ribbons, staffs, a compass, a BB gun, and plenty of other props.

My fur stood on end as I heard the slam of the door being opened followed shortly by a group of footsteps. I couldn't tell how many were coming but it was enough to set me panicking. They were fumbling around the room. It sounded like they were searching for something, but what would they want at my grandparents' home? Money would have been my first belief, but what kind of organization frantic for cash would be this organized? My thoughts subsided in my ever growing fear. One thing was certain. They were going to find me soon. When they did, what would they do? Was this it for me? I mean I'd just retained some sort of hope out of all this uneasiness I'd faced in the past how many weeks and now some higher power from who knows where was going to take it all away? I'd gone through so much trouble. Why couldn't I just be left alone? Why couldn't we just be left alone?

Plumes of dust began to sweep around me. It started out slow but little by little... and then a sudden burst of energy tore from me. I held fast to myself as my body began pulsing in agony, but the wind around me continued to funnel, expanding outwards through the room. The window nearby shattered, the shards raining onto me while the planter lurched and slid across the hardwood floor, picking up speed as it did. I could see the invaders now just as clear as day. Soldiers in dark garb with rifles trained. The funnel continued to expand. The tapestry hanging over the bed whipped wildly until it finally was torn from its hinges and fluttered down towards the floor while the bed shuttered and creaked with the rest of the furniture. Another window burst as the lamppost next to the bed lost balance and fell through.

Dromar looked up in mid-search as he heard commotion coming from the other room.

'Don't tell me they found her already!'

"Alindel...!"

[Chadin, feel free to take a little liberty here since they would know about the circumstances, I would assume. ;D]

[Links Tyrell]

Alindel looked up sharply, her startled expression causing the items in her paws to look rather odd; a WWI German helmet and the tail end of a pantomine horse. She dumped the items quickly on the floor and glanced back at the door as her ears flicked back and forth as she focussed on the sounds in the next room.

She glanced back at Dromar; for a moment not realising what the tone of his voice meant. When she did her eyes widenned slightly. "What are we going to do? What can we do against all those men?"

[Chadin]

Four men were just about break down the door Dromar and Alindel were hiding in when two loud gun shots rang out through the house and a commotion of some sort could be heard from down stairs. The sound of the gun shot made all the men swing around in alarm but quickly realized they weren't in any danger themselves. One man from the group standing outside the storage room made a silent hand gesture and quick as they could the four-man team bolted past the group still searching the master bedroom and back down the stairs towards the kitchen.

The men tearing the place apart had up to now ignored the planter by the window, that is they did until one of the searchers spotted the dust swirling around in his flashlight beam. The team slowly approached the planter on all sides but suddenly to their surprise the planter surged forward and caught one man in the shins, sending him hurtling to the ground.

That left the girl they sought completely exposed to them, then the glass shattered behind her. The men shielded themselves against the flying glass and debris but they tried to regain their composure as quickly as possible.

One dropped to his knees, finding the wind less violent and his stance more stable this way and the others quickly followed suit. They backed up a little as the vortex increased in size, they still couldn't get a very could view, or keep themselves very stable to get a good shot; not with all the debris flying around and hitting them.

"That's her! Take her down now, before she blows this whole house down!!" One man shouted frantically above howling winds. Two of the men raised their weapons and fired dull blue streaks of energy at Jodie. If hit, Jodie would feel the same blinding sensation Links or Nail might feel down stairs, but just like them she'd suffer no serious, lasting physical injuries.

[Yolanda Riona]

"I'm wingin' it as I go! Can't just wait and see what happens. That's not how things work. Show some thought and backbone if you're gonna go far enough to ignore me the first time! You could'a stayed back in the library, you know."

By then, Dromar had managed to find what looked to be a pistol and a mirror. He secured the pistol at his waist at the backside and then made for the door. He yanked it open hard but made the effort to stop it from banging against the wall. He probably would have heard the chaos downstairs in a more pronounced fashion if not for the screaming wind tunnel that was picking up next door. Coupled by a sudden cry, Dromar wasted no more time as he heard shots being fired from inside. He darted into the room. The light from their flashlights made it easy for him to distinguish where they were. Jodie lay on the floor, the vortex of wind beginning to slowly diminish around her. She was out cold.

"Hey! Get away from Jocie!"

He held up the mirror as he called for their attention.

[Links Tyrell]

"I-I have a backbone!" stammered Alindel, her expression showing her resentment at the comment. She quickly grabbed a rather sturdy looking wooden broom that sat against the wall and followed Dromar out of the door. As she followed Dromar along the landing she could hear the sudden crashes and shouts from the rooms below. Glancing over momentarily she then returned her view to the dragon ahead of her. "Links is doing his best...I have to do mine!"

She came to a halt behind Dromar in the next room. There were no lights apart from the torches but her eyes could make out the scene with ease...and the condition of Jodie. "I have a backbone!"

"Get away from her you creeps!" Pushing past Dromar the feline charged into the room, taking a firm hold of one end of the broom she was carrying and swinging the other end in a wide arc towards the head of the closest soldier.

[Chadin]

The soldiers were just relaxing their stances once they saw Jodie was out cold, the sudden arrival of Dromar and Alindel caught the four men by surprise. "What the-?"

CRACK!!!

The man Alindel struck with the broom stick fell to the ground, dazed, but not unconscious thanks to the helmet he wore. The man next to him however leaped at Alindel and tried to grab the broom and throw a vicious kick into Alindel's exposed mid-section.

Meanwhile, the other two men turned on Dromar, the first initially blinded when his flash light beam was reflected back into his eyes by the mirror Dromar had at the ready. But it didn't work out for the second man. He leveled his weapon at Dromar's lower torso and fired.

[Yolanda Riona]

[Since Chadin's on vacation now, we'll roll without him for the time being. ;D If you want to control the ones going after Dromar and I'll control the ones after Alindel, that would make a sweet tag team. Since Chadin let a reaction already, I won't note their actions right now, but I will for the next round.]

Dromar had anticipated a counter attack and hopped to the side. The shot still grazed his thigh though and he growled, limping as he charged towards the two men in his sight. He threw the mirror at the one who had fired. With his other hand, he gripped the pistol. It was around that time that the house itself began to shake though from Links' actions a floor below. Dromar landed on one foot the wrong way and fell to the floor with a grunt not far from the men he had intended to attack.