A bolt hole opened as the Invasion began. In the chaos, none would notice a small group led by a blonde woman. The group was intent on grabbing a few people in the chaos. It was the perfect time to feed and gather their strength before moving in on the Dark Hunters and their squires. Two broke from the feeding frenzy and moved to the Stars End Bar. The pair strode through the main pneumatic doors just as the Ice Spears flew. There was a smirk as the woman watch, signaling the man with her to wait. They had just missed the flash.

Travanix?s hand shot up, his eyes went blood red, glowing fiercely as the area around him came to a sudden stop around him and Lani.

Anyanka cried angrily, teeth bared as she shielded her eyes from the flash of light and power. Despite her lack of magic, the siren didn't cower, in fact, she half stood in front of Victor, hands curled and contorted into angry little claws.

The Seraph's head snapped suddenly toward the center of the flash, and while his flesh eye had momentarily lost sight, the cybernetic one identified the man immediately. "You..."

The shards dropped to the ground as Travanix?s hand went from open palm to a finger, pointing towards the intruder. ?Kill him!? Eiellani was always impressed when the Lord showed little teasers of his power like that. She rose to her feet with all the swiftness of a cobra's strike.

Eyes narrowed, Celeth watched intently as the blades stopped in midair, but he'd already prepared a chain of spells, the next of which created a vortex void behind the man and the one he protected. His fingers traced the runes in the air with alarming speed.

Victor did not hesitate; a blast of energy fired directly at the blue man from his mana eye, then he was airborne, leaping toward him with his blade drawn.

As amusing as the show of power was, Iokaste was far from helpless or lacked the ability to protect herself. They both had more than a few centuries of battle experience under their belts. Still, she wanted a lay of the power players before moving.

Ammy still observed knowing when she was out of her league for the moment.

Lani's training would keep her out of the way. Travanix?s own training allowed him to move quickly, the Dark Side aiding his physical skills to leap away from the vortex - he was not going to go down like that - not tonight. Not now! The micro projectors were collected before they became damaged. Jumping to gather them with the force, he rolled to the side. Metal scratching metal was heard as metallic talons enclosed around his flesh and blood fingers.

Just before the spell was complete, the blast hit his shields and threw Celeth roughly into the wall. Had he not been protected, it would have reduced him to a pile of ash. Shocked eyes turned toward the source. "...Kazon?"

The blade was already descending, aiming for one of the shielding orbs while his eye tracked and fired at another. "Yes, I know who you are... Celeth."

Out of the way was right where Lani intended to stay, snake strike quick movements took her away from the void, and to the "edges" of the conflict.

"Stop!" A telekinetic wave of Celath?s hand turned the seraph's blade aside. "That man! He is a monster! Settle whatever debt you wish with me later, seraph... but KILL HIM! NOW! He has already started a war!"

There was a dark smile on the Blonde Spathi?s lips. Oh, she liked Travanix already if what the blue man said was true.

?Started a war?? Travanix laughed darkly, ?I am rebuilding a world!?

Seeing something tossed into the bar through the window, Ammy gave a small growl and abandoned the array. She stood and dove out a different window, shattered glass following and she rolled coming up into a defensive stance looking around before retreating to a safe distance.

Amongst all this, Travanix smirked...The SEB wasn't supposed be hit till later in the night? Ah well?

Suspended inside the sphere as it rolled away from Star's End, Celeth let its inertia carry him away, but not before whispering the rune that triggered the overloaded crystal, in hopes that it would be enough to destroy the monster inside. "Victor... stop this!" He hissed through gritted teeth as the seraph bore down upon him.Victor followed, a blade extending from his wrist and a bright light charging in his eye.

Seeing the progress, and not to be left behind, Anyanka spied the nearest exit and loped out through it with an inhuman speed and grace.

The claws retracted. ?Lani.? He said simply.

?Yes Lord?? Lani replied.

His arms folded behind him. ?I trust you are unharmed, my pet.?

?Of course. And you??

Ammy noted the fleeing people. She noted Travanix escaping and weighed the decision on whether to pursue or not. She could see the smoke from the city as well as the fires. She had to admit, being one of a created race for war, that Travanix had executed things quite nicely.

After a few minutes, The Daimon reopened the bolthole and the pair stepped out again. She had not survived this long by being stupid.

Travanix nodded. ?Other than annoyed, I am fine.? He shook his head.

?Good. I'm glad you are unharmed. I'm sure that the schedule hardly allows for a vengeful rampage at the moment.? Lani said smoothly.

?I think perhaps an orbital strike may be better, two birds one very large rock.? He ordered without missing a beat.

?I do love watching explosions from so high up.? Lani mused.

?I will radio Lord Pol. He should have his ship in orbit from the blockaid. Contact the troops hitting the marketplace, make sure they withdraw from that battlefield.?

Ammy pulled her cellphone and made a quick call. "Fleet, it's time to do something. Meet me at my lab in the Glen." she flicked the phone shut and put the phone back on her belt.

?As you command.? Lani gave a positively wicked smile before doing as he commanded.

When Travanix said "radio", what he meant to say was communicate with Lord Pol through the Force.

Ammy did want to send a message to Travanix and let him know that their would be a few pockets of resistance. She pointed a clawed finger and arced a single bolt of crimson Force lightning in his direction.

Not having any force mojo herself, Lani used an actual radio. A tiny transmitter that was fashioned to look like a wrist watch, the better for keeping time and contact in times of activity. She'd had one made for each and any girl who might be distributed to run messages among the troops.

The bolt was easily caught in Travanix?s hand as the auburn eyes scouted out the girl that threw them.

Ammy just grinned with sharp teeth and ignited her azure light saber. She gave Travanix a mocking salute, and then extinguished the saber as she disappeared into the night.

There was a soft chuckle, "There is a Warehouse in the West End of the city that is housing my foes. They have access to technology that is advanced, but still primitive when compared to yours."

Lani held up a finger to Sita, she'd answer her once the instructions were relayed. She half turned away to whisper them into the transmitter on her wrist.

?Tell them to obliterate the West end, especially anything that has any shielding or reinforcements. Order orbital strikes if need be.? He looked to Iokaste, ?How else may the Circle aid you this evening??

Seeing that her mate not mate was speaking to Lani, she simply nodded.

More whispers into the watch, wrist droping only once all was set. ?Now... We were speaking of sin??

"I would like two of them captured. The first is a man known as Arcter and the other is a young man that runs under the name *Ares*." She fair near spat that out, given she has seen the god in question and the boy was nothing like him. "In the meantime, we will prepare to aid you as you require." As the Daimon spoke, flashes of fangs could be seen. She was going to enjoy the carnage.

?Sin is when wrong doings infiltrate and rot the soul Sister.? Lani replied smoothly.

Have one of yours meet up with my troops in the city. They need to be able to fight and need to be able to identify the ones you want. I would hate for your Lord to be angry with my choice to just eliminate them all.

Sita nodded again and hopped up onto the bar, sitting lotus style as was her habit, ?The soul can rot??? How, it is not a plant or flesh is it??

?It can indeed.?

She was confused, ?Sita thought only material things were subject to decay????

?The soul has substance just as any material thing does... Ask that one? She has the aura of one who sucks souls.? Lani points to Iokaste::

There was a soft chuckle, "Either myself or Iason will be in contact." Iokaste gestures to the Daimon standing behind her as she replies to Travanix.

Sita was still confused, ?She is a drinker of blood??

Lani relied, ?I'm not sure. I can't see everything.?

She smiled at Sita, "My people were cursed by an angry god. We do what we must to survive." Truth... Just not the entire story.

?Just so your forces know, we are not taking prisoners.? Travanix smirked, ?Survivors are fine... if they cannot carry a weapon.?

There was a slow smile at that from Iokaste. "They are cattle."

Sita grinned, smiled at Lani and scrambled along the bar, hands and knees like a child to peek beyond Travanix at the woman he was speaking with. ?Ahhhh?? A small sound was exhaled and she moved to turn back to her spot next to Lani.

? Excellent.? He shot a glance towards Sita then back to Iokaste. ?Keep me apprised of your progress. Let me know if you need any resources for the mountain. I am sending in teams equipped for the area.?

?Do you see, Little sister? The weight of souls on her??

There was no weight as the souls were destroyed after a length of time yet she did not tell anyone that. Iokaste nodded to that and bowed, "By your leave?" Only out of courtesy to an ally.

Travanix bowed slightly. ?Enjoy the rest of your evening... and the destruction." Another explosion came down around the marketplace.

She bowed in turn to Lani and gave a brief smile to Sita. The bolthole was summoned and she and the other stepped on through.

(Much Kudos to Travanix, Lani, Sita, Ammy, Celeth, Anyanka and Victor.)

The klaxons going off was clue enough that there were problems, of course, but she's glad he sent the backup message.

She doesn't have to tell Jissin, either - her lover is already out of bed, and she passes the message along to her.

"Get your friends ready for a fight, Jis...we have company coming, apparently. Get the crew down to the armory and ready to go, too - I have to get Cobra and Shariane up to speed."

Without pausing to wait for a reply - not that one is needed - she heads out of the room and down to the next door in the multiple apartments on the upper level of the warehouse.

No one has to tell him.

When you're built like he is, all you're waiting for is the signal. A veritable machine of war, the klaxons blaring into his senses are the trigger that gets the man moving.

He can see the others just waking up as he emerges from his own room, bleary-eyed and looking confused at all the commotion. Accessing his own commlink, he taps into the security grid of the warehouse and starts to sift through the info, his eyes widening at the feed that comes over his augmented reality display.

That deep voice rolls out of him as he moves fro the stairs, seeing Jissin already getting everyone else apprised of what he already knows.

"Son of a b*tch...let's get a move on, people, this ain't a drill!"

Trouble's coming.

Despite the dire situation outside, he can't help the tight smile that crosses his lips as he heads for the armory on the ground floor.

He's been sitting on his hands for too long here, without any action. There is no fear, only anticipation, that intense rush that every soldier knows.

Pulling on a suit of form-fitting body armor, flack vest, BDUs and boots, grabbing his always-ready bag of equipment, he's leaving the armory just as the others are reaching it.

Reaching the situation room first, he starts tapping up the holovid display and accessing the BattleTac network to get a read on the situation outside.

Another typical night?

Speed was buried in his toys again, so she took advantage of the shooting range and her sniper rifle. She weapon of choice was the Ranger Arms SM-3. She was in the process of loading her weapon as the klaxons sounded.

?What the Drek?? She muttered as Becca?s girl poked her head into the room.

?Get you gear and get ready for a fight!? She was moving fast.

Mystique was moving to grab her additional packs and guns as Hades comes out of the armory, loaded for bear.

"Son of a b*tch...let's get a move on, people, this ain't a drill!"

She has to stop herself for a moment. So much like Demon and Slicer. Man she misses to Sonuvabitches? A moment is all she takes as she grabs her packs. She moved into the situation room and looks over the BattleTac Network.

?Frag?? Her voice was grim. She had recently upgraded her commlinks. She knew?

Access Commlink: Speed

Be careful up there, serathilion. Love you.

She had to say it at least once, just in case?

It's been too quiet for too long, in his humble opinion.

He lives for the fight, the feud, and isn't really happy unless he's taking out his wrath on daimons and their ilk. Lately he's been feeling...well, calmer, sort of. That constant edge of pain and rage that seems to burn through his mind, threatening madness to take him over, has been, perhaps, less intense, though he still feels the same way towards daimons and pretty much any other source of evil.

Maybe he's starting to mellow in his old age...

...yeah, right.

Still, this hadn't been what he wanted. Explosions, terror, chaos, destruction as, it seems, the wrath of the Gods themselves rains down from the heavens...

...no. As hard-core hell-bent on the feud as he is, this is more than he would have asked for.

That's why he doesn't argue when Jissin's call comes over the air, and when Ash's second call comes over he's already pulling open the door to head inside, nearly plowing into the brawny tattooed kid everyone calls Ares as he sets off at a run towards the so-called Situation Room.

"C'mon, punk...get de fire lit unner yer ass an' move it. Seem we gots de wrat' o' God rainin' down on us t'night."

Without waiting for a reply, he's off for the Situation Room at a dead run, nearly unaware of the kid right on his heels.

The Boltholes started opening at various points around the warehouse. One opened near the landing point of one of the Transports. This group was lead by a tall male, blonde and very tall, nearly 6'7". He was porting ancient Katars in his hands and a Brazilian Leather Trenchcoat. Under the coat was a suit of micromesh armor under a shirt and jeans. He was all in black and rocking the goth look down to the pale skin and fangs.

He stood with two other males acting as guards. He awaited the arrival of the commander of this strike force and would coordinate from here.

Noticeably absent was the female that entered into the agreement with Travanix. After all, there was two commanders and another front to deal with.

Iason had no issues with hunting down the two that he held a grudge with.

When not at the Vale, Shari?s been sharing quarters with Michael. There was where she was at this moment. She had just come home from her shift at the Clinic and was stepping from the shower as the klaxon started blaring. She pulls on her much used scout leathers. The outfit was made of supple buckskin and boots.

Her mind idly wondered on how Darius was taking his appointment with that Cyber Doc. She was still iffy about it, but Michael and Becca both reassured her that he would be fine. Still? She shook her head and focused on the alarm. Something was not right. There was no way this was any type of drill.

She headed for the hallway and very nearly ran into Michael?s brother, Phillip. There was a brief smile, ?Looking for Wraith?? She didn?t figure on being needed for defense. Her typical position had been healer or flinging Spells.

Another idle thought came to her? a Heartstone here?

He'd been all the way on the other side of town when the all-call came in, patrolling with Annie. Like so many nights before this, it's been almost silent...and then the fireworks had started.

He honestly hadn;t known what to do or where to go at first, when the blasts started raining out of the sky - whether they should find cover, or head back to the warehouse, or see if the Fabios tried to take advantage of the chaos.

The cell phones going off had made up their minds for them.

But upon arriving, they had seen it was a bit too late.

First the arrival of the transports, strange sort of flying craft that disgorged men in armor.

That wasn't what disturbed him the most, though.

What had disturbed him the most was watching from their vantage point on a nearby rooftop as the boltholes started opening up and disgorging daimons, led by a male Spathi, just after the troops had begun surrounding the area.

Sh*t.

He looks over at Annie as she crouches next to him. "Well, darlin...looks lahke we're in a fix fer sure here. How ya wanna play it?"

Nothing surprises her more than when Phillip takes her hand and pulls her along with him.

"No, I'm looking for you...I'll be needing your help."

She listened as he explained the situation to her. Her face grew grim. In all her year in Rhydin, the situation had never gotten so tense as it was now. She knew what she had to do and continued to follow Phillip into the basement where that lodge was set up.

She had already shifted to her mage sight and was picking up on the leylines flowing under the warehouse. Yes, this place would be perfect for a Heartstone.

"Come on. We need to get to work on a shield for this place, and I can't do it alone."

She nodded and settled into place. She listened to the chanting, letting that set her pace and focus. She didn't need it, but it did help. Once grounded and centered, she reached for the strongest line under the warehouse and added it's power to her own.

With her mage sight, she can see the manifestation of Phillip's power... Her own manifestation soon came to light as she drew on the power; the Silvery Vorcel Hawk.

Complications... There are none. Using her mage sight, she begins layering and adding her strength to his shields. Shielding like this is one of her main specialties outside of healing. And since her people didn't rely on just one mage when shielding a large area, she was able to seamlessly blend into Phillip's casting.

"Krysti'ana, I summon you to form."

The demi-goddess had, up until being summoned, returned to the Vanishing Isle. She had needed to regroup a bit, especially with the strength of the emotions she had been pulling from her Dark Hunter.

She had been watching in the mirrors and assessing the situation. She would have to appear before him. Up until now she kept her presence quiet. Aiding him, helping him heal slowly.

She manifested with Jissin's summons. She was already in her battle armor. The material was supple, durable and well, black. She had taken lessons from Jericho and Sin, making sure that is was the best materials out there. Her face was neutral cast and she betrayed no emotion to those present.

Hard enough to do when you have been inside the turmoil of one.

There was a soft sigh as the klaxon's sounded. The Cyber doc was used to such occurrences even in the CAS where she had once practice her medicine. She had been consult with young Darius about his eyes. She was confident the surgery would go with out a hitch, but the klaxons rendered the consultation at an end.

With a rueful shake of her head she offered an arm to the young man. "Come, we'll need to get sick bay ready. This night is not going to end without bloodshed."

The young man offered an answering smile, "Too much already, Kitsune?"

There was a laugh at that, "Far too much, Nightseeker." She replied using the use-name he had chosen for himself when he had lost his sight. "Come on, we'll need the nano's up and running. Too much hardware involved."

He knew she meant the cyberware...

~sublevel~

To any of magical sight, the central portion of the sublevel basement in which Cobra and Shariane work their magic would be a sight fit more for heavenly eyes than mortal - glowing with warm, vibrant life and magic that streams outwards to the heavens like a fountain made of pure light. To those without that kind of sight, the only light visible would be a pearlescent shimmering, vague but definitely there, along with the flickering glow of a fire that had spontaneously lit between the pair as he started chanting.

That voice is no longer words but hissings, strange and alien and yet with their own sort of rythmic music.

The form across the fire from Shariane, were any to look upon it, is no longer human...but rather a weaving, rearing, hooded cobra that hisses its music to the skies invisible above its head.

~outside~

The weave of the shield, shimmering like a heat-haze, takes little time to fully form and cover the warehouse. And Cobra had done one better - rather than the omnidirectional shield his sister had asked for, he had modified the parameters in his own mind, a trick he had learned from his Mentor.

He can't afford to split his concentration enough at the moment to send his sister a message in words, and so, sacrificing the barest part of his precious focus, he gives her the simplest image he can manage...

He hadn't stopped by the armory, just headed right for the situation room.

Oh, sure, he can use guns and the rest with the best of them - but it's not his forte. Like Speed, he's a gearhead. But where Speed has as much fun tinkering with them as he does driving them, for Hermes, it's all about pushing the envelope.

The others around him...they're warriors. Soldiers. Hardened bodies and reflexes swift and sharp enough to rival the best anyone anywhere had to offer.

He's not one of them.

Not in this capacity, at least.

He nods to the big, coal-black Hades, gesturing over his shoulder at the door that leads for the hangar. He doesn't need to say anything, fortunately - the D-man just nods back.

A moment later, he's walking towards the Avispa, a toy Speed wouldn't divulge the origins of - though if the design and components that were still original to the frame were any indication, Speed would do well to avoid Aztlan and the Aztechnology corp for just about the rest of his life.

He steps easily up the stepladder next to the hovercraft, hearing as he does so the whine of turbofans starting up...not under his feet, but in the middle of the hangar.

Speed's taking out the Sparrowhawk...

Accessing his commlink, he selects the Sparrowhawk's comm.

Speed, it's Hermes. I'm prepping the Avispa. Tag-team sound like fun to you?

Speed comes back a moment later with a chuckle over the link. Sounds like a ball, Hermes. You're gonna have a time running that thing by yourself...think you can manage?

He glares in the direction of the Sparrowhawk, even as the rooftop doors begin retracting overhead. If you can handle that bird, I can more than manage in this sexy thing here.

Another chuckle comes over the link. All right then. Just so you know, there's a shield up out there...

The rest comes over encrypted, and he enables his decrypt, nodding with a grin. Pretty impressive mojo...and good thinking on your part, too. All right, Dave...let's get this started.

Pulling open the hatch, he slips into the crew compartment and starts for the pilot's station...

...only to find a slim, dark figure already sitting there, her dark eyes reproachful. "Thought you were goin' somewhere without me, babe?"

He doesn't back down an inch, tempted as he is to grin, he just looks at her, his head tilting a fraction. "You're in my chair, Sol."

She doesn't move yet, just looks back up at him. "Yeah, I am. Watcha gonna do about it?"

They're both predators in their own fashion, and they've played this game before. They take turns winning, and despite her...animalistic ways, in this space they both know who's going to be the victor.

It's over in a flash of movement, a lunge, a twist and a grab as she launches herself at him and he grabs her in midflight, wrapping steely arms around her chest and waist and pulling her back against him as she stuggles. Fingers dig into sensitive nerves at the junction of arm and ribs and she growls as he puts his lips to her ear.

"We don't have time, Sol."

She sighs, ceasing her struggle. His arms loosen and let her slide to the ground, where she turns and leaps back up at him, her arms encircling his neck as his wrap around her waist - both this time - pulling her up until she is eye-to-eye level to him.

"You know I'm comin' with you." She grins, her dark eyes smoldering defiance, daring him to contradict her. "You drive, I'll shoot."

He knows this is not a place he wants her to be.

He also knows he - they - have a better chance of surviving this together. And if not, then they go out together...

He motions with his eyes and a fractional tilt of his head to the gunner's station. "Make 'em count, Hecate."

She leans in with a wider grin, kissing him hard and hungrily, if briefly. "You know it."

As one they let loose their holds on each other and get to work. Settling into the pilot's station, he links to the Avispa and begins the startup checklist. The engines are no sooner turned over and idling than Sol is extending the turret and getting the Itzcoatl gauss cannons online. Accessing the Avispa's comms, he selects the encrypted command frequency. Hermes and Hecate in the Avispa, standing by.

Just after him, he hears Speed send in his ready signal...