A Malevolent Villain: Rescue mission

[allthepowersofhell]

Built into the side of a mountain, Maleficent's castle was dark and imposing. A monument to Imperial power.

And deep within the dungeons of the castle, two Corsairs were currently imprisoned. Their changes of ever seeing the outside of those dungeons seem - to a casual observer - practically non-existent.

But the Corsairs are a very, very resourceful bunch. And the Duchess herself is not presently in residence, having been called away by a summons from the Emperor. As such the castle's security - while by no means lax - was not currently at full strength.

This was their best time to strike.


[ooc: Sub-threads below! And as a general note: I will tag in as needed for NPCs and environmental details, etc. But don't feel the need to wait for me to tag - I won't be sticking with any specific tag order, just dropping in where it makes sense].

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THE DUNGEON [Donnie and Aira]

[allthepowersofhell]

The dungeon is dark, damp, and generally unpleasant. Cold stone flaws and metal bars are the only ornamentation. The only saving grace is that it's not heavily patrolled; after all, both prisoners have have been fitted with power-suppressing collars.

So the pair are free, at least, to console and commiserate with each other - even if escape seems impossible.

[purplexing]

Donnie has said little, if anything, since they'd been imprisoned. The cold stone walls are little comfort, save that they're something solid against his back, and he's wedged himself into a corner, hugging his knees. He hasn't dared budge, and as uncomfortable as the unfortunately familiar pressure of the power-suppression collar is, he hasn't moved to touch it, unsure if she might be watching, afraid of any punishment that might come from trying to do anything about it.

But Aira's here too, and while he feels responsible for her being stuck here with him, part of him can't deny that he's glad he's not by himself, miserable an admission as it is.

He's not sure how long's passed, but it's been long enough that the words get caught in his throat when he does try to finally speak up.

"...I'm sorry."

[testygirl]

Aira has been similarly despondent—which isn't really like her. Typically she'd be mad, swearing under her breath, pacing the cage, kicking at the walls or the bars. Instead, she's sitting in the opposite corner, also curled up and quiet. Over the course of however long, she's only moved a bit: to try tugging at her collar, and to occasionally stretch.

Still, there's too much fire inside for her to fall into deep despair, or to consider giving up. It makes more sense for her to rest up, anyway, so that she's more prepared for an escape attempt if the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, she should think of some way to comfort her cellmate, but so far she's come up empty.

So Donnie is the first to break the silence. Aira glances at him, but only for a second, and she responds in a bitter voice.

"That's my line. It should only be me rotting away in here. I just..." She sucks in a hissing breath. "... led you right to her. Like an idiot."

[purplexing]

His eyes flick over towards her, and while it isn't the Aira he's gotten used to, it's still some small bit of relief to hear her speak at all. The turtlekin shakes his head, brow furrowing as he lets his gaze fall back towards the cold floor.

"It's not your fault. I... I shouldn't have gone. If I'd known she was going to be there..." He shakes his head again, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry..." Like saying it again will change anything.

[testygirl]

Aira takes another breath—longer, gentler, calmer. Then she sets her head back against the cold stone and lifts her gaze. Keeping up a bad attitude isn't going to make this easier for either of them.

"It's alright. Really, it is."

She swallows. It's hard to inject her words with any warmth or reassurance, but she makes an honest effort.

"We'll get out of here. I know at least two badass girls who aren't going to let that witch get away with this. And you've got people, too. They'll definitely come."

[purplexing]

Donnie lets his head sink back against his arms again. He knows what Aira says is true. He knows that if Raph is anything like his actual brother, then he wouldn't hesitate to try and save them.

"I don't want them to get cursed too."

Crows or ravens or whatever aside, he's not sure how much about Maleficent Aira or Raph was aware of. At the very least, he's thankful that neither of them had been subjected to any during their encounter, but stuck here in a dungeon, the thought that the planetouched could worsen the situation at any time terrifies him.

PRE-MISSION [All rescuers]

[allthepowersofhell]

[This is a free-for-all pre-mission thread. The rescue teams can plot, make plans, and organise any preparations ahead of the mission itself. No set tag order required & splitting off into multiple sub-threads is welcome]

[straykitty]

Renne doesn't especially beat around the bush.

"So what's the plan? Well, MY plan is to go in and destroy everything this woman holds dear, and then kill her, but what are the rest of you going to be up to?"

[frost_and_shinies]

"Steal anything I can fit in my Bag of Holding that isn't, like, super cursed. Preferably in ways that have Imperials running every way except where they actually need to be."

Kaitlyn still knows her specialty.

[upupatomway]

Atom laughs nervously at Renne's plans. Just how far would she really go? Kaitlyn's plan sounds more like what he's used to.

"Do we know what her relationship is to the ravens that everyone keeps mentioning in their descriptions of her? I wonder if there's a whole cage of them we could set free out the windows." His idea of wrecking things in the castle is tame, but what was anyone expecting from him? The battle against Gaurus weighs in the back of his mind, but he's trying not to bring down the mood among an already worried group.

[spacetogrow]

Ilphyl was using the raccoon form and a piece of chalk on a slate to contribute. They write, 'I don't think they are normal birds any more, or I'd talk to them'. Which is bothersome. Ravens are certainly smart enough to carry out tasks just because they like a person. 'Even a normal group of ravens might decide we need to be driven away from their home because we're scary'.

Honestly, Ilphyl is fine with property damage and theft as a distraction, though given how awful their mistress is, the guards might prefer going down against the Corsairs to whatever Maleficent planned. So let them make the call to fight or flee.

[theriflespiral]

"My very first thought was that explosives are always nice to make everyone look one way while you're in another, but i don't know the layout well enough to be confident we'd avoid killing the real reason we're here." So that's out.

"But! Imperial standard issue weaponry and my usual training have done me pretty well so far, despite myself. Put a random weapon in my hand and I can use it well. Find me a sniper's nest, and so long as I've ammunition, you'll have an exit."

Raph Side

[supersmashbrother]

Raph should have been in the middle of the discussion. He's one to exuberantly jump into things with very little planning, after all.

Except he doesn't.

Somewhere not too far outside of the discussion, the turtle sits alone with his legs folded under him, hands folded in his lap, eyes closed. A state of meditation — or, perhaps in this case, contemplation — where it's meant to center him and his thoughts, to clear the air and prepare him for the task everyone is ramping up for.

There are Too Many Thoughts, however, with Too Many Feelings that eat away at the calm he tries to hold onto. Broken glass and black feathers are seared into his memory: of Aira's strength despite her wounds, of Maleficent and her inexplicable hold over Donnie, of wings and beaks and hands fighting him back, keeping him away from the others as they vanish in the blink of an eye. It clearly shows in the deepening furrow of his brow, tension building between his shoulders, fists clenching and relaxing as if to remind himself not to blow up while the plotting is finalized.

At some point, he gives up, exhaling and scrubbing his face in annoyance before he looks up.

He sees a group of individuals that are all still very focused on the matter at hand.

But they aren't just strangers. They're friends. Allies. Family. They're all here for a reason.

They all care for the ones who are missing.

The words come back to him, echoing a refrain he had almost forgotten:

You are not alone.

It's not up to him to rely on his own strength to save Donnie and Aira. It's up to all of them. They are all here now to contribute to the effort, and none of them have to do it on their own.

Heavy is the feeling in the pit of his stomach, slowly dissipating the longer he sits there listening to the comments made, the modifications accordingly adjusted minute by minute, radiating a confidence that can't really be described.

One thing's for certain: Raph is grateful to the team. They can depend on him to do his part.

TEAM DISTRACTION [Kaitlyn, Rezo, Ilphyl, Natalia]

[allthepowersofhell]

While the other team might be the ones making their way to the dungeons, this team's mission is no less important. Because by drawing as much attention and resources away from the dungeon, they'll give the other team the very best chance of success.

And maybe seriously wreck some shit, while they're at it. The only question is: how would they like to make a distraction?

Re: TEAM DISTRACTION [Kaitlyn, Rezo, Ilphyl, Natalia]

[theriflespiral]

It's a nice, calm day. The skies are grey, the atmosphere positively murderous.

(No matter which room you go... full of crows, full of crows, full of crows...)

(She knew they were ravens. But 'murderous' would certainly describe them, regardless.)

And yet, unnoticed, nestled into overgrowth, sit magnetic timers which release an electromagnet which in turn spins a trigger.

Natalia watched the first of the two sets of charges go up, and while she was not given to smiling, she is, occasionally, glad when a plan starts to come together. "We have one minute before guns silent."

Speaking of-- She chambers a round. "Beginning suppression."

Re: TEAM DISTRACTION [Kaitlyn, Rezo, Ilphyl, Natalia]

[spacetogrow]

Ilphyl nodded. Waiting was the hardest part, and they can't even scout well because of the ravens. And they are saving uses of wild shape for navigating the interior. And Natalia has better range than they do with spells.

Re: TEAM DISTRACTION [Kaitlyn, Rezo, Ilphyl, Natalia]

[frost_and_shinies]

"Good idea with the trigger," Kaitlyn can't help but say to Natalia.

Pity there wasn't as much snow for her kind of cover. But she does have ice blades already at the ready.

"Soon..."

[redprayer]

Rezo responds to Natalia with a brief "Understood," and otherwise joins the rest in silent waiting. He can hear the ravens cawing every now and then. It's a foreboding sound- doubtless this Duchess considers that a bonus.

As a precaution he's tied up the rings on his staff so they can't make any noise. Not until it's time to really start making some noise, anyway.

[allthepowersofhell]

The castle is quiet. Uneventful.

They can still see guards patrolling the ramparts, but their posture is comfortable. Relaxed. Ravens circle around the top, but none appear to have noticed them just yet.

When their assault begins, it does not appear that it will be expected.

TEAM RESCUE [Raph, Shu, Atom, Renne]

[allthepowersofhell]

Meanwhile, the second team are taking a rather more subtle approach. They know the rough location of where Maleficent's dungeons are rumoured to be, but not the exact path there. They'll need to use stealth and cunning to get to the dungeons quickly, get Donnie and Aira, and get out.

[singlemilletgrain]

Shu is familiar with everyone on this team. She is confident they can succeed in their aims with the variety of skills at their command. Still, though she cannot be called impatient, it is possible that her movements are a bit more hurried, her responses just slightly more clipped than they might be otherwise. Anxiety is not an emotion she entertains frequently, but she has quickly read through the information regarding their foe.

In the Leithanian Empire, she would be called a Witch.

This being a slur, owing to the late Witch King's propensity towards unspeakable crimes, Shu settles for thinking of her as the sorceress.

The passageways are long and shadowed, though thankfully lined with thick, if not unspeakably gauche gothic carpeting. At least, until they reach the steps down towards the basement levels.

"Is everyone ready?"

[straykitty]

Renne is slightly tense. Not due to nerves, oh no. She's absolutely furious. Her eyes burn with dangerous fire, and her scythe is held loosely in her right hand, its blade as pristine as her black traveler's dress. She gives Shu a humorless smile.

"I think that question might better be asked for those who will stand against us today, however short their remaining time might be."

[upupatomway]

Atom glances in Renne's direction for a second- even a robot can practically feel the tension of her anger in the air- then at Shu. He nods at her.

"I'll start scanning. Please remember, I can only pick up on physical things like temperature. I can't sense most magic traps." He reminds the group. "I'm turning up my hearing too. Hopefully those two are together and talking."

[supersmashbrother]

"Sounds like we all are." This is the most Raph has spoken since they've arrived. There's no denying the tension that permeates the space, especially when he quietly contributes to it in his own way. Not full-on fury like in Renne's case, but it has its leanings in that particular direction.

But for a large turtle such as himself, he's managed to be more of a shadow truer to what a ninja should be; instead of standing out and drawing in the attention, he's already prepared to blend into his surroundings and act when he has to.

"That's gonna have to do," he says in regards to Atom's abilities, looking to Shu and Renne after a nod. "Marching orders?"

[singlemilletgrain]

Renne receives a light touch on the shoulder before Shu turns back to the cavernous staircase leading downwards. Partially for comfort, partially as an anchor. She does not particularly care if Maleficent's guards are harmed, but she suspects that Renne's bloodlust is liable to become a hindrance if she allows it to surge out of control.

"Thank you, Atom. You should take the lead if your senses are the most keen. I'll direct you." The rats had been able to give a general sense of what direction they ought to go once they reached the basement levels, even if their idea of conveying directions was not fully precise (follow the smell of yum yum bread big humans eating in big room squeak squeak - although perhaps, at least, they knew that some of the guards were occupied eating lunch)

"Raph, perhaps you should take the rear to protect our backs." Shu had little offensive combat ability to speak of and she sensed Renne was far more focused on forwards progress at the moment. "Let's go."

And so they descend.

Maleficent has achieved the impossible and created a basement level even less welcoming than the ground floors - the ground floors, of course, already being filled with grotesque gargoyles and stained glass art of what Shu had assumed to be Maleficent's distant rather odious cousins. (Or maybe they were more gargoyles.) Built straight into the mountain walls, the rock is clammy and damp and the torches seem constantly on the verge of guttering, despite that there is no wind. In fact, the air is stale and stagnant. It feels much like one's breath is being sucked out by negative pressure.