Ground Zero (OPEN)

[Reira DeMorvick]

Reira gasped slightly as Stu’s grip around her neck tightened. She couldn’t even explain what was running through her mind at the moment. All that she could think of was running away and becoming safe. She was shaking. The voices of all the people talking slurred together into one big ugly sound. She just couldn’t believe what was happening, how close she was to potentially dying… she felt pathetic and vulnerable.

What the fuck can I do?!

As his grip constricted her airway, Reira began to grow dizzy and slightly disoriented. All she could feel was the cold barrel of the gun pressed harshly at her side. That was the only thing that kept her conscious…the fear. Closing her eyes and wishing everything was just a fucked up dream, she suddenly felt someone roughly shove her to the ground. For a moment she thought she was shot…but realized that it was Gabriel who had knocked her out of harms way…and Gabriel who was shot.

Recovering from the fall to the ground, Reira quickly crawled away from Gabriel. She took the risk to look back over her shoulder and saw Gabriel shield Matrim form various pieces of shrapnel? Wait…shrapnel? Before the thought could even register in her mind, she felt a sever pain in her right hand. Looking down she saw that a jagged metal piece had punctured her hand deeply. Fucking eh. Teeth clenched, she pulled it out, then cradled her hand slightly…all the while another boy had stood in front of her and was blocking her from Stu.

Yet that’s not what Reira was paying attention too. To her amazement, her hand was healing. At first she thought she was going crazy…but the pain stopped and the wound began to fade away as the minutes passed. She hardly even noticed Matrim, Beta, or Alpha pick her up. By the tone of his voice it wasn’t Alpha and by the way he said his words it wasn’t Matrim either…which only left Beta. Good, Reira could deal with Beta….just not Alpha.

"Are you alright? I hope you're not hurt... I'm going to take you to a hospital so we can check on our child. Save Gabriel's life... but do so knowing that he will try to kill you the next time he sees you."

“Right…okay,” she answered, the sound of her own voice sounded strange to her. So much had happened and Reira was still in shock. “If you’re Beta…please don’t let Alpha make an appearance anytime soon…I'm not sure I can deal with him at the moment..."

[seishounohana]

Things went by like a blur, and it seems that everything would change from this very day. Emily then caught herself, finally noticing that taste of blood on her mouth. It had been a long, long while before Emily had raged like this.

The skies sparked with light - rain was coming. Emily was just standing there now, staring at the skies as everyone began to flee. She realized that she never really did change - and now she had remembered, as like she had always been for the past few years of her life, how alone she really was.

She was really no different than David Blaze - only that she was a drifter. Her heart really did always falter in things that mattered. Her hands strayed to her pockets, revealing a small box of the same pills she had once given Gabriel. Emily popped them all at once in her mouth, full aware that she would really damage her stomach doing that.

Her eyes became stoic once more - personality shifting from anger to nonchalance in a split second. "Save Gabriel's life... but do so knowing that he will try to kill you the next time he sees you." Emily looked at "Matrim", her eyes blank, and she just smiled before walking towards Gabriel.

"... Death has been something I've wanted since I was a kid; come what may." It was then she peeled her gloves off, placed them onto her pockets and apparently, it seemed as if a familiar someone already took Gabriel away.

Emily paused for a bit and sighed.

Her mind was blank now - even as she walked away from the scene and onto the streets.

[ethan]

*BAM*

That drew Ethan's attention out of the fight with Connor; the only thing that would have done so. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Ethan's sight swept across the battlefield and to the source of the loud, sinister noise. Shock, genuine, honest shock penetrated Ethan's normally unbreakable shell of reserved guardedness as he saw his new leader, the man who'd beaten him so easily just a few days after Ethan first enrolled into the school and broken in, the man who'd enlisted Ethan into a plan to change the school forever (for better or worse Ethan would never know), the one who seemed to hold the flux of power over everyone, even the Pillars, fell in a desperate bid to suddenly save the girl he'd taken as a hostage.

Hours seemed to go by as Gabriel was falling and hit the ground, the shells of the shotgun impacting hard into his back and unleashing a torrent of blood everywhere. As soon as he hit the floor, some sort of chain reaction was set off within the circuitry of Gabriel's arm (unknown to Ethan) and magnetic metal forces underground. Metal flew out everywhere, shredding everything within a ten-mile radius. Ethan dived downward, keeping low to the ground to avoid being killed by the shrapnel.

Several minutes later, Ethan climbed to his feet and surveyed his new surroundings, completely altered as they were. Apart from the moaning of those who had been injured in the calamity, there was dead silence out on the field as everyone had stopped fighting around the large ring of smoke where the smoted ruin of Gabriel lay atop Marim. Someone nearby, a tall blond-haired boy called for a stop to the fighting.

Ethan couldn't believe what had just happened. A mix of emotions stormed through him silently. Confusion...bewilderment...then an eventual comprehension of the new turn of events. Gabriel was dead. He had to be. He'd been in the very center of that detonation. Pieces of metal were imbedded in his body. He had to be gone. For all intents and purposes, the side Ethan had aligned with had lost.

"Black Knights... We're leaving. EVERYONE GET OUT NOW."

Slowly but steadily, a black anger spread forward from Ethan's heart, consuming his chest and enveloping him. And with that anger, complete disgust at what he'd partaken in. He looked down at his hand. It flexed and coiled into a hard fist, reflecting what he felt.

He wasn't angry because Gabriel was lost. He wasn't disgusted because of the things he'd done. Ethan was furious, revolted by the fact that he'd inadvertently brought himself down to the same level as these inferiors. These heathenistic swine, these wretched infidels whose greatest climax had merely turned out to be more bickering and petty power mongering. And he'd been one and the same with them, fighting among them in their stupid battle that had wrought absolutely nothing. They'd accomplished nothing.

Ethan felt betrayed and for the first time utterly used by Gabriel. Of course, he'd known that his purpose to Gabriel was as another dispensable pawn. That had never bothered Ethan in the slightest. He'd held no true loyalty to him in the first place; Ethan's only interest had been to furthering himself to a position of power in the school to where he could have indirectly torn apart this place by the hinges.

But he'd seen an aura of power emanating from that charismatic manipulator; he'd seen someone willing and capable to achieve whatever it took to remove the opposition for a higher cause. Gabriel would have made an ecxellent agent among the Paladins. Indeed, he might even have become a second-in-command to the Lord instead had he been turned to the Cause.

But instead, Gabriel had given his life to save some insignificant nobody, and at the last possible moment, sacrificing everything he'd likely have been working towards at that point. Thrown it all away. Dead like he was now. For a nothing girl.

Ethan looked around him and suddenly deeply, passionately hated everyone around him. His Master had been right earlier in saying that it would be folly to associate with any of the infidels. He had dirtied himself by becoming ensorcelled in their politics. All of them, each and every one of them, the strong and the weak, from the most cravenly pathetic leech right up to Matrim Gallagher himself, had to be purged. Ethan vowed even stronger than before that he would follow through this or die trying.

His opponent's name, Connor Dwyre was called by the blonde-haired tall student. "Connor. Care to help out?"

This fight was over. Pursuing it held no further gain. But some day...you'll get yours like the rest...

Ethan put his hands in his pockets and strode past Connor. He said nothing, but his eyes gleamed with a savage darkness towards the more honorable fighter as they passed by.

Ethan's resolve had never been stronger. Gabriel had been the largest threat to his own plans. With him gone, no one would stop what was coming far along the horizon. And when they did, it would be too late for them.

[Vespyr]

Vespyr's mouth hung slightly ajar in silent shock as she watched the scene play out before her, she herself being hidden inconspicuously in the shadows. The mission, it appeared, had failed. She had come here and played this little game for nothing. Gabriel was now a bloody mess. It was over. Her violet eyes followed Bastille as she carried their fallen leader away and then swept over the rest of the crowd for a moment. It seemed like everyone had just stopped, aghast, and Vespyr herself carelessly wondered if he was dead.

With a shrug, the little girl turned on her heel and stalked off unseen. She was done here.

-Vespyr out-

[David Blaze]

David was not around for most of this- why?

Because of the damn students Gabriel saw fit to call to thier disposal, thats why. Maybe only a few showed up at first, but thats because those few were the ones not fighting. The students who were still fighting did indeed make thier way to the courtyard, still brawling the entire time. David had gone out to try and stop them, his yelling causing no hinderance. He ran back in a moment later.

"You guys, we need to-"

Everyone was gone.

What the fuck?

David blinked a moment in surprise, noticing a small blood stain where Gabriels body had been. What the hell had happened?

David felt irritated. Things did NOT go how they should have, he could feel that much at least.

He turned and darted back into the school, as the riot moved its way back through the central courtyard. He needed to find emily, or Ryuu. He wanted to know what, exactly, had transpired here.

-Exit-

[Masaru]

{((OOC: Sorry, exited the thread early in it, but didn't have time to post entering or doing anything due to outside things goin on, here is my post from entrance to exit))}

Today was the day. The day when everything would go nicely together and there would no longer be any need for violence. Atleast, that was what Gabriel promised. Masaru was still cynical about the whole thing, but he might as well go to the place where it is all going to go down, if he plays some roll in Gabriels scheme. If things didn't go the way he liked, he could always just leave. That's what Masaru planned to do.

Masaru stood behind Gabriel, closer to the door, as he sat down at the chess table. He was too tired from the previous day to pay much attention, and just stood there waiting for his que. That was, until he saw Gabriel grab the stomach of a young lady. The man facing him seemed to crumble from the sight of it. It was then Masaru found this whole thing to be displeasing.

Threatening those weaker than you for no reason other than to gain the upper hand isn't Masaru's style, or of those he wants to affiliate himself with. He quickly left the building and headed home. What a waste of planning, it seemed this was yet another failure. If only Unfettered were here, Masaru then began to believe the only way for him to find a solution were to transfer back to the school Unfettered was, bring him here, or lead an organization himself.

{Exit}

[Victor "Break" D'Armond]

Everything happened so fast, gabriel was plucked out of his arms by some woman with crimson eyes. her black hair blew in the wind as his deep blue eyes met her red ones. he took a step forward and she looked upon him challengingly. clearly she had some purpose, and to be quite frank, victor didn't really care what it was. he was so tired of these people and their games, so tired of plots and schemes, he nodded at her and turned away, letting her go her own way with no more fuss. everyone began to disperse.

no one would ever probably interest victor quite as much as that one gabriel seran... he was quite the character, that was for sure. victor knew he wasn't done yet, he'd find some way, some reason to come back.

Victor turned away from the scene, it was time to get going probably...

[Ryuu]

The events that occurred flashed past Ryuu like a blur, even as he tried to reach out and grab hold of them, to put words down and keep them there, but they managed to slip through his fingers and drifted up into sky, disappearing forever. Reira had tried to escape from Gabriel's grasp, only to be grabbed by Stu, Ryuu having learned his name from Emily, as he threatened to shot Reira in her stomach, where he baby laid, unless all of them stood down. But before Ryuu could even react, Gabriel had charged Stu, and knocked Reira out of range, only to be shot by the shotgun that Stu held, as Alpha tackled Gabriel to the ground. The sound of a loud bang going off rocked the ground Ryuu stood on, as Gabriel rolled with Alpha, shielding him from the shrapnel, as the skies sparkled with light, rain was coming. As everyone around him began to run in fear and panic, Ryuu stood beside Emily, his eyes calm but emotionless, as he saw her pop a small box of pills into her mouth.

He recognized the pills she had taken, it was the ones she had given to Gabriel before. As soon as Gabriel had been taken away by Bastille, a girl he had fought before, Ryuu turned around and walked away, his overcoat swishing as he turned. He didn't plan on chasing after Emily, not yet anyways. He was going to give her some space, give her some time. They really were living in a world of fools, ones who were trying to break them down. Emily may think she was alone, but Ryuu would always be by her side, even if he wasn't always by her side physically, he was with her spiritually. Or something like that. He would always be there, if she needed a shoulder to lean on. He glanced once more up at the sky. Rain... It always rains... Live Gabriel... For the love of God, live damn it! If you die, I'll never forgive you! They say death is but the next great adventure. Ryuu experienced nearly dying, but how great the adventure really was, was yet to be seen.

[Trizen Takano]

The intense rush of mind and emotion swirled round in the blaze of his soul. It was an interesting feeling if the boy really wanted to analyze what he truly felt, but he knew by then he would probably come to ego-driven conclusion. And in this particular case, Trizen was not about to come to one conclusion. But many.

Watching from afar, Trizen saw it all. The personalities, the threats, the acts of rage, hate and violence. He was disgusted. Nobility and honour were thrown straight out of ball's court, and while things seemed calmed and workable in the beginning, the shadow of death and its actual figure loomed over the entire lot of students who were willing to die over a cause that simply was not worth dying for. These were students. This was a high school. What about control over a student body seemed so important that one was willing to die for it? No one remembered the young dead. No one remembered the ones who transferred from 259 and died a rebel to a high school uprising. No one did. No one.

"This... is this trouble even worth fighting for?" Trizen looked down at his hands, in it was the power conduit he had received a day earlier from the one he liked to call Mister Seran. "They all... all were going to fight to the death... is this school truly worth that sacrifice?"

The only one that died there in that fire was Gabriel. Or so he saw. He was unsure what happened, but the boy was on different ground now. The young boy read the text message he saw on his phone earlier that day. It was from David; telling them to meet at the burning flag. The boy was late, certainly, but instead of standing in the line of sight, Trizen figured he would take to wait. To watch. To see which side was truly worth standing for. And in the end...

"None of them were worth standing for... none of them. Emily... Matrim... David... they all..." The boy was alone and by himself in the school yard by this time. No student was in his immediate area and he was certainly not about to go and find anyone. He felt like he had been betrayed by everyone. There in that battlefield, people took to nobility or fell to darkness. Ironically, it would be the ones who loathed in darkness that would step into the light and stand for the right of life. That being Reira's child.

"Gabriel... David... you both failed..." It was here Trizen felt the worst amount of pain. There was no clear distinction between victor in that battle. Those two men only displayed their true nature. It wasn't a fight for beliefs, it was a battle for power. That's it. No boundaries marked, no lines as marked. Simply raw, unmarked, unchecked power. Diplomacy would be dealt with after the death and bloodshed. The conquerors always wrote history as they saw it.

"Students suffered at the hands of this battle. Unnecessary lives were sure to have been changed drastically by this... this fighting was completely unnecessary. This KIND of fighting wasn't needed. It didn't have to go this far..."

A single tear ran down Trizen's right cheek and he hiccuped a cry. He was hurt by the ones he wanted to trust. But simply said, he wasn't having it. Not anymore.

"There has to be a better way... not like this..." He looked at the school, its flames still ablaze. His hair blew softly in the wind as another few tears fell on the cheek still dry.

"Not like this."

[Connor Dwyre]

Ethan and Connor's fight was over. Everything happened in slow motion. The blast came, hitting Gabriel. A shot meant for someone else. Connors attention went to the scene that everyone else seemed frozen in place to watch. Connor's ears picked up the high hum of electricity coming from Gabriel's arm. He may not have known what it meant, but something told him not good.

BAM!

The sound of the explosion was too much for him. He dropped to the ground, lucky avoiding the shrapnel. His ears, however, had received punishment enough from the sound of the blast. He was on the ground, even as the rest of the knights left. When Connor regained himself, he heard Victor's voice calling for him to help. Before he could respond, someone swooped down from out of seemingly nowhere, and took Gabriel. Then, they were both gone.

Everyone else left, and Connor stood there. He was trying to figure out where he stood now. With Gabriel gone, there was no more training. Connor was no longer a knight. The king was gone, and so thus the kingdom followed. He wouldn't follow the by with the gun. Not physically, or as the new leader. Connor was making a stand here, just as he did as soon as Matrim showed what was going on.

Suichi was right. I need to find my own path. If peace is to come to this school, it is not by those means. The system may be corrupt, but the only sacrifice that I can accept is that o0f the self.

He turned his head to the sky. He deactivated his Qi. His eyes returene to their non-glowing, pale green origin. He walked to where Gabriel had been, where the corpse had lied. "I will find a way. But it can't be yours. I hope that you can find peace." He walked from the scene. He didn't wish to return home. He needed to walk. He needed to clear his mind.

He still couldn't be around Bix, nor could he talk to his sensei. Connor, once again, felt very much alone.

(Connor out)