Silent Steps [Team - Self Modded]

[Kaen]

Time is a strange thing. Always constant, never wavering. Completely unhindered by anything known to man. It's funny to think about it, but our own perceptions often warp and distort the way we experience this all powerful force of nature. When things are pleasant, peaceful or just perhaps having so much fun that time seems to be speeding beyond our control. And then before you know it, grains of sand equivalent to an ocean has slipped between our ever grasping fingers.

Everyone can relate to the other side of this fickle coin. So bored or miserable that time can almost feel like it's at a stand still. But these states of perception are not true for all beings. To the mortal races of man, with lives so short and fragile, these perceptions fall into a certain 'norm'. But the races of old, the Ancients, it can be entirely different.

It's difficult to comprehend but for an Ancient that most certainly could live for a thousand years, it's different. Years could possibly feel like months, the days seeming to just blend together. Such is the curse that has afflicted Kaen. However unintentional it may have been, Kaen had found himself slipping through time. Just exactly how long had it been since he last saw Teke?

Kaen had requested that Body Bag, Teke, meet him at Anbu HQ in order for them to better plan out this mission. Or rather for her to plan it. It being a C rank, Kaen was relatively sure she was capable enough to handle it. But technically, regardless of her actual capabilities, she was still 'in training'. This much was majorly due to Kaen's own lack of initiative, allowing her to go so long without going on appropriate missions with him watching over her. Well no more, it was well past the time for her to ascend, he would make sure it happened. Upon her arrival, Kaen would already be wearing his Anbu attire, sitting at a conveniently located table with chairs enough for him and her. A file with miscellaneous papers would be opened up in front of Kaen. He would be reading the Intel inside, weighing their options, or rather her options. Kaen would be taking a figurative back seat in this mission. But he would not let her fail on purpose, this was still an official mission. He would give his personal opinions and let her make any final decisions. She would need to do so in the future when she takes on solo missions, or perhaps raising fledgling trainees herself. Without looking up from the folder, Kaen would greet her once she arrived. "Body Bag..." Keeping it more official while still inside HQ. "I'm glad you could make it. Please take a seat while we go over the details."

 

[Teke]

She was thankful to get the message from kaen asking her to meet him, in an official capacity of course. It had been a little while since the pair had met up for anything, business or otherwise and she was excited to actually knuckle down and grind out the requirements for promotion. Even she felt that she'd been an AiT for far too long and it was time to take that next step up, plus the extra money wouldn't hurt now that she needed an entirely new wardrobe for her miraculous growth spurt. One of the few outfits she'd afforded since the incident was her ANBU gear as it would be unprofessional to not have an adequate uniform for such things.

Donned in all but her mask, she arrived at the Headquarters, a place she'd spent little time but knew enough to get herself around as she confidently strode through the halls with an excited smile on her lips. She reached the door to the briefing room Kaen had designated for them and after a single, light bang on the door she pushed her way in, shutting it then behind her and moving over to the table where she saw him looking through some paperwork."Ruin." She said with a nod before moving over to a seat and parking herself down, opposite to where he was sat, assuming that would make it easier to move the paperwork back and forth because that is what she assumed it was all for.

She would say nothing of her new appearance despite how striking it was, nor would she draw any attention to her missing limb until she was questioned about it and for the time being she would act normal. "It's unusual for us to meet like this, I assume I have something to do with the planning phase or you'd have called me out to the field. That or something is happening in the HQ we need to deal with." The latter of the two was quite unlikely but not unheard of, spies, double agents, if you can imagine a trope it had probably happened here at one point or another.

 

[Kaen]

Kaen would nod in response to Teke's greeting. 'Body-Bag" He felt it more appropriate to keep things more on the official side, at least for now. As much as he'd like to inquire about her most curious missing limb, the growth spurt is what surprised him most. Surprise quickly changed to contrition as it only solidified his previous thoughts concerning time. Though even that passed quickly as he chuckled at her competence and intuition was spot on as usual. "You're absolutely right, you will be taking the reigns on this mission." Kaen would begin to filter through the folder in front of him as he spoke. "I expressed my opinions regarding your level of skill and it was agreed upon that I will be taking a back seat, so to speak. In time you will be promoted, perhaps even taking on apprentices of your own. These are the type of things you will be expected to do." Kaen would slide over a few photos. Among them she would find a cargo ship, unmarked, a few of them actually. Along with them would be some images of warehouse worker types offloading these crates, apparently heavy enough to need a hydraulic jack to wheel them off the ship and into the nearby warehouse. "The mission; Infiltrate the apparently guarded warehouse, discover what's in the crates and what, if anything, its purpose is. Get in, get out. Pretty simple. Except..."

Kaen would adjust himself in his seat, obviously unsettled by what would be said next. "There is a do not kill order attached to this mission. Us being us, this only complicates things. But we're Anbu, and as much as I disagree with it, violence can't always be the answer. But I have the utmost confidence in your ability, we'll get it done just fine." Kaen would slide over the remaining contents of the folder, miscellaneous information regarding the location, times and such would all be there. "The Intel came from a local freelance reporter. He was of course suppressed and paid off due to the nature of this mission. Apparently he attended our academy but never graduated. But skilled enough to recognize chakra signatures. Each of the crates they have offloaded all have faint trails of chakra coming off of them, which led him to the warehouse." Kaen would stand and begin to pace, anxious to get started. "So we have a few options, and by we I mean you. The ships only ever dock at night, but the majority of the crew are gone during the day. We believe the warehouse might only be a front for something and functions as something else during the day as a ploy. So we can either come in the cover of night and see it in action, or sneak in during working hours and poke around. This is your call to make, Body-Bag." Teke's decision would dictate the outcome of this mission and how things play out. Neither option is a bad one, think of it as a choose your own adventure, but you can't cheat and go back to the last page.

 

[Teke]

The girl smirked as their debriefing began, he hadn't mentioned anything about her appearance but she figured the confusing made people second guess what was happening and it was amusing to her. She would collect the photos as they were slid toward her and look them over, all pretty normal outside of the unmarked ships. The most surprising part of it all was that she would be manning the helm on this one, true she had thought about finally being promoted to ANBU proper so this was just a very fortunate coincidence and she was excited to get this ball rolling.

Teke would continue to look over the photos as Kaen went about detailing the missions finer details to her, eventually getting to look through the folders herself in the process. "I think I'd rather believe the information about the chakra signatures after I see them myself. Skilled or not, time away from training can make even simple things difficult." It wasn't that she didn't trust the words of this reporter or anything, but given that this narrowed down a fair bit what could be in those crates she wanted to remain somewhat level-headed before seeing them herself to confirm. "As for the issues of infiltration. During the night there will be more, fresher evidence but also a lot more paranoid eyes and ears making our jobs harder. During the day, however, we might find that a lot of the cargo has been moved further down whatever production line they have." She leaned back in her seat and continued eyeing over the documents in the folder. "We might also find a reason to board one of the ships during out inspection of the crates and at that point, it would also be better to do this at night, when they are within our reach. But that leads to even more risks with more crew on high alert. They're clearly not amateurs after all."

She would shuffle all the papers back into their files and press her hand against the cover. "In the day, we risk not having enough or even any evidence of whatever they're doing. So the more dangerous of the two options end up being the better course of action I think. We break in under the cover of darkness, snoop around the contents of the crates and decide from there whether boarding a ship is worth the time, effort and risk." All of this came quite naturally to Teke, she'd always been a bossy bitch and thought herself higher than other people so deciding what to do in these situations was natural to her. She was certain that even picking the harder of the two methods it wouldn't be all that difficult for herself and Kaen, but where she normally would have said this out loud and bragged about her talents she found that it just didn't need to be said, perhaps a result of her body's sudden growth changing the chemicals and hormones in her brain? It was something she didn't even know how to answer herself and it was likely other people would notice these changes in her personality long before she did.

[WC - 528]

 

[Kaen]

An affectionate smile secretly grew behind Kaen's ivory-like mask. Teke had grown, matured so much since he first came to know her. From savage cannibal to this, albeit slightly roughed up and missing a few pieces, strong and independent woman who was blooming into a masterpiece. Kaen had only wished he could have been there more often than he had been. Too many life experiences he'd missed out on. It was almost as if he cared for her a little bit. But that was a lie, wasn't it? Despite the unorthodox method Kaen had become a 'Hybrid', he still possessed may, if not all, the characteristics that define an Ancient. He never really gave it much though, thinking it simply a code of honor or something within himself. But he always told the truth, in a way. And the truth about Teke? He cherished her...

What at first might have been nothing more than an order from Tenken, or doing her a favor on behalf of his sister to help her friend, or even just a convenient and malleable weapon in the form of flesh and teeth, it quickly grew and morphed into something different. Though she lacked any real blood relations, or Ancient DNA, Kaen considered her family, kin, part of the pack, his people, or simply a friend. Whether she felt the same or not, Kaen would stand by her side, kill for her safety if needed. The Flame Court that resided within him would keep this passionate declaration alive until the day he died a true death, or she betrayed that trust. "This sounds like an excellent plan. We have about..." Kaen would glance at the clock on the wall that read 3:30 pm. "Six hours before we should leave if we want to arrive underneath the cover of night. According to the dossier the ship usually offloads just past 11, finished up just before most other factory, or warehouse workers leave their swing shift jobs. Conveniently using the excess crowd of people to just blend right in and fade away like nothing was amiss." Kaen would slide over a piece of paper with an address written down on it. "Get what you think you'll need and I'll meet you here at that time. Be sure your plan is sound and don't be late. See you soon, Body-Bag." And with that Kaen would leave the room, leaving the folder in Teke's possession. He needed to prepare himself, only six hours remained.


Later that evening...


Kaen would have already arrived at the address he had given Teke, he had been sitting her scouting since eight. Adept in the ways of stealth, Kaen had no problem getting into this place unseen. He had packed his Anbu attire with him and would change at the arrival place. The address Kaen had given Teke would lead her to a rundown looking apartment building; 'The Cozy Cove Estates'. Perhaps grand in it's own time, but now a forsaken place that mainly held drug dealers, or users, and the occasional midnight romp with the 'Ladies of the Night'. The Anbu had places like this everywhere, safe houses if you'd like a fitting term. It was easy to hide here because people were either to proud to venture this way, or too drugged or corrupt to give a damn about strangers stopping by for the night. The windows were lazily configured, broken blinds bending every which way. Boards nailed to the outside provided them little sight to the bay in which the ships docked. However Kaen was slightly prepared and had brought along a telescope, which was already set up in position to get a great, direct view of the bay. Once Body-Bag, Teke, arrived on scene, they could start. He had gathered a bit of Intel while he waited, he would make sure Teke had everything she needed to succeed. Soon enough Teke would arrive, whether she was late or not depended on her. But when she did arrive, he would greet her. "Welcome to the party, I hope you've come prepared." Kaen would be peering through the telescope, watching the tiny ants below swarm about.


[MFT]

 

[Teke]

Teke was punctual when it came to actual work so she would arrive at the designated location at exactly the right time. She was donning her all black gear, covered head to toe, in light-weight materials, minus the eyes and fingers which was suitable for infiltration but not so much for combat which given the parameters of this mission was perfectly fine. "See anything nice?" She said through a smile beneath her face covering, once the real work started she would, of course, summon her mask, till then she saw little need. . "I'm as prepared as I can be I suppose, unless you have some extra info from your watching them, depends on how long you've been here really." She approached Kaen and the window, looking out over the docks herself.

 

[Kaen]

"About three hours..." Kaen would reply nonchalantly, his eye still gazing through the telescope. Kaen would then wave his arm towards the small area someone might have called the kitchen slash dining room. "There's some information on the table for you that I've compiled." Kaen was still firmly attached by the eye to this telescope, watching. Upon inspection of the area, atop a shoddy looking table would be a large piece of map paper with some crude drawings imprinted on its surface. It could be said that Kaen was no artist, but hopefully she would make sense of it. On one side of the paper was a shape that looked like a building, to a degree. Most likely the warehouse, and on the other end was a line with a triangle drawn on one side, and a wide crescent shape. It was probably, hopefully, the boat.

I took the liberty of scouting a bit before we just jumped right in. Apparently there is more than one ship that comes, and at different times. It started around nine, but the first ship rolled in and already unloaded. Some of my Intel is just guessing, but most likely the same amount is needed every time, I hope." Kaen would pull away from the looking glass and walk over to the table. He would pull out a pen and begin marking on the map. "I could only see four stationed on the warehouse roof, scouts I assume. They don't appear to take any breaks." Kaen would place an X at each corner of the drawing's 'roof' to notate the scouts. "The last ship to dock only had five workers that left the ship, each unloading crates with dolly." Kaen would again make some Xs, but near the ship with a line with arrows on each end to signify they went back and forth. "When they neared the warehouse with a crate a large gate would open up, so there must be at least one more inside the building to let them in and out." Kaen would lean up against a dirty wall and clear his throat. "And that's pretty much all I've gotten, the next ship, according to the reporter will arrive and proceed to offload at any minute. All there is left now is for you to figure out the game plan. Consider myself your subordinate in this case, I will do as you command." Kaen would push off the wall and return to the telescope. Leaning over once more to gaze through it he would make a witty quip; "Just choose your orders carefully, I just had this cloak dry cleaned." She had the Intel, the ship would soon arrive. What was her game plan?

 

[Teke]

Teke approached the table of the small, dirty room and started to look over the papers carefully. She gave a small smile that thankfully would be hidden beneath the mask as she looked over the almost childlike map, very simple but it served its purpose. "Other than the roof and front door I assume there are no entrances, outside of smashing a window? Not very subtle, but then that was never my style." She pondered over it whilst Kaen told her about the things he'd seen over several hours of surveillance, there was a lot she could do with all of this if it didn't need to be done clean, smashing a few heads was always more to her taste. "I suppose fighting to knock unconscious is always an option..." She thought to herself as more of the possible events were told to her.

She'd watch as he then added some more markings to the map, the minimal human presence bode well for her smash and grab plan, the stealthy approach would be fine too, but as she thought about it more, there was nothing saying they needed to be undetected, just not kill anyone. "I say, we subdue the four on the roof, two each. Wait for the shipments to arrive and once the gates open we get inside. It'll be a little while before anyone on the roof wakes up and if they don't change out guards no one will find them like that for even longer." She would think on this a little more, getting in through a gate that only opens when these odd shipments are being brought in would be tricky, attacking them right there, they could produce results but, without knowing how many are inside things could get dicey, not dangerous, but dicey but maybe that would be just the distraction they needed. "We wait till the fifth dolly passes the threshold and into the warehouse and wait for the doors to start closing, we jump in at that point and take out whoever is controlling the doors, hopefully from a nearby panel, then they're all trapped in there with us and they'll either talk, fight and scatter, all three work out for us in the end as one of us gets to open the crates and see exactly what's inside whilst the other watches their back. So it all depends on if you want to be the watcher or the opener in that scenario, might be easier for you to open with two working arms though." She laughed, a perfect plan? Not in the slightest, but slipping in at the last moment would at least prevent back up from their ship being an immediate problem, if there was any, to begin with. "I believe this will be our best way, involves a little head knocking, which we always like, as long as we hold back no one can complain and we get our mission complete."

 

[Kaen]

Kaen would listen carefully to the plan Teke laid out for them both. It sounded similar to how he would have run things, so that boded well for them. "There's nothing wrong with a little rough-housing. The mission did only say no deaths. I'm ready to strike on your orders." Kaen would begin to head towards the nearest window and would wait for Teke's command. Once she was ready and gave the command Kaen would raise his hands and weave a few signs before a poof of smoke filled the room and quickly settled to reveal there were now four Kaens. [Elemental Clone - Earth - Mastered] Their earthy, craggy exteriors would slowly take shape and complete like likeness of the true Kaen. "You and I..." Kaen would point at a clone nearest to him. "We will take out the one on the south-west point. You two..." He would gesture towards the remaining clones. "Take out the one on the south-east point." All clones would nod in acknowledgement. Kaen would give Teke a look signalling he was ready, and out the window he went.

Kaen and his squad of Kaens would slink around under the pale, night moon. It's rays of lunar splendor barely reaching beyond a cluster of clouds. He would wait for Teke to take action and begin her assault before he and his clones initiated his own plan of attack. Once she was in position he would wait for a signal, if one would be given. If not he would keep an eye on her location as best he could and wait to sense her intent. Then all at once they would ascend the concrete-esk siding. Four Kaens would burst up into the air as a distraction. Upon their descent, their carefully calculated trajectories would place them in a perfect position to attack. A crescendo of dull -thumps- later, [All Kaens use Sinkhole Fist with special action Spire Punch, hitting their heads?] and the pair Kaen was assigned would fall to the ground, most likely with non-life threatening concussions. Kaen would nod to each of his clones before they dispersed. Sure of Teke's talent, he would pay her no mind while he quickly went to work. Luck was on their side tonight as a single large pole extended upwards from the center of the roof. It appeared to be an attenna of some sort, but the specifics mattered not. Kaen would pick both scouts up by the back of their collars and drag them to the pole where he would begin to tie them up. "Just in case, don't need these guys running off and tattling." Afterwards Kaen would grab a blocky looking radio from each of them and tossed them into the air. As they began to fall Kaen would unsheathe his weapon, Suna's Artifice, and sliced them to bits. [Full Circle Mastered] The tiny bits of metal and plastic clinked quietly to the tar covered rooftop. "First step complete. What was step two again?" Yes he knew, but he was trying to take on the role of an underling. Might as well play the part, it makes it fun.

 

[Teke]

Teke would smile, seems Kaen had a similar idea to hers, though it surely was obvious that clones would need to be used to perform a simultaneous assassination. They'd both be going about this plan in different ways though, Ruin opting for brute force and looking too simply strike the lookouts before they even had a chance to brace for the impact, it suited him and his style, but Teke was her own brand of crazy as all who meet her probably know. Teke herself would only summon one clone, an [Elemental Clone] of lightning, not because she thought her clones better of course, simply because a huge gout of lightning would be easily spotted whilst a subtle amount could sneak by and cripple a man, temporarily, of course, messing with the electricity that is the human nervous system was a fascinating thing. One thing though was amiss with Tekes clone, or rather quite the opposite as it actually had both its arms. "Okay, showoff, move out." She said jokingly to the clone.

With both of their clones prepared they would leave through the window and into the night air, being so close to the ocean it managed to be quite a lot cooler than usual and it felt quite pleasant as the group landed on the building. Each small team taking their positions beneath and behind the unfortunate targets. "This is going good, right? We have time before anyone looks up here so we can hide the unconscious bodies." She shook her head slightly and both her and her clone mirrored one another, first raising their right arms and making finger guns, aiming to the sky, a cloud passed over the moon, shielding some of its light for just a moment and the Tekes would signal with the raised hand for all to make their moves. Teke and her clone, hand still in the shape of a gun would press their fingers suddenly into the spine of each man and release a non-fatal [Electrocution] into them which made them crumble under their own weight to the rooftop. She would then, as Kaen did proceed to take the radios and simply fry them, rendering them useless before the two of them dragged the two men to the same pole and binding them at the base, back to back but also to one another so if one tried to move it would choke the other and vice-versa.

Teke and her clone would nod at one another and then high five, quietly and as they did so the clone would disperse. "Nice and smooth. Now, we find a place close to the doors we want to get in and hide, once the final shipment is passing the doors thresh hold, we storm in, I'll fry the door controls and try to keep them closed as long as we need to and we'll do whatever is necessary after that point, probably disarming and knocking out again, but if one is willing to talk for his life, who are we to argue?" She chuckled and snuck a peek over the edge of the roof and looking for a good spot to conceal herself with a good view of the boat, the men coming off of it and the door. The docks being what they were meant there were crates, barrels and all manner of creepy shadowed areas for the pair to make themselves hidden for a good while and she, once sure the coast was clear would indeed descend and take one of the many spots.

[WC - 592]

 

[Kaen]

Kaen would nod along as Teke laid out the next steps of her carefully formulated plan. It would appear that fortune was on their side this night and the area around the warehouse was littered with various stacks of pallets, large shipping crates and miscellaneous ship parts. This was a shipyard after all, it just happened to also have a warehouse. After following Teke to whichever place she decided to take cover behind, in or otherwise, they would await for their ship. It wouldn't be but a short while until it sailed into view. There was no sounds, movement or otherwise coming from inside the warehouse or anywhere else. For all intensive purposes it seemed as if this place was abandoned. But one by one the crew of five disembarked from their ship, each hauling a crate about 3x3x3, perfect for storing all sorts of things. Each of the five walked just past the area they were hiding, each of them unaware of their hunters eyeing them like prey.

It would seem the reporter was correct, Kaen could feel it. However faint it was, there was indeed some sort of chakra coming from the crates. Perhaps some enchanted armor, or other black market level weapons. Military grade chakra crystals perhaps? There really was no way to tell until they actually opened one up. For now they watched as the group approached the large metal door. Without skipping a beat or the five men needed to slow, the door began to open allowing them to enter without fail. This was their moment, the last of the five was going through the door. And just as they planned the door began to close. Kaen would wait for Teke's signal before joining her in a rush towards the closing metal door. Kaen would slide along the ground as if sliding in for a home run. At first glance the warehouse seemed just as abandoned as it felt from the outside. A hole in the roof allowed moonlight to pour in and illuminate the poorly lit warehouse. But that wasn't the problem here. A group of five, wait...

There was an extra, had they miscounted? No, this must be the one operating the metal door. But they knew they had company and they were surprised, but ready to fight. A most spritely fellow with a bat shouted towards them. "What the fuck are you two doing in here, this is private property. You got about 3 seconds to get out before I call the cops!" Little did they know that Kaen and Teke were the cops, so to speak. For now they did not advance. What would Teke do, they could simply just attack and see what happened, perhaps she could talk her way out. But then again, they were kinda dressed for the occasion. They certainly didn't look like average citizens.

 

[Teke]

It had been too long since she'd done a hide in the shadows the activity, mission or not and despite being a tad nervous she was very much enjoying herself. Once Kaen had also taken his place amongst the shadows it was a waiting game, all the while watching the warehouse for signs of activity. By the time the boat docked just ahead of the warehouse Teke could safely say that whatever was happening inside was being kept well silenced. Now was the time for things to get exciting again however and her focus was on watching the boat and the eventual disembarking of five men bringing the crates that had been described to them. As they went past she took a second to focus and could indeed feel the faint chakra signature coming from them and she was certain Kaen wouldn't have missed it either so it seems this mission wouldn't end up being a waste of their time, quickly enough the doors started to open and Teke would be on her heels, ready to spring once the final person passed the threshold.

Once the mans body was passing through Teke would give a short whistle to signal to Kaen it was time to move before blitzing from her spot, into the air and over the heads of a couple of the other guys before landing and spinning to face them, adjusting her mask with one hand to make sure it was still in place, she really hated these things. As expected one of the guys would start to mouth off instantly and Teke would make talking motions with her hand, mocking him as she rolled her eyes beneath the mask. "Cops? Who exactly do you think we are? Ya chuckle fuck." She said in a sarcastic tone as her hand reached out and sent a bolt of Magenta electricity shooting toward the door controls, having the desired effects of starting the doors closing and also frying the panel. "Now, gentlemen, I would advise you don't try to run and keep your hands where I can see them. Keep hold of whatever weapons you want, won't do you much good against either of us anyway." She would start to pace, toward one of the crates the men were bringing in but her eyes were watching the faces of each man as she did. "So, I'm sure we can all figure out why people like us are here and we'd like to do this clean and quick. Of course depending on what we find we'll be taking you all to the cells for further questioning." She would then place a hand on top of one of the crates and look over to Kaen. "Start opening one, if you would be so kind." She would say to her ANBU teacher before stepping away from the crate she was stood over.

"Now, the condition in which you reach those cells depend entirely on your co-operation at this time, I can assure you however that any injuries sustained here, by us, will go unattended for a good while and none of you want that, correct? Oh, also." As she said this her body would build up a visible glow of electricity before bursting forth in a seemingly harmless arcing of sparkling energy. The lights in the building would dim for a moment and one of the closer lights would actually have its bulb burst. "In case anyone felt like being a hero and trying to call for backup, any radios or other electronic devices have just been fried." She would turn to Kaen. "Except ours, of course." She was at least smart and capable enough of keeping their own equipment safe whilst rendering theirs useless, now all that remained was to see what was inside the crates and haul these men away, they were obviously guilty of something, it was just a matter of doing their due diligence, crossing their Ts and dotting there Is so to speak.

 

[Kaen]

"Cops? Who exactly do you think we are? Ya chuckle fuck." The group of individuals gave each other looks of confusion before jumping in fright due to her bolt of electricity frying the controls. "Now, gentlemen, I would advise you don't try to run and keep your hands where I can see them. Keep hold of whatever weapons you want, won't do you much good against either of us anyway." The group of men tightened there grips on their respective weapons, each unsure whether they really wanted to take these two on. For now they only listened. "So, I'm sure we can all figure out why people like us are here and we'd like to do this clean and quick. Of course depending on what we find we'll be taking you all to the cells for further questioning." The guy with the bat would step forward, cautiously, and declare his innocence, if such a thing actually existed. "Hey man, we just work here. We don't know what's in the box, we get paid enough to not need to know." Teke would lightly tap a box and give Kaen a command. "Start opening one, if you would be so kind." Kaen would nod and approach one of the boxes. It would not open, it was nailed shut it seemed. Kaen would look for something to open the box while Teke continued.

"Now, the condition in which you reach those cells depend entirely on your co-operation at this time, I can assure you however that any injuries sustained here, by us, will go unattended for a good while and none of you want that, correct? Oh, also."A faint aura of energy emanated from her body before jolts of energy shot out and fried almost every device in the area. A light shattered above the group that made them cower in fear. "In case anyone felt like being a hero and trying to call for backup, any radios or other electronic devices have just been fried." She would turn to Kaen. "Except ours, of course." One of the men would drop to his knees and start to cry. In his hands was a smoking device, clearly un-repairable. "I just bought this walkman..." "What luck!" Kaen would cry out, it was just bad timing. "Oh uh... well I'm sure you can buy a new one, maybe." Kaen held up a crowbar, just what he needed. The box would open easily this time. Layers of straw filled the box, Kaen would begin pawing his way through it and throwing it to the side. He would stop a few moments later, he had found something. "Well... Shit." "H-hey man, like I said, we don't know anything about the boxes. Gin just pays us, tells us times and locations, that's it. We pick it up, we drop it off. We take them over there to the elevator and send them down. They don't come back up, I swear that's all we know, can we just go?" This man was quite cooperative and revealing. But that was not the pressing issue, what was in the box is all that mattered now. If Teke came to investigate she would find a most interesting item. It was difficult to make out, clearly there was chakra involved. Kaen had his suspicions, but for now he would keep it to himself. In an almost chrysalis type fashion, inside this box was a dormant, unconscious body in a fetal position. The material that enveloped the body was rock hard, but clear enough to see what was inside. "So what now?" Kaen would as inquisitively. Should the group get to leave? Where does that elevator lead? Why are there people in chakra cocoons?!

 

[Teke]

It was pleasing to her that the men had not resorted immediately to violence, she didn't really like holding back when fighting, she could but lightning wasn't meant to be controlled like that and neither was she. She turned to the now crying man and rolled her eyes, these are the problems that working with assholes get you into and yet you act like some great injustice has been done upon you. "Well, if you turn out to be as innocent as you all claim I will buy you a brand new walkman, how about that?" She asked with a grin behind her mask. "When you all took on this job, you either knew more than you're telling us or knew nothing and for some reason still wanted to do work for an obviously underground and potentially, highly illegal operation... but the money was worth all this, right?" She cocked her head to the side, wondering just how accurately she'd hit home for some or even all of them.

She watched Kaen out of the corner of her eye as he'd pried the box open and started to dig through the packaging to find out the contents, eliciting more declarations of innocence from the group of men to which she would laugh internally. People with something to hide tend to react the strongest when they're about to be found out. She would move over to the crate that had been dug through and peer in, letting out a sigh, she'd thought of the possibility that it could be humans of some sort but wished that it wouldn't be something like that just to make this all a bit easier. "Well, shit indeed." She responded to her partner in kind. "Now, we call in a pick-up for these gentlemen. I believe we have everything we need from them but, just to be sure we can have them interrogated and get everything on file, maybe it'll stir up a few extra memories too. Oh, and we won't forget about the four on the roof." She said with a nod toward the man before turning back toward the group. "We'll also have these crates or at least the contents of, moved back to HQ, protect them till we know who or what they are and how we can remove them safely, if at all. Outside of that the two of us head down and see what there is to see, kick whatever ass there is to be kicked and call it a day?" She jested a little but that seemed to be where their evening was headed.

"Now, I don't really trust in leaving these lot here like this whilst we move on, of course. Knocking them out seems like too much of a chore without the element of surprise so, we either wait with them or tie them to something, any input?" She would ask Kaen as she moved around to pincer the group in case they took offense to the idea.

[WC - 500]

 

[Kaen]

"Well, if you turn out to be as innocent as you all claim I will buy you a brand new walkman, how about that?" The man's sniffles quickly abated and he quickly picked himself off the ground and wiped a few remnant tears away. "When you all took on this job, you either knew more than you're telling us or knew nothing and for some reason still wanted to do work for an obviously underground and potentially, highly illegal operation... but the money was worth all this, right?" The group of men looked at each other, looks of discomfort present among them all. Either all of them were proficient liars, or they were all paid well, maybe both. "Now, we call in a pick-up for these gentlemen. I believe we have everything we need from them but, just to be sure we can have them interrogated and get everything on file, maybe it'll stir up a few extra memories too. Oh, and we won't forget about the four on the roof." Kaen would nod in agreement. These men might very well be innocent, but until Sunagakure's interrogation team had a go at them, they weren't in the clear. That and they are directly involved with the entire crime scene. And given the nature of this entire thing, chakra cocooned people and all, it was less of a matter of if and more like a matter of how long their sentences are.

Teke would turn back to the group and continue. "We'll also have these crates or at least the contents of, moved back to HQ, protect them till we know who or what they are and how we can remove them safely" While Teke spoke Kaen would flick his Anbu radio from their private channel to an open, public one. Well, public to other Anbu. Kaen would then softly speak into his mic so as not to interrupt Teke. "Code name Ruin, seeking additional assistance in Soon's Haven. Need an extraction for multiple suspects and five... bodies. To be honest Kaen really didn't know what to call it, these cocooned bodies. Hopefully somebody would hear his call and help Teke and himself continue their mission. "If at all. Outside of that the two of us head down and see what there is to see, kick whatever ass there is to be kicked and call it a day? Now, I don't really trust in leaving these lot here like this whilst we move on, of course. Knocking them out seems like too much of a chore without the element of surprise so, we either wait with them or tie them to something, any input?" Kaen would look to Teke. "Agreed. This shipment has somewhere to be which means time is not on our side. This discovery is quite troubling..." Kaen placed one arm under the other while his hand rose to meet his chin where he would inquisitively think. Something about the contents of these crates was troubling him. "You're right though, we can't just knock them all out..." The group of men appeared to simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. "I mean, we can..." The looks on their faces tightened back up in an instant. "But there is no need." Again their postures relaxed, but it was too soon. Suddenly...


[OOC MFT]

 

[Kaen]

-CRASH-​

The simultaneous sound multiple glass windows shattering filled the momentary silence. All of the men seemed to understand what was happening and instinctively dropped to the ground, save the guy still holding the baseball bat. A group of four Anbu arrived through the windows, all but one wearing mundane, white masks. The other's mask, however, was ordained with unique markings signifying his rank as Anbu. The three that followed his lead were obviously trainees. "Ruin, I don't think we've had the pleasure." The Anbu would nod towards Kaen. "You can call me Striker." He knew the situation and would not waste time on pleasantries in the middle of their duties. "These the guys?" The Anbu wasted no time in expedited the extraction process. "Yes, there are also four more on the roof." "Hey man, I'm not going anywhere. I have rights you know!" Striker would quickly weave a simple sign and the guy would collapse onto the floor, the bat bouncing just a few feet away. The Anbu would turn back to Kaen. "I had another group of rookies take care of them already, we will take care of this lot here, you two just keep going. I'd offer you some assistance, but these trainees are under my command and tutelage. I hope you understand." Kaen would nod. "Of course, I appreciate the quick response, Body Bag." Kaen would call out Teke's moniker. "Let's keep advancing before we lose whatever trail there is.

Kaen would let Striker do what he needed to do and would proceed towards the elevator. It was the old sort. The kind that would make a normal person hesitant to even get on it. It was made for supplies and shipments, not people. But these guys were using it to haul bodies in crates, so you would assume it was safe for the two of them to travel down on. Upon reaching it Kaen would reach down and lift up the large grated door. It would open up like a garage door would, rolling up. Kaen would step inside and the elevator would shudder and shake for a bit, either these guys were idiots for using this thing, or it was build by some old school Journeymen. It would settle and he would gesture for Teke to climb aboard as well. Upon further inspection the pair would see a lone lever, most likely the mechanism used to go down and up. But there was something else beside it, a small ten key pad. Was there a password? Kaen would touch the keypad to test it out, a little light bulb just above the keypad did not light up. Perhaps it couldn't be out of power, the lights were... No, that's right. Teke had fried all the electronics in the area, including this keypad. "Well... Should we pull the lever anyway?"

 

[Teke]

Thankfully the ANBU of the village weren't a lazy bunch so soon after Kaens quick call over the frequency a team arrived in flashy fashion to round up the rabble of men that had previously been working in the warehouse. Kaen was the one to do most of the talking, even if she was leading this mission he was still her superior when it came to this kind of thing so it wasn't really a bother, she couldn't wait to be rid of the blank mask however, it had been far too long that she'd sat on her laurels and pissed about. Teke would look to Kaen and nod when he spoke directly to her. "This is either gonna be a long night or an even longer night." She chuckled and started to move toward what she assumed to be a freight elevator at the back of the building. "Kinda reminds me of a game I saw once." She mussed. "Oh, by the way, Striker." She said, stopping in her tracks suddenly and spinning around on her heels. "That one there, if he turns out to be innocent enough to warrant a release, be sure to contact me. I don't break promises." She stated this quite matter of factly as she pointed out the man with the busted walkman and once done speaking she would start to move again.

She would board the elevator after Kaen, it was a rickety old thing to be sure, she could almost hear each separate screw and bolt squealing for reprise even after the shuddering stopped. She watched as the man prodded at a small keypad and they probably both had the realization at the same moment that yeah, the electrics were fried. "If the electrics are down, I wouldn't like to start pulling things, could control the breaks and send us down to wherever this thing leads and I don't fancy being a pancake today." She laughed and started to slowly move around the metallic box. "We could hop off and send it down first then just scale the walls, but the crash at the bottom would ruin our element of surprise for sure. The other option is to melt a hole into the floor of the elevator and let us and get us past this death trap safely." It all seemed like a good idea to her, she wanted to ride the elevator for sure but without the electronics, that would take a bit of work fixing, there was no telling how dangerous that thing could be. "I think I'd rather the quieter way and melted metal won't make nearly as much noise hitting the ground below, I can't produce flames quite that hot however so it'll be on you for that mostly, I could cut out a hole in a similar fashion but then we have the noise problem again." Whichever of the plans seemed most doable and logical to Kaen would be the one she was happy to go with, going in loud wasn't a bad idea either but given the delicate nature of the cargo they're chasing down it might lead to more complicated circumstances that Teke would personally like to avoid.

[WC - 533]

 

[Kaen]

"Oh, by the way, Striker." Teke would stop and turn to look at Striker one last time. "That one there, if he turns out to be innocent enough to warrant a release, be sure to contact me. I don't break promises." So pragmatic about it, referring to the broken music player. Teke would turn back around and continue on. Once aboard the elevator they would soon find the controls were not going to work, most certainly the breaks would have failed, both injuring them and tipping off anyone who might possibly be down below. "No no, you're right. We can't risk letting anybody else getting away. This issue needs to be nipped in the bud as quickly as we can, I'm not trying to get a follow up mission." Noise was not something they could afford, and if what these guys said was true, it could only mean there is another crew down there waiting for these crates. Kaen would crack his knuckles outwards and rub his hands together. It wasn't often his particular skill set had some sort of utility outside of destruction. "Step back a second, I've learned a way to make my fire somewhat solid. It's a little unstable, I still need some practice..." Strange to hear Kaen actually say he wasn't good at something, but it was true. He had not used his new plasma like powers very much and was quite rusty. With a few quick hand seals Kaen would press his palms together and concentrate. A moment later a spark would flare to life and his hands would be pushed apart. In the center was a orb of energy shimmering with colors of red, blue, and purple. Kaen would engrossed in the process and focused entirely on what he was doing. Another few seconds went by as Kaen tried to stabilize what he had already, and then his muscles tensed up as he pushed even more chakra through his hands. The orb would grow, pulsating as it did. And then with one swift motion Kaen would swipe the energy outwards and a beam of energy partially solidified in his grasp. [Used Plasma Blade]

"Yeah, this will do..." Kaen admired his small creation, apparently quite pleased with himself. He gazed at the radiating energy blade he had created for a moment longer before kneeling down onto the elevator floor. The blade went through the metal effortlessly, it was the perfect tool for this situation. It would only take him a few seconds to make a large circle big enough to make a hole for both of them. But before he finished entirely, Kaen, with his free hand, would form some one handed seals and press his hand against the piece he was cutting out of the elevator. The metal was hot, the gloves he was wearing instantly ignited, Kaen's arm cringing from the pain. He was used to it though, his fire always was slightly unstable and sometimes he felt his own heat. But it wasn't all for nothing, as his hand met the metal his other would finish cutting through. His free hand would start spewing out water that would envelope the piece of metal he cut out and kept it confined inside a orb of water. [Used Water Prison]

"There we go, no noise at all." Kean would release the flow of chakra sustaining his energy blade and carefully moved the orb containing the metal cutout away from the elevator. He then released the water and it fell to the ground with a single clang. Not loud enough to reach down below however. "Right then, lets get down there." Without wasting much time Kaen would crawl down into the hole and focused his chakra into his hands and feet, allowing him to easily adhere himself to the walls of the elevator shaft. It was damp, and smelled not great. Kinda like the bad parts of the ocean. But they needed to press on anyway. There was a light near the bottom, about 4 or 5 stories down. That must be where the elevator stopped and the people below unloaded the crates. They couldn't hear any voices, but they couldn't rule out that they were alone. Kaen would stay quiet the entire way, mostly concentrating on not slipping on whatever slime was covering parts of the elevator shaft.

Soon enough they would reach the bottom, or at least right before the opening. They still couldn't see that far in, but there seemed to be some flashing lights, like that of monitors, or other electrical devices. Still there were no voices. Kaen would turn to Teke, whispering as quietly as he could. "I'm gonna go down first, make sure the coast is clear." He would wait for a nod of approval before nodding back himself indicating he was ready. And just like a light switch, Kaen would release his chakra grip from the walls and drop down, landing on his feet.

Light'em up boys! You couldn't see it, but Kaen's eyes widened instantly in surprise. He had grown, matured even, since the last time he saw him. It was Gin. But there was no time to react, a small force of lackeys opened fire on Kaen with their automatic carbine rifles. The noise was deafening inside the small, stone built, room and elevator shaft. Kaen was not entirely incompetent and quickly threw his hands up as quickly as he could. But before he could he was already hit a few times. Non-vital parts, like his arms and legs, a few to the gut. [Used Flame Shielf] A wall of fire erupted in front of him, it was blocking and melting most of the bullets. The ones that got through were harmless, melting pieces of metal. "I swear, if you want anything done right you have to do it yourself." Gin would push past the group of men and pulled out his own hefty looking handgun. Energy seemed to flow into the gun and with a single shot it burst through Kaen's shield. As if in slow motion, Kaen could only helplessly watch it fly straight toward him, it was too late. The bullet went clean through his mask, straight into his head...

"You see guys? It's just that easy. Now clean up this mess!"​

[OOC - MFT]

 

[Teke]

Teke watched on silently as Kaen did his work, it was pretty much what she expected of him but made a note to herself of his level of confidence with the type of jutsu he was not totally in control of. If nothing else it was a lesson for her to learn from in the future as her dream of mastering all known jutsu was coming to light. She waited for the hole to be cut and thankfully the edges were somewhat cooled by the water jutsu as Kaen pulled the remaining disc from the center but Teke had an idea, one she, just like Kaen wasn't fully confident in but now was the time to put these things into practice. She waited for her red-headed teacher to descend into the newly created hole first before joining herself but not in the way he or most people would have expected.

Teke, the moment her first foot took stepped the end of the hole seemingly let of all her body weight go and started to drop like a mini, blonde missile only to come to an almost screeching halt moments later. Channeling her knowledge of both gravitational jutsu and magnetism jutsu she slowed her descent slowed to a gentle fall and she breathed a sigh of relief as she looked toward Kaen. "I'm sure glad this worked out the same way it did in my head or I'd be an ANBU pizza right about now." She chuckled softly beneath her mask. She would continue to float down at about the same speed as Kaens climbing, this was some good practice of some of the more obscure uses of advanced elements for the both of them in reality. They came to the bottom quite quickly, Teke hovering just above the opening to the area they were aiming to infiltrate and she would remain there as Kaen gave his whisper about moving in first to access the situation which Teke had no problem with and gave the needed nod.

it only took a moment for the male to emerge into the area below before the sounds of automatic weapons filled the air, Teke could just about make out the voices between the gunfire before a final, louder shot was taken and a voice she didn't recognize spoke out, almost bragging, this was her moment. The young lady took a second to breathe as she started to push her holy chakra through her system, pushing open the gates which she still didn't fully comprehend and a golden glow shone from the open elevator shaft. soon after the gunmen noticed the glow Teke would start her decent to the opening, a pained expression on her face as she saw Kean with a bullet through his head. She raised her remaining right arm to her ear and pressed two fingers against the communicator on her ear. "This is Bodybag, calling in. I have an agent down..." She looked deliberately toward the shooters after that and grinned beneath her mask. "And about a dozen dead gunmen responsible for their death." Of course Teke planned to keep at least one of them alive once she figured out who the head honcho was, but they didn't need to know that and before they could react to her word a torrent of lightning filled the room in a quick burst and shorted out all the lighting, leaving her the only source of light this far underground. "I'd suggest you pray to whatever god you worship, but unless that god is me, you're not getting out of here alive." She would cackle manically beneath her mask and a beam of lightning would start to grow from her missing left arm and before long it took the shape of an actual arm, but bright and likely dangerous. [Used - Magnetic Flux]

In that same moment, Teke would activate a magnetic field around her body and start to bare down on her enemies like a terminator, possessed with the only objective to kill their target. "Any final words, maggots?" She spoke these words but wouldn't even bother waiting for an answer before her body vanished and the light appeared behind the men. "The angel of death, deems you unworthy of life. sucks to be you, huh?" She then jolted towards ar the magnetic armor around her body deflected the bullets from touching her, pushing her lightning created fist through the head of one of the gunmen and rebounding from that momentum to spring into a second mans face with an open palm, grabbing his head and letting the lightning flow through his skull to the point of cooking the interior and charring the exterior,looking at the man with the large pistol and assuming he was the ringleader in all of this. "Watch as your men are dropped, one by one, screaming, begging, frying under the touch of a god, knowing that you will be the last to suffer. Wetting your pants yet, cattle?" An insult she hadn't used in a while to describe a human, cattle, comparing them to the beef that they so readily crave and eat en masse and how she in her old mindset would treat them, of course this was all about scaring her opponents to make subduing them easier but she was having a lot of fun right now. She had concern for Kaen to be sure but given the situation she couldn' t exactly mourn the man, which meant she couldn't tell if he was actually dead or not, all she knew is she had a job to finish and she was going to do it in the cruelest way at her disposal.

[WC - 943]

 

[Kaen]

"I'm sure glad this worked out the same way it did in my head or I'd be an ANBU pizza right about now." Teke lightly laughed from behind her mask. "Glad what worked out?" Kaen started speaking but immediately discovered what she was talking about. Somehow, someway Teke had learned how to fly! Or at least it looked like flying, perhaps it was just falling with style. "What?! Holy shit, when did you learn to do that?" Kaen was impressed, and almost a little jealous. It took quite a bit of skill to be able to pull off even hovering, and here Teke was performing it for what seemed like the first time, at least in the field. Kaen shook his head as he continued downward. "I can't keep up with these kids..." Kaen muttered under his breathe, but loud enough Teke could hear it. And then it happened...

Kaen would wish he was conscious to witness the marvel that was his apprentice, how far she had ascended to power rivaling that of a god. A brilliant hue of golden light radiated from the previously dark elevator shaft. Behind the mask a grievous face spread, the now still Kaen bleeding from many bullet wounds beneath her as she slowly descended with poise and finesse. Without hesitancy, Bodybag broadcasted the news of Kaen's fall. Teke's demeanor quickly changing to that of reprisal, a grin stricken across her face. "And about a dozen dead gunmen responsible for their death." Upon uttering that word, death, the radio buzzed to life as HQ dispatch relayed the information to all available units. Help was on the way, but they would not make it in time to do just that.

Without warning a current of power surged through the air as Teke's voltaic powers shattered every light in the room. Gasps of surprise resounded as the only light source remaining was the very thing they should be running away from. But they would not make it, she was not going to let them. "I'd suggest you pray to whatever god you worship, but unless that god is me, you're not getting out of here alive." Bodybag guffawed loudly behind her mask as sublime energy started to expand from where she was missing a limb. It crackled and snapped as a arm made of pure lightning took form. Putting her newfound magnetic powers to use, a near invisible aura simultaneously surrounded the young woman to protect her from the same devastation that felled Kaen. "Any final words, maggots?"

"Kill this wannabe lighthouse!" Gin would bark an order at his terror-stricken lackeys. But before he could finish his command, Teke had already blinked out of view, instantly appearing behind the group of minions. Her voice and light made the men jump in fright as they all turned to face their reaper. "The angel of death, deems you unworthy of life. sucks to be you, huh?" There was a slight pause as the overwhelming silence thickened the tension. Their demise was looming over them, they could all foresee their deaths at the hand of this electrical being. Whether it was out of fear, a simple slip of the finger, or acting out of pure instinct, one of the gunmen's rifles discharged causing a chain reaction. A cacophony of gunshots rang throughout the room, bullets ricocheting off the walls and Teke's magnetic armor. As the bullets flew, so did Teke. An electrifying, charged fist punched a sizzling hole through one of the thugs as others fell to their own gunfire bouncing off of her magnetic field. Using that same momentum she propelled herself towards another victim, her open palm clamping down upon a fear-filled face.

A charred smell of burnt flesh quickly filled the air as Teke's electrifying energy surged into the man's skull. Wisps of putrid smoke spewed violently away from the deep fried head, Teke turned to Gin who was watching the fray unfold from a semi-safe distance away. "Watch as your men are dropped, one by one, screaming, begging, frying under the touch of a god, knowing that you will be the last to suffer. Wetting your pants yet, cattle?" Gin's eyes narrowed, reflections of Teke's gleaming radiance revealed his activated sharingan. He was watching her every move, cold and calculating. He watched as his men fell before his eyes, but remained undaunted. "Hardly..." Gin was always the cocky type, he was not afraid of this self-proclaimed goddess.

A second passed and Gin's form exploded with fiery energy. His body was enveloped in a malevolent energy, changing his appearance and demeanor. "I'm sure we will meet again, enjoy the remainder of this pathetic fodder..."" Gin would turn to walk away from the scene, heading down a long, open corridor. Should Teke attempt to attack, he would be ready and anticipate her moves. His hands would rise up and absorb the energy from her attack. [Used Naturalization - B-Rank Ninjutsu] Compressing the stolen energy in his palms, Gin would shape them into crimson spears before heaving them towards the ray of sunshine that was Teke. [Used Heartseeker - Youkai Contract Senjutsu] He would turn to continue down the corridor, ominous, scarlet hued vapor began to spew out of his body as he continued down the hallway, humming joyfully as he did. [Used Miasma - Youkai Contract Independent Special Move multiple times] With a flick of his hand flames would also fill the path, keeping Teke from pursuing.

A few men still remained, but they would be quickly be slain by the raging Teke, single handedly at that. A groan would emanate from Kaen's body. Perhaps this would be what kept Teke from chasing after Gin instead of his offensive defense. [Used Chimera implant - Renewal] He was still pretty banged up, still bleeding from a few bullet holes, but the wound in his head had somehow managed to heal itself. Call it incredible regenerative powers, or perhaps his intense fiery will to survive, but he was alive. Coincidentally enough, this was about the time 'help' arrived on scene. A small squad of Anbu fell from the elevator shaft, along with medic. "Squadron leader Purple Foxtail responding to distress call, how may we be of assistance, Bodybag?" This small group of three plus their leader, Purple Foxtail, and the medic, were ready to be given orders. Teke was in the spotlight, they would follow her command during this incident.


[OOC - MFT]