✖ Location: ??? ✖ Company: Chased by a pack of wolves ✖Forecast: Oncoming Storm ✖ Soundtrack: Runes to my memory ✖
Everything had gone so wrong, so quickly. For once in his miserable life Tobias was happy and then the UDA came and took it all away from him. The budding romance between Lilith and him flew in the face of everything UDA's student program stood for, they needed the mages to bond with vessels not other mages. In an effort to put a stop to things UDA had split the pair up and sent them to different facilities. That was the final straw for Tobias, fed up with being their plaything he had broken out during transit and had been on the run ever since. He had no idea how long he'd been out here for. All he knew was he couldn't do this for much longer, he was exhausted and his mana pool was all but spent. It hadn't taken the UDA long to track him down and he had been constantly hounded by their operatives, every time he took one out or escaped another soon took their place. He was a cornered, wounded animal. It was only a matter of time and both he and his pursuers knew that.
As he ran through a dense section of forest, his lungs burning desperately for air a sound caught his attention. Twisting mid stride to see where the sound had come from was all that saved him from an unceremonious end. A bullet flew out of the dark and bore a hole through his shoulder. Yet another number added to the endless wounds spilling his life blood and leaving an easy trail for his pursuers. He was out of options, he had to make a stand. At the very least he would take some of those bastards with him. Continuing his reversal of movement, he sprinted to where the shot had rung out from. Leaping through the bushes he caught one of his pursuers by surprise with his sudden burst of speed. Not giving them a chance to react Tobias sent his knee flying into his attacker’s face. The crunch of a broken nose and a gargled breath proceeded the agent slumping to the ground dead. Tobias had thrown some of his precious little remaining mana behind the attack to give it the explosive force needed to shatter his enemy’s skull. The dead agent's radio suddenly blew up with unintelligible chatter, followed by the sounds of someone moving nearby. Tobias quickly disappeared into the shadows, not normally one for stealth it was his only chance now.
Two more agents crept towards their fallen comrade, vaguely aware of the fate that had befallen them. Finding the body one of the agents kneeled to check for signs of life while the other kept watch. A noise from above, the agent barely had time to look up before Tobias came crashing down from the trees. With the first agent flattened the second desperately tried to bring his weapon up. Tobias was faster. A snap kick left the agents neck twisted at a sickening angle. Three down in short order, he might just stand a chance after all.
Another shot rang out in the night. Tobias cursed as he instinctively brought up his hands to protect himself. The pain of a dozen stinging wounds bit at his flesh, burning ever deeper. The shielding darkness was torn away by the bright flash of phosphorous that now burnt at his flesh. Without wasting a second his new foe closed the distance, something that took Tobias by surprise, he expected that kind of behaviour from Mika, a mage not an unpowered soldier. His attacker practically had the barrel of a shotgun pressed to his head as the heavy metallic clunk of the pump action filled Tobias with dread. Barely managing to slap the barrel of the weapon skywards before it fired, Tobias was rewarded with buckshot tearing a chunk out of his ear. The near fatal gunshot left his ear wringing but he had no time to worry about that he had to strike. A fist flew out wildly but met nothing. His attacker slipped under the blow and drew a knife, slashing at his torso with one fluid movement he never saw coming. Tobias stumbled back as the fresh cut bled freely. He was out of options and on deaths door, it was time to let go.
What little control he had over his raging mana was released. There wasn't much left but it was enough to summon the berserker. Muscles began to bulge, his figure twisting and distorting, growing into the massive unstoppable beast. He could feel himself slipping away... Lightning suddenly shot through his body and pulled him back to consciousness. Something had stopped him mid transformation. There was no time to process before a shot ripped through his gut.
The agent watched Tobias slump back against a tree, gasping for air and desperately clawing at them. The faceless foe stared at the dying mage through the mirror glass of their gasmask, expressionlessly watching as the life slowly drained from their enemy through the hole in his gut. Blood pooled at the feet of Tobias as he grasped at his foes uniform, in one last desperate attempt to stay fighting. The agent swatted his hand away with next to no effort, there was no strength left in the once mighty berserker. The monster now little more than a kid, slumped against a tree unmoving. One last breath was all that marked his passing into Valhalla.
Keeping their shotgun barrel pressed to the body the agent knelt down to check for a pulse, with confirmation their target was neutralized they finally relaxed. Pulling their gasmask from their head the agent sucked in fresh air and revealed the face of a young woman, long pale blonde nearly grey hair falling free from the cover. Her expression was blank and almost as clinical as the mask but a cold flame burned behind icy blue eyes. The agent looked down at the corpse seemingly lost in thought. Finally, she brought a hand up to her radio and pressed firmly on a button. "Command, Misfit actual. Target eliminated. Requesting evac. Operation Stamford Bridge complete."
Sylamb
Mika feels a faint but all too familiar rage barely beginning to burn before being snuffed out. Only emptiness is left, the emptiness of loss. Mika's bond with Tobias has been severed.