DOWNTOWN: Monroe High School(#585RJ)

     A vast foyer, the 'lobby' of Monroe High School was hardly spared in means 
of decoration and school spirit. A high cathedral ceiling domes over the huge 
foyer, the echoes of students and footsteps increased by its high arch. The 
tiling of the foyer is done in a soft, creamy peach color whereas the walls are 
supporting pillars in the lobby are painted a plain white color. Decorating the 
vast majority of the walls surrounding the foyer is a variety of school trophy 
cases, lined within by a multitude of awards and trophies won by the school 
itself. Flags of past graduated classes hang high along the walls, on display 
for visitors and students alike.

     From the lobby one has a variety of choices in which to redirect themselves. 
A small office area along the eastern wall leads to the esteemed dean's office, 
whereas on the opposite wall lies a large pair of double doors leading out to 
the school's stadium. The northern wall consists of a large pair of stairs 
leading up to the second floor, where many of the classrooms are found.

Contents:
Socom
Savoi
Obvious exits:
Monroe Stadium  Gymnasium  Cafeteria  Dean's Office  Upstairs  EXIT
Sephiroth has arrived.


     Monroe High School is out for winter break, much to the cheer of many 
students. But the activities at Monroe are far from over. Sports practices for 
sports that use the gymnasium - like basketball - are still going on, and track 
keeps going through the winter, as well. But Monroe itself likes to offer a few 
things for students to do other than be lazy through the winter, such as 
tonight's event, a simple play put on by the theatre club, with a party to 
happen afterwards, to offer students a chance to exchange gifts in a common 
environment and the like, and to generally raise student morale and cheer. The 
play, a simple and comedic one that has a Christmas theme, is over with, and by 
now the focus has moved onto the party, which is now being held in the gym. 
Tables are set up, a live student band is playing Christmas music, pizza, 
cookies, and various other treats and candy are spread out on the tables, and a 
guy who is obviously a member of the faculty is dressed as Santa, offering 
students their 'gift', which is more or less something lame, but thoughtful, 
like a day organizer. It's a festive mood!



     Ask is always up for lame but thoughtful! In fact, much of her gifts and 
general attitude can usually be summed up by that phrase. ._. But she wouldn't 
miss a little party like this, especially as she knows a lot of the people in 
the play--and her twin's in the band, too. He's up there banging away on the 
guitar and singing, and she's dancing away in a circle with some other friends, 
with more enthusiasm than skill. The song winds down, though, and, sweaty and a 
little tired, Ask excuses herself to go get some punch and cookies from the 
refreshments table.



     One of those very basketball players is none other than Monroe High's own 
Michelle Ryan-- or otherwise known to the enigmatic Bureau as "Savoi". She's 
been in a bit of a slump since the other night, since her fight with 'big 
sister': Experiment 001, the original. Whatever happened to the Man in Black and 
her, anyway...? It was kind of a funny disappearing act. And the police haven't 
turned up anything yet, either. Not that she expected them to. So in the midst 
of the practice, the coach allows for a brief break-- hell, it's Christmas, 
right? The kids need to act like kids, sometimes. It's no different for Ms. Ryan, 
also out into the hall to raid the refreshments table. Still in uniform, she 
goes for a few sugar cookies. The water fountain will serve nicely for a drink, 
thanks.



     Not every guest has been invited, of course--you never know who will show 
up at a play! ..Well, one generally expects that students of one school stick to 
the one school, and adults from anywhere else are simply kept out on general 
principle. There is a child wandering about, glancing to the decorations and the 
other students, whom is very quiet--he's only recently walked through those 
doors into this rather festive place, and it's a bet that few, if any, have ever 
seen him before. He is an unremarkable student, probably a senior at the high 
school...

     He has a cookie, but he's well away from the dancers. In fact, he's on the 
other side of the room from the door--but just starting to walk back out that 
way.



     It's still rather hot in here, so after getting some punch and a plateful 
of cookies, Ask heads for the doors out of the gym, seeking the cooler air of 
the hall. Halfway there, she spots a familiar figure and, after a bit of 
shuffling, manages to transfer the plate to the drink-bearing hand and lifts her 
free hand to wave at "Michelle." "Hey, Michelle!" She calls, never mind the fact 
that the girl can't answer back. She steps up her pace a little to catch up with 
the other girl--but wending her way through the press of bodies is no easy task, 
especially since the lights are slightly dimmed, and so she doesn't see the 
unfamiliar boy in her path until she rounds an absorbed couple and finds herself 
not two steps away from smacking into his back and disaster.




     And a merry time was had by all. Lame but thoughtful gifts from the school, 
pizza and punch and cookies and all sorts of unhealthy treats from the school as 
well to make up for the lame gifts, music is playing, people are dancing if they 
have the inclination, the skaters and goths are hanging out outside of the gym, 
the latter acting like they're better than those inside because they're more 
'intelligent' and have no need for parties, even if they're -at- the party, and 
the former doing tricks off the various stairs and railings, and the faculty not 
busting their asses because -it's Christmas-. And so the party would continue, 
on into the (early) night, and kids would then drive off back to their homes, in 
a slightly better mood than they left, and so on.
     But no, that's not going to happen tonight, it seems. The latter part, 
anyway. Because someone's decided to hold the city hostage tonight. With bombs. 
And not just any bombs, but the kind labeled 'Smilex', which is perhaps a worse 
fate than being exploded by the kind labeled 'Semtex' - you know, your normal 
plastique kind of bombs, with the fire and the high amounts of pressure that 
tear your body apart and yeah. At this very moment, a bright purple and green 
sleigh, pulled by donkeys with glued-on horns and screams of having absolutely 
no taste barrels through the parking lot, and on up into the entrance of the 
school, parking dead center, though not all that much visible from the gym just 
yet. Six men pile out of the sleigh, and what a sight they are! Dressed in 
purple and green like the sleigh itself, their outfits look like a cross between 
a stereotypical elf outfit, and a clown outfit. And to complete the image, their 
faces are painted like clowns. All of them are very large, and no doubt would be 
the 'special event' planned for the students to thrill and excite them! See? 
Planners weren't the only thing they'd give - these big men would have the 
'real' presents. Or, well, that might be what some would think.
     If they weren't carrying automatic rifles.
     The men spread out and begin to charge into the building. Shouts are raised 
as they notice the very large oddly dressed men with very big guns, but they're 
quickly stifled as said guns are pointed in faces and then directions are given. 
Working from the front of the school, the men begin to corral people. Where? On 
into the gym, of course. Some run, others walk, and so long as they don't, you 
know, try to make a break for it, the men aren't forced to shoot anyone. So, the 
men sweep in towards the gym, waving guns and shouting orders to get into the 
gym, now. They haven't quite entered the gym just yet, though...



Sephiroth is aware of the presence of a girl behind him, but as she doesn't 
actually bump /into/ him, his first inclination is to do the 'I'm too 
cool/old/inhuman to talk to you' thing. The goth types at the school try to do 
it, but they aren't really as good at it. He looks better in leather, too.

     Sephiroth hardly had any intention of actually continuing on into the night 
at this little party, had not so much as bothered to go over to see the Santa 
Faculty--no, he simply had his cookie, and is beginning to notice the influx of 
people into the gym. ...Well, that's a personal problem.

     Those that get in Sephiroth's way as the boy starts out of the gym will 
find themselves gently nudged by an unseen force to simply /move/. His cookie is 
half-finished.




     Ah, look, it's Ask! ... Crap. Hiding her emotions pretty well-- being 
trained to do so-- she offers Ask a brief smile and a wave of her hand as she 
chomps down on the cookie. Well, let's see. There's Ask, and ... great, is she 
infactuated with another boy? And practice is going on still, so it makes this 
whole mess a little awkward to be in.

     And then it becomes an even bigger mess.

     Backing up a few steps, Savoi glances left and right-- she'll need to get a 
quiet position to hunker down and think this one out. The rifle is one thing, 
but the gigantic bag is what has her worried. Putting her back to the door to 
the hallway entrance of the girls' lockerroom near the gym entrance, she pushes 
herself against it-- hard-- to slip inside, hand snapping out to flip the lights 
off. Her skin? Turns as black as the shadows she's hiding in.

     ( Plan. Fast. )



     Not for lack of clumsiness--but at the last moment, with the people being 
forced into the gym, one bumps into her and pushes her in the opposite direction, 
which allows her just enough counter-momentum to stop. Although it does make her 
spill both cup and plate, with the attendant mess. Making a little cry of dismay, 
Ask looks about for something to clean it up with--and only then notices the 
sounds from outside the gym, and the presence of the goths and skaters--normally 
never setting foot inside--coming through the double doors. A second later, she 
catches a glimpse of the reason why, as the doors swing open again, allowing her 
a look out into the hall and at the men with their... rifles.
     Oh how fun, indeed.
     One hand rising to her mouth in shock, Ask stares for a moment, then tries 
to push closer to the door to see just what's going on. It can't be a stick-up, 
can it? What would be the point? It's not like the school has that much money...
     


     It doesn't take much convincing to move those who are outside, to the 
inside. High powered rifles and men dressed oddly tend to make people very 
compliant. Because you just -know- someone who is wearing crazy elf-clown outfit 
with their faces painted like clowns, -must- be crazy enough to use the rifles 
they hold. After everyone's been pushed inside, the six men step in, and a 
moment is take to open the bag the biggest of them carries, handing out a few 
long 2x4 planks. Two of the men gather these and then step outside. Their intent 
is to go around and seal the doors by barricading them from the outside. The 
other four? Well, the biggest of them now is pointing is gun to the air and 
pulling the trigger. A deafening roar of gunfire fills the gym, which while no 
one is in front of, it definately kills the music, the talking, and everyone's 
Christmas cheer.
     "Yo, listen up!" the biggest goon - whose clown makeup is more like a skull, 
really, the guy dark skinned and having arms like tree trunks, "We's takin' 
ya'll hostage here..." as he says this, the group begins to move towards the 
center of the gym, people parting for them and more or less getting the hell out 
of their way, "Until the Joker says we got our money. No one makes no stupid 
moves, no one gets hurt."
     As they move, as well, a few people are selected from the crowd, and made 
to walk with the four armed men, mostly young girls of the cheerleader squad, 
though there's a few guys, as well. Eight in all. They make it to the center of 
the gym, and then the hostages are made to kneel down in a circle in the middle, 
with the four men standing in the middle of them. "We know you guys are a lot 
more than -us-, so we got ourselves a bit of leverage, here," the biggest guy is 
saying, and as he does so, he reaches into his purple sack - and withdraws 
several box-like objects, strapped together with some form of device attached to 
them. They all ready 'Smilex', though someone's seen fit to draw all over them 
with 'Merry Christmas!' 'Smile!' 'Ho ho ho!' and the such. These 'bombs' are set 
up in front of the eight hostages, one box-thing for each hostage. "A'ight, so, 
if anyone tries anything funny, we set these off. Jus' get yourself comfortable, 
and we won't need to do nothin', hear?"
     And at that precise moment, one of the hostages decides to speak up. He 
should be very noticable - the left arm bandaged, long shaggy hair with blood 
red tips. A certain Vahn Gabriel glances to the canister, and then back to the 
big guy, and then laughs a bit. "What the -fuck- is this? It's not C4, so what, 
this shit's gonna gas us all? Aren't you dumbasses a little concerned for your 
own fucking safety, then? Or were you plann-augh!" And then, that's when one of 
the men decides to put the stock of his rifle into Vahn's face, hard, which 
sends the boy to the floor with what's likely to be a broken nose, given the 
blood. "Shut up, twerp!"



     Well, let's see. No gun, since she's in school. No knife, either, as much 
as she wishes she had brought the fucking thing. No flashlight-- that's in her 
backpack. Savoi moves quietly, scooting along the aisles of lockers, fingers out 
and touching the steel doors as she tries to feel her way through toward her 
own-- and ducking inside one as the lights come back on for the thugs to check 
the locker rooms. Her skintone shifts appropriately to best blend with the 
steelwork's paintjob.

     Once she's pretty sure they're gone, she resumes the silent movement and 
her regular skintone. No time to fuck with the combination. Gripping onto the 
doorlatch itself, Savoi pinches with all her fingers have and tears the bolt 
right out of it, catching the still-closed lock in one hand and holding it 
closely. Into her backpack her hand dives, and she fumbles out her cellphone. 
Rarely-- if ever-- she ever uses it for this purpose, she begins tapping in a 
text message to someone.

     Someone whom she hopes has his phone set to vibrate instead of ring.

     And should Vahn get the message while he's gushing blood out of his nose, 
it will read along the lines of, 'go hog wild..will take respnsblty'.

     And now, for part 'B' of the plan-- Savoi ducks into the corner of one of 
the locker aisles, intentionally squeaking her foot across the floor. Loudly. 
And pretending to be the whimpering girl hiding out.




Gunfire. Well, that's nostalgia, for you.

     Sephiroth watches as the tide of people continues to lead into the gym, 
staying nearer to the walls, so as to offer himself a better view of the 
garishly-dressed goons. The gunfire from their leader was 
hardly.../pleasant/...and one might notice a very, very unpleasant scowl for 
such a pleasant-looking boy that everyone seems to know. Then again, the whole 
point is that no one was supposed to /know/ him, and so while everyone is 
staring in such rapt attention, he simply walks calmly behind one of the holiday 
columns, chuckling softly under his breath. They are festive, aren't they? He 
waits until the hostage finishes what he has to say, and then rounds that 
column--where stepping behind it was the little Senior, now there is a man in a 
black coat, with long hair and green, glowing eyes, staring right at the leader 
with a predatory look.

     "Is this the entertainment we ordered?"

     ...should probably be noted that he doesn't care all that much about the 
lives of the hostages, there.




     Uh. Uh. This is beginning to look worse and worse. Especially since after a 
very confused moment of gaping through the doors, said doors burst open with men 
wielding guns, and Ask finds herself grabbed by the arm and hustled to the 
center of the gym, then forced to kneel. On stage, Ember steps forward a touch, 
hand rising in alarm, before Ask notices and shakes her head vehemently at him. 
Not so much for herself, as for him. She's not entirely helpless in this 
situation, and while neither is he, she has a better chance under their noses 
like this. Sort of. ... well, that really depends on if she can get some help 
without their noticing.
     As it is, there seems to be some distractions coming along, with the mouthy 
Vahn (she winces involuntarily as he gets smashed in the face) and that stranger 
from behind the column. Who the heck was that? She might be less than happy if 
she knew who he was... but as it is, at the moment she simply breathes a quiet 
gratitude, and starts to work on a summons, eyes closing and murmuring the words 
very quietly under her breath.



     Unfortunately for Savoi, Vahn has his phone completely -off-, at this point, 
and even if he didn't, he probably wouldn't be able to think through the pain of 
having his nose broken to flip open the phone and read the message. He's also 
fighting the urge to just go insane with rage at the moment, because there's 
nothing worse than pain to bring one's anger out. Or it could be that he's just 
trying not to flip out in the 'bad way', because no doubt Savoi didn't mean for 
him to go -that- hog wild. For now he'll just wallow in pain, by rolling on the 
floor back and forth a bit, and muttering enough curses under his breath to make 
a sailor blush.
     And then there's... the random appearance of the black cloaked man, who 
many of the terrorists couldn't help but think that they didn't see him there 
before. After all, Sephiroth... didn't really blend into a crowd that well. The 
biggest man turns to face Sephiroth, pointing his rifle at the silver haired man. 
And in a very calm voice, he says, "You're going to want to step back, man, or I 
ain't gonna hesitate to ventilate you. Or maybe, I should just do it to this 
pretty youngin' here?" He places the tip of the barrel against the back of the 
head of a pretty blonde cheerleader girl, who gives a shriek of terror, but is 
too paralyzed to move, eyes squeezing shut as she begins to cry.
     As for Savoi's little tactic... it seems to work. While the guy isn't quite 
sure he should move and look away from Sephiroth... the noise isn't exactly 
something good, since people in the locker room would complicate things. So, he 
opens the door and steps on inside, looking around. He keeps the door open a 
crack with the heel of his boot while he points his gun into the locker room, 
and then moves to try and find the lightswitch. "Hey, come out of here if you're 
there." ...Wasn't this the girl's locker room?
     As for Ask, she's undisturbed in whatever it is that she might be doing. 
Sephiroth has most of the goon's attention, after all, and they'd probably think 
she was just praying or mumbling incoherently in a scared way anyway.



     From the lack of action and screaming outside-- at least, from what she 
expects-- she doubts Vahn got the message. Though the man at the door doesn't 
come in as far as she'd prefer it. Damn it, move closer! She needs him -inside-. 
Savoi doesn't respond, instead, she makes the best facsimile of uncontrolled, 
trembling breaths-- that's the best that her attempts at whimpering would come 
out as. Clutching the lock tightly in one hand and curling up in the corner 
between the wall and the lockers, she looks around with more calmness and 
control than actual worry or panic... If the damn retard would just -get over 
there-.

     The lights click and flicker on with a decidedly flourescent hum, though, 
and she makes just damn sure her skintone is normal. Otherwise things would get 
mighty awkward mighty fast.

For the record, that sad little cookie that Sephiroth never finished has been 
left back behind the column as the swordsman continues forward, still smirking 
as the biggest man points the gun at him. The calm voice is noted, Sephiroth 
takes into account that perhaps these fools (in more than one sense) have had 
some training. They have not, he is certain, been trained for him.

     Sephiroth glances to the girl almost boredly. "Go ahead."

     He doesn't have to shrug as he eyes the remaining group, their guns, how 
quick they are to use them. "You will explain to me precisely what it is that 
you are doing." He speaks as if the Joker's men wielded water-guns, and 
certainly doesn't get in the way of Savoi's or Ask's plans, thus far--though 
there probably will be few thankful for his presence. ...he /is/ really very 
distracting, though.

     His hand falls to his side, fingers widening slightly as if to accomodate a 
weapon that isn't there.



     Ask isn't the only one using the distraction Sephiroth is providing. Very 
quietly and slowly, as slowly as he can to avoid attracting attention, Ember's 
backed up to the rear of the "stage" set up on one side of the gym, slipping off 
the guitar once he's hidden behind the speakers and getting down off the raised 
stage. Crouching down, he creeps between the legs of the frozen bystanders, once 
or twice getting an annoyed look or a stifled shriek as he brushes up against 
people. Someone grabs him by the shoulder for a moment, and the ensuing hushed 
argument delays him for several long moments before he shakes the person off 
with a fierce scowl and continues his creep. At the rate he's going, however, 
it'll be a little while yet before he gets close enough to do anything.
     Ask, meanwhile, continues her chanting, unaware of her brother's actions. 
There's a subtle feeling of pressure, almost tension, around her, although she 
does nothing so obvious as glow; but there's a faint red light leaking from 
beneath her firmly shut eyelids, hopefully going unnoticed between the closed 
eyes and bowed head. She'll be a minute yet, though, as this does not work 
within a few seconds.



     Well, as long as the lights are on... the guy can't see any reason to move 
in further. But he doesn't just charge in, instead walking slowly, and pointing 
his gun where he's looking. Of course, as good as that is, he ruins the effect 
by lightly calling out: "Little girl... little girl! Come on out... ain't gonna 
hurtcha..." broadcasting his position well enough. Once he catches the sound of 
the breaths, though, he gets a bit bolder, and starts to move faster, even 
dropping the barrel of the gun down and marching over to where he hears the 
'scared little girl'. "C'mon, we can't have you hangin' out here!"
     Meanwhile!! Outside, Sephiroth's comment gets a raised eyebrow from the big 
guy. Well, honestly, he was just bluffing. He knew some basics of terrorist 
activities, and you tended not want to kill a hostage that soon. It was a fine 
art of 'when to kill a hostage'. Because killing a hostage showed you were 
serious, but it also made the other folks, like the police or whatever counter-
terrorist group there might be, get serious, too. So instead, he decides that 
killing the pretty young girl would be a bad move. Instead, he lifts the barrel 
of his gun and points it once more for Sephiroth. "We're holding you hostage. 
Joker in the City Hall is gonna get us our money. Once he calls and lets us know, 
we'll be outta yer pretty hair. If people try anythin' funny, we set these off," 
he gestures with a hand, though keeps the gun on Sephiroth, "And you guys get a 
nice surprise. The smile of the century." The other goon laughs at that, and the 
big guy even cracks a smile. "So sit the hell down. We're gonna get all cozy-
like."
     At that very instant! ...Ask is still unhindered, though the second goon in 
the group, after he's done laughing, gets sort of a notion that something nearby 
doesn't quite feel right. He can't quite feel what, but he's now making the 
rounds around the eight hostages, trying to find out where it might be. It can't 
be Vahn, of course, because he's trying to sit up and then fidgeting with his 
nose, muttering more about 'how that shit hurts'.



     Good. Good.

     Scooting her foot underneath her rear end, Savoi's eyes become deadly 
serious-- sharp. Good. He's in. Closer, too. Scooting forward in a creep of 
sorts to keep the noise low and keep her speed high, the panicked breaths slow 
down as the man draws too near the aisle where Savoi is entrenched. And as soon 
as she sees him, she immediately puts on her 'terrified' face, even forcing out 
a tear after a few seconds of her lip quivering.

     As soon as his guard is down, she strikes.

     Snapping like a rattlesnake, her movements are swift and furious. The plan 
is to take him quickly and quietly-- stomping down on the toe of his boot, she 
angles a punch to the throat with all the force she can muster. The heel of her 
other hand swings up with a fierce slam to the nose, the sort of blow designed 
to break the bone and give one an internal labotomy. Finally, both hands reach 
out to snag the man by the collar and the rifle-- to minimize the sound of his 
impact on the floor, as locker rooms tend to have that 'echo' problem.



Well, well, that certainly makes the terrorist look good in front of his goons, 
doesn't it? Sephiroth, for a moment, simply listens, rather than pressing his 
advantage. There is /something/ here...

     But then, it's not like that really matters. The explanation that he 
demanded gave him little more information than he already had, but it really was 
quite enough. Joker--City Hall--...and money. Sephiroth does not hear the guard 
having his problems with the girl in his locker room, but when he starts to move 
again, those close by will notice that his feet are not touching the ground.

     "Would you think it funny if I snapped your neck?"

     Sephiroth continues smiling, but without so much as a twitch of his finger, 
there is an invisible /force/ that comes down to strike at the point between the 
big guy's neck and shoulder, will the approximate force of a ton of bricks. 
Before the second is finished, Sephiroth is spinning through the air on an angle 
around him.



     It probably won't take the thug long to discover just what is not right--if 
not necessarily who, precisely, is responsible for it. As he begins to patrol 
around slowly, Ask finally finishes the incantation, fingers spreading open to 
release the energy and directing it right over them.
     A hole seems to tear in the air above the hostages, releasing a sooty red 
glow and a hot breeze reeking of char. Out of it, something out a nightmare 
swoops--dusky-skinned, leathery bat wings, inhuman face distorted with the 
features of a beak, and eight thin, spider-like limbs. It sails out of the 
portal and swoops down at the guards? at the hostages? No--as it turns out, at 
the bombs in front of them. For all of its nightmarish appearance, it's rather 
small, coming to barely Ask's waist. Moving with a fluidity that belies its 
awkward appearance, it seeks to snatch up all the bombs, then, if successful, 
bear them back into the portal that brought it there.
     Meanwhile, Ember's finally crept close to the ring of hostages and goons, 
and can advance no further, lest he be seen. Creeping around, he attempts to 
find a spot behind the goons' attention, then stands and sticks his hands in his 
pockets. His fingers close over the bags of seeds he always, always carries with 
him, and he begins to sort through them, long experience enabling him to 
differentiate them by touch. There. Finding the ones he wants, he draws them out 
carefully and tosses them lightly underhanded toward the goons. Just a few, and 
accuracy isn't that important, though helpful.
     It is, at that moment, that Ask's summoning completes and the spider-bat 
bursts through. Stepping back with the wave of fear and revulsion that ripples 
through the crowd, Ember forgets to mimic their expressions; instead, he looks 
intent, brows furrowed as he focuses his power on the seeds he threw.
     Responding, the seeds crack open, vines bursting out and flowing up toward 
the two goons. They grow with lightning speed, roots capable of breaking stone 
in nature burrowing through the floor of the gym. The vines thicken and spread, 
flailing about in a way no vine in nature ever does, seeking to twine around the 
two goons and bind their arms to their sides, thickening as they reach until the 
average vine is wrist-thick.
     Of course, they both work without the knowledge of what precisely Sephiroth 
is doing, and so the threat might be taken out before their actions are of use...



     In the women's locker room, there's a mighty rumble going on. The clown 
goon finds 'Michelle', and then begins to saunter over, a grin spreading on his 
face. "Hey now, it's alright, there! We're just gonna need to se--grhk!" It's 
all he manages to get out, as first his toe is smashed, and then he's punched 
and then nearly killed by having the bones of his nose shoved back into his 
brain pan... though not quite. He is, however, quite out of it, and is already 
falling to the floor... and he would've hit the ground, if not for Savoi's 
moving to grab him. Unfortunately, she misses the rifle, and it clatters to the 
floor noisely... that can't be good.
     Meanwhile, outside in the gym, there's quite a fuss going on! See, the big 
guy doesn't really like Sephiroth any more. And he's slowly becoming convinced 
that killing Sephiroth wouldn't be a bad thing. As Seph starts moving, the guy 
pulls the trigger to his rifle - but it's sent waaaay off target as the force 
comes crushing against his neck and shoulders. He's perhaps strong enough to 
keep his neck from getting broken, but it IS quite a painful thing to have done 
to you. The bullets fly high into the air, managing to at least impact into an 
overhead light, effectively darkening the area over by the locker rooms. The big 
guy goes down, but manages to catch himself on one hand. Seems he's at least a 
little tougher than your average hired muscle... but that doesn't mean he isn't 
stunned to high hell. The other goon at this time has his attention split - 
first, towards the boss, who is somehow getting his ass kicked by AIR, and then 
all of a sudden there being a tiny piece of hell right in front of him, scooping 
up the bombs they'd laid out, and then flying off. This leaves the second goon 
quite unsure as to what the hell to do, his gun up but frozen in place. Which 
gives ample time for Vahn to rise up behind him... and then kick him square in 
the junk with a rather vicious swing of his leg. That, too, stuns the second 
goon long enough for the vines to rip in and then grab the two goons around the 
arms, both too stunned to actually do anything about it. The crowd at this point 
is in a sheer panic and more or less trying to get as far away from both the 
strange black cloaked man, the vines, and the spider-bat, screaming and panicing.
     Finally, there's just one guard left on the inside, who is also stuck 
between trying to figure out what the hell is going on, though his attention is 
divided four ways. First by the boss getting his ass kicking by air, second by 
the piece of hell suddenly appearing the gym and scooping up the bombs, then the 
vines capturing the two goons. The fourth? The fourth he can deal with, because 
it's Vahn, taking advantage of the panic to rush at the last goon. The goon 
manages to get a few shots off before Vahn jumps and KNEES him straight in the 
neck, sending the poor bastard through the door and into a locker, making a 
small dent as he goes.



     Savoi stares at the man in her hand-- fuck, still breathing. May as well 
just let him go rot in a coma or something, if he survives in the hospital. The 
agent winces as the rifle clatters against the ground, uttering a sigh. Well, if 
that sound just went off ... who cares at this point.

     So none-too-gently, she tosses the man to the floor.

     Plucking up the rifle, she rather instinctively checks the clip and the 
ammo count therein. Cramming it back into place and releasing the safety, she 
rather calmly walks around the bend of the locker aisles and toward the exit, 
just in time for the exit to be made open -for- her. Grinning a little bit, she 
waves to Vahn with her cellphone in one hand, an indication for him to maybe 
CHECK THE FREAKING THING NEXT TIME OR DON'T TURN IT OFF SINCE IT'S THE 'WORK 
PHONE'. The girl walks out of the girls' lockers through the hole created in the 
door, slinging the rifle up on her shoulder and glancing into the cafeteria.

     (Huh. Not bad.) Yes, she's impressed at the respon-- what the HELL is going 
on in the gym.



Now, that's an interesting development. Sephiroth hadn't expected the theatrics, 
but so far as they haven't seen fit to go after him, at this point, it's just 
all a part of the show. He's busy dealing with that big thug who doesn't like 
him, right now--and if the others are going to be taken down without him, well, 
that's just too bad.

     Sephiroth, while in the air (why yes he is), breaks off a piece of the 
metal framework up near the gym's ceiling, a pole about a little over a yard in 
length. Don't worry too much--the vines and the Summoned thing are quite left to 
deal with their work. Sephiroth simply lets himself fall back down from the 
ceiling...

     Fully intending to drive his new prize right through the main goon's spine-
-even as, mid-air, the pole seems to resemble a sword more than it does anything 
else.

     "I will give my regards to your Joker."



     In the midst of the screaming, crying crowd, Ask and Ember probably stand 
out a little, if only because they're not either a) screaming, b) crying, or c) 
running. At least at first. As soon as he sees that his vines are successful, 
Ember darts forward and grabs Ask by the arms, as she seems a little oblivious, 
instead staring intently at the hellhole above her head as she directs the 
spider-bat to drop its burden into the nearest volcanic pit. Coming back to the 
present, Ask starts to find herself being dragged willy-nilly toward the door, 
and stumbles to her feet. "What are you /doing/ Ember there's still--"
     "No, there aren't!" he shouts back, over his shoulder, adjusting his grip 
down to her hand now that she's moving of her own volition. "They're all--"
     He's about to say immobilized, but his words are cut off as, right before 
their path, one is cut down before their eyes. Stumbling to a halt, they just 
stare at the tall, silver-haired man for a moment, before Ember suddenly, 
noisily retches, clapping a hand over his mouth. Ask can only stare for a moment, 
before her eyes tighten and she tugs on her twin's hand again. Nothing they can 
do. And she can't see the other two from here, so it doesn't occur to her that 
there might be a use for the corpse--it's all over now, or so it seems. Best 
they can do is leave. And so she moves to do that, dismissing the spider-bat 
with a quick word. The reddish hole closes on itself, while she again tugs on 
Ember's hand and starts him moving toward the doors. To Sephiroth, she'll just 
throw a quick, "Thanks," even if it comes out a little forced.
     Of course, upon reaching said doors, there comes a little problem--they're 
barred from the outside. Another look around reveals the hole to the locker 
rooms so kindly provided by Vahn, which more than a few of the panicked people 
have also likely discovered. She'll reroute her path and head over that way 
herself.



     The grunt in the women's locker room makes nary a sound other than perhaps 
thudding and shifting as he falls to the floor. The one that makes the most 
sound is the one that is sent crashing through the door and into a locker, by 
Vahn's good graces. As Vahn begins to stand up, it becomes apparent that his 
attack didn't go off without a hitch - he's got two bloody holes in him, one in 
his left shoulder, the other in the left part of his lower torso. He makes a 
loud growling sound as he struggles to his feet, clapping a hand over the 
stomach wound. And despite the wounds? He still flips off Savoi's gesture to him, 
more in a 'bite me' way, rather than a 'fuck off' way. But... ow. Do bullets 
hurt? Yes. But he doesn't seem to be dying... in fact, any bleeding he might be 
doing is already stopping, and he doesn't seem to be in shock.
     The goons outside are in worse shape yet. Or rather, one is, as Sephiroth 
decides to fly up, and then more or less come back down. With a piece of metal 
framework. Through a goon's spine. The goon makes a shriek, but it doesn't last 
long as his entire body goes limp after a brief moment, and then convulses a few 
times, before finally just going entirely limp. Poor bastard.
     As for the crowd? Well, they're doing alright. Some do race for the locker 
room, pushing past Savoi and Vahn for the door to the outside, which is also 
barred. But soon enough, someone's managed to literally bust through one of the 
2x4's doors, and in a few scant seconds, people are emptying out of the gym 
faster than a Carrot Top stand-up session. The two goons outside? Stampeded most 
handily. Not even the guns deterr people, and in fact might've driven one brave 
soul to literally punch one in the face before they both go down and get 
trampled. Soon enough, more doors are either forced open, or someone with a 
collected head finds it in himself to go through and swipe the 2x4's from the 
doors, letting people out. It only takes a few minutes, and the gym is 
completely void of people, though by now the police have showed up, and are 
beginning to corral the herds. They need witnesses, after all.



     Snickering to herself, Savoi takes the rifle off her shoulder and gives it 
a bit of a twirl in her hands, ejecting the clip and tossing the weapon off to 
the side with a bored expression. They weren't much-- probably trained how to 
use firearms, if they didn't learn it on their own. This couldn't have been a 
military or DFA operation-- there's no way in hell the DFA would be -this- 
sloppy, anyway.

     So when the time comes, she'll play her role properly-- the nice little 
mute girl who managed to defeat her assailant with nothing but blind luck. Or 
will she go with the 'he tried to take advantage of me and I retaliated' method? 
Well, she'll have plenty of time to think about that later. Right now, she's 
thinking about what the phone call to the Scientist would be like. If she's in 
trouble. If the Bureau wants to smack her upside the head for her actions.

     Ah well. Not like she cares.



     Later, when the police take a look at the gym, and find the man that 
Sephiroth decided that he didn't like very much after all, they will find an 
inexplicable thing protruding from his back--there is a six-foot long sword, 
there, ornately crafted, but apparently quite solid.

     ...But just now, Sephiroth simply leaves the makeshift weapon in the goon, 
chuckling down at him as the rest of the people here make their way for the 
doors. He glances down at the one who 'thanked' him before, and then heads for 
one of the exits, himself. This time, it is simply the back door--and if it, too, 
received a barricade, then that won't be a big deal for Sephiroth. What he's 
left should be enough to confuse, possibly to terrify.

     Gee, golly. An extra policemen whom no one quite recognizes will be walking 
away from the school building, within minutes.



     Caught up in the stampede of people leaving, it's about all the twins can 
do to keep from losing their grip on each other--but there is one advantage to 
the stampede. There's far too many for the police to hope to corral them all and 
question them. Which is a good thing, because Ask, at least, is a horrible liar. 
Losing themselves in the crowd, they get pushed by the flow of people out of the 
school, and into the parking lot, where they find their cars and attempt to 
quickly escape. ...attempt being something of the word, as all the other people 
who came in cars have the same idea. Impatient, Ember takes a shortcut over the 
strip of lawn that separates the parking lot from the street, narrowly misses a 
car coming down the road, and zooms away.