Cleaning house, empire in this case

[Adam]

"Remember, I'm watching you, " She said as they stood out in front of the door."Oh and one more thing," the door opened quickly, sending a breeze that lifted her hair. "Stay close to me, this empire is far more dangerous than Unity, people have ended up missing recently."

"That wouldn't really be a problem if I had a real weapon."

"And risk you turning on us, not a chance, you'll get it when we all trust you."

"Well you can't necessarily not trust me with this," he points to the seal on his chest,"thing on my chest."

"Fine, give me your dagger." She demanded, holding her hand out, expecting him to just hand it over.

"And then what, I go in with nothing to defend myself with, what's the point in that?"

"Just give it here!" She said, the dagger was in her hand in an instant.

"What the-how did you do that?" He asked, befuddled at how fast she was able to unarm him.

"Easy, just like that." She said as a blue light formed over it, then water covered it. "There, now you can hit them with water." She said as she tossed it to him.

"Oooo, now I can give my enemy a shower before I kill them, what an astronomical step up." The sarcasm in his voice really boiled the blood under her skin, but she didn't show it.

"That's all you're getting from me so get over it, or if you want I'll hold onto that too." Then he'd be left weaponless, that wasn't going to help him.

"I think I'm going to hold onto it." He said in a jerkish voice.

"I thought so." She said confidently, knowing he didn't have a choice.

"We're waisting time, can we get a move on, I'm really interested in seeing what's on the other side." Finally, with so much time being waisted they walk in. The immediate crowd of people at the gate overwhelmed him, everyone bumped into each other, he could easily be snatched if he isn't careful.

"Come on." She said as she grabbed him by the wrist and began to walk toward the crowd.

"Really, you're just gonna walk right on in?" He asked, reluctant to go, he didn't like to be closed in on like that, he would have been just fine with waiting on her to to go in and come back when she was done.

"Yeah, it'll be fine just follow me." She responds, tugging him through hordes of mostly civilians, he knew he wasn't safe anymore, not only was he bound by his capture, far a away from or unsure about the place, but at any moment she, without any warning will kill him.

"You know what, I don't see why we're even here."

"We're on the hunt for the hostile guilds that roam around here, the first on our objective is Blooded Souls, too many people have gone missing, most likely they were ambushed an brought into their worm holes." The density of the crowd lessened as they moved further into the empire. "Thing is, we have no idea where they are, how they choose their targets or how they ambush them."

"SO WE'RE WAISTING MY TIME, NICE, JUST NICE." He said, speaking in all caps just to annoy her, however she seemed unfazed as she tugged him.

"It's not exactly a waist of time, in a few days of investigation we'll figure out their patterns and afterwards we'll figure out how to apprehend them."

"Are we going to have to do all of this?" She thinks about it for a minute.

"Not alone, we have a few agents scattered all over." She made hand motions to help her explanation,"I will admit the odds of us succeeding are slim but the only consequences are either them making sure that we don't find them or we die."

"Sounds simple enough, but how long will it take for those agents of yours to find a lead and to be honest with you this isn't exactly my most strongest suit, I'm not exactly the type of guy that will go on a goose hunt for a group of murderers at that, I'd rather they come for me."

"Ha, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"I nabbed you in a split second and made it back to base without you even so much as putting up a fight."

"You were lightning fast, and we were out numbered." The crowd suddenly became thin without him being aware of it. "And besides, this time it will be different, I'll be expecting them to try and kidnap me."

"I don't think pre-knowledge would help in anyway, I'd just let you know when you're going to loose." She said in an assured voice as if she knew how it would go.

"Oh really, well how about we settle this over a duel, if I win I---Ugh!" He grunts as the girl hits him in the stomach before he can react.

"See, you don't stand a chance." Knelt to the ground he struggles to return to his feet.

"You're just one person, there's no way that everyone is as strong as you."

"We don't know that, so it's too risky to say."

"Well then how do you suppose we find out, simply by waiting?"

"Actually by action, but we're going to wait most of the time."

"Ha, good luck with that, but I'm not a hero, have fun with that." He said as he waved.

"Have you forgotten that seal on your chest, I can kill you at any time, remember?" He stops dead in his tracks, she was right, at any moment in time she could kill him.

"Fine, but I won't be very helpful considering this isn't how I operate."

"Doesn't matter, I have to keep an eye on you, captain's orders."

"Ok, we've talked enough, now let's get started." Adam responds, trying to get on with the mission.

"Right, ok let's get moving." They begin to walk again.

"Hey you there, are you Elizabeth from the Hero's creed?" She looks to her side. "We figured out where they've been hiding!"

"What, go on then, where are they?" She asked, pleased that she had skipped the hard part of the mission.

"They're held up beneath us, in underground caves." She face-palms herself, shakes her head then takes a deep breath that was later followed with a sigh.

"We already know that," She responded almost frustrated,"It's too risky to go down there and search for them without knowing exactly where they are."

"Yeah but you're really strong, you could easily take them down, however..." He goes to whisper in her ear, he figured it was about him but he didn't know how true his guy was but then again his gut never really was helpful.

"Of course he will," suddenly Adam fell to his knees the girl then looks at him, watching as the uncontrolled lurching from electricity running through every fiber in him he eventually lays flat."He doesn't exactly have a choice in the matter." She finished the conversation.

"Whaa... What kind of heroes are you people?" He struggles to let out, she was a mad woman, something had poisoned her mind to make her act such a way.

"Who knows, but we're leagues better than your kind, you blood slave." 'Blood slave' meaning, he was a vicious, savage that only knew blood, he killed to please his unquenchable lust for death, chaos, fear, destruction, it meant that he didn't know what it truly meant to be love, that he wasn't of this world, in other words it's the greatest insult one could give to another, it also meant he had no room to talk.

"Well that's what I am, there's no looking over it but at least I accept it, you hold on to this false idea of, oh, I'm a hero, I'm here to save the world and rid the world of monsters like you, but look at how you're treating your captives, you're no more a monster than I am." She kicks him over a few times.

"I'm way different, I'm better than you, I will treat you anyway I want you trash. I don't go around aimlessly killing innocent people, taking money from them and burning down their homes." She then stomps on his chest.

"We don't kill innocent unless they have price on their head, we only take from them to help boost our power, even if it's in the slightest, not to mention my people have taken an empire, nothing bad has happened, that's because our organization only wants power and money."

"Well if that were true then my parents would still be alive!" The argument halted for a few seconds." Seventeen years ago they were killed by your people and I hade to watch as the beat them, brutally hacked at them and torture them until they died."

"You know we weren't the only organization back then right? There were once many different organizations, guilds, small groups of criminals, we were only Six people at that time, I was a baby and we only committed crimes in the dark so if it was us you would have never known, you know what this is, misplaced anger."

"....Well you people are all the same anyway and my mission is to eradicate all of you... So it really doesn't matter anyway."

"It doesn't, but it does mean that as a hero you shouldn't be acting the way we act or you'd just be labeled in the same category as us, as heroes you should strive to do better." She stayed silent for a few, then finally,

"I guess you're right... It's weird getting a lecture from someone as evil as you. Are you sure you want to be on the other team, you'd make a great member over here."

"I can't, there are things I must do, people I can leave and I must find my father." He said.

"Huh... After this mission I'm going to let you go."

"But what about my weapon?"

"You mean that sword, I'll get it for you."

"I can get it myself, if I can get it then they'll never be able to catch me."

"It's better this way."

"You know, it may be risky but I think it's worth just going under, what's the worst that could happen?"

"We both get trapped and tortured to death, then they eat us." That kind of talk gave him chills.

"You know what I think we should send in a few agents and follow behind them until they get kidnapped, then we follow the criminals to their hiding place."

"Umm... If we can find someone crazy enough to do it."

"I'll do it." A stranger called out. "I thinks it's about time they were wiped out."

"I'm going." She suddenly snatched him up.

"Just no, why would you even trust a stranger, I could understand if he was an agent, but he's just flat out, a stranger. He could be one of them, you never know."

"Even better, he can take us right to them."

"You know Iiiiiiim-right here, right?"

"And what are the odds of him not double crossing us?"

Well then we should get everybody from the guild together, go in and take them all by surprise."

"Good idea." She then places her index and middle finger to he ear, a few seconds later a rift opens up in front of them and the remaining four members walk through.

"What just happened?"

"None of your business blood slave." The captain answered him.

"Well can we get a move on, the sooner we get this over with, the better."

"Shit up kid, I'm the only one allowed to give orders."

"And you sure do a terrible job at giving them." He retorted, provoking him to strike, this time he was ready though, with an instinctive somersault backwards he completely dodges the attack.

"You pest, I hope you betray us so I can kill you!"

"Well good luck trying, you don't stand a chance agains me."

[Adam]

"Alright kid, you'll see right after we clear the souls from their hiding grounds."

"Fine, I can wait." He said as he shrugged, there was no point in lowering himself at the moment, there were more important matters. "But I'll let you all do most of the work considering my situation." He held his dagger in such a way that it explained he was at a disadvantage.

"Fine, you're in the back, Gina you're on point."

"So how are we going to go in the hideout, is their a way near by?"

"Nope, we're going in through the urine hole."

"What!?" Everyone asked.

"I have a better idea." Fiona said.

"And what might that be?"

"We can go to the outer entrance, I can bring us there." She said as she open a rift in the middle of the air. Adam hesitated for a second but after seeing everyone else go in he decided to follow them. Upon stepping in he instantly felt sick, like gravity was pushing and pulling from every direction, speaking of direction he was unable to call his left from his right and vise versa.

By the time Fiona opened a portal to the other side he had completely spilled his guts onto the ground. The captain looked at him, pointed then laughed. "Ha, figures you'd be all talk but no show."

"You say that but I bet you did the same thing your first time."

"No I didn't, I held myself together."

"That's not true, you hurled everything you had your first time."

"Shut up, I was sick and I had too much to eat." Adam gives him that look that will spark fire in anyone's eyes. "Aye, what are you looking at blood slave?!?!" There are few things that boils his blood, calling him a murder fanatic was one of them.

"If you want I can spill your blood with this dagger, how would you like that?"

"Aaaaaaah!!!" The red head guy yelled as he stomps the ground, he instantly lights up like a torch. "Can you two calm down long enough to get this job done!?" The two looked at each other, then looked in a direction opposite of each other.

"Let's go." The captain said as everyone went in, the nose pinching smell of waste brushes up against them. Swear words leave the mouth of two, though he knew not who it was that swore.

After a while of traveling the light began to dim down, the torches became more set apart from each other, he knew something was up, that's when a ball of light pops out of the blue. "Sorry, forgot you guys couldn't see in the dark." She said in such a boring voice.

"I don't think we can find them like this, we would spend the whole week searching." The fire Mage spoke.

"Nope." Fiona said as she shoots out a field of dark energy that travels through the tunnel for as far as he can see. "There they are, the central point of the kingdom."

"But that's right below the king, for what reason would they be there unless...." Eric paused. "We may just have a problem here, either they plan on attacking the king himself or they are working for the king."

"Well would you look at that, the king himself, that's so satisfying." Adam said chucking.

"We don't know if that's true." Elizabeth said."That's why we need to find out." After they had walked a while longer they approached a barricade where two men stood guard. The captain raised his arm to a horizontal position with an open hand facing them, this meant for them to stop.

"Alright, Gina you know what to do."

"Right." She said as she pulled out two arrows and attached a rope as well as paralysis to one of them. Gina takes a deep breath then let's both arrows strike at the same time. The first arrow hits a man in the arm, the second one hits the other between the eyes.

Eric then grabs the rope and pulls in the man who couldn't fight back even if he wanted to. He then strips the man of his cloths while Fiona puts her hand over both Adam and the paralyzed guard's head.

Adam then feels foreign memories enter and intermingle with his own until they felt like he actually had those thing happen to him, but at the same time he felt like they were foreign to him.

"Alright, he's got it all." Fiona said as she removed both hands from their heads.

"Alright good, Adam I want you to take these cloths, go in and find the leader, then I want you to kill him."

"With this thing?" He pulls out the dagger.

"No with this." He throws him the dead guard's battle ax. His initial thought when the ax was thrown to him was the size of it, second, the cloths were extremely baggy and uncomfortable, last, that ax was pretty heavy and left him at a disadvantage.

"That's a terrible idea..." He said.

"Well you better make it a good one." Eric said.

[Adam]

"Are you serious?"

"Go" everyone yells at him.

"Fine, my blood is on your hands."

"Your blood is valueless." Eric said.

The door was only a few feet away and all he had to do was walk in, hopefully the cloths (as baggy as they were) wouldn't make him stand out. As he reluctantly slips pass the door he walks into an open cave. There were three directions that seemingly went in the same direction, he chose the widest path down the middle. "Psst" His head turned sharply to his left.

"Who's there?" A figures head becomes visible.

"It's me, I'm going to be watching your back while Fiona is watching us both."

"Well where is she?"

"She's with the group at the front door."

"But--"

"Never mind that, we have a mission to complete so let's hurry up and complete it."

"Right, I don't like it down here... Who knows what we'll find if we wait long enough." The two are alerted by the sound of footsteps, the girl returns the rest of her body to an invisible state and hides into the darker edge of the path. As they look further down they can see a light getting closer and closer until three men armed to the teeth were visible.

"Ey, brother, what are you doing down here by yourself, off guard duty at that." A man with a heavy voice said to him, for once in his life he felt his heart drop from his chest to stomach and leap back up to his throat, he remained dead silent.

"I think he's sick, he's sweating like a little puppy." One of them took a step closer and inspected him.

"He looks fine to me." He said.

"Eh, let's go grab something to eat, I'm starving."

"Yeah, I'd like something to eat, so who are we eating today?"

"I don't know, today's special serving."

"Well I suppose it wouldn't matter what we're eating anyway, as long as food is being made ready." As the distance between them grows his ability to hear them lessened.

The two continued down the path hoping to locate and kill the guy they were looking for. As he walked the path he felt off, like his body was being dragged in all directions by forces unknown, he started thinking. "My entire life has been centered around murder, theft and destruction, is that really all there is to life?" He asked himself out loud.

"Life isn't just about murder," A man said as he walked out of the shadows."It's just all that's left for people like you and I." He looked in the direction of the voice to see a heavy build, six foot man with a large beard and a scar that covered the left side of his face, from the looks of it someone had ripped the skin right off of him.

"Who's like us?" The man asked, Adam suddenly felt the need to let out those words, if he truly was like him then he'd know the answer. The man clinches his fist and proudly places it on his chest.

"DAMN few!" The tone in his voice suggested that he's been experienced a major amount of trauma in his life."And they're all DEAD." He placed enfaces on dead simply because he's seen a more than the years in his life whether it be him taking a life or watching a life be taken away.

"Ya got that right..." He said, he started feeling empathy for the guy, they're both on the same boat, it's no wonder how he was able to carry on.

"I just hope my turn comes soon, I don't think I have the will to keep going.. If only--" His words stop short as three arrows, all three hitting vital points of the man. Adam caught him as he fell to the ground.

"Rest easy brother, your misery has been released..." He gets up, readies his ax and decapitates the man.

[Adam]

"Well that takes care of him, what now?"

"I don't know, honestly I figured it'd be much harder than this.. I guess we should finish off the rest of them."

"Sure, why not.. I'm ready whenever you are."

"We're going back to get the rest of the group." Adam spots a sword on the ground the smirks as he says.

"Actually I'll go on ahead, you go back and get them." He says as he drops the axe for the sword but doesn't dare drop the dagger as it could still be useful to him.

"I don't think so." Gina aims her arrows at him,"Don't make me do this, especially since I think you can actually turn out to be a decent guy."

"Hey-hey, just wait a minute, you don't have to get all violent, I know I'm beat anyway, I only needed a sword anyway... I'm ready to go."

"Alright," She smiles, letting down her bow, placing the arrow back where it belonged."I really didn't want to kill you, it would of sucked." Adam draws a blank face as he's not sure how to feel about how she quickly changed moods like that. As they walked a few feet he decided to shoot a question her way.

"Were you recalling going to kill me?"

"I would have subdued you, like I said I didn't really want to kill you."

"Well thank you for your.. Thanks for believing in me?" He said unsure, shrugging as they made it to the door.

"We got the guy, but we figure maybe we should finish the rest of them off, what do you think Eric?"

"I think you should of sent Adam here to take care of it."

"That's what I said!" He gave a smug look at Gina."I told you it would have been better if you left me."

"Then you would be left to fight alone, I'm sorry to say but you don't stand a chance against them."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because we kidnapped you while you were cautious, that says a lot about your skills."

"I'm a lot better than you think, you just caught me off guard.. That's all it was." Fiona puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Look I'm sure you can hold your a fairly good swordsmen but even you have meet your match here, these people are long time war veterans and hardcore criminals who've been doing this for many years... Trust me, you're better off with us." When he thought about it it made sense, it was always Alice who was always beating him in spars, infact it was her who trained him. He could probably assume that they were as good as her.

"Fine, well then lets get this over with." He said.

"That won't be necessary, we'll get our support members to take care of it, we need to get you better prepared for what's coming."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're going to help us liberate the rest of this empire, we still have unnamed organizations that must be eliminated.. They likely won't be too much of a challenge so we'll leave you up to it."

"Yeah, I can handle--"

"After we put you through basic training, we can't have you falling prey to them under our care, other wise we would be good heroes."

"I don't need training, I just need my sword!" He said bluntly, he was much better than he was a few months ago, of course he lacked in the unarmed fighting department.

"We will see, after we put you in the camp, unless you know you won't make it." She looks at him patronizingly. "Are you submitting to us by any chance?"

"To hell with that, I'm just not going to go through it."

Elizabeth puts her hand on his shoulder."Hey, look at it like this, if you do it you'll get your sword back." She said winking, it must have been a hint of some sort.

"Fine, I'll do it, but only for--"

"Hang on a minute." Eric said."There's no way I'll let him have his sword, he'll escape from us." The girl looks back then lift Adam's shirt.

"Do you really believe that, I have him under control."

"You can say that because of this seal, you don't really own me, I could do whatever I want..."

"Really?"

"Aaah!" He yelled as he violently shook to the ground, her lightning spell was so strong.

"You'll submit eventually, either that or," She slams her foot on him."I'll give up and just go ahead and kill you." She said as she zapped him again, this time being worst than the last, it was bad to the point where he thought he was going to die.

"Whatever, let's just get him in there." Eric said as he walked to a base in Divine blade, everyone but Liz follows behind him.

"Ok, let's go." She grabs him by the waist and takes off. He couldn't help but notice that people were always carrying him places, it was understandable to him, he was powerless at the moment. When they made it to the front of the camp she looked at him and said,"Alright, here we go, if you need anything you should ask my now or for ever hold your peace." She uses the attraction power of her lightning power to retrieve the sword.

"Hey, what are you doing!?"

"You don't need this." She takes the dagger too. "Or that."

"Well what is this camp for?"

"To bring you up to par, you'll be able to take out those smaller, unnamed guilds/organizations/groups."

-continued in new thread

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