The Abandoned Warehouse District, Monday Afternoon

[anarchist_queen]

The search for the Lost Heir of Faery had cost many their lives. And it had unutterably altered many others, not the least of which was that of the heir herself. For Crystaviel, it had consumed a large portion of her adult life. And it had finally come to an end on an island in the Mortal Realm. She had the child, and they could put all this behind them, and get on with the job of preparing the next Queen of the Elves for her future.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

	Sciblits had followed when his mistress had been taken, and noted to where. Now he stopped outside the building once more, and looked back at those it had led here. So, now with the daring rescue right? Or was he gonna have to gore a bitch?
	James cursed. He was following some sort of deer and coney cross with an impressive set of antlers. This was not something he expected, but he appreciated the company.
	Blossom had no problem following a small animal to a criminal's evil lair. She'd done it back home, after all. But she did really really wish she could speak bunny... bunny-deer? Bundeer? Just to be sure that the... deebbit? was leading them to Leda. "A warehouse. Why do they always use warehouses?" She muttered as she landed softly beside James. "Have you even done this before? Rescuing someone who's been kidnapped, I mean?"
	He grinned, more of a baring of teeth than an actual smile. "I have. Several times." He was glad it was not his warehouse, else he'd lose out on some valuable items hidden inside. Flying hyper girls. He was trying to ignore that part of this rescue mission. "Warehouses. Big building, lost of storage. Fortunately for us, many places to wriggle through if you know how. Shall we take a look?"
	Several times? Good. She wouldn't have to worry too much about him, then. "We need to make sure she's really here." Blossom considered it for a moment, then nodded. "We should scout around for a window or something, try to see inside. That way we can also see if there are any traps or extra guards that we need to be careful of." "How about you go around that side of the building and I'll go this way. Meet back here?" She hoped she could trust him not to go in alone. She totally didn't want to rescue two people.
	"I can," he said, looking the building over without moving for easily accessible windows or loose bits of the warehouse's metal skin. "Do you know traps?" he asked. He would not want to rescue two people because of a blundered trap.
	"I've been doing this for a few years now?" Blossom rolled her eyes at him and jumped backwards into the air. "I mean, it totally depends on the trap, but I know what the inside of a warehouse is supposed to look like. See you in a few minutes! Be careful not to get caught."
	For James, a trap was most likely a poisoned needle triggered when a lockpicking went awry, or a section of ceiling collapsing. Traps set by people, possibly anthropomorphic snakes, but never by monkeys. This was more likely a weight crashing or something magical, which James could not detect nor defend against. He narrowed his eyes as he started a scan of the building, moving slowly and noiselessly. Loose piece of sheet metal here... and lots of windows above ground...
	Crystaviel stepped out of the room where she'd put Scent of Heather, or Leda or whatever she was calling herself these days to make a sweep of the building. Being in a Mortal realm wigged her out. But at least magic worked here. Now if she could just get hold of portalocity and see what was keeping the portal back home.
	Blossom's search of the building was quickly fruitful; there was a series of small windows along one side of the building and she flew quickly to the highest one. Peering in did little to help, though, as the warehouse floor held only a few scattered boxes. The window itself, though was a help. They could totally use it to get in, if James didn't find something better. She finished her side of the building, finding only one other view into the building. But now she knew there was at least one door leading off to another room, and Blossom flew back to the meeting place to share her information.
	James slowly, quietly, patiently pulled at a seam of the siding, his other hand holding his dagger in an easy grip should he need it. With a bit of work, he could squeeze inside, but first... Boxes. Ceiling. Typical warehouse fare. The shadows moved, and James froze, breathing slowly as to not reveal his position.
	Blossom waited at the meeting spot, growing more upset as the minutes passed. Surely he hadn't gone in alone. He'd said he'd done this before, so he totally knew that was a bad idea, right? She'd give him another minute. ... ten seconds later she was in the air flying off around his side of the warehouse and, finally, landing beside him. She tapped his shoulder to let him know she was there.
	He caught her reflection in his dagger but did not move for several long seconds. When he did move, it was slow and deliberate, pulling his head out of the fissure in the building to look at his flying compatriot. With hand gestures, he indicated someone was walking inside the building.
	Blossom frowned. They couldn't plan using hand gestures! She motioned and stepped back a few feet, hoping he'd follow her and they could decide their next moves by whispering.
	James repressed both a sigh and an eyeroll as he moved away from the building. "There's at least one person moving inside, and it feels like a trap. It could be magic." He hated to admit he could not detect magic, just his bump of trouble acting up.
	"Magic." Blossom frowned. "I could see through some windows, but all I saw was a regular warehouse floor. Well there was a door that looked like it may lead to another room, but I didn't see any people guarding anything or anyone. If there's magic instead, that totally makes sense." But Blossom was totally not a hero of Magic. "Do you think we have time to go back and get someone to help?"
	"I don't want to waste the time," James said, frowning as well. "Small numbers sometimes have better success than an army." The trek for Silverthorn was proof of that.
	Blossom frowned but nodded. She wanted to get Karla or someone familiar with magic to help, but they didn't know how much time they had or what the person was doing with Leda... "We should probably separate, then. Unless you can deactivate any magic? That way at least one of us has a chance to get through and rescue Leda."
	"I cannot. I can run fast, though," he said with a bitter smile. "Can you fight? If you can hold your own in battle, I can sneak through here," he said, indicating the loose siding, "and grab the girl as you distract whomever is inside." He peered up at the window. "If I were to kidnap someone, I'd ward the doors and windows, maybe post guards. I might not notice another entry." Loose siding was better than skulking up from the sewers...
	Hmm. Blossom had been about to suggest that one of them check to see if there was a sewer entrance into maybe a basement or something, but James' idea, as much as she hated to admit it, sounded good. "Okay. I'll go in through one of the upper windows, that way, if they're booby-trapped, I will be pulling the guards further away." She shook a finger at James. "If you get Leda, run. Go back to the dorms. Fast. She'll be safe there."
	He gave her a salute. "Meet you back at the dorms. I'm in 319. I may have others with me." He knew a few people he could call on to help defend, if need be. "Good luck. Be safe."
	"Don't worry about me; this is my job." Blossom grinned encouragingly at him as she jumped backwards into the air. "I'll see you back there. Be careful."
	"I will." He said a quick prayer to Bananth to preserve this humble sometime thief, and moved to his entrance.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

	Blossom left James to finish working his way in through the siding and flew back to the side with the high-placed window. She took another quick look and still didn't see any guards or obvious traps. Still, better safe than sorry, so she flew back into some cover and pulled out her phone. She left a brief message for Dinah and another for Jaime, then pocketed it and, with her arms covering her face, she flew feet first into the highest window. Diversion time! If there wasn't any magical signal going off, the sound of the crashing should have alerted someone that she was here.
	Crystaviel looked up in annoyance. The crashing glass added to the banshee wail of her ward charm both alerted her to the intrusion. There was always something wasn't there. "Mortals."
	James did not facepalm at the sound of the shattering window nor make any outward acknowledgment. It was a close thing, however. He focused on the siding, slowly and quietly prying it away enough for a teen boy to pass through. He did not move, aside from his eyes, waiting for his vision to adjust to the interior. His ears needed no adjustment, hearing Blossom quite clearly as she announced herself. Well. She was an adequate distraction. On to find his quarry.
	Florida wished she could see what had made all that noise. It sounded like one of her friends had found her. Which would be good if she wasn't afraid that the woman who'd taken her would kill them.
	Well if she was going to be a distraction, she was totally going to distract. "Helllloooo?" Blossom called as she hung in mid-air, shaking off extra shards of glass. Ow! Was that a cut on her arm? "I believe you have a friend of mine here and I'm here to take her back home!"
	"Home? What do you know of her home? You can't even get there." A fact which Crystaviel was eternally grateful. Bad enough their influence was infecting the borderlands. Terrific. A mortal with super powers. The idea was disgusting to the Elf Woman. It was like when they used magic. Un. Natural.
	"Her home is wherever she wants it to be." Blossom looked to try to find the person who was speaking. Hopefully they wouldn't have Leda with them as a shield or something. She and James totally hadn't thought of that. "And right now, she wants to be with us. And we want her back, so let her go!"
	Crystaviel hadn't quite been hiding, but there were some old crates and things that could obstruct people's view. She stepped out to get a better view, and a clearer shot of the intruder. "Scent of Heather never did know what was good for her." she sneered. "But out of respect for her, I'll give you a chance to walk away."
	James prayed to Bananth, the God of Thieves, that Momoko kept whoever busy long enough to get his part through. After a few moments of searching, he discovered a small, mute elf girl. "Leda. Over here." He frowned. Something about her looked different...
	At the whisper, Florida turned her head. Though scared, hope flared in her eyes, but she didn't move. The glow of the medallion grew brighter whenever she tried.
	Quick as a cat, James was at her side, looking at the medallion with a look of anger on his face. Not wanting to touch it directly, he picked up a short plastic pipe with scrap of cloth and gently brought the end of it under the necklace to start looping it over Leda's head. Glowing things were bad, in his experience.
	"I don't know who Heather is, but I'm not leaving without Leda." Blossom had her yo-yo out as soon as the woman stepped into view. "I don't want to hurt you, so just give up now and we can be on our way!" What? It might work! Blossom had to give her the chance!
	What in the world was that mortal holding? She knew there were some strange weapons out here in the World, but that didn't look like anything she'd seen. Crystaviel sighed in frustration, and spoke a single word in Elvish. A ball of magical fire shot from her hands towards the intruder.
	"Waah!" Blossom dodged the fireball and turned to glare at the woman. "I guess that means no." She threw her yo-yo at a stack of large cartons nearby, dislodging the top one and sending it towards the kidnapper.
	What the- Crystaviel dove to the side, dodging the falling crate. Some kind of bolo thing? She focused her energy on another crate, behind Blossom. She sent it flying at the girl.
	The look of fear left Florida's face as he began to remove the medallion. She had figured out it was this that was holding her here. She managed to lower her head, hopefully making it easier to slip it off.
	After a few tense moments, the squire had the cursed thing off her neck and tossed onto the floor. He looked at the girl, as if asking id she was all right, or wondering if he should smash the necklace.
	Florida leaped from the chair, looking like she didn't know whether to hug James, or find something sharp and go after the woman responsible for all this. But even as she stood, looking in the direction of the fight, she began to change.
	And where little Florida had been standing, a just as angry and determined Leda had taken her place.
	The crate struck Blossom from behind, forcing her forward a few feet before Blossom could push herself up and over the thing. She lassoed it with her yo-yo and then sent it flying back to the woman. "Package denied; return to sender!" T
	Crystaviel didn't know anything about the mortal postal system, so sadly that witty bit of banter went right over her head. She leaped up, muttering a spell to make her light as a feather, and flipped over the incoming missile. "You're meddling in affairs that don't concern you Mortal!"
	"If you kidnap a friend of mine, I'm going to be concerned!" Crazy flying elf woman better dodge this next one that's coming at her, too! "And it's not meddling, it's rescuing!" Or, rather, it's trying to distract while someone else rescues. Teamwork, and all that.
	Potato, potahto. The next spell sent the crate careening back at Blossom, and another one from the side, just for good measure.
	James stood, his mouth open, at the transformation of his elfin friend. "You okay?"
	Leda spun impulsively, hugging him. Then even more impulsively she kissed him. Pulling back, she took a centering breath. "Yeah I'm okay."
	James grinned and hugged her back, happy that she was back to normal...or as normal as one can be after being forcibly youthenized by evil jewelry. "Good. Don't do that again," he said, absently wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Next time you get kidnapped, we won't come for you. Now. Are we going to let that bossy redhead have all the fun out there?" he said, gesturing towards Momoko with a head nod.
	Blossom dropped altitude, letting the cartons collide above her. Which was a much cooler move in her head than in reality, since now she had a shower of splintered wood and fluffy stuffed bunnies raining down on her. She took a few blows before she could float sideways and away. She lassoed some of the toys and, spinning, sent them at her foe. Sure it wouldn't hurt the crazy lady any, but Blossom wasn't sure how much more time she needed to give James for the actual rescue part of this plan. They totally should have arranged for a signal or something.
	Crystaviel didn't have time for this! The energy needed, coupled with her anger both contributed to the volume with which she recited her next spell. A maelstrom of crates and old toys headed for Blossom.
	Blossom looked up. She was already getting her yo-yo around another crate when she heard two of the incoming crates grate against each other. "Eh!!!" She flung her crate at the maelstrom and managed to break up the first two giant cartons, but the rest came at her non-stop and she slammed against the wall behind the large pile. "Who keeps this many stupid crates in an abandoned warehouse anyway?!" Blossom hollered as she set about trying to unpin her arms and kick away the boxes.
	Leda tried not to be insulted at the wiping of the mouth. "No. No we're not."
	Sorry, Leda, but James has a .... Helen. It's complicated. "Let's go talk to your old friend, shall we?" His grin was more a baring of teeth than something joyful. Bad Things were going to happen.
	Oh Leda was fine with the admonition not to kiss him again. But the mouth wiping...was not important right now. Leda stooped to pick up the medallion, which had ceased to glow. She looked at it for a moment. It was indeed, her family's seal. It might have belonged to her parents as the letter had claimed. That just pissed her off all the more. "Oh yes. Crystaviel and I need to have a long talk."
	"I would hate to miss that talk," he said, holding an arm out--for assistance, for another hug--as he grinned.
	Crystaviel didn't care why all these crates were in here. She was just glad they were. She didn't intend to give this girl a chance to get free. She stalked towards the pinned girl, one hand going to the blade sheathed at her side. But before she got there, a voice brought her up short.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

	“Crystaviel.” Leda stood behind her captor, face calm but determined. Her hands rested at her sides, one holding the medallion. “We need to talk.”
	Crystaviel turned, her eyes wide for a moment, then her face settled into a mask of calm. Damn, damn, damn. She'd so hoped it wouldn't come to this. But now there was no other choice. “Scent of Heather, this isn't how it looks.”
	“Really? 'Cause it looks like you're up to the same tricks you were up to when I was a kid.”
	Crystaviel frowned. “Oh.”
	“Yeah. Oh. They didn't tell you? I remember everything. I remember it was Corwyn who had my parents killed. I remember you hunting me through the streets of Bordertown, being locked in a cage, your little tug-o-war game with me as the rope. And I remember you pretending to be my friend when I grew up. Everything.”
	Crystaviel's face fell, and she gave a heavy sigh of genuine regret. Then she blasted Leda through the window.
	Leda had barely enough time to throw her arms up in front of her and erect a shield before the impact of the magical blast hurled her through the air. She felt the heat of it regardless, almost searing her hands. And she felt the window shatter behind her as she flew through it. She grunted as she hit the pavement outside, broken glass biting into her back. She thanked the Gods for her leather jacket, guessing the damage would have been far more severe without it.
	She didn't have much time to recover however. Suddenly Crystaviel was at her side. Her supposed friend grabbed her by said jacket, hauling her to her feet.
	The former founder of the Strange Pupae's fingers found a shard of glass before she left the ground. It wasn't her knife, but it would do. Swiftly, she used a move learned from Faith's summer workshop, and freed herself from Crystaviel's grasp, simultaneously slashing out with the jagged piece of window.
	Crystaviel jerked back, chopping at Leda's wrist, and jabbing with her other hand towards her throat.
	Leda danced to the side, ignoring the pain of gripping the sharp edges of her improvised blade. Another slash caught the retreating hand, drawing blood.
	Crystaviel hissed, and thrust out again with a magic blast.
	This time Leda was ready for her and countered with a blast of her own. The two combatants were thrown several feet from each other. Leda rolling with the impact, Crystaviel landing on her feet.
	“I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this Scent of Heather.” she said. As Leda rolled to her feet, she drew a long thin blade from her belt. “If we could have gotten you when you were a child, we could have saved you. Raised you. Molded you into the kind of leader the True Realm needs.”
	Leda sneered, eying the blade warily. This was the same kind of blade that had killed her father. Thrust through the peephole of their hotel room when he looked through it. “Brainwash me you mean.”
	“Educate you.” Crystaviel corrected, looking offended. “Save you from yourself.” She lunged forward, feinting.
	Leda fell for the feint, but didn't move in the direction Crystaviel expected. She'd been supposed to jump back, but instead she spun to the side, rending a hole in the older Elf woman's sword arm with her glass dagger. The sword clattered to the ground, and Leda was rewarded with a cry of pain. But she wasn't done yet. She kept moving, driving her elbow into the back of Crystaviel's neck. She stumbled forward, and Leda pressed the advantage, attempting to drive her head first into the wall of the warehouse.
	But Crystaviel leaped, pushing off against the wall with her feet, flipping over her friend's head.
	“Must've freaked you the hell out when you found out the one you were looking for was right under your nose the whole time.” Leda said, whirling around, throwing the glass blade with unerring aim.
	Had it struck home the fight would have ended right there, but once again Crystaviel was too fast. She batted the shard aside and slashed out with a spell that knocked Leda off her feet, spinning uncontrollably through the air, across the street.
	She heard and felt something give in her left arm when she landed.
	“You have no idea.” Crystaviel answered. She dashed across the road to where Leda was struggling to her feet. “I couldn't credit it. The Lost Heir was only four or five years old, and yet there was this girl in the showers with the same birthmark.”
	Leda held her injured arm close to her, but caught Crystviel by surprise with a head butt that sent her staggering back. A round house kick knocked her off her feet into the sand at the edge of the road. “And that's why you pretended to be my friend. Made sure I stayed hooked on Peca. Gave me the paste when the drink wouldn't do it for me. If you couldn't convert me you'd destroy me. Make it look like self destruction.”
	Why just throw sand in someone's face when you can use magic to create a dust devil? Leda was engulfed in flying sand, driving her back. “I told you, I hoped it wouldn't come to that. I cared for you Scent of Heather, I truly did.”
	“That's not my name!” Leda snarled, diving blindly for her assailant.
	One heavy boot flew out, catching Leda in her injured arm, aggravating the break. Leda howled with pain, and fell back. “Whatever.” Crystaviel's boot struck again at Leda's head as she tried to get to her feet. “I wanted to get you as a child so I wouldn't have to destroy you. I told you this was a last chance for both of us. If I fail this time Lord Corwyn will have my head. If I cannot bring you to him as a child, then he must have yours.” Another kick, bashing Leda's ribs, and knocking her onto her back. She gazed down at the heir to the throne of Faery sadly. Her affection for Leda, and her hope that she could be spared this fate was genuine. But she loved her country and she couldn't allow anyone, not even the rightful ruler to soil it with Mortal influences. As Leda tried to sit up, cursing, Crystaviel magically sent her sliding backwards through the sand to the water's edge. With preternatural speed, she dashed to her side, and grabbing her shoulders, she shoved the girl under the surface of the water.
	For a moment, Leda floated in blind panic. She automatically tried to scream, allowing water to fill her mouth and flood into her lungs.
	“I'm told it's not so bad if you don't fight it!” Crystaviel advised, shoving harder.
	Leda's feet kicked wildly and her vision began to fade. Then her flailing fingers found a piece of driftwood, and she swung it into Crystaviel's head, once, twice, three times. Crystaviel fell back, and Leda flung herself weakly from the waves, coughing and retching. Her ribs stung her half drowned lungs with every labored breath, and her broken arm throbbed. Blood trickled into her eyes. She had only once chance.
	Crystaviel's head swam, pain almost making her lose consciousness. She had to finish this quickly. She muttered a spell even as she heaved herself to her feet. Her sword appeared in her hand. Too late she heard the end of the same spell from Leda.
	The future queen of Faerie rolled onto her back, wiping blood from her eyes with her broken arm. The gun went off once, twice, three times.
	Crystaviel felt each impact like a kick from a Mule. She stared down at the three holes in her chest, then looked at Leda in shock and horror.
	A mortal weapon? She was to be brought low by a Mortal weapon? The insult was almost worse than the injury! She struggled forward, seeing the muzzle of the pistol flash again. Something stung her shoulder, but she kept moving. She must not fail. If she must die in such a degraded fashion, at least her last act would be the saving of her people.
	Leda couldn't back up, her legs wouldn't obey her commands. She could only fire again and again as her enemy staggered doggedly towards her. The last shot threw off Crystaviel's aim so that her dying thrust ran her not through her throat as intended, but through her right shoulder, pinning her to the ground.
	Leda screamed, both from the stab, and from a dead body landing on her broken arm.
	She tried to rise, and could not. Her head swam, and she collapsed onto her back. “Ow.”

[This post is rated PG-13 due to violence. Actually open for anyone drawn by the sounds of battle, but mostly for James and Momoko, who by the way have my profound thanks for their help in pre-playing this all out. Also welcome are oocs. ETA: Warning, NPC character death.]