Operation Stone Prophet (Vetrov/Paresse/Invite)

The whisper of suppressor echoed out quickly from the shadow of the ancient catacombs beneath Rome. After hours of slowly making their way through the mostly cleared tunnels beneath the Italian capitol. With a hiss and the thud of a dispatched demon the four Templar stepped out of the gloom and darkness into the Great Undercroft. The Inferis version of Rome was nothing like it's real world self. It was a place of gloom and violence. The four moved quickly to hard cover and overlapping firing positions. Each looked to the other, with a quick nod the four moved out. Like shadows in the world of shadow the Templar moved. they stepped silently through the streets. Avoiding the wick patrols and writhing things lost in their own despair. This was not a place for life. The squadron of Templar quickly swept into an abandoned building. It looked to be a ruinous version of a shop, or home. It was hard to tell in it's current state. Dust hovered in the air. now swirled after years of never being disturbed. Every surface of the room was covered in a thick layer of gray dust. The squad moved to each corner of the room. Each choosing a choosing an entrance, two windows and two doors, and covering them. The only woman among them peered through her IR goggles at the rear entrance, breaths slowly and softly exiting her gas mask. The silence of the four was broken only by a whisper. The soft and serious voice of Sister Vetrov crackled through the front of her re-breather.
"Remember why we are here. The fate of our brothers hangs in the balance."
"Why are we even here?" spoke up a somewhat small man with his assault rifle trained on what would be a Western facing window, "We have no idea if the other team is still alive."
"We received a distress call from Hotel team and we can not ignore them." her tone was harsh, she had no time for questioning orders, "If they are dead then we will retrieve their copses and give them a proper funeral. No brother is left to rot in Hell."
That was that. The Sister was certain. Nothing would sway her resolve and these men knew it. They were here on a retrieval OP.
Just then a sound pierced the otherwise unloving blanket of silence in the room. The horrid creak of hinges as the back door swung open. Every gun barrel was trained on the entrance Each Templar holding their breath and waiting for contact. After all, no mission went smoothly. No one fired though, instead each was struck with the image before them. Not one of them expected to see what walked through that door.

“any minute now…” Nyla told herself, walking sluggishly towards the door. “They should be here by now…” she told herself. Nyla was in her mortal form, so she couldn’t have any visions right now, however, she could still remember the visions she had in the past. And she knew exactly what was waiting for her behind the door.  “I don’t want to draw attention to my self… but maybe they wont suspect I’m a demon…” she muttered to herself, Gripping the door handle as pushing it open. “H..hello?” she stumbled, in all honesty she had been walking for a good hour, so the scratches on her mortals legs and the aura of weakness she was putting of was all true.  She wobbled in and couldn’t exactly stand still.

“More… People…” she muttered, faking an innocent smile then acting as if she had passed out by falling onto the ground. As she felt the vibrations of her body hitting the floor, she just kind of laid now. Not to trick anyone anymore, she was planning on getting up, however, the idea of moving made her cringe. Nyla had always been fairly lazy. As she got on her back, looking up at the ceiling, she sneezed. “why am I here?” she asked the women and the little man with the gun. She asked this, not to be deceiving, but it was an honest question. Nyla didn’t know why she was in hell, she was a fairly nice girl, she was just killed when she was 14. However, the women would have no way of knowing this. Odds are the women would take it as just a little girl asking why, or how, she ended up here.

In this horrid place how could it be that someone so young was here? Vetrov had been expecting demons, horrors, evil, anything but what walked through the door and collapsed onto the floor. Vetrov brought her left had and signaled to her three other squad mates to watch the exits. They immediately snapped to attention as she swiftly moved up next to the collapsed girl. Vetrov swung the door shut quickly and swiftly before bringing her left hand up to her re-breather in a shushing gesture. Her wrist attached chainsaw made this gesture somewhat ghoulish and the Sister moved her hand away from her face quickly after realizing the threatening nature of her appearance. The Templar slung her large rifle and then slowly moved her hands up and unclasped her gas mask. It was unlikely she would need it in this place and if she did it was simple enough to put back on. Vetrov shook out her light silvery hair and cleared her throat before speaking.
"You are in very dangerous place." her English was functional, though she still carried a powerfully thick Slovak accent. Vetrov shift so that she was crouched on the ground next to the girl and extended one gauntleted right hand, the one without a chainsaw protruding from the wrist. "Come up here. How'd you get here?" The Sister couldn't believe what she was seeing. A young girl in this place. This was already a retrieval OP, one more person couldn't hurt. At the very least she would help this girl get where ever her home was. She couldn't leave her.

Nyla just... laid there for a few minutes. Silent. She didn't feel like talking even tough the girl had asked her how she had gotten here. "How does anyone get anywhere..." she responded as she sucked in a bit of the air. "I walked?" she said, not only answering the question but asking the women as if it was an answer, or in this case she was asking if it was the correct answer. "You don't have to wait for me..." she told the women. "You aren't here for me... i can tell." She let let out a cough, this was not an act, she was actually coughing. "You should find your friends. I can find my own way home. Its not big deal." she said, putting her hand on the ground and helping herself off the ground. She let out a few more coughs as she turned back around.

"I can find my own home... really." as she continued walking forward, it hit her. Her visions usually didn't come this fast, but this one did. Sense she wasn't in her demon form, and she wasn't going to risk reveling her self to the opponent, she didn't see the vision. In stead, it felt like the inside of her head was hit by a train. She yelped in pain as she grabbed her head and struggled to stay standing. "It hurts!" she yelled in english, making sure not to yell out in demonic which she most usually did under these circumstances. She let out another yelp as she fell back, landing onto the ground and rolling around, her hands clasped over the temples of her head. "make it stop!' she shouted, a tear dripping down her cheek.

The nun watched as her hand wasn't taken. It was a symbol to Vetrov just like the gold inlays of her armor. Everyday she took extra care to polish and re-anoint her armor with holy water and renew the blessings placed on it by the Cardinals. She treated her armor better than any of her other equipment, which was saying a great deal considering she took immaculate care of her weaponry. Her armor she wore though. It was not in a holster or slung on her back. it was what stood between her and certain death. It was what kept her safe and showed her enemies that she was ready for combat. Her golden prayers and battlefield accommodations that covered her metal plates were a symbol of her dedication to God and the fight. Her armor may be steel alloy and Kevlar but it was more than that, it was her faith made manifest. This girl was a symbol as well. She was reluctant to take her hand and reluctant to take her help. She said she could tell they weren't there for her. That may have been true, and obvious, but it wasn't absolute. Vetrov had taken this mission because she believed all people were connected and equal in God's eyes. She would not leave a helpless and ill girl to die in this place. Just as she would not leave Hotel team.

Vetrov watched the girl stand, yelp and then fall again. She was grasping her head as though something were going to tear out of it. Honestly, that was a real possibility. They were in the depths of Hell after all. Demons could do horrible things here. They could give magical illness and drive good men mad. perhaps this poor girl was a victim of a demon attack. That made her both a danger and a person in need of aid. The nature of the situation was conflicting in Vetrov's silent mind. Her military back ground told her to leave. To incapacitate this girl and retrieve her later. However, the daughter of the church told her to comfort the girl. In a matter of seconds the nun inside of Vetrov won over. Vetrov slid over next to the girl and pulled her up into an embrace. "Shhhhh." she whispered to the writhing girl. "You will be okay." Vetrov stroked the girl's long hair with one of her gauntleted hands and began to hum a soothing old song. The same song her late mother used to hum to her every night before sleep.

As Nyla laid there, scratching at her head and slamming it into the ground beneath her. As she continued to scream, her eyes sealed shut, she began to feel something, or someone, patting her head. As her screaming slowly silenced, she her eyes opened wide. As tears rushed down her cheeks she tilted her head to the side. "Whats happening..." she asked the women. Nyla had never been touched before, at least not like this. From almost the moment she was old enough to talk, her parents had sent her away. A few years after that she was occurred of being a witch and murdered when she was 14. As she reached up, touching the womans hand, she looked in confusion. "W... What are you doing..." she said, her eyes as wide as possible and tears still streaming down her face. She then blinked a few times, not bothering to wipe the tears away as the pain in her head slowly faded.

As the girl slowly recovered from what Vetrov could only assume was some kind of demonic insanity fit she began to hum softer and softer until the two were silent, aside from the girl's sobs. Vetrov looked down at the girl in her armor clad arms with a warm and motherly smile. She brought her right hand up and wiped the tears away from the cheeks of this poor girl. The droplets fell from the back of her gauntlets and disrupted the dust on the floor ever so slightly. Vetrov brought her hand back brushed the young woman's hair back away from her forehead as she waited for her to finish speaking. "What am I doing?" Vetrov repeated in a whisper. "My girl I was trying to get you to stop screaming." Vetrov couldn't help but chuckle a little. "My mother used to hum that song when I screamed. looks like it works." The battle armed Sister gave the girl and quick wink of her green eye and then patted her on the back. "Do you think we are done screaming?" she cocked an eye brow at the girl in her arms, still holding her smile and bright tone. "Because if you keep screaming you are going to give away our position. Then I might not be able to help you get out of here."

One of Vetrov's men held up his hand in a tight fist. Immediately Vetrov brought her finger to her lips in the universal symbol for shush. The soldiers fell totally silent and waited. The sounds of some kind of beast lumbering through the street. The dust shook from the walls as the thing moved by. After a moment the sound was gone and the soldiers began to relax again. Vetrov turned her attention back to the girl in her arms. "My name is Sister Vetrov. I'm here looking for people who need help. I am thinking that is you."

As Vetrov Explained what she was doing, Nyla looked down as she quickly got up. "I have never been hummed to before... Or comforted..." she told the women. "No one ever felt like they had to... I was just a little freak... A witch they called me..." she muttered as Vetrov introduced herself. As she stated she was a sister, probably for a church, she said that she was there looking for someone. And then asked if that someone was Nyla. 

"I'm sorry..." she said, shaking her head. "I didn't send a distress call... and i'm sure no one is looking for me... No one ever looked for me... My parents even sent me away so they never had to look for me." she said, looking back up and giving a smile. "My Name is Nyla. I am originally from Britain, however, I lived in the states most of my life..." she told the women. "I am an outcast.. No one wants to talk to me, or at least, no one wanted to talk to me... I was born different... even the adults thought i was a freak... They all wanted me dead anyways..." she continued. She then took a sigh as she looked up. "Oh well... I am better off with out them." she said, getting up and slowly turning around. "I can find my way home... I hope you find your way home." she said, walking away yet hoping the sister would stop her from going.

Vetrov listened patiently as the girl told her what her life was. Then again, she did use the word was a lot. The Sister made a note of that. So her name was Nyla. Vetrov stood slowly and quietly as the girl spoke. She was an outcast, or so she claimed. A freak or so she claimed. She was discarded by the people who should love her. She even called herself a witch. This girl was odd. Maybe she had just been alone down here for too long. Or maybe she was truly driven mad by this place. Vetrov had seen the effects of prolonged exposure to Inferis. it was like the worst battle field stress she'd ever heard of. PTSD was a light case of what could happen to you here. This poor girl needed help. She need her help. She couldn't let her leave. Not now.

Vetrov reached out for the nyla and put her hand on her shoulder. "Nyla," she sad in a soft tone, "I might not have been sent here to find you but I did. I don't turn my back on those in need." she gripped Nyla's shoulder gently as she spoke. "Please, Nyla, let me help you. You might be able to home on your own but why would you want to be alone?" The Sister took her hand off the girl;s shoulder and patted her rifle on her side. "We can protect you and get you back to the outpost. Not to mention we could use a guide." Time for a simple switching of tactics. If Nyla wanted to be independent than Vetrov could use that. Let her help. "So what do you say Nyla? Want to help us find our lost men?" Vetrov gave the girl a warm smile and hoped that she would join them, for her sake. She needed them.

Nyla listened to the women explain that they were looking for a lost man. As Vetrov continued talking, it hit Nyla. As she turned around, looking at her from the door, the women asked if Nyla would help her find the lost man. "I am sorry Ma'am." she told her, looking at her with eyes of both innocence, and corruption. "But I have no reasoning as to why I would help you find a man I know for show is dead." as she said this, the mood of the room quickly changed. This was no longer showing the innocence of little dear Nyla. As a dark aura concealed her body, she looked at the women. "I have no interest of helping you find the body of the man I killed." As she said this, Her body quickly changed.

Nyla grew another 3 or 4 inches as she began to stand tall. Her clothing turned into ragged purple cloths, with skin tight black leather underneath to cover her breast, arms, and legs. Her hair turned purple and grew much longer as she flew up into the air, using the black wings with a 4 or 5 foot wingspan to lift her self up into the air. As she looked down, her black eyes starred into the women's soul as a glowing, purple Egyptian eye grew on top of her forehead. 

"I am afraid finding the man alive is impossible, Sister Vetrov. You see, not only did I kill the man, But his squad also seases to exist any more." She said, her hair blowing in the wind. "Now, I already know the out come of this battle," she told the women. This was a bluff, however, Nyla was a seer. She could see the future and if sister Vetrov knew anything, she would know this just based off of Nylas newly formed appearance. "Now," she continued. " Would you like to continue on, and except my offer to let you leave," she asked. "Or would you prefer I kill you here and now?" she asked the women, her glowing fortune telling eye starring down upon the women.

What hateful creatures they were. Filled with such horribleness and privy only to destruction and deceit. This one was particularly unworthy of life. It had pretended that it was friendly. Pretended to be a helpless girl. It had lulled Vetrov into a sense of security and then admired to murder. Such things were truly damned in the eyes of God. As in Heaven so shall it be on Earth. Vetrov's warm eyes locked on the thing and turned cold and hard. She needed no words for this thing. No reason to speak to it. There was no retreat, no diplomacy, only destruction. The verdict was vengeance. It had killed Haymound. She did not know when or where but she admired to it. Demon's often lie but they will always tell the truth if they know it will hurt you. They will always try to destroy your resolve with harsh facts. Little did they know that truth was thing of God and they were not allowed to touch such holy things. Vetrov would show this beast just what truth was. She would cleave from it's shoulders a fitting trophy and hurl it's foul head into a pit. Never shall this beast threaten man again for it had met a warrior of God.

With a squeeze of her left hand her chain fist sprang to life with a whistling roar of gas-powered fury. Ger right hand drew up her chainsword from her waist and it roared with the thunder of the Lord's fury. All of her weapons and armor were blessed and anointed daily, this beast could neither harm her or resist her! Not with power of God at her back. "FIRE!" vetrov shouted as her three soldiers sent a thunderous burst toward the demon and Vetrov stepped into range for a vicious over head chop from her chainsword, bullets flying by her flanks and a righteous roar bursting from her mouth.

Nyla showed no emotion as the women looked at her with fury in her eyes. "I never lied to you." she said, the women in front of her screaming fire as bullets flew towards her. "Idiots... I already told you." Before any of the bullets could even touch her, she had landed on the ground and was already charging towards one of the men. With a swift kick, the man went flying. "I've already seen whats coming." she told them, not a bluff any more. Thanks to her seers eye, she had a sort of... sixth sense. It allows her to get a little tingle up the spine when danger happens. However, they didn't have to know that. For all they knew, she already saw there deaths.

"Every thing I told you was true." she told Vetrov, getting behind one of her men. As the man turned around, he fired. As she moved to the side, the bullets only skimmed her shoulder. She bit her lip, not screaming, however, she flew her foot into the mans gut, as he began to stumble back, she then grabbed the mans knife and in less then seconds, his head was in her hands. As she looked up, she through the head towards vetrov. "I would ask for you too leave. You showed nothing but kindness to me... That little girl was me. You were the first person to ever treat me like I deserved. I know I am a monster now, but..." as her voice faded, she quickly spun around, as a man came at her with a knife, she plunged her knife into his chest. He looked at her with eyes of sorrow and remorse as the blood drained from his face. " I'm am sorry." she said, a tear dripping from her eye and down her glowing purple cheek. "Please, go. I don't want to hurt you." she said, clenching her knife and ripping it from the mans chest.

Vetrov let the things words pass by her life a zephyr in the summer. She heard nothing but the babble of words. Her mind was clouded by the haze of destruction and rage. She would not listen to this things voice any longer. in fact, the more it spoke the more she wanted to silence it forever. She would rend it to bits and send it to a place far worse than the Hell it lived in now. She would turn it to true oblivion. The only place for souls like trier's to go.

Vetrov's tactical mind took a quick assessment as the demon swept through her men. One was injured and likely out of the fight, another was surely dead and the last may not be dead but he was mortally wounded. They would be avenged tenfold. Vetrov gritted her teeth tightly and faced down the demon. Her eyes burned with passion and fury. her heart raced and pounded hot blood into her veins. With a devastating cry of hatred Vetrov leaped forward, her heavy armor causing the walls to shake slightly as she cleared the distance between herself and the demon in one furious leap. As she landed she brought her sword down at the thing's neck and then wheeled on her feet and swung her chainfist low towards the things abdomen. She would carve this thing into a pile of scraps if she could. Nothing was going to stop her now.

Right as Nyla had cut the heart out of the second man who came at her, she turned around Just as the women leaped towards her, Nyla felt the tingle of danger thanks to her fortune eye. As she took a subtle step to the side, dodging the womens swings. "I will not fight you..." she told the women, walking towards the door, her demon form still in tact. "I shall leave you with this. You are the only person, let alone the first, who has or had ever treated me like a child... the way I should be treated..." as a tear dripped down her cheek, she turned back into her mortal form, the same little girl that had met the nun in the first place. 'It was a pleasure meeting you..." she said, walking away from the women.

"That could have gone better..." she told herself, continuing to walk. "Its a shame that I had to lie to the women. However, her men did die. That I know is a fact." she then tilted her head. "Why did I have to kill her men... It would have just gone so much better if I had stayed in my mortal form... Why did I change... Stupid..." she called herself, walking around and waiting to find a place to rest, she was tiered. After all, she did just use a lot of energy slaughtering 2 men, and trying to hold off the other 2. 'Then again, she would have found out eventually. "

{EXIT}

It had fled. Ran. Been scared away. Demons often fled when they were faced with the true wrath of the Lord. In the end evil was always driven away by the light. The forces of justice would always conquer. No matter the odds. Many times good men and women were lost to the forces of darkness but there always would be redemption. This time the casualties had been heavy. they learned that the squad they had come in to relieve were dead. Not only that but two men had been killed by a demon impersonating a youth. Vetrov's warm heart had yet again proved to be a weakness in this horrible place. She was far too accepting and ear to help. As her chain sword and fist slowly dropped from a roar into a low chugging whisper she let out a long breath. She hadn't killed that thing. Not this time anyway. Next time though. next time she would not treat her as a child like she seemed to want. no, she would treat her like what she was, a beast. A rabid dog in need of putting down. Next time there would be no escape from Vetrov's wrath. "Are you okay Ray?" she called over her shoulder to her one surviving comrade. "yeah..." he coughed back. "Then get yourself off the floor and help me with these two." she gestured with her sword to their fallen friends. "No one deserves to rot in a place like this..." It would take hours to get back to Rome. the trip would be slow going but they would make it. Little did they realize what was waiting for them back in their head quarters.