The Break In - Fri - May 6th- Night - C

[The Panda Samurai]

Meph took a deep breath as he continued to keep his eyes locked upon Aella. The young man hoping that his efforts would allow her to return to normal. The last thing they needed was a fight. After all, he was almost certain this school had a few security protocols that involved locking down highly powerful beings like them. With only one way out of here, they'd be charging into a chokehold to just get absolutely blasted by whoever was outside. So, it was best to make sure they didn't attract any attention in the first place. His heart heavily in his chest as he felt a strange wave rushed through his entire form and the intense aura weighing upon his dissipate. Had it work? Did he actually manage to get Aella to come around?

“I don’t have anything.”

"I... What?" Those pale pink eyes stared in shock as Aella just slapped his hand away and acted so flippant with him. What the hell did she mean she didn't have anything?! He wasn't even asking for anything other than to just give her a handshake and promise to be peaceful. However, she was acting like he asked her for some stupid item. What the hell just happened?! The boy started to run the entire scene in his head again. How she seemed to be paying attention but wasn't. How she didn't know about her own powers but they appeared to defend her. No, it couldn't be. Oh, that is some cliche bullshit. Please do not tell me she loses her ******** memory when she activates the damn avatar state like that. I am just... ******** it. ******** it. I don't even care about it. It's not even why I'm here. Hot, stupid weathermachine idiot.

Meph was pulled out of his thoughts as he looked over towards the painting as it swung open. The young man immediately dropped his glasses back down as he started to look it over carefully. He pursed his lips before slowly shifting his gaze towards Aella. He kept his head straight but his glasses stopped her from seeing his eyes were on her. "Found something... Or I guess, you did." Something occurred to the young man as he sat there... Mephitis put both hands together as he hid his right underneath his left. The boy growing out a talon upon his right hand as he asked, "Aella. You wouldn't happen to need something in there for your tattoo... Would you?"


 

[Anika Nyame]

Damnit, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking with those shades of his. Why he was still wearing them was beyond her, though she supposed she had her turtleneck up for the same reason. Despite knowing who the other was, chances were they might very well encounter someone else on the way. Still, it was annoying not being able to see what he was thinking. Her sights settled back onto the safe as she came up to it. Despite having an old fashioned mechanism to conceal its location, the actual safe looked pretty high tech. There was a keypad on the door with a six digit passcode.

“You don't think I’m here to try and change my grades after a week, do you?” Her tone was full of sarcasm which he would hopefully pick up on. It seemed the easiest way to answer questions without actually answering them was to answer with a question of her own. Aella untied one of her other nifty little bring along items from her super ghetto utility belt: a handheld blacklight. She pulled the shoestring and the item dropped right into her palm. After flicking the device on, she held it up to the safe buttons to see which ones were cruddy. It wouldn’t tell her what the sequence was, but it would narrow some of the numbers down and tell her clues about the password. If Meph was close enough, he would see what she was up to and his glasses might be able to pick up the numbers as well and start running possible combinations for him. Aella on the other hand had no such fancy tech and was actually really terrible at math, she had no idea that learning only 4 of the 9 digits from the keypad being used would still generate hundreds of combinations. Seeing as how she still needed more info, she committed the 4 that were dirty to memory and switched the light off. Maybe if she found some personal papers in his desk she’d be able to find a number that matched. Like a birthday or an old address or something. Aella turned around to head back to the desk.


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[The Panda Samurai]

"There was a small part of me hoping you were. You should seriously show me that super cool tattoo later, Aella." Meph groaned as he followed the girl with his eyes. Honestly, Meph really was hoping that she had some stupid reason for being inside of the principal's office. Hell, he would have been happy to hear that she was looking for dirt on him and the teachers. Instead, in a round about way, Aella just confirmed that the two of them might be opponents. Their goal the exact same item in this terrible room and it laid right within the safe. Well, that's what he assumed for the most part... If the damn item he was looking for wasn't here, then it might as well be locked within a bunker out in the desert! Still, he needed to keep himself ready for when the tables turned and Aella became his enemy again. At that point, he wouldn't allow for a fight to happen... No, he'd end it right then and there by knocking her out cold.

Mephitis closed his hand carefully so that the talon would be hidden from sight as he stood up and walked towards the safe himself. The young man watching Aella carefully as she started to run over the keys with a blacklight. His glasses immediately picking up on the fingerprints left there and beginning to run through all the possible combinations. A slew of numbers rushing down over his left eye... Too many. There was no way he could brute force all those combinations in a single night without an actual computer and a good connection. The young man placed his free hand upon his glasses and clicked through some settings. He used the video recorded throughout the night to run a comparison against the possible combinations. While it was doing that, the young man turned around and sort of joined Aella at the desk... Honestly, he just watched her for the most part since they'd just get in each other's way.


 

[Anika Nyame]

“Hah.” She let out a sarcastic chuckle as she began rifling through the papers on the desk. His joke was kind of funny, since there was nothing cool about it. “If you really want to see it,” Aella shrugged and then gave him a side glance with a wry smirk curling on her soft lips. “Just lift up my shirt.” She turned to face away from him, fully expecting him to get bashful and back down. Keeping him on the edge of discomfort was far better than diving back into the area of feelings. If he pulled it up, she would be quite surprised and let him look only for a few seconds before she returned to her search. If he hesitated too long or turned her down, she’d return to her search just the same. Since Aella didn’t know about his glasses, she didn’t expect anything to come out of showing him.

Unfortunately, nothing was standing out to her in her search. Of course she didn’t really expect to find a clue to the combination sitting around casually. She probably needed to spend several hours in the computer lab shuffling through past data and diving deep into the headmaster’s life, family, friends, and important connections. There was always that hope though that she could return with more and avoid such a terrible punishment.


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[The Panda Samurai]

Even if the boy was bundled up in some high-tech looking "Spy" gear, it would have been terribly obvious to Aella that she had just tripped him up. The coughing suddenly as his body just jerked away from her for a bit from the suggestion. Yep, the Meph she knew and loved to torture was back. The dragon just terrible when it came to anything that he perceived as sexually explicit... And somehow just lifting a girl's shirt up was enough. However, something deep down told him to fight this urge. It battled against his embarrassment as it told him that it was important! He needed to see what was beneath. He needed to figure out what was wrong with Aella and help her... So, he actually started reaching forward. The hand without the talon reached forward shakily. His fingers twitching awkwardly as they tried to find the strength to grab on and then... The moment passed.

"H-Hey, I was going to... Well, I thought." Mephitis faltered almost immediately as he watched her pull away. The boy trying to provide a reason for her to come back but couldn't muster one up. His attention was drawn away by something more important right then. After some time, his glasses had lit up with a list of the most likely combinations. This time they were compiled best off data taken from various articles and information regarding the principle. The boy bit down on his lip as he thought for a moment before turning away. While Aella wasn't looking, he started to transform again... Letting that larger, sturdier, and certainly stronger form out. His fingers flying across the numpad as he started at the top of the list... No... No... No... Which one was it? How long would he be at this? CLICK.

Meph's eyes lit up underneath the glasses as he watched the safe crack open. The boy slowly opening it and pushing his body against it so Aella wouldn't have an easy time of grabbing it. She was still the enemy after all... And he needed this. Just had to grab it and get out.


 

[Anika Nyame]

Of course Mephitis would freeze up. He reacted exactly how she expected him to, though she couldn't honestly say if that made her happy or not. Technically, she got what she wanted. He had backed down and dropped the subject, effectively drawing the line in the sand between them. That was for the best, for everyone, so why was her chest developing this strange sinking feeling? Maybe she just needed a snack. Aella had been too nervous to eat much for dinner, so she was probably feeling her energy dip a little due to hunger. Just focus on the job, the sooner it gets done, the faster she can get back to the dorm and raid Meph's snacks.

Aella was still sifting through the papers when he crossed to the safe. What was he doing? "Did you find something?" No answer, just rapid beeps of his fingers dancing over the numbers. ********, he really was after the contents. Aella silently lifted a brass horse statue from the corner of the desk and drifted quietly in his direction. Her worn sneakers were perfect for this, they rolled from heel to toe in near silence across the ornate rug that spanned almost the whole office. The figurine was pretty heavy, a good solid sculpture, not one of those cheap hollow things. Actually, she was a bit worried about thunking him in the back of the head with it. Aella didn't want to accidentally hit him too hard and cause some brain damage or something, but at the same time she wanted to be sure he was good and out. There wasn't much time to think on it. Just as she was drawing up behind him, the safe beeped a different sound and clicked afterward, signaling it was unlocked. Knowing there was no time for deliberation or hesitation, she drew her hand up high and swung the butt of the horse back down toward the back of his head (exactly how they do it in movies since this wasn't something they taught in MMA club).

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[The Panda Samurai]

It was only as the safe opened did Mephitis realize something rather important... He hadn't heard from Aella in a while. To think, he had already considered her the enemy after learning about the tattoo upon her back. He had ensured that his back blocked the way so the stormy eyed girl couldn't steal the contents within. Hell, he even made sure that he was partially transformed in case he needed to push her back. The fool had taken all of these damn precautions for nothing! Before he started opening the safe, some small part of him wanted to believe that the girl wouldn't try anything drastic. That she wouldn't just attack him at the first available opportunity now that she knew it was him. He was wrong... Very wrong. It was going to cost him and he would be left wishing that he had just knocked her out when he had the opportunity.

"Ael-AHH!" Mephitis had just started to turn his head and body as Aella came down with the sculpture. So, instead of getting a clean hit to the back of his head, she knocked the side of his skull and then bashed the back of his shoulder shortly after. An intense pain tore through the young man's body as he slumped against the safe. While Aella's attack hadn't gone exactly as planned, it certainly dazed Mephitis in a horrible way. It was like the world was moving in turning this way and that for a few seconds. He felt like he'd throw up but he couldn't afford to. Aella was on the attack and he needed to stop it. His eyes focused on her the best they could as he held out one arm to protect himself. When his vision did clear up again, he realized something... Aella had hit him with a damn horse's a**!?! Was this a ******** joke!?

"I... I'm going to blame that one on the tattoo. Now, I'm going to say this once. Back down, Aella." Mephitis sounded sad... It was mixed in with a growing, fiery angry, but still there. The dragon didn't have time to have some retrospection on this though. He couldn't let Aella get to the safe. He'd gas the damn room before he let that happen. Too much was on the line for him.


 

[Anika Nyame]

s**t. Aella couldn't believe she missed! He didn't go down like she wanted, but he seemed out of it. There was enough time to for Aella to knock him out of the way, grab everything, and bolt. The only problem was he didn't ******** budge! Aella had grabbed his hurt shoulder with both hands, horse statue dropping to the floor in a heavy thud as her left leg locked in behind Meph's right knee. His body was somewhat perpendicular to her since he had twisted somewhat so she should have been able to take his weight out from under him by targeting the weak point and popping his knee forward while exerting opposing pressure on his shoulder to toss him back.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. He had somehow managed to resist the grapple and remained standing, blocking her way to the safe. Aella grunted with effort. "I can't!" She hissed at him. Unable to ground him, her body torqued to throw some momentum into an upper elbow strike coming straight in for his nose. This wasn't really what she wanted, but a few hits was nothing compared to what Kalen would do to her.

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[The Panda Samurai]

There was some small side of Mephitis hoping that Aella would just give up. That she would toss her hands up, make her escape, and leave him with the safe. After all, he never wanted the two of them to fight like this! He never actually wanted to hurt her. It was just some foolish, childish belief that everything would be fine and the world wasn't so cruel. As she pushed and pulled at his body, this idealistic world of his crumbled even further. His morals were being torn down as she kept pushing him. He tried thinking up an answer to all of this as she pushed on. Just like before, he'd regret even taking a moment to think about it as he watched in horror as her elbow came right at his nose.

Before the boy knew it, he could feel a searing pain coursing across his face. His head was sent reeling back as his neck strained against the force. Meanwhile, he could feel something warm and wet dribbling down from his nostrils and spilling out over his lips. As the terrible taste of his own blood hit his tongue, the dragon finally killed that little voice in his head begging for peace. He slammed his body up against the safe for support while reaching up with his free hand and pulling off the mask. As he tore it away, the young man turned his head directly towards Aella and breathed out with everything he had. Drops of blood and a geyser of toxic gas surged towards.

 

[Anika Nyame]

After knowing Meph for so long, she was surprised he was putting up such a fight for whatever was in the safe. However, why he wanted it didn't really matter. This was one of those him or me moments and Aella was choosing herself. Having landed the hit, she brought one hand up to guard against an expected counter attack. When he reached for his mask instead of lashing out at her, Aella knew what he was about to do. She was prepared for it and sucked in a large breath the split second before he released a cloud of toxic gas into her face. They were close enough that the warm fleck of blood spraying out landed on her face, disappearing into the black mesh of her turtleneck and dotting the area around her eyes. Luckily nothing landed in her eyes, that would have been so incredibly gross, but even that thought was simply running in the background. All Aella focused on was that she now had a limited amount of time to incapacitate him. How long could she hold her breath for? Maybe a minute? Less than that probably with the physical exertion. Tick toc ********.

Knowing her chances of success were rapidly dwindling, Aella popped a quick jab right into his solar plexus. Normally that was a critical area to hit since it was a bundle of nerves that caused the chest to seize up when struck but when Aella's fist collided with his body, her fist collapsed against what felt like a brick wall. The sudden jolt of pain caused her to let out a cry- which she immediately shut her mouth on after expelling some air. She was lucky she hadn't inhaled the toxin, but she'd also cut her time in half if not more. There was one thing left to try: the cheap shot.

Without pause, Aella attempted to grab him by the neck or head- whatever she could get a hold of really- and if she was successful she would bring her knee up right into his groin area. It had to work, because she was already beginning to feel the burning in her chest from lack of oxygen and she was afraid that if she didn't succeed in this moment, she wasn't going to win this one.

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[The Panda Samurai]

Hesitating for even a moment will just make things worse for you. Take what you want and don't hold back. Why? Why did they have to be so damn right?! Why were the cruelest people in this stupid world correct? Couldn't he just have one thing that let him know that this reality wasn't so terrible? It wasn't like was asking for the universe to be some grand utopia. He just wanted it to be halfway decent. However, it was becoming clear to him that he couldn't even get that in the end. The thought pained him as he realized just how much suffering he could have saved the two of them if he had just been a bit colder. If he had just poisoned Aella as soon as he met her and moved on. His father and sister would have... Although, his father likely would have left a Aella as a corpse as well. At least Mephitis wouldn't go that far... The young dragon finally came to the resolution that he couldn't hold back against Aella anymore. His eyes deadening a little as he grew a little colder inside. No more fighting, no more arguing, and no more games. He was going to end this here... It was the best for both of them.

As Mephitis felt the girl's hands grab onto him, he knew that there was only one moved that she could possibly pull. Even with all those scales and turgid muscle, there was still one part of the boy that could easily bring him down. It was honestly a smart move against a slower opponent as it would guarantee Aella a win. However, Mephitis was not slower and he definitely not weaker. The young man had been forcibly trained by his sister and willingly trained by Atticus over these past few weeks. Even if he was a soft-hearted fool, he was very much a brute of a fighter in disguise. He turned his body some while bringing his own knee up to deflect the block. His leg pushing into her own and turning it off to the side. Once he felt her attack had been forced away, he used that same leg to step forward. He was going to body check her to knock her off but that wasn't all...

If Aella didn't figure out a way to slip out of from beneath him, it was likely over. Mephitis arms would come up and wrap around her lithe form. Those strong arms not there to just hold her peacefully while he let the toxins do the work. He was going to practically crush the poor girl as he lifted her up into the air and pulled his head back. Never hesitate. Finish it! The young man roared out within his mind as he slammed his head forward... With perhaps too much strength. After all, poor Mephitis wasn't use to just a normal human as his opponent. He had been training against Atticus and his own sister for so long that he wasn't sure what a normal opponent was! This was going to hurt Aella... A lot.

 

[Anika Nyame]

The scuffle was honestly a close call. Aella was lithe, her movements quick, and her figure nimble. She was almost able to escape the grapple after he had blocked her knee thrust and shifted her momentum- almost. Perhaps if she had more training, a better foundation, real life experience, but at her current level this was as best as she could do. Meph was able to wrap his arms around her slender body and trap her. His dragon's strength squeezed her like a constrictor, causing her arms and ribs to ache but there was very little time to react before his forehead came diving toward her. In an attempt to doge, her head turned and her stomach clenched, tightening to pull her top half sideways but he was faster. The blunt boulder that was his forehead smashed right into her temple, causing stars to streak across her vision and go black.

There wasn't even a cry from her. Aella's head cocked back and her body went limp in his grasp. Obsidian locks spilled out from her hood, swinging in the moonlight streaming in through the window and her body inhaled the air she had been denying it. He'd feel the delicate tremor of her chest as the toxins filled her lungs, much like how a dove's every movement could be felt by a pair of hands snuggly wrapped around it's body. That tremor would spread rapidly until her entire body was shaking softly, seizing as the neurotoxin carried through her bloodstream.

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[The Panda Samurai]

Mephitis shivered as he felt Aella go limp in his arms after the headbutt. The young man knew what he had done to her, he knew just how much power he had put behind that strike, and he knew there was no other alternative if he wanted the items in the safe. Still, he hated it. He hated every single second of his life as he stood there holding onto Aella. His grasp slowly switching from a deadly grapple into something more akin to a hug. The boy bringing Aella's head into his shoulder as he rested his cheek against the top of it. In his moment of clarity, he finally managed to feel the tears streaming down his battered face. The warm, wet stream showing his regret, sadness, and hatred for this terrible situation. He kept telling himself that he didn't have a choice in the matter. That it was the only way to save Kori, but it didn't make him feel any better. He was a terrible person.

After a few seconds, he lowered Aella down to the floor and placed her where she would be out of the toxic gas. The dragon quickly grabbing his mask once again as he put it back on his face and took a deep breath. Blood was still streaming down his face even now but that would just be a problem he would have to fix later. Right now, he had far bigger issues! The two of them had left one hell of a mess in the principal's office and he needed to make sure that there wasn't any evidence of their presence. What came next was a tedious but very important clean up that had Meph using his glasses to bring up pictures from before the fight. He used them to carefully place the items on the desk back into place. Next, he cleaned up all the blood, sweat, and tears that had poured out onto the floor. Once again, putting heavy reliance on his glasses to spot the inconstancies in this "crime scene". It took a long time, and it left him tired, but he wanted nothing getting traced back to him. Place the horse statue back, push the books back into place, reorganize the papers again. His gas would dissipate throughout the night so he didn't have to worry about that.

When it was all done, the dragon pushed himself towards the safe and finally pulled out its contents. Some papers and a stone tablet... All that work for this? Seriously? It looked so stupid and simple. However, if his sister wanted it, then he was certain that it held some great significance. He would need to study it first before handing it over. After all, she had to be up to no good. So, he tucked the contents away before closing the painting once again. Lastly, the boy picked Aella up from off the floor and tossed her over his shoulder. Even if he was pissed at her, he wasn't just going to leave her. Just like him, she was never here... So, he pushed the door open to the office and took off.

First, he'd be making a little stop to get rid of all the evidence. Then, he'd be heading back to the dorms.