Let's go steal a Monarchy. (Nekrobear)

Jenna shoves her things together quickly, having lost track of time pwning noobs in her video games, mentally cursing out her useless guards and only half wishing that she brought Jeeves along for this trip. However, he was busy training Maria and, to be completely honest, both her butler and her maid stuck out like a sore thumb, seeing as how they made it seem like she was a super rich heiress or something. She stole her money fair and square! Shoving a wallet into her pocket, she stomps her foot, seeing that her guards weren't ready yet. "You guys suck! I'll be at the meeting spot, hurry up!" With that, she bounces, exiting the room while her lame normal squad of guards were still getting ready, her elites having not yet entered the country,.

DINER/CAFE/WHATEVER

Jenna walks into the meeting place, having got there a good fifteen minutes earlier then the time she gave Diana, knowing that she was going to have to give the kitchen some time to get all of the food ready. Good thing she was smart enough to ask what Diana wanted to eat before they met, or getting here early would have been pointless. She picks her own seat, completely ignoring the waiter who was trying to direct her somewhere else, instead sitting at a table large enough to fit six people. Giving the waiter a huge smile, like she was exactly where they wanted her to be, she places her order. "I would like five orders of Bratwursts and Belgian Waffles, and just bring me a whole pitcher of iced tea please."

She sends the waiter off, who was feeling a bit lost seeing as how their flow was completely ruined by one little girl and her need to be in control of everything happening around her. Jenna fiddles around with her phone as she waits for the food and Diana to arrive, figuring that it would be able the same time.

Diana was taking her time to take in the sights of this Eastern European country tucked between Belgium and one of it's neighbors. She window shopped through narrow, winding cobblestone roads and tiny European shops.Her american dollars were most welcome and she even got herself a new pair of boots, a classy jacket, a purple scar and a snooty beret to blend in, despite being the only asian 'art student' in sight.

Diana had observed that the streets were in disrepair, shops were closing down, and people weren't all that cheerful to see a tourist. She saw a blades shop and tried to get herself a European saber as a souvenir, but the old man who spoke in Dutch flatly refused to sell her, an underaged foreigner, a genuine saber. Diana quietly noticed that a policeman had passed by.

Once they weren't being observed, the old man changed his tune and handed her a crisp, yellowing order form in english. "Mail." He said, tapping the paper three times. Diana understood his concern, seeing all his blades both ceremonial and real gathering dust. Diana paid him 50% more than the asked price, and the old man gave her a wrinkly old smile, as she had the Saber delivered directly to the Cafe.

CAFE

Diana eventually followed her GPS to reach the cafe where she and Jen were to meet, apparently for a heist. Again she noted the streets, despite being rather poorly maintained, had an abundance of CCTV cameras... and police presence.

The Cafe had signs in Dutch and French, and most of the people spoke in such a language as well. Diana looked through the window and at the baked goods on display, all the wonderful chocolately things. She entered to have a particularly chocolate chip muffin be delivered to her table.

"So! What's this big score you wanted to tell me about?" Diana asked in a low whisper as her package was anonymously delivered to the cafe in her name. The waitress received it and Diana waved her over. Diana was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning; then came the Waffles and bratwurst. Diana even requested for vinegar. She slathered her waffles with a huge amount of marmalade.

"Shhhh!" Jenna waves her hand at Diana when she starts to talk about the job, not letting her continue any farther. Lowering her voice, she leans in so that only Diana is able to hear what was said next. "They have eyes and ears everywhere, we need a secure location to talk about the job."

Leaning away, she gives Diana a huge smile, right as the plates of food started to arrive, Jenna only taking one of them for herself, shoving the rest of them at Diana so she could fill her face, like she normally does. "I got you some bratwursts and pancakes, you did want them right?"

Diana toned down her voice a bit. "I saw the cafe had function rooms... some of them seemed open to the public." Diana offered, pointing to the small function rooms within the cafe. Diana may have spoken to Jenna, but her attention was on her food. Slathered in butter and orange marmalade Diana scarfs down her first waffle and bratwurst at high speed.

"So take your pick. Do we attend the book club, the Corgi club or the nationalist revolutionaries?" Diana murmured while her mouth was still full.

Jenna's head snaps around to look at the function rooms when Diana mentioned Corgis, already knowing exactly what she was going to do the moment she found it. Spotting the sign that has a big corgi in bright bold letters across it, she stands from her seat, only half aware as she grabs one of her bratwursts. "I'll see you in the corgi room. You can take your time."

Leaving Diana in the dust, she almost dashes for the room, disappearing behind the door. Looking around the room, Jenna goes through a whole series of emotions before finally settling on anger, seeing as how all of the corgis are just stuffed animals, not a single real dog in sight. Tossing one of them across the room, she slumps in one of the chairs, not amused at all. Of course she does check for the normal things like cameras and the such as she waited for Diana to join her, rearrange the corgis to make a giant pile before using them as a pillow, pulling out her game system and starting something up to appease her boredom.

Jenna looks up when Diana joins her in the full of lie corgi room, saving her game and pocketing the system, not moving from her corgi pillow pile. "So, do you want the short and sweet version or the long and complex one?"

Once Diana had her fill of syrupy waffles and Bratwurst, she entered the room and was just as disappointed. She took a seat beside Jenna.

"I had a corgi once. Sigh... Let's hear all the details of your plan, so we know what'll happen and I can prepare appropriately."

Jenna nods once, letting Diana get settled before getting into the needlessly complex plan. "Well, and I know you are going to hate this part, we need to get you a dress. Don't you give me that look, it's required, required! Once you have your dress, we are going to head into the castle for the masquerade ball that they have tomorrow night using the invitation that I got. It's a plus one. Anyway, once we get into the castle and everything we have to find out which person in there is the queen. For some reason I couldn't find a single picture of her anywhere, which is really weird.

Once we find out who the queen is, the plan is to get her alone somehow, most likely with me distracting the guards away from her and you grabbing her when you can. Without attracting attention of course, that's later." Jenna gives Diana a look, trying to get across the fact that the first part of this mission was to be done silently. "Once you have the queen and I get back to you, I'll give the signal to some people outside, who will start to riot as to attract the attention of most of the guards, forcing them to protect the castle. That's when we will reveal the fact that we stole the queen out from under their noses, making the whole country focus its attention on the castle. Once that is done and everything is basically going crazy for the whole country, we are going to wait for my other team to open an exit for us so we can get out safely. Then bam! We ride out into the sunset, job done! Now let's go get you that dress."

Jenna grabs Diana by the hand and tries to pull her towards the door, striking while the iron is hot, so to speak.

Diana's mouth hung open when the first part of the plan required a dress. She wanted to object, but this had to be a subtle operation. No mass murder. Besides, most of these people weren't evil. Or so Diana assumed.

"Wait. You don't even know what our mark looks like? and what about a weapon?" Diana got no answer.

No further objections could be voiced as Diana was dragged off to a dress shop and small hotel, transformed from a rough, wild outlaw of a ronin into an elegant modern day lady, simple yet refined- if she were European appropriate. A long sash tastefully covers Diana's heavily scarred arms and shoulders, and her usually messy hair was tamed by ample amounts of hair mousse. She threatened the make up artist with bodily harm if they put anything on her face.. but relented once she saw how good Jenna looked. Once they were done with her, they brought a mirror. And that was when something terrible about Diana came up.

Diana looked at the mirror and saw nothing. She was confused for a moment, then said. The make up artist, being Romanian, noticed that her client had no reflection. The words did escape her mouth. "N-Nosferatu!" She whimpered, dropping the mirror, her expression one of abject horror. She made the sign of the cross, and fled. "NOSFERATU!"

Diana looked at the broken mirror on the ground. She realized she'd never paid much attention to her appearance. She asked her friend. "Hey Jen... do I look... good?"



THE GRAND PALACE

That evening, the duo would be chauffeured to the grand palace. A grand fountain stood before the drop off, an actual, modern drawbridge made of steel operated by chains and machines. A great many guests were being ushered in by the royal ushers. The entrance was flanked by two black armored and armed guards, who nonetheless looked quite sharp in their uniforms.

Diana noted they were armed to the teeth with SMG's, side pistols and combat knives, but for ceremony also carried decorated halberds. Their armor gave them serious protection, but the helmets ruined peripheral vision.  With a sleight of hand she takes a combat knife from one of them and hides it within her layered dress. While she was confident in her unarmed skill, armed was always better than having nothing.

Most of the attendees were the old aristocracy and older rich people from abroad, with their entitled child and teenaged offspring, with all the snobbishness one would expect from those raised in privilege. Diana had taken but four steps and some kids were already pestering a guard if he was a Black Knight or a British Beef-Eater. "No. Please rejoin your parents, kids." Polite at least.

"This place is whiter than Eminem." Diana remarked to Jenna, noticing just how badly they already began to stick out.

"Crap... that kid acts like he's 8 but he's taller than us both. damned European genes." She continued to mutter. She began taking in the sights of the palace, unprepared for all the European culture- the tapestries, the chandeliers, the rich decor, the antique armors and swords- swords! Diana could only look for now. She counted forty royal guardsmen in the grand hall, split on the ground floor and mezzanine.

The grand hall was alive with talk and socializing, but the empty throne at the far end indicated that the monarch was not yet present.

"...I suppose I should go familiarize myself with the place until the Queen shows up. You gonna be alright?" she ask of Jenna, as Diana's eyes predictably strayed to the appetizers at the table, filled with tons of unfamiliar food, and all the other rooms people were visiting.

Jack found himself pulling at his necktie as he weaved in between the snotty aristocrats who were attending the ball. Part of his frustration came from his pride as he had reduced himself to nothing more than a hired gun in order to gain access to the castle of this godforsaken country, The other bit came from the tie, which he never liked wearing since to him it felt like an extremely weak person trying to strangle him. Following the events that took place in the Middle East, Jack was all but certain that Sionas had been selling Project Perfection’s research notes on the black market. Every nation now had access to those documents and could start producing their own super soldiers at any time.

After following a lead, Jack was lead to this country. Sneaking into the castle on any day of the week would have been no problem, but with the grand ball taking place, security was bound to be tighter, and now that he thought about it, looking at all the armored guards, he wasn’t entirely sure why the Queen’s advisor had hired him in the first place. Regardless, he was here to find any sort of clues that would lead him to Sionas, and according to what he discovered in Baghdad, This country was one of the first to buy the stolen research notes. Now if only he could find the time to sneak away from the party.

As Jack maneuvered through the crowed he found himself staring at the throne, and thought back to the meeting he had with the queen’s uncle, who gave Jack the creeps, and that was saying a lot. Jack shook the memory from his head and continued to move about the ball room, he needed to focus on why he was here in the first place. He had to find some sort of evidence that proved this place was delving into creating enhanced people, and if that were true, he would have to shut their operation down. Jack took two steps before walking into something rather small, he didn’t run into it hard enough to knock it over, but just enough that he noticed he was hitting something. Jack’s gaze fell from looking at the tops of people’s heads, to see a rather small girl before him. His eyes lit up instantly, she was so tiny and cute, and quiet honestly he was feeling bad that he bumped into her. The giant of a man crouched down so that he was eye level with the girl and gave her a big smile.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry little one. I didn’t see you there. Are you ok?” he asked, patting the girl on the head softly. In that moment, his mind shifted from his mission, to this little girl and her sheer adorableness.

Jenna gently pats Diana on her hand. "Of course you are."

THE GRAND PALACE

Jenna presented her invitation to the person on the door, already having forced the mask onto Diana before putting her own on. They slip in easily, seeing as how they had no reason to turn them away without the threat of serious issues down the line, Jenna having neglected to tell Diana what exactly their cover was. Hopefully it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.

"Have you seen some of the country clubs in America? Pretty much the same thing. We're a minority for a reason." Jenna did notice that Diana was attracted to the multiple swords just hanging up on the wall, having not told her that she also had someone sneak her demon katana thing in too. You know, just in case something goes horribly wrong.

It wasn't long before she dashed off for the food, even though she had just stuffed herself right before they left for the party. Jenna calls out after her, trying to do a stage whisper so that everyone doesn't instantly turn to look at them. "Do not stain that dress!" She, well, one of her people learned the hard way to never get between Diana and a meal.

Having now been left alone and her party in crime abandoning her for the table filled with food, Jenna turns look actually do what they came here to do and look for the queen, only to get walked into by someone. Jenna glares, well tries to glare, it was kinda hard with her mask. The man, of course, completely ignores it and starts to treat her like she was five. Pushing his hand away from her hand. "I'm not a child."

"Okay got it." Diana gave Jenna a quick thumbs up. She was about to partake of the exotic pastries when there was a familiar commotion in one of the side halls. She did not sense her blade at that moment, and perhaps even more than food Diana recognized the sound.

Diana wanted to show it to Jenna but she must have been occupied doing her thing.

...Diana made her way to the open doors where a sizable audience had gathered in a sports hall. She was slightly frustrated at the height of the gathered aristocrats, but the clash of steel was unmistakable. She pushed her way to the front just as the crowds made a soft applause. Diana saw mats laid out, and two European fencers. It was a match of sabers, and one figure was disarmed, a saber held to his throat.

"Fencers halt! Match over, Lady Von Ravencroft wins!" The match referee, a young french maid, announces to the crowd's and Diana's delight. Diana was in complete awe. She may have been a Kendo-ka, but she followed the western swordsmanship circuit as well.

"Excellent form as always, milady." The beaten gentleman said, removing his sparring helm. He was a tall and stately blonde man with green eyes and clean shaven.

"Same. Thank you... Roderigo. It was a most... Bracing match." The winning swordsman, a woman, removed her decorated competition helmet. She too, was young and blonde. Diana gasped, she recognized none other than Hildeguard Von Ravencroft. A champion swordsman, much like her- but she managed to make a career and a life.

"It was bracing?" Roderigo said, sounding rather discouraged, but did not doubt the lady's sincerity. He removed his armor and wore his formal royal coat, denoting his important position as Chancellor.

"Yes indeed. You've been practicing, Chancellor." The lady in the fancier fencing armor, resembling shiny golden breastplate including vambraces for her arms, complimented him.

"Why... yes... I mean... I have... B-but... I've a long way to go." He said rather meekly, compared to who he had to contend with.

"Ah, I understand. You are barely... two years older than myself, and yet already Chancellor with responsibilities." Hilde said sympathetically, placing her sword back in its sheathe.

"Aye... It has been difficult for the young Queen, her parents dying five years ago. It has been difficult to be both chancellor... and guardian to her. Well then I must take my leave. I must meet my niece. It's almost time for her highness to meet her subjects." Roderigo courteously returned his sword to the retainer.

"Well then. I suppose we're done here. Good day, Roderigo. And a happy birthday to Queen Laurana." Hilde said to the chancellor.

"See you after supper. Milady." The chancellor said, bowing and taking his polite leave. Hilde returns with a curtsie. She was also about to change out of her armor, when Diana stepped forward onto the mat.

"Wait. Does the lady have time for one more match?" Diana spoke up, and eyes fell on her, including Hilde.  Whispers began to rise among the crowd, wondering who the masked girl was.

"Well..." Hilde's eyes fell upon the lady in the dress, and saw eagerness from her. "Of course." Hilde happily obliged, locking her vambraces, then put on her helmet once more. Hilde gestures one of the maids to give Diana a blade.

"I won't need that." Diana refused the heavy fencing armor offered to her. She received the European saber with enthusiasm, the closest to her weapon of choice, swinging it around, getting a feel for its weight in one hand. "I want maximum mobility." The crowd went "ooooh" at the girl's bravado, as Diana got out of those awful heels. She held the saber in a one handed stance.

Hilde gave a sporting laugh. "Very good, girl. Not wanting to be weighed down by unfamiliar gear."

"To first blood?" Diana said, again gaining some looks and ooh's from the crowd. She was not afraid of getting a cut.

"Bloodthirsty aren't we. Very well. To first blood." Hilde agreed, closing her visor.

"Fencers. Ready." The maid readied the match, then raised her hand, getting out of the way. "Fight!"

Out in the hall people began talking about the commotion in the sparring room, some random guest -in a dress- taking on Hildeguarde Von Ravencroft in full armor. But of course the Queen's arrival was anticipated with equal excitement.

The petite girl brushed Jack’s hand away, while explaining that she wasn’t a child. Jack stared at the little girl in silence before outright bursting with laughter “HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA……oh man that’s rich. You’re just too adorable aren’t you? Where are you parents little girl?” he said brushing a fake tear from his eyes, and looking around trying to see if he could spot any of the patrons that could possibly be the girl’s parents, while completely being oblivious to the fact that the girl was not joking.

At that moment, conversation began to fill the air, it appeared as though one of the guests was challenging fencing champion. Jack stroked his beard with intrigue, as he pondered all the techniques he could learn from watching the match. He turned his gaze back to the little girl and gave her another pat on the head “Try not to get into any trouble little one.” he said with a smile before making his way through the sea of patrons, on his way to the sports hall. After bumping shoulders and getting a few dirty looks, Jack made his way to the front of the crowd to see the two competitors, one dressed in party attire, while the other was in full on gear.

As Jack took in the sight of the match, he took notice of the forms of both fencers, this was going to be good, and he was about to learn some new moves too. He found himself so immersed in the action that he had completely pushed all thoughts of his mission to the back of his mind.

Jenna was left alone by both the weird adult who was thinking that she was a child just because she was short and Diana, who first got distracted by food then wandered off to god knows where to do god knows what. The best part was that the Queen was finally showing herself, having a huge grand entrance as everyone in the room turned to look at her as she came down the stairs, having a mask on like most of the other guests. Jenna watches her get escorted down the stairs by a young man, reaching the bottom safely.

Jenna rolls her eyes, cursing under her breath at Diana, some friend she is. At least they didn't search her and she has her taser for self defense, though with her skill it'd only work if she manages to surprise the person. Jenna started to shadow the Queen, keeping her distance while looking for the perfect chance to at least try to grab her, which is when it happened. Two people kicked open the main door, guns in hand. They just open fire on whoever was closest, one of the guards and a few o the quests going down before getting dropped themselves, the guards reacting quickly as they were trained to do.

There was silence as everyone turned towards the door, too shocked to really do anything, Jenna taking this moment to stand beside the Queen while she waited to see if anything else would happen. Then an explosion rocketed the castle, followed closely by gunfire going off rapidly in the distance, which is when everything went to hell. All the guests started screaming their heads off and running around like idiots, stopping the guards from getting to the Queen. Jenna grabs her hand and drags her through a door, slamming it closed behind them, still mentally cursing.

"Unhand us you peasant! We did not give permission to touch us!" The royal we was in full use as the Queen attempted to pull herself free. Jenna just reached into one of her hidden pockets and pulled out a taser, letting it crackle for a second. "How about you shut up before I decide to use this on you? Now let's go, I need to find my friend." Pulling the now cowed Queen behind her, hoping that she doesn't get massively lost in the castle while looking for Diana, Jenna was off, thankful that at least the whole castle wasn't busy looking for them, seeing as how the revolutionists attacked early.

SPORTS HALL

Though the objective had been first blood, the fight was fairly relaxed with small bursts of intense clashes of blades. Diana and the lady fencer were more intent on checking each others' technique than going in for the first cut. It didn't help that Diana's blows weren't going to deal much damage with Hilde's full armor protecting her from cuts. The two ladies dance to the acclaim of the crowd, demonstrating skill and determination... But Diana was slightly flustered, as she was finding Hilde was mostly defensive and in no hurry to attack.

The fight was about to come a head when SMG fire rang outside the hallway. A mob was running outside the windows. The fight came to a premature end with no winner, as more pressing matters were afoot.

Hilde saluted Diana, never losing her formal tone. "Miss, may I ask you flee into the safety of the castle? I must go and investigate."

"No... no. My friend is out there. I have to help her." Crap. Diana now felt awful that she was here for a less than noble mission, and not even being professional about it but off lollygagging elsewhere with her idol.

"Noble as you are skilled. You are quite something, Diana Mendoza." Hilde walks briskly into the main hall to investigate, while Diana stood a moment, a bit starstruck as one of her idols recognized her.

GRAND HALL

The snobby rich people were blissfully unaware of the situation in their country, or perhaps blind to it.

Then the chaos erupted.

"Capture all the nobles! They'll answer for their greed!" The unwashed masses, almost possessed of some bloodlust, charged in with simple firearms and farm implements, sharpened for deadly intentions.

Tables were overturned to become barricades. The buffet table where the demon sword was taped to seemed to attract violence. The Royal guards behind it resort immediately to lethal force against the rebels, using their high powered weapons to mow down the kingdom's subjects. The lethal rounds rip through flesh like jello, spraying gore to the unfortunate nearby. But no amount of combat armor or high powered weapons were able to survive a crush of bodies, the Guard overwhelmed by sheer number, sharpened knives, cleavers, farm tools and other improvised weapons being used to hack them apart.

Too close for a reload, a squad of Guardsmen draw their blades and violently hack the people with a most unusual bloodlust as well. Their moves were not clean or precise; a madness seemed to overtake them as they hack and butcher innocents, some even resorting to their bare fists. One guard, disarmed of blade, tore out an old woman's throat with his teeth. The carpets ran red with blood, and the violence only escalated.

"Yeesssss... Bloood..." A faint whisper emanated from the blade. The carnage pleased the demon inside it, and in turn fueled the participants with bloodrage.

The nobles retreated deeper into the castle, while people began to storm the place by smashing open windows. Priceless vases were smashed, painting ripped from their canvas. Resentment and unrest seemed to boil over. "Depose the Queen! Depose the Queen!"

Hilde watched the carnage unfold around her. Outrage flowed through her. She had never seen such a vicious rebellion before. She moved to push a Guard's SMG out of the way of gunning down a group of peasants. "Stop. This. MADNESS! These are your people!" She scolded the Guard, taking away her gun. The Guardsman raised his pistol as five more peasant rebels came to confront them. Hilde's presence- and saber- held them at bay.

Hilde turns her blade against one who was brave enough to lunge with a sharpened shovel. Hilde turns it aside and buries her blade in his thigh. He screams in pain.  "You! How dare you take up arms against your rightful ruler!"   She demanded an explanation, holding him at sword point.

"AAAh AAAH! MY LEG! SHUT UP! You don't know anything, arrogant, rich pompous noble bitch!" The peasant protested in French.

"I know rebellion and treason! You will tell me who put you up to this!" Hilde responded similarly, walking into the crowds to put down this rebellion. She searched the mob for some kind of leader, anyone who might have been influencing the crowd.

"I DUNNO! THEY SAID I COULD TAKE WHATEVER I WANT AFTER THE QUEEN WAS KILLED!" The man's protests fell on deaf ears already.

Meanwhile, Diana avoided the anarchy by climbing up a cloth tapestry, then reaching for a chandelier. Calmly she surveyed the carnage, looking for the familiar face of her friend... She eyed Jenna going deeper into the castle rather than out, seeing that the mob seemed out for blood.

Diana used her stolen combat knife to bring the slit of her dress up to her waist, needing the mobility. She built up momentum with her chandelier and leaps to the next, avoiding this mess. She could feel Bloodlust in the air, one familiar enough to know this was her weapon's doing- the fighting was unusually brutal in one corner of the Hall. Jenna mentioned something about smuggling it in, but at this point going down there would have been a massacre.

Diana leaps from chandelier to clerestory railing, then sliding down a pillar, chasing after Jenna. She needed to make sure her friend was safe. Her sword could wait.

Each move the two fencers made was imprinted in Jack brain, like a series of photos, each capturing in high detail the form and movement of the two combatants. Jack’s excitement did fade however, as the match became more poking and prodding than actual sword fighting. He could understand their use of caution, but at the same time he was really looking forward to learning a thing or two from the sword fighters. Just as soon as it seemed like the match would pick up, the distinct sound of SMG fire echoed throughout the halls, which filled the spectators with panic.

Jack attempted to make his way to the grand hall against the flood of party goers who were trying to seek refuge in the depths of the castle. He fought his way through, only to reach the hall and the massacre that was taking place there, as several of the guards in one corner of the room had resorted to outright savagery to deal with the revolutionists. If he hadn’t seen what he had seen in the Middle East, this would definitely top his list in things he would not want to relive, as bodies piled up all around him. No would have been the perfect time for Jack to sneak away and do his investigation, and that’s exactly what he did.

As Jack moved towards one of the castles many hallways, one of the crazed guards stepped in front him, blocking his path and any progress he was trying to make. “Stand aside.” he said trying to avoid a fight. The guard however was hearing none of Jack’s words, and lashed out at him with what looked like a bloody cleaver. The attacks were sporadic and wild, which made it difficult for Jack to predict the guards movements, but just then the guards arm came crashing down. The cleaver cut deep into Jack’s arm, almost taking it completely off, but it was the perfect opportunity for Jack to strike, and just as the guard looked up in confusion as to why Jack wasn’t screaming in pain, Jack’s free arm punched clean through the guards chest, which killed him instantly.

The guards lifeless body hit the ground with a thud, and to Jack’s surprise, the guard wasn’t all human, but seemed to be a combination of machine and man. This had to be what Jack was looking for, but that would have to wait, as his attention shifted upwards as he heard the jewels on the chandeliers above chiming. The young fencer, that he had seen earlier, was bounding from one chandelier to the next, before sliding down one of the many marble pillars that supported the grand halls roof. She seemed in a hurry, and she was dashing in the direction that Jack was headed, before he got distracted by the guard.

He took a look at his left arm that was just barely hanging on by a few strands of muscle and skin. Using his other hand, he braced it back into place so that his healing factor could begin to repair the damage a he made his way into the heart of the castle, in pursuit of the young girl.