ADRIAN IVASHKOV + REMUS LUPIN + SHANIA ANDOR + MIA RINALDI + ALEX BELIKOVA + RAKSHA KELLER + MARCELINE PROUDSTAR (+ NPC STRIGOI 2)
PG | COMPLETE
Pre-Battle (All)
Adrian wasn’t looking forward to what was about to happen to say the least. Outside of Lee, he’d never gone up against a Strigoi head on before, and he was put down pretty quickly after the endorphins from the bite hit him like a freight train. He held the silver stake, the charmed silver stake, firmly in his hand and as they approached the location of the Strigoi, Adrian nodded to the rest of the teammates and concentrated. There was going to be a serious spirit hangover once this was over.
Though the rest of the team outside of Alex wouldn’t see what he was doing, Adrian first started by making it seem like a dozen guardians had surrounded the two Strigoi. Exchanging a look with Alex, he hoped that the two of them could keep this up until their group were able to get the drop on the vampires.
There was no doubt in Shania’s mind that things were about to get extra outrageous and that meant that she was totally okay with trailing up behind Alex and Adrian. She may have had her own compulsion abilities - but she was confident that the two of them had a good handle on using their illusions to get the Strigoi where they wanted them. So there she positioned herself - blaster holstered on her left leg and her lightsaber in her right, ready to activate if anyone needed a little extra corralling,
Keller kept to human form for the approach, but she stretched out her senses to their limits, prepared to turn as soon as the time came. She couldn't see what illusions the two Moroi were using to distract the Strigoi, but she could sense the exercise of power, and it was strong enough to give her goosebumps. She could sense the Strigoi, as well. Most humans referred to vampires generally as ‘undead,’ but these things fit the term in a way that neither Alex and Adrian nor Nyssa and Delos back home could ever do. Her nose twitched, and she eyed the Moroi again. They were the least physically hardy of the group (Remus Lupin might sometimes look like a strong wind could knock him over, but Keller was aware of a deceptive strength there, not identical to her own world's shifters, but similar) and the most important. If they lost the spirit users, they would have no choice but to kill the Strigoi by any means they had.
The only up side of the attacks, if you could call it that, was that it left more and more of a presence to be tracked, and Marceline Proudstar was up to the task. It had taken days of grueling effort, but after yesterday's near-miss (or was it really a near-hit?) she knew they were closing in. Which meant their targets probably knew it, too. She wasn't sure how theirs had teleported away at the last second, but that didn't stop her from having a good impression of how to follow. Thankfully, she'd been staying in touch with Shania and her team, so when they'd discovered the two Strigoi together, it was just a matter of reaching out to coordinate a joint attack. Thankfully, they were close by due to their own skilled tracking and here they were, ready to take down these assholes that had the whole city in a panic.
Before she had been awakened and had experienced the strength and power of her true existence, Mia Rinaldi had been training in combat. She had been strengthening her muscles, learning to leverage her relatively smaller size and lighter weight in a fight. She'd been determined to be strong, developing her water tricks and practicing against dummies and the few willing guardians. She had been proud of what she thought were her accomplishments, without realizing that she was fighting against the very goal she sought. Strigoi were titans in a world of ants.
This world to which they'd been brought was different, however. The Moroi didn't hide their existence from humans. There were no Alchemists to cover for them, and there were species here that were nothing like those of their own world. There was power, greater challenges and greater threats, and new weapons. These strangers had helped to awaken Mia and the others, but she didn't trust them or their influence. Why only wound when they could kill? That was the argument she was having with the other Strigoi now. There were only two of them left - they could hardly count that hybrid Mischa had turned - if they continued to bide their time, it would be only her (she had no intention of allowing the other Strigoi to outlive her). They needed to turn the tables now before it was too late.
And then it was too late. No dhampir should have been able to sneak up on them, but somehow the Atlanteans must have called in reinforcements. She turned from the argument to face the attackers. At least, they would have a proper fight.
Alex nodded at Adrian and focused on her Spirit, helping him maintain the illusion of a dozen of guardians surrounding the two Strigoi. Illusions weren’t her forte, she had always leaned more toward healing and animals like Lissa did; but she could do it. And she would try her hardest to do it in order to save everyone in town. She had to do it.
Shania couldn’t see the illusions but there was a slight uptick in the energy she felt around her - perks of being a Jedi, The Force could be a real boon sometimes when you were in unfamiliar territory. But that mean that Alex and Adrian were doing their part so Shania drew her lightsave, activating it with that tell tale little sound it always made. The sound was something she was fond of, that little woosh sort of noise always got her adrenaline going - not that there was any lack of that in a situation like this. All the while Shania made sure to stay close behind Alex and Adrian, ready to distract anything away from them if it got hairy.
If this had been any other time, Adrian would have been watching Remus, Shania, and the others work. He wasn't an agent, and he didn't go on missions. He'd seen plenty of fights and had been in near-death situations before, but dhampirs didn't wield magic and lightsabers. Instead, he was focused with Alex at his side while they kept the illusions going until the group had gotten close to the two Strigoi. Once they had formed their own circle around them, the illusion vanished, and their groups surged in.
Strigoi Team 1 (Adrian + Remus + Shania + Mia)
Though he was slightly terrified of them, Adrian couldn’t help but be amazed by how the two Strigoi moved. They were stronger and faster than any guardian he’d ever seen, but it was the sickly, pale skin and red-ringed eyes that took away any sense of awe. As Remus and Shania battled the Strigoi, he gripped the stake in his hand and waited to make his move. He’d practiced a few times on training dummies, but he was still worried he wouldn’t be able to push the stake through as far as it needed to go. He wasn’t a dhampir or even like the other vampires in Atlantis. Moroi didn’t have that kind of strength.
He briefly glanced over to make sure Alex and the others were alright but it was then that it looked like Remus and Shania had started to make their move.
There’d been a moment, early on, when Remus held his breath because he wasn’t sure their plan would work. They couldn’t afford to let the two Strigoi get away; they might not have this chance again. But it did work, and the group had made their move as planned. It was exhilarating, in a way. It reminded Remus of what they’d done in the Order, or what they’d tried to do. A part of him that he kept locked away felt truly alive here, able to stretch his wings, so to speak.
The fire that ringed the group grew closer, threatening the Strigoi and their escape. Remus knew they didn’t want to kill them. He knew, deep down, there was someone underneath. He knew what that was like.
He had his wand out, but the spell he cast -- an attempt at a binding spell, one he suspected would only slow her down instead of stop her entirely -- was nonverbal.
The spell did stop Mia, but not for long. That was one of a Strigoi's strengths. Magic was not, and this group had managed to surprise them. The wizard's spells hit, unlike those of the middle-aged witch the other night. Like the woman, he used some kind of wand. Mia hesitated to touch it for the same reasons she avoided the silver stake in Adrian's hands, wary of whatever charms it contained, but moved - aggravatingly slowly from her perspective - to knock his aim off.
Shania was holding back on using her lightsaber - mostly she’d been using it to distract the Strigoi, it was a bright glowing object after all and she knew they tended to not be the biggest fans of anything bright or light. But when it came to the fight - she focused more on her other Jedi abilities, but no matter how many times she pushed Mia back with the force, it wasn’t like it was going to actually knock her down or do enough damage to contain her. With Remus’ spell working at least enough to slow the Strigoi woman down Shania made a split second decision; with a flourish of her wrist her lightsaber was holstered on her right hip once more and just as quickly her blaster was in her hand. A quicker and easy shot hit the blonde right in her thigh. Now Shania just had to hope that it kept her slowed down a little more. At this point the Jedi was just hoping that they could stall, slow, hinder the creature just enough so that Shania and Remus could hold her in place and Adrian could do his part.
Once Adrian had gotten close, really close enough, to see the Strigoi, he nearly froze in place. He’d been expecting a no-name Strigoi. He might have recognized some family traits, but never expected to recognize the vampire as someone he knew personally. Someone that Jill was close to and Rose and Lissa knew from school. The red rings around her eyes looked wrong and out of place on her face that normally looked much younger than her years. It wasn’t until Shania’s blaster started going off that he really came to and knew that he needed to focus if this was going to work. And right now knowing the Strigoi in front of him, he was going to make sure that this worked.
“Use the fire to keep her in check!” He yelled out to Remus. He remembered the stories of how Christian and Lissa had worked to trap Dimitri, and even if he hurt himself using the stake, it wouldn’t matter as long as he hit his mark.
The blaster shot burned. It would heal with time - not even very much time - but it angered Mia that this human had been able to injure her. “I'm going to kill you!” Unlikely many newly-awakened Strigoi, Mia had received training in her old life, skills that carried over. However, she was still slowed by the spell, the injury, and her own uncertainty. Adrian, with the stake, was a threat, but the Adrian whom the old Mia knew was not a fighter, whereas the other two clearly had some experience. She made a choice, fueled by her anger and struck at the woman’s face, but that left her unguarded.
Even though it was still hard to remain focused when this was Mia Rinaldi standing right there in front of him, Adrian gripped the stake in his hand and waited for his mark. He winced and gritted his teeth at the sound of the punch to Shania, but Remus was just behind setting up the new fire trap. Adrian knew that this needed to happen fast, and he would only get a small window to pierce her heart with the stake. The fire was going to hurt like hell, but as soon as the others had Mia mostly contained so that she couldn’t lash out at him, Adrian made his move. The hot fire singed his clothes and not to mention his flesh, but he used his body weight to drive the stake into her chest. Other than the short-lived self defense classes with Malachi Wolfe, he’d never had any formal training, and probably would have scoffed at the idea of it, so driving in the stake was a lot harder than the dhampirs made it look. It took another hard push with his entire body to finally drive it in, and in that moment the flash of light was so intense that he lost sight of the other members of his team and the other group. One person he still could see, though, was Mia. One look at her, and he knew it had worked.
Strigoi Team 2 (Keller + Marceline + Alex + NPC Strigoi)
The fire seemed to be keeping the Strigoi contained. Keller edged around the perimeter of the ring of fire, watching for an opportunity. Remus, Shania and Adrian were dealing with the female. It was up to their team to handle the male. He was taller and looked older than the female. Fortunately, Marceline and Keller were both strong in their own ways. The aim was to pin him and hold him long enough and steadily enough for Alex to get the stake through his heart.
Keller wasn't entirely confident about that part of the magic, either the silver weapon or the assurance that staking the vampire would somehow cure him rather than kill him. Nevertheless, the cold truth was that even if they failed, and this Strigoi died like the one Ezio and Lissa's team had fought, both it and Atlantis would be better off. Keller had heard of shifters who had gone mad, almost feral, carried away by their wilder natures. If that were ever to happen to her, she would hope someone would put her down.
But Alex, Lissa, Adrian, they reminded her of Iliana - the kind of people who believed there was always a third option and who insisted on trying it. Iliana had the power to back up her idealism. Keller wasn't certain about the spirit users, but from what she'd seen so far, they certainly had something.
She'd trained for things like this with her parents most of her life and the training in Atlantis since she'd gone back in time just added to that, but this was Marceline's first real possible life-or-death situation and she was nervous. Despite what she could display on a fairly regular basis, she knew how and when to be serious and this was definitely one of those times. She leaned on Alex's distractions and used her own teleportation abilities to keep the target unable to watch all of them at all times and it made her smile grimly each time he lashed out at one of the illusion-guardians. It was important to distract and delay until Keller was in position, then they'd move and take him in tandem.
Alex gripped the stake tightly in her hands, watching the Strigoi within the fire. She couldn’t deny she was scared. She knew what Strigoi could do to a Moroi. Her whole biological family had been destroyed by them and if it hadn’t been for her Mom and Dad, she would’ve met the same fate she was sure. And her Dad... Dimitri... Her own father had been a Strigoi. That’s what made her believe this could work. He had been restored, saved from being Strigoi all his life. And it was her Aunt Lissa who made it possible. If she had been able to do it, she could too. She watched Keller and Marceline work, waiting for the right moment to pull that stake in her hands through the Strigoi’s heart.
Keller saw her opening and leapt for the back of larger Strigoi, shifting as she did so. He was quick to react and turned to meet her, but the panther was able to knock him down and plant her body across his neck and right arm. She hissed at the Strigoi, while in the back of the panther's mind, Keller fought the instinct to bite. Her tail lashed in discomfort at the proximity of the fire, and she looked up at her teammates.
Marceline was right there, pinning the other arm and both legs. Between the two of them, he wasn't going anywhere but she quickly realized that he was nearly a match for her own strength and while she expected it, it was another thing to experience it. She whipped her head up, one braid pulling loose from the back of her head. "Now, Alex!"
Alex gripped the stake tighter in her hand and jumped into the ring of fire when Marce gave her the sign. She almost froze for a moment. She had never done that before, restore a Strigoi, and the idea of not being able to do it at the first try scared her, she wasn’t going to lie. But she was able to shook the fear away as she knelt next to the pinned Strigoi and raised her arm with the stake on it, ready to shove it in the former Moroi’s heart. It didn’t quite reached the heart and she had to pull back to try again quickly, knowing they might not get another chance. When she shoved the stake again, this time she knew she had hit the heart. The white light she had heard of when her father was restored burst around them and blinded everything and everyone.
Post-Restoration (Adrian + Mia)
Mia felt like she'd been dreaming. At least, she really, really wished that she'd just woken from a terrible nightmare, that she would be rising for her evening workout, grabbing her breakfast and heading to work. At first she was dazed, half-blinded both physically and mentally by the explosion of light and magic. She stopped struggling against the hands and spells holding her. Although she would later, she didn't register the injuries (her own quickly-healing nor those she'd caused) or her location or the faces except for the one right in front of her. Dumbly, she asked, "Adrian?"
She knew it was him, of course. She'd recognized him before, but it hadn't meant the same. Before, she hadn't been herself. She'd been - the floodgates collapsed. Mia began shaking with dry, heaving sobs.
Adrian's entire body was practically humming from the spirit that flowed through him. The bright light that flashed and practically blinded everyone was fading, but he could still see Mia in front of him. He hadn't been there for Belikov's restoration, but now he knew exactly what it had been like for Lissa that day she'd saved him.
The moment she started to sob, Adrian pulled her close and held her gently as she shook. He and Mia were acquainted, sure, but they'd never been close. Not like Jill or Christian or even Rose and Lissa later on. Now, though, he felt like he'd kill for her if someone tried to come at her again or tried to take her away like she was still a threat.
"You're okay," he said softly and gently rubbed her back. She was far from okay, and her nightmare was just beginning even though for everyone else it had ended. "You're okay." It was all he knew to say.
Mia wasn't okay. She'd fought this since Seattle when she and her friends had been captured by Isaiah, and he’d tried to starve the Moroi into turning willingly. She hadn't thought anything could be worse than that nightmare, but sadistic as it had been, there had been a choice. They'd escaped before either of them could be worn down - thanks to Christian and Rose's quick thinking. But that was what Strigoi were: sadists, torturers, the monsters that had killed her mother and Mason.
They were the ones she'd signed up to fight, not to join. It was a risk of offering to fight, even greater than that of dying, and - it was too much.
In the back of his mind, Adrian knew that they needed to get out of being so left in the open. As far as he knew these were the only two Strigoi left in Atlantis, but they didn’t need to take any chances. He knew that Mia and the other Strigoi, now Moroi, needed to get to Medical to be checked out - he needed to see medical for his burns - but instead he simply held her there for as long as she would let him. The other members of the team barely registered since he was so focused on her. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her here, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone treat her like she might still have a little Strigoi in her like they had Belikov back at Court. No, Adrian Ivashkov finally had his own mission now, and making sure Mia was okay was now at the top of his list.