Northern Lightning

It was a cloudy afternoon in the breezy Zephyros City. The dark-grey and vaguely intimidating clouds made the highly-advanced urbanized city a perfect backdrop for something dynamic to happen. Even the locals unconsciously recognized that their was something great in the works that day; all that was needed was a catalyst to set things in motion.

And, even though nobody was consciously aware of it, that catalyst was making it's way down a city alleyway at that very moment.

Elysia Blank, to be precise. Elysia was a very twiggy-looking probie (or soon-to-be-agent, if she could pull this mission off) from the Harmonia Republic's Criminal Investigative Service [ooc: as a side note, that name be temporary XD]; a small yet very refined branch of the military. She had long blonde hair (tied into two ponytails on either side of her head), pale blue eyes, an orange hoodie, white shorts, and boots that went about halfway up her shin. An excited yet determined glow blazed in her eyes like fire; she finally had a chance to finally give herself a reputation amongst the other agents in her field, and she wasn't about to just pass it up.

Elysia walked warily yet rather confidently down the abnormally long alley; occasionally glancing down at a small device which she was using as a GPS. She was looking for the back door to an old building near the edge of the city called Pace Warehouse 1, where she was being sent to apprehend a certain infamous felon who had apparently been hiding out there.

Gradually, Elysia's pace slowed a bit. She was well aware that the only reason she had been dispatched on this mission was because it only had a 10% success rate and none of the regular agents wanted to deal with it. Despite this, Elysia also knew that there were boatloads of greenhorns just like her that could have been sent out as cannon fodder instead of her, one of the newest probies out there. Her pace quickened back up again. Somebody had to have at least a little faith in her, and she wasn't about to let whoever they were down.

Finally, she reached a rusty metal door with "PACE #1" painted on it at the very end of the alleyway. Elysia drew a breath and quietly pressed an ear to the door; attempting to detect any signs of life inside with a supersonic listening device that could even pick up the fluttering of a butterfly's wings- underwater. Hearing nothing after a few minutes, she decided to risk it and began stealthily focusing pure electricity through a prism that allowed her to quietly and inconspicuously cut through the metal door.

For Elysia was no ordinary human. She was a Mage, or specifically, an electricity-weilding Mage; very few of which were left in the world.

Edit by Jay;
http://bluejay.titanpad.com/2
^Wootwoot I found the pad! |D

A pair of inquisitive blue eyes watched Elysia from up on the roof of the neighboring buildings. They watched as she entered the warehouse, the male they belonged to slipping down onto the pavement in the alley a small flurry of white dust bracing his fall before dissipating. Jack Cristelle was a skinny young lad with pale skin and white hair. He crept quietly through the alley and towards the door, a light wooden staff in his hand.

Now Jack was quite a rarity among the magic community as most mages are born female, with only a very small percentage being male. This didn't make any difference to him however as -other than possessing magic that enabled him to control and manipulate ice- he was just like anyone else.

Elysia crept quietly into the old warehouse as soon as she made an opening and almost immediately she felt the sensation of being watched, despite the apparent lack of life. There was no evidence of any recent inhabitants whatsoever, yet Elysia knew not to believe her eyes at first glance. She snuck further inside through the shadows, keeping a sharp lookout for anything out of place. She noticed that the air near the middle of the room got progressively colder the closer she got, so she began to head in that direction. Her spine shivered a little from the peculiar sensation of being watched, but she paid it no mind and crept slowly and cautiously forward, using whatever leftover materials, boxes, or overall machinery that had been left behind when the warehouse closed for cover so not to bring too much attention to herself. "This is it..." she thought to herself silently as she neared her destination.

In the centre of the warehouse there was a small layer of frost. It didn't cover the whole of the warehouse floor, only a part of it, the bright white glittering in the little bit of light that filtered in through a damaged part of the roofing. However there was no one there, it was just as deserted as it had seemed when Elysia had first walked in.

That was, until Jack stepped in. Silently he crept after her, using his bare feet to his advantage to stealthily follow the other mage. Quietly, Jack climbed up onto some of the boxes and other objects that were stored in the warehouse and ducked down on top of one, watching Elysia from above. He guessed why she was here.

Elysia cautiously and curiously approached the frost, examining it carefully. It did appear to have been created by a mage, and better yet it seemed to fit the calling card of her target. But then, where was he?

That's when that eerie chill you get when you're being watched crawled it's way up Elysia's spine. She could feel the atmosphere behind her get heavier, as if she were being approached in some fashion. She blinked once, then sprang up into the air and landed on the top of a pile of nearby boxes (Ooc: not the same boxes XD) tot ry and get a better look around. She felt excited and gut-wrenchingly nervous all at the same time, looking around for the sorce of her discomfort. She only just managed to catch a glimpse of an odd figure on top of one of the other piles of boxes...

Jack watched as Elysia examined the layer of frost in the center of the warehouse. In his hurry to try and avoid direct confrontation, he hadn't allowed it enough time to melt and hadn't realised due to being used to colder temperatures. He mentally cursed his own curiosity. He could be long gone by now if he hadn't been so nosy.

His bright blue eyes focused on the girl blinking as she sprang into the air. After a quick bit of thinking, he hopped down from the top of the box he was crouched on, concealing himself behind it. At least he knew one thing now; she was a mage.

Elysia stayed still for what felt like eons; keeping a close eye out for signs of the thing she had seen earlier. She was certain her target was here now; there was more than enough evidence to convince her that this was so. She could also see that this guy wasn't a big fan of making the first move; not unlike herself. After a few more long minutes of nothing happening, Elysia sighed and decided she didn't have much more of a choice in this situation.

"Hey," she called from her stack of boxes, "would you do me a favor and please please just stand down? I don't wanna fight you, and I'm assuming you don't wanna fight me. So let's just make this easier on the both of us? Please?" she practically begged. Her voice was not pompous or demanding (like many other typical Republic agents' would be), but rather pleading and almost understanding to an extent.

Jack held his tongue, waiting silently behind the boxes as Elysia hovered nearby. After those few awkward minutes, he was surprised by the sudden voice that echoes through the warehouse. He wasn't surprised because of the voice itself but rather because of how quiet it had been before it.

Keeping himself hidden, he merely whispered into the air next to him, a light breeze fluttering around the warehouse until it reached the female mage. It gently flowed around her, tiny particles of ice forming and leaving a light dusting of frost on Elysia's hair and clothes. If you listened closely enough, you could hear a voice, whispering;
"Now why would I want to do that?"
A slight chuckle accompanied it, making the voice seem almost... innocent.

Elysia heard the wisp of cold wind, the words and the chuckle and gasped. She reeled backwards, unable to keep her balance after being startled so badly, fell off the pile of boxes and landed on her back. She barely even made a sound as she hit the floor, oddly enough. She pulled herself up and dusted her orange sweatshirt off; apparently still having her pride intact. She looked around. "Well, I can understand why you'd say that... But you stole something that's very important! And that something you have to atone for!" Elysia exclaimed. Although she was quite dedicated to her country, as one could plainly see, she seemed to be conflicted over some things concerning it at the same time.

Jack laughed good-naturedly, the wind stealing the sound before it could be heard by Elysia. Unseen, the breeze fluttered over to a group of boxes on the opposite side of the building, Jack's laughter echoing through the warehouse soon after. The ice mage watched as the noise on the opposite side of the room grasped the attention of the female and used the moment to quietly slip back down from the boxes and dart out into the open air.
Within moments he was gone, leaving only a small chuckle and colder temperatures behind him.

Elysia was immediately attracted to the laughter on the other side of the warehouse, but the second she her the light chuckles she knew she had failed. She slumped to her knees; her little heart utterly crushed and the shadow of her slip-up hanging over her very soul. She held her breath until she was purple in the face; trying not to let the tears escape. It took all the strength she had to get back up.
She dried her damp eyes, and then radioed her superiors with the results of her mission.

---Later, in the Evening---

Elysia weakly slid the keycard to her on-base dormitory (which was actually about the size of a smallerish condo, in layman's terms) into the pock and and dragged her sad self in, even more crushed than she had been before. She let the door close on it's own accord (or, it would have if a undentified flying foot hadn't suddenly threw itself in front of it) and flopped face-first onto the couch limply. The door quietly opened back up and in stepped a very tall, very very lanky boy maybe one or two years older than Elysia. He had jet-black hair, a portion of which near the front being colored like a bright flame made of neon colors, and red-and-orange eyes that burned like hot coals. He was dressed rather formally for a boy his age enjoying some leisure time, with black dress pants, a white polo with long sleeves, a partially-open black vest, shiny dress shoes, and a black tie to top it all off. He was often teased for his dark dress, but most people respected or feared him too much to actually lash out at him. This was not only because of his age and apparent wisdom, but also his naturally calm, cool, and intimidating nature.

"Well, don't you look happy." the odd boy (who's name was Simon Weatherly) commented with a slight smirk and plenty of sarcasm to boot.

"Oh not now, Nii-jah." Elysia groaned back quietly. The -jah stemmed from a mispronounciation of the Japanese suffix -chan on Elysia's part, which sorta just became the norm between the two of them. Simon had become Elysia's unofficial adopted older brother since she entered the program without any friends, but despite the obvious age difference he had since become the "younger sibling" in the duo. How this had taken place wasn't really clear, but somewhere along the line Simon had recognized something in Elysia that made her superior to him in that sense.

"Aww, c'mon; tell me what happened." Simon pried playfully, approaching Elysia and poking her in the side. "Otherwise I'm going to make your life a living hell!" he added. Elysia couldn't help but snort at this.

"Going to?..." She muttered teasingly. After a quick moment of silence, she sighed and responded, "They kicked me off the case. HARD. You wouldn't BELIEVE the lecture I got..." she groaned. Simon was shocked, and then he was immediately struck down into that dank mood with her. He knew how much finding that Jack rouge-scum had ment to her; how much succeeding had ment to her. For a long time the two shared a silent understanding of the crushing blow the blonde was suffering.

"Well... Sulking won't do you any good. If anything it'll get you demoted, and you don't need that." Simon finally stated; breaking the silence. "Anyways, you got closer to that guy than even the top officials! That's something to celebrate, right?" he added with more enthusiasm than he had probably ever shown in his whole life. Elysia didn't say a word. "Oh, forget that case. If it wasn't ment to be, it wasn't ment to be. Let's just go get some food and forget about it."

Elysia didn't respond again, but she did get off the couch. She slowly made her way over to the front door, then stopped with her back to Simon. He cocked his head; unsure of what she was planning.

"LAST ONE TO THE RESTERAUNT BUYS!!!" Elysia laughed meniachly as she darted out the door and just kept running.

"Wha- HEY!" Simon called after her, startled; although he two was soon smiling as he took off after her.

---A Week and a Half Later---

It wasn't too long before Elysia was back to her old self and her old routine after the inferential with the felon, Jack. Her record was still in fairly good condition, as it had been mentioned in her case report that, as a trainee, she had probably been in over her head and this was to be accounted for when looking at the failure as whole. Elysia knew this wasn't completely true and she hated to be patronized, but her rank continually did this sort of thing to her.

Elysia was back to taking cases now, however; and she was ready to move forward with her life now. She was just about to head out on one mat that very moment, but first she had to make a stop in the nearby records room to pick up some information. She noticed that the Records Manager wasn't around and let herself in the side door with the master key and a frown, only to get a familiar chill sensation upon entering...

For a building that kept such precious records of old cases and other such information, it was ridiculously easy to break into. Jack had managed to pick the locks fairly easily using a paper clip, though he had gotten quite a bit of practice in the weeks prior. Making sure to keep a lid on the icy temperature that followed him whenever he wasn't concentrating, he darted through the corridors until he reached the room he needed. Grinning, he picked the main lock into the room and went inside. Closing the door, he froze the lock, preventing it from being opened for at least a couple of hours whilst the ice thawed.

Jack spent those next few hours combing through old case records, looking for cases where the objects he was looking for would crop up. There were quite a few of them, he knew that much. They were much sought after items after all.
Jack was still sat cross-legged on the floor when he heard a key turning in the door. The noise having startled him, he quickly hopped up onto his feet, grabbing his staff and shoving the camera he had been using into his pocket. Jack quickly replaced the file he had just been looking through onto its shelf and looked around for another exit. None sprang to notice and he promptly darted toward the back of the room.

Staying as quiet as possible, he looked around for a window or something. Nothing. He racked his brain for an escape route but paused as he noticed the frosty cloud of breath coming from his parted jaws.
Crap!
Being so engrossed in combing through the records, Jack had failed to conceal the icy temperature that followed him. The room's temperature was below zero by now and Jack was pretty sure that whoever had just walked into the room knew that this wasn't normal.

Elysia shivered as she was hit with the cold air and as memories from the day in the warehouse came rushing back. She clenched her fists and regathered her thoughts quickly; the records room was being heisted (oh that is so totally a word XD) and she had to do something about it before sensitive information was leaked. Of course, who else should she find, trying to escape to the back of the records room except...

"...You!!!"

Too late. Jack had to act pretty fast if he was going to get out of there before security arrived.
"Sorry I can't stay!" he replied, thinking on his feet. He quickly used his staff to knock the boxes of records off of the shelves, blocking Elysia's path as he ran the other way. He skirted around a shelf and headed back towards the still open door.
Darting through it, Jack didn't waste any time running off. When he encountered someone he'd use a short burst of wind to propel himself over them and keep running, or he'd form ice beneath their feet and cause them to trip over. The escape wasn't exactly the best one on record, but it was at the very least successful.

"Hey, wait-!" Elysia began to call out, but her voice was swallowed by the boxes that came tumbling down on her. Case reports and minor bits of archived evidence entombed the female mage for about three seconds before she burst out again and hit the ground running after the ice mage like the devil was at her heels.

Finding himself with some free time, Simon made his leisurely way down the hall to go find some files for research in the records room. Technically, he could've just gone and looked up the files in the electronic archives, but he didn't want to go over there and be forced to listen to the din of all those people going about various business while he tried to get work done. Plus, nobody seemed to appreciate good old paper anymore. 'Course his little trip had to be sabatoged when some maniac went rushing past him, causing him to slip on some... ice?

Before he could fully get his mind around this, two familiar blonde ponytails rushed past him as well. "Wait... What is she doing?" he muttered aloud to himself as he watched her speed down the hall.