NIXIE III

Difficulty level: 5

Status: Officer Delta missing

They took a two hour ride to Bavarian forest at four in the morning. There was no traffic and the sun wasn't even out yet. When the bus entered the sanctuary zone, they started changing into their uniforms, with a little struggle as the bus was still on the move.

"Listen up team! We are capturing a Nixie this time. Previous teams that were sent out to deal with the Nixie came back with no casualties, but none of them were able to capture it alive. The level five did not come from the danger of dealing with the Nixie, but from the difficulty in convincing, or taking by force, the Nixie to be taken to base. If negotiations fail, we will wear out the Nixie and have the clean up team retrieve it. Firstly, we will head for Martinsklause lake. No Nixie has been reported to be living in those waters, so there is a higher chance of encountering one there as Nixies live independently." Timothy informed them. "Formation will be: Mark and Tommy taking the front, I will follow with Johnny, then Fuyu and Jay, Yves and Dominique, and finally Jack and Harper will take the back."

Dominique's hand rose up, "I think Tommy should be in the middle so he can cast a magic protection spell around all of us."

"I think it would be better if he could blow away obstacles from the front, what do you guys think?" Timothy looked at them, waiting for an answer.

"I agree with Dom, we could have Johnny in the front to do something similar." Jack said.

"I'm with Dom on this one." So they agreed to move Johnny to the front. Tommy will walk with Fuyu and Jay will walk with Timothy instead.

Suddenly, the vehicle came to a halt and they got off. Behind them, a smaller van arrived and five people in uniform came out. The Alpha branch briefly introduced themselves before the two teams headed into the forest.

When they reached ten minutes of walking time, Tommy casted a magic resistant shield on them, the radius spread to the clean up team walking behind as well.

"What do you think the Nixie will appear as?" Jay asked.

"Probably a naked woman. Water spirits always do that when their targets are men." Timothy replied.

They continued walking in silence. During their journey, there were multiple encounters with harmless creatures that were just minding their business, but the team couldn't help but feel paranoid that they might be the Nixie in disguise.

A short while later, they arrived at a large water body surrounded by large trees and flowers that were in full bloom. The air seemed to be whispering a tune to lighten the atmosphere up. Cool breezes brushed past their faces, easing away the strains on the men's faces. There were many nymphs running around, both of wood and water types. Mark was sent out to ask for intel on the Nixie.

As he took a step forward out of line, he grabbed the vial Dominique gave him from his pocket and downed it in one gulp. A sudden warmth took over his body, and he felt like his steps held more power.

"Hello ladies," they giggled as he strode towards them, waving and smiling, "has there been any mischievous business going on in these waters?"

"We are not naughty nymphs sir, we swear!" They still held their smiley expressions. One water nymph reached out a hand to pull Mark closer, he was hesitant but stepped forward into the freshwater. She leaned towards him and gave a kiss on his cheek before moving closer to his ear, obscuring her lips from the rest of the team members as she whispered words into his ear. "You are looking for Nixie." She declared. Mark nodded in response and stood still, waiting for more information to be given.

"You can speak the language of the gods," she told him. It was information that he already knew and he questioned its relevance to the topic. "You should try to call her." She let go and dived into the water, disappearing. Mark returned to the rest of the team with what he was told.

"Do you know the language they speak?" Fuyu asked as he made his way over. The team crowded into a circle and started talking.

"They can communicate in human language, but their original language, I am unsure. I read about it before coming here, but I don't know if it'll work."

"You should try, there's no better choice right?" Jay told him, so Mark stepped out and started to speak in a language they didn't understand.

Suddenly, the nymphs made their way over one by one, and it started to get chaotic. They flocked around the team, separating the members. They reached up a hand to try and locate each other, but it was no use. They got swept further away from each other with the tide of the marching nymphs and were struggling to walk against the flow back to where they were. The circle got so big that they couldn't locate the end of it and how to get out.

"I got you." Dominique grabbed Jay's hand and pulled him out of the circle. The two of them stood outside of the situation, before Dominique decided to go back in and fetch out more members.

A while later he came back with Fuyu, and the crowd started to die down. The remaining members got themselves out, gasping for air.

"Seven, eight, nine. Mark, where's Mark?" Timothy ran back to the crowd, but they were already dispersed by then, and Mark was nowhere to be seen.

Timothy looked over the area hopelessly. He could be in the lake, or taken into the forest. No matter what, they had to relocate his whereabouts as soon as possible, or there would be no progress in the mission, not to mention that the team were worried sick for his safety.

The operation's goal had to be put on pause, and it now had a new priority: Locate officer Delta who went missing in action.