Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Mitsuru, Common Room — Economics and Business Lesson, Part Deux
Although she remained courteously silent throughout Q's defense, Mitsuru's unmoved still-frosty features made it clear she was both unimpressed and not buying what he was selling.
"I'm aware of fiat currency, thank you, Sir," she replied, even though her folded arms and the emptiness of her smile said she was anything but grateful, "I'm also aware that this is thus far the public first market on Battleworld in which the purchasing power pre-existing Earth currencies have been directly compared. Informal it may be, but the entire world has eyes and ears here, which in turn means these transactions could very easily become embedded in precedent if even one chunk or another saw it was to their advantage to push the envelope."
"You, yourself just pointed out that the strictures of prior exchange rates no longer apply to our current, undefined monetary reality, so it's quite strange that you chose to announce the relative value of USD as if it were still fact while making your purchase. Stranger still is that you actually chose to abide by the 'what it's worth to you' guideline rather than purchase from the price point already established by the first customer. It's a nice notion to be sure, but I thought nobody in their right mind would throw away such large sums of money supposedly for the sake of principle unless they were deliberately pursuing ulterior motives. It's a great relief to learn the act stems from your nature as a blundering simpleton rather than deliberate malice, however."
Chewing-out complete, the woman in the blue dress turned away from the floofy scientist in a clear dismissal, re-gathered any composure and politeness she'd lost in the exchange, and paced a few steps back over to the shopkeep herself. "Hiring a crier would also be a good idea, but when I said 'marketing campaign', I was considering something more along the lines of printing advertisements and having them proliferated across the world's larger markets. That would be more efficient, and most likely cheaper in the long term," she explained, didactic but not unkind as she gazed down at her addressee as a matter of necessity.
Looking away for a moment, the CEO-to-be put hand to chin and perused the sight of the portals lining the circumference of the central table. "You may want to consider accepting orders remotely and hiring deliverymen at some point after your reputation has spread, as I'm rather certain that the ability to enter this room is limited to individuals of particular stature or significance. Actually taking your shop on the road throughout the world could also be effective, but there are a great deal of other considerations to going down that route, not to mention the additional effort required."
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Genosha Palace, Magnus' Office: International Superpowered Terrorism Q&A (Part 1!)
Magnus considered all three questions carefully, then chose to first answer the odd one out.
"I find that Battleworld's economy needs some...improvement" he confessed to the hooded bounty hunter. "While I could certainly offer you a modest fortune in Genosha's currency, I doubt you'll find much use of it outside this city. No doubt we'll both feel more satisfied if goods, supplies, or accommodations served for this bounty, rather than a briefcase of bills only useful within Genosha's walls. Please speak to me after we're done here, and we can negotiate an appropriate reward."
Turning to the more complicated questions, Magnus nodded to Trevor. "You make a fair point, sir. I suppose Amber's fate is not entirely up to Genosha, though if she's to be confined anywhere I must insist that it either be here, or the Common Room. Hell's Gate Tokyo seems eager for blood, and not just Amber's. Giving their more reasonable leaders a voice in this decision may appease a few others, but I fear at least one man seems dead set on revenge, not justice. I refuse to allow him to take it.
"As for the Evening Primrose," Magnus continued, "their involvement is still unclear. We have all but two of them confined in the holding cells at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. From what Director Shaw has reported, their cooperation has been quite mixed. Some offer information freely, others are quite defiant."
The Mutant King stopped to consider this demon Trevor spoke of, then sadly shook his head. "While I know nothing about this creature you speak of, it seems clear to me that any promise Amber made to you is invalid. Should you find that members of the Evening Primrose had nothing to do with this bioweapon, then you're free to recruit them as you see fit. If they consent, then they're free to leave Genosha whenever they choose."
Having those questions answered, Magnus waited patiently for the other Hunters to raise their concerns.
Common Room: Y'all Got Your Cootie Shots, So You're Good! 
Sylvia's japes and criticisms seemed to fall on deaf ears; Misaki couldn't trust herself to answer the French woman civilly, and Tokyo really didn't need two enemy states made in the same hour. So instead, she focused on the Underground's concerns and pretended not to hear Santa Destroy's.
"From what we've gathered, the gas only affects humans. Castlevania hasn't had any difficulties with its non-human inhabitants, so from what we can tell no other species has an X-Gene to activate."
Misaki tried not to think of what "non-humans" Count Dracula governed, so she distracted herself with the second question.
"They're the Mutants of Genosha: Homo Superior, from what Princess Lorna says." The Section Chief restrained from mocking the pretentious name for the species.
HGT Roadways: We Ain't Scurred of No Ghosts!
"Not in the traditional sense, no." replied Nishijima. "PANDORA's primary field of study involves highly abnormal phenomena in a certain area of Tokyo. For reasons we can only hypothesize right now, the core districts of this city became inhospitable for human life about ten years ago. It seemed like in a matter of seconds, the laws of physics, nature, even reality became flexible to an insufferable degree. The nation's leadership perished, along with almost everyone within the Chuo, Chidoya, Bunkyo, Taito, Arakawa, Sumida, and Koto municipalities.
To protect the city's survivors, the United Nations funded construction of a massive wall surrounding this area. You can see it out your window right now, if you look closely at the skyline.
◊ That hidden structure in the background is Hell's Gate, from which the Cure has chosen to distinguish our city from the similar ones that come and go around us. PANDORA lies within the walls of Hell's Gate, where we can study these bizarre phenomena up close.
"Of course, such close proximity to this area has its consequences. The Gate affects individuals differently, though one of the mot common afflictions are hallucinations. We've had more than a few staff go mad over the years, so please trust that I have Umbrella's best interest in mind when I request a psychological exam. We would hate for this partnership to go sour with a foreseeable accident."
Santa Destroy, Destroy Resort: Enjoying the View
Nostrils fogged the windowpane. Through her wet, towel-rustled hair, she stared at everything and nothing. The sun to her back, the shade clawing away from her, she watched the city rise with just a flicker of interest. Far as she'd seen, she hated every damn chunk on this rock. But out of the crazy towns she'd been to, at least this one matched her style.
Things made sense here, if you didn't look too close. Reputations ran everything in this city, and nothing built one faster than crushing the reputation of others, along with their skulls. When she found the UAA's card on her bedside table (a poor place for it, since she preferred sleeping on the stone floor to a marshmallow bed) it took some monstrous restraint not to call for a fight right away. She had to remind herself that this wasn't her world anymore; she might be asking to fight freaks stronger than any Contractor, ones that use magic or space swords or RP Gs whipped out from nowhere. That's what was waiting for whoever looked too close.
She told herself there wasn't time for a match anyway; she had a contract to fulfill.
Stepping back from the window, Havoc wiped the shrinking fog from the window; too bad the green smog outside wouldn't clean away like that. She turned back to the king sized bed and the large suitcase on it. It was open, displaying the new combat armor
◊ she'd requested and a little accessory from some nobody named Ashton or Axom or whatever—he said it projected a personal shield, which was all Havoc cared about.
Pizza Bat had provided it for her; Pizza Bat provided a lot of things. Even the clothes she wore now had that ugly brand on it: on the back pocket of her pajama pants, and obnoxiously spread out across the matching black tank top. She tried to ignore them, but it didn't help that the whole mascot and logo had the same cutesy vibe Toto Bunny did.
Still, the perks were pretty nice. Of course, even when she was delusional from blood loss, she had enough sense to put two and two together. This wasn't a practice in generosity, this was a well-placed grunt following orders.
Hell, Mr. Pizza Bat was probably just as scared of Nyarlathotep as she was. Though judging from the few pictures she'd seen of the man (he made a hideous little mascot of himself), this sense of sheer terror might be a little less foreign to him than it was to her. Men like him always had someone to fear, and not just because he ran a professional murder tournament. It was his face: something about those librarian glasses and that bucktooth grin just begged to be fucked with.
Oh well. Long as he behaved, there wasn't a need to act on impulse. She was bound to be busy, anyway. So as she rubbed her hair dry with the towel, Havoc wandered the spacious suite.
Safe, comfortable, and bored out of her goddamn mind.
Camp Nishimi -> outside
“Alright then.” Harris took a moment to open the door a crack and say something out of it in a low voice before looking back at Sin. “We’ll set up a space outside for you to demonstrate - from what the Lieutenant told me and your request for your...flag,” - he said that still with a hint of disbelief - “you specialize in close-quarters combat. Unfortunately we don’t have any training dummies on hand, but we’ll see what we can do.”
Assuming there wasn’t anything else to break the silence of the next few minutes, Lieutenant Jordan’s return would signal Harris and Sin that they were ready. “This way, please.” Sin’s hands wouldn’t be uncuffed until they got outside into a small field within the Camp’s walls, marked off by a small line of soldiers, some of them armed. Insider the perimeter, the finishing touches of a makeshift target dummy made of a couple of poles with newspaper and rope to provide bulk for the limbs were being done. Sin would be notified by a soldier to a plastic bin he was holding - inside would be his flag, folded up and laid on top of the clothes he was wearing yesterday.
“Whenever you’re ready, Sin.” There were many pairs of eyes focused on him now - the Captain’s to evaluate, the others to make sure there wasn’t any funny business.
Common Room
So. Those were the extent of her options. One to buy her and the other Magical Girls a few more days of fighting - something which, given how close to exhaustion the Grief Seed from Walpurgisnacht had become and how itching for conflict their benefactor seemed to want, would very likely become needed in a short time. The other to undo the physical damage Mitakihara had sustained after three days of chaos.
Homura considered them carefully once more. The obvious choice would have been to take the Grief Seeds - she knew they’d need them sooner or later, with the likely amount of fighting they’d have to do whether they’d want to or not. By contrast, wishing for repairs wasn’t going to be of any immediate benefit for them - indeed, since a fixed-up city all nice and neat would likely mean fewer Witches and so fewer Grief Seeds, that kind of wish might make it even harder to maintain their Soul Gems, especially among five Magical Girls. (It did occur to her that The Cure could have fulfilled such a wish by summoning Walpurgisnacht again, but she felt she could get out of it with the right wording.) But there was a reason Homura had asked how much damage would repaired if she decided to make that her request - Oriko’s report last night after she returned from City Hall indicated the municipal government seemed to have gotten wind of them now. They were already making contact with some outside sources neither of them recognized as being native to Mitakihara, beyond the Strike Witches of Folkestone. Between that, and the comments of her allies all expressing concern about how long this state of affairs would last before it might drag a lot people into despair (which would mean more Witches, perhaps too many to handle)...
Whoever that being was that showed up wearing the mask of her dearest friend, he was right about one thing - Homura didn’t have her ultimate safety net of her Time Shield any more. Had she had it, the choice would have been easy - if not, simply retry with another choice - but now she knew she had to consider the risks. Choosing the repair would mean giving up the easy access to Grief Seeds, but as she glanced around at how far others were able to get because they had more unhindered access (and how much trouble Hell’s Gate Tokyo seemed to have, judging from what she’d overheard en route to The Cure), Homura had given Minako’s words from the first day some more thought. Perhaps it was time now to get in contact with City Hall. But it had to be on their terms - there was no way they’d understand just what kind of forces she was dealing with. She couldn’t allow them to assume leadership. Setting the terms like that would be easier if they came bearing gifts of reconstruction, gifts that were clear only she could provide. And just as well, fixing up the city was probably enough to leave an impression.
<Then that is what I will request,> she said finally via telepathy. <That the city be repaired to the state where it was prior to Walpurgisnacht’s appearance. I ask one stipulation before you do - that this be held off until I am able to contact the Acting Mayor, to make it clear who it was that did it.>
Homura knew how to budget Grief Seeds. More often than not, the normal competition among Magical Girls for them required prudent usage of one’s magic so that one’s Soul Gem wasn't overtaxed. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it could be dealt with. On the other hand, only rarely in her experience did formal authorities become involved in the magical world behind the veil of their reality, mainly because only teenage girls could even sense this magic, much less fight it. If they were to finally meet, it would be better for them to come bearing gifts.
This could still blow up, Homura knew. But with Oriko telling her that they were already on their trail, it seemed as though an active move towards them had a better chance as opposed to continuing to hide. As long as she could get initiative, she could at least control how much of themselves would have to be exposed.
Eternal Princess
Night 3...
Irisviel gave the news. Kiritsugu didn't need to hear to know how bad it was. He was there. The evidence was in the streets. He had been in enough war torn countries to know the city was done for. The confirmed dead numbers was enough to make his stomach churn. The MIA made the majority of the list. But even with all they lost, with a city of this size, that still left hundred of thousands. Hundred of thousands in a city that could no longer support them. It will only get worse from here. He didn't know how to stop what was coming. He concentrated at the task at hand.
One by one he loaded the bullets into the clips, counting each one and taking note of every piece of equipment he had. When Irisviel finished, she looked at her husband concerned. Already he was heading back out. Wounds, both physical and psychological still fresh. For all his stoicism, his fingers still trembled. She wished she could stop him, just get him to rest the night, lean on her for comfort. But she knew he would not be deterred, and she had no desire to make things harder on him. With a silent understanding between husband and wife, Kiritsugu stood up and left.
His surveillance familiars had picked up an unknown intruder. The meager forces of the city were already decimated, but this attacker seemed committed to hunting them to the last. They were currently targeting the Fujimura-gumi.
Following a bloody trail dismembered bodies, he tracked the intruder to the 5th story of one of the Fujimura-gumi's buildings. The power for the whole block was out due to the bombings. It was dark, save only the light from fires still burning from the city, and five glowing blades of light. She looked at him with tired eyes, the eyes of a killer, his eyes. Between the dead and the two killers, there was silence as the two stared down each other. With his m950 still trained on the woman, Kiritsugu broke the silence.
"Alice Twilight of Santa Destroy?"
It was a statement as much of as a question. She matched the description of the tournament participant Saber gave him perfectly. She didn't respond, merely continuing to stare at him with dead eyes.
"A long way from your chunk. What do you hope to gain by attacking us now? There is nothing to plunder, no glory to be had, just a shell of a city and its wounded."
She seemed to consider the question, looking down at the dead men at her feet, before looking back.
"...I want to save them..."
Kiritsugu said nothing. He had dealt with enough rouge magi and dead apostles spouting such non-sense. But there was a certain earnestly in her voice that gave him pause. She continued, more talking to her self then to him.
"Its still not enough...I just need to kill alittle more...recreate the same condtions...and they should be free...from Battleworld."
"What are you talking about? What do you know?"
This peaked the Magus Killer's interest. There under the glow of a burning city, the two discussed in length. She was calling this little hypothesis of her's Project: Heroes. It was a long shot with no guarantees, but should it work...it may be the only chance for the people of the city. The only other alternative surrender or defeat.
He went through an entire pack and watched the sunrise before he agreed to help her.
Day 4
"Was I a good king?"
Lancelot turned to his king in astonishment. It was not simply the surprise at the question, but at the fact that she had asked the question itself. Despite the round table, Arturia always had the air of her kingly position about her. Always the persona of the king wore about her like armor, separating her from other people, even her knights and those who would be her comrade. In his life time of devotion, he had never seen Arturia dare show such vulnerability. To open up and allow her self to be so human.
Perhaps uncouth, but he could not help but smile. To be trusted so. To be able to ease the burden of her crown. It warmed his heart to be of service to her as more then a mere sword, but as a friend.
"There never was a better lord, not before nor after. I would not pledge to thee otherwise."
Saber smiled. Looking at Lancelot not as her vassal, but as a valued confidant.
"Thank you...I know that as long as I have your loyalty, my path is righteous. Come, there is much work to be down if we are to secure this domain."
The two split up. With no sentries, they would have to patrol these grounds them selves. With inhuman grace they made their strides until the knight felt the presence of magic. With guarded caution he followed it to its source, stepping in to the confines of a dark parking garage. The object emitting the magical signature calling out to him was a simple box laid neatly upon the ground. Inside an aged relic of familiarity, his when he still walked the earth. The sound of footsteps caused him to draw his sword, only to find a familiar face.
"Sir Emiya, what is the meaning of this?"
The magus killer said nothing, merely pulling out a knife and slicing his own palm. A series of sorcerers words slipped from his mouth.
"Sir Emiya! Explain yourself!?"
Suddenly, the knight felt a grip around his heart, so powerful as to bring him to his knees gasping for air. It chased away all other thoughts, only the pain remained. A pain he felt before. He remembered now. Guinevere. Sweet Guinevere, her life to be forfeit by order of the king.
"...please...please don't...she doesn't deserve this..."
She was loyal was she not!? Forsaking her own chance at love to cover the king's true gender. It was their mutual devotion for their beloved king that brought them together, and from that bond bloomed their betrayal. They were weak, victims to Eros arrow. But how could the warmth from the smile she gave him be wrong. It was not some whim of lust, but love, true and deepest love.
When their sins came to light, it was deemed there must be retribution. She watched in horror as they prepared her execution. Even then he loved his king. If she asked for his head, he would have played his own executioner. But this, he could not let this transpire.
"Artoria!"
The shadowy tendrils crept from the ground below him.
He remembered the blood on his armor. His brothers in arms. Gareth, Gaheris, so many others, slain by his hands.
"ARTORIA!"
The shadows wrapped around him, blanketing his armor, changing it black.
Guinevere shook in his arms, free from the clutches of death the king would befall her. He had averted one tragedy by causing another. As they rode away, he spied his king, looking down upon the lovers and the mess they made. Forever that kingly facade.
"ARTORIAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
The knight stood screaming, changed
by the Berserker spell. Little of the knight remained. Everything fell away til there was only the pain, anger, and sorrow of that moment. The image of that indifferent king seared into his eyes. With a singular determination, the knight sought out it's king.
Did you know this section has a character limit?
Q - Adults with Attitude, Common Room Potions Shop
"Actually, you're incorrect on that point. Santa Destroy began efforts to create a currency exchange on the second day. The value of the Yen has been already set."
Set by a nation that was embroiled in criminal activity, but set it had been.
"But you are correct in thinking I have an ulterior motive."
He pointed at Ixia, not even taking his eyes off Mitsuru.
"No matter what her combat or magical abilities, that is a pre-teen girl. Someone who doesn't deserve to be thrown into this prison to fight for her life. But there's nothing I can do about that. I can, however, make sure that she and whatever friends have been dragged along with her don't suffer for want for money or knowledge of where to spend it and what it's worth. Despite the cavalier attitudes of everyone here, including some in my own group, I'd rather people her age and your age don't have to turn to mercenary work."
"I've had to arm a child already. I don't care what sort of power they wield, they should not have to fight for their lives in this arena. And if I thought I could prevent that by paying far more than the asking price for certain goods, I would. I have considerable reserves of currency in which to do so."
"But thank you for showing me the errors of my ways. I will endeavor to not be kind and charitable again in the future. After all, you are totally correct in believing that the price of a new car is enough to crash your economy. I will go now and beg forgiveness for my sins." He finished, layering on the sarcasm so thick it could be used as the foundations for a skyscraper.
Q huffed, and stormed off out of the Common Room, and down the Common Hallway. There was a awkward few moments as he did this, then quickly hurried back down the hallway toward Dante, Nero and Shanoa.
"Yes, Boothroyd, yes, that's me, sorry. Forgot my name for a moment. You asked for me?" He said, flustered.
Team RWBYJNPR - Junior Detectives, King Magnus' Office, Genosha Palace
Jaune sighed and shook his head. He had hoped that maybe it wasn't that bad, but Magnus was right. The situation was serious, and the damage severe. He'd trusted Amber, and his trust had been betrayed.
"We should probably keep her in the Common Room." Ruby said, earning nods of agreement from the rest of her team. "If only to make sure no-one can hurt her. If Hell's Gate Tokyo is really out for blood, a prison won't stop them."
"But I think discussion of what sort of prison we can put her into should wait until we've actually caught her." Weiss pointed out.
"You said two weren't in custody." Yang said through gritted teeth. "They go missing around the same time as Amber?"
"And what did you mean about Hell's Gate having a treatment?"
Meanwhile, Jaune had turned to look at Trevor, confusion on his face.
"You know about Nyarlothep too? I don't remember you from the Death Star."
"What Jaune is trying to say is that you have our help with that, if you want it. Right, Ruby?"
"What? Uh, yeah, sure. We can fight an evil demon."
"There may be another problem with the investigation." Ren piped up. "Yesterday, Amber made use of a surveillance system to track our movements. If she still has access to it, she could keep ahead of us."
"Yeah, that was weird. I didn't see any cameras."
"Neither did I."
Pyrrha, meanwhile, stayed off to the side, lost. Weiss had explained much to her, but she didn't have the experiences with these people that the others did. Chunks, multiple universes, mutants and contractors and people without any aura at all...
He life had been turned upside-down once again. She'd lost months to death itself, and she was trying to catch up when everything was moving quickly. Hopefully, everything would slow down soon. Maybe at that wedding Weiss had mentioned. They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!
The Grand Re-Vizier
Jack could feel his kick connect and send the strange demon flying backward, only to see the massive creature rise again. Clearly these creatures were much more durable than humans or even the Tarkatans, or else Jack's kick would have broken something. More importantly he still had a rather large, multi-armed guard to defeat before he could progress.
The torch was thrown with a surprising amount of accuracy, but Jack was still more than fast enough to pivot on one heel and spin out of it's path, even as he snatched the burning brand out of the air. He completed the rotation just in time to lash out in a spinning slash with the flaming torch to try and strike one of the guard's many arms aside.
The Shokan's four arms were a blur of flailing limbs, but the samurai had faced multi-armed assailants before. As Jack defended himself with equal speed each empty-hand parry would try to strike sensitive tendons, nerve clusters and soft tissue with knife-hand-chops or the hard bones of the forearm or elbow, and each block with the torch's flame or butt-end was meant to bruise or burn the same, all as Jack analyzed for patterns and an opening to counter-attack.
When he had hopefully battered his opponent enough to slightly slow the whirlwind of punches and choose the perfect moment, Jack would thrust the burning torch into the Shokan Guard's face, trying in equal measure to smash his face in and burn him before going for a leg sweep against the tree trunks that passed for the thing's limbs.
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Velvet Room Corridor, Aigis — Free Samples!
What awaited Sypha on the other side of the door was... the same hallway she had visited before, but with the new addition of a dark blue table of lacquered wood several yards from the door. The table, which took up about half the width of the hallway itself, housed a pair of teapots and three plates piled high with what were probably chocolate-chip cookies. It was ringed by a series of ten velvet cushions of equal blueness, and in one sat a robotic blonde who would hopefully be familiar from the night before, steaming cup of tea in hand.
"Good Morning, Sypha-san," Aigis greeted, continuing to serenely maintain her vigil over the outer door, "Did you sleep well? We have prepared complimentary refreshments for any visitors. Please feel free to partake in them."
Cafe Leblanc, Minako — ／人◕‿‿◕人＼<(Persona?)
"Why do you think I came here in the first place?" Shooting the other brunette a roguish grin, the SEES Leader crossed one leg over another and leaned back. "SEES has plenty of friends and a good rep, yet no way to act covertly. You have awesome thief skills, yet no idea where and when to best apply them. I just had to make sure you guys weren't bad news first, but you seem like my kinda people! ...but do you really have the authority to make that kind of offer, Queen?"
"I'm all for it," she concluded, turning around to settle her elbows on the counter, and with a shamelessly cocksure smirk and glint of mischief in her eye, she offered The Phantom a hand. "Whadda ya say, Wild Card? Shall we make it a contract?"
edited 25th May '17 7:19:43 PM by darksidevoid
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Whatever Ixia was about to say in regards to Mitsuru's advice was blown out of the water by Mr. Boothroyd's verbal bombing raid. It was pretty explosive to the point where even someone as sharp-tongued as her couldn't find it in herself to try to butt in given how much on a roll the guy was and how she knew that there were actual children in much worse circumstances than herself.
Sure she had come from a blighted wasteland crawling with alien creatures but at least she had knowledge and magical expertise on her side to help alleviate the burden. Many were the forsaken among the young encountered during her travels who could earn no coin because they didn't have the skills or background necessary to master a trade. Waiting until the man left, the now less confident potion owner attempted to regain her previous mood while feeling a little guilty over the whole exchange that happened.
"Er... that makes sense. I suppose I can try a bit of advertisement though a printing press is not among the various devices set up in my workshop. They're rather rare where I come from. Though at the moment I've only interacted with customers so far and thus don't know any trustworthy couriers. I also don't believe that many of the people in this room would be willing to be a mere delivery service considering they're among the select few to be able to utilize the portal system. If anything, carrying my potions around for delivery would place them in danger as higher powers would seek to detain them once word spreads out to prevent superior goods from collapsing the medicinal market or helping their enemy faction's numbers recover. Low key is best for now, relatively speaking." Being rather sharp for her age, the witch pointed out the various points that she felt had flaws.
huzzaaaaaaaah
A soft oh escaped Bradley's lips, mock surprise playing out in slow motion, as he noticed Horai's missing arm for the 'first time'. "Quite a story there, hm?" When he gave Bradley a carte blanche on what was essentially full-scale international genocide, a faint ghost of a fond smile returned to Bradley's lips. "Great minds think alike, Director Horai. Come. It's high time you meet the others."
Leading the way, Bradley left the impromptu meeting room...
... and right into the corridor. Bradley quickly stopped right near the door once he saw the two visitors- a headless woman and what he presumed to be a young woman with a penchant for revealing clothing themed to the concept of rabbits- and the two forms standing in the doorway. The young girl- his daughter- quickly lighted up at his sight. "Oh, Papa. You've returned!"
It took less than a half-second for Bradley's expression to change, turning into something fitting the description of a warm and prideful father. "Hello, Sofia. So glad to see that you and Selim are making acquaintances with the others. I brought a friend, Mr. Horai-" He stepped aside to reveal the Director. "-he'll help us find a better home in this new world."
"That's great!" Sofia exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.
"Will you two take him inside, maybe get the kettle going? I'll take to your two friends here."
"Of course!" Sofia took one step forward and gripped Horai by the arm. And although from the outside it very much looked like a girl just trying to pull on an older man, the Director would be able to feel the unusual strength of the grip, completely different from what was to be expected of a woman her height and size. She quickly ushered Horai in without a word, bowed to Celty and Elphelt, and shut the door right behind her- giving Selim a few seconds to place the shadow flower at Celty's feet and wave to her with a smile.
"Apologies for my children's behavior... they haven't truly grasped the weight of the situation at hand." Bradley said, promptly turning to face Celty and Elphelt, not bothered at all by the former woman's utter lack of a head. "With that out of the way, onto the formalities: good morning." He held out a firm yet approachable hand. "I am King Bradley. How may I be of service?"
The mood quickly changed once Horai stepped into the room: the lively looks on both Sofia and Selim's faces were swiftly replaced by faces of boredom and disgust, as the young boy took a few angry steps forward, sizing Horai up. "You?" He asked, his childlike voice now speaking in an unchildlike manner. "Of all the people outside, Wrath decides to drag you in?"
Other figures emerged from the darkness of the underground lab that Bradley called his room (nothing more but a collection of pillars and a stone and marble floor that stretched as far as the eye can see, completely empty except for the occasional pool of dripping water), all of them dressed in varying levels of black, and all of them sporting the same look: surprise, but certainly not the pleasant kind. "Ooooh!" Gluttony said, waddling closer and closer to Horai, his tongue sagging out of his mouth like an untrained dog. "Maybe he wants me to eat him!"
"Don't eat the old man, Gluttony." Lust chided him, and the bald man stopped short in his tracks, his face drooping in an exaggerated frown.
"What a drag..." A deep voice boomed from the back of the room, and if Horai were to squint, he might be able to make out the sight of a large, hulking thing (some would call it a man) just sitting down, head resting against a pillar, stuck in a perpetual state of motionlessness.
"Hey, old man." 'Sofia' spoke up, but now her voice leaned more on that fine line between genders. "You better start telling us what you can do." She walked closer to Horai, her entire body being enveloped by a sweeping bright light, transforming the gentle young woman into a brash androgynous creature sporting a grin that needed no interpretation. "I've killed plenty of grandpas before, y'know?" Envy said, crossing his arms and waiting for Horai's reply- and prompting a not-subtle-at-all eye roll from Pride.
Out of nowhere (and apropos of nothing), Ty Lee popped out from behind Toriel, crossing her arms and huffing down at the pair. "Yeah!" She said, pointing one very joyful thumb at Toriel. "If anyone's in charge, it's her!" She yelled, before smiling and giving her a 'secretive' thumbs up. "Don't worry! I got your back- I've done this before. Several times too!"
Lighting another smoke, Greed took a long, delightful drag out of it as Shijima responded, grinning once he noticed that he managed to get the young man's attention. "Smoking doesn't kill you, retard." He said matter-of-factly, managing to slip in a chuckle or two in the middle of the response before getting back to smoking. "I don't care if you don't own this club. That's something we can change in no time. Wanna know why?"
Moving with the speed of an (admittedly coked up) gazelle, Greed slid an arm around Shijima's neck. "I'm Greed, kid. No joke, no obvious-bullshit-fake-ass-name like you, just Greed." Taking one final drag out of his cigarette, he threw it on the floor and stomped on it. "I showed up here today- I'm guessing just like you and your town. Ikebukuro, right? Has a nice, foreign ring to it. Yeah... listen, kid, I'm gonna make this town my bitch." And although there was the glint of a madman in his eyes, there was also a far more discerning glint: the one of a honest man. "Power, women, you name it. I'm here to take it all."
"I'm gonna make you a final offer, kid. You may not own this club, but you clearly know some people and how this place works." Pushing Shijima's date aside, Greed slipped on his vest. "By the end of the hour, I'm going to find this club's owner, probably break three of his fingers, throw him in the gutter and declare myself the new mob boss of Ikebukuro." He pointed at himself with an unlit cigarette. "The thing is: I'm looking for a number two." He lit it up and pointed at Shijima with it. "And you had the balls to stand up to me. I'm thinking we can give this town the time of its life and make her beg for more."
Reaching for a loose bill stuck between a miraculously unbroken glass of booze and what was supposed to be a napkin holder, Greed slid the cigarette into his lips and glanced back at Shijima. "You coming?"
Azula's fingers moved the brush as if led by a never-ending symphony, only she could hear. As the Princess drew the map of Battleworld from memory, both the Fire Lord and his ministers watched intently as each stroke brought with it a new land for them to consider: a potential enemy, a potential colony, a potential thorn in the Nation's shoes. The only one not furiously copying everything down was the Fire Lord, who watched the Princess' every move.
"There it is." She said, finishing the map and rolling down the enlarged parchment over to the minister's table, watching as their eyes scanned every inch of her work of art. "They call this place Battleworld. It's a very obvious name, but... I like it."
"Battleworld." War Minister Qin repeated, running his fingers over the land to the north of the Fire Nation. "Here, sir. This is the land of shining towers our border scouts have told us about!" He glanced over at the Princess' curious gaze. "Over the past few hours, we've sent our fastest units to the borders so as to... assess the situation. Now that we know what surrounds in, prisoner transports are on their way to build a protective border wall."
"Border wall?" Azula scoffed. "Father, are we really going to waste our time with another one of Qin's plans?"
Before Qin could reply, the Fire Lord nodded. "It is a temporary solution, and it's only meant to cover what will soon be the capital of a new Fire Nation, an empire worthy of surviving and thriving in this Battleworld. War Minister Qin will inform you of the invasion plans after this meeting- I expect you to be a part of this invasion force, Azula."
With a satisfied grin, the Princess bowed. "Thank you for this honor, Father." She stood up, hands behind his back. "May I ask... who are you taking with you to the wedding today? It will be our first time encountering other nation's dignitaries and I think we should send a firm message that the Fire Nat—"
"I will not be going to this wedding, Azula. It is not important, and therefore, not worthy of my time." The Fire Lord interrupting her, waving his hand once. "You can go. Take anyone you want. I don't care." The look on Azula's face- that look that might as well be accompanied by the sound of something cracking- managed to wrestle a smile out of War Minister Qin's weary face.
Azula recomposed herself, and was soon back to smiling. "Anyone, Father?"
"Come in." Mai said to the door, not moving from her favorite spot in the temporary's room open balcony. She didn't even look as Prince Zuko himself stepped out from behind the door. "Look at that, Zuko." She said, pointing to the land just outside the giant crater that they called home. "Undiscovered land. Right in front of us. Waiting to be found. It's almost... too sappy."
"I talked to the servants." Zuko said, leaning over the balcony's railing and shaking his head. "You can stay here as much as you want and no one's going to bother you- just as you asked. I told him that going back to the city would be dangerous right now, and how you're important to the Nation and—"
"No, please, continue." Mai interjected, narrowing her eyes. "The inner politics of the palace are so exhilarating."
Zuko glared back at her, and once he saw the boredom in her eyes, well, he couldn't help but nod. "You were talking about the guy you met out there... Boothroyd, right?"
"Obviously a fake name, like I told you. Like Ty Lee came up with it." Mai shrugged. "He reminded me of that Water Tribe kid, the one that used to hang around the Avatar?" She pretended to not notice Zuko's nervous glances to the side. "Except he had even less social skills. I hope he doesn't die out there."
"Wait, did you just say 'hope'?" Zuko said playfully. "I've never heard you say that word. Sounds weird coming out of your mouth."
"This is a weird world we're living in now. Anything goes." Mai replied, and what seemed like another half-bored half-angry answer quickly melted into something harder to describe, as she soon leaned in to kiss Zuko. The Prince, not one to let the moment go, quickly put his arms around her, letting her rest her head against his chest once the kiss was over. "Zuko, I'm..." Mai whispered, struggling to let out those seemingly normal words. "My family's back home. On our world. Am I... supposed to be scared? I don't know what's going to happen, and that's freaking me out."
"I don't know too." Zuko said, hoping those words would comfort her. "I think the only thing we can do right now is... well, wait. There's nothing else to do. If we tried anything else, we'd probably fail. And we should consider that, maybe, in this world, failure means death."
Silence.
"Zuko, that speech was awful. Please stop talking." Even after Mai said those words, Zuko couldn't help but nod, shrug, and just hold her as much as he could.
edited 25th May '17 8:22:52 PM by Stratofarius
Nero turned to Shanoa. "Just say it out loud. Boothroyd. Doesn't it just kind of sound like a silly name?"
Then the guy they talked to walked right past them without glancing at them. Dante shrugged. "Maybe he wasn't our guy? We should-"
Then he came back, and both of them looked at him, Dante somewhat amused, and Nero baffled.
"How the hell did you forget your own name?" Nero asked
"Let me guess, you're a scientist type? Those guys always seem to be forgetting the basic stuff like eating and stuff, too wrapped up in their stuff. But first I heard of someone forgetting their own name."
Wesker nodded as the situation was explained to him, taking this information in.
"I see. Odd that such a major event can happen out of the blue, and yet some time after, no explanation presents itself for how it happened. Regardless, if you wish for me to submit later to this exam, then I suppose I have no objections."
Wesker was hardly concerned about the outcome of such an exam and what it might reveal about his mental state. He considered himself easily able to trick any such exam to hide his true thoughts. He did not even so much as glance behind him at Jill, hardly even considering her in this question.
That is fine, yes. The Cure said to Homura. Just direct your thoughts toward me once you are prepared for me to do as promised, and I shall do it at that time.
The Shokan proved somewhat smarter then his Tarkatan associates, in that once it became apparent that his blows were being blocked, he halted his offensive within a few seconds, before the repeated blows could do any truly crippling damage. As such, he raised his arms to block the torch, with the consequence of having said arms suffer burns and not seeing the incoming leg strike. Said strike was not enough to knock him off his feet, but sent him to one knee. Roaring, the Shokan brought a large fist to the floor, smashing it hard enough to leave a crater and shake the floor, with the intent of staggering Jack. He then attempted to lash out and grab Jack between two of his other hands, with the intent of holding his arms and body in place as he used his other arms to ruthlessly pummel him to death.
Makoto suddenly became somewhat flustered as she was called out on overstepping her bounds.
"Well, I didn't think he would have a problem with it, and we couldn't exactly stop to discuss it...." She said as she ran her hand through her hair again.
"Wow, I never see Queen like this." Ann commented.
"It's fine." Joker said to Makoto as he looked at Minako's extended hand and shook it.
"Wild Card? Is that some kind of nickname?" Ryuji asked. "He's Joker."
"No." He said to Ryuji with a meaningful look. "My name is Akira Kurusu."
"Are you sure this is wise?" Yusuke asked. "If she is truly from our world, then she could be in a position to use our names against us when she returns." Makoto nodded to indicate her agreement with the sentiment.
"I said it before. I trust her. This alliance will end before it begins if we can't even share our own names with them."
Silence fell for a moment, before, one by one, each of them spoke up.
"Alright. I'm Ann Takamaki."
".... Ryuji Sakamoto"
"I am Yusuke Kitagawa, pleased to meet you."
"Makoto Niijima. My apologies for my attitude earlier, we had no idea what to expect from this meeting, and we had to be sure beyond any doubt of who we were dealing with before we took any action. I may have channeled my sister a little too much there."
"Her sister's a prosecutor." Ann explained.
"Hey!" Morgana yelled from the floor. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"
"And yes, and let us not forget Morgana." He said as he pointed at the cat. "You may find this somewhat hard to believe, but Morgana can talk, and has a persona of his own."
"Only those who have heard him speak in the Metaverse can understand what he says." Makoto said. "To anyone else, such as yourself, they will only hear a cat meowing."
edited 25th May '17 10:42:37 PM by Meanken
Vampire Hunter
Trevor, King Magnus' Office, Genosha
"Yes, part of my group and part of Devil May Cry have had a previous encounter with Nyarlathotep, and Amber had volunteered her group to help," Trevor nodded to Jaune, pronouncing 'Nyarlathotep' slower as he was still getting a handle on how to pronounce the name. "In addition, I was one of the people who had helped take down the Death Star's firing mechanism which Genosha's own Red Guard can confirm as they help as well."
Trevor checked on his equipment again, especially the health potion that Alucard had handed him while they were in the Common Room. After all, Trevor was not used to carrying health potions around, so he had to memorize exactly where he had placed it among his equipment. Alucard said that it should be rubbed on the wounds, though the dhampir who had more experience with these sorts of potions said that it would be okay to drink for healing.
Sypha, Velvet Room Corridor
It seemed that, at the very least, the place SEES's base of operations were at had become more accomedating than last time. In addition, there was a very familiar face from the events of the night before. Sypha attempted to take a seat as Aigis had done. Thankfully there was this pad which helped to keep her knees from being damaged.
"Thank you, umm... Aigis-san," Sypha greeted the gynoid before looking at both the tea and cookies with quite a confused look on her face before eating both. Both were very obviously food and drink, but neither was like any type of food she, being a native of 15th century Europe, had ever encountered before. Well, she had seen cookies before, but not this particular type of cookie with its soft brownish dough and dark brown chunks of... something littered through it. Sypha found the beverage quite soothing to drink, not at all like anything she expected.
"I slept about as well as expected given what nearly happened yesterday," Sypha finally responded to Aigis. "This meal is delightful, by the way."
Wizard Needs Food Badly
"I see..." Toriel was a little suspicious of a man that threatening-looking providing security for a harmless pharmaceutical company, but she put on a kindly smile all the same. "Well, my name is Toriel. I-" Before she could continue, Ty Lee burst into the room behind her.
Good heavens, was this happening? Was she supposed to be representing the royalty of the Underground again, after all these years? Old Gerson had always thought of her as the brains of the outfit...Perhaps she could make up for Asgore's lack of judgement here again. "...Yes," she said, "I would be happy to hear your offer and field any questions you might have, at least until Asgore returns from the Common Room...Oh! Do forgive me, Miss Ty Lee, I quite forgot my phone, didn't I?"
Out in the corridor, Asriel was hurrying over until he heard the sounds of Toriel's voice, and he flattened himself against the wall again. As the group in the throne room talked, he carefully made his way back down the corridor, as quietly as he possibly could.
Asgore digested Misaki's news, then finally nodded with a somber expression. "Very well. Thank you for the warning all the same. I'll be visiting Genosha later today for the wedding, where I'll see if I can help us all get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, I should get this little one home again. Good day, Miss Kirihara." With a pleasant nod, Asgore left the conversation.
Perched on Asgore's shoulder, Chara had a strange, faraway look in their eye. "...homo superior..."
"I'm sorry?"
"Hm?"
"Did you say something, Chara?"
"No. Nothing at all."
"Ah, never mind, then." Asgore bustled back over to Satori. "Sorry for the interruption, Miss Komeiji. We were talking about visiting one another's lands, where we not? Perhaps I could grant a tour of my own Underground right now, if you wish?"
Minna, Lynette, Yoshika - Meeting Room
Only a touch of a smile on her face showed the satisfaction Minna felt. Now, they were making progress!
"A pleasure to meet you, 007. I look forward to working with you."
Of course, her knowledge of Britannian Military Intelligence only got her so far. But now she had something to build on.
"Indeed, we have little to gain by identifying you. It is most convenient for both of us that your allegiance stays a secret. But that doesn't mean, however, that we can't exchange favours when it is convenient."
"There are, for example, a number of Chunks and Chunkless whose objectives and motivations on Battleworld are unknown to us. We would be most grateful for any intelligence you feel comfortable sharing with us. And of course, our eyes in the sky see a lot that might be of use to you in the field, in the event that you want to pay someone...a visit."
Then, there was a ringing sound, which was immediately quietened by Lynette. It appeared someone was trying to make contact over radio, and the Britannian Witch took the call.
"I read you, Erica, come in. Yes. Understood. Commander?"
"Just a moment, mister Bond."
Minna stepped away from the table for a moment to take the radio receiver.
"Report. Yes. Okay. That is acceptable. But no more than half a dozen, ten if he insists. Yes. Just make sure he responds to the letter. Yes. Over and out."
Minna handed the receiver back to Lynette. Her face betrayed neither particular satisfaction or annoyance over what had been discussed over the radio.
"Does such an agreement sound acceptable to you, 007?"
Shirley - Santa Destroy Airspace
"I...uh...I've never really thought about it."
Shirley was completely taken by surprise by the rabbit girl. So she wasn't a Familiar-user, but an actual rabbit? So she was kinda like a Familiar herself then, what with the flying? But why would a Familiar get annoyed with a Witch using a Familiar?
Thankfully, the conversation soon switched tracks.
"Uh yeah, I can see that being a problem," Shirley replied to Destroyman. That was name an' a half. "Good thing this place has got a strong protector like you. Did you, uh, by any chance have anything to do with the wreckage out in the desert?"
Erica - Castlevania
Erica took the hand that was offered her...and suddenly they were in the castle. She couldn't but get startled. She'd heard of teleportation magic, but that had been so smooth, she hardly felt them move. No doubt the vampire noble packed some serious powers, and experience using them. The castle's condition proved that the lord of Castlevania also had a sound tactician's mind. Sure, magic probably factored into it, but to repel a ground invasion from the Imperial troops meant this place was a true fortress.
"Huh? Oh, DK Island? Yes, My Lord, it kinda went to us when Kaon vanished. I'll ask my commander about letting you use the forest; I'm sure she'll say yes. Though, uh, Your Lordship doesn't have any loggers that aren't, uhm, armoured?"
Then mister Tall, Pale and Spooky excused himself for a moment, giving Erica a chance to radio her CO for some details. When he returned, she was all smiles and good news.
"I talked to the Commander, and she says Your Lordship is free to send a group of loggers whenever. But, ah, how many are you thinking of sending?"
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Cafe Leblanc, Minako — Caturday Night Live
"And I'm Minako Arisato, Leader of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad!" Minako Arisato cheerfully contributed with a raise of her hand at the end of her new friends' spiel. "Good thing we only execute Shadows and not Phantom Thieves, right? Then you'd really be screwed! Anyway, let's all get along!"
That said, she slipped off the bar seat and crouched to scoop up her feline security blanket again. "Animals with human-ish intellect having Persona potential must not be too unusual, I guess, unless we both have the only examples for whatever reason. SEES has a dog that summons Cerberus! He didn't get to come along for some reason, though..." Expression momentarily darkened with sorrow, the brunette replenished her energy by rubbing her cheek against her helpless captive's upper back. "Which is why it's great that Morgana here is sho shoft and wubbable, oh yesh!"
"Did you just call her a 'he', though? Morgana is a girl's name, you know," she enlightened Yusuke and her former interrogator in that universally-recognizable tone that transformed statements into irrefutable fact. "You shouldn't be rude to ladies, even if they're cats!"
Velvet Room Corridor, Aigis — Tea Time of the Soul
"I am sure Minako-san will be happy to hear that," Aigis replied with a small smile, "She baked them earlier this morning and instructed us to lay this table out."
Rather than broaching the topic of what had actually happened the previous night, the gynoid glanced down at the empty length of the cookie and tea filled table. "Sypha-san, would you like to learn an interesting fact? In the region of the world you are from, these baked goods are typically consumed alongside milk. However, individuals of Asian phenotype are on less tolerant of the lactose in milk than others, so the Japanese instead utilize tea for the same purpose." She took a thoughtful sip of her beverage, in spite of the fact that she had no need to eat or drink. "Minako-san also thought tea would match the aesthetics of the table and the room better. What do you think, Sypha-san?"
Potion Shop, Mitsuru — Shop Talk
Though she mocked his naive sentimentality in her mind, Mitsuru spared Mr. 'Boothroyd' barely a backward glance after he said his piece and stormed away, pivoting back to examine the magical girl before her instead.
"I see." The heiress nodded in understanding as Ixia laid out her take on the situation, and was pleased to note a few areas in which potential was better than the witch herself yet realized. "It would seem you are in luck, then. Any of what I would term the 'modern day' chunks possess a rather more advanced form of printer that should allow you to create copies of your advertisements en masse for a minuscule cost."
"As for couriers..." The older redhead briefly glanced about the room, but failed to spot the persons she was seeking. "I believe there are in fact a handful I could recommend who would be both willing to work for a reasonable price and able to operate relatively unnoticed and unmolested."
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
The Grand Re-Vizier
Jack hadn't expected this particular demon to be more tactically savvy than its' brethren. Fortunately, he adapted quickly and as the ground shook beneath him he recovered his balance by flowing into a one-legged Crane Stance. As two more arms lashed out, Jack would try to hop up onto one of them and perch on it like a plum blossom pole, one-legged in imitation of the white cranes of Fujian. From there he'd lash out in a flurry of kicks with his raised leg, finishing by pivoting into a hard thrusting sidekick that pulled back and coiled into a jumping spin kick to dismount from the arm.
Few beings expected their opponent to have the speed and balance to land on their body or weapon and continue attacking, though Jack was learning not to underestimate these creatures.
Did you know this section has a character limit?
Q - What's In A Name, Common Room
"Not exactly a scientist. I'm an engineer by degree, if not by trade. And most people call me Q, as that name is quite unwieldy. Very... early twentieth century, for someone my age. The man who named me thought he was funny."
The young man clapped his hands together, and rubbed them.
"So, what can I do for you three? And how did you get my name?"
James Bond - Adult Among the Teens, Meeting Room
Bond grinned at Minna's reaction.
"You know, that's what I've learned to love about you teenagers. Everything's so simple with you. The good ones don't try to hide their heroic instincts, the bad ones haven't learned to delay gratification and deceive correctly. You believe I'm a hero and you don't even question your instincts."
"Most adults- well, older adults. What are you? Nineteen, twenty? Very young for a command, but an adult nonetheless. Most would be wondering if I'm telling the truth, why I didn't deny your accusation, wondering about the intricacies of my position, questioning what I told you. But you're trusting your instincts. I've always found that teenagers have good instincts. Adults get too muddled up in thinking about greys when they should really be thinking about their definitions of black and white."
He leaned forward in his chair, his smile dying.
"But enough about that. You want information. Anything in specific, or would you like me to simply list off who I've interacted with?" They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!
The voice of the Cure would sound in the heads of the chunk representatives.
"Attention Battleworld. I am adding a new land to the Battleworld. Please welcome Magonia to the Battleworld.
Those who find their land brought to the Battleworld will find that, in the course of their normal (or not so normal) day, they and everyone in their land had suddenly fell asleep. They would wake up to find themselves on the Battleworld, where anyone near a chunk border would note the clear changes to their surroundings. Whoever had been chosen as the chunk representative (this being the main character) would find a note in their hand.
Greetings. Right now, I am sure you have questions. What happened? Who is responsible for this? If you are outside or near a window, you may have already noticed the changes outside. Suffice it to say, you are no longer on your world. Now, you are in MY world. You are far from the only ones I have brought here, however. Should you wish answers, then you should enter the blue portal that now stands before you, or leave your current quarters and follow the hall. All questions you have shall be addressed there.
As they finished the note, they would indeed find a blue portal had appeared in front of them, waiting to take them inside. Blank white walls stood on all sides of them, with only a giant round table in the center stopping it from looking like a white void. In the center of said table stood a rotating globe, with the map of the new world on it, each land clearly marked with the name of the land and the name of their chosen representative (That is, the one who received the note) under it. Above it, in gigantic letters, was the name of the world, Battleworld.
Around the table were chairs, some of which had names on the back. The leader would find a chair with their name on it, and other chairs would have names that matched the names on the globe. One chair, The Cure's giant black throne, stood away from the rest. Inside sat a giant of a man, standing at about 20 feet tall, with blood red skin covering his body apart from bits that were covered in leather bindings. He turned to the newcomers with his pure black eyes, and smiled, revealing his rotting teeth.He raised his hand, motioning for them to approach.
Kauzer shook his head as another person suddenly popped out of nowhere behind the queen.
"No security whatsoever" He muttered as he stepped to the side, allowing Ada to walk forward and begin her pitch.
"Thank you for hearing us out, I assure you, we will not take much of your time We are here for 2 reasons. Firstly, we are here to offer our services to your people. As I said, we are a pharmaceutical company, dealing in the production and distribution of medicine. I do not know how much in the way of infrastructure you have here in this "Underground", but as queen, no doubt you have a better idea then most whenever or not your nation has need of our services, or whenever a business arrangement might be beneficial to your people. We had not, however, expected to see non-humans here. Whatever your species is does not exist on our world. We can, of course, work around this, but some additional work may be needed to make our products compatible with your biology."
"Secondly, a large part of our business deals with herbs, plants, and the like, identifying what can be used in medicines, and converting them into medicine. As such, we would like to, with permission, collect samples of some of your local fauna for research purposes. We are, of course, prepared to compensate your accordingly for any samples we take."
The Thieves looked slightly surprised when Minako mentioned that she also knew a dog that used a Persona, but Morgana spoke before any of them could ask about it.
"Agh, I said let me go!"
Makoto chuckled at Minako's little display. "Well, she has a lot of energy, I'll say that much"
"Kind of reminds me of a kid on a sugar rush, to be honest"
Before anyone could begin clearing up the misconceptions, Morgana vanished in a puff of smoke as he switched forms, dropping back to the ground and quickly stepping out of grab range.
"Ok. Couple of things" He said. "Firstly, I am a male, yes."
"Don't feel bad, that threw us off at first too." Ann said.
"Secondly, I am not a cat, I'm a human. I'm just....stuck like this."
"We found him in the metaverse way back when we first accidentally ended up inside, when it was just me and him walking down an alley." Ryuji said as he jerked a thumb toward Akira. "He just ends up as a cat whenever he's in the real world. But how did you manage to change outside of the metaverse?"
"I don't need an app to travel to the metaverse, remember? So i guess when the big guy outside altered our apps to change us into our infiltration outfits, he altered that part of my abilities to let me change forms."
"Makes sense." Makoto said.
"So, to sum up, I'm Morgana, I'm male, I'm not a cat, and it's really rude to just grab cats out of the blue without asking first anyway!"
Suddenly, Akira clenched his head, shaking it as he received The Cure's message.
"Hey, you ok man?" Ryuji asked. Akira looked up at the rest of the room.
"I heard his voice in my head....The Cure." He blinked as everyone else looked confused. "None of you heard it?" The rest of the Thieves shook their heads no, looking somewhat concerned.
The Shokan was indeed not expecting such a move, and the flurry of kicks did its job, causing the beast to topple over and fall. He was not quite knocked out, but before he started to rise, the loud sound of a cell door opening signaled the entrance of another.
"Ohhhhh. An uninvited guest?" The woman
said, a playful look in her eyes that clashed with the fact that she was currently holding two bloody sais. "And an Earthrealmer? You didn't tell me you invited a handsome friend, Kano."
A groan from behind her was the only reply. "Well, it's only right I give him a proper welcome. Such a strong Earthrealmer doesn't come along every day. What's your name, tough guy?" She asked, not yet making any moves to attack.
"Well I guess Q is better then what you had, even if that's still not really a name." Nero said. "Whoever told you to go with that name is an asshole, by the way. Tell him where to shove that name the next time he tries to make you go with something stupid."
Dante shook his head. "Right, we got your name from whoever answered your door when we knocked they told us to find you or some other guy, you were closer. Let me introduce myself, my name is Dante, owner of Devil May Cry, one of the other rooms in that hallway. And today, we're in need of work. Badly. I got a woman on my ass who's expecting me to pay her by the end of the day or she's going to make me do something really....well, let's just say I'd like to avoid that. So we're looking for work, and I happened to see your sign, Universal Exports. That's like a shipping company, right? So I'm here to ask if you got any work I can take on. I can do whatever you need, delivery guy, security, whatever you need."
The Homunculi Room: Tempting Devils with Deals?
Horai said nothing as he followed Wrath to his "family's" room, though he did take note of the headless woman and the android bride: two members of the strike team that infiltrated the Death Star. A monster and a clown, far as Horai was concerned, though they did managed to survive the Empire. Regardless, they seemed to be far too idealistic to be useful to either him or the Homunculi, if the pointless "killing is wrong!" comments they gave him yesterday was any indication.
Horai's first glance at Selim said more than words ever could: a cold and skeptical leer that said "You can't fool me, freak. I know what you are." When Sofia escorted him inside, she got the same look.
Once inside, Horai's mood only turned more stern and dignified, as he'd revived the old Director of Public Safety he had been just a few days before. He stood in the heart of the lion's den, and he'd need to crush his fear if he ever hoped of stepping foot outside again.
He refused to answer Gluttony or Pride, as if to show that he held power even on their home turf. The only reason he bothered to answer Envy was because it served his best interest; that interest was obviously "staying alive," but his calm and collected reply made it seem almost like a chore.
"Kill me, and your hopes for a new kingdom die with me. Amestis is gone, and so is your food supply. What's worse, you're surrounded by hunters that won't hesitate to slaughter you the minute they find out what you really are."
He gestured to the door, "Take those two outside: they're naive idealists who choose mercy over justice. I killed a traitor who had sentenced my entire city to death, and the headless one told me that I 'couldn't throw justice around as an excuse.' The other one was even more childish: she said what I did 'wasn't healthy.'"
Horai circled the dark room as he treated himself with a small, arrogant smile. "They don't understand the real world, but they infiltrated and sabotaged an enemy battle station and came back in one piece. They're strong, and they have even stronger friends: people who make a damn living hunting and killing monsters like you.
"So before you go throwing deaths threats, I suggest you start using your heads. There's a dangerous world beyond that door, and you'll never survive without help."
By a happy coincidence, Horai ended his little speech with a hubris-stuffed smile to Pride. "I can give you that, and much, much more."
Common Room: A Little Orientation
Misaki said farewell to the Monster King with more than a little concern. It seemed her warning was being ignored, and she hoped Asgore wouldn't regret exposing his child to that mist.
She barely had time to consider what to do next when a hand clutched her shoulder. Whirling around, Misaki found herself face to face with the stern-looking man
she'd encountered yesterday. The same man she found with Director Horai on the rooftop, when Agent Raan fell to his death.
We couldn't be more proud of you...
Those were his last words to her, like some strange father figure she'd never met. She'd been too terrified of focused on infiltrating the Death Star to give it much thought, but now that they'd crossed paths again those words brought a wave of unease with them. This man had been watching her, and she had no idea why or for how long.
"Can I help you?" she asked, turning the nervous tension in her voice into something authoritative.
"On the contrary, Miss Kirihara." the man replied, "It is I who can help you."
The stranger turned his head towards one of the meeting rooms; the same one that Wrath and Horai had left just a minute before.
"No doubt you want to know who I am, and who I work for. I'm sorry you've been kept in the dark for so long, but Yoshi insisted that you weren't ready. Now that the Cure has chosen you, I see no reason to hide from you any longer. Come, I'll explain everything."
Misaki had to will her legs to follow the man, who happened to have a woman with purple eyes
tagging along from a short distance. If it weren't for the "no violence" rule forced on everyone in this place, Misaki might have called for backup. If you could call "making a scene" "calling for backup."
Inside the meeting room, Misaki felt more cornered than ever. The purple-eyed woman leaned against the door, blocking their only exit. The man gestured for Misaki to take the seat opposite him, and the Section Chief (reluctantly) accepted.
"My name is Goro Kobayashi." the man started, "Your Director and I work for an organization that has public face. Our mission is the boldest one there is: to prevent the world's destruction."
Misaki said nothing, though the quick blinks and twitch of a smile told Goro that she wasn't buying it.
"For fifty years, the Syndicate has spread across our home world into almost every level of commerce and government, even into the underground. We come from all manners of faiths, cultures, and backgrounds, but are united in our common goal to push the world away from an impending disaster."
"Looks like you failed." Misaki replied.
Goro's frown deepened, unlike his tone. "You're not wrong, though since arriving on Battleworld we have been striving to make connections in our surrounding states. Our goal is to expand our network across the map once again."
"To do what, exactly?" Misaki leered.
"To save the world." sighed the woman by the door. It seemed clear that she lacked Goro's patience for these sorts of questions.
"The Syndicate's history is not a clean one." admitted Goro, "Our intentions have never strayed from this goal, even if the means to accomplish it has."
"The Saturn Ring?"
"One of the more despicable means, unfortunately. The same with Heaven's War. Though now that the most...hot-headed leaders are out of the picture, I believe now's our chance to really turn the Syndicate into something marvelous."
Misaki's eyes narrowed. "So what do you want with me?"
"My associate and I witnessed part of your little...discussion, with Yoshi and the woman from Santa Destroy. While I despise that arrogance coming from a city that turned murder into a profitable sport, she did have a point. As of right now, you are a leader without followers; a crown without a sword. With your current resources, advocating for Hell's Gate Tokyo will be worse than an uphill climb, it will be cliffside without footing."
"You haven't answered my question, Mr. Kobayashi." Misaki spoke through her teeth.
The man's frown lightened, until it was something disturbingly similar to a smile.
"I was hoping it would be obvious, Miss Kirihara: we want to be your sword."
HGT, PANDORA: Welcome to Hell on Earth!
Nishijima smiled at Wesker's comment. "It's been quite a tough nut to crack, since it throws away everything we understand about the foundations of our reality. Time, space, physics, quantum physics, all of it has fluidity now. Far more than men like Hawking or Einstein could have ever hypothesized.
"Because of that, I suggest you don't venture too far past the wall's protection. We have a few stations inside the Hell's Gate zone, but the effects only grow worse the further in you go. We've lost many good staff in the first few expeditions."
By now, the line of black vans had reached an empty stretch of road heading straight into the looming structure.
Once inside, the caravan drove a few miles to an administrative center, where Nishijima wrote down a phone number for Wesker to use if he needed anything.
"My personal phone." he half-lied, then went on his way.
PANDORA's "orientation process" was as long as it was paranoid. Dozens of contracts and liability waivers were thrown under Wesker's pen, and then came the even more obnoxious process of the psych eval. Once that was done, he and Jill would be driven to a new location on one of Hell's Gate's highest levels, where they would find the most modern biomedical equipment money could buy, and best of all: no assistant staff.
A case of this Anti-Mutant serum was placed delicately in the room, and apart from an invisible little orb peeping out of a ceiling lamp, Wesker and Jill would be left alone to work in peace.
Genosha Palace, Magnus' Office: International Superpowered Terrorism Q&A (Part 2!)
Magnus ignored the comments about a demon hunt, and instead focused on Yang's question.
"One did, yes: the teleporter called Brita. When my guards approached her this morning, she vanished before their eyes."
He didn't find it appropriate to add that her clothes didn't travel with her. No need to make this meeting anymore uncomfortable than it already was.
"The other one is still with us, just not confined to the holding cells. That boy you were conversing with yesterday, the one with some...troubling views of humanity, I had him sent to S.H.I.E.L.D. to be trained under Instructor Moonstar, in hopes he'd be able to join the Hellions in a few years' time. From what I've been told, he's still there and has made no attempts of escaping, though that does not necessarily mean he's innocent."
That was the good news, at least as good as it got. Turning to Ren's question, Magnus prepared to tell the bad.
"Yes, that dreadful 'surveillance system' of hers. When she first spoke of it, I pictured it as some sort of advanced technology. Turns out, this 'Doll Network' was some sort of inhumane containment system that harnessed people's abilities against their will. It was a horrible oversight on my part, and even with the Galactic Empire looming over our heads, I should not have given Amber so much freedom without seeing this system with my own eyes. I do not know how many of these Dolls Amber managed to smuggle out with her, but we have at least rescued the majority of them. They should be recuperating in our makeshift medical ward in the palace."
Then, he turned to the worst news.
"Hell's Gate Tokyo has wished for a cure for mutation: a serum that permanently disables the X-Gene. I want to hope that they plan to use this serum only on their afflicted, but...the Cure did say it could be replicated."
Magnus waited for the Hunters' responses, expecting that they would be less than pleased at this news.
edited 27th May '17 12:11:17 PM by TheodoreHastings
Common Room
<Very well, then.> Homura looked around briefly once more before starting to leave. She only took a couple steps before something else came to her mind, something which she wanted to ask since this morning. <One more thing, if I may.> Her head turned to look over her shoulder back at the overlord, pausing momentarily for the Cure to make his actually rather apropos announcement. <You normally announce new arrivals as they come, correct? And those that have already been here prior are all listed down those halls.> She turned her head in the direction of the hallway leading towards the various chunkless groups’ rooms. <I want to ask if those are all who are actually playing this game of yours.> Homura turned her head back over the shoulder to look back up at The Cure. <Or are there other players here that haven’t been announced publicly?>
Homura was being careful with her words, as usual, even to an effective godlike being. None of the chunks nor chunkless groups she had seen seemed likely to be the origin of whatever being had invaded her privacy so blatantly, both in terms of just showing up in her room and in telling more than enough to indicate they knew who she was, more than what anyone who just snooped around written documents would know. But she couldn’t eliminate the possibility that some group here had someone with that power and that callousness to so openly threaten Madoka until she could first confirm that the chunks The Cure had brought in were the only ones doing anything here. If indeed they were the only ones here, then she would have to be extra careful in who she might approach about this.
Including the one she was asking.
Snapping his fingers, Hal Jordan walked into the Common Room, already in his Green Lantern uniform. He pointed two finger guns at the Cure, grinning. "Good morning, Big, Red and Ugl—" He coughed up a fake storm. "—Beautiful. That's what I was going to say."
"We're up and ready to go." Hal looked behind him and raised an eyebrow. "At least I am. Kilowog needs a moment or two to get ready... and I'm not gonna stick around to see that freak show." Turning back to the Cure, Hal smiled again. "Alright, Big Red. Let's talk shop. You brought the Corps here, at least help us get a leg up in this business."
"Any chunks that could use a big, green, inter dimensional helping hand?— wait a second." Hal narrowed his eyes at the new chunks in the map, scratching the back of his head. "Those weren't there before... oh boy, this is gonna be hard to keep up, isn't it? I should start waking up earlier, then."
edited 27th May '17 2:07:36 PM by Runnar
Vampire Hunter
Demitri, Common Room
Soon enough, Demitri entered the Common Room and looked at the women there before approaching Sylvia to talk to her.
"Tell me, where could I perhaps find a bit of fun?" Demitri asked Sylvia, hoping for a chance to enter Battleworld proper and start building his own reputation on this world full of humans.
Dracula, Castlevania
"I do not have loggers period, so I am having to make due with warriors trained in the use of axes," Dracula explained to Erica. "I will be sending over... five witches equipped with axes as well as my Ferryman and his boat."
"I don't have to guard anything in DK Island like I have to with my own portal," Dracula chuckled slightly. "So tell me, why have you graced my land with your presence again?"
Sypha, Velvet Room Corridor
"Yes, I am from Europe," Sypha began, drinking the tea before she spoke. "If I am to be truthful, this is actually the first time I have had had a meal like this."
"I come from the 15th century," Sypha explained as she continued. "I havve never even heard of tea before coming here."
"While I recognize this as a being similar in looks to a biscuit, it is soft and chewable instead of hard and unchewable, and it has chunks of something that I've never tasted before," Sypha held up the cookie she was eating, before dunking it in the tea and then taking a bite of it. "For me, this food is both delicious and exotic."
Wizard Needs Food Badly
That worked just splendidly for Satori's little vacation plans. After a few minutes of half-heartedly listening in on Asgore's conversation, very hampered by her own oath to not innocently eavesdrop on people's minds,* she had an appointment to be kept. But first, something that had sprung up from an idle thought.
"Yes, of course I would. Thank you for the opportunity," she said, smiling just the slightest amount more. "But, if it's not too rude, I would like to ask about something." She raised a finger and pointed at Chara. "Him. Your son mentioned a brother, but I don't think he ever mentioned him being human."
"...Eeeeeeehhh?"
That was quite a lot of information to digest suddenly, and even if she had a better head on her shoulders than everyone in her family besides Satori, she needed a brief moment to catch up with what he said.
The first thing that came to mind was to ask "Koishi! Are you hurt? Did this guy do anything to you?" That got a quick, cheerful response through the speakers of "No way! I've just been sitting with him, and he called you all of a sudden! I didn't even know you had a phone, so you can learn how to call me, and then on my phone I can send you phone-letters and call you back a-"
"Okay, okay, Koishi. I understand, I understand..."
Hmm, so despite his DEVILISH LAUGHTER he seemed to be at least willing to cooperate if he got this far. After all, why would he call if he was just going to hurt her? This was as much a ransom notice as it was notification of a job well done.
"...Okay, then, Shake. Ya mind if I call you Shake?" She didn't wait for him to answer either way, and continued at a quick clip. "Your job is to make sure she gets outta there safe and sound, and head for the border to the north. We'll have the gold for you there, I expect you to be gentle with her. If you-"
"Ask him why he talks so funny!" Okuu suddenly made her presence in this conversation very known, having managed to eavesdrop on their loud friend without even alerting her much cattier one.
After Orin naturally responded with "What? Okuu, just, just go," The Good Doctor's end of the line sounded like what might be two people having it out by pushing each other away. Koishi looked down at him and shrugged, probably just as confused as he was.
Eventually, Orin came back on the line with a slightly annoyed "Did ya get all that?"
A quiet hum reverberated through the room, the faint evidence of the machines working to keep the airship aloft as it coasted along within the cover of thick clouds. Seated in a small room, decorated with fine furniture and quality paintings befitting a noble, several of the crew of the Red Sprite were locked in discussion. Seated behind the captain's desk, Tatsu leaned back against the soft chair as his hands rested against the wood; Listening.
"We can't know if any of the others escaped." Fall stated, her teacup gently resting back against its saucer. "And if they had, there isn't very many places they could have fled to. It's likely they're still imprisoned, or hiding in Edenia."
"Which means going right back into it." Garnet grunted from his position against the wall, frowning heavily. "And after we just stirred them up even more with that broadcast. Great."
Tatsu grinned at that, knowing just how badly that would have burned Atlas and the other high members of Edenia. But, Garnet was right. They'd be after them all even harder now. He took a moment to think, eyes panning over the group. Mono sent a small smile his way as their eyes met, but kept quiet. Finally, the teen focused on the Professor. "Hey, Professor. You worked with Thundercore humans a bunch, right? You must have heard rumours and such. Anything you can think of?"
The Professor furrowed his brow faintly, thinking. "I wasn't really that connected to it all. But, I may know someone who was. They told me things they'd heard. Rumours, mostly." Then his expression turned a touch panicked as he realized what Tatsu meant when he asked. "Wait! They'd be deep within Edenia! You couldn't possibly make it there! The whole kingdom is after your head!"
"Yeah, are you crazy?!" Garnet added in. "We just got away from them, and now you want to throw everyone right back into it?"
The captain just grinned and nodded. "Yep. If that's where the rest of my family are, that's where we're headed."
Garnet looked like he wanted to say more, but before any else could even react; Every person aboard the ship fell asleep at once.
Tatsu woke suddenly, adrenaline pumping and electricity crackling through his nerves; Bringing him from asleep to fully conscious in an instant. He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over as he surveyed the room. Most of the others had already begun to stir. Garnet cursed, clutching the back of his head where he'd hit it against the wall as he pulled a revolver from his jacket with his free hand. Mono blinked dullly for a moment, then yelped and skittered over the back of the couch and away from the new addition in the middle of the room. Fall stared at the glowing blue object, before slowly getting to her feet and stepping away from it. The Professor, meanwhile, slept on.
Tatsu stared, tense and crackling with energy, as he stared at the portal for a moment. Then, when nothing happened, he finally glanced down at the piece of paper that had appeared in his hand. His face turned downward, shock and disbelief playing across it, as he read.
"Tatsu?" Mono whispered quietly, the boy having shuffled his way around to be beside the captain. "W-what is going on?"
"I don't know Mono," Tatsu replied, sending him a gentle smile. "But I'm going to find out."
"What the fuck!" Was Garnet's contribution to the situation, his revolver now pointed at the portal. "Captain, what is this? Something from Edenia?"
Tatsu shook his head. "I doubt it. This is something else."
At that moment, the sound of running came through the door before it suddenly slammed open, a panicked and out of breath young man leaning into the room. "C-captain! Something's happened! The whole ship just-" He froze when he spotted the portal, until Garnet barked at him to keep going. "Everyone is the ship passed out! A-a few are hurt from when they fell, and the bridge is saying everything on radar just changed!"
Tatsu moved, heading for the door even as he spoke. "Fall! Wake up the Professor and get to the bridge to see if you can find out where we might be, or if there's any threats around." The young woman nodded and dragged the now-startled Professor to his feet, complaining as he was hustled out. "Garnet, grab Alfred and a few of the others and keep an eye on this. It's apparently a portal or something."
"What?" The young man looked at Tatsu like he was insane. "Then where the hell are you going?"
"To get my sword and coat." The captain replied, a small grin breaking his serious expression. "Then I'm going to find out what's going on."
Tatsu stepped out into one of the weirdest rooms he had ever seen, his jacket now drapped around his shoulders and hat on his head. Hand on the sword at his waist, he glanced around the extremely white room with a critical eye. It was too clean, and he had trouble figuring out just where the walls were. Beside him Garnet sucked in a sudden breath, voice low as he eyed the other people already in the room; Revolver pointed down in front of him. "This place is freaky. I don't like this..."
Mono made an agreeing sound from the other side of Tatsu, now looking less certain of tagging along. The table and globe got a brief glance, before his eyes fell on the... thing sitting on a throne. Its eyes met his, and for a brief moment Tatsu froze. When he had stood in front of David Atlas and his officers, he had known that the people before him were monsters; in every sense of the word. They were far beyond what the boy himself could hope to face, and he'd frozen.
And now, standing before this real monster? He was sure he'd never even come close to matching it. Whatever it wanted to do, there was little they could probably do against it. Tatsu stepped forward, and caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Garnet lifted his revolver, looking terrified. "What the fuck is that th-"
Tatsu reacted instantly, his sword coming up to bury itself in his friend's stomach to cut him off. When he met resistance but there was no reaction, the boy's eyes widened slightly in surprise and he instead jerked it up in front of Garnet's face instead; Cutting the man off with his own cry of surprise. Tatsu's look cut off any further words or complaints. The captain wasn't going to risk angering whatever this thing was, especially if it meant the life of one of his friends. Continuing forward, he planted his sword against the ground, hands resting against the top as he stared up at The Cure; Meeting the creature's dark eyes. "Who are you? Are you the one that did this? And what do you want from us?"
edited 28th May '17 9:48:56 AM by Alleydodger
Calamity is a housewife
Sin Kiske, Camp Nishimi -> outside
Now things were getting exciting. Confident, eager Sin was always more than glad to show off. Plus, these people weren't even from his world, so maybe they'd be doubly-impressed if magic wasn't a thing in their world. He couldn't stop the ear-to-ear grin that developed on his face even if he wanted to.
"That's what I'm talking about, let's go!"
Obediently following along, he eventually reached a perimeter surrounded by armed soldiers, his waiting crowd of spectators. Once the cuffs came off, he rubbed his wrists, retrieved his flag and saluted the soldier who'd returned it to him all without a beat. He stepped forwards, making sure there was enough empty space around him to twirl the flag around and produce a little pre-show flair. He spun the flag around on one hand, hoola-hooping it around his waist, tossing it lightly into the air, catching it with his other hand and pointing it at the training dummy he was provided, and all the while the grin didn't leave him.
Merely a second after that statement, Sin sprinted forwards and went to town on the dummy.
What the soldiers would witness was quite obviously a little beyond the kind of speed a typical human was capable of. Sin was using his rolled-up flag like a staff, gripping it with both hands and using both ends of it to smack at the dummy's limbs at multiple points, snapping its shins, knees and elbows within the span of a second. He spun his makeshift staff using his neck and shoulders as the axis, a highly unnecessary move, before grabbing the end of his staff and and swinging the thing like a baseball bat, smacking away the head of the training dummy and uprooting it from its place.
Before the dummy could make itself too comfortable on the ground, however, Sin dropped his flag to the ground and scooped it up with an upward swing, spinning it in the air. And then up he went, sending the airborne dummy further upwards with a series of highly choreographed jumping kicks. He and his so-called 'opponent' were propelled four meters in the air when an axe kick from Sin sent the dummy crashing to the ground.
And as the poor thing toppled pitifully to the floor, Sin showed he wasn't done by holding his flag vertically, charging it up with what appeared to be electricity.. He smashed the back end of the flag into the dummy's center as he landed, and an explosion of strange, black and red lightning spiked upwards, dissipating into the sky above. The ground beneath the dummy cracked, and little bits of debris were kicked up from the force. Thankfully, the explosion wouldn't reach anywhere near the soldiers surrounding the perimeter, but seeing as it was essentially a lightning bolt going off a short distance from them, the noise might have been a little much.
Sin took only two seconds to catch his breath, but when his senses returned, he saw that he'd already reduced the training dummy to pieces of shattered pole and burnt newspaper scattered about the ground, and groaned.
"I broke it already? Maaaan."
Then he remembered the soldiers watching him. He coughed into his fist and scratched his head, holding the flag awkwardly behind his back as he asked his next question.
"So... how'd I do?"
Elphelt, Common Room Corridor
As 'Papa' returned, Elphelt turned to find herself greeting a kindly, old (and yet oddly strapping) man with an eyepatch. With him was...
The Valentine's expression changed briefly to one of concern as the familiar, stern stare of Director Yoshimitsu Horai found her. So the two were doing business? She surmised that it was likely none of her business, for now at least. She wasn't sure if she'd cross paths with him again, but it was a small Battleworld, after all.
Paying a smile to Sofia and Selim in exchange for the bow, she then curtsied to the father of the two.
"A pleasure to meet you Mister Bradley, I am Elphelt Valentine. My partner and I were merely wondering if you were adjusting well into the Battleworld, or if you had any questions about this world that we could help you with."
edited 28th May '17 7:16:08 AM by LatverianBadger
"Shake the dust." - Anis Mojgani
Ikebukuro Club XTC
Shijima glanced the tip of the smoldering cancer stick with a raised eyebrow, as if waiting for the catch to spring, before clutching it between two fingers and promptly offering it to his date. “...you can call me Milton,” he said after a moment’s thought, before climbing to his feet, brushing past the homunculus and retrieving his glasses in the process. “And I told you, my body is a temple.”
Shijima sauntered back onto the dance floor, his pugnacious fire guttering somewhat as he kicked the shards of broken furniture into a pile with the side of his foot. “I also remember telling you that I don’t actually own this place,” he said, slipping the glasses back on as he scooped the remains of its former lens in with the debris, “you don’t see Payless Shoe Store gutting the mini-mall’s help desk to put up a shoe display.” Work done for the moment, Shijima buried his hands in his hoodie and turned to face Greed, an exhausted bent to his eyes and a pronounced sag to his shoulders. “Besides, this is Ikebukuro, not Las Fucking Vegas. I can’t do half the shit you’re talking about without bringing down the hammer of God. No matter how cool it would be...”
He gestured up at the ceiling. “As for the cameras—” Shijima stopped, mid-sentence, his addled brain reaching out to point out that letting this complete stranger know how he couldn't have his father knowing he was within a hundred thousand feet of this place was a very, very bad idea. “—that’s for your benefit. Do you know how many crazies there are, in Ikebukuro alone? If one of their godforsaken urban legends shows up and turns a dance floor into a disaster zone, this place’ll never hear the end of it. And I sure as shit won’t be welcome anymore.”
With that, his brow furrowed, and he cocked his head as if realizing that Greed had gone back to looking like a normal person for the first time. “What are you, anyway? The Black Rider’s cousin?”
edited 23rd May '17 12:23:41 PM by Uncandescent
If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~