[System]
Image
Age:
15

Ability:
Kinetikinesis - the ability to create,shape and manipulate kinetic energy. She can transfer kinetic energy from one object to another, increasing its force. With direct contact, she can turn an object's potential energy into kinetic energy, making it explosive. Alternatively, she can make a target immobile or unable to stop if in motion.

Personality:
Naturally caring but possessing excellent analytical abilities. Cecilia is very much an introvert. Despite this she has well developed people skills, making relationships come fairly easily to her. She takes each new day and event as they come, excited at the new possibilities they present. Though enthusiastic, she can be a bit of a perfectionist at times, often taking her responsibilities personally.

Bio:
Cecilia's mother disappeared when she was still a baby, her powers developing when she was in elementary school. She would live many of the following years on the road with her father, traveling via RV from one school to another, not staying in one place very long. Her mother was the subject of many arguments (Cecilia being unconvinced that he's telling her everything). Despite this, she trusts him and is eager to take life one day at a time.

color=b22222

Little Stargazer - roleplayerguild.com/posts/4071846

[User]
@1Hawkeyes@SoulEater
Discontent to just stand around doing next to nothing, Cecilia thought now would be a good time to practice drawing; it was a fair way to pass the time and, although it was an "on and off" hobby, she was feeling rather inspired by her new friends as well as the delightful natural sights she had witnessed. On her way to her cabin to gather her personal drawing kit, a small part of her worried that one of her reasons for her current spontaneous interest in drawing was to procrastinate in light of something she should actually be doing. With perhaps less energy in her stride, she continued, stopping dead at the terrible scream emanating from the cabin which she earlier saw Mystery lead Helena and Edmond, his sleeping sister formerly at its steps. Cecilia certainly wasn't in the habit of sticking her nose where it didn't belong, as it were. But it appeared evident, by the way she frantically rushed over to the shriek's source, she considered this instance an exception. "What's wrong!? Wha...!?" Distress powering her up the steps, she hectically came as far as the doorway to find Mystery embracing his sister, Helena and Edmond also in the room. Cecilia was confused to say the least, feeling like she was interrupting something.

[Assistant]
@The1Rolling1Boy@Mangrale@1Hawkeyes

*James and Neric would be mostly off on their own, Neric snuggled quietly on his shoulder. James petting his wing as they looked out across the woods, waiting really for what to happen next. Even Neric was curious about what the counselors had in mind for what to happen at the camp* "James I know you really want to go swimming, but do you think they may have competitions?" *Neric would ask as one of his eyes looks to James, waiting for his answer. James thinking on as he nods* "Ya I think they will, but I don't think you can participate. You'll make it very unfair-"

 *Stopping as he and Neric hear the girl's scream in the camp, his skin going pale as he looks at Neric. The little Void shaking and growling softly* "Neric calm down, I think it's small that happened! Neric!" *Quickly looking at the Void who flew off his shoulder quickly, cursing a bit under his breath as he follows the Void who changes from the bird to a pure black cloud. He would continually call out to the dark being, though it seems Neric is in another state of mind as it's cloud gets bigger. Soon reaching a rather large size, not quite a cabin size but it was close as it only pulls out it's crocodile head and arms. The rest of it's body is pure dark cloud and in his eyes he is having a flashback himself and he doesn't look happy about the scream, James scared about this now as he rushes to the Void who is forming by the cabin* "Neric calm down!"

[User]
The sudden scream from Spirit made Helena jump. It was cool seeing Mystery transform back into a human and sweet to see him protect and embrace his sister. "I guess she thought you were him," Helena said in a hushed tone to Edmond. Then, she heard Cecilia fly up the stairs. The girl looked awfully confused, so Helena did her best to fill her in. "Spirit got scared waking up with strangers so close and without her brother, that's all." It was probably more complicated than that, apparently since she tended to sleep walk and have night terrors.

James's shouts made Helena peak her head out of the cabin, where a dark mass of clouds was forming. "Oh my..." she murmured as the crocodile began to form. She had to think quick, what animal could she turn into that could hurt a shadow? It was hard to tell, but her adrenaline was too high. Quickly, Helena began to morph. She dropped to all fours, the hairs on her arms growing thicker until they became orange and black fur. Her back legs transformed into powerful cat legs, whereas only one of her arms transformed. The girl turned tiger lacked a tail and had one cat and one human ear. Only some of her teeth transformed into fangs and her Brown hair stayed on top of her head. Overall, the transformation was one of her better. The tiger let out a half roar, half shout and unsheathed her claws, unsure how to defend her new friends.

@Mangrale @The1Rolling1Boy @SoulEater

[Assistant]
@LiegeLord
Cecilia gave a sigh of relief, her eyes closing before opening to better appreciate the tender moment between the two siblings. She never had a brother or sister growing up, so she was a little less quick to excuse herself. She nodded appreciatively to Helena, believing her own inside voice wasn't what it could be at the moment and didn't want to disturb the mysterious brother and sister. Cecilia was still concerned. What could have happened to Spirit to have provoked a reaction like this for simply not having her brother there. This just wasn't a thing that came naturally... Was it? Not thinking it appropriate to inquire about the matter at the moment, Cecilia deemed the matter closed, and after giving Helena a final contented look, she turned to immediately hear James shouting at Neric, the upsetting pleas accompanied by an ever growing, foreboding gloom just outside.

From the porch, Cecilia gasped as she jerked her head over her shoulder to spectate in horror as Helena partially transmogrified into a vicious tiger. Cecilia began to back away from her, away from the cabin, as though she were seeing a monster, a primal instinct inside her convincing her that unless she did something quickly, she would surely die. She regained enough of her senses to know that Helena had complete control of her own actions. But that still meant that she was possibly intending to fight Neric. "Wait! Helena please! It's Neric...!"she earnestly appealed, realizing that since she couldn't advocate aggressive action, she would have to spearhead another recourse.

Cecilia sprinted to James, narrowly preventing herself from tripping in the process. "James!... James!... What's happening!?" she called to him, the worry on her face clearly evident.

[User] Helena watched Cecilia back away from her in what looked like horror. It wasn't the first time someone had, so the sadness she felt wasn't too bad. Cecilia then seemed to realize something and yelled the shadow was Neric. Helena was fully aware of this, who else had shadow powers? But Neric didn't seem to friendly at the moment, especially since he was even ignoring James. I can't fight a shadow, she thought, unable to speak as a tiger, but maybe I can hold him off. Helena hopes her dear didn't show on her face. She was terrified of what could happen and was pretty scared of what Neric was transforming into. It was like the Neric from before was completely gone.

[Assistant]
@1Hawkeyes

*He would ignore Cecilia as she cried out, hoping she would understand. Quickly bobbing and weaving through the place, faster then he usually is, trying to get to Helena. He remembers all too well this situation before as he rushes to get infront of Helena, he didn't think she would last against a Void. Not much can and besides he would be the one getting hurt, not Neric. Holding out his right hand to the Void and shouting out*

"Neric calm yourself! No one is hurt and surely no one is in danger!" *Neric would slow his approach towards the cabin, watching James and Helena. Mostly Helena who was trying to get in his way* "Helena... for the sake of everyone in the Cabin, who was the girl that scream and tell us both that she is ok. Please?" *James not keeping his eyes off Neric, if someone was actually in danger then Neric would see James getting in the way as well. Which wouldn't be a good situation, the Void approaching and looking angry at James for getting in the way. James standing his ground regardless against his Void*

[User] Helena watched Neric get closer and closer, shaking a little bit. There was no way to fight a shadow, but could the shadow fight her? James began to yell at her to explain the situation. Helena couldn't do that if she didn't transform back into a human. As fast as she could, Helena morphed back into a human, though her right arm was still a tiger's. "Neric, Spirit was just scared! No one is hurt!" It was amazing to see James stand his ground against Neric. Hopefully he would listen.

[Assistant] *Neric would look at James and Helena, his eyes narrowing at her as James talked normally to Helena* "Something from the not too far past is still traumatizing him, her scream set him off." *Him trying to think of what else to say, but Neric slamming both of his arms into the ground would get his attention back. Neric didn't seem keen on attacking anyone but he didn't seem fully convinced, his eyes set on Helena. His claws on his hands digging easily into the ground as he speaks up, his head not moving* "Are you telling me the truth little one?" *He seems calmer now,but he isn't reverting from this form just yet it seems*

[User]
Spirit looked up at her brother "I wanna go outside" She said then cawled out of his arm and off the bed. She stands up and straightens out her skirt before walking out and jumping from step to step. Once she gets to the bottom and stops to stare at the gaint black cloud thing infront of her

Mystery followed close behind his sister and freezes when he sees this big black cloud thing in front of him and his sister. He quickly turns into his fox and hides behind his sister shaking out of fear.

@1Hawkeyes@Mangrale

[Assistant] Helena transformed her arm back to normal and looked up at Neric. He was frightening, but he didn't have a reason to hurt her or anyone else. "Yes, I have no reason to lie to you, Neric," Helena said. She wasn't too scared anymore, like she summoned a greater bravery from someone else. "No one got hurt, just startled."

[User]
@1Hawkeyes@Mangrale

*Neric would watch the two, raising his arms and head slowly after a moment. Looking at the two people coming out, his arms retracting and the dark cloud covering over his head. The cloud slowly shrinking down till it's a small form at the ground, Neric coming out of the small cloud as a cat. Walking slowly over as James approaches him too, petting the Void as he looks back at everyone and over at Cecilia as he sighs* "I'm truely sorry..." *Neric curling up at his feet after a moment, James looking down at him and sighing. The Void not moving as it speaks* "I over reacted... I just don't want another to die if I can help it..." *The Void going quiet as James just kneels down and pets him, him sighing and waiting for what reaction he'll get. Wondering if everyone will scold him and Neric for acting out, he's used to it. He's already pondering where they'll go next if they are kicked out for this. The little Void shaking a bit against his hand*

[Assistant] "Oh Neric..." Helena said when the little shadow cat admitted his fears. She didn't know what happened with James and Neric, but whatever it was it traumatized Neric. "Maybe I overreacted too. We all her scared sometimes," Helena said. She held out her hand to the shadow cat, nonverbally asking for permission to pet him.

[User]
Cecilia could only watch helplessly as her friends, if she even had the right to call them that after this was over, nearly came to blows. Soon the world around her faded into obscurity, nothing registering as perceptible except for the all consuming void. The darkness and its otherworldly current and flow seemed to beckon in a way that seemed to hypnotize her, taunting her though fully knowing that she couldn't move out of fear.

-----
Cecilia? [relieved sigh] There you are. You've had me worried... Hm? Asleep?... [chuckles] Alright then, up we go.

[sleepy moans] Uh... Daddy?

Hey sweetheart. Back at it again, eh?

Mmhm

Can you tell me what's so amazing that keeps you stargazing? [soft laughter]

What?

Just an old song... Cece, I'm not going to tell you to stop this, but can you at least pick a spot nearby? You scared me half to death earlier.

I'm sorry... This was the best spot. So I could hear them.

Hear what? The night sky? There's nothing out there.

Yes there is daddy. The stars. They're my friends.

But sweetheart. Stars are just inanimate gaseous objects. They can't do or say anything.

Yes they can. They told me not to be afraid, that mommy is safe... and that one day she'll return to me.

[sigh] Cecilia... You can't honestly believe that, can you?
-----

The conflict, for now, had subsided. But Cecilia felt numb, hearing nothing. It took all her strength just to keep standing, and now that was gone. She fell to her knees, her legs sprawling to the sides as she realized what had happened and how powerless she felt to do anything about it. She had failed. Of what did everything she said and did amount to. The unknown. When it truly mattered, when faced with it and all its dark uncertainty, she froze. Her hands fell flat on the midday grass, her head sunk low, facing the ground. A familiar sting wore away at her eyes until she honestly couldn't take it anymore. Tears accumulated on her cheek until they gained enough volume to drop to the ground. She was silent, plenty of practice. No one was hurt in the traditional sense. But could she genuinely expect to look anyone in the eyes after this. Yes, someone didn't belong in this camp. Cecilia knew the answer and the truth broke her heart.


[System]
Warrior

---

-------STATISTICS-------

-------MASTERIES-------

| VIT -- 27 | 65% | BLADES -- C
| MGT -- 12 | 80% | POLEARMS -- E
| SKI -- 3 | 35% | AXES/BLUNT -- E
| SPD -- 11 | 50% | BOWS/RANGED -- D
| SRT -- 2 | 15% | THEURGY -- N/A
| MND -- 0 | 0% | MYSTICISM -- N/A
| LUK -- 5 | 30% |
| DEF -- 2 | 50% |
Secondary Statistics

WGT -- 9
ACC -- 12
AVO -- 6
RES -- 1
CRT -- 4

---

Traits:

- INDOMITABLE: Character permanently gains +7 VIT.
- BATTLE FURY: MGT increased by +3 and DEFENSE by +3 when VIT is below 50%

---

* Bronze Short Sword

	+ MIGHT | 3 / 13
	+ ACCURACY | 85 / 97
	+ WEIGHT | 2
	+ CONDITION | 25/25
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ COST | 135

* Breastplate

	+ DEFENSE | 3
	+ CONDITION | 40/40
	+ WEIGHT | 4
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ COST | 270

* Heater Shield

	+ DEFENSE | 3
	+ WEIGHT | 3
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ COST | 260

Possessions:
- -15 aurum (owe 15 aurum to Iddin)

- Personality / Appearance* Siris has a pretty average personality for someone of his age. He's relatively pretty open and light-hearted, he likes getting drunk and enjoys trying to flirt (and hopefully succeed) with pretty women. Although, he never oversteps his bounds when it comes to women because of what happened to his mother. His personality is a little different when it comes to fighting, having been disciplined a lot by his father, he keeps a level and calculative head in battle most of the time. He does at times though lose a bit of that composure when he starts getting highly pressured in combat. He reaches a sort of fighting-high where he's smiling and enjoying the adrenaline of the high stakes duel, although this is mostly due to his very mistaken feeling of invulnerability caused from his young age and from his training making him he's stronger than he is and thus that he won't actually die.
* He's a 23 year old male, 5'7" tall with a pretty solid build of muscle but not to the point of hampering movement. Other features are that he has black hair, green/hazel eyes, and a couple of various scars under his shirt from previous fights either with his father or others.

- Backstory* Siris was the first and only born to two loving parents. They raised him to be a good boy, his father a relatively strong combatant from years of service as a soldier and his mother a simple peasant woman. His father began teaching him the basics of swordplay from around 10 years of age, although in a very light way. Eventually that changed when Siris was 16 and his mother was abducted, his father and several guards went to look for her only to be too late as she had been abused and murdered. Although Siris was very sad but it didn't affect his behaviour much unlike his father who had become much less joyful and decided to leave the army and find simpler work. From 16 to 22 years of age his father was much more severe in his now general combat training, although Siris knew it was all for his protection. Eventually when Siris was 22 his father grew very ill, his last words to Siris being that what he wants most is for him to have a good and happy life. After his death and burial, Siris wandered around for a while doing odd jobs here and there before finally joining the company. He has now been with the company a little over a month.

[User]
Etor rushes into the house. Desperate to find something that helps him fight or helps the others. He bursts through the door and surveils his surroundings.

Etor moves 6 tiles to 3-13

[Assistant]
Although the axe blow he had received severely injured him, Balathu gripped his spear tightly and slew the enemy before him

Balathu hits Kassite Hunter #10 for 16 damage, killing him.

[User]
Clashing with the spearman before him, Siris received a deep gash on the right side of his abdomen; on the same side he had received a cut on his upper leg earlier in the battle. While finishing off his current opponent was tempting, Siris had a better idea. Throwing his knife deep into the spearman's shoulder, he used the opportunity to run past him and Balathu to face off with what he thought to be the leader. Taking a couple seconds in the middle of the vicious battle to belittle his opponent.

Siris: "You! You dare call my ally Lyun a dog in front of me? He's a man who's strength as a warrior has been acknowledged even by me, I will not let someone so pathetic as to attempt to lead his men while attacking from behind a defenseless archer make fun of him. You're no warrior, thus using an actual sword is wasted on the likes of you" Siris said as he smugly moves his dagger side to side.

Although he meant what he said, Kashtilashu's massive axe seemed not only incredibly dangerous but also incredibly heavy. A slight difference in swing speed in a battle between warriors could mean the difference between a lethal blow and a miss.

 Kashtilashu: "And I won't waste anymore breath on depraved sellswords."

With a smile, Siris strikes a pose holding his dagger pointed towards his enemy.

Siris: "Trust me weakling, against me, you soon won't have any breath to waste."

Angered and not willing to waste the opportunity in front of him, Kashtilashu charged and swung at the opponent in front of him. As he did so, Siris changed his grip slightly and threw the knife at Kashtilashu's right leg. Losing his balance, the swing came slower and clumsier; using his still healthy left leg Siris lept towards his opponent. Using his shield next, Siris deviated the already clumsy swing as far as possible from himself. Quickly unsheathing another throwing knife from his side, it was stabbed deep into Kashtilashu's side before he even had time to completely stop his swing.

The Kassite warrior seemed to lose his breath, however such a wound would not be enough to stop him. Swinging with all his might, the warrior attempted once again to strike Siris who's current shoddy footing would make it difficult to avoid his current blow. Kashtilashu's attack would only hit his enemy's shield, though the combined strength of his burly body and heavy axe being strong enough to knock Siris back several feet.

Siris: "Damn, my left arm's numb after that. He's as strong as he looks."

Putting his shield between himself and his opponent once again, Siris raises the dagger once more and points it at the wounded Kassite.

Siris: "Don't worry, I'll be sure to finish it with the next blow."

Siris moves 6 tile to 23-9, hits Kashtilashu for 11 damage, evades the counterattack, and hits double for another 11 damage

[Assistant]
Lyun: "..."

There isn't much to say. Nothing that will sway those left standing into accepting their mistake with dignity, certainly not after all their companions falling.

Lyun moves one tile east, to 20-8.
Attacks Kassite Rebel #9 with his Battle Axe, but misses.
Kassite Rebel #9 counterattacks, dealing 9 damage.
Lyun gains 5xp.

---

[User]
Ninil: "I'll finish this one off!"

Instantly, an arrow flies through the air penetrating the Kassite rebel's throat. He falls to the ground, a puddle of blood quickly forming around him.

Ninil moves 3 tiles to 19-8, hits Kassite Rebel 9 for 6 damage killing him.


[System]
"Power is what I need to create my new world."

---

Nicknames/Titles: Galactic Boss

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Villain

Personality: Cold and calculating, he only shows interest in a character if interests align. He is focused on the creation of a world without strife created by his own view on how such a world could exist. One of his goals to achieve it is to remove human spirit and will power. Since he believes that life is meaningless, he will not hesitate to bring down anyone in pursuit of his goal. Not quick to anger he will being to think of a new plan should his ever be foiled.

Biography: Born in Sunnyshore City, Cyrus had a decent upbringing. Despite that, he could never win the approval of his parents. As a result he had grown distant to other people, preferring to work on machines and study. At some point as he was growing up, he realized that the emotions that humanity feels is what was the source of strife in the world. If it were no feelings of greed, jealousy, or even that of joy, humanity would not war among themselves, Pokemon, and the environment.

 Once Cyrus was old enough to start his own enterprises, he founded Team Galactic, a publicly accessible yet sinister company. In actuality, Cyrus used the company to begin working towards creating a new universe in which he could control and limit the ability of human spirit. He would rid conflict from the entirety of existence. Since he had abandoned his raw emotions already, he felt himself the one to rule over this new perfect universe. In order to build his new ideal, he had to destroy the current universe so he would work from the ground up.

 He had nearly succeeded. He had captured the Pokemon of the lakes, Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie. He had used their essence to forge the red chain. His admins and grunts had gathered the necessary energy from across the region. With them following close behind, he made his way to the Spear Pillar atop Mt. Coronet. Using the red chain he summoned powerful Pokemon, Dialga and Palkia. With their power, he would destroy the very space and the rewind the time that kept the universe flowing.

Did he succeed?

Powers/Skills:
- Historian: Cyrus is well versed in the lore for the creation of Sinnoh and as a result, creation through Pokemon in general.
- Scientist: He is also capable of working with technology and science/pseudoscience. He is able to operate, and manipulate heavy machinery including super computers, laser devices, and genetic stasis equipment. Some of the sciences include the gathering, transferring, and containment of energy from Pokemon evolution and the transfer of energy remotely.
- Team of Pokemon: Cyrus has a team of six Pokemon on hand. Tools to help achieve his goals as well as the means in which he hopes to destroy the universe and create a new one as its deity.
 • Honchkrow
 • Crobat
 • Weavile
 • Houndoom
 • Dialga
 • Palkia

Other: I am of the belief that one could have the equivalent of any popular superpower if you could control space/time a la Hiro Nakamura.

"I had a reason to take what others didn't deserve. It was natural selection."

---

[User]
Horus was home. Horus was on the battlefield. Ten different voices were shouting over the vox, each demanding his attention in a different Imperial or Cthonian dialect. Various tactical datastreams filtered over his visual display, giving readouts of troop movements, atmospheric conditions, ammunition and energy reserves, and other useful minutiae. Soldiers hurried about him, rushing past his massive, armored bulk and cordon of Justaerin honor guard. Laser fire and munitions choked the skies overhead, and the ground seemed trapped in an endless earthquake as artillery mercilessly pounded the earth.

Horus ignored all of it. It wasn't relevant. He had his eyes locked on a different target. A horrifying xenos beast surged toward him, its multiple tendrils grabbing and throwing Astartes warriors like they were children. Their foes, in their desperation, had unleashed a warbeast against their superior foes, and now this monster and many more like it were wreaking havoc in friendly and enemy ranks alike. Horus was reminded of the ancient histories he learned from his father, particularly stories of tusked war-oxen yoked into battle by the warrior-kings of Ind.

Horus surged forward, a mountain of adamantium and ceramite in motion. His Justaerin did their best to keep pace, but he led the pack. Enemy soldiers, fleeing the chaos that had been unleashed onto the battlefield, fled blindly into their midst. A single stroke from Worldbreaker was enough to swat them all aside, like so much chaff. Horus pressed onward, and the alien monster entered his bolter's range. He unleashed a hail of bolts from his gauntlet-mounted cannon, which detonated futilely against the beast's grotesque hide. It wrenched itself about to find the source of the disturbance, and Horus saw his own reflection in the monster's rows of beady, black eyes. It roared at him. Good, he had its attention. It charged him, muscular tendrils flailing wildly as the Justaerin unloaded their combi-bolters into it, to no effect. Horus gripped Worldbreaker's haft with both hands, and as he grew near enough to look down the beast's gullet, he swung.

Before he felt the impact of the weapon up his arms, and the satisfying rain of the monster's exploded skull against his armor, light overtook him. A shot of confusion and panic ran through him at the surprise; his mind raced with possible reasons for his sudden loss of sensation. Psychic attack? Neural weaponry? Could he, a gene-perfected Primarch be suddenly suffering from a stroke or aneurysm? Before he could weigh the options further, his vision returned, and he found himself following through with his earlier strike. He would have stumbled from the unexpected movement, had the mass of his terminator armor not kept him stable.

Horus looked to his surroundings. He was no longer on the battlefield. Rather, this seemed to be a grassy plain as far as the eye could behold, and he was not alone. There were others here; one was introducing himself, Driscoll he called himself. While Horus did not recognize any of them, he understood them, so they were most likely human. Most of them seemed to be, anyway... more or less... Horus examined them carefully, not taking any motion toward them, searching for signs of aggression. He saw confusion, fear, anger, but no overtly aggressive overtures. Fine. He had a moment to collect himself, then.

Horus returned to the readouts he was ignoring earlier. Many were now missing, as his cogitator link to the Vengeful Spirit seemed to have been severed. He manipulated his optical display with his neural link, searching for his ship's data-signal, but he found himself alone. He reflexively nearly called for his Master of Signal, but caught himself before he made himself look more foolish. It seemed that he was alone... wherever this was. While he could not sense any psychic interference, it was nearly impossible to be sure. There was no way that he could have been teleported this range; nothing like this idyllic scene existed anywhere on the world he had been in the midst of conquering. More than anything he felt confused and bewildered, and recognition of those feelings angered him. The situation was wildly out of his control, and this fact humiliated him. He was the Warmaster of the Imperium, the highest-ranking soldier in an empire of trillions. This sort of thing should not have happened to him.

He doubted that the oppositional forces he had just been facing were behind this. They were fundamentally incapable, with limited access to standard technological templates, and lacked the resources to detect and train psykers among their population. If he was to gain a better grasp of his situation, these people seemed like the next anomaly worth investigating. Horus strode forward to join the coalescing group. His movement was slow and purposeful, each footstep causing the earth to shake slightly under his tread, his weight gouging out the ground and trampling the grass underfoot. His armor's reactor hummed, and each movement came with the soft whine of servo-motors. Once he was close enough to speak, he set Worldbreaker down on the mace's head, leaving it standing upright in the grass in front of him. His unclawed hand free, Horus pulled loose his golden-masked helmet, its burning red eyes staring at the others present.

Free of the helmet, Horus looked at the others with his own grey eyes. Behind the mask was a regal countenance, beard and head both shaved clean. He tucked his helmet into the crook of his arm, and wiped the sweat and grime of war away with the back of his gauntlet. He smiled at the others, despite his trepidation, and did his best to appear nonthreatening, as futile a task as that might have been. Still, he projected a preternatural aura of calmness and control, his facade flawless.

"Hail, I greet you in peace, Ave Imperator." He spoke in a giant's voice: dark, rumbling, impossibly deep. "I am known as Horus Lupercal, Warmaster of the Imperium of Mankind. I possess no foes powerful enough to abduct me unwillingly; have I been caught in some snare set by an adversary of yours?" He gestured to the others, hoping that they would offer answers.

[Assistant]
Location: Simulated Universe 1 - Open Field

---

It seemed the large knight was indeed someone to keep an eye on in some capacity, since he was the first of the group to speak, and directly to Gabriel no less. He folded his arm behind his back, keeping his fist clenched. There wasn't any need to let the Akuma go to waste, especially since Gabriel hadn't sensed anyone besides this group in the surrounding area.

"I appreciate your openness, Sir Driscoll, but I hope you can understand why I'm not so quick as to trust you. Any of us gathered here could be behind out mutual abduction after all. Although, I'm not so paranoid that I wouldn't introduce myself. You may call me Shadow Moth." He stamped the ground with his cane as if making a point.

Another large man in armor, much more ostentatious than the Forever Knight's, addressed the group. Shadow Moth looked up to the sky, searching for something that just wasn't there. "I'm sorry to say that this isn't the doing of anything I'm aware of. I can't reach any akumas, and there wasn't anything in the tome that could achieve this. Unless this is the Fox Miraculous, but that's..." Shadow Moth muttered and trailed off during that last part, lost in his own thoughts. "No, no, this level of illusion would be too much for the brats she employs..." He seemed to catch himself, looking back up to the group. "Regardless of the why, it seems as if we're all in the middle of nowhere, wherever we are. It might be best for us to search for civilization, a shelter, any others that are out here. The culprit may be among them."

[User]
Location: Unknown Open Field

---

 Cyrus remained silent initially. While he was not one to shy away from making himself known, there was much confusion among those who had arrived. One large man with red hair even shouted a bit of frustration in being displaced to this seemingly endless plane of grass. He observed as each new entity was fully exposed from the light. No doubt each would have one reaction or another. Each new entity was further evidence that not only was this not the universe he intended to create, but it was none of theirs either. The demonic dog, Houndoom, just forward of him remained ready to attack at a moments notice, only snarling when others started conversing.

 Cyrus had never heard of the Forever Knights. They might have been part of another region, but Cyrus didn't spend much more thought on it. He held out his hand, the fiery beast calming, the air around him cooling significantly. It brought its legs together and shook its body to help loosen the once tense muscles. This respite was short lived as it took a defensive stance as heavy steps shook the ground. Another suit of armor had walked by and stood before the group of different individuals. The man's suit was unlike that of the supposed Forever King, Driscoll. It was more ornate and bulky. It was something that no human would have been able to move on their own. He was an imposing figure, but his speech was calm and almost reassuring. With how he presented himself, it didn't seem likely for this man to have any enemies capable of doing anything significant to him.

 Houndoom calmed once again as Cyrus took a couple steps forward. The one who first spoke up called himself Shadow Moth. An odd name to be sure but ultimately not important. Cyrus held his arms together behind his back, feet firmly pressed into the grass below.

 "You may call me Cyrus. I am the leader of Team Galactic. Much like yourself, Sir Driscoll, there is no meaning in that name I am sure." Cyrus gestured towards Driscoll with his right arm, looking him directly in the eye, "By means you would not comprehend, I sought the existence of a new world. This is not that world. I can assure you I have had no part. I am unsure of what this place is. Be that as it may, Shadow Moth's suggestion is not an unreasonable one."

 Cyrus lowered his arm to his side. A small breeze brushed by rippling the grass in long sweeping waves. It really was empty plane for miles around. Perfectly flat, it seemed artificial. Yet the smell of the grass, the touch of the wind, and the texture of the dirt below felt real. If it were not for the others in the same position as he, Cyrus would have considered this the first step in the creation of his new world. Unfortunately, this was not. Given how imposing some of the others were presented, now was not the time to begin again. But assuredly, Cyrus was going to begin again.


[System]
Username: Grey
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Country of Origin: Japan (Zainichi Korean)
Role: Vongola Guardian Candidate
Flame: Cloud, Lightning
Weapon/Fighting Style:* Bow and Arrows - As the captain of Nami Middle's Archery Club and one who lives by the traditional Japanese philosophy of archery, Hideaki's skill in bow-based marksmanship is supernal. Furthermore, Hideaki possesses exceptionally keen eyesight that assists in sniping targets moving at fast speeds and at super long-range. Among mafiosi, the perception of his eyes is one of, if not the, best.
* Razor Wire - A spool of monofilament metal wire and a pair of gloves with wire running through them. It's a very versatile weapon, equally capable of laceration and strangulation, among other things, but requires a high degree of skill to properly utilize. The wires capitalize on Hideaki's superior dexterity and agility moreso than his mediocre physical strength or endurance, and, in the future, his proficiency with these wires is equal to or surpassing his marksmanship. Currently located within a mundane box in his attic.

Appearance: Present Day -> Ten Years Later
Personality: The phrase 'alone in a crowd' sums up Hideaki very well. Though he seems to be the kind of naturally-popular, outgoing sort of person in his daily interactions with others, he's actually a rather detached person. He's not a loner by any extent, but he can't consider anyone his friend on principle. There's an old saying that 'the perfect archer has learned to suppressed the self', and Hideaki has done this to a T. In the face of discrimination against his people, Hideaki's learned to act the part of a wholesome Japanese young man and hide any perceived imperfections in his personality in public, but even sometimes he doesn't know where 'Minase Hideaki' ends and 'Yi Hyun-ki' begins. He's a very proficient actor nonetheless. In terms of his "true" personality, Hideaki is very much one to toss aside the fetters of traditional morality and follow his own path, not those that offend his sensibilities. Fortunately events in his daily life are not too contrary to his beliefs, even though he hates having to put on his happy face for the sake of his mother and his family's social standing and is actually kind of a two-faced asshole when it comes to his real opinions. His beliefs can be rather unorthodox at times, but it all lends to a decent capacity as a 'left-hand man' of sorts
History: Hideaki, born under the name of Yi Hyun-ki, seems to come from a rather innocuous family. His mother, a hardworking Japanese woman in her mid 30s, runs a book cafe in downtown Namimori while his Korean father works overseas and only really returns home once in a blue moon. However, his family is far more unusual than it would seem at first glance. Though unbeknownst to even Hideaki himself, his father is a notorious agent under the codename 'Tarantula' who works for an international police organization opposing the mafia whilst his mother, though now genuinely a functioning member of normal society, was born into a criminal organization and used to leverage her appearance and occupation as an investigative journalist to act as their informant. Incidentally, they both met without knowing a thing about each others' allegiances. When they learned that Hideaki was on the way, they changed their identities and relocated to Namimori, mostly as the Vongola Famiglia was not one to tolerate civilian attacks or enemy factions making trouble in their territory. As a result, Hideaki led the normal life his parents wanted for him, even if his father was hardly present for any of it, free from the influence of any criminal enterprises. However, he wasn't free from the second class status that came with his particular half-blooded ethnicity. His mother, ashamed of his status, unintentionally instilled Hideaki's warped, two-faced values with her cynical, heavy-handed, and sometimes traumatic teachings on the ways of the world.
Other:

[User]
Samael | Shrine

As Sam arrived at the shrine, there were people there already. He had heard mention of the Vongola too, so this was most certainly the meeting spot. In his arms were large bags of food, he set it down and took out one of the small plastic boxes and began to eat as he spoke.

"Ah, Vongola business, am I right?", he asked.

"So, who'll I be killing today? Or is it protection? Do I need to steal something? Questions", he began. A jovial smile upon his face as he said all that, eating as he did.

"But really, have you guys tried the yakisoba? It's incredible, and the takoyaki, I found this stand that sold them with these mayonnaise cores, and they are absolutely delightful".

[Assistant]
Upon his arrival at the shrine, a familiar, stubborn voice screams at Ren from behind him. The sudden killing intent surprised the young heir, with a quick movement of his feet, he side steps to his right to evade the attempt at grabbing him. The green haired boy was more of a nuisance than he had originally thought, perhaps getting rid of him was a wise choice. Before the hidden tanto in his dark yukata could strike at the pest with his left hand, other strangers-- ones he had previously seen, arrived at the venue, including the young Vongola boss candidate.

Seeing as there would be too many unwanted witnesses, the raven haired boy lowered his short sword and averted his gaze to the side. "............ Very well. If you wish to be enlightened, stay. But I cannot assure your safety for whatever judgment they may bring upon with your interferance..." After what needed to be spoken, the yakuza heir kept his lips sealed in silence for what was about to transpire.

A baby? No. He was no ordinary baby.... Being in the underground world for quite a time, he had caught a rumor of the seven powerful infants of the mafia world, their trademark being a pacifier hanging from their neck. Ren had been skeptical of such rumor until this moment, when one of them was in front of his eyes, in the flesh. The boy could somehow feel from the movements of the baby upon revealing himself that he indeed was no ordinary human. To be fair, a baby capable of pulling such a stunt would evidently be classified as abnormal.

From the tone of their voices, the figures who had appeared were not hostile towards his protection target or him. After establishing that they were involved with the Vongola, the Kanesada heir lowered himself on his knee, hand on his chest with a slight bow of his head. "Kanesada, Rentarou of the Varia, reporting for duty.... Though Ren is preferrable. I deeply apologize but an outsider has... followed my footsteps." The boy lifts his head to shift his eyes to the obnoxious boy to point him out to the two authority figures.

[User]
It was Naoki's time to shine this leap of faith could help him catch a potential thug and with a single moment he face planted "To..much..pain" He lay there sore on his stomach and then brought his head up to see the man he chased looking at him. At that moment all of Naoki's self-pride was gone, so it was only logical to do the following he looked directly at the man who he heard name was Ren and stuck his tongue out. Naoki stood up feeling confused and forgot about Ten shortly after, as he seen a baby wearing an orange cloak with a red pacifier/dummy. He leaped to his feet and walked up to the cute infant.

"Hi name's Naoki how do you know Mr.Target? What's your name?" he didn't know why he asked the baby the questions and he didn't even know he was speaking to the great Fong. He reached out his hand stupidly to shake the babies hand, problem being he didn't know the difference of talking to a baby rather then
His potential target, adults, or people his age.

[Assistant]
Asuka had gotten to the shrine as the group was forming. It seemed this hadn't been a simple prank. Not even in the slightest. She smiled. That was good. But now she had some questions to ask. As she made her way into the group she placed a hand on Ren's head as she passed him by. "Good to see you again Mr. Kasenada." She said calming herself as she messed up his hair a bit. "Though it is curious to think that a simple feline lover such as yourself would be here." The same could be said for anyone else, including her, but she was mostly teasing him because of who he was. Especially after her thoughts were confirmed by his introduction of himself. Though she'd no idea was Varia was.

"Now. Miss Volkov. Could I assume you share some relation with..." She stopped in her tracks, just near Shiso. What was that she had seen? She turned her head to glance as the baby with the red pacifier around his neck. She looked back at Shiso and then again at the baby. Her heart thumped. A-A baby... It's... It's... She tried to steal herself as she looked back to Shiso. However, she could not contain herself. She lunged grabbing the child, pulling him away from the young green haired boy. "So cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute~" She spoke in a cheerful sing song voice as she nuzzled the baby, holding him close to her. "Do you have a name?" She asked him. She couldn't help it. It was adorable. Like a plushie.

Surely she should have been more serious given the situation. She knew at least that much. But how? How could she stand firm and resilient when faced with this level of adorableness?! How could anybody for that matter?! She didn't care. She could listen and hug the small infant. Though this was a rare moment, especially for those who knew her personally, and engaged her during the school year or when she was usually fulfilling her more professional role and being her normal self.

[User]
Samael | Shrine

"Hm, civilians... I guess I shouldn't be so liberal", or rather, it was a mix of either. You can do a double take on Sam now, considering he's just gone through a large portion of food while eating in a... Refined manner, it doesn't look like he's wolfing down any of the food he has with him.

"Ah, Master Fong... I guess this is Vongola business. I'm sorry, I almost didn't see you there, so who are they? It doesn't look like they're so involved... Are they new recruits? Please, I suck at teaching newbies", his comments though offhand, were spoken in a most polite manner. There was someone who seemed to already be familiar with Vongola business... And then there were the rest, who were not. He was unsure of what this was all about. He had some assumptions, like the guardians, but he never thought himself worthy, nor did he think it was great, it seemed tiring.

[Assistant]
Unfortunately for Hideaki, he had arrived late to the increasingly nonsensical gathering and missed all the good stuff. Damn. But with that said, he probably wouldn't have been able to make neither head nor tail of most of the terminology indicating 'yes-we-are-totally-criminals-planning-to-do-criminal-things' being dropped left and right, anyway. So perhaps that 'unfortunately for Hideaki' should have had an addendum of 'but fortunately for his mind'. Either way, it was inconvenient for him to not have been able to get the tidbits of information from the careless speech of the gathered few, like the hints as to the ulterior motive of this assembly, the interesting organizational status of the amassed individuals, and even the very real hype over the baby clad in crimson changshan.

Yeah, he didn't get it either.

But anyway, as if some cosmic force had willed it, he had managed to arrive precisely when Asuka was acting infantile with the infant. Man, Hideaki was a really inconvenient person like that, wasn't he? However, while there were he wanted to say on the topic of Asuka and babies, he was unable to. After all, there were people here, which meant he was supposed to be 'happy-go-lucky Hide', not '200% asshole Hide'. That 'privilege' was reserved was reserved for his strikethrough internal monologue and making fun of Asuka later.

...Speaking of which, what was Hide doing with that cellphone, anyway?

Once he had done what he needed to do, Hide surveyed the shrine area, taking note of all the people there. Gathered here was an assortment of faces, each drawn by the curious firework that no one else could see. Most of the people here were familiar to the middle school student, if only in passing in some cases. Still, he wouldn't just chalk this whole thing up to coincidence. He directed his attention towards the two unknowns. Apart from the baby, however, the only unfamiliar face was-

'Wait... Is that...? It can't be...'

FLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAILFLUFFYTAIL-

Ahem.

This was now something within the purview of his interests.

(Maybe he should not have played so much MGQ)

Continue.


[System]
Species: Human

Gender: Female

Age: UNKNOWN

Nationality: UNKNOWN

Weapons and/or equipment: UNKNOWN

Backstory: UNKNOWN

[User]
Vreta had seen the explosive drones in action before, so his implant knew to mark it as a priority threat. The drones were quick, but that did meant that, by tracking the drone's vector, he could know just as quickly which one was targeting him. In an instant, Vreta snapped his aim towards the incoming explosive. His implant gave its projected path, as well as assisting his hands in aiming precisely enough to put a shot right in that path. Vreta took multiple shots, though it was his first that struck the drone mid-air.

The detonation was still close enough to stress Vreta's shields and drop them low, but he was still able to dive into the nearest cover. He had to wait for his shields to recover, so he took the time to observe the state of the battle. He was not sure what was causing his frontline to lose ground, considering the advantages they had over the enemy, but it was a circumstance he would need to adjust to. The soldiers behind Vreta were at least keeping Saddam occupied for the moment, so Vreta could afford to focus on Thebes. The marines Vreta was pushing with did not yet have pressure on them, though they had still not found a shot on Thebes. He was not sure he could rely on Kjartan to defeat Thebes alone either, so he needed to help personally.

Vreta shifted over next to one of the Blue team marines in cover near to him. "I need this." He said as he grabbed the Human's lethal grenade. "Kjartan, shield up. Grenade incoming!" He warned through their comms before arming the grenade and tossing it over towards Thebes. He stayed down while his implant tracked the explosive through the air. Though he did warn Kjartan, he still made sure to throw it such that Thebes would be between Kjartan and the grenade, just to be safe. At the last moment, Vreta peeked a narrow angle and shot the grenade to airburst it on Thebes' position.

[Assistant]
595 directed her sensory suite to find and mark key members of the opposing team in her HUD. She found Vreta near the centre, cloaked in a corona of fire from an explosive charge. The Varangian she'd seen on the bridge before was rushing Thebes. Athena had just respawned and Knossos was close to doing the same.

So far, the Agent had spent most of the battle on defence. She'd abused her state of the art and highly classified set of tools to corrode the other team's capability to fight effectively. A series of malfunctioning weapons, IFF tags and communications pathways had insidiously tilted the balance in favour of the cornered Red Team.

Her carefully applied active camouflage hadn't worked as well as she'd hope, though. This was when 595 had come to suspect that the Barb's Rothian guest was providing some kind of force multiplier; the other team was too accurate as to be natural.

So, 595 had made her way hastily forward once her work had been done in the smoke. She didn't harass the retreating Blue Team - she was focused on just a single target. It was time to go on offense.

Looking downrange, and piggybacking as many combat suit nodes as she could, the Agent assaulted Vreta's implants with a Grade 5 Cradle-Scrivener-Fujikawa virus. If left unattended, it would shut down all implants and paralyse him until recalled. It was an incredibly dangerous virus, normally reserved for dismantling entire battalions, but 595 was a competitive individual.

She was confident Vreta wouldn't be able to resist a black site cyber attack and co-ordinate his troops at the same time. Biting her bottom lip with a gleeful grin, 595 began shooting at the retreating Blue Team vanguard. They were getting close to falling on top of Thebes, who had enough to worry about.

---

Thebes scrambled away from the grenade like a Human cockroach, but couldn't avoid being flattened against the rubble beneath him by the concussive blast. He flipped onto his back, just as Kjartan vaulted over the barricade Thebes had been hiding behind. The Norse absorbed a few shots from the Team Leader's rapid-fire pistol before savagely bringing his hammer down towards his chest. Thebes rolled away and tried to get up. Kjartan was quick to retrieve his hammer from where it was buried in the ground and jab him in the ribs, sending Thebes flying into the side of a flier. Kjartan stalked forward, laughing maniacally.

[User]
It took only a moment for Vreta to realize what was happening, and his implant was already working to contain the detected threat. Someone was being exceptionally bold, and at least at first, Vreta had a mind to show them who they were dealing with. However, he soon realized that there was something more to this virus. Normal Human malware likely would have been dealt with before Vreta was even aware of it, but there was something different about this one. His implant started dedicating a surprising amount of resources to adapting to the malicious code, so as quickly as he could, Vreta himself stepped into action.

From the start, Vreta disabled all outgoing signaling from his implant to prevent any outbound transmissions. Without that, there would be no connection from his implant to any external server. Naturally, he also ceased his ongoing tactical support to his team so that his implant could dedicate its full processing power to the task ahead.

Despite the surprising sophistication of the virus, Vreta might have been able to have it dealt with swiftly, had that been the path he chose. There was clearly Cradle tech involved with the program, but his own implant was top-of-the-line by Rothian standards. It had immense computational capacity compared to anything of Human creation, and this virus was at least still partially Human-made. Vreta, however, was not merely interested in stopping it. This presented new opportunities beyond just the outcome of a combat simulation.

Vreta, of course, did nothing to hamper his implant's ability to fight back and protect himself. He stopped his own digital assistance towards his team so that his implant would have the resources for the kind of record-keeping he required. Like a ship sealing off compromised compartments, his implant first quarantined various sections of his internal network from one another. Some sections, by their core design architecture, were inaccessible. Implant subsystems connected to most vital organ systems were isolated, with their own processors and core programming. They were disconnected from his neural implant, except for a specialized interface that allowed the subsystems to view directives without allowing the direct transmission of code. The virus could not spread to them, but other systems, such as his sensory and motor functions, did have a direct, low-latency connection to his neural implant. As such, his implant did have to work to protect them.

Instead of outright deletion, Vreta directed his implant to create an quarantined partition with "write once read many" write protection. Any well-made virus would be able to erase part or all of itself if needed, but his implant was more than capable of dealing with that issue. It issued a root-level override to all deletion operations, or indeed any form of code modification, to instead copy into the quarantined partition. In effect, that partition would serve as an immutable record of everything happening within Vreta's internal network in order to guarantee that he could save a copy of the virus in its entirety. Of course, Vreta had stopped giving any manner of assistance to his team during all of this, but at this point, his goals had changed.

[Assistant]
The virus reported back instantaneously upon release. 595 stopped firing and dedicated most of her processing power to understanding the request. She was still vaguely away of the battle unfolding in front of her, but it seemed to slow down. "Quick - release me; this one requires full control." The virus whispered in her mind. The Agent's HUD helpfully painted a dozen thin black helixes winding between her helmet and nodes out in the field, which then wrapped around Vreta. These connections all gyrated impatiently in the air. "SCRIVENER-FUJIKAWA CONTROLS MUST NOT BE RELINQUISHED." a synthetic warning blared.

595 quickly analysed some of the data the virus was feeding back. Vreta's internal defences were already going up, and she only had a vanishingly small amount of time to upgrade her attack. The Agent could see Vreta, and he was just standing in place. That wasn't enough for her; she wanted to see him flat on the floor. Normally she wouldn't even consider an action like this, but she'd felt an odd affinity with the viruses in her arsenal recently that hadn't been there before. She felt more comfortable with controlling it personally, and even relished the challenge.

"Alright. But just remember you belong to me."The Agent overrode the lab controls, and instead assumed direct control. A new, totally alien strand surged through the slaved network, fully intent on Vreta. 595 drew in a sharp breath as some of the readings washed over her. She instantly felt a pull on all her personal control over the virus, like it was straining at the leash, dragging her along. It was a hundred times more complex, yet somehow felt familiar.

However, it never reached Vreta. A deafeningly loud klaxon sounded inside the simulation room; red lights flashed. The black helix lines in 595's HUD went taut, then whipped back towards her as every piece of Human hardware inside the room, apart from her, powered down. Every detail of the simulation bled away, leaving clear white contours that'd raised from the floor to form the cover and buildings. Some of these too began lowering back into the floor, leaving the participants staring about, confused.

595 gasped as the virus rushed back into its box in the back of her head and hid.

"Stand down! Simulation ends." A human coordinator shouted from the control pod.

[User]
Vreta's implant had stamped out the final traces of the virus in his mind, outside of the records in the quarantined partition. Though, it had stopped fighting back after the room had gone dark. The simulation might have ended inconclusively, to the confusion of most of those involved, but Vreta could be satisfied with the fact that he had a record of everything that happened within his mind. He realized that he was going to have to schedule some minor surgery to deal with this, but hopefully, what was within his storage drive now would be a gift well-worth the trouble.

In the spectator's booth, there was another guest to the Barbarossa. She stood near the window, looking out over the now-featureless arena. Rareth was unarmored and unarmed, or at least did not carry any external weapons. She had not originally come for any official purpose as a Datius, but rather simply to speak with the members of the Sacred Band. She had not expected anything more complicated than a conversation, but she was nothing if not adaptable. It had been easy to notice when something strange started to happen with Vreta, so she had been in a position to observe everything that was observable when the room shut down. "Interesting."

On his part, Vreta did not show any signs of distress, nor did he have any intention of letting on to what happened on his own. It was in his interest to keep the details quiet for now, if at all possible. In fact, the more ignorance he could believably feign towards 595, the better. Though, he could not be sure what the simulation's observers already knew. After all, the room would not have shut down without reason, so either the virus forced the simulation into shutdown for some reason, or there was something that the ship could detect, which it reacted to. "Is everything fine? No one is hurt, are they?" Vreta asked loudly.

[Assistant]
The Agent glowered up at the command pod for spoiling her fun. There she saw the big Rothian from the earlier simulation, and Captain Andersen. She was standing among the technicians and some other officers, staring right at 595; she didn't look pleased.

The Agent huffed. She turned around and headed quickly for the staging area and exit, pushing past a marine who was chatting with the soldier beside him.

"Move!"

As she navigated her way around the mounds of nondescript cover and thought it through, a little seed of dread germinated in her head. Even if the Rothians captured her little toy and had the nerve to disable the controls, they wouldn't see the same thing she'd just seen. They couldn't, not yet. She'd covered her tracks too, so diplomatically they couldn't touch her.

But that wasn't what was unnerving her. It was how connected she'd been to that virus in its final form. She'd been training for this over fifty years, but nothing could have prepared her for the raw power mainlining through her implants.

She'd gotten a partial map of the inside of Vreta's head, but otherwise the controlled virus had obviously been outmatched, fighting with one hand tied. But the other one...she couldn't help but wonder if it would've accomplished its mission and more…

"Everyone make your way carefully back to the staging area while we reboot." The co-ordinator ordered.

595 checked her arsenal, making triple sure the Scrivener-Fujikawa controls were fully enabled again. It looked secure; although she couldn't help but distrust the virus' willingness to go back to its prison.

The Agent's skin crawled; she suddenly wanted to feel the open air. She peeled back her visor but wasn't satisfied. She opened the whole front of her suit and stepped out, clad in shorts and a vest. It remained open and walked confidently behind her, ready for re-entry at any moment. 595 snatched the assault weapon out of its hands and shoved it into the armoury-tech's arms before stalking to the doors.

---

"Not yet, anyway!" Kjartan jokingly responded to Vreta. His blood rage faded away quicker than it had appeared. He offered a consolatory hand to Thebes, who was on his hands and knees preparing to get up. The Sacred Band leader took it and got to his feet, holstering the energy blade he'd hidden under his body. Kjartan seemed close to deprecating the team leader, but something stopped him. "I serious about joining Sacred Band." He admitted gruffly, nodding respectfully at Thebes as they made their way towards the exit with everyone else. "I know." Thebes replied.


[System]
Character Role: Jedi Master
Character Age: 34
Character Gender: Male

Character Appearance: Greggory is a Caucasian human male. He stands at about 5'11'' and has a lean build. He has brown hair worn tied back, and has a short but full beard. Aside from that there is little of interest regarding his body, aside from a small scar on his right cheek attained in battle.

Character Personality: Though at times he may look grave Master Greggory is a jolly soul. He is a peace loving Jedi who makes a point to always stand for peace and justice. He has a quick witted sense of humor and almost always has a clever and oft-times sarcastic comment regardless of the situation.

Character Gear: As a Jedi Master Wick is never found without his lightsaber nearby, normally at his waist. It is a standard lightsaber, with a blue blade, thought the haft is quite decorated in the sense that it is made of a dark wood and gilded with mandalorian iron, the iron gained from a nasty run in with a bounty hunter(who also left the jedi with his scar). Aside from his chosen weapon Greggory also carries the various tools Jedi in the field are expected to have, a water rebreather, a few day's rations, a knife, and a communicator among other things. Master Wick wears the standard robes of a Jedi, his being made of a darker brown material than the usual.

Character skills: Greggory is a high level user of Soresu, the third and most defensive form of saber combat. To augment his protective style Greggory has also dabbled in Makashi and Ataru, more the former than the later. However the Jedi much prefers to settle things in a peaceful nature, favoring diplomacy over battle. Greggory, being a Jedi, is of course very much competent in the force. Of particular note is his force wall, protecting his against enemy force wielders. He is also versed in Tutaminis, the skill to repel incoming energy, in particular blaster bolts, and redirect that energy into his own force based attacks. While less skilled in it, Greggory also possess some skill in force augmentation, allowing him to bolster his physical abilities with the force, in particular his speed and endurance.

Character Backstory: Born on Alderaan, Greggory was taken to the Jedi Temple early, and lived most of his childhood there. Made Padawan to Coleman Trebor Greggory prospered under the wise tutorage of the peaceful Vurk. Greggory partook in more than one mission with his master, most of them resolving without any need for a blade. After his knighting Wick followed in his master's footsteps where he could, though there were instances where a blade made a better tool than wise words. Recently Greggory was made a master, and has even more recently taken up his own apprentice. He looks forward to teaching his own padawan, and learning as well despite the shadow falling over the galaxy.

[User]
Jedi Master Greggory Wick

No sooner did Greggory call for a radio check did he hear Master Bumdoa wailing at his droid, "R7! I said Hyperspace! Not reverse thrusters!" Chuckling Master Wick peered over to a screen and said, "Thank you R5, for being an obedient astromech." to which the droid let out a few quiet clicks and some text appeared on the screen. Then speaking into his radio Greggory said, "Well Master Bumdoa, while I may be slow, at the very least I'm moving forward. Don't be too far behind Wrenu. R5, if you may."

Whirling away R5-G5 assisted Greggory with docking into the hyperspace-ring required by Jedi fighters, and then calculating the jump that would send them to the anomaly. In but a few moments Greggory's ship was gone into hyperspace.

[Assistant]
Jedi Team GM post

The two Jedi Starfighters dock with their hyperspace rings...with varying degrees of smoothness...and both they and the Jedi cruiser flash into hyperspace with the cruiser pilots chuckling to each other and going into hyperspace at virtually the same moment as Master Bumdoa, since they didn't have to worry about a hyperspace ring.

A few parsecs off, near the UNSC Solar Winds, they drop out of hyperspace with Master Wick a few seconds ahead of the others, about twelve hundred kilometers behind the foreign ship at about a 145 degree angle, and pointing the opposite direction. The Solar Wind's sensor stealth capabilities are enough to slightly confuse the Jedi ship's sensors...but it isn't exactly trying to be quiet at the moment and is cruising at top speed, and is thus detectable. And of course to anyone who looks out a window, once they get close enough that the massive blue engines don't look like part of the local starfield.

UNSC Solar Winds

The unknown ships dropping out of FTL travel...which bears none of the typical signs and Hawking radiation effect of slipspace...are immediately picked up on the Solar Wind's sensors, a fact which Magellan wastes no time in reporting.
"Admiral, three ships just appeared on our sensors. They seem to have dropped out of FTL travel via some non-slipspace means behind us. Two small fighter-class craft and one larger one...the size of a small frigate, on an initial vector towards our wormhole exit location. Unknown designs, and minimal weapons detected. It seems like a scouting group."
The effect on the Admiral was electric. "Bring us back up to combat alert status and turn the ship around! If they are hostile, we don't want them getting away. Is the slipspace drive up yet?"
"Negative."
"Savaymin! Get the rest of Ra back up here! With their weapons this time! Magellan, get a Longsword squadron scrambled, and power up that experimental tractor beam we got outfitted with! Let's go get a map!"
The alarms...which have only been turned off for about fifteen seconds...turn on again.

[User]
Wrenu Tipolan

Waited patiently, if not boringly, for their ship to exit hyperspace. Once they did though, his eyes bulges as he desperately tried to identify the vast ship they had arrived close to. He immediately contacted his master, saying with some fear and awe "Master, did you know this ship was going to be here...I don't recognize any of it's markings or design features from the main Archives..."

[Assistant]
I'm sorry team Ra She thinks to herself. All this going back and forth probably irritates them quite a bit. Regardless, the threat is real and imminent this time. Whatever the approaching ship plans on doing, chances are it's not good. However, the ships that they did bring do not seem that intimidating at first glance compared to the ship that they now pilot. This could either be really good, or really bad. However, it's not her place to interpret what this means at the moment. For now she needs to bring her team back to the main bridge in preparation for what comes next. They shouldn't have gotten far, unless they felt the need to run all the way to the armory that is...

Jogging through the Solar winds halls, she intercepts Fire team Ra on their way to the armory. "Hey, Admiral wants us back. We have visitors." She stares at the dude carrying the rocket launcher. "You know what? Do what you think is best. I won't blame you if you decide to keep that with you."

(Savaymin stays with fire team Ra till she receives specific orders or is put into a situation where she has to make a decision.)

[User]
Admiral Magnus

Magnus reviews the infodump in his cabin for a short bit, then leaves his cabin and starts heading for the bridge, opening a comm channel with the ship's adjutant on the way. "Adjutant, tell the bridge to move the ship towards the planet's northern pole. Maintain distance from the planet while en route, and charge a wraith for a stealth recon. Get a scan for Vespene Gas going. And prepare a spec ops dropship for long range deployment. And deploy sensor towers into the rings for perimeter recon."
"Acknowledged, admiral."
The Perelliator begins moving as directed towards the planet's north pole, as sensor tower drop pods fire from the battlecruiser's underside towards the dense ring and the Admiral re-enters the bridge.

[Assistant]
Jedi Master Greggory Wick

Out of hyperspace, Greggory looked over his sensors with a tinge of confusion. "R5, what's..." Looking up the jedi notice something quite strange. Straining his eye with the aid of the force, Master Wick saw what appeared to be a ship, and then over the radio, "Master, did you know this ship was going to be here...I don't recognize any of it's markings or design features from the main Archives..."

Looking over the vessel Greggory said, "I can't say I have Wrenu, we should try to get communications up. Wrenu, try to get in contact with them, maybe their friendly." Taking another moment to look at the strange craft, "Bumboa, we should maintain a defensive formation. A ship that large could have more than a few weapons."

[User]
Cindra Dubrovnik

Cinder sighs, annoyed at the tiny amount of information she is privy to, and heavily walks out of the room. She makes her way to the armory, stopping at her locker, and unloads her AGR-14 rifle and a cleaning kit. With an irritated half-smile, she settles onto a bench and tucks one leg up close to her as she begins disassembling and swabbing the weapon down.
It's not like she has anything else to do...
Cinder takes her time, knowing there isn't really a need for her anywhere at the moment; if the admiral needs her, he can send her a com.
Pull this pin, remove this slide, turn that screw, swab, tweak this mechanism...
What could the admiral be thinking right now? Is he debating a strategy? Is he panicking?
Attach this clip, snap that cylinder back into place, slide the piece over...
Even though she cleans at a far slower pace than usual, she absentmindedly finishes all three rifles and her psyblade within a few minutes.
She looks down at her gloved fingers, smeared with grease, then stares at the pile of weapons by her side. Frowning, Cinder wipes off her hands and replaces the rifles and blade emitter in her locker.
After locking it, she sits back on the bench and stares at the ceiling for a bit, lost in thought.

[Assistant]
Dominion Team GM post

Below the Perelliator, a small, sleek brown ship soars upwards from one of the industrial complexes the battlecruiser had detected earlier. A com transmission from the small ship is directed at the battlecruiser. Brrring, brrring, hello...

[User]
Wrenu Tipolan

"Right Master..." Wrenu said before he moved to do so, rushing to activate the communications and try to send a simple greetings. "Hello Unknown Vessel, this is the Jedi Cruiser Salen-Vardi asking for a reply." He send it out on all of the common channels he could, and then, even a few extra ways he'd personally learned from books he'd read in the Archives.

[Assistant]
Olu Bumdoa

The Nautolan's vessel exited hyperspace just a few seconds behind Wick, being decently on par with Wrenu's cruiser. He immediately flicked a switch here and there, adjusting his microphone as well. "Negative, I didn't know it would be here. It's an anomaly after all." Olu gently strolled his starfighter near Greggory's, assuming what was a basic defensive formation for the three vessels. He allowed Wrenu to engage the communications, reclining back on his seat. This should be interesting.

[User]
Admiral Pantera Faye

"Fireteam Ra, where are you?! Report to the bridge! This is /red/ alert!"

Admiral Faye paced around the bridge, clearly stressed. She approached the glass of the bridge as the ship turned about, facing the three Jedi vessels that just came out of their hyperspace lanes. She pressed her face on the glass, her nose smudging the window. Pantera had never seen such starfighters before, and they truly caught her attention.

"Unknown party of ships is hailing us." Magellan blurted out amongst the constant clacking of keyboards on the consoles from all officers on the bridge. "Patch them through."

*...*

"At least they speak our damn language. Magellan, open a channel."
"Listen here, Salen-Vardi vessel. This is ONI Marathon Cruiser Solar Winds of the UNSC. I am Admiral Pantera Faye. My crew has ventured into an unidentified wormhole that has left us stranded in this very quadrant of space. I ask that you identify yourself completely and inform us on this quadrant of the universe." Pantera then abruptly cut the comms, awaiting a reply. "Status on the tractor beam? I also want all weapon bays loaded and activated. Begin charging the MAC cannons."

[Assistant]
UNSC Solar Winds

Fireteam Ra walks back onto the bridge again as she is yelling for them and forms a line once again near the door. Assumedly, Savaymin is among them. And they are still armed.
Magellan nods curtly as she orders the weapons prepped. "Acknowledged, admiral."

[User]
Master Greggory Wick sat within his ship, mulling over what he heard. With help from R5 he was listening in on his padawan's message, and the reply. It was confusing to say the least. Last Greggory checked, the Oni were a militant species who often found work as merc's, but he'd never heard of any UNSC. The fact that the one who responded identified as an Admiral was also somewhat curious.

Deciding that the best course of action would be to pick up from where his apprentice left off Master Wick said though his headset, "Admiral Pantera Faye, I am Jedi Master Greggory Wick of the Jedi Order on Coruscant. Myself, my fellow Master Olu Bumdoa, and my Padawan Wrenu Tipolan were sent here in order to investigate an anomaly, your wormhole I presume? Perhaps it would be better to meet in person to exchange information, the Salen-Vardi has a wonderful salon-pod for just that kind of thing, unless you'd rather we meet up on your fine vessel?"

Looking over the ship, the Marathon Cruiser as the Admiral called it, Greggory took in it's far greater size. Compared to the Salen-Vardi the thing was a titan, and looked like it had some amount of firepower, more so than the Jedi's diplomatic vessel and two starfighters. With luck and tact, those facts will not have to be brought up.


[System]
Age: 24 +Tenacious +Loyal -Connected -Ill-tempered

Fun Facts
* Varsity boxer.
* Works as a 'mechanic'.
* Has a hospitalized parent.
* Has had lady troubles.

[User]
Amanda "Mandy" Sellers

---

---

She had been in town for about a whole two hours now and she was back at a place where she had her first drink. Timothy's Bar & Grill, a place in which she couldn't believe was still open after so long. In terms, it hadn't been that long since she had her first drink, just about six years ago. Amanda missed being at home and now she was here, back in town and she loved the atmosphere there. A small smile crept across her lips as she reminisced in her mind the time her and Jack came here. It was a very memorable night and she remembers as if it was only yesterday.

Her and Jack sat at the table, talked for what seemed like hours and shared a couple of stiff shot glasses of whiskey. Sam, the bartender came up to her and asked if she wanted another glass of Long Island Iced Tea. Amanda nodded her head as Sam fixed her drink then sat it down along with another coaster. She thanked him with a soft smile then picked up her phone as her father was calling her. She slid the button across the screen to answer him as he opened up with the old nickname. "Hey there, pumpkin." Amanda chuckled softly, responding. "Dad, being called pumpkin is so played out but not by you, I guess. I'll be home shortly." She cooed into the phone then looked over towards the entrance way, seeing a changed Jack standing there.

"Got to go, Dad. Talk to you soon." She immediately hung up the phone and turned her head away from the view of him. She hoped that she wasn't spotted by him as she wouldn't even know what to say towards him after all these years. Situations played throughout her head as she bit her lip a little bit out of nerves then took a sip from her tea, looking again then immediately looking away with a sigh.

[Assistant]
First drinks said a lot about a person, and he'd made sure hers was a shot of whiskey.

A girl shooting whiskey, he'd pointed out, could take care of herself. Mandy might have rolled her eyes and laughed a bit, but she'd knocked it back like a champ and followed it up with more. A good time from way back when, and it was funny that it came to both their minds as they caught sight of each other again.

If he'd expected anything, that sure wasn't it. Tim's wasn't exactly the best place then and it wasn't any better now, nostalgia its prime saving grace. Jack liked it because it was quiet and out of the way, not on anyone's radar. He could come here for a drink and not have to talk it up to Louis at the Blackjack or Jeff at Mahoney's, wouldn't run into any of the usual suspects. His own little island where he could drink and relax and not have to put up front for a while.

An island with company, apparently.

For a second he didn't believe it—just another bombshell blonde slumming it—but the more she looked the more he looked and that was that. Realization went off like a hand grenade and he was smiling all of a sudden for the first time in a long time. Who would have thought that Amanda Sellers, of all people, would have come back to Timothy's of all places.

On the other hand, if she was excited to see him, she'd have said something.

It wasn't the kind of thing you just ignored so he found himself making his way over to her, slowly, as if afraid she might bolt. Which was ridiculous, but…

"Been a while, Mandy." A grin, now, was evident in his voice. Since when did he grin? He tapped the side of her drink. "Not drinking whiskey anymore. Mind if I sit? I mean, if you're not waiting for anyone."

Might as well give her an out if she wanted it.

[User]
Amanda felt a presence crept up beside her and that familiar tone of voice brought back so many memories, most of which were pleasant. She swirled around towards him in her bar stool then eyed his features. The same old Jack, just much more grungier. She liked this look her was personifying right about now but of course, wasn't going to let him know that. She pondered on the idea to toy with him or not as she smirked slightly then waved a hand towards the seat beside her.

"By all means, sit. When whoever I am waiting for arrives then you can make your exit." She joked while turning back in her seat towards the counter top before them now as her eyes danced over towards him. "I haven't drunk whiskey since our last encounter here." She said truthfully while looking back ahead of her now as she signaled for Sam to come over then dug in her purse and slapped a twenty dollar bill onto the counter top, smiling over towards Jack. "Let's see if you still got it, huh?" She cooed while turning her gaze towards Sam now. "Shots of whiskey, please. And keep them coming." Sam nodded his head then sat a few shots glasses down in front of the duo.

Amanda thanked Sam while handing him the twenty then picked up a shot glass and handed one over towards Jack, clinging her glass with his. "Bottoms up." She said while chugging her shot glass of whiskey down, looking at Jack with a smile while picking up another one. "So, what all did I miss in my absence, Jack?" She asked him then downed another shot of whiskey, making a face as the alcohol burned at her throat a bit. She seemingly missed Jack going from Golden Boy to Bad Boy, which she thought was a bit sexier than he was before. Her eyes continually stared at him as she awaited an answer.

[Assistant]
Watching her knock back whiskey like it was going out of style, Jack raised an eyebrow but kept pace without missing a beat. The ability to consume one's weight in alcohol was practically a requirement in his walk of life and by now Jack was practically professional. He'd aged a bit, of course, but it was more than that--he was an adult not, walked like a man and not a boy. There was some weather on his features, a bit of grizzle in his wry smile. He'd been a physical guy all his life--football, boxing--but since she'd left it had become a bit more important. Young muscle had hardened from the gym and use and he moved with surprising ease for a man of his bulk, light on his feet and fast with his hands. She hadn't done too badly for herself either, and he kept his eyes from focusing too sharply on her bubble-gum lips or the tight fabric at her chest.

"All sorts." He laughed, amused at the idea. What had she missed aside from...well, everything? "Too much. How long are you back for?"

He didn't ask if she had any plans. Not yet, at least.


[System]
Race: Undead
Class: Doom Knight

Blessings: Immortality - She doesn't age.

Inventory:
Magic Vault Bag- Has the storing capacity of 1x3 chest.

Doom Knight Armor: Magical Armor that boost Dark Magic and Defense.

Undead Dragon Sword: A dark magical sword with the blade made out of dragon scales and the hilt from the bones. Causes Dark magic damage. Once belonged to a vampire lord.

Devil Beast Sword: a powerful swift moving blade. Boosts Attack power.

Red Paladin: A beatiful red dress with black and white designs. Red gloves and white boots.

Amazon Garb: Traditional Amazonian 'armor'

[User]
Alex watched as Naisha used magic to scan the area before returning the crystal to the blind elf before explaining what was happening. Nodding, Alex blinked at the sudden embrace before they teleported appeared next to the place Karette was. There were already magic bolts and arrows zooming passed. Most likely trying to assassinate the Queen before she got back behind the walls. Amazons poured out of the gate, allowing the Queen to be carried inside before they gave a battle cry.

When Naisha explained that Alex's armor would protect her from the magic, and to kill any mage with reservation, the red head nodded. "No worries there. Lets teach these bastards a lesson!" the Doom Knight shouted before having her helmet appear over her head as she charged toward the enemy. Her thundering steps loud and clear. Pretty soon she barreled against a soldier who tried to hold up his shield, but the sheer force of the charging giant woman knocked him back. Alex made her swords appear and slammed them down, piercing the soldier through the chest before slashing at other soldiers trying to attack her.

They shouted and slashed at her, but Alex moved quickly and used her swords skillfully to slice them to pieces. Blood spraying against her black armor. She could hear battle cry's and shouts and dying screams before her head turned as she spotted a mage casting a spell. shooting a ball of fire towards her. Quickly Alex charged, the flames smacking against her armor, but it slid off like it was just water. The mage freaked and tried casting another spell but Alex was already there and slashed her beast blade, cutting the mage's head clean off.

"Fools! You let the Queen escape inside! Slaughter them! Slaughter all those who do not surrender!" Alex could hear a shout, perhaps the general.

[Assistant]
Naisha was playing the role of a wall, a wall strong and sturdy to block all incoming magic towards the city of the amazons. While Alex was causing havoc among the soldiers, the amazon warriors were helping as well, but Naisha had her hands mostly full with blocking any magic attacks she could reach. The magic of the enemy was getting stronger and stronger, it seemed they were pushing themselves to deal with as many amazons as they can in hope of taking the town. They really wanted this place it seemed and weren't going to get it!

 More and more attack spells were now targeted at her as she was the one using magic where the amazons were going to fall a lot easier if there wasn't someone to provide magic support." HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She shouted as she bashed an imperial soldier, sending him into the air. The moment her shield was displaced from the impact, she received a strong fire blast to the chest, pushing her backwards a few feet, but she still stood. "TAKE THAT MONSTER DOWN!" Some mage shouted to his squad and they all began charging a combined spell. It looked strong, the heated compressed fire from all of them was reaching and causing her to warm up even inside this armor of enchanted ice." NO YOU DON'T!" Naisha shouted, stabbing the shield into the ground." Overdrive: Ice bound citadel" She shouted, as great pillars of ice burst through the grown upwards, forming well 3 great walls behind her protecting the town and a single one in front of her to protect herself.

 The giant magic attack flew towards her, impacting in the wall protecting her. The ice began melting with hissing sound, and soon her wall exploded as what was rest of the fire attack collided in the wall behind her and extinguished." YES! We took the monster down!" The mage shouted in victory.

 The empire's morale boost was short lived though as suddenly from the dust cloud where Nai was before, some sort of water whip flew out, wrapping around the mage that was shouting, draining him of all of his blood. Then the whip released the dried hust. Naisha waved her arm gently as the dust scattered leaving her visible once again. Her frost armor was gone. Now she was wearing a long elegant sea blue robe. In her hand she held what appeared to be the whip made of water." Sage of the boundless seas~" She smiled, as she swung her arm. The whip moved with insane speed, destroying the ground on it's path and slashed a person in two. It was made out of water, but at the same time the water was so condensed that it made it into quite the solid object." She really is a monster! A shape-shifter!" Some of the soldiers shouted in fear, trying to run away from her, she left them to the amazons. Nai's targets were the mages that were trying to mount an offense against her again. They tried their huge fire magic again, but this time Naisha slashed it in two before they can even fire it." You've committed a grave sin and you shall pay with your blood for it." Naisha told the men completely calmly and with a smile, contrasting to how she was acting… some of the mages who knew they cannot escape her whip, felt like they were starting into the smile of a demon.

[User]
Alex continued slaughtering through soldiers along with the Amazons. The Empire's soldiers didn't seem to be much of a match against the Amazons when it came to fighting ability. With Naisha blocking the magical attacks, the Empire soldiers were already getting quickly annihilated. The mages attempted to quickly take Naisha down, but it seemed they weren't doing so well against her. Of course, despite Naisha showing the mages up, Alex did feel her temper flare as she heard their shouts and dared attempted to attack her. Which of course, was always a bad idea. Especially when they basically give away their position in the war zone. Giving a roaring battle cry, the Doom Knight charged, barreling over soldiers with ease as her dark armor smashed into them.

The mages saw her approach but before they could fire a spell, Alex sliced a mage in half with her undead sword, while the demonic beast blade decapitated another. The mages screamed in terror and tried to get away as Alex quickly jabbed her two blades through the chest. "Hope it was worth dying you mother fuckers!" she snarled, pulling her swords out before looking to see most of the soldiers trying to retreat now. "Hah! Cowards."

[Assistant]
It took a little while, but the enemy soldiers started to retreat. The mages were dealt with and everything seemed to be going alright, but Naisha wasn't going to have any of that just yet." SCAN!" She shouted, doing a wide area search of all the enemies." LOCK!" She added, placing magic markers on all but one of them." Boost, triple, focus…" She layered a few spells on herself, before swinging her whip." Greater spears of water!" she said as her spear quickly divided into great number of bolts that flew after the soldiers. With this there wasn't going to be many returning to their camp.

 "This is going to give them a room for thought before they try something again." She said and walked to Alex, hugging her. Naisha felt sadness and pain in her soul." Let's go check on the queen's condition…" She said with concern in her voice. The amazons were going to deal with scouting the forest in case of stragglers or other hidden dangers.

 "How is the queen's condition?" Naisha asked when they finally returned at her side. She was concerned about that so called demon poison Zira used. If normal healing magic didn't work and with the witch away and unknown when to return, their options were limited.

[User]
Alex returned the hug as Naisha embraced her, holding her close. "Yeah... Probably didn't expect to have a magic user like you here." she chuckled softly but frowned at the mention of the Queen and the sad expression her lover gave. Gently hugging Naisha closer and kissing her forehead comfortly, she headed back into the village. The villagers were around the Queen, whom was resting on a stretcher of furs. The Queen didn't look to well, she was sweating quite a bit and her breathing was ragged. Most of her physical wounds already seemed to be mended up thanks to the elves. Amalthea was knelt beside Karette, her hands glowing with a comforting green mystical glow that moved over the body. Healing the Queen the best she could as others watch with utter nervousness. Murmurs muttering among the crowd.

When Naisha asked, Alana stood from beside Amalthea and looked to them. "Amalthea managed to heal most of the physical wounds... but even the best healer of the village can't seem to dispel the poison... Queen Karette is strong... and that may be the only reason why she's still alive." the elf said softly as she glanced toward the Queen whom coughed and opened her lavender eyes slowly, teeth clenching a bit.

"...Y-Your Majesty... you should rest." Amalthea said softly.

"It's fine Amalthea. Don't worry." Queen Kareete responded before giving a wheezing sound as she took a breath. "Mhm. Krieli'nas is going to be quite cross when she finds out about this. I almost don't want to tell her who did this, but she'll find out anyway. She's quite cross when it comes to low tactics like that." she said with amusement. It wasn't exactly looked highly upon for a Dual for the Throne to involve using magic or artifacts. Because that meant they relied on another strength, not their own. But Karette supposed Zira didn't think she'd win otherwise. Karette coughed again then glancing to the Alex and Naisha and smiled.

"Thank you. You two fought well. I owe you another night of attention." Queen Karette chuckled weakly, despite her condition, managed to poke and tease a bit.

Alex blushed but quickly shook her head. "Anytime, those bastards had it coming... Can't you call the witch or something to get her to help?" she questioned with a frown.

Karette took a breath and shook her head slowly. "Indeed but Krieli'nas has her duty to the Great Tower of The Witches. She simply can't come running back when she has her duty to attend to. She has other people to protect, just as my duty is protect my people. Course... That won't stop her from throwing her own special kind of hissy fit when she finds out about this." she chuckled lovingly before having to catch her breath again.

"Well if there is anything we can do? A cure or something?" Alex asked, fists clenching a bit.

"There is a cure. Zira didn't seem to think I was experienced with magic, but I've had my share of knowledge of it. Had to in my travels in order to fight it. That artifact she had was crafted by a Dark Lord. Deceit I believe. The cure is probably in his temple up north to the unknown territory. His pet Chimera's blood. But I wouldn't ask anyone to go there. It's too dangerous. Deceit could be there... Hiding... Preying for a soul to go there." Karette said softly, her voice getter softer.

"Well I'm not afraid of going! How bout you Nai?" Alex boasted.

[Assistant]
"We just did what we felt we should…" Naisha replied as she kneeled next to Karette. It was sad to see the great proud amazon in such state because of poison. Naisha almost fell like forcibly dragging the witch back here to heal the queen, but she understood that if Krieli'nas knew about this, she will already return right away. Listening to Karette taught her another thing though, the witch herself was in a position of power among that Great tower of witches. She had to protect her kind too…

 "That chimera can already be considered dead… if that demon lord tries to stop us, he won't live long himself." Naisha replied, a very serious look appearing on her face. Problem was she doubted the queen will survive the time needed to get to that place and back. Nai still in her Sage of the endless seas form, reached with her hands and placed them on Karette's chest. Then she asked politely for Amalthea to let the queen go for a moment." Sacrifice art, eternal blood flow." She whispered as her hands glowed and a bubble of water formed around her and the queen. They needed to stop or slow the poison to get the needed time. Well Naisha had the skill for it. As she held her hands on the queen's chest, under the effect of the spell, their bodies connected. Naisha used her magic to make her blood compatible with Karette's and vice versa. She made the blood flow from her to the queen and back for a little while, distilling it from the poison inside her body and giving the queen fresh blood. After a little her power faded and the magic ended. Naisha lost all power in her body and fell backwards onto Alex. In difference to the queen, Nai's body under her elemental water spirit form could take the poison more or less. Now inside her body the poison was barely present and was already under final destruction. She couldn't remove all of Karette's poison, but that should have bought them enough time to reach that temple and get back.

 "Let's get going. I will rest while we travel… I will recover soon enough." Naisha said, but she was currently unable to really get up on her own. She was going to get better as soon as her the last traces of poison left her body and she recovered the strength she expended. Then she turned to Amalthea, the girl had potent healing magic it seemed." We shall return with the cure... I deluded the poison quite a bit so her condition shouldn't worsen as fast as before."

[User]
Alex watched awe Naisha preformed her magic as Amalthea stopped and pulled away to let it happen. Karette's breathing eased a little and gave a soft sigh. Alex caught Naisha as she fell back, holding her up gently to give her support. "If you do encounter Deceit... I reccommend you avoid combat. He isn't someone to trifle with including the rest of the Dark Lord's. Thankfully, they are still trapped in the Beyond... So their full power won't be out, but their influence is. He'll mess with your mind, but he cannot be killed. Walk carefully... And thank you." she smiled, reaching her hand up and gripping their hands before letting it rest at her side.

Alex nodded before standing, helping Naisha up before seeing their horses guided to them by a dwarf. Helping Naisha onto the red hare, Alex mounted the red hare as well before heading out of the village. "Think we will really make it back in time?" Alex asked, allowing Naisha to press her back against Alex's front while Alex gripped the reigns of the demon horse.