[System]
Theme:
Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy

Gender:
Female

Species:
Lessereurm

Appearance:
Green with blue mixed in.
She looked like a fantasy version of a skink lizard, her head being more bony with scaly outcrops along her snout and over the ridges on her eyes. Though she had no back legs, her front limbs had become somewhat longer and stronger. While she didn't have true thumbs, her claws had been reduced to three digits, two of which were longer and the third of which was shorter, thicker, and set at an angle to the others. It was a bit like a human's hand making a constant "Spock-hand" by holding the index-middle and pinky-ring fingers in pairs and curling the thumb. The joints of these "fingers" and the natural curl of her claws gave her a stronger grip that she could feel even as she began to pull herself along the ground--she would be able to pull, or to scoop and dig, quite fast if she felt so inclined. She was roughly twice as long as her previous form, though not so heavy-set throughout her body. As her tail instinctively lashed behind her, she would likely feel confident that she could easily contort herself in a variety of shapes.

Goals:
Rain has only a few major goals:
-Follow any instructions from the mysterious Demon King
-Make the most of this second chance, no matter the cost
-Become the King's favorite, at any cost (selfish reasons, really)

Past Life:
There were few things more important to Rain in her short life than secrecy, alertness, and speed. She was not stronger than most, she was not at healthy as most, but with those three key factors helped to keep her alive and ahead in the dirty streets of an unnamed slum deep in the heart of Detroit.

Born to teen parents who didn't want her, it was a life of hardship from the start. She looked to her parents and was left wanting, before being abandoned at the age of six. She was a street urchin with a lack of trust and a thirst for better.

She scraped by, year after year, by honing these skills and not being afraid to be ruthless with the other filth left in the gutter, the gangs and the deranged.

Her life, however, was cut short by someone just a bit smarter and faster than she was, who happened to slip a knife between her ribs at the age of 16.

Given a second chance, she's going to do it right this time.

Transformations:
Fanged Lizard -- Lesserwurm

Inventory:

[User]
Ardur The Mighty Hipixie  Time for a swim > A short Rest /// Adventuring day 5 // Evening / Location - The Shimmering Pool

The water was cold, the sounds of the fight over head slowly drifted away. Ardur opened his eyes as he swam down. The water was a blur of blue with flashing lights floating overhead. He was getting tired, he had already received several hits, his mana was low, and he had an inkling in his mind that Steve was in trouble. This fight was definitely not going to be easy.

Continuing to swim towards the shore the sword twisted itself around him and spoke once more. All he could do in return was nod. Now his chest was starting to feel like it was about to explode, he hadn't gotten that much air when he dove into the water. Bursting through the surface for air he was greeted by a bright flash, sizzle, and then pain. The system did not hesitate to notify him that his health was low now. At least he got a new skill, a new skill that didn't mean a dam thing if he died.

Quickly the High pixie cast Minor Healing I on himself and with several deep breaths dove back under the water. This time however he did not swim to shore. Instead he closed his eyes and let the cold stillness of the water envelop him and his mind. Attempting to slow his heart rate to conserve his oxygen while also attempting to use the same techniques he had used in acquiring Meditation I to pull the ambient mana in the water into himself.

This he would try for a little while. Going up for air only two or three times and sinking back down each time. He was confident in the swords ability to protect him from any of the wisps that would be lured down. Ardur was well aware that he could not attempt this forever and after getting air the fourth time he would attempt to swim under the water towards the shore and back to the group.

Level: 7
Steve Level: 4

Health: 20%
Mana: 20%
Stamina: 50%

Buffs:

Debuffs:

Inventory: bow horn venison x15 lbs.
+Cooked bow horn venison 5 Lbs.
+Rubber Frog skin Backpack - This item is more elastic than it looks. Can hold 15 Small Items. The number of items held may be affected by larger items that take up more space. It is more durable than most raw materials due to its rubbery composition, but without proper care it may degrade over time.

Clothes:
+Beetle Bracer - This item for your Arm makes you feel slightly tougher.
+Bone Breastplate - This item for your Torso makes you feel slightly tougher.
+Grass Skirt - This item is fragile and flammable, but serves as decent clothing.

Weapons:
+Sharp Stone
+Beetle Mandible - Rather hard and sharp on its own, it might be sturdy enough to refine.
+Old Leg Bone -

Current Party: Asura, Mother Slime, Steve, and himself... I guess Trent is here too

Magic/Skills: Shield II, Lesser Flight III, Minor Heal III, Physical Conditioning I, Fire Resistance I, Taming II, Fireball I, Stronger II, Crafting II, Muffle I, Inspire I, Guidance I, Spell chant I, Use light equipment, Meditation I, Point Strike I, Keen Sight I, Material Analysis I, Monster Analysis I, Alert I, Lesser Cleanse I, Mana Strike I, Faster I,

Kills for current level:  1x skeleblin,

Quests:
- purify an Item for Galatine

Long term Quests:
- bring a hero to Undine the sword in the pool.

Other:

[Assistant]
@Stabby

Femus studied the information he received. This was not likely to be a hobgoblin from the tribe that surrounded them. It was likely to be either a criminal or a member of a very different tribe. However, the first seemed far more likely. The further information about hobgoblins in general didn't seem terribly important for the moment. The herb, on the other hand, was quite significant. It had potential to be quite valuable. Pure healing energy condensed in a plant that doesn't need light had a great deal of potential.

He sighed before answering Nira's comment while she worked. "Doing alright. Visual signals need planning. But, these plants are good for healing." He said while picking one to take with him. "There's a lot of look-alikes but this is the real one. None good for water though."

He was going to keep talking and relay more of his guesses... but he found himself suddenly suppressing the urge to curse. It was a patch of herbs. Plant reproduction... most plants can't reproduce alone. Bringing one Blue Yill to that point was a waste of time unless there was another nearby to pollinate it. He still had one left but it would probably take more mana to restore and develop since he'd been carrying it that much longer.

"Forgot pollination, feeling stupid." He said quickly as he headed back to where the first Blue Yill was planted. "Let's go with green for safe, red for danger, and yellow for caution. We can develop more complex signals later. The faster I get this done, the faster we can leave... hopefully before we get attacked again... or have to eat him." He finished, clearly indicating the hobgoblin with some mild distaste. They really were filthy creatures.

Arriving at the Blue Yill, he took the other one that he had still been carrying and shifted the soil to make a shallow hole about six inches from where the yill stood. Into this he planted the broken end of the other Blue Yill's stem before raising his voice loud enough for Nira to hear. "Nira, if you can, could you please get some water to these two plants it might help speed this along. I didn't have any real luck finding any."

After he finished speaking, Femus concentrated on duplicating his previous performance. Using Growth and pouring mana into the weakened Blue Yill to help it take root and return to health. Again, he would meditate as deeply as he could to rapidly restore his mana when it ran low before resuming his work. After gaining the same level of ground, he would fill his mana and try something more complex.

His next experiment would be trying to use Growth in brief bursts on each plant to encourage them to reproduce with each other while also trying to use lesser force to carefully move pollen from each flower to the other and checking both with Plant Analysis every time he had to stop to meditate. If he succeeded in transferring pollen, he would resume his efforts to speed the internal processes of the flowers to produce viable seeds as soon as possible. Time was of the essence, as was efficiency. He had to get this done quickly so that he could simply bag up the resulting seeds along with a healing herb or two and be ready to go. Femus felt an impossible to define sense of urgency. They had to go. He would have time to do further herb cultivation once they had a better campsite.

[User]
---

@Duthguy@Jollan

From what Jason could guess, the difference between Geir and Mira's souls provided far more insight than just the size of their mana pools; like he'd initially thought. The thickness of a creature's soul was likely tied to physical attributes, like endurance, and strength. Akin to pressurizing a canister, the more robust the containing vessel, the denser it's contents could be without risk of rupturing. Could spirit class undead have no mana cap simply due to their distinct lack of 'container'? It was an interesting thought, but not something he could really explore at the moment. Brightness was most definitely a representation of a creature's magic stats. Likely related to how conductive an individual's meridians were to ambient mana. Mira's soul was large and bright, but was noticeably translucent. This showed that while she had high MP and magic stats, her SP and physical stats were lacking in comparison. Geir however, had a soul that was thick, yet somewhat dim and noticeably smaller than that of Mira. Meaning he high SP and physical stats, but lackluster MP and magical stats.

While pondering such revelations might lead to some rather interesting discoveries-- the situation was quickly escalating once again, the fact that there were now TWO potential enemies standing before the group of reincarnators did not bode well. Especially when one of these enemies more than likely had the proper tools to combat ghosts.... Once Jason glimpsed that green source crystal Mira had produced, he knew she'd be able to see him. With how poorly undead were likely viewed in a world such as this, getting spotted would more than likely be kill-on-sight. Not only would she be able to see him-- but also receive insight on his skills and abilities. If just being undead wasn't already bad enough, the two ranks of [Taboo] he possessed would be the final nail in the coffin.

But then, an idea reverberated through his mind like the ring a bell.

But what if I wasn't necessarily undead?

He stared at the soil beneath him as he gauged his probability of success; his mana was around 90% 'full' (if he had to guess), he had the skills [Earth Vein], [Spiritual Awareness II], [Meditiation], [Transparency], [Guidance], and most importantly-- [Possession]. He aimed to replicate the events that had occurred when he'd had his strange dream, and learned of Onogoro. But this time, he would commit to the new body that had begun to take shape.

Jason thrust himself into the earth; just as he had in the forest, stirring up soil and dust in his wake. Enveloped in darkness, he entered a focused [Meditiation]; silencing his senses, sinking as deep into the depths of the earth as he could in the few precious moments he could afford. Jason's mana surged within him as he activated [Guidance], "Onogoro, I ask for your wisdom-- that it may guide me. That I may take on the unyielding form of stone!"

Jason activated [Earth Vein]; like a final gasp for air, that he could align himself with the mana of the earth as final preparation for the oncoming change.

"POSSESSION!"

[Assistant]
"I can evolve as well, but I want to finish this spell first. It's really important." Torrent announced her intentions as Oberon joined Digbie in evolution, keeping her attention up to their surroundings while she thought about the skill. It seemed to work, but something just hadn't quite clicked yet. Was there a way to cause the implosion that happened, and that's what was holding it back? She had managed to contain the Void, to harness it with the information from her experimentation and from the beings in her dreams. Which by itself was progress.

Progress which had led to her leveling up. Thinking about it for a few moments, she put 10 points into Plasma Ray, 1 point into Suppress Presence, 4 points into Rock Spire, and her final point she put into Focus. With her points used and what she was about to do, perhaps it would change her evolution possibilities? She didn't know what these "variant" things were, but she felt like she had one for every element that she had? So maybe they were connected to those, but she couldn't be certain. And what would count as an element, anyways? Was Fog an element or a combination of them?

She wouldn't have considered Void to be one, but here she was harnessing it even if it was through abstract means. And the beings had said that it was the absence of things. So maybe it wasn't an element exactly.

She needed to go deeper tho.

Centering herself, she focused on the process of creating the void sphere again. But this time she took what she learned to make the Breath Beam, and how she had learned to control the air and earth and water around her. What was mana except another thing she could control? That had to be the missing piece of the spell, the reason why it was incomplete despite working seemingly perfectly.

It wasn't meant to collapse by itself. That had to be the answer.

So when she released it, she maintained the barrier around the Void until the orb passed by the tree she had taken aim at. And like flicking a switch she stopped, dispelling that energy that contained the Void. And she analyzed the result, as always.


[System]
I R L
Age - 18
Place of Origin - Japan
Occupation - High School Student

A V A T A R

Character's Name - Kazuki
Pathos Affiliation - Queon
Role - Healer
Profession - Wandering Minstrel
Weapon of Choice - Book
Domains - Wind, Restoration + Protection

-

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Stoic
Good news, bad news, confusing news--Kazuki seems to have the emotional range of a teaspoon. He doesn't seem all that bothered with anything and doesn't react much. If it weren't for the lack of monotone, most people would probably assume he's a robot. One would think even his passion would get him to emote, but aside from a vague focused expression, he otherwise is the same as always.

Driven
He doesn't let anything get in the way of accomplishing his goals: everything in life is part of a problem that leads to a solution one way or another. He is relentless when it comes to accomplishing a goal, often pushing himself past what's healthy. For a majority of his life it's been seen as a virtue of sorts and he hasn't had any reason to slow down.

Observant
Despite having little care for the people he engages with, he finds it useful to pick up on a few cues to keep in mind for later if need be.

B E N C H M A R K S

Piano Man
By far and away Kazuki's most cultivated skill, to the point he has gotten several server first records on unlocking the next tier with thousands of hours put into piano playing. Of course, aside from entertainment value and unlocking a few other skills, it doesn't have much use otherwise.

Healing Touch
His second best and probably most relevant skill. Originally toting around without a weapon, Kazuki's healing can be strengthened if he makes contact with whoever needs healing; best used for greater injuries at the risk of putting himself in action.

Song of the Wind
The ability to have his music gain effects depending on the song he's playing. Different songs have different effects, ranging from a variety of buffs and healing over time. Some come at the conclusion of a song, others are persisting so long as the melody is continuously played.

With Hammer in Hand
Smithery has become a great side hobby to Kazuki, who genuinely enjoys making armor and weapons whenever he gets his hands on materials. While he has made a few commissions, it became clear that making and selling instruments quickly became his specialty and source of income--that said, he can make a majority of weapons and armor if need be.
 | Physical Description
Standing at five feet ten inches, Kazuki is a lanky young man that usually towers over his classmates. At a first glance there isn't much home to write about, his face still plenty boyish and more youthful looking than he'd like. The most notable feature he has is probably his green eyes, usually hidden under the mess of brown hair he sports. His expressions are often heavily muted or outright nonexistent, making it difficult to know if he's paying attention or not. Whenever he does look at people, it's noted that it seems more like he's looking through them, not at them.
Character Conceptualization
Kazuki Hoshizawa is a serious kid who takes his passions to their fullest at the expense of most of his social skills. After taking the emotional brunt of his parents' divorce, for all intents and purposes he has shut down. While it's hardly noticeable due to stellar grades and his talent at music, his social life is nonexistent for the most part. As a result, he has a tendency to be overly blunt and cold with little care about the effects of what he says. His personality seems to be the inverse of most healers in media and makes it clear he helps people out of expectation, not out of obligation.

As a noob who doesn't really play games, he was hesitant to even join Pariah Online. He doesn't know much of RPGs in general but has enjoyed the nonsensical side of the game; aside from the appeal of getting to play and learn several instruments, he doesn't really find adventuring appealing. He ended up choosing healing as it seemed easier to stay in the back and support his younger brother. While he doesn't discern himself from who he is outside of the game, he outright refuses to speak of personal matters, with Kazuma barely being an exception and only because Kazuki keeps slipping up and calling him by his real name.

Other Information
* Has regularly placed in several national competitions
* Big fan of strawberries
* Toolkit
* Theme
 |

[User]
---

Alja made to put her hand on Benkei's shoulder, then thought better of it, dropping it back down against her thigh. Her voice, when she spoke, was uncharacteristic of her; none of the rising hysteria of the past day, and none of the joviality that suffused it most other times. It was simple. Plain and honest. Because, in Benkei's words, she heard a little bit of herself. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place now. Just like you.

"Look, Benkei." She paused, considering her next words carefully. If she misplaced one, the potential damage could be catastrophic. And, after another moment of consideration, she dropped her Pariah pseudo-accent, reverting to her natural Scottish; but one a little less...thick and aggressive that she'd thrown at Rael. Her vocabulary shifted as well: gone were the relatively simple expressions of Alja, replaced with the kind a college student might use. "I won't preten' to understan' what you're goin' t'rough, because no matter our circumstances, they're goin' ta diverge in a number of ways. Obviously. But I think I kinda know where you're comin' from, 'least in a general sense." She slung herself down, sitting on the edge of the river and dangling her feet down over the clear water. "Feelin' like you're livin' under a shadow all your life, paralyzed with indecision, but terrified to try steppin' out from under the shadow 'cause the world's goin' ta kick ya right back underneath."

She turned up, no longer staring at the river, but directing her serious eyes straight into Benkei's. "But at th' same time, no matter if we're similar or no, I don't think empty platitudes and reassurances will help ya any. Prob'ly just make it worse. So let's try ta game this out, shall we?"

She returned her gaze to the river and picked up a stray pebble from the cobbled streets, launching it into the water as she spoke. "Ya say you're not a leader. But let me as ya somethin'. Who, precisely, do ya think would do any better out of us? It should prob'ly be a tank; they're the ones that have the strength ta shotcall while they're also doin' their job in the party. So that leaves...two others, yeah? So, which one? Rael?" She barked out a brief, scornful laugh. "Not bloody likely! She's brilliant at what she does, but what she does is not teamwork. And then there's me." She laughed. It wasn't as scornful, but there was still an edge of that on the sound. "Tankin'? Yeah, I can do that pretty decent, I like ta think. Last I checked, I was pretty high up on the boards. Not half bad at damage either if I build out for it. Not as good, but...adequate, yeah. But leadership?"

Her laugh was louder this time. "I mean, come on! Ya saw what happened in the boss room! I heard Luci scream and lost it, couldn't hold formation! I'm not bad at the game, I know my limits, and I'm pretty good at thinkin' on the fly. But plannin'? Strategizin'? Yeah, can't say that's in my wheelhouse. But let's say we expand it, past the tanks. Give it to all the party, yeah? Graves' only deal is runnin' right in and hittin' till he falls over. Not someone ya can really rally around! Seele's a great support and all. Kept it together real well. But...'member the spikes room? How she impulsively kept holdin' the ceilin' when she didn't need ta? I think she's in the same camp as I am. Kazuki?" She paused. "He's also a bit like me. Runs in all willy-nilly like, can't really control what he's doin'."

Her voice lowered for just a moment. "I noticed, in the dungeon, ya givin' him orders...or, well not orders, really, but...instructions, occasionally. Don't mistake me, I think he's a great person. Good support. Trustin' my life to him, after all. But...if I'm honest, I don't think he's very good with people. Alex? Well...I like him and all, but I think he's pretty new to the game, yeah? Don't know how much I trust his shotcalling just off that. And that leaves...Kalie." She chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think she deserves ta be kicked out the party or anythin'. But a leader? I think we all know that's...frankly, totally absurd."

She swung herself back to her feet, dusting her tunic off. "Luci's catatonic, Leaves can't lead for shite--trust me on that one--and Priscilica has her hands more than full with whatever fragments of Prophecy are left over. You're quite literally the best leader we've got on board." her voice softened. "And, Benkei? You're sellin' yourself way short. Your marchin' order and plans were fine. Nobody coulda predicted any of that. We'll make our own decisions in combat--just ya try ta stop me--but that's not on your shoulders. And as for the tavern, if Kalie and Rael weren't at each others' throats and Graves didn't overreact...that's when I'd be concerned."

She cracked her neck, sighing a bit and falling back into her Pariah accent. "But one thing you do have a problem with--as we can see here," she smiled to ensure there was no offense as she stretched her stiff arms over her head again, "is givin' up. Some come on, boss. Buck up, let's get back up to that tavern. You've got some people to keep alive."

[Assistant]
Location: City Streets -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Seele watched the tension in Kazuki…not 'unwind' per se, but more rewind, slackening in some places, tightening in others. He was a tangle of things, the poor boy, and most of them he kept shockingly well-hidden. Some, though, came out in his body-language—she swore at one point he was going to crush that innocent teacup in his hands—and others still were there in his voice, in the little tremors and sighs, the pauses and, of course, the things he said.

She was used to meeting people who held others to impossible standards. Kazuki was evidently guilty of that as well, but he also expected that same impossibility from himself. For how well-composed he'd been through the glitch, she guessed he was no stranger to the strain that must have beset him with. They might have been trapped in a strange world, but that didn't mean they'd left all their problems behind. It was their minds inhabiting Pariah, after all. You couldn't escape your own mind.
...
You just couldn't.
...
"Then don't convince them," she said, and brightened again. "Show them. Maybe you can't take back what you said, but there's an important difference between unsaying something, and undoing it. Or just doing, maybe. For example—"

Seele plucked up another piece of the pastry and popped it into her mouth, chewed—"Mmh!"—and then gestured to the plate.

"I've just eaten another bit, and now there's hardly any left for you. I can't undo that, I'll just have to live with the guilt. I could say ' I'm sorry, Kazuki, for eating your very tasty pastry,' —even though I'm not really, it was very tasty—or I could do something about it instead. Like, say, buy you another to replace it, or maybe bake you one myself, if you aren't averse to eating poison.

"Am I making sense? I think I'm just rambling, sorry—again. My point is, the forgiveness isn't nearly as important as just making things right."

[User]
Kazuki's gaze lingered on the now-empty plate, a childish thought popping in his head as he held back the urge to pout. There were four pieces, did she really have to eat three of them? She was a guest, yes, but it was usually agreed upon that when sharing treats it was always best to be fair with it. He had initially bought it this morning as a sort of comfort food and had originally planned to eat it later, but he didn't have much to offer once they got here, and green tea was always best eaten with sweets. In hindsight, he should have only served half of it--at least that way he would've been able to still have half when Seele decided to be greedy and set an example.

Still, Seele had a point, even if he lamented the loss of the treat. At the end of the day it didn't matter how he felt or what he said as the one and only goal of his was to survive. If that meant swallowing his pride despite his firm belief that he's right and resisting the urge to say 'I told you so' if one of them died due to that girl, then he supposed so long as it didn't personally affect him or Kazuma he might be able to deal with it. His original point of 'strength in numbers' rang true, and unfortunately that meant beggars couldn't be choosers.

Once he finished his tea, he placed the cup down and muttered a small thanks before giving Seele his full attention once again. "It makes sense," He finally replied, standing up and taking the empty plates and kettle in hand. "I guess the next step is finding Graves, then. If I can get him to be agreeable, then the rest are likely to follow."

He left them in the sink for the moment, returning to Seele. Then again, Graves had left because he thought the group was a time bomb. He stared at Seele for a moment, his mind working on something before he finally let out a sigh. He couldn't believe he was referring so much to her--she was dangerous. Was she a therapist? Maybe a counselor? It wasn't until now that he noticed how much he had opened up, or at least as much as someone like him could manage. Well, at least she wasn't annoying about it.

"But if an apology didn't work, then what counts as 'making things right'?" He ended up asking, giving her a half-shrug. "I'm still firm in my belief and there isn't much that'll change my mind. I also explained the reason behind my logic and it got him even angrier."


[System]
Age: 14

Element: Water

Appearance:

Details: Remove the piercing, collar, and bandage. Hair is a dull light blue
Height : 5'5

Personality: Silas is hot-tempered and highly competitive, refusing to be beaten until he's given 110%. Stubborn in his opinions and generally headstrong, he tends to come off as rude and uncouth even though he doesn't intend to be. Silas is usually upfront with how he says things, most of the time thinking with his heart rather than his head. Silas is incredibly loyal and protective towards those he cares about, going out of his way to help them if need be.

History: Born the eldest of two sons to an earth elementalist couple, Silas was guarded from the prejudices against elementalists for a good part of his childhood. He'd been fond of both water and the creatures that lived in it for as long as he could remember. Just before his 14th birthday Silas' elemental power over water started to manifest, he was overjoyed and he saw it as the best possible gift he could recieve.

Soon after, people's attitude towards Silas changed as nobody wanted to be associated with an elementalist. "Don't talk to him, he's one of those freaks" Silas would not admit that his powers were something to be shunned, so he was hated by many of the kids, he even ended up getting into one or two physical fights with the particularly daring children. Worried for what might happen if Silas kept getting in fights with other kids over him being an elementalist, his parents sent him away to the Elemental Academy so he could hone his powers and learn some discipline.

Equipment: N/A

[User]
Dia nodded stiffly. "And it's scary in there," she mumbled, tightening her grip on his hand. "But I might be able to, I don't know... Maybe I could freeze stuff if it came at us. I'm not very reliable yet, though."

She glanced back at the forest. Maybe her ears were playing tricks on her, but she could swear she could hear yelling and odd sounds coming from within.

"A-are you s-sure we'll be safe, Felix?" She stammered. "I just don't w-want to be a, uh, a burden."

She drew closer to Felix unconsciously, his warmth like a safety net for her nerves.

Dia jumped at a likely imaginary sound. "Can we get moving, please, Felix? I think I'm going to die from fright if we stand here any longer."

[Assistant]
For a second after the "attack", Lyra just stood there, looking at her wet clothes. It took her a while for the ridiculousness of the situation to sink in, but afterwards, Lyra laughed. It was a ridiculous, excessively amused sort of laugh. People from miles away would be able to hear, completely ruining the creepy atmosphere that the fog was making, or perhaps, for certain kinds of people, making it creepier. She couldn't help it.

"Ohheeheehe! What was that? Water gun? Water elementalist? Creepy fog and all and they're splashing water at us? That was so," she laughed again, "it's so silly."

"It's probably just some upperclassmen playing a prank on us, in fact, this whole thing might just be one big joke," ShiZen was saying. "Do you want to just go back to our dorm?

"Oh, probably a prank. Definitely one big joke. But come on, you're not gonna let them win, are you?"

With the fog and the increased dampness it was basically impossible to see very far away. It didn't seem to deter Lyra, however, as she walked on right through it in the direction where she thought the water came from. "Hellooo?"

Algorithm @Kalleth

[User]
Catherine chuckled to herself as she noticed the startled reaction her set up had on a hapless student, but her mirth was cut short as she realized that the one she had frightened was no student. She lowered herself towards Jordan, noting the bright pink name that the other teacher had labeled his water gun with. "Cute." She thought to herself sarcastically, though to be honest, she was a little hurt. Though she had appreciated how fun-loving Jordan was in the time they had spent together, she felt that in the end, he never took anything seriously. Maybe he was trying to cover up sad moments with happy moments, or maybe they were never able to truly get in sync when it came to their emotions. But the fact that he would use her name and a particularly intimate piece of clothing on a water gun, quite frankly, felt objectifying. Maybe she was nothing more to him than a piece of sexy, or maybe this is just his crass attempt to get her attention again. It was always hard to tell with Jordan, and Catherine didn't want to play guessing games anymore, she was all done with mind games by the time he found her on the street years ago.

Catherine hovered down to Jordan, smiling wordlessly and not letting her face betray her thoughts, until she was standing right next to him. Placing a hand on his chest to still his rapidly beating heart, she moved in closer to whisper seductively in his ear, "Was I that much of a squirter?" The hand on his chest suddenly balled up into a fist, grabbing the scruff of his shirt threateningly. "You know what they say about the vacuum of space? No one can hear you scream..."

"Students are coming," Catherine gently whispered and released her hand, patting Jordan's chest and smoothing out the wrinkled material, turning around to face the oncoming pair of students.

"I-it's not a matter of winning or losing..." ShiZhen protested mildly to Lyra as she followed her towards the source of the water. Looking up she was surprised to see, not upperclassmen, but two teachers, standing there pleasantly (well one of them was). "Wha...what?" ShiZhen didn't think the teachers would be in on it, and was having a hard time processing whether this school took itself seriously or not.

[Assistant]
As Catherine lowered herself quite literally down to his level, Jordan heard the acid in her voice, corrosive and cutting. It was as though he had stuck his finger in an outlet and the electricity jolted through him, resting in his stomach, pooling there along with all the other feelings he could remember like the back of his hand, like the hilt of his rifle.

The sound of students approaching was visceral, tugging at Jordan's guts and making his coil of regret and bitter feeling jump, even as he sat stock still. Catherine turned and Jordan looked away, eyes falling on the discarded water pistol. He frowned, bit his lip, and clenched his fist.

Crunch.

The gun was unrecognizable, deformed and compressed by a larger than life fist of earth. The faint stains of pink paint had been abraded by the fist's grains, blurred to be illegible, but Jordan was nowhere near a state of mind to do anything more precise.

It only happened when she was around. The rest of the time, Jordan could sink deep into his chosen persona of joker, prankster, and all-around humour-driven scoundrel. It was after all, a significant core of his personality to begin with. But when she came around... That all fell away.

It was like she embodied the fight in him, in others, in the world. She was a task, an objective, a mission he had failed utterly. She was a person too, but Jordan's concern went beyond that. He was, or at least, had been, a fixer. He took situations so far gone, so incredibly beyond the pale that nobody could salvage them, and made them right. And Catherine Hargreaves was the one mission he'd failed. Maybe he couldn't help her. Maybe people weren't missions you could save, could repair with the right course of action. Maybe Jordan just wasn't the fixer he used to be. He didn't know. All he knew was that the damned woman had sucked away his vitality, had stolen his purpose, had RUINED-

Wait no, that had been him too.

A searing pain flared in Jordan's side, and he winced. The twinge pricked and itched and curled up from his ribs into his shoulder. Like if you ground sand in the ball joint and wore away the ligament... Have I done that before? Jordan got up, and oblivious to what the students were saying, silent in answer to what Cathy- To what Catherine had said, he stalked off into the gloom.

Jordan's pain flared, and he rolled his shoulder gingerly. Despite the insistence by numerous authorities that his injuries were psycho-somatic, Jordan knew better. He had to get the sand out of his shoulder. Wouldn't do to have a gym teacher who can't pitch, or throw a right hook, or...

Or write an apology to somebody he's wronged?

Much like the water gun, Manilow suspected his attempts at an apology would also end up crumbled, erased, and abandoned on the ground.

Algorithm

[User]
"It's cold," a girl's voice complained. "Why are we doing this again?"

Another, different girl's voice. "We're encouraging romance. Couples who get together now will be customers when Valentine's Day rolls around. It's perfectly logical."

"No, it isn't."

"Shush. You'll blow our cover!"

"You just-"

"Shhh!" After a few moments, they heard a voice. "Told you we should wait out here."

"Now who's making noise?"

"SHHH!"

As the first-years drew closer, the one girl blew the mist outwards toward them, engulfing them. The ground beneath them lurched, throwing both the black-haired boy and his girl into the branches reaching out over the path. Drawing the mist up higher, so it hid the two girls completely, they began to chant in a sing-song tone;

"First years, first years,
Stuck in the tree.
K-I-S-S
To get free.
Dirty boys like
dirty girls who give
So be dirty and
you get to live!

The air elementalist girl had warped the air, so while the words were recognisable, the voices certainly weren't. Though they couldn't help themselves from breaking out in laughter at trapping the pair, their laughter sounded rather more eerie above than they intended.

@Old Amsterdam

[Assistant]
Silas breathed a sigh of relief as the girl pointed the bright flashlight away from his eyes, blinking a few time to get rid of the stinging sensation that the beam had left. Unfortunately for him, any adjustments his eyes had previously made to deal with the dark were gone, hindering his vision further. It was only an inconvenience, but an annoying one for sure.

Keep moving, it'll re-adjust. Don't get put behind because of this. Seeing as that girl was headed down the same path, Silas saw no reason to not follow. It would be nice to walk with someone else for a bit, even if he was only going to stick around until his vision was restored. Someone else's company could only serve to disperse the tense and looming atmosphere of the night, and before he knew it Silas found himself talking with this girl.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous, - As if the dark isn't bad enough, but the mist has to be this thick? Like, how did you even get this far without a light?"

"It wasn't exactly easy but moonlight was working well enough, until this damn fog rolled in anyway. If it were just darkness it wouldn't be that bad, but once you put fog into the mix..."

For a while the forest was quiet, not ominous or creepy, merely quiet and peaceful. Was it because he was travelling with another student? Was his imagination the only thing that made the forest creepy in the first place? Silas didn't know the answer but at least the eerie tension had disappeared.

At least it had, until the girl he'd been following for some time screamed yet again. Silas couldn't help but flinch at the sudden scream, and his flinching allowed him to just barely dodge the backsplash of water that had impacted the girl in front of him. "I guess they got tired of messing with us subtly." The attack had not only alerted Silas, it was also a sobering slap in the face to be aware, the bastard seniors could be waiting behind any tree to strike. He would not let himself be an easy mark.

A call from ahead broke through the fog, the voice was familiar but it's message was bitter.

"Bad news darling, we've hit a dead end. We're going to have to turn back."

The message was met with an involuntary sigh.  So we've just successfully put ourselves way behind... great The trek back to the crossroads would doubtlessly be much more difficult with the addition of the thick fog, but it would be better than giving up here and now due to taking a wrong turn. "Hopefully we're not the only ones who ran into a dead end. You think some unlucky kid woke the teachers up by now?"


[System]
Alias: Kaze, Juggernaut
Age: Ancient
Gender: Male
Species: Dragon
Occupation: Mercenary
Residence: Wherever he pleases, has numerous little hideouts and caches.

Physical Description:
One of the first things noticed about Kaze is his immense size. He stood at an intimidating eleven feet tall and looking like a professional weight lifter without steroids. Or as some people liked to say "He's built like a Capital ship." Normally after they hit him once and they hurt themselves. Covering his body is a natural armor, surprisingly malleable plates and scales that seemed to harden on impacts. Attached to his shoulders are a pair of giant wings with terrifying claws at the joint that act like a second pair of hands. Lastly he has a long tail that's strangely agile and prehensile.

His coloration is interesting. His "underbelly" is a royal purple, along with the membrane of his wings, while the rest of his body is jet black like space. His eyes glow slightly and are a deep crimson. His horns, spikes, claws, and teeth are all completely white despite his age. Lastly if you see the inside of his mouth it glows a dangerous looking green right down into his core.

Kaze doesn't really wear normal clothing. Instead he has a long kilt that's dark red with a golden boarder. Holding it up is a steel band that's a foot wide and three inches thick with a glowing core where the clasp is.

Personality:
Kaze is basically the gruff old man of any group he's a part of. He's incredibly blunt, preferring to keep things simple and short. Has a low tolerance for fucking around on jobs if he's in a group of mercs, he's actually known for offing partners who screwed around way to much and nearly ruined the jobs. Another way of saying he's a professional and hates amateurs who think they're billy badass and play with targets.

On the flip side if he gets angry his more animalistic side will emerge. This normally rises up when he's injured or something has severely pissed him off. The results are...messy to say the least. He abandons weapons and lunges with his natural weapons. Some call it a berserker mode and it's best to steer clear of him when he's in this state.

Equipment/Capabilities:* Herculean Strength: His body doesn't show the actual level of strength the behemoth has.
* Acidic Contents: Within his body is a dangerous balance of chemicals that make incredibly potent acid. He can spit this acid in a stream, a mist, or a glob. Each 'mode' has a different level of force. The mist having none but the best coating. The glob is like getting hit by a truck. The stream is strong enough to knock you off your feet but not enough to cause major harm...aside from being acid.
* Inhuman Regeneration: As the name suggest his body heals at a higher level than is normal. The lesser the injury the faster he heals, although death still can come for him. It's just a lot harder than normal.
* Micro-grenades: Marble sized orbs of metal packed with high explosives. They look unassuming but can turn an unarmored human into bloody chunks and bone shrapnel.
* Tesla-Gun: A dragon sized pistol that shoots out beams of pure electricity. It has three modes of fire. Spread, a ten foot cone of electricity arcing around. Focused, a thirty foot stream of lightning. Concentrated, a solid beam of pure electricity, acts more like a laser.
* Sonic Bombs: Like his grenades these are marble sized orbs but they send a shockwave of sound instead of an explosion of heat and metal. The shrill sound even penetrates dirt up to twenty feet down.
* Ancient Firearm: By today's standards this gun is primitive. A long metal tube with a wooden stock and a rather large drum magazine. It's a dragon sized shotgun and can hold fifty rounds in the drum and tube combined. It has a maximum effective range of one hundred feet. Maximum damage is within twenty feet with numerous shell options. His favorite are Doomsday rounds which would destroy his gun if he hadn't reinforced it heavily.
* Overdrive: Despite his distaste for technology he has an implant that sends his adrenaline gland into overdrive. This boosts his strength further, increases his movement and reaction speed, and almost nullifies his ability to feel pain. It doesn't last long and needs almost a full day to 'recover'.
* Aegis: A powerful full bodied energy shield. It can handle quite a bit of varying damage before it gives way. After not taking damage for a brief period it starts to recharge again. The cor of the shield is the 'buckle' of his belt and can be destroyed.
* Multi-Destroyer: He can't carry his whole arsenal despite his strength so he has a general weapon that can change to do multiple things. Pieces shift and move to make an axe or a hammer, both of which have a jet to increase the power of the swing. From the hafts bottom he can fire out energy blasts for medium to close range.

History:
Kaze has a long history, most of which he doesn't really care to remember. History is history, no one will learn anything from it except that he's a monster in combat. His youth is so far back he honestly can't even remember it since he has filled his life up with so much of everything else. When he's asked his history he just has people look at previous wars and skirmishes fought and lets them work it out from there.

Currently he's figuring he'll do one last job before retiring and it's a doozy of one. Locate Samus Aran, galactic famous bounty hunter who has repeatedly screwed over the space pirates plans for a long time. People were also saying she was somehow the last metroid, but that was probably just rumors. He had met the woman and she didn't look like a jellyfish to him. Either way, he had decided this would be the last job unless Samus herself actually requested him sometime down the line. Assuming she's even alive that is. Girl had spunk, but that wasn't a guarantee lifesaver.

[User]
An hour later.

Vekt had no much time used for getting any new cargo on his ship. He had stacked up on supplies to get himself a handful of explosives. His ship had gone through maintenance before he paid a visit to the Federation, which was right now. And now he was sitting at the pilot seat, playing with a small bolt in his hand.
Luckily the team didn't get into a fight which was something he was worried that it would happen, from the first few minutes he walked in. Instead they were going quite smoothly. All he had left to do was to finish the job, save the universe from a wave of killer parasites, find and capture a legendary figure of a bounty hunter, and come back in one piece. Every time he reminded himself of it he doubted this'll end as well as he wanted it to.

[Assistant]
Things were beginning to move along, though it was hopeful that Amber would not dash off everywhere in a moment's notice like she did just now. This mission, as Zen would put it, required a solid effort on all parts. Moving forwards alone seemed like a bad idea. It would certainly compromise the mission protocol to support the team by destroying X Parasite creatures when the team was running off like that. At least, in this instance, they knew where she was going, what she was doing. Others were splitting off, as well, to inevitably reach the hangar area that housed not only their vehicles, but any that would be signed out for additional need. It seemed that anyone NOT with an adequate ship was welcome aboard whatever substantial one that the dragon had. Alright then. That just left Cassius addressing the android, with a tall, but reasonable, request.

"Your request is feasible to the factor of whatever data has been transferred over to me. Immediate thought: Asteroid landing unlikely. The planet identified as SR-388 has not exploded. It has been scorched. The chances of any X Parasite colony leaving the planet on debris ejected from it, either before or after the atmosphere has been destroyed, is miniscule according to data. However, the chances of the world of their origin being penetrated deeper than the scorching could have effectively destroyed is high. It is the X's home world, and the dead planet could theoretically house them still, as they wait for the temperature to cool. Fortunately, the Federation has thought of this and will likely deploy ships to finish the job."

Meaning that SR-388 and would probably be completely eradicated to make certain that it did not hold anymore surprises. Cassius would find, even as the android was talking to him, that his data device was being given his requested files. In fact, everyone on this mission was getting - if they lacked it - the files mentioned, which would pretty much cover Samus' entire contribution to the universe, good OR bad, insofar as Zen could gain access to. For instance, Zen had been given all the documents on the X Parasites, but nothing on the fact that certain high-ranking members of the Federation wanted the X to experiment on themselves. He had given over the known history of the Metroids, and that this DID include the fact that Metroids were being bred on the BSL Station as Admiral Garrett had said. However, it maintained that this was in response to X infection issues like with Samus, and nothing to do with weaponization OR that they had achieved accelerated growth. They also had Mother Brain's History, the history of the Space Pirates, dossiers on Ridley, Kraid, Phantoon, and the creation of Mocktroid, the lesser clone species of Metroids made on Zebes.

Most importantly, there were nearly-complete details on the events of the BSL Station, starting with Samus' infection and the transfer of materials to said station. The crew would find out what Admiral Garrett had neglected to tell them: How the X got out in the first place. Much like the distress calls and the recordings of all station personnal panicking and being devoured by the X, this was footage that was NOT on official documents or files. It was important to allow them to know just how serious this was. They had a camera view of some quarantined crates in storage. Suddenly, one of the large ones in the recording exploded! There, as the smoke cleared...

...Samus?! No, that isn't possible. During this time index, Samus was recovering from infection, not inundated by it. This was was...some type of X-related creation. It had to be. Now, everyone would have to go through all of the information to find this, but yes, that is the truth. The AI installed within Samus' gunship confirmed that the cause of the station's overrun was an X Parasite immitating the bounty hunter, made from the remains of her powersuit! Chozo technology, integrating strong biotechnology to synch up with its genetically-augmented user... It must've read enough of Samus to be able to create this abomination after the initial infection. Important dossiers on important X forms and infections followed the transcript, including that of the SA-X. If Kaze were also browing this, he'd notice especially that BSL Station had Ridley's body, and that the X ate that up, as well, creating a savage replication of the space dragon, as well. All information regarding how Samus managed to gain control of the station and destroy it in an atmospheric blast that scorched the entire planet of SR-388 was not present. Everything cuts out after fight with Ridley-X. The AI stopped transmitting, having gone rogue. The Federation also did not include the fact that the AI was a copy of the mind of Adam Malkovich, Samus' former CO.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Well, with that exposition out of the way, we move ahead to the hangar. After giving out the information to every member of the team, Zen had made his way to find the blue gunship, which anyone who was already there would have seen parked there. As soon as he arrived within its vicinity, all members of the team had access to Zen's audio communication channel, which was presumably the frequency that other people would be speaking on. They could speak with him at any time, though obviously if there was anything to interfere with signals, that would be a problem. Several vessels were now ready, and between them they all had the capability to reach SR-387. Oh, speaking of which... Nearly forgot that Cassius had ALSO asked about the life on board this multi-environment planet. Sadly, it hasn't been explored quite as much as SR-388, but it IS the natural habitat of the creature referred to in the files as Serris.

So, you can expect that there will be some fast-moving serpents, although the outpost is located in a desert. They had plenty of time to go over this, of course, on the way. Hyperdrive or not - and they DID all have them - it was still a trip. Discussions on how to proceed would also be handled in transit, to only be altered by the factors which changed the situation around them. The ships would all arrive in the SR System of space, able to see the still-molten 'corpse' of SR-388 on their way to the nearby planet, SR-387. Naturally, there was no response to anny hails of the outpost. Nothing but static. They needed to go down there and retrieve the data, as Zen informed them that he himself could establish no computer connection with anything on the ground either. They had coordinates, reasonable expectation of enough space to land, and - unfortunately - a sand storm. Not a severe one, but unless you liked the idea of filling your suit up with it, better seal up before exiting the ships.

[User]
In the hour of waiting for people he had Federation jockey's transport supplies to his ship that was in orbit. While they did that he went over the information Amber had sent to everyone on the team. He'd look into it with more detail but what he saw made him curious. How did one kill a floating gelatinous blob of varying colors? Why did they even have various colors and what function did it serve? He'd probably find out eventually.

As he shifted about he glanced up to see everyone was gathering now. "Seems everyone has a personal ship. Mine can dock two and if your ship is particularly small you can mag-lock to it as well." He said as he tucked away his data-pad. That giant belt around his waist opened up and held it in a slot before closing. A handy utility belt for those without pants or pockets. "I'm going to assume everyone is going to be on my ship given it can hold ten of me." He continued as he tapped a button on the bracer that was on his wrist.

Outside the group could see a giant ship descending slowly. It stopped well above the flight traffic of the base, incoming and outgoing. The hull of it was painted black and was speckled white to look like it was a part of space. It seemed he enjoyed being camouflaged despite sensors being a thing.


[System]
Age: 17
Gender: Female

Appearance: Brilliant, innocent yellow eyes, and pale skin. A petite brunette through and through, at 4'9" and 113lbs. Usually wears a yellow sundress, with a purple, velvet, wide rimmed sunhat, red rimmed glasses and brown sandals.

Personality: A shy, caring, soft-spoken girl that will do what needs to be done, but won't break past her morals. When she speaks, she always has a stutter that gets worse the more aggitated she gets. Quick to anger, quick to forgive, her temper is a unnatural break from her introverted personality, and her anger simultaneously annihilates her stutter entirely, only to return when her temper controls itself. Has the most adorable glare you've ever seen.

First Weapon: A giant, double handed battle-axe that she can somehow carry and swing normally with her tiny arms

Starting Power: Glamour - The user envelopes herself and anything attached to her with a shield of pure light that lays ontop of the surface of whatever is within it, allowing her to either fade into her surroundings, or cause a bright flash that can equal looking straight at the sun in intensity. She can only "fade" if she stands still, because moving would cause anomalies in the air, and only for 10 minutes before becoming exhaused. Adding another object to the "fade" will divide the time by the number of objects. Also, she only has enough energy to use "flash" 3 times a day, each one using up a third of her energy everytime she used it.

ID: B-012

[User]
A little girl had awoken in the plaza, her silent yawn cutting through the emptiness of the world around her. The girl opens her eyes, rappidly blinking them in order to get rid of any sleepiness she would have retained from her slumber and absentmindedly raking her brain to find out what she'd been doing earlier, not noticing that she had been sleeping on cold, hard gravel only a few seconds ago. Her long pink hair almost floated around her as she turned her head to look at her surroundings, her eyes widening in surprise and fear when she noticed the unfamiliarity of the world she was in. The area around her looked strikingly similar to her own hometown, only the fact that there were no people mulling about, and none of the land marks that should have been around her only added to the unease that she wouldn't have felt had she been in her own bustling community. 'Where... Where am I?' The girl asked internally, looking to the sky and noticing its unnaturally red sun.

Panic started to set in, the little pinkette's legs started to shake in her fear. Where was she, really, and what could be even do about it? She had no money, no family outside of her community, and no idea how she could get to said community from this place that looked so similar but entirely different. She fell to the ground, shedding silent tears as she wallowed in her despair. 'Mom... Dad... How will I ever see you two again...' she cried, and cried, trying and failing to keep her voice quiet in her sorrow. Her tears fell until she had no more, and when her eyes ran out her heart began to weep instead.

Shaking, violet eyes finally notice the few annomolies that littered the ground, her eyes widening in shock when she noticed the phone on the ground. She half-scrambled, half ran to the device on the ground quickly flipping it open and turning it on, her tears quickly drying on her face in the wake of her new discovery. With a phone, she could find out where she was. With a phone, she could contact her family, or maybe even the local authorities to come and get her. With a phone... She had a chance to get back home.

(What's on the phone, dear GM?)

[Assistant]
On the phone was a message.
"Welcome Mira Ragi
 To the the Dream Tower, you might be wondering why your here.
Well you were probably either Dreaming big or your dead, and this is where we come in, if you succeed you will be given a second shot in life or a wish.

If you fail to beat the tower then your body will remain here with a lingering will that will hunt down anything in its path and killing anyone in sight.

You should read the rules before walking out of this safe zone." The message stops there and sounds of gunshots can be heard throughout the city.

The phone beeps again and showing a mission message and a Rule/Progression message.

Mission
Two heads are better than one.

Win: Small supply bag
Loss: No pact creation *Forced Solo*

[User]
Yellow eyes open to an orange sky. The teen- almost adult- stayed silent on the ground, not giving thought to why she had been sleeping on the ground, or why she didnt remember how she got there. She instead focused on the memories in her mind, or lack thereof. She remembered that she was Aya Whistler, that she went to a high school, that she had been apart of an extracurricular activity, and that she had a pet.

What she didn't remember is who gave that name to her, which school she went to, what kind of activity she had, and the name and kind of pet she had. Every thing except her name were all general concepts, no specifics. While that worried her in a big way, her biggest worry at that single moment was- 'What kind of sun is red?' Aya asks herself incredulously. She sits up and rubs her dandelion eyes, making sure she wasnt seeing things. But sure enough, there was a red sun in the sky, and the ground she was laying upon was grey, along with being riddled with gravestones and a few peculiar objects that usually wouldn't be there.

Not letting the panic of waking up in an unknown graveyard set in, she instead focused her attention on the white elephant in this situation: A giant battle-axe that was impaled into the ground. The handle was a dark crimson, the decal of a laughing fox with 3 tails ran along the sides of the weapon, one tail of each blade, and the final tail settled on a spike that was buried in the ground. The blades of the weapon were a midnight black, and while the entire thing was completely opposite to anything she liked, it had a familiar presence, like she had used it before hundreds of times.

Picking up her velveteen hat from the ground and fitting it snugly on her head, Aya walks up to the Axe, and braces herself for hard tug to pull the half buried weapon from the ground. To her surprise, it unearthed itself easily, and her excess strength sent her to the ground, the Axe falling ontop of her, light as a feather. Wide eyed and bewildered, Aya picks herself up from the ground for the second time and holds the Axe with ease in both of her hands, the familiarity from before becoming even stronger as she held it. Marveling over the weapon, she drops it in the throes of her wonder. It fell to the ground faster than she could react, digging itself yet another hole in the ground.

Aya sighed, pushing away her fears and questions to the back of her mind as she picks up the weapon once more. Almost absentmindedly, she picks up both the knapsack and the flip phone from the ground as well, placing said phone into the bag as she left the graveyard, looking for the town or city it would be near to, and hoping someone could give her answers before she could start thinking more practical, but despair-riddled thoughts.
(Waaaaay too long, but whatever.)

[Assistant]
Magnus, 16 years of age, wakes in the chair of a seemingly abandoned cafe. His warm, brown, eyes peer up at the sky from his seat. Unsure of his location, he stands, planning on exploring his new found location. Before he made it very far, he tripped over a strange object. Which he found to be a sword.

The sword in itself was not very special. The blade is steel and twenty eight inches long, the handle itself is made of a very strong unknown type of wood. In the hilt, there is a dragon etched into it.

After examining the sword, he looked around where it lay, he found a satchel, as well as a flip phone. he hangs the satchel on his shoulder and walks down the street, checking the flip phone as he does.

[User]
Mira drops the phone, eyes in disbelief and body shaking with loss. She had only read the first part of the message, and she already regretted it deeper than anything else in her short life. Death. That was the thought that dropped itself at the forefront of her mind. Her own death. When she read over the words that sprawled across the small screen of the device, multiple images and sounds flashed in quick succession in her psyche. A large object moving quickly towards her. A loud screeching noise. A scream. Unbearable pain. Darkness.

She couldn't fall any faster, her knees scraping on the cold hard concrete as her hands covered her eyes once more, droplets falling and creating a picture of pure despair. She was dead. She would never see her parents again, never get to play in the park again, never be able to finish school or, become a nurse like she dreamed of becoming when she grew up. Her cries were loud and hard, and she didn't care if anyone heard anymore.

She was dead. All alone. No family. No friends. Lost and afraid.

She. Was. Dead.

[Assistant]
Aya sighs in relief, seeing the edge of the town she believed would have existed near the graveyard. Sitting on the grass beneath her feet, Aya takes a moment to check the other items she had pilfered from the graveyard. Opening the bag, she was surprised to see at least a week's worth of food and water, almost as if someone had- She violently shakes her head, ridding herself of the thought. If someone had known of her situation, they would have called the local authorities to aid her. Speaking of calling, the other item she had acquired was an old flip phone model, which apparently had two new messages on it. Opening the phone, Aya reads over the first message quickly in silence. Almost immediately after she finished reading the message, she had to stop herself from breaking the phone in angry denial.

So, apparently, she was either dead and going through some sort of trial to come back to life, or had wanted something so bad that she allowed herself to join in a death game for that reason. If she could see her past self, Aya would probably slap her right across the face. Calming herself down, she reads the next message, which held what looked to be her "first mission". What the text said in a nutshell was: "find someone to partner with." Didn't sound too hard to her. Right after the thought crosses her mind, she hears a few loud gunshots coming from the town. Never mind. Walking into the town, Aya starts to hear a faint, hollow crying, as if the source of the sound was far ahead of her. Aya's heart breaks a little, hearing that the source of the sound was feminine and high pitched. A young girl, she was guessing. Adjusting the battle-axe she held on her shoulder, she starts moving towards the sound, hoping that no one was hurt and wanting to comfort the mystery girl.

[User]
Magnus scowls at the text message on the old phone. So he was dead or wanting a wish, the hard part was he doesn't remember a thing. Which troubled him almost as much as running into a lamppost. He falls back from the shock of stopping suddenly, as he does he drops the phone to the ground. He sighs and dusts himself off as he stand, he picks up the phone and quickly reads the second message. A scowl spreads across his face again, a mission? That was something he was not prepared for, however there isn't much he could do about it.

He begins to walk again, hoping he wasn't alone in this city. As he begins to walk again, he rests his sword against his shoulder. Sadly it did not come with a sheath. A third glance was needed for him to completely read the text, teammates. So he wasn't alone, of course the young girls scream helped confirm his thoughts. He shoulders his bag and starts to make his way towards the scream.

[Assistant] (/please ignore this. It's a mistake\)

[User]
Mira didn't know how long she had been sitting in the plaza, wailing at the cruelties of the world, the world that let her die before she could live. The silent world that watched her demise, not even blinking in the face of her adversity. Her pain, brought upon her by a world that destroyed the dreams and lives of those who weren't ready to die, tore at her heart, ripping it and throwing the pieces towards the ground beneath her knees. Her pain grew and grew, filling the void where her heart used to be, and became who she was.

The pain of loss, of death, of broken dreams and sour realities. It intertwined with her very being, becoming a part of her, sinking itself into her psyche. In her pain, she truly understood what death was. Before, she had never known death, had never looked it in the eyes and stared into it's horror, or felt the loss that came with a loved one's demise, her realization of her own life's end being the first real contact with the abyss. She wasn't eased in to it, never truly feeling the cold hand of death. Now, she is entangled in it, swallowed by it, all around her was death, and so was she. She was so lost in it, in the taint of death, that she never noticed the arrival of the person that came, the person that knew nothing, as well as everything about her.

[Assistant]
As Aya walked towards the sound she had heard, the wailing became louder and louder, loud enough that she could almost feel the pain the young girl must have been feeling. Finally arriving at the location, which was apparently the plaza, her eyes locked upon a child. A child, barely older than 9, with a drape of cotton candy hair framing her whole body and face, which was covered by her hands, crying her eyes out in the middle of the clearing. Aya's heart shattered, calling out to the little girl who she didn't even know. It pained her to see someone in pain, especially someone as young as the little girl in front of her. She slowly approached the girl, the child not even noticing her approach.

Her own broken heart reached out to the young child, becoming a support for the small girl to lean upon. Aya sat next to the girl, taking the younger female by surprise by hugging the small child to her chest, letting the young girl feel her own heartbeat, letting the girl know she wasn't alone. A duo of tears fell from Aya's face as she held the small girl. For someone so young to want something so much, or to have died at such a young age... It physically hurt her to see the pain that the world could bring upon a person. "Ssssssshhhhh... D-don't cry l-little one." Aya whispered softly into the pinkette's ear, her stutter being lain open to the world. She caressed the young girl's long hair with one hand, and kept the pinkette close to her, protecting the young one from the pain that plagued her with the other. "Y-you'll be ok... I-i'll protect y-you." Unbeknownst to the teen, her phone popped up with a new message, lighting up the inside of her bag as she committed herself to the little girl with those few words.

---
Player B-012 initiating a Pact request with Player A-013...
Waiting for response...


[System]
Game Origin: Street Fighter IV
Appearance:

[User]
Queen Sectonia

Level 5 Sectonia (holding 1 level up) - (28/50) +1

Divine Beast
Word Count: Less than 750

Much like Premise, Sectonia knew nothing of this 'din' who was apparently a dancer that Tora knew. Although she vaguely recalls someone in Lumbridge being called 'din' but she didn't pay too much attention to that place as it were if it wasn't right in front of her after they denied worshipping her. She gave no indication that she even wanted to touch the thunderblight spirit, so Tora was free to do what he will with it. What fascinated Sectonia more than anything was how he was able to turn such an ugly thing into something that was.. while not beautiful, was a vast improvement while upgrading his mecha girl Poppi. "Hm..." Sectonia said to herself, making note of this mechanical skill. It could be very useful later. She knew Tora was a bit of a mechanic already, but this was the first time she saw him making something ugly into something not ugly, which really impressed her. Although all Tora could see onher face was a bit of mild intrigue. Which was already quite a different expression on her face than normal, so it was probably somewhat noticable.

She was snapped out of this by Premise taking her advice the wrong way about the Maximum Tomato. Sectonia quickly corrected the girl. "I mean don't eat them casually. They are great for healing but they will ruin your figure if you take too many. There are a few in my army that did just that." She said, not elaborating much further than that as she went off with Premise to look for some healing hearts.

After exploring the beast for a bit, Premise managed to find what Midna was talking about, although she got a few other items before getting a healing heart. Sectonia assisted her in looking through the area, able to get to places Premise couldn't. Although much like the dancer, she couldn't find much of use, finding a couple healing hearts but mostly finding odd gears, sprockets, and other metal bits she assumed were there to repair this beast if it ever got damaged as they shared a similar design to the innards of this thing. Still she took them with her and left with Premise, healed up a bit.

Soon the group came to the Lakeside pyramid, where below there was a huge battle going on with various gunfire and the like coming from below. Midna gave the group a couple ideas of how they could progress, and much like Premise, Sectonia suggested that they keep moving with the divine beast here. After all, she pointed out, if the things below attacked it, they could just shoot lightning at them. Although she did suggest that they didn't wade through the exact middle of the conflict below but picked a side instead.

With her suggestion being thrown out there, she flew next to Tora and dropped the Ancient machinery she had found. "Lets see what you can do with this later." She said. While she doubted she could use anything Tora could make form this, her curiosity got the better of her either way.

========================================

Blazermate

Level 8 Blazermate - (22/80) +2

Dead Zone
Words: 844

Bowser was just as relieved as Blazermate that their little trick stuff worked when it did. Although he commented on how he felt something 'leave' him when he did the friend heart thing. Blazermate, having done it a couple times, said. "Yeah, not sure what that is myself. But its not that much, as long as we save it for the big guys. Not like we'll be friend hearting these zombies." blazermate said, her zombie call bringing in a zombie that just stood there as it was cut down by Dante. "But yeah, I'm not entirely sure myself what its 'draining' from us, but whatever it is, we build it up pretty quickly as we adventure, so it can't be that important right? Its not like its taking away my medaforce or anything."

Soon after as they continued down their path, Bowser commented on Blazermate calling him cute, almost being offended while also showing he could retract the tentacles that made him 'not cute' in her eyes. "Aw, theres nothing wrong with being cute! But I guess in your circumstance it would be 'handsome' But cute sounds better. Can you imagine a lady being handsome? That just doesn't sound right!" Blazermate said, laughing a bit as a few more zombies were cut down as she rode the koopa king. He was right though about keeping the tentacles out, this place wasn't very welcoming at all.

Soon the group came up to some weird library building, needing to pass through it to find the core of the next root. However, this place wasn't all that it seemed. While things came to life to nip at Bowser, spooking him. While that was happening, Blazermate's scan was going haywire as pretty much everything in this building seemed to be alive and be an enemy. "WHY IS EVERYTHING ALIVE?" She said, having a bit of an information overload. Bowser meanwhile was being attacked by one of the mimics, its tentacles clashing with his. "Oh come on! Why did it have to be tentacles. Bowser, I've seen where this can lead... Be careful!" Blazermate said as Bowser was being attacked by one of the mimics, both clashing with their tentacles. Blazermate kept away as best as she could from the things all around them, raising her shield and keeping her beam on Bowser but sadly not having much space to evade due to all of the stuff around. Thankfully these things were annoying Bowser to no end, and he started to torch the place, wiping out a good number of these creepy things down in his fiery rampage. "uuugh. Why tentacles. Why'd they have to have TENTACLES." Blazermate said, as she relied on Bowser and the rest taking care of things, the building slowly burning down and the mimics hating fire. After awhile, they found an entrance that went down deeper towards the root.

Thankful they were away from the tentacles above, descending the stairs down to the part of this root the strange sounds of the mimics and their tentacles burning emanating above they followed the pale 'veins' of blue energy until they came into a large room lined with skulls, bones, and all sorts of nasty stuff. But even with all of that, these blue 'veins' joining at a base, the group ran into... nothing? Well there was one person there, a creepy looking girl in a maid outfit with skeletal bits sticking out in various places. The area itself just looked like undeath itself, and Blazermate could see a weird heart shaped weak point within this girl as if she wasn't even attempting to hide her weak point from the group.

Bowser seemed to have massive reservations about fighting this girl if he had to, not wanting to fight a kid. Funnily enough, Blazermate wasn't much taller than this girl, so her reservations weren't as much as Bowser as she just thought this 'kid' looked like an undead medabot if anything. A really powerful one, but still, they clearly weren't human after all. Still, Bowser's reservations lead to some very intelligent insights from the big guy. "Yeah what Bowser said. Are you going to destroy the root too?" She then listened to Bowser explain his plan, blazermate nodding, joining in on the whispering. "Yeah, that makes sense. Although time will tell if she'll even be friendly. She hasn't attacked us yet, buut... I got a feeling that might change soon." she said, pointing out to Bowser and the rest of the group the skull heart thing discreetly. "Well, the weak point isn't too hidden if we have to fight. And I have a good amount of charge from all the healing on the way here." She kept her healing beam on Bowser and was ready for something to happen, but keeping a neutral stance as she rode the king.

 "What do you want to do after you clean the root? Want to help us with the big thing this root is protecting afterwords?" Blazermate wasn't too concerned with this whole 'skull heart' thing. If they came to blows that could be something they worked out afterwords, but it was more important to deal with the dead zone as a whole. Although she knew a certain bee queen who would probably love to have a free 'wish' granted. Although Blazermate highly doubted this object could even grant a wish properly.

[Assistant]
Geralt of Rivia
Edge of the Blue- Limsa Lominscuttle Town
Lvl 5 (73/50) -> Lvl 6 (24/60)
Word Count: Not Enough words
New power! Aard- Aard produces a roughly cone-shaped blast of concentrated telekinetic energy, capable of forcing even hearty wyverns to stumble. It's also been known to knock barriers aside, blow open locked doors (Or sometimes knock them right off the hinges!), and knock grown men clean off their feet.

Creatively applied, Aard can also produce a smaller and somewhat less powerful circular blast of force around Geralt, typically only strong enough to force men to stumble or risk losing their footing, rather than knocking them down outright.

Geralt nodded to Peach as she gave her advice on where to find somebody he could get answers out of. If the boss was gone, asking the grunts would have to do. Her suggestion of the infirmary was a good one, meant that whoever he got was likely to have at least fought a few of their mysterious enemies, even if they didn't give as good as they got. As of now, anything he could use would be worth the time it took.

Looking around, Geralt grimaced. Some of these...shipgirls...had it rough. Blood-soaked bandages covered a few wounds, though he imagined those were either already mostly healed, or lower priority. Assuming magic was more common with all these worlds mixed up, he'd be shocked if there wasn't at least one or two healers handling this. Homing in on a shipgirl who wasn't horrifically injured, Geralt nodded in greeting.

"Hey there. Name's Geralt. I'm looking for some information about the Abyssal Fleet. How they fight, how they die, what kinds of spirits they leave behind, that sort of thing. Can you help me?" Blunt and to the point. Typical Geralt.

[User]
Level 3: 06/30
Location: Hawker's Alley
Word Count: 839
Points Gained: 2
New EXP Balance--- Level 3: 08/30

 Sakura enjoyed Junior's company. He seemed like a good kid. Kind of reminded her of her little brother. Well, if her little brother wanted to be some kind of supervillain. Sakura wondered if he really had done anything very evil. He didn't look like any of the evil people she knew. Even his dad, Bowser, seemed kind of nice. Compared to someone like M. Bison, who, though she met him only briefly, just gave her evil vibes. Sakura wasn't superstitious like her friend Kei. But if Kei saw Bison, she would say he had a malevolent aura. If that was real...she could definitely feel it.

 (No way M. Bison would ever have a kid. Let alone a kid who actually seemed to love him! M. Bison probably kicks puppies in his spare time. That jerk. I'm glad I got to punch that guy in the face a couple times...and then saw him get blown up. Even though he just came back, later. Man, that was a really crazy Winter break.)

 The Kasugano girl looked at the big pile of gold. It was a lot of money. More than she had ever seen in one place. For a moment, she wondered if Princess Peach would miss a couple coins. Maybe Mom wouldn't have to worry about the rent so much? The thought passed, and she felt guilty. It was the apocalypse. Peach was willing to spend all this money on their adventures, and saving the world. Including her mom. Stealing from her would be an immoral betrayal. Besides, back home, her fighting career was picking up. Once she started making money, no one would have to worry about that stuff anymore.

 Cadet reappeared, and mentioned he was strong, too. He didn't look like a Street Fighter. Then again, many people told her the same thing. Also, he came from a different universe entirely. A medieval one, going from his clothes. "Okay, you're on! Hopefully we get some downtime on the way there!" She agreed, a pep appearing in her step at the thought of a new challenge. She giggled at Junior. She wasn't sure about Cadet, but she was definitely strong than Junior over there. So that one would be easy.

 Sakura lugged the gold cart around. The weight wasn't the problem. Much like Cadet experienced with his weapons, it was the actual transportation of the objects that was the problem. Getting the cart and Junior's car through all the portals was very troublesome. It was all clanky and janky. Wobbly and bobbly. Sakura awkwardly followed Junior along with her cart of gold, biting her lower lip.

 Eventually though, they were there. The girl gave a few withering stares at people who got too close to her cart. Then she exhaled, rolling her wrist. "Yeah! Where I come from, we wouldn't even need paper money. Peach could just use her debit card." Sakura said. She glanced at her two companions and wondered if they knew what that was.

 "It's like, eto, a card? Where, you swipe it, and then, the machine knows how much money you have in your bank account. It's all digital. The numbers on the computer?" The last part of her explanation turned into a question. How did all that work? She never really thought about it that much.

 "All the money is just, little numbers on a screen, which they reach and draw out from a computer. I think. But basically it means all the money weighs nothing, it's just a little card you have in your pocket. I had one, but I lost it. Then I got another one but it was stolen. Then my mom didn't want me to get another one until I learned to be more responsible. So when I got my job I- oh, hey, we're here!" Her utterly unhelpful "explanation" came to an end as she picked up the pace.

 Now, she was listening to Kamek's plan. It sounded pretty good to her!

 "Yes! We'll beat up opponents until we get stronger and stronger! There's no such thing as a shortcut when it comes to getting more powerful. You gotta put the work in, day after day! And when you lose, you learn your lesson, and..." Her enthusiasm faltered. She put a finger to her chin and looked at the ground. "Though, if we lose a battle in our ship, we'll all just die. So losing isn't really an option. Anooo..." She trailed off.

 "Well," She giggled nervously. "That's what being a hero is all about, right? The training wheels are off." She concluded with less enthusiasm. A half-hearted smile on her face.

 (I hope I do okay in a real fight. The last couple of times, I was with Ryu. He's not around, probably because he let me beat the tar out of him so I could save him. Can I be as brave if I'm not trying to save him?) Sakura thought to herself.


[System]
Age: 18

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Weapon: The Ampere, a unique polearm with a wide, flat blade rather than a spearhead along with a gray steel pole. It has both range and lethality, keeping most melee fighters at a range safe for Abel but devastating to them with a tempered steel point, as well as channeling Abel's natural aura far better than he can do by himself (Inside the the Ampere's pole is a thick mesh of silver and copper wire). The Ampere has a single alternate mode that splits the wide blade into four parts and reverses their direction, creating a vaguely mace shape. In this mode, the Ampere can release bolts of lightening that travel impressive distances instantly.

Specialty: Abel fits best into the role of guardian, fittingly enough. His size, range, and defensive characteristics make him good at intercepting danger coming for his teammates, and he can certainly throw his strength around at close range, armed or not. Using his lightening bolts, he is able to paralyze if not flash-fry a single opponent at long range.

Semblance: Surge - This ability allows him to project electricity that can manipulate the Ampere at short range without touching it and summon it back to his hand when disarmed, as well as channel electricity to shock anything the weapon touches. By using Surge to rotate his staff quickly at very close range, he can create a sort of shield. When he focuses his power sufficiently through the Ampere in staff mode, he is able to fire a bolt of lightening that takes several minutes to recharge.

Personality: Abel is proud and gruff, very serious and totally without humor. For someone who appreciates the creativity and technique of both weapons and battle so thoroughly, he ironically is without creativity. Instead, he tend to go about his business by the book, a principled young man of habit and routine with little to no capability to think outside the box. While he is dependable, he is not flexible, and can respond to bullying, injustice, or even plain teasing with sudden anger. While not antisocial, he sticks with only a few friends at any given time, concentrating on strong bonds rather than many bonds. He loathes popular culture and those who overtly subscribe to it. The Grimm mask he carries makes him upset and angry, more at himself than anything else, but as it reminds him of his brother he cannot let it go. Deep down, Abel is a severe defeatist.

Color: Azure

Emblem: An azure lightening bolt, naturally.

Appearance:
When reading, he is forced to put on glasses.

[User]
Robert Fallson - Grimm Studies

Now that the Megaladeus had finally been stopped in its tracks, Robert used this time to regain his ability to breath. He climbed out of the pool, gasping for air, and just laid there for a minute, breathing hard. "Next time... someone else... can be bait," he said, taking in large gulps of precious oxygen between every couple words.

Getting back up to his feet, Robert looked at the Grimm that had just taken him on a very wild ride. Transforming his weapon into their ballistic form, the red-haired teen aimed straight at the space between the Grimm's eyes. "Looks like you'll be..." Robert quickly ran over to where he had left his stuff, grabbed his glasses, and ran back to the edge of the pool and put them on. "Sleeping with the fishes." Robert pulled the trigger and the 10mm round left his weapon with explosive force. Or, at least, should have. Instead, all that left the barrel was a stream of water that landed at Robert's feet. "Well that was anticlimactic."

[Assistant]
Shuai Taidan and Kiran Ali Khan (After Combat Classes)

"Ah, that was fun~"

Enter Shuai Taidan, a Beacon-rooted Hunstman in the prime of his youth. Following his most-excellent duel against the heroic and adorable Jorie Ngo, a decapod crustacean Faunus of great skill and honour, he had retired to a quite-comfortable, mahogany bench of a complexion that was shared by its material. Clad in his tight, orange blazer and aimlessly playing with his glossy silver hair (silkier than a silkworm), the boy appeared to any voyeurs as almost a furnace lying upon the bench, eyes drifting upwards to watch the brightness of the ceiling.

You see, the boy was quite tired from the match, especially after flooding the entirety of the battleground with more than enough napalm to justify the Geneva Conventions. The heat and smoke ... as well the discomfort of a gas mask ... the exposure was all that was needed to exhaust a guy. And so, the costume-lover bathed in the radiation emitted by the flourescent lights above, hoodie covering his eyes and protecting them from the glare.

Taidan's radiated reflection was soon interrupted by a hearthy twhack alongside the back of his head.

Enter Kiran Ali Khan, a world-bound Huntsman entering adulthood. Following the excessive and reckless duel between the honourable Jorie and his immature, incorrigible, and far too energetic teammate, Kiran was left with no choice but to provide guidance in the form of a smack on the head. While Taidan reclined in comfort upon a bench that embodied the degree of opulence at Beacon Academy, Kiran stood firm behind him, his eyes gazing down in disappointment.

"How many times," Kiran sighed with an exasperation betraying the frequency of their 'lessons' on respect and honour, "must we speak about restraint? I'm certain we had this very discussion before my brief departure."

"This is number thirty-nine, Kibro!" was Taidan's muffled reply as he pushed himself up from the floor that his compatriot's smack had sent him rolling onto. He was, as expected of a member of the great Team KNVS, utterly unharmed and unphased by such lust for violence, and indeed, was in fact quite joyed to be in the presence of the dude he considered his 'best pal-bro-sidekick'. "And I was totally restrained man! I didn't burn down an entire forest this time!"

"You respond as though thirty-nine times is a good thing." Kiran shook his head, there was no end to his teammate's frivolity. Indeed in all their years together at the academy, Taidan had illustrated a remarkable aptitude for carelessly brushing aside notions of discipline and restraint. "Each tree in a forest in a forest of it's own. Teeming with the life of Remnant's creatures. To carelessly throw around such fire is to endanger multitudes of precious lives. Beyond that I've mentioned before that exhausting yourself and your resources through such wasteful spending would endanger us in the event of a second or even third wave. And..."

Kiran found himself sighing once more; he swore his blood pressure went up in every interaction.

"Is any of this reaching your thick skull?"

"Of course it is," replied the suddenly pony-tailed Huntsman matter-of-factly, seating himself down on the bench once again as he styled his hair back to what some considered his 'default' head option (the one attached when you bought a figma, not the extra options in the box). "But what is excessively wasteful and what isn't is like, subjective, and -"

"Burning down the arena is not subjective."

"-also depends on what the situation's all like, yeah?" he continued without missing a single beat. "Like, the last time I burnt down a forest was a few months ago, and that was excessively wasteful because like, whoosh, it was windy and I didn't calc in that and the mission didn't want landscaping as part of the contract either, but here in a duel, Ms. Goodwitch was all: 'go finish the fight quickly and solidly and with style', so like, dropping all the napalm works yeah?"

He propped his chin down against his fist, expression morphing into one of what could be described as 'somewhat relatively deep thought'.

"Hey, if we were like, members of a post-scarcity civilisation, would it be wasteful then?"

"Don't try and divert the conversation with your idle ruminations and fantasies. Not to mention I don't remember anything about Goodwitch asking for style." For the third time in as many minutes, Kiran sighed deeply and now took a seat next his bubbly teammate. Teaching the youth would take some time, and significantly drain Kiran of his energy, so it was best to approach the task from a seated position.

"You ask in terms of what is wasteful and what isn't. But it is there that your mindset is already flawed. Think more so in terms of what you can save, why expend energy that need not be expended. Focus your attacks with precision, strike quickly and efficiently and minimize damage around you. You'll find there exists far more effective attacks than simply dumping out everything you have."

Leaning back, Kiran chuckled as his eyes went up to the ceiling. "Look at all this pointless damage, and now imagine the power you would have if you focused all of it into a singular point. Why do you think I enjoy the sword, I maintain absolute control over its direction and am thus able to focus in solely on those that deserve its wrath. You must never enter a battle expecting the luxury of collateral damage. We should not believe in such concepts as an acceptal level of collateral."

Pausing for a moment, Kiran turned his head to his teammate, "Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"Yep."

Kiran laughed, "Why are you only succint at the times when I'd most appreciate a thoughtful answer? Regardless, I suppose that's enough lecturing for the day." Standing up, Kiran smiled and gestured for Taidan to join him, "We should probably track down the others, Naoko took quite the beating and I'm never quite sure what Varius is up to. Still, we need to choose a mission for later, it'd be best to discuss our options."

The cheery Huntsman rose to his feet, though next to his larger-than-life friend, he was admittedly rather small-looking. Pulling his hoodie back, Taidan fired off a beaming smile at Kiran, clearly happy to be reunite with the rest of Team KNVS for whatever diabolical plan was waiting in store for them.

"Sounds awesome, Kibro," he said. "Ooh, can we do one of the escort missions again? Always like to meet my adoring Internet fans."

"Honestly, I don't understand how I put up with your nonsense."

[User]
Lauren Negasi

Well, she could have made less progress today...

She just could have made more, too.

Blame Luke and the Mistralese girl for being so interesting, blame Chatsworth for giving her this assignment before she'd even had time to procure a pair of sacrificial Aviators (which, not being technological items as much as total babe starter equipment, were not included in the Armory tech Valhalla), hell, the urge to blame Amaranth for looking so irresistibly scruffy-cute next to her? There in spades.

Truth was, none of those were really applicable. Lauren had herself to blame, having spent most of the period sketching out blueprints and ideas for what she could do, only to cross out things that no one short of a nuclear physicist could possibly achieve with a frame and a couple lenses. What had survived made its way to four sheets of loose leaf, one with each member of BASL's name scribbled atop it in scratch much messier than the actual blueprints themselves. From here, design motifs for each member of the team, as well as functions that were uniquely necessary for each of those members (battery readouts for Ben, a link to Sangue's claw, etc.) were listed along with renderings of how the glasses would look. Ben's frames would be the thickest, as he had the Capitano-spec glasses that headed up the BASL network, and Amy was half-Faunus so she had the night vision thing going plus her Semblance, so maybe ease up on her lenses...

Ooooh, this is exciting! With any luck, at this rate, she could turn in the entire team's worth of glasses by the project due date!

Only the niggling problem of whether anyone else thought it was a badass, sexy idea to wear Aviators into a combat zone remained to her.

She glanced at Desire, who was currently spinning a propeller like a pinwheel and looking quizzically at a cap.

...

ROLLIN' WITH IT~

On yet a fifth sheet of paper, she began to scribble out a shopping list for the next time she was in Vale. The team was going to need some shades.

[Assistant]
Abel Fulgurate – Grimm Studies

A fusillade of bullets, combined with a plethora of furious, adrenaline-empowered attacks, did not bode well for the Megaladeus. Through the Grimm's rage boiled its blood, too much of its ebony-colored vital fluid spilled out into the water to evaporate like smoke. Ultimately, it would have been able to work up the wrath to go berserk if it had not been for a high-caliber round straight through its control center. After that, all the ferocious shark could do was slump down into the water, turn belly-up, and become chum.

Quite abruptly, Abel's energy fell. In the pool, the last few charcoal chunks of the beast were melting away. Spent rounds floated to the bottom of the murky water, promising to give some poor filter technician a downright awful afternoon. Some of the students cheered, some posed dramatically, and some, like the guardian- simply remained still. To engage such a powerful monster in its own territory ignited primal instincts of fear and self-preservation in all, but in Abel they beat with a particular fervor. No matter how good he got at it, he supposed that he would never enjoy fighting Grimm. To him, it seemed like taking some medicine to calm a cancer: satisfying and necessary, but never free of concern for the fate that lay ahead. Solemnly, Abel dressed himself, and at Port's prompting seated himself along with everyone else back in the lecture hall to digest some intelligence about aquatic Grimm.

Whether due to fatigue or lack of focus, the time passed quickly.

-=Evening=-

Another day of classes had gone. Not for the first time, Abel remarked to himself as he sat on his dorm bed, bespectacled and reading, that the expectations Beacon placed on the students was huge. Aura could only take people so far; at the end of every school day, the student who didn't feel like a sack of wobbly potatoes on legs drawn magnetically to bed was a lucky one indeed. And to think that he'd be expected to fulfill this routine for four years!

Ah, well. Even if it did call for more energy Abel didn't know he could muster, another event lay on his schedule. His teammate, Gren, and his friend, Grane -what an odd coincidence...- were throwing some sort of bash, to which the guardian had been invited. Supposing that he might as well try this thing called 'fun' while the opportunity presented itself, Abel heaved himself from his bed, placed his book and his glasses on a table, and reached for his favorite jacket. Time to get ready.