[System]
Slick Drake

Basics
Epithet: "Oilburn" Slick

Race: Human

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Appearance: Slick is 5'5 with green hair and green eyes, typically wears simple single color shirts along with a green jacket over it, black pants, fingerless gloves, and black boots when on deck. When fighting in enclosed quarters he wears a gas mask on top of all this so he doesn't inhale smog from his fires, otherwise he just keeps it clipped to the waist of his pants. Somewhat pale, has lots of burn scars on his hands.

Position: Cook and Weapon Repairsman.

Bounty: 5,000,000 Beris, wanted for Serial Arson

Jolly Roger: A charred skull dripping oil with green flames surrounding it in a circle.

Background
Ambition: To find the gun and sword of Gol D. Roger.

Likes:* Fire
* Weapons
* Cooking
* Gol D Roger
* Money

Dislikes:* Marines
* Wasting Food
* Bees

Quirks: Slick regularly obsesses over any new weapon he may come across, studying the weapon and taking notes immediately upon seeing it even if the user is in the middle talking. His unique laugh is "Kekekekekek!" Slick is also a bit of a kleptomaniac and will regularly steal stuff just to see if he can get away with it.he has actually built up a small hoard for himself. If he thinks something would be interesting to light on fire he will try to light that thing on fire with the matches he always carries with him. He also believes his fires are works of art.

Personality: Slick is a pretty jovial guy, rarely in a bad mood unless something actually bad is happening. Tends to laze about when there's nothing important to be done or he'll go through his stash of stolen items to make sure everything is in good condition. He is afraid of drowning as most Devil Fruit users are, but his more prominent fear is of bees. If he sees a beehive or a swarm of bees he will likely go for his flamethrower immediately. Slick is also a very curious person, whether it be how flammable something is or how a device works. He likes helping people out but he won't go out of his way to help others if it's gonna be a long arduous task, not unless everyone else decides to. And the most important thing of all, Slick loves fire. He loves fire so much, fire is one of his favorite things ever really, which is why he always carries matches with him.

History: Slick grew up on a small island in the South Blue, born to a pair of blacksmiths and repairmen. He was raised on learning how gun barrels were made and how to clean a cannon, basically everything a child should never know. One day when he was 6 a group of drunk pirates had come to his parents to have their guns and swords repaired after a hard battle with the Marines, when they left they forgot some of their treasure on the island, the most important one being a mysterious Devil Fruit they had planned on selling. Now Slick was a hungry 6 year old, not knowing how valuable it was he took a bite of it. It was absolutely disgusting, it tasted like gasoline (not that he knew what that was) but he had already taken a bite of it and he had been taught to never waste food so he swallowed it down like a champ.

This was a horrible idea, for this was the Oiru Oiru Fruit, a Logia type Devil Fruit that turned you into an Oil man. Slick began to melt into a puddle of oil immediately, which was quite terrifying for a 6 year old. As he panicked and flailed his arms about he splashed highly flammable oil everywhere and knocked over a lantern, setting his home on fire. He struggled to maintain his human form and ran outside, his parents did not make it out with him. Orphaned at the age of 6 he was horribly traumatised by the whole incident, mentally locking away the ability to physically become oil so he could never kill someone close to him like he killed his parents. Instead he sought to control what killed them, fire.

He spent the next 13 years of his life tinkering with various ideas and mastering the use of his powers in conjunction with fire, he also rebuilt his parents business and began repairing weapons for pirates. Over the years he became enamored by tales of Gol D Roger and his prowess in battle, some stories had him destroying entire armies with one placed bullet while others would make him out to be a master swordsman. Either way, Slick wanted these legendary weapons, he wanted to be just as strong as Gol D Roger was. but to do that he needed to get a hold of his weapons. So he set off on his journey at the age of 19.

Combat Specialties

Skills and Abilities: Talented repairsman in regards to all different types of weapons, is somewhat skilled in the art of inventing new weapons. Great cook, spent a lot of his life learning to cook for himself. Very fast and somewhat strong, he built up muscles from hammering metal.
Devil Fruit: Oiru Oiru Fruit (Oil Oil Fruit): A Logia with the ability to let the user turn into oil and endlessly produce oil, Slick has currently mentally handicapped himself so he can only use it like a Paramecia.

Haki: N/A

Gear: Custom Flamethrower, built to be fueled directly by Slick even in the middle of combat.

Fighting Style: Slick likes to stay away from his opponent and control the battlefield, either by covering it in oil or covering it in oil and the lighting said oil on fire.

Techniques: Oil Oil Skate: Slick covers the bottom of his shoes in oil and skates around the battlefield at high speeds, leaving a trail of oil behind him as he does so.
Oil Oil Getaway: Slick covers the ground in oil and then lights it on fire, leaving no way for the opponent to reach Slick as he runs away. Also applicable to deadly effect in sea battles, pouring oil into the ocean, waiting for the enemy ship to sail through the oil and then lighting it all on fire.

Nakama
Crewmate Name:
Captain Boone - Slick only kinda respects Boone, sure he's the captain but he hasn't done anything quite memorable enough for him to be truly worth respect. They get along pretty well, but Slick doesn't quite respect Boone despite his status as captain. If it really came down to it, Slick would actually take his position in a heartbeat. He does enjoy his stories though and likes to ask several questions to get details.

Caesar Inu - Caesar and Slick get along, mainly because Slick likes to talk about fire during his therapy sessions and Caesar appreciates that Slick knows how to relax unlike most members of the crew.

Bonesword - Slick likes Bonesword for 3 reasons. One he can make a lot of flammable stuff which is super great, he can make ingredients for cooking which is nice, and he really wants to see how milk affects a living skeleton. Whenever someone is arguing about stuff with Bonesword he'll generally take Bonesword's side, something about the little dude is endearing to him.

Lily Merrycure - Slick gets annoyed with her occasionally when she offers to take over cooking, but does his best to remember that she's just trying to help. He was talking about fire once and she mentioned lighting the fires in people's hearts, Slick took this a little too literally and now thinks she wants him to light people's hearts on fire. Not that he has a problem with that, he quite likes the idea. He finds it a little weird that she tries to mother him considering they're only two years apart, but he takes it in stride. He's very interested in her strange symbiote and wonders how flammable it is. Final note, Slick bugs her from time to time about creating more flammable oils and compounds for him to use. When she doesn't he will either back off for the day or just try and swipe some stuff from her to try and figure it out himself. He has caused more than one explosion on the ship.

Feya - Slick hates hearing about the food pyramid so much, he occasionally sees the food pyramid chasing him in his nightmares. Slick tries to avoid her as much as humanly possible, not out of hate but out of pure unadulterated fear. No human should eat so much every single day. Occasionally he steals from her but after the 3rd time he found his door broken down and the protein powder gone he stopped. Now he just lays down oil in front of her door every now and then. Whenever she starts nagging Bonesword about working out he'll side with Bonesword, but is strangely silent when milk gets brought up. He really wants to see Bonesword drink milk.

Dirk - Slick is kinda indifferent to Dirk, he recognizes the guy doesn't like him too much but doesn't mind. Dirk likes his cooking so he's alright in Slick's book.

[User]
Fitness Feya
HAHAHAHA...No

Interacting with:???

 Fitness Feya braced for a handful of projectiles aimed at her direction. She opened her eyes briefly when she anticipated damage. She gritted her teeth when she saw the back of Krabbe's head. The fitness woman squinted her eyes and blew air through her nostrils. Taking a few steps back, she shook her head. "I am definitely not in debt to you. This is all your doing. Far as I know, you're cleaning up your own mess."

 Feya grabbed onto one of the railings on the ship. It was miracle part of the railing was intact despite the battle taking place. She held onto the steel bar and watched everything unfold. In a matter of seconds, Krabbe became reduced to an empty shell. His beloved crab fetish shattered during his brawl with one of his crazed subordinates. Feya attempted to stay focus on everything else.

 She then noticed the shrimp warrior act out a signature move. A spray of shrapnel cut through the air in an omnidirectional pattern. Feya tightened her grip on the bar, jumping over it she hoped to flee from the attack. As she pulled herself over the bar, some of the junk struck her in the back. As she descended into the waters, she grunted loudly and made a hard splash in the ocean.

[Assistant]
Wafer D. Kite - Nakama inbound. A Kite Can't Fly on its Own!

---

Kite felt his knees buckle when Lilliana left his side. This guy was strong. He'd thought himself powerful, but he needed more than this if he was gonna win. His eyes couldn't leave Saban, or he'd have noticed the help coming his way, the fiery landscape of the ship and the fact that it was no longer a battle of bounty hunters and pirates. This was a jumbo shrimp vs the world. Then, Caesar came to his aid. HELL YEAH DOG GUY! They pushed Saban back and managed to land two good hits on him.

That's when Krabbe made his move. It was strange hoping for the man who'd been responsible for the loss of his crew to win, but given the course of this battle nothing was off the table anymore.

"It's not over," He growled after Krabbe's attack. He'd won fights before. It was never that easy. And yet Krabbe was still captured, his armor and vice crushed. It served him right, and yet they were down man power. "Dammit... We've gotta hit him all at once," Kite said readying his wrenches. The crew of pirates didn't seem all that together, but by the way they were launching their attacks, they left him in awe. Just a little longer. He thought to himself. He was exhausted. He wasn't even sure...

"Woah!" His eyes widened in shock and love at the sight of Lilliana's weapon. "That's so cool," The shipwright said before noticing the attack incoming from Saban. Lilliana could no doubt protect herself. The whole crew could. But that weapon really was amazing. Now wasn't the time for thinking or planning. He had to act. He ran forward and jumped. His foot pressed into the shoulder of one of Krabbe's crewmen. "Get down, you idiots," he shouted at the bounty hunter's men, though he was sure they wouldn't listen. This one though was kicked down into the ground. as he pushed himself high into the air. Saban had somehow gotten even stronger. This was it. The final push and last attack everyone here could possibly see.

Kite took a deep breath and swung his arms, beginning to spin as he descended at high speed. He was aimed right at Saban. The plan was to get a good shot at his head, by slamming his wrenches into him using the momentum of his tornado like spin as he came down, combined with the full weight of his body. At the very least he hoped he could put the man off guard with a fierce blow from his wrenches, help keep him in place, or push him back into the line of fire coming towards him. Still, it was possible that he might not do anything. Saban might have just grabbed him from the air, crush him like Krabbe. Or maybe he'd catch his attention long enough for this crew to finish him off. Regardless, the young man was going down swinging.

[User]
It wasn't enough it wasn't enough it wasn't enough why wasn't he a skeleton yet, WHY ISN'T IT ENOUGH!? The mighty giant let loose with a massive handful of shrapnel in every direction, seeking to shred everyone like beef in a slaughterhouse. "I AM NOT A COW, COWS GO MOO AND I GO BOOM!" Slick tossed his hands forward and created a large shield of hardened oil, catching most of the shrapnel while the rest gave him minor cuts at best.

"Oh my GOD MILK IS THE BEST!" Suddenly Slick's fire stopped as his head swung towards Bonesword's voice. "Milk is good for your bones Vinedagger, I told you so!" It seemed as if his rage was over, his madness no longer focused on destruction as it had been. A cannon burst out of the ground and Slick already knew what was going to happen. Shrimp man was going to do something dumb and block the cannon shot like a complete dumb head, he needed to be cooked why didn't he understand that and just let himself die?

"Over here dinner, look at my art!" Slick formed a sticky ball of oil in his hands and tossed it at Saban's face, trying to blind him so everyone could attack all at once. But he wasn't content with just blocking his vision, he needed dinner to stop attacking as well. More and more balls of sticky oil were thrown at Saban, each one attempting to pin his arms to his side or keep him stuck in one spot. "I LOVE MY JOB!" Slick yelled with joy as he stopped flinging oil at Saban and let loose with his flamethrower once again.


[System]
Monster Type: Lizard
Gender: Female
Occupation: Scientist
Weapon?: Ray gun of science! (+20 ATK, prone to missing, though)
Armor?: Alphys' Glasses (+5 DEF, improves accuracy)
Magic: None
Personality: Nerdy, awkward, and a bit of a loner unless it comes to her friends.
Bio: Alphys was hired as the royal scientist for the Underground a long time after the previous one died due to mysterious circumstances... She was assigned the task of finding out what makes human's souls last for so long, and fusing it with monster's. After using some of the old scientist's schematics, she made a device and used it to find out what was inside of a human soul and made the hypothesis that a mysterious element called determination made it possible for their soul to stay intact after death.
 Elated and excited to get to work, Alphys took in the bodies of near-dead monsters, and fused them with determination... the results of the experiment were horrific, however, resulting in terrifying amalgamations of all the test subjects. They bonded together and became hostile... Alphys could not let them be found. She'd be executed, or at the very least, hated by everyone. She nurtured for the amalgamates and just ignored all the mail from the families and from Asgore... other than, of course, the one where Asgore found a tea cup in the shape of Alphys. She never let anyone find out about the amalgamates and lived with the ever-increasing guilt.
 After the experiment was called off, she didn't have much to do and did two things: watched hundreds of hours of anime, and built her only successful creation that brought anyone joy; Mettaton. By combining the soul of Napstablook's cousin and a metal body, Alphys constructed Mettaton; a dazzling game show host and resort owner, with every product in the underground having to do with him in some shape or form. This was her magnum opus, but it soon seemed to backfire as Mettaton got more and more popular, and slowly began to stop talking to her unless she made the call at the right time. This made Alphys a bit of a recluse, and she felt like the garbage dump was where she belonged... she was hanging there one day, when she met the love of her life. Undyne.
 "Undyne; the strongest fish in the world! What a character!" Alphys thought to herself quite often. She was never really able to muster up the courage to tell Undyne of her feelings. She would always shy away and try to change the subject any time she'd ask because she was afraid that Undyne would think that she's weird.
 One day, out of the ruins came a human. Alphys expected this, actually... she had cameras set up in every town and in every bush and tree and cave so that she could spy on Frisk. She grew attached and felt like she wouldn't be able to kill Frisk, not because of her wimpy arms or anything, but because of her feelings. And her wimpy arms. She instead planned out something elaborate, where Mettaton would seemingly trap Frisk, but then Alphys would swoop in and save the day! But after the final step in her plan, she felt remorse over her deception. She had one last goodbye with Frisk, and ran back to her lab, locking it all the way up and disabling any forms of communication.
 After a while, though, Frisk came back with a love letter from Undyne and Alphys mistook it for Frisk's letter, going on a date with him instead. They did a quick roleplay in the garbage dump and Alphys began to lose control as she sometimes does, and unfortunately got caught by Undyne. After a moment of awkwardness, Alphys freaked out a little bit again while telling Undyne of her love. Undyne, lovingly, threw her through a hoop and into a trash can and made her run a bunch of laps with Papyrus. She left early, though, and went back to the lab to confront her fears, and with the help of Frisk, released the Amalgamates and proceeded to go above ground. Undyne and Alphys lived together from that point, and now, knowing that Frisk is lost, is determined to do whatever it takes to see her friend again!
Appearance: Alphys is a short, plump yellow lizard with a constant slouch and insecure stance. She wears a lab coat and glasses, and on special occasions, a polka-dot dress.

[User] Marisa was working at the blacksmith for hours for the orders that kept going,good thing she loves her job,or she would have went home early."whew..im tired.."  She said as she wiped her head,she faceslamed into the anvil then looked up to read the last order. "A Percival Vernier? What does that mean...? Ah well" she said as she went to the "Percival Vernier's" home. "(This better be the right place..)" she thought as she rung the doorbell/knocked on the door.

[Assistant]
Underground Search Party-Ruins

Skylar looked to Celes when she spoke and her voice started to mimic how Papyrus usually spoke. As she turned to face Papyrus and explained her magic, Skylar turned her attention to David and Undyne. She watched as David's words seemed to make something click in Undyne's mind (it was plain on her, or rather Chen's, face). She did remember how Frisk mentioned that Undyne befriended them as a challenge. So, this was definitely helpful. She watched as Undyne managed to fish out a knife from Chen's person, and her (or rather David's) eyes grew wide. The knife's presence only made Skylar feel even more uneasy about Chen. She then said to everyone, "Um...we should probably continue onwards. It may just be me, but I'm not sure if I want to leave Mettaton alone for much longer," She then started leading the way, still not quite used to being a bird monster's body.

Surface Group

Town of Ebbott

Annie looked to Erion when he answered her statement, and after he had finished, she only mumbled "Ah...Is that so..." As soon as they found the monsters, she hid behind Erion, looking at Asgore, Alphys, and Sethlan from behind Erion. She looked to the pangolin monster when he stuttered and suddenly went quiet at Erion's comment that he would fight. Annie had noted how Sethlan looked after that little comment, and after the apology was done, Annie stared at him for a moment before reluctantly conceding "Alright, fine. I forgive you. But...I'm still expecting proof that you guys were telling the truth,"

Asgore smiled glad that the apology was accepted, and after Annie made her expectation clear, he answered "Of course. Alphys will show you. Er...I'm no good with technology. I'm not quite sure what she's doing..."

???

The door opened to reveal a young man with blonde hair and a pair of glasses, he wore a nice casual suit, clearly showing that he was interested in business only. He adjusted his glasses as he studied the girl in front of him carefully. He then asked her, "Ah. You must be Marisa. Is that correct?" He then opened the door a little wider and invited her, "Please come in. We can continue our business transaction inside,"

[User]
MARISA
Marisa walked in the man's home,filled with curosity as to what a man like him was wanting a weapon for. "Nice home,anyways...what do you need this for?" Marisa ask as she pulled out the man's order from her bag. "Is this what you wanted? Because it took 3 hours to get done perfectly..." Marisa mumbled the last part under her breath.

When she was on her way to deliver said weapon,she saw a grey ominous door in an alley. Curious as always she thought of opening the door and seeing what is inside. But,she seen alot of detective shows and read the books,so she knew to ignore it and continue walking before she got kidnaped. Or worse,killed. Its a blessing that she has weapons with her at all times.

Those same genre books and movies/shows also inspired her to solve the dissappearance of the ambasador of monsters,frisk. After work,she always goes to the break room to get her leters done. Now she uses it to study occuring events. If you would have access to the room,you would see it cluttered with books,papers,pictured conected with red tape,lots of stuff. Thats how much she wants to know what happened. If you ask how she knows,its what had her study monsters at the start of it all,rumors.

RED
Red was at the same place she always goes to to calm her anger. She watched the dandelions fly over her head and smiled alittle at it. The smile slowly faded when she started to think of her missing friend and what posibly happened to them. Head down and grip on her cutlass,she stabed the ground in a fit of anger. "GOD FREAKING DANGIT!!!" red yelled as she fell to her knees. "s-stay calm red,they maybe ok. They are fine on their own....they are strong....theyll be fine....they..." red paused as she had a look of a mix of worry and fright. "They may have been kidnaped...o-or worse...died...or killed someone and went into hiding..

Red then punched the side of her head and said "Ugh! What am i thinking!? Of course they wouldnt harm anyone,they broke the barrier by their pacifism for crying out loud!" red sighed and looked up again to the sky. "I hate this...i hate this so much..." she said with a bit of sadness in her voice.

[Assistant]
Erion just stayed calm as he looked at Alphys, and the other monsters, before looking at Annie.
"At least they apologized. But ya... it was all a mistake." he says to her as he looks at the group, but had noticed how Sethlan reacted to what he said. He would need to keep an eye on him, that is for sure.
"I did notice earlier that the weapon actually slip from her hands... Which caused the accident.... she really felt sorry back then.... trust me... " he then says to Annie calmly, looking up to the sky.
"They are not bad people." I add.

---

Celes saw the knife... and shivers at this, just moving forwards. She had a bad feeling about this guy, and him having a knife like that was making her feel more and more worried.
"LET'S.... JUST KEEP GOING NOW AND TRY TO GET OUR BODIES BACK! LAST THING WE WANT IS TO BE STUCK LIKE THIS FOREVER, AND I REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE A SKELETON FOR TOO LONG. I PREFER MY OWN BODY THANK YOU." she then says before moving forwards, trying her best to move with this body. This was annoying.

[User] "Ah, yes, thank you. Don't worry, I will keep it safe!" I commented to Undyne, who handed me the rusted knife in response to this. I took the knife, and wheeled my way over to Skylar, who was still in my body. "Hey... keep this in my dimensional box... it's in my phone, and nobody else should have access to it," I whispered to her before fumbling around with the knife, a little bit. I eventually managed to hand it to her handle-first, and I knew I could trust her to do pretty much exactly that... or, at least find a way to hide it, herself. That's one weapon down... and, despite appearances, it IS quite a strong weapon down here... I thought as I continued onward. Sure, it felt weird having used one of my friends, but, this was a golden opportunity, and I'm sure Undyne will appreciate it when Chen has something much weaker as his weapon... though, I don't doubt that he'll at least find SOMETHING to use as a weapon, unfortunately. Who knows? Maybe if things go horribly wrong, I'll find some use for this, myself... no... I really shouldn't use something like this, no matter what Chen does... I thought as I continued through the corridors, passing by a very specific pillar that I could almost swear had someone hiding behind it.

[Assistant]
MARISA
[N/A yet.]

RED

Red decided to take a walk to the ruins. "Y-Yeah..that should calm me down..." She stood up,brushed herself off,then left for the core. While walking,Red spotted the river person. "Tra-la-la~ where will you be going young adventurer~?" The river person asked. "waterfall,please." Red replied. One trip later,red arrived to waterfall. She walked slowly,taking in all the scenery,and trying not to run into temmie vilage. "Heh. Im starting to feel better already." red said as she walked through muffet's cave and arrived at snowdin. "Man,its so silent now that everyone is gone..."
Red whispered to herself. Last stop was the ruins. Red heared footsteps and chatter as she was walking. "oh no! Gotta hide somewhere!" she said startled. Red then hid behind a pillar. "(I hope no one will find and attack me,but if they do,im ready)" red thought as she held a grip on her cutlass.

[User]
Sansdyne
[/hr]
"I felt like Chen wasn't just any old goodie-two shoes. Oh, and maybe you wanna go to an anger management class, you seem to scowl a lot," I say, directing the last comment at Chen. I look at the end of the hallway, and I tried to teleport, but I was unable to. I grimaced for the first time. It almost felt natural, really. I looked back. "Uh, so, let's go then? It won't be too hard, you just need to walk... a long way," I say. But as I took my first step, I felt like a spinal cord in someone who has scoliosis, and I stumbled and fell down. It actually hurt, and it was the first time that I had ever felt that kind of a pain, and I shook a bit as I got up. "I kinda feel like a fish out of water," I say. At least I still had my puns.

Alphys
[/hr]
I had been sitting down, listening to the conversation. "I-I never meant to fire my weapon. I just knew that some of my friends were in that cave, and I didn't want them to... get hurt," I said sheepishly, picking at the grass and looking at the dirt in front of me. I looked up at Annie, and I said, "We do have definitive proof of someone going down there though. We just need to walk into the mouth of the cave, and I can show you," and I got up, turning towards the mountain again. "It should be easy. There'll be multiple sets of footprints," I explained, beginning to trek back up to the cave. "And Mettaton's down there, too, and he could probably give me a transmission through my phone. In fact, we could just call him right now!" I pulled out my phone, and I gave Mettaton a ring.


[System]
Age: 24

Height: 5'11"

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Occupation: Accountant

Personal Interests: Math, Science, Working Out, People

Fears: Feeling Alone, Drowning, Needles

Power: Polymath

Misc. Info: Abel grew up in a big city, used to its chaos as well as its comforts. He was always pretty good with math, having a natural talent. Naturally, he went to school planning to become and actuarial consultant. The idea of analyzing so much information and making decisions on risk based on the math fascinated him. Then at one point about halfway through college, as part of an internship he came down to Brisbane on business. The moment he got near the town, it seemed his ability with numbers had increased to a ridiculous degree. Not only that, but that first night while at a local college party he discovered this hidden hour. He met the Midnighters who filled him in. Fascinated by the subject he went back and finished school but with the intention to move here when he was done. He's been working in Brisbane as an accountant for two years now. He can't help but see the numbers in just about everything.

Sample:

Abel rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was dealing with this again. He had double checked his numbers, even though he knew he didn't need to. He'd proven time and time again that he didn't make mistakes (except for the ones he threw in on purpose to avoid drawing attention of course). Still the old man insisted that something had to be wrong here. Was it really that hard to believe he'd saved the car wash business THAT much money? No, but it sure was hard for the old man to believe Abel'd done something he couldn't.

Whatever, just three more minutes, no five minutes until he could get out of here. The office's clock was two minutes and fourteen seconds slow. Then again, he was a professional wasn't he? Not like he was gonna bolt out to happy hour with his friends the moment the clock struck 5, was it?

No, but at least Mr. Arnold seemed satisfied. Despite his impatience, Abel gave his boss a grin. "See, you just gotta trust me. When have I ever let you down?"

[User]
Tyler replies with a chuckle then a groan, "alright alright, just stop acting tough ok" he teases as he hobbles over to a wall to lean against.

"If you're gonna be keeping me prisoner you have to at least let me use your shower." He jokes as he looks around the apartment trying to guess which way leads to the bathroom. "And here I thought I was an individual, So just how many other guys like me have you kidnaped?" He tries to lightly pry a little.

His voice softens and goes serious, "But seriously thankyou so much for everything you have done."

[Assistant] Echo chuckled at the Seer's apprehension over Darklings. Wayfinders are the best! She thought, imagining herself running at full speed, Darklings in tow. A drop of adrenaline rushed through her at the thought. "You guys might need to be scared of a couple Darklings," Echo teased the group, "But I have nothing to worry about." The thought of ditching them to save herself scared her, she'd grown a sort of attachment to each of them in the year she was here. Echo glanced at the clock to take her mind off of things. 9 minutes to midnight, or at least on this clock. She knew that Brisbane High's clocks were 5 minutes fast and midnight would appear to arrive at 12:05 there. She hoped Danielle knew what she was doing when she sat the clock. Speaking of Danielle, Echo noticed that she was missing from the Cafe. "Did anybody catch where Danielle went?" she asked, getting up from the table she was at and going over to a booth to half-lay half-sit there.

[User]
"What? You think I can't be tough?" Danielle laughed softly, shaking her head. She opened a door near her which was a cupboard, filled with towels and things. She grabbed a towel, a washcloth, and some of those hotel shampoo and body wash things and handed them to him.

"I figure you don't want to smell like fiery passion." Danielle smirked at him, before leading him to the bathroom. It was small, but it had a decent sized tub and that's all she really cared about. When he asked her how often she did this, she shrugged.

"You're the first one I've kept prisoner at my apartment, most I keep prisoner within their own home, or down in the cafe while I try and figure out what's going on. You're just too big, and too injured, of an engima to let slip through my fingers." Danielle explained, as opened her shower curtain to explain the shower controls.

"So, pretty easy just turn the knob until it's warm enough for you and you change the pressure on the shower head, just turn the dorsel thing to the left or right." She explained before turning back to face him.

"Think you need anything else from me at the moment? I'll try to dig up some clothes that might fit you because I doubt any of my clothes will." She laughed, eyeing him up and down.

[Assistant]
"Haha, I'm sure you're very tough, hell I wouldn't want to mess with you."
"Fiery passion, so that's what that lovely smell is?" Tyler says with a flirty laugh.
He takes the things handed to him and listens to the instructions.
Afterwards he looks down at his shirt, it had become quite the tattered mess, blood stains, beer and who knows what.
"If you had anything that would be great, thanks." He gives Danielle a final nod, "actually I could probably use some help in here." He jokes just before closing the door and the sound of water rushing through the pipes ensues.

[User]
Ved
As most of the others, he had his own rituals for preparing himself for the extra hour. He had been waiting quietly in the time being, but exactly 13 minutes before midnight he went to work, starting from the feet up. He undressed down to his underwear behind the cafe bar, then removed 13 white cloth wraps of varying thickness from his inner hacket pocket and began to work. 13 wraps on each foot, calf, thigh, around his waist/hips, up his torso/chest, hands, forearms, and neck. Stepping from behind the counter, he slipped in his pure Malachite plug gauges, which finished his ensembale. Earth stones and 13 layers of 13 wraps. He would be safer that way, and more flexable. And frankly, the protective clothing was more than a bit flattering to his naturally lean form.

[Assistant]
@Ryuzaki

Aslynne rolled her bright blue eyes with a snort. "Can you at least not think so loud then? You're going to make me paranoid about Darklings. I'm already crazy enough, I don't need to start hallucinating." The images his mind screamed out all but smacked her in the face. Making her head pound all the harder.

'Wayfinders are the best!' She heard from Echo making Aslynne scoff out loud. "Yeah sure, the best until a Darkling figures out a way to match you in speed." Aslynne could imagine some of the old ones doing that. They never had a solid form and those freaky tendril things... she shivered at the thought of being touched by one of them. Her fears couldn't have been something normal like spiders or bugs, no she had to be afraid of fire... you know painful stuff.

"Danielle left to go pick up Tyler from jail, I can taste them, they're at her place, but she pushing it too close." Aslynne spoke up about Danielle. Nine more minutes until she could breathe without feeling like her head was about to explode. Aslynne got up to pace the floor of the cafe anxious like she always was about the impending blue time wanting that silence. Checking her watch literally every thirty seconds. "I'll go up and escort her and Tyler down if they're not here before Midnight. Best go check on them now though. Don't wait for us." Aslynne stood from her seat and grabbed her back full of weapons to climb the external staircase to Danielle's home, she could feel the relief of the acrobat's shower washing over him and she shuddered at the image it forced into her head. Rubbing her arms against the chill she took the stairs two at a time until she was before Dani's door.

Knocking and shifting the backpack over her shoulder she said loudly. "Hey! Dani, you're pushing it close let me in!"

[User]
"In your dreams!" Danielle called to Tyler before she went to go find him clothes. She managed to find a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants from a previous boyfriend that looked like they would fit Tyler. She set him in front of her bathroom door, just as she heard Azzy knock on her door.
"It's fine Az, I still got a couple minutes." Dani opened the door regardless, letting her friend into the apartment.
"You know me, I'm the pinicle of caution. I just have Tyler in my shower and it would be weird if I opened the door and left as he's in the shower. I figure the closer I get to midnight, the safer I am there. Besides, it's not like I'm miles away from my safe place." Danielle said, as she checked her clock. All of her clocks were exact, as she didn't want to be caught unawares of the time. She still had seven minutes left, and there was no need to be hasty.
"Is everyone else down there?" Dani asked, peaking outside to where her parking lot was.

[Assistant]
"Yeah, we're all downstairs. Ved is even all dressed and ready to go. For what I'm not sure exactly... Darklings and Slithers are at an all time low." Aslynne's eyebrows shot up to her hairline as if she had just remembered something. "I brought something for you." Her bag hit the floor with a light thump and Aslynne quickly pulled out the black steel Maglight. "I know you don't like going outside during the blue hour, but this should help in case you have no other choice." Aslynne held it out to Danielle, the weight of the cold steel was heavy. It would make a good weapon just to hit something with, but in the hands of the Fire Bringer it was life saving.

"In case I'm not around to beat those damn Slithers into submission." Aslynne's lips curled up into a silent snarl that could rival a Darkling Panther's at the thought of zapping those damn blood thirsty creatures with the sparkly blue fire metals seemed to give off. "Anyway, I don't think we're going to be going outside for a while tonight. We have a new member to 'initiate'." Aslynne did a pretty good imitation of Lee when she wanted to. It was almost scary.

[User]
"I'll try to think of things less...darkling?" He said unsure how to calm the focus he had now for her. She would just have to deal with it for now.

Lee was glad to hear that the two missing were on their way now. And he trusted Aslynne to go get them with little trouble. The hour grew closer and Lee could feel his eyes twitching a bit. The hour made his vision more sharp against the darklings. Everything appearing more clear as well as the Midnighters. There were a few here he hadn't met yet so he offered his introduction while he waited.

@Prints Avoid
He noticed Abel and Ved aside the counter. He walked over to greet them. "Hey there fellas. It's nice to know we have a polymath and metallurge among us." He said. "My name is Lee. Seer. I see and read things clearly that you cannot." He told them.

[Assistant]
Danielle smiled at Azzy as she took the maglite and put it on top of her tv stand.
"I'm surprised everyone is already here." Danielle said before she processed that there was a new midnighter in town. The only new person she knew of in town was currently in her shower.
"Well...he's currently in my shower. How do you propose I tell him he needs to get out so and that we need to meet in my cafe?" Danielle asked, with a raised eyebrow as she glanced at the clock.

[User]
@Dark Light

"Let me handle this." Aslynne said, briskly walking over to the bathroom door. Knocking loudly, and all but yelling, "Hey! Badass McGee. Time's up." Tyler's flash of fear tasted bitter on her tongue like vinegar before it ebbed to the sweet cane sugar taste of relief. "The shower is the worst place to be caught in at midnight around here."

Turning back to Danielle she said, "I'm a little surprised too, I don't think we've all be in the same place at the same time since we were kids. I don't even think Lee has met Ved and Abel and he's been here for four years!" Aslynne's strawberry blonde hair was braided down her back to be kept out of the way. A habit after a Darkling had almost killed her with it's grip on her hair when she'd been a child.

Blue eyes brightening at the thought that Midnight was almost here. "Three more minutes." She said to Danielle stepping over to the window that faced the street below. "I was hoping you wouldn't have to make a mad dash down the stairs."

[Assistant]
There was a crashing and a bang followed by a groan as the sound of water rushing through the pipes came to a squeaking halt. Ty could be heard grumbling within the room then suddenly the door creeked open just wide enough for his injury stricken face to pop through along with a billowing cloud of steam.

"Sorry, what's the rush?" He asks as he suspiciously eyes the clothes laid out for him before snatching them up and disappearing back into a cloud of steam closing the door behind him.

[User]
"Uh... yeah I think we met briefly way back during that first summer I was here." Abel responded to Lee, reaching out from his spot on the counter for a handshake. He remembered that night pretty well, despite having had a little to drink. Still, it had been enough to hamper his judgment. Luckily, it had been a relatively safe night and the other Midnighters had found him pretty quickly. Hopefully this Ty guy could handle himself. Lee's doom and gloom attitude was already getting to him. What was the guy so worried about? It was a relatively safe day. Nothing special in the numbers.

Abel sighed impatiently. "We gonna be waiting on this guy all night? He gonna be sticking around? I don't want to make a habit of this. We only have, what, three minutes to midnight?" He eyed the pipe sitting on the counter top next to him. He'd bought it off a confused plumbing crew on his way to work that morning. The proportions had caught his attention and were too beautiful to pass up. He rarely even had to deal with Darklings, but it was always good to have something on hand. Tonight, Hallucination was his something.


[System]
Race: Human

Age:???

Gender:Female

Appearance:

She keeps the visor down at all times, keeping her face out of view. There was an unmistakable three triangles under her left eye, a sign that many would associate with that 'Sith raider', though she was no Sith.

Personality: Calm, collected, level headed, not qualities any Jedi would typically associate with a Darksider like her, though she had no qualms about using the 'Light' or 'Dark' sides of the force. Due to her experience, she found the Jedi's view of the Force too narrow, and the Sith's too simple, for what she had seen and understood of the Force. As such, she has an automatic disdain for anyone calling themselves such, or having such notions as Light and Dark being good or evil. While she is normally silent, she may and will give out advice when the feeling strikes her, as she did to her raiders before all of them died spectacularly.

Occupation: Freelance Mechanic/Mercenary

History: There was once, an old 'Sith' raider, who commanded her group of raiders to prey upon anything and everything they could across the outer rim. While she was unaffiliated with the Sith, the general public usually makes no distinction between force users, just that they're force users. However, all of a sudden, she and her group disappeared, leaving no trace of what happened.

Sith, with their penchant and obsession with the past, caught her and her entire band, seeking to recreate, and improve upon Darth Plagueis' work, to manipulate the midichlorians to heal, rejuvenate their bodies. For that purpose they maimed them, with her, as their leader, suffering the worst of their works. Though their experiments were a spectacular failure, first rejuvenating everyone then spectacularly blowing them up from the sheer amount of energy they were producing, she managed to survive almost by sheer dumb luck alone, before salvaging what she could and finally escaping, aware that the experiment technically worked, and had granted her a younger form. She was unwilling to remain there and be anywhere near the experiment however; a group of Jedi coming after her was too much trouble for her to handle.

Shortly afterwards, a young girl appeared out of nowhere in the Outer Rim, joining up a mercenary band as a mechanic, though no one but the girl herself would have thought to connect the two events together. A necessary arrangement, for her own survival. As long as their machines and ship were well maintained, they cared little for the little thing wearing a mask at all times. Mercs were naturally used to having people hiding secrets after all. As a bonus, she liberated an old AV-1A assault armor collecting in their hold, though no one cared that she took it, perhaps due to them all being dead after a fight with another group of mercs.

Seeking to regain her fortune, she fixed up the armor as best she could, and left in search for a contract that would make her rich.

Equipment: Old AV-1A assault armor, customized and repurposed for her own use, a small panel of phrik(50cm by 70cm) she had intended to sell, ripped from the Sith machine, and a cruciform cortosis weave sword with a retractable blade.

Force Powers: She was more used to the more subtle parts of the force like absorbing energy, redirecting them, as well as the core, but she has a talent for force manipulation, keeping her own abilities hidden as well as outright wiping her presence in the force itself.

Skills: As a once feared force using raider, she was understandably proficient in most forms of conventional weaponries, and well versed in machines due to them not exactly being able to drop in on mechanics any time they please, but survival was what she was truly great in, perhaps due to her past.

Weaknesses: She was weakest without the bulky suit on her. Very long range engagements were also troublesome for her, especially since she lacked any ranged weapons. Surta also had lost her lightsaber to her capture. While her 'old self' had been missing for some time, the bounty on her head did not, and there were multiple bounties, from the Hutts, to the more reputable Republic, as well as slapdash ones in the cantinas.

[User]
(Former) Drug Factory

Between the screaming, blaster fire and explosions, Lahana almost didn't hear Gloopra speak to her. Orders, he wanted orders from her? Why? She wasn't the leader here, Jayce was. Why would he want orders from a padawan anyhow, he was doing fine on his own so far. Did her master put him up to this? Clearly she was being tested. An ally in bulky power armor created enough of a distraction to halt the bolts being fired towards her. "Help them, cover the left side, I'll take the right." She sprang up from behind cover and sprinted towards a man hap haphazardly shooting. She ducked under his fire and rose with a slash of her saber, then taking off before the man had time to even touch the ground. She kept moving forward, striking down anyone along the way. If Gloopra did his part along with the others still fighting then the remaining enemies would be forced to move towards the center of the warehouse where there was only minimal cover available. Eventually there were only four people remaining now, and three of them had thrown down their weapons to surrender. The fourth man was...

Lahana blinked, then narrowing her eyes at the man draped in a black robe. Had he been standing in the middle of the room the entire time? She hadn't even noticed his presence. Jayce moved from behind a smoldering machine damaged by blaster fire and walked up to the four men. "And here I thought all of you scumbags would be unreasonable, now how about we have a nice drive down to- oh come on!" he raised his rifle as one of the men pulled a pistol from his back, he grabbed the robed man and pointed the gun at his head. Lahana could have sworn she saw the robed man let out a sigh from under his hood.

"You're gonna let me outta here, I-I'm gonna walk out the back an-" The man suddenly stopped yelling his demands, his body shook as he dropped the gun and held his hands to his throat. The robed man grabbed the gun and stuck it in the man's mouth, then raising him from the floor. At the same time the other two men were locked in place as they grasped at their necks, desperate for air. Both of their necks simultaneously bent at an unnatural angle with a sickening crack and they fell to the floor lifeless.

"Now that was just rude, what if you had accidentally pulled the trigger? That can happen sometimes you know, I read an article about it." The robed man did just that, causing a bolt to sear through the man's skull. The gun was let go, causing the man to crumple to the floor as smoke poured from the back of his head. "Yesh, see, it'd have been really bad if that had happened to me..." The robed man let out a yawn as he looked over the three men's bodies. "I really hate it when the boss is right..." He mumbled to himself in a tired voice.

He turned towards Jayce and pulled back his hood, revealing a young human man. He had no particularly interesting features, he had short black hair, an unassuming face you'd easily miss in a crowd, and light tan skin. Well, there was one thing of note about him, something Lahana noticed. His eyes looked tired, just like hers. "Oh uh, sorry about that. I uhh..." He looked up and to his left at nothing in particular and was silent for a few awkward moments. "Feared for my life? Yeah, that's it."

"Sir, this man is a je- no, a force user. We need to be careful." Lahana spoke to Jayce, keeping her eyes on the man as he nonchalantly waved to the others in the room.

"I can... see that." Jayce said, keeping his rifle raised. "I'm going to have to ask you answer some questions." He said.

"Sure." The man responded. "My job here is kinda moot at this point. Oh, I'm Blank by the way. Welcome to Gamorria."

Enclave Zeta (Republic Base)

Match was taken aback by the sudden entrance of Anari. Commander Gallowin only raised a brow and Kale leaned back as if amused. Match took in what the woman said, assuming her to be a Jedi based on the door seemingly opening on it's own. He looked back to one of his guards and let out a short laugh. "I like this one." He said, nodding his head towards her. He looked back to her and met her eyes. "You are not wrong Jedi, The way I arrived was not the most subtle. However, would you believe me if I said it did not matter in the slightest how I came here?"

His expression turned more serious, and he addressed not only her but the others as well. "I may have eyes here and there in this city, but the ones that truly run this planet... It is as if the sun and moons are their eyes. I only stand before you right now because they allow it. They are well aware of me and my people's desire for order and peace. By coming here I have made it clear that we will no longer simply wish for order, but are taking action." He looked to the Senator. "I do not know how things were on your world, but I assure you the loss of life was guaranteed the moment I stepped out of my home. We are ready for war, what I need to know from you is, are you prepared for what it will take to win this war?"

(Former) Drug Factory

"Well, Blank, thanks for the warm welcome, but do know why we are here? You don't seem shocked to see us. And what the hell are you doing here?" Jayce said, lowing his rifle.

Blank scratched his head in thought for a moment. "You mean why you all are here in this warehouse, or why you're here on this planet? Well, you're in this warehouse because some of these idiots don't know how to keep their mouths shut... That and I'm assuming the smoke pouring out of the roof was kind of a giveaway. And uhh, you're on this planet to 'bring it to order.' Whatever that means." He let out another yawn and checked a digital screen on his wrist. "As for what I'm doing here, the boss said it was important I come here, didn't say why. It's usually someone much lower on the ladder that comes to pick up product. I can see why now though. He's gonna want a report on your abilities, shame there isn't much to say."

Lahana grit her teeth. "Sir, we can't let him escape, and capturing him alive will probably be impossible." She said. She drew her second saber, igniting the white and black speckled weapon.

"I'm afraid you're right." Jayce said, aiming his rifle once more.

"Now hold on, don't you have anymore questions for me? How about you guys?" Blank motioned to the group surrounding him.

[Assistant] "Not getting paid to ask you questions fool. Just be glad it isn't some rival gang that's here. You'd be dead." commented Valter as he walked up holding his rifle down at the ground. He had done his best to provide covering fire, and that had seemed to work. However with all of this happening it would seem that things were getting rather ugly. Things were progressing quick but at the expense of success. He remembered the days on Duro where he had to burn down an entire gang's club. It was ugly work, and none of them survived the night after all was said and done. It had sent a clear message to the enemies of Voja. "Someone keep an eye out there's a possibility there are enemies that didn't engage us still being nearby." Valter quickly stated as he scanned the nearby area trying to find some hint that something may be off.

[User]
The dust finally cleared out as the shooting and the explosions stopped. Jaida could see now what was happening in the warehouse once more. What she saw was... troubling. That man, she never saw him coming, at all. He wasn't among the men protecting this factory. Hell, from her vantage point she never even saw anyone approaching this building. How did he got there past her watchful eye?

What scraps of discussion she heard through her long-range audio frequencies, the robed man was speaking in vague terms. But the way he spoke, and his remarkless traits. This man seemed like a... ghost of some sort?

It was like the rumors. Tales amongst Gammoria's underworld of a man, or a woman even, who simply just seemed to appear and disappear at important locations. Whatever was the unknown entity's goals, no one really knew. Was he employed by some crime syndicate or was he working as a freelance mercenary? Most bounty hunters made names for themselves in this underworld of crime. But that guy, no one knew anything about him. Hell, some pissed off crime lords even put a hefty sum of credits on an faceless bounty, but Jaida never had been able to even start tracking thie shadow, to the best of her abilities.

But hearing what she heard, and watching what she seen, it seemed she finally found that ghost. And if he was really the man of rumors, then he had to be taken care of. Seeing him snap people's neck simply from force of will, it made the decision that more urgent.

"Copy that. No one in sight outside the building... yet." Jaida whispered to the Mandalorian warrior in her comlink, keeping her voice low as to not give away her hidden position.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman rose her sniper to eye-level, setting her sights on the would-be shadow of a Jedi. Then, she slowly let out a quiet breath as she pressed the trigger, sending a deadly beam howling towards the newcomer's head.

[Assistant]
She didn't like this at all.

Someone they didn't know, or was supposed to be here, admitting openly they're here to spy on them. Whoever this was, they were good. Perhaps even as good as she was. But, she would rather not out her abilities; Jedi did not take well to other force users, especially one that uses their abilities as freely as she did.

But... this was not her problem.

The Jedi was here, and thus there was no need for her to interrupt. Nor did she want to waste her time on needless things. Valter had the right idea however, and Surta simply gave a small nod to the merc as she brought the power armor to move out of the place, ignoring the feeling as Jaida tried to snipe the unknown person.


[System]
Age: 33

Race: Caucasian.

Sex: Male

Appearance: Carver stands 6'1" with short red hair, cutting an imposing figure when fully armored and attired. His skin is dry and wrinkled, owed to having lived his entire life in Atom's light, and his face both bear holy markings of Atom.

Skills: Like many of Atom's faithful, Inquisitor Carver is learned in the practical application of nuclear physics, and as a former Zealot, he is a skilled fighter, adept with rifles and grenades.

Personality: Carver is defined by his devotion to the Children of Atom, whom he has lived among for his entire life and served loyally and dependably. Although typically more content to be a follower rather than a leader, he is undated by the task he has been given- the Children of Atom are his family, and he will do his part to protect and discipline them when Atom requires it. His beliefs represent a compromise between the ideals of Martin and Tektus- Carver is not a pacifist and understands that the blood of the unrighteous must be spilled on occasion, but Division should nonetheless not be forced upon those who do not desire it.

Weapons & armor/clothing: Like Atom's Zealots, Inquisitor Carver carries a Radium Rifle and wears a pre-war marine wetsuit with a full suit of rusted Marine armor with Atom's livery. As befitting his station, he also wears an Inquisitor's cowl.

Occupation: Inquisitor of the Church of Atom, formerly Zealot of the Church of Atom

Faction: Children of Atom

Backstory: Ian Carver grew up in Megaton, the son of two followers of Atom. As an adult, he was part of Confessor Martin's congregation that journeyed to the north and discovered Atom's holy island. For the next few years, he served loyally as a Zealot first to Martin, then to Tektus. He followed his orders to the letter and did not question his superiors, even if he privately disagreed with what they did.

Some time after tensions with Far Harbor died down, Tektus appointed Carver to the station of Inquisitor, and tasked him with finding and reining in the fanatical followers of Atom in the Commonwealth, who had been causing problems in the area and ruining the Church's image. Whether this is a sign that Tektus has adopted a more peaceful stance overnight, or simply wants to gain influence and power in the Church, Inquisitor Carver will obey.

[User]
Steve Cooper- Salem

Ace leaned over and looked out the window, seeing the creature outside, "That's a horse. They are extremely rare… What is one doing out east? I only ever saw one out west and it was dying."

"Horse... strange name anyway I Found it by that apartment block over there..." Steve replied as he pointed to the apartment block "The previous owner, A women from the looks of it got shot and crawled in there, Mostly likely dead...I'll find her body tomorrow and give her a proper funeral, least I can do for the free and seemlying very rare "horse"."

Well maybe not tomorrow but eventually...

He squatted and grabbed a box of vegetables; he grabbed the carrots and handed them to the man, "Carrots ought to work, 5 caps each."

"I'll take five." Steve said as he took out a bag of caps from the inside pocket of his leather jacket, taking 25 caps out of that he paid Ace and took the carrots. Walking back to the Horse however Steve overheard the trader "Thomas Beauregard Sykes the III" attempt to flirt with the Young lady Steve had nicknamed "overcoat" due to her large overcoat

Chuckling it appeared the pleasure den had found its first customer "whoa there Romeo if you're looking for an good time may I suggest the pleasure Den, booze, drugs and women and best of the all caravan traders get a 10% Discount."

Steve then turned to Tom's Guards "That offer also applies for On-duty caravan Guards if Mister Tom here allows you to have a little break."

Overcoat then she nodded in Dr. Feelgood's direction. "Our last talk was...interrupted. And I grew tired of waiting, so I left. My apologies."

"No problem" Steve nodded back

Heading out of the dinner Steve approached the "Horse" As Ace had called it and held out the carrot, a short distance away from its mouth. The Horse seemed to be unsure what the orange vegetable was sniffing it a few times before eventually giving it a bite

Apparently liking the orange vegetable alot the Horse quickly gobbled down the rest of the carrot before attempting to feast on the others carrots that Steve was holding in his other hand, almost biting his hand off in the process.

"Well it definitely seems to like carrots." Steve chuckled

After feeding the Horse the carrots Steve looked up and noticed someone in a lab coat, presumably the Doctor Johnny had seen frozen on the spot, staring directly at the green super mutant Rook who was chatting to some new arrival

"Don't worry Doc he's a friendly super mutant." Steve sarcastically shouted down the street towards him.

Whilst looking down the street Steve also noticed but decided to ignore (for now) hotshot having a little roof time adventure, did she want a smoke that badly? Deciding to head back into the dinner Steve walked in just as the jukebox gave a news report of the minutemen's advance on the gunner's Boston compound.

The radio then returned to playing music. Ace smiled, "Well seems like the Minutemen are keeping themselves busy."

"Pttf...These Gunner morons have nothing compared to the Talon Company, Took all of the Brotherhood Tin-can forces, enclave tech and a surprise attack to take us out... these losers? Get beaten by a bunch of farmers playing dress up."

And they are led by that guy who won't shut up about settlements needing help... Hope someone shot him.

Sitting down at the counter Steve ordered some food "I'll have some of that Radstag and a Nuka cola, Dark if you have it."

[Assistant] Double post.... can someone delete this?

[User]
Shelby Jackson - Ace's Diner

Shelby glanced up, there were quite a few new faces in town, she sighed, there was one she still clung onto a strand of hope that would show up. Given how long it had been it was very unlikely that Emily would show. Out of the corner if her eye she saw Ace approaching, he sat down two glasses of water, "Well I see you're back from your trip Shelby, I don't see Brandy with you, what'd you do kill her and dump her body on the way?"

" Nah, she is probably doing that all in her own with that mutant, "She tried to be her normal smartass self, but her lack of enthusiasm showed. Ace let out a laugh and went back into the kitchen returning moments later with two steaming bowls.

"Here ya go, some radstag stew, pretty good if I say so myself. Have other stuff, but I recommend this, maybe I'll even let you have some pie, if you behave" Ace smirked as he said that.

Shelby finally grinned a little, "You mean you want some pie, " she actually laughed, "Lot's of new folks huh?" Then an emergency bulletin put an abrupt halt to the music and informed of a battle occurring.

Ace smiled, "Well seems like the Minutemen are keeping themselves busy."

"Yeah...it does," Shelby brought a spoonful of stew to her mouth and sniffed, "Shit does smell good Ace." She took the bite and savored the flavor of something she hadn't had in a long time, "It is really good Ace, thanks."

"Real good," commented Waylon while scooping yet another spoonful from his half full bowl, "Hits the spot man, I was starving."

"Guess so, you keep eating like and you'll end up a fat ass," Shelby replied before she took another bite.

[Assistant]
Brandy Brooks – The Wall

"Hello Brandy. Rook is Rook. Rook is friendly. Rook is also attempting to make wall for town. Rook needs to get food for tonight however, so he needs to stop work for now." Rook pondered for a moment. "Unless you are helping Rook, then he can keep working for now."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Rook, "She looked up at his eyes, "You…You have gentle eyes, they're warm." Brandy peered around Rook at the wall then back, "You moved all of this stuff by yourself?" She looked at the wall again, "HOLY CRAP, THAT IS AWESOME," her last words filled with astonishment. She looked at her hand in his large green hand; her hand couldn't even reach across his palm. "Thank you, what you have done already is AMAZING," she reached as wide as she could and gave Rook a hug, "Ya know, I just got back into town from The Sanctuary, needed some supplies." She looked up at Rook, "Some people will be scared of you, but I see the warmth in your eyes and I can tell…you won't hurt anybody." Brandy grinned ear to ear, "I know of one person we could prank, but we can wait on that. I'm kinda hungry myself. Why don't we eat and work on the wall in the morning, we can call it Rook's Wall."

Brandy looked around the coast and saw a shack, "Do you have electricity? I mean, if that is your shack that is? If not, I have an extra generator and with the shack that close to the water I can give it to you to power your shack if you'd like? I have a couple extra desk fans too, might help ya sleep when it's hot out."

[User]
Inquisitor Carver - Kingsport Lighthouse

Inquisitor Carver listened carefully to Brother Quaid's response, weighing every word.

"My congregation suffers from a constant lack of supplies, a problem we must address ourselves and solve to our own satisfaction. " Quaid broke eye contact with the Inquisitor for a moment, "Though it is not a major issue and certainly not one the High Confessor need concern himself with."

A potentially suspicious answer, one bearing further investigation...

"Our main issue is the one of our defense, the Commonwealth is a violent place, unlike the Capital Wasteland it has not been swept clean of its raider clans and mutant dens. We must defend ourselves." Quaid nodded as if to himself, "And it is for this reason that we have sometimes taken to arms against the unbelievers. Faith alone cannot protect you here, you must have firepower." Quaid spoke while now looking Carver straight in the eyes.

He's not wrong, the Inquisitor mused as he briefly thought of the Island, and the myriad dangers that he served to protect his brothers and sisters from.

"As far as our relationship with the locals I can say it is strained at best, they may not look it, but every settler in the region is a raider when food gets scarce. Our retaliation against them is no doubt the source of these rumors. They have suffered Atom's justice and though complain that the judgement was unfair or too harsh." Quaid continued, leaning forward.

"Who are they to judge our God? And our vengeance?" Quaid asked.

Carver paused for a few moments, considering his words. Again, a sentiment that isn't wholly untrue. Raiders were, after all, merely simply confused people trying to survive, and even seemingly normal settlers can do terrible things when confused or angered. The Inquisitor had witnessed this firsthand, and could vividly remember the turmoil that gripped his congregation when Brother Andrews was murdered by the settlers of Far Harbor.

"I assure you, brother," he began, "We are all too familiar with such things. Fear and desperation has a way of pushing even normal men and women into doing terrible things, and we must always be vigilant lest we become their prey." He paused for a second, then stood up. "I thank you, brother, for enlightening me of the challenges your congregation faces. This is all I require from you at this moment."

He stepped out of the lighthouse and turned his gaze towards the crater to the north, where many of the congregation resided, including Abraham. It would be a good location to continue his investigation. While Carver had some suspicions about Brother Quaid, he could not jump to conclusions- it was his duty to investigate this matter thoroughly, all while concealing his own thoughts of the matter behind a physical mask of cloth and metal and a mental mask of detached professionalism.

On the other hand, Abraham's presence presented a unique opportunity. If Carver approached him as a brother and associate and not as an Inquisitor, he could perhaps learn more than approaching him as a cold authority figure. Additionally, Carver wasn't perfect- this duty could be spiritually taxing, and simply speaking to a brother as a fellow child of Atom could prove a welcome relief.


[System]
Age: 24
Physical Appearance: Valerie's appearance seems very well put-together, almost embodying her background of nobility with a soft delicateness offset by steadiness, confidence, and inner strength. She has fair, unblemished skin, pale blue eyes, and long, dark brown hair most often secured in a low bun with a moderate amount of loose strands flitting about her face. Her height is a few inches on the tall side, and her physical build is slim and lithe, with subtle muscling visible where her clothing hugs her body. Obviously not a powerhouse of strength, but capable and in excellent condition.

Armor/Clothing: Her light-weight gear functions well enough with her style of combat and of fashion, and indeed, she finds the blend of noble elegance with mercenary ruggedness somewhat appealing, and some part of her even desires to stand out clearly from common sellswords. The high quality tailoring and craftsmanship speaks volumes about her history, or at least gives away that she wears clothes and gear more expensive than a common mercenary and adventurer just starting out should be able to afford.

Starting with her upper body, Valerie wears a long-sleeved and thin undershirt close fit to the point of a second skin. Over this she wears some actual protection, in the form of a light but sturdy leather breastplate to protect her heart and lungs. It was custom tailored for her and fits extremely well, secured around her neck and lower back. It cuts off just below her ribs, sacrificing some protection for the sake of full flexibility and range of motion.

Her leggings are closely fitted and comfortable linen, with some extra layering of leather around her thighs, hips, and waist to better protect her upper legs. Buckled loosely around her waist is her sword belt, as well as a decorative sash of dark blue silk with golden floral patterns. The sash flutters down from her right hip, partially concealing the hilt of the long, thin dagger sheathed there. Her boots are made of soft leather, designed more to be comfortable than tough, and are buckled below the knee, and again at the ankles.

Under her clothing she wears a pendant with the snowflake emblem of her family, secured on a very thin golden chain.

Weapons: Valerie's primary weapon is a thin, extremely sharp sword, most suited for dueling engagements but functional enough in other styles. It packs a surprising bite, given how quickly Valerie can strike with it, either thrusting or slashing, and can pierce many armor types. It's not a fragile weapon, either, and can block or parry incoming strikes if she needs to. Valerie can wield it with either hand (technically right handed, but she's very ambidextrous) or with both for added strength.

Her sidearm is a long, thin knife at her right hip, which she can wield in either direction front or back, but will only do so in the event that she is somehow disarmed of her sword.

Combat Overview: Speed, decisiveness, grace, and fluidity define Valerie's style. She's very well trained in the use of her weapon, and knows well how to make the most of situations with skillful deflections that turn blows aside rather than stopping them cold, and open up holes in her opponent's defenses for her to exploit. Her offense is swift and precise, and rarely forces her to overextend on the attack and expose vulnerabilities. On the defensive, Valerie is light-footed and agile, able to dodge most attacks lacking swiftness, while parrying attacks strong in speed but lesser in strength. And while she prefers single combat, she's both swift and aware enough to handle multiple enemies of lesser skill simultaneously. At full strength, Valerie is a deadly enemy to fight, with the speed and precision to turn small mistakes from her opponents into lethal ones.

She still has significant weaknesses to overcome, most stemming from her overall lack of actual experience in battle as opposed to rigorous training. Underhanded tactics can catch her off guard, and fighting hand to hand or grappling are both particular weaknesses of hers. Her physical endurance has not often been tested, and her choice of extremely light armor doesn't help much when she ends up getting hit. Despite her determination, she can only endure a limited number of wounds.

Personality: On the outside Valerie is quiet, calm, composed, an excellent picture of nobility. Inwardly she feels very passionately about causes she puts herself behind, something that can sometimes show in the heat of a conflict. She's quite sociable and kind with the majority of those she encounters, and tends to be both understanding and forgiving of others. She does, however, retain some aspects of her upbringing, and is just a touch vain.

Her morals are quite strong, and indeed drive her to do things that have little benefit for her to offset the risk. She believes the position of power she was born into gave her a responsibility to help those beneath her, rather than a right to rule over them.

History: Valerie is the third child of four of the wealthy and powerful Winter family of the kingdom of Ardennia, and the only daughter. While not in line to rule the kingdom, her family watched over a large swath of diverse land with farms, towns, forests, rivers, and small mountains. Her kingdom, however, had an expansionist king with dreams of conquering their northern neighbor and expanding his domain. After years of military swelling and building of tension, war was declared following a loosely conceived insult against them, likely fabricated for an excuse to attack.

The Winter family was called, and answered. Valerie and her brothers had been trained among other things in the art of war, and were to serve as commanders of varying levels in the army. Valerie, however, refused the call, bringing some shame upon her family and soon forcing her to leave her home. She traveled far from her kingdom's borders, using her honed skills with the sword to pay her way in adventuring, which she took to naturally. Her experience thus far is limited, but it has served to build up her confidence, and reassure her that she made the correct choice in leaving her home behind.

[User]
Markus nodded, looking at her as if for the first time. He placed a hand on her shoulder and met her gaze. "We will do this." He even believed it, as crazy as it was. "Let's head in and eat." he offered. The rest of their date (?) was quite fun, and a bit less serious than introductions. Perhaps it was the small bit of Ale, but perhaps not. They filled their bellies, and Markus walked Valerie to the Inn, chatting idly.

They grabbed two rooms for the night, and both slept fair enough. Perhaps one or both of them had a bit of nerves and stayed up a bit, but for the most part they found they could function the next day. The rooms had single beds, with a desk and a hearth for a fire. There was a small room with a bucket of water and a drain, along with a cloth for washing. When Valerie awoke, she'd find a note. It was written in flowing script.

Meet me at the North edge of town near the marketplace. We're probably going to need some supplies. I know just the place to grab them.
-Markus

The common room was busy, with the bright sun now peering through the windows as men called for more sausage and eggs. It was hearty, but somewhat less energetic than last night in the Tavern. Just waking up sore will do that to you. The air was crisp and cool, not quite heated by the sun just yet. As one would leave the Inn, there would be a line of buildings before you, but to the left on the cobblestone road, there was a corner that ran into a wider road northward, that curved to the right as one followed it to a wider courtyard that bustled with the activity of peasants and workmen. Just at the mouth of the wide street, to the right beside a few vendors, was Markus and Eloryen.

The Swordmage's thick, unkempt hair was still a bit wet. Probably from the bucket of water in his room. He was outfitted in his leather and chainmail, and his sword was sheathed and on the ground next to him. He had bent over to tie his boots. The Elf was in a tattered frock coat and twirling a flute between his fingers. As Valerie would approach, she would begin to hear their conversation.

"Ah, so you've finally decided to kill yourself." Eloryen said sarcastically. "I was wondering when that was to transpire."
"I take it that means you're not joining us then?" The Swordmage asked casually as he tied his boots.
"You know, I would. But I like living."
"You would not risk life and limb for fair maiden's heart?" Markus joked and with an amused smile.
"How could I enjoy that when I'm dead. Besides, I'm more interested in the fair maiden's-" Eloryen almost stammered when he noticed Valerie approaching. "-kind smile!" Markus had his hand on his mouth now, trying not to laugh and shaking his head.

The dark eyed young man stood up to his full height, broad shoulders but slim. He had a sly smile on. "Hey, that charm. Is that an Elvish trait or is it unique to you?"

Eloryen's glare shot daggers at Markus, but then he sighed. "When in doubt, play a tune." he replied, exasperated. He pulled out his flute, and gestured for Markus to go.

Markus laughed, and then mocking the courtly behavior of his previous life, he offered Valerie his arm. A light danced in his dark eyes, and his tone was low. He winked just in case, to let her know he was doing this for Eloryen's benefit, and as a private joke between them. "Shall we, m'lady?"

The tune of the flute flowed from Eloryen behind them.

[Assistant]
Valerie reached up to squeeze Markus's hand with her own when he placed it on her shoulder, and offered him a small, closed-lip smile in thanks. She took the encouragement to heart, starting to believe her own words about how they could handle the job with little trouble. At the very least, they didn't have to depart right now. She was eager to fill her belly and get as good a night of rest as she could.

It was no private bath, the likes of which she'd had access to in her childhood home, but washing herself of the dirt, sweat, grime, and blood of the day was incredibly relieving. It was something she'd noticed more and more since leaving home behind: what she had at her disposal from town to town was very much inferior, but her appreciation for each bit of it, from the food to the drinks to the chances to wash to the company she came across, was far greater. Risking her life had a way of magnifying the value of the little things.

She found Markus's note quickly after she awoke, slid under the base of her door. The nervousness began to coil back into her belly as she dressed herself and strapped on her gear, but she didn't dwell on it, focusing instead on the smallest of things. Making sure her boots were tightened properly, checking her range of motion after tying on her breastplate, losing herself in the pattern on the sash around her waist. She buckled on her swordbelt, tied up her hair, and headed out the door.

A quick breakfast from the inn was all she felt she needed to get going, and when she was out in the cool morning air she headed north as directed, finding her way towards the little town's marketplace. She did indeed catch the end of the conversation Markus was having with Eloryen, noting his lack of faith in their chances, among his other comments, before the elf cut himself off.

"Have any interest in the fair maiden's sword?" she asked, though only half serious. "She just sharpened it this morning, and she wouldn't mind introducing you." She didn't mind the joking name. After all, she still carried more of the noble girl's appearance than Markus did of his former life, if indeed he'd ever been that way. And she'd been called far worse on some of her first contracts by men with intentions that were actually dreadful.

She took Markus's arm, and smiled back at the elf as they departed. "Don't be jealous of the coin we collect on our return, now."

[User]
Eloryen opened an eye at her last comment, and he watched them leave. Markus gave the Elf a wink as they walked, arm in arm. The Swordmage looked very much satisfied with the morning. The sun was just starting to heat the day up a bit, its rays warming the two young Mercenaries as they strode casually through the throng of people. It seemed the market place was just now beginning to bustle.

"I figure we'd need to grab a few things before we head on." he told her, glancing her way with an easy and pleasant look on his scarred, youthful face. "I know a good place to grab whatever we'd need. Maybe get some good gossip too." The two had now found they were near the back of a few stalls. A small alley between the stalls and the stores that led to the greater courtyard proper.

"Watch your head." he told, indicating the low beams set by the back of the buildings. After they had ducked under the first beam, he looked to her and met her eyes. "Hey, I had fun last night." The mercenary said it casually, but he looked quite earnest. "I'd like to do it again sometime, you know, when we're not-" he ducked again. -fighting for our lives." @Luminosity

[Assistant]
It felt like an odd time to be asked on another date. And there was little point trying to argue it was anything else. Their flirtatiousness may have been joking for the elf's sake, but it came naturally enough to both of them, unless Markus was a particularly skilled actor, which Valerie did not believe to be the case. Honestly, she couldn't tell if the distraction from the thought of risking her life later in the day was welcome, or if she'd be better off putting it aside. Her childhood instructor in swordplay came to mind, urging her to focus on the matter of life and death at her hands, and not on anything else. At the time it had been her brothers and friends watching, but she could just as easily hear him now, warning her not to let her wild heart get in the way of what she had to do to survive.

"I had fun, too," she said, smiling back, though she withdrew her arm from his, hooking her thumbs under her belt instead. She hesitated for a moment. "I'd... yes, I'd love to do it again, once this is dealt with."

She found she couldn't stop herself, but she wasn't really sure why she wanted to. Was it poor timing? Valerie wasn't sure if there was ever going to be good timing, at least not as her old life stood. Markus was no proper match for a trueborn noble girl, likely no one out here was. But then, Valerie was not in that life anymore, and it was yet unclear when or even if she could return. And for the moment she was still trying to learn how to navigate this new life.

For the moment, she could focus on supplying herself. Her rucksack was a little light, with not enough food for more than a few days on the road. Come to think of it, she didn't really know what she'd need for being in the wild a prolonged time, having never taken a contract that required it.


[System]
Runan Isles Savior Corps

---

Established in the wake of Westwel's destruction, the Runan Isles Savior Corps is by no means the most impressive program on Illun, but it's well-funded and well-run by a few survivors of Westwel's own Corps.

Character Info

Name – Besca Darroh
Age – 35
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Originally from Westwel, Besca Darroh has been around Saviors her entire life. Her grandfather had helped fell the Modir who would become "Dragon," and her father had headed Westwel's burgeoning Savior program. She met dozens of pilots, watched as their connection to the Modir ate away at their minds and bodies. Other nations treated their pilots like a resource to be burned through, kept at arm's length in all but public affairs. Besca, however, went out of her way to engage with Westwel's pilots and even piloting candidates, caring after them with a degree of humanity which was, frankly, missing in the programs of other nations. Her methods were derided as frivolous and naïve by her peers, but the pilots appreciated it, which, to her, was all that mattered.

She lost many things in Westwel's fall; her home, her father, her friends, and no small piece of her faith in humanity, but ironically enough she didn't lose her job. When Runa took in her country's refugees, and subsequently acquired their first Savior, they came to the last living member of Westwel's program for help in founding their own.

Nowadays, Besca doesn't often involve herself in the politics of the program. Technically speaking she isn't even chief of operations—a position occupied by the Runan government—but rather, her duties revolve around "pilot maintenance." While she hasn't lost her desire to make life easier for the pilots, she isn't nearly as incorrigibly optimistic or sunny as she once was.

Character Info

Name – Dahlia St. Senn
Age – 18
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Dahlia was a toddler when her home was destroyed by the Modir, spirited away from Westwel in the arms of a family friend. She spent the first fourteen years of her life in the quiet, lakeside town of Hovvi. She was, like many children, absolutely enthralled by the Saviors, so when she tested positive and was whisked away into orbit, Dahlia thought her dream had come true. She missed her friends, and her adoptive father, but this was her opportunity to do something important. This was her chance to help.

She had no idea.

Runa's Savior, Dragon, had not been phased by a single pilot until Dahlia entered the cockpit. With its potential finally unleashed, she was able to end invasions within minutes—which was crucial, because she couldn't remain connected for much longer than that before the giant's neural regeneration reached critical levels.

Dahlia has become Runa's WMD, and as such, she actually doesn't pilot as much as she did before R.I.S.C. acquired its two other Saviors. Besca has become rather protective of her, not wanting to risk putting her in situations where she may be forced to over-exert herself, or risk being overtaken.

Character Info

Name – Hadrian Ghaust
Age – 38
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Hadrian Ghaust is Helburke personified. He is strong, unrelenting, stoic to a chilling degree, and utterly devastating in the cockpit. Ghaust is also a veteran pilot, having commanded the Savior Marrowman in service of the Helburken crown for 20 years, and despite a phasing speed so slow that he rarely deigns to use his magic at all, he was well on his way to becoming one of his country's most accomplished pilots.

However, Ghaust's priority has always been the fight against the Modir, and Helburke's clamor for political power is something he viewed with silent disdain. To him, using Saviors to settle diplomatic disputes isn't just wasteful, it's shameful. So, when Helburke ordered him to bring Marrowman to bear against the newly-risen Runa's Dragon, he refused. When, then, he was given the ultimatum of going through with the duel or forfeiting his rank and position, he looked his general in the eye, ripped the pilot's medal from his collar, and left his home behind.

Overnight Ghaust was made a Pariah in Helburke, and his home turned against him. He was forced to leave, and though several foreign programs sought him out, Ghaust denied them all, even passing up a pilot's seat in Eusero. Instead, he went straight to the burgeoning program in Runa, who was more than happy to take him.

Character Info

Name – Safie Calhan
Age – 22
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

R.I.S.C.'s newest pilot, Safie has spent the past year earning her place at Dahlia and Ghaust's sides. Born and raised in Runa's largest city, Queenshand, Safie was one of countless starry-eyed youths who dreamed of the day she'd get to step inside the cockpit of a Savior. A positive connection-test put her on the path, but it was the months upon months of personal training, rigorous study, and nights spent running sims until dawn that pulled her ahead of the other aspirants. With a phase potential speed just above average, she was a perfect fit between Runa's other two pilots.

While Dahlia has accrued something of a heroic mythos about her, she's often reclusive and hesitant to make many public appearances. Safie on the other hand loves to meet the people she's helping, be that with personal visits, answering fan-mail, or simply getting her hands dirty cleaning up after the messier invasions. Some see her approach as distinctly Euseran, but Safie didn't become a pilot for the attention, she became a pilot because it was the right thing to do.

Character Info

Name – Lucis Abroix
Age – 25
Affiliation – Casoban, on loan to the R.I.S.C.

Casoban's sole effort to save Westwel, while ultimately futile, planted the seeds of goodwill between it and Runa. Casoban has always lived in the influential shadows of Helburke and Eusero, but allied with Runa, the two manage a strong presence on the world stage.

As a show of solidarity, Casoban has even begun sending a Savior of its own as backup to Runa's invasions. Enter: Lucis Abroix.

Lucis is perhaps one of Casoban's most beloved pilots, despite having only a handful of deployments to his name. Handsome, personable, with a poetic flare and the voice of an angel, many people back home already consider him the face of Casoban's Savior program—a role he is more than happy to play. Lucis makes regular public appearances, seemingly never missing an opportunity to espouse his love for the beauty of the world, and his burning desire to protect it from the Modir.

[User]
It was strange, the more Quinnlash spoke, the more she revealed about herself, the less Roaki felt like she knew her. There were gaps in her story, but they didn't feel intentional, they weren't lies like she was used to, they were omissions of…grief? Anger, maybe? She didn't know, she wasn't used to seeing people act like this. She'd heard them break down over comms, she knew what pathetic sounded like, and while Quinnlash certain didn't sound like the warrior she'd been in Casoban, Roaki couldn't bring herself to see this display as weakness.

What she did recognize was self-loathing. Roaki hated Quinnlash, instinctually in the way a hunter hated its prey, but also deeply and personally. She knew hate, she was good at hate. She'd clocked it perfectly at the Henkersmahl and she was reading it just as clearly now.

No one hated Quinnlash Loughvein more than Quinnlash Loughvein.

"So we started to lean on each other. And Besca took care of us, so we both leaned on her."

"We're a family now, that's all."

Roaki sucked air through a tight cage of teeth. Days in the cold, too tired and beaten to muster anything more than a glower and curt words, had dulled her. It was whole moments before she realized just how furious she suddenly was. Fucked that she didn't have the energy—or the means, really, anymore—to do anything with it. She could still hardly sit up without the aches and exhaustion laying her out flat.

It should have been great news. Quinnlash was doomed, hopelessly and completely. It might take weeks, or months, or maybe years, but if what she'd said was true—and more and more, Roaki was starting to doubt that Quinnlash knew how to lie at all—then there was no avoiding it.

So why did she feel so compelled to warn her?

"You're a moron," she spat, unable to stop herself. Idiot, you're helping the girl who killed you. But she went on. "They don't need you. They hate you. They'll turn on you the second they get the chance, and if you let them do it because you think you need them too, then you're a moron. You don't need them."

It was true. Quinnlash Loughvein didn't need anyone. Roaki was so sure of that.

"You're strong. People are afraid of that—even if they say they aren't. If you let them, they'll take all that strength away from you. Know where you'll be then? Six feet under. Or worse, you'll be right where I am. Fuck's sake, don't…" her jaw clenched so tight it popped. "If you're gonna beat me, don't be me."

[Assistant]
Quinn sat stock still, frozen in place, stunned by the sheer force of the fury that was now pouring out of Roaki.

And anger rose to match it within her. Both her own, and the deep and seething rage that she recognized as Quinnlash's. How dare she say that about her—their—family? The sudden surge of fire that burned bright and hot through her body drew a harsh gasp from her during Roaki's speech. And it wasn't just anger, but a complex cocktail of anger, self-loathing, searing guilt, and—even worse—a nagging doubt.

Maybe it was true. Maybe they didn't need her. Maybe they were lying to her, and they really did hate her.

She fought to wrangle it all down, but it was stubborn and would not be silenced quickly. For the first time she was glad that Roaki wasn't looking at her, so she couldn't see Quinn's face struggling to settle itself against all her instincts.

But fought it she did. Struggle to settle it she did. This wasn't like the Henkersmahl. This wasn't Roaki trying to provoke her. By the time she'd finished speaking, Quinn had managed to force the anger back down into the pit in her head that it so desperately wanted to crawl back out of, ignored Quinnlash's boiling resentment. And though that powerful urge drained out of her, the rest—guilt, fear, doubt, self-hate—remained. Then the last thing Roaki had said seeped in through the cracks:

If you're gonna beat me, don't be me.

So it was Roaki's family that had done this to her? Quinn couldn't think of any other reason for her to react so violently to just the mention, just the thought, of the word. Another painful piece of kinship between the two of them, it seemed. That hurt, that scarring that they each bore on their shoulders, it all came from the same source, didn't it? Why? Why did these things need to happen? To her, to Roaki, why, why, why? It wasn't fair!

Trying to ignore her inner turmoil, Quinn's voice when she spoke was quiet, so quiet—a stark contrast to Roaki's—and only shook the smallest bit. "It's my turn to ask a question. Remember, you don't need to answer if you don't want to."

And now, finally, Quinn got the chance to ask the question that she'd wanted to ask since the beginning, the one that she'd tried so hard to work around to, though now she was almost afraid to know the answer.

"What do you mean, 'be you?'"

Her clamp on the storm of negativity inside her was creaking and straining, and she could feel heat building around her eye as her voice's trembling grew stronger. Still, she kept it as gentle as she could.

"What did your—what did they do to you, Roaki?"

[User]
"…What did they do to you, Roaki?"

She didn't know, at first, and in a way that was funny. So many years of pain, and ridicule, and shame, and yet she was hard-pressed to recall, in detail, anything specific. There were flashes in her memory, of her cramped room, of the cold stone floors of the castle. She remembered meal after meal eaten alone, listening to the rest of them above her, speaking of their futures, and their duties to the family. She could see their faces—the sneers, the disgust, the pity. She could feel the hollow pit in her stomach when they'd stopped calling her 'sister'.

Before it all, the silence had eaten at her, but eventually she realized it was more that it was cocooning her. The burn, she knew, was her body melting away, so that it could reform again as something greater, something terrifying and beastly.

And she remembered the first night, after it was done. The silence didn't burn anymore, because even in the dark, if she shut her eyes, she could see him sitting up there at the table, alone. Alone, because she'd made him that way.

For too brief a time, he finally knew what it was like.

Roaki looked up, not quite to Quinnlash's eye, but close. Close as she could get. So close. "They doubted me," she answered coldly. "And they were right anyway, but when I'm hanged it won't matter. Nothing can undo what I did. The whole world'll know that if I'm weak, then the mighty House Tormont, Sword of Aridea, Bane of Aridea, fell to a weakling."