[System]
"Beauty's only skin deep? Bah. Tell that to this lovely kidney~"
Nicknames/Aliases:She's garnered many over the years, mostly from bullies. But she does like the nickname Nightie.
X-Men Code Name: Stitches
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Physical Description: At about 5'4" and 96 pounds, it's not exactly wrong to say that Florence is a rather frail individual. She doesn't have many curves to her body, something that she somewhat resents along with her height. Her skin is deathly pale due to a near constant avoidance of the sun, which leads to her becoming sunburned quite easily. Her eyes are a bright hazel/green depending on the light and are also somewhat small. Florence's face and features show her half Asian heritage. Her hair is platinum blonde, but she likes to partially dye it brown because she doesn't like how bright it is naturally. Typical clothing include t-shirts with red crosses, a brown or black leather jacket, and a pleated plaid skirt. She wears small, thin-rimmed black glasses with rubies embedded in the hinges.

Mutations: Florence was born with telekinesis and an unnaturally high intellect for a human being. Unfortunately for her, she never had the same kind of almighty telekinesis as others. Her telekinesis was limited to about an arms length, maybe a foot or two more, in front of her and behind her. All things considered, that sounds like it should be highly useless, but there is a saving grace. Her telekinesis has several modes of operation, or so she says. This has yet to be proven, as she refuses to show. And along with that claim, it is confirmed that her telekinesis has a quantifiable enhance in strength and general force. Probably as a result of being short-changed on range. Although she hasn't managed to do it, she reasons that eventually she might be able to shift around someone's organs if they're very close to her. She has not attempted however, as she doesn't want to do it and accidentally rupture anything.

Her intellect is genius level, perhaps a bit lower on the scale but still superhuman. She graduated out of school quite early in life and has a great grasp on higher level maths, a couple of languages, and human anatomy down to a T. Her intellect was boosted greatly around the time of her mutant awakening, throwing her brain into overdrive for a short while. Unfortunately, it seems that around the time of her awakening she was also inflicted with a bit of slight intense psychological instability as well as a lack of inhibition.

Personality: As previously mentioned, Florence is a bit... unstable. It's very easy for her to change emotions on a dime, and can switch back and forth between moods so fast that it can even surprise her. When she's not flipping back and forth between several emotions like a crazed dog that hasn't seen a human in several years, she's usually a very cheery and smile-filled individual who has a tendency to be quite playful. Unfortunately, she can be a bit too rough with her play and can end up seeming a bit creepy as well. Florence, since her awakening, has had a deteriorating sense of inhibition and she finds it much easier to be open with others as well as reaching for personal goals.

She takes an odd amount of enjoyment from the human body, enjoying showing off her expertise with anatomy by pointing out specific muscles and bones, as well as major arteries. Another quirk of hers is to point her hand out in a finger gun position and say "Bang" quietly when someone gets near her. Never really explained by her. Florence is very, very nervous and paranoid about being attacked or taken away in her sleep and as such, tends to deprive herself of sleep for days at a time. She also suffers from sleep-walking and typically ties herself down before she goes to sleep.

Background: Florence had a rather normal life growing up. She went to school like any other kid, but as she got older and older her mother took note of her daughter's intelligence and began to push her somewhat to do more with what she had. Piano lessons, advanced placement, skipping grades. And, honestly, Florence was happy with it. She wanted to be a doctor more than anything, to help people, to cure illnesses previously considered incurable. Then she awoke.

When her mutant power awoke itself, in the middle of her college education, she freaked out for days on end wondering what it would mean for her. Her career, her future. But as days passed, she found more and more that she didn't care about her career much anymore. She wanted to further explore her abilities, but wanted to do so that'd be safe for her. After doing some online searching, she found out about Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. However, upon attempting to find more information about it, she was redirected several times to Ashford's Institute. Deciding that that might be her best chance (and it was closer, gas money and all that), she enrolled in the school as quickly as she could and has since settled in somewhat. Although day by day, she continues to deteriorate mentally.

Recap of your mutations awakening: Kids are cruel, man. Florence knew that better than anyone, she thought. One day she was sitting in her school's courtyard, eating her lunch by herself to avoid conflict with her fellow students when she felt something hit the back of her head, hard. When she turned around, she saw one of the girls that'd been bothering her since she arrived at the school with a handful of rocks. She attempted to simply avoid conflict and smile the girl away, but the she wasn't having it.

As soon as she turned around another rock was thrown at her head. And when she attempted to ignore the girl in the hopes that she'd just get bored, another rock. After 3 or so rocks and the back of her head becoming sore, Florence could no longer take it. She turned around to scream at the girl, but as soon as she did another rock came whirling at her face. She braced for impact as fast as she could but expressed shock when she didn't feel intense pain in the following moments. When her eyes opened, the girl was staring in a wide-eyed fashion as the rock stopped itself in mid-air and crushed itself to dust. Almost immediately, Florence ran to the infirmary to be sent home early on the grounds of hallucination.

She found out a few days later that it wasn't a hallucination.

[User]
He blinked and looked down at Nate before smacking him in the back of the head. "Dios Mios, My mom is Mexican remember...I'm mexican" He said before laughing sitting down in a chair and kicking up his feet. "and your shitty at making it look like your comfortable. I think people getting mugged look more relaxed then you" He said as he tossed that oil and grease covered rag at Nate "I may hate people, at least I can hide the fact I want to choke them out." he said as he started to look around the the room.

 He watched as some more people walked into the lounge. A red haired girl fallowed by another guy(Jake), another girl who walked in and seemed to be watching everyone(Dani), he watched her watching people as he smiled "al menos las chicas son lindas." He said as he had a rather stupid grin. He looked almost child like as he looked over at her cousin "How bout it Nate, we can get you a girl. Maybe some one into all that dark moody shit you like." he said smiling as he relaxed a bit, he was quite for a moment before looking over at his cousin and speaking though his voice was softer. "Take the opportunity Nate, you finally escaped your mother. Vive en sus propios términos." he standing up shoving his hands in his pocket. "Live on your own terms." he said before walking off, giving a bit of a salute with two fingers "Later Nate" he said walking off He figured he should take a shower and get some of the grease and oil off before the shindig.

[Assistant]
When he'd first arrived, Jackson had had his priorities straight. After hopping buses for nearly two days to get here, he'd felt grimy and unkempt (and not to mention trapped). He had immediately sought out a staff member and expressed his need to settle into a dorm immediately so he could clean up, grateful beyond words when she had understood and passed him off to a much sterner man. Some basic rules were laid out with a "here's a pamphlet, now hit the showers" leading to the professor's abrupt departure. The best part? Jackson didn't smell like the bus anymore. No buses, no cigarettes, and no crying babies. Just Jackson and his new college life...or so he told himself. The institute catered to mutants of all ages, so maybe it would feel more like high school all over again. The very idea of it had given him goosebumps; hopefully, this would not go over like high school.

At the very least, Jackson had been neither the first nor the last to arrive; he'd gotten in the day before, and students were still arriving. Tonight seemed to be an important cut-off, however, seeing as the banquet would be taking place. Delicious. From his perch on the back of a couch in the student lounge, Jackson laughed at the witty one-liner someone in the small group he'd drifted into had told. However, his attention drifted between the group and the doors that led in and out of the room. With each opening and closing, a new gust of air would bring new information to him, hushed conversations tickling his ears before falling into background noise again as the air settled. He could feel himself sit up a little straighter every time it happened, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. Was everyone a straggler? Sure, there were two pairs of footsteps every once in a while, but it seemed like everyone was either entering or leaving as an individual.

Maybe whiling away his time in the student lounge wasn't such a great idea after all.

[User]
Nathan let a frown slip through despite his best intentions when he realized his shitty attempt at a joke, asking his cousin why he speaks Spanish, fell utterly and absolutely flat. 'Why would that have been funny?' He thought to himself...'Why do I even try?' He followed his cousin's eyes to look at a few of the students who were entering the room. Like everyone else they seemed friendly enough, and Nathan momentarily contemplated waving at them; though he didn't know why the thought even crossed his mind and nixed the idea as soon as it came. Then he heard his cousin's words, suggesting he find himself a "girlfriend"...It's not like the thought hadn't crossed his mind before, in fact he thought about it all the time; he pondered what it would be like to have that kind of relationship. Before now he never would have been able to do anything like that because of his mother. As soon as he thought about her his cousin said it: "...you finally escaped your mother." His cousin truly had no idea how true of a statement that was; he knew that Jason had his own suspicions and thoughts about what went on in their home but he didn't know the half of it...no one did.

All of this caused Nathan's anxiety to spike intensely, he'd say it had reached a 9...maybe even a 10, it was as though the room around him began to spin and he closed his eyes tightly to get things under control, to fight the urges that erupted inside him. "See you at the banquet", Nathan managed to squeeze out as his cousin made his leave. He was alone again and it was probably for the best, but at least he was beginning to calm down a bit. As his anxiety lowered he realized that he had been clenching his fist hard...so hard that a few drops of blood began trickling down his hand. He had dug his fingernails so hard into the palm of his hand that he had broken the skin. 'Great just one more God damned thing to worry about.' He thought to himself as he stood and cautiously made his way towards the bathroom where he could clean the cut up and hopefully stop the bleeding before anyone noticed how fucking weird he was.

[Assistant]
The stench of grease and oil almost suffocated her and threw her focus off completely. At the time her eyes were focused on the young man perched on the couch, he seemed to be growing irritated by the minute. While her ears happen to catch the last bit of conversation of the two standing near the door. Sure hyper-senses sounded amazing; Eyes like a hawk, nose better than a hound, ears that could hear the quietest whispers, even delicious food tasted out of this world. Why wouldn't anyone be happy with such abilities? Well there was an awful downside to it all.

It took a lot out of her when all her senses started working at once, not to mention how sensitive she was to any kind of touch. She tried many times not to focus in on everything all at once, but it couldn't be helped. Having this ability let her view the world and its people in a beautiful way.

"Oh God" she whispered to herself before bringing a hand to her mouth. It was the sudden smell of fresh blood that made her head spin, but it wasn't the blood that bothered her. It was just all too much to handle at once.
Without another thought or word she darted for the bathroom, it was that puking feeling again. She was about half way there when she collided with a giant of a man who also seemed to be heading in the same direction. Damn, that impact definitely hurt. Dani was tall for a female but this guy was over 6 feet.

[User]
While several new arrivals as well as people that'd been there for quite a while flopped about through the deluge of students wearing their insecurities on their sleeves and being awkward towards everyone else, Florence simply didn't care. She darted rapidly back and forth between groups of people to introduce herself, whilst also invading the personal space of anyone that she felt needed a bit of a startle. But for the most part, it seemed that the people she ended up talking with weren't that interesting and often bored her to tears. When she had her fill of boredom, Florence moved onto another person in an attempt to find someone interesting.

It was then that she'd spotted a target. Someone lounging about on a couch, not paying attention to their surroundings. Crouching, with a rather wicked grin on her face, she began to creep towards the back of the couch. She pushed past several people, crawling along the ground. When she reached the back of the couch, she lightly rested her hands on the ledge above her before popping up and pushing her face forward to land squarely in the personal space of the boy* sitting on the couch.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaa~" Florence said, smiling. "What's your name, age? I'm Florence, 16. But don't call me Florence. I like nicknames!"


[System]
Age: 44

Sex: Male

Position within The Imperium of Man: Imperial Navy

Armor:
- Salvaged Carapace/Flak Mix: With a scavenged and repainted Carapace breastplate, Stukov's piecemeal mix of Navy issue Flak armor and the harder, less flexible carapace over his core is as best a compromise that he can get his hands on between ease of maintenance, protection, and maneuverability.

Weapons:
- Accatran Pattern, Mark XI Combat Shotgun: Standard issue shotgun for Armsman in the Imperial Navy, fine tuned over a life serving on Naval craft. Personally altered and tweaked, mostly in performance and handling, it has seen everything that Stukov has, and carried him through it all. Notably, he can load and fire various specialized munitions that can be loaded into any other standard model of shotgun, though outside keeping a handful of slugs and specially blessed buckshot, he doesn't normally carry unique ammo.
- Naval Pistol: A heavy, large caliber auto pistol unique to the Imperial Navy. Despite attempts by Guard forces to acquire their own as a souvenir, Stukov kept his hands on his own issued pistol. Sturdy enough for use in melee, and often paired with chain-cutlass it serves well, though not as openly as the shotgun or chain-cutlass.
- Chain-Cutlass: Formally known as a Hydraphur-Pattern Chainsword, the Chain-Cutlass was a more recent addition to Stukov's kit, coming with his appointment to Senior Armsman, a position also known as a Sergeant at Arms, and replaced his combat knife. While not as long as a standard Imperial Chainsword, having a shorter curved blade, the weapon's more compact size in comparison is highly prized in tight quarters.
- Concussion Grenades: Keeping several handy, these grenades rely on the shockwave from the detonation, which is coupled with deafening noise, instead of fragmentation of sheer shattering power alone. The lack of damage to hulls or other vital components, but continuing to be able to leave typical foes dead or disorientated to the point of being easy pickings. Proper armor could protect against such things, but the shockwave and audible damage made an alternate approach to typical armor.

Equipment:
- Micro-bead
- Data-slate
- Re-breather
- Grapnel Launcher

Personality:
 Stukov remains a rather steady figure in near any sort of situation, though his attitude is not exactly what one would consider professional. Always having nicknames for anyone he works alongside, sometimes several at a time depending on the person, he tends to be fairly blunt on matters, covering what needs to be covered without wasting time or mincing words. He doesn't brook trouble from other allies, having survived some of absolute worst nightmares a Voidsman can have, and has a special place of sheer hate for the forces of Chaos in his heart, more so than typical of loyal Imperial servants. Beyond this, he tends to carry himself with the kind of confidence that comes from far too much experience and surviving to see such experiences forged into senior combat abilities. He doesn't talk much about his time serving on board Naval vessels, given the rather unfortunate series of experiences, but that doesn't make him any less proud of his survival and service, even if he isn't ever going to be quite comfortable planetside, not completely.

Characters Theme Song:

Characters Voice:

Specifically the Cat.

[User]
Cole Cerus

Cole listened and watched intently to the briefing. As it went on, he had some concerns about the mission. While sure, he was used to dropping headfirst into danger literally and had to rely on himself or his squadmates. There was always had some support like Sentinel walkers or a Tauros vehicle to back him up during a mission. Emperor knows how many times those things had been helpful and even saved his life on one occasion. That he always knew who the enemy was, and in this case, it could be anyone, and that fact did not sit comfortably with him. Plus, without the chance to blend in with Chaos around. They may walk into trouble and get caught out in the open.

Cole was about to speak up when Adrianne and then Stukov spoke. He simply nodded; instead, it seems his companions beat him to the punch. It would be nice to have some reliable backup if things get dicey. Preferably some stormtroopers then the local PDF. They may be protecting the planet, but they generally lack the Imperial Guard's precision or skill. Probably never seen actual combat before either. It would be interesting to see what could Andromedai could muster up if not the PDF or stormtroopers. If there are going to be back up at all, which he hopes there would be. So Cole silently waited for Andromedai's response and what else his companions had to say.

[Assistant]
„And just a moment later you've arrived, didn't you?" Medaira replied to Adrianne with a cheeky grin and voice underneath the breather, but her eyes carried her smile quite clearly as she made her way inside proper, making sure to not wave her mechadendrites around… too much.

 Now attention back to the task at hand a the mission briefing, important information was to be had! Yes Medaira did recall the personal office which she left in permanent temperature offset. That was a great prank in motion. The type that you knew will be uncomfortable, but not that annoying for anybody to do anything about. The victim might not even realize they are pranked! Most likely the poor sap would be just regulating manually his AC for a long while yet! Still half pleasure planet half urbanized one was a weird mix! How glorious must the juggling between nature and industry be. Certainly many would would benefit even without a pleasure world status. If for nothing else, but to keep the populace more content. Living with less respiratory complications would likely improve the average morale! This is why she had the breather unit! Suddenly she snapped her attention back on track, she was getting off… track...road… rails?' Focus~!' She looked back at the celestian.

 Listening the rest of the briefing she frowned. A display of chaos on such a public location? Must be pretty brave… maybe stupid or both! Maybe the corruption is far deeper seeded and this display was just caused by stupidity of new overconfident members! Will she get the chance to say that the wife or the butler did it?" I've got a question. There MUST be cameras at a location such as that no? Have those been disabled? As for those who were there, are all of them present in the city at latest reports or have some vanished mysteriously in the interim?" Medaira asked, making mental notes.

 She gazed upon Prank Vict… Stukov and Psyker friend Adrianne for a moment." I would endeavor to establish contact with the local Mechanicus presence to judge potential for corruption and reinforcements from them. Should they be cleared for our needs, we could expect relevant Skitarii squads to be capable of deployment in limited numbers as this is not a Forgeworld." Medaira quipped." As for another question, aside this safe house, are there other discreet hideout locations we can use in the events of emergencies~?"

[User]
"I can answer the first question for you, Adrianne." said Aviza, who was still comfortably positioned upon her section of the sunk-in couch. "I will be staying onboard the Typhon to watch over the ship and to act as mission support through this campaign. I have full control of the ships systems and our reserves of Legio Cybernetica Delta-Omega-03 Combat Robots that are under the command of the Inquisition. These combat robots will be our reinforcements, alongside the ships weapon systems, if or when they are needed." said Aviza before glancing back at Celestian Andromedai, who now nodded her head once. "What Celestian Aviza said is correct, in every word. She will be acting as mission support and will provide any additional help that we may need through the system."

After taking a few steps forward, Andromedai would then speak again, wanting to answer all questions posed. "As for resistance, I am not entirely sure what kind of forces we may encounter once we begin our investigation. On one hand, the Chaos forces could remain hidden and merely let us wonder about, and on the other they could send out Chaos Spawns to assault us. There is no way to know what awaits us there, all we can do is to be prepared for what what comes."

Andromedi glanced over at Aviza who held firm eye contact with their leader before continuing. "There are cameras mounted at the location, and throughout the city. None of them have been deactivated to my knowledge. Footage from that night showed a peaceful gathering of said individuals before they silently dispersed and returned to their homes without any kind of activity that one would consider out of the ordinary. None of the targets have tried to flee the city either, they merely carry out their daily activities as if nothing has happened." Andromedai would pause for a moment to take a breath before answering more questions. "There are no other Inqusitorial safe houses located upon the planet, we have the safe house here and the ship to fall back to if needed." There would be no mention of the possible Skitarii forces.

Once Celestian Andromedai had decided that she had responded to all questions to the best of her ability, she motioned with her left hand for the retinue to follow her. Let us move out before night fall arrives, I rather have some sunlight when we begin our investigation. Turning on her right heel, Andromedai would lead the retinue out of the living room and back through the decontamination chamber and finely to the landing pad where the Typhon awaited their arrival. Adrianne, please take co-pilot with me once more, controls are yours if you sense anything."

Celestian Andromedai would walk up the ships ramp and into the Typhon, followed by Celestian Aviza who had now attached her helmet securely onto her armor and looked much more imposing. "I will take the seat behind you, Celestian Andromedai." said Aviza as she entered the cockpit, looking around the Typhons interior. Andromedai did not say anything in response, but merely nodded her head in acknowledgement before taking the main pilots seat and strapping herself in. Her hands glided across the control panel in front of her and the ship quickly prepared itself for departure. A few short moments would pass before Andromedai looked over her right shoulder to make sure everyone was inside of the ship and seated before taking taking off. Thankfully, from what she could tell, everyone was and they could now depart without worry of leaving someone behind.

"It wont take us long to reach our destination, so be prepared to depart shortly. said Andromedai as the Typhon cleared the landing pad and made its way through the large metallic doors that had now opened above them. The ships cockpit would suddenly be filled with the warm sunlight from Erathell, a welcomed change from the artificial lighting inside of the safe house that they had been so accustomed to. Unlike their arrival, the Typhon now flew at a much higher altitude, showing the sprawling natural land scape below them that quickly turned to city. Aviza leaned forward in her seat, before raising her right hand and pointing at the massive archway in the distance, "I'm guessing that is the Aquila Arch, and past it the main residential area of Dalenarth." said Aviza, more making a statement than asking a question. Andromedai nodded her head a few times before brining the Typhon low, almost hitting the top of the city structures as she did.

"Celestian Aviza, keep an eye on our surroundings and be prepared to assist us in anyway once we arrive." said Andromedai as she Typhon neared its designated landing point, not far from the archway and entrance into the residential living area. The ship gently decelerated, its VTOL thrusters working over time to correct the aircrafts trajectory and keep it from crashing into the ground below. The low hum that could be heard throughout the ship died down once the Typhon touched down, and became almost inaudible as Andromedai removed the safety straps from herself and stood in the cockpit, "Let's move out." Celestian Andromedai would move through the cockpit and back to the only way into and out of the Typhon, opening the door that lead to its exterior. She would be the first one out, and walked down the ramp before stepping foot onto the smooth pathing below her.

Outside of the ship, the occupants of the residential area went on with their daily tasks, giving little to no attention to the Typhon and her crew who had just arrived. Though this would not last long once Celestian Andromedai appeared, followed by the rest of the retinue. a few occupants turned to stare but then quickly thought better of their actions and returned to what they had been doing, some others merely kept with their actions and did not pay any of them any attention. Then there were those who, after seeing the retinue, quickly returned to their homes, sensing some sort of trouble beginning and not wanting to be caught within it.

Celestian Andromedai began to walk in the direction of the Aquila Arch, her Adrastus Bolt Caliver still positioned upon her back but would be at the ready in a moments notice if any trouble presented itself. Aviza's soothing voice came through the retinues coms, "The first person of interest is near by, her name is Aphillia Tamiya." Information on the subject, like where she lived, what she looked like, her age and other details of the such was now sent to each member of the retinue who had a data pad. This information showed upon Andormedai's HUD, and could be quickly referenced at a glance.

[Assistant]
Stukov cocked an eyebrow at the mention of 'combat robots', since that was well and truly beyond his measure of understanding. He wasn't about to go asking how she secured that kind of help. Gunship support was a positive thing too, so he would take that for what it was. Next was his question and, sure enough, there was no solid idea or intel on what was going to be awaiting them. No other safe houses or forces on hand, so it was just them, the tin cans if things got bad enough, versus whatever was going to be waiting for them in the city itself. Great news there, he thought with a sarcastic tone, but didn't say it out loud. His job was to kick in doors and kill heretics, not complain or think too hard on how the powers that be got their toys.

 Sure enough they were off again, with little fanfare, boarding he strapped in again and immediately dozed off, the transport's movement and shacking seeming to do nothing to interfere with his ability to rest. Old habits died hard, and getting rest whenever he was in a position where he couldn't do anything wasn't going to go away anytime soon. Eventually the slowing transport woke him up from his dozing, shaking his head briefly as the restraints released and he was on his feet, heading off the transport in close step after Celeste. He noted the smart ones legging it the moment they saw the heavily armed squad touch down out of relative nowhere. Definitely not subtle, and odds were at least one of them was already alerting the local heretics of the rather sudden arrival. Still, Throne willing they would nail at least the first target before things got hairy.

 Speaking of, he checked his data slate when Sis chimed in over the comm, memorizing age, appearance, various details for this specific person of interest. Walking in step with Celeste, Stukov was scanning the information being processed over the slate, glancing around routinely as they moved. He spoke just loud enough for Celeste to hear without him screaming for all to hear. "Right, let's move quick. Kick the door in, grab her, extract what information is usable, and deal with her from there. At least one of those who ran is probably raising the alarm, so clock's ticking as it were."


[System]
Age: 18

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Weapon:
Two metal tonfas, Artorius and Gwenhwyfar (formerly Lawnslot). Both are identical, visually, save perhaps a few differences in internal mechanism. In the traditionally held position, the longest part of the body aligning along the forearm, the forward facing post is actually a shotgun barrel; though standard shells are the usual ammunition, dust rounds can be loaded instead. The storage area expands along the spine of the weapon. The recoil is often used for propulsion when useful. The primary length of each tonfa actually has a blade running along it, resembling one half of a sword, to be specific.

This is because both weapons are capable of combining into a large, long sword; Caledfwlch. The two weapons reconfigure in such a way as to create a long, straight two-handed sword with a straight crossguard. The shotgun barrels are reoriented as the crossguard, one pointing to the left and the other to the right, used to enhance the power behind his swings.

Artorius and Gwenhwyfar both have one other unique attribute; high capacity batteries built into their frame. Each battery continuously siphons a supply of Aura from Benjamin, building the energy up so long as they are, in some way, upon his person. This energy can be released with a button built in below the shotguns' triggers, on the handle of the combined blade, or on the handle of the smaller tonfas. The release of this energy usually is used to power his Semblance, and must be replenished over time when discharged.

Joyous Guard
Expansion Calibrated for Ultimate Resistance
B. Lloyd #8 of 7

An expansion device manufactured to work in conjunction with Artorius and Gwenhwyfar. In its default form the Joyous Guard is a tower shield, large and incredibly heavy. Two racks are integrated into its back side for holding the two tonfa when not in use. It can be held in hand, affixed to the forearm (vertically or horizontally) or stored on Benjamin's back. The top and bottom sides taper off into wedges, enabling it to be used as an offensive bludgeoning weapon when affixed horizontally to the forearm. Its connection to the forearm is carefully designed to ensure that both tonfa are compatible in use when the shield is in play, though Joyous Guard is primarily intended for use with Caletfwlch. The shield is manufactured from dense, durable metals, making it even heavier than it looks. For this reason Gravity Dust was used in its construction, making it nearly weightless in Ben's hand. Notably, however, it is Aura-coded to Ben's Aura; in the hands of anyone not on its whitelist, the Gravity Dust reverses and makes it too heavy to be lifted.

Joyous Guard's secondary configuration requires the use of Artorius and Gwenhwyfar. The shield unfolds, incorporating the transformation mechanisms in both tonfa to provide the necessary components for the configuration. Namely they provide part of the edges and part of the hilt of the immense two-handed sword Joyous Guard becomes. The effects of the Dust carry over in this form, ensuring that Ben can swing it almost as easily as he would Caletfwlch. In fact, due to the nature of F=ma, a swing from it will be many times as devastating with a fraction of the effort. Like Caleftwlch, the shotgun barrels incorporated into the hilt aid in granting increased force to its swings.

Finally, in a tertiary configuration, Joyous Guard can convert while affixed to Ben's forearm by splitting down the middle and orienting the magnetic racks used to hold Artorius and Lawnslot along the two horizontal halves. The Lightning Dust used to generate that magnetic field, in this form, cranks into overdrive to turn the shield into a forearm mounted electromagnetic cannon. Slow-firing, but incredibly potent in its offensive power. Artorius and Lawnslot are absolutely necessary for this configuration, as they provide the additional structural stability needed to let Joyous Guard withstand the considerable forces exerted. As a bonus, however, this makes their shotgun barrels useful in this configuration.
Specialty: Benjamin is a highly adaptable fighter. He lacks dedicated defensive capabilities, but his weapons serve very well as augmentation to forearm blocks. The lightweight nature of his weapons, however, also means that he is a highly agile fighter. His preference is to move as quickly as possible, landing strikes when opportunities present themselves and evading blows (blocking if absolutely unavoidable).

Use of both his Semblance and Caledfwlch is exceedingly rare, to the point that they have not yet been used during his career at Beacon. Both are abilities and options he keeps to himself, aces up the sleeve. Ultimately, his style permits him to act as the situation demands, though the drawback to the continuous siphoning of his Aura, as well as his lack of any dedicated defensive tools, is that his personal defenses are noticeably lower than others'.

Semblance: Deinamig: Benjamin is capable of using Aura to fuel an individual section of his body to well beyond its usual limits. Fueling his legs, for example, will drastically increase both speed and power of his legs, and fueling his arms will do much the same. This can, theoretically, be applied to any section of his body. The Aura for this is usually provided by the resevoirs built up within his weapons, but that supply is not infinite. If a situation arises where he is unable to tap into it (or it runs out) he can directly fuel his Semblance with his present Aura.

Personality: Benjamin is a friendly guy. He also, at first glance through his performance in school, nothing to write home about. Average or slightly above in all his classes, with the only oddities appearing once one takes a closer look. His homework assignments represent minimal effort, while all examination scores actually place him near the top of the grading scale. Between the two, depending on how the class is run, they average out to roughly average grades. In short, Benjamin doesn't bother to do his homework until the last minute, if at all. He conforms to a decidedly nonstandard view of what is important, and what is not. Things he views as "busy work", such as most homework assignments, are treated with at best casual disregard, while things he views as important (tests, examinations, practice, getting to know people) works at. His strange views actually are rooted in a single opinion; if it isn't something he needs to do in order to do well in his life, it doesn't really matter. People skills will be important, combat skills will be important, all of the knowledge he amasses will be important. So he takes his tests and exams seriously, but at the end of the day… Who's going to care, once he leaves Beacon, whether or not his did his vocabulary flash cards?

This practical viewpoint extends to many aspects of his life, but he will always make an effort to get to know people. His wit might be a little sarcastic at times, but anyone who he views as a friend will find that few will go to greater lengths for their friends. Aside from his practicality, which more than a few teachers might instead term "laziness", Ben has one other notable quirk. He seldom fights at full capacity. He believes it is always best to have an ace or two tucked away up the sleeve, so that if a situation ever arises where he simply can't handle it, or needs just a little more power… He has something to draw on.

Color: Steel Gray

Emblem: A single inverted sword set behind a shield emblazoned with a crown device.

Appearance: Benjamin is a few inches short of six feet, making about average height for his gender. He has an athletic build, obviously necessary given his school, but he isn't overly muscular.The fighting style he prefers requires nimble movements, mandating that he maintain both a reasonable muscle mass as well as his agility. A faint grin is his default expression, blue-gray eyes bright with life under slightly messy light brown hair. He wears the Beacon school uniform completely unmodified, though it isn't at all uncommon to see him take the coat off and carry it around. When not attending class (and thus not required to wear his uniform), he tends to default to jeans paired with a black or gray long sleeved shirt. Light but durable boots are his footwear of choice, as his usual field attire simply adds some lightweight gray armor over his torso, and perhaps greaves to his shins. Artorius and Lawsnlot are carried at his belt, one on either side.

[User]
Lauren Negasi

"Maybe for a little bit, but people don't tend to charge the batteries in vehicles. They only charge them when they're well and crapped out," said the person on both teams with the most experience inside a vehicle. "There's no telling if it would have enough juice long enough to get us all inside. It would only take a second, but that's a big door. If it slams down on someone's back because of a lack of power...well. Yeesh."

She stood back and surveyed the terminal briefly. She recognized a few parts, typical security lock stuff, just through shared DNA with garage doors she'd broken into. This was industrial grade, though, and more competently designed.

"I could give it a try. But I've seen enough horror movies to know that we're gonna be tinkering on it and then turn around to see some apocalyptic beast staring us down ready to snack. Soooo, Cap, what do I do?"

[Assistant]
Estelle Sidos Heurassein - Team JESS - Defending a Caravan

Estelle looking to her right as her male teammate attempted to distract the deathstalker below them. The air attempted to push her back but she did not stray. Her advanced, owl-like eyes taking aim at her target. She unsheathed her weapon, placing the blade horizontally in front of her. She channeled her aura for a few seemingly silent moments.

"Cover me." She shouted out at her teammates over the whirring of the aircraft. She leapt out into the air, using her semblance to increase her weight, quickly plummeting down onto the surface, her aim to provide a killing blow to the deathstalker below them.

---

A Friend in Need
The airship transporting VGNB set them down just outside of a large city, known to the team as Zephyr. It was well known for being part of the region where many noble houses were located, Nuit, and Dodici being the chief two. The flight over had taken awhile and for some time, they were able to see another Beacon airship transporting team JESS not too far from there own, as it was also headed towards Beacon. The intel that had been available was, they had Bianca's letter and their wits.

A message would be sent to Napoli's scroll from Ozpin,

[User]
Sangue Naga - Brewing Storm

Sangue took a deep breath as she continued following the group of hunters sent to find survivors in a miserable-looking area. Considering that the mission was one of the few dangerous missions she took part in so far, she knew she needed to pay extra attention to the smallest of details. At the moment, however, every hunter seemed to be doing everything she could possibly do: be on the lookout, find things that could be used to their advantage, and progress through the mission with abilities aside from straightforward battle.

The red-haired woman kept one hand on her blade as she remained silent, standing close to Luke Schwarz to observe the idea he pointed out.

[Assistant]
Luke Schwarz -- Puzzles

"It would only take a second, but that's a big door."

UUUU.

However, he definitely heard her point about the battery being of dubious energy content. The tone spoke of experience, experience that he, a lover of bicycles who had never ventured outside of his own school district before Beacon, never had the pleasure to acquire. It certainly seemed very much along the lines of something he would do. If his battery was still providing power to the car fine, he would have no reason to worry about it, or even remember it was a factor in his hypothetical car's performance.

Not the most pragmatic person, am I? he noted wanly in light of this. Nonetheless, what was important was that he got her point.

Back to the topic at hand.

"We don't all have to tinker on it though, right? Couldn't some of us watch eachother's backs? I'd like to think we're all a bit less hapless than the average horror movie cast..."

An honest question, asked with no disrespect.

Well.

None to non-fictional characters.

[User]
Jack Orpheus | Brewing Storm Mission

"Hmmm... Well some of you can work on the truck, it'll only take around two to extract the battery, so just another two to watch it. We should split up into two parties, one party will try and get the gate working, and the other will find another way in. We have radios to contact one another anyways in case something goes sideway too", he suggested. The last part would be which team goes scouting for a new entry point, and which team stays for the gate. Luke was right, it wasn't going to take all of them to get the battery out. There were also eight of them here in total too.

"If we both manage to succeed on our assignments, we'll simply meet up inside. This way we can cover more ground more quickly", and they would be in their full teams of four not to mention. They should be safe from all but the strongest of Grimm if they do their part in combat.

[Assistant]
"Splitting up is stupid." Benjamin said bluntly. "This is an S Rank mission, your team is understaffed, and they gave us a fucking Senior Team to back us up. If you want to take your team elsewhere, I can't stop you. But I'll tell you 'I told you so' in Hell."

"No, we should stick together. Lauren, you and Kuze should see if you can get it open. If we're at it longer than five or six minutes, we look for another entrance." Bastille's leader didn't look back at his teammates, instead keeping his eyes on his surroundings. No sign of anything else since, but they'd been on the ground a few minutes and already seen an unidentified entity. Didn't bode too well for what came next. Tactics ran through the back of his head, numbers and probabilities most people would think were beyond him.

Kuze and Lauren were working on the door, which left six- No, five, available Hunters. Mokuren wasn't present. Which was a real bitch for their chances, to be quite honest, but he worked with what he had. With no Grimm on the outside, good chance they were inside. So...

"Sangue, you and Jack should keep an eye on the door. If they get it open, we don't know what'll be on the other side. You guys have some of the fastest reactions here, you can handle anything that jumps out. Luke, Amy and I can watch the surroundings. One of us for each cardinal point that's not the door."

"Any objections, or can we live up to Luke's expectations?"


[System]
UserName: Lucius Cypher
Age: 19

Mageblood type: Lues

Favored Magic Class: Psychomancy

Previous Magic training: None. She doesn't even know she has mage blood.

Race: Narsea Human

Appearance:

Short Bio: Annabeth is the youngest child of three. She grew up on her family's farm, which her father got after serving some time in Eania's Royal Guard. Her mother died giving birth shortly after she was born, so she grew up under the same mannerisms as her brothers, at least until she was old enough to care about such things as being feminine. Her eldest brother, Rendar Gulch, one day left the farm when he discovered that he had Mage Blood and went to train at the Twilight College so that he may join the Royal Guards like his father had. This left Annabeth to help run the farm with just her father and her other older brother Brendan.

But about a few years later, Annabeth's father grew ill. He was old, and his time was coming to an end. By this time it would be up to Annabeth and Brendan to take care of the farm. Rendar came home to help take care of their ill father, but things took a turn for the worse. Bandits attacked the farm one night, stealing nearly everything of value and burning their home to the ground. Annabeth was saved by Brendan, but he was struck down just as they were about to flee. It was then that Rendar went into such a rage that he killed all the bandits in a single lightning strike, so powerful that it leveled the entire farm into a crater. Annabeth was lucky to not have been killed herself.

That day Annabeth and Rendar had to bury the remains of their brother and father at the same place where their mother was buried at. Rendar told Annabeth to move with some family back at Eania, and since she didn't really know what else to do with her life, she did as he told. She lived there for a short while with her other family members, but part of Annabeth didn't want her to stay. She wanted to become more powerful than just the frail farm girl, someone who could take care and protect her friends and family. She felt weak, and she was going to do something about it.

Though it was difficult finding one willing to teach a girl, she took up swordsmanship. She fought with a sword and small shield, and even learned grappling using knives. As she continued her training, she received a message from the Twilight College from someone named Lucilia. Apparently something had happened to her brother, and they would like to extend a helping hand to his next of kin. Fearing the worse, Annabeth packed her things and headed towards the college. She didn't know what happened to her brother, but she was determined to save him.

Good Attributes:
Silk Hiding Steel – Annabeth may look like a demure young woman, but hidden underneath her unassuming appearance is a fierce warrior. She hasn't gotten into a real fight personally, but she has honed her mind to be able to operate in the heat of battle with grace and efficiency.
Horse Rider – Annabeth is an excellent horse rider, and while some may be more difficult than others, she can easily adapt to different horses and riding styles.
Archer – When she lived back on the farm Annabeth helped her brother hunt when her father was growing too old to do it himself. She's not the best shot, but to dismiss her as an amateur would be a mistake as well. She can land an arrow into a buck fifty yards away if she has time to lead it, and she has and is quite good at using her bow while on a horse, even as it's galloping at full speed.
Domestic Skills – Annabeth took care of the house back at the farm, and she didn't lose any skills when she moved. Her family owned an inn, and despite owning it for twenty years, Annabeth pretty much took care of most of the physical duties and chores during her time there. Cleaning, cooking, organizing, talking to customers, if she didn't do it, it was because she was busy doing something else important.

Bad Attributes:
Unexperienced – Despite all her training, Annabeth has only done just that: training. She's never been in a serious confrontation before, and the only time she did she had to be saved by her brother. She's no warrior despite what her skills may tell you.
Light Weight – Referring to Annabeth's physique and to her alcohol tolerance. Annabeth is strong, but she's also rather small. She can train her body to lift and use a ten pound sword with ease, but a hard blow will likely shatter bones if she doesn't protect herself properly. And it only takes half-pint of ale to make her loopy. Worse if she actually gets poisoned, as her immune system isn't the best.
Naïve – Annabeth's something of an optimist. This isn't bad in itself, but it's almost absurd how often she thinks that some people or things could be reasoned with or how good something could be. Though it is partly so she can cope with whatever tragedy she's going through at the moment, the denial can be more detrimental than trying to make light of a very bad situation.

Secret Word: Rebirth

Rewards: Stealth Ring

[User]
Colette

Colette panted when she finally saw the fight over, she allowed her bat ally to vanish before falling to her knees, her dress was torn and she was bleeding in several parts of her bod. She stood up steadily and made her way slowly back to her dorm holding her shoulder wound which was the deepest. "Man if I don't get back soon this blood loss will cause me to become even hunger which I fear for since I never been so wounded" she said looking down at her dress which was completely torn up "And I might have to make a new outfit for me" she said to herself again.

She smiled when she made it to the tower and went upstairs landing on her bed her bat pets nuzzling her whining at seeing such wounds on her small body, she patted them lightly wincing. "I will be fine as long as I stay here and heal the best I can" she said her eyes looking up at the dull ceiling with a sigh

[Assistant]
Ssarak could not admit that he entirely understood what happened over the course of the next few minutes. At first, it seemed like demons were raising from the dead while the air became difficult and painful to breathe. It looked like the fight was lost, but then, as quickly as they had risen, the demons spontaneously exploded and the air returned to its normal state. With Satori as an organizing force, the guards overcame their confusion and pushed back against the demons that were already trying to return from the Inferno. Ssarak, Meirin, and Leith joined in the offensive as well, with Ssarak foregoing any physical combat in favor of closely examining enemy movements and providing useful tactical information.

It was not long before they had cleared the way to the infirmary. With access to those supplies and healers, the wounded in the dining hall would stand a much better chance of recovering. For all intents and purposes, unless something else catastrophic happened, the battle seemed to be over. There were almost certainly stragglers hidden in the college, but the guards were in much better shape to deal with them than Ssarak was.

Ssarak returned his axe to its place on his back and leaned himself against a wall outside the infirmary. With the chaos and excitement of the battle essentially over, he could feel the pain in his chest more clearly with each breath. It wasn't what he would associate with a broken rib, but it was almost certainly fractured. Overall, though, he was not worried about his health, but rather what this attack would mean for the college. He would recover, but from his perspective, the future of the college was less certain. How many students had survived the attack? How much would it cost to rebuild? Was the college even capable of continuing? Even more concerning was the source of the attack itself. An immense amount of power had been directed at the college, and while it had survived, how close had they been to death? The inferno had nearly manifested in the college twice during the attack. Had either succeeded, what hope of survival would there have been for himself, and his friends?

"So...it's over, then." Ssarak said, looking to Meirin and Leith with a pained expression, not because of his injuries, but because of the realization of the danger they were in, and were likely going to continue to be in as long as they remained with the college.

[User]
Meirin had no idea what sort of chaos was forming now. At first she thought the worse had happened, that the Demons had somehow been resurrected, only for them to shortly after explode into a bloody mess. The confusion was surprisingly short however, as soon Meirin heard Satori's voice in her head telling everyone to begin their counter offensive. Meirin was quick to adapt to the situation and picked up a new spear, skewering the remaining demonic invaders alongside the guards and students. Before long they sent the entire horde into a full retreat. Meirin followed Ssarak and Leith throughout most of the attack as they made a path towards the Infirmary. Than Meirin dropped her spear so she could help carrying the wounded into the Infirmary, even got herself patched up to full health. She carried as many bodies as she could before the Infirmary was packed full, and even than they tried to bring some healers to those who couldn't be placed inside the Infirmary.

Meirin left to take a breather and brought back a few health potions for Ssarak and Leith. She definitely knew that Ssarak was injured, and Leith was likely in no better shape after fighting that demonic sword.**"Hey guys, I brought some potions for you."**Just than Ssarak asked if the attack was over. Meirin's face grew solemn.**"No... This is just the beginning. It's never that simply, you know? This was just one attack. One day they will come back, and we have to be ready for them. They always come back...."**Meirin's memory began to resurface the thoughts of her home. When it too was attacked by demons, forced to fight off the invaders. She saw friends cut down, people she could have saved if she was just a second faster. It was all coming back to her now, and a single tear was shed. She looked at her hands and noticed all the blood. She wasn't sure who's it belonged to. How many people could she have saved today, if she had been stronger? What would happen to the college if she couldn't?

[Assistant]
Ssarak took the potion and eyed it for a few moments. He knew he was hurt, but so too were many others, many worse than himself. He couldn't help but to think that someone else would need it, although potions were less effective than magic healing. Still, looking at Meirin he could tell that she was worried about his health. "I suppose I will drink half of it and save the rest for anyone else who requires it." He said, uncorking the bottle and quickly downing half of its contents.

Once he stored away the remainder of the potion in his satchel, he noticed how shaken up Meirin seemed. Few people could go through such a harrowing experience and emerge without any mental scars. So many had been hurt or wounded during the attack; the bodies of defenseless students still littered the halls. How many of their friends were among the bodies? How many would not recover from their wounds? Understandably, Ssarak was filled with a mix of fear, anxiety, and anger towards the demons. For Meirin, however, there seemed to be something else in her eyes. It reminded Ssarak of himself whenever he thought back on the destruction of his village. Stepping in front of her, he placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention and looked her in the eyes. Despite the chaos they had been through, he kept his expression calm and resolute. He did not bother to ask her if she was alright, because if his instincts were correct, then he knew she wasn't. Instead, he said what he thought would help him the most were he in her position. "For here, and now, we stopped them. The demons are not taking the college today, and we have a chance to make ourselves better, stronger, so it never happens in the future."

[User]
Annabeth carried Cynn into the Infirmary, the both of them drenched in blood. Even now Annabeth was working on Autopilot; that encounter nearly took both their lives, and the worse she was able to inflict was a scratch of all things. Cynn had it worse, but neither of the two girls were in any condition to be moving. But someone had to save Cynn, and Annabeth wasn't going to let herself be weak now of all times. Annabeth made it to the Infirmary long enough for one of the healers to take Cynn off her hand, and for her to collapse.

When Annabeth woke up, she was bandaged up everywhere. She could hardly feel her hands but could see others moving around her. Annabeth managed to get to her feet and walk off under her own power, though she didn't really have a destination in mind. She just was moving on her own, not even realizing what she was doing. It was all a daze to her. To anyone near by, they could her hear mumbling.**"Got to run... Got to run... Run...."**Everything was still a blur...


[System]
AD VICTORIAM

---

---

Yea, though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I shall fear no evil.
Alias: Omen

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Primary Skills*: Melee, Energy Weapons, Unarmed

SPECIAL:
S: 7
P: 5
E: 7
C: 5
I: 7
A: 4
L: 5

Gear/inventory:

* One-Handed Vertibird Blade (Handle is chopped down)
* T-60f power armor with Kryptek Typhon camo (Or dark hexagon if you don't feel like googling)
*
*
* Standard survival supplies (canteen, military rations, matches etc.)

History:
Growing up in the Brotherhood may seem easy to those on the outside, but its what they don't see that makes it hell. When Ezekiel was 10 he became a Squire like all Brotherhood children, except being the son of a Paladin, he had some higher expectations. By 14 he was carrying weapons into the field. By 15 he killed his first raider. From that first kill, his future was set. At 18 he was made a Knight and to celebrate, he was given the opportunity to accompany his father on a sweep of some local ruins. Super mutants inhabiting the ruins fled at the sound of the vertibird, hearing death approach can work through the thickest of skulls. Once on the ground, the duo set up camp and waved the vertibird crew off hoping the mutants would return. Night approached and no mutants had been seen since they arrived. As this was his first true mission, he was given first watch. Staying alert in the wasteland only helps you up to a certain point, that point has a name which is instilled in the hearts of all people in the wasteland, Deathclaw. The beast ripped through a small door set at the back of the building they were staying and before Ezekiel could so much as fire a shot, it was on him. He managed to only get thrown through a weakened concrete wall while his father attempted to slay the beast. T-45 power armor was like tissue paper to the beast and his father like a sardine in a can. Ezekiel could only watch as the beast was then gunned down by the returning vertibird.

After two years of missions and constant devotion, Ezekiel was named Paladin and became Head Paladin of a new bunker only months later. After another two years he managed to earn the rank of Star Paladin. Receiving a mission to relink all of the Brotherhood, he set out across the wasteland. A year later he returned to the Elders with the news that the Brotherhood was too far spread to be successfully integrated as a whole at the current time. For his honesty and for the service he had given, he received the rank of Paladin Lord and given one last order, "Go South."

[User]
War... War never changes...

In the years following the second world war, America had emerged as an economic and military superpower. It ended the war with the unleashing the power of the atomic bomb. This terrifying power combined with an almost completely unarmed industrial base made America seem invincible. However, its unilateral possession of the fruits of atomic age did not last long. A brief four years later, the other emerging Superpower, Russia obtained the same terrifying might. For the first time, Humanity had the combined ability not just to end other people, but ALL other peoples. The fear of each superpower wiping each other out overnight caused the world to descend into a Cold war. The World drew lines and waited for the end.

But, the end did not come as soon as expected. Unparalleled prosperity in America and else where brought about unimaginable wonders of science fiction to reality. However, by the mid 21st century, this unfailing prosperity proved hollow. Resources began to run out. The resource wars began. Power armor replaced once mighty tanks. Laser and plasma weaponry powered by portable nuclear power cells replaced the use of steel bullets. All the countries of the world moved towards their inevitable end. China seized Alaska only to have it taken back as America awoken for one last moment of glory. The Chinese sailed back to their homeland, but they did not accept their defeat.

What happened next was a two hour conflict that has been called by its survivors the "Great war". Yes, survivors for there were no victors. The world erupted in an exchange of nuclear fire. The Old world died and for a time, the world fell into the silence of Nuclear winter.

But the end of one world, was not the end of everything like most feared. Surviving in great underground Vaults, humans emerged back into the surface world to find it totally alien in nature.

-----

Florida was spared a lot of the damage from direct nuclear strikes do to a relatively lack of strategic resources. Most of the bombs that hit Florida were targeting major population centers. This left Florida mostly intact. The following Nuclear winter killed more animals and wildlife than the bombs. For almost 180 years, Florida was a barren wasteland barely able to grow enough food. Locals had to survive on the remains of the old world and the ever abundant sea life. That was until a G.E.C.K. was discovered by those who had no idea what they had. Once activated, the GECK began to restore the once green Everglades to their former glory. However, it never stopped. What emerged was a twisted, warped, and savage jungle. The locals, once having to deal with the dangers of the new world, now had do deal with the terrors of the Old world's primal nature.

At the Junction of the once great I-10 and I-75, a small trading outpost had sprung up in the years following the great war. Refugees from the Vaults lowly evolved this small outpost into possibly the largest settlement in Northern Florida. It name New Hope truly lives up to its ideal of having a new hope in the wastelands. The settlement has seen its share of trouble from everything the wastles. Part makeshift walls and reused Steel wealded into place make up the walls of New Hope. To the North, its walls were a modest 10 feet high, but to the south the walls stretched upwards of 35 feet. This town excepted all comers, ghouls, friendly supermutants, humans, as long as they did not take hostile actions within the walls. A well armed Volunteer militia and a robot defense force ensure a safe society. This is the town that our story begins.

In the town of New Hope, there was pub called Pandora's Tears. It accepted all comers as long as they were civil. The Sentry bot bouncer outside the Saloon told any travelers it mean its "Be Civil" policy. The two Assaultron Bartenders were also secondary protections. A local band of musicians played the songs of the Old World as the crowd slowly gathered for the night's usual festivities. The human bartender, Rusty, was always present to give a more homely touch to the establishment.

[Assistant]
An old man and an irradiated dog enter Pandora's Tears, almost kicking the door open, an alive glowing one on the old man's shoulder attempts to thrash out in a violent rage, a muzzle stopping it from biting while a strait jacket and ankle restraints keep it from moving and tearing anything apart. "Get a strong scotch ready and the location of something dangerous out there on a map." the old man happily orders before dropping the ghoul, smiling slightly with the satisfying thud the imprisoned creature creates.

After attaching a leash to a collar the old man drags the annoyed ghoul to the bar where the man sits on a nearby stool and the dog starts resting beside the stool. "Don't mind the bait, have it in line for my welcoming hunt." The old man states heartily to Rusty after looping the leash around another stool, the feral thing straining to no avail, attempting to lash out at the floor.

[User]
The sky, like the rest of the wasteland, was bleak and haunting. As it approached night, the sight of a settlement came into view through the dense foliage. The lights shining through the trees acted like a beacon of hope to those in need of refuge and a target to those who would try to steal. Upon approaching the walls, he was stopped and asked his name, shifting in the cloak that covered his armor he gave some fake alias he had used a few times before and walked into the city.

After a few minutes of searching around, the main attraction of the town was spotted. A tavern by all appearances, the most important feature of almost every sane community in the wasteland. Walking toward the establishment, he began to hear the sounds of whiskey courage and cheap beer sobbing that was common to these places. The door was large but not so large that he fit through easily wearing the heavy cloak over his armor. Ignoring the angry glowing one and the obnoxious man at the counter, he stepped up and waited for a bartender. After a few moments an assaultron came over and asked what he wanted, he ordered a bottle of whiskey and paid. Walking to a dark corner in the far end of the bar, he stood leaned up against the wall waiting to see what the night held in store.


[System]
character sheet:
appearance:
Young man with what apear to be the tatoos of veins running over the skin of his entire body as far as can be seen. But they are not in the veins of a human, something quite different, and they are brown in color. His palms and fingers are nearly completely covered with intersecting circles. On his face the lines seem to flow from his eyes like a line of tears that then branch over his head which can be seen through very short dark hair on the sides of his head. The top of his head has a little longer brown hair naturally stylish as it swoops off a bit to one side.
age: 24
bio: Andrew was never one to stay close to home. Nor to have close friends on his travels. But he managed to get too close to a sorcerer's bad side, and it's been mysery ever since. He retreated into his Castle, tried to be discrete, but it's obvious he gets out. He has killed people, he horrifies himself, and burns all that remains but it can't take the memories. The last thing he wants is someone making his life even harder.
other

[User]
"That's terrible. I'm sorry for your pain."

He couldn't blame her for wanting to kill anything and everything that did  that to people. She really did know exactly what kind of creature she was hunting when she had come after him. Although in his case, he wasn't giving in to killing any more people.

"How many monsters have you found like me? Don't worry, I won't take it personally, I've never met another one in the time I've been like this."

[Assistant]
Angel merely nodded briefly. She blinked and looked up when he asked how many monsters like him had she found. She was confused when he said that he would not take it personally.

"none....until now."

[User] "Oh. I must be very poor monster to be caught" he looked down at his plate and quickly added "and not killing like a monster either. So what do you normally do when not finding me?"

[Assistant]
"eating, sleeping."
Angel said simply. That was mainly all she did since her focus was hunting and/or revenge.

[User]
"Hm," Andrew was running out of ideas from these dead end questions. "Well, when you've eradicated any threat from this world, which I'm not a threat to by the way, but when you know they are safe, what would you like to do? Any hobbies you want to pick up or vacations to go on? Who would you want to be friends with? Where will you live? You've got all the world of possibilities. A pretty young woman like you, with all the determination in the world. You're bound to have an interesting life out in the wide world."

Andrew was jealous that if he was fortunate enough to live, it would be isolated in this castle.

[Assistant]
Angel shrugged at the first question.
"Never thought about it."
She narrowed her eyes for a moment.
"hobbies are a waste of time. No time for vacations, as you call them. I have no friends and never have. I travel, there is no need for a house to live in. I am alone, and have been for years."
She frowned, eyes still narrowed.

[User]
"Doesn't the sun ever rise for you?" Andrew leaned back in his chair flabbergasted that someone with such determination could be so lacking in everything else he considered life will lived. "This mission to kill must be very important to you." She couldn't bring herself to think of anything else.

What did he do with her? Lock her in the dungeon and get on with his own life? Sounded tempting, and so much less work than forcing her into a life she didn't want anyway. How do you convince a person of anything when they are like this, when they don't want anything?

Maybe you just show them things and see if anything sparks their interest? But what? He wondered.

[Assistant]
Angel frowned at that.
"The darkness won a long time ago, as there has been no reason to be happy since..."
She trailed off. She started to stand up.

[User]
Following her lead Andrew got to his feet as well. He ignored the dishes and the food, there were much more important things to deal with than staying on top of his isolated little life.

"Darkness has not won in my life yet. If there's anything I can learn from you, it is to fight back. Between the two of us, we should be able to take out about anything. Let's go find that murderer."

He could feel himself getting excited, energy pulsing through his veins. Something he could actually get out and do. And maybe it would help Angel it off her mood to be doing something too.

[Assistant]
Angel sighed. She looked at him. She frowned and shook her head. She was silent for a moment or so. Then....

"....Darkness has already won in mine."

She turned and proceeded to walk away. She blinked when she heard him. She sighed again.

"...I doubt if you will be much help."
She sighed again.
"....do not get in my way."

Angel was not saying no.

[User]
Andrew would much rather be following Angel than being chased by her. That reminded him, he walked to the counter. The towel drawer slid out silently and and he lifted the top towel to reveal the bulge underneath, her weapons. He set them gingerly on the table for her to take, no contact.

He stepped away from the table, tugging on his gloves, this had seemed like a good idea a moment ago. But now that he has done it, Andrew wasn't so sure anymore. What if she decided to kill the monster inside the castle first before hunting down yet another one? He didn't let himself think any more about it, though he was ready to run out the kitchen door into the garden if necessary.

"I will try very hard to stay behind you. Please, lead the way."

[Assistant]
Angel blinked. She frowned and hesitantly took her weapons back. She narrowed her eyes again.

"Do not get too close to me."
She warned him in a stern tone and began to head outside.

[User]
Relief flooded over Andrew that this was actually working. He found himself smiling, really smiling. Angel was not killing him, and the real culprit was going to be found. Angel was determined, he had no doubt the murderer would be found. Not to mention the fact that angel was moving of her own volition. Even this small step seemed to be in a good direction.

"Certainly not." He promised and nodded. He stayed several steps behind her as he followed her out of the castle, closing the door behind them.

[Assistant] Angel sighed and shook her head. She kept walking and was soon outside. She tried not to look at him. She glanced around at her surroundings, trying to find some sort of clue and such.

[User]
Walking among the trees Andrew avoided tree roots and twigs for the sake of searching quietly. But he was more concerned about holding low hanging branches out of the way with his gloved hands. He could end up with a scratch, the poor tree would end up with the dead weight of kindling hanging in the end of it's branch.

Andrew was well aware of what abilities someone like him would possess. He kept an eye out for anything sadly familiar. He followed Angel, as she was the one who had talked with the villagers about the murders, she had some idea of where the attacks had been. Andrew only knew it hasn't been him.

[Assistant] Angel kept walking. She sighed at times. She looked around a bit. She soon saw something on the ground. She raised an eyebrow. She suddenly turned left by a dead tree and began to walk in that direction. That was when she saw the various rodents that had clearly been victims of that creature. She narrowed her eyes.

[User]
Andrew sneered at the carcasses. But then he had access to matches, perhaps this one didn't. Or perhaps this one didn't care about being as neat and tidy as he was included to be. It was too early to judge, he of all people knew better than to judge too soon.

Maybe he or she was trying to stay alive on rodents, or maybe it was shamelessly taking any life it could. They needed to find it, and stop it. If that meant another life exiled from humans, or if that meant killing it, so be it.

It.

No, him or her.

How easily Andrew could slip into that thinking. Maybe this was what Angel had meant about staying out of her way. This overthinking had him questioning his wisdom in coming.

He followed Angel, wondering how easily she would turn her weapons against him again if this encounter didn't go the way she expected. What did she expect? What she had said all along, to kill the forest beast. What did he expect? That someone was going to die.

But he had no idea who. Himself, Angel, or the stranger they hunted.

[Assistant]
Angel resumed walking. She looked around. The path continued onward. More and more carcasses lines the path along the way. It was not just rodents. There was a wild dog that lay by a dead tree. There were a couple of wild pigs not too far away from that spot. Dead birds were scattered about. Angel narrowed her eyes.

"Ruthless heartless monster..."she thought quietly out loud.

[User] "Maybe." Andrew answered. Though it appeared to be mostly wildlife, he has to agree she might be right. "Looks like it might fit your 'creature of the forest' description. Are you at least going to talk to this... Creature?" He asked tugging at his glove nervously.

[Assistant]
Angel blinked. She glanced back and narrowed her eyes at him.
"I was not actually speaking to you."
She turned back around and kept walking ahead. She sighed and shook her head.
"Talking is not an option....beast."
She said nothing more after that. Soon enough, she saw a path of a bit of destruction along the forest/woods, indicating the creature had been around.

[User]
Beast. He wanted to correct her, but they were trying to sneak. So he stewed in angry silence.

Of course she wasn't talking to him. She probably didn't even remember his name. He'd treated her like a guest and he was nothing to her.

He was so pathetic, taking in the woman trying to kill him. Andrew turned on his heel and started walking back to his castle. He passed the dog but had not reached the dead rats before he decided his current idea was just as poor as all his other ones.

Andrew realized that if he left now, he would never know for certain if she was going to leave him alone, or if she lurked outside his castle waiting for the next chance to dispose of him.

So Andrew turned back around to follow Angel at a wide distance.

[Assistant]
Angel suddenly stopped. She looked towards some burnt-looking trees. She narrowed her eyes, thinking that she had heard something. She glanced back and noticed Andrew trying to turn back. She frowned.

"...coward."
She muttered to herself, unaware of him changing his mind and resuming his following her. She turned in the direction of those trees, following the sound that she thought that she had heard.

[User]
Snarling could be distinguished deeper into the trees. The shuffle of leaves as something was dragged across the ground, the grating and snapping of a dry body crumbling and breaking apart. The gurgling of water.

A form with two legs two arms and a bowed head atop hunched shoulders sat down at the edge of a small pool, but nothing else about it looked human. Long hair in many places or was it fur only torn off in places? In the gaps wide strips of skin that looked more like scales or injuries than skin. The eyes were so round it seemed they could roll out onto the ground at any moment.

This creature tossed aside what used to be a dog and sank it's legs into the water, heedless of any danger to himself. The spring gurgled, lifting fresh water into the pool, the only way this creature could get enough to stay alive. He was thirsty, always thirsty, but animals were more quenching than plants or water.

---

Andrew followed angel has quietly as he could manage. He knew they were getting closer but that they were almost upon the creature was more than he could tell from the distance between them.

[Assistant]
Angel kept walking. She looked around. She tried to find clues, sense signs, try to get any idea of where the creature might be. The clouds turned dark, but she did not care. The breeze that passed by felt cold, but she did not care about that either. She kept walking, kept searching. That was when she heard something else. It sounded like something hitting a tree in the distance. She narrowed her eyes.

"Something is near, or at least not too far away."

She broke into a run. She headed in that direction. When she got close enough, she would hear the gurgling of water....

[User]
Andrew pulled his arms in closer as a chill spread from within him. Angel was advancing at a run to attack. It had begun at last.

Andrew stumbled forward and hesitated. Did he run to catch up and risk ruining her advantage of surprise and face her ire? But if she attacked already it wouldn't matter. If it meant that maybe some rational discussion could come of this he certainly should interrupt. But what if it endangered her? That gave him pause for a moment.

Nope he was running in. Decision made. He would be there if she needed help. There were no reasons against running left.

Andrew lowered his arms and took off running for where he had last seen Angel.

---

The creature groped for a branch that had fallen into his spring leaning forward to stretch his long arm close enough before the water bubbled it farther away from him again.

[Assistant]
Angel kept running. She barely paid attention to Andrew when and if he caught up to her. She heard the water and such. The sounds she heard were getting louder and louder.

She kept it up until she saw the outline of a rather large creature. When she caught sight of it, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"wow.....a rather large beast, isn't it?"

She slowly stepped closer towards it, trying to catch it off guard.

[User]
The creature got onto one knee to have more leverage for lifting the branch. He groaned, stiff and sore as he got onto his feet. He looked down at the dripping branch as if considering where to dispose of it, but in the end simply tossed it as far and as hard as he could into the trees on the other side of the spring. He crouched down coping his hand to lift water to his face and run it over his head. He was hot and thirsty and no amount of water could relieve him.

He was oblivious to the stealth of the hunter. He had no fear of man or beast and did not listened for their approach.

Had Andrew been closer, his swift steps would have made enough noise to alert the creature. But he was still far enough behind to leave Angel her moment of advantage.


[System]
Age
Looks to be 21

Gender
Male

Appearance/Looks
Himself

Will

Species
Mutant - He is immortal, and has an evil alter-ego

Sexual Preference
Gay

Likes
When his alter-ego stays quiet inside him, rain, sugary things, books, fire, and nature

Dislikes
Being immortal, being too fancy, electronics, being alone.

Bio
Adam has never known who his parents are, or were. All he's known, is too things. He's immortal, and he has evil inside of him that must be contained.

Adam has been in love twice. One with a man whose name was Taylor. But he found that it did not work out when he accidently killed him in his sleep because of his alter-ego taking over. Once he found a way to control Will that would work for awhile, he fell in love with another man named Sean. But he outlived Sean, and so he dislikes the idea of love.

He feels like he is the only immortal being in the world (even though he's not) and feels like only he knows the pain of being alone forever.

Occupation
Teacher (Drama)

Country of Origin
America

Feelings about meeting their soul mate
Hates the idea of having a soul mate, because he doesn't want to feel any more pain.

[User]
Adam
Adam walked the streets. There was some sort of concert going on today, but he didn't want to go. He was feeling quite strange. One part of that might've been the fact that Will, his anti, had been growing stronger and more untameable each day and wanted out. The other part might've been that yesterday he'd bumped into his soulmate in the metro, his wrist burning. He'd kept on walking, trying to avoid him.

When the name Danilo had first shown up on his wrist, he had been teaching his class how to actually be their characters rather than just acting them. Metaphorically, of course. Well, maybe the name had shown up before that. But he'd noticed it then and there. He kept his cool, but he was really freaking out. He didn't want to hurt another soul or outlive them.

But he knew there was no denying it or avoiding it, even if he tried before. Everyday since that day, he couldn't help but wonder what they'd be like. Would they like the rain, or hate it? Did they prefer one sugary thing over the other? But when he'd been able to meet them, Adam had avoided them.

He felt kind of guilty, for missing his soulmate. He still didn't want to, but still had no choice all the same. He'd waited all day, and there was still no sign of them. To ease himself, he'd went outside and began to walk. He heard the concert a few blocks away.

As he passed some sort of bar, Adam felt his wrist burn a little. Less than the first time, but still a burn. He looked down to see the name Danilo glowing.
No..., he thought. He stopped in front of the building, deciding whether to go in or not. Finally, he sighed, heading inside as his wrist burned more. He looked around, looking for someone who might react to their own wrist burning.

[Assistant]
The small office was dimly lit, most light coming from the small desk lamp that sat slightly precariously on the corner of the desk that was positioned oddly off to the side of everything, facing a wall. It's surface was cluttered with various stacks of paper, pens, and currently the resting head of the immortal that sat in the chair behind the desk.

Letting out a small groan Titus lifted his head to look down at the paper in front of him, a short single page length thing scrawled over in red ink. Reaching out he took hold of a sharp tipped fountain pen that had rolled some ways down the length of the desk. Uncapping it Titus wrote on the top of the page "Redo and hand in again" and moved the page to a pile to his left. He was about to grab another paper when his eye caught the glint of the blood red ink on the small 3 page packet. Sighing he capped his pen and leaned back muttering quietly "Iv'e told them three times now not to use red. Or was that last years class... Have I even told this one?" He paused in his moment of confusion, a slightly worried look crossing his face before he finally resolved to just tell his students the next time he saw them.

Placing his pen once more on the desk Titus rose from his seat, a yawn breaking free as he did so. Stepping away from the chair he crossed the linoleum floor of his office, finding the light switch with a practiced reach in the dark and flipping it to turn on the overhead light. As light flooded the room it revealed that the state of it was an almost mirror of the desk with various shelves sitting here and there on the walls, and down the middle of the room, each filled with books or small trinkets the spanned ages. Yet there was a sense of order to the chaos, an almost chronological progression that played out on the shelves, but Titus ignored all of it as he slowly walked back to his desk. Pulling a chain that hung from under the lamp he turned it off and gathered a couple of things, a key ring, couple pens and the like, ending with a simple grey jacket which hung on the back of his chair.

As he left Titus double checked that he turned off the light and locked the door before swinging his jacket on and walking out of the building, offering a small conversation to the janitorial staff that had begun their work in the hallway. As he emerged into the night air an electronic beep sounded from his left wrist. Lifting it up he saw it was the watch that he wore face down was pulsing a low green light, which oddly enough made him grin "Left before the alarm again, guess I need to reset it." As he moved his hand he almost missed the numbers that were just barely visible from underneath the watch-face. A set of what looked like letters, that he made no effort to read them again as the information they contained had been read a hundred times over.

So instead he thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, he had heard about a venue that had live music tonight from some of the students, and supposedly it was going to be a fairly good show. Clicking on the phones display, and with a few thumb strokes he brought up directions to the place (throughout all the years in the city the ever changing layout still threw him sometimes) and some information about it, "Huh a vampire venue, should prove interesting and its not to far. Wonder if they still don't mind me wandering around." Clicking off the display he se of though the main entrince , his shoes making a clacking sound on the tiled floor of the large main floor before he exited the building, joining the main street and found himself once more blending in with the natural hum of the city.

[User]
Danilo sipped some more of his drink, listening to the ideas for tattoo his friend soulamte may or may not have. Would his soulmate have some? He emptied his glass, as if trying to drown his thoughts away.
"Yeah I'll admit to that one. Even for a vampire,"

''Admit it you want to kiss her... or have you already felt her lips, mmm? '' Danilo took the bottle, even if he was a dragon and could handle alcohol really well, added to the fact he grow up with rakija such a enjoyable drink in his opinion it, he still wondered if he was starting to get tipsy. The need to sing a old song, he was resisting the urge, pouring both him and Tholo a drink more. My love you agonizing my heart with out knowing....

As if responding to the a inner melody a gently burn started, or did it last for a while? He barely noticed it. Placing his glass down he spoke in a sober voice.

''Tholo....I think ....my wrist may be burning ...faintly... Or I drunk a few glasses too much?...'' Maybe just this one time he should not jump up, like yesterday morning when the sun warmed his hand up, instead of a real burning. Maybe he was all just imaging it because he was... just like that a dreamer. Dreaming up what his heart desired. That would be stupidly!

Looking once more at Tholo, in the dragons eyes one could see the fire shine, before the bangs fall over them like a curtain. Dan grabbed his hat and staff, gently placing the hat on the head and holding the walking stick under his arm. He than processed to step on the table. '' Sorry Tholo.'' He said as he nearly tipped the bottle over.

''Good evening.'' Dan started bowing elegantly sliding the staff into his hand while the other took the hat off. '' May I steal a moment from your attention. '' He put the hat back up and leaned with both white gloved hands onto the walking stick. '' I must know if by chance my dear beloved soulmate is here. You see I kinda lost him the last time. '' He chuckled amused he was either drunk or determent, he couldnt be sure. There was one thing Dan was sure.

He isnt letting his soul mate out his claws, with out getting him to know at least.

''This time if I miss you I am sure my friend would be able to track you down, right?'' Did that sound way to, off?... Hopefully not. It wasnt scary sounding or? ''It is my pleasure to meet you, the stars have paired up our hearts with a unbreakable bond. So please step closer to me. Данило Сувић is how you speak my name.''

[Assistant]
Adam sighed. There was no way this guy was his soulmate. But as he looked around, he sighed because he noticed that no one else had any reactions as if their wrists were burning. But when he mentioned not missing his soulmate again, he knew the chances were raised that this was in fact his soul mate. Adam sighed, stepping closer inside.

"Hello, I'm going to guess you're Danilo Suvic. Or how you pronounced your name before. My name is Adam. I think am your soul mate," he said, walking closer.

Adam had to admit that he was cute, with his orange hair and his hat. His outfit was fancy, but not too fancy.

Rainbow Moonstone wasn't doing much. She was sitting at home, playing her guitar randomly while reading a book. She did this regularly, and was actually pretty good at it. Unlike most people, she'd rather stay home than go out to some concert.

She knew that the day to meet her soulmate was coming, and it was strange to think she had one. As a gem, you didn't really need love. It was just a side thing. But it intrigued Moonstone, and interested her. It was such a cute little thing, like glass. It could be strong, but messing with it too much shattered it into tiny fragments.

When she'd first gotten her soulmate's name on her wrist, she was confused as to what it was. She had to ask someone in the library (which was weird, because you don't talk in a library) and they'd told her all about it. She'd then asked what love was, and that was a very interesting conversation.
So she found it quite cute what humans did. They were so peculiar, with their love.

And she stayed inside, playing her guitar and reading books. Before long, her mind wandered on to thinking about her soul mate. Would it be a he or she? Would they like books? Would they be human, or some other sort of creature? What would they look like? She got so off track, she had to read the whole chapter all over again.