[System]
Nicknames/alias:None

Age:44

Place of birth & ethnicity:Mobile, Alabama Caucasian

Gender:Female

Occupation:Gunslinger/Solider

She ain't no woman to be trifled with.

Appearance: Lily is a average sized woman standing at five feet and ten inches, weighing a hundred and forty five pounds total. Her hair is shoulder length and dark brown with visible waves in it, matching her dark brown eyes and well tanned skin from being outdoors. She has three blue stripes tattooed onto her left cheek, put on her by the Apache indians when she was captured the stripes showing she was traded for two blankets and a horse; a permanent reminder of her capture.

Clothing: Lily typically wears normal long riding pants made of rough cotton, along with a white button up and a leather black sleeveless vest. With a rough trench coat completing the ensemble and of course a black wide brimmed circular hat.

Personal style: See above

Personality: Lily is a quiet and withdrawn person, not sharing personal details about herself very freely. Her tolerance for Yankee soldiers is quite low and she is quick to jump into a gun fight, though her time in the Confederate Army made her far wiser and more skilled of the gun than the average person. That being said when not being judged or tested Lily is a happy person, content to drink and gamble like anyone else; not afraid of base labor or getting bloody. She is quite fond of children.

Habits: Drinker, smoker

Regular life skills: Coach driver, Observation mapper, hunter, explorer

Combat skills
Sharpshooter - From six shooters to long rifles Lily is a proficient combatant

Close combat - Given a sword or knife Lily is fairly skilled in defeating opponents in close combat

Leader - Having seen war first hand makes Lily hardened to combat enabling her to lead in the heat of battle

Items on your person:
Griswold revolver (x2) - Lily wears a Griswold revolver on each hip, the pistols common amongst Southerners

Hunting knife - A foot and a half single edged steel knife sheathed in the boot

Flask - Not for water

Canteen - For water

Additional stuff:

-Brown pants (x2)

-White button ups (x3)

-Extra socks (x4 pairs)

-Winchester 84 lever action rifle

-Union officer's sword

What brings you to Haylliesburg: Seeking a new life, escaping Union controlled reconstruction in the south

Your life before coming to Haylliesburg: Lily was actually a wife and mother before the Civil War, although her career was the same as ever a tracker and hunter mostly at the time; her husband was an accountant and usually cared for their son at home. However a year before the start of the Civil War Lily's son Abel was taken by the flu, so when the conflict erupted husband and wife both set out to join the fray; leading to Lily cutting most of her hair off and disguising herself as a young teen boy. Not that many men cared who fought beside them as long as they were reliable when the heat was on, so naturally she formed a strong bond with those whom she fought with in the Forth Confederate Infantry. Lily lost her husband in a battle in Virginia over a bridge, the outnumbered southerners holding the structure until it could be destroyed, however Lily's husband had volunteered to set the charges and sacrificed himself after being shot to detonate the black powder being used to destroy the wooden structure. So when the war was said and done Lily had no one left, and she ventured to the west; running protection for wagon trains be they merchant or families striking across the vast nation. It was on one of these escorts that the Apache attacked the train overwhelming the defenders and seizing Lily as a prize, she spent only seven months amongst the Apache escaping one night by killing the sentinel left to guard her and the other captives.

Sample:

Lily sat high upon the back of her spotted heavy stallion, the sun's rays plummeting down onto the woman and her charges. A line of four wagons two with supplies and two with families rolling across the open grassy plains; several other guards rode beside the wagons as well each man carrying a firearm if not several along with those riding shotgun on the wagons they numbered twelve fighters. Suddenly an arrow came whirling across the open air, fired from an especially thick batch of grass; followed by loud yelping and screeching sounds Apache bursting from all around the train. Men fell quickly but began to return fire. Lily whipped her horse around and charged down the line, firing her revolver as she passed the warriors wounding some but missing those out of range. Her horse took an arrow to the neck leading Lily to fight on foot, rushing back to the wagons for some form of cover, the remaining survivors numbering only 6. The Apache quickly overtook the travelers, Lily striking down two more with the long officers blade she carried on her left hip; though she found herself knocked unconscious by a blow from behind. All and all killing over twenty four Apache warriors with only twelve fighters, Lily was stripped of her weapons and tattooed to mark her value in the tribe sold from her original captor to the next rather quickly. Lily spent the next seven months as a slave for the tribe, from menial labors to the heat of the Apache warriors before a battle or hunt, planning her escape the entire time; seeing her chance when the majority of the skilled warriors left the tribe. Headed to attempt an attack on the railroad, this left only a young boy guarding the captives teepee; Lily found a long strip of frayed rope upon the floor and crept behind the teen. Strangling him quickly and quietly before escaping, reclaiming her old weapons on the way out in a risky stealth mission into the chieftains tent which left two of his wives dead by the end.

Sample from previous rp
roleplayerguild.com/posts/3906489/raw

Favorite Western
youtube.com/watch?v=WGBw3zwzqwI

[User]
A February morning had never felt so warm on the skin of Albert White. At first he had thought it was the stale coach air being oppressive and feeling warmer in his claustrophobic throat than it actually was. How strange it was, to be so uneasy in the coach, longing for fresh air and sweating, while having no issues with packed sleeping quarters of ships which had the potential to turn into hellholes more accursed than the dirtiest of diphtheria pest houses. But it turned out he was right: it was warm. Unnaturally warm, he thought alighting in the wide dirty thoroughfare.

It was no New England, that was sure. The winter sun never burned so warm up there in the north, not even in zenith. Here in Arizona it felt more like a pleasant spring. Courtesans seemed to agree, standing on the balcony of some joint, having a smoke and most certainly sipping laudanum as well, or some other substance in those bottles they held. He put the hat on and took the satchel from the coachman holding it for him allowing him to find the rest of his belongings: a long slender thing wrapped in cloth and a bag. He gave the man a coin and tipped the leaf of the hat in thanks as the coach left with neighing of horses.

He saw a fat man sleeping in a wheelbarrow across the thoroughfare in front of a telegraph company headquarters, his head bloodied and muddied. A smaller fellow, a child or the like, walked to him and took from his person a shillelagh and ran off. God damned thief. Lawlessness the first thing I see, even at cock's hour. This is a shithole. He spat. Better move the hell on.

The hotel doors were closed -- a note written in a halfwit's hand nailed to them, informing visitors they wouldn't be opening before noon that day -- but one of the saloons -- the one on the balcony of which prostitutes were hanging around -- wasn't. He walked in, the only person besides a bartender, a younger, slow in the head looking fellow, and another employee leaning plump and shirtless on the bar next to him, eating a piece of canned peach impaled on his knife. Hastily looking around, he caught a glimpse of a monte games table and above it a big hanging sign saying NO PRIESTS: IF YOU PRAY, YOU PAY. They ceased their chatting as he approached.

"Whiskey, please. And coffee." He put money on the bar, enough money for two rounds of whiskey, looking first at them and then on the well-made quena flute framed in glass among the bottles in front of him, somehow knowing it was made of Christian bone.

[Assistant]
Chris "Buck" Buckwood was already seated in the saloon, taking a whole round table to himself with his legs propped up onto the table, leaning his wooden chair backward. A silver coin danced between his fingers and a smile played at his thin, tight lips. Despite his casual demeanor, Chris Buckwood was hard at work.

His deep-set eyes flicked back and forth at all the patrons in the saloon. Scanning for an easy mark. His suitcase sat beside him, full of all sorts of gambling "devices" and snake-oil products. You never knew when a weighted die or a vial full of "Miracle Grow" would come in handy. The job never stopped, and Buck was always on lookout for some potential...clients.

So, there was Buck, legs propped onto the table, leaning backwards in his chair, with no one bothering or wanting to sit at the same table as him, and he seemed all the happier for it. He would keep his trap shut, for now. Bide his time. Take in the atmosphere. Read people. Then he might invite someone over for a game of cards.

[User]
Lauren had never been a fan of towns, the smell of horses and their waste in the air, the buildings, faded by the wind and covered in sand. There was never a lack of people, which Lauren didn't mind at all, better for him to avoid notice. The taverns all had an unpleasant, sweaty heat, they all had the same smell, from north to south, that of beer and stale blood, a hint of vomit and desert wind. All of it was bad, there was no spirituality, men looked down from their windows with empty looks on their faces, no one gave any thought as to why they were there, what land they had mauled to make the living wood into dead buildings that stood, filled with husks and false gods, altars used for drinking and not praying. The one thing that towns gave over the many redskin villages dotting the empty land was beer, cards, and the almighty Lady Liberty, half smiling from her half-finished face on a silver slip of dead rock. Her eyes filled with stolen hope.

Almighty Liberty got you warmth, weapon, hell, anything you wanted from anyone, Liberty could get you it. Liberty clinked in every American man's pocket, kissing herself over and over until she was taken and handed to another. Lauren had liberty in his pockets, on the front of his horse, and soon-to-be liberty tied to the back, moaning and shuddering at every trot. Some criminal he had remembered, a murderer who had fast hands and a silver tongue, Lauren hadn't noticed, honestly, he had lassoed the man and pulled his heavy body to a tree, tying him, hanging like a bridge, his feet flat on the ground but his back ramping up towards the tree, held there by a rope around his neck. Lauren had crouched down next to him, comparing poster to man, one yellow and black, the other... a poster.

Lauren had been in the town before, it had been much the same then, he had laid with one of the women of the town and fought with one of the drunks, getting a nasty cut around his eye. It wasn't much to assume much the same would happen, but that was what angered Lauren, he had been doing all of this for years, finishing his bounty, going to town, engaging his carnal desires and then leaving to take another bounty so that he would have the money to take his next one. Would this be his life? What had he first set out to do? Perhaps he needed time, to think, to find himself, but first, he had to complete his bounty. Stopping his horse at the outskirts, near a large willow tree and an old creaky fence, left slightly ajar. The dust from his beast's feet stung his eyes and silhouetted the old tree, just as gnarled and twisted as any in the west.

Lauren grappled with the man's feet, pulling him onto his shoulder with great effort as the man struggled against his binds, his angry yells muffled by a makeshift gag. Now, the sheriff's office.

[Assistant]
Lily sat high upon the back of a powerful black stallion, its midnight colored mane drifting in the hot Arizona wind; her left hand wrapped around the horses leather reigns looking from side to side as she lead the horse down the main street. On the horses right side there was a long leather sheath containing her Winchester rifle, both her Griswold revolvers sat on her hips tucked away into similar leather sheaths attached to a belt sporting many more rounds of ammunition for the weapons. As she rode down the road Lily reached into the black leather vest she wore over her simple white cotton button up, pulling her flask from a hidden pocket using her thumb she popped the cap up; taking a long drink of the dark liquor which filled the steel container. She was already getting interested looks from the townspeople, not only for being a lone woman so heavily armed and alone; but for the three blue lines tattooed onto her cheek most whom saw it scowled and immediately saw her as unclean sullied by the heathen Indians.

Though she was more than used to such looks and simply ignored the stares, her hard brown eyes peering from beneath the shade of her wide brimmed hat she came up to the saloon and brought her mount to a smooth stop; swinging her body off the beast letting the hard leather of her boot soles thud against the dry ground. Lily wrapped the reign from her horse around a simple wooden post, near a water trough and several other horses; adjusting the fit of her belt as she entered the Saloon pushing the doors open with both hands letting them swing back into the shut position as she entered. Her right hand grasping the brim of her hat, pulling it off of her head walking directly up to an unoccupied stool at the bar; as she sat down Lily set her hat down on the counter her long blonde hair in a tight bun atop her scalp. Raising her voice in order to gain the bartenders attention showing her rather thick Southern accent, reaching into a small pouch and producing two dollars expecting to buy a whole bottle of whiskey; the money was dirty and had a few bloodstains across its surface. Her tone giving no hint of her taking no for an answer, looking directly into the barkeeps eyes with her own hard gaze; her hand setting the bills down on the bartop waiting to be served.

"One bottle an' a glass, if ya' please."


[System]
Age: 16

Powers: Amorphous Physiology. Simply put, he can change his form to that of pretty much anything else as long as his mass and volume would remain the same. He can also use this ability to create organic matter anyplace on his body, such as teeth, tentacles, hair, extra organs, etc. However, using his abilities for long periods of time burns untold amounts of calories, so he is usually hungry and tires quickly.

Weapons: None to speak of, but like stated before, he can use his body to crate weapons that are as hard as bone.

Bio: When Tobias was a newborn, he nearly melted in his mother's arms…literally. After running several tests on him, his doctors determined that there wasn't anything biologically wrong with him…he was still human, or at least he had human-like DNA. Still had all of his major organs (although they tended to move around every now and then…), and he had all of his fingers and toes (but again, they tended to move around…). With some instruction, and monitoring by medical professionals, Toby was able to pass for an average human being…until he hit puberty. His hormones went more out of whack than the average teenager's, and his form became less stable. By the time he was able to get himself back under control, his parents deemed that he was too dangerous to keep in 'normal' society. Hence, they sent him to Miss Dawson's Home for the Truly "Gifted".

Dreams/Wishes: He wants to be able to get more control of his form, and maybe live like a normal person. Pretty simple.

Evil, Good, Walking the Line: Tries to be good, seen as evil. Occasionally gives in to his ravenous hunger (hasn't eaten a person yet, but he once devoured a stray cat).

Siblings (If Any): None

Pets (If Any): He wasn't allowed to take his pet rabbit, Samson, with him.

[User]
Jack made his way inside having taken a short break outside after the jog over, he was maybe just a bit out of shape. By the time he got up to the food he decided on a light breakfast of a couple buttered English muffins with two fried eggs. It seemed a couple of the others not too far off from him were talking a bit and it didn't exactly seem to be going well because he could practically feel the anger coming off the girl which wasn't helped by his power giving him a good sense for it, not to mention being observant. Great just get the girl riled up immediately why don't you? He thought mildly annoyed but in no rush to get involved. He then realized who he was picking up the anger off of which was Artemis one of the younger inhabitants, and while he didn't have much direct experience with her but knew she raised the animals that they ate he didn't hear what was said but its effect was obvious to him. The thought drew out a displeased sigh from the man and he would probably step in if it got out of hand but there was no guarantee anything would go wrong yet so he moved his gaze around the room to see about the others since he had inhaled his meal.

Jack knew at least the job or if not the name of more than a few of the other residents more out of comfort for himself that anything. Knowing who and what he was dealing with was important to the man rather than just rolling up to someone and hoping for the best. However, even if he did know general info on the person it never meant he actually talked to them or at least not on a regular basis while he got them straightened out in his head. He heard music being played from one of the seats and just sat for a moment to listen, he enjoyed hearing the violinist lightening up the place, though he had no intention of going over and interrupting the young girl playing after all that would make her stop. He saw two others also sitting alone the guy being the lounge supervisor, it was likely a joke of sorts from Dawson to put him there because he was pretty sure he the guy hated it, and an older girl who worked emergency who occasionally gave off some pessimism though not so much today as usual.

Jack decided he might try to talk with the guy and figure out what upset him about working in the lounge, he remembered going through and seeing him stressed, because it seemed to be one you could just chill out while doing. He got himself up and moved over nearby to see if he couldn't get a conversation out of him.

"Hey. How is it going?" Jack asked the guy(Azai) casually trying to start off on a good foot.

[Assistant]
Rebecca arrived at the mall, noticing a few others making their way inside as well. Grabbing a plate and loading it with pancakes, she looked around at the people who had already arrived. A girl was playing the violin quite beautifully, seemingly in her own world for the time being. Rebecca recalled seeing her at the mall's ice cream shop, though she'd never spoken to the girl. She recognized a few others she knew also worked in the mall, namely the guy from the bowling alley striking up a conversation with the lounge manager. At another table, it was obvious there was some tension between a young-ish girl and older boy. The girl was practically seething, but hiding it well. Some also sat alone

Rebecca decided to sit at the other end of the table with the mall workers she had recognized. Quietly eating her breakfast, she listened to the two men, taking care not to disturb their conversation. She closed her eyes, enjoying the violin in the background. I must look stupid, she thought after a bit, and opened her eyes, looking around to see if anyone was looking at her funny.

[User]
After arriving at the mall, and disposing of his cup, Toby wasn't quite sure of what to do next. As he considered getting something to eat, he scanned the room for the attractive redhead that he'd had his eye on for the past few weeks: Artemis Reed.

He wondered if she'd mind some dude approaching her while shoveling food in his face the entire time… Well. When you put it that way… He could already feel the Hunger setting in, but he resisted. Maybe when she rejects me, I'll just grab some avocados and a peanut butter sandwich to go.

There. He finally saw her. She was seated at a table across from some guy. He couldn't tell when they were saying, but the guy certainly seemed happy. Toby was crestfallen; he'd been hoping to catch her alone. Then the sting of rejections wouldn't be so bad…or public.

Suddenly, he heard violin music and he smiled. It was that really sad song from the movie that his mom liked. Listening to music always calmed him down, he supposed that it was one of those things that confirmed that he was indeed some sort of monster; music soothes the savage beast, right?

He exhaled. It was now or never. He stuck his hand in his pocket and strode over to the table where Artemis and the guy were sitting, and took a seat nearby. "Mind if I sit here," he half-mumbled. This time, he got a good look at Artemis' face, and she didn't seem amused as she was glaring at the guy's plate.

He lowered his hood and brushed some hair from his face, still unsure whether these two were dating or not. In fact, maybe he was intruding. He was beginning to have second thoughts, but he couldn't just get up and leave. He'd already committed to his idiocy.

Instead, he glanced around, pretending to look for someone.

[Assistant]
Two weeks, five days, seven hours, forty four minutes and twenty one seconds.

"Twenty two, twenty three, twenty four.." Mumbled Eddy under his breath, counting how long he had been at the compound since he came to. He remembered very little as to what transpired to wind him up at the strange compound, he remembered looking down at his legs, pins screwed into his bones to hold them in place, then a pretty nurse came in with a tray of medicine, a small green bottle that looked to be one of those droppers. She sat by his bed side and stroked his hair, father having fallen asleep in a chair nearby and not giving him much attention.

They talked for a few minutes, the nurse and Eddy, the woman putting him at ease with her gentle voice. Eddy had never had a mother, she had passed away soon after giving birth to him, and the sound of a woman's voice was completely alien to him; in the books he had read (the numbers too numerous to recall), he always fantasized what a woman's voice must have sounded like, when a female character spoke he relied on the description his father gave him, a higher pitch to men and much smoother but every time he interpreted it in his head they just sounded like men with higher voices.

The nurse told him to open his mouth and lift his tongue, when he did so she pulled the dropper off the top of the bottle and squeezed a single drop of the sweet liquid into the soft base of his tongues. At the touch of the medicine he grew drowsy and the last thing he remembered was the fading voice of the nurse, "Sweet dreams.." She crooned.

Then he fluttered his eyes open and he was looking at a ceiling not at all like the one of the hospital, he called for his father, nothing. He called for the nurse, nothing. Ed slipped out of bed and looked down at his legs anticipating screws but found his legs devoid of metal, the only clue that he had steel pins in his bones being small dot-shaped scars around his leg. He ran, bare foot, bolting out of the apartment building shirtless, wearing nothing but grey track pants and blue socks. Eventually he found himself in the library, lost in the maze of books, but soon he settled in, finding sleeping amongst books more comfortable then sleeping in a foreign bed, he essentially moved in, building a book fort in the far corner to call home.

"Twenty five, twenty six.." He continued to count under his breath, as he flipped the page of the book he was reading, his eyes rolling over the printed ink with a practiced ease, as all he did back home was read and there, it helped him get his mind off being parted from his old life. Ed's reading was interrupted by the sound of a woman over the intercom, Miss Dawson he learned she was called, her voice wasn't like the nurse's bird song, he didn't like it, she told of breakfast at the mall. He took the woman up on her offer. Puffing out of the fort and into the hallway outside of it, he made way to the mall, still shirtless but otherwise clean (why did the library have a shower?). He plodded into the food court, looking around at all the people, 'so many people' he ported to the back of a distant line and waited to get to the front. His body buzzing and letting off a faint static hum, his energy finding nowhere to go but into the air around him because he wasn't teleporting.

[User]
Artemis was tempted by her earlier thoughts, wondering if she should act on them when another male asked him if he could sit with her instead of just sitting down like the other one. "I will talk to you later, as I'm sure we'll see each other at dinner. I think this guy wants to talk in private." She whispered to the male who was already sitting down, "Oh, and after she's done tell the violinist she was amazing and that I will also talk to her later. Thanks." Artemis looked up at the tall quite good looking male, realizing she knew exactly who he was but decided that she wouldn't bring it up unless he did.

"Sure, but let's go sit down over there. Gives us some space from all these people as you seem a bit nervous." She said the last part quietly and a soft smile appeared on her face while she relaxed a bit since he wasn't devouring her friends and their children. She picked her tray and moved to the farthest table from everyone and sat down, realizing she could've done it when she first got there and that guy wouldn't have sat with her and made her so mad that she would envision such a thing.

Once the male had sat down she decided to ask what his name was as right now she only knew his occupation for a fact. "So, what's your name? I'm Artemis Reed but by the looks of it you possibly already know who I am." She said in a cheerful voice, trying to hide the growing excitement that her sempi had noticed her.

[Assistant]
Zaniel frowned looking down at her as she said she needed light to live. Suddenly feeling like a dick for shadowing the sun from her all the time. He would just have to figure out a way to pick on his friend without worrying about killing her. "You know that is really something you should have told me, instead of saying I was hurting your plants." He said sounding a bit annoyed himself this time. He got down on his knees and started digging the row of holes from her plants muttering to himself.

He stood up watching her plant and water the plants. Once she was done he started on a second row, avoiding getting his pants in the wet dirt as he dug. He waited for her to start planting again. "How long are those plants going to take? The ones we planted last week aren't even ready to harvest yet." Zaniel asked his impatience for waiting for their garden to grow showing a little already this morning.

[User]
A surprisingly mature view on life. Alex thought to himself, as he ate in silence. Not wanting to agitate Artemis even more. That and he was also starting to think a little. For him it was easy to eat the meat. He didn't know the animal that was turned into his bacon. But he understood that if someone had a deep bond with that animal, as that girl clearly had, then eating meat must feel disgusting. For a split second he considered eating less meat. Sadly, he knew he couldn't keep that up. It tasted too damn good.

When he finished his bacon he put away his plate and went to sit in front of the girl playing with the violin. Both enjoying the slow music and waiting till she was finished playing so he could relay the message from Artemis. As an act to make up for his stupid remark. But soon the music became too enchanting and he was dragged along. He closed his eyes, and formed one of his familiar purple spheres in his hands. Just like the sun, the sphere had darker and lighter spots. Which flowed and danced along with the music, slow but fluid. Jason understood for the very first time in his still young life what the word serene meant. As all the other sounds were blocked out. And he was alone with the beautiful song, the darkness covering his eyes and the flow of energy throughout his body. Emulated by the sphere in front of him.

[Assistant]
Toby followed Artemis to the other table. Outwardly, he still seemed nervous, but inside there was a bit of excitement. After all, this was going better than he had hoped; not only wasn't she dating the guy she was sitting with, but she specifically asked Toby to come with her to a more private area.

However, he knew that he wasn't living in some anime or comic book, so he needed to calm himself down. Apparently, she didn't even know his name, although she correctly deduced that he knew hers, which made things easier, he supposed. Not to mention that she sounded pretty cheerful to be meeting him, though for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. Best just to answer her question and go from there:

"My names, uh, Tobia- Eh, it's Toby. Toby Kirtman." Then, before he could stop himself, he mentioned, "I work for the butcher."


[System]
PKMNB0Y(hey, that's me!): Satori Komeiji

VitaVitaAR: Goldibanne, Tachibana Hibiki, Saber

Grey Star: Souji Mitsuka

Great Sogeking: Kamen Rider Double

Mr_pink: Narancia Ghirga

Rin: Assassin of Black

Jake: Guts

Tachi: Akira Hoshino

Nerevarine: Yashm bint Idris al-Rashidiyya

clanjos: Kinji Takigawa

PaulHaynek: Alex Mercer

Raineh Daze: Kohinata Miku, Sir Artorias the Abysswalker

Lost Cause: Shirabe Tsukuyomi

Lmpkio: Akane "Kiryu" Yashiro

Moonman: Akuma

[User]
Kohinata Miku

Miku had initially felt confusion about her location, as well as concern about how Hibiki would take her apparent sudden disappearance. She had to push the doubt aside, though; how would Hibiki feel if she walked out on helping people just to get home quickly? Even if she wasn't a fighter, and definitely not as dangerous as the alarmingly huge man with an even bigger sword, she had a relic and the courage to use it. Even a little courage is still courage.

Staying around to wait proved to be the right choice, as an all-too-familiar voice called out from elsewhere in the group, announcing her room-mate's presence as loudly and cheerfully as ever. She hadn't quite gotten through the obstructions to Hibiki before the girl was, like ever, picking the straight and obvious path and rushing into the centre door.

The city beyond was... beautiful. They were high up with an amazing view, but the architecture and technology was unfamiliar. She hadn't heard of a city build to any sort of plan like this before, either, since city planning tended to call for not having huge drops all over the place, wherever possible, so building up like this was a strange choice. With the sound of fighting nearby, though, there was only a few seconds to react before the brunette rushed off without realising there was support.

"Hibiki!" Miku rushed over, hoping that she would be noticed. Losing Hibiki in another crowd might cause problems...

Little did the green-eyed girl know that of all the doors she could have picked, this was probably the worst world for her to wander into. Her Symphogear, after all, did share something of a resemblance to a Murakumo unit... complete with floating just above the ground.

[Assistant]
Tachibana Hibiki, Holding Determination in Her Fist

Hibiki felt like the fighting was coming from the left, but... it could have also been the right, too... was it coming from both sides? Something bad was going on... which meant she had to hurry up and help out as soon as possible! She was just one moment from running in a direction and hoping when... she heard a voice. Calling her name. And there was no way she'd ever forget the sound of that voice.

"Miku?!"

Hibiki turned on her heel and... there she was. The green-eyed, dark-haired girl was running right towards her. So, naturally, the straight and direct path, the sort of path that Hibiki always took, was to run right towards Miku, leap for her, and throw her arms around the other girl without a moment's hesitation. After all, how else could Hibiki react after seeing Miku again so soon, after thinking it would be a while before she got to see her again?

[User]
-------
13th Hierarchial City of Kagutsuchi
-------

After a few moments, Alex heard a familiar voice and gazed upwards. It was the energetic girl with the orange-y hair. She was among the first to introduce themselves. It seems she was going to be Alex's teammate for this world. He was not very sure about having a young teenager for a wingman but since she was among the summoned, it was likely that she was more than meets the eye.

One thing did bug Alex, how come she appeared in the building's roof when he appeared on the alleyway? The virus shrugged at this minor prospect and decided to rendezvous with the schoolgirl. Alex lowered himself to gather strength before leaping upwards, the gathered strength propelling him further and letting him reach the roof in a single bound.

Landing upon the rooftop, he saw the orange-y-haired girl hugging a similarly-aged girl sporting blue hair. It appeared that Alex was in the middle of a reunion and figured he should let these two have their time.

[Assistant]
Mitsuka Souji-BlazBlue

The boy quietly went through one of the three portals along with a couple others, glancing about with an amazed expression at the rather aesthetically pleasing buildings. Though there seemed to be a rather busy energy to the place considering oden was all but flung and the sounds of clashing were occurring in the distance. Seeing that the dish was taken care of by the energetic girl (who now had her girlfriend show up and was melting the surroundings with an aura of dawwwwww), Souji turned on his heels and dashed towards the din with a determined (and somewhat flustered) expression on his young face.

[User]
Artorias the Abysswalker

Artorias remained seated whilst the Recordkeeper explained the difficulties facing the world. Could it be that this 'Akashic Record' was the source of the First Flame? If that was the case, not only would his activities here mirror his work against the Abyss, then the decay that had set in across Lordran could be reversed and the sun could rise once more above Anor Londo. No matter what happened, every delay that this project caused from travelling to Oolacile was worth it.

It wasn't like the knight would have been able to refuse even if it made his task harder for no gain.

After the initial introductions were made and the portals unveiled, Artorias surveyed how the group was splitting off. The mass seemed to consist mostly of sorcerers or other armour-less fighters, which suggested that his abilities would be ill-served--and consequently, he took the third exit, joining Guts and Goldibanne in a city with materials beyond his recognition, but the unmistakeable sound of fighting.

Already, a path was beginning to clear, with the other enormous sword hacking through zombies like paper. Guts' efforts were aided when the Abysswalker leapt to the cleared space, darkened blade slashing around to carve a wide semi-circle expanding their beachhead before the blade pointed northwards, towards the combat--with the enormous wolf leaping onto another zombie and ripping its throat out. Trusting in his current associates to help, Artorias thrust forwards, impaling another three on his blade before flinging them off. With the lunge, his right was covered by the shield, but the left was open to the mass of undead.

---

Kohinata Miku

Hibiki's sudden embrace, though as warm and welcoming as ever, was hardly something that Miku was prepared for whilst running forwards and, with the collision, she ended up on the floor. Returning the hug, of course, but in no way contributing to solving the issue at hand. "H-Hibiki, the fight."

[Assistant]
In the Windy City That Never Sleeps - Philip and Shotaro
"That would be correct," Philip answered the youkai, "New York is a city in America, a large country made up of several different states. Until today, neither I nor Shotaro have ever visited it. It costs a lot to travel to America from Japan, let alone as a vacation." he remarked.

Shotaro, on the other hand, was too busy taking in the sights, the smell, the… hard-boiled air… to respond to Satori immediately. He probably knew better than to fantasize about his dream New York on the job, but he he had a feeling he wasn't going to be getting the chance to do this again any time soon. To everyone else, though, he looked… odd. He was just facing away from everyone and stared off into the distance, watching the rising sun with his hands in his pockets. You could practically see a tumbleweed make its way through until he finally spoke up. "Alright," he said cooly, "The first thing we should do to learn about what's going on," he turned his head back to the others and snapped with his left hand, "Is get a newspaper. Let's see if the public's noticed anything weird going on and had it reported."

The idea seemed smart enough for Shotaro, but Philip immediately countered it with the obvious. "Surely you don't expect us to buy a newspaper, right? Who knows if the yen of our world can exchange cleanly into the dollar of this?" Shotaro had not considered that, actually.

"…W-Well, I didn't say buy, I said get," he retorted, "C'mon, let's just ask someone who's already reading one what's up." And with that, Shotaro scanned the area for anybody that had a newspaper on them, intending to make a beeline straight for them if he could spot anyone.

[User]
Tachibana Hibiki, Holding Determination in Her Fist

Even though they'd fallen over, that didn't stop Hibiki. She wrapped her arms tightly around Miku, as the other girl did the same to her. She'd already been worrying about how long it would take for her to get back, but now Miku was by her side and she didn't have to worry about that any longer! Hibiki only stopped hugging Miku when the other girl reminded her about the fighting nearby. That's right! She had to go see, she had to help out...!

Hibiki got to her feet, taking Miku's hand to pull her up to her feet as well.

"That's right..." she said, a look of determination growing on her face as she turned, eyes following the boy who had rushed off. He'd probably be going right for the fighting as well... The girl nodded firmly.

"Stay safe, Miku! I'll be right back!" she said, leaning in and hugging the other girl one last time before turning to sprint off.

[Assistant]
Shirabe Tsukuyomi - Red Blade of War

The street Shirabe found herself deposited in was a mess. Flames covered a large amount of the area she could see, and gunfire echoed in the distance.

What was clearly a problem was the large number of shambling monsters that infested the area. And the people attacking them with large swords who she'd seen before stepping into the portal. Evidently there was only one option.

She started to sing.

Two joined round dances start your punishment

Dropping her skates out, she shot forwards, unfolding a pair of sawblades from their holders hanging from the side of her head.

I'll even turn you into pieces

Spinning around, the blades swung out on their arms in a wide dismembering circle.

By initializing my justice

[User]
Goldibanne, Face of Innocence(?)

"Oh~? An excessively large knight in shining armor and his wolf have joined the fray~?" Goldibanne giggled, even as she forced a ribbon of molten gold up between one Animate Dead's legs, slicing upwards with a sizzling sound to divide it completely in half up the middle. The corpse collapsed to both sides, smoking, as Goldibanne realized further zombies approached her from behind, more still coming from the front as well. Grinning, she piroutted and leaned back on one leg, projecting one hand forward and one hand back, and sending each of her whips of gold slicing through flesh, causing Animate Dead to collapse in dismembered heaps of body parts.

"Fufufu~ Such a collection of unique people~ Goldibanne is impressed~"

She danced back as another corpse grabbed for her, shifting from one foot to another as a flash of gold took the upper half of its head cleanly off. Ah, they were just like garbage, weren't the?

... Oh, and that new girl... such a unique fighting style! Using saws in such a way, and singing? How elegant and wonderful, certainly, Goldibanne would have to speak to her.

[Assistant]
13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi- The City Above the Clouds

As the sounds of fighting grow closer to those who approach, a pair of characters-- a man with what seems to be a human-sized puppet and something more akin to a mass of coagulated oil with a masked tacked onto it(albeit with some weird appendages sticking out of it)--appear, blocking off the pathway to the fighting. Glancing at those arriving, the man shakes his head in disapproval.

"This is no place for children right now; something is amiss, and I can't have anyone interfering with my observations. Truly, this phenomenon is a strange one, and I refuse to lose even a moment's time with my research."

With a flick of his wrist, the puppet springs to life, seemingly ready for combat if necessary.

"Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll ask you politely: turn back now and head indoors; if you refuse, then I am fully prepared to force you to do so myself."

The blob, on the other hand, turns its masked face towards the same people the man is addressing, just as ready to fight as the puppet seems to be.

Unknown City, Somewhere in the U.S.: Where Chaos and Paranoia Reign Supreme

The combined efforts of the group make quick work of the horde of zombies, leaving a giant pile of infected bodies lying in the middle of the road. The sounds of gunfire draw closer from the north, but before long, the source made itself clear: a large, camo-painted truck plowing through the streets, a large machine gun mounted on the top. The one manning it, a Caucasian man about six feet tall in what seemed to be a military outfit, seemed to be thoroughly focused on the enemies on their tail.

Namely, a group of mutated beasts, numbering about thirty or so, making a beeline for them.

"Shit!" the driver, an African American man wearing a similar outfit, shouted, attempting to swerve out of the way from the group that had just entered the location. "Who the--?! Chris! How's the rear coming along?"

"Not good, not good at all! They're too mobile and moving too erratically for me to get a lock on them!"

"Well, you'd better start trying, or else these people in front of us aren't gonna be alive for much longer!"

"People? Alive? What are you--"

"I don't know either, but we don't have TIME to ask right now! Just SHOOT!"


[System] Danielle Raymonde

[User]
Alison Fitzpatrick
Club Carousel, Morning

"Get the girl a ride somewhere, she shouldn't stay here— Make sure those dogs at Homicide don't take my damn case, and make sure all of this evidence makes it to the station. I have someone I need to see." And with that, Ashley was out of the apartment in a flurry, headed towards the club and a pair of green eyes that might have seen something that the girl didn't.

Alison grimaced at the rugged detective's partner, who was unconvincingly straight-edged. The rather unremarkable looking man offered her an apologetic smile. The curvature of his lips was even more insincere than her's; he was doing everything that he could to bring the bloodstained room back to protocol. Poor boy. This "Smith" was as green as a stick of broccoli.

"I'm going to take you to the station," Smith said with a kind, but assertive voice. "Or would you like to stay at my apartment until we can find a new place for you?"

"No."

"No to what?"

"Both."

"You aren't going to stay here, Miss Fitzpatrick."

"I am not going to spend my second night in New York in a...in a police station! I'll---I'll find a place to stay."

Smith frowned. Above all else, he wished the best for this poor naive fairy; this apartment had become cursed. She had to find somewhere. He had seen duplicates of Alison get dissolved by the system dozens of times -- moths, eagerly racing toward the flame. Perhaps this horrible day could set her on the right path. "If you want my advice, miss...Go home."

"You are preaching to the choir," Alison mumbled. "Is it all right if I gather my things?"

"Not until we conclude bagging evidence. I am sorry."

"Right. I'll be back." Alison stumbled out of the room and let her bodyweight momentously drag her down the stairs. She wandered into the subdued realm of the Carousel Club, still wearing the same nightgown as the previous evening. She hadn't even bothered to look down to witness her indecency. That was the least of her worries. She spotted the woman known as "Emerald" on the floor and hoarsely hollered toward her.

"Please help me."

[Assistant]
"Emerald"
Morning - Club Carousel

Emerald's silent reverie was interrupted by the hoarse cry behind her. She swung around from her dancing sway with the abrupt and erratic tap of her heels, lofting a brow as she beheld the girl before her, the girl from last night.

She was a wreck, worse than a wreck, with worn out eyes and still garbed in the same nightgown now wrinkled from drying through dirty rainwater. Emerald pulled the cigarette from her lips and cast the girl in a sympathetic gaze. "Oh honey, you're a mess." She shrugged out of her thick trench coat, moving to drape it over the girl's shoulders. "Let me get you a drink." She then ushered the girl over to the bar, if possible, and beckoned her to sit as she brought her own drink in front of her. "Have some of this, my favorite."

Ashley had mentioned an Alison. With the stricken look on the girl's face they must have met the same one. So this girl was involved in the murder somehow. Poor thing. "This city just won't let you alone will it?" She moved to stroke some of the hair out of her face as a soothing gesture. "What can I do you for, dear?"

[User]
Alison Fitzpatrick
Club Carousel, Morning

"This city just won't let you alone will it?" Emerald moved to stroke some of the hair out of Alison's face as a soothing gesture. "What can I do you for, dear?"

Alison took a minuscule swig of the drink and grimaced. Alcohol had not yet become a passtime of her's and the toxicity of Emerald's gift walloped her taste buds like a freight train. "...What's in this?" She shook her head. "No matter, I suppose. A drink is a drink. T-thank you." She hesitantly let another sip of the drink breach her lips.

After a few moments of shivering silence, Alison shot a nervous glance at 'Emerald'. "My roommate...she was killed. Last night." She took a deep breath and downed some more of the alcohol. "My apartment is a crime scene. They won't let me anywhere near it, now." She frowned. "I have nowhere to stay." She glanced around the massive, desolate club. She had never seen the inside anymore. She'd only constructed fantasies of it within her thoughts. She still had not really witnessed it, yet. This empty shell of a nightclub would not spring to life until the evening.

"...I was wondering...if you had a bit of room on the floor...if you could...maybe..."

[Assistant]
"Emerald"
Morning - Club Carousel

So the girl needed a place to stay. Emerald thought on her apartment, thought on the hollow shell that looked completely and utterly abandoned in its mess. She supposed it could use some company, if only for a little while. "The floor? Nonsense." She poured herself another glass of the alcoholic beverage, swirling its contents thoughtfully before taking a drink. "The floor is for rats and dust, you may sleep in the chair." She inhaled abruptly. "It extends, an old bat, but comfy as hell." Her painted red lips wrapped into what she hoped was a friendly smile, accompanied by a sweet batting of dark eyelashes.

"Its a good thing you were out soaking on that bench last night, wasn't it? Say, did you need anything, any of your possessions from your apartment? I could easily get brief access to it if needed."

[User]
Alison Fitzpatrick
Club Carousel, Morning

"The floor is for rats and dust, you may sleep in the chair." Emerald inhaled abruptly. "It extends, an old bat, but comfy as hell."

Alison frowned and folded her arms, resting them underneath her bosom and lowering her head. She had been grateful for Emerald's help, but she had deteriorated in a matter of days, seemingly not even by events of her own fault. Forces beyond her understanding had thrown away her exciting adventure to New York, and reality had crashed into Club Carousel like a freight train.

"...Thank you. I'll make it up to you somehow. I just don't know how yet...I'll find a job, and I'll help you pay rent until I can find a new place of my own."

[Assistant]
"Emerald"
Morning - Club Carousel

Emerald almost guffawed. She managed to reduce it into a small, musical chuckle. "Oh hon, you're so intense, so serious. It's not like I'm saving your life or anything." She drummed her painted fingertips on the bar, watching the rhythmic movement with an amused smile curling her lips.

There was something itching at the back of her mind, a small concern. "Tell you what, doll," She mulled the idea around for a moment, not sure if she could truly trust the girl before her. "You can pay me back by keeping my secrets, hm? Every accomplished lady has a few. You will no doubt become acquainted with a few of mine if we are to be sharing a residence." Her amused smile widened into a charming one, displaying her pearly whites in an attempt to sugar coat the darker undertones of her request. "Deal?"

[User]
Ashley Gallagher
Afternoon - Outside of the Police Station

"So uh, Ashley, buddy," Smith had something akin to bemusement written all over his face. Like a child, wanting in on the joke. "You kind of left me hanging there, you know? Storming out of the crime scene with a grin like a modern Sherlock Holmes."

"I didn't take you for the bookish type, Smith." Ashley began, speaking around puffs of his cigarette and gazing out over the road at the collection of cars puttering to and fro. "Or the metaphor type for that matter."

Smith shrugged, that charming grin returning to him. The boy was a heartbreaker, with those pretty eyes and that boyish smile. It was no surprise to Ashley that he had managed to settle down early with a beautiful wife and a steady career-- the pretty people always did find life a tad easier. "The Missus thinks its good for the mind, you know? You uh, you gonna tell me where you ran off to?"

Ashley splayed his hands in a mockery of exasperation. "Do I ever?"

"I suppose not." Smith lit his own cigarette, tapping it gently against the side of his finger to shed some of the excess ash from the tip. "You always were a dick."

"You're breaking my heart, Smith. Here I thought I was a charmer."

"The Missus is out for the night, drinking with the girls, left Joey with a friend. I got nothing to do, you could make it up to me by buying me a drink, old man."

"As riveting as that sounds, I have a prior engagement."

"What, brooding over a whiskey alone?"

Ashley didn't even honor that with a response, simply took a drag from his cigarette.

"Don't think I don't know about your little pouting sessions, Ashley. We're practically married. I know when you're ignoring me for another woman."

"That woman being whiskey?"

"That woman being feeling sorry for yourself, Gallagher."

"Yeah, well." Ashley dropped the cigarette to the floor, flattening it with the toe of his shoe. "I'll see you tomorrow, Smith. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Evening - A Brooklyn Home

"Come on Gallagher, pick up."

Smith maintained the steadiness of his hand as he spun the phone dial around, the abrasive noise cutting through the thick silence. He held his pistol up, ready. The phone rang, nothing. Damn it, Ashley. He readied his gun, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach, the creak of floorboards, and dialed again.

[Assistant]
Alison Fitzpatrick
Club Carousel, Late Evening

Alison put the finishing touches on her bedding. She'd created a fortress of blankets on Emerald's floor, and for now, that would have to substitute for her apartment. She wasn't allowed to get any of her things; Julie, her boy-toy, and the entire place were still part of an ongoing investigation. Emerald hadn't returned yet. She was under the impression that the woman would be on her way up once closing time – an unearthly hour of 2:30 – arrived. That was fine. It gave her a few hours to reflect on her own.

After washing her face, Alison submerged herself into her incredibly comfortable blanket-fort. She'd set it right next to Emerald's bed. As much as she didn't want to be in the woman's hair, she was still wary. She didn't know why, though; her roommate's murder seemed to be a crime of passion. Nonetheless, the darkness of that morning still lingered with her.

There would be no more of that. Alison had come to New York to find happiness. And that was exactly where she would head. Manhattan was a dirty place, filled with many secrets, but she would carve a fulfilling existence out of it. She knew she could – she had to.

After a while, the door to Emerald's apartment slowly opened and Alison smiled. She'd finally come home. Alison kept her face planted into the pillow as she tried to formulate the words she wanted to say to Emerald. She had to keep her 'cool' this time around – some form of gratitude, but far less intense than what she had offered earlier.

Emerald tapped her on the neck and Alison rolled over. "What?" However, upon looking, the silhouette before her was far larger than she'd expected. Emerald had put on some sort of large coat, and the figure in the dark was strange. "Emerald?"

A laughing began to emanate through the apartment. It wasn't her. A hoarse, grotesque tone of voice reverberated through the room.

No, no, no, no. The figure grabbed her by the arm and pulled her upright. "Please! I—" The figure interrupted her by slamming his fist onto her lips, breaking several teeth and causing blood to pour out of her gums. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She could not see the figure's face, but she could smell him. He smelled delightful – like a stunning mix of cologne and roses. She sobbed as he continued to hold her arm. He was strong; his very grip strained her forearm and kept her from moving.

"Help!—" Her scream was once again silenced as the figure now held his palm over Alison's mouth. He retrieved a glinting object from his belt, which upon holding out, appeared to be a machete. He jammed it into Alison's gut and turned the blade. His muted hand could hardly even suppress her screaming. The pain was unbearable. Blood began to gush out of her chest. She made one last attempt to free her mouth and scream, and she successfully wailed into the hallway. "Help me!"

The figure decided that enough was enough. He shoved his blade into Alison's eye and into her brain, impaling her head onto the wood of Emerald's bedframe. She was gone. He ripped Alison's other eye out of its socket and tossed it onto the floor. He retrieved his usual rose from his pocket and planted it inside of her free eyesocket, presenting a sickening bloom from inside her skull. Help would be on the way. He destroyed the window, climbed out of the fire escape, and disappeared into the darkness.


[System]
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6ft
Weight: 180lbs
Sexual Orientation: Hetero
Religion: Atheist
Occupation: Telekinetic For Hire and Social Media Influencer

Ability: Telekinesis

Background: Scott was broke and unemployed when he vanished on the day of the incident, only to come back with a splitting headache and still not have a job or money. Odd jobs and handy work here and there had kept him afloat, but debt collectors and loan sharks were closing in on him. During a run in with a loan shark, Scott discovered his ability when he stopped the loan shark from reaching towards him. It was enough to make the guy flee. It was also enough to make some money once he figured what he could do. He was sure he had telekinesis based on what he already knew about superpowers, his research, and practice. Between Heroes and Chronicle, Scott had some good references to go off of.

Within a week, Scott was posting videos of his abilities, being one of the first of the Fractured to expose their abilities to the world. At the start he was considered another David Blaine or Criss Angel, but then he started to move onto recording live streams from his phone of feats and deeds performed by way of his powers. From saving cats from trees to pretending to be a mime on the street. He still does odd jobs, except now they pay more and are lot more interesting thanks to the incident. #Fractured!

Name: Marcus Henderson
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2
Weight: 200lbs
Ethnicity: Black
Sexual Orientation:
Religion: Agnostic
Occupation: Security Guard

Ability: Molecular Fusion/Mimicry

Background: Grew up in the system, in foster care due to his single mother being a drug addict. With not many good male role models, Marcus turned to the not so decent ones. This led him to committing petty crime at a young age, he never finished high school and was instead arrested for theft. It was the first time hos actions had serious consequences. It didn't entirely scare him straight, but he earned his GED and pursued a job with a small and local security firm. He often helped move drugs which allowed him to befriend Jason Koravil along the way.

When the incident occured, Marcus didn't seem to care much about the details of the whole thing. He was a simple guy trying to make a living, but now he jad powers. They weird as fuck in his opinion, but he felt like a living weapon with this kind of power.

[User]
It was rather easy getting into the CCN Center, and that's made her Alena smirk a little. Some of the cops she had killed, were annoying anyway. They were always so quick to draw their guns and now a few cops were dead because of her. Alena's posture changed as she appeared in front of Erica, considering this was a safe environment for now due to Alena's powers, she would be able to talk to Erica freely and she'd grin lightly before nodding slightly. Of course she would say that, but then again, she called herself a god, didn't she?

"I'm calling you, Magpie because you always like shiny things. You take what doesn't belong to you. So do I, that's why I killed about. Let me count.... way above thirteen cops outside. I believe you and I can do great things. We could rule the world. I'm Alena, by the wya."

Alena stated as she looked towards Erica and would stand up before approaching her and extending her hand, offering a handshake as she smiled lightly. Alena would then close her eyes for a moment and then looked back, she could hear the cops converging on their position and she would let go of Erica's hand before turning around and manifesting two electrical spheres in both of her hands and then laughed lightly.

"Are you ready to light these cops up?" @Chulance

[Assistant]
Ivy

---

In Ivy's office three screens were on with the news, National news, local news, and state new were being fed to the screens. The computer monitor to the left of her desk brought data in from the departments under her control. Right now the State Police feeds were a buzz with activity about the attack at the CNN towers. The reports were more about the forces being pulled to deal with the terrorist attack. Ivy knew a couple of the journalists that were attacked and her heart went out to them.

Her secretary and the man behind her power, her chief-of-staff entered the room. He said to her, "We need you in the press breifing room now."
Ivy quickly fixed her makeup and pulled her jacket on. She still looked like the fresh young twenty something blond reported that was going to change the world by her work. She had exposed corruption in both state parties and took down a federal judge. The work was hard but she had a nose to dig into minute details critical to getting to the truth. But now she was a mother of two children and a wife to a doctor. Her chief of staff had talked her into politics. Like many southern democrats she was financially conservative and a social moderate. The reporter in her was trained to deal with facts, though reporting became more about entertainment.

The truth right now was to get on the television and calm down Georgia and the nation. The President had four months of the best researchers and scientist at his disposal to deal with this stuff. Even a few of the gifted or enhanced scientists had tried to advise the president. Now the registration bill was more about military spending, pork for his buddies, and power play to put the democratic face on these "Empowered" human criminals.

Ivy walked down the hall as her chief of staff briefed her. Four large State Troopers took position as body guards. The State Police expected a state of emergency power declaration.

After a brief introduction, Ivy stepped out to the podium. She had her serious game face on.

"Ladies and gentleman, Georgians, Americans, and citizens of the world. For the last four months the leadership in Washington has failed you," she said the accent clearly Georgian though she did not draw the you out.
"Today we see what their failure of leadership has brought. Citizens of Georgia killed because of the arrogance, game playing, and power grabs of a few people in high office. US House Bill 236, sponsored by the President and his party, does not get us where we need to go. There is more spending for special projects, benefits for the friends of the President, and it takes away your civil rights. It is 5126 pages of items that have nothing to do with the problem at hand. What we need are laws that makes sense...." she paused for a moment working the camera and the emotions of those in the room.

[color=#8df542]"As the Governer of Georgia I am authorizing the agencies in my administration to start preparing for registering those with powers and to determine what type of powers. I am not going to the point of allowing them to use excessive force on all those with powers or to jail them. We are still a state and a country that follows the law and gives people due process. But we need to know who and what we are dealing with. I am also calling the Georgia House and Senate back into session to bring me a bill that would allow for the registration and funding to carry it out, support the victims, and incarcerate and rehabilitate those who misuse their powers," [\color] she said in a tone that meant that she meant business. Her chief of staff was a man who knew this would play well and take the wind out of the President's sail and put him on the defensive.

"As a mother that's son was killed by an enhanced person, I know the pain and fear they can cause. I know that there are both good and bad enhanced people. Like a child learning to drive, some of learning to control them and need help. I have heard reports of enhanced people, saving children from flood waters and fires. Not all of the enhanced are bad people. But like all of the other things we register, we need to have them register their abilities. I also call for the enhanced to help us police and protect the citizens of this great state and nation. Don't start acting as vigilantes and taking the law into your own hands." She said with a maternal plea and tone.

There were a few questions that were directed to the podium about details. Her chief of staff fielded them with the normal, we are still waiting for information and more will be provided when the administration had it.

Towards the end of the press conference, Ivy was getting ready to make her good-byes.
A reporter called out, "Governor Ivy, Are you planning to run for president?"
Ivy blushed a genuine blush.
"I do declare! The thought hasn't even crossed my mind. I've only been Governor for a short period of time and right now," she said then paused for effect.
"My focus is on keeping the good people of Georgia safe. That is why we need to pass a simpler Empowered Registration Bill, it is sad to see that this President and congress are making this a partisan issue. Putting politics in front of children like my Tyler and allowing the empowered criminals to be above the law like some others think they are."
She let that hang, letting people associate it with whoever they felt fit that bit.
"Let me be clear, there are good honest Empowered people and I want to protect their rights too," Ivy said.

Again the voice called out. "Are you going to run?"
She waved.
Running for the presidency she knew that would take a lot of money. She have yet to have a big political machines to help her. Over her years as a report she had made both republicans and democrats mad at her. There would need to be a ground swell of support.

[User]
Corvus Helstrom and Matthias Helstrom

 It has been four months since Corvie and Matthias had come back from the dead, reforming from the dust that had been left to gather in the abandoned Helstrom household. Their disappearance had caused great heartbreak for their mother, father, and sister; in their grieving and utter despair in the wake of their terrible loss, what remained of the Helstrom family had moved away to Atlanta, Georgia, where they had made a new life and home for themselves. Their old home was sold to a newly wed couple from Augusta, who expressed their deepest condolences to the Helstroms as the latter left Maine entirely in an effort to keep the pain that they had felt in the day of the brothers' disappearance from resurging again and again. Mariah, Matthias' widow, had returned to Ontario, Canada, believing that her beloved was gone forever and ever from the face of the Earth.

 But they returned. Those that had been turned to dust during the Event had all returned, and in their comeback, some had manifested powers that are beyond the ken of human science to ever explain and know. Corvus and Matthias were among those that had returned to the world of the living, and in their return, the younger brother manifested the power of an unearthly form of fire; a blueish green flame that would not burn unless if Corvus willed it so. Matthias was given the power of ice and cold by whatever unknown source these powers had come from. And now, well, they had reunited with their family in Atlanta, bringing great joy and relief as they had been thought to be long dead. Their newfound abilities were no secret to the rest of the Helstroms, either, and it was clear that nothing will ever be the same.

---

Atlanta, Georgia
The Morning

 "Matt." Corvie called out as he mixed his morning coffee on the dining table. It was six am; the other Helstroms were still asleep, tired from the birthday party for Corvie that they had thrown last night. It was a miracle, their mother said. Mariah had even flown in from Canada when she heard that Matthias and Corvus were still alive and... well, let's just say that they can't get back together now that she had found someone else... which was quite sad, really.

 Matthias got up from the sofa and walked towards Corvie and his morning coffee, giving him a very snuggly hug from behind before sniffing the aroma wafting from the coffee. "Hi little bro. You're awake so soon?"

 "I just woke up." Corvus confided, sipping from the cup while putting a hand a piece of paper that he had been scribbling on for a few minutes now. "It's just that... everything is so different." That last phrase came along with him conjuring a ball of fire on his hand, looking at it very intently. "Your... wife, I mean, ex-wife... you two can't get together any more, and our house got sold..." There was a whimper, and a tear dripped on the table. "It's unfair. We got this powers but the things that really matter are unrecognizable. People look at us as though they see a ghost."

 "Oh, dear." Matthias sat on a chair and wrapped his brother around his arms, comforting him. "Everything is really weird ever since we got back, but we'll get through this. Give it time."

---

Atlanta, Georgia
Somewhere near the CNN Towers
Now

 "Oh my God." Corvus looked up at the CNN towers, watching as the events in live television unfolded. He had been walking back from school when the horrid news came in; an Empowered mass murderer had broken into the CNN towers, killing dozens of people in the process. He was right there, in front of the towers. Now... the time for decision has come. Why does he have these powers if he can't do anything useful with them, anyway? All he could do was watch as the police converged in the entrance.

 And then, a rather familiar hand took hold of his arm. Corvie looked up to see his brother Matthias, who looked a little worried. "Hey, what are you still doing here?", Matthias asked. "Don't tell me you're gonna go in there!"

 "I'm not! The police will block me even if I wanted to, anyway." Corvie sighed rather dejectedly. "We should help... why have powers if we can't use them to help people..."

[Assistant]
Scott
Honolulu, Hawaii

Interacting With:

---

---

Hours after the beach ball incident.

Scott was vibing to some opera music playing through a single airpod as he levitated a large statue of a happy nuclear family into the newly reconstructed city square that he had aided in building for months.

"Niiiice…" He said with a smile, but not at the statue, but at his phone screen that floated in front of him while he used both hands to guide the statue in place with his power. "Superboy Rhymes, thanks for that epic super chat! Unlimited powah! If only I could shoot lightning too! Aaaaaaand there! Look at that!" Scott had set the statue down.

Moments later after ensuring he was paid for his work, Scott crouched down dramatically as his phone orbited around him before he took off into the air, flying to his next destination.

"That's always epic!" He shouted to his audience. "I think it's about time King Scott did a world tour! Maybe I'll actually get a cool villain somewhere on the mainland."


[System]
Race:
Human (Male)

Age:
25

Class:
Lancer

Origin:
Avenase (Defector)

Weapon:
Barbed Spear

Magic:
Blizzard, Thunder

Personality:
 Nitire spent a good majority of his early adulthood in the military of Avenase, and knows how to follow orders and march in line with the rest of the pack. However, he is above all compassionate and empathetic, which led to his ultimate decision to leave his homeland and desert the army in favor of the RSG. This decision still tugs at his heartstrings, dreading the day he stumbles upon family or friend on the battlefield as an enemy and traitor. In his mind though, he'd rather die a traitor then a villain. Once he realized he was fighting for nothing more than a tyrant and a devil, he bided his time until events transpired that secured his defection.

 Not one to bow out of a fight, Nitire is passionate to a fault as he fervently defends his stance on any matter often to the point of personal conflict. He believes strongly in the warrior's code, and will do nothing to tarnish his honor more then it already has been. With his spear and his body, he vows to see the tyranny end and revel in the peace left in the ruins of it's downfall.

Loyalty:
Tormin

Rank:
(TBD)

History:

 Born to a simple merchant family, Nitire grew bored of his place in life and often set out to find ways to liven his dull existence. First, he played the rebel during his school years, finding himself at ends with teachers and other officials as he constant roused 'excitement' in all manner and forms. These years saw him involved in several brawls with other students, often suspended and nearly expelled all together. However, the day his father passed, Nitire took time to mellow and reflect on this event. Now a bastard at the age of 16, he began to make an effort to reform himself as he strove to better his grades and create a better name for himself. Needless to say, it was rough since most teachers and officials had grown to despise the young man. Despite all this, he graduated and moved onward to military service- a staple for young men in the country of Avenase. So with that, he bid farewell to his mother as he set off for a glorious future as a man of war.

 As with every new recruit, his initial time was a struggle as he tried to fight his rebellious nature and conform to his superiors. However, this mentality didn't last long as he found himself beaten and 'disciplined' to the point of a nearly broken psyche. Quietly he began to gather up the broken fragments and mold them -although coerced- into a perfect soldier. If your commander said to jump, he asked how high? If you were ordered take a new recruit and 'enlighten' him to how the squad worked, he did it. This went on for man years as Nitire merely acted as a vessel for the armies will... That until he was forced out of his daze to the true nature of his superiors.

 It was supposed to be a simple engagement; a small skirmish on the border with an underwhelming retinue. Despite this information, the captain of his platoon gathered an overwhelming number of soldiers and began the march to the field of battle. Sure enough, fighting ensued as the forces clashed. Nitire was tasked with assaulting the enemies rear with an ambush designed to lure the enemy into overextending. Once again, Nitire did not question this as he took his spear and awaited with the others of the assault squad. Just like clockwork, a small squad acting as a diversion lured the Tormin forces further into Avenasian territory. With a rallying cry, Nitire and his brothers struck a decisive blow against the enemy- who by this point has suffered numerous casualties and eventually surrendered. All the soldiers were rounded up and locked away at camp, left there for questioning with the promise of freedom... Or so Nitire was told.

 "Next." The burly mountain of a man spoke, wiping his blade clean of the freshly spilt blood that now stained his metal and the grass beneath him. As a couple of soldier stepped forward to haul away the freshly disposed corpse, another was led before the towering man and forced to his knees. Nitire watched on in horror as one after one the men were dispatched without mercy or consideration- even if they provided valuable intel.

 "This isn't war! This is nothing more than a slaughter!" Nitire protested, his old rebellious and passionate tendencies begining to reawaken.

 "Shut up, you insubordinate fool! One more outburst and I'll see you in chains along with the other dogs!" His commander retorted, followed by a heavy backhand that threatened to topple the younger and smaller male. It was at this point, Nitire had his revalation and began plotting his future actions.

 Fast forward a few weeks later, and once again they were in the midst of conflict. Set to be part of the assault squad once more, he intentionally set himself at the back of the column. Once the signal was given to attack, the man rounded and began to flee towards the border. It was a heart pounding experience, having to duck in and out of cover as he continued to try and evade any possible pursuers. Luckily enough, the venture wasn't met with any more turmoil as his eyes fell upon a lone harbor and a boat departing soon for the landmass. Using the last of the funds he had on his person, he 'paid' (bribed) the captain to allow his passage aboard the ship to the opposing nation in this conflict.

 He didn't know what else to do... Or rather, he wasn't sure. He had heard stories of the nation of Tormin and it's leaders. 'A nation fighting for peace?' A thought that played out in his head the entire trip across the sea. After seeing the brutal and often evil nature of his commanders in the Avenasian army, he began to entertain the idea of fighting against those who oppressed him and the many others during his time there... More so, he began to envision fighting for a noble purpose. It was then he made up his mind, committing to the idea of surrendering to the Tormin army and volunteering to enlist. He knew there was a chance he'd simply be detained; possibly even deported back to his homeland, but he'd have to try.

 Once the boat made landfall, he found his way to nearest city and surrendered himself to the local guard/militia. At this point, his fate was in the hands of the RSG.

[User]
"My queen, when you stop questioning yourself on whether you do the right thing or not is the day I would worry. Because doubts are what keep us human, and keep us in check as mortals. They strengthen us with the reason they bring. As for whether or not you will give the wrong orders, you may. People may die because of them. But it is because they CHOOSE to fight for you and serve you. You have given people hope, prosperity and most of all a sense of purpose." Kessig pulled her gaze to meet his own. He stared into her misty eyes knowing she hated being vulnerable. "Luna, listen to me. When things get to be too much that's when you come to me ok? I am always here for you. I believe in you heart and soul. I have no idea why the Gods decided to make me as lucky as I have been, but if there is anything I can do to relieve just a little of your burden, please do not hesitate to ask. I know I am a simple soldier, but you make me feel as though as I am so much more. That is how I like to think the citizens feel about you as well. You give them a voice when they have been silent for too long."

"As to Shirok, trust in him as we trust in you. He is a crafty fellow, and from my reports, he's earning the king's favor. Maybe arrange for a code phrase he can send to us. One that if he feels truly in danger, we can dispatch a few men to rescue him. These are just my thoughts of course." Kessig saw her deflate a bit after the talk. He checked to make sure the door was shut, and no one could see them through the window. "Now, let me help you forget about the weight of the world a bit. . . "

[Assistant]
Nitire Segundis

 Nitire fell silent as the woman from before stepped forward, seeming ready to address him as well. He took a moment to look over her form, noting first her age and then her stance. It was obvious by the way the soldier's regarded her, she had some standing, but at her age? Nitire couldn't help but chuckle as she finished her questioning.

 "Believe it or not, we Imperials aren't all heartless monsters." Nitire offered, shrugging his shoulders as his mancles resounded slightly, "But, I couldn't fight for my home anymore. Not after seeing how easily they cast off and discard their humanity." It was after this he paused, noticing the one called Tyme questioning the other soldier just out of hearing range. At first, his curiosity was peaked, but soon his attention would fall back onto the female. "I heard this nation is fighting for peace above all else... I had hoped to fight for such a cause, but I'm ready to accept whatever fate awaits me."

 It was then Tyme stormed to her side, seeming slightly agitated by whatever had transpired. 'Probably advising her not to speak to me. Don't blame the guy.' Nitire nodded in agreement to his own thoughts, falling silent as he stood erect. It's true after what his nation had done, many of this land would likely consider him a monster and view his very existence on this nation as a blight. However, he was grateful for the way they had been treating him, and for the first time in about a month, he felt like a human once again.

 However, his thought process was interrupted abruptly as Tyme now spoke out in his direction. At first, Nitire was surprised by his tone, but narrowed his eyes attentively as he locked his gaze with the other man. As Tyme's gaze flickered between Nitire's and his braclet, Nitire too look down at the small bangle upon his wrist. To be honest, he thought it an odd bauble, but it was standard issue field gear. He never gave it much thought, but now he grew curious. As Tyme began to reveal the nature of these braclets, Nitire couldn't help but widen his eyes in slight surprise.

 "Huh... Never knew this small thing was worth a damn." Nitire chuckled, closing his eyes as he shook his head. The prospect of having something that volatile on his person was somewhat alarming, but the fear was quickly overcome. If he had worn it for this long- odds are he'd be fine for awhile longer. However, his interest fell back to Tyme.

 'These braclets were made from him? What is this guy?

[User]
Katherine smiled at Nitire, "I wasn't implying you all were. There's good and bad people everywhere. I was simply curious as to your situation..." she listened to Tyme as he explained the bracelets. She gave him a very curious look. "...Just who are you, Tyme?....Nevermind, you can explain later. I bet you're just going to brush off the question anyway," she sighed, "But that thing can't just explode on it's own, can it?"

She and turned her attention back to Nitire. Thinking a moment before speaking, "...I still can't say I trust you completely to be honest, however I'm a beleiver in giving people a chance to prove themselves. I can't let you just walk up to one of the most important people in Tormin just like that so here's the deal. If you're sincere, come with me and help me on my mission. I'm sure Tyme and I could use it. Luna may or may not be happy with me about it, but I won't risk her safety. If we have a deal, I can get those manacles off you and we can be on our way. Those things do not look comfortable..."

Kathy offered him her hand to shake on it.

[Assistant]
 Nitire's gaze focused back on the woman before him. With a slight chuckle, he rolled his shoulders- his manacles jingling slightly as he settled back into a casual stance. To be honest, the prospect of meeting the leader of this army wasn't too appealing at this point. However, he couldn't help but feel uneasy about defying the head of command. After a long moment of silence on his part, he'd shrug with a slight smile as he took her hand firmly within his own.

 "Deal," Nitire said, releasing her hand shortly after the shake as he now extended his manacles to the woman, "Might just be my nature, but I can't miss out on some action. People always said I had a rebellious side." With this, his smile would shift to a more quizzical look. It was one thing to be offered a mission without any form of interrogation or induction, but she seemed readily unphased by his statement from earlier. From the things he witnessed, he had convinced himself that he would be considered a monster and be met with disdain..."Katherine was it? Not like I don't appreciate it, but you're putting your neck out there for an Avenasian. Doesn't that bother you?" His gaze and vision softened slightly.

 Perhaps he'd not given these people enough credit. Perhaps his ranting on his execution had been misplaced... With that on his mind, he'd fall silent and await her reply, his manacled arms outstretched towards her. Then his eyes settled back on Tyme. He seemed to know alot about the state of affairs Nitire had found himself in. It is possible this man was an Avenasian as well? All speculation aside, he settled on just focusing on whatever task he was offered.


[System]
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Personality: Maiko is a spirited and energetic young woman. She has a real get up and go attitude and a drive to work hard and play harder. For her, work is less about earning a pay check and more about doing her part for the people around her, like her family. However, she has become quite invested in her current line of work and wishes to pursue it further in the future, even if it's not terribly prestigious. While far from intentionally careless, Maiko favours a highly direct approach to any task given to her, preferring to just try and get the job done rather than find some subtle third way of succeeding. If at first she doesn't succeed, she will simply throw herself at the problem until it is solved, whether there might be a more efficient way or not.

Maiko is prone to speaking plainly with people. While not necessarily rude, she tends not to indulge in formalities and will often speak with far too much familiarity with people she really shouldn't. She often assumes a certain level of friendship with the people she meets, even if they've hardly begun to approach any real sense of camaraderie. Unless met with explicit hostility, she will carry on acting as if she's great friends with anyone she has made an acquaintance of, and even if met with hostility, she won't stop pestering them. As far as she sees it, an enemy is just a friend that hasn't learned to like you yet, and they will with enough hard work and effort.

Skills: Maiko has always been a semi-athletic sort. She is hardly a professional, but she took to riding a bike from an early age and she continues to ride hers extensively, especially as her bike is integral to her part-time job. Her legs are basically her number one tool of her trade, and she is well suited to moving swiftly as a result. Maiko also happens to possess a wide variety of general knowledge on a number of subjects due to doing a whole lot of random reading. However, this is all fairly inconsequential knowledge, and nothing that has ever given her more than a bunch of random facts to throw into conversations.

Equipment: Just a phone for her own purposes. Coming from a mildly technophobic family, she doesn't use it as extensively as others.

Soul Arts: Gale Force: This art allows Maiko to create forceful gusts of wind to either assault an enemy with or to propel herself, and make concentrated slashing attacks. At the moment, the strength of these gales doesn't amount to much more than a fairly strong push, and the slash attacks are only mildly more powerful than, say, a regular steel blade. Maiko's chip slots into her left thigh.

Brief Backstory: Maiko is the daughter of a local office head for the Mainichi Shinbun. Her father ushered her into her current part time job of delivering newspapers as well as impressing upon her his own respect for the written word. Having seen the decline of interest in newspapers and reading around the world, Maiko's father has always been invested in trying to promote the use of traditional media, and no one more than his own family knew how hard he pushed the stuff. Where others might have received the latest trendy gizmos and gadgets, Maiko got books, books, and more books. The only reason she even got a phone was because her mother insisted she needed to be contactable in an emergency. Last year was the first time their house ever had a t.v., and that was only because her older brother saved up enough to buy a cheap one. He was only allowed to keep it after having a lengthy argument with their father.

Maiko was a little hesitant to even try the Strange Gospel app, knowing her father would have a fit if she used her phone for anything unnecessary. However, her brother, ever defiant, decided to make use of it, and she did so too in secret. Of course, the moment the creepy stuff started, Maiko immediately stopped using it. Her brother didn't, thinking it was just the work of some punk hacker and would be corrected eventually. He disappeared one day like some of the others that used it, and now Maiko wonders just what became of him.

[User]
CHIYU SHOUKEI

A crystallised what future?

It wasn't too hard for someone to guess that Chiyu Shoukei was, as of this moment, very much confused. The explanations the girl was giving them were a bit too much for her exhausted brain to comprehend, especially when they were ... trapped on the Moon or something? She didn't know, but they definitely weren't in Kansas anymore or however that movie line went. It all sounded like some weird dream, except she'd pinched herself earlier and her cheeks were still red from that, so there was absolutely no way that was going on. She was 100% standing around in some place with a girl who believed herself to be a god.

Aah, she thought to herself, nodding sagely. This is the point where I'm supposed to be panicking.

Except she wasn't panicking. Because she wasn't in danger or anything. Just ... stuck in some weird place. And if she could believe the girl - Tsukiyomi - then they could go home. And she could just go along with it all, head home, do her homework and fix up all the stuff she needed to do that was important, and brush it off as some sleep-deprived super hallucination or something the next morning if she wasn't able to get some sleep.

A-ha-haha-ha yeah nah.

Infinite library of possibilities? Akasha? Soul Arts? There was this way too much weird for her to just casually forget and pretend didn't happen! Aaargh, this wasn't supposed to be an anime! Her normal, average day-to-day life made sense to her: struggle with buildup of homework, deal with annoying student council things, wonder if the economic crisis would screw her over, lament the lack of boyfriend despite having not even tried to get one, murder, et cetera. It didn't have - wasn't supposed to have - people plonking them down into some dreamscape thing to talk about vaguely metaphysical concepts or something! She closed her eyes and pinched her forehead in frustration, letting out a quiet groan. This wasn't like, anything she was expecting the day to go.

Except it was going that way.

Aaargh.

Okay brain, settle down for a sec ...

No matter how tired her neurons were, she needed them to work a little bit more. Because she was in a weird place, and the important thing was getting an idea of how she could get out of it. So she could go back to her perfectly normal school life and not hang around like a weirdo which she totally wasn't.

Things she could parse:

a) this was weirdo land

b) this dame claims to be a moon god (mental note: donate to local shrine)

c) Strange Gospel is bad stuff and this is probably all its fault??

d) Are Soul Arts -

"-magic powers?" she blurted out. Ack. Shoukei immediately moved to correct herself. "Soul Arts, I mean. These USBs. They're uh, magic?"

And they uh, had magic abilities to ... stop Strange Gospel? She wished her brain worked better. But magic USBs was ... where everything was going? They needed magic USBs to stop the bad things of Strange Gospel? It wasn't something she was very believing in, but was like ... pushing this conversation along the quickest way to get back to normal stuff?

[Assistant]
— Hollow Space —

All at once she took a couple of steps forward and cuffed Keita on the back of the head.

"Nobody goes to jail for a little shoplifting."

Haruko paused for a second, thinking.

"If you get arrested they might kick you out of school though. Then you'd have all the time you need to sort this out."

She mulled over the other things that were said. There was no telling what form these powers might take or what kind of opposition they might have to face.

"So is this an all or nothing deal? I can't see you bringing all of us here if only a few will do."

[User]
As usual, Manami was just barely keeping up with this conversation. Her expression revealed none of the confusion rumbling through her mind as she parsed the information. What alarmed her the most was that any future witnessed became inevitable. Maybe questioning such a thing was silly at this point, but... could that really be true? If... if anything remotely dangerous was seen through the app, that event was going to come to pass, no matter what...?

Tsukuyomi then presented them with... USB drives? The goddess mentioned something about soul arts... was that another app or something installed on the drives? Unfortunately, the device wouldn't be of much use to Manami; all she had was a family PC at home, and nothing that was both portable and USB-compatible. Well, at least not without an adaptor or two. Either way, having to go back home, then make her way back to this space and towards a tower, filled with Tsukuyomi-knows-what, seemed a little bit counter-productive.

Still, it was hard to just flat-out refuse. The surreal situation was doing a good job of preventing the disciplinarian from just outright dismissing the whole situation, but it was still far too difficult to just blindly accept the scenario and agree. Even if it was for the greater good, even Yamada Manami had to pause for a second, here.

As the others asked their questions, Manami eventually stepped towards the little girl, kneeling down slightly. As mad as the situation was, she could at least accept a USB drive, and see what was installed on it? It could be passed on to a professional, or her parents, basically anyone with actual qualifications, and they could deal with this mess.

"May I?" Manami asked, reaching out a hand to take one of the offered USB's.

[Assistant]
"... Shoplifting?" for a few moments, Tsukuyomi stared blankly. "... If there's anything that you need to do, you'll be returned to the place from which I took you. I can't do that very often, so you'll have to take a different route next time."

Hikaru decided to remain silent for the moment, and allow the others to have their questions answered. Instead, she approached the suitcase quietly, peering at the USB drives. Each one was a different color, and somehow there seemed to be more then the suitcase should have been able to fit. And yet, at the same time, they all had their own sport in the case. It was almost difficult to look at, somehow, as the human brain attempted to understand how that was possible.

"Soul arts use the soul of the wielder in order to produce their function," Tsukuyomi continued, answering another question. "If something does not possess a human soul, it won't be capable of using them. I can't tell you what abilities any of these have, but I can say that the first Soul Art you pick will be the one most suited to you. As for your numbers..."

She paused for a moment.

"I took as many as I felt might be needed. The creatures of the tower are many in number."

Glancing at Manami, she added, "Please, take one. I don't want to waste any more time."

Hikaru, too, took one of the Soul Arts. The moment she did, the palm of her opposite hand began to tingle, strangely. Frowning, she raised her hand. She hadn't done anything unusual, and yet...

Had the soul art caused it?

"Once you take a Soul Art, the place on your body where it can be inserted will begin to respond," Tsukuyomi swiftly explained. She was clearly growing impatient.

@Mercurial@Crimmy@TheFake@RolePlayerRoxas

[User]
CHIYU SHOUKEI

This was obviously not going to go anywhere if she didn't grab the magic USBs. That was something her tired brain could at least conclude on. If this was the way to go for getting home safely for a good snooze, then she'd just have to go for it. Even if there wasn't any fine print or anything, because she didn't think some wacky metaphysical stuff like this was going to do legal contracts. Just grab the USBs and head home. Just grab the USBs and head home. Like being paid in cash so the employer didn't need to contribute to superannuation. That sorta thing. Get magic USB and shove into some place on body.

If she wasn't so exhausted, she probably would've been more doubting, but Chiyu Shoukei was currently very, very done. More done than a well-done steak pretending that it was actually tasty rather than a block of black flesh that you couldn't even chew on. She had spent a really long day at school, and now this dream thing was just the cherry on top. Fighting monsters? She didn't know about that. She didn't want to waste time on monsters but if it got her home right now, she'd fight all the bad guys this weird god girl wanted. Aaargh, fighting - she didn't want to do that either, but she didn't have a choice.

Did gods make blood oaths or something? Would she get smited if she tried to weasel out? Maybe they were metaphorical monsters.

Maybe they were a dream.

She'd just have to find out by doing this anime whatever.

Her hand reached for the suitcase.

Eeny-meeny-miney-moe

She'd just go for that one.

The moment her hand contacted the USB, she could feel something tingle in her forearm. Her right forearm. Really tingly. Like an itch just under the skin that couldn't be scratched. Wow that was super frustrating.

Was this what they were talking about?

"So I like," she said, looking at the USB doubtfully, "jam this into somewhere?"

[Assistant]
This was all really starting to get on Maiko's nerves. Aside from the ongoing apathy towards their concerns over this exceedingly suspicious scenario, it seemed like half the people here were just going along with it. Even the detective seemed to lack scepticism about all this. Now everybody was grabbing the little USB things like they were candy. Not taking candy from strangers seemed like a good principle to apply to this scenario too. But it was just getting so frustrating being stonewalled and having no idea what was going on that even Maiko decided it might be a good idea to play along.

Grabbing a USB from the lot for herself, Maiko felt a weird sensation in her left leg. Between what Tsukuyomi claimed and the comments of others, Maiko got the feeling they were supposed to stick them in whatever part of the body "responded". As absurd as it seemed, Maiko did acknowledge it would be unlikely for her leg to start "responding" as a coincidence. "Here goes nothing..." She murmured as she pushed the USB in the area she assumed she was supposed to. Somehow it worked. A freaking USB just slotted into her body. "Um, okay! That happened!" She called out in shock. "I, uh, um.....what now?" She asked. It was bizarre enough to have shoved a USB into her leg, but now she was apparently supposed to use magic. She had no idea what was coming next, but she could only assume it was going to get weirder and weirder.