[System]
Rank: Lieutenant

Age: 24

Biography: Sabatine Hickoring is a member of the old but not particularly influential Hickoring family. The Hickoring's of Westmarch are a west country family of moderate estate but have been out of political power for the last century or so as a result of not moving to Xenos in order to pursue the cut and thrust of Senatorial politics.

Sabatine is the youngest of five children of her now deceased parents. Her oldest brother, Justin, is the Hickoring of Westmarch and enjoys the flashy lifestyle the estate affords him as does his grasping and manipulative wife. Separated by nearly a decade from his next oldest sibling and nearly two decades from Sabtine he has little affection for his younger relations and has essentially cut them off without a cent. In order to make a living (and more importantly maintain the image of aristocracy) the four remaining siblings were forced to find employment with the Republic. The two older boys embarked on careers with the Foreign Service while Sabatine's older sister obtained a commission with the Land Forces of the Republic in an infantry unit. Forming a informal financial agreement, the three pooled their resources to put Sabatine through the naval academy, viewing the RCN as the best place for the energetic young girl.

Raised in the country largely by servants who knew of her brothers cool feelings towards her Sabatine learned at a young age that the only way to gain respect was to be helpful and to do the best you could at any given task. This willingness to help made her popular among the tenants who were less than enamored with their absentee landlord and his wife both of whom the tenants (correctly) believed looked down on them. It was also an attitude which served her well at the RCN academy where she graduated at the top half of her class, with high marks in technical subjects and physical fitness. Her three older siblings were able to secure her a midshipman's billet at the RCN harbor complex at Harbor 3 assisting in maintenance and dock work. Eventually she caught the eye of a captain fitting out for an expedition to the Rayleigh Stars and Navy House was prevailed upon to assign her to the task force. Before leaving Cinabar she sat for an passed her Lieutenant's exam, no mean feat for a spacer whose entire experience consisted of in system tests and a couple of cruises in senior year at the academy.

A year or so on station has knocked some of the Harbor 3 starch out of Sabatine. Although she is renowned as a hard task master by the crew especially the power room crew, her willingness to throw herself into the work makes her a popular officer. The Riggers are particularly happy to have an officer who is both willing to learn and willing to help and have adopted Sabatine, unofficially, as one of their own.

@POOHEAD189

[User]
"I wonder if he was Fifth Bureau," Sabatine pondered aloud. There were bruises beneath her suit from the collision with the deck, but nothing worse than a hard shift on the hull. It certainly trumped being shot all hollow. It was common knowledge that Guarantor Pora's secret police maintained a presence within the fleet, and the communications officer would be a logical choice. Feet were clattering down the companion way.

"Shit," Sabbatine muttered, slamming the door shut behind them. Trigger discipline among spacers was never the best and she didn't fancy getting wasted by her own side moments after an enemy round.

"Sir?!" Danzetti's voice called from the hallway.

"We are all good spacer," start getting the prisoners out of her," Kaiden ordered.

"Sir!" Danzetti responded and then began clamping back up the companionway. Sabatine knelt down beside the communications terminal. She took a wrench from the toolbelt on her suit and fitted it to the rachet that held the communications console in place, laying down so she could observe the wiring. There didn't appear to be any booby traps or fail safes.

"I have called you much worse," Sabatine agreed with a grin. She thought back to the night she learned he had cheated on her. The old fury wasn't as hot as it had been with the passage of time. It hadn't been as though there were any chance that a Calawarden would ever end up with a penniless minor noble on the verge of ruin. Still it had burned, burned deep. She cranked the first bolt around. It gave easily, doubtless the communications consoles were changed out often as Fleet codes were updated. She paused for a moment as the first bolt came free.

"You know, assuming we get back to Herculaneum safely, I'm due one tenth the cost of a destroyer in prize money." Kaiden himself, as captain, would get a fifth. That was a staggering amount of money to Sabatine, and even to Kaiden would probably nudge a balance sheet.

"Assuming they don't hang us for mutiny of course," Kaiden put in. Sabatine snorted as she freed the second bolt.

"Still the eternal optimist I see," she snickered.

"I can't see them hanging a highly placed noble with a victory like this one to back it up." The final bolt came free and she pulled the remaining connectors, freeing the console.

"Micha dosen't have the political pull to make it stick and the Admiral..." she thought back to his words to her before they set off on this cruise.

"Well I think he had his doubts too." She pulled herself to her feet and grabbed the console with both hands, lifting it with some effort.

"Can you get the door?"

[Assistant]
"Micha won't have any pull soon," He said grimly. He didn't want to throw the conversation away from the snark they both so enjoyed, but it was something he still couldn't quite come to terms with. Granted, his life was still very strange to him, and he hadn't really stopped to consider it. The military runaway of a high noble family found himself usurping his superior, launching the first shots in an extrasystem war, crawling on the ground in an enemy ship with his ex-girlfriend who happened to be his second.

At her request, he gave a "Yeah, sure" and went to the door, preparing to open it with his crowbar in case there were any problems with the inner latch, but something up there smiled on them, and it slid open without a problem. Sabatine marched out of the hatch, and Kaiden placed his hands around the console she carried. "Let me."

"I've got it," she insisted, not irritably, but he could tell she wasn't going to take no for an answer unless it was explicitly said to be an order.

"You are probably the only one that could pull this shit with me," He told her, shaking his head in his suit. The air-tight suit hardly budged with any movement except the wide movement of their arms or the broad strides of their legs, but it was surprisingly how much one could glean from the tone of your voice. "I'll keep watch."

"Well since we're being less formal, I let you get away with more than your fair share before we worked together. Old Baile-"

"We will not talk about that," He said, but it wasn't so much as forbidding as embarrassment. Sabatine laughed, and Kaiden couldn't help but chuckle breathlessly, even if he didn't want anyone in a hundred kilometers to hear that story. It involved Kaiden getting blind drunk and skinny dipping in the pool of a Rear Admiral nicknamed Old Bailey. Sabatine had done some fancy maneuvering that night to save Kaiden's ass from a scandal. She had always said he had sufficiently paid her back by sweet talking a few aides to help get her in the right places to get the ears of the right supervisors, and there had been that midshipman Kaiden had ostracized that had tried to get her thrown out when she had rejected his advances. But still, she hadn't done anything that could get her shunned by her family or peers, unless one counted some vulgar remarks and a few bar fights.

"I'll let you off the hook this time," She remarked wryly.

They couldn't continue the conversation by virtue of reaching the cargo chamber where the alliance crew had been found. Now there was just Higgs waiting for them, giving a salute. Even the medical supplies had been gathered up. Quick work, Kaiden noted. He gave them a "everyone is off the ship" with a bosun's surety.

"They better be, because we're not coming back." Kaiden replied, and the three climbed back about the RCS Vicount.

[User]
The K-21 was of the Grimwold class destroyer from the Alliance yards at Biscane. Under optimal conditions it had a crew of 120 spacers plus officers ands supernumeraries. Sabatine had to handle it with a prize crew of twenty. It had taken the entire rigging crew of the Vickie nearly two days to put the battered rigging into something of a workable condition. Fortunately the rig had been mostly down when the plasma cannons had hammered the vessel, but there had still been half a dozen masts that were welded to the hull, and everything from A through D had been sheared away. The partial jury rig they had assembled would have made their sailing instructors in the academy physically sick. The roll alone meant they had to re-enter sidereal space every twelve hours to perform a manual correction and recalculation. They made three stops on the voyage to Herculaneum. Each time the Vickie was waiting for them, much handier with its full sails and larger crew. Each time Sabatine transmitted a quick report of their progress. It made for dismal reading about it didn't quite do justice to the reality of being woken every hour or so to deal with some new problem with the rig, or to help the three techs assigned to the power room nurse the plant along. It was one of those thankless jobs that seemed to make up the bulk of RCN life. It didn't win any glory, nor would it garner any renown. The best Sabatine could hope for was that an admiral reading the report would grunt with approval before moving on to his next task. In the spacer's bars however, the tale of grueling endurance would be told and exaggerated. Spacers would say things like, that bitch never gave us a moment's rest, or everytime we turned around there she was. It would sound like complaints, but there would be an undertone of respect. Spacefaring life, and the RCN in particular, was too dangerous a place for officers to survive on rank alone. You needed your crew to respect you, and the only way to do that was to be in the same hard places they were.

"Transition," Sabatine announced and immediately felt her teeth bore up into her brain as they dropped back into real space. She was sitting alone on the bridge of K-21, the rest of the prize crew either on the hull or in the engine room. The only other person onboard who could operate the astrogation computer was Shapti, an able spacer who was striking for a sailing master's warrant, but she was grabbing a few hours sleep in the captains cabin across the corridor. Opinions varied on whether sleeping through a transition made it better or worse, but if you got tired enough your body would make that decision for you.

"K-21 break, break, break!" Kaiden's voice broke into the comm circuit. Sabatine sat up feeling like she had been doused in cold water. She nosed the ship sharply downwards towards the ecliptic, high drive motors flairing to life with a buzz.

"Vickie this is K-2…" she began, trying to puzzle out what was going on from the PPI. Everything looked normal. The RCS Hamptor, an aging destroyer was on picket just outside the minefield and. There were missile tracks streaking between the Hamptor an the Vickie.

"Herculaneum is in the hands of the Alliance. Disengage and run for point Delta 3 Seven."

Nothing made sense. How could a major fleet base be in the hands of the Alliance? How had they captured the Hamptor? Why was Kaiden still here if the base was in hostile hands? The last point clicked into place. He had waited for her, slugging it out with the destroyer to warn her before she drifted into range of the minefield.

"AFS K-21, engage Cinnibar vessel Victory at once," her comm panel blurted. Sabatine stared at it for a moment. Of course the Alliance didn't know that K-21 had been captured. They would figure that out in a few moments though, once they realized she wasn't responding to their coded IFF.

"Acknowledged control," she responded, trying to mimic the nasal Plesance accent she associated with the Alliance. There was no way she could fight the ship with only twenty spacers aboard. The only option was to run as Kaiden had ordered. Shapti burst through the door looking alarmed. Sabatine made a quick gesture to one of the jump seats, her other hand bringing up an attack board.

"Signal the Vickie on microwave and acknowledge," she snapped, unable to split her attention to a third task while she handled maneuver and the attack board, modifying the preset attack plan as quickly as she was able. The Hamptor was already closing on the Vickie, its four tubes launching another salvo. It was going to make it very difficult for Kaiden to safely transition.

"Launching one," Sabatine announced with what she hoped was appropriate sangfor. The ship jolted as super heated steam shoved the missiles out of their tubes and clear of the hull a moment before their high drives ignited, streaking them off down range as blue lines on Sabatine's attack board.

"Launching two."

The comms board crackled angrily to life. Shapti should have caught the comms but having no idea what was going on simply let it pass through to Sabatine with an alarmed look.

"K-21 what the hell are you playing at those missiles…" she dumped the link, too busy to give it any thought. As the commander of the Hamptor correctly noted, the missiles she had fired were not aimed at the Vickie. They were aimed at the point Sabatine calculated the Hamptor would be at when the missiles arrived, a staggered area between the hostile destroyer and the Cinnabar corvette. Three were aimed slightly ahead, another aimed slightly behind in case the destroyer opted to brake. She pulled up the astrogation display and cut the high drives, allowing the charge on the ship to zero out. There was no time to actually plot a course anywhere, besides off the top of her head she had no idea where Delta-3-7 might be.

"Launching, three…. Four." Sabatine reported mechanically. There was the dull rumble of the missle tracks as the ship began to crank fresh ordnance into the four missile tubes. She dumped the attack board. She wasn't going to wait around for the minute and a half it would take for the next salvo to be ready.

"Vickie, K-21 withdrawing as ordered," she broadcast and punched the insertion button with her thumb. The destroyer shuddered back into the safety of the matrix, leaving Sabatine drenched in cold sweat with her heart pounding in her throat.


[System]
AKA Michelangelo

Age: 16

Grade: St. Laurel's School of Divine Excellence, 2nd year

Biography: Michael grew up in a poor family with a single mother, who barely made ends meet to put food on the table. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the two to be happy enough. At least, it was enough, until one day a bully began to make his life miserable. The bully in question had influential parents as well, making it difficult to punish him. As a result, Michael couldn't do much to lessen the abuse he was receiving. He tried asking for help from friends and teachers, but both chose to look the other way. Coincidentally, the bully's father was also Michael's mother's boss, who was also undergoing some troubles of her own at work. Michael was left alone, with nothing but his family and the occasional stray animal for support. He liked animals, even if he couldn't afford to keep a pet.

As time passed and everyone discovered their powers, the bullying only became worse. The bully had obtained a typical steel-skin super strength ability while Michael had ink coming out of his fingers. At first, it was torture. However, Michael was not completely helpless. While all this was happening, Michael did what he could to figure out how his power worked and how best to apply it. He worked and experimented tirelessly, and it eventually paid off. With his newfound knowledge, Michael was able to stand on equal ground against the bully, and even overpower him. The bully's father attempted to get payback, but the company found evidence against the father's various harassment and embezzlement cases, and he was promptly fired. Michael's mother was also promoted to a higher position, and the two were able to live more comfortably. With the bully out of sight and out of mind, things were looking up.

Powers:
CORE: The World is Your Canvas
Michael can generate ink from his own body as will, and manipulate it as he sees fit. The ink travels quickly, allowing him to draw complex pieces that normal artists would take days in a matter of seconds. This allows him to create works of art that projects his will onto the world, limited by his imagination. Should he infuse his creations with power, the energy needed will come from his own body, and will be drained proportionally to the amount of power he wishes to infuse. The more complex and detailed pieces of art will allow him to infuse more energy than those he spends less effort on. However, if he does not have the energy reserves needed, he will drain himself dry and pass out.

SUB 1: Symbolism
By drawing patterns and/or symbols, Michael can apply a series of buffs and/or debuffs, involving things such as increasing physical stats and regeneration, as well as robbing people of their senses or freedom of movement. Inanimate objects are not immune from this effect, either, and can be weakened or strengthened accordingly. Given the right symbols and/or intentions, he can even duplicate certain powers, such as generating explosions or stretching one's body like a rubber band. Many details are needed for these powers to function exactly as Michael wishes them to, such as an AoE healing ability affecting only those he considers allies. His Symbols will last for as long as Michael wants it to (or at least for as long as he's conscious), and can be dispelled by him at any time.

SUB 2: Creation
Michael draws a picture of an object, and is able to construct said object into reality. These constructs will last as long as Michael wants it to (or at least for as long as he's conscious), and can be deconstructed by him at any time. Creations typically need to be drawn to a 1:1 scale to reach a desired size.

SUB 3: Animation
With additional effort, Michael can bring his creations to life, granting them basic sentience and absolute loyalty to him. Inanimate objects will float around, machines will function as Michael realistically imagines them to, and creatures will even be able to speak.

The Mithril Paintbrush

A Relic made by Erisse Augusta Narrativia, the Mithril Paintbrush has the power to enhance, as well as replicate, the power known as The World is Your Canvas; the enhancement increases the potency of each use of the enchanted ink by a third of the base power's original strength. However, the Mithril Paintbrush can also change the ink to various 'colors', each with an Elemental Attribute.

Red and Orange - Fire.
Yellow and Green - Earth.
Blue and Indigo - Water.
Violet - Poison.
Grey - Air.
White - Healing Light.

This Relic can be used by anyone, but at reduced potency; they get a duplicate of 'The World is Your Canvas' at only one-third of the power's original strength (Moving ink is more sluggish, buffs are almost irrelevant, and creation takes a heavy toll on your energy), but can still access Elemental Attributes.

Relationships:
N/A

[User]
Duke watched the fight engagedly, sitting with his head in his hands as skill met strength. He could see Michael's glorious skills as paint practically flowed out of his suspiciously shiny paintbrush. The dark horse of the night slowly lost his ground, lost his strength, and lost his control. The arena cracked and the ground rumbled. The tournament was over. Duke got up and sighed. It was truly a shame, he had been looking forward to seeing who would win the fight.

"'Scuse me, 'scuse me. Coming through, calm down everyone."
The lanky teenager weaved through the crowd against the flow, towards the disaster zone. The area around the arena was quickly being vacated, which would make things convenient for him. Duke drew his knife. It was an ornate switchblade patterned with skulls and flame imagery, polished to a mirror's shine. It was a rather ordinary blade, in spite of its appearance. But Duke needed sharpness, and it was certainly sharp enough. Holding out his left palm facing upwards, Duke slowly lowered the knife tip down into his hand. He felt the familiar prick of the blade piercing his skin and dug deeper. He felt a small stabbing pain as blood pooled in his palm. He could feel a small spike of adrenaline shoot through his nervous system. Time seemed to slow down as he assessed the situation.

The other participants of tonight's tournament would hopefully help out, though he wondered how effective they would be. They hadn't fought too much tonight, but their stamina had inevitably been dented. Still, he was sure they would provide some reliable support. Michael the painter, the round's other contestant, was in a bad spot right now. More than likely, the breaking of the arena would have knocked him off balance, and the dark horse was currently aiming to turn him into paste. This wouldn't do, this wouldn't do at all. Duke couldn't let one of the stage's stars get knocked out so early.

The teenager grinned, removing his blade from his palm. The blood in his hand ignited into pale green flames, dyeing the boy's grin with an eery glow. He wound his arm back like a baseball pitcher, yelling "Fire in the hole!" as he threw the palm sized wad of fire at the fleshy student. The flames traced an arc in the air and splashed the back of the hulking contestant's head, setting his hair alight. It acted as both flame and liquid, one portion sticking on the student's head while the rest dribbled onto his back.
"Hey big guy, I know I said I was rooting for you, but you just ended our night of entertainment. I can't let you get away with that." Duke said, taunting the enraged figure.
He walked forward slowly with his hands in his pockets, a deliberate display of fake calmness. The flames burned on, sucking away at the contestant's energy, though in this state he probably had plenty to spare.

"Would anyone else care to join me? If you do, please keep an eye out for my flames. I'm not responsible for what happens if you touch them." Duke declared loudly.

@Scarifar@KillamriX88@Letter Bee@Dezuel

[Assistant]
Erisse Augusta Narrativia

Erisse was beside Duke in an instant, Narrative Round of Familiarity activated right away. In her hands, she held an Anti-Materiel Rifle, which the woman apparently knew how to shoot.

"This kid must have gotten some illegal steroids or Demonic help, or both," the woman said, "I know how to deal with this."

And she fired at the rogue student's arms and legs, each shot enough to pulverize a normal limb into powder. Some would think this callous, as she was an adult and the kid was, well, a kid. But callous or not, Erisse was sensing that something truly vile was afoot and that she had to cripple this rogue student/fighter before he harmed any other person. And if that kid can regenerate his wounds anyway, well, that meant that she had no responsibility to hold back.

"You know," she spoke, unable to hear her own words because she put on earphones beforehand, "Maybe that Suzakura kid was right and I should be doing this in a swimsuit..."

She then belatedly handed Duke a set of earmuffs, "Earmuffs?"

@Scarifar@AtomicNut@KillamriX88@Spin The Wheel@Crowvette

[User]
Duke noticed someone appearing next to him, but as he turned to look, a noise like an explosion burst out without warning. The teenager jumped to the side instinctively, falling to the floor. He looked to the source of the boom and saw a woman holding a large rifle. Duke stared at the woman, dumbfounded, before hastily turning his gaze away as she let loose a barrage of bullets, each shot lighting up the room in flashes of white brilliance.

When the barrage finished, Duke removed his hands from his ears. The impromptu defense had protected him little, and his ears rang loudly as if in protest of the woman's mad shooting. He could see her offer him some earmuffs; her mouth moved but he couldn't hear a single word she had said.
"Are you fucking-" Joking? Stupid? Insane?
His mind had cooked up 3 insults to hurl at the woman, but with the aftermath of the gunshots still causing havoc his ears, it was impossible for him to know which one had come out of his mouth. Duke hastily got to his feet and snatched the earmuffs from her hand, putting them on in a hurry and backing away to a safe distance. If she was going to shoot again (and he was sure she would), he wanted some degree of safety.

Bee

[Assistant]
Alexandria

Alex was slowly inching towards Vera's vicinity when things went out of control. The center fight suddenly stopped, there was a commotion, and before Alex knew it her body was rocked by an ear-splitting blast, followed by another, and more. Each shot felt like a punch in her chest from the pressure of the gunshot. Alex had never heard a gunshot in person, let alone a high-caliber one fired indoors. It instantly sent her into a panic.

Alex yelped in surprise, instinctively ducking down and covering her ears. She didn't know what was happening, but her mind focused on one thing: Getting Vera, and then leaving. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the ringing in her ears and got back to her feet, quickly scoping out where Vera was. There was a commotion, people moving, tables in the way. But luckily, Alex still had her lingering magical effects to lean on. She had an enhanced jump height, and the ability to fly. It was a simple matter for her to bound over the obstacles in her way, and beeline to Vera in midair.

Alex was not quite versed in flight, however, and in her adrenaline-fueled burst of movement she did not quite allow herself the space to slow down, sending her careening towards Vera. She only had a moment to shout a warning to the unsuspecting girl before they collided.

"Veraaaaaa!! Get down!"

[User]
Location: Midnight Tournament
Michael was forced to use his alternate fighting style against his opponent, but it was evidently still not enough. Even with the Mithril Paintbrush augmenting his creations, that fighter seemed to power up and then rip off Michael's restraints. When the arena shattered from the fighter's blow, Michael lost his footing and fell to the ground. Looking back up, he could see that his opponent had raised a large chink of the arena floor above his head. Something wasn't right with him, though, as he looked like he was going berserk. Some bystanders even attempted to intervene. One in particular, Erisse, had summoned a gun and was currently blasting away at the fighter, each shot sounding off with a thunderous noise. Michael pressed his hands over his ears, wincing from the pain of his battered eardrums.

Michael knew that this was not the place to be any longer, and began to make a getaway, scooting his way over to the arena edge and backing away from the scene. Fortunately at this point, it seemed Erisse was done firing, so Michael yelled out at her, "A little warning next time would be nice!" Then he realized his ears were still ringing, and it was difficult to even hear his own voice. Michael drew cross Symbols over his ears with white ink using the Mithril Paintbrush he received from Erisse, hoping it would be enough to restore his damaged eardrums. Fortunately they were, and they also healed other minor injuries on him, but not his fatigue. All the excitement from this tournament was finally taking its toll on him, leaving him quite spent on energy. He went over to a nearby stool and sat down, hoping he could get a chance to rest.


[System]
---

A Magnet for Attention

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"Call me a number, call me a name, I'm still me at the end of the day."

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TAYGETE CITIZENSHIP CARD

| ID SERIAL | BIRTH | RESIDENCE | PROFESSION |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| F7778774 | F, Age 25 (Apr 20) | Arche | SuperLife Retail Customer Service Representative |

---

PERSONALITY I left my family as soon as I could to travel the world and experience. I spent seven years of my life living from day to day, never sleeping in the same place every night, doing tricks on streets I've never been to, for people who don't look like me, just so I could eat. And I'd do it for the rest of my life, if I could. I returned for the family I left behind, though not the same family I left when I decided to go travel. What does that tell you about me, Mr. Dossier?

---

BACKGROUND
I grew up in the big city everyone dreams of. Not this one, but your typical cramped, overcrowded, overpriced townhouse half a block down the street from, well, everything. My parents divorced when I was eight, only a few months after my littlest brother Ezekiel died from some sickness. I took care of the family. For four years. When I was eight. Do I hate my mother? Not nearly as much as I did when she showed up with her new husband and twin daughters, claimed both me and my brother in court, and stole us away from my dad.

I left them as soon as I could, and I traveled the world. I spent seven years living off the street, accepting scraps and cash for the art I gave to the world. My performance was everything to me, and it seemed like all the different people I met were just as interested in me and where I came from as I was with them. I learned so much, made so many lifelong friends, and I still send and get letters from them to this day. But as I was traveling from one city to another, an impossibly old woman stood in my path and told me I was going to die, just like my little brother. My little brother, who was sixteen years dead, thousands of miles away. So I d.d wh.t .ny..e ...ld .o, … . …………..

ERROR. The rest of the document seems to be corrupted. Attempting retrieval…ERROR. Document is corrupted. Attempting repair...ERROR. Input manual code? (y/n)

Please input code: ********__

...

Override code accepted. Proceeding to next point in dossier.

---

X-FACTOR
I can make magnets. I can't really explain how I do it, or how the strange power works, or why I was given such a...gift? Curse? It can be convenient at times, sure, but there's only so much attention one girl can attract, you know? There's a lot you can do with electromagnetism. Practically anything, really. I can create electricity. I can magnetize metals, or change their polarity, and even use my own body as if I were a magnet. There's a constant field of electromagnetic energy constantly surrounding me, though it is weak and not really noticeable, unless you're the observant type. Unless I want it to be strong, I can't really control it. Polarity can be weird. The best part, though? I can fly. Kind of.

So if your phone starts acting weird, like getting bad reception near me, I'm sorry, but I really can't do anything about that. You should put that thing down when you're talking to me anyway. It's annoying. I'd hate for something to happen to your car's battery, making it short-circuit for no reason and end up killing you from the resulting explosion.

Does that make you uncomfortable, Mr. Dossier?

[User]
feeling bad today for medical reasons. if i'm not making any sense, oh well

Checking every word, every movement, every... there are no facial expressions... checking everything for any sign of a threat. It just wouldn't make sense for him to be genuine - in any sense - but everything's saying that he is. Cherry doesn't move, doesn't speak, hardly seems to breathe for a long time, staring intensely at "John Doe."
Taking him at his word is Plan Z, but by now she's getting there. What was it that he said exactly? He's some kind of ghost? She hasn't been listening as closely as what might be polite.

"Why do I see you?" she echoes, and she's aware now that she's probably talking to herself - something she'd been able to avoid doing in public for months straight.
"Why do I see anything?" she adds, quieter.
Well. She's already started.
"I see a lot that no one else does. Omens, and hints, and..." She tries prodding the apparition's shin with her foot, to see if she can. "...a lot of nonsense. You're different. I don't like that."

If she was right from the start, if he is a threat
If there are more like him
What does he want
Will spraypaint to the eyes work
Relax. Relax. Any thug she's ever met would've started something already. But what else would he want?
Circles and circles, the same thoughts again and again and again-

"I don't like this at all. No jokes. Tell me what you want."
She should really get herself a gun.

[Assistant]
Isaac arched a brow in surprise when the club's special burger was placed down in front of him with his new drink and looked up to see Aurora. "I didn't-," before he could finish she already told him it was on the house and Star wanted to talk. "Ah," he said before letting out a small sigh. Looks like he got caught doing business in the club again. He hadn't exactly been subtle about it, but he at least hoped he'd be a few more drinks in before she caught wind of it. After wincing from the pain in his side Aurora said she'd get an ice pack for him and Isaac could only give her a thankful nod and smile. "Thanks, Aurora," he muttered before having a sip of his drink and taking a bite from his burger. God, he didn't realize just how hungry he was till now. Getting the shit kicked out of him must have really built up an appetite.

After his third or fourth bite, he finally noticed the familiar sight of Star making her way to his booth to confront him. He held back an amused chuckle as those she passed avoided any contact at all with her, probably too scared to risk pissing off the owner. She had always been an intimidating figure in the bar, their first meeting leaving Isaac with goosebumps, but it seems he's managed to get in her good graces. She helped take care of him when the time came, though most of the time it came with some sort of price, Isaac was still grateful to her. After wiping off his lower lip from one last bite of his burger he leaned back in his seat and gave Star a simple nod as she sat across from him.

Isaac cast his eyes downward as she went on to lecture him about doing business in the bar and simply gave a quiet nod of understanding, knowing she was right and felt like a kid getting scolded, a familiar feeling when he'd talk with her." I know," he muttered before returning her gaze as he took another sip of his drink. He couldn't help but laugh a bit as she commented on him losing his good looks due to his habits and gave a shrug. "Can't have that I suppose," he chuckled before gently rubbing his sore jaw with a wince. He'd defiantly be a lot uglier by now if he wasn't good at his job. Soon Aurora returned with an ice pack and bandages. As Isaac went to grab the supplies Star was quick to get there first and suggested he think about what he was doing and remember the pain. Though knowing her it was more of an order than a suggestion. Isaac stared at her for a moment in silence, letting her words sink in before she slid the supplies his way. A small sigh escaped him as he picked up the Pack and began to take off his coat.

"Thing is Star," he began before hissing in pain once he managed to get an arm free, revealing quite a few scars running down his right arm, the most notable one being a large scar running down from his shoulder to his wrist. "I'm no stranger to this pain. Sorta have a long-term relationship with it," he chuckled grimly before placing his coat to the side and slowly pulling up his shirt to reveal a massive bruise on his side, speckles of blood here and there. He stared at the wound with a small frown before giving a quick breath through his nose and applying the pack to his side with a hiss. Holding back a curse he looked back to Star with a pained smile. "I'll think on it though, always do," he assured her before lowering his shirt a bit to take a swig of his drink.

"Sorry again about this though, I knew it was a bad idea to come here for work, but it was sorta last second," he admitted as he stared into his drink with a distant gaze. "Plus I went down to the Herse today and uh... well you know how I am with that place," he said with a quiet tone as he swirled his drink around with a heavy frown. "I'll give you your usual cut, Otto's heading off to collect payment now," he promised before leaning back in his seat to continue tending to his wounds.

[User]
Cat smiled and waved away the exhaust fumes of Angelli's departure, part of her glad the woman could leave a conversation so abruptly and part of her a little annoyed by it. She could appreciate someone always wanting to be on the move—that's basically what her life was like for six or seven years. An international, never-ending road trip, where she often didn't know where she'd be sleeping until night came.

It felt odd to have both a stable roommate and a reliable, if somewhat run-down bed for...eleven months now? Had it really been that long? The days went by so quickly here compared to a year ago, when every day was an adventure all its own. She was constantly meeting new people, complete strangers who seemed bemused to have a sun-tanned foreigner asking after their day, though overcoming language barriers required some creativity.

But despite all that, she never felt a true culture shock until after she returned. Modern civilization was just so different from the villages and hamlets she visited, and while the lower places of the world could be dangerous sometimes, Taygete honestly wasn't much better. Everything was just more...convenient here.

Catherine shook her head and ducked into her car. Even if she was coasting through life now, that didn't mean she wasn't doing important work here. Well, partly. Cat the Retail Customer Service Representative wasn't doing much, other than giving her a stable income. Which was still important. But there was something else too.

She turned the ignition and, while she waited for the radiator to blast the heat from her car, she flicked through the notifications she missed during work. There were several hundred of those. Most from Pathisee. Her performances were becoming more and more popular, now that she had some traction and a stable viewer base. The latest video had tens of thousands of views now, which made her smile. While a couple ten-thousands was still only a drop in the proverbial Taygete ocean, Cat knew better than to downplay the importance of the individual.

About a half-hour of driving through packed city streets and nearly getting into two accidents because some asshole cut her off on two different junctions, Cat finally arrived at the Galleria. The place was an eyesore. Nothing like this existed in many parts of the world—parts of the world she visited—and those people got along just fine without such conveniences. The towering structure, all twelve floors of it, could have served as housing for hundreds of villages and families, though Cat supposed she couldn't be upset about it. Most village homes weren't larger than a single story.

Still, she missed the stars.

A quick glance confirmed she'd arrived first, so Cat bought herself a pouch of fried quinoa bites, and sat down to tear into the food and her remaining Pathisee notifications. The food court was packed with people, all caught up in their own little worlds and completely oblivious to her. No one saw her. Not while she still wore her SuperLife work clothing. She couldn't be more invisible. She liked it that way.

Cat paused, glancing up as a pair of young women passed, chatting and laughing together. She smiled to herself, then glanced around the court. Where was Angie, anyway?


[System]
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Year: 12

Appearance: Ronnie is a young man of athletic build, particularly that of a track runner and kickboxer. He stands at around 175 cm tall, pretty average for his age group. His weight, on the other hand, is slightly above average at about 67 kg due to his athletic ability. His attire usually includes a Kadic Academy letterman jacket typical of most students who are part of its various athletic programs and sports teams. However, Ronnie has been known to lose the jacket outside of class in favor of simple muscle shirts or hoodies if the weather is cold. Despite his age and build, he still has somewhat of a boyish face, though he's been told that girls often still like this about him, he's never paid much attention to that before however. His brown hair is short, often parted to one side or sometimes just combed straight back depending on his mood. His eyes are a deep hazel color.

Personality: A pretty jovial young man who fancies himself as "the funny one" with varying degrees of failure success. He's not an idiot (thank God) and knows when to drop the jokes and get serious, so he's the kind of funny guy you can actually take seriously, if that even makes sense. He has very thick skin, which is to say he doesn't anger easily, most insults or offenses are usually met with a laugh or a return-fire joke. But when he does, oh boy, stay out of his way if you don't want a fist in your mouth. You ever hear the phrase "beware the silly ones"? Yeah, that's Ronnie if you manage to piss him off. His personality seems to change slightly while in Lyoko, him appearing to accentuate his passion and temper over being jovial and hilarious. It's not a drastic change by any means, but it is noticeable by those closest to him.

History: Ronnie originally got into Kadic Academy via an athletic scholarship for track and field. He was much more of a jock when he first arrived, typically hanging around other track team members and watching them occasionally bully younger students. Ronnie himself never partook in said bullying, but he never stopped them either, he may have also laughed quite a bit at it. He was afraid of losing his "friends" after all. It was X.A.N.A. that inspired him to change his ways, as he was surprisingly quick to charge into danger if it meant protecting the school. Once the Lyoko adventures started and he met the people who would become his real friends, Ronnie stopped associating with the other jocks, even stepped in and called them out on their bullying from time to time. Some of the younger kids see him as a bit of a hero in that regard, but his former "friends" pretty much disowned him and now every single one of them hates his guts. Since the first X.A.N.A attack, Ronnie has started taking up kickboxing, even trying to get approval to start a club for the sport in Kadic Academy as a means for students to learn fitness as well as self-defense.

Favorite School Subject: English Literature. Yes, seriously. Just because he's an athlete and is technically a jock doesn't mean Ronnie can't enjoy something academic once and awhile. In this case, the occasional book.
Likes: Running, reading, and writing. Kickboxing, too.
Dislikes: Cheaters, bullies, and protein drinks (the very thought of those things make him gag)

~Lyoko~

Appearance: Ronnie's appearance in Lyoko remains largely unchanged, save for a few minor details. His hair for whatever reason, stands up in a spiky style. He seems to develop sharper facial features as well, likely due to the animated nature of the world of Lyoko. His attire in Lyoko consists of a customized black martial arts gi with the torso bare save for a low-cut open vest. The back of the vest has the Japanese kanji for "fire" etched onto it in a fiery red color. He's also got a similarly red bandana tied around his forehead with tails that seem to endlessly blow in the wind. He also, of course, wears a pair of metal plated cestus on each hand.
Weapon: A pair of metal-plated cestus for punching.

Fighting Styles: Usually sticks to punching, but will throw in the occasional kicks to mix things up. He seems to use a mix of karate and muay thai for the most part, but will often include the fast footwork of a boxer as well.

Abilities: His most commonly used ability is called Iron Fist, which is used to strike or hit enemies with abnormally high strength.

Blazing Fist, on the other hand, is an ability meant to capitalize on speed and agility to inflict swift and precise blows that often leave a trail of flame in their wake, hence the name.

His Mind's Eye technique grants a burst of short-range clairvoyance. Not enough to be a particularly powerful ability, but has proven handy for getting out of the occasional tight spot.

And then there's Blaze of Glory, a rather interesting little ability that can only be triggered after Ronnie's life points have fallen below 50%. Once triggered, his eyes will seemingly light up with fire and he'll be able to hit harder and faster than he ever could while at full life points. Of course, such strength that only seems to show up when he's close to "death" is obviously not one that should be relied on heavily. His role almost embodies the Cobra Kai motto, "Strike hard, strike fast..." but such a role often leaves little in the way of defending. He can step out of his comfort zone from time to time to play decoy, but where's the fun in that?

Theme song:

[User]
Kadic Academy, a place for young minds from all over the world, form Japan, The United States and, mostly, the people of France wherein it is located. The school itself lacks very many notable qualities, it's students aren't all geniuses and it's athletes only ok, but it harbors a group of students who have gone above and beyond what the school expects of them. Near the school is an abandoned factory, with a super computer containing another world. The world of Lyoko. A boy is trapped in this world, Julius, who looks no older than 17, and the group plans on getting him out. The trouble is, there is a program known as XANA in Lyoko that is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them, going so far as to affecting the physical world. Today, is one of those days.

Kadic Academy, Thursday, 11:00 AM local time. The weather is fairly nice today, the weather is warm the birds are chirping. A siren howls in the distance, chasing after an animal control vehicle, but other than that nothing seems to disturb the students between their classes. It's lunch time and everyone seems to be heading for their usual tables. A new friend group seemed to have formed almost overnight it seems as the Lyoko warriors had previously not spent very much time talking to one another, but now seem very interested in one another. Lunch today is mashed potatoes, carrots, turkey with gravy, and a piece of garlic bread, the cooking is ok. No sign of XANA at this time

---

Lyoko. A world inside a supercomputer. It has different zones, the one that Julius is in today is the forest zone. Floating strips of land covered in trees with roots that spring up here and there. Julius just sits, feeling the world he woke up in just last week with no memory of his life at all, or any clue at whether or not he ever existed outside of it. He just knows his Name, due to the fact when he deactivated a tower, it said "Julius. Code: Lyoko" and he figured Lyoko, nor Code could be his name, so he stuck with Julius. The world felt calm, if not a little stranger than normal today, no sign of XANA, but he couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong.

He would have to wait for Matthew to load up a computer to mention anything.

[Assistant]
Saya wasn't a big fan of math. There were certain sciences that couldn't hold her interest. But what she hated most about her school day was lunch. The food in the cafeteria was appalling. Not just because Saya's upbringing gave her a refined taste, but because before coming to Kadic Academy, she cooked most of her meals herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have access to a kitchen here and had no choice but to eat the cafeteria food or starve, which some days was very tempting. As she went through the line receiving her food, she kept a neutral expression on her face, hiding her disgust with practiced ease. She politely declined the gray goop that was being passed off as gravy, as she would rather eat her turkey dry than with that crap on there.

Finally she had her poor excuse for a meal. Normally Saya would have eaten outside, alone, but after XANA's first attack and her introduction to her comrades at arms, she had a duty to sit with them. She had yet to call them friends, or even trust them to have her back in battle, but you didn't choose your allies sometimes. It would take time, but Saya believed she would come to trust her allies. She scanned the room for any of her comrades, but didn't find them. They must have still been in line, or had decided starving would be better than the so called food that was being served. Saya scoped out an empty table and made her way over to it. She took a seat and for a moment did nothing but stare at the food in front of her.

Reluctantly she picked up her utensils and got a scoop of her mashed potatoes. They were bad, she found, but very obviously instant and not home made. They had that powdered, from a box taste to them. The carrots were overcooked and mushy, but at least they weren't overly salty this time. The turkey was dry, but had decent flavor. The garlic bread was bland and not really worth mentioning. It wasn't the worst meal she had eaten since coming her, but it certainly wasn't the best either. At least everything was warm and semi-edible. As she began to mix everything on her plate together, in hopes to make it a little better, Saya glanced around the room again. She scanned for any of her comrades, or anything out of the ordinary, ever vigilant and keeping an eye out for anything that could have been a XANA attack.

[User]
Amidst the bustling of the cafeteria, a certain group of students sat at a corner table, right near the main doors in fact. They were a trio of jocks and a cheerleader, mostly from the track team. One of them, though, was a little more than that. Francis Williams, or Brick as he demanded everyone call him, was team captain, as well as captain of one or two of the other sports teams the Academy had to offer. He and his merry little band recently proclaimed themselves the Unofficial Disciplinary Committee. They were unofficial because, well, no faculty in their right minds would let these jerks come within a thousand miles of ever having actual authority. Didn't stop them from singling out the students they had something against and doing whatever it took to get them in trouble or just to make them miserable in general. In fact, one of their targets was one Ronald Richter, track team member and former "friend" of theirs. Brick patted his backpack and chuckled knowingly. For you see, earlier, he had broken into Ronnie's locker and swiped the clothes within before the aforementioned Ronnie could change out of his gym clothes.

Speaking of Ronnie, he came into the cafeteria right around that time. But something wasn't right. He was wearing his usual clothes, which were supposed to be in Brick's possession. Needless to say, this got Brick suspicious and he went to open his bag to check. Before he could open it though, Ronnie noticed his odd behavior and spoke up, "Hey Brick, what's the matter? Misplace something? Or maybe you're just wondering how I got my clothes back? Well..." as if right on cue, a familiar voice boomed from outside.

"Alright, which one of you hooligans took it?!" Jim burst through the door angrily and seemed to eye everyone with suspicion. Jim Morales was the Physical Education Teacher. He was also the campus supervisor, among other seemingly endless amounts of jobs he did at the Academy. But there he stood, in his usual red sweat shirt, a band-aid on his cheek that he never seemed to remove, and a white headband tightly around his forehead.

"Good afternoon, Jim." said Ronnie innocently, "Took what, exactly?" Jim, however, didn't seem amused.

"Don't play dumb, Mr. Richter, my spare uniform! Seems like the kind of prank you'd pull!" he was moving closer to Ronnie and pointing at him in an accusing manner.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Jim, honest. I didn't - Hmm..." Ronnie stopped himself and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "...actually what would explain why I found it there."

"Found what? Spit it out, Ronald!" Jim was getting impatient.

"This." Ronnie produced a small rectangular object from his pocket. It was white and had the name "Jim Morales" printed on it, "It's one of your name tags, right? I found it on the floor in the locker room just before the lunch bell. I was meaning to give it back to you."

"Gimme that," Jim swiped the tag from Ronnie and looked it over, "this is it alright, now cough up the rest of my spare uniform! Where was this tag exactly?"

"Like I said it was on the floor... right in front Brick's locker, now that I think about it." he moved his gaze over to Brick, who now realized what was happening.

"Oh no you don't, Richter! No way you're pinning this on me!" Brick stood up to protest.

"Whatever do you mean by that, Brick?" said Ronnie with a sheepish smile, "Hey! Is what why you were nervously checking your bag a second ago?"

"What?" exclaimed Jim, who rushed over and took Brick's bag before the jock could protest, "Well well well, looks like we have ourselves a smoking gun, as it were." he produced his spare uniform from Brick's bag. Somehow, against all the odds and seemingly against all logic, Ronnie somehow swapped his clothes for Jim's spare uniform. Of course, good luck to Brick or anyone who wanted to try and prove that, "You're coming with me, Francis, we're gonna have ourselves a chat with Mr. Delmas."

"But, no! That's not possible!" Brick protested.

"Why's that, Francis? Was there supposed to be someone else's clothes in your bag?" asked Ronnie, who at this point was almost cackling evilly as Jim dragged Brick away to Delmas' office.

Once they were gone, Ronnie practically gave a bow to the cafeteria, like a Magician who just pulled the world's greatest magic trick, "And that, kids, is why you don't mess with the master." Oh sure, Ronnie could have just directly confronted Brick, he had before. In fact, in probably one of the few times they ever actually came to blows, Ronnie knocked him flat on his butt. He wasn't the founder/president of the Kickboxing Club for nothing, after all. But just starting a fight and then winning without any real effort was no fun at all.

By now he was making his way over to the table were Saya was sitting. No, Ronnie wasn't going through the lunch line, no need to since he smuggled brought his own food in. It was technically not allowed, but a lot of students did it regardless and no one seemed to care enough to really enforce the rule anyway, "Ah, I love the smell of justice in the afternoon, don't you?" of course, what he called "justice" was probably closer to revenge. But whatever, semantic details.


[System]
Nicknames: She prefers to just be called Viraa

Operational/Code Name: Viraa Lye

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Biology Type: Innovade

Appearance:

Biography/History: As an Innovade, she was pretty much created by Celestial Being. She feels like her entire existence is to 'serve the plan' so to speak. As such, no matter what, the mission comes first, and her place in it all. She never really experienced a normal life, having friends, or anything that comes with such things. Because of this she can be rather, difficult.

From the moment she woke up she acted as an assistant to Veda, as most of her kind did. She was the one who approached many people who Veda had chosen to become part of Celestial Being. If a Scientist, or Engineer, or even a Doctor was chosen to join Celestial Being, it was likely Viraa who approached them, and made them the offer and convinced them to accept it. She was also ultimately the one who approached the Gundam Meisters to inform them of their place within Celestial Being, and if necessary, convince them to join as she had done with others.

It was for this reason that Viraa was given a female body. While many Innovades are at least somewhat male or female, it wasn't often that they were fully given a gender by Veda. The exception, was Innovades such as Viraa who needed to fit in with Humanity, and not be too off putting when she approached the people she was intended to recruit.

When recruitment died down, she typically would act as a personal escort to any VIPs within Celestial Being should it be needed. It was rarely needed, but still, just to be safe she was often put into the company of any VIPs who were going to largely public places. To her, it felt odd as they had not yet made their presence known so it wouldn't be as if they had enemies who were looking to shut them down. Yet. She was a combat Innovade, but she didn't expect that meant protecting VIPs from threats that didn't exist... was she supposed to keep them from tripping over their own shoelaces or something? It baffled her to no end.

Imagine her surprise however, when Veda informed her that she would be a Meister herself, one of the forefront tools of the whole plan. She felt honored, and special, and it honestly did little to help her 'mightier than thou' complex when it came to others who she felt were less important to the plan, or didn't understand it as well as she did.

At least she finally understood why she was a Combat Innovade.

Skill Set: As an Innovade she can use Quantum Brainwaves to connect to Veda, and view any data she has access to. This means reviewing mission plans without needing to see them, information on the enemy. Beyond this she is considered a 'combat Innovade', so she specializes in piloting Mobile Suits.

===

Mobile Suit: GN-005 Virtue

Description/Picture:

Weapons and Operational Systems of Mobile Suit:

GN Field

Optical Camoflauge

2x GN Beam Sabers

2x GN Cannons

GN Bazooka

[User]
EXIA: Micheal D. Cicero

"I don't intend on damaging the Gundam anytime soon."

Micheal stepped out of the Exia and walked over to head of maintenance and his fellow Gundam pilot, taking off his helmet and putting it under his arm. While the island was great for a hidden base, Micheal couldn't say he was fond of it. He didn't really enjoy high humidity areas, but he wasn't going to voice his complaints pver something so minor. Mostly because there were quite a few people that had doubts due to his age and he wasn't going to add fuel to that fire. He turned to the head maintenance and asked.

"If there is no issues I'm going to cook dinner. It's a special occasion and I doubt anyone does delivery out here. Micheal turned to Wesker. "Since you're the other meister and the mission well, have anything to request?" Notably he seemed to have blocked out Nick during the second part of that conversation, Micheal had a sneaking suspicion that the Head of Maintenance was one of those people who had doubts and just because he was far more capable than you're average teenager that one doesn't mean he wasn't one or couldn't be just as petty.

[Assistant] "Help yourself I guess we just got supplied a bit extra just in case things lasted long. We got a lot of canned food but that's just about it." Nick stated as he pointed to the small mobile office with its own generator. It wasn't anything fancy but it was just there to allow the pilots, or the mechanic to relax. "Just some macaroni, and cheese will be fine. I'm not in the mood for anything fancy thanks for the offer though." Chad responded as Haro jumped up, "Make it quick! Make it quick! Missions begin as soon as Virtue, and the others arrive!" Haro commented quickly. Chad sighed and sat down on Dynames's foot and wondered just how many people wanted to test their power before dying this week. Unlikely anyone had a brain enough to not mess with the giant advanced death robots.

[User]
Atalei nodded his head, see the point of Viraa's words while at the same time feeling distant from her extolment of the powers above them. Veda and Aeolia, two beings that seemed less plausible and more deific to him. Viraa obviously thought highly of them, so much in fact that she raised her hands in prayer

"Mhmm. I think we will accomplish our goals," he told her smiling.

Her monotony was familiar, it reminded him of how he was during his stay at HOME. The torture of the experiments and the expectations and drag had weighed on him heavy, made him a robot. He got that feeling from Viraa, like she wasn't human. Just a shell of something. Which is something he hadn't always felt... just occasionally.

"Our goals are huge, literally global. But we still have to focus on ourselves. It's not like we were born to do this, we were chosen but our lives are multi-faceted... I think." Atalei sighed and shuffled his hair. "It's just freaky to hear you talk like that. Your life is more than just your Gundam."

He said those words but even he had a hard time seeing himself without Kyrios.

[Assistant]
Viraa dropped her hands, and once more looked over at Atalei. "You were chosen. Others were as well. If something were to go wrong, there would be alternatives. Second options. You were the first choice, take pride in that. But me, yes, I was born for this. This is what I exist for. You could have said no, you could have had a normal life, or however normal one such as yourself can be." She said this, hinting at her knowledge about his past, then looked forward.

"I could not say no. This is my calling. My life, belongs to Veda, to Celestial Being. Not because I chose it, but because that is why I exist in this world. And I gladly accept that role. Do not look down on the idea of being one with your Gundam. The facts remain, that you were chosen, and you accepted. For these reasons alone, you are Kyrios. There is no other, who will pilot that Gundam. It may be a metal machine, but we inside it are their hearts, their souls. We give what is nothing more than an image of a person, a voice and a purpose. That is our part in changing this world. Perhaps you do not understand... you were chosen from this. I am different, someday, perhaps, you will understand. By time we are through with this, you will all understand... what it means to be a Gundam."

She seemed to always have her helmet on. During training, during meetings and briefings/debriefings. Even when she had recruited the Meisters, her face was mostly shrouded, typically picking clothing that suited the area she was traveling to that covered as much of her face as possible for, mostly unknown reasons. And during free time, she was barely seen, tending to stick to her room, or somehow managing to always be one step ahead of everyone else, and disappearing from any location just before anyone else arrived.

Yet in this moment, in the completion of their first mission that was the jumpstart to their whole Crusade against war, she reached up, and there was a click, and a hiss from her helmet like it was locked in place. She pulled it up from her head, freeing hair that seemed like there was no way it fit in that helmet in the first place. She simply gave Atalei a quick look, saying "We are expected for debriefing soon. It won't be long before we will need to display our full power. Humanity will fight back, and we need to be ready for what comes next." And with that, she kicked herself off, floating forward through the Zero-Gravity atmosphere of the ship.

Surely they were to be expected soon, they couldn't leave the other two Gundams on the surface alone. Who knew what the next mission would require. Well okay... Veda likely already had a good idea, but still.

[User] "Pilots I'm not sure if you're done your heart to heart yet but I've got a detailed schedule to keep up of murder, and terrorism. If you want to actually see Veda's plan done I recommend getting in your gundams, or getting what you need before proceeding into them." grumbled the Captain over the intercom of the ship. Nea whistled to get attention on her, "Miss Richards says Virtue, and Kyrios are good to go. Please get in whenever you're ready." Nea said as she walked out of the hanger the brigade of haros behind her.

[Assistant]
Atalei was flabbergasted, first from her beauty. Viraa, the girl that always hid her face for one reason or another, was actually not disfigured. He wondered if she was burned, ugly, or just tortured in some way. As she kicked off, her hair veiling her slender form. Then by his confusion. Atalei started after her.

"W-Wait what are you saying? Is Aeolia your granddad or something?"

But then the Captain's voice stayed him. It was time to for another mission already. His questions would have to wait, at least until he could get Viraa alone again. He fitted on his helmet and kicked off for the hangar. In zero-gravity, his body floated over the rails and swam through the air towards Kyrios. He saluted towards Nea half-heartedly, "Thanks for the help, Nea. We couldn't do this without you guys."

He entered his Gundam and readied the suit for departure.

"Lumen and Kyrios is ready for take off."

@vancexentan

[User]
'The core of the problem.' Julia thought as she listened to Viraa and ignored Nea's instruction to stop smoking, all the while she argued with the mechanics without much point. It was her job to be a hardass and increase combat readiness. Viraa had an... eloquent way to put it, but it all sounded so cultish. This whole endeavor being religious in its zeal and almost a suicide pact in how dangerous it was. In a way this explained the youth of the crew, you had to had a pretty damn severe lack of wisdom to just embark on such a thing and simply... go along.

At this moment, Julia felt her hair stand up on her neck, as if she had reason to fear her predicament. She knew this speech well, as a right wing Catholic during her youth, she heard many charismatic preachers speak of Jesus, the Pope and God the way Viraa spoke of Aeolia, Veda and this ideal. Julia was here in case there was the slightest chance of this to work for if it didn't, thinkgs would continue as they always did, not ideal, but at the same time it could be worst. If Celestial Beings did manage their objective somehow, things would change, radically. Celestial Being would stand, alone, above the world. Such enormous power... She'd refer to the words of Aeolia, that men could easily be corrupted and become wicked. This old man was no exception, which was why he needed at least some skeptics within his ranks.

"What?! Without a debrief?" Julia answered with surprise. In normal military operations, a sortie per day was an intensive operation, more than one reeked of despair. But this wasn't the army. "We'll see if your engineering holds up, everyone back in and get ready to deploy! Godspeed soldiers." Julia said before kissing a small silver crucifix she always had at her neck and doing the cross sign before entering her Gundam.

[Assistant]
EXIA: Micheal D. Cicero

"I understand it's efficient to get a bunch of canned food, but it eventually going to end up killing us, faster than enemy fire if we keep eating that kind of stuff."

Micheal stated, sounding oddly like a parent in contrast to his age, it would appear that being around Julia for so long he picked up a bits of the older pilot's personality. Though the irony of an advanced military organization like Celestial Being would use such a low tech solution like canned food to supply it's operatives than something like the MRE most militaries use. It would appear that the world military has something that exceeds Celestial Being's.

"One more thing, if you prefer peacekeepers over terrorists, than don't use the word, terrorists to describe us, we aren't scum like them." Micheal gave a glare that would cut deeper than the Exia's GN sword before leaving.

[User]
It seemed time to leave just as quickly as they had gotten back. As such, the helmet that had just come off, was almost immediately back on, and before long Viraa was inside Virtue once more. With a short "GN-005 Virtue, Launching" Virtue flew from the ship and was on its way, awaiting instructions on where it would be going.

Viraa's only question in her mind that she was awaiting the answer to, was simply... who will die next. Who will stand in the way of Celestial Being, and be crushed? Who would offer themselves up as a display of power, so the world could see this was not a joke, and that War would be eradicated from the world.

"GN-005 Virtue, awaiting mission details."


[System]
Age:3 years old
Looks(Pictures are acceptable!):
Position in Pack:Hunter
Personality(Just a general idea of what you're character is like):Lila is a sweet she wolf with a very easy going demeanor. She's a skilled tracker but prefers hunting smaller game due to her smaller stature.

[User] Lila had just settled down into her bed of moss and dry leaves when Misty had walked in. "I'm fine, a little frustrated with how dense Renzo is but I'm alright otherwise. What about you? You looked a little uneasy when everyone was talking about having pups," She said, moving over to make room in case her sister wanted to lay down as well.

[Assistant] Misty plopped down beside Lila. "He still doesn't seem to know that you like him, huh?" She lay her head down on her paws. "I guess I'm just not sure. I mean, it's not that I don't want pups, but I want to make sure that now is the right time I guess."

[User] "Apparently not," Lila said, absently batting away some stray moss. "And all last fall you were debating about pups, what stopped you back then?"

[Assistant] Misty thought back to last fall. "Hmm, I guess it was just timing. I mean, food was so scare that year. I didn't want to risk bringing any more mouths to feed. But food is more plentiful now then ever."

[User] "Hopefully humans move off soon then, I wouldn't mind being an aunt sometime this century," Lila said with a smile. "Seriously though, you'd make a great mom."

[Assistant]
Amber rolled back onto her feet. It had just occurred to her that most of the other wolves were being preoccupied with whatever they were talking about. She stood frozen in a half crouch before darting out of the clearing. She quickly but silently ran behind trees and bushes in an attempt to get out of view of the clearing. Once she had cleared a sufficient amount of distance away from the dens, she sat down for a moment to catch her breath.
She definitely felt as though she had already made a mistake. She already started considering turning around and heading back to the rest. It was dangerous enough without the humans around. She steeled herself and stood. She paced around while sniffing for game. It took her about five minutes before she caught a scent. It smelled like... An elk? Yes! It was definitely an elk. She began following the scent trail as she pondered whether she had the skill to take down an elk by herself. It was possible, but it would be dangerous. She'd have to be quick and smart. She carefully tried devising a plan to take down the elk as she continued to follow the trail, but she stopped as a new smell entered the trail.

Blood. Amber lowered her head close to the ground and sniffed it carefully. Even as she did, she started noticing how the ground was pockmarked by droplets of blood. Perfect, the elk was wounded.

She was about to continue eagerly following the scent, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she realized there was a third scent further ahead that she had not realized earlier. She was paying so much attention to the elk and blood scent that she had completely disregarded the new smell. She could feel the fur on her back rising as she quickly recognized it. It was a human.

She quickly sniffed at the air and whipped around to make sure that the human wasn't around. Once she was confident that she was safe, she straightened up and thought quickly. Did she dare continue? Should she return to the clearing? They might not have yet noticed that she was gone. She still had the chance to look for other game though. She lay down with a sigh and laid her head on her paws and simply waited, hoping she'd eventually make up her own mind.

[User] "You think so?" Misty asked hopefully. Her mind was made up now. She wanted to have some pups, but would wait until the humans had wandered off.

[Assistant] "I know so, you practically raised me and Nelo after our mother died," She said with a smile then looked to the ground. "I miss him, why'd he have to try chasing that stupid weasel on the river?"

[User] Misty smiled at that. "I guess that's true. I never really thought about it that way." Then when Lila mentioned missing Nelo, she nodded solemnly. "So do I. I wish that he never would have, but he did," she said as she thought of their brother.

[Assistant] Lila huffed and put her head on her paws, laying her ears back against her head. "I should get a hunting party set up for tomorrow," She said but didn't move.

[User] "Who do you think you'll take with you?" Misty asked her sister.

[Assistant] "I'll have to take both Amber and Klondike, I'm too small to hunt big game with just myself and another wolf. Maybe Jackie if her and Ian ever make it back from their hunting trip," Lila said.

[User]
Renzo was quietly lying down, his mind still wandering about as he watched the clearing from his den when he noticed a figure dart out. He stood up and walked outside, sniffing the air and he knew almost immediately who the wolf was. "Amber." He muttered before turning to the forest and let out a small sigh. He trotted over to the entrance and started sniffing again and still smelled Amber's scent. He followed it, sometimes getting distracted by the scent of prey before getting back to Amber's trail.

After a few minutes of following the trail, he began to grow stiff as he noticed that next two scents. Blood and humans. This was a bad combination. If the blood he smelled belonged to Amber... He shook his head, trying not to think about it. He got on back to Amber's trail and sighed in relief as he saw the wolf.

"What are you doing out here alone?" He asked Amber as he walked to her. "You know the humans are here and you'd be in danger if you went out alone." He warned before taking a seat next to her.

[Assistant] Lila looked out her den and saw Renzo leaving. She tilted her head and shifted, debating on going after him. What was he thinking, going out on his own? If he didn't return soon, then she'd go and find him.

[User]
Amber winced as she heard Renzo speak. She didn't expect someone coming out after her so soon. The fact that she wasn't getting yelled at was reassuring though. Well, at least not yet. Her ears flattened as she thought about his question. "I-It's just that... I've messed up so badly," She murmured, "I just don't have the right attitude to hunt. I mess up everyone's coordination. And then today, all I caught were rats! I just thought that maybe I could sneak out and get everyone a real meal. Even if it meant stealing it from the humans..." She said, trailing off.

Having to explain it to someone, she realize how pathetic and desperate she must have seemed. Stealing from the humans? How on earth could she even pull that off? She shook her head and quietly waited for Renzo's reaction.

[Assistant] Renzo sighed. He knew that Amber always felt really bad about her messing up in hunts but he didn't know she felt this guilty about it. "It's alright Amber. We all mess up from time to time." He reassured the she-wolf. "Rats are still food. Besides, prey is scarce since most are in hiding because of those humans and those tube-like things of theirs." He continued. He felt really bad that Amber felt this way. "Stealing from humans?" He repeated in a questioning manner. "I want to say that it is idiotic but I suppose feeling guilty makes you feel that bad. Don't do it again." He said as an order. "You don't know what you're getting into. Now come on, let's head back..." He stood up from his position and turned back to the direction of their dens. "Besides, we might catch some game while we're heading back."

[User] Misty nodded. "That's probably best." Then she too noticed Renzo leaving. "That's odd. What do you think he's up to?"

[Assistant] "Not sure, maybe he spotted a quick meal," Lila said, shifting to lay partially on her side. "I'll try finding an elk tomorrow, they might've moved farther into the western forest, hopefully they haven't gone into tiger country."

[User] Klondike headed over to Zia's place, ready to discuss the recent events.

[Assistant] "That could be. I sure hope that the elk are still around. We're going to need more food soon than just rats and rabbits. We can't live on those alone." She stretched and then yawned, feeling a little tired and hoping that everyone would return to the dens soon so they could rest and be safe from humans.

[User] Lila gave her sister an affectionate nuzzle. "If you're tired, you can go to sleep, I was about to do the same," She said.

[Assistant]
"Yeah... I'm an idiot..." She said quietly. She stood and followed Renzo back to the dens. She was glad he had caught her. She was thinking so unclearly, who knows what could have happened if she had followed the trail any further. She had never seen a human before, but she knew that they never let bodies go to waste. They always made sure to use every part of the body, and it wasn't always for food. She heard what they used furs for, and the thought made her shudder.

"Thanks..." Amber said to Renzo. As they walked back to the clearing, Amber's mind wandered to the other pack members. She was worried. How was Lila going to react? What if she was furious at her for running off again? Oh no, she was going to be furious. Amber visibly shrank back at the idea, but she steeled her emotions and continued walking with Renzo back to the rest of the pack. She was going to face her errors and accept her punishment.

[User] Misty nuzzled her back. "Thanks. I think I will. Good night." She lay her head down on her paws and then shut her eyes. It wasn't long before she had drifted off to sleep.

[Assistant] Lila yawned and turned fully to her side, laying her head on some moss before falling asleep.

[User] Zia was laying down, waiting to see if Klondike was coming over or not. When he came in, she snapped to attention, raising herself. "Klondike, good to see you. Now, let's discuss the most important topic of the night...humans." She paced in the small area, thinking about what She would say next. "If they were to attack, what in the world would we do?"

[Assistant] "We'd have to fight back, of course. If they are too dangerous to fight as a group, we would have to gang up on them one at a time" Klondike replied.

[User] "It isn't that easy, Klondike. We have to have a plan. How will we prevent an attack?" Zia looked at Klondike, her eyes soft and hazy. She was far too busy thinking to focus her attention on him, but she tried her best to.

[Assistant] Postremo noticed how Renzo left but thought he might of found something close by to eat. Then Postremo felt a bit tired from what has happened so far today. He never thought that humans would be this close to the pack. Postrmo then remembered what the humans had done so far to his friends' family. He also remembered how they took the life of his parents and his little sister. He started to head to his den to get some rest but couldn't help but feel stressful and anger.

[User] "Prevent an attack? I'm not sure. Maybe if we attacked them first? But no, that's very dangerous" Klondike replied. "It isn't so easy, figuring these things out. If the stories about humans are true, all they have to do to kill us is point one of their... things at us, and there'd be a loud noise and we'd fall over, dead."

[Assistant] Misty suddenly sprung awake after having a bad nightmare. She panted and tried to clear her head of the nightmare before leaving the den, not wanting to try and sleep anymore. She went out to see who else was around.

[User]
"The plan was idiotic, you are not... you were just blinded by guilt." Renzo reassured the wolf as they walked back. He also wondered what would've happened if he didn't see her leave the dens. Maybe Amber would've turned back or maybe she would do the exact opposite. Either way, he was just glad that she was safe when he arrived.

"No problem, just don'd do it again. I might not be there to stop you again." Renzo said. He noticed her going stiff and looked like she was being forced to go back. "Loosen up Amber. They will understand, they always do." He continued before they entered the clearing. His eyes scanned for the wolves but all seemed to be in their dens. "No one seems to be out, would you go to Lila and Misty or not? The choice is yours." He said walked to the entrance to his den and sat down, looking at Amber wanting to see what her choice would be.

[Assistant] Lila felt Misty bolt upright and opened her eyes, giving her sister a bleary look as she left. How long had they been asleep? She yawned and rolled to her stomach and then stood upright. Now she was thirsty. There was a stream close to the dens but she should have someone with her, just in case. She let out a huff and then padded out, seeing Renzo just return. Well, hopefully he wasn't busy. Lila padded over to the other den and peered into the dark hole. "I need to get a drink, would you like to come along?" She asked him.

[User] Renzo looked at Lila before looking back at the she-wolf whom he arrived with then back at Lila. "Sure." He said. He felt thirsty too at least and besides, it would be pretty dangerous to go alone even if the stream was just near. He stood up and walked towards Lila. "Come on." He continued before heading out.

[Assistant] Lila smiled and backed away from the den before following after him. "What were you doing earlier when you ran out of the clearing?" She asked curiously.


[System]
---
Appearance:

Gender: Male

Age: 36

Bio: Tyler's life was wholly unremarkable before the apocalypse. He'd married his girlfriend, Helen, at 28 and came to live a middle-class existence with her and his two eventual children. He was a contract worker working in construction and his wife was an aspiring nurse with a small growing hobby as an author. Tyler didn't have the closest relationship with his parents, but the death of his mother when he was only 35 inspired Tyler to work toward a greater relationship with his father.

The apocalypse a year later put a stop to all that, where Tyler's father was one of the many initial victims of the outbreak. Tyler managed to get his family to a refugee camp, where he believed they would be safe. The situation around them quickly deteriorated and the refugee camp became smaller and smaller. A giant horde finally finished the camp off for good and took the lives of Tyler's wife and son. Tyler and his little girl, Katie, fell in with the other survivors. Tyler swore to protect his daughter from the horror surrounding her.

Their group were a disorganized mess at first, losing and gaining members haphazardly. Leadership of the group fell on many different individual's shoulders. When it finally landed on Tyler's shoulders, it was his status as one of the original members and a family man that put him there. He didn't desire to lead at first, and the few deaths the group suffered under his care only made Tyler dislike the position more. Eventually, Tyler saw his role as more of a protector and a leader, and he wanted to protect his people like they were family. It was around this time that a man named Brad joined the group, who quickly fell in awe with Tyler. Unfortunately, further death put the group at odds. They suffered bandit attacks and suffering at the hands of other humans.

Around the time a woman named Lynn joined the group, Tyler suffered betrayal by one of his group members, who stole supplies and ran off on his own. Tyler became depressed and vulnerable within his position as leader. He bonded with Lynn and eventually started a relationship with her. Still, his people were displeased, so after a large chunk of them went off on their own, Tyler decided he had to lead the group with a heavier hand. The group grew upset with Tyler getting harder on them and they lashed out, making him turn further into a dictator. Eventually, the kinds of people that tolerated Tyler's behaviour were mostly men with shady morality. Tyler came to believe this was the only way for his group to survive, but he was still upset with the world around him. Tyler wondered if he could change it all.

Tyler was initially encouraged by Lynn to work toward a better future, but Tyler came to believe that future was unobtainable with the rotten people all around him. Betrayal eventually was met with death, and Tyler thought of a plan to ensure the survival of the next generation-- his daughter's generation. His group came to clear the catacombs underneath New Orleans, where Tyler eventually began to bring girls so that he could get them pregnant and raise their child in the manner he felt was best for the future. Tyler kept his daughter Katie locked away in the catacombs to shield her from what he had to do. Eventually, Tyler realised that the men working for him were restless and unpredictable. When even threats of execution didn't keep them in line, Tyler was forced to construct an arena for them to entertain themselves with. Even more, Tyler let the men have sex with his pregnant women. It was necessary, he believed, for the future he envisioned.

Lynn, already disgusted by Tyler's actions, felt that this was the final straw. She left the group and Tyler grew furious. He killed anyone that supported Lynn and sent a group after her, though they were unsuccessful in their search.

Tyler continued this way of life until he came across a man named Bruce Levi, the mayor of a community called Haywood. The two struck a deal where Levi would secretly give his women away to Tyler in exchange for supplies. This deal continued uninterrupted until the people of Haywood discovered Levi's secret and overthrew him. They sought to eliminate Tyler and planned an assault on his catacombs. Just before the attack, Tyler managed to capture Lynn, though he was ultimately unsure what to do with her. He hated her for leaving, but he still cared about her in some way. Still, he put her into his arena to entertain his men, believing Lynn was ultimately strong enough to survive. During Haywood's attack, Lynn escaped from her prison and revealed to Tyler she had been infected in the arena. She attacked him as she turned and began to overpower him. Brad saved Tyler's life and killed Lynn, but was bitten by her as a result. Tyler was then forced to kill Brad.

The attack resulted in many of Tyler's men being killed and the walkers in the arena being let loose. The walkers ended up killing his women, ending Tyler's hope for the future. One of Tyler's raiders, Lauren, had grown upset with Tyler and escaped with his daughter during the assault. She and her boyfriend Bull managed to survive with Katie in tow. Tyler, on the other hand, found an injured man, Enrique. Tyler told the man that his name was Thomas and that he was a prisoner. The pair then escaped the catacombs with one of Tyler's men, Bex, who went along with the charade.

A few weeks later, Tyler and his trio sought to enter a community called Outpost. Tyler now called himself "Thomas Zuchowski". Eventually, the three were let in and Tyler became a member of the community's scouts. He met a man named Matt who was tired with the leadership of Outpost and wanted more power. Tyler worked with him to frame the leader of the scouts, Reggie, for murder and mutiny. Matt became known as the man to take down Reggie and Tyler became the new leader of scouts due to his work in taking down Reggie and the friendships he had made.

Tyler then wanted the scouts to attack Haywood, where he believed his daughter had been taken. Matt convinced Outpost's council to approve of the idea and the plan was in motion. The stand-off between the scouts and the people of Haywood resulted in Lauren being murdered under Tyler's orders and Tyler's duplicity soon after coming to light. Still, Tyler managed to escape with his daughter, the person that mattered the most to him. He realised his mistake in hurting countless people to attain some hope for the future when his hope for the future had always been his little girl. Tyler then left New Orleans with Katie and travelled North, where they eventually came to Baton Rouge.

[User]
Tyler - Baton Rouge/Motel

By the time they got back to the motel and settled in, it had become late afternoon, and the sun was bleeding across the sky. Tyler stepped out of the room had had fashioned for Katie and himself, moving across the balcony to look out toward the city. He crossed his arms over the railing, his eyes examining the pool sitting in the courtyard-- covered now, after they had moved the dead bodies into it. The smell was still incredible, even from here, and Tyler wasn't looking forward to having to burn the bodies eventually.

If they planned to stay here, anyway.

A motel probably wasn't the best place to live, especially when it probably wasn't doing so well before the dead started walking around. Tyler turned to lean his back against the railing, barely mindful of the fact that said railing was missing a sizable chunk just a few doors down. He looked at the room next to his own, that he'd insisted Scarlett and Liam take. As the rooms were fairly small, it was only fair that they stay in the next room, leaving George a room to himself. Tyler wasn't sure Scarlett would ever get along with George.

Leaving the blood-red landscape behind him, Tyler stepped up to Scarlett's room, only briefly knocking before asking, "Katie? We need to talk."

[Assistant]
Abram - Mall - Magnus and Co./Sam

When the man presented himself, every single one of Abram's military instincts kicked in. His thumb pulled the hammer back on his pistol. He grabbed Samantha by the shoulder and pulled her behind him, covering half his body with a ceiling-high support pillar. He saw that the man wasn't pointing a weapon at them, but this didn't appeal to Abram in any way. Weapon or no weapon, this guy was still a threat. "I don't want any trouble, pal."

His sights were aimed directly at the man's forhead, and his finger would pull the trigger at the mere flinch of a muscle. The man spoke in an accent and announced that they were surrounded. He was incorrect, however... as a few men trickled to either side of them, he backed up, making sure that Samantha was shielded. He knew she was independent and could protect herself, but his knee-jerk reaction was to protect his friends.

"Look, I don't know what you want, but I'm afraid we can't come with you..." He said. He had to make their plea believable. The lie brilliantly unfolded in his head, and then through his lips. "We've got a kid - precious little girl waiting for us back at our place. Th-the apartment building a few blocks down!" He picked the building they'd passed on the way in.

His feigned tone of fear did not show his true confidence. He was sure he could get them both to the exit if need-be. "Please, sir... W-we can take you there!"

[User]
Tremblay - Baton Rouge/Furniture Store

He hadn't left the 'office' all day, his mind constantly spinning and churning at the display of charts laid out before him. More and more people were finding themselves in the city-- this wasn't exactly surprising, but not enough of them were passing through for Tremblay's liking. It was always going to be a matter of resources, at least until the world started to maintain some semblance of what it had been before. That could take years-- maybe even decades, until a new generation managed to come through. Still, there was no point in putting their hopes on the future, for it was the now that they had to deal with.

They'd extended the olive branch to many groups in the area, striking deals with them in order to foster a symbiotic relationship of sorts. Those that insisted on being alone were eventually cleared away or assimilated into either Tremblay's or Magnus' groups. Or Richard's band of 'merry' men, if they were so inclined. Unfortunately, this pyramid of cards was starting to bend in on itself, with too many groups getting frustrated and feeling like they didn't need to associate themselves with the governing powers of Baton Rouge. Just staring at the map of angry red thumbtacks made Tremblay weary.

As he moved to pick at his stack of papers, two men entered the room. It was Jon and Matt, who both looked a little bit lost to be back here. Tremblay was vaguely worried that something went wrong with their clearance, so he moved around the desk to meet the pair. "You're back too soon. What happened?"

Jon seemed to hesitate as he shared a look with Matt. "Well," he began, pulling off his cap to rub at shaved head. "Magnus got there before us. His crew were already clearing the place... told us to leave. I know you wouldn't have wanted us to start a fight, so we just decided to come back here."

Tremblay regarded this silently for a moment, before letting his guard down a little and sighing. Rubbing at tired eyes, he nodded his head. "Okay. That was for the best. I'm sure Magnus is just bored and wanted something to do. More power to him, as long as he isn't starting those foul experiments up again."

Another look was shared with Matt. "That's not all," Jon said. "We ran into some guy wandering on his own. Managed to grab him, but he seemed to have wanted to be captured. He, uh, knew Matt. He knows you."

With that, said individual walked into the room, and Tremblay found himself smirking. "A small world," he muttered. It was Jamie, one of the the Outpost scouts Tremblay had encountered during his trip back to New Orleans. Now, though, the boy looked ragged and tired. Tremblay wondered if he'd trekked up here by himself.

"He says he came with another group," Jon said, as if to correct Tremblay's thought. "Him and Matt got to talking, and it seems he's got connections to both Outpost and Tyler."

Jamie nodded, still standing in the doorway of the store. Tremblay waved him in, gesturing toward a collection of beds and sofas. "We have a few things to discuss, then. I'll talk to you later, Matt. You too, Jon. I just want to make sure I have a handle on the flow of information before you get to processing all this." Jon nodded dutifully, used to this cagey behavior, and led Matt away. Tremblay turned his attention toward Jamie, who looked rather out of place on the couch.

"I was with a man named Enrique," Jamie said, apparently eager to get talking. "Someone burned Myriah's cabin down, and the guy's girlfriend got caught up in it. He flipped out and left, though I guess he wasn't too happy about being accused of murder." Tremblay gave him a grim smile at that. Matt had already informed him of this. "But... anyway, some stuff went down, and I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't want to be in Outpost any longer, but I didn't want to be with them either. Once we got close to the city, I slipped away. I doubt any of them noticed, honestly."

Jamie seemed happy to explain why he was here, but Tremblay honestly couldn't care less. "You don't seem surprised that I'm in charge around here," he said.

Having been looking down at the ground, Jamie looked up to hesitantly meet Tremblay's gaze. "Well, you had that air about you, you know? It honestly kind of made sense... I guess I was a bit surprised when Matt mentioned it, but we're all ending up here these days, it seems."

"Yes." Not wanting to move into idle chatter, Tremblay leaned forward to press the issue. "Here's our situation. Normally, I'd tell you to get out of my city as quickly as possible, but your connection to Outpost could be useful to me. I heard Enrique had some sort of connection with Tyler, and I'd like you to explain that to me to the best of your ability."

Jamie stared for a moment, before taking a deep breath and starting his explanation. It was illuminating for Tremblay, to say the least, as it quickly placed all the missing pieces in place. What should happen-- no, what needed to happen-- became apparent to Tremblay as Jamie talked, and he knew he couldn't pass up the opportunity. Just as long as his flimsy pyramid stayed standing just long enough for him to get it done.