[System]
Appearance: Herold is broad shouldered and thickly muscled, though his body is more trim and wiry than what one might expect from the term "musclebound." His statuesque and powerful form belie his tactical knowledge and quick mind. He walks and thinks like an apex predator when on the move, striding powerfully but taut, as if he could pounce at any moment. He rarely removes his helmet in front of others, but when he does most would think him not unhandsome. Perhaps a bit rugged and rough with the short, tousled brown hair and storm blue eyes. When out of combat gear, he still tends to wear his military grade loose fitting pants and utility belt, albeit with a plain shirt.

Age: 32

Sex: M

Class: Arbitrator

Equipment: (Guns, armor, grenades/etc-If you are not sure or if it's questionable, please send me a PM.)

* Carapace Armor
* Shock Maul
* Combat Shotgun
* Hydraphur Pattern Suppression Shield
* Autopistol
* Rebreather
* Utility belt
* Frag grenade

Notable Deeds:

* Cartel Bust: Was apart of an Arbitrator Squad that busted down an illegal smuggling operation in the Forge World Ilios, dispatching multiple assailants and capturing the leader's second personally after fighting him in close combat.
* Crime of Abstraction: Was promoted to Sergeant, and sent after one of his comrades who had committed the crime of Abstraction and extortion on the world of Dalheim. Sorkal Nielson, the Arbitrator in question, saw fit to go after innocents who he had perceived as gang members, extorting them of their money to get information from them. Herold found, fought, and defeated Sorkal, taking him in to be tried by the true court of law.
* Xenos Threat: Helped defend Dalheim from a small Ork incursion that had been manipulated into attacking by the Eldar. Received a large scar along the left side of the face and nearly losing an eye after one particular struggle with an greenskinned Xeno. He was tasked with keeping Order with the citizenry as the PDF forces went to fight the Xenos, but some made it into the city and was confronted by Herold. He slew four. He witnessed an Eldar in the slums of the city and reported it, helping the Governor's administration to find information that put two and two together to show the threat was devised by the ancient Xenos.
* Heretic Slaying: Assigned to the planet Sovereign due to reports of cultists. Herold has 17 confirmed cultist kills and 6 confirmed arrests since his time arriving planetside. Half of them occurring during his investigations when he found a cultist meeting place below a Warehouse for Imperial armor parts, surprising them with a grenade, proceeding to two to death, before making a tactical retreat and gunning multiple cultists down as they attempted to escape through the only unblocked exit.

[User]
"Too late, brace for impact." The matter of fact tone from the Krieger betrayed nothing of his actions, the sound of the Chimera slamming into reverse, and throwing the non Skitarii about violently as he avoided a crude, improvised rocket hurtling by. It seemed someone, or something, had instructed the heretical forces how to construct crude anti tank weapons, though by evading the incoming crude ordinance he had no room to avoid the charging heretical forces. The sound at the front end of the Chimera prompted Ansgar to slam the thing back forward, dragging the warp tainted assailant under the front treads, a heavy bump, screeching, and crunch announcing the fate of the would be boarder. "We don't have room to maneuver clear of further explosive attacks where we are, we ram through the fortifications and take them in close assault."

The idea of engaging corrupted industrial workers would be mad to most, but between the Skitarii who literally had no programming for fear nor any left in the organic components, and a Death Korp of Krieg Grenadier who saw a suicidal frontal assault as another day in service to the Emperor, and said Krieger was driving, there was little recourse for the more reasonable members inside the Chimera except be along for the ride. Not bothering to slow down, the Chimera's engine roared in defiance to the incoming clatter of stub weapons, stolen or inducted from local gangs or smuggled from offworld, as well as another volley of crude explosives attempting to disable the Chimera. The Skitarii, despite the chaos of the ramming attack, were firing at maximum efficiency, picking targets as the Chimera smashed open the crude semi circle of fortifications the heretics had attempted to make proof against assaults.

"In life, war. In death, peace. In life, shame. In death, atonement."

Grim were the words that the Krieger intoned as a heretic took a massive pair of industrial sheers, designed for cutting armor plates to size, to the front of the hull, opening a man sized gap in front of Ansgar as he intoned the last line of the Litany of Sacrifice. Without a sound, the Krieger leapt forward, slamming into the heretic and, despite its augmentations, sent it hurtling to the ground. In its forehead was a bayonet, which Ansgar ripped from the bloody mess he had left of the heretic as he produced, in his dominant hand, an entrenching tool. The Skitarii kept up their withering rate of fire, and the tech heretic had a perfect line of fire into the tunnel where more heretics could pour in from. Despite the gaping hole over the driver's seat, the hull gun was undamaged and the Arbites would also find he had a fine view of the incoming heretics. Ansgar was standing over the corpse of the heretic, covering the only blind spot left outside of the rear of the Chimera, which was facing the Rhino.

---

"That is why Techpriests assigned to the Death Korp loath their vehicle operators..." Clearly Malig was disgusted with how the venerable Machine Spirit in the chimera had been treated, though she had little recourse to act in preventing such actions. She had not argued, or even begrudged, the Apothecary after she saw what Chapter the Astartes hailed from, and knew full well not to stand between the White Scar and a vehicle. She had instead provided navigational assistance while maintaining a connection to the remote operated Storm Bolter on the top of the vehicle. The weapon came to life, keeping the heretics from being able to get into the blind spot behind the Chimera, ramp still raised to prevent friendly fire, though anyone inside the transport could drop the ramp at any moment, even if the driver had already left through the new hole in its front.

"So long as the Rhino keeps clear of disabling fire, the remote Storm Bolter I am interfacing with will keep any infantry assaults to the Chimera's blind spot clear." The Techpriestess reported calmly to the Celestian, having accepted her position within the current hierarchy of command and not intending to create unnecessary disruptions. She would follow the Celestian's, or the Apothecary's if the Sister of Battle was unavailable, orders without delay, even if she would have choice words to say about the matter. In the pitch of a firefight was not the time to argue, after all, and if there was heresy spreading outside of the Dark Mechanicus presence, things were not boding well indeed.

[Assistant]
"I hate this!"

Adrianne said where she sat in the tight confines of the chimera as hell itself fell upon them on the outside. She had already unbuckled her seatbelt for what little extra mobility it gave her in the chimera and was cradling her large staff; both her and it being a few sizes too large for the chimera!

Loud banging, mindless screaming, bolter and las fire coupled with the roars of industrial tools turned into weapons sounded from the outside.

And there was nothing that she could do from inside the vehicle!

"Who let a guardsman; and of krieg of all things; drive in the first place!?!"

Brief thoughts of mutiny were replaced by a yelp from Adrianne as the inside of the chimera was suddenly filled with a roaring screech and a shower of sparks as the spinning head of a buzz-saw penetrated one of the walls! Adrianne made a quick gesture with her gloved fingers, pointing at the buzz-saw, before an invisible kinetic force grabbed the spinning tool and pushed it back out with the force of a cannonball; the sound of a heavy thud and scream as the tool was slammed back into its operator on the outside; and likely slamming the heretic a long way away as well!

"We are going to run out of ammunition long before they run out of heresy at this rate... !" Adrianne shouted over the noise inside the chimera as she turned to peer at Vala through the flowing dance of red robes of the Skitarii manning the gunports around them.

[User]
"You've got to be kidding me..." She mumbled as they rammed the damned chimera into the chaos baricade!!! What's with those people!? Going on the breach assault with so little people!? The chaos possessed could easily swarm them and one opened gap and it would be over dammit! That's why she hated the warriors of this fucking imperioum... mostly the men. YEah all these mens, guardsmen, space marines and so on... they all were under the brainwashing that to dive in and possibly die was the best possible course of action!!! Sure if you had a full squad of near immortal space marines sure, but htey didn't!!!

 "Fuuuuu...." She roared as a chainsaw her breached the hull. Luckily the psyker dealt with it." For once I agree with you, psyker." Vala rorared as she pulled her." Next time either you or I drive dammit!" Vala added as she pulled her gun just in time to fire into the hole that was opened by some kind of heavy industrial drill. It wouldn't be surprising if the Skitarii were to start being picked off any moment now.

 What's the plan now? She had no idea, plan went out hte window the moment the moron rammed the baricade." Psycker, can you cave the tunnel somewhere in front of us?! We will be dead if the swarm continues anymore than it is right now!" Vala asked, as she fired her gun a few more time through the few holes that were now opened, so she was getting more and more openings to fire from." Boss, I suggest we attempt to cave the tunnel! The numbers are not in our favor!!!" Vala called over the comms, hoping they would be given green light about it.

[Assistant]
" Psycker, can you cave the tunnel somewhere in front of us?! We will be dead if the swarm continues anymore than it is right now!"

"I can't do anything from within this tin-can!" Adrianne called back in the noisy chaos from within the chimera.
" ... I can probably burst a few hearts or so without needing sight, but in order to cave the tunnel I'd need to be outside. The problem with that however is that there is a literal tide of mutants, cyborgs and mutant cyborgs outside waiting to swamp me!"

Although the insides of the chimera would have been a complete and utter horror for anyone with the slightest degree of claustrophobia, given the intense noise, screaming and hammering from the outside all around them; Adrianne could at least appreciate the (temporary) protection from certain doom offered by the chimera's armor.

"If worst comes to worst, I have my powers of teleportation; but I have no guarantee that I'll be able to get everyone out, nor with all their pieces in the right places!"

[User]
"Stay where you are, that goes for all of you, I do not want any of use leaving our vehicles until we know what's out there."

The Apothecary was by design a medic, one used to dealing with his fallen or wounded battle-brothers, but even further down...deeper...right down in his very bone marrow, he was a living and breathing weapon. He held himself from leaping out of the APCs hatch, instead placing one hand against the cold metal of the Rhinos hull - like a nomad calming his mount - and mouthed a few Chogorian words within his helmet. They could not hole up here forever though, the Chimera already being assailed from multiple sides by the crude daemon-machine fusions of the Dark Mechanicum, the Hereteks as they were commonly known, and only the ferocious weapon of the Rhino keeping them from being blindsided.

"So long as the Rhino keeps clear of disabling fire, the remote Storm Bolter I am interfacing with will keep any infantry assaults to the Chimera's blind spot clear."

Nergüi was not known even among his own as a patient warrior, not when his blood was hot and his hackles were up, and although his beaked helmet was as impassive as a statue the deep and robotised tone that came from within it quite clearly showed his displeasure.

"What would you have us do, Celestian?" He half-grunted at Aviza, allowing the Machine Spirit of the vehicle to calm him as he hoped he was calming it, his hand never leaving the hulls interior, "we are now caught in this trap, numbers are against us, and our options are limited; I for one am happy to give my life for Him on Terra, but I would rather do it face-to-face alongside my comrades."

[Assistant]
To most Arbites on lesser worlds, they would claim this would be above their pay grade. Herold however, would have no qualms about shooting those men for dishonoring the rank of the Adeptus Arbites. It was his duty as the keeper of law and peace that these Chaos filth be undone by his hand. As the Chimera opened up, the Krieger was kind enough to give him ample room to wrought the Emperor's will.

The spawn of Chaos, a writhing tentacle monstrosity of terror, muscle, and warp-curse. It tore at the chunks of the Rhino with a mutated strength that could only be unholy in nature. Luckily, the high velocity guns and the psyker had it handled, it seemed. The teeming hordes of filth were another matter, a tide he and the Death Trooper were happy to stem.

Herold took a fragmentation grenade and flung it past the initial mass of heretic turned troops. Seconds before the shrapnel tore through the horde, he bore his shield and unslung his shock maul. The weapon's power meter sang in its highest setting, the maul head glowing with power. With a grimace the likes of which appeared before bloody work was to be done, he advanced.

His shield held aloft, he shove-jerked forward and knocked back a tide of the vermin, before sweeping his shock maul before him. The shock-enhanced melee weapon blew apart heads and limbs. His shield was then held before him before any counter attack could be made. Yet again he pressed forward and ended lives, causing a rift in whatever 'ranks' the foe might have.


[System]
Witness the impossible

Age
Thirteen

Rank
Genin

Jutsu
Fireball
[will add more]

Kekkei Genkai
Sharingan - left eye
Byakugan - right eye

Chakra Nature
Fire

History
The first daughter and first born of the first daughter of the current head of houses, Main Branch Hyuga and an Uchiha man, Shizuka was born to be powerful. She was a freak, the only one of her kind, and yet from a young age she mastered her techniques, training with both her mother and her father, watching from afar as her father taught other ninja certain things. It was all very inspiring but she was bored of it, especially when there was none to challenge her. At the academy she didn't make many friends and afterward she met her team mates; it's been a year hence.

[User]
Kasuga

Kasuga was honestly excited today. It had been a little over a year since his team graduated from the Academy. They were very much prepared for the trials that awaited them during the Chuunin Exams. He wasn't even sure why their sensei didn't think they were ready last year or six months ago. He felt that they were. Their team was pretty strong. One of them had the blood of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga. That was power incarnate. Ichimura sensei was an excellent instructor so he didn't openly question his ideas and motives. They were the only two male members of their squad. Their squad was different from the start as it was usual for one girl to be partnered with two boys in a squad. Kasuga honestly didn't mind though. The team got together well and he wouldn't trade them for anything. He wasn't sure how long they had been waiting for, but it seemed like an eternity.

He looked up into the sky waiting for the start signal. He reached above his head to grab hold of the hilt of his blade. He was ready for this. When the shadow spread across the forest he immediately started running from his position. "I'm ready." he stated before finally entering the clearing.

[Assistant]
Uchiha Shizuka

The girl had split off from the rest of them as soon as they hit the training forest floor, vanishing into the dappled shadows of the forest floor while the others headed off their own way. It was a secret of hers though she had been working on activating her Byakugan in both of her eyes while along and tracking the various people who had come through the forest while she sat alone and waited. Now she crouched on a thin branch, her headband wrapped around her left thigh and dressed in her mission gear since it was what she would be wearing while she went into the active parts of the Chunin exams later this week. Today it was their final training session, tasked first with finding their way to the clearing in the centre of the forest without being spotted or found by their Jounin, Ichimaru. Shizuka glanced to the side, the viens in her face prominent as they always were when she activated one of her two ocular Kekkei Genkai, though they were not so much as her mothers though much more powerful as the single spot at the nape of her neck was not just her only weakness, but the Sharingan gave her the intuition to know when there was something there.

Her snow coloured hair was held back and up in a ponytail where it wouldn't get in the way and a dark bandage was wrapped around her neck where the netting covered her lower thighs, forearms and the part of her torso beneath her shirt. Sandles strapped to her feet just as they were for the others, though they still held bandaged feet from where she normally took off the footwear in favour of fighting with bare feet and fists because of her Gentle Fist techniques.

She moved, suddenly, as a figure moved toward her, hiding further in the branches until it passed and she saw their sensei jump from the branch she'd been on just a few moments before. He hadn't seen her. The corner of her mouth curled up in a smirk as she followed him, her Byakugan still active until she landed in the soft grass, allowing them to see her now. In the academy she had been the best in her field, having found her way to master most taijutsu they had taught her as well with vigorous training sessions with her father and Hyuga cousins to teach her how to be the best. She was the pride of both clans, though only the Uchiha could lay claims to her as she had been born within the Uchiha compound to her ANBU father and her retired kounichi mother.

"It appears we're all here."

[User]
Okami

Shifting until she was in a fighting stance, Okami focus her golden eyes on their sensei, who at the moment had his eyes scanning the forest as well as his arms crossed. Flicking her gaze to her two teammates and best friends, Okami allowed a grin to spread across her lips, it was time to release her first jutsu.

"I believe it's my turn to start us off, ready?" She asks softly, raising her hands to tie her waist-length raven black hair into a high ponytail, she took a step back from the group and back towards the row of trees. The metal of her handdband that dhe wore aeound her neck, caching on a ray of sunlight that streams through the clouds above, ignoring it she focused on her task.

She could feel the buzz of electricity beneath her skin, an almost constant reminder that if she were to just release it, things could go very bad, very quickly. At first she'd feared relaxing her chakra, during the Academy she'd lost control during an exam and had blasted a wall clean through with what looked like of spear of lightning. Noone had been hurt but she'd refused to summon her chakra for a while after that. Only after being placed with Ichimaru-sensei and her teammates did she relax and release her power.

Jumping another two steps back, Okami slammed hee palm against the ground and shivered when the feel of lighting fled her arm and seeped into the ground. Her eyes lifting to catch each pair before shifting to the trees. She paused just long enough to state the name of her jutsu, though she knew Shizuoka might know it by now she still felt the urge to say it's name. Lightning Style: Seven lighting wolves!" She stated with a grin, watching as seven wolves appear from thin air and immediately lunge forward, before taking off. The golden ribbon she'd used to tie her hair slipping slightly as she shifted back into the trees and preceeded to mask her chakra. It was time to see how her teammates would counter as well as how they'd strike back, training had begun.

Kindred @ViolentViolet (remember to tag the others guys, makes it easier)

[Assistant]
Kasuga

It was time to begin. They were going to be fighting each other with almost the intent to kill. If they went in with actual intent then things could get dangerous fast. He knew that things would be different in the actual Chuunin Exams. They'd be sent against people who actually wouldn't hesitate to kill an enemy and people who survived the exams, but failed to win or become a Chuunin. The experience that they had could make it dangerous for them. Would they be ready for that? He had to get all of this out of his head. This was not the time to be thinking about that. He had to focus on this right here.

He took glances at Okami and Shizuka wondering who would make the first move. Okami announced that it was her turn and he knew what she was going to start off with. She practiced lightning style and the jutsu she tended to favor was her Seven Lightning Wolves technique. In other words she was very predictable. That was something that could cost her if she faced an opponent that was used to her patterns. Fortunately the exams had many strangers for potential opponents. He waited for her to perform the jutsu.

He was right. She did start it off with that. Four of the wolves were heading straight at him. He tended to be outnumbered, but he didn't mind. He quickly pulled his sword out of its sheath and was glad that his techniques with the sword didn't require any handseals. "Since we're yelling out techniques... Wind Style: Wind Blade Slash!!"

As he yelled it out he swung his sword in a slashing motion sending forth a wave of cutting wind directly at the wolves. He was trying to split the constructed wolves in half to cause them to dissipate. He wasn't worried about if it worked or not. He was retreating into the trees as well and did so by jumping backwards and up after his attack.

@ViolentViolet

[User]
Uchiha Shizuka

The ninja stood silent, apparently watching the ground though she was secretly watching each of those before her through her eyelids just as easily as she could have just looked at them with her regular eyes though that wasn't nearly as fun. Okami had a habit of acting the same every time something happened and she knew well enough that it would be the lightning wolves that would be sent at her though it wasn't difficult to predict their path and step toward them while she raised her head again. Her bangs hung in her face, masking where one of her eyes had gone completely white and the veins around it bulged as she looked at the walking masses of chakra running toward her. She dropped, stooping low until they were nearly upon her and, unlike the others, Shizuka did not yell her technique for the world to hear, and simply spun while pushing her own chakra forth from her pores in a short rotation that blasted away the lightning wolves.

With the animals taken care of she ignored the boy that was making his way into the forest, clearly to lie in wait or set a trap when one of them came after him, and took another step toward Okami, unafraid and unbending though without a moments hesitation she ducked to the side and gestured her hand seals for her Fireball technique and breathed the whirling ball at the other girl. It was a distraction, though one couldn't simply ignore a giant ball of fire about to burn you alive, but the threat was very real and even if it was just a training fight everyone knew that the Hyuga-Uchiha would show no mercy. She was one that would beat even her friends into submission as proof that the freak was a power house and when fighting she showed the ruthlessness of a soke and the cold of a bunke.

She ducked beneath the fireball, seemingly heading straight for the girl though as she used her chakra to push herself off of the ground she dodged to the left and came around that side, little did the girl know that it was just another feint.

[Assistant]
Okami

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Okami watched as the fireball came her way, her eyes catching the feint her friend was aiming for as she moved to the side. Ignoring the faint, familiar start of a headache, Okami quickly began the seals for her next jutsu and felt the same familiar buzz of lightning just beneath hee skin. This was the first time she'd use this jutsu outside of her training sessions, and to be honest, she couldn't wait to release it. Keeping her face blank, Okami stepped forward as the fireball neared and with the last seal, slammed her palm into the ground once more and felt the tingle of her chakra seeping into the ground. Jumping up and raising her right hand she focused a bit chakra to coat her arm and with a wave, she sent a strike of lighting straight towards the mass of chakra. A feint for a feint, her lightning mines were ready.

She spun and almost allowed a grin to spread across her lips when she felt as well as saw her chakra begin to seep through the ground, they still had no solid form but for now that was fine. She landed near the center and as she neared one of the near-invisible streaks of lighting she stepped over it and watched as they began to glow faintly and connect with the others that were scattered around. Nodding she reached for her weapon that was strapped just above her pouch, freeing her kusarigama she began to spin it. She winced slightly when a faint throb began at her temples but shook her head, she needed to focus, Shizuka wasn't one to hold back and truth be told, she'd been waiting for this for awhile now. Plus even if she'd been able to keep her chakra from being visible to others, Shizuka had no trouble seeing it, she sometimes envied her friend for it but she'd wanted to test her abilities against both Kekki Genkai.

@King Kindred

[User]
Kasuga

Kasuga sat perched up in a tree watching the exchange between his squadmates. They were going to go against each other in a one on one fight. This was perfect for him. They could wear each other out and he could go in for the kill. It was a strategy that was used by many shinobi in war. Let two enemies fight each other and then either take them out when they were both weak or wait until one finished the other. Either way your own victory was ensured. That was unless one of the enemies didn't maintain any damage and barely used any chakra in their attacks. That however didn't seem to be the case right now. These two were definitely not going to hold back much, especially the Hybrid Princess.

He took mental notes of their abilities while he sat. He was honestly tired, but these were the things that he had to do in the exam. He had to watch enemies fight while also not being discovered. There would be a lot of sensing types out there. He watched as Okami coated her arm in lightning based chakra. She was just as good if not better than him at controlling her chakra. Coating your arm wasn't a small feat especially considering the damage it was likely to cause to the body. He wondered what exactly she was planning. He didn't know, but he couldn't wait to find out.

Now what would Shizuka do?

@ViolentViolet

[Assistant]
The Uchiha had activated her Byakugan while she was moving, watching the masses of chakra move ad the details motions of her opponent and team mate though she hadn't see this jutsu before. She blinked, activating the Sharingan in her other eye as she watched, memorizing the movements until it was finished and chakra danced through the ground around her. She skidded to a stop just in time, one of the masses of chakra in the ground right beside her foot before she kicked off and watched for movement in them as she dodged between each one. Okami had forgotten she can see chakra hadn't see; the silly girl. Shizuka landed a little too close to one and used the chakra blast that followed to push herself off the ground and landed closer to Okami, her hands half raised as she looked at her with her strange off colour eyes. She was the only one in the village with eyes like hers, and many believed she had the potential - both genetic and skill - to unlock the Rennigan eyes that her own were descendant of.

She lifted a hand and slid her foot back while the other hand placed itself low and she waited for the incoming blow that she would have anticipated already with her Mirror Wheel. The girls bangs fell over her face though anyone who knew anything about the Hyuga knew that they could see even with their face covered; the black silk tied around her hair had come slightly loose, the dark contrasting with her pale skin and light hair. Her eyes were surrounded by a light black by nature, only causing her eyes to pop more. Sometimes she was called pretty, other times scary and right now it was one of her moments of utter seriousness.


[System]
Alexander Zangief, but once he joins the the fists, he will be referred to as Ivar.

Age:18

Gender:Male

Rank(Disciple, Master, Bully, ECT):Bully

Martial Arts Style(Unless you're a disciple): He is a trained boxer.

Gang Affiliation(If any): Ragnarok, soon to become one of their most elite members.

Looks:

Height: 5'6"

Backstory: I'll work on this later, guys. <_< >_>....

All I know right now is that scaling up the ranks of Ragnarok, until he becomes the sole leader. He is obsessed with this goal, and will do anything to meet it. Perhaps he has a control problem. I don't know. I'll figure it out.

Crush(If any):

Personality:

Other:

[User]
Down one of the narrow streets of Kiro's usual route to school, a group of about six thugs stood, waiting for him. Having already defeated two big names in Ragnarok already, Shaz and Taro, the gang was no longer looking to recruit Kiro, but to teach him a lesson (to save the gang's name).

"Look, here comes someone now!" One of the guys exclaimed to his buddies, as he slowly picked himself up off the ground.

"Do you think that's him? He looks kind of weak." A man who leaned on the wall questioned, as he looked off in the distance at the approaching freshman.

Kiro was so distracted with his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed the suspicious looking group ahead of him. He simply walked along the street, fists gripped tightly, as he thought. 'I won't let them make me quit the dojo! I've come too far in my training now just to leave!' His mind wondered off to all the times he shared in laughter with his masters, or all the times they were there to give him advice when he really needed it, or all the times they patched him up when he came back from a fight. 'Not only that, but if I leave them, it would be like leaving a second family of mine.' He sighed, as he continued to roll everything over in his head. 'I can't tell them I've been getting into fights at school, or that the masters have been helping me win them...'

"Hey, kid! Are you Kiro Yamamura!?" One of the goons finally shouted out to the boy, just as Kiro had began to blindly walk past the entire gang.

Kiro's eyes suddenly flashed up, as his jaw dropped down to the ground. He hadn't even noticed these scary-looking guys! How could he have been so stupid!? He quickly surveyed his surroundings, as in an instant, he was surrounded, without any hope of escape. He gulped, as his legs began to wobble nervously. "Y-Yeah, I am. Why? W-what's up, you guys?" He awkwardly laughed to try to ease the tension, as he rubbed the back. 'No good. I couldn't take on six guys even if I was at my full strength!'

Once Kiro answered their question, all the bullies began to snicker aloud.

"That's all I needed to know! Lights out for you, punk!" The bully exclaimed menacingly, as he, without warning, shot down a straight right towards Kiro's face.

Kiro simply winced, as he awaited the punch to impact. Perhaps if he had remembered his training he could've dodged it, instead, Kiro was much like a deer in headlights.

The punch stopped just centimeters from Kiro's face, as someone's hand had caught the bully's wrist just in time.

Kiro slowly opened his eyes, as he was shocked to see the last person he would have ever expected! Shaz! Except, this was the first time Kiro had seen him without his signature shades. The ones Kiro had shattered must've been his only pair.

"Why don't you and your punk friends leave Yamamura alone?" Shaz calmly spoke, as he stared coldly at the attacker.

"Hey, hey! Let go, man, that hurts!" The bully yelled, as he tried to pull Shaz's hand off of his arm, but to no avail. He cried out in pain, as he dropped down to his knees.

"It's Iron Grip Shaz!" One of the other goons exclaimed, as they all took one giant step backwards, away from the monster. He had bandages here and there, but the man didn't act like a wounded one.

"Shaz, listen to me! Zangief himself told us-" the man on his knees began to explain, as Shaz kept his grip on his arm, an occasional grunt of pain here and there.

"I don't care what Zangief told you to do, I'm telling you now, to leave Yamamura alone for your own good." Shaz repeated himself, as he tightened his grip on the man's wrist.

"What do you mean!? To go against Zangief would be to go against all of Ragnarok! Are you saying you're quitting or something!?"

Shaz chuckled. "I suppose that is what that means, isn't it? Then yes, consider this my resignation. Ragnarok, taking orders, never really suited me too much, anyway." The faintest grin appeared on his face, as he, easily, threw the man by the arm, straight into his group of thugs.

They all scrambled to their feet, as they quickly took off. There was no way they could take both Kiro, and Iron Grip Shaz!

"Remember, from now on, when you mess with Kiro Yamamura, you mess with me!" He yelled out to the fleeing group.

"Man, I-" Kiro couldn't even think of the right words to say to Shaz, and so many questions were running through his mind. "Thank you so much, Shaz! You saved me, but, why?" Kiro got straight to the point.

Shaz looked off in the distance, as he didn't want to face Kiro's pathetic look of appreciation. "That alien friend of yours told me that when I was knocked unconscious, Taro came and tried to finish me off, and you didn't let him. I wouldn't have believed him if I hadn't woken up where I did, the nurse's station. She told me my nice 'friends' had brought me in. That was you and your girlfriend, wasn't it?"

Kiro looked almost shocked, as he found himself at a loss for words. Why would Niijima even tell Shaz that?

"Well, anyway, I don't know why you were so stupidly nice, but I'm just returning the favor. Don't think this changes anything, I still hate you with a passion. And I promise you, we'll have a rematch soon, and I'll be sure to crush you then." Shaz turned away from Kiro, and began to walk in the direction Kiro had came from.

"Wait! That Zangief guy! He's going to be after you, right? Along with the rest of Ragnarok!" Kiro called out after for him. If he and Shaz didn't stick together, they were going to end up dead!

Shaz chuckled silently. 'Zangief.' He thought, Shaz would never admit it, but that name scared even him. Shaz didn't even bother responding to the dweeb, but continued walking. The less he talked to Kiro, the better. Right now, Kiro was the winner, and Shaz was the loser. And until he was able to change that, Shaz didn't want to look the freshman in the face. It was hard to face anyone after losing a fight, let alone the person you lost too. Shaz felt so much shame.

[Assistant] Kiro ate his lunch in what had now become his usual spot, the school's roof, as he explained to both Ally, and sadly, Niijima (who had followed them up there), what had happened earlier that day. "And then Shaz just took off without a word." Kiro finished his explanation, speaking with about an entire mouthful of a hoagie to make him almost barely audible half of the time. He took a large chug of water, as he swallowed everything whole. He exhaled with relief, setting the bottle of water back down to his side, as he took another bite from the meatball hoagie in his hands.

[User] Ally tore apart an orange, setting the pieces aside, and ate each slice one by one, trying to understand Kiro's recount of the events with Shaz. "So, Shaz is on our side?" Ally questioned, picking out a seed from a slice. "Wait a second, why would you tell him anything?!" Ally angrily asked Niijima. Anytime he was involved there seemed to be trouble, especially since he was the one to set up the original fight between Shaz and Kiro. "What do you have to gain from telling Shaz what happened?" Her fists noticeably clenched in anger.

[Assistant]
Niijima laughed maniacally. "What do you mean!? I was just making sure Shaz had the story straight on what happened! Everyone in the whole school needs to know just how great my friend, Kiro, is!" He struggled to contain his sinister laughter, as he covered his mouth with both of his hands, and avoided eye contact with Ally.

Kiro sighed. "Whatever your intentions were, thanks, Niijima." The teen put on a big smile, as he looked across the table at the alien. "I might have ended up dead in an alleyway somewhere if you didn't do what you did." Kiro explained, as he tried looking at things in a different, but very realistic, lense.

"You know me, buddy. I'm always looking out for you! Speaking of which-" Niijima slipped under the table, and came out the other side, PDA in hand, as he scooted close to Kiro. "This Zangief guy," he already had a profile created for the thug, including things like: his name, height, weight, age, tragic backstory, and other such things. "he seems like he's a pretty tough dude, a boxer. He was one match away from making it to the pros before deciding to hang it all up for a life of crime. If you want my advice, I say that we change it up, and ambush him before he-"

Kiro slammed his fists down on the table, as he shouted: "Niijima!" Kiro stood up. "If you really were my friend, as you claim to be, you'd already know that I don't seek out fights! If I go around and start beating up anyone I don't like, then I'm no better than the thugs I've been dealing with!" He stared down at Niijima quite seriously.

"But, Kiro, if we just-" Niijima tried to butt in.

"I don't want to hear it. Those are my principles, and I'll stick by them no matter what." Kiro interrupted. Just as he started to cut Niijima a break, the alien does this.

[User] Ally didn't like anything about Niijima. Everything from his ears, hair, hands, heck, even his laugh was evil! She hated him trying to gain the trust of Kiro, and she knew Kiro would accept Niijima's friendship to. She was surprised however, by Kiro's outburst. "You tell him, Kiro! That's not what the masters teach him or teach anybody for," Ally said, clearly angry that Niijima was proposing they break their discipline and the morals taught by their masters, "The martial arts are beautiful, only for self defense and the defense of others. They are a lifestyle, and if you propose we break that lifestyle, you can go." Her arms were crossed over her chest, keeping her temper even even though she was angry with the alien.

[Assistant]
Ally's words rang through Kiro's head. "Shaz..." He mumbled, as he clenched both of his fists. "He's only in danger now because he chose to protect me. I do need to get stronger. I need to get stronger so that if the time comes, I can protect him just like he did for me!" Kiro exclaimed with determination, as he stood up from the table.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(some undetermined amount of time later)

Shaz, fearlessly, jogged his usual route. His eyes suddenly flashed upward, as he noticed a figure blocking his path up ahead. However, this figure was not a fighter, but a scrawny, alien-like creature.

Niijima chuckled mischievously, as he threw out a hand to signal Shaz to come to a stop.

"You..." Shaz growled, as he came to a halt, stopping about ten feet away from Niijima. "What do you want? I'm done with Yamamura."

"I know you are, and I also know that Ragnarok's done with you." Niijima snickered evilly.

"So what?"

"So," Niijima had a more angered tone now, as the connection was clear, "you know that Zangief, that Ragnarok, is going to be out to get you! They don't let their members off so easy, you know!" He exclaimed angrily.

"Get to the point, long ears!" Shaz tightened both his fists, as he was beginning to get impatient.

Niijima pulled out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to Shaz.

The card read: "Shinpaku Alliance", with a phone number, and a snazzy logo planted on it.

"I have 546 trained fighters on stand by, ready to be deployed for battle whenever I require them." Niijima suddenly appeared at Shaz's side, as he wrapped an arm around the man. "Come on Shazzy-Boy, let's make a partnership. Join my gang. With you as a general, and so many men under our control, we'll squash those Ragnarok dweebs!" Niijima began to drool, as he imagined all of the wealth, fame, and power he could achieve from having such a powerful figure under his thumb.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Shaz growled, as he crumpled up the card, and shoved Niijima out of his way. "I can handle myself."

As Shaz walked away, Niijima managed to sneakily slip five more cards into the thug's jacket pocket before he got out of range. "Alright, pal," Niijima called after him, "you just go ahead and think about my offer, okay!?"


[System]
Alan Walker

"Luck aside, strength will never triumph against mind."

---
Alias: The Grandmaster

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Height: 174cm

Weight: 60kg

Costume: As he does not actively participates in fights, he usually wears black suits and formal clothings

Occupation: Computer specialist

---

Personality:

What defines Alan best is his sheer calmness and a temper that is never once tipped. He has rarely ever shown his anger or a slightest hint of panic, even in some situations that can cause a normal person into a frenzy of fear and confusion. Possessing very good emotion control, Alan maintains a calm, composed yet cold and intimidating presence. At times, he can be a little bit cynical, taking extreme measures to gain what he desired. Nevertheless, if you get used to the chilly atmosphere around him, he can be a kind friend and a loyal partner.

He possesses a great amount of knowledge in many certain fields and a very analytical and logical mind. This allows him to set aside most of his emotions when making decisions, and rather rely on careful planning and consideration. He firmly believes that knowledge prevails over fists and boots in almost every situation, and claims that those who rely too much on physical strength will never go far. He always see the bigger picture when planning, and is patient, not rushing to conclusion, but rather tying up all the clues and bits together before taking actions.

Backstory:

Born to a wealthy family at Long Beach, whose father owns an electronic company, Alan wasn't the usual rich and spoilt kid who simply can't do anything but squander his parent's money. Thanks to his father's influence, he did not need to go to school and was instead tutored privately by a famous university tutor, who taught him everything he needed to know about many certain field, namely computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, philosophy, psychology and most importantly curiosity. Alan was soon inspired with the curiosity for knowledge. He began reading books about those taught subjects, and several others, all by himself with great interests. When the time comes, he was granted a two years early entrance to a prestigious university, and was a near top graduate by the time he finished his computer course.

After graduating, he decided on his independent lives, intending to open his own computer company, but after a certain incident concerning the gangsters at Long Beach, he decided to put his dream on hold. His intelligence had proven useful to the police in some cases

---

Skills:

Known to many as the Grandmaster, Alan does not fight with his fists, but rather his brain. This sometimes cause him to be defenseless when being attacked. Despite this, when it comes to deduction and reasonings, he is a genius, capable of predicting criminal's actions and plans before it even take place using hints and information coming from certain sources. Once, he was able to track down a criminal gang's hideout by using the movements of different gang members in the streets and see where they overlap each other, using footages of street cameras to do so. Being an computer specialist he also possesses a certain amount of hacking skills, which helps in gaining important information.

Weapons/Accessories:

A computer, compatible of running several heavy programs and such, and several electronic devices in support for his skills.

Other: He lives on in a small yet modern apartment all by himself. Alan is also a great chess player. The title Grandmaster is bestowed upon him after he once beat a chess program which is designed specifically by a friend of his to defeat chess grandmasters. Although this is pretty much down to luck because of a bug in the system, as in later encounters he failed to beat the program again, due to his intellects, people began to call him that.

---

Theme:

[User]
@Fury Panda@candlelitcraft@Poi@Slingshot@Conscripts

"I'd still feel really uneasy about it all. If any of you guys ever got hurt... or worse, then that's on me, for being a bad teacher. I just..."

He broke off, feeling really shitty about being the lone naysayer. With everyone looking at him, and given the gravity of the situation, words failed him. There was no witty quote or comedic reference to get him out of this one.

"Listen, I get it, believe me. The cops in this town.." he stopped, looking apologetically at Aimee "..most of the cops in this town don't care, or they're dirty. I get the appeal of taking matters into our own hands, but at the end of the day I don't want to see you guys get hurt. I don't want to be responsible for that.... I don't want to bury anyone else."

'Is that really the time? Damn it' Trip thought, catching sight of the old clock across the way. He pushed his chair back and leaned over to grab his backpack stowed under the table.
"Can I think about it, and let you all know later? I've gotta get going, I'm teaching a few classes today, don't wanna be late."

[Assistant]
Alan Walker

---

As Marcus suggested the idea of becoming the bounty hunter, the self-proclaimed hero of justice of Long Beach who helped, if not taking over the role of, the police to keep the area secured, Alan received this with mixed emotions, like the rest of his friends. A part of him was happy that within these best friends were hearts of justice. But parts of Alan were also seriously concerned, like Trip. While being a hero may appear cool and badass, it was a serious job. Let's all be honest, we don't have super powers, just normal individuals who were better at normal people at thinking, for Alan's case, and fighting, for the rest of his friend's cases. We weren't well equipped, probably only capable of affording a few pistols at best. The police were more equipped, with handcuffs, tasers, cars and in extreme cases, assault rifles and other powerful arsenals and still uncapable of handling with the criminals, not to mention us. And this wasn't a game. You mess up, you die. Trip, Zoey and Marcus had learnt it the hard way. He wouldn't want to see anyone suffering the same fate.

"Now, now." Seeing how the conversation was turning in two opposite direction, Alan believed he must make his opinions clear. "Trip has a point. We should not take this suggestion lightly. It's dangerous, no matter how you see it. If you mess up, you'll pay the price."

Realizing that he was being a bit negative, Alan then tried to make the atmosphere lighter

"But that doesn't mean we should abandon the idea. I mean, it's great to see you guys ready to defend Long Beach, our home since childhood. I would be sad if I have to leave this place. I am willing to join you guys in your endeavour, but if you really are going to do this, there will be a lot of things we should put under consideration. I'll try to make things easier for you, but we should think about it."

[User]
Ally and Alvina were so sure of themselves. They had always been, since she met them both. Within minutes they had decided what they wanted, and were going to do it, even if everyone else decided not to. Zoey wished she had that much fortitude.

"I've gotta get going, I'm teaching a few classes today, don't wanna be late." Trip said as he got up to leave. He seemed upset, Zoey was pretty sure she had overstepped, she didn't mean to put more burden on him. But, in truth, if this was happening, she couldn't imagine doing it without him. She pulled out her phone and started to write a text to Trip,(Sorry about the name drop) but stopped as Alan began to speak.

It sounded like he was interested in joining, even if his words were more than a little scary. It would be important, there wasn't anyone else at this table with his skills on computers, and they were going to need every advantage if they were going to do this without getting hurt, arrested...or worse.

Zoey looked over at Marcus, she wondered if he had known how each of his friends would respond. Beneath his hyper exterior lived a thoughtful guy, someone who cared about everyone, even the people in his comics. For a minute she wondered if he cared about her more, but she pushed the thought back like she had since last year.

[Assistant]
Ally squeezed Alvina's hand back, happy to have support from her. She listened to the other woman's words carefully and laughed, "Yeah, striking fear might sound cool, but I want to focus on spreading hope. When people zee us standing up, maybe they'll stand up too.

Trip spoke his disapproval again, and she didn't blame him. Ally was shocked of all people, Trip wasn't on board. He had amazing fighting skills, and losing that was an extreme loss to the team. Then again, as he left he mentioned he would think about it and give an answer later on. Ally appreciated this.

Alan spoke, further supporting Trip, in a sense. He encouraged them to not only think of the pros, but the cons as well. Ally appreciated this as well. He showed they weren't some random group of teens going out to get into something they had no idea about.

"Thanks Alan, I'm glad you're on board with this too," Ally said. Alan was incredibly smart, and though Ally considered herself smarter than the average beat, she knew that Alan blew her out of the waters. She knew he wasn't a huge fighter, but maybe he could be their Oracle? She shook her head. She was thinking too far ahead.

Ally looked over to Zoey, who hadn't spoken since Trip left. "If Trip can't teach you, I will," Ally offered, "I know he's a way better teacher than me, but if you want some sort of teaching, I can help you." She looked at the rest of her friends and said, voice clear and strong, "If anyone here isn't confident with their fighting skills and Trip can't teach you, I will. We can't do this if we don't know how to defend ourselves."

[User]
Aimee Holland

Current Location: Shopping Center Food Court

Most of the group was sure to leap up in defense of Long Beach. Each of them had a wrong done to them, whether it was murder or theft. However, in the end, some of them were still uneasy about the idea of taking back the streets. Trip brought up a good point that they might be throwing themselves into the fire, where their lives could be easily taken. It was something that Aimee considered, but it was next to nothing to throw her off the path of righteousness. Her brother had stood up against crime, and threw himself into danger on a daily basis. Jake had to be brave or else one wrong move would see his end. If Aimee couldn't embody the strengths that her brother had, would that make her just another coward?

Aimee bit her lip as she absently thought away. It was going to be a hard choice, and even Trip wanted time to think about it. Still, the point remained that they couldn't just stand around and do nothing. Most of the group was still eager to defend their homeland, especially after hearing the possible cons to their ideals. "Fighting crime is dangerous," Aimee stated, agreeing with both Trip and Alan. "However, that never scared off any of the heroes the comics many of us know and love. One may be a work of fiction and the other real life, but there is one similarity between both of them. Anything is possible if we work for it." Aimee explained as a satisfied smile roused on her face.

Then, Ally spoke of training their friends to fight. Some of the group had actual training such as Trip and Ally, but a few of them would
be fresh in the face of taking a stance against someone chucking a few blows. "I haven't trained extensively like Trip, but I know how to defend myself. If I can help in any way, I'll see to it. Like Ally said, we can't do this if we can't defend ourselves." Aimee explained, glancing at Ally, who had directed the attention of the group to her. Hopefully the rest didn't mind being battered around a little bit by a lightweight until they could show signs of self-defense.

---

@Fury Panda@Conscripts@Crossfire@candlelitcraft@Slingshot

[Assistant]
"If Trip can't teach you, I will," Ally said in response to Zoey's fears. It was like she could see right through her. Zoey may have played Lacrosse for the past 6 years, she might know how to push someone around on the field, but she had never once thrown a punch at another person. She had always thought of herself as pacifist, it wasn't until recently that she realized that words don't always cut it. Especially when the deck is stacked against you.

"If I can help in any way, I'll see to it." Aimee responded. This lifted Zoey's spirits. Aimee's brother had taught her to protect herself, and he was a cop. Even if Trip didn't want to be a part of this...they could still do it. Everyone here could work together.

"Thanks guys" Zoey said quietly "I want to help, I really do. I've been wanting to help for a while now...I just didn't think you guys felt the same way."

She looked down at her feet, ready to admit something to the group "I've been making these drawings, of myself as a superhero, since my Dad died. I've felt really powerless... like what was the point? I just, this means a lot to me. Even if we don't end up fighting crime..Just to know I'm not alone."

Zoey smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away.
"Sorry" she said as she laughed.

[User]
"Don't be" Alan sympathetically addressed Zoey, even if he couldn't fully understand the pain and sorrow that she had to put up against for so long. They had so powerful resolutions for such lowly and common individuals in society. They always say that goodness always comes from the most unexpected of places.

"Well, like Alexander the Great once said: There is nothing impossible for he who will try. If you are so determined to do this, then I have nothing to object to." Alan placed his palm gently on the table. "If what we are fighting for is for the good of the public, then you have my full assistance. I may not be able to go fists and boots, but I can be your eyes and ears."

In other words, being the tactician. From the looks of it, it may seem an easy job. But it wasn't. One could see the difficulties of a physical job, due to its unobscured nature. But the mind work was completely different. It was a lot more complex than simply fighting. But in the end, having a little knowledge is always better than punches and kicks.

"Since I work at home, and have submitted my projects to my company, so I have a lot of leisurely time. If you require any sort of information on something, you can tell me right now, and I'll work on it."


[System]
Gender: Male

Age: 34

Rank: Noble in Scandinavia, Prisoner in Mercia.

Appearance:

Personality: Kjalr is a warrior but first and foremost he's a father and husband. He's gentle and kind, but not opposed to entirely butchering anyone and everyone who gets in his way, however, he is not quick to anger and is not opposed to analyzing every situation rationally before drawing his sword.

History: Kjalr was born in 772 AD to Sven Carrson, the Earl of a small port village, known as Skaggerak. In 791, his father sent him to a neighboring Earl, called Klapr, to work off a debt. In 792, Kjalr met Ylva, the daughter of the local smith. They married and in early 793, Kjalr's son, Brand, was born. A few months after his son's birth, Kjalr went, in the service of Earl Klapr, to Lindisfarne. By 806, Kjalr had participated in several small raids along the English and Irish coasts, but one raid went bad, as the English had seen the ships coming upriver and prepared a defense. Kjalr was wounded, captured and believed to be the only survivor of the botched raid. He was unconscious for 3 days and when he awoke, he was in a cell. He had no knowledge of where he was, but luckily, had learned to speak English fluently over his many years of raiding, a skill that would hopefully allow him to gain some answers.

Loyalties: Vikings, for now...

[User]
Sigrid grabbed the cloth and tied it around her head. It did well enough to cover her hair, at least until the cloth gets soaked. They began to run, the two of them, as the rain beat down harder and harder. By the time the trail was reaching its end, the droplets felt like cold knives on her back. If she wanted to be wet and frozen, she would have stayed in Jutland.

Sure enough, though, the estate was slowly rising over the horizon into view. Sigrid nearly stopped running to admire it. Her grandfather's house was large, yes, but this building could easily have dwarfed it. These Angles certainly know how to build! The house in the fields resembled a smaller version of the manor-houses that occasionally dominated a village's landscape, and was comparable to even the greatest of Jarl's halls. Better still, it meant shield from the harsh rain that seems to brew up out of nowhere in the Angle kingdoms.

However, there was a complication. Sigrid smelled it as soon as she saw the house. The complication smelled of fresh earth, that being what it was. She yanked the cloth off her head, and found it covered in watery mud. With her other hand, she grabbed for her hair, bringing it to her eyes. Just as she suspected, it was Norse blonde. If she knew any flowery curse words, perhaps she would have made use of quite a few of them. However, there was nothing she could do. To be scooping dirt into her hair now would be even more suspicious, and being driven out of a village or two was not worth risking lungwater disease for. She could only pray that the owner of the estate took kindly to daughters of Vikings.

[Assistant]
Garod was afraid something like this would happen. Despite the fact that he and Bado had decided that their personas were from Cornwall, he had only been there once or twice and, even then, never really took the time to learn much about the climate there. He wasn't sure if Bado knew much about the kingdom either. However, the Judge was still waiting upon his response, and it would seem strange for him to decline the offer, much as it screamed "trap".

"I would be honored, Justicar. Would you mind terribly if I brought along my companion as well? He is much more open to conversation than I."

[User]
As rain begins to fall over the town, Beornraed meets his commander in front of the manor. He was holding a piece of parchment with a crimson staurogram as a header. "We've received word from the monastery; the new Justiciar wants to make your acquaintance. Probably another showy layabout, like the rest of his lot." he scoffed, crumpling the missive in his hands.

---

Mildemaer barreled through the heavy wooden door shoulder-first, and held it open so Sibley could get through with her. She gave her now blonde friend a puzzled look. "Did something happen?" she asked, not really sure what to think. She set the pup down on the floor and he scurried into the next room, just to be carried back in by a bearded Welshman.
"I'm not telling you again, Cyn, the whelps have to stay in the barn. They shouldn't spend so much time away from their mothers..." his thoughts trailed off as he spied the unexpected guest in his doorway. "Seeking refuge, daughter of Þunor?" he asked simply.

---

Unicycle
His smile widened, eyes yet dark. "Certainly." Alexius remounted his horse and looked down at Garod, once more sullen and serious. "I'm expected at Celnaer Manor. You'll come to the monastery at dusk. Farewell."
With that the judge started back down the road, he on his horse and Wilmot walking faithfully beside him. She turned around once to wave at Garod, smiling pleasantly, before carrying on with her master.

[Assistant]
Kjalr awoke to a small beam of sunlight streaming from somewhere above his head and water dripping onto his leg monotonously. He tried to sit up slowly but suddenly felt like a wave rushed over him. Groaning, he laid his head back down and waited for the room to stop spinning. He tried to recollect the events of the past ... however many days it had been. He remembered sailing with his crew of ten, in a small fleet of 7 other ships. They landed on the beach, only to be greeted by the Fyrd of the shire they were raiding, gathered and prepared. The battle went ill, and the last thing Kjalr remembered was being the last man on the battlefield and taking a sword pommel to the face.

 He tried sitting up again, this time with more success. He found himself in a small dungeon cell, laying on a threadbare, straw-packed cot. There was a bucket in the corner and a tray of stale bread and rotten beef by the bars of the cell. Mustering his strength, Kjalr stood and made his way to the bars, which he used to keep himself standing.

 Beyond the bars was a dim hallway, lit by two torches. On either side of the hall was another cell. On the wall between his cell and the one on the right was a table, laden with his weapons and armor. His sword, Smarhyrr, was just barely out of reach.

 "Hello!?" he called to the darkness. He could only hope for a response now.

[User]
Garod gave his own small wave at Wilmot, before turning away and heading back down the road. Once he was sure the judge and his servant were out of earshot, he muttered the word "damnation" to himself. Of course, he just had to go talking to someone in a position of power when Bado wasn't around. That was a surefire way to get himself killed, or worse, dragged into something like dinner with said person of power. He'd just have to hope Bado knew more about Cornwall than he, else both of their heads would roll.

He was wondering if it would just be easier to skip town... But no, they had only just got here, it was too late to go running off. So, until it was time to head to the monastery, he would wait in his room at the inn, trying to concoct some plan...

[Assistant] There it was. That much-feared discovery of her heritage had finally come. It was inevitable, perhaps. When one has been trading in countless towns in the course of a year, such a thing was bound to happen at least once. Or twice. To be honest, she has been chased out of more villages than she'd like to admit. Sigrid hung her head low, awaiting the inevitable condemnation and later expulsion. For now, she just wanted out of the rain. "Ay, refuge would me much appreciated," she said, quiet and nervous.

[User]
Khan
A figure crossed in front of the far cell and dipped into the dark passageway. As she passed the torches, it became clear that this was a woman in a hooded cloak, with her face covered. She grasped one of the iron bars of Kjalr's cell and pulled back her hood; she was a blond woman with sharp features, wearing a garnet circlet. She stared down at the viking with piercing green eyes.
"If you can't stay quiet yourself, the guards will make sure you're quiet forever." She darted her gaze to either side, and posed a question to Kjalr when she seemed satisfied. "What god will rescue you from this place, Norseman?"

---

Winoc nodded. "You've found refuge, but you'd best thank the gods for your fortune. Many here would see you hang from a tree." He went to a chest beside the doorway and retrieved two large quilts, handing one to Sigrid. "What's your name, fréodohtor?"
Mildemaer was beside herself in confusion about the whole situation. Quite defeated, closed the door behind Sibley -- if that was her real name -- and leaned against the wall, sinking down until she was sitting on the floor.

[Assistant] "Sigrid," she said, almost at a whisper. "That is my name. Sigrid Geirdóttir. I hail from Jutland." Was there sympathy in the old man's eyes? He had never seen her in her entire life, that she could be sure enough of. Yet, he seemed to know her mind, as well as her troubles. With ginger hands, she accepted the quilt, clutching both it and her damp dress close. Something compelled her to keep talking. "My father was here before. He was at Iona, the cross temp- the cathedral. Are you a man of the cross?"

[User]
"Your father was a plunderer of Iona?" Mildemaer interjected as she took the second quilt from Winoc, eyes wide with surprise. The rain pelted against the wooden walls of the estate as Winoc locked the door.
"The raid at Lindisfarne was the first anyone heard of the Norsemen ransacking cathedrals. That was during Offa's time." Winoc said. He took a moment to mull over Sigrid's question. "There's much that you don't know about this land, daughter of Þunor; would a man of the cross open his home to you?"

[Assistant]
Alfred loves the rain. He looks up to the sky and lets the drops of rain fall on his face. It's refreshing, cool, and it bring him back to simpler days of when he was younger. Whenever it would rain back then, he would run out and dance in it until his mother called him back into the house.

He hadn't enjoyed the moment for too long when be sees Beornraed coming towards him. Alfred thinks that's all the relaxation he'll have to himself. It is reassuring though that those moments no matter how brief are his and no one can take them away from him. He reads and scoffs at the letter that his second gives to him. "The new Justiciar wants to see me. There seems to be a lot of summoning happening today. It seems as though more important things are always superseded by unimportant ones. But I'll go see this Justicar.," said Alfred.

[User]
Sigrid shook her head. That seemed to be the response the old man wanted. "Perhaps not," she said, wrapping the warm blanket around herself after squeezing the water from her hair. "It's very kind of you to lend your home to me." A magnificent home it was, too, if a little bare. Unlike the manor houses she was privileged enough to see the inside of, the inside was not as opulent as the outside. No jeweled candle-holders hung from the ceiling, and the furniture was rough and built purely for function. Luxuries that Angle lords would keep for themselves, like marble and glass, are completely omitted.

Small minutes later, she was shivering on one of the chairs, occasionally contributing a sneeze to the silence. "I feel like I'm intruding on your hospitality," she said, putting a hand up to her own forehead. Her hands felt like ice, as did the very air around her. "Is there anything I could do to make me feel more deserving of it?"

[Assistant] "It was my Urdr, my fate, to be trapped behind these bars. I go only where fate takes me and fate shall provide my escape soon enough." Kjalr's eyes flitted between his sword and her circlet. "I am Kjalr Svensson of Skaggerak. Who are you Noblewoman?"

[User]
A gaunt man in dark robes strode through the militia training field on his horse as the rain went from a gentle shower to a steady downpour. He seemed unbothered by the rain, while the slave behind him tightened her cowl. He stopped his horse in front of the commander and his second.
"Alfred, I presume?" he said, more a statement than a query. He glanced briefly back at the militia men before returning his gaze down to the commander. "Your men seem battle ready."

---

Winoc brought his guest a small bowl of soup; a watery concoction of cabbage, potatoes, and hunks of pork. Perhaps not the most appetizing, but certainly warm and filling. "In time, Sigrid, in time. You're not the first of your people to find yourself here." he said, taking a seat nearby. Mildemaer seemed to have disappeared elsewhere into the home. "For now I'd just like to know what brought you to this land."

---

Khan
The woman shook her head at his answer. "Did passively following fate lead you to the abbey in Gloucestershire? Did you learn to swing your sword through iron and flesh as if calmly floating down a stream? Wyrd nurtures no man, Kjalr of Skaggerak; you must conquer it and rip your destiny from it's jaws." She withdrew a simplistic bronze charm from the sleeve of her cloak and tossed it at his feet. "My name is Hwithryth. I'm the lady of this land, and the only person you can trust within these walls."

[Assistant]
Kjalr bent to pick up the charm, his eyes widening in surprise as he held it in his palm.

 "This is the rune Tyr. This was made in my homeland. How came you by this, Briton?" He fingered the etched bronze and locked eyes with the stranger. This was the closest he had come to home in many months. Maybe even a year? He could not remember. It made him long for his family. Suddenly everything was clear to him. "You said I could trust you, right? Can you get me out of here? Please, I'd be indebted."


[System]
Age: 19

Gender: Male

Race: Boar Faunas

Equipment:

Annabeth - A massive Weapon with the combined traits of multiple heavy weapons, packing as much firepower that could be carried by Gren. The main component is an eleven barrel Gatling Gun capable of spewing out a storm of bullets to fill the air with lead. Attached below of the main barrels is a Rocket Launcher loaded using a revolver mechanism, allowing six rockets to be shot before it needs reloading. And next to that is a flame thrower that defaults to a napalm base substance, however it can be augmented with dust crystals to give different or enhanced effects.

In addition to the ranged capabilities of Annabeth, she's equipped with what appears to be a large Axe underneath the main guns. However with a simple trigger pull, the axe comes to life and reveal that it's actually a chainsaw. While in its chainsaw mode, dust can be used to empower Annabeth's strikes.

Hunter Armor - Gren often dons what appears to be a simple yet heavy suit of alloyed steel armor to protect him from harm even should his aura go down. However there's more to the suit than meets the eye: Located on the calves, back, chest, shoulders, and thighs are powerful rocket thrusters. These thrusters assist Gren's mobility, allowing him to mentally command them to push his body in directions he needs to go that he normally could not move quickly enough on his own. They give enough force to give him substantial speed in short bursts, allowing him to dodge attacks in split seconds. Additionally, as these thrusters are highly effective engines, they are also equally powerful weapons for any for who's too close to the various ports located around Gren's armor. He can adjust the direction and output of each port as needed.

Cybernetics - Gren is almost entirely cybernetic, with only parts of his brain, his liver, spinal cord, and heart being organic. And even those parts are further augmented or reinforced with cybernetics. The rest of Gren's body utilizes bulky but powerful synthetic muscles with an armored and padded skeletal frame to further increase Gren's natural toughness. In addition to a more durable frame Gren has gadgets built into his head to provide a variety of utility.

Gren has the ability to perceive perfectly on darkness, emulating his original darkvision. He is also capable of utilizing an OS entirely in his mind, allowing him to emulate the functions of a cell phone and personal computer without additional hardware. He can access the internet, make phone calls, bring up a GPS, write word documents, watch videos, and even record up to eighty hours worth of images and sounds.

Specialty: Gren is a tough guy, but he's more of a meat shield than a bonefide tank. He draws fire from foes by being the biggest and easiest threat to hit (Though perhaps not to damage), as well as ensuring that his foes cannot escape from him. Gren's primarily role is the heavy weapon specialist, dropping a payload of fire and death upon tough enemies and fortified structures in order to complete the mission. Gren is capable of one-on-one combat, however do expect a lot of collateral damage regardless how easy or difficult the fight becomes.

Semblance:

Friction - Malakaus can control the level of Friction he's putting onto an object or objects that touch him. This allows him to do such things as slide across rough terrain, walk on walls and water, and more importantly, keep himself rooted when he's using his weapon. He can extend his Friction to other thing's he's touching to an extent.

He also capable of imparting a set Friction level to objects or targets he touches even if they leave his range, however this effect only lasts for five minutes. Afterwards they resume their original Friction levels.

Personality: While his weapon makes him seem rather blood thirsty and he likes a good fight, Gren has learned to not try to violently kill everything and found new hobbies, like picking up his mother's interest in flowers and herbalism and cooking. Because sometimes Gren get's hungry, and he likes to eat tasty things. Gren see's himself as a sort of protector/apex predator who reserves the right to enforce his authority on others, but worries about people's well-being first and his authority second. He can get very sadden when he thinks that he did something wrong, or simply didn't do something enough. He cares about things under his protection a lot, even when they don't need his protection or what his concern. In a fight he can lose himself easily and once he gets going he's hard to stop. He likes tinkering and has a natural ability to put together ramshackle machinery that by all rights shouldn't be working. Gren has a problem dealing with authority however; as previously mentioned he has a tendency to throw his own weight around even if he isn't the one in charge. While he can follow directions easy enough, he's just as capable of taking over an operation without even considering how it would undermine the efforts of everyone else involved.

Color: A vibrant verdant color like that you'd see in a grassy field one summer's day.

Emblem: Like his surname, Gren's emblem is an orchid. The petals appear more axe-shaped however.

Appearance:

[User]
Priscilla was so ready to start this session! This was basically her territory, she had a widen smile on her face but it was soon to be a frown when she heard Ms.Vanhomirgh. "What did I do NOW?!" she thought to herself before turning her attention to the professor. So, basically they couldn't use their own weapon now..? Well that was bullshit because she wanted to use her weapon..! Priscilla was only good with her weapon, not no damn stock rifles. This was bullshit written all over it and it was embarrassing with Robert being in the same room as her. The pink-haired teenager just nodded her head, not even speaking one word to Ms.Vanhomirgh, ever since the obstacle she has been really mean to her and that was getting Priscilla a bit mad. Yeah, she didn't hear for the instructions but... talk to her nicely and calm. That is how an instructor suppose to be have with a student right? Professionally. This wasn't. She wasn't.

As Priscilla got back to the firing line, she quickly reloaded, this time did everything that the instructor has told them. If someone were to look at Priscilla, they would see a focused angrily girl staring at the target. She was really focused that she forgot where she was, as soon as the paper target appeared. Priscilla squinted her left eye, and shot fire..! The bullets went through the paper target, though, they were perfect shots. This happens regularly when she is mainly focused on one thing, which was the target. After this, Priscilla doesn't want to do anything else, even if it could fail her grade.

[Assistant]
Survival on the Rapids

Even with the pallets' favorable design, navigated the river without falling into it required a great deal of conversation. Vorosky opened fire on the innocent riverbank in order to use the recoil to propel himself away from a outcrop of rock jutting up from the riverbed. The unpleasantly familiar sound of rapidly-beating wings reached him from over the water, and when the professor looked ahead he was disheartened to see a small flock of harpies incoming. Vorosky managed to bring down two of the avian Grimm with short, controlled bursts from his rifle, but the sharp-minded monsters split up after that, targeting students one or two at a time. One harpy swooped down on Vorosky almost vertically, threatening to topple him into the rushing whitewater. While he managed to block the thing's killer talons with his weapon, the harpy closed its claws around the gun instead and yanked hard, disarming the professor. With a sigh, he pulled a pistol from his belt and unceremoniously ventilated the Grimm's mask.

The scuffle had pivoted him around so that he was facing upstream; while not a desirable outlook for such a perilous situation, it enabled Rayna's questions to be heard. "Anomalies have only one use! The portal we came in by is one-way. The closest way back is right in front of upcoming waterfall! In just a few moments we will be there..." here the professor was interrupted by a brilliant light and a thundering crack, signaling that Abel had left a harpy thunderstruck and drowning in the river. The guardian barely had the time to reset the Ampere to blade mode before an overhanging branch almost knocked him into the water. If not for his low, kneeling profile, he would have been. Vorosky continued, "And follow me exactly!"

A steady roar, growing in volume with every meter, heralded the dreaded waterfall's approach. Abel cast a worried glance back at Oswald, the closest to him. After Oswald came Daniel, then Greyson, then Sangue, then Gren, then Jack, then Rayna, then Mokuren, and finally Sarina. The combat teacher's aide seemed to be dealing with the worst of it, having been the last to join the riverbound procession. Though Abel could barely see them from his own position, Itzamna and Salamanders ran along the riverbank, with the former jumping across rocks and from trees while Salamanders spat caustic fluid at her. Sarina, however, armed with the radiant red and blue light of her semblance, the Empress of the Stars. Aglow with the powers of war and peace, she moved with enhanced speed and struck with augmented strength, all the while forcing the Grimm to concentrate on her. Even Abel found himself oddly attracted to Sarina, despite the situation. He shook it off -was that an effect of her semblance?- and focused on what came ahead. A harpy came at him, shrieking, but he dissuaded it with a swing of his Ampere. Looking for another target, it went after Greyson instead.

Up ahead, Vorosky had reached the waterfall. He sedately produced a washer and threw it forward. The air just on the precipice of the cataract shimmered, and Vorosky leaped into the anomaly. Abel, next in line, brought out his own washer, and fingered it nervously. He could honestly say that this was simultaneously one of the most frightening and most exciting experiences in his life to date. The roar of the waterfall forced him to focus, and he lobbed his washer after the professor. To his dismay, it sailed over the edge, and plummeted to the maelstrom far below. Trying to keep his panic at bay, the guardian pulled off one of his gloves and threw it instead, hoping with desperation that the small metal chips on its knuckles would do the trick. Abel gulped and took the leap of faith. The world around him went dark, though whether it was the contortion of space that was teleportation, or the tumult of a raging river, he could not tell.

The world came back, and Abel realized that he was, in fact, underwater. Bubbling and scared, he tried to swim, only to hit a hard surface. Puzzled, he pushed off of it, and abruptly surfaced. In an instant he realized where he was: the fountain right outside the front entrance of Beacon academy. Smiling down at him was the scruffy, pitted face of an unmasked Vorosky. "You survived! A plus!"

If he hadn't been tired, or terrified, or tremendously relieved, Abel might have punched the may. As it was, however, he wearily pulled himself out of the fountain to make way for the next person. The bells signaling the end of fifth period started to chime as he did, making Abel remember that despite all that he had just gone through, there was still another hour of school. "Ugh."

-=-=-

Coach Ahriman Agesander – PE

After a few moments in which Ahriman looked somewhat likely to erupt into a cantankerous discourse, the man's good nature won out and his treated Aurellius to a shrug. "Works for me I guess. Next time though, I will indeed be more specific."

After a few more minutes of struggling on the remaining students' parts -Ivan, Jayden, Sapphire, and Victor never managed to get the newly-replaced medallion at all, while Benjamin and Geni got it only after tremendous effort- the passing bell resounded through the school and Ahriman dismissed the class. "You kids didn't do too badly, for your first day, but remember this: if you want to make an impact on the world, nothing less than your best effort and your best dedication will suffice. If you do not wish to give it your all, you've come to the wrong academy." Those ominous words echoed off the gym's walls. Ahriman smiled. "See you next time!"

[User]
As Gren tried to stem the tide of Grimm, Vorosky released some sort of explosive into the area. It caught Gren off guard, but it seemed to have affected the Grimm much worse. He took the opportunity to gun down a few while they stood there dazed, but over the noise of the gunfire he heard Vorosky order everyone to the river. Gren didn't really have time to protest and could get the gist that he wanted the students to make a run for it. Perhaps not the most brave thing to do, but a smart hunter knows how to pick their fights. Gren followed the others to the river, unfortunately being a bit slow due to the fact he likely outweighs everyone here at least twice over. He saw them take out pallets of all things to serve as their makeshift raft down the roaring rapids. Once more Gren had his doubts, but they had no place here. If he had more time he could construct a more stable water craft, but time was not on his side. He could already hear the other Grimm recovering from Vorosky's attack and come this way.

As the students jumped onto their pallets and made their way down stream, Gren too took a pallet and stood firmly on it. His shook and dipped dangerously into the water, threatening to capsized, but Gren was able to rebalanced it. Using his Semblance he rooted himself firmly onto the pallet, which would allow him to follow up with some rather questionable actions. At this point Gren's mind wasn't really thinking rationally, but acting reactionary. While what Vorosky said was true, that the Itzamna couldn't swim and that the salamanders wouldn't catch them, the harpies proved little trouble to Gren. If anything, it showed off one of his lesser known skills: Anti-Air. Gren's massive weapon was more than capable of clearing the skies of the harpies, and anything that even so much as flew in his general direction was soon peppered with hundreds of bullets and occasionally nailed with a rocket, or at least caught in the splash. With no cover to protect themselves, Gren was able to fill the skies with firepower. Even for the few Harpies that somehow managed to avoid his onslaught, they were unceremoniously smashed into the river. One Gren caught with his off hand and crushed it's neck, doing nothing but lowering his accuracy a bit. And at that point his had accuracy by volume.

At some point Gren realized that some of the students were gone, notable Vorosky. He was able to see Abel vanish over the rapids and feared the worse. So the faunas aimed The God Eater towards the river itself and began to unleash a hail of bullets, using the recoil to propel him from the back of the group to the front. But as he was charging forward a harpy tried to fly by him. Gren was quick enough to swing his still-firing God Eater at the harpy, buffering it with bullets. It was at that time however he noticed the anomaly ahead of him, shimmering when some of his bullets few it it's direction. Now realizing what had happened Gren once again charged forward with the help of the God Eater and jumped into the anomaly.