[System]
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Halfling Race: Dark elf
Appearance: Black skin (truly black, not dark brown), silver hair, purple eyes, lithe, 5'7". She wears black cargo shorts, a dark blue crop top, and combat boots
Personal belongings with them: a set of five throwing knives and a jade hairpin that can be used as a knife

Name: Aenor
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Halfling Race: Light elf
Appearance: Pale skin, golden hair, crystal blue eyes, slim, 5'8". He is always elegantly attired in white pants, a white longcoat, a light blue dress shirt, and white dress shoes
Personal belongings with them: a set of magic books given to him by his father

[User]
"Levi, come eat your breakfast! You don't want to be late for the first day of High school!" Leviathon's half sister yelled as she knocked on his door.

"Crap, did I oversleep again sis?" he asked as he got up and rushed out the door, putting one arm through his vest as he went.

"No, but you're lucky I woke you up, now come eat your coal!" she said
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later on they walked up to the closest subway station illusion barrier, which was disguised as an old mineshaft that was ready to fall apart, and his sister hugged him. "Have a good time at the dorms! See you at the end of the year!"

Leviathon walked up to the entrance and took a deep breath. Turning to look back at his sister, he smiled. "Try not to have too much fun while I'm gone. And... y'know... thanks for taking care of me all this time since dad died."

"I thought we agreed that subject was off limits, ya goober!" She said half jokingly as she flicked a stray cinder from her shoulder towards him. He took one last look back and walked through the Rocky mountains' barrier.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Corry sighed as he trudged along towards the point on the map, holding onto his art supply satchel with care. As he finally got to the cave that supposedly looked like it dropped down to a point where escape was impossible, he gulped.

"Zey veren't kidding ven zey said it vas vell 'idden." he said, his German accent quite clear to anyone who would have heard him.

"Vell... 'ere goes nussing." and with that remark he jumped into the hole, only to land on solid ground as though there was no drop at all.

"First time going to school?" a kind voice asked him as he looked around in wonder that a whole subway station could exist in a cave. "Vell... yez... I suppoze zis is normal zen?" he answered.

"Then you might need to wear this. It's a translator bracelet. It will get rid of your accent and allow you to speak freely to anyone around the world without a mixup." the elderly gentleman said, handing him the device. Taking it, Corry put it on.

"Thanks. I was worried I was going to have to learn French or Spanish or Japanese or something. So how long until the subway gets here?" he asked, now without the signs of German upbringing.

"About 15 minutes." The man answered after looking down at his watch.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through!" Samantha said as she hurriedly ran through the subway station. She had gotten there an hour earlier than necessary so she wouldn't have to deal with the crowds and had her translator bracelet on already, but that still ended up being the result. As she ran, she kept glancing around at all the supposedly "mythical" creatures such as herself.

"Sorry. Cyclops coming thwooooah!" she said, tripping over a tail of one of the Nagas. "Sorry... so sorry... didn't see you ther-oh. Hello Triston." she said frowning. Triston slither up to her and wrapped a coil around her waist.

"Why the long face, darling? I thought you liked cuddling with me!" he said. Samantha wriggled free and said, "Don't make me file sexual harassment." rather bluntly.

"Aw... that's cold, babe. You know I don't like the cold!" Triston said, wrapping his tail around her leg and trying to trip her again.

"HEY! Get your tail off her! If it's heat you want... TAKE THIS!" a third year student fire sprite said as he ignited the Naga's midsection. As the adults separated the two, Samantha quickly got on the Subway as it pulled up. Noticing a young boy sitting alone in the back of the first year subway car, she went over to him. As he raised his head up from his sketch he was drawing, she finally figured out why he was alone. A Dark Elf. Just great. What was next? Was a Demon gonna show up and cast her into hell or some crap like that? Apparently, the elf saw her processing the information and sighed. "Great. Another person who believes bloodline determines fate." He rubbed his forehead and continued. "Do what you want. I couldn't care less if I got a black eye right now. Nobody respected me before. Why should they start now?"

…
…...
…......

"What's your name?" Samantha asked. Better to make friends than be alone in the world, right?

The first year boy looked up from what he had returned to drawing, shocked. "Uh, Corry. You?"

"Samantha. So what are you drawing?" she asked sitting next to him. A ding was heard from the loudspeaker then. "Please take a seat and buckle up! We are starting our departure now. As we will be traveling through portals to get around the world, there are a few rules you must be aware of. One. Those who descriminate based on species will be stripped of their admittance to the Academy. Two. If you need to use the restroom, do so at the next stop, as doing so on the transportive subway would be disastrous and... you know what, I'll let you figure that one out in your head. Three. Dementors and Harry potter are human myths, so anyone believing that piece of glorified human feces is an absolute moron. Four, buckle up or lose more than a few bones from your spine. That is all."

the two quickly buckled in and Corry shoved his artwork back into his satchel. In a matter of seconds, the Subway had arrived at the next stop.

"Now boarding the North American Rocky Mountains District." the speakers blared.

Leviathon got on the train and was immediately pushed to the floor. "Dweeb!" a tree sprite mocked. "Can't back up your own powers! Pathetic, Halvie!" Leviathon frowned and got up, dusting himself off. "Your the one who picked a fight with me, so watch your back. Or does it give you wood to beat up first years?"

The Tree Sprite stopped in his tracks, turned to the Half Fire Sprite and said, "What? I'm sorry, could you repeat that in my good ear?"

Leviathon smirked. "What, do you have termites in your bad ear?"

"BASTARD!" the tree sprite yelled as he Punched Levi in the face hard enough to not only blacken his eye, but also throw him across the subway car into Samantha's lap.

"Hello! Are you an angel?" Levi asked dazed. Samantha sighed. "Great!" she responded sarcastically, "Another sexual deviant!"

"'Scuse me?" Levi said, still dazed. "The walking fir boy punched me! I didn't do nothin'. Honest!"

Samantha sighed and sarcastically said, "A badboy and a liar. Wonderful."

The Subway car Lurched forward, and Levi flew backwards onto the back of the car, fracturing his right leg at the knee joint. As the Loudspeaker came on again announcing their arrival in Japan, he fell to the floor. "Medic please?" he drawled in a heap on the floor. Samantha sighed and bent down to help.

[Assistant]
"Out of my way, abomination." Aenor hissed at the dark elf girl in front of him. She was blocking his way, as if she didn't know that he was of a greater race than she.
"Care to repeat that?" Sithra looked over her shoulder. "Do it a bit louder this time. I'd love to see a self-rightous prettyboy like you get in trouble with the school." She smirked and looked away from the light elf.
Just her luck to be stuck in the same subway station as one of them. Hopefully, she could just ignore him until they reached school. Sithra sighed, knowing that it was unlikely. She cursed fluently in Japanese, her native tongue, attracting a few odd looks from the others waiting at the station. The prettyboy didn't look like he understood her, though. Bonus.
Aenor didn't understand the dark elf's muttering, not that he cared. English was the only language he needed, and if someone else didn't understand him, well, that was their fault.
Just then, the train pulled in and the two elves boarded, making their way to opposite ends of the car. Now, to ignore each other for as long as possible.

[User]
In the furthest seat in the furthest car sat a hunched over figure. His hood was pulled up and a pair of obnoxiously large headphones rested over the fabric where his ears would be. In his hands rested a phone, which had a pair of thumbs darting across the screen faster than some could think possible.
He had arrived early just so he could be the first to get on to claim his seat. He had settled in and worked on building up an aura of 'stay away, no desire to talk to anyone' around him.
Nivaar took a fraction of a moment to glace up from his phone to the loud people entering the train, golden eyes narrowing slightly at the motley crew as they made it known their hate and disgust of each other. He smirked slightly before looking back down at his phone, taking discreet pictures, without flash, of the scene. Could be Photoshopped for blackmail later. Never knew when he'd need money, cheat-sheets, or someone to keep him entertained while he wallowed away in this forsaken place. He predicted he was at least twice the age of half the mutts he'd see in the school's walls and the only reason he was here because it was 'family tradition' to attend a place of study when one was nearing eighty. Had it not been the promise of lavish treasures of his choosing, Nivaar would have ducked out at the subway station and flown to Hawaii. At least the Fire Sprites there could keep his scales warm.

Lifting a hand to scratch at the mentally thought of scales around his left eye, the juvenile dragon tugged his hood lower once the itch had been scratched.

[Assistant]
Nyra slithered her way through the entrance of the cave, hoping she wasn't late for her ride. She had her jacket and warmers on, so she was okay for a bit. Maybe she'll make friends with a warm-blooded creature. Nyra looked around at all the different people there. She moved onto the train, coiling up on a seat.

Aliaah fluttered through the crowd, trying not to get hit. Sometimes people didn't see her. She went through a checklist in her head. She had her translator on, which fit around her neck. She had her stuff in her bag. She had her hat, which she wore now, her horns fitting perfectly through the beanie. She zipped around the car like a hummingbird and perched herself on the back of a seat.

Jacinda stepped onto the train, looking at her phone. She had her wings folded around her shoulders, held together with the claws at her neck. She decided not to sit and just leaned against the side of the train. Jacinda preferred to keep to herself and kept her attention on her phone screen, playing Hungry Shark.

[User]
Settling herself, Sithra crossed her arms and leaned back, closing her eyes. She had no intention of starting a conversation with anyone near her; with her luck, they'd all be drow-haters. Drow was what she called herself, preferring to eliminate even the smallest connection to the light elves.

Aenor seated himself and put on his seatbelt. Now that the dark elf was far away from him, he relaxed and let a slight smile curve his lips. Perhaps the trip would be bearable.

[Assistant]
Akane, purposefully being on the train early (There was no way she'd miss this!) was curled up in a seat checking everyone out. If she was going to survive the year she was going to need a few bodies. She had already been told about the entrance, but she couldn't help thinking they could have picked something more appealing. One of her favorite hobbies was people watching. Akane has always been picky about her bodies, if she didn't like them, she could just have them set on fire. A bit dramatic maybe, but it gets the job done.

She saw not a whole lot of people were in the mood to talk, that was fine In fact it made things easier. She thought the fire sprite would make a good body (How she refers to non-naga friends) he was even cute! but Akane supposed he wouldn't be in the mood for her harassment. She saw another naga slither into a seat. Well as much as I'd like to be friends, that shall have to wait. I've got to focus. And who should appear but an adorable fae dragon! Akane waved to her and said "Hey sweetheart!" then patted the spot next to her> "there's a spot right here if you don't mind joining me.~"

[User] Aliaah smiled and fluttered over to the seat next to the naga. She curled her tail around her feet. "Hello! My name is Aliaah! It is my first year." She was excited someone wanted to talk to her. People usually mistake her for a bug. "How are you!"

[Assistant] Dante was excited to be going to school. He thought it would be a fun adventure, the next step in his life. It wasn't a great start, as when he got on the train many of the cabins were full and the ones that weren't had people who looked like they didn't want to be disturbed. Closer to the back, or maybe the front, this train seemed to go whichever direction it wanted, Dante found a cabin containing a fire sprite, a dark elf, and a cyclopes, which sounded like the beginning of a joke. "Um, excuse me?" Dante asked as he slowly opened the door, "mind if I sit here? I haven't seen much room elsewhere."

[User]
Although she appeared to be dozing, Sithra was alert to everything going on around her, listening in on conversations. That would help her figure out who was a potential ally and who was an enemy.

Aenor turned to the person sitting to his left. "Greetings." He said amiably. "I am Aenor. Might I have your name?"


[System]
Theme Song: Android Porn by Kraddy
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Race: Human Cyborg

Appearance: Face is covered up completely

Faction: Unaffiliated, former Gilgamesh

Personality: After the destruction of his emotions-inhibiting chip during the battle for the 2nd seal, Kyle was finally in control of his feelings again. At first he was confused by the overwhelming sensation that came with it, but he is slowly getting used to it once again. Kyle's strongest feeling was anger towards Gilgamesh and his former employees, for using him as a killing machine and nothing else. At his core though, the cyborg feels lost and aimless. Trying to figure out what to do with his new-found freedom, he accepts to become an agent for the Charred Council to stop the anihilation of Earth.

Kyle is curious, especially about all the supernatural things he is experiencing. He thinks of himself as loyal, but struggles in connecting with the other members, at least for now. Although things appear to be looking rather bleak, he tries to stay positive and is more concerned with the future than the past. Kyle is a pretty simple person, and his statements are straight-forward. Thanks to his watcher, he is slowly learning to be sarcastic and somewhat funny.

Bio: <Name redacted> was born on <Date redacted> in a little town that has long ceased to exist. Son to a sergeant and the youngest of 4 boys, he has always had to fight and hide weakness to prevail. <Name redacted> was home-schooled by his father (a widower) and was taught self-defense and survival techniques starting at the age of 6. It wasn´t unusual for Sergeant <Name redacted> to leave his boys out in the woods by themselves for up to a week. At the age of 16 <Name redacted> was enlisted in the Army, where he quickly gained recognition as one of the best recruits thanks to his father´s training. His brothers made their own waves in their respective classes and earned important positions in different branches of the military. <Name redacted> was slated to become one of the best Fighter Jet pilots, until he was recruited for Project <redacted> on the <Date redacted>.

From this point on, there is little information on <Name redacted> life.

On the <Date redacted>, <Name redacted> resurfaced in <Location redacted>. The years between his recruitment and his reappearance are shrouded in mystery and only high ranking members of the Army have access to the documents with the pertaining information. Now known as KYL-9XX, he has been deployed to several missions in various locations around the globe. A few weeks back he started working for Gilgamesh Inc., for whom or for what purpose are unknown.

[Combat]

Powers and Abilities:
Firebrand Trigger - Kyle becomes an amalgation of steel and fire, increasing his strength and improving his attacks' power and fire damage
Cheetah Module – KYL-9XX moves faster at the cost of armor and precision
Rhino Module – KYL-9XX moves slower, but is better protected and has steadier aim
Solidium Coating – The armor is made out of Solidium, a very rare and strong material

Style:
Cheetah [LV1] – Relies on fast movement and quick counterattacks. Incoming threats are to be dodged, then the distance between the attacker and KYL-9XX can be covered in the blink of an eye
Rhino [LV1] – Focus on heavy armor and high firepower. Threats are to be faced head-on, brute force is used to destroy enemy combatants

River [LV1] – Fast-paced mix of Martial Arts, relies on punches and kicks. Cheetah-Module only
Mountain [LV1] – Slow fighting style, relies on grapples and throws. Rhino-Module only

Equipment:
Gatling Gun [LV1] – A Gatling Gun with high RPM that replaces his right arm, can be loaded with different types of ammunition. Can only be used during Cheetah
Rocket Launcher [LV1] – Can be loaded with different types of rockets, replaces left arm. Only usable during Rhino-Module
Flame Thrower [LV1] – Shoots a column of fire, located in the chest of KYL-9XX
Fists [LV1] – Trained in various martial arts, KYL-9XX can punch a hole through almost any material

Techniques:
Gatling Gun
Quick Shot [LV1] – Unloads normal bullets into the enemy combatant
Explosive Shot [LV1] – Shoots explosive bullets, slower RPM, higher DMG, small AoE

Rocket Launcher
Rocket [LV1] – Shoots a medium sized rocket in a straight line
Thermal [LV1] – Shoots medium sized rocket, can track heat
Freeze [LV1] – Shoots one small Rocket, freezes a surface
Smoke [LV1] – Shoots a small rocket, creates smoke on impact

Flamethrower
Breathing Fire [LV1] – Small-sized fire column
Cough [LV1] – Short-range smoke that can blind enemies

River Stance Attacks
One two Combo [LV1] – Quick Combo consisting of multiple jabs.
Sweeper [LV1] – Low round-kick, knocks opponents off their feet

Mountain Stance Attacks
Power Punch [LV1] – Slow punch, big impact
Grapple [LV1] – KYL-9XX grabs the enemy and performs a throw

[User]
Damn it. Damn it all to hell. Akoni found himself more irritated than usual at the turn of events. He sensed great power from the demoness, and from the kid in white trying to hide. He only wanted to distract the woman, but the blasted machine decided that now was the time to quit defraging his hard drive and attack, with a hail of bullets at that. Now the demon woman was on the offensive, smashing up stone paths. Fan-fucking-tastic. Akoni could still make it without any solid ground thanks to his Surge, but what about the rest of these crickets? And regardless, Surge left him blind, open to attack. Not ideal at all.

Arrows came flying at Akoni and the metal man, but as far as he was concerned the cyborg was the reason they were in this mess, so he could fend for himself. Reacting quickly, Akoni was able to mount a defense by way of utilizing River Current. In an instant a gate appeared in front of the old wizard, catching all of the projectiles coming his way. They exited from another gate which appeared behind him, smashing harmlessly into the cavern wall.

As Akoni landed upon one of the remaining stone platforms he made use of one of his oldest and most trusted spells, Identification. A blue rune appeared before his eyes for a brief second and in that moment the demon's name was revealed to him.

"I'm not so old that my hearing is gone, Gomory!" he called out, his anger bleeding through his tone. "Explain what the hell you mean by 'defend the world,' and make it snappy! I'm here to protect that seal at any cost!"

[Assistant]
Barlour City Underbelly-Assumptions Proved Wrong

The daft fools! Wrath's hand shot towards the hilt of Rage Bringer when the cyborg attacked after the human confronted the demon in pink with a few words. As his hand wrapped around the hilt as the woman's counter attack finished, it clicked in his mind what the demon woman had said. Standing, he put up his hands. "Wait!" His voice boomed maybe a little more than the Nephilim had intended, but it caught people's attention. And very quickly too as he found a few weapons aimed his way.

"Well, since I have your attention, let's take a moment to think. Demon lady here isn't trying to break the seal, especially since I'm pretty sure she had all the time in the world to. Heaven and the Third Kingdom clearly don't want them broken. So as much as we don't like it, how about we not try and kill each other for a bit. And coming from me, you should consider it." He wasn't sure anyone would actually listen, so the Nephilim kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, the blades for his gauntlets once more stored away. "So, any takers?"

[User]
KYL-9XX, Engaging the enemy

The cyborg was surprised to see his bullets melt away like butter in a hot pan, and suddenly he had become the target instead of the attacker. The demoness had jumped into the air, launching arrows in a 360º radius. His scan took a few miliseconds to chose the best means of defense: The inital plan was to jump on another platform, but the arrows were strong enough to break them into a thousand pieces, sending anyone unlucky enough to stand on one into darkness. That meant he would have to take the hit and hope his Solidium coating would be strong enough.

Activating his Rhino Module, KYL could feel a thin cybernetic layer cover his body, as well as the plates inside him shifting around slightly to offer better protection. Using his arms to cover his front, he could feel the first arrow's impact, hitting him with a lot more force than expected. His coating didn't take much damage, but the cyborg was pushed back a few feet, standing a bit too close to the abyss now. As KYL was about to retaliate with a rocket, a booming voice interrupted the fighting.

A tall, red-haired individual had come out of hiding. KYL's scans came up with unusual readings once again, as this person mixed both heaven and hell signatures. As this was his first confrontation with anything paranormal, the cyborg would have to re-evaluate a ton of information and readings once this was over. The red-haired man suggested holding fire, and was assuming the woman in pink was not after the destruction of the seal either. This information did not compute with the cyborgs mission statement. The demon's were clearly the ones seeking armageddon, what other party involved would be after that if not them? On the other hand, the woman had been standing in front of the seal for a prolonged period of time, clearly she could have broken it, if that was her goal.

The angel-demon seemed strong and prepared to take on anyone who would not comply with his statement. Furthermore, KYL's arsenal was not as effetive against these paranormal beings as he had expected. Lowering his rocket launcher, he decided to wait and see how the situation developed.


[System]
Behind each scar lies a painful memory, healed and scabbed, while every smirk tells of a hundred more scowls.
Class: Gravitin

Race: Human

Appearance: Lanky and tall. Light hazel hair is always tousled and messy. 175 centimeters tall, and 54 kilogrammes heavy. Light on his feet, with dexterous fingers. Looks delicate, but is more than capable of holding his own. Default eye colour is blue. (Any Other Info)

Power Ranking: A

Elective Classes: Magical History; Potion Making

Character's Characteristics: Nodah is a diplomat at heart. His policy is one of caution: never burn bridges before you have walked them. He follows whatever means necessary to attain what he desires. To him, life is to be played as a game. His humour is sly, and his deeds always coldly-calculated. Nodah is wont to keep his distance, while exuding undisputed and amiable confidence. He grins easily. He is skilled and well-versed with his powers, but would rather appear as one of the best rather than the best.

Main Power(s): Manipulating the movement of objects, and summoning them. He enjoys making merchandise fly off shelves in shops, out of mischief, boredom, or a partnership of both.

Backstory: He came from parents who were so enthralled in the throes of their dissolving marriage, that their son ceased to hold significant importance in their eyes. Nodah despised being invisible to them as they erupted and then tiptoed, brawled and then retreated, drunk and strung high on the destructive nature of their clashes. While they were occupied with their perpetual tango, he focused on discovering his powers. For a boy who'd known only camouflage and dismissal, the magic he wielded was his one crutch, and saving grace. He has come to highly-value his powers, for they gave him first belief in his worth.

Any Other Info: Nodah is in reality deeply insecure, and is subject to nightmares and anxiety often. Not that he would let anyone know, however. Also, with his volatile emotions, his eye colour is subject to changes according to his mood. It is a quirk he is unable to properly explain.

[User]
Reas Grimorea

 Reas sped through the forest on his skates, ducking and dodging branches as they entered his veiw. The boy's ribbon of fire streaming behind him but never catching on any of the foliage as it only passed right through everything. The Rollerblades tore up the ground underfoot while keeping at a constant speed, blowing back Reas' hair but barley making a noise. "This is it... Rosewood, lets get this year started" He said as he stopped in a clearing and sat down to take a break for a minute looking straight ahead at the . As he sat in the clearing Reas cleaned his skates, picking out the rocks that had gotten wedged in the wheels. 'Wonder what that sound is...' Reas thought when he heard some noises coming from further ahead as he stood back up and continued on towards the gates of rosewood.

 The way Reas took to get to the gate took him around a patch of burnt grass or a frozen tree which he suspected was from the elementalist students of Rosewood. The wildlife seemed to not mind him speeding past or jumping over them which was a bit of a strange behavior to Reas as he was used to things moving when he came near them. The silent hum of his skates were replaced by the caw of a large scaled bird which came diving at his head beak first, Reas responded in turn by doing a quick turn on his heels and delivering a devastating kick to birds neck breaking it with an audible *crunch* and flinging the body against a tree. As the body slumped over Reas gave a quick look upwards for any other animal that would want to attack him, satisfied that he had stopped any future attacks he continued on to Rosewood.

 As Reas Neared the gates he stopped and launched to the left as a bolt of energy flew out of the bushes. He skidded to a stop only to turn and see a figure shrouded in black rushing him, at which point he formed an illusionary barrier of fire which stopped the person in its tracks. Reas' flames acted as a sort of one way glass, from the figure's side it was a roaring wall of fire but from Reas' side it was nothing but air. Another ball of energy flew through the fire and missed him by a mile but Reas decided it was time to end this. Reas reved his skates and flew forward through the fire making sure to shroud the area in darkness before lashing out with a Roundhouse kick to the temple of the figure, killing it almost instantly.

 The figure dissapated into the air and a voice echoed through the clearing with the familiar message "Congratulations, Reas Grimorea. You have successfully completed to final step for you acceptance into Rosewood. Performance rank: A". Reas grinned at the rank that he had gained. "Nice test" he said as he rolled past the next clearing and up to the Gates of Rose wood which were open for him to pass right through. When he was through the gate Reas slowed his skates down to a brisk walking speed to look around at the other students and the large building.

[Assistant]
Zensei Zaza

Little whiffs of air quickly paced in and out of his tiny lungs as he fluttered behind a distant oak. In the pitch black forest, Zensei's lime colored glow would be terrible for hiding, but luckily the fog was insanely dense. The grizzly beast came to a halt, leaving only silence to be heard. "Damned soda pop..." Zensei whispered quietly, following that, a high pitched creaking noise radiated from his location, alerting the beast. It pounced after the sound and gained sight of the pixie.

Leaves slapped Zensei's face as the chase proceeded. The beast was slamming the side of it's body against nearby trees in attempt to frighten him, but their distance from each other increased as the grizzly lost stamina. Turning around to taunt the beast, "Hah! fat piece of-", a branch smacked the back of his head sending him to the ground.

Nearly unconscious, a gust of warm air encased Zensei's body. The beast's teeth sank into him, but before they could penetrate his skin, it's bottom jaw blasted away, smacking against a distant tree. The sound of the impact echoed throughout the forest as the beast let out a despairing roar. Zensei floated up above the creature and began throwing it from tree to tree, using each one as a gravitational magnet, every impact echoed a cracking noise and a loud cry that sounded like a dog whimper. Zensei stopped mutilating the sack of meat when a drop of sweat fell to the dirt. A smirk awoke across his face as he fluttered away from the brutal scene.

The sun had just started to rise when the gates of Rosewood came into view. The golden twists and swirls, the big and majestic waterfall, the glowing blue lights, and the freshly cut grass all sparkled into Zensei's mind.

He opened his mouth in amazement and slowly approached the amazing school, then in an instant, blue translucency took control of his vision and body. He quickly began to get colder as multiple black silhouettes appeared in front of him. Without oxygen, Zensei struggled to make his area and the surrounding areas lose gravity, but he luckily began to float along with the grass and water around him.

Unable to move, he increased the gravity as much as he could, cracking the ice that trapped him. The images of the black silhouettes began to grow in front of him so he quickly smashed against the ground once more, completely shattering it. The multiple silhouettes turned into just one and stood right in front of him. Zensei dove under it ignoring the ice that would slice his cheek and made the glistening shards of ice rise into the clouds, away from anyone's view. "Oh shit." It groaned, looking at the sky and hearing an approaching whistle sound. The first shard impaled the grass just a few inches from the figure's foot. It darted away as the second shard came falling down. Zensei laughed and taunted the figure. "Where are you going? Come play with me!" The ice fell increasingly faster, one after the other, until it looked like it was raining icicles. He stopped when he only had one shard of ice left. It was too quiet.

Out of nowhere, the black figure jumped towards Zensei while screaming, sending black smoke into his direction. He slowly began to laugh "Good thing I kept that extra shard."

Blood slid down his cheek as an announcement was made from what seemed to be the sky. "Congratulations, Zensei Zaza. You have successfully completed the final step to your acceptance into Rosewood. Performance rank: B."

He slowly walked towards the gates with one hand held out. His vision began to darken and he lost his balance, landing in the cold, wet, and demolished grass.

[User]
Nodah trekked past a boulder with moss growing on one side in the choking fog, blinking against smokey arms that reached forward to blind him. His footfalls were all but silent; Nodah was no elf, but he had learnt early how to tread quietly, cautiously, that his movements made no more than a spirit's whisper as he crept through the trees. The foot he had raised froze, inches from stepping into a murky puddle of water. Its surface made for a poor looking-glass, but as Nodah withdrew his leg and landed it elsewhere dry, he could see through the gloom a shining pair of eyes that glowed yellow. He blinked, and the cat's glare was replaced by two glittering jade gemstones.

A rustle in the bushes. Nodah's breath caught in his throat. He whirled around, one hand ghosting to his waist, and the other adjusting the strap of his travelling bag on his shoulder. The possessions he'd brought were few to speak of, but they existed to burden him now, in the dense vegetation where Nodah knew not the beasts and threats. He lifted the bottom of his shirt, breaths shallow and eyes flickering in the darkness. One finger traced the handle of a blade, tucked neatly into his belt beside its five other brothers. His skill did not lie in dagger-throwing, but in corrupting the laws of gravity and flinging objects around for his amusement. Yet, what good were his powers if he lacked proper fodder? Here in the forest, Nodah did not think pine cones and leaf-litter would deter a fanged predator thirsting for blood, no matter how forcefully he cast them.

Nodah stretched out a hand to the forest floor, and his fingers flexed. A fallen branch whizzed into his grasp, and his fist curled clenched around it. Crouched into the hunter's stance, he held it before him, ready to beat at the beast that hid in the shadows if it pounced on him. He peered around him, surveying the arena for the lion to his Roman, and stilled when his gaze swept over Rosewood.

Up ahead, towering above the fog, was a tall regal structure. The archaeology was excellent, its design breathtaking. Most of all, it was his harbinger of safety and security, and only a few yards away.

Relief flooded his throat and threatened to make his words thick. He did look forward to a night in a bed after his journey. Letting his breath out in a detoxifying sigh, Nodah stepped forward, abandoning the stick he had picked up in a frantic, senseless moment.

It was the wrong move. Something bellowed in his ears, and Nodah spun on the spot, heart quickening. "Wha - " He felt the hurricane-gust of wind toss the locks of his hair carelessly, felt the grit of kicked-up sand drag its raspy hand over his cheeks. Nodah's eyes narrowed against the dirt. His right hand snatched up a dagger, and he raised it to his brow, shielding his face. But this did not obscure from his vision the featureless silhouette that roared towards him. With his heart in his throat and curses on his tongue, Nodah leapt to the side, slashing at the chest of the silhouette with his dagger. The steel blade parted through it, like smoke. Nodah's mouth went dry. How was he to defeat a shade?

He swung out the hand that held the knife, and concentrated, remembering the boulder he had passed. The silhouette had turned its head, and its smooth, blank face stared at Nodah. Like something from a dream, it slanted itself, facing Nodah with languid movements. Nodah jerked his outstretched arm and folded it over his chest. With a scream of protest, the boulder came flying past the trees. The shade was right in its path. His other hand reached out, and just before the boulder could smear the silhouette, Nodah made a violent fist. There was a split-second of pause, as the atmospheric pressure surrounding the boulder peaked dramatically, and the granite surface crumpled, like a sheet of parchment that had been crinkled wastefully into a ball. There was a deafening crash. Nodah ducked, curling his body away from the torrent of stone fragments that pelted his skin. He felt one strike his elbow, and gasped at the sharp dash of pain and release, as blood undoubtedly rose to swell. When Nodah looked up once more, the silhouette was gone, and he was alone.

Plunging the dagger back into its sheathe, Nodah looked down at the unevenly-shaped pebbles that now lay scattered. He rose his foot and took a step, the forest-floor crunching like gravel beneath him now. As he walked towards the school, he inspected the cut on his elbow. It was neither fatal nor worthy of concern, an accident, was all.

An echoing voice rang, "Congratulations, Nodah Listig. You have successfully completed the final step for your acceptance into Rosewood. Performance rank: Ａ." Nodah did not break stride, eyeing the open iron-wrought gates that loomed before him. "Hooray for me," he muttered hollowly, flashing eyes flat.

Nodah was going to step over the threshold, into Rosewood. Why could he not summon the joy, the triumph, the relief, of having acquired a position in a prestigious school, where attendance was a privilege? He thought of what he had left behind. He should have been overwhelmed by emotions to have successfully escaped his past, that treacherous monster that had until so recently been his present. Except, Nodah wasn't. Nodah could not muster the feelings required of him.

He almost walked right by the pixie. Eyes shuttered close, clothes green, and hair the colour of emerald, the creature was breathing, curled up on the ground. He was stained crimson, from a wound on the head. It was the blood that compelled Nodah to kneel - he who summoned everything to his hands before he bent. The pixie was no larger than a fruit. Nodah's lips quirked in bemusement, and he leaned forward to inspect the pixie further, eyes flashing indigo, then blue, then yellow, as he took in every detail. One finger brushed the pixie's hair aside gingerly, looking for the wound. When he was satisfied with what he'd gathered, Nodah prodded the minuscule shoulder for a reaction to gauge his degree of consciousness.


[System]
Appearance: Kingsley is a massive giant of a man with heavily tanned skin and scars all over his body. He almost never wears a shirt, but a sarashi covers his stomach and there are wraps around his hands. He wears a pair of white pants that have become frayed at the bottom and black shoes and socks. His head is bald, but he always seems to have 5-o-clock shadow and a scowl on his face. He is incredibly muscular, and stands at almost seven feet tall. His eyebrows are gigantic and awe-inspiring.

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Year Level: 2nd year

Faction/club: Cooking Club

Power: Kingsley's delicious homemade dishes are not only tasty, but they also bequeath to the eater some qualities of the creatures used in the ingredients for a full day. For example, if someone ate his turtle soup, their body would become resilient like a turtle's shell. If they ate his bear stew, they would become much stronger and their sense of smell would greatly increase. One can have the qualities of up to three creatures at a time in this way. If one already has an ability that increases one of these parameters, then the dish adds to it. Thus, a weak man will become a strong man and a strong man will become a stronger man.

After years of intense training and eating his own food, Kingsley's body has permanently taken on a fraction of the power his dishes bequeath. Thus, he is always stronger, faster, and more resilient than a normal man of his size and strength would be. Which is already a lot.

Bio: Kingsley grew up in the wilderness, where it was always unbearably hot or cold and hostile. Without parents, he was taken in by crocodiles and raised alongside them. He grew up wrestling with his heavy crocodile brothers, and became incredibly strong quickly. One day, a traveling chef found him eating raw wildebeest with a bunch of crocodiles. The chef, who was also a burly giant, immediately began wrestling each and every crocodile in Kingsley's family and defeated them all soundly. After he was done, the chef shook the father crocodile's front foot and the two shared in a single moment of manly respect for a powerful opponent. The chef then somehow created fire using wood and began roasting the raw meat.

As they all partook in the feast, tears began running down Kingsley's cheeks. He had never tasted anything as incredible as cooked wildebeest before, and this became an epiphany for him. He knew that he would follow this man to the ends of the earth, and learn more about this strange technique. The chef looked at the crying boy, and said "Cooking is love."

Kingsley couldn't understand the language, but somehow eating that food allowed him to understand the feelings behind the words. Without saying anything, Kingsley's crocodile parents nodded at him. They had known from the moment that they had taken him in that he was different. He was meant to do something great, and for that he had to go with this man. This much they understood. The chef nodded back at the crocodiles, and stood up. Thus, he and Kingsley walked off into the sunset to begin a new chapter in his life.

Years later, Kingsley had learned not only language, but many incredible cooking techniques from the chef. His name was Richard Sovereign, and apart from Kingsley, he had one other apprentice named Drake Lancer. Drake was ambitious and had potential the likes of which Richard had never seen. However, the boy was impatient. He wanted to learn more and more recipes, even though he hadn't mastered the ones before. When the time came to choose a student to bequeath the secret Sovereign family recipes to, Kingsley and Drake finally clashed in a cooking competition. Drake quickly made many excellent dishes, which were all great by a technical standard and looked fantastic. Kingsley made roasted wildebeest, much like his first meal with Richard. When the tasting was done, Richard declared Kingsley the winner. Drake was enraged that his dishes were beaten by something as disgusting and trivial as roasted wildebeest, but Richard explained.

"I gave you every chance to win. Time and time again, I've explained that 'cooking is love'. Your dishes are good from a technical standpoint, and are presented better than even I could manage, but there is no love in them. Only tasteless ambition. That is why you lost."

The next day, the Sovereign family recipes were to be presented to Kingsley, but that time never came. When Kingsley went to check on his mentor, he found Richard dead and the recipes stolen. There was a strange smile on Richard's face, however. The same smile he'd always had when he said "cooking is love".

Afterwards, no matter what Kingsley cooked, it felt like there was an ingredient missing. The recipe was always slightly off. Kingsley had decided, then, to attend Kagetora High School. It was the sort of place he could go not only to become stronger, but also to gather information. In a school of kids with weird powers, surely one had to have an ability that would help him find Drake and avenge his master's death the only way he knew how; with his food.

And perhaps along the way, he might find that missing ingredient again somewhere.

School, however, did not go exactly as planned. Despite his skill at cooking, Kingsley was not very smart and incredibly ignorant of almost every subject except for parts of biology which he knew from cooking and living in the wild. In addition, he found out that he didn't like fighting humans at all. They were complete strangers who were also inedible, and as such there was no joy in doing battle with them. Because he was huge and scary, however, some students would pick fights with him for cred. These battles Kingsley would fight, if for no other reason than to become stronger, and his legend quickly grew. Stronger and stronger people would pick fights with Kingsley, and Kingsley would win. As he had never lost a fight, he gained several titles and nicknames from the other students. There were rumors about him as well.

Titles (In order):
-That Big Guy
-The Unbeatable Kingsley
-The Demon of Kagetora
-The Invincible King
-The Dark Lord of Kagetora
-The Shadow King of Kagetora

Rumors:
-He is invincible
-He's the one who really runs the school and the student council president is a figurehead
-He's really a god of battle in human form looking for a worthy opponent
-When he kills a student, they don't come back
-He's not actually real, but a group delusion brought on by unreasonable rumors that everyone believes

Recently, because of the titles and rumors, no one has wanted to fight him. Because he's not very smart and there are no fights to improve his rank, he's been stuck in grade 2 for two years.

Rank: 47,000

Points: 42,000

Dorm: C-tier

[User]
Kingsley, through Ruidoso, found himself pulled into the spectacle with the rest of the crowd. He cheered and hollered with the others, and got hyped as hell despite having almost no idea about what this man was talking about. Boxermania? Dates? Well, at the very least Kingsley understood FIERY PASSION. This was it! Kingsley understood now that this was also a part of Lucha Libre.

"Yes, just like cutting open a fish en papillote! No, more like a sizzling fajita! The show is a part of the meal. No more could one separate a Luchador from his showmanship than a chef from his knives! It's beautiful in its purity."

The ovation, however, was cut somewhat short when a boy in the crowd began choking. Being a gourmet, Kingsley was well-versed in the Heimlich maneuver, but the attentive cheerleader seemed to be on it.

"Wait, do boxing clubs have cheerleaders? Or Luchadors, for that matter?"

Kingsley then spotted a tall boy with a collection of gigantic swords in the ring.

"Or swordsmen? What kind of boxing club is this?"

Regardless, a boy was choking and it was Kingsley's duty to offer help.

"Miss," he called out over the crowd in his deep, booming, imposing roar of a voice, "May I help? I am very well-versed in the Heimlich!"

Some members of the crowd finally noticed the giant as Kingsley strode towards the choking boy in a white apron, emblazoned upon which were the words 'KISS THE COOK'. Some cried, some fainted, some wet themselves, and more shouted:
'Dear God, it's the Shadow King! He's come to murder us all!'
'He will use our varied corpses to construct his dark throne, from which he will bring the throngs of Hell to descend upon the Earth!'
'In this moment of panic, I have seen the face of God! It is terrifying and benevolent, and I no longer fear death!'

[Assistant]
The Boxing Club

"WE HAVE AWOKEN HIM FROM HIS DARK SLUMBER! The Shadow King will show no mercy to us!"
"THE END OF ALL LIFE IS UPON US! ...Or at least the school!"
"THE DAY HAS COME! THE SHADOW KING WANTS TO KILL THE CAPTAIN!"
"SHE'S DEAD! HE ALREADY HAS HIS EYES ON HER! CAPTAIN! NOOOOO!"
"Someone who against all odds manages to survive this apocalyptic event, tell Mister Mittens to not open that book! Trust me, he'll know!"
"Amaterasu protect us!"

Among other cries were heard. Even in the Boxing Club, there were many members who feared the rumors of the 'Shadow King'. Some of them swore that this figure was a myth, a legend told to keep people in line. Of course, now they knew, the Shadow King was in fact an individual that existed. They did not know what horrible darkness stitched this abomination to life, but somehow the cook was alive and scary to others than they initially thought he was.

The Captain quickly turned around as she noticed the giant dressed in the garments of chef. This, was the form of the Shadow King. With hardly a word she let go of the blue boy, who still needed more help in freeing whatever was clogging his airway. Turning around she removed the rose from her teeth and gestured to him. "You know? HURRY AND GO DO IT!"

Upon her declaration, the crowd was warped in various thoughts on the matter. Some grew silent, wondering if the Captain was sacrificing one of her own to save the rest of them. Others pondered if this was the Prophecy of the one who brought the light of binding upon the Shadow King. Others, were still screaming out in horror due to the sudden realization that the man was still there.
"DEAR GOD, IS THE SHADOW KING GOING TO FULFILL THE PROPHECY!?"
"The Fifth Seal is going to be broken!"
"OUR TIME IS AT AN END!"

"STOP SCREAMING OF DOOMSDAY!" Misaki yelled out. If there was one thing she didn't need right now, besides one of her own choking to death, it was them panicking of doomsday due to some guy who wanted to help out.

[User]
Kingsley was used to the doomsday prognostication that came with his presence, and thus largely ignored it as he rushed to the choking boy. Occasionally one of the more outlandish claims would get to him and he would retort, thus resulting in more rumors, but the boxing club seemed to be screaming some pretty standard stuff.

"Y-yes!" Kingsley replied to the boxing cheerleader's plea. He quickly took her place, and began his skillful and practiced Heimlich. It was something that every chef worth his seasoning was proficient in, and as Kingsley was worth a lot of seasoning as a chef, he was quite good at it. Invigorated by the Lucha, he decided to try naming his Heimlich.

"Ultimate... Heimlich... CRUSHER!" he cried, punctuating each word with a strong, swift movement. Sadly, it took a couple more movements to dislodge whatever was choking the boy up so Kingsley awkwardly continued after he had called his move. When finally the disruption was cleared up and spat out, Kingsley added another word to the end of the move to save face.

"MIRACLE!"

He stood back to allow Johnny to get some air.

"You alright, kid?" his voice boomed gruffly.

[Assistant]
The Boxing Club

The Ultimate Heimlich CRUSHER MIRACLE technique had indeed saved Johnny Pots. Emerging out of Johnny's mouth was a golf-ball sized of chewed up gum of many different faded colors. The drool and spit rolled down the ball of chewed up candy, before the candy itself started to twitch. It appeared that in the turmoil, Johnny Pots accidentally swallowed too much gum while probably practicing his power of turning candy things into a weird state of pseudo-sentience. That power didn't come up much, but it appeared to be at the crux of why he was choking.

As for Johnny himself, he was hunched over breathing in and out heavily. "A-yeahwa." Coughing a bit, Johnny spat some pinkish color saliva towards the ground. "Biiit more than I intended for." The assorted individuals in the Boxing Club watched in awe, as the screaming in agony appeared to have come to a pin-drop silence once more. The Shadow King did not appear to slaughter Johnny. He was right there, he had Johnny exactly where he wanted. But against all logic, the Shadow King did not murder the man. Once more, the sounds of discussion around the Shadow King commenced.

"D-did the Captain tame the Shadow King?"
"Holy crap! The Captain tamed the Shadow King!"
"What if he is only doing this to draw us into a more comfortable state so he can enjoy our tears more?!"
"I have seen the blessing of Amaterasu this day."
"...By Jove! Did Amaterasu actually hear our plea for survival!?"
"IT IS JUST LIKE THE BLESSED WINDS!"

As the ramblings of the superstitious lot were spoken once more, Kurosawa Misaki gave a relieved exhale. She glanced towards Kingsley and spoke up, "Whew. That could've been far worse. Thank you for the help."

[User]
"Oh, uh, it's no problem," replied Kingsley with a good-natured smile on his face that some might misconstrue as some sort of dark hunger, "Any good chef knows a proper Heimlich in and out. It's one of the fundamentals, even though it's not about cooking. I wasn't even allowed to handle a knife until I could prove to execute a perfect Heimlich."

Kingsley looked around the boxing club. Aside from the terrified and/or awed faces of some of the crowd, it seemed like a nice place.

"I heard a lot of commotion from over in the Home Ec room. I mean, more commotion than normal. I'm used to the words of your announcer, which can cut clean through steel only to knock on one's ears gently and offer a freshly-baked muffin. But these ear-bursting declarations filled with spicy passion and the sort of purity that make salt look like the scum accumulating on the top of a boiling soup are new. I had to see for myself what all this was about."

Kingsley looked to the luchador, who he had assumed was the source of the commotion.

"This is truly an odd boxing club. Interesting, but odd."


[System]
Nickname(Optional): Pfft, no.
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Physical Appearance: Of Average build with short dark hair, Neil isn't exactly the most unique specimen. He is fit but not noticeably so. He isn't big at all, but he is also not small. He has a face girls can find cute, but not exactly dreamy. Tanned skin and a ruddy complexion from all of the machine's he's worked on, coupled with the calluses on his hands gives him an experienced look despite the very youthful appearance he has. All in all, other than the twinkling of his eyes and the trademark grin, he is essentially average. He has dark eyes and very dark brown hair, enough to be considered black under most light. He's about 5'10 and 165 pounds.
Clothing: He often wears baggy pants, mostly military cargo. He likes to wear single colored T-Shirts. Usually he wears red.
Personality: Oh, now that is a question. To say Neil is eccentric is...well, that hits the nail on the head. Very good with hand-eye coordination, competent combatant, good engineer, and a daring pilot. But prone to sarcasm, snide remarks, unorthodox behavior, and just good old fashioned explosions. He's a born jokester, though behind his charming yet insufferable demeanor belies a certain intelligence, and to those he enjoys, he does tend to have a big heart.

[User]
Junebug waited, she was nervous, you would have to be insane not to be, but she was also a veteran. One of the many things you learned in a career as a professional killer was that you had to transmute your neves into something useful or you would drive yourself crazy. Rather than appearing jumpy, her breathing slowed and her motions became precise, her eyes and expression as cold and colorless as a snake. Looking up she saw Saxon watching her with unusual interest. There was no way for her to read the lizard like aliens expression, they deviated to far from human norms for that, but his long tongue flickered out as though tasting the air and the scales beneath his neck seemed to bulge and redden.

Another tremor rocked the structure, this one was bad enough that a thin crack appeared in the odd ancient ceramic. The bodies continued to float in status. York was scanning the room with some sort of handheld electronics, a short wand with a spherical attachment. Junebug guessed it was some sort of multispectral scanner that was recording everything that was going on though she couldn't pretend she really cared. York watched over Neil's shoulder engrossed in the strange glowing runes that flickered above it, filling the room with an unsteady orange light that reminded Junebug of distant fires.

Taya stood beside Junebug clearly unable to decide what to do and clearly terrified.

"How do you stay so calm," the girl whispered. Junebug shrugged her shoulders, the armor she was wearing exaggerating the motion.

"Practice," she replied, sounding nonchalant.

"Had much practice being killed by ancient space gods?" the girl all but chirped. Junebug smiled in spite of herself. Taya was young, but if she could manage to be sarcastic at a time like this, there might be a future for her. Junebug regretted she hadn't had time to teach the former aristocrat more, but it wasn't like they had enjoyed a lot of downtime in the past several months.

"I've seen alot of different types of death," she said seriously.

"I can honestly think of worse ways to go than being incinerated when the planet tears itself appart." There was a sudden sound like a torrent of water breaking a dam and the stream of symbols became a flood, lighting the chamber like noontime in the desert. Neil stared wide and unblinking into the sudden flood of symbols, his hand pulsing with its own inner light.

"What is happening?"

[Assistant]
Neil typed furiously, the lights on the console splayed across his visage, as well as York's and Sven's. The cyborg looked between Neil and the console, confused at how Neil was moving so fast that even a being as efficient as he was having a tough time keeping up. Honestly, even Neil didn't know how he knew the alien symbology or even where to begin with extracting various data files of information.

"How am I doing this?" he asked aloud, his fingers moving in a blur. The clacking of the keyboard audible, despite the fact it appeared to be a touchpad. He grinned for a moment and then looked away from the console, even taking one hand off of it as he gazed smugly over at Junebug and Taya. His left hand continued to operate the advanced machine with a million Yottabyte's of processing power. "Impressive, eh?" he asked them. When Woods glanced over, he flexed with his free arm. She shook her head but smiled nonetheless.

The fact that Sayeeda and Taya merely looked at him made him realize he should probably not push his luck, and when he went back to give the console his full attention, he confirmed his suspicions that he was still on track with extracting the information from the machine. Beside him, the AI appeared once more. "The information located in is to be transferred to the Terimas System and retransferred into the Helyaspontine Metric."

York raised an eyebrow, looking at Neil. The Pilot explained. "In the event of a cataclysm, the Ancient Ones wanted the information here to be moved to a more secure location where it could be put to better use. Likely another facility."

"Ah," York said, and spoke no more of it. Of course the transhuman was simply wishing to take the ancient knowledge of a highly advanced civilization for Terran use and damned to its original purpose. Neil simply wanted to extract it so they could get out of here.

"Got it!" Neil said. A small, delicate looking disk slipping out of the console. It was made of the same material as the monoliths in the previous room, which buggered the mind of exactly what the material was. Neil figured he could learn if he lived through this, and he handed the disk to York, who promptly placed it in his jacket pocket. The blast doors forward slid open, and Saxon, who was gazing at his predecessor in the stasis chamber, was the closest. Though it took him a moment to notice the doors had slid open. He was tall enough to glance through and see the walkway led into the forest.

Cold air rushed into the room to greet them, as well as even more tremors in the earth.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Neil said.

[User]
It didn't take them long to reach the surface. Whatever else had been communicated to Neil's mind he clearly had an exit route planned. The coiled around several corridors, rushing through chambers the purpose of which Sayeeda couldn't guess. All the while the tremors grew more frequent and more violent, until merely staying upright became a real challenge. At last they burst out onto the snowy polar tundra, having avoided the open dome with their deadly ceramic discs. The Highlander sat perhaps three hundred meters away, although slightly around the corner of the shield dome from their present location.

 As soon as their boots touched the perma frosts all the Terrans tensed and York touched a finger to his ear. Junebug reengaged her helmets electronics suite with the flick of a switch and her helmet AI immediately tuned her into the commo net the Terran's were using. It was a crackling static hash with only occasional understandable syllables but the computer did its best to correct the signal.

"...ty… have sustained heavy.... respond.... equitorial anoma…."

Though the signal was poor it was unmistakable slugged as the November Sky, which meant at least the vessel hadn't been destroyed. York didn't bother trying to respond, instead he lead the party at a run to the battered freighter. Junebug half carried Taya as they rushed up the ramp, Neil leaping up the ladder and into the cockpit a half second ahead of the mercenary. Without even a pretense of caution Neil lit all six thrusters at once and the ship tore into the sky, wind howling through the still closing landing ramp.

"How long have we got to get out of the system?" Sayeeda demanded as they climbed through the troposphre.

"Seven Garl't," Neil responded automatically, his hands flying over the controls.

"What the fuck is a Garl't?" she demanded. The pilot shrugged helplessly.

"Damned if I know, it must be..." Neil trailed off as they broke the atmosphere. Towards the equator a vast silvery thing was tearing itself free of the earth. Sayeeda guessed that it must have been the size of a small city and it was bathed in a crackling electric discharge. The atmosphere above it ionized and there was a flash of nuclear detonation as a mass driver struck the thing on the side of the shoulder. The creature, whatever it was, didn't pause, it merely raised a massive palm and a green beam of light, so bright that the Highlander's optics blacked it out to save from burning the crews retinas, lashed skyward. One of the Chalcedon cruisers vanished from the sensor board.

"Get us to the November Sky," Sayeeda said, her voice, normally calm, held an unexpected note of awe. She tapped a series of keys feeding Neil the vector information he needed. Below them the planet began to pulse, its mantle beginning to crack, the oceans boiling as the volcanic fury beneath bubbled up from mile long cracks in the planets skin.

The November Sky shuddered out of the rip, a mere two or three thousand kilometers away, having outrun the light of its departure. The bow of the ship was a mass of melted metal where it had suffered a mass driver hit from one of its opponents. The void shields had saved the ship, though it would be months or years in dock to repair the damage.

"Get us aboard," York snapped but they were already moving towards the open launch bay.

[Assistant]
The ship shook as if it was trying to phase through a barrier that wasn't there. The very atmosphere of Savren now contorting and shuddering. It was all Neil could do to keep the ship steady as he punched all of the auxiliary power through the sublight thrusters. If they were lucky, they would have just enough power to make it to the November sky, and maybe a R.I.P. jump just in case. But other than that, the power modules had been damaged too much for Neil to be comfortable with the Highlander.

Beneath them, the God Machine rose up, and for a moment it was still, as if it was a monument to a bygone era. It had the likeness of a vaguely human shape, with a crest rising above its head, and it was noticeably without a nose of any kind. The helpless survivors of the bombarment upon the planet's equator could only watch in horror as the monstrosity, hundreds of kilometer's away, opened its mouth and let out a pierce bellow, much like a alarm horn of warning.

Suddenly, dark monoliths, unlike the ones they had found inside the facility, began to form along its chest and all to the ground, somehow landing at their base and forming by some otherwordly metric no one could begin to fathom. It raised its hands and began to decimate the Chalcedon's fleet with ion blasts that blinded all within two hundred kilometers of the beam's lights. Even now, the planet began to crack open like a great maw of magma, as if it were an even harsher beast of the void.

Neil could focus on little of that, trying to keep the Highlander from being ripped apart or caught in the ever volatile orbit. Woods and her crew were in the cargo bay, as was Saxon and Sven. Taya, York, and Junebug sat in the cockpit with Neil, the transhuman clutching his jacket where the disk was located. He seemed far from his usually amused self, now fully intent on getting the forbidden knowledge of the cosmos to the November Sky.

"So, once we reach the November Sky, we're to have our freedom and reward?" Junebug asked.

York raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Of course. Though first we'll need to extract the data of the Ancient Ones from this file." he said, patting his breast. "T'will change the course of history forever. All will fall before the Imperium, and you will be free from all charges."

Neil banked left, curving an asteroid cluster and spinning the Highlander back into place as he approached the open hanger bay. Despite their previous journey, it really did not sit right with him that the Terrans would gain such a massive increase to their technological power after they had proven time and again to be ill fitted for rule.

Behind them, Savren exploded.

Neil couldn't see it on the back display, as it was brighter than a thousand suns. But he read the energy readings on the output of the explosion, and he knew that unless the November sky had a crack pilot, they wouldn't be able to land on it and have it enter the R.I.P. before they were consumed. The blast radius really was the entire system!

"Orders Captain?" Neil asked.

"We go to the November Sky!" York ordered out of turn.


[System]
Appearance: Pharazon is tall and thin, and in fact, doesn't actually look very strong. Pharazon has chosen a non-gendered, androgynous physical appearance, and prefers non-gendered pronouns such as 'they' and 'them', but is fine if people refer to them as 'he' or 'she'. They have short, green hair, and serious, green eyes. Their face is usually expressionless, with a touch of amused curiosity
Age: 20. Looks about 20
Race: Quantum
Citizenship: Horizon
Personality: Pharazon is one of those Quantums who has chosen to break away from supposed 'human limitations'. This is first most apparent in their choice of gender expression. It is also apparent in their choice to keep their emotions in check, despite still being subject to them. Pharazon idolizes the ideal of what a Quantum could become, the 'perfect machine'. Pharazon is all about performing tasks, and following orders. Therefore a few things bother Pharazon greatly: though Pharazon sees racism as something beneath them, they have difficulty dealing with things that they assume to be unpredictable and prone to irrationality, that is to say, humans. While Pharazon does not hate humans, Pharazon is afraid of working with them for fear of losing control of the task at hand. Pharazon also seeks new knowledge and information, yet processes information very slowly. They therefore consume information through very traditionally human means, for example, reading and looking stuff up, instead of downloading it into their mind directly. Part of this need for knowledge also manifests as a desire to interact with humans, despite Pharazon's reluctance. Pharazon can be a bit blunt and forward, especially when a task needs doing. They may occasionally falter when it comes to being tactful. Pharazon has the unfortunate penchant for not speaking their mind when they should, and for silently shouldering burdens unnecessarily
History: Pharazon was created with an adult mind, and given free reign to choose their own future. Living in a Horizon that was well into its recovery from the Race Wars decades and decades ago, things were relatively peaceful within the core star systems, some might even say luxurious. Pharazon was faced with the philosophical questions that so often accompanied comfort, luxury, security and opportunity. Pharazon didn't know what they wanted to do with themselves, until one day they came across the philosophy of the 'perfect machine'. Pharazon found their calling, and spent their time disciplining themselves in the ways of the 'perfect machine'. Part of the philosophy, however, stressed obedience and service to the collective Quantum society, which was Horizon, so Pharazon joined the military. A fellow follower of the 'perfect machine' philosophy who happened to be working on a secret government project found out about Pharazon and decided to recruit them as the first cog-scan candidate. When Pharazon's personalized cog, Phalanx, was created, Pharazon spent a few years demonstrating its capabilities and performing tests. Due to Pharazon's success with Phalanx during tests, the Cadmus project moved to the next stage, and Pharazon awaited the next few cog-pilots that would be joining their team.
Theme Song: (Tentative) The Deva - Rakuen Tsuihou OST

Cog: Phalanx
Physical Description: The Phalanx stands tall and broad. It is slow-moving, heavy-set, and well-armored, with two massive binders attached to its shoulders that transform into smaller, remote-controlled 'dummy cogs'. It's chest mounted shotguns and use of a spear means that it engages in close-to-medium range combat. It rushes headlong into battle, drawing attention, and making sure it can survive the punishment. The use of the Hoplites adds maneuverability, offensive power, area-control, versatility, and support.

Phalanx looks like the image above, except it's shoulder guards look like the following:

These shoulder guards are called 'Hoplons' in shield form, 'Hoplites' when transformed into mechs. They are remote controlled 'dummy cogs', or 'dolls'. They are supposed to be green, like the main cog.Tactical role: Short-to-medium range vanguard melee skirmisher
Evaluation:
* Cog Score: 6
* Pilot Skill: 7
* Mental Fortitude: 6
* Obedience: 10

Weapon/Equipment/Special Systems List:
* 2x Beam shotguns - Mounted in chest
* 1x Dorus - A retractable spear. The spearhead is solid, while a medium beam nozzle runs parallel to the shaft at the base of the blade, making it like a bayonet. The Dorus is stored on the back when not in use, and is wielded with either one or both hands.
* Thrusters - Enough to provide a decent (but low) amount of acceleration and propulsion. The Phalanx and detached Hoplites move faster when disconnected from each other
* 2x Hoplons/Hoplites - Mounted on shoulder when not transformed

	+ 1x Dorus per Hoplite - The Dori can be deployed in Hoplon mode, giving the Phalanx two hidden spears/beams to attack with

Wishlist:

The two front shoulder binders remain as non-transforming guards, while the two rear shoulder binders are the same Hoplon/Hoplites* 4x Beam shotguns - Mounted in chest
* 3x Dori - 1 stored on back when not in use, 2 hidden in forward binders
* 2x Anti-beam field projectors - In forward binders
* 2 Hidden arms - In forward binders. Used for wielding the hidden Dori
* 20 Scatter missiles - 10 stored in each forward binder. They are imprecise, and often travel randomly
* Thrusters - Enough to provide a decent (but low) amount of acceleration and propulsion. The Phalanx and detached Hoplites move faster when disconnected from each other
* 2x Hoplons/Hoplites - Mounted on rear shoulder when not transformed

	+ 1x Dorus per Hoplite
	+ 1x Anti-beam field projector per Hoplite

[User]
More than a year ago, the entire citizenry of Horizon underwent a mandatory, mysterious scan. A select few had been contacted, and asked to cooperate. In essence they were being drafted, though the assignment had to be voluntary to a certain degree. Once consent had been given however, there was no turning back. To pull out at this stage of a secret military project was treason. It wasn't mandatory, but the volunteers were encouraged to enlist for basic military training and discipline. However, training and discipline were not stressed as there was an unusual desire to preserve the volunteers 'as they are' as much as possible for reasons of compatibility. At any rate, some already came with military or pseudo-military background, and as far as team composition was concerned, the amount of training and discipline was considered, 'enough to get by'.

The day had finally come. Each volunteer, each prospective 'cog' pilot, was ordered to report to the space elevator on Pythagoras, the capital planet of Horizon. The space elevator was in essence, a space station in geosynchronous orbit that was tethered to the surface of the planet by massive cables. Large elevator trains ran up and down the cables, carrying freight and passengers to and from the surface to the orbital platform. The platform itself was organized like a massive airport, a spaceport to be precise. It included a 'residential district' that operated more or less like a hotel, as well as shopping centers, food courts, service kiosks, etc. The arrival and departure gates connected to short-range shuttles that carried freight and passengers to the actual starships that hovered in orbit in the vicinity of the spaceport. Each pilot was ordered to report to departure gate G3 at 0700 hours universal time to catch shuttle 1543, which will take them to the Horizon Defense Fleet Evolution, the carrier designed specifically for housing the products of this particular military project.

[Assistant]
Upon receiving the Volunteer request, Arienne RHD calmly sat down, and calmly pondered.

Space warfare. It was one form of combat she had not done yet and the prospect seemed intriging.
But, she loved the feeling of the ground beneath her feet as she sprinted after a fleeing target...
Loved the intensity of staring down a group of armed mercenaries, waiting, daring someone to flinch first...
Loved the intimate feelings of a death fight with crazy yet skilled murderers...

These things and more are what she loved and did as a bounty hunter for the last 13 years in FAS territory.
She wouldn't have these things in a space fighter, or at least it wouldn't feel the same.

...

But she was Horizon. It was time to expand.
She spent the rest of the night camping next to a peaceful river, watching the embers of the first sculpture she made flying off into the sky...
Into space...

After tying up loose ends, responsibilities, and a few more bounties for old times sake, 6 months before the departure date, Arienne returned to her Horizon homeworld and reunited with her father. She spent the 6 months spending quality time with him, catching up with him and with old friends, and downloading general knowledge concerning military structure, procedure and protocol.

1 hour before departure time, Arienne arrives to an empty gate and mingles far away, but close enough to see when anyone shows up.
She probably didn't need to do this, but scoping out the location and the people involved was a habit she found useful as a bounty hunter, and wasn't about to drop anytime soon. She wanted study the people she would work with for the foreseeable future. To size them up.

She calmly pulls up her hood, calmly turns on some tehcno in her head, and calmly waits...

[User]
A lone shot resonated through the enclosed firing range.

"Two inches high and three left," a male voice muttered, the owner of the voice peering at the paper target through a pair of binoculars.

Corina Chun adjusted her aim appropriately and took another shot.

"Stop hesitating with your trigger pulls, ma'am. You're three inches high this time," the male voice muttered.

"Screw you, Mitch. I don't need firing tips," Corina shot back, pulling her eye away from the scope of the rifle she held to glare at the man next to her.

"I think you meant, 'Thank you, Sergeant Mitchell, where would I be without you?'" he grinned, not moving away from the binoculars. "Take your damn shot."

Corina only grunted in response. She returned to the assault rifle's scope and took the shot without hesitation.

"There you go. Perfect headshot, right between the eyes. Let's see three more, loose grouping."

Corina took three rapid shots in succession, all landing on the paper target's head. "So I think I killed it."

"That you did, ma'am. You showed that piece of paper who owns this range," Mitch responded, setting the binoculars down on the tray table in front of the pair. "So Lieutenant, tomorrow's the big day. That secret scan and your extra training is finally gonna pull through or something."

Corina shifted nervously. Typically she was well composed and unmoving, but this project she had joined had kept her in the dark for more than a year. Her lines of questioning had all been stopped past two or three levels of authority, and that made Corina uncomfortable. The most she had been told about was that she had participated in a 'cog' scan, and that she'd be piloting one of her own along with a small team of other 'notable individuals.' The goals and motives of the project were unclear to Corina, and she did not like that.

Corina recollected herself quickly, straightening her posture and setting the rifle down on the tray table. "You could say that. All I know is that I'm to report to the elevator tomorrow morning. There's still a lot being kept secret about this project, and you know how I feel about military secrets," Corina responded, unloading the rifle and switching the safety on. Range safety was menial and boring, but it kept people alive.

"That I do, ma'am. In any case, good luck. Hopefully you don't need it, but it doesn't hurt." The sergeant smirked at Corina before excusing himself, leaving Corina alone in the firing range.

She checked the time; twelve hours until she was to report to gate G3. She reloaded the rifle before her; another half an hour in the range to destress, then she'd still be able to get a decent amount of sleep before she had to get ready to report.

--

Corina arrived at the space elevator exactly an hour before the report time. She had already been awake for three hours, giving her enough time to take a quick cold shower, eat a light breakfast, and take the elevator up to the platform.

As she neared the departure gate on the platform, Corina slowly began to put her guard up. Being military personnel, Corina was allowed to carry a small personal sidearm, but no extra ammunition other than the clip it was loaded with. Anything else she wanted to carry had to be checked into security, not that she packed anything further than her extra set of black and grey military fatigues and a dress uniform. Regardless, she kept her hand close to the holster on her thigh. Just in case.

Corina arrived at the gate, and she couldn't help but notice the hooded individual lurking a distance away from the gate. They were far enough to be unnoticeable to most, but Corina was trained to spot anything out of the ordinary. She stopped walking momentarily to stare at the hooded figure for several seconds, making clear that she knew of their presence. Corina then continued into the gate, taking a seat. She checked the time; twenty minutes until 0700.

[Assistant] Upon Corina's stare, Arienne gives a smirk and an informal salute, but otherwise does nothing.

[User] Pharazon arrived at the gate 15 minutes before departure time and saw Corina. "Lieutenant Chun; Lieutenant Commander Pharazon CXS, pronounced 'Chess'," Pharazon introduced themself. Pharazon was promoted to lieutenant commander when they were appointed to lead the cog team, while all other cog pilots would start at the rank of ensign except those who had official Horizon military history. In Corina's case, since she served in the Planetary Defense Force instead of the Fleet, she was made lieutenant regardless of her prior PDF rank. Although Pharazon felt awkward around humans, Corina had received professional military training, and that was something Pharazon could trust in. Pharazon also failed to notice Arienne.


[System]
Personal Information
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Date of Birth: 21/03
Grade Level: Third-Year
Griffith is large, in part from his height of about six feet. The genetic lottery has supplemented his above-average height with a bulky frame, and through concerted effort he has filled his frame out with musculature to match—though he has avoided excessive bulk. His lips are almost always upturned in a massive grin, and his eyes shine with mirth. His dark hair and eyes contrast his skin, which is paler than most.
Born in Aberffraw in north-western Wales, Iorwerth grew up speaking his native Welsh and, in accordance with UK laws, English. When he was six, business required his parents to move to Japan. While initially temporary, both work and pleasure conspired to have Iorwerth's parents settle in the country permanently.
Gruffydd proves a match for the mirth found in his eyes. He is warm, and amicable to a fault. His deep, echoing laughter is always bubbling beneath the surface, waiting to burst forth in response to some good natured ribbing of one of his friends, or even of himself. It is a rare day where he is angry, but when it does happen, it's like he's a completely different person. His joyful eyes turn hard, and it almost always ends in a fight—but to his great fortune, said fights have always been off campus. His capacity for great anger is something that he is deeply ashamed of, but to his dismay not something he has been able to do away with. He finds solace in the stories of his homeland, having great fascination in the tales and beliefs of pre-modern Celtic peoples. Secretly—that is to say, while his parents know, he has hidden it from his peers—Gruffydd is a Reconstructionist—a person who is practicing a long-defunct religion using what little knowledge can be gleaned from scholarly ventures—of the pre-Roman Britons (who lived in what is today England and Wales).

Combat Information
Main Arcana: Moon
Compatible Arcana: Hanged Man, Hermit
HP/SP: 92 HP / 98 SP
Mask: A Stag
Weapon Type: Two-Handed Swords (Slash)
* Weapon: A Shovel – An old shovel. The shaft is chipped and the head is a little rusty. Deals 22 Damage to one foe.
* Armor: Dress Shirt – A simple long-sleeved dress shirt. No Effect.
* Accessory: Analogue Watch. No Effect
* Clothes: Default Clothes

Initial Persona
Name: Herne the Hunter
Arcana: Moon
Origin: The Legend of Herne the Hunter

Cleave
Cost: 5% of HP = 4
Effect: Deals 42 Slash Damage to one foe

Zio
Cost: 4 SP
Effect: Deals 45 Electric Damage to one foe

Garu
Cost 4 SP
Effect: Deals 45 Wind Damage

Rakukaja
Cost: 12 SP
Effect: Increases one ally's defense for three turns. Damage dealt to selected ally descreased by 20%.
* Slash: --
* Strike: --
* Pierce: Str
* Fire: Wk
* Water: Str
* Ice: --
* Electric: --
* Earth: Wk
* Wind: --
* Light: --
* Darkness: Nul

[User]
Out of the springs

Bride was about to cry, he didn't mean to let this happen but he had to slip, he was happy when Shinku helped him up but he didn't mean for all of them to get kicked out and Mr. Bunny to have to pay for it. It was very painful when she kicked them out but he could only blame himself for trying to pick up pretty flowers. Even when Kazuo hugged him he blushed yes by the sudden hug but it was really nice but he couldn't help but to have some tears at the corner of his eyes.

He really didn't mean to let that happen that for sure, he just slip…oh he wished he could pay back the fairy but there was no way he could. The others didn't even get a chance to heal up as well because of him. "I..I-I am s-sorry…" Bride bowed his head to everyone and went towards Mr. Bunny and bowed his head as well, he really felt bad for him as well. "I c…could pay as w-well…just t-tell me the price and I wll t-try to pay b-back."

Then beside him was Saito talked to him about his power, how he seemed to able to protect himself very well he could just heal and such plus he wasn't that strong so with the rake he could use wont do much he wasn't that strong at all. Saito seemed nervous though talking to him, he wonder why he hadn't said anything bad did he? "Wow…you sound so cool Saito w-with your powers, I will try my be-best to help everyone out though…I ma not that strong…b-but if I can heal others that is fi-fine…" He smiled sweetly at Saito and everyone though he was still sad for letting that happen plus…still wet clothes… it was uncomfortable that for sure. He took of his jacket and squeeze out whatever spring water was there. He wasn't sure how he can continue like this all wet and such but he shouldn't complain at all it just…hard…plus wet sock and underwear is not a nice feeling at all.

After walking away and him leaving a small trail of water behind him it felt really weird to walk in wet clothes but then his discomfort was change when Mr. Bunny was slammed through the window! Bride ran up to Mr. Bunny and helped him get up, whatever…that thing threw Mr. Bunny must be a really strong thing…this spelled bad news to him that for sure then when he went inside with the others…his fears were true...it was a scary blob masked thing! With six arms and behind it was Ms. Sasaki! He ran behind Kazuo a bit scared, trembling a bit as well. He wanted to help so badly but there was no way he could actually do something strong like.

Then Mr. Bunny said that his spirit was different; he can know the shadow weaknesses once hit by an attack…can he really do that? Can he really help the others with that skill? "Can I..r-really do that Mr. Bunny?..If I c-can…how?" He asked as he looked up to him, wondering if he can actually do that and if he can he can really help the others.

[Assistant]
Everything went about like the speed of light, and after what happened today so far, he wasn't sure if he could muster up enough surprise to see a fairy in a store selling some kind of spring. It was too bad they got kicked out before he could test the waters – both metaphorically and literally. He really wanted to hug that Trish fairy like no tomorrow. She was was just so adorable! Although, there was a nagging feeling he'll be deep in debt like the newly-named Shiro Usagi if he ever did.

As Dai rubbed the bruise forming on the back of his head – while throwing a curse right back at that fairy who got a mean throw for something so cute – his mood instantly brightened when Kazuo hugged Minto and saw the feminine boy flushed red with tears peering from his glistening eyes. Whoa, Kazuo got the skills. Dai stood, dusted himself off, and walked over to the transfer student who has his back turned. Whether the guy was did that out of embarrassment or something was hard to tell, but nevertheless Dai poked Kazuo's cheek and grinned. "Niiiiiice." He then winked, and whether it was implying something or not was up to Kazuo to decide.

Dai turned on his heels and took off after the bunny, a playful grin on his face; although, that enjoyment didn't last long. Shiro was suddenly thrown out of window. Before Dai could yelp his surprise and concern, a terrible… Thing appeared.

"HOLY CRAP, IT'S BIGGER. WAS IT LIKE THAT BEFORE?" He knew it was stating the obvious, but it was kinda hard not to gaped at the six-armed monstrosity that held Sasaki by its creepy sides. He could've sworn it was much smaller the last time they saw it drag Sasaki away, but then again, it was rather fast and quickly flashed away from sight before they could get a good look. It didn't make it less horrid though. Heck, the closer he got a look at it, the blond couldn't help but cringe. The strange entity whipped its arms to and fro like aggravated snakes and made sounds that were similar to disconnected joints and sacks of flesh crashing into each other. Grown men would scream on sight. The only thing that kept him from screaming like a little girl was his male pride and the exposure to this world - like getting attack by his fellow classmates. Yeah, he got a bit of a grudge with that event.

Was it bad to say that Sasaki was fortunate enough to be unconscious so she wouldn't stare at the horrendous thing?

Quickly, Dai ignored the shakes in his hands and whipped out his bow and arrow; although, he nearly stabbed himself with the pointy weapon when he had the sudden need to face palm. Saito fell. He fell. How could you miss hitting something that HUGE? Nevertheless, the blond tossed Saito a concern glance and aimed his projectile.

That monster may be gigantic with Dai being small and insignificant, but he needed to fight. He has to try. If the others could muster the courage to do this, then so could he.

"Show him what we got! STUART LITTLE! AQUA!"

A surge of power came forth. Dai gasped as a mask suddenly formed around his face. Where the heck it came from was a mystery all on its own. It felt strange as it rested against his cheeks yet it felt both warm and familiar. It belonged; even if Dai couldn't see the mask itself, he knew what it was – a mask of a mouse.

[Rolled 17]

Stuart Little appeared in a brilliance of light that quickly faded away. With a blue cape that bellowed with the non-existent wind, the mouse raised his little pin needle, and with an attack that is not of his size, a giant column of water crashed heavily onto the enemy, dealing 45 Water damage.

-----------------------------------------------------
Dai
HP: 65/65
SP: 51/55

[User]
HP: 68/68
SP: 52/52

---

Gruffydd stopped breathing when Bride fell in the fountain. He was visibly shocked, and remarkably still. His mind was another matter entirely. As soon as he saw Bride in the fountain, he knew this wasn't going to end well. When the airs of the room changed, he slowly turned his head to see the enraged fae creature.

Their eviction had pushed his breath from his lungs, and sent him careening a short distance where he landed roughly on his back. The fairy was screaming about money, but Gruffydd wasn't paying any attention. We aren't dead? She's not going to kill us? Not even—

"But before that: a thousand curses upon your houses!"

"Curses. A thousand of them. Wonderful. It was nice knowing you guys." Given that whatever horrible magic this "Trish" had cast on them wasn't taking any immediate affects, Gruffydd decided to stand up. He felt considerably less horrible than he though someone who was just cursed by a fickle fae sprite.

"I..I-I am s-sorry…"

Gruffydd turned his head to Bride. With the latter drenched, and the former no longer panicking, it became self-evident that Bride merely dressed like a girl. And possessing a somewhat feminine appearance. Or she hadn't developed much yet. Nobody else is reacting, so it probably came up while I was possessed.

"I c…could pay as w-well…just t-tell me the price and I wll t-try to pay b-back."

And now Gruffydd felt like shit. Bride was crying and here he was wrapped up in his own thoughts. Kazuo seemed to have the situation well in hand, and Gruffydd wouldn't really know what to do regardless. This didn't sit well with him, but there wasn't really anything to do about it now. But Gruffydd's rumination could not continue, because Shiro was leading them to Ms. Sasaki. Ultimately, ut turned out to be this world's version of the Wonder Mall.

When Shiro was thrown through the window, Gruffydd was quickly at his side. Bride had already helped him to his feet, and he went in after Kazuo with the two of them. He flinched on seeing the shadow. It was even larger than Herne had been. Gruffydd brought his shovel to bare, but he didn't think it would do him much good. But then he remembered what Herne had told him.

"Call on me when you have need, and I shall strike down what assails you."

Stepping in front of Shiro and Bride, Gruffydd dug within himself. The image of a stag's face appeared over his—a mask. "Herne" The massive form of the Wild Hunter appeared before him. The nonexistent breeze that blew through his hair intensified. Herne extended his hand towards theshadow that dwarfed even him, and real wind could be felt.

[Roll: 6! Herne used Garu! Weakness Hit! 90 Wind Damage Dealt!]

The massive shadow was blasted by the force of Herne's gale, and Gruffydd's mouth grew into a grin. As Herne vanished from sight, leaving Gruffydd looked at the gargantuan shadow once again, only to see that it had fallen, and was in a very vulnerable position. His grin growing manic, he spoke, "Alright. Let's see what you're made of you thrice-damned ink-stain."

---

HP: 68/68
SP: 48/52