[System]
Gender: Male

Age: 38

Race: Formerly Canopian human, now effectively undead with living weapon

Death Day: February 26th

Blood Type: B-

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 292 lbs

Likes: Desperation, not dying, karmic justice, underdogs, getting points across, and using the wild part of his brain

Dislikes: Pride, envy, wrath, greed, lust, sloth, gluttony, and having to use the human part of his brain

Living Weapon: Tick Tock – a clockwork heart of dizzying complexity, built to function like a parasite. Tick Tock has no mind of its own, performing an autonomous function. When Grumm's body is damaged, it goes into overdrive with tiny clockwork drones and chemical cocktails to repair the damage as quickly as possible. If part of Grumm is irreparably destroyed or separated from the whole, it uses scrap metal that Grumm has ingested to create new clockwork body parts.

Blockbusters:
Level One – Rot Wrecker - Grumm springs forward, spewing bile, and delivers a crushing hydraulic punch with his clockwork arm that will often cause a wallbounce.

Level Two – Clockwork Carnage – All seven tentacles erupt from Grumm's belly, weaving through the air in search of a target. Upon contact, they chomp down on the victim repeatedly before flinging it away.

Level Two – Grave Filler – Grumm hurls his axe ahead, and when it embeds itself in the target, he rushes across the ground, grabs the axe's handle, and then punches the enemy off of it with his clockwork arm.

Level Four – Vigilante Justice – Reaching out with his clockwork arm, Grumm grabs a close-by opponent. He forces it to its knees, spewing disease-ridden bile over their head as he does so. Finally, Grumm performs an inside-out cut with his axe, dealing both incredible damage and a DoT to boot.

Bio:
The esoteric Gurghamstead Revolt failed almost as soon as it was started. The Canopy armed forces overran the small but petulant cluster of farming villages, crushing their one uniting factor -political conservatism- by taking out the ringleaders and then extinguishing any fire that remained. One noteworthy thing did result of the Revolt, however; Percival Botley. The cold-eyed man because a vigilant, taking justice into his own hands when the hard-handed government failed to serve the people that it claimed to. Cloaked in black, he sought out and brought unnecessarily merciful ends to the cruel underlings of corrupt officers, executives, and politicians; soon, he targeted the string-pullers themselves. Canopy Kingdom was better served for his illegal but morally justified activity, however bloody and unlawful.

Still, Percy deeply regretted what he had done. However just his actions, he had still killed people—which flew in the face of his own moral code and religion, making him a glorified hypocrite. In the early days, after leaving his wife and child behind for their own safety and pledging to return, he had told himself that he was doing what needed to be done, and that nobody else had the courage necessary...but now, the veil grew ever thinner. Percy developed a consuming fear of death and judgment, fearing he'd be sent to hell despite all the good resulting from his vigilante campaigns. Terrified, he sought out what some might term a mad scientist and begged of him a means to cheat death. The man he pleaded with turned a sympathetic ear to his claims; the corrupt officials Percy strove to remove had confiscated his medical degree (For what ultimately proved to be good reasons) and subsequently ruined his life, turning him from an esteemed doctor into a crazed tinkerer. At Percy's behest, the scientist created one of the first living weapons, a clockwork heart which he dubbed Tick Tock, and installed the device in Percy's body. The incredible machine was designed to sustain him from the inside out, replacing Percy's organs from the inside as they failed.

At first, it seemed lucrative. Thanks to Tick Tock, Percy redoubled his efforts, finding death would always ellude him. Poison was ineffective; being shot a minor inconvenience. Even when Percy was seized by a crooked police squad, tortured, and robbed of his left arm, bronze mechanisms replaced what was lost. Suddenly, no mission was too dangerous and Percy could cast out for the biggest fish to fry. Justice, though, awaited the vigilante too. As time wore on, Percy found himself changing. Tick Tock was malfunctioning. It made more and more errors, failing to keep him healthy. Percy's skin turned pale and bloated, his blood clotted and green, and when his intestines were torn out by a particularly vicious street gang they were replaced were clockwork tentacles tipped with fearsome mechanical maws. All this, however, failed to alarm him. His mind was withering too, leaving only feral, killer instincts where a brilliant psyche had been. And yet, Grumm could not die. Finally, the Black Egrets captured the monster and, unable to kill him, made him into a secret weapon—a loose cannon able to be thrown at an enemy as a last resort. This was achieved by tapping into the part of Grumm's brain that was still human, and helping it to forget what it was fighting for.

[User]
She simply smiled as Morgann left the building. It's all going well. With luck she could just infiltrate the circus or whatever and make off with whatever she had. Old school burglary on some circus hicks none of the authorities would really care about.

"Miss, your food has arrived." A waiter covered with bandages came and placed several platters of food on her table.

"THANK YOU KIND MEAT MAN!"

Juno froze at Marionette's voice, wondering if the waiter would freak out and sic the cuffers on her. To her surprise, he just nodded and gave a strained smile before leaving. Guess after what happened with the magician, he simply decided to stay low and do whatever it takes to not meet another piranha.

Shrugging, she started on her meal, shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could. Tomorrow would be a great day.

[Assistant]
Morgann

"Gross," Morgann grimaced, hesitant to even breathe after the spray of bile had dissipated. What if it smelled bad? Would it even matter? She was around elephants and Goddess knows what at the circus, so perhaps she shouldn't be such a girl about the possibility of an undesirable scent. After a few moments, she inhaled slowly before letting the cool breath escape her lips once more, relieved that the bile left no scent. She pulled her wand out of her coat, readying herself for the chance that the creature might attack.

Realizing she wasn't going to get an answer nor was the tall figure going to pursue her, Morgann watched helplessly as the woman was attacked before shoving her wand back into her suit, dashing over, and holding her arms out, staring directly up at the attacker. "I'm not going to move until I receive some sort of explanation," she explained slowly through her clenched pearly whites, "as to why you are attacking this woman." She swung one of her gloved hands around to hold up over her face, partially to get his attention and partially to not stare at his face. "As far as you know, I am an innocent bystander who merely works at the circus," she went on, narrowing her eyes through the mask's white film, "so I could damn well put you out of business if you laid a hand on me. You think I'm bluffing, you can take it up with my boss after you crush my face or completely dislocate my jawbone."

Gale

Gale listened from her tall roommate's shoulder to the conversation that the parasite was having with her host. From what she remembers, Brandy had told her at some point that the parasite was named Pharona and the host Angus, but she wasn't quite sure. During the period that Brandy maintained control, memories and conversations seemed to blur together to her, and she didn't particularly care to recall, to be honest. Her parasite had truly heard and experienced plenty that she was not eager to remember, and she was just fine with that. After hearing the parasite confirm her thoughts, she nodded sleepily and flicked her ears before closing her eyes again. "Pharona's voice is so chipper though," she thought sadly, "I actually like hearing it. Too bad I can't see what she or anyone else look like."

"Oh wait," she murmured, sitting up and reaching into one of her boots to grab her bandana. As she delicately wrapped it around her head, she began to address Angus's worries. "We will not harm the two soldiers," she spoke in a somber tone, proceeding to pull a couple of black rubber bands out of her shoe and pulling her spiky, unruly locks into two pigtails. "The mafia does not care for such petty crimes that we have committed, such as the one here today," she explained, moving closer so that she could curl up in the crook of Ash's neck, "they only care for the critical hits that we are ordered to take out. Believe me when I say that Ash has already intervened, so I do not think you will have to do so." Gale tucked her knees up against her chest and curled up in the gigantic jacket that Angus had given her, enjoying the warmth and protection from the wind that it provided. Goddess, it was getting chilly. "If you're so cold all the time, why don't you wear an actual coat instead of this stupid down vest?!" Brandy roared from within the depths of her mind, and though she winced, she did not say anything about how loud his static voice was. "Brandy," she began silently, her thin eyebrows furrowing together, "shut your mouth."

Brandy remained silent for a few moments before responding, "Gale, your mouth is my mouth, remember?" Groaning quietly, she clawed at the sides of her head before deciding it wasn't worth arguing over.

[User]
"Alright, we're heading out!"
Ash walks forward, step by long step she navigates the twists and turns of Little Innsmouth, passing by sunken boulevards and overly complex compounds of shacks stacked in uneven piles amongst one another. Ferals and Dagonians pass in droves, making the trip a lengthly venture to the train station to Meridian. On the way Ash has to stop several times, so that she can spot a gap in the crowd to set her foot, or for the crowd to just part to make a path for her. "Is Brandy okay there?" Ash asks Gale as they approach the train station "You guys sound like you're having an argument" Ash adds with a worried smile.
Once the small group is there, it's just a matter of waiting in the deeply congested line to the one ticket booth, surrounded by impatient citizens of Little Innsmouth. "Please be patient." the lone Dagonian pleads, handing out tickets as soon as he's handed loose coins, or change, but the people receiving them are blocked by a pair of large men donning all too familiar gas masks. What would be causing such a horrid back up?

Elsewhere

On the fifth train car (out of twenty) sits a tank, two to be exact, both of which are tied down to their respective car, the pair of armored behemoths appear to be factory new, with barely a thin coat of olive paint to cover the red steel underneath. On top of the car in front of the vehicular dreadnoughts sits a lone, bored Egret smoking a cigarette, letting his gray helmet rest beside him. "By the goddess, where are our Parasitic scum?" he asks himself impatiently, putting out the cigarette on his armored thigh. "Captain, we're holding up service here..." one of his eight guards say nervously, watching the pair of soldiers the Honorable Captain had dispatched at the entrance to the station not ten minutes ago struggle against the mounting crowd. The Captain shrugs, his vaguely blue eyes scanning the crowd outside "Let them in, I think there will be at least one rat for us in there. Hopefully that anonymous tip holds true."

[Assistant]
Faced with Morgann, the monster hesitated. From beneath the mire of rage and confusion bubbled up a shred of Grumm's human consciousness, which busied itself thinking about the situation. The inside of Grumm's head began to pound; rational thought, already so hard to dredge up, hurt worse than a sledgehammer to the cranium. It was so much easier to let go, to let the mind slip away beneath that murky bog of beastliness. Yet, whenever that human side did arise, it asserted that at the very least it was supposed to persevere. Human nature was supposed to be indomitable—all the stories said so. When bombarded by that pain, however, that strain of holding together focus, justifications came easily. No being could have withstood that agony enough to stay sane.

So naturally, Grumm hesitated only a moment, but it was enough to draw a conclusion. In his experience, no normal human, even armed ones, would dare to so boldly interpose herself between a hunter and its prey. That could only mean that the masked woman that stood before him, arms raised in a gesture of placation, was extraordinary. Her words bounced dimly around inside his skull. All he could really gather was that she thought that attacking her would be a mistake on his part. A snorting, ugly laugh escaped the wreckage that was his mouth, rattling through the metal guard that covered it: "Hagh. This individual was keeping him from bringing to justice the water-wielding woman with whom he had a personal quarrel. Halte had been seeking him out lately. He had no clue why, but she seemed determined to keep him from capturing and/or killing his targets. Annoyingly enough, it was working, and that made Halte his dire foe. Anyone who attempted to keep him from his revenge was just as guilty. Besides, Morgann had a strange smell on her. The same aroma wafted from each of the parasites he hunted, slightly different for each, but all still identifiable.

Grumm grunted and raised his axe for an overhead chop, bringing it down with enough force to cleave bone if Morgann allowed it to hit her.


[System]
Alias: Kid Rogue, formerly Kid Kold
Age: 18
Sponsor: The Flash
Personality: Rude, opinionised, determined

Powers:
A form of technopathy, Dominic has the superhuman ability to innately understand any mechanical device he comes into contact with. This enables him to know how to manufacture a whole range of devices, as long as he has the available materials at hand.
As well as this, Dominic has been trained in some combat during both his time with both the Rogues and the Flash. While no expert, Dominic has also had some training in the use of the tools utilized by the Rogues, such as Pied Piper's sonic technology and Mirror Master's mirrors.

Weaknesses:
Aside from the typical weaknesses that come with being a typical human being, Dominic has a severe nut allergy.

Equipment:
* Sonic Gauntlets – Based on the technology built into the Pied Piper's hypnotic flute, Kid Rogue has equiped his gauntlet to perform similar results, with them able to emit a hypnotic signal which suggests that people evacuate the area which they are currently located. This is mostly used for crowd control, or to disperse mutiple entities that he may have to go up against. The gauntlets can also emit sonic vibrations which could shatter glass at high frequencies.
* Mirror Gauntlets – Kid Rogue's gauntlets also make use of two mirrors, which contain small doorways to Mirror Master's mirror dimension. While too small to travel through, Dominic uses this to store and retrieve a variety of weapons, for quick access in the field.
* He also makes use of various explosive devices similar to that used by the Trickster which he has stored in his gauntlet mirrors.
* Ear plugs, due to hypnotic gauntlet related reasons.

Appearance:

BRIEF Bio:
After witnessing The Flash fail to save the life of his mother during a fire, Dominic's hatred for the scarlet speedster started. Instead of idolising the heroes like the rest of the kids in his new home, the orphanage, Dominic set his eyes on a new group of idols; the Rogues. He admired their rules and efficiency, with the boy keen to follow in their footsteps. In his early teens he made a small record for himself, mostly due to petty theft and shoplifting. Although he followed the rules of the Rogues, not harming anyone. Discovering that he had meta-human abilities, Dominic decided that he could finally be of use to his heroes, and was determined to join their ranks. He tracked the team's whereabouts to their regular bar but was unfortunately rejected by ol' Captain Cold himself, who told the kid to "Fuck right off". That didn't stop him though, as Dominic managed to get an imprint of how to make the villain's weapon just by giving it a simple touch.

Within a few days, he had completed recreating the gun, and after suiting up in a homemade costume, he took to the streets. Finding the Rogues outside the Central City National Bank, Dominic managed to come to the aid of Captain Cold, by getting a hit on the Flash. After joining the group's escape, they deemed themselves impressed and after learning of his abilities they decided to keep Dominic along. While mostly staying behind in their safe house while the team went on heists, he trained in the use of their gear, as well as adding advancements to it. After a while, he joined the team for his first real heist, under the guise of Kid Rogue, mirroring the alias of the Flash's old partner, Kid Flash. The mission was successful although during his second outing, he was apprehended by the Flash.

Despite first resisting and fighting back due to him believing that his team would come save him, he realized that the Rogues weren't coming and that he had been abandoned. Reluctantly, he decided to put his feelings against the Flash aside and let the hero help him. He was relocated to a new foster family and was instructed to give up his previous costumed activities. That didn't stop him though, as Kid Rogue continued to hit the streets at night, although this time as a hero.

Sample post:
"I thought I told you to give up with this, kid?"

Despite currently focussing on not being taken out by the group of thugs surrounding him, the sound of that distinctive voice caught his attention. Groaning, Kid Rogue lowered his raised sonic gauntlets, his eyes watching his current predicament disappear in a blur. Or for use of a better word, in a flash. In front of him, the scarlet speedster darted about, quickly pinning the hooded goons against the parking lot wall, locking their hands together behind their backs using some kind of futuristic handcuffs.

While many would have loved to witness such a sight, the teenage vigilante was extremely pissed off. Every time! Every single time he ventured out at night to fight the good fight, this guy always turned up and sent him packing.

"I take it you have my place bugged or somethin', old man?" Dominic questioned as he approached the superhero, adjusting the circuitry on his gauntlets as he did so.

The Flash simply gave the boy his signature smile and let out a short laugh. "You're not going to stop doing this are you?" He spoke, ignoring the question. The grumpy look on Dominic gave him his answer instantly. "Well if I can't stop you, then at least I can make sure you go about this the right way! It's time you and I had a little chat."

Notes:
Due to Captain Cold choosing not to come rescue Dominic from the Flash, Dominic has stopped idolising the villain so decided to no longer use a cold gun out in the field, relying on his sonic gauntlets and technomancy instead!

[User]
Scourge, Guardian Angel, and Black Hood had all come down to the viewing room of the War Room area of the HQ. Inside two Dittos could be seen drawing the attention of Grundy away from civilian holo-droids while another got them to the designated safe zones in this particular program. Once the civilians were all taken care of, it was a three man tag team taking on the brute in the already wrecked battlefield.

One of the Dittos dropped to one knee and cupped his hands together while another ran and propelled from the cupped hands into the air. The third Ditto got behind the legs of Grundy and crouched as the airborne Ditto landed a clothesline that took the behemoth off of his feet. The teamwork of the triplicate man was something to note, as Red Tornado had now found himself in the viewing room as well.

"It would seem teamwork comes naturally to this young man." the Tornado commented in a monotone robotic voice that sounded something like Morgan Freeman's voice with auto-tune.

After two Dittos landed several punches on the grounded Grundy the monster managed to bat one of the Dittos back with his free hand. The last Ditto, originally the one cupping his hands, leaped into the air with a piece of concrete debris weighing roughly three hundred pounds and came down on the pale powerhouse. The face of the holo-droid was cracked and the holographic 'skin' on the droid faded as did the damaged city block setting. The parts of the setting that were pieces of the room itself sunk back into the walks and floor of the War Room, a large hole closed in the floor, and the three men became one as Ditto wiped the sweat from his forehead and made his way to the exit. The windows became visible now upon getting closer to the exit and Ditto started to grin.

"How'd I do, Red?" the Carggite asked.

"You operated at 92% efficiency. Still room for improvement, however it is acceptable in the field. Good work." the Justice Leaguer stated.

"So, anybody else gonna give it a go?" Ditto asked, "And by chance was there any of the barbecue left?" he continued stepping away with another smile heading back to the rest of HQ.

~KL~

[Assistant] Scourge tilted his head as he watched, he wasn't used to using his abilities in combat, he had only used them to assist in rescues and his job. He still hadn't understands why Tornado had decided to sponcer him. Tornado patted his shoulder indicating that he should go. James shook his head, "I'll just wait for when we do team exorcizes, I'm not so good with the fighting and such." He stated stepping backward. He looked at the others a little embarrassed. He had never actually fought any crime. Sure he had practiced the use of his abilities but as a firefighter he never had to fight anyone, especially with his abilities.

[User]
Kid Rogue groaned in annoyance at the loud booming sound that echoed through the tower and rose to his feet. Pushing aside what he was working on, he made his back through their new headquarters towards wherever the sound had come from. The sound's source? The basement, or in other words, the war room. During his tour, this had been his favourite stop. The technology here was outstanding! Dominic smiled as he thought of all the possibilities that could come with weaponising this place! Fighting a supervillain? No biggie, all he had to do was materialise an army of hardened holographic Batmen. Unfortunately The Flash had refused to let his get his hands on the War Room's machinery so that dream would have to wait.

He passed one of his teammates as he approached the room's doorway. He believed the guy to be some kind of alien, evident from the bright yellow bleepers the guy had for eyes. Deciding that it was probably a decent idea to start learning some names, he entered the viewing room just in time to hear Scourge state his weakness in combat. Dominic was about to make a snarky remark before his eyes landed upon ol' Tornado-Bot. Thinking it best not to insult Scourge in front of his sponsor, Kid Rogue instead flexed his muscles before volunteering himself.

"I'll gladly have a go!" He declared loudly, heading towards the door leading to the simulation area.

Eyeing the consoles he spotted what the image of Solomon Grundy and mentally gulped. Despite his arrogance, Dominic knew when he was outgunned! Unless he could the big guy down with just a few blasts from his grenades, Grundy here would most likely turn him into lunch. Putting on a fake smirk, he turned back to his teammates.

"You guys want to come along?" He offered, eyeing both Guardian Angel and the hooded archer. "May as well try and work on some of that teamwork shit!"

[Assistant]
The technology of the facility was well beyond her understanding. The way the room changed and seemed to make new environments was amazing. And there was a giant robot that looked like a zombie creature. Grundy aparently. This was going to be quite interesting. Scourge excused himself from trying a hand at the space below. However Kid Rogue wanted to spar against the automated contraction.

Nodding Angel stepped up to Kid Rogue. "I would gladly join you. Pray tell what is your skill so we may better assist one another?" The idea of building comradery was a plan that she very much wished to accomplish. The only real way to build it was together at every opportunity.

[User]
"Excuse me young man," the robotic Red Tornado spoke up to Kid Rogue, "Watch your language. You are being sponsored by a member of the Justice League and should act mannerly and with respect." Tornado said getting right to the point on cussing and showing respect.

"I believe, if you're ready to go, that I have an excellent simulation in mind." the robot continued.

In a gust of red wind Tornado flew up the stairs to the control room above the much larger War Room and took to the controls. The setting faded into place as what appeared to be a mall. At least a dozen civilian holo-droids in panic mode were running around as a holo-droid of an injured Flash laid on the ground. The enemy was the magnetism manipulator Magenta.

~KL~

[Assistant]
Photon was sitting at the table when he heard an explosion. Someone is using the danger room. he thought. He'd get around to it. For now he would just sit back and talk with the others.

Of course, within seconds the others started to get up and head down there. He got up too, and strolled down to the war room. He arrived just in time to see the glowing-eyed alien take down a holo-graphic zombie. And here I thought we were doing training exercises, not playing second-rate video games. When Red Tornado reset it to a woman with magnetic powers, though he became interested. "Mind if I join in?" he asked. "I can manipulate light, if you were wondering, though these holograms have an underlying robotic core which I can't simply dissolve, so I can't defeat them that easily."


[System]
Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Appearance:
5'8" 150 lbs tanned skin, athletic build, Shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes

Bio:
Born Prince to the Empire of Man Leonidas' path in life was set from the start. Every aspect seemed to be laid out before him with little choice of his own. As a boy he was subject to lots of classes and teachings on world powers, political treaties, and anything else that a prince would need to know. After he was assigned his guardian Siegfried Leonidas was given the first glimpse of a choice in his life.

The young prince opted to take that choice if only to get away from his classes even for a little bit. That choice you might ask was to become a Paladin of the Silver flame like Siegfried. The Prince knew the tenets of the Silver Flame already but took to the religion in times of hardships and used his belief to strengthen himself. Leonidas became a fine young squire under Siegfried excelling in his training.

After Years of service within the Order of the Silver Flame it was decided that it was time for Leonidas to leave the capital and see the land that would one day become his to rule. Given orders to investigate recent reports of orc and goblin attacks up north he has assembled a small army and marched onward looking to see to the safety of his people.

Personality quirks:
Traits - I can stare down a hell hound without flinching. , I don't like to sit idle.
Ideal - Noble Obligation. It is my duty to protect and care for the people beneath me.
Bond – My honor is my life.
Flaw – My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning.

Friends/Rivals:
Siegfried Lightbringer – Human Male, Leonidas' Mentor and Friend
Lyndis Helmsguard – Human Female, Childhood Friend

Fighting Style: Leonidas is a Paladin through and through, Blending Martial Prowess with Light Magic in combat.

Equipment:
Weapons – Warhammer, Longsword
Armor – Full Plate with chainmail underlay
Other – Waterskin, Holy Symbol of the Silver Flame, Pouch with 5 days rations,

Skills/Abilities:
Silver Tongue – Born a natural leader Leonidas uses his natural charisma to persuade others to see his way.
Martial Prowess – Leonidas never skipped a day of Martial training and took the lessons to heart. He is a good fighter on the battlefield and hard to match.
Light Magic – As a follower of the Silver Flame Leonidas has tempered himself in the use of Light Magic.
Holy Smite: Leonidas' weapon glows with radiant light bringing down Holy Wrath against his foes.
Lay on hands: By the divine power of the Silver Flame Leonidas can heal others with a touch of his hand.
Aura of Light: Leonidas' presence bolsters his allies increasing their moral and protecting them from fear.

[User]
"As do I," Faira said, taking the rein, and watching as her masked comrade vaulted up to a rooftop. "Gods' blood, she wasn't kidding."

While Zatana was making her way to the meeting place, Faira dismounted, so that she stood between the two horses. When Zatana's unnamed steed made to bite her, Faira, without looking at it, kicked the horse in the shin. It was a light tap, not to hurt the beast, but just to distract it. And distracted it was, the horse started and looked at Faira in some confusion, then settled down, though still watched her from the corner of her eye.

"Hold," Faira said, handing the guard both reins and ignoring him as the mare tried to snap at him, while Steak moved behind him to get away from the more aggressive horse.

While this was happening, Faira began to undo straps on her armor(further distracting the guard). She loosened several around her biceps, thig, and calves. She redid the straps, and tested the new configuration by stretching.

Ready now, she looked to the rooftops for Zatana's return.

[Assistant]
Co-GM IC:

The rooftops provide for an excellent way to maneuver around the city, and its use now allows for rapid movement, compared to the streets. The light of the sun shines down on the city as the battle rages all around. Most citizens and townspeople have been moved to the city's keep for safety, the streets now used by soldiers and militia to move supplies to the front quickly. Still, the odd peasant, merchant, or child lingers around, gathering their things as they prepare to move.

It doesn't take long for Zatana to reach the West Gate, though, by the end of it, she's gotten quite the workout. Speed for energy, and all of that. True to Balthazar's words, the gatehouse is mostly occupied by soldiers and the occasional straggler. She spots a lone beggar near one of the alleyways next to the Gate. The decrepit-looking man is dressed in a raggedy cloak and scraps of cloth, the pewter bowl in front of him likely his greatest possession. Is this Balthazar's man? You don't see any other beggars around here. As you walk up to ask, he looks up at you.

"Spare some change, good miss?"

[User]
Were these people simply foolish? Zatana watched as a small family slowly gathering their things, to the dark elf's eye it appeared as though they had no understanding of the danger that was coming. Were they so foolishly sure in their gate against a horde of creatures that would carve them to pieces? Turning away from the scene, Zatana continued to scan the small open space. If all went well the orcs and goblins would be routed or slain one and all. Which meant she needed the package she had been sent for, and to get back over the rooftops to Faira. Seeing one beggar more on his own, she approached the pewter bowl.

A contact would remain in position until the last moment. Their duty was thus and most all of them had the good sense to know multiple paths out of a dangerous situation. Those that failed to understand the meaning of an exit? They did not stay in business long. It had been one of her first jobs when her grandfather had wanted her trained to the shadow and dagger. 'First you listen and you learn. Then you strike with the tool the enemy hands you.' The old adage was useful, but it was a slight bit more complex than surface value. If someone was waiting for a message, then why group up? It would only deter any attempt of contact, and you would only join a group if you were trying to blend or avoid someone. That this beggar was not cringing away gave her a bit of hope as she adjusted her leather breastplate.

"A token of value." Two coins fell into the bowl. Their clamor covering the thunk as the wooden token was dropped right after the first but before the second. Zatana had fished it out but moments before. "Gods, deliver us from this horde." Though the words would signal fear in a plea to the gods, Zatana was more interested if this beggar would pick out what she wanted.

[Assistant]
Co-GM IC:

"You are a kind soul, good miss." The beggar says as he examines the alms given to him, a knowing look shining in his eyes. Whether or not his words were simply meant to keep up the facade, or if he actually meant it, you're uncertain. The man scans the area with a practiced eye, before standing up and dusting himself up, picking up the bowl and pocketing the alms as he does so.

"With luck, the Gods may deliver us yet." He says, walking closer as he reaches into his cloak. "Blessings upon you."

Any less experienced eye would've missed the fact that he had quickly reached into his clothes and retrieved a rather thick-looking brown envelope, but you spot it. This drop is well-practiced-- if someone didn't know what they were looking for, they would've simply seen it as an old man moving his begging spot to another area. The man presses the parcel to your side for only a moment, subtly beckoning you to take it.

You do so, and with that, he slinks deeper into the alleyway and turns a corner, disappearing from view. The envelope is sealed with wax, and shouldn't take much to open it if you so desire. Regardless of your choice, you now have the package you need. Time to head back, preferably before the Prince and his retinue arrive.


[System]
"Hey, you wouldn't have seen any flower around here that has a yellow petal, would ya? I need one for, uh...'flavoring'."

"Charlotte LaChance. Now, if you don't need anything I really should be watching this beaker before it explodes."
"Nineteen."
Age:
19

Race:
Human

Appearance:
Charlotte stands around five foot six. A pale complexion with messy, somewhat unkempt dark brown hair and cold blue eyes adorn her face. She has a slender frame, with no obvious muscles as she's not entirely one for physical activity, often time spending her days reading or practicing her chosen craft. She wears comfortable clothes that look like one might expect of someone born from high-society. Short pants, held up by a belt with a golden buckle, adorned with various pouches to carry items. Comfortable shoes with long, knee-high socks. Over her upper body, she wears a thick cloak with a hood, designed mostly to protect the wearer from the cold. Rarely takes it off, even in the warmer lands she finds herself in.

Personality:
Insatiable curiosity, confident, stubborn, a bit on the childish side, doesn't like not getting her way, and has a bit of a one-track mind. As such her alchemy can sometimes suffer a bit as a result. Though indeed, she is talented, and if she doesn't let her one-track mind focus on something else after she starts something, she'd be fairly successful. She prefers to spend time outdoors with her plants and other alchemy reagents than in the company of people.

She tends to come off as rather serious and no-nonsense, and sometimes a sarcastic grump. Often time she wears a serious expression when people first meet her, though its only because she tends to have a one-track mind about things, and really doesn't like being interrupted. She's often thinking about various things and what properties plants might have.

That said, she is fairly friendly to most, and isn't hostile by any means. Just don't interrupt her work unless you have a really good reason. Aside from this, she's fairly intelligent and knows about a great deal many scholarly subjects. Mostly dealing with Magic and Alchemical pursuits, but she's read a great many number of books so she might surprise someone with her knowledge every now and then about something.

"DAMN YOUR EYES DON'T TOUCH THAT BEAKER-Argh, this is sensitive equipment!"

Abilities:
Aside from the obviously impressive physical and mental abilities that humans possess, Charlotte is adept at potion brewing. Meaning, alchemy and making useful concoctions out of herbs, remedies, antidotes and other items found in the natural world. She's pretty much a savant when it comes to everything relating to it. Add that to some beginner interest in Botany, she could probably make quite the living selling and brewing potions. That said, she is still fairly young and has a lot of room for improvement in the field. Plus, almost all the flora and fauna on this new continent has yet to be documented. Meaning, until she goes around documenting and doing some trial and error, she's gonna be somewhat useless.

Not something a lot of sleepless nights watching beakers and flasks bubble can't fix, however.

A neat little list:
-Good at alchemy
-Fairly intelligent
-Beginner Botanist
-Cold tends to not bother her so much, since her home country was notoriously cold.
-Not so good with animals, unfortunately. They tend to like using her as a chewtoy.
-Physically speaking, she's a wet noodle strength wise. Fairly average stamina due to her fairly active lifestyle.

History:
Born in Astril, Charlotte has been brought up around science, logic, reason, and even the odd magical related things most of her life. Aside from that, its not particularly interesting. While she herself wasn't born into the magic-using citadel of Astril, and was instead brought up in a small farming community near the border, she has always held an interest in magic, alchemy, and scholarly pursuits herself. So in between farming duties and helping her parents run the farm, she studied all sorts of books. Ones about history, magic, and otherwise.

And when she was fourteen, she was accepted into Astril itself as a student. And as confident as she was, she was sorely outclassed by a lot of the students there who had been training formally since their birth. She spent quite a few years there struggling to keep up with the other students, and quickly found herself as a bit of a loner and outcast among her peers. Not that she particularly minded, she'd rather have her books and studies anyways. Eventually she was labeled a bit of an eccentric.

It was when she was nineteen, she had to make a choice. Leave Astril and set off on her own, or effectively become a test subject. She doesn't like talking about the events that transpired leading up to that event, but she will say she killed about five scholars and blew up a lab.

Nation of Origin:
Astril. A small, somewhat isolationist country known for its heavy delving into intellectual pursuits of all kinds.

Nation Lore:
Astril is a small nation located far to north. Most of the country is cold, mountainous, and cold tundra and thick pine forests make up most of the climate. Over time, they have tamed the lands somewhat and built a thriving city located high in the frigid mountains. A tower like citadel, simply named 'Astril' over their first leader, that later became their small city.

In the past, they were a small group of intellectuals, scholarly types, dissatisfaction with their own cities. They traveled far to the north, seeking land unclaimed by others they could call home themselves. Eventually, they found their land in the cold north.

Overtime, they built a thriving city, founded upon not on diplomacy or military might, but on science, magic, and logic. When it was first founded, they welcomed all inquiries into the arcane and scientific nature, and shunned no question or line of research...no matter how 'unethical' it might have been perceived to be. Human, animal, and all sorts of experimentation was, and still is quite common. Of course, they don't exactly advertise this fact these days. If you're going to be doing something somewhat unethical, then you are expected to keep it under wraps and deal with any unintended consequences yourself...

Eventually, the city began withdrawing from the outside world, and though they still welcome intellectuals and those who wished to pursue arts of science and magic, they had developed a bit of a mindset that those outside their walls were somewhat...barbaric and uncivilized. Typical mage superiority mindset, really. Mix that with a somewhat reactionary mindset with a healthy dose of Xenophobia, (anyone considered an outsider and not born there, not racism per say. There are a variety of races that live here) you get some pretty narrow minded individuals.

Of course, it wasn't all easy for them. With their small numbers and generally small sized city, was almost taken over quite a number of times, if it wasn't for the quick thinking of their leaders. They maintain uneasy peace with any other city state in the area, but for the most part keep to themselves, and any outsiders are turned back at the border.

Misc:
-Not everyone pursues magic theory or science here. Not everyone has the aptitude to perform equally well with magic, after all. As long as you make yourself useful, you'll probably fit in well.
-A bit of a Meritocracy
-Ruled by the 'Deacon of Astril'

Other:
-Can be somewhat socially awkward at times, and has trouble holding a decent conversation about anything other than alchemy.
-Makes some questionable potions sometimes. You really shouldn't get curious about some of the stuff she makes.
-Don't bring up anything regarding an elixir of life or philosophers stone. You have been warned. If you do, bring ear plugs and make sure you don't have anything to do for the next hour.

[User]
~Charlotte LaChance~

---

The...stars? Her people had a rather...odd relationship with the stars. They revered the bodies, and that inky blackness in general, and at the same time didn't think much of them. They didn't question their existence, and didn't try and explain them. To do so, would be folly according to ancient texts. Her people weren't very religious nor did they believe in many supernatural things, even if they accepted some things couldn't always be explained with logic and reason. When it came to stars though, they were oddly reverent.

Cait's explanation was completely and utterly foolish, though.

"I can't say how big our world is, since there's clearly things I have still yet to understand about it, but that is ridiculous." Charlotte replied, speaking of the whole talking animal thing. She didn't share Cait's grin however, merely looking at the other woman with a somewhat blank stare. Could she say her peoples beliefs were any better, though? She couldn't, honestly.

"My people...well truthfully, we have a rather...complicated relationship with them." She tried to think of a good way to put it in a way Cait might understand. "Most revere the stars as Guides, as well as beacons of safety and bringers of knowledge. There's an entire level in the tower that has an accurate depiction of the stars in the region, made out of bright gemstones embedded into the ceiling for study. It's called the Planetarium." She doubted Cait would have a word for that, but it was important regardless. "The tower is quite high up as well, and offers quite the pleasant views from its many balconies, and the observatory on the upper floors is one of the places I miss quite a bit..." Realizing she was getting a bit off topic, Charlotte cleared her throat.

"Erm, a bit off topic. Anyways. At the same time, my people think the stars are messages or messengers from some sort of powerful beings. Beings too powerful and alien for the human mind to really comprehend. They say that the cosmos, the night sky, and the stars, are domains of creatures far beyond humans current understanding and that is why the first Deacon Astril built the tower. He wanted to get closer to the sky and commune with these beings." She scoffed at the idea, though. "Of course, he never succeeded." Charlotte shook her head. "I don't believe them, but I'm not going to say I know what they are. They are what they are to me. Points of light in the sky useful for navigation and a pleasant distraction." After a small moment of silence, Charlotte hummed.

"Which gives me an idea. The sky is as unchanging as my homeland." She said, glancing over to Cait. "Would your people have ever mapped the stars? A Star Chart?"

[Assistant]
The native listened to Charlotte speak, smirking initially as her ideas were called ridiculous but adopting a more intense and serious expression as eventually Charlotte started discussing the seriousness of the matter. The room sounded interesting for sure like most of the tower, but couldn't one simply look at the sky to admire them? Still though, it seemed Charlotte was a little homesick in spite of herself and the orange haired girl put a single comforting hand on top of Charlotte's, giving it a small squeeze before letting go and becoming lost in thought.

A star chart though, for navigation? All of the young girls were of course taught about the North Star before their hair was potent enough, but most of them favored speaking to friends if they were lost since it provided pleasant company anyways. "Perhaps the Great Mothers have one or maybe someone has painted one, but if I am understanding our purpose is accomplished differently. Since our terrain shifts, it is far more useful to speak to the friends for their guidance. Besides, they can warn of other dangers such as storms even by watching them. You don't have to hear them speak to be able to tell what they are saying most of the time." It probably wasn't a good idea to drift back to that subject though.

"Perhaps I could visit your tower one day. I feel it would help me understand you. Maybe I could show them about the friends even?" Caitriona already knew the other woman would reject that offer, or warn her against it. But despite that understanding, the smile of idealism crossed the orange haired girl's face. "Although, such grand structures aren't necessary to understand the world. Many peoples seem to seek raising them above the world ... but they all collapse in time. Not even the continents last forever."


[System]
Gender
Cisfemale

Age
18

Appearance
Na is a young and beautiful adult with long ash red hair that stops around her lower back, purple blue eyes and fair skin. Standing around 5' 4", Na is often seen dressed in a slightly over sized navy blue raincoat with simple clothes underneath. She normally has on skirts or shorts on and always has on a dirty pair of combat boots.

Personality
Peace, love, and harmony is Na's main objective. Most are instantly be swept away by Na's rustic charm and pleasant demeanor, enchanted by her wide array of conversation topics. She can be reserved and formal at first. But once you get her talking, a five minute conversation can morph into a three-hour philosophical discourse. Because Na seeks compromise, she dislikes conflict and anything that feels "unfair." In fact, that's the only time one would probably see her angry. Her system simply can't tolerate it. She's a natural diplomat who will do everything to negotiate between warring parties that just can't get along. She can accurately see both sides to a situation, and often resolve disputes in an equitable way for all involved. Although she hates doing such, Na will use her natural charms and good looks to manipulate others into taking care of her or doing her bidding. When it comes to her own decision-making, she has an even harder time and will vacillate between "Should I?" or "Shouldn't I?". And when it comes to her little brother, she'll glad fight for him and take his side in almost every argument.

Family
Alistair "Al" -- Younger Brother

Trivia
- Na has a strange habit of biting her nails when stressed out to the point of biting her fingers if she isn't paying attention.
- Na has a very soft Irish accent so most would think she's fragile and small despite that being far from the truth.
- She doesn't sleep that often as she's scared to leave her little brother alone. Literally she wouldn't ever leave him out of her sight.

Name
Nino [REDACTED]

Gender
Cismale

Age
14

Appearance
Nino is a very small and sickly young boy with short pinkish purple ombre hair that stops around the nape of his neck, purple blue eyes with noticeable bags under them, and naturally pale skin. Standing just under five feet, Nino often wears baggy clothes, hoodies, and worn out hand me downs that fit his bony frame. He normally doesn't have shoes and instead just wears socks.

Personality
Nino can be tricky to spot. With his reserved and sick persona, he seldom starts a conversation or express interest in others openly—unless he feels out the situation first or its his older brother; and even then, he has a hard time talking to others in general. Once you get him to open up, however, he shows a vast amount of silent love and appreciation towards said person. Known to read people as easily as a children's book, Nino seems to just KNOW all secrets, soft spots and fears. His focused attention can be addictive, and even painful when it's pulled away. While he doesn't give up his loyalty and trust easily, once he does, he'll stick with you through thick and thin. Don't even think about double-crossing Nino or his sibling, though, because he WILL unleash his fury on you despite his sick body, divulging all of your secrets and airing your dirty laundry. On a positive note, Nino is the perfect person to talk to about anything as his patience is incredibly high. He secretly yearns for the very thing he fears: true intimacy with others, but it takes a lot for Nino to reveal his vulnerability until it him right in the face (i.e. getting sick). As Nino opens up and learns to show his shadow side, he can heal in ways that are truly profound.

Family
Giovanni -- Older Step Brother

Trivia
- Nino suffers from severe epilepsy, often experiencing tonic clonic seizures more than the other variations.
- Has a terrible immune system and is known to stare off into space if left alone for long enough.
- Nino easily feels guilty and thinks that his brother would probably be better off without him. He would never say something like that out loud though.

[User]
Gosh this guy was getting really annoying, almost to the point that she wished Alistair hadn't missed the first time. This guy really thought he was in the right in all of this? Get real...however, if it helped get him to shut up then Na would roll with it. Just as she was getting use to his voice and having it act as white noise as she checked over the other boy, the sound of barking had her look over quickly. She was never a fan of dogs, or any animal, in the slightest, often relying on Al to drive them away of grab their attention so that she could be at peace.

Meeting eyes with the older man, Catrina could see the familiar sense of dread that normally came off of her when any animals were involved. Catching the javelin with ease and holding it with both hands tightly, Na furrowed her brows as she watched the man move over to the collapsed door in attempts to fix it. He was still going on about how this was his home now and that he got to choose where he slept and would let them stay if they brought Nino upstairs. It took all of Na's self restraint not to scoff and kick this guy out, but seeing that he was willing to comply under rules that didn't mean much and that kicking him out would probably mean she'd have to kick out the sick boy too, Na nodded quickly, knowing he'd have to talk to this guys once they were out of any danger.
"Yeah, sure, just hurry up okay?" There were three bedrooms in this house, that being their parents room which could go to this guy for now, and two smaller rooms that went to both herself and Al. She would give her room to the sick kid and just sleep in Al's room on the floor like she has been ever since the outbreak occurred.

Turning her attention back to said sick boy, Nino was his name apparently, Catrina pressed the javelin between her arm and her side before pressing both hands on his cheeks to have him look at her.
"Hey, can you hear me? We need to go upstairs, can you walk on your own?" She questioned, trying to get the boy to pay attention what she was saying. Instead, she got a dazed look and a slow nodded that wasn't very convincing.

Bringing her attention to Alistair who approached with the medicine kit, Na's eyes immediately moved to what the older man was doing to keep the door up.
"Sis, whats that idiot doing? Does he really think something like that will stop someone busting in? And even if it did, wouldn't they just come in through the windows?" He had a point, blocking the door with something like that wouldn't stop anyone from just bursting through. "...You're right Al, but blocking off all the windows would impossible at this point. We got his brother so let's put at least a little bit of faith in him, yeah?" She tried to explain while coaxing Nino to stand up, cringing faintly at how badly he was hallucinating, mumbling nonsense about not wanting jelly on his nonexistent sandwich.

They were almost immediately cut off by the older man telling them to hurry up.
"This is a lot harder than it looks, you know." She groaned as she wrapped her free arm around his waist and slowly began their walk to the stairs across the hall. Al's next statement had her halt her steps, bringing Nino back with her. "Let's trade. And don't be mean, he's trying to help." She scolded lightly before handing out the javelin and grabbing the medicine kit in the process. "Hold this." She prompted Nino, who managed to follow the directions. Not having enough time to worry about being sanitary, Catrina pulled out the thermometer and shoved it into the boy's mouth, mumbling quickly to keep his mouth shut before taking the kit back into her hand.

And with that, Na began the steady trek with Nino up the stairs and into her room.

[Assistant]
"Yeah, I'm sure it's quite the struggle." Giovanni grunted, as dragged the houses dining table up to the door. "Helping someone who can walk and listen to you up the stairs. It must be so much harder than dragging all these heavy inanimate objects around. You're welcome, by the way."

"Oh my god, do you ever shut up?" Al asked, exasperation in his voice as he followed his sister up the stairs.

"I don't know, do you ever do something?!" Joe shot back. "Wait, don't answer that, just shut up."

"Oh, that's i-" Al began, before he too finally heard the dogs barking. His eyes widened, as he realised just how close the barking was, and he considered just how this might all go down. Surely, dogs wouldn't be feral yet, right? Things had only collapsed in the area recently! Dogs wouldn't be hungry enough to turn on people yet!

Still, he gripped the javelin tight enough for his knuckles to turn white, frozen in place as he stared at the door.

"Maybe you weren't listening brat." Joe said, standing by the door with a terrified smile on his face. "Get. Up. Stairs."

And then he had to slam his hand over his mouth to stifle another high pitched scream, as he heard the sound of light scratching at the door, followed by the sounds of a dog whining. However, it looked like the tables were able to hold, and he slowly backed away. After doing his best to act stealthy, he made it to the stairs and crawled up them. The fact that he was humming some stupid, unrecognisable tune in a shaky voice as he crept around probably didn't help for that, but damn it, it helped him feel less afraid! Finally, he reached the top of the stairs, at which point he entered a full on dash until he reached the room the others were in, Al included.

Once he entered, he quickly shut the door, before slumping against it and letting out all of his pent up fear in a single, massive groan, sliding down to the floor.

"Haaaah… Why'd it have to be dogs that became so mean?" He sighed, before looking up to Nino and the others with tired eyes. "Hey strangers, hows it going up here? How's Nino going?"


[System]
Crown Prince of Whitehaven

"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me."

Age:
20 years old

Personality
⚜ Arrogant ⚜ Brash ⚜ Proud ⚜ Conceited ⚜

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Adrian is spoiled and arrogant. He was raised with the knowledge that when the time comes, no one will inherit the throne but him. Because of this, he believes that no one else is as important as he is, except for the king and queen and his younger brother, Prince Adam. He treats the castle staff as nothing more than servants and almost rarely pay them any attention except when he needs something.

In truth, he lack of self confidence to rule a kingdom and compensate with a grand show of overconfidence. The only one aware of his self doubt and shortcomings is his brother.

He tries his best to be just to his subjects but his overconfidence gives the people mixed feelings about him as a future ruler.

Brief History:
Queen Anne had always wanted children. "Four or more," she always said. But when she married King Thomas, they tried to conceive time and again but all pregnancies ended in miscarriage. Consult with doctors always ended inconclusive. The queen had nothing wrong with her. She was the picture of perfect health. And so the royal couple tried again and again but the children all died before coming to term. Depressed and hopeless, the queen finally sought consult with a Mystic, who taught her meditation and gave her a concoction of herbs to take. On the fourth night after the full moon, she was to drink water from Whitehaven's holy river, Adria.

Following the Mystic's instructions, the Queen found herself with child a few months later. Trying not to be too excited, she made sure she did not exert herself too much, staying in bed most times. She feared that she would lose the baby the way she had the past pregnancies but miraculously, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy nine months later. She named the baby Adrian. King Thomas was overjoyed and the whole kingdom rejoiced through a festival that lasted for weeks.

Being a precious child after many miscarriages, Adrian was spoiled, given everything he desired and asked for. He was well educated and being the first born, it was ingrained in him that he will ascend to be King when the time came. Knowing how important he is to both his parents and the whole of Whitehaven, he became arrogant and brash. He thought of the lower class people as nothing more than slaves and servants, existing only to do as he wished. As a result, the people in the kingdom feared that he might end up being a tyrant, most only serving him because of fear and not of loyalty.

Two years after Adrian's birth, the queen and the king was blessed with another male child. This boy they named Adam.

Adam grew up the complete opposite of Adrian. He was humble and kind, never thinking himself above anyone else. But despite the difference in manner and opinion, Adrian was fond of his younger brother and spent most of his time with him by his side. The bond of brotherhood eventually mellowed down the crown prince by a bit. Adam became his confidant and advisor.

Soon the people of the kingdom became divided in their opinions. A big number of them wanted Adam to inherit the throne despite knowing that Adrian was the rightful heir, being the first born. A small number believed that Adrian would be able to rule well with his brother by his side. And those in the middle found themselves having mixed feelings about who would be the better king.

[User] "Hogwash," Adrian said. "Love is almost always non existent in royal bloods. More so for me as I am in line for the throne. What matters is power. And I believe Hye Jin wants that power. The moment everyone thought I was dead, she automatically latched on ro Adam," he shook his head. "I expected her to. She is not in line for the throne back in her own kingdom."

[Assistant] Alessandra nodded silently as she stared at her Prince. "It is still very sad you believe so, Prince Adrian. I really believe you can find someone you love, or at least fond of, and that is appropriate to be wedded to the crown Prince of Whitehaven. It is sad to just disregard it as nonexistent." She said, reflecting on what she had told him in her first day in court. She shrugged slightly with a small smile. "But what do I know." She mumbled as to avoid coming across as offending or crossing the line, although she wouldn't have cared about that a year ago, she did now.

[User] "I believe I may have," Adrian's voice was so soft that it was inaudible except to himself. "If I do not wed Hye Jin, Whitehaven will still benefit from her marriage to Adam. And I suppose father would send for another princess to be wed to me," he said a little louder. "My marriage will solely be for an alliance. I'm afraid I do not have the luxury to choose who I am to wed even if I were to find love. Unless, of course, I abdicate the throne."

[Assistant] Alessandra looked back at her prince with a sigh. "I still believe you can change that without giving up the throne." She said with another sigh. "Do not give up the throne to Prince Adam. I-- I don't believe he is a better prince. At all. I believe-- in your reign more than Prince Adam's." She said in a lower voice.

[User] Adrian turned his head towards her. "The notion of me loving someone and at the same time keeping myself on the throne seems to be so important to you," he said. "But what if my affections belong to a woman not of noble birth? What then? Would I be able to make her queen? Will I be selfish enough to put her on the throne and let her be the mocked and questioned by the nobility and possible even my father? Or should I abdicate the throne to follow my heart?" he shook his head. "If I thought about it, abdicating to Adam would end the unrest among the people. They are divided in their loyalty to me and Adam..." his voice trailed off in thoughtful silence.

[Assistant] Alessandra lowered her gaze off him and nodded silently, knowing she might have pushed it. At the mention of loving someone who is not of royal blood, she wondered slightly if he had met someone during his time away from the castle, but she shrugged the idea off as it was none of her business. "I apologize then for overstepping my limits, Prince Adrian. It's all what my simple mind could come up with." She mumbled, perhaps a little hurt, but it was obviously not her style anymore to burst out as she usually did before.

[User] Adrian turned his head towards Alessandra again and cocked up an eyebrow. "It really is a shame that you have grown meek. I must admit, I miss the outspoken Alessandra who had time and again scolded me," he gave her a grin and then turned away. "I see that the palace has broken you..." he paused for a moment as if to consider something of great importance. "I do not want your spirit broken... thus I release you from your promised servitude to me and to my family. You may choose to stay or you may choose to leave. Whatever you decide on, I grant you your freedom. Whatever debt your family has, consider it fully paid," his voice sounded strained. But before Alessandra could say anything, he urged his horse into a gallop towards the lake he always frequented.

[Assistant]
Alessandra stared at him in disbelief and wonder. What had he done? Had he really released her? She felt her heart tighten with disappointment and confusion. Had he really given her up? Did he really not want her around? She breathed in deeply and slowly followed behind Adrian, silently. They stopped at the lake, and she took in a sharp breath.

"It is unfortunate that your majesty would give up on me so soon. If it is your wishes for me to leave the court, I will. I would not want to leave your majesty's side. There is no need for me back home-- but I think I may be of use here. But I will leave. If you wish so. If I have already become of heavy weight, I will leave." She said, although her tone was stable as she stared at the lake, her eyes were shining with tears.

Had she really grown useless in all parts of the society?

[User] Adrian chuckled. "You misunderstand. I am releasing you from your duties to the royal family so that you may come and go any time you please. I am not asking you to leave. I am merely giving you freedom," he said and then cleared his throat. "I am, actually, hoping that you would choose to stay," he added in a lower, embarrassed sounding voice.

[Assistant] Alessandra looked at him surprised as he actually hoped she stayed. She giggles slightly with a small smile. "Maybe if you ask a little nicer-- Prince Adrian." She said in a teasing tone, adding the title only to tone down the edge.

[User] Adrian's cheeks burned bright pink when Alessandra giggled. But at her challenge, he raised an eyebrow. "Would you like me to get down on my knees and beg you to stay then?"

[Assistant] Alessandra smiled and straightened her back a little, holding her chin up. "I am too kind to let you do so. I will stay." she said with a little giggle, some of her old spirt retrieved.

[User]
Adrian raised an eyebrow and then bursted out laughing, for the first time looking as if he had no problem in the world. "I would have expected you to let me make a fool out of myself but---"

"My, this looks like a quaint and cozy place to spend the day in. Mind if I and my future wife join you two?" Adam called out as he led his horse to where Alessandra and Adrian were. Hye Jin rode on a white horse behind him, half a smile on her face.

Adrian looked towards his brother and Hye Jin, a carefully blank expression on his face. He shrugged. "By all means," he said as he climbed down from his horse's back.

[Assistant] Alessandra blushed as Adrian laughed so wholeheartedly. She giggled slightly as she watched him speak once again, shaking her head a little at his assumption. She wondered if he would have actually even done so, but she quickly shook away the thoughts-- He was her prince, not the other way around. Alessandra was brought out of her thoughts as Adam's voice interrupted. She turned back slightly and watched him and Hye Jin approach them. She felt disappointment fill her as she also climbed down from the horse and gave them a slight bow before sticking to Snow Queen's side.

[User]
Hye Jin immediately climbed off her horse, led her towards Alessandra and then handed her the reigns. "It's a good thing that you are here. You'll be able to tend to the horses. I hear that you are quite the handler," she gave Alessandra a smile before she turned and headed towards Adrian. Boldly, the foreign princess entwined her arm around Adrian's. "I will send you some herbal tea later, Prince Adrian. It will do wonders for your health," she gave him a smile. "And might I suggest a visit to my homeland? I believe a change of scenery would do you good," she led him to the water's edge. "It will be relaxing," she assured.

Adam, himself, climbed down his horse. But instead of handing Alessandra the reigns just as Hye Jin did, he took the reigns of Hye Jin's horse from her. "Pardon our little princess. I believe she had made it abundantly clear that she does not favor you," he smiled at her and he was the old Adam again, the kinder, younger prince. "I apologize for neglecting you these past months. I'm afraid responsibilities to the kingdom has made more occupied than I thought it would make me," instead of securing the reigns to a tree, he let go of it. He chuckled. "I'm sure Adrian would have a way of rounding the horses up if they choose to run," he shrugged and then offered his arm to Alessandra. "Come. This is a good day as any to catch up. What have you learned from the library so far?"

[Assistant]
Alessandra willingly took the reigns and gave her a slight nod with no words. She hated how she was then; She was fiery, outspoken, and even cheerful, but Hye Jin and fate had succeeded to break a part of her, and for that she absolutely disliked, even hated, the foreign princess. She inwardly rolled her eyes as Hye Jin hurried to Adrian's side and wrapped her arm around his-- Didn't she know when to give up? Her supposed fiance was even standing right there. Her thoughts were interrupted as her eyes focused on Adam instead of the other royal couple as he took the reigns from her hand. She blinked a few times as he actually spoke to her.

She raised an eyebrow slightly as he simply dropped the reigns, but she knew he was right-- It was unlikely for the horses to misbehave, and if they do, it was quite obvious Adrian could get them under control. She giggled slightly, mockingly at his apology and then attempt to 'catch up'. ''I guess Prince Adrian deals with the responsibilities a little better than you do your majesty, for he hadn't intended to ignore, or neglect, or go as far as offend me, the moment I became known to him with my intentions. I am disappointed in you, Prince Adam. It's great prince Adrian has returned. Power doesn't suit you.'' She said, with obvious distaste and intentions of 'scolding' the younger prince. She had no intention to walk with him, or to catch up with him.

What she said was true, although Prince Adrian was harsher in nature since their first meeting, prince Adam had befriended her and took care of her. Yet the moment he seized power-- He changed 180 degree. She was surprised she had spoken up so truthfully, but she had no intention to lie or compliment the younger prince who she then held dislike to him as well, may not be as horrible as her distaste to Hye Jin, but it was distaste nevertheless.


[System]
What's your name?

C.J. Teachers call me Carol if that's important.

How old are you?

Sixteen. Not sure why you care.

What do you look like?

This is a joke, right? I'm not on Candid Camera or something am I? This is fucking stupid – you can see me for fuck's sake!

Do you have any hobbies?

Yeah. I'm a "musician" though a lot of people wouldn't call me that because they wouldn't know a good song if it hit them in the face. Maybe one day I'll be opening for Pearl Jam or something. Beyond that, I don't have a whole lot. I like challenging myself and I guess challenging others. I get into fights but that's not really a hobby, so I guess I should say that I really like what the cops don't. What's really cool is breaking into abandoned buildings and just poking around - but don't go telling the cops I do that, okay?

What are some things that you especially dislike?

These dumb fucking questions make the exceptionally long list. But okay, I'll bite - I hate morons and moron lists just like I hate cops, buzzkills, drunks, the religious, this whole fucking town, bullshit, and this town's unhealthy obsession with football. Who fucking cares if you can throw a goddamn ball, right? It doesn't make you better than anyone else and certainly not worth being held up as some kind of savior for this dying piece of shit town. Also lame ass shit hair metal needs to go crawl in a hole and die. The sooner I never have to hear bullshit arena ballads and flamboyant poser garbage the better.

What are your goals for the future? Both immediate and long-term.

I don't think long-term, so that's going to be a problem. But yeah, sure, since you want to know a whole lot of nothing I can talk about that. The only "goal" I have is to get the fuck out of Erie and just go. Chances are I'll be stuck here just like everyone else who isn't "special". I don't have the money or the grades to get a fancy scholarship and I don't do sports. I just want to be me and deal with whatever on my own terms.

What's your home life like? Specifically, what is your relationship like with your parents?

Yeah, no.

What's your favorite animal, and why?

Not sure. Wolves are pretty cool, but so are foxes and shit. I kind of dig Mongooses since they are pretty much everything you could want in an animal. They look neat, they're super-fast, and they don't take no shit from anybody. I don't know, that's just me.

Favorite color?

Some kind of dark blue, I guess. Isn't this kind of dumb question? What is this; the first day of kindergarten?

Do you identify with any song or piece of music?

Yeah. Stuck Here Again. L7. It's pretty much me and Erie.

Do you believe in aliens?

Don't really think about it. Seems like kind of a dumb question.

---

C.J's Relationships

Ashley Fitzsimmons

The only person in shop class I probably don't want to run over with my car. Me and Ash kind of have that "wrong side of the tracks" kind of thing going for us but we're not the same. When he's not being an idiot he's being a dork, but it's whatever. At least he's not pretending to be anything else to be him, y'know? I can respect that. But I swear if he forces me to listen to another Kid Rock song I'm going to kill myself. Augh.

Connor Rice

Connor "Big Business" Rice, yeah, I guess you can say I know him. He's pretty much the most boring person at Erie High and that's saying a lot considering Noah exists. With how serious he is I'm honestly surprised he isn't a student at the academy on State Street. But uh… yeah, we've had a few classes but he's not very interesting. Too focused on getting that perfect GPA and that ain't my scene, y'know?

Gabriela Mendez

--

Noah J. Ward

Yee haw. Remember those dislikes you asked me about? Here's the ultimate nice guy and town hero. He's so whitebread he even owns a pet pig. I don't know if he's fake or so offensively inoffensive that I can't tell the difference. Whichever it is, I don't care and I just want to stop hearing about how he's the town's great white hope of getting to regionals this year – because he's so "gifted" he can bring a shit town like Erie to some sort of relevancy. Our football team sucked last year and he's not going to magically make it all better this year. Gag me.

Peter Przybyszewski

He's the new kid, right? We don't get a lot of those in Erie, so it kind of sticks out. But outside of him being a dumb geek from out of town, there's not much to tell. I mean, yeah, I clocked a dude that decided calling him a polack was a smart thing to do – but it's not like I feel for him or anything. He's not my type.

[User]
C . J M ᴀ ᴋ ᴏ ᴡ s ᴋ ɪ

---

• Abandoned Construction Yard, City of Erie •

---

C.J. Makowski was for the better part surprised that the thought was even being considered by the motley group of classmates she had found herself stuck with, especially considering the fact that at least three of them were the 'type' to not cause any trouble ever. She looked over to the group at large before ultimately she decided to just get it over with and take the initiative to jump the fence first; perhaps that was all they needed? It had been a portion of fence that she and Ash had jumped before for a variety of reasons, so it wasn't a difficult concept. Foot in, foot over, and done; she wasn't sure about the rest of them, but honestly she didn't give much of a shit to care. As she looked back she rose an unimpressed eyebrow before uttering a comment before Noah or whomever could squeal in protest or surprise. The nonchalant manner she spoke in could have been upsetting but if any of them knew her before detention, which they did, they would know she did not waste time with bullshit and liked to just get to the fucking point.

"I've got places to be. C'mon. Stop wasting time and just do it."

She crossed her arms as she kept her eyes and ears open, waiting for whoever was going to join her in taking the shortcut.

[Assistant]
Gabriela hadn't really anticipated coming this way with the whole group of weekend delinquents. She only really knew one, was casually acquainted with another, and was pretty much a mystery to the last few. While not by any means someone who went out of her way to cause trouble, she had managed to find herself in it through the defense of her friend. The reason he had been sentenced to detention was a complete crock of shit, in her opinion, and she would have much preferred to go down fighting for him than let him waste away in the boring, near-empty jail cell of a classroom that was room 404. Aside from a stern talking to from her folks and a few wasted hours, it luckily wasn't too terrible of an experiece, but goddamn did she want to get home.

On the walk to the stop, she mostly gravitated around Connor, but also spoke out to some of the others when casual chatting began to spread among the group. She found most of them fairly agreeable, and a couple not entirely so. Some discontent arose at the fence of the abandoned construction site, its reputation well-known and less than safe. "I mean, it can't be that bad, can it?" Gabi thought. It wouldn't take too long to get through it, really, the worst part would be jumping over the barrier. "It's just a quick in-and-out. Get in, stay quiet, get out, go home. It'll be fine."

Before her friend could put some sense into her, Gabi was already halfway up, carefully ascending the sealed and vine-covered entryway in the hopes of avoiding the potentially deadly stab of a rusted chain link wire. At the top of the fence, she straddled it and looked down, waving at the others who had not yet begun the climb. "Come on up! You guys don't really wanna walk all the way around this place, do ya? It's too big for that, man. Sooner we're through, less chance of getting got by some weirdo with a knife in here. We're wasting daylight!"

She continued to ignore things like common sense and basic laws by lifting her other leg up and over, then sliding off to land on her feet. It wasn't too far a drop, so aside from a small stumble she attempted to play off smoothly, she was fine. "See? We good." An encouraging thumbs up was offered to those of the party that remained hesitant.

[User]
It had been Connor's first visit to the 404 and it was not a particularly proud moment for him. Even for a relatively small crime of swearing in front a teacher, it was still a mar on his otherwise perfect school record - well, barring a lunchroom incident a few years back. He didn't talk much on the way, and walked at the back in hopes of minimizing conversation with some of the other students.

At least he had friends here for company.

Connor needed to take the bus home, and when conversation got to the subject of cutting through the abandoned construction site, he stayed silent. He was hoping that some students - particularly Ash - would take the shortcut so that he could peacefully take the long route with Gabi and Noah. No weird tension.

There was no way Connor was going through the construction site anyway. Five years back, a freshman named Laurence Neyman had gone in there and got stabbed in the leg. Needed 17 stitches. His parents got into a huge lawsuit with the city and the local news swarmed over it like flies. Nothing as prolific had occurred since then, but Connor was content to walk an extra ten minutes of safe, legal sidewa - Oh, come on.

"Gabi?" She was doing something dumb again. Connor watched as his friend started climbing, the clinking of the fence sounding way too loud on the empty street. He looked at her helplessly, trying to figure out what to do. "C'mon, get down from there."

Gabi was now on the opposite side of the fence. Great. "Gabi. Gabs think about this. You could get seriously hurt in there."

[Assistant]
C . J M ᴀ ᴋ ᴏ ᴡ s ᴋ ɪ

---

• Abandoned Construction Yard, City of Erie •

---

Well this is a surprise.

Gabriela Mendez, as far as C.J. was aware wasn't this daring and seeing the surprise on Conor's face signified that this was relatively out of character for her; but maybe it wasn't – C.J. didn't exactly know the girl that much, so this could've been perfectly in character. For all she knew Big Business and Gabi got into all kind of shenanigans she didn't know about. A curious thought. The blonde-haired girl looked over at Connor following his protest at Gabi's own vaulting of the fence. Number 2 to have the balls. She was surprised Ash hadn't been the one to vault the fence right after her given their past with the construction site in question. Connor's protest did bring back the whole Larry Neyman bullshit to the back of C.J's mind, though, but she probably remembered it differently considering Homeless Jack was the nicest guy she had ever met. She, Ash, and Jack had shared more than a few smokes as he gave them probably the most useful advice an adult had ever given them. Larry Neyman wanted to play the game of "piss off the hobo" and what he got for it was an old combat knife in his leg. Safe to say, Larry's parents weren't too keen on losing their chance at being the parents of the kid who took Erie to regionals.

It was a story that reminded her of Noah, who effectively was this year's "Larry Neyman", though he may as well been Larry's exact opposite. From the stories she heard Larry was more than a little crazy; she once heard her older sister say he pelted a stray dog with a handful of rocks. She shot a quick glance at Noah before looking back at Connor.

"And she could seriously save some time, too. Trust me, been in here a lot. You won't get stabbed… probably."

Homeless Jack would be suspicious about a bunch of teenagers, but once he saw her and Ash he probably wouldn't draw his knife and threaten them to 'scram' -- or at least that was the hope.


[System]
NPC PROFILES
Age: 25

Gender: Male

Arcana: ???

Equipment: (List obscured by coffee stain)

Skills: Teacher - History; Teacher - Homeroom

Appearance:

Personality: Igarashi Iemasa, age twenty-five and a teacher with four years of experience dealing with kids (three of those being with primary-schoolers), is, in the words of his students, "a pretty nice guy". He's essentially the hip and happening substitute teacher who's in touch with the youth of today and their fresh and radical lifestyles, except for the fact that, yes, he's in charge of homeroom, and yes, he has a history degree (majoring in the Hellenistic period), so he's not some putz who can't spread the joys of his subject to all you youngsters out there. In fact, he's actually pretty swell at the entire thing, especially with his immense enthusiasm for being a teacher; sure, his wages aren't that great, but hey, he gets to tell kids about history, and he really, really adores his history.

Seriously, he really adores his history.

If he wasn't already in a relationship, he would marry history.

Anyway, digressions upon his romantic interest in abstract concepts aside, Iemasa is a high-energy type of fellow, with strong extroverted tendencies and a general air of "loving life and everything in it". He's constantly in a state of utter contentment or great cheer, and you can usually tell when it's the latter by his habit of flamboyantly gesturing, finger-snapping, winks or any form of dramatic action (such as suddenly speaking in fluent Standard Modern Greek). Coupled with his general approachable demeanour (which is very good for teachers, because then students will be able to talk to them for help and get better marks on their standardised tests and therefore improve the reputation of the teacher, but the guy doesn't really care about that as much as being able to talk to his students), it's easy to see why people consider him " a pretty nice guy". Because he definitely is.

Indeed, for all his quirky, kind cheer, Iemasa is very dependable. Having triumphed over the horrors of teenagerdom less than a decade before, as well as surviving university without being arrested for the possession of illegal narcotics, the man has entered the concept of "adulthood" (not the age thing, because adults aren't always mature), and as such is very capable of dispensing whatever wisdom and advice he finds necessary upon those who seek his assistance. Really, he has a strong sense of honour about helping people; you ask him about stuff, you can expect help hitting your doorstep before too long.

That's why he's in charge of homeroom, after all.

Rule of thumb though, don't get him mad. He doesn't get mad easily, but seriously, don't get him mad.

Biography: You want to know what Iemasa is like? Come on guys, he's got his entire backstory written up on his Facebook profile. Wait, it's set to 'friends only'? Sorry, but the law prevents students from adding their teachers on Facebook until they graduate, which is a shame because it removes the ability to obtain potential blackmail material it doesn't facilitate stronger bonds between students and teachers. To really know who he is, you gotta talk to him mano-a-mano, and even then it tends to come out in tidbits that pepper his lessons.

There is, of course, a list compiled (thank you, Geirin Kuzunoha XXI, for your hard work in organising all of this) of every little fact that his students know (maybe, he could be exaggerating as well) about him:

* He's a Nagoya-native.
* He has a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend in Hokkaido (sorry, fangirls, but Iemasa's unavailable).
* He makes model planes from time to time.
* He knows how to ride a horse.
* He was on the track team when he was still in high-school.
* He's traveled a lot.
* He once grew out his beard but decided that it wasn't really a great look given his prettyboy features.
* He has a pet snake.

And that's about it. He's just Igarashi Iemasa, the homeroom teacher.
Name: Sasori Yoshinori (佐曽利 義則)

Age: 31

Gender: Male

Arcana: ???

Equipment: (Check his shopping receipts if you really want to know)

Skills: Private Detective - Licensed

Appearance:

Source

Personality: Sasori Yoshinori (is that truly his name?) - age thirty-one, unmarried and the type of gumshoe you'd think had just skipped outta the dusty old pages of a detective noir. You can see it in his way of way of dress (who other than the old-fashioned even bother to wear a hat these days?), his demeanour (trust is hard to earn from this guy, real hard) and most especially his manner of speech (get used to hitting up the net for translations, otherwise his rapid-fire slang's gonna leave you feeling like a real dido). A detective through and through, albeit one who doesn't seem too fond of all those dusters his colleagues have a habit of wearing. Give him a suit and tie any day.

To be quite frank, old Yoshi isn't sure how he got roped into the dick business anyway. He has no real sense of justice (his partner argues the opposite), and all he cares about is making sure all the bills are paid on time so that the johns don't hit him up in the clubhouse again. Keeping the business afloat and his paying off the mortgage is important, yaknow, and if he has to handle every wacky request suburbia throws at him (there's way too many voyeurs and adulterers hanging around, but he's a sap for the dosh), then he'll take them all on.

And sometimes he's way too much of a bleeding heart and waives the fees for some cases. Lucky that his partner doesn't care that much.

Over time, he's mastered looking like he has all the cards (even when he doesn't) and to avoid looking like some confused dope in the face of the strange. It doesn't work all the time though, hence his constant sense of exasperation and frustration and everything the world keeps trying to throw at him.

A bit of sarcasm has been serving him pretty well in dealing with all that jazz.

Most of the time though, the fella is pretty relaxed, with a good eye for dames. He isn't too chatty, but he'll always have a word or two to say (usually to his freeloading partner because she's gone and broken the coffee machine) to anybody who wants a convo, though don't expect him to start sharing secrets or what not. He's good at keeping his mouth shut.

That's why he's a detective.

Biography: Yoshi ain't the type of dopey guy to hand his past out to every snot-nosed kid snooping into his business, so all you need to know is that he's been doing the entire detective schtick for a while, and that he's pretty good at the entire thing. Setting up shop in the eastern suburbs wasn't his idea in the first place, however; that suggestion went to the bird lounging around in his basement (he still isn't sure if he works for her or if she works for him, so he's placed her down as 'partner').

[User]
NPC: Igarashi Iemasa

"Oh, good afternoon!"

Igarashi Iemasa, twenty-five years old and committed to a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend in Hokkaido, swivelled away from the pile of half-marked history essays on his desk, the office chair beneath him squeaking as his entire body moved around to face the newcomer to the office. With ruffled blonde hair, handsome looks and a pair of round-rimmed glasses sitting over sparkling cerulean, the youthful teacher was quite the welcoming sight, especially with the easygoing grin that had found its way to his face upon sighting Lala, his eyes seemingly lighting up as the casual greeting left his mouth.

"I haven't seen you around before," were his next words, and it was patently obvious that the history teacher was in fact quite curious as to where Lala had originated! He prided himself on being a pretty amicable guy, and had spent a lotta time on getting to know each and every one of his students (even the ones who weren't in his class, because they could be awesome too), but this girl in front of him was completely unknown to him.

Given her uniform, that meant one definite thing?

"Are you new here?"

Meanwhile, the other teachers in the faculty office returned to their own business, satisfied that Igarashi was already dealing with the situation. That was probably the reason why they put his desk so close to the door; he was the people person.

[Assistant]
Lala took moments to stare at him as she would be eased a bit. She smiled in the presence of the easygoing
teacher as it made it easier for her to try conversing with him.

"Yes, I am new here."

Lala didn't know much about the history teacher, but she could tell he didn't seem native with his blond hair. She would have a better time talking to him as she felt a bit comfortable talking to adults rather than peers, even though she needed to get along with them some time soon. Besides not falling for him on the first look, she would definitely be friends with an amicable guy like him.

"I'm Liu Lala." Lala was still in mix of her introductions with her experience in countries outside of Asia, but she managed to do it correctly in the respective place for it. "I've come from China to study abroad, but I've been in America and Europe for half of my life. It's also my first visit to Japan, but I'll get around on my own. Anyhow, I've come to the faculty office to help establish myself at the school for the year.

[User]
NPC: Igarashi Iemasa

"Nice to meetcha, Liu-kun, and welcome to Japan!" said the young teacher warmly, the smile on his face brightening upon hearing the news. So he was right on the money then. The girl before him was not only definitely a newcomer to Uchima Senior High, but a newcomer to the country itself! That was cool. It was always great to meet new people and make them feel welcome.

"You've gotten all your paperwork sorted, right?" he asked, leaning forward, glasses seeming to glint in the light. "No problems with that stuff?"

---

Sinatra @Krayzikk @Conflagration

Act (a) - Pizza Wars

Benkei's ruthless blows pounded at the DRU that had sought to crush the Persona's wielder underneath its treads in a manner not too dissimilar to how a drunken hooligan would bash anyone who looked at him wrong outside of a nightclub in Shikatsu's inner city on a Friday night. Given the physical strength possessed by the manifestation of the medieval warrior monk, the 'face' of the wayward delivery drone crumpled under the sheer violence being inflicted on its frame. Despite its newly developed supernatural abilities, the machine was still in essence made to resist mortal human attacks upon its body.

Not supernatural phantoms.

Golden optics jittered for a second, sparks flying from their cracked crystals, before immediately fading into dark. The machine shuddered and died, sputtering to a complete halt as an eerie mist leaked from its broken frame, dissipating into the golden air and wisping back towards the truck.

Meanwhile, even as Kimiko seized the day and rode her brainwashed DRU into battle, leading her makeshift vanguard of delinquents forth in formation, three of the enemy machines rolled to meet her, spitting out a fireball each towards the unlikely duo of girl and robotic servant.

Sixty enemies remained.

[Assistant]
Are we back in control? I think we're in control.

Hoshizora is being asked about her school. This is strenge, becuase Hoshizora Aiko is fairly sure she's already confirmed that, yes, she has transferred to Uchima Senior High two or three times now. Perhaps this woman is not malicious, but just dense. Still, Aiko does not let down her guard.

"Y-yes, ma'am. I passed the entrance exam last summer, a-and I've heard it's a really good school, so, you know, I thought I'd take the plunge, right? B-but I had to get permission from my folks, and, you know, it took awhile, so I ended up having to, uh, what's the word, transfer, instead of starting at the beginning of the year, see. T-that's why I'm looking for a place nearby."

[User]
"I almost forgot about it." Lala took out the paperwork out of her bag. She had already handled some over seas but she needed to turn the rest in on her arrival. "I've already sorted the ones done over seas. If there's anything else I forgot to do, then I need to get right on it." She then hands him the stacks of paper that were sorted out and held together.

"The only thing I think I didn't get on my way here were my classes and any other information. By the way what is your name mister?" It was a nice meeting with the teacher, but Lala wanted to end on a fair note at least. She was looking forward to exploring the school now after being eased from the welcome.

[Assistant]
Sasori and Co. Investigations

"Even with the acknowledgement of Uchima's ... less than stellar reputation?" asked the woman.

She leaned back into her chair. It was clear that she was thinking over something once more, her scarlet eyes glancing up at the ceiling for a second before turning to lie upon Aiko's sitting form. A number of seconds passed. The scuffed old grandfather clock in the corner ticked.

"Well, you do appear to have the credentials," she said after a short period of silence. "And a pair of eyes in Uchima would be rather useful."

The last word seemed to sit on the end of her tongue.

"You're hired, then."

---

NPC: Igarashi Iemasa

"I'll make sure to hand this in to Admin," vowed the teacher with a smile, taking the stack of papers with a flourish and placing them down on his desk, next to the pile of history essays. That was quick and easy. Awesome. "If you've gotten that far, then you'll be totally fine."

What class would she be in, though? That wasn't something that Iemasa could really find out until all the administrative side of things had been successfully handled, but hopefully she was in his. He liked his fellas. Hopefully they weren't up to anything troublesome.

"I'm Igarashi-sensei," he said, introducing himself with a large grin. "If you ever feel like doing history, then I'm your guy."