[System]
Slick Drake

Basics
Epithet: "Oilburn" Slick

Race: Human

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Appearance: Slick is 5'5 with green hair and green eyes, typically wears simple single color shirts along with a green jacket over it, black pants, fingerless gloves, and black boots when on deck. When fighting in enclosed quarters he wears a gas mask on top of all this so he doesn't inhale smog from his fires, otherwise he just keeps it clipped to the waist of his pants. Somewhat pale, has lots of burn scars on his hands.

Position: Cook and Weapon Repairsman.

Bounty: 5,000,000 Beris, wanted for Serial Arson

Jolly Roger: A charred skull dripping oil with green flames surrounding it in a circle.

Background
Ambition: To find the gun and sword of Gol D. Roger.

Likes:* Fire
* Weapons
* Cooking
* Gol D Roger
* Money

Dislikes:* Marines
* Wasting Food
* Bees

Quirks: Slick regularly obsesses over any new weapon he may come across, studying the weapon and taking notes immediately upon seeing it even if the user is in the middle talking. His unique laugh is "Kekekekekek!" Slick is also a bit of a kleptomaniac and will regularly steal stuff just to see if he can get away with it.he has actually built up a small hoard for himself. If he thinks something would be interesting to light on fire he will try to light that thing on fire with the matches he always carries with him. He also believes his fires are works of art.

Personality: Slick is a pretty jovial guy, rarely in a bad mood unless something actually bad is happening. Tends to laze about when there's nothing important to be done or he'll go through his stash of stolen items to make sure everything is in good condition. He is afraid of drowning as most Devil Fruit users are, but his more prominent fear is of bees. If he sees a beehive or a swarm of bees he will likely go for his flamethrower immediately. Slick is also a very curious person, whether it be how flammable something is or how a device works. He likes helping people out but he won't go out of his way to help others if it's gonna be a long arduous task, not unless everyone else decides to. And the most important thing of all, Slick loves fire. He loves fire so much, fire is one of his favorite things ever really, which is why he always carries matches with him.

History: Slick grew up on a small island in the South Blue, born to a pair of blacksmiths and repairmen. He was raised on learning how gun barrels were made and how to clean a cannon, basically everything a child should never know. One day when he was 6 a group of drunk pirates had come to his parents to have their guns and swords repaired after a hard battle with the Marines, when they left they forgot some of their treasure on the island, the most important one being a mysterious Devil Fruit they had planned on selling. Now Slick was a hungry 6 year old, not knowing how valuable it was he took a bite of it. It was absolutely disgusting, it tasted like gasoline (not that he knew what that was) but he had already taken a bite of it and he had been taught to never waste food so he swallowed it down like a champ.

This was a horrible idea, for this was the Oiru Oiru Fruit, a Logia type Devil Fruit that turned you into an Oil man. Slick began to melt into a puddle of oil immediately, which was quite terrifying for a 6 year old. As he panicked and flailed his arms about he splashed highly flammable oil everywhere and knocked over a lantern, setting his home on fire. He struggled to maintain his human form and ran outside, his parents did not make it out with him. Orphaned at the age of 6 he was horribly traumatised by the whole incident, mentally locking away the ability to physically become oil so he could never kill someone close to him like he killed his parents. Instead he sought to control what killed them, fire.

He spent the next 13 years of his life tinkering with various ideas and mastering the use of his powers in conjunction with fire, he also rebuilt his parents business and began repairing weapons for pirates. Over the years he became enamored by tales of Gol D Roger and his prowess in battle, some stories had him destroying entire armies with one placed bullet while others would make him out to be a master swordsman. Either way, Slick wanted these legendary weapons, he wanted to be just as strong as Gol D Roger was. but to do that he needed to get a hold of his weapons. So he set off on his journey at the age of 19.

Combat Specialties

Skills and Abilities: Talented repairsman in regards to all different types of weapons, is somewhat skilled in the art of inventing new weapons. Great cook, spent a lot of his life learning to cook for himself. Very fast and somewhat strong, he built up muscles from hammering metal.
Devil Fruit: Oiru Oiru Fruit (Oil Oil Fruit): A Logia with the ability to let the user turn into oil and endlessly produce oil, Slick has currently mentally handicapped himself so he can only use it like a Paramecia.

Haki: N/A

Gear: Custom Flamethrower, built to be fueled directly by Slick even in the middle of combat.

Fighting Style: Slick likes to stay away from his opponent and control the battlefield, either by covering it in oil or covering it in oil and the lighting said oil on fire.

Techniques: Oil Oil Skate: Slick covers the bottom of his shoes in oil and skates around the battlefield at high speeds, leaving a trail of oil behind him as he does so.
Oil Oil Getaway: Slick covers the ground in oil and then lights it on fire, leaving no way for the opponent to reach Slick as he runs away. Also applicable to deadly effect in sea battles, pouring oil into the ocean, waiting for the enemy ship to sail through the oil and then lighting it all on fire.

Nakama
Crewmate Name:
Captain Boone - Slick only kinda respects Boone, sure he's the captain but he hasn't done anything quite memorable enough for him to be truly worth respect. They get along pretty well, but Slick doesn't quite respect Boone despite his status as captain. If it really came down to it, Slick would actually take his position in a heartbeat. He does enjoy his stories though and likes to ask several questions to get details.

Caesar Inu - Caesar and Slick get along, mainly because Slick likes to talk about fire during his therapy sessions and Caesar appreciates that Slick knows how to relax unlike most members of the crew.

Bonesword - Slick likes Bonesword for 3 reasons. One he can make a lot of flammable stuff which is super great, he can make ingredients for cooking which is nice, and he really wants to see how milk affects a living skeleton. Whenever someone is arguing about stuff with Bonesword he'll generally take Bonesword's side, something about the little dude is endearing to him.

Lily Merrycure - Slick gets annoyed with her occasionally when she offers to take over cooking, but does his best to remember that she's just trying to help. He was talking about fire once and she mentioned lighting the fires in people's hearts, Slick took this a little too literally and now thinks she wants him to light people's hearts on fire. Not that he has a problem with that, he quite likes the idea. He finds it a little weird that she tries to mother him considering they're only two years apart, but he takes it in stride. He's very interested in her strange symbiote and wonders how flammable it is. Final note, Slick bugs her from time to time about creating more flammable oils and compounds for him to use. When she doesn't he will either back off for the day or just try and swipe some stuff from her to try and figure it out himself. He has caused more than one explosion on the ship.

Feya - Slick hates hearing about the food pyramid so much, he occasionally sees the food pyramid chasing him in his nightmares. Slick tries to avoid her as much as humanly possible, not out of hate but out of pure unadulterated fear. No human should eat so much every single day. Occasionally he steals from her but after the 3rd time he found his door broken down and the protein powder gone he stopped. Now he just lays down oil in front of her door every now and then. Whenever she starts nagging Bonesword about working out he'll side with Bonesword, but is strangely silent when milk gets brought up. He really wants to see Bonesword drink milk.

Dirk - Slick is kinda indifferent to Dirk, he recognizes the guy doesn't like him too much but doesn't mind. Dirk likes his cooking so he's alright in Slick's book.

[User]
Fitness Feya
HAHAHAHA...No

Interacting with:???

 Fitness Feya braced for a handful of projectiles aimed at her direction. She opened her eyes briefly when she anticipated damage. She gritted her teeth when she saw the back of Krabbe's head. The fitness woman squinted her eyes and blew air through her nostrils. Taking a few steps back, she shook her head. "I am definitely not in debt to you. This is all your doing. Far as I know, you're cleaning up your own mess."

 Feya grabbed onto one of the railings on the ship. It was miracle part of the railing was intact despite the battle taking place. She held onto the steel bar and watched everything unfold. In a matter of seconds, Krabbe became reduced to an empty shell. His beloved crab fetish shattered during his brawl with one of his crazed subordinates. Feya attempted to stay focus on everything else.

 She then noticed the shrimp warrior act out a signature move. A spray of shrapnel cut through the air in an omnidirectional pattern. Feya tightened her grip on the bar, jumping over it she hoped to flee from the attack. As she pulled herself over the bar, some of the junk struck her in the back. As she descended into the waters, she grunted loudly and made a hard splash in the ocean.

[Assistant]
Wafer D. Kite - Nakama inbound. A Kite Can't Fly on its Own!

---

Kite felt his knees buckle when Lilliana left his side. This guy was strong. He'd thought himself powerful, but he needed more than this if he was gonna win. His eyes couldn't leave Saban, or he'd have noticed the help coming his way, the fiery landscape of the ship and the fact that it was no longer a battle of bounty hunters and pirates. This was a jumbo shrimp vs the world. Then, Caesar came to his aid. HELL YEAH DOG GUY! They pushed Saban back and managed to land two good hits on him.

That's when Krabbe made his move. It was strange hoping for the man who'd been responsible for the loss of his crew to win, but given the course of this battle nothing was off the table anymore.

"It's not over," He growled after Krabbe's attack. He'd won fights before. It was never that easy. And yet Krabbe was still captured, his armor and vice crushed. It served him right, and yet they were down man power. "Dammit... We've gotta hit him all at once," Kite said readying his wrenches. The crew of pirates didn't seem all that together, but by the way they were launching their attacks, they left him in awe. Just a little longer. He thought to himself. He was exhausted. He wasn't even sure...

"Woah!" His eyes widened in shock and love at the sight of Lilliana's weapon. "That's so cool," The shipwright said before noticing the attack incoming from Saban. Lilliana could no doubt protect herself. The whole crew could. But that weapon really was amazing. Now wasn't the time for thinking or planning. He had to act. He ran forward and jumped. His foot pressed into the shoulder of one of Krabbe's crewmen. "Get down, you idiots," he shouted at the bounty hunter's men, though he was sure they wouldn't listen. This one though was kicked down into the ground. as he pushed himself high into the air. Saban had somehow gotten even stronger. This was it. The final push and last attack everyone here could possibly see.

Kite took a deep breath and swung his arms, beginning to spin as he descended at high speed. He was aimed right at Saban. The plan was to get a good shot at his head, by slamming his wrenches into him using the momentum of his tornado like spin as he came down, combined with the full weight of his body. At the very least he hoped he could put the man off guard with a fierce blow from his wrenches, help keep him in place, or push him back into the line of fire coming towards him. Still, it was possible that he might not do anything. Saban might have just grabbed him from the air, crush him like Krabbe. Or maybe he'd catch his attention long enough for this crew to finish him off. Regardless, the young man was going down swinging.


[System]
Race: Human

Age:???

Gender:Female

Appearance:

She keeps the visor down at all times, keeping her face out of view. There was an unmistakable three triangles under her left eye, a sign that many would associate with that 'Sith raider', though she was no Sith.

Personality: Calm, collected, level headed, not qualities any Jedi would typically associate with a Darksider like her, though she had no qualms about using the 'Light' or 'Dark' sides of the force. Due to her experience, she found the Jedi's view of the Force too narrow, and the Sith's too simple, for what she had seen and understood of the Force. As such, she has an automatic disdain for anyone calling themselves such, or having such notions as Light and Dark being good or evil. While she is normally silent, she may and will give out advice when the feeling strikes her, as she did to her raiders before all of them died spectacularly.

Occupation: Freelance Mechanic/Mercenary

History: There was once, an old 'Sith' raider, who commanded her group of raiders to prey upon anything and everything they could across the outer rim. While she was unaffiliated with the Sith, the general public usually makes no distinction between force users, just that they're force users. However, all of a sudden, she and her group disappeared, leaving no trace of what happened.

Sith, with their penchant and obsession with the past, caught her and her entire band, seeking to recreate, and improve upon Darth Plagueis' work, to manipulate the midichlorians to heal, rejuvenate their bodies. For that purpose they maimed them, with her, as their leader, suffering the worst of their works. Though their experiments were a spectacular failure, first rejuvenating everyone then spectacularly blowing them up from the sheer amount of energy they were producing, she managed to survive almost by sheer dumb luck alone, before salvaging what she could and finally escaping, aware that the experiment technically worked, and had granted her a younger form. She was unwilling to remain there and be anywhere near the experiment however; a group of Jedi coming after her was too much trouble for her to handle.

Shortly afterwards, a young girl appeared out of nowhere in the Outer Rim, joining up a mercenary band as a mechanic, though no one but the girl herself would have thought to connect the two events together. A necessary arrangement, for her own survival. As long as their machines and ship were well maintained, they cared little for the little thing wearing a mask at all times. Mercs were naturally used to having people hiding secrets after all. As a bonus, she liberated an old AV-1A assault armor collecting in their hold, though no one cared that she took it, perhaps due to them all being dead after a fight with another group of mercs.

Seeking to regain her fortune, she fixed up the armor as best she could, and left in search for a contract that would make her rich.

Equipment: Old AV-1A assault armor, customized and repurposed for her own use, a small panel of phrik(50cm by 70cm) she had intended to sell, ripped from the Sith machine, and a cruciform cortosis weave sword with a retractable blade.

Force Powers: She was more used to the more subtle parts of the force like absorbing energy, redirecting them, as well as the core, but she has a talent for force manipulation, keeping her own abilities hidden as well as outright wiping her presence in the force itself.

Skills: As a once feared force using raider, she was understandably proficient in most forms of conventional weaponries, and well versed in machines due to them not exactly being able to drop in on mechanics any time they please, but survival was what she was truly great in, perhaps due to her past.

Weaknesses: She was weakest without the bulky suit on her. Very long range engagements were also troublesome for her, especially since she lacked any ranged weapons. Surta also had lost her lightsaber to her capture. While her 'old self' had been missing for some time, the bounty on her head did not, and there were multiple bounties, from the Hutts, to the more reputable Republic, as well as slapdash ones in the cantinas.

[User]
(Former) Drug Factory

Between the screaming, blaster fire and explosions, Lahana almost didn't hear Gloopra speak to her. Orders, he wanted orders from her? Why? She wasn't the leader here, Jayce was. Why would he want orders from a padawan anyhow, he was doing fine on his own so far. Did her master put him up to this? Clearly she was being tested. An ally in bulky power armor created enough of a distraction to halt the bolts being fired towards her. "Help them, cover the left side, I'll take the right." She sprang up from behind cover and sprinted towards a man hap haphazardly shooting. She ducked under his fire and rose with a slash of her saber, then taking off before the man had time to even touch the ground. She kept moving forward, striking down anyone along the way. If Gloopra did his part along with the others still fighting then the remaining enemies would be forced to move towards the center of the warehouse where there was only minimal cover available. Eventually there were only four people remaining now, and three of them had thrown down their weapons to surrender. The fourth man was...

Lahana blinked, then narrowing her eyes at the man draped in a black robe. Had he been standing in the middle of the room the entire time? She hadn't even noticed his presence. Jayce moved from behind a smoldering machine damaged by blaster fire and walked up to the four men. "And here I thought all of you scumbags would be unreasonable, now how about we have a nice drive down to- oh come on!" he raised his rifle as one of the men pulled a pistol from his back, he grabbed the robed man and pointed the gun at his head. Lahana could have sworn she saw the robed man let out a sigh from under his hood.

"You're gonna let me outta here, I-I'm gonna walk out the back an-" The man suddenly stopped yelling his demands, his body shook as he dropped the gun and held his hands to his throat. The robed man grabbed the gun and stuck it in the man's mouth, then raising him from the floor. At the same time the other two men were locked in place as they grasped at their necks, desperate for air. Both of their necks simultaneously bent at an unnatural angle with a sickening crack and they fell to the floor lifeless.

"Now that was just rude, what if you had accidentally pulled the trigger? That can happen sometimes you know, I read an article about it." The robed man did just that, causing a bolt to sear through the man's skull. The gun was let go, causing the man to crumple to the floor as smoke poured from the back of his head. "Yesh, see, it'd have been really bad if that had happened to me..." The robed man let out a yawn as he looked over the three men's bodies. "I really hate it when the boss is right..." He mumbled to himself in a tired voice.

He turned towards Jayce and pulled back his hood, revealing a young human man. He had no particularly interesting features, he had short black hair, an unassuming face you'd easily miss in a crowd, and light tan skin. Well, there was one thing of note about him, something Lahana noticed. His eyes looked tired, just like hers. "Oh uh, sorry about that. I uhh..." He looked up and to his left at nothing in particular and was silent for a few awkward moments. "Feared for my life? Yeah, that's it."

"Sir, this man is a je- no, a force user. We need to be careful." Lahana spoke to Jayce, keeping her eyes on the man as he nonchalantly waved to the others in the room.

"I can... see that." Jayce said, keeping his rifle raised. "I'm going to have to ask you answer some questions." He said.

"Sure." The man responded. "My job here is kinda moot at this point. Oh, I'm Blank by the way. Welcome to Gamorria."

Enclave Zeta (Republic Base)

Match was taken aback by the sudden entrance of Anari. Commander Gallowin only raised a brow and Kale leaned back as if amused. Match took in what the woman said, assuming her to be a Jedi based on the door seemingly opening on it's own. He looked back to one of his guards and let out a short laugh. "I like this one." He said, nodding his head towards her. He looked back to her and met her eyes. "You are not wrong Jedi, The way I arrived was not the most subtle. However, would you believe me if I said it did not matter in the slightest how I came here?"

His expression turned more serious, and he addressed not only her but the others as well. "I may have eyes here and there in this city, but the ones that truly run this planet... It is as if the sun and moons are their eyes. I only stand before you right now because they allow it. They are well aware of me and my people's desire for order and peace. By coming here I have made it clear that we will no longer simply wish for order, but are taking action." He looked to the Senator. "I do not know how things were on your world, but I assure you the loss of life was guaranteed the moment I stepped out of my home. We are ready for war, what I need to know from you is, are you prepared for what it will take to win this war?"

(Former) Drug Factory

"Well, Blank, thanks for the warm welcome, but do know why we are here? You don't seem shocked to see us. And what the hell are you doing here?" Jayce said, lowing his rifle.

Blank scratched his head in thought for a moment. "You mean why you all are here in this warehouse, or why you're here on this planet? Well, you're in this warehouse because some of these idiots don't know how to keep their mouths shut... That and I'm assuming the smoke pouring out of the roof was kind of a giveaway. And uhh, you're on this planet to 'bring it to order.' Whatever that means." He let out another yawn and checked a digital screen on his wrist. "As for what I'm doing here, the boss said it was important I come here, didn't say why. It's usually someone much lower on the ladder that comes to pick up product. I can see why now though. He's gonna want a report on your abilities, shame there isn't much to say."

Lahana grit her teeth. "Sir, we can't let him escape, and capturing him alive will probably be impossible." She said. She drew her second saber, igniting the white and black speckled weapon.

"I'm afraid you're right." Jayce said, aiming his rifle once more.

"Now hold on, don't you have anymore questions for me? How about you guys?" Blank motioned to the group surrounding him.

[Assistant] "Not getting paid to ask you questions fool. Just be glad it isn't some rival gang that's here. You'd be dead." commented Valter as he walked up holding his rifle down at the ground. He had done his best to provide covering fire, and that had seemed to work. However with all of this happening it would seem that things were getting rather ugly. Things were progressing quick but at the expense of success. He remembered the days on Duro where he had to burn down an entire gang's club. It was ugly work, and none of them survived the night after all was said and done. It had sent a clear message to the enemies of Voja. "Someone keep an eye out there's a possibility there are enemies that didn't engage us still being nearby." Valter quickly stated as he scanned the nearby area trying to find some hint that something may be off.

[User]
The dust finally cleared out as the shooting and the explosions stopped. Jaida could see now what was happening in the warehouse once more. What she saw was... troubling. That man, she never saw him coming, at all. He wasn't among the men protecting this factory. Hell, from her vantage point she never even saw anyone approaching this building. How did he got there past her watchful eye?

What scraps of discussion she heard through her long-range audio frequencies, the robed man was speaking in vague terms. But the way he spoke, and his remarkless traits. This man seemed like a... ghost of some sort?

It was like the rumors. Tales amongst Gammoria's underworld of a man, or a woman even, who simply just seemed to appear and disappear at important locations. Whatever was the unknown entity's goals, no one really knew. Was he employed by some crime syndicate or was he working as a freelance mercenary? Most bounty hunters made names for themselves in this underworld of crime. But that guy, no one knew anything about him. Hell, some pissed off crime lords even put a hefty sum of credits on an faceless bounty, but Jaida never had been able to even start tracking thie shadow, to the best of her abilities.

But hearing what she heard, and watching what she seen, it seemed she finally found that ghost. And if he was really the man of rumors, then he had to be taken care of. Seeing him snap people's neck simply from force of will, it made the decision that more urgent.

"Copy that. No one in sight outside the building... yet." Jaida whispered to the Mandalorian warrior in her comlink, keeping her voice low as to not give away her hidden position.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman rose her sniper to eye-level, setting her sights on the would-be shadow of a Jedi. Then, she slowly let out a quiet breath as she pressed the trigger, sending a deadly beam howling towards the newcomer's head.

[Assistant]
She didn't like this at all.

Someone they didn't know, or was supposed to be here, admitting openly they're here to spy on them. Whoever this was, they were good. Perhaps even as good as she was. But, she would rather not out her abilities; Jedi did not take well to other force users, especially one that uses their abilities as freely as she did.

But... this was not her problem.

The Jedi was here, and thus there was no need for her to interrupt. Nor did she want to waste her time on needless things. Valter had the right idea however, and Surta simply gave a small nod to the merc as she brought the power armor to move out of the place, ignoring the feeling as Jaida tried to snipe the unknown person.


[System]
"Ay up mate, you wanna have a mooch up the local? I 'erd they do a crackin' pint, and the grub is bostin' lad."

Nickname: Eli, Annoying Scouser Faggot. She likes the last one.

Species: Human, you motherfu- I mean, beautiful people!

Age: 19

Sex: Maybe Female.

Job: Student.

Powers: None.

Weaknesses: I 'unno. The Scouser doesn't like bugs. If you like ANYTHING about bugs she's gonna hit you. Hard.

Personality:
Oh, this is gonna be fun. Eli is fucking rude, if you want me to say the least. Hell, I'll give you some words and phrases she says in the 'Other' section, but she just doesn't like being nice. "It just ain't fun," according to her. So, she doesn't like overly nice people, really. People who are polite 420% of the time and people who are super shy. kinda like 70% of the cast

HOWEVER
She does enjoy things that other people usually don't, one of them is being insulted, another one is people getting angry, there's also one where people are equally rude to her, and just a bunch of people who are just mean are the ones she likes being around.

She usually doesn't mind being insulted, its normally the same shit over and over again, she's heard it all, really. So when being insulted, she keeps the same straight face she always does and takes it, either ignoring or noting if its something different. She's developed this ability to just...not care, sometimes.

Skills: Fighting. Dodging. Insulting.
Hobbies: Killing bugs.

Background: GUESS FUCKING WHAT?

Eli lived normally.

She socialized, was like how she is now, people got used to it, people talked to her, Eli enjoyed most of them, learned some insults, went to a new grade, met the new kid, evaluated 'em, either ignored 'em or made friends, etc etc.

She just developed this personality early on because it was fun, and people that she met like her were fun to chat with. There were some bullies, but she couldn't give a fuck (ran out during middle school), so she just ignored them. If they suddenly decided to get physical, things turned for the worse.

People getting physical resulted in over 10 suspensions, maybe 3 expulsions, the latest bringing her to apply for this Orean shit and hope people didn't want to start fights with her, so she didn't have to bring out the worse side of her.

She's looking forward to a good, maybe boring, year.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optionals: Words and phrases.
"Fuck."
"Shit."
"Hell no."
"Shut the fuck up, you goddamn divvy."
"Get out."
There's lots more, I just can't think of 'em.
If ANYONE within the RP can even notice, she's a Scouser. You can look that up if you want to.

Likes: Killing bugs. Mean people.

Dislikes: Bugs. Nice people.

Theme song: I can't find one ;-;

Clubs: None.

Dreams: Get through school. Keep quiet for the remainder of her life.

[User]
Evelyn - "It's as if She were Dead..."

 Years ago, if one were to climb the stairs of the Orean CAuse Dorm Hall all the way to the fourth floor and press their ear next to the door labeled 412, what would they have seen? They would have bared witness to a dorm room already claimed by someone...someone with....odd tastes.

 The dorm was dark inside, windows blacked out with thick curtains and all the lights shut off, the only visibility given by the few rose red candles that dotted the area and the demure flickering of their tiny flames in a cold, chilling breeze about the room. Upon one of the dressers erected, a shrine of some sort...a ghastly looking statue of some demonic creature with a black, ebony blade lying next to it and a human skull with another candle silently melting and fusing with the heat of the bone. A black tapestry hung over one of the beds, elegantly and forebodingly displaying a silver pentacle amidst the shadowy shroud, along with a few posters, one with men wearing creepy masks, the other of some grisly maniac, and lastly a portrait of some ghastly family, and next to that bed was a sinister instrument, its body...as crimson as the sweet blood dripping from the frail neck of a virgin maiden, plugged into an amplifier...an amplifier that no longer droned with a static sound...just like the stereo on the old, dust covered dresser no longer played, and the red BC Rich Warlock....she no longer needed...

And that was just how Evelyn found her old dorm, still the same as she left it, the day she....went on...

Stepping into her old abode, it was like descending back through the past, the memories hitting her one after another like bullets from an M16 stuck to her head. A tear, warm and brimming with melancholy, it snaked down her cold, lifeless cheek and fell to the dusty hardwood floor, empty red eyes gazing to the bed she and Lisa once shared many a night, chatting, watching movies, playing videogames together...and...sharing their love for one another, a love....Evelyn could no longer feel. She sighed, a pain wrenching her heart as deeper she descended into the vicinity of the old dorm room, taking her usual spot, right there on the red couch in the center of the room. She swore as she passed her old bed, she could see the ghosts of herself and her sweet, beloved girlfriend, re-enactments of recollections....she no longer wished to possess. From behind her back she pulled the Hymn of Thanatos, her new wicked axe, and hardwired it into her Schecter Hellion amp-head, closing her eyes and letting her fingers carry her away into the darkness, her pick plucking at the thick metal strings and belting out the painful but beautiful masterpiece of melancholy and anger....that was Pantera's Hollow.

Hollow.....it was exactly how she felt. Nothing was left for her after all that...all that she endured for so long, and now the pain poured like blood from her fingers trailing up and down the neck of her guitar and plucking notes softly...at least before the heavy part kicked in and her foot slammed down hard on her distortion pedal...and her sadness...became anger...

[Assistant]
Bride

Bride turned to the person who answered his question, it was a girl still taller than him…he was quite short. "O-oh…okay t-thanks.." he bowed his head, showing thanks to the person, she must be new too since she was near the tour group. She introduced herself as Winnifer, it was a cute name….reminded him of some plant he called Winnie when he was young. He missed that plant...sad it had to die after his surgery. "Oh…I-I am Lavender….b-but you can call me B-bride." He gave a small smile the girl and shook he hand lightly, he wanted to make some new friends and she was really nice to him so he had to be nice a s well. He was not sure what to say next, he looked around wondering what to say. "uuhh.h….t-the s-school l-looks nice…" it's a start…

Iyo@Remipa Awesome

Iyo continued to dance his heart out, his dance members were sure getting a lot of people interested in the dance club with all of his dancing though he did a sugar break. Once the music stop he looked at his club mates and waved them off for a sugar break. "Be back! Need some sugar in my system!!" He waved them off as he went way form the crowd, he took out a chocolate bar, a packet of skittles, a mars bar and three chocolate chip cookies form his bag for his small sugar break. He ate the skittle pretty quick, as he loved the sugary feel. ""'mmmmmnnn……sugar!!" he sat down by the fountain to continue his sugar craze snack time. Iyo noticed a boy throwing a coin in the fountain, weird…wasting money on that…. He could have bought a candy with it! "Hmmm…. Social itme?" he said out loud to the guy, wondering what the heck he is talking about as he ate one cookie.

Penn

Penn was nervous to see his roommate pick up the papers but he didn't look at them, not that one thing he can be relaxed on. "N-no it-s fi-n-e…." He stuttered out, trying to give some distance with the guy. "t-thanks…" He still continued to avoid contact with the guy, he felt really small, not because he was quite small form the guy but the fact he had to self-confidence at all. He got a small watermelon candy form his pocket and ate it, it sort of help him calm down with scenarios like these but just a tiny bit. He sucked on the artificial flavored candy, trying to calm his nerve. Penn was still twitching and stuttering but the guy doesn't seemed to bad….he was not sure…. He couldn't trust anyone yet. "I-I-I ju-st…n-not u-u-used to-to pe-op-le…." He admitted a=that but he was to admitting that he was afraid of guys yet…it might weird the guy out.

[User] "Eh, I'm not a big fan of people either." Edward walks over to the kitchen area, "Hope you don't mind the equipment taking up a lot of your leg room at the desk." He opens the fridge and looks through the food they were provided with, "If your hungry I can make us something to eat." He pulls out a couple ingredients and turns on the stove and walks over to Penn while remembering to keep his distance, "How's Spaghetti sound?"

[Assistant]
Winifer
Winifer nodded her head. 'Awwwwww What a poor little baby. He's so cute with his stuttering. You have to become friends with this one. The poor wee lamb' Kikka chimed in Winifer's head very interested. 'Actually I don't have to do anything Kikka, but he does seem nice' Winifer thought trying her best to still look as though she was paying attention to what was it again..Bride. Yes Bride. Winifer thought about how strange a nickname that was before Bride mentioned the schools beauty. "Yeah,.....It's pretty" Winifer replied nodding slightly. 'Really Winni thats it. You need to interact better thats just not gonna cut it' Kikka warned ready to meddle. "So...where are you from" Winifer asked hoping to appease Kikka.

[User]
Bride

Bride couldn't help but to smile back, when he though about the school was really pretty…a bit more flowers and it would be wonderful but it was pretty. When Winnifer asked about where he was form he stopped smiling for a second, he had a hard life before…. Hospital, break ups, divorces in the family…it was a mess but he tired to be positive about things and gave a small smile. "I-I am from h-ere…but stu-died in a-nother school…I had to tra-nsfer…. My m-mom owns a flower s-h-shop near here." He answered, giving just a brief tale of how he got to Orean. "What a-about you?...I-if you m-mind me a-sking…" Bride couldn't stop stuttering, it a part of his sickness he had as a kid and that was the side affect of it.

Penn

Penn somehow laughed da bit, it was small laugh but still laugh, one thing in common…that's good. Edward… he tired to avoid thinking about twilight for a second…the movie ruined the name for him. "P-penn…" He said back, he looked on the equipment the guy had….he had a lot of techy stuff for sure but it didn't mind him just have a table and he is good…and some instant ramen. "I-It f-fine…j-just ne-need a d-desk th-that's all… oh y-you can coo-cook?..co-cool...t-that b-be ni-nice..." he slowly interacting with Edward but still avoided any contact form there, and if he stayed a good amount of distance its good enough.

[Assistant]
She laughed a bit at the way Monsieur le Blond almost went the entirely wrong way, and then followed him towards the building. That seemed to be a strange conversation, as Marci only heard Aaron speak, and not his sister. What was having siblings even like?

They seemed to argue about the whole 'morning' and 'map' thing before they finished the call. Marcia assumed that Aaron obtained the directions, and so they were finally allowed to get to the dorms. Well, they could have gone anyways, this way was just going to be much faster than running around the dormitory looking for room 211.

In no time, they had gotten to the dorm room.

211 was indeed the number Marci saw besides the door to the room. She decided to be polite, and said, whilst knocking on the door to be sure that her roommate were in there and would answer. "Thank you, Monsieur! You have helped me, I vill be sure to repay you one day!"

Marci took a cookie wrapped in paper towels, and took the paper towels off before biting into it. Her bags and suitcases were set behind her, and she was ready to step in whenever her new roommate decided to answer the door.


[System]
Species: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 34

Nationality: Outreman, previously citizen of Angjusk

Occupation: Deputy head of department - Cradle Research & Development

Cybernetics:
* Cradle quick-access implant - Allows access to and from the Cradle environment without additional hardware. This advanced module also reduces fatigue caused by the process, allowing power users multiple entries in a single day.
* Tier 7c 'Cradle Builder' suite - Grants access to the programs created specifically for 'terraforming' the Cradle. Tier 7 out of 20 allows Freyr to auto-build a variety of specialised equipment and propose-build mid level structures.
* Ilyes Brand communication and productivity module - Standard implant for access to Outremer's communications network. Also integrates with many well known productivity tools like a personal assistant, as well as more bespoke scientific tools.

Backstory:
Freyr was born on Angjusk, an older colony than Outremer that was renowned for its military materiel, particularly star ships.

Her mother was an innovations tsar assigned by the government to a consortium of the planet's largest ship manufacturers. During most of Freyr's childhood, her mother's sole task was making sure Angjusk battle fleets were the best money could buy in the Diaspora.

Before she was born, her father owned and operated a series of protein farms across Angjusk. After a chance encounter at a lobby meeting, he was headhunted to co-ordinate the military industrial complex's entire food supply chain. He also met his future wife, as it was Freyr's mother who had recommended him for the job on that fateful day in the lobby.

Freyr was born five years later. Her early life was a whirlwind of schooling, snatches of intimacy with her parents (when they weren't busy) and extended periods with friends. She discovered a natural capacity for learning and excelled in her studies. So much so that she received offers from universities across the Diaspora to come and develop with them.

Her mother and father both pressured her to consider diplomas like Interplanetary Relations or Agrarian Policy. However Freyr was not interested in pursuing a career in politics. Angjusk has been involved in at least a dozen small conflicts since Freyr had been born. She had seen how politicians would destroy entire cultures for the sake of influence, and wanted none of it.

In her first act of defiance, Freyr accepted a position at a school in Babylon, the main city of a far away frontier colony called Outremer. Driven more by the desire to have time away from her planet than by the subjects on offer, she researched what Outremer was known for. It was here that she first discovered the object powering this section of the Diaspora - the Cradle.

She quickly became obsessed with its untapped potential and seemingly unknowable past. She decided to pursue Xenobiology and Machine Intelligence as her subjects of interest, voraciously consuming the knowledge gathered so far on the Cradle.

It was here at the university that she met her future partner, David, who was studying art history. Isolated from her family and friends, alone on a strange planet, Freyr was glad of his unassuming company and kindness. They grew very close over the course of their degrees, and moved in together after graduation. Their daughter Amy was born a few years later.

After Uni, Freyr was picked up by an Outremer administration outreach team and placed in a government career fast lane. Her obsession with the Cradle made her an obvious choice for the Cradle Research & Development department. Once there, she quickly proved herself capable. Several breakthroughs in her first five years meant she was allowed to hand select a team of dynamic young individuals to help pursue her work. A couple more catapulted her into a deputy head of department role, to the ire of some of it's older and more entrenched members.

It was on her 34th birthday that the Cradle abducted her family. It had been acting strangely for weeks prior, rolling back years of terraforming. Freyr had been working round the clock to figure out why, practically living at her field office by the Border. David had bought sweet treats and had Amy with her.

What can only be described as creatures emerged from beyond the Border and overran the camp. A panic spread through the mostly unarmed workers, leading many to flee for their lives. Freyr's last memory of her family was being propelled across the camp by one of the creatures. She could only watch from her position immobile on the floor as they carried off her husband and little girl.

Security forces conducted a sweep of the immediate area beyond the Border, but found no sign of them. So Freyr began looking by herself as soon as her broken bones were reconstructed. Months went by. Her work stopped and her mental health deteriorated. Eventually she was placed on sick leave and her access revoked, after she attempted to use her influence to organise an armed excursion deep into the uncontrolled zone.

[User]
Vreta appeared more and more focused the more Freyr described the object. He could understand the reasons why the Humans had yet been unable to discover the mysteries contained within the object's shell, especially considering how important its continued functioning was to them. They could not risk damaging it, though ideas were coming to mind about how they could learn more even with all of those restrictions.

"Let's see…weightless it might be, but that would not remove the object's mass. An analysis of the local variances in gravitational forces, compared to the natural gravitational field produced by the planet around it, could allow us to calculate the average mass of the object as a whole. The gravitational field would be affected if it is being suspended in place by artificial gravitational fields, but we my people can easily detect artificial gravitational fields, and we should still be able to work backwards to find the object's average mass. A material analysis of the outer shell could at least reveal the alloy's density. With that, and the average mass of the total object, it would be a simple matter to calculate the upper and lower bounds of the shell's thickness. And if we were to take very granular observations of gravitational fields at different distances from the shell, maybe…"

Vreta's train of thought was interrupted when Freyr addressed him directly. He had his neural implant keep a note of his ideas so far, then nodded to Freyr. "Oh, yes. As the leader of your team, it would probably be best for you to introduce me."

[Assistant]
"Come then; we can pick this back up later." Freyr got up and led the way out of her office. The cacophonous racket from the builder drones had subsided now. Just a couple remained now with Human technicians to make the finishing touches to their new lab. At a glance, Freyr could see many of the main pieces she'd asked for. The captain had done very nicely in the short time available.

Freyr traversed one of the primary walkways around the edge of the lab from her office to the exit, Vreta and Masgard in tow. She could see a few of her team had already got stuck into the equipment, hooking up data pads and continuing as normal. However, the majority of the new arrivals had congregated in a break-out area with sofas and potted plants. So she called out to attract everyone's attention. "Good evening, everyone! Welcome to the OSC Barbarossa. Could i please speak with you all over here please?" The scientists in the lab area obediently dropped what they were doing and made their way over.

Freyr waited until everyone was in front of her before speaking, standing in the walkway with Vreta and Masgard at her sides. She smiled. "It's good to see you all in person for a change. I trust you made it here without incident?" A few people nodded their heads, but most were just waiting patiently for what she had to say. A few eyed up the tall lizard alien next to her. "We're about to embark on a two week journey to Rothia, to follow up a lead on a potential exo-Cradle object. I know some of you have family at home, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this sacrifice. I wouldn't have asked you if it wasn't vitally important to the whole of Outremer." Freyr's throat was bone dry after the scotch, so she gulped to try and moisten it. Most of the scientists had figured out this was going to be an extended trip, space voyages often were, but none of them would've known their destination until now.

"To help prepare us for our time on Rothia, we have Vreta'Sori with us. He's going to coach us on Rothian culture, capabilities and overall condition over the next two weeks. Once we're on Rothia, he will be our primary liaison with our Rothian co-researchers. Any questions so far?" One of the more junior scientists piped up immediately. "Does that mean we're supposed to share our research with the Rothians?" Masgard's hand quickly touched Freyr's arm, prompting her to stop with her mouth half-open as he answered. "Right this moment, that won't be necessary. But once we know what we're up against, we're to collaborate with the Rothians on any details that may be pertinent to the potential...exo-object." Freyr nodded quickly and turned to Vreta. "Vreta'Sori, would you like to say a few words?"

[User]
The Humans did seem to be making impressive progress on assembling their lab. Although it would not help them arrive on Rothia any sooner, it did seem that the scientists did not want to waste any of the time they had. That was something Vreta could appreciate, though he supposed it should not have been surprising. The Humans obviously did not want to let on to the full severity of the situation, but this deal they had made spoke to the desperate situation they were in. He doubted they had many more leads than to follow the threat of what that creature had lead them to. And if this was a desperate bid to save their planet, Vreta supposed he should be sure to approach the situation with the appropriate gravity.

Vreta had not had much time to prepare to speak, but he could adapt. With a glance and a nod down towards Freyr, Vreta quickly addressed the scientists. "I know that…many of you did not necessarily want to send yourselves to a world alien to you in a time like this. Outremer is the home you are trying to protect, and I do respect that. I will do what I can to make this transition painless. Rothia is a very different place from your home, I will say that, but as the heart of my people's civilization, it is also a safe place. We will provide all of the experts and resources we can to help solve this problem your world is facing. With our combined efforts, I am confident we will be able to return your world to a state of peace and stability. I will be distributing informative guides on the primary differences you should expect from Rothia, but if you have any questions for me, any of you may feel free to ask."

[Assistant]
All of the scientists watched Vreta intently as he spoke, but none spoke out with any immediate questions. Freyr thought they looked tired, just like her. After a pregnant pause, she jumped back in. "Thank you, Vreta'Sori. Now, I'd imagine you all want to find your new quarters and unpack your luggage. As a matter of fact, i'd quite like to know where we're staying too…" Freyr looked behind her at the lab. Just two technicians were left, fixing a wall divider/storage unit.

"Excuse me?" Freyr called to them. They didn't respond, so she tried a bit louder. They both looked up. "Where are our quarters?" The standing one pointed over his shoulder, to another set of blast doors on the other side of the lab. "If you have a comms implant , the ship should feed you a map, ma'am." One of them offered helpfully. Freyr thanked them and turned back to her team. "Let's get settled in and start fresh in the morning. Thank you all." The scientists began drifting off toward the blast doors with their luggage in hand.

A sudden hunger pang in Freyr's stomach reminded her that she'd hardly eaten today. "Have they shown you your quarters yet? I'd quite like to find some food." She asked Vreta, pulling up a map of the ship using her new clearance code to look for the nearest dispensary. "It seems our dorms have hot food and a dining area. Masgard?" Her lawyer shrugged. "I'm exhausted, but i suppose i could eat." Freyr grinned sleepily. "That's the spirit! Vreta?"

[User]
There had not been much for Vreta to say as of yet. Even if there had been, he could read the room enough to realize that it was not the best time to put the scientists through a cultural crash course. That could wait until their journey had commenced. Until then, he supposed there was no harm in winding down for the day, and he did agree with Freyr that some dinner was long overdue. If nothing else, Vreta wanted to try and relax to put the mental images of those Cradle creatures out of his mind. He was going to have nightmares about getting dragged into the ground by those thorny vines.

"I haven't seen my quarters yet, though I do have a map to their location. But yes, I would certainly like something to eat. I skipped lunch, after that whole event in the Cradle." Vreta answered.

---

Despite the size of the ship, its transit system did make traversing the vessel as quick and efficient as possible. Though, in any case, the civilian modules, like the lab, their quarters, and dining area, had all been placed in proximity to one another for convenience. That, and separating out the military and civilian components of the crew did tend to be better for both parties, or at least that was Vreta's perspective. Among Rothians, there could be quite a disconnect between the lives of civilians and those in military service.

In any case, as the dining area was intended for the civilian personnel, it was not quite so utilitarian as Vreta would expect from Human militaries. Again, the air was a bit cool for his tastes, but that would be true across the majority of the ship. He was pleased to see plenty of seating that looked like it could be comfortable, even for him, as well as a varied menu when he went to choose his dinner from the dispensary. Granted, a carnivore's idea of variety was in the number of different meats available, and Vreta ended up with steak, chicken wings, and a salmon fillet on his plate, along with a glass of red wine.

"Your military seems to be treating you and your fellow researchers well on this voyage. Is that a common treatment for you, or is this a special case?" Vreta asked.

[Assistant]
Freyr came to the long table with benches on either side holding a colourful chicken salad and a glass of water. She was feeling quite dehydrated following the scotch and didn't feel like drinking any more alcohol tonight. It was important they slept well and had a productive day tomorrow. They were in a spacious dining area adjoining the auto-dispensary and a kitchen area, in case the team were feeling the urge to cook for themselves. Three corridors split from this common room, leading to small but comfortable bedrooms for each of the team.

Freyr sat down facing Vreta across the table. Masgard sat down next to him. "I must admit, my work has not often taken me away from Outremer, so I don't know." Freyr said, tucking into her salad with a fork. "The facilities are pretty good though, so far. I guess they want us at peak performance." She could see Masgard had chosen a lot of different meats, like Vreta, and paired it with a bowl of Tullusk, a soup known for its calming qualities. "Am I right in thinking the facilities on Rothian worlds are all of a pretty high standard?" He asked as he demolished his food like he hadn't eaten in weeks.


[System]
Male, age 20 (Aug 11th)
Home: Thatcham, UK
Current Location: Abilene, TX, USA
5'10", athletic
Dyed red hair, brown eyes, & freckles. He usually wears a lot of leather + slim-fit pants, and has several ear piercings and a tongue piercing. He wears a lot of rings, too.
Biker aesthetic, owns a Kawasaki Ninja.

About:
Avery is from a wealthy family in south England. His sister left for the US about two years before he got his license at 16, and he hasn't seen her since. Holly the Banette was his starter. He moved to the US and finished school in New York, and takes online courses for a degree in zoology and is traveling the states.
Avery is one of the youngest Gym leaders in any Premier League, and is certainly the hardest. His ghost-type Gym is located in Tepoztlán, Mexico, the eighth and final Gym before the Central American Elite Four. He opens the Gym every fri-sun during October, November, and December as soon as the sun starts to set and accepts the last challenger two hours before sunrise. The Gym is a Aztec pyramid indistinguishable from other historic ruins. The inside is Day of the Dead – themed, with glow-in-the-dark paint, dim lighting, and handmade art and décor. While battling, Avery bears elaborate gemmed skull makeup and jewelry, and is typically shirtless with body paint, a large shoulder necklace, beaded harem-type pants, and combat boots.
Avery is currently in Texas, helping a college with natural collections. He received a banettite and mega bracelet from the head of collections of the Smithsonian.
Avery seems to radiate bad attitude, but he just has an intense rbf. He's very charismatic and has a smooth voice.
₽810,000

Cherry
Banette Lv. 68 3'11", 29.5lbs Female Insomnia (Mega: 4'03", 30.6lbs, Prankster ability)
Maverick
Houndoom Lv. 43 4'05", 72.2lbs Male Flash Fire
Teddie
Venomoth Lv. 62 4'11", 26.8lbs Female Tinted Lens
Max
Luxray Lv. 59 4'11", 101.8lbs Male Rivalry (Shiny)
Micah
Haxorus Lv. 63 6'7", 261.2lbs Female Unnerve (Shiny)
Fondant
Aurorus Lv. 61 9'00", 510.0lbs Male Snow Warning

Tepoztlán, Mexico
Ghost-Type Gym
Ossuary Badge
Lv. 53 Froslass
Lv. 53 Dusknoir
Lv. 54 Marowak
Lv. 55 Chandelure
Lv. 55 Banette (Mega)

[User]
"That son of a bitch..." Malcolm gritted his teeth. "Behind my goddamn back..."

Malcolm turned his back away from the male nurse, making his way to the door.

"Yeah you're right," Malcolm said, voice seething in rage. "That is a mistake. Sorry for bothering ya."

Malcolm made his way to the cold, but his burning temper kept him hot. He didn't know where he wanted to go, but he just walked until he found some reason to stop.

[Assistant]
Samantha smiled at Faye's enthusiasm. "I've only been a trainer for a few weeks. I don't know if I'm qualified to give anyone advice, but if I had to say something... maybe... your Pokedex. That thing can do almost anything. You can call for rides, answer help wanted adds, and ask it questions about pretty much anything. There's even a feature where you can name your Pokedex. I named mine Izzy. Once it has a name, you can say "Hey such and such", and it will listen to anything you have to say.

"And I haven't decided what my favorite kind of Pokemon to breed are yet. I only have five Pokemon so far... Hey, you wanna have a friendly battle? How many Pokemon do you have?"

---

The car that arrived for Bryan was plain looking enough. It was solid white, but with the Pokemon Association's Logo on the hood of the car and on the roof. The man driving the car, stopped on the sidewalk right in front of Bryan and rolled down his window. "You Bryan, right!? I'm your ride! Hop in!"

Twenty minutes passed without much excitement or talking between the driver and Bryan. Traffic was horrible, but somehow the driver didn't seem bothered. He was a stone wall of no emotion.

The whole trip took 40 minutes, (only twenty minutes quicker than it would have been to walk). "This is you." The driver said over his shoulder. The courteous, obligatory smile on his face was fading fast.

---

Malcolm was literally freezing to death. His stubbornness was the only thing keeping him moving. He hardly even noticed the car pull up behind him, until the blue lights flashed, and a spotlight was on him.

"Sir." The officer spoke out of his rolled down window. "You can't be out here in this weather. You'll die." Very carefully the officer got out of his car, and another officer got out of the passenger side. "Let me take you to the station. You can stay in holding till the sun comes up." The officer was careful not to approach to quickly or seem aggressive. His body was shaking in the cold, despite many layers.

[User]
That bastard... Going behind my back.. Malcolm thought to himself as he walked the streets of Casper, his rage fueling each step he took. He was too busy muttering to himself to notice the blue lights flashing behind him.

"Sir. You can't be out here in this weather. You'll die."

"Huh?" Malcolm turned towards the police officer. "Say what?"

"Let me take you to the station. You can stay in holding till the sun comes up."

"Oh no," Malcolm politely began, not wanting to anger the officer. "Thanks but I'm-"

But as Malcolm finished his sentence, the sensation of the freezing cold elements hit him all at once. The anger that was keeping him warm had melted at the police officer's kindness. He began shaking wildly, and grabbed the sides of his shoulders.

"E-e-e-xactly, yeah... Thank you..." Malcolm made his way to the cop car.

[Assistant]
To Faye that is very interesting and helpful, she pulls out her Pokédex and names it Savannah. She listen to Samantha and smiles, she puts her Pokédex back into her bag. She is happy that someone challenge her to a Pokémon battle, this will give her some condfence in herself to keep battling with her Pokémon.

"I only have two Pokémon but I accept your Challange."

[User]
Bryan's ride arrived within a few minutes of him requesting it. A plain, white, four-door decorated with the Pokemon Association's seal came to a stop at the curbside in front of him. The driver, all business, quickly beckoned Bryan into the vehicle. Complying, Bryan sat himself and buckled up in the back. For the duration of the drive, which took an oddly long time, based on Bryan's previous experience with riding through the city, was uneventful save for the traffic. The driver wasn't the talkative type, which suited Bryan, as he wasn't typically one to make conversation with people when they were focused on their work. The only activity over the course of the forty minutes that followed was Ev wandering about the back seat watching the people and other Pokemon along the streets as the car made its way through the city. Bryan spent the time doing the same, as well as observing Ev's reactions; Ev always proved a comfort to him, even in his worst of times.

If anything bad happens to you...

The car came to a stop outside of the hospital. The driver turned to Bryan. "This is you," the driver said.

Bryan noticed that the courteous smile that the man had been holding to was waning. Not keen on agitating his ride, Bryan began to unload from the car. Grabbing his backpack from the floor next to him, and calling for Ev he made his exit. "Thank you," he said to the driver as he exited the vehicle, discretely leaving leaving a ten dollar bill on the center console next to the driver once his back was turned again; he wasn't sure if it was typical to leave a tip for IPA drivers, but hoped that it would at least be taken as a good gesture of appreciation.

A minute later, Bryan was approaching the hospital's reception desk. "Good evening," he said to the receptionist. He presented his Trainer ID, setting on top of the desk. "Do you have any rooms available for a trainer and Pokemon?"

[Assistant]
The ride to police station was quiet, peaceful almost. When they made it to the station, the cops took Malcolm's belongings (including his Pokeballs) and checked them in at the front desk. They also gave him a pat down to be sure he wasn't carrying any weapons or hidden Pokeballs and had to have him take off his shoes (to everyone's dismay).

There wasn't a bed to sleep on in the holding room; it was just a wide open room with nothing in it but a bench that was attached to the wall and ran its entire length. There was no privacy either, as the doors and front wall were steel bars painted white, and the lights left no shadowy corner. In one of these well lit corners, a sleeping man with a rising and falling beer-belly would be Malcolm's temporary roommate.

Still, at least he wasn't out in the cold...

---

"That's okay." Samantha answered back. "I spent the last few days camping by a river. I caught two Pokemon while I was out there. This will be their first battle." She then stood up from the table with her now empty tray. "Come on, there's a little park outside around the corner. I saw some people battling out there earlier. We better hurry, it's going to be to dark to see soon."

A few minutes later, the two trainers were outside. They stood across from each other on a grass field. "Come on out Clauncher!" Emerging from her Pokeball, the little Clauncher looked around, slightly confused, before realizing what was going on and snapping her claws together in anticipation. "She's not used to traveling by Pokeball yet. Anyways, who are you gonna use first?" Samantha smiled, wide and friendly.

---

"Why yes we do." The kind lady behind the desk answered. She then took Bryan's trainer card for a quick scan. After scanning it, she came out from behind the counter and motioned for Bryan to follow. "Right this way." The lady then led Bryan to the nearest elevator, where she stopped and gave him general directions on how to get to his room. "Check out is at 1pm, unless your staying another night with us. Of course, like all Poke Centers, we have a two night maximum. Breakfast will start at 7am and stop at noon. And... yeah... That's pretty much it. Any questions?"

Bryan's room was on the tenth floor. It was small but cozy, and it had everything he needed. By all accounts, it was like any economy hotel room, including a shower, a TV, and a full size bed. It would be enough for him and his Pokemon.


[System]
Appearance: Alex is about 5'11" and is as you see him. He engages in regular exercise and is fairly fit despite what people may think. He isn't some scrawny nerd, even if he is only human.
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Skills: Alex isn't quite the business man his father is, nor does he seem to possess the same will to fight crime and do the whole hero thing. Still, as a human, Alex's skill set consists of the following:
1) Super-Genius Class Intellect: Self explanatory. Right??
2) Expert Engineer: He is an excellent engineer and mechanic capable of fixing almost any, if not all machinery.
3) Expert Tactician: He is a brilliant tactician capable of quickly formulating battle strategies and new plans if the situation changes, like being able to elaborate different complex plans in order to defeat different enemies in difficult situations, and be victorious.
4) Skilled Combatant: He has received training in unarmed combat from Captain America, Black Widow, and Black Panther thanks to Rhodey. Thus, he has become quite physically formidable on his own when the situation demands it.
5) Trained Marksman: He knows how to handle firearms, mainly the ones he or his father has produced.
6) Multilingual: Apart from English, Tony can speak different languages, including Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and others.
Powers: Because he is a human, Alexander doesn't have any biological superpowers, nor has he been enhanced in any real way. Thus, his only power would come from using an Ironman suit.
Personality: I want to RP it.
History: Alexander is the son of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. However, due to certain circumstances, his mother had gone missing when he was a baby. Because of this, Tony thought it best to leave the child in the protective custody of his best friend, James Rhodes. Because of this, even though Tony would send gifts and money when he could, he wouldn't visit to avoid his son's presence being found out. Alex, being a child, never really got it. And understood even less when his father continued to leave things like this even as he got older. He began to see Rhodey as more of a good role model and father figure. Part of him wanted to understand what Tony was doing, but he still began to resent the man. He could have done something. it felt like he was pawning him off to Rhodey for no reason other than he didn't want all the responsibility to himself. These among other things is why he sees himself a bit more as a Rhodes than a Stark. But he is just a teenager. He's yet to learn various things.
Other: I don't know. I feel like this could have been better. the history I mean lol...

[User] "She did. I might have even started to love her." Tristan said as he turned to leave. "But I don't think I can go back to New York just yet. I ended up with a few new abilities. Might need to stick around here for a while until I learn to control them. Besides, my current doctor is here." He said quickly changing the subject. "Anyway. I'll leave ya to it. But give signal or something if ya need help." He said before jumping off the building and swinging off. Of course, he wasn't going back yet. He figured he could find a crime or two to stop. Little crimes that might not show up on a police scanner.

[Assistant] Abi blushed under her mask. When he left she took her mask off and put her face in her hands. "Dammit Tristan your making this harder for me. How much longer are you going to be here. I don't know how much longer I can keep the secret from you. Stupid pest." She said. Abi decided that tonight she just walk through the alley ways looking for small crimes instead of the big crimes. Abi got up returning her mask to her face and hiding her bag. She jumped off to the ground and started walking around aimlessly.

[User]
Not long after leaving Spider-man heard a scream. "Yup. Just like a thought." He said as he came to the alley the scream came from. This situation was deja vu. Two guys. One girl. She was terrified. They were cocky. Like they would never be stopped or caught. Too bad he was here. "Yo guys. Why not leave the girl alone?" He asked as he landed behind them. The girl looked relieved. "Get out of here punk!" One shouted as he threw a punch back. Spidey easily caught it. "Nah." He said as he before the guy screamed. He hadn't done anything tho... Wait... There was blood. He lifted his hand. Talons? Fuck. He'd been careless.

"Sorry about that. Kind of getting a handle on my new..." He immediately needed to flip backwards avoiding a kick. "Got a little skill there huh?" He chuckled before landing and throwing a punch. "Bad thug." He joked as he hit him and subsequently kicked the other as he got up and attempted an attack. He easily knocked each out. "You alright?" He asked the girl. "You should get out of here." He said. She nodded after answering and soon left. "Wonder what else I can stop." He said with a smile under his mask.

[Assistant] Luna had watched him from the shadows. She decided to follow him for the time being because too much crime fighting could be bad for her side.

[User]
As he left Tristan knew he was being followed. Still, he didn't say anything. The pursuer wasn't particularly dangerous. Spider Sense would have alerted him. That night he must have stopped twenty-three crimes in progress. Little things. It was a good night. He was getting a better grip on what he was good at and what needed work. So he could talk to the doctor, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Peter and MJ tomorrow. "Better call it a night." He said before heading back to his hotel room.

------------------------The Next Day------------------------

Tristan woke up. After he'd gotten back he waved to his pursuer and then closed his balcony window. Seeing as how nobody came in after, he assumed it was fine to go to sleep. Which he did, after taking off the suit. He was in his underwear now. "Right..." He yawned before he heard a knock. He opened it. It was a maid. She blushed seeing him. He apologized and asked her to give him a moment, which of course, she did. He quickly got dressed and hid his Spider-Man uniform away in his book bag. After that he let her in so she could clean and went to see Peter and MJ. It took a little while of convincing but he got them to a point where revealing his powers and the fact that he'd need to stay in Miama for a while was okay.

They went to see the doctor after that. Peter offered to come, but Tristan didn't want him to have to leave MJ. And asking them to uproot their lives would be dumb since he would be returning to New York after he got settled. They spent the rest of their vacation together with him going on each night to patrol and get a feel for his abilities and Miami as a whole. And that was the end of it.

------------------------Two Months Later------------------------

Tristan had gotten a small apartment and was going to school. He had been approached for a few clubs and extracurriculars, but he never joined. He did however, often help various groups with whatever he could. Whether they were girls teams or boys teams, if it was a request he could handle he did it. Then he had his after school job. He couldn't have Peter and MJ pay for everything. Things were rather casual. He couldn't really complain especially when he'd gotten so much better at using his powers, the new ones especially.

Often he'd run into Luna. She was so familiar. Most nights he had to stop himself from calling her Abi. But she was dead. There was no way. So he usually ended up sulking for a good amount of the night. In this time though he'd gotten himself into the small habit of having a drink here and that. Never when he was going out of course. Besides, even if he got drunk, he would get over it much quicker than the average person due to his healing ability. It wasn't like he was an alcoholic.

Today marked his second month in Miami. He had woken up, made himself some breakfast, and had gotten himself to school. He was currently walking down the hall heading to his classroom. He said hi to people, and waved to others, a smile on his face. And soon he'd be at class. It was kind of easier here. Nobody really knew him so the whole nerd act wasn't needed.

[Assistant]
(I'm going to call Abi Lydia for the time being while I post)

Lydia opened her eyes as the morning sun streamed in through her window. Last night had been hell. The police are giving her more hell now that Spiderman is in their city. Originally they just tolerated her vigilante acts because it did help the city while causing destruction and unwanted help. Now with Spiderman, being more of a well known liked superhero, around they despised her even more wanting to just have her in chains. The police were chasing her more and even have been shooting at her, in harmless locations of course, in order to slow her down. Why not just tranqualizer guns you may ask. Who the hell knows?! By Lydia was exhausted now and it showed.

Lydia forced herself out of bed and she took a quick shower before putting on makeup to make herself look less tired and to cover up the bruise on her cheek from a fist fight with a perp. That's another problem she was having now. The stupid spider sticking around was becoming a distraction. I mean it was the guy she cared for majorly that she had run away from. He was just making himself known in her territory. Lydia shook her head breaking her thoughts from Tristan.. again. She got dressed in an over-sized green sweater and black jeans with black cargo boots. Her dyed jet black hair still pretty wet as she left for school. She walked into school and then straight to her class sitting at her assigned spot at the middle of the room next to the window. She stared out the window waiting for the class to begin.

[User] Tristan had gotten to class. He'd been placed in the Doctor's class by S.H.I.E.L.D. and always sat in the back. He wasn't tired in particular, but he wasn't particularly active either. He answered questions when called on otherwise he laid low and took notes. Neat notes. Anyone cool learn about this stuff with his notes. Math, English, Science, all of his notes for the various classes were immaculate. He let out a small yawn not paying particular attention to anyone.

[Assistant] Lydia listened throughout the class trying hardest not to fall asleep, it was not easy. Not one bit. She heard the bell ring and she quickly rushed to the library for her free period.

[User] Tristan had packed up a bit early having finished his notes himself. He only listened to confirm he was right, which he was. And without anything else he left for his next class Passing Lydia. "Oh hey." He said with a smile before going in the opposite direction to head to where he needed to be.

[Assistant]
Lydia sat in her classroom, the time just a bit after one. All was peaceful for the students until a loud bang was heard followed by a crashing sound as if the roof just collapsed in the middle of the hallway. Shortly following that a high pitch scream sounded. Everyone shot up and ran towards the door, Lydia near the front. In the middle of the hallway was a man who was burnt and had metal in him. He looked like a monstrosity, he was basically a monster now. He looked at all the students and opened his mouth, "WHERE IS THE ONE WHO HAS RADIATION COURSING THROUGH THEM?! WHERE IS THE ONE CALLED RAD GIRL!" He roared out trying to pinpoint what he needed. He needed to fuel his new body with radiation and he had tracked radiation to the school. He had found Abi.

Lydia kept a blank face as she ran with the crowds from him. She turned a corner and went to her locker. She grabbed what she needed and went into the Janitors closet throwing on her wig, putting in her contacts and putting her costume on. She hid her backpack with her clothing under a bucket. She grabbed her sword and ran through the crowds towards the monster. He was trying to grab students to see if they had radiation in them and he needed to be stopped. Luna watched as a girl tripped over rubble and twisted her ankle. The man/monster looked at her and roared in anger knowing she didn't have any radiation in her. He was going to slam his fist down on the innocent girl when he felt his hand clash with Luna's sword. Luna pushed his hand off of her sword and stood in front of the girl protectively as he tried to slam his fist down again. "Come on spidey. I know you are here, I need you to get this girl out of here so I can fight him." She muttered to herself as she withstood the weight and pressure from his metal arm pushing down on her sword.

[User] "Sorry ugly. Hate to break it to ya, but Rad girl's kinda gone." Spider-man said as he swung just over Abi kicking the monster square in the chest sending him flying back a bit. "Yo Luna. How have ya been? Getting work done I hope." He said calmly. He noticed the girl. "Maybe you should get her out of here. And come back and help. It'll be better for your image. Maybe get the boys in blue off your back every once in a while." He said with a slight chuckle completely prepared for another attack.

[Assistant]
The monster growled and pounced towards spiderman. "No I tracked her gamma radiation to here." He growled throwing a punch.

Luna nodded and grabbed the girl carrying her out since she was too scared to walk. Luna walked to an ambulance and set her down before running past the cops that finally noticed her back into the school and to spiderman.

[User] Tristan grit his teeth under his mask. "I'm telling you she's gone!" He threw himself back as if he were going to do a back flip. However, rather than flipping he kicked upwards aiming at the beast of a man's chin.

[Assistant]
"Well maybe your wrong spiderboy." The monster said as he was kicked. He didn't move all but a step backwards his head as he reached to grab spidermans leg at the same time he was kicked. At the same time Luna ran in and got a punch in with half her strength causing him to lose balance and miss grabbing spiderman.

"Hit him again while he's off balance." Luna said pulling her sword back out at the same time.


[System]
Species : Elf
Gender : Female
Age : 54
Height : 175

Jazdia is a tall elven woman with a pale complexion, blue eyes, and long, waist-length platinum blonde hair that she often let untied. Elves are all born beautiful and Jazdia was no exception. Her attractiveness is often described as an eternal winter barely touched by the sun's embrace. But that's just another way for the gentlemen to adore her face that seemed to always sport a perpetual frown. At least that's original.

Former leader of a peacekeeping organization, Jazdia understands it would be in her best interest to omit such details from her MO. Not that she is a wanted criminal or anything; she ended her tenure on a relatively high note actually. The thing about working as law enforcement is you will have no shortage of old enemies who would persistently try to even the scales with you even after retirement, and Jazdia does not wish to be tangled with such... nuisances.

So now, she is just Jazdia. An adventurer, restaurateur, and tea connoisseur. Yeah, just put that in her business card.

Traits and spells:

-Blood Phobia (passive)
Taking damage would result in lower combat efficiency. Jazdia will start sweating, having a shaky aim and blurred vision. At a certain threshold, her Ultravision cannot be activated.
-Curse of the crimson flame (passive)
Resting near any fire or under the sun would slowly regenerate her power and heal her wounds. However, any healing magic cast on her would instead deal damage.

-Arrow Enchantment.
Channels magic into her arrow. Can only use one type of arrow in a single turn. Has three flavors:
A. Crystal Arrows.
Glorified fireworks with an equally destructive explosion contained inside. Can be programmed to either explode upon impact, delayed, or remote detonation.
B. Crystal Arrows
Non Explosive variants, but hot as hell it pierces through plates and mails like a hot knife through butter. Armor Piercing, nuff said.

-Counter
Any close-range attack will be answered with heavy retribution. Figuratively speaking, sometimes this extended to the non-combat situation. Proceed with caution.

-Ultravision
Channeling magic to enhance her vision, Jazdia can see pass through solid objects and magical manipulation such as illusion and darkness. Imposes varying degrees of strain on her body depending on the area covered and elapsed duration. Prolonged abuse of this skill might result in myopia and gradual blindness.

-Vengeance
At this point, taking heavy damage would no longer weaken her. Now she is faster and deadlier and angrier. The third flavor of her enchanted arrows unlocked:
C. Poison arrows. Deals heavy damage over time. The enemy killed by this arrow will have their body burst into a swarm of black lepidopteran that attacks nearby hostiles until either they or the caster died, or the effect expires. At the end of its fleeting lifespan, the insect will return to the caster and heals her wounds. Has 3 days of cooldown.

Equipment
-Lurea
A recurve black bow adorned with gold and silver linings on its limbs. Has an absurdly light draw weight of 44 pounds.
-Maugrim
A long knife with ivory handle and elven runes inscribed on its blade.
-Medium-sized satchel bag
A plain-looking bag that doesn't seem too out of fashion despite being designed with function in mind.
-Pocket watch
A momento from her father. Well maintained and functioning properly.
-Medikit
Generic first aid kit.

[User]
Kaito looked on as Yvonne smashed someone's jaw in with her mace, while Chounan was decapitating the captain with a quick slash of his Katana. And this all happened right after Jazdia had blown a few of the thugs to pieces. It made the fox wonder if he should have killed that thug instead of making him throw away his weapons and have him run for his life.

The Kitsune looked around and noticed that they had gained control of the courtyard. The Black Serpent members that had been present outside had all been taking care off and his group did not seem to have sustained any injuries. So far the operation went well. However inside the headquarters there might be more thugs waiting for them. The explosion in their courtyard should have been heard by the ones inside.

Kaito made his way back to Jazdia as it was time to start the next phase.. "That went pretty smooth so far. Can you see what awaits us inside? I can go in as the captain if needed." Spoke Kaito as he pointed at the bodiless head of the man Chounan had just killed.

[Assistant]
"That went pretty smooth so far. Can you see what awaits us inside? I can go in as the captain if needed."

Jazdia walked closer to the door and activated her eyes. "There is no need for that. The upper floors were empty, and all activities seemed to be concentrated in the basement. The passage to reach the place was a straight line downward. Aisles and slope stairs with several rooms on the left and right. The opposition was minimal. Anything beyond that is still unknown."

The group entered the place, and as the sun rose behind them, their sky was fading as they went deeper.

And indeed no one challenged them. The passage was large, sufficiently lit, and rather clean. The rooms Jazdia described were barred from the outside. Devoid of lives save several flares of life force that deteriorate slowly. At the end of the aisle was a large metal door that stood unguarded, but no one couldn't shake the feeling that something sinister was waiting for them.

As they walked closer, the boisterous noise of cheering audiences could be heard. Jazdia activated her eyes again. Whatever behind that door was a distorted image, blurry and sometimes dark. The place was crowded, with many voices; men, women, gruff, meek and booming. Amidst the chaos, she saw a glimpse of a man with a prominent jawline and long gray hair, sitting proudly on his throne.

"There was a barrier that repelled my power, but it was incomplete."

She took a deep breath, already feeling the strain when she tried to bypass the interference.

"But I see our man. He is there..."

[User]
The entire place was devoid of life. Fucking weird, that's what. Those idiots outside in the courtyard could've completely entrench themselves in here and that'll actually buy some time but nooo. They stand around outside with their thumbs up their arse and any hope of resistance distingetrate within seconds.

Yvonne didn't like how this looks.

"Why is it barred from this side? Big man locked himself in there?" The mercenary strode forward, carefully testing the slab of wood. It wouldn't budge easily. "This smells rotten, but even if there's trap we still need to get in there yeah? Your call, boss."

Glancing around a side room, Yvonne procured a table which she dragged to the corridor and overturned on its side, forming a makeshift barrier right before the metal door. If nothing else it'll provide some arrow cover if the nature of the trap was mundane men, but she really doubt that'll be the case.

[Assistant]
[GM Post]

The party was roused at the crack of dawn by a red-eyed Matilda, who seemed like she barely got a wink of sleep overnight. Thanks to Cedar and Anderson's effort they managed to restore the saddles into working condition. While setting off for Hdur immediately was preferable, doing so on empty stomach would benefit no one - thus a quick ride back to the camp where breakfast was prepared and food supply stocked as quickly as possible before the departure.

"May you have an eventful trip, Ser and Madam." Anderson saluted at the departing party, now one man less than when they came. "If I find anything I'll send a messenger."

The sun still hung low in the east when the party departed. Cedar's figure would've been an eye-catching one under normal circumstances, but thankfully the traffic between Hdur and the royal forest was practically nonexistent. Cant be conspicuous if there's no one to spot him be inconspicuous.

*****

The village of Hdur was a relatively prosperous one, though still quite some way from growing into a town. Sitting in a fertile lowland with easy access to a forest for hunting nearby, a sizeable bog was discovered not long after the village was settled. This lead to a particularly important export of relatively cheap iron products, for the bog turned out to be a very rich source of bog iron.

That said, agriculture still remain the largest portion of the populace. Grain field and vegetable patch and pastures and cattle pens spread out from the farms like gigantic spiderweb, no sign of planning in their placement. At the center of the village was the square, one one side was the tavern that doubled for inn while opposite of it sat the smithy side by side to the ore smelters and the fletcher. On the far side of the village where the lowland gently slope into a small hill sat the lord's manor, a knight by the name Sir Rabe who governed with surprising competence contrasting the man's complete lack of ambition.

The entire place was a picture of idyllic countryside, their walls barely qualify as fences to keep wild animals out. Now, where should the investigation begin?

[User]
"Hmmm. When it comes for a risk. It will be my pleasure." Chounan spoke up to everyone.

The ronin went ahead Yvonne and stick near on the metal door. Chounan used his Ki to activate his inner self improving his senses on the surrounding for the greater effectiveness. The Ki-sensing detected the ambushers' breathing, fast heartbeats and their stances with the shaking from the long period of time holding of their weapon. He prepared his shurikens that match the number of the ambushers.

As the metal door slowly open, Chounan quickly slipped inside on the sufficient gap between the door and door jamb. Everything become slow mo on Chounan's surrounding, he quickly readied his shurikens to hurled pricely onto the first ambusher who was the fastest to respond then continuously hurling precisely until the slowest responder. As he hurled the last piece, he dove onto the ground to rolled to the nearest toppled table for cover. He readied his bow to protect Yvonne and the rest of the team from the unwanted with an accurate shooting while in crouching position.

[Assistant]
"But I see our man. He is there..."

Jazdia hadn't finished her report when the Rosenving Daughter flipped a table and make a barrier. While Chonan... well the oriental man was not content with just preparing.

"Hmmm. When it comes for a risk. It will be my pleasure." He announced. Despite his calm disposition, his words were laced with unadulterated excitement. He moved forward, opened the door, and slithered in.

"No! Wait!"

It was the first time Jazdia raised her voice since the operation began, and she immediately followed inside. A sharp groan of agony assaulted her hearing when she entered the room, then the sounds of whimperings and gasps. A silhouette in the shape of a human was slumped, followed by a thud.

The room was dark, the torches were extinguished, leaving two spheres of ember glowing in the haunting darkness. When Jazdia reignited them and brought back the lights into that room, the atrocities became apparent.

The room was separated in two. The first section had a stone beam directly facing the door. On that beam chained two humans. One human was dead, a shuriken embedded on his forehead. The other human, a female, had a throwing star stuck on her neck, and her body was spasming. The last Shuriken landed on an unused pillory.

'Please! Please have mercy!" cried one of the slaves as the light from the torches revealed their faces. In the corner of the room was a large cage with eight humans imprisoned inside. Males, females, and children, all mixed in one place. Their condition ranges from malnourished, to injured and mentally broken.

One of the younger slaves reached out, showing her hand with three stumped fingers. "It hurts! I want to go home! Ma! I will behave! Ma!"

[User] The ronin fell into unexpected trap. His emotionless brought into a surprise reaction. Forcefully kneeled himself on the floor. His shaking hand and loud panting will be noticed. He grabbed his katana and stick into his neck, it was just amount for him to cut his head but the whole body was paused. His life energy turn into an overflowing presence of Shura. His conscious is lost, something is controlling him. This something made his body stood up and keep the katana. A grinned on his face and the body is heading where the Geralt located.

[Assistant]
Door was opened. Exotic guy went in. Sparky followed, clearly worrying over something. Then there's noises of things dying with distinct lack of weapon clash. Yvonne was only a moment late to the entrance, fully expecting to be greeted with quarrels but there's no resistance.

No, there couldn't even be any resistance. Sparky lit up the room to reveal the slave holdings, likely low-quality goods from how they're mistreated. Yvonne's nose wrinkled in distate at these people, noticing the corpse and a soon-to-be corpse that was definitely killed recently. She spared the adventurer a sympathetic glance.

"You couldn't have known, mate." So that's why the place's barred from the outside. Which lead to the question, where's their target and what he's doing locking himself in here? "Let's keep going, boss. We cant afford the delay."

Whether it was trust or carelessness, the mercenary failed to notice her ally's transformation behind her.