[System]
Nickname: Wet Willie, W.W.

Normal:

GM:

Gender/Age: Male / 19

Gamer Title: w3t_w1ll1

Chosen Game Mastery: Worms Armageddon
Passive Abilities
* Becoming a 4' tall worm
* Supply drops randomly teleporting or parachuting from the sky
* Explosion-resistant body

Active Abilities
* Usage of all Worms Armageddon weapons (some may be locked, some ammo limited)
* Activation of an aiming marker that allows perfect ballistic precision. Enemies can see where you're aiming though.
* Backflip!

Personality:
Although he'll never admit it, William loves company. He very much appreciates public approval, and thus can enjoy repeating the same party trick over and over if the crowd cheers. He is fairly easy to manipulate in this way, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Despite any first impression that his gloating may create, Will is always willing to teach and to learn. As easy as he is to anger, he is easy to make reprimands with.

Background:
William grew up in a world of cruel positive feedback: If you're chubby, nobody picks you for football, so you go home and play videogames, end up chubbier, and vice versa. And our hero's over-developed imagination has made the world of virtual achievements even more alluring. His parents weren't rich, so he would usually own a one-generation-ago system and would trade in games to keep new ones flowing. Until eventually simple PCs became cheap enough for his parents to afford.

His preference for games built for careful planning (as opposed to quick response) naturally pulled him towards turn-based tactics such as Commandos, Heroes of Might and Magic, and of course, Worms. He became ridiculously good at the latter, and his grenade trick-shots became the talk of the lan-party. Between the super-sheep and the holy-hand-grenade, William felt right at home. Hell, if he could, he would live among them, in perpetual contest of Last Man Standing, armed with surprisingly accurate 2nd-order dynamics and ridiculous explosives...

Other: The first video game I remember playing was a chinese version of this:

It was colored differently and was on one of those "1001 in 1" custom systems. This was the early 90s I think. Once I immigrated to Israel we got a NES and the real fun began, with games such as Super Mario Bros, weird chinese DBZ stuff, Metroid and all the other popular titles. The first PC game was DooM, at a friend's house (since my parents couldn't afford a PC). The first PC game on my own rig was "Ashes to Ashes", which is a kind of sci-fi doom ripoff, as well as various demos such as Duke Nukem 3D, Wolfenstein, And that one weird first person spaceship game that I spent hours on but don't remember the name. The first Tomb Raider was the first true 3D game I think.

This is enough "other", yes?

[User] Alex hung back and took shots as necessary. He really didn't feel like wasting any arrows. When he heard David mention the fire bombers, Alex swiftly moved past the hollows fairly easily until he came close to the bombers. He raised his bow and took shots at the hollows taking the aggro so that any other ranged fighter could finish them while he avoided their attacks.

[Assistant] Amethyst was playing extremely cautious compared to the rest of them, making sure each shot counted while keeping a considerable distance away for a ranged fighter. She didn't want to get overly cocky, and with how diverse their group was, she was also watching their backs in a way. After all, she realized early in her training that she had very... interesting ways of healing someone, and so she would make sure that they would make it all home safe. This in turn made her notice Alex taking aggro of some hollows, picking up on what he was attempting to do and aiming at one of them. Steady, precise... She felt compelled to do so. Even if she didn't see herself as the leader, she still saw that it was her duty as a ranger and as a medic to bail anyone out if they got into trouble.

[User]
Realizing that the team held an overwhelming advantage over the hollows, he spend what felt like the next several hours teaching anyone unfamiliar with Dark Souls the intricacies of the franchise, especially how simple it is to grind out an area like this by 'resetting the world' at a bonfire. With his knowledge of the game and his team's ever-growing experience, David led the group all the way through the Undead Burgh, and up the tower towards the wall overlooking all of Lordran. All that remained was the boss, the Taurus Demon, that patrolled the wall.

"Alright everyone, gather up" he said as he stepped to the front of the group "Beyond this gate of fog and smoke is our first real challenge, the first proper boss fight. So here's the plan....."

But it was all for naught, for just as the group stepped beyond the gate, psyched up and confident in their plan to steamroll the Demon, they found no challenge awaiting them. Instead, on the far side of the wall, they saw the great beast slumped and defeated, heaving its last breaths, kneeling in front of it, they made out the shape of a human, glowing a deep blood-red hue. It moved swiftly, cutting the Demon's throat and absorbing its soul. It stood and turned towards the heroes, gave a snarky wave, and vanished into thin air.

"What the..???" David frantically tapped at the device on his arm "Navi, what the hell?"
"It's the Default. It appears they have an avatar in a separate rendering of the game world, and they discovered the best way to impede your progress would be to use the invasion mechanic to steal the soul you need to progress"
"What are our options here?"
"If they claim the key construct before you, they will have a clear advantage going forward, and all of your efforts to this point would be rendered futile. Scanning. . . Complete. I can harness the game world's natural corruption to move you towards the second challenge. Of course, it appears that the missing soul will be necessary as you move towards the third challenge... Analyzing.... I've found a fragment of code that may be of service. You will be able to obtain an item to invade the Default world as they have yours, by tracking down the avatar and defeating it, you will be able to reclaim the first soul"

David turned to the others "What do you think guys?"

[Assistant] Aliron had been looking forward to fighting an enemy that provided more of a challenge only to have it robbed as they got there. Talk about a KS. Aliron listened to Navi's explanation and shrugged, "Well it seems to me we won't be able to progress as some point due to this meddler so we'll have to take him out sooner or later. What's more if we try to continue he'll likely interfere once again. We should take care of it as soon as possible." It was the most logical course of action to take. Plus there was no way he would stand a chance against the entire group, in Dark Souls fighting two of anything was challenging, more than that was just hell.

[User]
William The Worm was too distracted to pay attention to David The Knight. He has been staring at a small floating screen that described his 'character' for quite a while now, at an obvious loss about what to do. One of the biggest problems he always had in these games is getting his levelups wrong in the beginning, making the first few chapters a living hell.

And he never started with a Pyromancer before. Maybe he should have. At this point, his aim with arching fireballs was just as good as the archers', and he kept melting the proverbial faces off his targets. But his mana would run out early, leaving him with no tools to fight. This would probably need to be the first issue he adressed. After an additional thought, he raised his magic and faith to the values he guessed would be needed for the next spell, and put the rest of the points into wisdom. At this level, it almost doubled his mana and added another attunement slot he had nothing to put in at the moment.

After finalizing the changes, he looked at his friends questioningly. They seemed to be in thought about something he missed, and having no real way to express himself, the worm simply waited for the next person to speak.

[Assistant] Well, this was a problem. The fact that the enemy was able to get into their game and impede their process was not good. If theey could do this what else could they do. The group needed to do something about this but going to the Default world may be dangerous, "Navi, what do you know about the Default world. I'm not entirely against the idea of going to the Default world but if we don't know what they can do it won't be safe. I also think we should only go there if we can assure that when going there they won't realize it. We have no idea what their forces are like. We need a plan."

[User]
Navi's voice chirped to life.
"The Default are running an undercurrent program to display a Game World identical to yours. However, it appears the Default are leveraging their viral properties into an advantage. Infecting NPCs to bypass them. However, in doing so, they have rendered themselves unable to overpopulate the world with player avatars as I have"

"I agree with Aliron" David said "We need to take the soul back sooner or later, may as well be sooner"

"I will force the game to move ahead to that stage. Constructing a fog gate on the far side of the tower. Please step through when you are ready"

[Assistant] "Good, let's get going then." Aliron said briskly and began walking towards the gate. Waiting around would do nothing and Navi explained that they wouldn't expect anything in the next place to be much different from here. He was eager to progress and honestly somewhat looking for a challenge. Things should be interesting when they invaded. He remembered watching a bit of dark souls pvp, it was quite intense when you combined the brutality of Dark Souls with the intensity of fighting other players and all the diverse strategies involved it become quite interesting. Dark Souls had always seemed like one of the most interesting games to experience in VR. Look at that was this was a unique opportunity.

[User]
The worm silently observed the exchange. If this was anything like the PvP he'd experienced - a salad of glitches, cheaters and general imbalance - they would find out very soon what it meant to die in this world. Then again, being in a team was always different, and so far coordination has been pretty good.

With slight reluctance, he began squeaking his way towards the gray gate. His health was full, his mana almost full. He wouldn't be any more ready to what lay on the other side than he was now.

[Assistant]
@fer1323@Fabricant451@alexfangtalon@Eklispe@MechonRaptor

"Well here goes nothing" David said as he stepped through the gate. There was a moment of pitch darkness, followed by a strange crackling sound as the world began to re-render in front of his eyes, having played all the games to near-completion, David knew something had gone wrong. He was standing in a dark stone chamber, dilapidated and worn down with time. An ancient room with a bonfire lazily casting shadows on the wall, mixing with the dim moonlight shining through the cracks and holes in the high-vaulted ceiling. A doorway to his right led out into the night, on his left, a stairway leading down. This was the final bonfire of Farron Keep, a short run away from where the Abyss Watchers, a core boss of Dark Souls 3, waged their everlasting battle. Looking behind him, he saw that Jaz, Sam, and Alex had loaded in behind him, but the others were nowhere to be found.

"Navi, what happened? Where's Aliron and the others? And why are we here?"
"It appears that the corruption is much greater than anticipated. The attempt to transfer you all en masse was more than the system could bear. I am logging this data for future reference. Scanning. It appears the others arrived at the correct data shard, they will shortly enter combat with the Skeleton Lords and their army of the dead, upon victory, they will receive the orb, and be able to invade the Default. I suggest you push forward. Defeatng the Abyss Watchers and taking their souls will provide enough energy to power a jump to the final boss, the keeper of the first Datacore Key. Additional scans show the route forward is clear, a fortunate side effect of the game corription...... oh."
"What's 'oh' Navi?"
"It appears the overwhelming corruption on these data shards have infected the background programs I have been running, your abilities will be blocked, and avatar protection has been disabled"
"What are you saying Navi, what avatar protection"
"In most of these digital realms, avatar protection is a failsafe program that prevents data from falling through a crack in programming, such as a failed loading state. I reverse engineered it, and applied it to each of you to ensure a continuation of data, a respawn if you will. However with the infection of that program, I fear player death in this corrupted stage may be permanent"

The words hit David like a ton of bricks. Up until now this game world had been all fun, sure they had some setbacks, and everyone was wondering how the hell this had happened and how they were getting home, but it was enjoyable to physically experience their favorite games. Now, faced with the possibility of real death, David was paralyzed. He hardly heard Navi's next words.
"I will relay this message to the other players and attempt to repair the program, however, the data shard's corruption may prevent me from restoring it until all avatar's have been removed. Please do try not to perish"

[User] Aliron appeared at the base of a set of stone stairs leading to a white wall of mist Aliron looked around to se that the group was diminshed in size. "Hm? Navi where is everyone else?" After a few seconds of silence Navi helpfully responded. "The curroption caused the transportation to seperate you. You can still continue going forward to defeat the Skeleton Lords and retrieve the orb, allowing you to invade the default. Also I have already informed David's group but if you die here you will likey die for good." Aliron shrugged. Well it was unfortunate that they had been split but he honestly wasn't too worried about it. He walked up the mist wall and looked back with a confident grin, "Well, are we all ready to go then?"

[Assistant]
Die for good. The words seemed to paint the entire world in a different color. The game was very frustrating as it is, with progress constantly being on the line if the player makes the wrong move. But this wasn't about progress anymore, was it?

William looked upwards. The world was spinning, every nook and cranny threatening with an unseen enemy ambush. They had just started, without any good abilities or equipment, and the start of these games always made a point of killing the player numerous time until they understand it's part of the process. But now, their entire future was on the line. His entire future was in the hands of this foolhardy link wannabe.

With a squeak that seemed to loud for him, William The Worm took a step back. And another. He shaked his head. He is not going in there.


[System]
Age: 5

Sex: Male

Appearance: About average size for a goblin male (about 3 feet 3 inches), with orange-red hair. See below for a picture.

Background: One of a litter of seven children, he was one of five to survive and the oldest male to make it past the harsh winter in which he was born. Breden is a decent hunter but unproven in battle and only a mediocre fighter in the few arena matches he's ever been in. As such, he has had few opportunities for mating with females, a state of affairs he hopes to change soon. He gets along well with male and female goblins alike, but most females have 'friendzoned' him, as they tend to think he's cute and nice, but wouldn't make a good sire for their kids.

Abilities: Breden is a hunter, skilled with a spear and dagger. His average strength prevents him from taking on large quarries alone, but he can definitely feed himself with smaller catches such as rabbits and squirrels, and he is a good tracker, a stealthy stalker, and good at climbing trees.

Clothing/Equipment: A four-foot long spear with a stone dagger and a brown loincloth.

Siwa

Age: 4

Sex: Female

Appearance: She stands 3 feet 1 inch, with brown hair. See her picture for more details.

Background: Unusually, Siwa was the only child born in what would have been her litter. As such, she was given all of her mother's attention and had the opportunity to learn quite a bit from her, especially how to give rubdowns. When Siwa was one, she ventured to the nearby human town and quickly developed a liking for human things. Siwa is almost the only goblin in her tribe who regularly visits the humans, who seem to like her. She sometimes dances for the owner of a human tavern, and she uses what few coins she is tipped to buy food. Being the closest thing that the goblins in her tribe have to a city girl, she is notoriously poor at farming or catching food herself.

Abilities: Siwa is a skilled dancer, adept at giving massages, and has a way with words.

Clothing/Equipment: Apart from her loincloth and top piece, she uses very little else. That said, she has several human possessions in her hut, even if she keeps them for display and not use.

Note: Despite being a dancer and masseuse, she is not unusually promiscuous for a female goblin, despite the stereotypes.

[User]
Breden's ears perked up for a moment when he heard the loud gobliness shout at Griz. A few months ago, this would have startled him. Now, he took one look at the gobliness and felt pity for her. She was a self-styled warrior and he didn't doubt that she had some skill with the stone knives she had on a belt around her waist. Her loud manner and average looks told him that her "brave warrior" routine was a way of getting attention from the stronger males, who would normally pass over a plain-looking gobliness in favor of the more attractive females. The poor lady had probably gone a while without a mate, and even if her looks didn't turn off her desired mates, her eccentric behavior certainly would. As it was, females were too important as mothers to send off to a battle, and the tribe would have to be very desperate indeed to risk them in combat. One male and several females would work just as well as an equal number of each after taking serious losses in a war, but the reverse wouldn't do anything to help replace losses as fast.

The younger hunter and newly-minted warrior cut off a part of the owlbear and delivered it to the granary, as he had promised. He took his share of the meat in a sack the granary guard had been nice enough to give him. It was no wonder why the guard had been kind; she was the only female on duty protecting the granary. It was a volunteer position and a rather boring one at that, assigned only to goblins trusted by the chief. Older goblins and females who wanted to take up arms often had that role, and Breden suspected that the ladies assigned to the easiest job in the tribe were the same who the chief took a fancy to. Were Breden a human, he might have thought that it was a rather questionable thing to do, handing out tasks based on favors in bed. Goblins didn't see it that way, though. It wasn't a favor for the chief, nor was it a favor for the females; it was just something they did when they were relaxed, well-fed, and safe. Only hunger, age, or illness would dull that flame in an adult of their species, mostly.

That said, there were exceptions, Breden had heard tales of goblins taking up the lives of a druid, living in the wilderness apart from a tribe and operating on a different set of norms, as if they were an entire tribe of shamans. Before anyone could consider any of that, they had one more issue to resolve.

"Griz, you don't think there's a connection between the Blue Foot... Blue Feet...? Th-the tribe who's causing us trouble and the owlbear we just killed, do you? And- excuse me, I don't need any of that salve, please. How about we meet tomorrow? I've got to deal with this for now. I-I don't mean to sound rude, but it is important." The shaman's daughter backed off from Breden, giving him a naughty look. She hadn't been laying hands on him to help his wounds.

"So, Griz. Blue Feet tribe. You think they're gonna cause trouble this winter?" Winters in this land tended to be mild, but there were exceptions, and this season was shaping up to be one of them. There might even be snow this time around, something the goblins of the Forest Tribe hadn't prepared for.

[Assistant]
In his opinion the social orders of other goblin tribes seemed strange, well at least strange for Twig that is. Greslarch had tracked the scouting party to the tribe after stumbling upon them as they transported their quarry. In retrospect neither Twig nor his battle-scarred companion were in a hurry to catch up to the hunters and scouts. Curiosity is what drove Twig to follow them, and he found the tribe strange because they seemed extremely organized and seemed to also follow a different philosophy or so he guessed.

Greslarch sniffed the ground and not paying attention bumped Twig through the underbrush and into view with a thump, from where they spied the goblins carrying the owlbear carcass. Swearing under his breath Twig tried to get up slowly, cursing his companions ignorance because he had blown their cover.

[User]
Several members of the Forest Tribe on the fringes of the village saw an unfamiliar goblin poke through the bushes. In this tense atmosphere, the sudden arrival of a strange goblin caused much alarm, especially one with such strange eyes. He clearly wasn't a member of their tribe, but he also wasn't a member of any of their known enemies. Within a few minutes, scared farmers began racing back into the village with news about a stranger showing up.

"Griz, I'm gonna see who that is. You can come along if you like. And ladies, just- just visit me at my hut tomorrow. This is important." He ran off to the outskirts of town, happy to be away from the crowd. It wasn't that he didn't want attention from the females, but there was such a thing as too much at once, and it wasn't like his reputation as a good fighter and hunter was going to vanish in by the next morning. Without looking to see if anyone had followed him, Breden stopped to find a second crowd- much smaller than the one had just left- standing near a weird goblin and a large wolf. The crowd was only equipped with farm tools made of stone and wood, not much of a threat, but they numbered at least a dozen. The entire crowd was made up of older males and a couple of females. Given that males generally didn't farm if they could still hunt, this was to be expected.

"One side, please! Warrior with a metal sword coming through!" He kept the blade Koglan had forged for him sheathed, but he was ready to draw it at a moment's notice. The exotic goblin looked nothing like a Blue Foot. "Who are you, and why have you come?"

[Assistant]
Having pitchforks leveled at you doesn't exactly make for great introductions, Twig tentatively got up and noticed Greslarch step closer and being smart Twig glared at his companion "Down old friend I will call you when I need you!" Twig muttered so only Greslarch heard.

"Hmmph whatever brother" The wolf simply snorted and vanished into the trees, but Twig was distracted by a disturbance in the crowd as a voice called out. The goblin was male and had a metal sword sheathed at his side and after seeing Twig the goblin asked who he was and why he had come.

"I am Twig," he stated his eyes passing their gaze over the crowd "And I am the last Green-Eye and I have come in search of a new home" Twig gazed intently at the warrior.

"But I would also ask who you are?" Twig asked the goblin who addressed him.

[User]
"A Green-Eye?! I-I'm Breden." He looked at Twig, seeing the reason why he was obviously called that. "That's- it's- it's very unusual to have a member of another tribe here. I heard that your tribe was either wiped out or were all druids or something. No one around here really knows what happened to your people, we only heard rumors. We didn't know you were real, even. Maybe it would help if you explained who the Green-Eyes are? Or were? And was it just me, or is that wolf yours? It doesn't look like it was acting like a normal wolf."

If he was a druid, this could be helpful for the Forest Tribe. That said, no group of druids ever took sides in a war without good cause, and it was rare that they interfered with the daily lives of the average goblins. He wasn't even sure if Twig was a druid or not, but his strange appearance certainly lent him a mystical air.

[Assistant]
"If we hadn't seen their scouts in our territory, I would have just thought the owlbear had just reached a bit out of her territory in search for better sources of food. But, unfortunately, this wasn't the case. The area we encountered her was a good distance away from where the latest sighting of a large predator was reported and was starving." Griz said as he deposited his entire share to the village granary. "Owlbears are one of the apex predators of the forest, they won't go out of their territory that far. Something pushed that owlbear out." Griz furrowed his brow and frowned at the thought. "A simple raiding party could probably scare off one...but not for long. I think we'll be facing a warband."

Breden was then distracted by a commotion outside.

"You go on ahead. I have to feed the gatherer before I go to Koglan. Do stay safe." Griz said while turning to the pregnant gobliness and gesturing her to follow. She follows him but grumbles under her breath about Griz not remembering her name.

[User] "I am a druid," said Twig "But the wolf is normal I just have the ability to communicate with wolves." Twig continued fidgeting with his totem. "Greslarch is my companion" Twig proudly stated then peered quizzically at Breden and asked "Would you like to know anything else?" asked Twig still fidgeting with the snarling face of the wolf "I am without a home and all I have to offer is my and my companions protection." he offered.

[Assistant]
@Blackmist16

Earlier...

"Sure thing, Griz. I'll meet you at Koglan's place if I have time." He looked back at the pregnant gobliness. She was clearly hungry and impatient. Strictly speaking, Griz was under no actual obligation to feed her, but if he had mated with her in the past few months, it was possible that she was carrying some of his children, along with those of at least one other male. While he couldn't be totally sure, if he got a good look at her younglings and one of them looked like him, it would be a sign that she had indeed helped him continue his line.

Presently...

"I'm sure the chief and many of my fellow goblins will have more questions for you, but you're welcome to come inside the village walls." He looked around, wary of the wolf. When there was no sign that it was going to return, he started to walk into the village walls, gesturing for Twig to follow close behind.

"You may want to know a bit more about us. We're called the Forest Tribe, and we just call our village, well, the village. Others call it the Forest Tribe village. The shaman says there are goblins in other places who also call themselves a "Forest Tribe", but they don't live anywhere near here. If you are indeed a druid, the shaman will want to see you. We'd be happy to have a druid on our side, but you may be called on to help us fight off other tribes, like the Blue Feet. If you don't want to get involved in that, I understand, but if you're gonna be one of us, you'd have to fight alongside the rest of us."

[User] "I see," Twig glanced warily at the other goblins, still staring at him then skittered after Breden "If I do find a place within your village I will need Greslarch by my side" Twig said glancing into the trees then looked back at Breden, clearing his throat Twig motioned around them "Anyways I would be interested with speaking to your shaman and chief but what about you? You seem like the type to have a tale to tell" Twig asked inquisitively whilst keeping pace withe Breden.

[Assistant] "If you explain that you need to have the wolf- Greslarch, was it? I'm sure the chief will let you keep him in the village. Until you have permission, it's best to keep him outside. As for where you'd live, you'd have to build a hut or we can see if there are any spares. Not sure where we'd put your wolf, but if he causes any trouble, we'd hold you responsible. And as for me, I just took part in a patrol where we killed an owlbear. It's the first great deed I've ever really been a part of."


[System]
Appearance:

Age: 16

Personality: Most times, stoic and android-like persona. She rarely talks without sounding like a drone or she lacks emotions. Most likely due to how she was raised and trained. She does talk when addressed or if she deems it necessary to speak.

Motive to live: Unknown

Background: Mai's background is rather mysterious but is considered one of the best up and coming pilots in the Frameworks Project divisions. Much of Mai's background is either unknown or considered classified but the story that's going around about her is that she was one of several "numbers" children that were trained in the early stages of the Frameworks Project when some thought that human emotions were a hinderance against the Cruxi. As such, Mai's personality may have come from the perhaps extreme training but some rumors say that the children were pushed to such extreme's that it was deemed inhumaine even for military standards. Hence why that Frameworks division was disbanded and Mai was transfered to Framework Project XJ9 division.

The goal was to help Mai with synenergy and teamwork with other squads but due to her personality, has trouble doing so. Thus the reason for the transfer amonst other reasons just metioned. Whether anything about Mai "Seven" Twilight is true, though, is another matter. A good pilot and mechanic.

Notable Deaths: Unknown

Other things: As stated, Mai was apart of a disbanded Frameworks division. What became of the other children is unknown but due to her perfect health and training, she was deemed worthy for Framework Project XJ9. But much is not known of her. Motive to live, Notable Deaths and Personal history are classified and only known by higher-ups of the Framework divisions.

Framework Code Name: Setsuka (Model ID code: R-1)

Appearance:

Signature Weapon System: Telekenetic System - Perhaps the most unique of the current Frameworks is to tap into the "energy" that comes from the syncho rate to weild energy amplified by this system. From the frameworks mecha hands, it can then fire it like beams. It can even keep the energy itself stored into the hands to either create "energy based" weapons like swords out of pure energy or simply increase it's punching power. However, this puts a ton of mental strain on it's pilot. If the pilot loses control, his/her synchro rate drops faster than usual along with losing this combat system since the synchro rate must be high enough to produce energy (60% or higher for low output. 80% or higher for higher outputs). Anything below 60% won't produce enough energy to weild. There's also a rumor that this combat system is actually stolen technology from the Cruxi modded for human Framework pilots and Mai is it's first test pilot.

Secondary Weapon System: On it's hips are a pair of mech-sized Magnum Pistols. Each holding 8 shots, the name itself implies high powered shots capable of penetrating high grade armor. However, accurracy becomes an issue past mid range and limited ammo capacity means "spray and pray" isn't an option. A good weapons set for taking out slow but heavy armored targets.

Armor Type: Medium

Special Ability: ???

Current Synchro Rate: 74%

[User]
Within the debriefing, Lora simply resorted herself to sitting still, her arms folded at her waist. Lorenzo was harsh, mocking, and merciless, tearing into every one of the cadets for their faults, only daring to compliment the less-than-half of them that actually teamed up. Again, this was in a test mission in which the criteria of the test the professor reserved for himself, figuring that the cadets should know what to properly do. He made it sound so simple it was easy to forget he was being cruel and illogical about it.

Although, Lora did finally figure out why Lorenzo had claimed nobody had won- because nobody had technically completed the exercise, and he had simply gotten bored and ended it when they were in a stalemate.

In her round of being yelled at, the Caliburn's pilot did pick up on a few details. It was true that she had made an attempt to band together the rest of the lone wolves in hopes of standing a change against Stukov and the Daemon; however, she had made no effort to reinforce the idea further, and the whole plan fell apart when the Daemon spontaneously blew up. Even if it might've helped bolster her chances at survival alone, Lora ultimately refused a partnership just as Miles did, and that didn't end too well for her. It was interesting to hear Lorenzo talk about how Lora had potential, though. Not just that she had an extremely high Synchronization Ratio (now the highest among the cadets, Lora had been informed), but the fact that she had tried to make use of her options of weapons and teamwork and then consecutively failed.

Though the professor claimed that she had fought fine, Lora would beg to differ - already, she had formulated a couple of scenarios where she wouldn't have taken nearly as much damage from Macabre as she did, just by using her secondary cannon where she thought she couldn't have. She didn't just the use of her high Synchro Rate, she underestimated the prowess of her Frame and its weapons, unnecessarily limiting herself as a result. Lora had even banked on Caliburn lasting far longer than it did, and so surrendered when it had been beaten very handily, not attempting to fight any further.

So, in truth, Lora was well disappointed in herself as well. She and the Caliburn were both built to be powerful fighters, syncing well together to create a fearsome Framewerk, and yet, she demonstrated so little of that. It was underwhelming in many ways expect in how crushing her defeat seemed.

One of the cadets - Krista, the one who Lorenzo claimed came closest to success - spoke up about the whereabouts of Alexi and Miles. Somebody had to ask, surely. Lora had heard that Miles had gotten caught not wearing his plugsuit for the battle; based on that and some of his other behaviors, the professor had probably already kicked him out of the program. As for Daemon's pilot, however... He was most certainly dead. He had to be, being caught at the core of an explosion like that. The question was, "What happened?"

Lora stood by her thought that Stukov had tried to tap into some secret ability within his Frame using his near-perfect Synch Rate, but somehow failed or couldn't control it. The thought troubled her again, as her after-battle diagnostic from her engineers reported that Lora's own Synch Rate had managed to climb to 96 percent. And those noises, nagging at the edge of her mind while plugged into that Frame...

The pilot shook her head to clear her thoughts. This wasn't the best time to be thinking about that, and she wasn't sure there would ever be a 'good time' for it, either.

[Assistant]
Romeo had managed to get picked up finally as he had been looking over and reviewing all of the information. He would never be like diver, but he did use the information to try and draw up battle plans, who moved faster in straight aways, who banked better or could come to a sharp stop. Even Komodo was useful to show how to use the kinetic energy of a hit to shift propulsion by going with it rather than fighting against it.

He was drawing up a plan for one pilot to lead a cruxi into the path of archer and let her cannon wing a pilot into a spin, the round continuing on to hit the cruxi while letting the pilot spin around without loosing momentum to launch an attack of their own. In the midst of the computations, a helicopter arrived and he had to reluctantly remove himself from the machine. Now he was no longer a 300 foot tall war machine protecting the world from the intergalactic threat, he was back to being a 14 year old boy who didn't even clear five feet tall.

Standing in the rows again, he once more wore his kimono as they were tore into with words over actions or inactions. Here this one congratulated himself with a desert and whatever else he could have on any given day. His reward was mere denial of the others, a bullies tactic. This was part of the mental tortures that his brother killed himself over, he had to be stronger than this.

"Now let's move on to the people who seemed to actually realize what the purpose of the mock battle was, but even they failed, such as...Ramirez! You actually succeeded at a basic principle of human intelligence: co-operation and tactics! A marvelous feat coming from this rabble! You showed great promise when you took the Black Komodo down together with Reynolds' Framewerk, but after that, you hesitated! You can never hesitate once the fire is on! That's the moment the Cruxi will take advantage of, and then your teamwork will crumble, like it did when Horowitz led you around like on a leash! Still, you have stones, young'un. I heard what you said about me. A fool I may be, trying to get you runts ready to face reality, but I am, in fact, not trying to make 'bloodthirsty assholes'. That would be a very simple procedure, simply lobtomize the subject and treat it with the correct serums, and there you go: a bona-fide asshole, ready to shit on the Cruxi! But assholes don't win wars, son; soldiers do! And the next time you mention humanity to me like that...I'll lobotomize you so it won't happen again."

This was the first time someone had dared to lay a hand on him and the shock set in more than he wanted it to as he went up on his tip-toes as an immediate stance of savate. But he was released before he attacked a superior officer, not that this man was superior in any way. Clearly this one already sacrificed his humanity on the altar to science long ago.

"Now, does anyone have questions before I announce who the squad leader will be?"

Romeo raised his hand after the other two asked theirs.

"Who did you loose in the war?"

[User]
Yeshua swallowed what seemed like a large stone in his throat while he felt sweat trickle down his forehead, sticking his already-long hair to his head. Throughout all of the battle he hadn't sweated one drop and kept his cool even if he was somewhere else for half of the fight. His mind had wandered to meaningless things that even the young man couldn't understand and he would have to analyse his own thought processes if he wanted to still retain his position as a dedicated sniper. That was for a later time, Yeshua remarked, as he and his "team" stood side-by-side for what seemed like the first time in far too long. These were the people he was going to protect and spend his time with in the future. For one reason or another, that made him even more nervous.

Wringing his hands behind his back in the most formal way possible, he displayed the proper stance of someone being talked to by a superior officer. Lorenzo was superior even though he didn't act like it. It took a whole new wealth of dedication to not flinch when the man came in with a . . . Sundae in his hand.

The greatest of us are often the maddest, Yesha remarked, trying to regain his composure. To be honest, he was a slob. Yeshua only became more confused as he started to lecture them on their fighting techniques. After all the preparation, even though they were young, one would think they could coordinate. The boy still had his questions about the combat exercise and how much it had costed for the engineers who had to put back together Setsuka's half-destroyed head. It was madness, in fact, to use the Framework's against each other instead of a computer simulation. Or there was a more sinister reason, Yeshua dared to think.

His ride back to the briefing had been smooth and without interruption, other than a few confused medical staff confused in how he managed to get a large bruise on his right leg. The helicopter made good time and the view was also good. It was such a nonchalant journey after all that Yeshua had been through, he felt like he had just come from a walk in the park. He remembered that this was a walk in the park, compared to what he had to face in the real battle.

When questions could be asked and the rest of his crew inquired to Lorenzo, he knew what he had to ask.

"Sir, the combat exercise seemed pointless. With all the damage done to the Frameworks, it would take a lengthy amount of time to repair them, even if you recover all the materials. A computer simulation would have accomplished the same thing and none of this damage would have happened. My lonewolf tactics were only apparent because I could survive by myself, and after all, the people I could team up with would be my very enemies. Unless I have missed something, sir, the event could have been executed to a much more productive degree." Yeshua slowly let the words trickle out of his mouth, keeping a stern expression and making sure his eyes never met with Lorenzo's. His heart almost dropped to his feet by the time he had let the last words out. "I hope my criticism is appreciated."

It took a lot of willpower to keep his whole body from shaking.

[Assistant]
Mai sat as the Professor gave out his final analysis of the mock battle. As he started, Mai already knew she had failed. This environment was different than what she was used to. But she should have expected this. This frameworks division operated on a different set of rules unlike the more..."extreme" methods employed from her previous division. Still, Professor Lorenzo did have a mean streak like certain other high ranking individuals who she trained under but unlike them, he had SOME shread of compassion despite the failed mock battle mission. Though that depended on the pilot.

Then, he addressed her.

"Twilight! The purpose of an operation is that you operate, not sit around on your ass and spectate the others like a mindless robot! You have vocal chords as a deliberate process of evolution, use them! I don't care if you have to growl and bark like an animal to communicate with the others as long as you do it! If I wanted a mindless robot, I would have built myself one with better AI, and not loan a piece of junk from those short-sighted fools who can't even terminate a project properly, let alone work on one! Still, you did show capability for teamwork and proper combat skills, but it was too little too late. Next time, you'll have to be more interactive from the very start, and not after a warm-up!"

"...yes sir", Mai droned with a salute from her seat before letting her hand drop to her lap. It was as she thought though. She lacked the things she thought she did: Drive, Emotion, Synenergy. But more important, she didn't follow her own instincts nor did she keep her cool when she thought the other pilots were "rubbing off" on her. When she was trained before, acting without any direct order was insuborniation. Even if your being shot at, you engage when ordered to.

Rather obviously, THAT needed to change here...well at least slightly. She still had to follow orders. Just not to an extreme such as WAITING for the order to be given. When necessary, she needed to trust herself...and speak her mind when needed to like Lorenzo said.

She decided to hold any questions till the others have spoken. At the moment, she didn't really have any questions to begin with.


[System]
Alek | The Stranger

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C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Nicknames/Aliases:
Suit, Cleaner, The Russian, Stranger

Birth City/District:
Moscow-0

Age:
24

Height:
6'2''

Racial Background:
Russian

Race:
Y.G Holder

Hair Color:
Blond

Eye Color:
Pale blue

Appearance:
At first glance, Alek has the look of a mild-mannered office worker: polite and put together, his smiles measured and his clothing always immaculate. Since his recent change in career path, he ditches the suits and ties for casual attires, more suitable for the streets. These days, it was more common to find him in leather jackets and jeans, nursing a vodka between gloved hands in the middle of a busy Narazaki bar.

His looks are fairly remarkable, and Alek knows how to use it to his advantage. His features are sharp and refined, icy blue eyes warm with each easy smile and casual touch. His hair is a fair shade of gold, tastefully untamed and meticulously kept, much like the rest of him. For a cold-blooded killer, Alek definitely does not fit the mold.

Mutation Marker(s):
Alek's mutation markers are mostly subtle, but they are all there if one knows where to look. His fingers are tipped with retractable claws, which he often keeps hidden under his gloves. His teeth are unusually sharp, and his jaws strength is inhuman, just enough to tear through even conventional Kelvar.

Personality:
Alek is the kind of guy you'd like at work. He is professional and proficient at his work, while also being fun and make for good casual conversation. Anything deeper than that, though? Alek does what he does for a reason. Under the veneer, he is cold and callous, a cynic who doesn't take life quite so seriously. Selfish and opportunistic, Alek is ruthless and dangerous when it comes to getting what he wants.

Aspirations:
Cheap thrills, good times, and finer things in life. Alek is a simple man, at his core.

Fears:
Weakness. The weak doesn't last long in this world. They need to get lucky.

Vehicle:
A YZF-RAZ0R model. The next generation, cutting edge, top-of-the-line design from Yamaha's SuperSport range. Comes with an arrays of fun and useful features: overclocked YoFuel dual engine, advanced aerodynamic framework, ballistic body plates, nano-thermal heatsink systems, auxiliary weapon attachments, etc. Basically the works. Popular among high-strung stock brokers, wannabe gangster rich kids and military fetishists. While Alek himself is hardly a speed demon, he needed a vehicle to get around, and this bike was just sitting there in the parking lot at his old workplace. Call it his severance package. The only downside though, is that this beast of a machine guzzles YoFuel like a drunkard on last call.

P O W E R / C Y B E R N E T I C S I N F O R M A T I O N

Strengths/Natural Abilities:
Alek always has an inhuman grace about him. His strides soft and swift, his strikes quick and deadly, and his reflexes are almost uncanny. Towering heights do not deter him, and he seems to have a knack of almost always landing on his feet. In the concrete jungle of Neo-Tokyo, few can even keep up with him, and it seems like he can only be found when he wants to be.

A hunter by trade and a killer by choice, Alek is a lethal and relentless opponent. He probably has done it all, from covert ops to corporate espionage to everything else in between. For the right price, his talents are for sale. He takes pride in his work too, and he simply does not enjoy losing.

As a necessity, Alek is familiar with most forms of conventional weapons. While he is most proficient with his own guns and blades, should the need arise, he can still make use of whatever he can get his hands on.

Weaknesses/Flaws:
Being a relatively newcomer with a bit of infamy attached to his name, Alek is still fairly distrust among the denizens of Neo-Tokyo's underground. Everything about him still very much screams 'corpsman', and it seems that he has no desire to really play nice with anyone either.

The termination of his contract with his previous employer did not exactly end amicably. While his old colleagues might not be actively looking for him, Alek is still technically in possession of a great amount of company property, and that could make him a target, wherever their path might cross.

It is not easy to trust a man who does not want to be trusted.

Weapon(s):
A heavy pistol that loads .50 Action Express. Comes equipped with the built in Smart Loading system and custom silencer.

Cybernetics/Gadets/Accessories:
A subdermal armor implant all over his body. Designed by Keyence to appear fully authentic, while providing moderate protection against most forms of physical trauma. However, the most notable function of this prototype is the ability to activate a form of cloaking that renders the user invisible to the naked eye and most surveillance technologies. This ability requires the use of YoFuel cartridges, however, and extended use is not recommended, due to the limited capacity of the heatsink systems.

Another one of Keyence's prominent design, which is quite popular among paramilitary groups or covert ops agents. The blade is designed to be razor-sharp and extendable from the user's cybernetics through a complex system of nano filaments. Alek's piece is located under his dermal armor atop his right hand.

E X T R A

like blood on the pavement |

H i s t o r y

Born in the border towns of Moscow-0, Alek's childhood was one of lessons: lessons in fire and ice, in blood and bullets. He had been beyond the safety of the wall, had seen from a young age what a Yokai could do to a man, and what a man could do in return, with the right tools aimed at the right spot. In his formative years, he ran with the Border Forces in Moscow-0, responding to Yokai threats and scouting the ruined world that mankind left behind beyond the confines of the city.

And then Keyence headhunted him for a position in their Moscow branch. The work seemed simple enough. His official job description? A Solution Consultant. The company had problems, and he provided the solutions. The thing was, the problems were people, most of the time. Not that he minded; people or Yokai, they all bled the same.

For a while, it felt almost as if he would fight and die for his corporate masters. But here was the truth: even the hand that fed could not be trusted, and Alek had seen it coming a mile away. Hostile takeovers, change in management, a new region manager here and there, and he was considered too much of a security risk to keep around. So he acted first, turning his teeth and claws on his own handlers before breaking off and leaving for Neo-Tokyo.

For a time, he ran independent contracts and chase bounties, selling whatever info he had managed to swipe off Keyence's database before he made his escape. It was during one of these transactions that he met Tsukiyama and became acquainted with her gang, the Kurosagi. Eventually, he came to work under her, the promise of more steady work and better pay seemed far more attractive, now that his savings were running low and he lacked the connections to get a shot at high profile targets. |

[User]
Joseph briefly sank into thought at the orders. So this time it was the gearhead, the cleaner, and the little boss. He had worked with all of them at least once before, and if he had to pick someone to watch his back, Alek was easily lowest on the list. It wasn't his skills - Joseph knew skill, and the blond haired russian had it in spades. He even trusted him quite a bit, in a way. Alek was smart, professional, and thorough. It was where his interests lay that was the concern. He could trust him to do the job right, and do it quickly, and that would have to do for now. The russian was a tough nut to crack, and Joseph had neither the time nor inclincation to look for a nutcracker.

"No problems for me, boss." The gruff military man said in response to her question.
Setting aside the question of allegiance, the question of skills was non-existant. Between his 3 teammates, they weren't lacking in any area when it came to infiltration. He had experience with this kind of mission, and there was nothing else left to say. All they would need to do was scope out the compound beforehand and they would be prepared for anything that came their way. Oh, and he'd probably need to ask for a silencer from Gabriel after the meeting.

Joseph reclined in his chair, relaxing his mind as he looked around the room, waiting for the others to respond.

[Assistant]
[@everyone]

---

It was hard to know whether or not the words that left her mouth were genuine or crafted from tricks of the trades, she had hoped it was the latter as it had been a few years since joining Tsukiyama. Things were different this time around, her first gang, Sons of Angels, was just a means to an ends. For some reason she felt like she could finally find peace with her peers, but for now old habits still die hard. Luckily for Hikari, Kiyo recently just cleared all the excess empty bottles in her car so they didn't spill out once she opened the door, a little habit she started to develop on tails. "Seems like he got his money's worth before you know. Well anyways lets hope you don't have to wear his skin for too long. Cigarette?" She asked with the orange end of the filter popping up out of a cramped carton. Hikari didn't seem like the type, but then again none of them did, regardless it was just good manners.

She sunk back into her seat before the engine turned over once more and she took off. "She's my pride and joy, I've had her for a few years now. The only reliable house and bed I've known, take as much of a rest as you need. I'll get there before the meeting starts."

"Out of nowhere, the mind comes forth.", she didn't quite know what Hikari meant by this, but she let it rattle in her brain before she slipped a disk into the tray and let the colorful jazz slip them into a stream of unconsciousness.

---

Headlights pierced the nights fog jutting from the grates below the hideout. Lights dimmed and the hum of her car fell silent. "Right on time" she said before opening the passengers side door to let Hikari out. With no time to dawdle they entered right away. Familiar faces populated the room around her and the smile of Tsuki seemed like a good omen, that or it was just a particularly strong joint. Regardless, she found a seat before pressing the wrinkles out of her pants. It was all business from the start, Tsuki found no avenue for wasted breath or intel. Kiyo hung onto every word just waiting for her name to be called so she could get a head start on her mission, alone hopefully.

After hearing all of the assignments she was a bit remised to have not been on the all girl mission, then again she wasn't one for glamour or sex appeal. Not that having an eyepatch lent any kind of support in that aspect, maybe someone would find it exotic. Explosives weren't her speciality, but she has played the role of saboteur quite a handful of time. As good as she was at stealth, the possibility of it going south was what excited her the most. After all, punishing the weapons dealers with her own weapons seemed poetic.

She stood and began to walk towards her group assignment, "We'll be the first ones done Tsuki" she said confidently, before leaning on a table next to Hiroto.


[System]
Gender:
Male

Appearance:

Stands at a large 6'4. Broad of shoulder and hulking in build. Well-defined muscle, though deeply scarred across his body. Favors furs over silks when outside of his armor. Typically favors massive two-handed weapons, and is most commonly seen wielding a massive flanged mace.

Abilities:
Dragan primarily utilizes both blood magic and necromancy in tandem, befitting a vampire known as the Death Knight.

As a blood mage, Dragan specializes in physical enhancement, preferring to fight in melee with a physical weapon in hand. Of course, he's entirely capable of utilizing the other aspects of blood magic as well, resorting to blood weapons when disarmed and blood barriers to defend against magic. Strangely, though, he has never been seen actually casting a ranged blood spell.

As a necromancer, Dragan keeps it simple, traditional, and efficient: zombies, skeletons, and other such more mundane undead with which to drown his foes in a sea of corpses. One will occasionally see larger abominations within his forces, but these are rare and tend to be pre-prepared, with Dragan seemingly unable to raise these at will in the field as he could with groups of lesser undead. Of course, Dragan cannot simply raise armies at will. Without preparation, he tends to be able to create a dozen or so undead soldiers at a time, given enough materials. With the proper rituals and rites, however, Dragan is entirely capable of acts such as raising entire graveyards at once or binding the shambling bones of large creatures into his service.

Both of these aspects combined leave this particular vampire as a frontline general, leading undead armies into the thick of battle.

Personality:
Dragan follows a twisted sense of noblesse oblige in his dealings. To him, vampires are inherently higher life forms as compared to humans, and thus bear responsibility towards them as a result. Humanity in Dragan's eyes are, at the very least, higher than cattle. It would be more accurate to say that he treats mankind as ignorant children: unable to fend for themselves or make wise decisions. Thus, vampires are to safeguard humanity within their borders, and for this service, deserve the blood they require to survive. After all, this was simply the feudal contract as existed in eras past. Only now with more worthy lords to rule over man.

As a follower of noblesse oblige, Dragan strives to be as great as he can in his personal conduct. He conducts himself with elegance and decorum. However, this is also matched with a penchant for violence and direct action. Where other vampires prefer subtle manipulations and secrecy, Dragan simply strides through problems with a suit of hulking plate armor, a massive weapon, and an undead horde at his back. He is a lord, after all, and lords do not skulk like cowards when their authority is challenged.

In regards to the Goddess, Dragan is a loyal enough follower that he swears to fulfill his divine mission without complaint. Having served the Queen once already, he sees little issue with working to bring her back.

Bio:
The vampire lord known as Dragan Meszaros, the dreaded Death Knight of eras past, was once known as the crusade's greatest shame. Born as an orphan ward of some irrelevant church of a now-dead god, Dragan grew to be a paladin of the same church, setting out on quests throughout the land. He slew monsters, saved the innocent, and championed the light of his god.

Despite his successes, however, Dragan slipped ever into deeper frustration and melancholy as he saw the same stories happen time and time again. Men create problems for themselves that he had to solve for them. Tragedies and villians were created through human sins. The apathy, greed, and wrath of humanity were greater foes than any mere monster that had ever stood in his path. Men were ever more incapable of managing themselves.

Dragan's final days as a paladin were spent chasing the rumors of a vampire in a great duchy of a now-forgotten kingdom. When he arrived, however, every value he held was challenged. The duke was a vain tyrant, working his people past the breaking point and abusing the fruits of their labor to glorify himself. The commoners barely cared about this vampire in the territory: a few deaths a month barely compared to the starving masses. In fact, when Dragan did finally track the vampire's thralls down to an outlying village, he saw something there that broke him. The people in that village, the vampire's cattle, were doing far better compared to the rest of the duchy. Better fed, working for themselves, and just...happier.

It was then that Dragan knew his truth: man was inherently unable to rule itself. Left to its own devices, humanity would eat itself alive. Dragan gave up. He fell. Returning to the duchy's capital, the once-vaunted paladin launched a brazen assault on the duke in broad daylight, slaughtering him and his meager guard. Afterwards, Dragan returned to the vampire's village, throwing the unworthy ruler's head into the middle of the town square. With the vampire's attention piqued, Dragan knelt before him, stating that he had seen the true light.

Bemused at the thought of taking a fallen paladin as Ichor's child, the vampire turned Dragan. After a period of time adjusting to his new existence and learning all he could of vampirism, Dragan took his leave, setting out on his own with his patron's blessing. Centuries later, the vampire known as the Death Knight scourged the land, conquering a kingdom with his undead army in the name of the Queen. He sought to replace the incompetent rule of man with his own benevolent tyranny. But this was not to be. Not in this era. Such a public, reviled monster was one of the first targets of the Hundred Paladins, made more urgent by the shame that he was once a paladin himself. While the bulk of the Hundred tore through his armies with their silver swords and divine blessings, their strongest champions engaged Dragan himself and laid him low. The Death Knight was shattered with his kingdom, his dreams dashed as the Hundred moved on.

[User]
@Psyker Landshark@Rune_Alchemist

The heart of a great snake, and a ritual dagger that stank of something divine, something not of Ichor's domain. Her 'father' would no doubt be pleased with these gifts, but as for Ilena herself? The shadow witch toyed with the dagger briefly, allowing it to spin from one digit to another, before flipping it hilt-first towards the former paladin.

"Take it," she rasped. She would let it drop even if he did not.

The serpent's heart, she kept in her hand for a while longer. Plump still, fresh still, and reminiscent, in a manner, of that feline-serpent they had encountered on the way there. It could not have been that creature's heart though, not unless it possessed multiple. Too large to belong to giants, too small to belong to humans. Regardless, Ilena lifted her cloak to the side and slipped that heart into her fabricated form.

"Your piety shall be rewarded," she spoke, setting aside for a moment the idea that other lords have survived, have revived. "Do you wish to join your master, Thrall? Or be reborn again, under the servitude of another?"

[Assistant]
Luna Emeraltide

Luna allowed the dwindling thrall to touch her cheek, albeit briefly, before softly taking her hand and pulling it lightly away. The tenderness of the dying woman was a welcome feeling after eons of sleep, but at the same time the gesture was unsolicited, and by a servant no less. She nevertheless held the woman still, and followed her words towards the heart Ilena held up until it disappeared into blackness.

"Other lords? Were they awoken here in Alavaris as well?" Luna hummed, then turning her eyes to the cathedral's entrance. "And you... where did you come from? How did you even survive?" The vampiress listened to Ilena, and promptly squeezed the thrall more tightly -possessively. She offered Ilena a wholly lighthearted glare -almost pouting- and retorted.

"She will not die! Such a dedicated servant could never be discarded. Look at her," she continued, "She has surely gone through quite the ordeal just to rejuvenate us. And... all without drinking a single drop herself; otherwise she would not be in this state. To say nothing of completing it without a master. Tell me thrall, what is your name?" she asked.


[System]
Gender: Male

Age: 35

Birthday: February 29

Blood Type : B-

Height: 8'2"

Weight: 398 lbs

Measurements: I have no idea how this part works.

Likes: Exercising, Horses, Large hats, Text books, Non-fiction books, Vegtables, Working, Pharona

Dislikes: Cosmetics, Scratchy clothing, Candy, Cars, Explosions, Fire

Parasite/Living Weapon: Pharona: A Remote Parasite that forms itself as a little girl on top of the giant, she stole part of Angus's brain to bond with each other. Pharona must keep constant contact to the head at all times, it can be touched from any point of the small body, but Pharona prefers to sit on Angus's shoulders as it is much more comfortable for her body. For being able to live on his shoulders and feeding her, she is able to give the body an immense amount of growth and muscle generation once combined and making the body extremely agile and flexible making his size deceptive for opponents. She controls Angus's body completely, but Angus can have control of his own body whenever the two aren't fighting. If they would ever be inside of a fight, Pharona and Angus switch between controls to do rather devastating combos.

Apperance:

Biography: Living inside of the Canopy Kingdom, he was always a rather large kid when growing up through his life. However, it wasn't the muscles that made him large, it was actually his fat that made him so big. An easy target for kids to laugh at him at a young age, Angus tried everything to make him lose weight from weight loss pills to becoming a vegan. However, nothing worked for him making the ridiculed boy depressed for several years, even dropping out of school.

When he reached the age of eighteen, his parents as a last ditch attempt to get him out of his depression as nothing seemed to be working, his own personal gym. They set up the rather expensive home gym just for their son and tried to push him to get out of his deep depression. He never used it, making his parents give up on trying to get him to leave his deep sadness. Leaving the house to figure out if they could return the home gym, they were involved inside of a fatal car accident by a random drunk driver hitting them from the side, instantly killing both of his parents. After hearing the news, Angus had decided to use the home gym in honor of his parents and not letting their lives go to waste.

Several years later, Angus is now 25 with his birthday the next day, he was a changed man. The fat that had been retained had become slimier, but it still remained under the fat. However, under that fat was pure muscle that made him able to lift and carry most things than any regular person could ever hold! Later in the day, he was outside ready to get some groceries to celebrate his birthday until in the corner of his eyes saw something stir the trashcans. Curiosity gripped the man, and he peeked his head around the corner to find two large men wearing suits stuffing something that was muffled and squirming into the bag. He immediately knew what to do, grabbing a nearby trashcan lid, Angus quickly threw the disc towards one of the men to hit one directly in the head, immediately knocking the fiend out. The other man, quickly realizing what was happening pulled out his gun, and started firing upon Angus giving time for the squirming thing get out of the bag. Angus ducked behind some trash, but soon realized that the creature they were shoving into some dirty bag was a little girl, and that further enticed him to punch that guy shooting at him. The loud gun shots of the pistol were soon replaced by clicks and Angus knew what to do at that point. Quickly, he ran up to the man and sucker punched that man right into the jaw, leaving his body to slam into a nearby wall and collapse. Angus was finally done with those thugs and looked upon the little girl staring at him with wide eyes, the large man was about to say something to the little girl, but she suddenly latched onto his face with surprising speed and Angus blacked out on touch.

The large man soon found himself waking up on his bed, his head feeling like it was splitting into two while something else was stabbing something into his eye. Angus was thinking if that heroic act was all in his mind produced by drinking? He never drank alcohol that night, however, but when he tried to rub his head, he touched something. Angus quickly screamed, which also made his mind scream like an actual little girl. Angus looked up to see that the little girl he rescued was latched onto the back of his head... After several hours of explaining as her voice echoed through his mind, this entire thing was insane. Several days after staying inside of his house, Angus finally accepted the fact that he now had to share his body with some parasite that took apart of his brain... His life is kinda messed up at the moment.

Special Attacks/Blockbusters:

Iron Thighs(Level One) - If within grabbing range, Pharona commands the body to jump and grab the enemy's head between his thighs. He then squeezes his thighs together and causes moderate damage and smashes them into the ground leaving the enemy dazed for one second.

Running Man(Level Two) - Angus goes into a mad dash, anyone in the path takes a large amount of damage and are thrown into the air. However, if blocked, the damage will be low but will still be thrown into the air.

The Full Workout(Level Three) - Pharona and Angus control the body in sync to create a devastating combo. Angus suddenly tears out a large piece of the ground starts to smashes it against the enemy repeatedly until it is only rubble. Pharona takes control and jumps high into the air, the massive body weight speeds them down and the body points the large knees towards the enemy and directly lands on top of the person, crushing them completely.

[User] "No," Ash responds, simply enough "We might dump him in a dumpster and go flower shopping." she continues with a dreamy smile, already hoisting Liam over her shoulder. Ash turns around, and scans the crowd for Gale, until she finds her feral companion standing in front of a tall man in a onyx tuxedo, how strange. Ash begins to walk forward, but pauses when she senses Rorschach's attention shifting from that Jane girl, to a little girl standing at the large man's feet 'What is that?' Ash asks Rorschach, who says nothing. Nervously, Ash tip toes through the crowd, until she's standing behind Gale, looking down at the trio, as disgruntled Ferals and Dagonians press past the trio "Come on Gale, we're going to dump our Egret friends in a dumpster somewhere in the Meridian, then get more flowers!"

[Assistant]
Morgann

After walking around for hours now, Morgann's heels were killing her. It was not a good idea to go out for a stroll in these golden stilettos, but there weren't any other shoes that would quite match the entire outfit, and she always wore at least some part of Magnolia. Not only were all of her weapons in there, but her wallet, her money, and all kinds of goodies. It was easier having all of the necessities conveniently stored within your suit's never-ending "body", and that was exactly how she liked it. In past incidents, those who had attempted to mug Morgann and threaten her through physical contact found their bodies full of either holes for her tommy gun or wound up as a snack for the suit. She had no problem with causing physical harm to thieves or, to be honest, anyone that even looked at her wrong. She simply didn't.

As she waltzed herself closer and closer to the circus, she also became closer to the country's coast. Walking along the bay and adjusting her mask each time the wind moved it even an inch, she noticed a commotion going on a far distance away from her. It was quite a scene to take in form such a long ways away, and to be honest, she wasn't quite keen on what was going on. "What the hell?" she breathed through clenched teeth, shoving her hand into her coat and pulling a pair of opera glasses from within her coat. After fiddling with its burgundy handle for a few moments, she finally had it adjusted so that it would lock in place and took a look. It looked like some sort of ginormous figure holding up another...pedestrian, she was assuming, and to top it off, some other girl was running away. "Now why would she be running away?" the magician wondered while tossing the tool back into the coat, tapping on her chin as she thought of the possibilities. She narrowed her leafy green eyes as she stared out through the mask's white fabric before thinking, "No one runs like that unless they've got something to hide..." Her attention shifted from the fleeing passerby to the woman being held upside down. "But damn, no one gets held up by some big lug like that for no reason, either."

"Hold on tight," she murmured to her hat, whose multiple hands held onto her light brown hair from the inside. "From now on, I wear some sort of flats when I go out," she growled, dashing as fast as she could in these heels that she could towards the situation. Skidding to an abrupt halt, she stared up at what seemed to be a man who was a few inches shorter than her. She looked at his black cloak that covered him to the axe in one of his hands, grimacing. "What drab attire," she thought in a disgusted tone, clearing her throat loudly. "Excuse me," she announced loudly, tapping her shoe's tip against the ground. "What are you doing to this woman?"

Gale

Turning his attention from Pharona to Ash, Brandy nodded and relinquished Gale's body back into its rightful owner's control, her entire body shuddering visibly from the abrupt transition. "Just going to toss him into a dumpster?" she whispered to her roommate, scuttling back up her tall form to rest on her shoulder. "Are you sure that this is the right thing?" she asked, before shaking her head, "No, you're right. The bosses wouldn't like us throwing this trash at their feet." Curling up on the Gigan's shoulder, she yawned and stretched her small wings before uttering a small, "Let's go."

[User]
Upset that some random stranger had dared to break the normal order and intrude upon his doings, Grumm whirled around. The clockwork arm flashed by, easily forty pounds of solid metal thrown in a vigorous slap that could have dislocated Morgann's jaw had it connected. Fortunately, the savage blow fell short, and when he saw that it had, Grumm spewed forth a spray of bile that created a miniature miasma between the monster and the magician. While he didn't speak, punctuating his attack with an angry sputtering noise instead, the message was clear: back off.

Grumm then turned away, with no reason to believe that a simple civilian would persist in the suicidal act of provoking an undead armed with a Living Weapon. A flick of the mechanical tentacle whose maw was holding Halte aloft flung the former pirate in the ghoul's direction. With practiced efficiency not completely offset by the sorry state of his body, Grumm brought his axe up in a cruel diagonal arc meant to cleave the incoming Halte in two. At the last moment, however, Halte brought her boots around so that they were facing Grumm, and from their soles twin blasts of water gushed forth. They splashed against Grumm's face, disorienting the creature and slowing down Halte's fall enough to avoid the headsman's weapon completely. Immediately after, Halte landed with both feet planting on Grumm's face, causing him to grumble in protest. Before he could grab her, however, Halte kicked off, flipping through the air to land twenty feet away in a spray of mist.

The next second, Grumm leaped into the air, hissing like a sick cat. More noxious bile spewed from his face as he sailed toward his target. Halte steadied herself before raising a leg and slamming her boot into the ground, causing a jet of water to erupt from the marble beneath Grumm as he landed a yard away from her. Beneath her mouthpiece, Halte smiled grimly, only to cry out in pain as her foe dealt her a crushing hydraulic punch. She staggered away and collapsed to the ground, holding her stomach as if her guts had been liquified, her vehement curses lost in a wave of furious static from her mouthpiece. Though sopping wet and even more flustered than normal, Grumm had executed his Rot Wrecker without more than a split-second's delay. Only a few seconds had passed, but it already seemed that the duel had been decided.

[Assistant]
Pharona smiled brightly as Brandy took the coat, even though Angus could see the hesitation when he took it, the large man always wanted to help people even if they did not really want it. Angus kept his gaze upon the downed Egret solider, feeling like these people did not really have to put so much pain upon the Egret and so much ridicule. However, Pharona on the other hand was having quite the time of her little life as she had managed to meet up with several parasites, but one of them had even offered for the two to come with them on their adventure! This made her feel all warm inside and quickly asked permission for Angus to see if they could actually go with the two. "Angus! Brandy just asked us to come with them! Can we please go with them! I want to just continue this amazing day!"

"Well, even if I said no. I bet you would ignore me anyone and follow them," mumbled Angus within his own head which only hurt Pharona as she did actually respect and care for him... Most of the time.

"Hey, I think your opinion still matters, and if you don't want to go, we don't have to. I think I have had enough exposure to Brandy to have this day as pretty successful." Angus smiled slightly at the thought of leaving these strange people and going back to their daily lives, but he could not abandon this victim to these parasites and he must follow them to see if they don't merciless murder him or something similar in that manner.

"No, we can go with these people. I just need to keep a watchful eye upon the solider, and I hope that you will understand if they try to further hurt this man. I will have to intervene." Pharona thought about the proposition and nodded to it, she knew that these people were good and wouldn't murder someone. Even if they have different beliefs than them. The little parasite girl used the massive arm to tap the shoulder of the the curled up Gale and started to say something, "I think we would be delighted to join you and the merry entourage of strangers! Also, if you were wondering, my name is Pharona!"


[System]
Long Term Character
Appearance:

She wears this headband (not the one seen in the pic)

Age: 14
Room: 2
Race: Human
Traditional Magic and Draconic Arts
Magic Specialty: elemental control
Rank of the Basic 4:
1) Water
2) Wind
3) Fire
4) Earth
Magic Affinity: Mental
Unique Traits: Ayaka tends to wear a headband that looks like cat ears.
Likes: Cats, Animals in general, learning new things, reading
Dislikes: obnoxious people tend to annoy her though she tries to hide that fact,
Personality: Most the time, if she isn't busy with something, Ayaka would more than likely be one of the first people to introduce herself to someone new. She likes to stay as organized as possible when it comes to school.
History: Growing up, Ayaka was most the time hanging out with friends or studying in her room unless one of the cats decided it was time to bug her, which happened quite often. She got used to the idea of her cats waiting until she was busy to demand attention since it seemed that's what they do. Her parents were always taking in stray cats either as their own or to later find a home for.
Pet desired: Frost Wolf named Rikami
Dragon Type Desired: Riding Dragon - Element Air (as for a picture, I don't have one yet)
Other: -Follow the rainbow?-
 Education Completed:

Independent Study Courses Completed:-currently enrolled in every independent course available for the semester-

[User] After Skotadi had told Thomas that she had wanted to be in Draconic Arts and he had given her the box, she looked through the boxes as instructed, she liked the idea of sentient, that way they were hers and hers alone which worked for her. As she hadn't even known that magic even existed and was still having a hard time with out all this talk about it was making her really confused and annoyed. She badly wanted to see the rooms, she didn't mind the fact that they started off light blue but she was going to change hers to either back or midnight blue if she could. Skotadi also wondered about the pet that she would choose and when and how she was going to get her wand, she thought about what it might look like. She doubted that she would need the phone or to get her equipment fixed as she was especially careful with anything that she was told or she thought that she would need. "Are we going to get our wands later then?"

[Assistant] She quickly sent back that she would like to do calligraphy and a musical instrument in future years. She replied to Lady Violetta smiling "I have plenty of time, and a lot of energy, I'll try my hardest to do everything thats thrown at me". "Also I don't think I ever want to leave", she laughed.

[User]
"I only heard about the independent courses for this semester. Not sure how many classes there are besides that...." Ayaka said. "I guess I'll just fill out this form as best I can." She started filling out the form as she spoke. Or at least tried to. Thinking about what Lady Violetta's answer to her question about joining the Exploration Team, Ayaka thought that taking every Independent course would be worth it. The problem was how many classes would be on top of those 5.

Then there was the question asking what Independent courses that they'd like to take. It was great that Violetta was trying to give them options in all, but Ayaka really had no ideas on not only courses she'd like to take, but courses this school already teaches as core curriculum. "I'm guessing we just ask Lady Violetta, I can't fully complete this form without saying something stupid..."

[Assistant]
Elizabeth as well opened her laptop, in order to answer the message she received. She read through the message with a small smile, slightly mischievous. She would answer the questions by number, in order to keep things simple.

Thank you, Lady Violetta, for taking the time to craft us this message.

1. I would prefer one long table.

2. Per my desired profession, it is necessary to take all five of these independent courses, so I would like to take all five.

3. I would like to take all available independent courses in the future.

4. I would like to begin running my own country after I graduate.

Satisfied, Elizabeth pushed send.

[User]
Thomas smiled as he did his best to explain everything.
"Your wands are in your room. Any other questions?" Thomas asked.

 Lady Violetta typed back to Desirae
-You might want to start your Independent Classes now because each Semester more will be added.-
Lady Violetta responded to next Note.
-Elizabeth, will you be in Traditional or Draconic or Both? Running will be included in Physical Training.-

"If I heard right... There are seven levels here, independent courses- I'd assume five because then you would have one Monday through Friday- and then there are summers courses and more!" Mystique spoke in awe.
"It will take a lot of years so I am going to take everything as it is offered. Lets ask Lady Violetta together since I might be able to use her answer as well."
Mystique began working on her PLTs assignment.

[Assistant] Skotadi was thankful that her questions were finally getting answered and decided that she might as well ask everything else that she had wanted to," Yes actually, firstly, where in the universe is this place? Secondly, how does the portal in the painting work? Thirdly, what happens if you haven't had any experience in magic or is that okay? Lastly, how does the sentient work? Okay, I think that's all." She wasn't sure that Thomas could answer all of her questions but she was extremely curious.

[User]
"You are not in the Milky Way Galaxy. This is a new galaxy called The Bridge Mix Galaxy.
Most people have a Magical Core but can't activate it. The Painting is Spelled in such a way that it seeks out Magical Talent or untapped Magical Core in people who sees the Painting then does its best to pull you through the picture.

You will be taught all that you need to know and no one has done magic before coming here.
Everything has been Spelled and given a bit of life as well as a set of rules." Lady Violetta spoke to Skotadi.

[Assistant] Okay and can I change my independent classes in the future to all of them please?, she replied to Lady Violetta.

[User] Skotadi listened carefully to what Lady Violetta said but still didn't understand very well," Thanks but I'm still not too sure about it, I'll understand more as I go along though," she then thought for a moment while she tried to figure out how she had heard her question from that distance but then she figured that she would probably find out soon enough. The more Skotadi found out the more comfortable she became.

[Assistant]
-You can change to that right now if you want to.- Lady Violetta spoke to him.

-All knowledge comes from both experience and bookwork. - she spoke to Skotadi.

[User] "Of course we can ask her together." Ayaka continued with filling out the form they were asked to fill out. She'd planned to maybe type the question to Lady Violetta, but Mystique needed the answer too, so she decided not to. "You think we can just get up and walk over to her?" she asked remembering how things went with both life and Shermie earlier and the fact that they never really got a set of rules they were expected to follow.

[Assistant]
Mystique thought for a minute then spoke.

"We aren't exactly interrupting a lecture or anyone so should be all right.... I think. Let's try it."
Mystique got up and gathered her courage. She looked at Ayaka and smiled.
"Let's give it a try."

[User] "Sure" Ayaka smiled back at her and got up herself. She started walking over to where the headmistress knowing Mystique would most likely be following. She hoped this wasn't the wrong thing to be doing right now.

[Assistant]
Jak awoke with his face in the pizza which was odd and he was quite embarrassed but as he awoke he guessed that they were actually applying for the actual independent study or normal courses.

"Lady Violleta I actually really want to take Arcaic Languages so I have made my decision and I will make sure that I will study a lot and work my hardest,"

Jak said as he wiped the pizza sauce off of his face then continued.

"And could I study the language of Divine and Infernal beings if I take this course Lady Violetta?"

He asked with a small smile on his face because he thought if he could it would be really neat to confuse people in class even though he already knew the Demonic tongue he wanted to study the Infernal tongue as well.

[User]
Irena didn't take too long to answer this as she had most of it in her mind

 1) A long table is fine

 2) Archaic Language (Will make my own). Auras. Basketry. Caligraphy

 3) Maybe something related with shapeshifting yes?

 4) Probably going to left out to explore the world, maybe... maybe, become a leader of a small group.

[Assistant]
Elizabeth typed back to Lady Violetta:

I intend to take both traditional and draconic magic.

[User]
Mystique followed Ayaka to where Lady Violetta was and waited while she was typing into the PLTs.

Lady nodded at Ayaka and Mystique while ignoring Jak's outburst since she had her hands full.

-When you do your laguage, be sure to work with the Autobot and give it a name. It will spell your own language. Shapeshifting is a class that you will be taking in the future. Keep thinking on your career. Take what you can.-

-Elizabeth, thank you. Please note it in the PLTs.-

She then turned to Ayaka and Mystique.
"How may I help you?"

Thomas walked over to Jak when he called over to Lady Violetta.
"Jak, it is better if you want to talk over something with another person, go to that person. Otherwise it would be considered rude.
 Divine and Infernal are Archaic Languages but you must think about what would happen if someone found your personal books. But theoretically you could choose one of them. You would have to talk to the Autobot assigned to you about the language."

[Assistant] "um Lady Violetta? Can we ask a question?" Ayaka asked the headmistress when they got to her. "I'm confused about the question asking what independent courses we'd like to take in the future, but I have no clue what to put there. And I think we're both wanting to know how many classes we'll be taking on top of the independent courses we choose."

[User]
"Yes?" Lady Violetta smiled.
"There are 7 levels and I hope to be able to offer at least 5 independent study classes each level. I have a few for next level but I wanted some input from all of you. These classes will enhance your skills in one way or another as well as earning the extra credits for your career.
 After I finish making the list of possible careers, I will have a list of suggested classes for each one. I will keep it updated as I add classes."

[Assistant] The answer somewhat helped her. At the very least, Ayaka should be able to finish filling out that form now. "You said that all of them would be helpful for a career in exploration?" She just wanted to double check she heard Lady Violetta correnctly earlier. Ayaka wondered if Mystique still had another question and looked over at her in case she did.