[System]
Nickname(Optional): June Bug

Age: 33

Gender: Female

Physical Appearance: Sayeeda is a medium sized woman of middle eastern extraction. She has the wiry build of a swimmer or long distance runner. Her eyes are dark and almond shaped and focus slightly beyond the horizon most of the time. Sayeeda keeps her hair just longer than a buzz cut in order to facilitate wearing her helmet. She has a large tattoo of several owls in flight on her right shoulder. Sayeeda does have feminine curves but her breasts are on the smaller size of average and she does very little to emphasize her gender.

Clothing:  Camo pants and a tank top are her civilian dress. She wears a ceramic breastplate if she is expecting trouble and also has a commo helmet which she uses in battle and for technical tasks.

Personality: Sayeeda is a former mercenary soldier and has a fairly relaxed view towards life. Anything and anyone not currently shooting at her is the second priority. She is very tightly wound when it comes to people doing what she expects them too in dangerous situations and she is extremely punctilious when it comes to fulfilling any sort of formal contract.

[User]
Neil regarded the woman for a moment. At first he thought she reminded him of Sayeeda, her hair short and her body lithe but fit, and a dangerous quality about her. But on second glance, he realized that was not the case. There was a competence, but a lack of command or confidence. She must had been bought as a slave and had served Gnorlaac well, or she had risen through the rank for gathering intel, etc. Either way, he would be respectful. Dangerous or not, she seemed to be his eyes and ears at the moment.

"The D-15 Landing pad near sector 8." Neil replied, giving the ships HLNDR designation number. He had the slightest notion that Taya had tensed up when he gave the information, but one had to look for it to notice. It seemed like no one did, thankfully. As the woman placed the information in her datapad, Neil spoke up. "Will you accompany us or will one of your agents?" Behind Yrla, a door whisked open to reveal two heavily clad warriors. Their races unknown, though they seemed man sized, encased in full Dyrelian battle-armor, leaving even their faces covered in las and bullet resistant armor.

"Both," she replied curtly. Her datapad 'pinged' aloud, and she holstered it onto her utility belt as she motioned for Neil to lead the way back to the ship. The guard's guns were not pointed at them, but they were slung within their hands much like Neil and Sayeeda's guns had been when they had dealt with Sven.

Through the rusted streets, the blood and excrement on the walls giving off a very pervasive sense of mild disgust, Neil strode ahead confidently and never did look back. He had his hand close to his revolver if he heard even the slightest thing amiss, but all was quiet save the calls of the low-life merchants and the growls of various Xenos that prowled. Once they entered the landing pad, Neil told Taya to open up the ship. She didn't make a noise, and simply pushed a button within her clothes that activated the bay doors.

"Wait here, would you?" Neil asked them. All of them, and he went up to retrieve the most valuable mineral in the galaxy.

[Assistant]
Sayeeda gestured Taya back into the ship, the girl was quick to take advantage of the chance to get out of the potentially dangerous situation, all but running up the ramp. She might tell herself that she would be more useful inside the ship and maybe that was true, but truthfully Junebug just wanted her out of the way. There were a million ways this exchange could go wrong and shooting the Highlanders crew to save the forty million was both the most likely and the most difficult to avoid.

The aliens in the armor snorted and yipped at each other their communication undecipherable to human ears. Junebug watched them with studied boredom her plasma rifle cradled casually but within only a few degrees of the armored killers. In the ancient struggle between weapons and armor, weapons were currently in the lead. Nothing a man could carry would do much to stop a plasma bolt. Even ablative armor would transmit a bone shattering shock as the superheated plasma detonated on its surface. Powered armor was more effective and could be plated heavily enough to withstand the shock, but it sacrificed movement. Mechs and the like were more akin to light vehicles than armored infantry. Sayeeda figured if this went south she could take at least one and probably both of the alien gunmen down but it didn't mean she was eager to try conclusions. One of the creatures, sensing her regard made a crude leer running a purplish tongue over its fangs. Sayeeda winked without allowing her face to lose its bored expression, gannering another burst of garbled alien chittering.

Further by play was interrupted by Neil returned carrying the small chest in which the *BLANK* was stored. The guards and the young woman who was apparently going to perform the assay quited in anticipation. The pilot set the case down on the grease stained floor and flicked both the latches open with a theatrical flourish.

"Behold!" he cried, throwing the lid open and posing dramatically. The soft glow of the *BLAN* pulsed from within the chest, illuminating falling dust motes in its pure light. Neil looked a little crestfallen.

"No one appreciates a show," he muttered. Sayeeda noticed that his revolver was tucked into his belt, within easy reach for a quick draw. Apparently she wasn't the only one concerned about the number of ways things might go wrong. The woman, Junebug never got her name, pulled a bulky but portable scanner from a bag and ran it over the *BLANK*. For an endless minute the machine beeped and whired before the aide, or whatever she was, finally tucked the scanner away.

"It appears to be genunine," she said, her voice a little to netural to be believable.

"Where did you say you got it from?" she asked. Junebug rolled her eyes.

"We stole it from the Pirate King and he is going to sail his fleet of dreadnoughts in here and wreak horrible vengeance on whoever holds the cursed treasure. Anyone who toucheth it wilt surely perish excetera and if this is the part where you try to talk us down from our price because its soooo dangerous, then you can just be on your way and we will find another buyer," Junebug sneered. The aliens stiffened, gripping their weapons. Junebug negligently lifted her rifle to point at the closes gunmen though her face still appeared bored rather than threatening. The aides face was dark with an unpleasant emotion.

"Very well, we will pay your asked price, but you should know that…"

"Yeah yeah, no one disrespects the boss, we get it," Junebug finished, lowering her rifle as the aliens took their own hands away from their weapons.

"Take the goods," the aide told the aliens.

"No," Junebug and Neil spoke simultaneously, paued to look at each other and then turned back to their guests.

"I know we are all friends and everything, you know you being infamous gangsters and we being some randoms who never made port here till yesterday, but just for the hell of it, lets assume we want to see the money before we hand over the goods."

"You are a very irritating woman Captain Cyckali," the aide said, clenching and unclenching her fists. Junebug smiled toothily.

"And just to be sure no one gets any weird notions, lets do the hand off somewhere neutral, one of those casinos should do fine."

"The Golden Nebula," Taya's voice sounded in her mastoid implant. The girl was good, listeninging into the conversation and doing her own research as she went.

"THe Golden Nebula, lets say three hours from now?" Junebug went on as though she had come up with the name.

"That is hardly enough time to get the money toge…" the Aid protested.

"Well then I guess we will have to take our bussiness elsewhere after…" the aide through up her hands in disgust.

"FINE!" she snapped and whirled on her heel, practically storming out of the building flunkies in tow. Junebug grinned, Neil gave her his 'what the fuck was that' expression as he pulled his revolver from his belt. She shrugged a little sheepishly.

"Sorry, it has been days since I shot anything, guess I'm a little tense."

[User]
The Pilot laughed. "Don't worry, with our luck I'm sure we'll shoot something real soon." he said with a wink, snapping up the trunk and lifting up the near-priceless object. He shook his head as he relayed the scene that had just played out. "Acting like we'd just give them the stone. They idiots?"

"I think they think we're the idiots." Sayeeda said, hands on her hips.

"How could we be idiots? We have some fucking Aestimobium."

"And how did we get it?" She asked Neil, raising an eyebrow.

He sighed. "...By being idiots." Sayeeda smirked. Taya's voice rang over the comms. "If you two are done, let's get in here and discuss what exactly we plan on doing." The hanger was still empty, but Neil realized it was probably for the best they talked further inside. A devil in the back of Neil's head made him say. "Yeah, before the Captain shoots somebody." He felt a woosh of air behind the nape of his neck right as he leaped forward, and he ran into the Highlander with Sayeeda right on his heels until Neil spun and held the Aestimobium in front of himself. Sayeeda hid a smile, and just pointed at him.

He placed the mineral down on the table after she sat down, and he sat down too, thinking he was safe. The boot that stomped on his foot relieved him of such notions, but they were both laughing after Neil cursed. In a moment however, Sayeeda went back to business and began. "So..." she said, her tone brooking no room for anything else but making a plan worth executing. "we go to the Golden Nebula. Did either of you see any good places for guns to hide in the Cantina?"

"I could barely see anything." Taya said, the cloak that had been wrapped around her head now snug on her shoulders once more.

"There's probably plenty of places to the left when you enter, where the crowds and dancers are." Neil pointed out. "But on the right, the sit down bar and tables are probably where we'll do the transaction. We can't exactly flank or hide either, they've seen both of our faces and Taya isn't the best gun, no offense."

Taya's face gave a clear 'none taken, seriously' as if she wanted to be as far away from any gun as possible.

"Then we'll just need to sit in the corner near the door, and wait. Or if they already have a table for us, we don't sit next to each other." She said to Neil, and he nodded. They needed eyes everywhere. "Taya, give us your cloak." The girl blinked, but did as she was told, and Sayeeda wrapped it around the Aestimobium container.

Neil spoke up next. "They'll never guess we have a container now."

Needless to say, he had to dodge Sayeeda again.

[Assistant]
The Golden Nebula was not what Sayeeda had imagined from a dingy crime world, though perhaps it should have been. Neoclassical dance music thrummed like a thunderstorm as they stepped through the security checkpoint and into the interior. Just as Taya had said the establishment employed sophisticated biometric scanners, though the expensive units were almost completely recessed into large palatial columns. The security was well armed and obvious but also clean enough to hint at respectability. Also, just as Taya had said, neither the Aestimobium nor the pair of pistols concealed beneath it triggered the sensors. One of the metals many properties was the release of energy in the form of radiation. The radiation was poorly understood but seemed to have no harmful effects on humans. Apparently it was also enough to smother the electronic signatures of the hardware. Sayeeda kept her face pleasant but she really wished they could have bought more hardware. In theory the weapon restrictions applied to their 'business partners' too, but Junebug was to familiar with breaking rules to put much stock in that slender protection.

"I still say we should have pulled a last minute move, somewhere I could have covered with a rifle," the mercenary griped. She was dressed in a skin tight body suit of dark gray, almost black synthetic polymer. It was the sort of thing that a jet bike rider might wear and was judged by Taya to be not too far out of the ordinary for the Nebula. The plus was that it let her wear combat boots, those these were new, black and buffed to a high sheen rather than her worn tan favorites. A band of black enameled metal encirled her brow, keeping her now almost shoulder length hair out of her face. She really needed to find time to get it cut, or at least buzz it so that her helmet would fit properly again.

"Will you give it up," the long suffering Neil responded as they ascended a broad stairway. The interior of the casino was massive and open. Games of chance of every conceivable sort ringed a huge central space. Not only the ground but the walls and ceiling were covered also. Antigrav plates had been installed to allow a guest to walk up the walls or over the ceiling. Bars and drinking establishments stood out like barbs on the wall and celing. THe central space was a vast zero gravity dance floor. Launch points were marked on the floor where the gravity was low enough that one could jump into the field. Smaller grav points flashed in and out of existance as bars of neon lights. Hundreds of people flipped and spun overhead, gyrating with wild excess that would have been impossible in normal grav.

"Whoa," Junebug said, impressed inspite of herself.

"Also what is this like nine dimensions of fire arcs to worry about? Remind me to kill Taya."


[System]
Basics
Alias: Trick
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Alliance: Good
Power: Teleportation – Lexa can teleport herself and whatever she's holding to any location that she can see
Enhanced Healing – Lexa has enhanced durability and heals moderately fast (an injury that would normally take several days to heal instead takes several hours), though this has the side effect of injuries scarring more often than not

Physical Description

Image:

Height: 5'5"
Weight: 111 lbs
Hair: Long, deep red
Eyes: Amber
Typical Clothing/Equipment: Casual – baggy, loose fitting t-shirt and pants, with a pair of old sneakers.
Uniform – A black, lightly armored ensemble with gloves, a jacket, and a mask that covers the bottom half of her face. She also carries a katana, and dyes her hair black to help conceal her identity.

Personality/Attributes

Personality/Attitude: Quiet, aloof, thoughtful, self-blaming, sarcastic, couragious, just, secretly empathetic
Skills/Talents: Karate and aikido black belt, weapons training, parkour, fluent in French and Vietnamese, superior reflexes
Favorites/Likes: Her dog Frank, japanese candies, quiet nights
Most Hated/Dislikes: People who enjoy hurting others
Goals/Ambitions: To help as many people as she can
Strengths: Resourceful, driven, takes no shit
Weaknesses: Brooding, quick to blame herself, stand-offish
Fears: Watching someone die when she could've helped

Additional Notes: Her parents and little brother died in a house robbery gone wrong eight months ago. Now she lives in an apartment by herself with an old one-eyed dog she picked up from the pound named Frank. Never been kissed. Has a day job working at a bookstore.

[User]
She had asked him if he had anywhere in mind for them to go and be safe. With what strength he had he struggled to his feet, groaning in pain as he did so. FUCKSHITFUCKGODDAMNIT The words did not leave his mouth he was in far too much pain. Although he was pretty much healed up by now, he was still in quite a bit of pain. "I know of someone who can help us find a place..." He nodded, seeming to agree with what he had to say. "Yea... someone. His name is Roy he's Luca's son. Luca, the bar owner, remember? He's a bit of a bad boy, I'll be sure to keep him off ya. In any case, he should be able to help us."

Jack almost rejected her offer to teleport him out of there, he wasn't quite sure either of them were up for it. But he knew she was stubborn and they NEEDED to get out of there. He allowed her to teleport them from wherever they were, to the alley beside Luca's dive bar. "Oi. We should be safe if we go in there. But only for a moment. No doubt Shirley's men are looking for us. They'll protect us in there. But they're honestly no match for Shirley and his creations..." Jack noticed something about himself. The joking manner in which he normally spoke was doused by how serious the situation was. He didn't like it one bit. "Alright, sweet cheeks. Allow me to handle this one. This 'bad boy' I spoke of before will only do us the favor we ask if we either give him something. Or threaten him." He chuckled, causing him to wince. "I definitely prefer the latter. Of course, I won't go killing anyone, but threatening is still on the list of things I'm allowed to do, right?"

With another nod of reassurance from himself, he headed inside and gestured to Luca as he entered.

"Luca. 'ave you seen your sleezeball of a son?"

"Roy, yea he's-"

A person interrupted Luca by putting their arm around Jack's shoulder. "Right here, my man."

"Roy!!" Jack tried not to wince and looked toward the door to see if Lexa had followed him. He REALLY didn't want Roy to get his hands on her. Not that he would try much other than kissing and a bit of groping. But it would irritate Jack, nonetheless. In all honesty, Roy was Jack's rival, always trying to steal Jack's women.

"Where've ya been, Jack? Surely not left for dead somewhere by an ex one-nighter?"

Jack snickered. "Nah, I've been busy. Look, can we talk in the alley way for a moment? I've got a request and I don't want the boys finding out about it, ya got me?"

"Sure, sure, Jackaboy." Roy gave a grin and somewhat escorted Jack to the alley with his arm still around his shoulder. "Whatcha nee-" He stopped mid-sentence when he finally noticed Lexa. "Oi, oi. Who's this lovely lady, Jack? You didn't tell me you were with someone."

"I'm not" He gritted his teeth when Roy pushed him away. "She's just a friend. Nothing more."

"C'mon Jack, I've never known you to have 'just a friend' before." He moved closer to Lexa.

Jack reached out and grabbed Roy's shirt collar, pulling Roy back and turning him around so that Jack could put HIS arm around Roy's shoulder. "Look here, you piece of cow dung dipped in elephant jizz, I'd leave her alone before she or I bash your pretty little face in, you got me?" His tone was dark and threatening.

Roy's eyes widened for a moment. "H-heh... Yea Jack. Totally. Wh-what'd you need?"

"Oh, well you know." Jack's tone suddenly lightened and he smiled cheerfully. "We need a place to lay low for a while, no questions asked."

"O-of course." Roy pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly sent a text. Just as quickly as he had sent it, his phone received a text in return. "I'll forward you the address... can I go now?"

"Sure, buddy!" Jack let go of Roy and turned to Lexa as Roy scrambled back into the bar.

"We'd better get going..."

[Assistant]
Lexa fought the urge to roll her eyes at Jack's display of… protectiveness? Aggression? Dominance? Some stupidly male thing that she didn't have the patience for but didn't have the energy to fight. All that mattered was they got what they needed and had to get out. Lexa looked at the address on Jack's phone, trying to recognize its location in the city through her tired thoughts. She stood close to Jack as she did so, almost leaning into him unconsciously. Whether it was for her own support or for his, no one could say.

After a moment, she gave a short nod.

"Ok," she said. "I think I got it." She glanced up at Jack and started a bit to find him so close. Leaning back, putting careful inches between them she spoke again. "Ready?" And with that she grabbed his shoulder and teleported them up to the rooftop and across the city.

The pair ended up in the industrial district, a dingy, dirty place with littered streets and unpainted walls. At was on the very edge of the city, just before a great pine forrest that stretched for miles. Lexa worked to narrow it down to the correct street and then the number until she found the building. She was panting, needing rest after the long night and teleporting across town with a passenger, but she knew she couldn't rest yet. She'd begun leaning on Jack more and more throughout the trip, the will to hold herself up growing more and more difficult to muster.

But eventually they made it to Roy's safehouse: an abandoned office building to some logging company that had closed long ago. It was too dark to see much, but it smelled of dust and mildew and the air was stale. But Lexa couldn't have been more relieved to arrive. With a sigh she let go of Jack and plopped down on the floor, her back against a wall. Moonlight shined through the window they'd teleported through above her.

"Shit," she muttered, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. Annoyance more than anything else colored her voice. This exhaustion thing sucked. She needed to work out more.

But… how exactly was one supposed to exercise a superpower? Just do it more? She'd improved by miles over the past year she knew, but she didn't know if that was because her power was getting stronger or if she was just getting better at using it properly.

Her mind flashed back to Shirley and what he'd told her. How she was supposedly… one of them. Lexa winced and covered it up by stretching her neck. She opened her eyes again in the darkness, staring ahead at nothing.

Jack… he'd grown up in the system. He'd spent his whole life learning and perfecting his power. Granted, he'd done it by being tortured. So if the options were know your powers and grow up being tortured, or have a normal life and figure it out on your own… Lexa thought she ended up lucky. She still couldn't believe what Shirley'd told her… what he'd apparently revealed to her about her life.

In a moment of blind impulse, Lexa opened her mouth.

"When you were young," she finally said in a quiet, distant voice, "do you remember… who was the first one to get powers? In the institute or whatever."

[User]
Jack could tell Lexa had used a lot of energy teleporting them around town to the dump of a hideout. He sat across the room from her, pushing some wooden planks and rubble out of the way to sit down on the floor. "Notice how no one said a thing about my wound and the blood? Well they know better than to ask. But I'm pretty sure Luca knows my secret. Anyways, you asked me question didn't ya?"

The young man looked up at what was left of the ceiling. "Uh, lemme think I don't remember particularly. I think they started in an order starting with Joker. However..." He closed his eyes tight, trying hard to remember what he had long tried to forget. "There was a mention of a first, before the Card Deck project. I listened rather well when they assumed I was unconscious. It was simply called Project X. and I'm not sure why. I know the victim was female, she was experimented on as a baby or something. Why do you ask? Did Shirley say something to you?"

By now it almost seemed like things were starting to add up. Jack was oblivious to it however. He didn't think in any way Lex could have been the girl that they spoke about, the main experiment of Project X. But it did explain her night terrors and her powers.

[Assistant]
Project X. Of course a sadistic organization would name their first evil brainchild Project X. But other than that, what little Jack knew seemed to match up with what Shirley had said. Not that that proved anything.

"Said lots of stuff," Lexa answered. "He talks almost as much as you do. He was trying to get me to join his evil empire or something. Dunno. Wasn't really paying attention." Lexa gave a tired sigh, amber eyes focusing on Jack.

"The only people to ever know about my power were my parents. They hated when I used it. They were just scared, I think. They wouldn't even let me tell my brother, but I think he figured it out on his own." Her gaze drifted to the side as she spoke, remembering them. "But they're all gone now, so it's just you. And Ty." Another mess that needed cleaning up. She owed him explanations. "So what's your plan after this? Lay low and what? Go into hiding? Kill Shirley?" She tried to picture Jack in a non-violent civilian existence. Didn't quite fit. Then again, the same could be said when she tried to picture herself as just Lexa with no Trick.

[User] "Heh. Well, I pretty much told ya I wouldn't kill anymore. So killing Shirley is out of the question. Regardless of, y'kno, the fact that he'll always be after us both and maybe even threaten to kill people we care about or worse..." Jack rolled his eyes but was smiling. "Oh well whatevers. I suppose I will have to move out of the city but what I really want... is to um... Stick with you. I mean! What?! I didn't say anything, I don't know what you're talking about!!" He shook his head like he really hadn't said anything about sticking with her. However, it was the truth that he had wanted to stay with her. But it was probably something she didn't want. In fact, she was probably still livid with him for getting her into all of this and such. Ah well, He would have to see what her reaction was to him saying stupid shit now. Great...

[Assistant]
Lexa blinked at Jack when he said he was keeping his no-killing promise, even when it came to Shirley. That was… mildly impressive. Which really said wonders when Lexa was impressed that Jack wasn't planning homicide. She froze though, when he said he wanted to stay with her. Stunned amber eyes watched Jack as he fussed and fidgeted where he sat. He… what? How was she even supposed to react to them?

"Uhm… yeah?" Lexa wanted to run herself through with her sword for responding in the stupidest possible way. Her face was starting to heat. She tore her eyes away from him to look down at the ground. Shit, she was too sleep deprived to deal with this.

If she forced her spinning head to get its damn act together, it wasn't the most terrible idea. The smartest move would likely be for her to skip town, find somewhere new to hide and set up shop. It meant starting over, but… well, Lexa didn't have all that much to lose here. She'd miss her job, and Ty… But now that he knew about her, the farther she was from him, the better. She couldn't stand the idea of him getting wrapped up in this because of her own idiocy. He didn't deserve that.

At least she could bring her dog with her.

As for sticking with Jack… Lexa's eyes flicked up to him before quickly darting away again. Dangerous. Dangerous and volatile. Not homicidal though, for however long that lasted. But if he could be trusted, then he was a good person to have at her back. And…

Lexa had already lost her family once. While Jack wasn't anywhere close to that, she didn't know how willing she was to lose this possible connection to her past. Even if she didn't want to believe it.

"If we do this," she finally spoke again in a gruff voice, hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth, "I'm not babysitting you. I don't wanna turn around and find out you dropped a building or something." Promising to not murder was a good first step, but there was a whole slew of other crimes on his rap sheet.

This was a terrible idea. She was going to regret this.

But Lexa couldn't find it in herself to pull the words back.


[System]
gender: male
godly parents: Aisoyimstan, Mahina
sphere of control: Cold, Darkness, Moon
personality: Landon's powers are very powerful, but unfortunately unreliable for himself. Having such an expanse of powers that couldn't be used for himself have put him in a confusing position. He would use his powers to help himself and others as he sees fit, but due to his mother they tend to only want to respond to others needs of them. Feeling like he was destined to be used and controlled has given him a bitterness against everyone, but as fighting them is completely useless he tends to just go along with the flow. He is very smart and wise, but often dark in his thoughts as he cares for no one. He can still be jovial and witty once he opens up, but that's just him suppressing his bitterness.
sacred animal: Walrus
powers: Landon has very strong control and manipulation of both cold/ice and shadows/darkness. Unfortunately the full strength of these powers can only be brought out at other's request. Few know this and Landon doesn't like to tell anyone feeling he'll just be a tool for their use afterwards.
weapon(s): Landon often uses his prosthetic as a shield and weapon and his arm as the manipulator of magic. He now wields Freya's Runic sword with his arm, as it greatly amplifies his magic powers.
History:
Landon is currently twenty-seven, and grew up with a foster family in Washington. He found out about his powers at a young age and tried training them on his own. Not having anything to compare his powers with, he was content with the growth in his powers. That is until he met a demi-god that threatened his siblings on the way home from school. He realized he was still very weak as he couldn't do anything to save his brother, but he found a surge in power as his sister cried for help from him. He tore the man apart and saved his sister with his new found power. Afterwards he tried to find that same power and became frustrated as he found he couldn't. One day he met his wandering father by chance and learned of what his mother did to him. Having lost her love, she "cursed" him with the need to help others, stunting his powers until someone unlocks them.

His time with the Merged was a massive growth experience in godhood. He learned a lot about his powers and their capabilities. He also learned a lot about the other gods and how they thought and acted. His character began to change as well. He lost his connection to the humans and the current world they were in. Normally he would have felt sad at their extinction, but now he was beyond all that. He decided to partake in making of a new race with the other gods. He moved to the north and created his people to comfortably survive the harsh regions. The role of a god was becoming him. He could tell that it was happening to himself as well. He tried to keep himself humble, by interacting with his people often. They were good at problem solving and thinking, and Landon was finding it easier and easier to solve all his problems with powers. He enjoyed thinking with them, helping them solve their troubles with new discoveries and teaching them some of the basics of tools and weaponry that he knew previously. He found he had stopped aging apparently as well. After several years and no changes in his appearance he found that this was what he would look like. A few years later he even found he could slightly change the look of his age. He could take the appearance of a fresh twenty year old, all the way to that of a eighty year old man. He most often kept his looks in his state where he met the merged and how most knew of him. His physical appearance would never be the same as when he first met them though. He lost his right arm in the battle against Zeltrax. He was able to keep a prosthetic very easily, but sometimes he embraced only having one arm as who he was.
other:

Appearance: The Tari are very humanoid. They have purplish grey skin, that could range from a solid grey to more rarely a vibrant purple, and primarily white fur. They have horns that begin just above their foreheads and run close to the skull and curve down behind their ears. They have long pointed ears, that protrude from their thick fur. They have hair that begins at the elbows and knees and gets longer as it approches their hands and feet. They have claws on their hands and feet as well. The males hair tends to stay shorter, but grows aound the jawline and mouth as well. Females have no facial hair, but their hair grows longer and fuller. Females also have fur covering their breasts and groins, whereas males just have fur covering their groins. The Tari don't wear clothes, but may wear jewelry/adornments.
I couldn't find any pictures that matched what I had in mind, but these might help a bit with visualization.

Name of Civilization: Tari
Leadership Style: Tribal/Republic, Male dominant.
Powers of race: Immune to cold. A little stronger than humans. Much stronger lungs and respiratory system. They have the ability to use echolocation. Just as intelligent as humans, but obviously young in their technology. Their advancements will be appropriate and up to date with the age, sometimes leading the technology race. They can handle most heat, but start to overheat near 40
o
C. Humidity helps prevent this and dry heat worsens the condition.
Unique traits: Their fur will begin to darken after a few months in the warmth, and after a few years a Tari would have a pelt of black fur with a blue sheen. Their skin doesn't change color.
God or Goddess: Primarily Landon/ all gods as their sphere of control shows necesity.
Other:
They are quick to accept other races ways and technology. They have even been seen taking lessons from captured Nej in the arts of war. They try to get the most out of everything and capitalize on all their resources. Hard work is greatly rewarded in the society and the lazy are commonly looked down on.

[User] "The rules of this world are no longer set in stone." As the Neja began their attacks, The Dragon's Human face appeared in the sky, speaking with a resounding fury. "We are no longer ruled by the old laws of non-interference. You know what that means!" Suddenly, the Earth began to open up and swallow the Neja, who were attacking the food supplies of the people. The farms were razed, but the food supply was large, every house had a large food stuff supply. The Dragon, however, cast the spell, the Earth began to swallow the invaders while the Humans defended themselves with their advanced weapons. "The Neja will be decimated. . . your homeland will now experience this spell I have cast, pray I do not destroy you further".

[Assistant]
Dejor saw what had happened to 200 of his race. This god dare take out his own kind in his own territory! There would be consequences later. However one other god also noticed this. Flemmings was not pleased with what he saw. Defending themselves was fine. But using godly powers within another territory could not be overlooked. Flemmings himself was still trying to make a set of rules for this new land after all.

As the Neja were attacked they were able to take down atleast 20 humans with them. Not alot, but it was something. Dejor after this point ordered a retreat of all that was left which was only 50.

Within moments a portal opened behind the Dragon within it's domain. "I can understand defending your kind, but attacking them within their own territory will have to pay consequences. You will have a trial for those actions within 1 week. Be prepared and meet us in the nexus then." Flemmings said before leaving. Rataoskr at this point was set into action. There would be a trial very soon for the Dragon to determine a suitable punishment for the actions of what he did.

Sheo was pleased with his trade. Within a moment though the Bead seemed to implode on itself harmlessly. It would hurt no one just implode. "You guys are fun! Who want's to have a party!" Sheogorath said with a smile on his face. He was in a good mood, and Haskill was only there to make sure he didn't get out control. Towards the end of the day Sheogorath had gotten the whole town into a party. There was music and drinking everywhere. Sheogorath had also been summoning rabbits and sweet rolls everywhere. Though the entire time he had been trying to summon Deadric because he believed them to be great at partying.

[User]
Xoxi hops out of the carriage, staring right at a demolished bridge towards Britain. The only way in is through some very skilled free running, and even then the support of it all looks like it could fall at any single moment. The land around it looks completely ruined. No signs of any plantoids around.

"Here you are, lady. I best be outta here before trouble shows up."

"Alright..."

As the carriage driver hauls out of there, Xoxi rethinks everything around her. The bridge is close to uncrossable, and going sideways is also not an option, so there was only one logical answer...

Screaming at an ocean.

Britain is an island after all. There's water surrounding it entirely except for the Ireland part of it, which is also surrounded by water. If it doesn't work the bridge is a really dumb yet somewhat smart idea. The bridge breaks, enemies can't get onto Britain. It stays up, Xoxi has a way off the island.

Xoxi climbed down a cliff, onto the shoreline, and faced the ocean. This was an abysmally dumb idea, she thought, but it was all she had to go on.

"HEY! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? PRETTY SURE THIS ISN'T GOING TO WORK BUT IF IT DOES GIVE ME A SIGN OR SOMETHING!"

With an odd stroke of luck, a boat surfaces out of the water.

There's no explanation to it, the boat just appeared out of the water for no reason.

"...cool beans."

Xoxi climbs in the boat and starts rowing it towards Ireland.

[Assistant] It was Phoenix, Arizona. There were two thousand Humans, the last remaining survivors of the Human race, neighboring each other in the area. Phoenix was no longer, however, an arid desert area. . . rivers around Arizona gave life to the place, no longer was it a large desert, to reiterate, it was a forested paradise, a land more reminiscent of Medieval England's luscious nature than what the place was thirty years ago. Of course, Phoenix alone had millions of people. Now, there were two small nations in Arizona holding two thousand inhabitants. All that was left of Humanity. The Dragon, however, had successfully given all Humans genetic reinforcement through his vaccines, vaccines, for lack of a better word, that had restored Human genetic material to everyone as if the Human race had returned to the days of Adam and Eve. Arkannyn watched with disdain at the events unfolding. The Dragon, one of the greatest guardians of the Human race other than himself, under trial? This is dire, dreadful, and horrible.

[User]
During this party, Claire, Yuki, and Miriam joined in. Claire and Yuki really just came to be the "Party Moms" that would attempt to keep things from going too far. Miriam, on the other hand was hosting a bunch of large-scale games, and partaking in drinks. Not that any of it worked that well, considering she had taken in hardcore drinking games in the past with Claire, Yuki, and a bunch of humans at some other parties. The humans only took a around an hour to pass out, but it took the goddesses days to get drunk. They had to move it to one of their own realms it took so long. Still, they were a good way to liven up parties, and rabbit racing was a fun gambling game.

In any case, Yuki was showing off her moves, trying to get the Duskicians to move with her. They did, but she felt that they needed a bit of work. For now, though, she face the challenge of dancing while juggling a bunch of child Duskicians. A small challenge, but one that she still considered something she had to be careful doing. Claire would've joined in, but she felt the excess energy of a big summoning spell attempt. bigger than the ones with the rabbits and sweet rolls.

Of course, it was coming from Sheogorath. Claire, walked up to the other-worldly deity, and said,

"You better not be trying to do anything big without telling me, Mice-food. I'd be really pissed if that was the case."

[Assistant]
After a strenuous day or so of rowing a boat, Xoxi finally lands on the shore of Ireland, oddly surprised that what looks like buildings seem to be mainly intact, aside from wear-and-tear damage. The shoreline was below a cliffside, and had several small caves within the rocky surface of the wall. There seemed to be a small otherworldly force emanating from a cave on this cliff side. Dumbly enough, a few small creatures seem to be roaming around in the sandy terrain.

"Well, this is Ireland. Home to potatoes, alcohol, and man skirts... well used to be anyway."

Xoxi, walking along the shoreline, recalls stuff that occurred before the world went to garbage. The last conversation with her mother rung through her head, speaking that she was destined for something.

"Daughter. I've seen the ways the moon passes through it's phases, and they have revealed to me something. You are destined. Destined to start something great."

"Destined for what though?"

"I cannot reveal this, it wou-"

"Wow thanks mom, you're really helpful."

"Xoxi you do not understand, the way the moon ali-"

"'The way the moon aligns is the only way your fate will be revealed' yeah yeah you told me this a long time ago, it was when you said bad times would come to my mentor and the next following week he was found lynched in a barbarian village."

"...alright. Well... I must go."

"Bye mom, see you whenever you give a crap about the Earth."

As she slowly came back to reality, she realized she was quite a long distance away from the boat she arrived on Ireland with, and night was beginning to fall.

"Time to set up a camp, plan out for the future, I guess."


[System]
Age: 20

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Appearance: Standing at about 5'9" tall, Tiral has a fairly average build for his age, which is kind of strange considering how he's perpetually surrounded by the other Iron Rose Knights who seem to be much sturdier than he. His light brown hair is cut short, but has found a way of remaining a shaggy mess that barely avoids his eyes, even while he is wearing armor. More often than not, though, Tiral opts to avoid the usage of any large plate armor or metal armor, instead only wearing stronger equipment over his vitals and leaving the rest under regular leather garb. His sword will often times be sheathed at his side, ready for combat at a moment's notice.

Personality: Tiral is... Actually fairly deliberate for a knight, if not somewhat bored by the peace of everyday life. His journeys at a young age meant he was already able to experience life in the real world, and since then the dusty old libraries that the mages hold in such high regard have been... Well, fairly dull. This doesn't mean that he isn't devoted to his work, but rather that he does not wish to learn anything unless he finds it interesting. Even so, his patience when it comes to such things is unparalleled. Or maybe it's just the fact that he can slap some ice onto people's mouths when he's trying to focus. That too.

Brief Backstory: Having been orphaned a young age due to an illness that wiped out the rest of his village, Tiral was taken in by a priestess of Mayon who was moving with a group of travelers to bring aid to those in need. Though he was never explicitly religious, he greatly appreciated the efforts put forth to save his life, even then. As he grew up alongside these people, the priestess soon found that Tiral had an aptitude for magic. With a recommendation from her (and the goading of those around her), Tiral went off to the capital to further his studies of magic. Sadly, the monotonous life of a studying magician was not quite what the then-young boy had expected of magic.

It was then that he heard of the Iron Rose Knights, whose feats were oft recorded in the books he was forced to pore over. Deciding that the life of a knight was much more entertaining than the life of a magical scholar, Tiral packed up his things once more and went to join the order. Learning the sword came about as easily as magic did to him, but the combination of the two (and his somewhat strange insistence on learning both at once) made him particularly noteworthy among that year's recruits. Since then, Tiral has been honing his abilities, both magical and physical.

Equipment: Other than his rather 'unique' set of armor, Tiral wields a shortsword and a small ceremonial dagger. While the sword is standard-issue, the dagger is mainly used as a catalyst for some of Tiral's larger spells. It may be used as a glorified kitchen knife, but he'd probably never stand for that. More often than not, this dagger is tucked away in his shirt or under his breastplate, but it never leaves his person.

Skills: Contrary to many of his peers, Tiral has chosen not to solely specialize in the way of the blade; rather than just being proficient with his shortsword, Tiral is also proficient in the usage of magic in combat. This magic, focusing mainly on the manipulation on water and ice, has become particularly noteworthy for those who are particularly religious. He, quite frankly, just sees it as sort of a coincidence; his specialty being water does not mean that anything was pre-ordained by the gods.
Probably.

[User]
"Teller"
Anton Duboi

Anton ran into the camp on the heels of the knights and aided their forceful push into the center of the camp. Those that were struck with an arrow or crossbow were quickly hauled aside, the projectiles yanked from their wounds, and a bit of healing salve was applied via syringe. Small wounds healed with little effort and saved valuable time. No sooner had one man been aided than seemingly another fell to the ground. But his place was to aid the fallen and aid them he did. The push was solid and the momentum seemingly unstoppable until the group had hit the 'king' chair. Anton had stayed behind momentarily to give what aid he could, trusting the group to handle one man and whatever resistance still stood in the orders way.

Teller gave a knight who had taken a bad cut to the chest a sedative and deftly sewed the wound shut amidst the chaos, his hands slippery with blood but more than capable of finishing the task one stitch at a time. Satisfied, another soldier helped the wounded to escape the confines of the seemingly burning bandit base. It was only when Teller got to the front lines of the fight that he realized something was amiss.
An armored knight in solid plate had been cleaved in half like paper in front of the captain. The beast of a king, Jeremiah, unphased by the numbers against him. A cold shudder spread down the doctors spine but he stubbornly refused to let it go. He was needed.

Anton rushed up the hill as fast as his legs could carry him to get a better vantage. The beastly man, Sir Garett, was trying to force the behemoth of an opponent back while another fighter extracted Fanilly. There wasn't much time and Teller was running out of options. Adrenaline would keep Garett in the fight for so long and there was no time to administer any kind of aid. The doctors sword and likely his spine would be cleaved well in half if he got close.
Last ditch effort.
Anton reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarrel with the numbing solution and loaded it into his hand crossbow. It was a risk, but it was one he needed to take for the good of the order. Those who felt no pain fought on well after their bodies could not continue. Teller aimed his crossbow and fired, the bolt sailing true and straight to collide with the back of his arm in a shallow hit. The crossbow was not effective at piercing, even at close distance, but at this point it just needed to apply its package. If Garett survived and remembered, Teller would apologize to him.

With a bit of luck, and the luck of the gods, the barbarian would only notice his fury and focus beyond his pain. The numbness of the sedation would not slow him down or cause a drowsy effect, as his toxin would.

[Assistant]
There came a point where Tyaethe's charge was brought to a grinding halt, though not because of the quality of her opposition. Only noticing their startled eyes gave her enough warning to move out of the way before the immense trunk came down to her left, flattening unfortunate bandits as well as cutting the camp in two. The knight started moving forward and looked around for the other flanks, reckoning that there couldn't be that much ground between her and them.

The captain wasn't with hers. It was unthinkable that she had stayed back and allowed the others to fight after that display earlier, so where could she be? It wasn't a hard question to answer for the paladin: once again, she had run ahead of the other knights. This could only mean that she was on the other side of the flaming tree trunk... cut off from Tiral's detachment by the bandits still on that side of the camp.

She wasn't losing another captain so quickly. Not now and, after this, Fanilly wasn't going to go into a fight without her again. The captain had no luck at all.

This left the no small matter of being separated by quite a sprint and a burning tree barely thinner than she was tall. Going around would take too long and jumping it was out of the question, unless... quickly, the undead dropped her shield--she could come back for it later--and rammed her sword halfway up the log. Not caring about the danger, Tyaethe used the sword as a stepping stone to actually stand amidst the flames.

She wasted more precious seconds getting the sword out again and then ran. There weren't going to be any obstacles on a log this size that she couldn't see coming and the chance of being set on fire and burning to death was remarkably low. Oh, the metal would start to sear soon and the padding beneath would inevitably catch alight if she took too long (as would today's red scarf) but pain never stopped her. Hopefully she wouldn't be too late.

One sentence caught her attention as she ran towards the centre of the fighting and as she came to a halt amidst the flames, despite the very real risk that the captain was in--or worse, dead, Tyaethe couldn't help but be actually excited. "Three hundred men? For an amateur, this might be fun."

(Timing-wise, this ends somewhere in Vita's next post. Or at the end of it.)

[User]
Iowerth Rhydderch

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. That said, with good discipline and order one could maneuver their forces so that chaos was never the end result of a clash. Today though? Today was a clusterfuck of epic proportions, whether because they underestimated their enemy, or did not plan their assault properly. Likely, it was a combination of both.

When the great tree fell, and Tyaethe wasted no time in abandoning her position to help the captain, it left Iolyn in a terrible position. The captain was in danger. Bandits, while disorganized and weak, were still in front of their position, and there were now crossbowmen emerging from behind. Fanilly's life was the most important one on the battlefield, but Iolyn quickly gave up on going to assist her. If this moon-selection ritual the knights participated in had any merit she would live, especially with the undead juggernaut's help. If it didn't...

"Shields cover the rear! Block those crossbows! Sir Bors, Sir Gawain, sweep those bandits away! With haste!"

The two knights would be up against more than half a dozen bandits, but with their huge size and greatswords Iolyn hoped that the men would break rather than staying to fight with their superior numbers. The shield-bearing knights barely had time to get into position before the first volley of bolts slammed into them, eliciting shouts of pain as some met their marks. Yanking free his crossbow, Iolyn quickly took aim for the one who looked to be shouting orders and fired the bolt meant for Bandit King Jeremiah. Fanilly's life was important, but he needed to protect his men too. In the end, he chose them.

"Charge!"

In one motion, he and his men swept forward towards the crossbows, trying to close the distance before they reloaded. Iolyn threw aside his crossbow and let out a battlecry as he surged forward, burying his sword to the hilt as he crashed into one of the ambushers, quickly yanking the blade free as the man crashed to the ground in shock. As one of the crossbowmen drew his sword Iolyn slashed out, severing the man's arm at the elbow, and then quickly felling him with a follow up strike. Around him, his men were finding similar results, and the ambushers began to break, fleeing into the woods. Iolyn let them.

Turning around, he noticed Bors and Gawain hard pressed, their charge failed. With a curse, he wheeled about again and surged forward once more, leaving his men to finish cleaning up the stragglers and holding the flanks. Who knew just how many more would emerge from the woods? There was never enough time to think in a melee. With another shout he drove his sword into a cunning bandit who had maneuvered his was around Sir Gawain and took up a position between the two knights, panting heavily. Around him, more bandits were starting to file in and form a ring around them, no longer having to worry about the undead behemoth or the main body of troops from their flank.

The position was untenable.

"There's too many, break through!"

The three men charged.

[Assistant]
Tiral sucked in a deep breath as he finished recovering enough; at least, for the moment. In retrospect, using such a spell over that sort of distance was a bit... Stupid... But at the same time, his men had managed to break through the barricades without a hitch, so all was well in the end. Every second they would have spent breaking it down was another that the enemy could have used to prepare, and that wouldn't have been... Well, optimal, to say the least.

Granted, they probably would've died all the same, but wounds took time to heal, and that would only have reduced their strength in combat in the future. So clearly, the most optimal option was that.
...
Right?

Before he could go analyze his actions any further, Tiral barely noticed an arrow whizzing by his face, barely missing his cheek and instead bouncing off one of the other knights' breastplates. Right, this was a battlefield; any time for such though could be put off until after the fight was over. Drawing his shortword, the mage noticed that a group of knights was already on their way to reinforce his flank, led by... Was that Dame Marianne? If he had recalled correctly, she had been with Sir Aethelmund...

Oh, so the reinforcements would have come whether he had blown his horn or not. A slightly bitter smile flashed across Tiral's face before he began to cut through a few of the bandits on his own. It wasn't as if their forces needed to be united, but there was no point in not regrouping while they had a chance.

"You'll pay for this!"

Tiral glared as he turned to his right, noticing a bandit that had been lurking in the bushes was now attempting to attack him. The mage quickly jumped backwards before the bandit swung again. With a wary glance around to confirm that there were no others attempting to attack him, Tiral ducked under the next stab the man attempted and, with a quick chant, held the extended arm in an icy cold grip.

"Stay here a while. Freeze!"

The bandit's arm was immediately coated with a layer of ice, which quickly traveled down to encapsulate the rest of his body down to his feet. With that problem solved, Tiral moved ahead, a few of the knights behind him grouping up as they noticed his direction.

At least, until the flaming tree was felled on the other side of the camp.

Tiral noticed a few of the more notable knights quickly rushing over in a panic, but given the distance from his current location and the fact that they still had a job to complete, he decided not to follow suit. If too many abandoned their jobs, after all, the mission might end in failure. There were other ways they could fail, true, but even so--!

"Dame Marianne!" he cried out, barely audible over the din of combat until he drew closer. "We should go and make sure no reinforcements interfere with the knights over near that fire! It would do no good to have anything in the way of whatever it is they're attempting to handle!"


[System]
Age: 14
Hometown: Ecruteak City
Appearance (pic preferred):

Starter:
Bio: Shiranui had developed a fascination with fox-like Pokémon from watching the Kimono Sisters performing during his childhood. His favourite Pokémon are Espeon, Umbreon, Delphox, Zoroark and Ninetales. He is generally kind, but has a low tolerance to those who speak ill of his likes. He had been inspired to go on a Pokémon journey ever since he spotted Ho-oh taking off from the Bell Tower at age 8, later catching it during his journey through Johto along with two of the three Legendary Beasts.

He had won the title of Top Coordinator in the Hoenn Grand Festival, second place in the Hoenn League Conference and is now back in Kanto to take on the Battle Frontier as well as the Kanto Contest circuit.

[User]
It was Shiranui's turn to battle Brandon and after he took his place in the green corner, the battle was on.

"Solrock, I need your assistance!" Brandon called.
"Bakeru, I choose you!" Shiranui called. Brandon's Solrock and Shiranui's Mimikyu (Zoro in Illusion) made their appearances.

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Mimikyu
? -2- ?
? -3- ?
? -4- ?
? -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Solrock, Zen Headbutt!" Brandon ordered.
"Bakeru, Dark Pulse!" Shiranui ordered. The disguised Zoroark converted his nasty thoughts into power and threw the orb-like cluster of dark rings at Solrock with a shadowy claw that protruded from underneath his rag. The attack struck home and the damage was a more than the amount expected from a perceived lack of a STAB boost. Solrock took heavy damage and with its body glowing with iridescence, charged at Zoro. Solrock scored a hit and Zoro feigned the loss of his "Disguise" while in reality, the attack was ineffective. Brandon, thinking (rightly so) that the "Mimikyu" was a Dark-type, switched tactics.
"Solrock, Stone Edge!"
"Bakeru, Night Daze!" Zoro put his Speed to work and conjured a dome of crimson dark energy that quickly rippled outwards, engulfing Solrock before it could ready its next attack. When the dark energy dissipated, Solrock was on the ground knocked out. "Solrock, return; Ninjask, I need your assistance!"
"Bakeru, return; Boukun, I choose you!" Brandon switched out his Solrock and sent his Ninjask out while Shiranui switched his disguised Zoroark for his Tyrantrum.

---

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Mimikyu
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
? -3- ?
? -4- ?
? -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Ninjask, X-Scissor!"
"Boukun, Head Smash!" Ninjask flitted in and gave Boukun an X-shaped slash with his claws and quickly retreated. When Boukun started charging, Ninjask flitted back and forth to try and dodge the Tyrantrum's attack. "On your 10!" Shiranui ordered and Boukun changed his course. As he had predicted, Ninjask flitted right into Boukun's path and took a full-force headbutt, getting knocked out from the hit. Boukun's Rock Head ability made him immune to recoil damage.
"Ninjask, return!" Brandon called back the downed Ninjask. "You got lucky with that hit," stated Brandon.
"Wrong, Brandon," Shiranui rebutted, "To beat a ninja, you have to think like a ninja and I am very good at that! Of course, Boukun here is a prehistoric juggernaut."
"Well, in that case, let's see if your Tyrantrum can handle this opponent," Brandon shot back, "Registeel, I need your assistance!"

---

Shiranui scanned the metallic golem. "Registeel, the Iron Pokémon. Registeel has a body that is harder than any kind of metal. Its body is apparently hollow. No one has any idea what this Pokémon eats."

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Mimikyu
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- ?
? -4- ?
? -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Registeel, Lock-On!"
"Boukun, Stealth Rock!" The Tyrantrum conjured some rocks and fired them into Brandon's side of the battlefield. Registeel's seven eyes glowed as the titan took aim.
"Registeel, Superpower!"
"Boukun, Earthquake!" Boukun gave the battlefield a sumo stomp and Registeel was shaken for a decent amount of damage. Registeel glowed with a cyan aura as the metallic titan charged in and backhanded Boukun for a bit more damage than the Tyrantrum dealt, suffering a drop in Attack and Defence.
"Registeel, Lock-On!"
"Boukun, Fire Fang!" Boukun charged in with his jaws on fire while Registeel's eyes glowed once more. The Tyrantrum delivered a strong bite that didn't dent Registeel's carapace, but the golem did feel the damage.
"Registeel, Zap Cannon!"
"Boukun, Protect!" Boukun stood his ground and conjured his protection shield while Registeel conjured a ball of electricity and fired it. The electricity struck the shield.
"Registeel, Superpower!"
"Boukun, Earthquake!" Boukun stomped the ground again and the tremors shook Registeel for more damage. Registeel, charged in and chopped Boukun on the snout, scoring a critical hit and dealing enough damage to knock the dinosaur king out. "Boukun, return; Yoto, I choose you!" Shiranui switched out his Tyrantrum and sent out his Aegislash.

---

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Mimikyu
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- Aegislash
? -4- ?
? -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Registeel, use your Earthquake!"
"Yoto, Sacred Sword!" Yoto changed to his Blade Forme before his blade glowed a bright cyan. The Aegislash shot out and slashed Registeel for a coup de grâce. Registeel fell over with a mighty crash.
"Registeel, return; Dusknoir, I need your assistance!"
"Yoto, return; Bakeru, I choose you!" Brandon switched out his Registeel and sent in his Dusknoir, who took damage from the Stealth Rock. Yoto returned to his Shield Forme and settled to his spot on Shiranui's back while Shiranui sent out his Mimikyu (Zoro in Illusion) for another round.

---

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Mimikyu
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- Aegislash
Dusknoir -4- ?
? -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Dusknoir, Focus Blast!"
"Bakeru, Night Daze!" The disguised Zoroark conjured his crimson energy field and engulfed Dusknoir for major damage. Dusknoir conjured a ball of bright turquoise energy and threw it at Zoro. The attack struck home and in the ensuing explosion, Zoro lost his Illusion and in his true form, slowly got up.
"I had a feeling you used a Zoroark in this battle and now there it is," stated Brandon, "Dusknoir, Brick Break!"
"Zoro, Night Slash!" Zoro charged in and gave Dusknoir a Z-shaped Night Slash right where it hurt. Dusknoir barely survived the hit and in retaliation gave Zoro a karate chop that knocked the illusionist out. "Zoro, return; Yoto, I choose you!" Shiranui recalled his Zoroark and Yoto drew himself out from Shiranui's back for another round.

---

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Zoroark
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- Aegislash
Dusknoir -4- ?
? -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Dusknoir, Pain Split!"
"Yoto, Shadow Ball!" Yoto changed to his Blade Forme and conjured an orb of shadow energy in his non-shield cloth before throwing it at Dusknoir. Dusknoir dodged the attack and while glowing a nasty crimson colour, shared its pain with Yoto.
"Dusknoir, Trick Room!"
"Yoto, Shadow Ball once more!" Yoto conjured and threw another Shadow Ball at Dusknoir and this time, Dusknoir was hit for enough damage to knock it out.
"Dusknoir, return; Regice, I need your assistance!" Brandon switched out his Dusknoir and called out a second Legendary Titan, who got a lot of damage from the Stealth Rock.

---

Shiranui scanned the icy golem. "Regice, the Iceberg Pokémon. Regice cloaks itself with frigid air of –200°C. Things will freeze solid just by going near this Pokémon. Its icy body is so cold, it will not melt even if it is immersed in magma."

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Zoroark
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- Aegislash
Dusknoir -4- ?
Regice -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Regice, Blizzard!"
"Yoto, Sacred Sword!" Yoto shot out towards Regice with his blade glowing cyan and gave Regice a slash that Regice barely survived. Regice summoned a blizzard that was cold enough to condense nitrogen to a liquid and scored a point-blank hit that left Yoto frozen solid.
"Regice, Earthquake!"
"Yoto, Shadow Claw!" Yoto was still frozen as Regice jumped into the air and shook the ground on landing. Yoto was shaken and rattled and the damage was enough to cause the Aegislash to revert to his Shield Forme and clatter onto the ground. "Yoto, return; Bakeru, I choose you!" Shiranui switched out his Aegislash and sent out the real Bakeru.

---

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Zoroark
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- Aegislash
Dusknoir -4- Mimikyu
Regice -5- ?
? -6- ?

"Regice, Avalanche!"
"Bakeru, Play Rough!" Bakeru charged at Regice and like out of a cartoon, gave the icy titan a beating with his tail while cloaked in star-studded dust. A crash was heard and when the dust cleared, Regice was on its back knocked out.
"Regice, return; Regirock, I need your assistance!" Brandon sent out the last Legendary Titan and Regirock only got a little bit of damage from the Stealth Rock.

---

Shiranui scanned the rocky titan. "Regirock, the Rock Peak Pokémon. Regirock's body is composed entirely of rocks. Recently, a study made the startling discovery that the rocks were all unearthed from different locations."

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Zoroark
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- Aegislash
Dusknoir -4- Mimikyu
Regice -5- ?
Regirock -6- ?

"Regirock, Iron Head!"
"Bakeru, Will-O-Wisp!" The Mimikyu conjured some ghostly flames and sent them after Regirock, but the titan dodged the attack and slammed its head down on Bakeru, scoring a critical hit. Bakeru was knocked out. "Bakeru, return; Saisei, I choose you!" Shiranui switched his Mimikyu out and sent in his strongest Pokémon: the legendary Mewtwo.

---

Brandon -vs- Shiranui
Solrock -1- Zoroark
Ninjask -2- Tyrantrum
Registeel -3- Aegislash
Dusknoir -4- Mimikyu
Regice -5- Mewtwo
Regirock -6- ?

"Regirock, Stone Edge!"
"Saisei, Grass Knot! Mega Ring activate!" Shiranui activated his Mega Ring and Saisei glowed with the power of Mega Evolution whilst shrinking in size. The glow subsided and Saisei was now a Mega Mewtwo Y. While Regirock charged towards Saisei, the Mega Mewtwo Y used its psychic powers to conjure a rope of grass that caused Regirock to trip over and fall with a mighty crash, suffering heavy damage.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Saisei quipped as Regirock slowly got up, readied a Stone Edge and gave Saisei a rocky sucker punch, "You're in for it now, rocks-for-brains!"
"Regirock, Giga Impact!"
"Saisei, finish it off with Psychic!"
"My sentiments exactly!" Saisei acknowledged. The Mega Mewtwo Y's eyes lit up as it used its psychic powers on Regirock. Regirock couldn't take the onslaught and fell over with a second crash, this time without getting up.

---

Shiranui was victorious and Brandon awarded him the Brave Symbol.

[Assistant] Now that both of them had beaten all of the facilities, Scott told them that for winning, they are eligible to become Frontier Brains themselves. Liam thanked Scott for the offer, but wasn't ready to stop traveling yet. Liam's father congratulated them on winning. He gave Liam a Luxury Ball which held a gift for him. Liam thanked his father.

[User] Chuck congratulated his friends for a job well done.

[Assistant] "Thanks Chuck. " Liam said. Brandon mentioned that he heard from Scott that they were going to the Grand Festival next and offered to take them to The Indigo Plateu. Liam said that he'd appreciate it.

[User] "That'd be great!" Chuck said. "I'm eager to enter the tournament!"

[Assistant] "Same here," added Shiranui, "If the contests here in Kanto were anything to go by, the Grand Festival will be much more of a challenge than back at Hoenn."

[User] "I was speaking more towards the Pokémon League tournament, since I'm not qualified for the Grand Festival." Chuck said.

[Assistant] "Well, being the local Champion, if you do well enough, you'll be facing me in battle," replied Shiranui.


[System]
Age: 20

Height: 5'4

Appearance:

Background: Lisa grew up on a farm with her two brothers and her parents. While her brothers spent their days out helping their father with the animals, Lisa would stay inside with her mother and learn how to cook, clean, and sew. Being from a poor family, she never got a proper education, much to her dismay. She was able to teach herself how to read and basic math, but that's it. Her family was very poor, having only enough money to barely scrape by. Her parents often prayed that one of their children would marry rich and finally be able to escape the reigns of poverty. They were shocked when Lisa revealed she wanted to go work as a servant. Her plan was to use the skills her mother taught her throughout her time as a servant and save her wages so that one day she will be able to go to a university and become a teacher some day.

Personality: Easily flustered, defensive, passionate, and hard working.

[User]
Lisa looked at her feet as he dismissed her sympathetic statement. Perhaps it was childish of her to bring up such a thing at a time like this. She needed to learn how to keep her mind grounded. She clasped her hands behind her back and briefly looked up and over at Ralf. He beared a neutral expression, per usual. It was almost as if nothing ever fazed him.

She wondered how he felt on his first day here, whenever that was.

The young woman looked back at Sir Studwick.

"I want to work here to put everything I've been taught my whole life to good use," Lisa explained. "I want to save my earnings to pay for university someday. My dream is to become a teacher. That is fairly ironic because I never got the opportunity to attend school, but something about it appeals to me greatly." She smiled. Thinking about her aspirations helped calm her nerves.

Two or three years here, and then she'd be able to live her dream. "You can trust me around your belongings. They are of no use to me. Theoretically, even if I did steal and sell something, it would guilt me for the rest of my life. It's not in my nature to act wrongly. You can trust me."

She smoothed out the skirt of her damp dress. She was starting to feel silly wearing something so unprofessional and unkept at a time like this. If her mother were here, she would have snapped at Lisa before she even waltzed up the steps of the manner to change into something dry.

Something in Lisa suddenly clicked.

She wasn't her mother, so why live by her orderly ways? I'm twenty years old, for God's sake, she thought, if I want to look so unruly at a time like this, then so be it! It was my choice. It's not even that unkept, just a little wet with a few wrinkles. I'm Lisa Thorne, and appearance isn't the most important thing in the world to me!

A little smile spread across her face, which was quickly replaced by a frown.

Who am I kidding. I resemble a clown.

[Assistant]
Studwick nodded as she had told him what she had hoped to achieve. "Very well. It sounds like you have some good goals." He said, looking down at his papers. His job was slightly dull, but he had more money than he could ever want. It wasn't a bad thing. If he had wanted, he could just hand her some money to pay for the school right away and it wouldn't affect his budget whatsoever. Studwick didn't believe in handouts. He believed in hard work and dedication, and he wanted to see if this new housemaid had the muster.

He looked down at her dress, then back up at her, "Did you not have enough time to change into something… dry?" He asked. "Do you think since you're just a house maid you don't have to look professional?" He asked slightly scolding the woman. He moved his hand with an open palm, and directed it towards Ralf. "Look at my butler." He said giving her a second to look over to him, "Does he look professional?" He asked rhetorically as the butler had stood firm in his place looking forward at nothing.

The military had drilled into him, a professional appearance is a must, unless you are out in the field. He had basically kept that mentally as he had come back into the civilian side of the world. Being a noble made that perception even more solidified into her personality.

Studwick wasn't trying to harass the young woman, just stiff arm her into treating this as a serious deal.

After he had questioned her, he said, "There will be other high class nobles coming through these doors, and I need to you prepared." He took a breath in and looked at her, "You said I could trust you, so I'll be holding you to it." He said folding his hands together once again.

[User]
Lisa listened to Studwick as he criticized her attire. "...Yes, there was time to slip on something dry. It would have been a fast change but it was possible." Her shoulders slumped a bit, realizing that she should have done what her mother and everybody else would have expected of her.

Yes, she was old enough to make her own decisions.

But at the same time, she should have known better.

It was only her third day away from her family and she already made a noticeable mistake. A faint blush painted her cheeks. She was embarrassed. "My sincerest apologies, Sir. I realize why you disapprove of my attire and I... I agree. You will never spot me looking so disorderly again." She tucked a loose lock of hair back behind her ear and glanced over at the door. It was perhaps rude of her to desire to leave the room, but she didn't want to bother him any longer. The sooner she could leave, the sooner they could both forget about this incident and move on.

"Listen, I know we have not gotten off on the best foot, but I just want you to know that I've meant everything I've said. Everything. And even though I look like this, even though I don't know a damn thing in this world besides what I managed to learn cooped up inside a dump, I value this opportunity to be here. Even looking around this one single room takes my breath away. One day, I want to be content. Fully, undeniably, one hundred percent content. This is my first step to achieving that goal." As Lisa went on that little tangent, the blush faded away from her face and she regained her confidence. She sighed. "..Pardon my language there, Sir. Will this be all?"

[Assistant]
Studwick figured at least she was honest with her answer. Having some integrity could go a long way.

"That sounds good to me Ms. Thorne." He said when she had explained that she wouldn't look disorderly again. He listened to her little spiel.

"That's good." He said nodding his head, "I'll give you a couple extra shillings if I see that you've done some hard work around the house every so often so you can get out of here quicker." He said giving her a small smile. He felt as if she wanted to leave quickly, when she had asked if that'll be all. He almost wanted to take back his generosity in that short amount of time.

He waved his hand when she had asked if this will be all, "Yes, get out of here. That is all." He said slightly disgruntled. 'Was she trying to dismiss herself?' He thought to himself looking down at his papers before he could see her reaction to anything.

"Right this way." Ralf said opening the door and leading her out of the room.

[User]
After being dismissed, she curtsied again and strolled out of the room, giving Ralf a polite nod as he opened the door for her. She was relieved that the meeting was over. More than anything, she hoped she at least made a decent first impression. She knew that was unlikely, given how he spent ninety percent of the time criticizing her, but at least she didn't get fired. It would be wretched to get fired before even starting work.

Upon arriving back at her room, she saw somebody had stopped by and draped the uniform across her bed. Unsurprisingly, it was clean and ironed. Not one speck of dust or tiny wrinkle could be found on it. Seems like the other maids knew full well how nitpick-y their employer could be. Lisa trailed her fingers across the delicate material, admiring it. It looked exactly how she expected it to; the classic French style. It was one thing seeing others wear it, but this one was hers. She loved it.

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke, "Ah, I see you found the uniform."

Lisa jumped a bit at the sudden voice, but quickly calmed upon seeing it was just Agnes. "Oh, hello, you startled me for a moment there!" Lisa exclaimed teasingly, obviously not intending to make her feel bad. "Yes, it was hard to miss considering it was laying across my bed."

Agnes chuckled. "That is what you're required to wear while you work. While you're not working you are allowed to wear whatever you wish... within reason, of course. You are to be a simple house maid. In other words, you do whatever I or any other person in a position of authority asks you to do."

Lisa nodded understandably. "Very well, when shall I begin work?"

Agnes hummed. "If my memory serves me right, you are to start at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Report to me before starting anything. You have the rest of the day to unpack and explore the manor."

"Lovely! Thank you, Agnes," Lisa said. The elderly woman smiled in return then left Lisa alone to finish unpacking.

[Assistant]
After finishing a few papers Studwick got up from his desk. He walked out of his office in the living room. Ralf had come around the corner, knowing it was about the time he had always finished his work and came downstairs for a small break.

"Your scotch sir." He said sticking his hand letting Studwick grab it. "Thank you Ralf." He said, taking a sip of his and sitting down on his chair that had faced a fireplace.

"What'd you think of the new housemaid Ralf?" He asked looking at the fireless firepit, gliding his finger on the glass, cirlcing it.

"I don't quite yet know sir." He said turning the plate that had served the scoth glass to Studwick. "I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I find out." He said turning and walking out of the living room to return the plate back to the kitchen.

A few moments later he came back into the room. "What would you like to read today?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, pick something that sounds intriguing." Studwick said looking over to Ralf.

Ralf pointed his fingers at a few books until he found something. He grabbed it, and walked over to Studwick. "Here you are." Studwick grabbed the book and read the title. 'Emperors of Revolution'. Studwick nodded his head slightly in approval.

"Thank you Ralf. That'll be all for now." He said kicking his feet up onto the foot rest and taking another sip of scotch and setting it down on the end table beside him.

Ralf bowed slightly and walked out of the living room.

[User]
Hours passed. Studwick had gotten his meal, and Lisa dined with all the other servants in the basement. Their meal wasn't half as good as his was, but it was something. They each had a little piece of steak (cooked but cold) and a slice of bread. Lisa's slice was stale, but she didn't say anything. She wondered if the other servant's bread was stale, too.

She met a couple other maids in particular named Eleanor and Margaret. They were twins who have been working for the Studwick family for about five years. They looked to be a couple years older than Lisa. The impression Lisa got was that they were a comedy duo. Eleanor had accidentally dropped her fork and Margaret called it out as a 'mis-steak' while motioning to her plate. Lisa smiled while the other servants laughed. Later, Margaret was talking about a time she milked a moody cow and Eleanor asked 'why were you milking yourself?' which made the other servants roar with laughter.

It was nearing ten o'clock. Only a few other servants remained awake. Lisa quietly strolled throughout the manor, memorizing where all the rooms were. After all, Agnes did tell her to explore. The young woman had changed into a new dress as soon as she finished unpacking. She also took the time to brush through her hair and braid it again. Even if it wasn't guaranteed she'd see Studwick again that day, she didn't want to risk him seeing her looking disorganized when she had promised to not be.

She stepped on what must have been a sore spot since the floor made a loud creaking noise. She bit her lip, hoping it didn't wake anyone up.

[Assistant]
Studwick was dozing off in his chair in front of the fire. The living room was his place he went to when he had some down time. Earlier that day he had worked hard so he could relax the rest of the day. He had went to the dining room when he had eaten his dinner.

It was just another night for him. He had a empty glass of scotch beside him. Studwick jumped awake after hearing a loud creak in the floor. He stood up, grabbing a knife that he had in his pocket. He always had one on him just in case. He knew he was rich and could always be a target to someone. Maybe it was his paranoia from the past.

"Who's there?" He quickly asked before being able to focus his eyes, holding the knife in his hand. Studwick usually dismisses Ralf before he goes to bed. He figured since he works so hard to keep him happy, he'd let him off easy.

There was no way that Studwick could rely on Ralf for the possible intruder.


[System]
Age: 3423 (assuming the Silver Age of Ovid's Four Ages)

Gender: Female

Breed/Species/Type/Lineage: Spider Queen (formally human)

Physical Description:

Talents:Mother of all spiders, expert weaver, informant, and political clout.

History:Arachne, the namesake and origin of all arachnids. In a bygone age her arrogance and haughty attitude brought the wrath of the Greek goddess, Athena. At the attempt to insult and put herself as an equal to the gods she was cursed so that she and her descendants would weave forever. Transformed the woman became the first spider. Under the thumb of those more powerful she remained hidden for thousands of years. But as fate would have it even so called gods had their time. The queens spawn spread across the four corners of the Earth. With no one to stop her Arachne used her children to begin gathering information. Very little escaped her far reaching grasp, spiders having become common place throughout the world. Of course humans were not highly liked by her as they were always crushing her creations. In retaliation she made more deadly variations to fight back.

As the ancient times gave way and humanity advanced the Spider Queen gained quite a reputation among the supernatural world. Everyone had their secrets and she would cling to them as her tiny agents crept and crawled their way into everything. Staying out of most internal politics she also made moves in the mortal world. Offering her services she could steal most anything either through persuasion, intimidation, or execution. Assassination of an individual took little more than a spider bite.

Growing in influence and wealth she changed her public appearance for modern times. Having again assumed a human form she has emerged from the darkness to build an empire among the mortals. For a time she had others hold her place as President of the company but recently has taken the position herself. Of course she still holds an influence in the supernatural, and largely remains "untouchable" for fear of untold secrets being revealed in both realms. Holding a high position in several courts the sudden silence from New Camden did not go unnoticed.

Psychological Profile:She can be cold and values information above most other things. It can be a flaw at times. Having an affinity for neither the human or supernatural sides she treats them both with little regard. Some would say that acting human has made her soft though. Still everything and everyone is another piece to be used. Obviously some must be treated better than others. There is something to be said for respect after all.

Possessions:Athenian Law Group, a law firm that has its hands in many facets of both worlds. A tribute or insult to the former goddess; Spiders, as the original source of all spiders she rules over them. It may not sound like much but varying in size and deadly potential the public only sees the surface.

Yes, and: Acting as a buffer between worlds, Arachne's firm will often intervene on behalf of the courts to keep those who do not belong in the human world off the radar. She both employed Karram and appointed him to handle Claudia's case.

[User]
Flint was driving now, the back of his car packed with some of the others, Parry was talking and Flint was on the brink of smashing the car into a nearby tree. The only solace was the fuzzy, dazed feeling he was having from the alcohol consumption, the adrenaline was wearing off and Flint began to feel things slow down. That was until he realised he had nearly just missed the entrance Tony was talking about and slammed on the breaks, snapping out of his half dazed state.

He entered the place behind Tony and parked up, following the others as they entered the underground bunker. Flint realised that this was a far better place than his cramped apartment complex and sighed at himself as he had to admit Tony had done something better than him. OF course he would never say it out loud. After taking a quick walk around the place Flint realised he still had equipment back at his own hideout. He decided to slink into the shadows and, without drawing attention, began to leave. As he was taking the long walk back he heard what he could only assume was Parry. Probably seeing his new nose. It reminded him about when his nose was first broken.

It was the twenties, the economy was booming, chicks where shedding clothes, and despite what the laws where saying the booze was still flowing. Flint was with a gang of mobsters known as the 'Booze Hounds'. The name came from the gang's main business. Alcohol. The hound part came from how they killed people, it looked more like an animal attack rather than a mass shooting.

Flint was just learning his magic, and it was little more than lighting fires and keeping beers cold. Flint's most destructive power was his use of a Thompson sub machinegun. He could rip a car in half so the legends say. It was that kind of power the gang needed on a job, it should have been simple. Walk in, scare a few people into paying their dues, then walk out feeling satisfied. The job was far from what was planned however, who would have known the place was set up like a fortress? Who could have known they were waiting for them? Ten guys vs Flints five wasn't very fair, and the whole place was lit up as soon as they walked in. Flint was left alive, the other members of the gang a bloody pulp against the wall. He will never forget the words the man said, the one who was stomping on his head and busting his nose.

"No matter how strong you get, there is always a bigger dog".

Flint snapped out of his daydreaming as he got to his car, thankful it hadn't been towed to 'safety' yet. He hopped in and briskly began to drive to the apartment complex, taking a few casual swigs of his flask. When he got there, it didn't take him long to grab one of the large wooden trunks, and throw it into the boot of the car, making sure he had the key for the padlock on it. Smudge had also joined him and curled up in the passenger seat of the car. On the way back to base, he contemplated just how long it would take before everyone he knew died, he had little hope for the others and as the thought of leaving town crossed his mind, he instead lit up another cigarette and continued driving.

He returned back to the bunker, saying the secret code to Tony's guy. It was such a stupid code and he felt stupid saying it. He was dragging the trunk as he slowly made his way into the main compartment of the complex. Smudge was quick to follow, she was a timid cat but was happy as long as she stuck by Flints legs, making dragging the suitcase even harder, especially as her black fur made it hard for Flint to see in the dark.

Flint returned to the group just as they where mentioning vampires, he panted heavily as he lit up another cigarette, the last in his packet. He began to talk through mouthfuls of air.

"I know a few of the hang outs" He inhaled a puff of smoke. "Of some of the local vampire gangs, id suggest the Rusty Steak knife. Some sort of speak ea... night club" Flint awkwardly caught himself as he took another drag from his cigarette, his breathing returning to normal soon after. Smudge still clung around his feet, afraid to move more than a foot away as the strange smells of the place attacked her nose.

[Assistant]
Rikive made a face, her nose wrinkling her freckled skin, when the lawman returned and put in his own two coins. "The Norns hate me." She muttered, reaching behind her to tug out the ribbon that contained her braided hair. Or it had attempted too, with all the excitement the braid had started to come undone. A nightclub, the vampires had to operate out of those...places.

Running her fingers through her chestnut hair to act as a brush she couldn't help but think of the times Parael took her to nightclubs. They...had not gone very well. To top it off they wished to go to a nightclub where vampires liked to frequent. She knew from Parael that celestial blood was highly sought after by their kind. It did not frighten her, but if she punched a vampire through a wall for getting too close to her...Then it would likely give them away if they were going for a plan with subtlety.

"I am not needed for this plan." She declared, jumping up onto the kitchen counter to sit on, taking off Winterthorn to lay across her lap. "I don't do well in nightclubs." She kicked her legs back and forth, running her finger over her swords black sheath. "If we are attacking it head on with weapons drawn then I will gladly lend my aid. Outside of that, I will be a liability rather than an asset."

[User]
Beth let out a snort at Flint's wording, but she left the teasing for later. She considered his words while brushing a hand through her tangled hair. Other "gifted" beings were the most difficult bodies to take possession of, but she had never tried a vampire before, nor had she spent very much time in their preferred businesses. No doubt an elder would be impossible to possess, so that was ruled out. Someone else within the elder's circle, though, someone less powerful, she could use them. But what for? Beth huffed; at this rate, she would be good for nothing but the attack.

It seemed the same was true for Rikive. For different reasons, of course. Leaning back in the chair, Beth began to rock on its back legs absent-mindedly. The movement created a soft creak every so often. She watched the other people in the room, propping her elbow on the back of the chair and rubbing her temples. Her mind ran a number of simulations, plotting the course of future events in as many different variations as she could think of, and each ended the same way.

It was almost amusing. Without knowing what Nemsemet's equivalent of her cursed pendant was, they were doomed to failure.

She refocussed on the task at hand and a thought occurred: any elder vampire would have an army of lessers and thralls to guard them, especially in their own territory. To take him out, they'd need an army of equivalent size or, since they were lacking in one of those, an assassin.

Beth dropped back onto all four legs with a thud and sat forward. "If we're going to do this and take on Nemsemet, which by the way is insane, then we're going to have to send someone in to confirm this big-shot vamp's involvement with the thralls before we go avenging Parry's wardrobe." Beth hopped to her feet and turned on her heel in a slow circle, eyeing each of the people in the room. "Someone who would conceivably enter such an establishment and can fend for themselves. Alternatively, with some form of back up. You're familiar with that term, right, Flint? Oh, no, you like to work alone." She spun to face Tony and Parael. "If the elder isn't behind those thralls, fucking him up's not going to send the message you're trying to send. Get information first, then act on what we learn."

Finally, she stepped aside to see everyone and folded her arms across her chest. "Volunteers?"

[Assistant]
"Casper's right, but we don't have to go in a club full of vampires and thralls. We can capture a straggler."

He'd spent time getting himself showered and scrubbed down from his little encounter with the thralls, but he seemed clean now.

"Of course, that makes it harder to pick one that's in the know, we'll be taking what we can get if we do it that way. But it's easier to grab one and stash them in a van," that they'd have to steal, "without having to take on every vamp in the place."

He didn't necessarily want to be the one sent in there. It was true that vampires and Lycans didn't necessarily get along too well, though it wasn't like those really terrible movies with whatshername the British girl or that Mormon housewife's mawkish fantasies made into lucrative novels. It was more of a thing where dangerous predators gave each other a wide berth. Vampires despised that Lycans got to enjoy the sunlight and the benefits of being alive, while Lycans were annoyed that vampires had their shit together and basically had skills that lent themselves to making a lot of money and living a plush, immortal life of leisure if they saw fit.

So it didn't take much to start a fight, but it wasn't some eternal war. Also, when Vampires decided they wanted to give a shifter trouble, they didn't go and fight them face to face, because the shifter had the edge there. They sent, for example, well-armed thralls or they used the system, which they had the means to infiltrate via the effect of their blood on humans, to fuck with them. For example, Lycanthrope family living in a building? Condemn the building, send in child services, and a whole other mountain of red tape. They tittered over it and had another champagne flute of A+.

"I'm game to help, I just can't see myself being the guy you want to walk in there," Tony concluded.