Fantasy New Oasis: Four Heavenly Kings

[Lucem]

Ashley Hart

CS Link

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 4 [Home Cookin']

LOCATION:

Lyric and Alex's Townhome, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Alex, Ashley, Auvura, Corvo, Lyric, Suzerain, Vulken, Yong-Yut

HOME COOKIN'

His Potential had caused a ton of problems throughout his life. He often felt like he'd been dealt a shitty hand, and now was one of those times he wished he'd been born with something that was less of a pain in the ass. Sure, he was used to getting injured and learned to put up with it, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when Vulken grabbed his arm and burned right through his flesh. It hurt like hell.

Since he knew it was coming, Ashley thought getting scorched might not hurt as much as he expected. He was wrong about that. In fact, it might've made it even worse. He clenched his teeth as hard as he could as the former Jack's red-hot hand wrapped around him, not letting a single sound slip out. While his tolerance for pain played a part, knowing a kid was in the room made it easier to keep his mouth shut. Her eyes were already covered, but he didn't want her hearing anything either. He just stood there and took it, the red rings around his irises glowing even brighter as the agony intensified.

When Vulken finally let go, Ashley looked down to see how good he'd been cooked by the dragon's flames. Even his HP skin wasn't tough enough to resist the burns, reduced to a sickening white color after the layers had been eaten away by the heat. The only thing worse than how it looked was how it smelled. His nose scrunched up when he caught a whiff, and knowing it was coming from him was almost more painful than the injury itself. If Lyric wasn't already pissed at someone else because of the break-in, she'd probably tear him and Vulk a new one for ruining the food and stinking up her kitchen.

"Thanks." As he rolled up his sleeve, Ashley caught the first signs of his Potential kicking in. The dead skin was clearing up, and the bone-white was being filled in with the usual shade of pink. His arm still felt a little numb, but he wouldn't have to worry about it by the time he pulled up to give the Tigers what they had coming.

As soon as the burning business was finished, Ashley gave Vulken a nod and ran for the exit. He was impatient, and the feeling was only getting worse as he counted every second it took to get to the bottom floor. It was more than just his anger that was pushing him to catch up with the others as soon as possible. Remembering how he wasn't around during the fight with the Dragons still left a bad taste in his mouth. He couldn't help back then, and he wasn't able to get payback for what happened. He couldn't let the same thing happen again, especially when he was this close.

When he finally reached the bottom floor, Ashley rushed over to his motorcycle and fired up the ignition. He didn't even wait to finish putting on his face mask and helmet before taking off, trying to manage everything with one hand as he rolled the throttle with the other. By the time he got everything sorted out, Lyric's house was just a tiny dot in his mirrors.

Like a crimson comet, he sped down the road, keeping an eye out for any sign of Corvo's car or the long line of SUVs. Unfortunately, he didn't catch a single glimpse of either. Although, it wasn't all bad. There was something else that caught his attention.

As he turned the next corner, he heard what sounded like screaming coming from the nearby alleys. Thinking it might have something to do with the current mess, he looked across the street, only to see an orange blur get blown away by a bunch of air. He barely got a look at the person as they were knocked back down the dark path, not even able to see their face. However, he saw pieces of their outfit, and that was more than enough. He only knew one person who dressed like that.

If it really was Bolt who got sent flying like some trash in the wind, the woman standing just outside of the alley was probably one of the Tigers. The same went for the one who was looking down on everything from above. He knew he was making a lot of assumptions, but he didn't really care. Instead of wasting time by thinking too hard about it, he was going to trust his gut.

Tightening his grip on the bar with one hand, Ashley reached into the bag on the side of his bike and removed a long metal pipe. The thing usually weighed a ton, but thanks to Vulk, it felt a lot lighter than usual. He handled it with ease, lifting it above his head as he charged down the street. Aiming for the woman on the rooftop, he tossed the blunt weapon as hard as he could, hoping to at least knock her off her perch.

Even after launching the pipe with all the enhanced strength he could muster, he kept going. He pulled back hard on the throttle and leaned in, focusing on his second target. His weapon was gone, but he wouldn't need it when he planned on getting in close. After his arm was nearly melted off, his fists could probably do just as much damage as him swinging that pipe.

It was like he was trying to outspeed his pitch and be the first to make it to the alley. Because of how fast he was going, there wasn't a lot of time to think about a plan of action. He just went for it, riding up from behind and trying to hit the stranger as hard as he could.

Spoiler: Tags

Doctor Llamabean Elenion Aura WhiskeyMarten Nobody Special

 

[Doctor Llamabean]

TAZZ (August August)

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 4 [Hostile Agenda]

LOCATION:

West-Side, Central... Christen Kinslee's House... Upstairs...

PARTICIPANTS:

August, Matsuda, Camila, Chou, Sylvie

HOSTILE AGENDA

<<< Remember

It really was a nice place, thought August as his search continued. Though, said search was more in respect to his own personal… hobbies—trinkets of value or rarity—and less so toward the objective of their mission to find Christen Kinslee.

From the expensive curtains in the windows to the premium countertops and luxury decor, he took in every detail and determined its worth in his head. First thing that caught his eye was a corner-shelf stacked with various different sodas in the lounge room, or living room. Upon initial glance, or to someone less informed, they looked like any old soda cans. But to August each one spoke a fair price, and the corner of his mouth perked into a smile beneath his mask.

He plucked one from its place and carefully inspected its label, turning it this way and that—behind his goggles, lidded eyes belied keen interest.

Twenty-ten Vangouver™ Olympics… Not bad. Ready to pocket the item, he remembered his bag was still in Camila’s car and decided to leave it shelved for now.

Just then, and speaking of, Camila entered the home with Smog and two new additions to their group, one of which August recognized from the group-chat. Spectre. He watched them file in and offered a single stiff-handed wave.

Camila went upstairs. Sylvie and Matsuda engaged in discussion.

Meanwhile, August eavesdropped.

“So who is this then? Does he know anything about this situation?” asked Sylvie to Matsuda. August briefly glanced at the pink-haired fellow then back at what he was doing, inspecting the television now, still listening.

Moments went by and by the time Camila’s voice purred down the stairs for “Benji”, August was applying a tilt to all of the pictures on the wall, setting them perfectly off-level, but he stopped when he heard Cam and turned to look at the pink-haired boy in Matsuda’s grasp.

Benji, ay?


Benji flinched like a lost pup. He looked to Matsuda for approval, then responded, “R-Right! Yes! I’ll be right there!”

Curious as he was, August made his way toward the stairs, beckoning with his head for Matsuda and the others to follow if they so pleased. When he reached Camila’s side, he spoke. “Not Benji, but ‘e’s on his way. You get it…”
Roda the Red Caffeine_Obsessed Taigakitt

Spoiler: Somewhat accurate layout of the house

AUGUST NOTES​

— —What he's wearing (X) + Mask and Goggles

— —Personal Note: August is still wearing the earplugs that Chou gave him.

— —Personal Note: August's bag is in Camila's car.

— —SCENE DESCRIPTION: With the pink-haired spy now in their grasp, Benjamin is his name, Camila and the others (following Sylvie's fresh arrival on the scene) have met up in Christen Kinslee's house. Camila made her way upstairs and found some interesting information that will, perhaps, aid them in their search.

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[AriAriAbabwa]

Alicia Morel

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 3 [Happily Ever After]

LOCATION:

Upper Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Alice, Elias, Jack, Charmy, Jackson

Happily Ever After

<<< Remember

There was a brief silence after Charlie took initiative and targeted Perry through the group. As he took the boy's unusually cold arm, Perry seemed to pass out for a moment, though recomposing himself within a second and appearing apathetic to being held hostage. There wasn't even any reaction to the grip tightening over his wrist. At the same time, two panels of glass shattered some distances away amid a few shrieks; the mirrors Charlie saw floating around had fallen, and the shards gradually dissipating into nothing.

Although Perry was relatively unshaken, Malakai completely forgot about the goal in that instant. With a glare tense enough that the slightest notice of it made Alice freeze up, he growled, "Don't. Touch. Him." Yet, he could not make a move. Not without his boyfriend getting injured.

The standoff wouldn't last much longer, however, as a shrill voice cried out, "THAT'S HER!" The buzzing of more than a hundred bees took over the scene, flying out of the nearby Honeycomb Cafe and towards the people surrounding Alice. Though they did not sting, they swarmed Charlie, Jackson, Perry, and Malakai and essentially tried corralling them together.

Once again, Perry fell totally limp, and this time his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Though struggling in the swarm, Malakai still focused solely on him. He thrust a hand over Perry's shoulder. "Wake... up..." he muttered. And indeed, Perry came back to life.

Alice, on the other hand, was untouched and utterly confused. She turned to the source of the insects, who stormed over. "Beatrice?"

"Alice!" The young owner of the cafe, dressed in her work clothes, took the blonde girl into a hug. "Are you okay? They didn't do anything to you, did they!?" Not even giving Alice a chance to speak, she groaned. "I should have known something was up when Acacia brought you here..."

Her soft gaze turned to a sharp glare at the boys, who had a circle of bees encasing them now. "You all stay right where you are or else you get stung... e-everywhere!"

Alice cleared her throat. "What on earth has gotten into you?" A bewildered statement—so full of confidence and calm—that made even the energetic Bea zip her mouth. "I was just heading back when these gentlemen claiming to be Acacia's helpers stopped us for talk..."

There was a brief flash of doubt across her face, but she shook it away. "There's a missing persons report going around for a girl named Alice, and its description perfectly matches you!" Not that she even saw this missing persons report; it was a fabricated memory spread around by one Elias Yumen. By now, a bigger crowd drew in because of the ruckus, and among them was the mall security, much to Bea's relief. "Security! I found the girl who went missing! She was being manhandled by these four people!"

Curiously, only a fourth of the present security seemed to know what she spoke of; the others clearly didn't know what she was talking about.

From a distance, a certain red-eyed girl watched on with worry. Lana, what's the status? Acacia's voice intruded her thoughts. Is Alice secure?

No... Malakai and Perry are compromised, but Alice might be handed off to mall security. Maybe you can convince them to pass her to—

Hold that thought.

Lana shook her head a little. She hadn't heard that voice before in Acacia's network.... but she recognized it... Janay?

He just returned, Acacia added, so I added him to the link.

The cavalry's about on the way! For now, let things play out; your role here is just about done. In the underground parking, donning his top hat, he gave one more glance to the worried Acacia, then to the last of the 'reinforcements' he brought along: all whom bore White Rabbit masks. We're going to rescue Alice.

Roda the Red BriiAngelic QuirkyAngel BluEndings Chaos Gallant

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

CORVO CORDESCO

CS Link

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 4 [Home Cookin']

LOCATION:

Bridge Entrance, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Alex, Ashley, Auvura, Corvo, Lyric, Many Others

HOME COOKIN'

<<< Remember

Safe to say, nothing went according to plan. The ambush was foiled by a helmeted, motorcycle-riding interloper shooting at her bomb lobber. Before Corvo could make her own move against that, the SUV plowed through undeterred—although taking the rider along with a brutal crashing of metal and glass to boot. In the distance, someone in the SUV left the portion of bridge behind them in ruin.

In the immediate aftermath, Corvo could only click her tongue in frustration. One glance at Yong-Yut told her that she was fine, and Suzu certainly wasn't caught in any action. The plan could have been better; churned on the spot with little time to take other factors into consideration... The storm hadn't blown over, though. Plenty of these armored SUVs remained in their district. If they moved swiftly enough, maybe they could snatch at least one, she hoped...

Corvo took the five explosives from Yong-Yut's ribbons, hastily stuffing them in her coat. They were still active.

Another of those vehicles pulled up, this time screeching to a halt before the failed ambush. RIght in front of Corvo. Popping out the side, fists emanating with frost, was the unmistakable sight of Markus Weiss, King of the Tigers. She wasn't sure if it was his close presence, but the air seemed to go cold.

Seems that speeding out here wasn't a total waste of time.

Markus spoke his piece. A basic threat, yet carrying the weight seeing as he could easily back it up. Curious, though, was the slight tone of voice that differentiated from the cold-hearted man she'd heard about. Nevertheless, such an important person stood mere feet away from a Phoenix rookie. Perhaps the natural response should have been fear or relief for his willingness to let them go.

But to Corvo, this was opportunity.

She chuckled lightly, keeping both hands on her hips. "And so the invaders of our nest are none other than the ferocious Tigers." Her voice, raspy with smoke, echoed amid the forthcoming silence. She heard YY confirm their nearing departure from the premises, but a shared glance told each other everything. Hidden in her right hand, she fumbled with the detonator. "I suppose we oughta be honored to be attacked by yet another gang's King." She shrugged. "We'll be on our way, then."

Corvo began to walk in the same direction as Yong-Yut: closer to her car, but closer to Markus. A grin reaching ear to ear curved onto her lips. Her thumb pressed against the trigger. "Arrivederci, signore."

Everything enveloped in plumes of fire and smoke.

gxxberkit Ambiloquous Elenion Aura @OtherPeopleidk

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

ANNA GARDENER

CS Link

SCENE:

Serpents Arc 2: Scene 3 [Matter of the Dragon's Heart]

LOCATION:

Platinum Rabbit Lobby, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Anna, Tri, Yuto, Kisara, Bash, Celestine, Meirin, Reveler, Dante, Peyton

Matter of The Dragon's Heart

Ah.

Ahaha.

This was awful.

Cold sweat seeped out of Anna's pores, and the turbulence that had been haunting her mind began to settle. By all means, this was rightly and properly the worst-case scenario. Tri was outside of her supervision, an alarm was blaring, and there was an insane woman baring down on her with a knife.

But, well, at least all of those were things she could understand. Now that shit had properly hit the fan, negotiations and tricks were off of the table. She was in her element. She lurched forward, the spark of her Potential running through her fingertips, and caught the first of Reveler's knives as it bore down on her. Rather than biting into her flesh, the blade's steel swum, ebbed, and then collapsed into a stream of liquid metal, splashing harmlessly through her fingertips.

The second blade swung swift and true, burying itself securely into Anna's thigh, but not without a cost. Anna barged into Reveler's oncoming form, slamming her shoulder into the other woman's gut, and pushing forward. With all of her weight, she wrenched the blonde woman up and over her shoulder and then hefted both her and herself up and into the adjacent wall, which, just as Reveler's blade had a moment before, dissolved into a liquid mush, which poured down onto the next in a gushing mass of wallpaper and liquidated drywall as the two women plummeted down onto the floor below.

Spoiler: Tags

Interacted with: Mqueserasera
Relevant to: Damafaud Caffeine_Obsessed simj26 Nobody Special Coyote Hart The Regal Rper QuirkyAngel

/border]

 

[simj26]

Kisara McDowell

CS Link

SCENE:

Serpents Arc 2: Scene 2 [Tailing the Dragon's Heart]

LOCATION:

Platinum Rabbit, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Kisara, Bash

You Take The Weight Off Of Me

This was definitely fake, right? Completely ignoring the alarms that blared around her, she lifted the ‘gem’ and attempted to study it. That would mean that the real thing was somewhere around here. With the alarm, it wouldn’t be an easy job, but she could probably take out whoever tried to stop her. With Bash, she was unstoppable- both of them were. She smirked and her horns began to glow. Before she could start, however, Bash lifted her up. “Wha– Bash?” Out of surprise, she had completely discarded the teasing honorific she had for him entirely. There was a visible look of effort on his face as he barged out of the room with her in his hands. She had to admit, she wasn’t used to being swept off her feet and being carried like this. A strange feeling, for sure, but…she thought it was nice. Even if Bash was struggling to hold her weight.

She probably should have treasured the feeling a little longer, and she was slightly upset that it had to come to an end when she was unceremoniously dumped into a laundry chute. She always knew Bash was smarter than he acted or liked to admit, but she had completely forgotten that this place existed. She was ready to fight her way out, and have fun doing it, given the ruckus that was going on outside. This, however, was much easier, and much more sneakier. Ah, well. Whatever Senpai decided to go with, she was fine with it. Even if it meant missing out on a playdate with the Dragons outside.

Suddenly, a horrible thought invaded her empty head. This was a brothel, right? What went down the laundry chutes? Her facial expression visibly changed from blissful ignorance to horror. Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. Was this what people who think all the time suffered from? Ugly, gnawing realisations? Before she could figure out an escape from what fresh hell she was going to arrive in, she shot out of the laundry chute and into a bin full of bedsheets and pillowcases.

“Augh! Agh!” she protested as she clambered out of the bin and flopped onto the floor, scattering a few of the sheets onto the ground. She spun around, studying herself for any…foreign substances. If there was a god, she prayed to them that she hadn’t touched anything suspect in that tumble. She quickly added a small apology for her future one-on-one duel with them. Suppressing a need to brush herself off, she looked about the laundry room. The alarms were still going off. They had gotten out of their earlier predicament, but now what? There’d still be people waiting for them outside. She stepped forwards, and stopped. She looked down on one of the bedsheets that she had strewn about the place earlier from her extrication from the accursed fabric, and stomped on it.

It was hollow.

A soft ‘thump’ heralded Bash’s arrival in the same bin that she had been in as she knelt down beside the bedsheet. Steeling herself, she lifted the bedsheet. It was cleverly disguised as part of the floor, but right at the side, there was a small divot, one that could feasibly fit a few fingers. Interesting. She slipped her fingers into the gap, and pulled on it. The trap door came up easily enough. A ladder went down into the dimly lit cavern below. “Senpai, over here.” She motioned towards him. No time to think about where this led. She disregarded the ladder, and opted to leap down.

It was dimly lit, some of the lights on the walls either didn’t work, or weren’t turned on. A little too dark for her comfort. She thought about lighting the place up a little brighter with a blast, then hesitated. That sounded insane, even to her. She looked at her armored arm. Maybe, if she just coalesced some of the energy into her hand, and kept it there, she could provide some light. It would be a little too romantic, being lavender and all, but what did she have to lose? Besides, she was here with Bash. It shouldn’t be a problem. “Here goes nothin’.” She held out her hand, and began to generate her power into it. A small ball began to form in her hand, flaring erratically, before bursting into an orb big enough to substitute a soccer ball. It sparked dangerously, sending bolts randomly around the room. She tightened her grip on the orb, compressing it down into the size of a tennis ball. Dull pain shot through her arm from the feedback. She could take it. At last, the orb started to behave itself. She held it out towards the dark corner of the room and smirked, satisfied. Again, another work of genius. Nothing too hard for the renowned Prinz Gyoushi!

She stepped forwards and turned her source of light towards the crooked hallway in front of her. From where she was, she could see branches from the main path, the walls occasionally interrupted by a door. She swore she could hear voices echoing across the hallways, but it was probably her imagination. A shiver ran up her spine. She was reminded of those horror games that she streamed before. These hallways never ended in a happy ending. She swallowed her anxiety. Ghosts didn’t exist. Zombies weren’t real. She had to press on from here. “Senpai–” she started before clamping her mouth shut. Or attempted to anyway. She had forgotten that she still had the ‘gem’ in her hands, and promptly smacked her own face with it. Unfazed by the strike, she shook her head. The hallways had very good acoustics. She could still hear her voice echoing through the maze. They had to keep quiet here. She moved towards the ladder and motioned for Bash to come down.

Nothing else to do now but to keep exploring this rabbit hole. Curiouser, and curiouser.

The One Eyed Bandit Nobody Special Damafaud Caffeine_Obsessed angel doe The Regal Rper Mqueserasera QuirkyAngel Coyote Hart

 

[Elenion Aura]

MARKUS WEISS

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 5 [A Dangerous Game]

LOCATION:

South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Actualize, Yong-Yut, Corvo, Suzu

YOU'RE ALL DEAD

Markus watched the women share a sidelong glance. He didn't bother sparing a look in the direction of the third woman who'd squirreled herself away on a nearby roof. If she was smart she'd make herself scarce like the other two... Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. He knew there was a chance he'd run into ghosts here in this graveyard, but that didn't mean Markus enjoyed seeing this flesh-and-blood reminder of the life he used to live... Or did he?

"Uh-huh."

Markus released his fists, but did not lower his guard. He knew better than that. "Don't flatter yerself, just fuck off." He didn't take his eyes off of them. He didn't intend to, until they were well out of sight. Thanks to this, he spied the Phoenix, one of the two he didn't recognize, rustle around for something in her pocket, imagining she meant to pull a weapon on him. A knife, or a gun, maybe. He almost felt sorry for her. She'd need more than that to—"..!"

Light emerged from beneath the woman's overcoat. Markus' eyes widened. Soon that same, white-hot light had filled Markus' field of view. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion...

The plume of smoke that the suicide bomb had created engulfed their side of the bridge. It swirled and roiled, concealing those within. For a moment, all was quiet, and all save the billowing cloud of smoke was still.





























From the skies above the soft, pattering rain swiftly turned to lightly falling snow. The temperature in the area had begun to steadily drop. Breath fogged in the faces of those still breathing as frost crept along the cracked and smoldering asphalt. At last the dust settled and the smoke cleared, revealing a row of jagged spikes made of pure ice, glistening in the frigid air. At the end of their path was Markus, blasted away as he had been by the unexpected and violent explosion. A mound of ice had emerged behind him and acted as a backstop to his fall.

Ice-armor sloughed off of his body in sheets, accumulating on his shoulders and the side of his face. He was up on one knee. A thin sliver of blood trickled down the side of his head from an open gash above his left brow. His skull-face mask fell, in tatters, from his face. A shaky breath rattled in his lungs. The sharp pain in his side told him that at least one of his ribs was broken. With a growl the Tiger King pushed himself to his feet, his whole face a snarl as his eyes scanned the area for that woman. Instead he spied his car, worth more than this whole shitty district if you asked him, overturned and aflame, the fate of its passengers unknown.

When he couldn't find the woman who'd tried to blow him to kingdom come amidst the wreckage, Markus decided he'd just destroy everything and hope that she'd get caught in it—if she wasn't dead already. He had to admit, a suicide bomber was a new one for him, but even so...

"... Wrong move," Markus rumbled under his breath.

They'd played their hand. They'd taken their shot.

His hand was better. They'd missed.

Maybe it was time to let the past die. Maybe he'd just kill it himself. Maybe he should've done this a long time ago.

Grunting from the effort, Markus heaved his arm through the air diagonally in a wide, sweeping arc. Instantaneously, an enormous wave of pure ice—tall enough that it eclipsed the nearby buildings and rooftops of the South District neighborhood—erupted from the ground in front of him before it came crashing down on everything in his path.

Spoiler: Tags

Lucem
BriiAngelic
AriAriAbabwa
Ambiloquous
gxxberkit
Nobody Special

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[The One Eyed Bandit]

TAILING THE DRAGON'S HEART, TRI SIDE

SCENE:

Serpents Arc 2: Scene 3 [Tailing the Dragon's Heart]

LOCATION:

Platinum Rabbit Entrance, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Anna, Tri, Yuto, Kisara, Bash, Celestine, Meirin, Reveler, Dante, Peyton

Tailing The Dragon's Heart

"Steve!" Paul broke out of the Rabbit with a yell. Tri's getaway vehicle sped off into the distance. Rubber shred, and the pungent aroma of high-grade gasoline polluted the air. Paul and Steve both cracked a grin. That was the smell of a chase.

The two men exchanged glances, and a look of pure, familial understanding gleaned from beneath their sunglasses. The car would be gone soon, ferrying that freaky old man into the tainted, muddy bosom of the South, and the twins were half-tempted to just let him go. It would've been a hell of a lot easier, at least, but their professionalism, or maybe just their pride, wouldn't let that stand.

There was a dynamic, in a word, flurry of motion. One of the twins dashed towards the other, the other ducked, and the first lept into the air, twisting over his brother's prone form in a dazzling display of athleticism. He landed, and the two of them struck a pose that would've landed them no less than a ten, if this were a contest of synchronized gymnastics, and-

-then, there was light.

An explosion of rainbows, sunshine, and pure, painful radiance, flooded the Rabbit's lawn in a moment of pure, exuberant flamboyance, and then the twins, or rather now, The Twin, emerged from within. He, or They, stood at a fierce eight feet, were garbed in a well-pressed, four-armed suit, and sported no less than two pairs of vintage sunglasses. His muscles rippled, visible even through his suit trousers, and he lept into the air, soaring through the air to intercept the escaping vehicle.

They'd need to make this fast. That display had been sloppy. They had, if their guess was right, no more than five minutes in this form before they dispersed.

Spoiler: Tags

Interacted with: Damafaud
Relevant to: Mqueserasera Caffeine_Obsessed simj26 Nobody Special Coyote Hart The Regal Rper QuirkyAngel

/border]

 

[Nobody Special]

VULKEN BECKMAN

CS Link

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 4 [Home Cook'n]

LOCATION:

South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Lyric, Alex, Corvo, Auvura, Ashley, Yong-Yut, Markus

CURRENT STAGE:

3 (Current Temp: 2100°F / 1150°C)

HOME COOK'N

By the time Vulken had stepped out of the townhouse, all hell had broken loose.

Thankfully, he had caught a glimpse of Ashley’s bike racing down the street before slowly getting smaller and disappearing as the distance between the two grew. That way, huh? If not for what he saw, he’d have been completely confused on which way to go. His eyes shifted over to the car that he, Yong-Yut and Amelie had ridden to the house in, but there way no way his best friend hadn’t taken the keys to it with her. She didn’t trust him to drive, ever. Tch. Little shit.

His gaze went back to the road and the direction that everyone had seemingly went in, and with a sigh, he lazily placed himself in a starting position. “Guess I’m runnin’. Fuck.” As tedious as running into action sounded– it would actually do Vulken more good than bad. Depending on how far the enemy had gotten, he’d probably be on the verge of hitting the third stage of his potential by the time he reached them. He was still itching for some good ol’ violence after the stroke of bad luck that was the fight with the Dragon King. It was almost as if he was craving it.

Besides, what kind of dog wouldn’t run to his owner if she were in need of help?

As he raced down the street, his mind began to flood with hopes that every single memory of his family was still okay. He couldn’t have another Nina situation happen, never again. The mere thought of seeing a Phoenix dead on the ground because he wasn’t there to help them caused his body to heat up even more– He refused to let that happen again.

Black figures which he could only assume were some of the ‘fifty’ SUVs that sunscreen-wearing weirdo Suzu mentioned. There sure as hell was a lot going on– so much, in fact, that he felt as though he barely had any time to process every little thing. He came to a stop a few meters away from the barricade of cars, shoving his hands into his pockets and slowly walking toward it to get a closer look at the situation. There was only one motherfucker out there who’d pull a stunt like this. The thought alone of clashing heads with that pathetic son of a bitch forced him into a twisted grin– one that expressed some sort of amalgamation of both anticipation and immense anger.

Something was going on to the side of him, but he was now more focused on finding Markus. Two Kings in a row, huh? He wouldn’t lose this time, that was for sure. Not to him, of all people.

He stopped in front of the blockade of cars that stood in his path. “Yeah, this is cute an’ all, but…”

As he spoke, the area around him grew significantly hotter. He didn’t see this group of supposed Tigers as a threat– simply as an obstacle to his larger goal.

“... I gotta ask you guys ‘ta get outta my way. Unless ya want things ‘ta get violent–”

BOOM!

The loud explosion that came from ahead was all it took for Vulken to toss any chance of conversation to the side, and with a push off his foot, he leapt above the cars, making sure to fire a large blast of heat beneath him to deter the thoughts of any of the Tiger King’s lackeys who may have planned on trying to follow him. Once his feet touched the ground again, he bolted forward in a burst of speed that was fueled by adrenaline.

Where are ya… WHERE ARE YA?! Right as a shadow of a doubt that his enemy might not be around began to come over him, it was replaced by an even larger shadow– one cast by the enormous wall of ice that had suddenly shot upwards in all directions.

“THERE!!!”

Another obstacle. A more EXCITING obstacle. Draken’s blood was practically boiling in his veins as he slammed the sole of his boot into the ground, coming to a skidding stop and positioning himself to throw a hard overhand right at the glacier that stood before him. His arm shot forward, hitting air, but the condensed blaze of heat that followed afterwards boomed loudly as it bore an opening large enough for him to speed through, charging headfirst at Markus with the intent to let another bombardment of sweltering heat rip in his direction.

Lucem AriAriAbabwa gxxberkit Ambiloquous Elenion Aura

 

[Beann]

RURIKO IKEDA

CS Link

SCENE:

Dragons Arc 2: Scene 1 [The Child]

LOCATION:

The Markets, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Dyne, Hou, Ra, Ruriko, Shiri

THE CHILD

“Y’sure know how ta’ dig yer fuckin’ grave,” she mocked the way he spoke as she pointed her katana at the giant man. Ruriko eyed the iron club he wielded, utterly unphased by his threats. Opponents who wielded such heavy weapons were often slow, merely relying on their strength. Of course, she wouldn’t want to block an attack from that — no doubt it would shatter her precious swords. However, she was confident that she and Shiri alone could take these men. Speaking of which, the latter moved fast to flank the group, slicing one of the goon’s arms clean off. She smirked at his words but kept her eyes on the man who carried the steel cage. Shiri was right, actions were infinitely better than words but she was aware of the image the Dragons wanted to keep. They wouldn’t have appeared to be peacekeepers without at least one courtesy warning.

The unknown man from earlier joined them not a moment after, making quite the loud descent by ruining a car. It took all of Ruriko’s willpower not to laugh at his confidence. Beat them up? Unlikely. She wondered what he meant by his job but that would have to wait now. “Nah, I don’t recognize any of them.” Her eyes quickly darted from one goon to another, double-checking that none of them were among the two that approached her earlier. That meant she would have no qualms dealing with them accordingly.

“Oi, keep the ogre alive!” A new nickname for the man with the club as she watched Hou rush at him. “We only need one to interrogate,” her attention then turned to the last three goons that rushed toward her. Three against one was an annoying thought. She could fix that though. The middle one that lead the charge wielded a bloodstained machete. Had he no respect for weapons and their proper care? Ruriko waited for them to get closer, standing her ground as she watched the machete wielder raise his arm to swing. Just as the attack was about to hit her, a portal appeared between them. “Friendly fire, huh? You lot truly are scum,” she grinned as her attacker took a quick glance to see that his arm had phased through another portal close by, cutting through the neck of one of his allies.

Ruriko wasted no time darting around her own portal, her eyes locking on the other goon that clutched a dagger in each hand. Feigning a side attack, she dropped low to the ground, kicking her leg out to sweep her target off their feet. Lunging forward, she raised her katana and plunged the blade into the chest of the prone goon. Ruriko then turned to the goon she kept alive, the one that held the machete. She pulled her sword out of the chest of his ally, watching him take a step back to reassess the situation. “I’m feeling nice, so I think I’ll keep you alive for now.” Mostly because she couldn’t trust Hou to keep the ogre alive yet, they still needed at least one hostage. Closing her current portals, she lunged at the third assailant but rather than strike him with her blade, she planted her foot and used the momentum to kick him in the gut. The kick sent him flying back through a newly created portal, the endpoint being two hundred feet directly above the alley. She sheathed her blade as she watched the machete goon’s descent, leaving quite the impact as he crashed close behind the ogre.

Spoiler: Tags

Elenion Aura @SilverFlight Damafaud The One Eyed Bandit @The Prophet

 

[Elenion Aura]

MINATO & OSAMU

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 6 [All Proceeds]

LOCATION:

Backstage, Cloudwalk Stadium, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Sabrina, Fahru, Masked Minato, Osamu

ALL PROCEEDS

“Hey!” The drunken man exclaimed as he face planted into the ground. The force of the impact gave Osamu a throbbing pain on the temple of his head. If Minato was going to drop him, he could have at least made an attempt to catch him. As he sat up on his knees, the information that Minato was providing him was being saved in his mind like a file on a computer. He remembered seeing some Minato’s running past him. Of course something is going on, I probably shouldn’t drink like this often. It was quite obvious who they were after, as she was the main show of the event. They want Idol. The drunk was able to get himself onto his feet, but needed the help of a wall to stay standing. “You’re telling me we have freaks running around and we still have Idol out there performing?” Osamu rubbed his head to try and ease the pain as his thoughts swirled around in his mind.

“If they are killing Minato’s, you oughta be careful. You are our best asset right now.” Osamu tried to stand under his own weight and succeeded, although he was still swaying. “First thing we have to do is find all the culprits and that won’t be tough. If their target is Idol, they will most likely be near her.” Minato had mentioned they might be backstage and Osamu was present there not too long ago, he didn’t see anything in his drunken stupor. “Backstages have lots of cramped spaces, objects and nooks that they can hide behind. Focus your efforts on checking those.” As for who specifically was after Idol, there were a large range of possibilities, but one could narrow it down. Osamu read in the news not too long ago that Idol’s group split up and it wasn’t on the most amicable terms. He didn’t have any concrete evidence, but revenge was one of the greatest motivators for crime… that and jealousy.

“I think I might have an idea of who is behind it, but it’s just conjecture right now. We will never know for certain until we see them for ourselves.” Osamu drunkenly pointed at Minato as he continued, ”Idol used to be in a group and that group is no longer together. There is a high probability that one of her old members is the cause of all this. It seems to me like a coordinated attack, so that rules out the crazed fan or rabid drunk.” This was all based on probability and with many factors missing, there was a chance he could be wrong. He stroked his chin as he dove into thought again. Money can solve most issues, we might be able to buy more information from these hooligans, but we have to find them first.

Minato nodded along. It all made sense to him (now). “That’s mah boy! Usin’ that noggin’ of yours to save the concert.” He wasn’t really following along with every detail, but he knew he didn’t have to. He also knew better than to ask questions, and instead chose to trust in Osamu’s intellect and do whatever he said. The little, ‘you are our best asset right now,’ line was just gravy. While they were talking, one of Dagger’s wolves—was it Akita? Akita was one of their names, right?—padded up to the pair and nudged Minato’s flank with his snout. “Huh? Aw, hey, buddy! Who’s a good girl?” He asked rhetorically as he patted the large wolf on its head. He stopped with a start, though, as he felt another wave of Minatos bite the dust across their shared connection. Hiding his wince of discomfort behind a smile, Minato turned back to Osamu and shot him a giddy thumbs up, saying, “... Okay! Let’s go get ‘em!”


Not much later, the trio of women traipsing through a large corridor through the backstage area of the concert hall would find themselves faced with Minato (the “main” one), Osamu, and Akela standing in their path. Before they could double back and retreat in the direction they’d come from (if even they wanted to), a line of Minatos would bar the way, accompanied by the snarling duo of Alpha and Gunnolf. Caught like rats in a cage.

Prior to this dramatic rendezvous, Minato had been hard at work doing as Osamu had directed, covertly checking all the nooks and crannies he could find backstage—while other Minas either played lookout or blood playthings for the bloodthirsty vixens—until he happened upon their quarry just as they rounded a corner. It was child's play (for Osamu at least) to put together this little ambush for the would-be concert-crashers...

“Ah hah! Looks like even alcohol won’t stop me from figuring things out.” Osamu said, swaying where he was. To any onlooker, he wouldn’t be intimidating. Luckily, he wasn’t alone and he had a few friends with him. He focused his eyes to get a better look at who was in front of him. He was regretting overindulging, but he had to deal with it now. He stroked his chin as he glanced between them, “I already have a good idea as to why you are here, but enlighten me please. It’ll make things much easier.” Hopefully they would see how futile it is, if not, that’s what the wolves were for.

Spoiler: Tags

The One Eyed Bandit
@Slav
simj26 (because wolves)

>>> To The Next Post

 

[gxxberkit]

SUZ-YY

CS Link

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 4 [Home Cook'n]

LOCATION:

Bridge, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Corvo, Suzu, Vulken, Markus

Home Cook'n

Yong-Yut had only taken a few steps before the violent boom of the explosion behind her prompted her to crouch down and move her hands to her ears. Some debris flung straight towards the back of her head, emitting a soft thud from the impact. Ow.

As the smoke cleared and snowflakes replaced the falling rain, she turned back around towards the outcome of the explosion. She first noticed the flaming car, which was probably the source of the debris that hit her. Then her eyes trailed over to Corvo’s remains. It was most certainly in pieces, in contrast to Markus’ body, which seemed to be most certainly… not. She yelled out in shock of Corvo’s death, with only so much emotion to sell it, “Cor”—Fuck, what was her alias again?—”Carrion!” …Of course, she knew Corvo wasn’t really dead, but she hoped she was gone. The longer they withheld revealing Corvo’s revival to the enemy gangs, the better. You’re dead. Please stay down.

She took a slight glance towards Markus, who was now standing himself up. Fear filled their mind, anticipating his retaliation, but they’d be lying if they said they didn’t feel a sort of relief at the fact he could stand.

…Nevermind.

An unstoppable wall of ice was now coming their way, and just as fast as the ice grew, Yong-Yut's relief vanished.

Turning to their right, they spotted Suzerain with her head in the clouds. Their eyebrows furrowed in worry. Letting her stay on top of the small building was probably a bad idea, and who knew if she’d move herself. Their arm warmers unwrapped and shot towards the ground, forcing Yong-Yut upwards towards the roof of the convenience store. “Hey!”

Startling out of the stupefaction that came from seeing the mess that was Corvo’s unsatisfactory conclusion, Suzerain turned towards the figure flying—not flying, she corrected when her line of sight finally landed on the strips of cloth acting the part of a catapult—through the air. Her mind reluctantly ran through her list of Posia-approved replies, landing on the easy and oft used, “Hello. Can I leave?”

The rookie should have continued with any plan B her sole living partner might have concocted, but there was a wall of ice taller than the roof she stood on nearing her location at a velocity that was certain to break her bones, so she felt there was a 90% chance that her sister would forgive her for skimping on her responsibilities in this case. It didn’t matter that there was a tiny spot of red melting a path to the King of Tigers; the man had only created one human-shaped hole in a mass of ice many human-shapes larger. Even if he did manage to liquefy the entire thing, it would simply mean that there would be a great mass of water crushing them under instead. A wave with the weight of a thousand tons wouldn’t be much gentler on their bodies, she knew.

Her potentiality didn’t lend itself well to escaping, but Yong-Yut had a method of travel noticeably quicker than her sprint. If she carefully worded her request, perhaps they’d both break past the range of destruction in time.

“Take me with you or I ^might die.” Very convincing, she mentally patted herself on the back.

“Mhm,” Yong-Yut responded, landing on the roof in front of Suzerain. She pulled in the cloth braces, but she didn’t seem like she was going to stop moving, even with the bang of who she assumed was Vulken’s arrival on the scene. Rather, she continued to move at top speed straight towards her partner. “That was the plan.”

(The world affirmed Suzerain’s predictions. Yong-Yut did have a plan B—even if it wasn’t the plan B she thought it would be.)

As they ran past her, the ribbon closest to Suzu stretched out in front of her, almost effectively clotheslining the rookie before it wrapped around her body and swept her off her feet. “I don’t think we can outrun it. If you don’t mind, we’re going to jump over it.” There, of course, was no time to veto the decision. As soon as they reached the edge of the store’s roof, they sprung towards the nearby, much taller building behind it.

Surprised by the sudden ribbon yoink, Suzerain’s already tenuous grip on the mirrored lighting device slackened, and the amalgamation of metal and glass slipped out of her hands. Without gloves, her hold on the umbrella-phone combination would have kept, if barely, but with gloves, they tumbled right off the edge of the convenience store roof. She knew there were issues with the pair: they were boiling hot in warm weather, the material wasn’t at all breathable, and the structure wasn’t conducive to grasping oddly shaped objects for long periods of time. But even with all its flaws, she didn’t think that they would fail on her at a moment like this.

“Duck—” She curled up as best as she could and waited for it to explode. It did something worse. At high enough decibels to put a jet engine to shame, her metal creation started blaring a familiar, familiar tune.

“Never gonna give you up.
Never gonna let you down.
Never gonna run around and desert you~”​

But it didn’t stop there. Neon lights lit up the insides of her eyelids, pulsing erratically and completely off-beat. When the chorus of “Never Gonna Give You Up” ended, the rest of the music became an incoherent jumble of noises, as if the device’s only purpose was to play a meme song. The following mishmash of sounds coming from the flashing polyhedron spanned the entire spectrum of musical genres, from folk EDM to soul punk to classical rock.

Being unable to speak over the mess that only deaf people could call music, nor cover their ears to shield themself from the noise, Yong-Yut opted instead to show their displeasure of this turn of events by shooting a glare at Suzerain. They were only lucky their back faced the LEDs. Was everyone trying to kill them with noise today? Their glare got more intense the worse the music got in the few seconds they could bear not looking at where they were going, before they turned back to the building they were about to hit. They held one of their arms up and the brace wrapped around it stretched up towards an anchor point. Just before they hit the wall, they sharply pulled their arm down, shooting the pair further up the building onto a ledge.

They pushed down on the ledge, once again using the fabric as a spring, and continued up the building with jumps and springs until they got them both to the top. They turned around to the wave, which seemed to continue to tower over them. Bracing themselves, they bent their knees and prepared to jump, with the power from the cloth right behind them.

Luckily for them, the building was just tall enough for Yong-Yut to vault over the tsunami of ice.

The two plummeted down past the wave, the ground getting closer faster than Yong-Yut had expected. It looked slippery from the ice. She quickly rearranged herself and Suzu, Yong-Yut now falling with her back to the ground with Suzu just above her. She manipulated the unused ribbon to catch the two’s fall, with the aim of using herself should Suzu slip from the other ribbon.

Clutching the ribbon leading away from her waist with both arms, Suzerain squeezed her eyes tighter than ever before, hoping to any deities, spirits, mentors and sisters that the plummeting feeling in her stomach wasn’t the signal for a gruesome end.

Once the ribbon pressed down into the road, the bundle of people and fabric bounced a little. After a moment, Yong-Yut tilted over until her feet safely touched the solid ground. They finally let go of Suzerain, dropping her to the ground, and looked her over. With a thumbs up and a slight nudge of her head, they wordlessly asked if she was okay.

Suzerain gave her reliable transport a dazed nod, assuming that Yong-Yut had appreciated the obnoxiously loud music. It wasn’t to her taste, but perhaps the fashion aficionado had a greater enthusiasm for avante-garde things than she originally thought.

With the "confirmation," and a quick look-over of themself, Yong-Yut looked over to Markus and Vulken. Vulken could probably handle himself. Though, both had sustained injuries, but Markus' was more recent... so maybe it'd be best to leave.

Ambiloquous AriAriAbabwa Nobody Special Elenion Aura

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

HECTOR MOSES

CS Link

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 1 [The Recruit]

LOCATION:

South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Boltius Doctor Llamabean , Hector, Milo Elenion Aura

THE RECRUIT

Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you. Fuck fuck FUCK.

To say Hector was pissed off would be an understatement as he stormed away. The sole of his boot - hanging onto his foot for dear life due to the spike he tore through it earlier - smacked against the ground every time he took a step. If his hearing had recovered enough to hear the subtle, annoying sound, it might've been enough to spur him on to destroy the entire street in a blind rage. But thankfully, his hearing was still a bit shot and he just kept trudging forward.

Darren approached soon afterwards, walking alongside the Ace. Hector turned around seeing Darren in his peripheral, still ready for violence, but he relaxed when he realised this was someone who was neither going to attack him nor try berating him. A firm nod said what his agitated brain couldn't right now. You're doing good.

Darren returned the nod and walked with him towards their destination. Hector didn't even spare a glance towards Boltius, it would only raise his blood pressure. He was fine pretending he didn't exist. There'd be time to talk later. And he had plenty more to say.

Hector noticed his breaths becoming deeper and deeper as he kept walking, and even then it didn't seem like he was taking in enough air. Despite already being tired, it didn't seem right that a simple walk was enough to make him out of breath, and Hector knew this. He wasn't about to hold the whole group up by saying anything though, and he tried to just push through the setback.

If he had taken the time to stop and check in with the others, he might've realised that Darren and Boltius were suffering similarly to him, but he was focusing only on putting one foot in front of the other. It was only when Boltius called out did Hector stop, though his attention was brought back ahead of him soon after when a woman stepped out in front of him.

It was hard to focus on her words. His head was pounding and he was more aware of his little breathing issue now. But he knew enough to know that this was a threat he had to deal with immediately... if Boltius wasn't ahead of him. He could only stand and watch as Boltius went in for the attack, and had no defence to the sudden pressure that propelled the trio away.

As he skidded along the ground, he held his hands down and a new set of sharp metal claws scraped against the concrete, chipping away as his momentum decreased to a stop. Coughing and spluttering along with Bolt and Darren, Hector's body curled up in pain from the attack's effect on his chest.

"Fuck. Fucking get up." It was hard to tell if he was talking to himself or his allies, but his body was forcing him to take his time before jumping back into the fray again. He sharpened his claws with new metal as he succeeded at sitting up. With another fight coming up, Hector was aware of the constraints of his potential. He'd wasted a lot on Milo, if he exhausted the rest of his metal too quickly he'd be helpless. So the claws would have to do for now.

As he sat up, he noticed a blur approach his assailant from behind. "Shit." As the bike sped up he could only stare on with a pained expression and hope he could recover fast enough to get out of the way if he had to.

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

CORVO CORDESCO

CS Link

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 4 [Home Cookin']

LOCATION:

Bridge Entrance, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Alex, Ashley, Auvura, Corvo, Lyric, Many Others

HOME COOKIN'

<<< Remember

No matter how many times she did this, Corvo doubted she'd ever get used to it. There came the soothing wave of tranquility, bringing a light over her eyes as she felt a peace not felt in years; only for her to tear herself away from it, re-embracing the smoky stench of reality. The peacefulness came and went. Back to work, now.

Corvo emerged from nothingness inside one of the adjacent alleyways, partly barricaded in rubble. With the cover of debris and smoke, she peeked a fraction of her head out, only taking it all in for a split second. The gratifying sight, however, made everything up this point worth it. She wished she could snap a picture; in-the-moment proof that nobody was untouchable. No matter how much money they tossed around, how high they built their towers, how pompous they built themselves to be, the all-mighty Tiger King came into such a state so quickly.

She couldn't afford to bask in it, however, as there quickly arose a bigger problem...

A wave of ice, towering so high up that Corvo could see it above the enclosed walls of the buildings beside her, made its threat very clear. If she had known Markus would raise a devastatingly large attack in response, she should have emerged in the area behind him...

She couldn't waste any more time standing still. Corvo threw a brick through a window of the building, a closed bakery, nearer to Markus and the wave. If he was throwing that at the entire space in front of him, she was going to be safer closer to the ice—a less powerful impact. Wringing a cloth over her hands, she vaulted through the broken window and into the front of the building.

A quick glance around—tables and chairs, displays of pastries under a heated lamp—she took one of the chairs as she ran behind the counter. The bellowing sound of the enormous wave growled through the buildings.

Tearing the cushions from its seat, she left the metal frame behind in the kitchen where her gaze darted towards the red fire extinguisher. She took that as well. Ice crumbled and shattered outside.

Shouldering through the locked doors and into a hallway, she made note of the location of the restrooms, then following a sign pointing to the manager's office. The door was locked—she broke it off with the extinguisher. Inside, it seemed the bakery owner made the place their secondary home. A thin mattress lay on the floor with crumpled jackets and a blanket over it. She rolled that into a single thing to carry, hastily shambling out. The building shook; particles of ceiling rained.

Corvo kicked into the restroom, finding the nearest corner and burying herself in the cushions. She kept the fire extinguisher at her side, keeping both her arms over her face.

.

.

.

.

.

While Vulken and Markus began their duel, there came a faint banging underneath a pile of rubble—pile of rubble being the entire block, leveled into nothing recognizable. Some debris came loose, tumbling off a little pile. Then, a fire extinguisher shot outward, followed by a hand drenched in blood, which dripped downward onto the barely surviving cuffs of a suit. Another hand shot up, and the pair of arms clawed and tore at where their body should have been.

Her efforts were not in vain. Corvo leaned up, feeling what little remains of the mattress slide off her face. She rubbed her forehead, only feeling warm liquid. She couldn't tell if the blood came from her hands, or her head. Either way, one of her eyes flickering from the constant drippage of the fluid, she didn't feel in good shape at all. "Even if Gods can bleed, they're still Gods..." And it would take a lot more to bring them down.

Her sight followed the sound of a new fight. She saw the fire meet ice. Vulken, her dear sponsor, was finally here; along with her cue to leave.

Wobbling the rest of herself out of the ruins, she forced her legs to crouch and run towards the nearest cover, breaking line of sight with the distant Markus.

Corvo didn't know how far or long she ran. Her vintage car soon came in view, miraculously unscathed for the most part. She reached out, feeling the metal surface of her car—it felt colder than she remembered. Opening the passenger door, Corvo reached for the glove box first things first. From it, she retrieved a pack and a lighter. Tobacco replaced the strong smell of the air.

As the suited Phoenix looked back, she spotted her two companions emerging. Just in time. Thankfully, they appeared fine... much, much better than Corvo appeared. Nonetheless, as soon as either of them noticed Corvo, she waved for them to come over. They've done what they could and got away; right now, she only hoped Romero hadn't caused much trouble in Lyric's apartment...

gxxberkit Ambiloquous Elenion Aura Nobody Special

 

[Saturn_moon]

Isobel Pham

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 5 [A Dangerous Game]

LOCATION:

South-West Bridge

PARTICIPANTS:

Callahan, Dagger, Ezra, Isobel, Markus, Mbaye, Vulken

NO ONE IS DYING

The explosion rented the air as if it had the intent of shattering the universe, ripping anything in its path apart atom by atom, and echoed through New Oasis like a thunderstorm. From across the South-West bridge, all they could see was the giant plume of smoke swallowing the South left behind them mere moments ago. "STOP THE CAR." Isobel signed but all she got was a raised eyebrow from Ezra who continued to speed towards the Tigers' headquarters despite her demand. There was no time for this. "Watch your phone." Dropping the claw in his lap, she threw open the passenger door and unbuckled herself from the seat. Fully expecting to go tumbling across the asphalt, she braced herself for the impact. But as her body left the confines of the car, she felt the shift in gravity around her and was swept up like a feather in a passing wind current and lowered down gently. Briefly making eye contact with the woman still on the roof, she gave her a small nod. They're in your hands now. She thought, hoping her message would get across.

Feet meeting solid ground, Isobel began to sprint back the way they'd come. Coming up to the mess of viscous tar that had once been road, she nimbly lept up onto the concrete barriers lining the side of the bridge and pushed ahead unhindered. It was in precarious instances like this, that her smaller frame served to benefit. Beneath, the still dark waters suddenly started to churn, odd seeing as there were no boats presently in the vicinity. A quick glance around was all she needed to identify the source - a rising tidal wave of ice and frost headed towards the South. Markus. The muscles in her legs burned and ached, but Isobel willed them to go faster, steps pounding in time with her racing heartbeat.

This is a bad idea. Turn back. Save yourself. The voice in her head rang out loud and clear but the newly minted Jack kept running, attempting to catch up with the tsunami. Nothing today had gone right and nothing about what she was doing was sensible. She had absolutely no reason to be rushing back into danger when they'd just managed to escape by a hair's breadth but she also couldn't shake the gnawing feeling in her gut that told her if she didn't get to Markus quick, there would be no redemption left for either one of them.

She arrived just in time to see the tower of ice strike the buildings closest to the coast and turn them into piles of rubble and debris. A flurry of snow rushed at her with the intensity of a blizzard, whipping her hair madly around and instantaneously freezing the sweat dripping down her face and back. She picked him out amidst the chaos easily. Bleeding and bruised. The fur trim on his coat had also been singed. A feeling of déjà vu as an image of a younger Markus standing in the middle of an arena looking as he did now flashed in her mind. The difference was, Markus was no longer the same kid struggling to attain power. He had power and she could see the anger and destruction reflected in his eyes.

To make matters worse, Markus was engaged in a fight with a man who looked bizarrely like the one they had run over in the alley except less garishly dressed. Encompassed by a sphere of heat that was melting all the ice in his path, the man charged forward channeling similar levels of determination as Markus. How many of these hotheads did the phoenix even have? Every clash between the two ignited sparks and steam as ice met fire. Isobel closed the distance, her movements getting more lethargic the closer she got to Markus. The cold settled into her joints and limbs, and her fingertips tinged with the beginnings of frost. Reaching out, she grasped onto the edge of Markus' coat and gave it a tug. He turned on her so fast, and she instinctively felt the need to shrink away. Instead, she pushed down the fear and held her ground. There wasn't much she could say. He didn't understand sign and her fingers were too numb to type anything on her phone, so she met his eyes with a plea.

"What are yer doin'." He growled, eyes still alight with fury. "Get. This doesn't concern you." Slapping the coat out of her hand, he returned his attention to the hothead. Isobel stared at his retreating figure, slightly dumbfounded. He could chew her head off later, right now they needed to get out of here. Phone clasped in her hand, she vaulted herself forward, wrapping her arms around Markus' waist and hitting the call button at the same time.

Spoiler: Tags

Lucem simj26 Elenion Aura Nova Anyw Nobody Special

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Elias Yumin

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 3 [Happily Ever After]

LOCATION:

Shopping Mall - empty kiosk, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Alice, Elias, Jack, Charmy, Jackson

Happily Ever After

“V–,”

The call beeped to signal its end before Elias could reply. The rookie Tiger stared at Dolly’s phone for a moment before an amused smile curved on his lips. Alone, huh? It certainly sounded like a trap. Then again, the fashion mogul might simply be cautious. Either way, Elias didn’t mind humoring Janay’s sister. Finding Alice really was just a matter of time in his mind. He preferred it done in a quicker, more peaceful, manner, but he knew better than to put all his eggs when it came to dealing with people.

Exiting the refrigerated chamber that contained the Alice doll, Elias saw Dolly quietly seated in one of the chairs in the security room. He smiled and gave her back her phone. As their fingers touched, Elias checked her memories to see if the dollmaker had eavesdropped or overheard anything important in his conversation with Acacia. If she had, he altered her memories so it sounded like a normal business conversation.

“It’s done. I apologize, but some things have come up and I’ll have to cut our business talks short. Let me just show you the doll I want you to make.”

Taking her hands in his, Elias planted a memory–an image really–of Alicia’s mother, Darcy Morel, into Dolly’s mind. “You don’t have to use a corpse to make it as it’s meant to be a gift for a friend, but I’d still like it to be as realistic as possible so I’ll trust your judgment in that regard. Feel free to use any materials you feel comfortable with. Payment can be negotiated once the commission is complete.”

He slipped his Yumin Entertainment business card into her hands before waving goodbye and departing from the security room…though not before giving the monitors one final check. While Elias considered taking the HP, who seemed to be close with Acacia, hostage as leverage in his eventual negotiation with the fashion mogul, he decided against the gangster-like behavior for now. It was poor manners and not particularly necessary.

Elias had been on his way to the center of the mall when he received a call from Ron. He held the device to his ear as he walked.

“There’s a commotion near the Honeycomb Cafe. One of the guys you brainwashed found Alice.”

Ellias rolled his eyes. “I don’t brainwash them, Ron.”

At least, not exactly…still, that was faster than he’d thought. Elias had multiple eyes looking for her after all, including ones near the entrance and exits of the mall, so he was fairly certain she’d be found eventually, but he figured Janay would’ve made finding her very difficult with his potential.

Ronald snorted. “Whatever. She’s being taken in by mall security. Should I intervene?”

“It’s your call, but if mall security have her, they’ll take her right to us. Or, at least, they’ll likely hold her in the security room until they can get a hold of me. My number is on the missing-person report, after all.”

“But there’s no actual report…”

“That’s where your acting skills come in~” Filing an actual police report for Alice would bring in no end of trouble given where her ‘home’ actually was. Unknowingly or not, Alice had committed a number of crimes with her potential such that integration back into normal society wouldn’t be easy…at least, not without a lot of money or support. Those sorts of things tend to stay in one’s record.

“Dammit! We’re supposed to be gangsters! I just wanna beat ‘em cops up!”

Elias chuckled. “Remember, our main goal is securing Alice.”

“Where are you anyway? Done talking to that dollmaker yet?”

“I am at the center of the mall, next to an empty kiosk. Try to bring her here if you can…otherwise, I’ll join you in a bit.”

“Wh–?”

Hanging up so he wouldn’t have to explain to Ron the conversation that led him here, Elias leaned against the empty kiosk as he checked his phone. Originally, he had intended to negotiate with Acacia in exchange for letting him meet Alice. However, with Alice found, there was no longer any need to do so. Still…he was curious what she had to say. So he’d give her ten minutes. If she was a no-show, he’d assume the deal was a dud and make his way to Alice.

Elias sent a simple text to Charmy and Jack:

Alice located. Near Honeycomb Cafe. I've altered the memories of certain people so they are aware of a 'Missing Alice' and ought contact me if she's found. Mall security may or may not be on our side. ​

***

Amongst the small crowd that gathered due to the all the commotion, Ronald stepped forward, carrying the tray of drinks he’d bought. Drinks that he was supposed to have brought back to the security room. Ones laced with sleeping pills originally intended for a certain dark-skinned HP in case they got violent during ‘business talks’, mind you, but still…drinks. Bubble tea of various flavors in plastic containers.

“HEY! I–or rather my friend–filed that report! We’ve been lookin’ fer Alice!”

Not paying much mind to Perry, Malakai, Jackson, Charlie, nor the bees that attacked them, Ronald cleared his throat. “We’re the brat’s family!”

Glaring at the officers behind fake glasses, as if daring them to contest his claim, the NP who now donned an apron and fake goatee, let his eyes settle on Alice and the cafe owner dressed in work clothes before lowering the frames a bit so the veteran Tiger might see his eyes and (hopefully) recognize him. “Isn’t that right, Alice? The Qu–Lucy was worried about you ever since you disappeared. Charmy, Elias, and Jack are here looking fer you as well.”

AriAriAbabwa BluEndings Chaos Gallant BriiAngelic Roda the Red

 

[Doctor Llamabean]

BLITZ (Boltius Beckman) Ft. Ashley & Hector Collab

CS Link

SCENE:

The Recruit

LOCATION:

South District... Random back alley...

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Darren, Milo, and Ashley

THE RECRUIT

Idiot boy. Hilarity chuckled under her breath at the sight below—the reckless Phoenix that was Blitz, relative of the better-known ‘Draken’, rushing headlong into embarrassment. Such foolishness won’t get you far.

Her phone buzzing in her pocket sent her eyes rolling, and an aggravated scoff lurched from her throat to see the retreat ordered by Markus and relayed by Actualize. Are you kidding? As if I’m going to let the Ace and former walk away without something to remember them by.

She smiled, slipping her phone into a pocket. If not their heads, a hand will work.


Splenda buckled forward, the buzzing of her own phone going disregarded as laughter sputtered from between inky lips. “BWAHAHAHA! ARE- ARE YOU-” She wiped tears from her eyes. “ARE YOU AN IDIOT!? Rushing in to take on an enemy who you know nothing about?! BAHAHA! Fuckin’ dumbass! You look like the fuckin’–” Mid-speech her tone turned mocking. “–MuScle wiLl gEt You aNywHEre in liFe-kinda-stupid! BAHAHAHAHAHA!!”


“Fuck. Fucking get up,” said Hector.

Eventually Boltius’ coughing fit came to an end and he managed to reach his feet, feeling a sharp pain rush through his spine. “Fuck you,” he snapped; though, his ferocity could only conceal so much. Anyone could tell he was hurt. It didn’t take a genius. But to Boltius, he had them fooled.

That is, until he tried to take a step and buckled to a knee, wincing. He wouldn’t know it, but he was suffering a few vertebral fractures and bruised ribs. Dammit.

“Cute,” purred Splenda as she cracked her neck. “Now, if you don’t mind… I’m a little more interested in him.” Pointing at Hector, she grinned eagerly and Bolt’s pride knotted in his throat. Of course you are… Of fucking course you are.


Meanwhile, just above, Hilarity’s brows knit together at the sudden oncoming pipe in her direction. It was alarmingly fast, but luckily she was faster and managed to turn her body to dodge it. As it whizzed past her face, her eyes widened. Whoever threw it had exceptional strength, that much she could tell, but it mattered little if their attacks never landed.

Following a slight tremble of the Earth and a distant boom, cold wind rushed through the alleys just then, carrying with it sprinkles of snow.

From where she stood, Hilarity could see the massive wall of ice and thought to herself, Fall back, my ass. Looks like someone's having fun.


No time to pay it a blink of thought, Splenda glanced over her shoulder at the sound of an engine racing up behind her and was forced to throw herself aside, snarling wildly as she did. Her head bounced off the brick wall but seemed overall unscathed. No gash or red to stain her silvery hair.

She got up and hastily composed herself, fingers running over her scalp to feel for a bump. “More?... Well... Duh.”


After narrowly missing its intended target, the red torpedo immediately came to a stop, gliding sideways as its rider dragged a foot across the ground. During the sudden maneuver, Ashley got a quick look at the trio huddled behind him. Like he thought, the bright orange body that got blasted back was Bolt, and it seemed like he took some big damage. Both the current and former Ace were at his side, but unfortunately, neither of them was looking too good.

Seeing three of the toughest Phoenixes he knew hugging the ground tipped him off that these Tigers weren't pushovers, but he wasn't worried. Even if the enemy was strong, he knew he was stronger. Because he knew that, he knew for damn sure that Hector, Bolt, and Darren were stronger. They wouldn't just stay down and take this, even if they were all banged up.

"Get the hell up, Citrus! Stayin' on the ground doesn't suit ya!" Yelling over the roar of the engine, Ashley rolled the throttle and charged the short-haired woman again. Hoping one of the others could deal with the one on the roof, he zeroed in on his sole target, ignoring the giant iceberg forming in the middle of the district.


"Good to see you." Hector croaked to Ashley, working his way up to a standing position, spurred on by the confidence the Rookie's appearance brought. The normally talkative Ace stayed quiet after that, unwilling to waste his breath on more words knowing it could be taken away in an instant. A warning to Ashley about Splenda might've been good, but Hector only thought of it after he had sped back towards her. His mind felt dulled from the beatings he had received today.

To see Ashley arrive on-scene, Boltius’ face lit up with a grin, albeit a pained one. “Finally a face that ain’t pissin’ me the fuck off!” he grunted, mightily willing himself up off his knee with newfound inspiration. Not only did he enjoy Ashley as a friend; he could freely unleash his potential around him, too, for the pain from the heat or cold only fueled Ashley rather than slow him down.


Ashley heard Splenda yammering about muscle earlier while she was letting out that annoying laugh. But she was wrong if she thought that was all he and the rest of his crew had. He had plenty of power right now, but the rest of him also got a boost after getting melted back at Lyric's place. Right now, he intended on showing this lady all of it.

Instead of trying to crash into her, Ashley jumped off of the motorcycle. While it continued to speed ahead, he ran alongside it, rushing forward with incredible speed. As the powerful steps brought him closer, he dug his hand straight into the wall at his side and dragged it through the brick. When he got close enough to throw a punch at the woman, a storm of dust and shards accompanied his fist, all of it aiming for her face.

After seeing her bash her head, he hoped she'd be too out of it to dodge right away. If not, all the debris would probably make it hard for her to see. He got some info on her Potential after seeing what happened to Bolt, but with no way to fight from a distance, charging ahead like this was all he could do. But if that's all he had, he was gonna put everything into it. He had to be relentless, never giving the enemy a chance to think or catch their breath. He'd move faster than the wind if he had to.


Splenda seemed to be staring straight at Ashley as he barreled toward her alongside his unmanned bike; however, glazed, lidded eyes told of stupefaction. A result of the hit she’d taken to the head. Faster to grip her potential than to coerce her body to move; the air became abruptly thin.

Too slow.

Chunks and shards of brick were flung, and Splenda took Ashley’s punch full-face before she truly knew what hit her.


In that same moment, Hilarity stepped from the side-building’s ledge and descended its fire-escape with acrobatic finesse, donning an oxygen mask attached via a small hose to a medium-sized pouch on her hip. After landing firmly on her feet behind Hector, she dropped into a 360-leg-sweep in an attempt to dust the Ace to the ground. Splenda, get up. Paired with that motion, she dug her own nails into her forearm and drew blood, blood which quickly evaporated into a fine, red mist and pervaded the air. Get up.

Mid-sweep, she happened to catch sight of Boltius and Darren rushing toward her and reacted quickly. She clenched a fist and the mist obeyed, spiraling like crimson ribbons directly for the oncomers’ faces. The ribbons exploded into thick clouds around Darren and Bolt’s heads, triggering them to cough and soon laugh as the smoke cleared.

Laughing as he was, Boltius still moved toward Hector and Hilarity, albeit in a slow, distracted jog per his sudden delight. Eventually, however, he halted altogether and leaned forward with a hand over his stomach, tears in his eyes. “What- BWAHAHA! FFFFAHAHAHA!!! What the fff- AAAAHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAA!!! Whatthefuckishappening!? HAHAHAAAAAA!!”

Darren, too, was overcome with the same hysteria.


Hector hadn't noticed Splenda's rooftop friend until her leg collided with him, and though she succeeded at bringing him back to the ground, it was a light attack compared to what he had fought through earlier. Turning his body to face her, he hesitated for just a moment. The sounds of laughter reached him. His allies' laughter. Laughing while he was in a battle. That was enough to send him over the edge.

He lunged at Hilarity with renewed energy, swiping his clawed hands at her with frenzied movements. Even if he was lacking the strength he'd normally have, his motivation to see any opponent torn to shreds was never lost. Die die die.


Die, bastard. Hilarity weaved and danced around the Ace's attacks with grace, but not without feeling the cold sheen of metal slice through her cheek. Pain was something she was used to, so she spared it no reaction and kept dodging until the very second she found a gap to return the offensive. Small fists compared to her larger opponent, but they packed weight, coupled with speed. Their battle continued as a back and forth, trading defense and offense in that thin alleyway while Boltius and Darren toppled over with breathless laughter. Elenion Aura WhiskeyMarten Lucem

BOLTIUS NOTES​

— —What he's wearing (Click)

— —Tattoo Reference (X)

— —Physique Reference, since his face-claim art doesn't accurately depict it (X) (X)

— —Boltius and Hector's food dishes were left behind by Darren.

— —SCENE DESCRIPTION: Boltius, Hector, and Darren are fighting, currently, two Tiger NPCs in an alley nearby the roadblock that Vulken just destroyed. Ashley has rushed to their aid!

 

[Elenion Aura]

SERPENT'S

GM Post

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 2 [The Bounty]

LOCATION:

Dilapidated Slums, North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hide, Mimi, Sang-Cheol, Kyoden

THE BOUNTY

Smoke and ash filled the closeness of the slum-house-turned-mad-science-laboratory as the crackling flames licked higher over painted wood, peeled and ancient. This was once a home. Soon there'd be scarcely anything left. The faint sound of a fire alarm blared in the distance.

Amidst the chaos and the pall of noxious fumes, the masked man nearly tripped over a suspiciously-animated, bobble-headed, cobbled-together cobblestone-person as he fumbled down a darkened hall. He had to get out. Burned, and bleeding, he felt his way along the wall with trembling fingertips, leaving bloody handprints in their wake. He had to get out. It would be... A loss. So many interesting corpses. And him. It would hurt the most to lose him. But they were no use to anyone. Not without me, he cackled and wretched as smoke rushed to fill his lungs moments before it engulfed him.

Elsewhere in the crumbling abode, the sound of people screaming rose above the flames, emerging from down an adjacent hall from where Hide and Sang-Cheol had landed when the sarcophagus burst. The human test subjects—the ones who were still alive, anyway—cried out without hope for someone to come and unlock the door to their pen, lest they roast alive in there.

In the opposite direction laid Mimi and the door to the street, out of the burgeoning inferno.

Spoiler: Tags

Beann
Caffeine_Obsessed
Misuteeku
BluEndings
Beann

>>> To The Next Post

 

[Coyote Hart]

Peyton Xiong

CS Link

SCENE:

Serpent Arc 2: Scene 3 [Tailing the Dragon's Heart]

LOCATION:

Platinum Rabbit, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Dante, Reveler, Meirin, Peyton, Tri, Anna, Bash, Kisara, Yuto

Tailing the Dragon's Heart

"Wow... infinite," Peyton looked at Dante with awe. He knew there had to be a limit, but, "If I had that kind of power I could..."

Could what? Get rid of his Potential and return to how things were back then? A time ago that might've been the case. Then people like Nai wouldn't have distanced themselves. Maybe he wouldn't have betrayed the Serpents. But that was unfortunately all in the past.

"Never been feeling better!" Peyton said to Dante's concern. A weak smile adorned his face, although it lacked the cherubic and feral energy that he usually had. In truth, he wasn't doing well, but Peyton was unaware of that. He had never been aware of how fragile his life was. But he did intrinsically know that he was going to need to be healed. And he hated that fact. He had a primal fear of healing and very much disliked the condition he was left in after the fact.

Ugh. Peyton's stomach rumbled again. He wanted soupy dumplings. One of the security guards was holding a block of cheese, wasn't he? Where did the cheese go?

"Yeah, I was a Serpent," Peyton said. He guessed that his interaction with Tri made that obvious, "It was just as a test subject to pay off my debt to the Tigers. It was either them or the Tigers. I don't think I would've made a good Tiger."

In truth, he knew that the offer of joining the Tigers to pay off his debt was essentially indentured servitude-- servitude he could never escape from. The contrast to the freedom that the Serpents offered was immense. So of course, when he managed to secure an 'in' into the Serpents, he went running. Besides, even now, when he worked three jobs, his income was incomparable with most Tigers.

"The guy we met here today, he was the one I worked for. His wit and his son's sharp tongue made things fun," Peyton reminisced, "But once my debt was paid, there was no reason to stay in the Serpents. I don't know why the Dragons allowed me in, but I won't ask questions. If they think I can be a good Dragon, then I'll be a good boy and follow the rules."

To be honest, Peyton somewhat missed the Serpents. Fighting Yuto and the tall gal, who Peyton swore he recognized from somewhere, was a blast to the past. The Serpents were a fun, loose bunch. Waking up each day was exciting, every dawn fortold new experiences. It was great, but even the senseless freedom became boring somehow. And so Peyton didn't regret joining the Dragons. It felt nice to fight for peace for once, even if his methods made people look at him judgementally.

Peyton's face reddened as he realized he said just a bit too much for what the question entailed. Concerningly, those reddened cheeks were also the slightest neon pink. Eager to move the subject away from himself, he turned the conversation to Dante. Besides, it hurt to talk.

"So what's your impression of the Serpents?" Peyton asked. He scootched closer to Dante, realizing that the gap between the two of them was a bit too far. A mischievous glint sparked in his ichor eyes as he teased Dante, "Cause I think you fit right in when we were fighting those two back there. Heck, you could join them if you wanted."

If only Peyton knew that Dante was a Tiger.

The Regal Rper Damafaud (Mentioned)
The One Eyed Bandit Nobody Special Mqueserasera QuirkyAngel simj26 angel doe Caffeine_Obsessed

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

<<< Remember

Alicia Morel

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 3 [Happily Ever After]

LOCATION:

Upper Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Alice, Elias, Jack, Charmy, Jackson

Happily Ever After

The confusion around the mall security only broke thanks to a shouting man charging in. He claimed familiarity with Alice, even proposing that his friend filed the missing persons report. Alice, still bewildered by the whole "report" itself, took a while to even recognize the man until he lowered his shades. In an instant, she lit up. "Ronald!" She broke free of Beatrice's grasp, running over in front of him, noticeably at ease thanks to his presence. She did ponder on what he last said, though. "The other Tigers are here, too? And why would Lucy be worried? Was she not the one to authorize my vacation?"

Some of the security as well as the cafe owner caught wind of "Tigers" part. Their first reaction was to freeze and blanch up. Bea realized she was messing with something beyond her and promptly walked backwards toward her business. The guards patched into their radio, hoping for instruction.

"So you found the girl and her family?" the gruff voice of the captain on the other end said. Little did they know that a bored Genevieve mimicked the voice, instead. "The one who reported the missing persons case is still here. He's at the center of the mall, near the closed kiosk. You oughta bring her there..."

As it became clearer that Alice was to go soon (yet she remained totally oblivious to what the mere mention of the Tigers did for some of the bystanders), she looked back at the boys. After asking witnesses on the events, the security released Jackson and Charlie from being held, save for Malakai and Perry. Malakai himself appeared still preoccupied with making sure his pale boyfriend was okay...

Alice waved softly to her friends. "See you soon, Charlie! And thank you for your help, Jackson!"

At last, accompanied by two mall security and Ronald, Alice walked with the group and presumably straight to her ticket home.

She felt someone tap her shoulder. A peek over, and nobody there seemed responsible. Yet, Alice smiled warmly; she knew exactly who was there.

.

.

.

.

.

The group arrived to the kiosk after an uneventful walk. When she saw Elias, Alice hurried over with an unshakable smile. "Elias!" she called out just before stopping in front of him. She gave a polite curtsy. The guards, seeing as the girl made it safely to her Tiger ally, meekly escaped the scene. "Did you all want to join me on my vacation? Janay said he'd be bringing me all around Central District, and maybe even some of the other districts! Everything is so much different from the West! Did you know that—"

"You're chatting up a storm, eh, princess?" Alice spun to meet the familiar voice, beaming more than ever before. Janay Fox, the perpetrator, appeared out of his invisibility, leaning on the other end of the kiosk away from Elias. The girl ran over to hug him, which he gladly returned. "Though I'm afraid Mr. Yumen here already knows plenty about the world outside of yours." Janay's gaze went up to meet the other Tigers present. "In fact, they know a lot more than they're willing to let on..."

Through Alice's confused glances, he took a step towards Elias. Janay took the rim of his top hat, gently holding it down against his chest—a peaceful gesture.

"I know Acacia wanted to take this meeting herself, but I decided to hijack it for all of our sakes... I know we're probably not on the best of terms right now... but I'm sure we want the same thing: the best for Alice. You'll want to listen to what I have to say—or Hell, look through my mind if you want." He removed one glove as a show of faith. "Point is, Acacia and I made a mistake... we contacted friends from our past in hopes of getting reinforcements to secure Alice for good and cover our tracks while we were at it. However... they don't understand what they're about to put Alice through; all they care about now is getting their end of the bargain over and done with. They don't fathom how bringing all their firepower to 'discretely' extract a person cannot work. In my good conscience... I simply cannot allow Alice to suffer everything coming.

"Now, these friends of ours—Zac Audence and Ophelia Whitlock—we left them behind when we joined the Tigers and did not look back until now. They formed a gang of their own in Lower Central called the White Rabbits. Right now, I'd wager they're surrounding the mall and preparing to close in—guns, explosives, some HPs, and not a single care about collateral damage. I want to—"

A series of popping sounds rang off in the distance. Following that was a faint cacophony of screams. Alice's smile fell away. "Janay? What was that?"

Mr. Hat bore a look of guilt, tightening his grasp over her hand. "Something bad, I'm afraid." When he met eyes with her, the confident countenance immediately returned. "As long as I'm here, nothing bad will happen to you, Alice. I promised your mother to keep you safe..."

The distant noises did not stop; they increased, echoing from all directions of the exits. Civilian passersby walked along with increasing worry.

Janay looked back to the other Tiger. "They're already here. You'll need to trust me, Elias. I want to help. As long as I have physical contact with you all, we will be invisible. We can sneak out with Alice without so much as a fight... and with your help she can forget this whole ordeal ever happened." Alice inched closer to Janay, hugging herself with her free arm. "We made terrible decisions, and I realize that, now. I want to make amends with the Tigers, no matter how harsh a punishment I receive... Will you trust me?"

THE WHITE RABBITS

SCENE:

Tiger Arc 2: Scene 3 [Happily Ever After]

LOCATION:

Central District, Mall

PARTICIPANTS:

Alice, Elias, Charmy, Jack, Jackson, Charlie

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

"Somebody save your soul 'cause you've
Been sinning in this city, I know
Too many troubles, all these lovers got you losing control
You're like a drug to me, a luxury, my sugar and gold
I want the good life, every good night, you're a hard one to hold"

His earpiece scratched to life. "Knave. Shut. Up."

"Come on, Zara! You can't expect me not to sing along when my jam comes on!"

"It's Dormouse. We're in the middle of a mission."

"Now I'm free
Free fallin'
Yeah, I'm free
Free fallin'!"

"Oh my—"

"What, you gon' tell Zac to shut up, too?"

"Are clear comms too much to ask out of you guys?"

"I think the early banter is fun! And I get to stuff more marshmallows in my mouth while waiting! Would you like some later, Opehlia?"

She sighed. "No thanks. Dormouse, we're all in position. You can open the Rabbit Holes whenever you're ready."

"Aye aye, Lady Cheshire." Dormouse, sat in the middle of the underground parking zone, put her hands out at her sides, pointed towards the ceiling. Before anything else, she spoke one last time. "Yo, Knave, I'll buy you drinks if you beat my kill streak today."

"Hah! 40 kills in one heist is nothing! I'm holding you to that deal, Zara!"

"Dormouse."

The "rabbit holes" opened up at the three main exits to mall: the north, the southeast, the southwest. Squads of a dozen White Rabbits (NPs) and their respective leaders (HPs) hopped out, weapons unloading freely. There was also an exit in the place they came from: the underground parking lot, also connected to the fire escapes.

QuirkyAngel BluEndings Chaos Gallant Roda the Red

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Sabrina Felton

CS Link

SCENE:

All Proceeds

LOCATION:

Cloudwalk Stadium, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Daemon, Sabrina, Dagger, Fahru, Masker Concertgoer K, Minato

All Proceeds

One punch. Two punch. Three punch. Broken glass nipped at her fingers and an angry bird clawed at her back, but Sabrina couldn’t find it in herself to care. Her fist simply came down heavy and hard on eyes that looked down on her–on the face that mocked her. She lifted her bloodied fist for the fourth punch.

However, before she could land it, there was a boom as something burst into the roof of the stadium in a vortex of pink. Or rather, someone. Startled, Sabrina stopped in her punching to look. How could she not? Passeri Park, paced towards them, a trail of pink constructs following her and spreading throughout the air, rippling along the rooftop. Sabrina cocked her head, befuddled for a moment by the sight of the idol swirling in potential. Then a wide grin spread across her face.

“Assistant, huh?” Who knew Glasses had such a role? Sabrina assumed she’d been fighting a random, meddling audience member; A friend of Nikki’s or some such.

Then again, who knew the famed Passeri Park was an HP? Sabrina certainly hadn’t, but it wasn’t like her or Park had ever been particularly close despite working in the same industry. As far as she was aware, they’d lived in two different worlds, both back then and now. Envy surged as she looked at the woman that thrived in a world she couldn’t. Envy, hatred, and something else she wasn’t willing–or even able–to discern given her current state of intoxication. Regardless, Sabrina had no intention of meeting the idol who likely didn’t even know of her existence. Show up, listen to music, then leave. That’d been the original plan. Even if she did pick a fight, or ruin the show, she figured it’d be the security stooges she’d have to deal with, not the idol herself. The one that didn't look like they would hurt a fly...at least in front of the cameras. Yet here Park was, warning her with eyes of ice and a potential that threatened violence.

Perhaps the pop princess wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine after all.

Sabrina's eyes lit up. “And what if I do–?”

Suddenly, her clothes acted against her, tightening around her muscles and pulling her arms back. Sabrina's grip on the silent girl’s hair loosened as she looked down at Park’s assistant who clutched her now orange jacket in surprise.

“You.”

Once more Sabrina’s voltage spiked. She spoke no other words to voice her fury. She didn’t need to. Her eyes spoke it all, if the burst of electrical discharge didn’t. While it didn’t travel too far from her body, it crackled loudly, like the chirping of a thousand birds, arching around her as she struggled furiously against the orange garments that tightened and bent her arms back like a straight jacket. The more she struggled, the more it tightened, and the more Sabrina struggled, calling for more energy to charge her muscles. More potential.

More.More.More.More.More.More.More.More.More.

All the metals near her started vibrating. Heck, even some non-metals (that she electro-magnetized) did so as well . Perhaps, if Sabrina were sound of mind, she’d have been able to free herself using less taxing methods. Alas, Sabrina wasn’t thinking at the moment. She simply wanted to rip apart the object restraining her, her tunnel-visioned anger directed towards the thing suppressing her freedom rather than the source. Yet Fahru’s determination gave the orange jacket strength. Or, perhaps, it was simply better control of her potential?

The jacket wouldn’t break.

Sabrina’s muscles strained and tore, less from physical exertion and more from the electricity that overcharged her muscles. Even if her potential gave her body high electrical resistance, she wasn’t completely immune. The HP, who had only acquired her potential last year, still didn’t know her body’s limits with it. Or rather, she’d forgotten it in her drunken battle fervor. She simply demanded more from the power being a Serpent had granted her–the potential she always depended on in fights–and the potential answered her desires, not knowing the limits of what she could physically handle. Her mind spun. More power. She needed more power. The rooftop’s railings twisted and ripped as if in tune with Sabrina’s struggles. Metallic objects levitated, shooting in random directions to haphazardly strike at anything within reach.

Yet the orange jacket remained staunch. If anything, it got tighter.

Then Sabrina threw up.

Vision blurred, Sabrina could vaguely make out the outlines of the two women looking at her before her potential shut off and she blacked out, her last thought being: Who was I angry at again?

 

[Caffeine_Obsessed]

Matsuda Russo

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 4 [Hostile Agenda]

LOCATION:

Westside, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

August, Camila, Chou, Sylvie, Benjamin (NPC)

HOSTILE AGENDA

Matsuda narrowed his eyes as he watched Camila trot upstairs, his smile slightly wavering. What if there were more traps...

His attention was then snapped onto Sylvie as the purple haired man's voice registered in his ears.
He tilted his head, a dopey, dumb look on the duo eyed boy's face. "Who? This?" He shook the man's shoulder, grip tightening a fraction. "No no, its fine. He isn't much of a threat heh..." Matsu smirked before leaning in, a conspiratorial glint in his eye. "Besides. I could take this guy down with a flick of my pinkie. " He winked, chuckling. Now, if Matsuda was highly over exaggerating his abilities, that was only for him to know.

His eyes shifted down to the doll in Sylvie's hand, before sparing a quick glance to the sing-song-y voice upstairs. With a friendly smile and a wink, he shoved the boy forward. "Ah ah ah, remember bubblegum..." Matsuda waved his pinkie in the air in a threatening manner. A small plume of smog escaped from the corners of Matsu's mouth. He giggled to himself at his attempt to be scary.

Matsu stepped beside his purple haired friend, lazily draping his arm across the other's shoulders. "Let's make sure our little spy makes it up safe, eh?" He gave Sylvie a close eyed smile before dragging him upstairs beside Matsuda.

"So! Whada' we got hm?"

Spoiler: Tags

Doctor Llamabean Roda the Red Taigakitt WhiskeyMarten

 

[Misuteeku]

Sang-Cheol Man

http://

CS Link

SCENE:

Phoenixes Arc 2: Scene 2 [The Bounty]

LOCATION:

Slums, North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Sang-Cheol, Mimi, Hide

THE BOUNTY

...

...

...

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK"

Like a phoenix raising from it's ashes- No wrong gang. Like a serpent sprouting from the earth, Sang-Cheol emerged out of the flaming debris. The pain of getting blown up and buried under rubble snapped him out of his craze. Unfortunately, reason had returned back to the most rational person. Pushing the remaining debris off of himself, he rose and whipped his head around. Where the fuck was that necrophiliac fuck!

"GODDAMIT!" The man couldn't have gone that far. Sang-Cheol winced when he tried to move. His body was sore after getting blown up. Though, that wasn't his concern at the moment. He needed fucking find that pale bastard and drag his ass to his lab. Fuck those people that were screaming into the far off distance, he needed to find that fucker before he lost him. Mimi was still outside, so she could intercept his escape route. Taking out his phone, he quickly punched in a quick message to Mimi.

"MIMI, THERE'S A PERSON THAT LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE BITCH RUNNING AWAY FROM OUR LOCATION. HE'S PALE AS FUCK, AROUND MY HEIGHT, AND HE'S A NECROPHILIAC. FUCKING KNOCK THAT BITCH OUT FOR ME."

With his message now sent, he went around to find something of some importance. He wasn't going to rely on Mimi, of all people, to fucking do as she's told. Trying to look around real quickly, he tried to find a document of some sort.

As for Pigeon Brain, he could do whatever he wanted. It wasn't like he cared for whatever shit that Hide was coming for. Finding his target? Seemed like a personal problem for Hide to deal with.

Spoiler: Tags

Elenion Aura Caffeine_Obsessed BluEndings

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

SYLVIE SLEZÁK

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers Arc 2: Scene 4 [Hostile Agenda]

LOCATION:

Christen Kinslee's House, West-Side, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

August, Camila, Chou, Matsuda, Sylvie

HOSTILE AGENDA

Sylvie responded with a sly smile after Matsuda declined his offer, shoving the cloth figure back in his bag and slinging it back over his shoulder in one quick motion. "Hmm... Suit yourself then! I'm sure you can handle him just fine." He turned his head to the voice upstairs, and back to Matsuda and Benjamin when the hostage spoke up.

"No harm to the little spy~" He replied cheerfully as he followed up the stairs behind the others. "As long as he behaves, of course. But I'm sure he will." He had no issue leaving Matsuda responsible for the hostage, in fact, he preferred it over having to use his potential on the soft-looking Benji. He just hoped there wasn't more to him than it seemed.

Entering the office, he leaned over to read the email. Of course, he had no information to add, but it was clearly an interesting discovery. "Good find!" Those words didn't mean much from a new Rookie, there were plenty of yes-men in the lower ranks of the Tigers, but Sylvie wasn't to be deterred from giving praise where he felt it was due.

He looked to Benji, waiting for him to shed some light on the situation.

 

[Doctor Llamabean]

BLITZ (Boltius Beckman) Ft. Toga Collab

CS Link

SCENE:

The Recruit

LOCATION:

South District... Random back alley...

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Darren, Milo, and Ashley

THE RECRUIT

With Splenda out, Hilarity was on her own, her movements executed with savage elegance as she battled the Phoenix Ace, Hector Moses. In her eyes, swirling, a deep intent to kill.

Boltius, behind them, was on his knees—Darren, lying on the ground and red in the face. Both of them were trapped in an involuntary fit of laughter as chaos ensued around them.

Fuck!... FUCK! Boltius was pissed. His pride was agitated. His spine was quaking with a near unbearable ache. And, once again, he played the role of a mere fucking onlooker.

When would it finally be his turn?


Soon the alleyway was filled with the screeching of tires as an offshoot of the brigade of Tigers ground to a halt. Most of them were beating a hasty retreat, their job here complete. But that didn’t mean that Toga, the Veteran Tiger who’d been personally tasked with plucking the wings of any bird who dared interfere with his King’s business, intended to go home empty-handed. The dangling chain lined with little, tinkling baubles, trophies he’d extracted from Phoenixes he’d killed in the past, was begging for its latest addition as his chauffeur rumbled into the now-crowded alleyway.

A distraction as it was, Hilarity’s focus hardly flinched. The cuts and slashes were adding up across her body but she showed no worry of losing to the Phoenix Ace—it was not a sight in her eyes, but a pointless dwelling that would only bring her closer to its happening to entertain. Her countenance was of steadfast tenacity.

Ten Tigers emerged from two SUVs, as the rest of the cavalry continued their exodus into the West. Toga emerged first, throwing open the front, passenger’s side door of the lead car and slamming it behind him. One hand shoved in a pocket of his trousers while another fingered the trigger on an ornate-looking revolver slung around his hip, the flashy Tiger sauntered onto the scene, his eyes confident, hungry. The first thing he saw was the prone figure on the ground before him.


Without making an effort to confirm it, Hilarity knew she was no longer alone. Dropping the oxygen mask mid-breather in their scuffle as it seemed she would no longer need it, a smile both relieved and vicious split her lips to reveal bright whites as she flourished a knife that was hidden beneath her pant leg. Nice timing, baby.


“Sleeping on the job? Tsk, tsk.” Toga said as he gave Splenda’s unconscious form a little kick with the toe of his boot, before leveling his gaze on the Phoenixes. A former Ace, the current Ace, and a former Jack’s brother. What a catch! The last Phoenix there didn’t strike Toga as particularly noteworthy, though the fact that he’d handed Splenda her ass had to be worth something. Or did it? It would be… A start, at least.

“Say, say… What’ve we here? Poor, poor birdies. Did you fall from the nest before you ever learned to fly? Well, sorry but… It’s time to clip those wings!”

He un-holstered the revolver and leveled it at Ashley’s head. Cocking the hammer back he cooed with mad delight, “Let’s start with, oh, I don’t know. A million? Sure. Let’s see where that gets us.” The long-barrel of the revolver had started to glow when the Tiger pulled the trigger and let his bullet fly.

Heavenly Tiger’s Trivia Hour: Toga’s Potentiality, Money Shot, lets him increase the power of his attacks proportionally to the amount of his own funds he chooses to ‘spend’ on them!​

Just then, a blazing hot flash of orange descended on Hilarity as she charged Hector with her blade, ready to feel its metal slip between his ribs with slick, wet pleasure. However, instead, her vision was abruptly obscured. A red jacket—the only thing between her head and Bolt’s hand as he leaped by and slammed her to the ground in passing without a word. Darren, on the other hand, ran behind Hector and did not interfere with his fight.

Hilarity panicked and tore rabidly at the material with her fingers, scrambling without sight to create distance between her and the Phoenix Ace lest he use this to his advantage. “Gyaaaah! Fucker! I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you!” Bolt’s jacket, half engulfed in flames, fell to the concrete when she stood, and she stomped relentlessly at said flames until they were gone. “DIE! FUCKING DIE YOU FUCKING FUCK! MAKE A FOOL OF ME!? I’LL HAVE YOU SKINNED AND MADE INTO A FUCKING JACKET OF MY OWN AND USE IT TO SUFFOCATE YOUR FUCKING LOVED ONES, YOU SCAG BITCH!”

Hilarity’s face went red; her chest rose and fell with hungry breaths. The calmness she previously exampled was gone without a trace, replaced by rage and embarrassment, for her lover had just potentially bore witness to such a pathetic blunder.

Lifting, slowly, her weapon again to point at Hector, she composed herself whilst staring him down. . .

Then, once more, she charged him with the release of a piercing battle cry.

Meanwhile, the fiery form that was Boltius rushing into the 10-man group of Tigers emanated heat so intense that several of them were forced to step back else they felt their skin would melt away. From his left arm, a fresh wound bubbled with boiling blood as his heat persisted, never dripping or draining as it would only burn up—the butterfly knife in his hand insinuated he’d done it to himself.

With tight fists, he plunged himself into the wave and began his assault. Darren stuck to the outer edge and focused on one man at a time, enveloped in an aura of concentrated radiation drawn from the two SUVs’ radios nearby, keeping the aura close enough to his body that only his direct opponent would be affected and not his allies. He, too, wore a knife wound, but in his leg instead. ( Collab with Elenion Aura ) WhiskeyMarten Lucem

BOLTIUS NOTES​

— —What he's wearing (Click)

— —Tattoo Reference (X)

— —Physique Reference, since his face-claim art doesn't accurately depict it (X) (X)

— —Boltius and Hector's food dishes were left behind by Darren.

— —SCENE DESCRIPTION: Boltius, Darren, Hector, and Ashley are engaged in battle with twelve Tiger NPCs, one of which is unconscious (courtesy of Ashley).