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Fantasy 𝔖𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔤𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℜ𝔦𝔣𝔱𝔰 (ℑℭ 𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡)

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Nothingness

Two Thousand Club

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✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
tags Interactions: N/A
Mentions: N/A
Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Hallway

Yuzu Sakai

With low and quiet squeaks and creaks of the gears turning echoed through the empty halls of the Vanguard's headquarters, one male in a wheelchair pushed against the large wheels of his form of transportation. The sun had just risen to a new day and while some of the other Vanguard agents were either out doing missions or had not woken yet, this also meant that the doctors and nurses surely weren't awake either. Knowing that if he were to be caught by a nurse or possibly even another agent, he was going to be expected to return to his room over in the hospital wing of the headquarters so that he could get some rest, but staying in that room all the time with nothing else to do other than wait for his next mission to be assigned to him was agonizingly boring. So instead of just staying in his room as he was constantly recommended, Yuzu had decided that today, he would go exploring the headquarters while he had the chance.

Even with his blindfolds and being physically unable to see anything around him, Yuzu showed skill to be able to move forward with his wheelchair and get around corners with rather ease. With his time training at the headquarters, Yuzu had learned to use his other senses to help with his movements to get around areas, these senses of his have also helped him with recognizing when and sometimes who might be standing in front of him or around him if he met them before. If the individual is someone he does not know, then the scent is unfamiliar but still he can easily tell where a person is and just how far they are from him when he meets someone.

As he continued to roll his way down the halls, eventually he'd come to a stop just in front of a bulletin board. He had been down this hall multiple times before and during the day this board was always full of new and old agents. They always seemed to mutter about something on the board, it was always something new, the board had multiple pieces of paper that were stuck to it, some were requests for help from other agents, others were just some news that headquarters wanted to post and be let publicly known amongst its agents. Each piece of paper stuck to the board had braille underneath the words for those such as Yuzu that might've had difficulty seeing.
Reaching for one of the pages on the board, the first piece of paper that he had grabbed had to do something with a missing Vanguard squad that had been considered MIA for over a week now. The note stated that any agents that wanted to learn more was to report to the Commanding Officer of the Vanguards.

Holding onto the paper, Yuzu froze in place as he thought and pondered on a decision whether or not he wanted to take up the request, there was no doubt about it that the further details was going to be about investigating and possibly attempting a rescue of the squad that had gone missing. As his grip tensed around the paper, Yuzu started to question whether or not this was worth it and as to why the mission to investigate and/or rescue of the squad was not put out there for another squad sooner rather than for it to be posted on the bulletin board as though it were a subject matter that did not have to be resolved if no one wanted to deal with it.

Attempting to shake the thought out of his mind before he had begun to question the motives and how the Vanguard felt about their agents, Yuzu came to the decision that he would help with this task. From there, he proceeded to begin rolling his wheelchair off toward the direction of the Commanding Officer's room for the details.





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Hikari Takashima
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Location: Vanguard Headquarters - Hallway
Interactions: Yuzu ( Nothingness Nothingness )
Mentions: N/A



Early mornings were always Hikari’s favorite time of day. A moment of peace before most of the city woke up and the hustle and bustle of the day began in earnest, especially back home in such a busy port city. And of course you couldn’t forget about the sunrise. A perfect time to go out for a little run. Hikari was always an early riser and today was no exception, having left headquarters an hour before dawn.

A refreshing breeze blew though the outside grounds of the headquarters every now and then as Hikari made a few laps around the place, humming along to the song playing in her earbuds, before going up to the roof of one of the buildings to get a good look at the sunrise. Not as pretty as when the sun rose over the ocean's horizon in the distance back home, but you can sure bet it was a nice view. It was a morning routine that hasn't been with Hikari for as long as one might think, her really only picking up the morning jog after going through the entire Rift experiment. She never really had to before anyways, running from angry merchants and the police was more than enough cardio already.

Heading back into headquarters proper some time after the sun escaped the horizon, she spotted someone she wasn't expecting to see down the hall. “Yo.” She called out to the agent in the wheelchair. “Ain’t every day seein ya outside of your room this early, Bandages.” As she approached Yuzu, she noticed the paper had with him. "Got something good there? Was just aboutta swing by the board myself on the way back."

 
GARTH ARCWRIGHT
Locations: Vanguard Headquarters - Hallway
Interactions: Yuzu ( Nothingness Nothingness ) | Hikari ( Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic )

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Garth had the need to get up at the crack of dawn instilled into him ever since he was a small child, as chores on the plantation went from dawn to dusk. As much as Garth wanted to put those experiences behind him, remnants of that life still lingered within, preventing him from sleeping any longer. With a groan, Garth raised up off his bed, the sheets falling down his slim frame.

The room the Vanguard had provided him with was quite nice, if a little bit small, though not to Garth as he shared a room with four siblings back at his family’s shack on the plantation. Garth was comfortable living here at the headquarters, as it provided stability that he had missed in recent years. While he loved the thrill of being a part of the circus, Garth had grown tired of constantly being on the move, not sure where he would be resting his head each night.

While he was fully committed to the Vanguard, Garth still had a piece of the circus with him, namely his wardrobe. Since the Vanguard normally didn’t require a dress code, Garth hadn’t bothered to buy any new clothing, his chest of clothes being one of the few things salvaged from the circus after the aberrant attack. Garth had grown to like these gaudy acrobat outfits, and as such didn’t mind putting on some of them this morning.

Stifling a yawn, Garth threw on his boots and left his bedroom. Outside his room was the new northern wing of the Vanguard headquarters, which was built to house a new large batch of recruits who signed up after a string of very deadly rift incidents. Garth supposed that included him, as the destruction of the circus was the catalyst that sent him down his current path.

Of course that path had been a lot of training, both physically and with his newly acquired aspect ability, which had been very strenuous for the former acrobat. But that had all culminated in Garth finally feeling ready to get out in the field, and slay some of those forsaken aberrants.

With that in mind, Garth decided to head to the bulletin board to check if there was a job available. While it might of been wiser to eat first, because of Garth’s sleep peculiarities, he was always up before food was ready in the mess hall. Garth had known what true hunger felt like given that he was from one of the poorest families in the land, so the hunger of needing to wait an hour for breakfast was nothing to him.

Turning the corner into another hallway, Garth was surprised to see some fellow members of the Vanguard up and about. However they were an odd looking couple. One had an eye patch straight out of an old pirate tale, while the other was wrapped in bandages and seemingly confined to a wheelchair, perhaps having the hospital wing. Garth wondered if they were in the right place.

But as he got closer, Garth could see that they were in fact in front of the bulletin board, a job listing in the hand of the man in the wheelchair. Wondering what kind of mission would be suitable for someone in his condition. Garth would then briefly wonder if he was being mean, as it would go against his whole new chapter of my life, new me thing he had been trying to do.

“Would that perhaps be a mission listing?” asked Garth, before remembering to say, “By the way I’m Garth. And you are?”

Garth was genuinely curious about the listing that the wheelchair man thought he could do. Maybe it would be good karma if Garth helped this disabled man get through a mission, as Garth knew that he had a lot of bad karma to work off.
 
Florian Taylor
1736716278638.png"Temperature is currently at 27 degrees fahrenheit and rising." A mechanical voice declared as light flurries of snow fell from overhead. Florian stood among a collection of ice sculptures each one a melting masterpiece of a different creature. Though sculpting had become a regular hobby of his, Florian first began it when he learned that he would need precision and control to utilize his powers effectively and without hurting himself or someone else. This daily routine has helped to greatly refine his control and use of his ability, and ice sculpting has become a part of his day that he greatly looked forward to.

But as the voice had already announced, the temperature in the room was rising which it was automatically set to do after an hour has passed. Already Florian could see the beads of sweat forming around the face of the fairy sculpture. He exhaled a chilled breath and stepped back for the sculpture. "No progress today." He noted to himself before he turned away and started out of the training room. On his way out he grabbed his cane which had been patiently waiting for him by the entrance. With a yawn he leaned on the finely crafted stick and felt sleep and fatigue creep into his bones.

An overnight mission usually would have put him to sleep, but Florian actually did very little during the expedition and that meant he had come back to HQ with plenty of energy to burn. But now he'd been awake too long and it was time to rest. As he wandered by the stairs on his way to the elevator he couldn't help but overhear the voices of other vanguard carrying on. He continued into the elevator pondering what people would be discussing in the halls and as the doors slid open it dawned on him. This was where the bulletin board was.

With his can laxed in his hand, Florian poked his head out and spotted the group. "What could such a ragtag group be talking about so early in the morning?" He asked in a somewhat condescending tone. He could put a few names to the faces in the group, but he wasn't too familiar with them.
 

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✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
tags Interactions: Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic [Hikari] Lost Martian Lost Martian [Garth]
Mentions: LadyOfStars LadyOfStars [Florian]
Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Hallway

Yuzu Sakai

With the paper in hand, Yuzu continued to proceed down the hall as his wheelchair creaked through the corridor. With his thoughts focused as to how a squad of Vanguard agents just suddenly went missing with no further details, he was nearly caught off guard when the sudden sound of a familiar female voice called out to him. Coming to a halt, he turned his head in the direction of the voice as they approached him moments after. With the nickname 'Bandages' and the familiar voice, it took little time before Yuzu had realized that one that now stood before him was Hikari, a fellow Vanguard agent, and one that he had attended missions along on multiple occasions before. While she seemed kind and one would think she was a pushover due to how she seemed to have nicknames for everyone, Yuzu knew from experience that when it came time to do a mission, she was a ruthless and nearly heartless killer. While Yuzu had no trouble dealing with the Aberrant and would take down one without question, he always seemed to have difficulty when it came to dealing with the Inferno, even if their humanity had been lost, Infernos were once human, surely their soul was still in there somewhere. Hikari did not seem to believe so, she took them down just as though they were Aberrant, without question.

"Yeahh-- Thought I'd go around and stretch out my legs for a bit." He joked with a light chuckle before he went silent almost immediately when she questioned the page he had in his hand. Running his fingers over the braille once again to re-read through the words, he gave a slow nod of his head before handing it to Hikari for her to read. "Yeah, seems like a squad went missing recently. Headquarters hasn't sent out a search party for some reason. Says to go see the CO if anyone wants to learn more, whatever's going on...upper brass doesn't want it to be public for some reason.." As Yuzu went on, the sounds of footsteps coming from nearby soon caught his attention, were people starting to get up already. If he didn't get a move-on soon, then someone's going to end up reporting him to the hospital wing staff and before he knew it, Yuzu was going to be once again confined to his room and bed once again.

Luckily for him though, as the stranger approached, he did not immediately start questioning Yuzu about his condition and ask about helping him to the medical wing, instead he decided to introduce himself and ask about the page that the two had been discussing. "Greetings Garth, the name's Yuzu...and yes, it appears that the Commanding Officer has put up some kind of strange request. No real orders or anything, just something about a missing squad and further details are with him. I was going to go ask 'em about it." Explaining the entire situation and even introducing himself to the stranger, Yuzu had no concerns on those he did not know as he expected that everyone in the Headquarters was allies, whether they had a bad attitude or not, they were all allies here and when the time came, they'd all fight together one way or another, there should be no need to hide details from one another.

While Yuzu had been spending his time speaking with the two Vanguard agents, he was unaware of the third agent nearby that had just stepped into the elevator, though he did notice that the sound of the elevator arriving on their floor going off. From that sound alone, Yuzu was sure of it, people were starting to get up one after another and the longer he stayed out in the middle of the hallway, the higher the chance that he was going to get caught out of bed.




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Hikari Takashima
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Location: Vanguard Headquarters - Hallway
Interactions: Yuzu ( Nothingness Nothingness ), Garth ( Lost Martian Lost Martian ), Florian ( LadyOfStars LadyOfStars )
Mentions: N/A



If Hikari had to describe Yuzu, he was a pretty good embodiment of the saying "looks can be deceiving" at least on the battlefield. Ordinarily, one would think it insane to send a wheelchair bound, blind man right into the frontlines of battle against killer monsters like it was some new cruel execution method. Hell, she herself thought the same too when she first ran with him on a mission a while back some time ago and she would have thought you were crazy if you told her about what Yuzu could do on the battlefield if she hadn't seen what he was capable of with her own eye. Good as his skills were, he really ought to do something about his hesitation with those damned infernos. Sure, they used to be people and all that, but the key phrase here is "used to." Now they're just trying to kill you like any other creature the rifts spit out into this world. You could say with the life she lived that she was no stranger to having things wanting her dead, both people and now monsters, and in that situation there really is one choice: survive or be killed.

“Ha! That so? Should have joined me on my morning run then, if ya think ya could have kept up!” She punched Yuzu's arm lightly before taking the paper out of his hands, her eyes scanning over the details on the request as she passively listened to Yuzu echo the same details she was reading about. "Ya think it's some sort of cover up or somethin?" With the way Yuzu described it, it did seem that for some reason the handlers, as Hikari refers to them to whatever displeasure they have at her doing so, at the top kept it on the down low. It all seemed a bit fishy to Hikari, but before she could say anything else, someone else joined the fray.

Looking at the newcomer, he was dressed in a... unique outfit. "Didn't know the circus came to headquarters." Was her immediate reaction to seeing him, normally a thought that most people would keep to themselves, but Hikari's filter is a bit looser than others. "Hikari." She simply said in response to his question. Best to save one's breath, especially with Yuzu already taking to explain the contents of the paper to Garth. Not long after, another person rounded the corner. How long has it been since sunrise again? It was hard to get a good grasp of time in that hallway, but it seemed like the place is about to come to life soon with more early birds rising. Kind of like how storeowners would set up shop early in the port and commercial districts back home.

The way this second newcomer spoke, though, got on Hikari's nerve just a little in a particular way. Let's just say, were they not both in the Vanguard right now, he seemed like the kind of person who she would gladly "help" with lightening their overloaded coin purse. "Wassit look like we're doing? Come on, ya still got 2 functioning eyes don't cha?" She said, gesturing with a nod of the head to the bulletin board before exhaling a sigh. "Well, whatever. Wasn't doing anything better with my time anyways, so I might as well see what's up with this with ya." She said to Yuzu before holding the paper right up to Florian's face. "Ya comin?"
 
GARTH ARCWRIGHT
Locations: Vanguard Headquarters - Hallway
Interactions: Yuzu ( Nothingness Nothingness ) | Hikari ( Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic ) | Florian ( LadyOfStars LadyOfStars )

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While Garth had been quick to judge the appearance of the two Vanguard agents in the hallway, he was mostly oblivious to the fact that his acrobat attire would stand out against the traditionally dressed members of the Vanguard. He had been in the circus long enough that he was so used to people just accepting whatever the performers wore. It was still a big adjustment for Garth not to be a performer anymore, instead a protector of the people.

Right after introducing himself, Garth would see the woman with the eye patch turn to him and state that she didn’t know the circus was in town. This simple joke was enough to make Garth immediately self conscious, only for that feeling to transform into anger. Who the hell was she to judge him? Garth bet he was a way better agent than her.

Garth’s conscience then kicked in, something he had long avoided. As part of his whole becoming a better person thing, Garth was now trying not to judge people too harshly. This would be helped when the woman introduced herself as Hikari with a slightly nicer tone. Before Garth could read too deeply into how she viewed him, the man in the wheelchair piped in.

Introducing himself as Yuzu, the bandaged man explained that there had been a mission listing about a missing squad, apparently posted by the Commanding Officer themselves. Seeing as the two other agents were going to see the officer about the mission, Garth decided that he might as well put his hat into the ring.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to join you on this mission,” stated Garth, “It feels like I’ve been training forever without a chance to be in the field.”

Garth was pretty sure the odd looking pair of Yuzu and Hikari would allow him to come along, as there was safety in numbers if things became dangerous. It was true when Garth said he really wanted a chance to be in the field, as since he joined the Vanguard it had just been training and more training. While Garth did know it was necessary to master his aspect ability and how to defend himself, Garth was now raring to actually confront some aberrants.

Garth’s internal musings would be temporarily paused as out of the corner of his eye, Garth would see the head of that golden eyed agent pop out from a doorway. Garth didn’t know his name, only spotting the handsome man move about the Vanguard headquarters. Just as he popped out, the man would inquire about why and odd group such as Garth and the others would be meeting this early in the morning.

Before Garth could think up a response, Hikari stepped in, aggressively talking back to the man. Not too long ago Garth would’ve done the same thing, but now he was trying to not be as mean. However he wasn’t sure if he would ever stuff something in someone’s face, as Hikari was doing with the mission posting.

“It seems like we all would like to get out of here and do some field work,” said Garth to the golden eyed man, “Having a fourth agent wouldn’t hurt if you’re down for a mission.”

While Garth had no preconceptions about whether this newly arrived agent would actually go with them, he figured it would be polite to offer a space. And being polite was another step in Garth’s plan to become a better person.
 
Florian Taylor
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Florian's gaze turned into a glare as his personal space was invaded and the other agent rudely addressed him. He snatched the mission from her hand and looked into her eye. "I do. But it seems losing yours has cost you not only your depth perception, but your social skills as well. Or were you always so boorish?" He replied in a scolding tone. Following the death of his father there were many times Florian came face to face with aggressors, bullies, and people who felt their opinions on his life mattered. Becoming a Vanguard was partially about shutting those people up, so he wasn't about to let another stranger show him any disrespect.

He spared a brief glance at the other two figures and then stretched his arm out to return the page to the man in the chair. "Here you go."

"My name's Florian Taylor by the way." He spoke in a very formal tone now and as he looked to Garth he gave a quick nod. "It would be best to round out this team, especially if dealing with unknown threats." The dark-skinned Vanguard stepped back and his hand swept through the air to gesture to the way forward. "After you all." Florian insisted with a small smile.
 

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✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
tags Interactions: Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic [Hikari] Lost Martian Lost Martian [Garth] LadyOfStars LadyOfStars [Florian]
Mentions: N/A
Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Commanding Officer Office

Yuzu Sakai

Even if it had been in a joking matter between co-workers, when it came to Yuzu and his actual physical body outside of his combat suit, he was still somewhat frail to a degree due to being bound to his hospital bed and wheelchair at all times aside from during missions. Sure, when it came time for a mission and during a mission it would be hard to believe that all his physical strength and prowess had come mostly from his suit, it wasn't exactly as though he were in a defensive/offensive state of mind when he was just wheeling around headquarters where everyone around him was supposed to be allies. So, when Hikari had punched him in the arm, while it did not do any bruising or relatively any harm at all, Yuzu still instinctively rubbed his arm as though it hurt and to a point, it kind of did.

When Hikari had mentioned the possibility of this whole being some sort of cover-up, Yuzu had gone silent once more, his smile that was once on his face dropped and while she conversed with the newcomer named Garth, Yuzu began to question whether or not she was right about this whole thing being a cover for something else, it would make sense, why else would the Commanding Officer post something like this on the bulletin board rather than openly telling any of the top agents about it to schedule a rescue but yet, if it were one, what could they be hiding that was so important that they couldn't trust Vanguard agents about it.
By the time Garth spoke of joining both Yuzu and Hikari on this mission, he snapped once again out his thoughts, turning his head over toward the male before nodding with his smile once more returning. "Oh? Thats great! The more the merrier I guess, heey...maybe we can share the reward when this is all over. Drinks on me!" With a light-hearted laugh leaving him, Yuzu's attention would soon be drawn over towards another male voice, one that seemed to be in a much sourer tone than his own.

It seemed as though Hikari had been starting trouble with another agent and the response from the agent was just as expected that they wouldn't be taking it well, before Yuzu could interrupt their conversation, the new male had approached him only to return the piece of paper as Yuzu simply gave a nod before accepting it. "I'm sorry for...uhh..her." Attempting to apologize for Hikari's words after the male had introduced himself, Yuzu proceeded to roll his wheels forward in the direction that he had originally been heading down toward to reach the CO's office. With yet another agent on the team, even if this was not assigned directly through the Commanding Officer, it would make the success rate of whatever mission they would be given rise.

It took minutes to reach the Commanding Officer's office, before Yuzu could reach a hand out to knock on the door, a deep gruff voice came from the opposite side. "It's not locked. Come in." With those few words, Yuzu paused, almost as though he hesitated on whether or not he wanted to continue with the idea of this request. Exhaling a low sigh, he swallowed the lump in his throat before turning the knob of the door and rolling his way inside with his fellow agents.

The room was dark, only dimly lit by a single lamp on a black wooden desk that had all sorts of paperwork from Inferno transformations, Aberrant attacks, Rift appearances and dead agents, all from yesterday alone, scattered all over the top of the table. Behind the desk was a large older gentleman wearing a white dress shirt and black pants and black suspenders as he leaned over his desk with one hand on his forehead and the other grasping a pen, lightly tapping at the paper that simply needed his signature to finalize the death of another agent he wasn't positive about. "What is it?" As the large man spoke without so much as lifting a gaze up toward any of the agents within the room, Yuzu simply rolled his chair forward slowly just to place the paper on the table before pushing it forward.

The large man lifted his gaze up to stare at the page that was handed before him before his emerald eyes slowly widened as he kept silent for a few moments before his gaze narrowed and finally he looked up toward the individuals who stood before him. Eyeing each person in the room as though he were sizing them up before finally he begun to stand from his leather seat. Standing at full height of about 7'5'', now that the man stood, it was clear to see that the shirt he wore was slightly too small for him as his muscles stretched the limits of his suit to their limit. "You all want to take up this request? You realize, there are plenty of other tasks that need to be done on the bulletin board aside from this one. Unlike with any of those other tasks, I cannot guarantee your return nor will you receive any form of reinforcements if things go wrong." As the large man spoke, Yuzu grabbed his knees, clenching them as though he were on the verge of turning himself around and leaving the room on the spot, but in the end, he stayed.

"Yes sir. I will be staying. I cannot speak for my colleagues, but I will be staying.."




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SORA.
It was early morning, at least the time indicated this on the clock across from the locker room, for Sora had just left there with a towel draped over her shoulders as she dried her hair. Dawned in nothing but a matching sweat set with the Vanguard logo, the woman sighed as she tried to think about everything she could do today. There wasn’t much, for she lived a relatively solitary lifestyle, and the dorm room provided by the Vanguard didn’t have much space for her to entertain her previous hobbies. In fact, it was fortunate that the Vanguard’s Headquarters came with a swimming pool, for this was a newfound hobby that had proven beneficial when it came down to working out her lungs.

However, now she found herself clean, ready for the day, yet a little bored out of her mind. Walking down the hallway, Sora grabbed a handful of her hair, sniffing it to ensure her hair didn’t smell like pool water – to which she was thankful it smelled like her flowery shampoo – before she looked up at the bulletin board at the end of it. Her blue eyes could barely distinguish the lettering on the board, for some of the print was too small unless she brought the parchments closer to her face. Pulling out her reading glasses, Sora examined the first paper she plucked up, only to realize it was a Missing Person’s report about a squad that hadn’t been located in over a week. Such an event immediately pulled at her heart strings, for the empathy she had, had her worrying about the people who were gone for over a week before she sighed.

They were likely dead.

However, it was also unlikely for dead people in the Vanguard to appear on a Missing Person’s report on the bulletin board. Let alone a whole squad. Skimming over the contents, Sora couldn’t care for the information that blurred through her lenses and instead couldn’t help but think about the possibility that she just found herself something to do. She now held what felt like a quest in her hands, and all it entailed was for her to report to the Commanding Officer to learn more.

Instead of turning right for the elevator that would inevitably take her in the direction of the dormitory, she instead turned left. She headed in the opposite direction to walk a little further before she got to the elevator that would take her to other parts of the Headquarters—specifically the Commanding Officer’s office. About ten minutes later, she had walked off an elevator and caught a whiff of the sound of Commanding Officer Reinhardt Ironwood’s deep baritone traveling down the hallway.

‘Am I not the only one who was curious about this too? How many of these did they post?’ She thought. With practiced steps, Sora’s feet led her as quietly as they could down the hallway so as to avoid attracting attention as she listened intently to what he was trying to say. At some point, her reading glasses were at the tip of her nose, unnecessary at some point in time between the bulletin board and now because she needed to peer over her lenses in order to see her distance with clarity. That’s when she heard him say:

“You all want to take up this request? You realize, there are plenty of other tasks that need to be done on the bulletin board aside from this one. Unlike with any of those other tasks, I cannot guarantee your return, nor will you receive any form of reinforcements if things go wrong.” Maybe she hadn’t heard him right, but she likely also caught the tail end of his statement. Regardless, when Sora looked down at the paper in her hands, she couldn’t believe that this was the type of mission they left on the bulletin board. Why leave this there when it sounds almost as if you hadn’t wanted anyone to pick it up? When Sora peered into the room, she could just barely make out a man in a wheelchair before hearing him say he would be staying.

‘He's going to stay? This seems dangerous.’ But when was their job ever not dangerous? With a small sigh, Sora readied herself. If she were to take on this mission she could die, and this was a thought she often had to have because she believed herself to be a liability to herself. Although there were times when she managed to prove herself wrong and that she could live another day, her decisions still came with their own fair share of what felt like consequences.

“Excuse me,” she called out, her hands deft as she removed her reading glasses to correctly see all of the people in the office, while her right hand ran through her hair in slight annoyance at her own impatience, or rather eagerness, as her gym bag shifted on her shoulder. Sora's voice was soft, but she was skilled enough to use her ability to amplify her voice if only but a meager fraction, in order to be heard. “What challenges does this task entail for us to fail to receive reinforcements?” With this, her azure eyes skimmed briefly over the unique individuals in the room before they leveled on Commanding Officer Ironwood. It was this question alone and the fact that someone she had never met before, sitting in a wheelchair, had the gall to want to stay in this room to hear more about a task that sounded damning with just one sentence, that she decided to make herself known.




mood: feeling a little impatient
location: Vanguard's Headquarters - Commanding Officer's Office
mentions: LadyOfStars LadyOfStars Nothingness Nothingness Lost Martian Lost Martian Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic
haruto.


© PASTA
 
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Hikari Takashima
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Location: Vanguard Headquarters - Commanding Officer's Office
Interactions: Yuzu ( Nothingness Nothingness ), Garth ( Lost Martian Lost Martian ), Florian ( LadyOfStars LadyOfStars )
Mentions: Sora ( SCP-0029 SCP-0029 )



Ah yes, there it was. An oh so familiar glare. It was far from the first time someone had looked at or talked down to her like that. They were all the same, those who held authority, the police, the military, or the politicians. All of them who act all high, mighty, self-righteous because fate swung in their favor and gave them a life where they had to worry more about maintaining a reputation over what or if they would eat that day. "Must have been hard to have had a life where the only thing you have to worry about is how you spoke to people." Hikari's sarcastic words to the man were so laced with venom it was almost palpable. She would have straight up laughed in his face if Bandages didn't just apologize for her. She let out a sigh, seeing as the tension in the air has been thoroughly disrupted. "I don't remember you becoming my dad, Bandages." She said to Yuzu, reverting back to a tone much closer to her usual, following along behind him not saying another word as they made their way to the commanding officer's office.

Despite the drastic difference in height and the sheer amount of muscles this guy had, Hikari didn't feel an ounce of intimidation or fear as she looked Mr. Giant Lumberjack in the eyes, neither from himself or from what he was describing. If she were really afraid of strong and authoritative people like him or pulling off arduous tasks, she probably would have starved to death long long ago. She opened her mouth to respond to Mr. Giant after Yuzu announced his intentions, but stopped when she heard another voice behind the group, that of another girl. Hikari broke her eye contact with the commanding officer and turned to look at where the voice came from, her gaze falling on a woman with silver hair not too dissimilar to her own. Hikari didn't recognize the woman, unsurprising since she barely knows anyone personally in the Vanguard in the first place.

"Snow White over there has gotta point." She said turning her gaze back to the commanding officer and meeting his gaze once more. "A whole squad dropping off the face of the earth sounds like the loss of alotta firepower. I'm surprised that this request ain't more priority." Hikari paused a bit before speaking again, her mind still convinced that this was some kind of cover up until proven otherwise. And what better way to see if that was right than jumping into the jaws of the lion herself? "Well, it sure as hell ain't gonna be my first time starin' the Reaper in the face. Ya can count me in on this."

 
Jackson Voss
The Stonewall
The S.S Infinity




Mentions: Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic SCP-0029 SCP-0029 LadyOfStars LadyOfStars Lost Martian Lost Martian
Interactions: Nothingness Nothingness

The sound of a faucet running echoed through the small, dimly lit bathroom, its steady stream breaking the oppressive silence that Jackson had come to embrace. It was the kind of quiet he sought in the mornings, a haunting comfort that draped over him like a familiar shroud. Standing shirtless in front of the mirror, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants, Jackson’s figure told a story of battles fought and wounds earned. His torso, arms, and even his hands were riddled with faded scars, the pale lines tracing the map of a man who’d seen too much. His hair was unkempt, streaked with gray that mirrored the weary experience etched into his face.

He splashed his face with cold water, droplets clinging to his facial hair and rolling down his neck and chest. As he stared into the mirror, his eyes lingered on the details: the dark circles under his tired eyes, the low-hanging lids, the scars orbiting them like reminders of past pain. He leaned forward with a heavy sigh, resting his weight on the counter. Something caught his eye, though—a slight imperfection. Raising a brow, he tugged at his lip and discovered a rogue piece of spinach lodged between his teeth. “Little bastard,” he muttered under his breath, his voice carrying a dry amusement.

Moments later, Jackson was tightening his bullet holster belt, shrugging into his jacket, and adjusting the collar to make it look somewhat presentable. His room, however, was far from it. Clothes were strewn across the floor, his bed left unmade, and his gun lay haphazardly next to an empty bottle of dark liquor. A precarious stack of books crowded his desk, but his eyes fell on a single picture frame lying face down. With a quiet sigh, he squatted to pick it up.

Don’t give me that look, брат,” he murmured, staring at the photo. It was a snapshot of him and another man, both grinning like mischievous kids as they gave each other bunny ears. The smile it brought to his face was fleeting, replaced by a wistful expression as he set the frame upright on the desk. His hand lingered on the edge of the desk for a moment, brushing it in a motion that betrayed a hint of longing before he pulled away.

The sharp ring of a phone snapped him out of his thoughts. Jackson patted his pockets with practiced impatience until he fished it out, squinting at the caller ID. “Perfect timing, as always,” he muttered, pressing the accept button.

The one and only, speaking,” he said smoothly.

Jack,” came a voice, gravelly and matter-of-fact. “That job you came to me about? I’ve finally got enough concrete intel to work with. Make your way to my office—and don’t dawdle.

Before Jackson could reply, the call cut off with a click. He let out a sigh, grabbing his holster and clipping it to his belt. The oversized revolver slid into place with a satisfying weight, and he stuffed spare ammo into his pockets before heading out the door, loading rounds into his belt as he jogged toward Reinhardt’s office.

As always, Jackson paused before entering, running a hand through his hair and squaring his shoulders. The room was already bustling with familiar faces. Florian, sharp-dressed and stylish as ever, caught his eye—someone Jackson always noted for their impeccable taste. Then there was Hikari, a witty match to Jackson’s charm, and Garth, whose peculiar haircut still earned a grudging nod of respect. Sora remained an enigma, someone he’d yet to figure out, and Yuzu, a reliable presence with whom he shared easy banter.

Jackson made his way toward yuzo, who was seated in his wheelchair, and casually ruffled the man’s hair with a playful grin. “Hey, buddy. You taking on this job too?” he asked, his tone light and disarming, cutting through the tension in the room.

His gaze shifted to the captain, his expression turning attentive but warm. “So, what’s the sitch?” he asked, flashing a lopsided smile that, despite the weariness in his eyes, carried an undeniable warmth.

Code by Serobliss
 
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✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
tags Interactions: Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic [Hikari] Lost Martian Lost Martian [Garth] LadyOfStars LadyOfStars [Florian] Autumn_Leaf Autumn_Leaf [Jackson] SCP-0029 SCP-0029 [Sora]
Mentions: N/A
Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Commanding Officer Office

Yuzu Sakai

With the confirmation from Yuzu stating that he would still be joining after the Commander had informed the group they would not be receiving reinforcements, Reinhardt narrowed his gaze onto Yuzu in silence, even if he hadn't spoken up on his concerns, the Commander could clearly see behind the male's words how hesitant he was about joining on the mission. "Yuzu-" Just as the man was about to speak up, another stepped into the room, a female, Sora Haruto to be exact. As she stepped into the room, the large man shifted his gaze from her over toward his desktop computer only to pull up her dossier alongside those in the room. She had lost everything in a single day at the hands of an Inferno, one of which was even her mother, a story that many of the Vanguards agents suffered from if not losing their loved ones at the hands of an Aberrant.

"There is no concrete evidence on this, but sources tell us that the Aberrant and Infernos are working together...The missing squad you all see on that recruitment was originally sent to the slums a few weeks ago, their job was to investigate high Rift energy signatures in a densely populated area. When they got there it was confirmed that a small dimensional Rift had formed." Continuing on, the Reinhardt soon pressed his elbows onto the surface of his desk as he intertwined his fingers together, resting the bridge of his nose against where his index fingers met before closing his eyes to collect his thoughts. "Just as they prepared usual procedure to close the Rift, something went wrong...There were screams from the squad and some sort of strange grotesque sounds of flesh tearing...Then came the sounds of what seemed like fire raging in the background." Throughout the entirety of the time while he spoke, Reinhardt kept his eyes shut attempting to recall everything he heard and saw on the Vanguard's suit camera that was recorded.

"I want to keep this off the books is why you will not receive reinforcements on this mission. If word gets out that this is possibly some sort of new threat, the last thing we need will be the public panicking or the media swarming our doors for answers we don't have yet." His final words were both directed toward Sora as well as Hikari who had seemingly the same concerns regarding the urgency of an entire squad going missing. Though, as Hikari confirmed she would be staying to join the mission even before hearing the reasoning, the Commander simply gave a nod of his head before yet another individual stepped into the room.

This next person was actually one of the first agents that showed interest in the mission, Jackson Voss, to call him hardheaded was an understatement, with the multiple reports from previous missions by other agents, Reinhardt wouldn't have been surprised if one of these days he would find a report stating that Jackson had been killed in action. Yet, he still lived, even through his reckless acts and lack of planning, he still got the job done when it came time for a mission, so when he approached the Commander about the mission, Reinhardt gave him the entire rundown about the situation just as he had just done to those in the room. "Jackson. These agents will be joining you on the mission." Answering Jack's question, Reinhardt returned his attention back to those in the room once more. "Any questions?"

Meanwhile, the entire time the Commander had been explaining the situation to those in the room along with the new agent that had stepped in, Yuzu had nearly become stiff in his wheelchair, almost as though he was lost in thought about all of this. The sudden pat on his head and ruffling of his hair was what had caused him to snap out of his state as he gasped only to look up to find that Jackson had arrived. The frown on Yuzu's face had soon turned to one of a light hopeful smile, even if he couldn't see him, Yuzu could still tell it was Jack by how he carried himself, the man had a sort of positive presence about him, during the few times Yuzu had actually met the man, even though he wasn't much older than Yuzu, he still felt somewhat comfortable around him as he did with Hikari. "Yeah..I'll be joining as well.." Responding to his question, Yuzu would soon turn back toward the Commander when he questioned the group if they had any questions of their own before Yuzu would raise his hand as though he were in class, as if he were asking permission to ask a question.

"Sir. Umm...can you, show us the last recording from the squad? Surely, you have something from them. Every agent has a built-in recording camera on their suit, do they not?" As Yuzu questioned the man, the Commander once again closed his eyes, debating on whether or not showing the group, the last video recording would be of any actual importance before finally nodding, hiding any information at this point would be pointless and if they were marching to their deaths then the last thing he wanted was to have held onto any information that might've helped even if in the slightest.
Uncurling his fingers, Reinhardt turned once again toward his desktop before entering in the key names of each of the squad members that went missing before a video had popped up on his screen. Bringing his hand up to the screen, he dragged the video off the monitor and into the open air as a large orange hologram popped up above his desk. The hologram would be a mirrored image of his desktop screen of the video recording, from there, Reinhardt pressed play to allow the video to proceed.

The video recording was of a POV of one of the squad members, the agent was a female by the sound of her voice as she was seen firing off her standard issued rifle at what appeared to be just a wall of pitch-black darkness in front of her, the sounds of her squad mates screaming behind her in agony could heard as the rounds of her rifle made contact with some sort of flesh-like being beyond the darkness. Her surroundings were of old rundown buildings as expected of due to how they were in the slums but what seemed off was the bubbling-like spores that were attached to each of the buildings. In the video, the agent was constantly shouting about keeping check on everyone's filtration devices on their masks and not to breathe in the air, as she turned to check on her squad behind her, just as she had caught a glimpse of one of her squad mates on the ground starting to bubble up in the spores, she had fallen into the ground and her screams filled the room before the recording came to a halt.

"That was all we were able to recover. Everything else is too corrupted for any of our scientists to piece together."




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GARTH ARCWRIGHT
Locations: Vanguard Headquarters - Commanding Officer’s Office
Interactions: Yuzu ( Nothingness Nothingness ) | Hikari ( Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic ) | Florian ( LadyOfStars LadyOfStars ) | Sora ( SCP-0029 SCP-0029 ) | Jackson ( Autumn_Leaf Autumn_Leaf )

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The golden eyed agent, apparently named Florian, seemed to round out the team that would be applying for the mission. Garth wasn’t super sure about the team composition, including a one eyed girl, a guy who looked like he hadn’t lifted a tool in his life, some guy in a wheelchair, and Garth himself, someone who had absolutely zero mission experience. But it was better than nothing for Garth’s first assignment, the former acrobat following the others toward the commanding officer’s room.

Garth’s outlook would lighten some at Yuzu’s mention of buying drinks after the mission was complete. Though Garth was attempting to drink less, still a part of the whole bettering himself effort, he wouldn’t turn down a free mug of beer, Garth’s mood always improving after a few of them.

But Garth’s mind had to sober up when they reached the office, a gruff voice on the other side of the door telling them to come in. Going inside, Garth was greeted by a titan of a man sitting in a fine quality leather seat. The enormity of the man would only increase when Yuzu handed him the mission notice, the commander standing up to grab it. Garth had only interacted with the commanding officer once before, when he first arrived as part of the Vanguard, so it was still a shock to see the massive man up close, his body almost two feet higher than Garth’s.

The commanding officer would then warn about taking the mission, as he couldn’t guarantee their safety, return, or offer any reinforcements if things went bad. Garth was immediately filled with worry over just what kind of mission they had selected. He had assumed that all the postings on the mission board were light in nature, not super deadly one-way tickets. However his self esteem came into question when Yuzu said he would still participate. Not wanting to be outdone by someone in a wheelchair, Garth gathered all his courage.

“I too will be staying commander,” said Garth, “I wish to make the Vanguard proud.”

Before anyone else could volunteer for the mission, another voice popped in behind Garth. His recent combat training going into effect, Garth whipped around, his hands reaching for his knifes, only to realize that he didn’t have them on himself. Even more embarrassing to Garth was that he had been worked up another agent arriving, the white haired girl apparently holding a duplicate note to the one Yuzu had handed Commander Ironwood.

The new agent would then ask why exactly why they couldn’t receive reinforcements. It was a good question, one that had completely passed by Garth’s mind previously. Given his relative new status as part of the Vanguard, Garth was still figuring out how things worked around here. If the commander didn’t want to fill in all the details, Garth thought that he should just accept it.

Hikari would also raise the question, though less elegantly, before committing to the mission herself. Before Garth could turn back to the commander, a fifth fellow agent entered the room. Again Garth didn’t know their name, but based on how bad ass they looked, Garth would assume that he had a ton of experience. That could definitely help on a mission as dangerous as how Commander Ironwood made it sound.

Commander Ironwood would then explain how a previous team went missing, though it would be the mention of Aberrants and Infernos working together that would cause concern for Garth. Apparently this particular mission would be off the books, not wanting the public at large to know about this new possible threat. Garth could understand how this would freak out the public, as it was freaking Garth out, even with his combat training and aspect ability.

As Garth considered backing out, Yuzu would ask to see whatever footage they had got from the missing squad. Commander Ironwood would do so, bringing up some POV footage on his monitor. Garth would then see the last minute of the missing agent’s life, the scene almost too chaotic to make out what was going on. What he did definitely make out was the mystery spores that coated the agents. Garth had no clue what they were, but they freaked him the hell out.

As the commanding officer turned off the video, the flight response was very active in Garth’s brain, his limbs getting ready to bolt out of the office. But Garth tried to regain control of his body, managing to at least remain where he was standing. After a brief few seconds where no one spoke, the assembled agent still taking in the video, Garth would force his mouth open.

“I’m ready to search for the missing squad Commander Ironwood,” stated Garth.

The former acrobat couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth, terrified by what he was signing up for. But he had already spoken, so he was now forced to join the mission. Garth would silently wonder if this was a step towards his goal of becoming a better person.
 
𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐇𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐧𝐠
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images


Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Hallway / office
Outfit: Her outfit~!
Tags: Yuzu ( Nothingness Nothingness ) Hikari ( Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic ) Garth ( Lost Martian Lost Martian ) Florian ( LadyOfStars LadyOfStars ) Sora ( SCP-0029 SCP-0029 ) Jackson ( Autumn_Leaf Autumn_Leaf )





Sunlight streamed through the thin curtains, a golden intruder that splashed across Tara’s face, pulling her from the depths of sleep. She groaned, her glowing red eyes flickering open just enough to glare at the offending light. “Ugh, rude,” she muttered, voice thick with sleep, before rolling over in a half-hearted attempt to escape it.
But the damage was done. She was awake now, no matter how much she wanted to stay tangled in the warmth of her blankets. With a dramatic sigh, she flung an arm over her eyes and lay there for a moment, debating whether she could justify skipping whatever the hell today had in store for her.
Probably not.
Grumbling to herself, Tara threw the covers off, sitting up with a slow stretch that sent a satisfying crack down her spine. She ran a hand through her wild, bright blue hair, half expecting it to behave itself. It did not.
Dragging herself toward the mirror across the room, she studied her reflection with a smirk. The dark smudges beneath her eyes were a testament to her terrible sleeping habits, but the glow of her irises remained sharp and dangerous, like embers burning beneath the surface. “Damn,” she murmured, tilting her head. “Even sleep-deprived, I’m a masterpiece.”
She winked at herself before turning away, heading toward her dresser. A sleek black, skin tight skirt came first, hugging her legs like a second skin. She tucked a snug, Shoulderless top into the waistband, the fabric emphasizing her toned form. Its Deep cut emphasizes her toned stomach. Lacing her dainty, kitten heels, she tested the fit with a flex of her foot before slipping on her red and gold accessories, adjusting them with a quick tug at the wrists.
Satisfied, she rolled her shoulders, then grabbed her jacket off the back of a chair, swinging it over one shoulder as she stepped toward the door.
She paused.
For a moment, the world was still—the hum of headquarters faint through the walls, the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the vents from the mess hall. Just another morning at Vanguard HQ.
Tara smirked to herself. “Let’s see what kind of trouble today’s got lined up for me.”
With that, she stepped out into the hallway, heels clicking against the floor as she made her way toward the common area. She hadn’t gotten far when something caught her eye—a bright red flyer pinned to the bulletin board, its bolded words practically screaming for attention.
MISSING SQUAD. AGENTS NEEDED. IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT.
Tara arched a brow, tilting her head as she leaned in, skimming the details. A missing team. High risk. Possible hostiles.
Her smirk widened.
“Oh,” she purred to herself, plucking the flyer off the board. “Now this is my kind of fun.”
She placed the flyer down at her side and began her stride towards the Commanding Officer’s Office. Her walk emanates confidence, though people have told her she comes off cocky, she adores knowing people are afraid of how she carries herself. Her mother always told her to carry herself with confidence, always reassuring her of her self worth.
As Tara reaches the entry to Commanding Officer Ironwood office, her ears prick at the sudden voices. They were familiar, perhaps other agents interested in the mission? She listens for a short while longer before adjusting her appearance and opening the door.
“Yikes, its a party in here, huh?” She voiced, flipping the hair off her shoulder and onto her back. “I’d like to participate in the mission too, assuming everyone in here wants to too.” She spoke effortlessly, eyeing around the room and analyzing the faces. A few were familiar to her, like yuzu, whom of course is not hard to forget. . And the ever so infamous, Jackson. Though she has never spoken to him, she found herself quite fond of the charisma he unknowingly emanates.


coded by archangel_

[/QUOTE]
 
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Florian Taylor
Mentions: Clockwork_Magic Clockwork_Magic
Interactions: Nothingness Nothingness

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As they headed to the Commander's office, Florian couldn't help but to think about Hikari's words. She was wrong, of course; his life had been full of great hardship but that never served as an excuse for poor. The smug smirk that decorated his face materialized his idea of a victory over Hikari, but the matter was put to bed now by more important events so he chose to let it die.

In the office of the Commander, Florian observed his would-be-team more than anything else. Most of them he'd not yet worked with and he was curious as to how they would react to the information they were about to receive. But just as the meeting was gaining momentum, another vanguard, and then another, and then one more showed up and offered to join the team. It was certainly becoming a full affair and perhaps that was a sign of what it meant to truly be a Vanguard? At the core were they all heroic champions with the idea of leaving no man behind?

Florian highly doubted it. Ironwood's further explanation on the past team's disappearance and the footage that accompanied his words emphasized the need for secrecy and caution. "It would appear that either the rifts are now having a greater affect on the environment or someone is tampering nature..." The cryomancer paused for a moment and swiftly played out a few scenarios in his mind before he spoke up again. "...I hesitate to asl, but should we be gathering samples of these spores for further testing? Of course they could be very dangerous, but it could be useful and if that's what is required of us we'll see it done." Florian declared with unshakeable confidence as he looked to the Commander.
 













"horizon"
i.e.
atsuma fujiwara

new faces, new new beginnings



int. vanguard headquarters -- commanding officer office

Atsuma is wearing a black tank top, cargo green tactical pants and black combat boots.








X-HZT
hans zimmer









Atsuma hated mornings. It was why he often stayed up late, taking on small missions or jobs that operated during the quiet hours of the night or just before dawn. "Old habits die hard," he'd say as an excuse, though anyone familiar with his routine would quickly dismiss it as laziness. For Atsuma, there was something about the serenity of nighttime that resonated with him on a deeper level. It reminded him of his youth, when he was more active during those hours, and of the city lights of Eldralis. To him, they looked like spilled stardust, stretching endlessly as though the galaxy itself had descended to grace the urban sprawl. That breathtaking beauty always left him awe-struck, allowing him, if only for a moment, to forget his life.

The humming buzz of his phone vibrating on the bedside table jolted Atsuma awake. A groan escaped his lips as he sat up in bed, wincing as sunlight streamed through the slit in his curtain. The golden rays pierced his bedroom like a relentless intruder. He mumbled a curse under his breath, regretting not buying blackout curtains instead of the cheap ones he had.

Swinging the covers off his body, the cold air hit his bare skin as he reached for his phone, silencing the alarm. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he buried his face in his hands with a groan, dragging them slowly down his face before standing. It had been ages since Atsuma woke this early. Normally, the earliest he'd be up was around 5 p.m., and that was if anyone was lucky enough to catch him. The chill against his skin, the sunlight irritating his eyes, and the migraine creeping in all added to his discomfort. Still, he needed to be up.

The previous day, Atsuma had learned about a vanguard team sent to close a Rift who never made it back alive. While such incidents weren't uncommon, the peculiar manner of their deaths had caught his attention. Details about the mission were scarce, leaving Atsuma no choice but to consult the commanding officer. Unfortunately for him, that officer worked during the day.

Dragging himself into the bathroom, Atsuma leaned against the sink, resting his arms on its edge as he stared at his reflection. Clad only in boxer briefs, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair and yawned. Straightening up, he bent down and splashed cold water on his face, the shock helping to clear his head.

After a quick shower, Atsuma dressed in his usual simple attire: cargo tactical pants, a black tank top, and combat boots. Bleak and straightforward, just the way he liked it. He grabbed his duffel bag, which carried his obsidian suit, and left his apartment.

As he strolled down the hallway toward Reinhardt's office, he noticed how busy the mornings were compared to the quieter nights he preferred. The realization made him visibly cringe, earning him a strange look from a passerby.

"Great, now they think you're a weirdo, you freak."

He forced a smile as he looked away and continued on, eventually arriving at the office door. Knocking lightly, he stepped inside.

The room was occupied, with Reinhardt seated behind his desk and several others present. Atsuma didn’t mind the crowd, though most faces were unfamiliar. Two individuals, however, stood out. One was a man around his height, his face covered in scars, but his eyes held a kind of impulsive playfulness. Atsuma was certain he'd seen him before, though they’d never worked together; he preferred solo missions due to his poor social skills. The other was a white-haired girl wearing reading glasses. He vaguely recalled seeing her at a plant shop when he was buying bonsai seeds—perhaps she had a similar interest in plants.

The faint recognition of these two made him frown slightly. His eyes darted around the room, scanning the others as the furrow in his brow deepened.

"Focus, you came here for something."

Atsuma turned his attention to Reinhardt, giving him a curt nod before crossing his arms.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but when you're done, may I have a word with you, Comm—"

He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes caught sight of a file on the desk. The report on the very incident he wanted to discuss lay right in front of them, and it seemed they were already in the middle of a briefing.

"Never mind then…" he muttered.

It was both interesting and irritating that others were also investigating the mission. Atsuma didn’t mind working with a team—he wasn’t arrogant or naive enough to think he could handle everything alone. However, cooperating with others was unfamiliar territory for him, especially on a mission.









/* ------ credit -- do not remove ------ */

© weldherwings.


 
Eulalia Wendelle
Interacting w/ Shanta > Commander Reinhardt + Volunteers
@ Vanguard Headquarters: Patio > Hallway > Office

No measure of insignificance could determine why Eulalia was placed on the patio of the Vanguard Headquarters. She, herself, could hardly, at times, point out why she was where she was. Where she stood now was directly outside of the hallway where the other strangers gathered at a board Eulalia already observed and internalized. Her pearlescent locks glimmered in the morning sun. It caressed her alien beauty, and served as her beautician.

"It seems more are gathering, Lalia..."

A gentle voice spoke and rang in her ears. A calming presence, for sure - this voice belonged to Shanta Regula. She had always been Eulalia's guardian. Yet through many of the tribulations she put Eulalia through, she came to believe Eulalia was ready to embark on her own journey. Supervised, perhaps - but that was ultimately up to whoever wrote up the assignment. Eulalia was a Vanguard, after-all; and a grown woman.

Her eyes lowered from the sky down to her palms - a gentle breeze passing her by as her hair and casual dress delicately fluttered in the wind. Her anxiety pulsated in her chest, and she could feel her powers begin to swell... but she quickly yet gently grabbed her pendant and closed her eyes. Taking a small breath, she raised her eyes to meet Shanta's and she nodded.

Slowly turning around while grabbing onto her pendant, her free palm grazed the four vials on a separate lanyard while she began to walk towards the doors accompanied by Shanta, who politely opened them. The two began to walk to the designated meeting spot where everyone else had been gathering.


"Shanta..." she spoke in a hushed tone, glancing up at her caretaker. "Do you really think they are...?"

Shanta paused, stopping in her tracks and gently patting her shoulder while letting out a silent huff of air and looking down. Why she was so emotional? Well, her nephew was, in-fact, in that same squad. Yet she knew the risks of being in the Vanguard, so she had next to no room to speak.

She simply offered a reassuring smile. Her glassy eyes giving away her emotion as Eulalia innocently met her eyes. She nearly matched her emotion before hugging herself and glancing down at the ground.


"I don't even have that much experience with fire-arms... why do I have to join this mission?"

"You don't always need fire-arms when dealing with these sort of abominations, Lalia."

Eulalia paused, and sighed. Yes, the Aberrant and Inferno may utilize other efforts of combat, but her ionic magic would likely be incredibely effective against the Inferno. She nodded, and the two continued until they were at the door of the office.

That is when Eulalia stood erect - arms at her side. Taking another breath and glancing up at Shanta once more, she nodded.

The doors now opened, and Eulalia noticed the presence of quite a few already in presence. She had already been made aware of some details of the mission they were to embark on, but now it was time to learn of the other volunteers. She stepped inside and quietly approached the group, respectfully nodding towards the Commander and the others.

It had appeared they began to banter amongst themselves, yet Eulalia preferred to quietly observe.
 
3c9030871a7b40afcfedca1be4af8a36.jpgOutfit: In picThe alarm went off next to Eve's bed, on the nightstand, and she slowly opened her eyes and lazily reached over and shut it off. She then lay there on her back staring at the ceiling. She couldn't believe it even after being in the capital for a little over a month she still couldn't believe it. Her life had taken such a drastic turn right out of nowhere. She turned onto her side curled up and pulled the covers over her head. All she wanted to do was curl up and cry but she had already done enough of that. More than anything she just wanted to go back home to her normal life but she knew couldn't. Not only was she basically threatening to stay but.....her powers were a bit unpredictable. But at least she had gotten to write a letter to her family yesterday letting them know where she was and that she was ok. She could only imagine how worried they were. Despite her just wanting to go into a deep dark hole of depression and never come out she couldn't let herself get to that point. She had to stay positive. Besides, maybe she could make some friends maybe life here wouldn't be so bad. Sure she was kidnapped and forced here against her will but she could turn something positive out of it....right? Right! She could! And she would! With new determination, Eve sat up and got out of bed and washed and dressed for the day.

Eve now was sitting in front of a vanity mirror brushing her hair. Eve had a pretty nice room all things considered. She had just moved in yesterday and she was surprised by how nice it looked. It matched her style perfectly. Because she was forced here she had no clothes on her whatsoever, they provided her with some and other essentials. However from now on she was on her own and would have to earn money through quests/missions. Just as she was finishing up her hair the phone in her room began to ring. She stood up and talked over to her desk and answered it. "Hello?"

"Nightheart? This is Ironwood my office, now. Looks like we got a team for that mission."

Before Eve could respond he hung up. Eve sighed and hung up the phone then looked over to the door. Yesterday Ironwood had told Eve about the details of this mission and ordered her to sign up for it. She couldn't believe they would make her do this as her first mission but she really didn't have a choice in the matter. Well, she would just have to make do besides she could use this opportunity to make new friends! With a cautious positive attitude, Eve left her room and headed to Ironwood's office. Once she made it to his office she took hold of the doorknob getting ready to enter until suddenly her stomach growled....."Oh no..." She released the doorknob and looked down the hall. Oh man, she was really hungry. Should she go eat and then come back? But if she could in trouble? Ironwood was a scary guy. But eating was important or she might actually lose it. No...she could control it. She could do this! This wouldn't take long. She can just go in get her orders then come out and eat. It would all be totally fine. Eve once again took hold of the doorknob and opened the door. When she did she noticed quite a few people in here talking. Maybe this would take longer than she thought. She gave a polite smile and walked in and shut the door behind her. She glanced around everyone recognizing no one except....the boy in the wheelchair....had she seen him before? She was not sure what to do she stood there with her hands in front of her just listening and observing.
 
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code by opaline
Cassia "Cas" Grimm
Vanguard// Talent: Sniping
mood: Relaxed
outfit: link here
location: Besides the Infinity -> Med Bay
tags: Interaction: animegirl20 animegirl20 / Nothingness Nothingness
Mentions: basically everyone in the office right now.

The net rattled in excitement, allowing the ball through and sealing the session of basketball. Nico collapsed close to her somewhere on the ground. He sprawled across the floor in desperate cries of breath.

“That’s the third game you lost,” Cas announced with a wide grin. She had her black hair bound to a tight ponytail, even though the several rounds around the place had loosened it for an inch. The ball tapped in an even rhythm beside her.

“Would you shut up?” he groaned. His foot aimed- and missed spectacularly- for the ball. Cas held it up in her hand. “You fouled me at some point, be honest with me.”

“Just admit I am better.”


Cas offered him a hand. Nico took it with gratitude and launched back to his feet. Even after all these years he remained only a little taller than her. Sweat beat over his forehead, his chest heaving and deflating.
Nico held his hands up in mock surrender. “I got a mission, young lady. Can’t say the same about you though.”

“Wow, such a low blow,”
she mused with an eye roll before nudging him to the door. “I just don’t want to go on one of these expeditions again.” The horror ran deep under her skin. Her breakfast almost came up again.

“You could check the bulletin board, you know, more than once a week,” he laughed but followed her as soon as she began to walk out in the hallways. The ball bouncing somewhere on the ground, forgotten until their next match. Nico patted her on the shoulder. “Maybe there’s a treasure there! Who knows.”

“You just wanted in on that mission because of- what’s her face?”

“Aryia,”
he helped her without missing a beat. He held his finger up as if to explain the girl one more time to her. Cas pushed the guy away from her. At this point she thought she had met Aryia already! “What!” he complained and ram his elbow into her arm. “Just because I am actually happy to see someone. Gettin’ tired of that ugly thing called your face.”

“Yeah sure, that’s why you woke me at four today, aye?”
Cas shot back as they strolled through the more or less illuminated corridors. She stretched her arms over her head. “I need something with more kick, you know? Fighting alone isn’t enough .”

Nico drew in a breath, with no doubt preparing one of those pep talks he enjoyed. But the pair passed the office of the Commander to the time he did. Of course, it was utmost unbecoming to eavesdrop. Yet the shadows swallowed them far too easily. Cas couldn’t help to perk up at the endless people strolling into the office. Her focus sunk it's teeth into the mantra of tension. Those abilities helped her out quite a lot, to be fair.

“You absolute psycho. Don't even know what's it about,” she heard Nico mutter beside her. A mission that required those many people? The sheer enigmatical scene absorbed her. “Might be about that one mission.”

“Which one?”
Cas inquired as they walked on clouds to the office. Perhaps the bulletin board wasn’t as horrific and tedious as she thought.

“Something about a missing squad. But this many operators?” She heard the grin on her friend’s face. Rescuing missions had been a large part of the Vanguards departments. However, with the recent events? If anything, it smelled like a new level of puzzles in one of those games she had.

“I might even have to ditch my mission later,” he chuckled and clapped her on the shoulder. “After all, you’d die out there without me.”

Cas swung half-heartedly at him. "Dream on." With ease, he bounced back before continuing his walk back to his own quarters. Only a wave of his hand remained before the hallways swallowed him whole. She’d spar with him when they were back to pay him back.
A scowl rolled onto her lips before she opened the door. To work with anyone else besides Nico had sparsely ever happened in all her eight years. Cas didn’t particularly mind. It just had a sense of wrongness to it she couldn’t quite place.

With a small sigh, she entered the office. One, where the commander usually had a field trip with her for her rather… unique way of unsettling his nerves. He must have hated her younger self. That at last gave her a small smile.

Cas almost rammed into a figure behind the door. She sidestepped the… child? No, not quite. Just a much smaller woman. “Sorry,” she quipped before scouting out the room. The boy of the medical bay! In the wheelchair, she had often seen him around a few times in those past years. The other faces didn’t ring a single bell. Perhaps singular exemples did in the end, though remaining unimportant enough. She guessed she had seen them around sometime and simply found nothing notable about them.

A lazy smile played on her lips as soon as she fixed her gaze onto the commander. “Quite the collection of agents for one mission. Count me in,” she announced. The pure and raw excitement of what this might be slivered down her veins like sweet honey down to her toes. Cas only ever accepted tasks if they interested her or if she, in fact, needed money. Or if one of the higher ups nudged her to take up on a mission again.

Now this? This had her mind spinning ideas already.
 
Deacon Godfrey
b43dcce9b3e87272d41569c9dea53022.jpg


"Faster faster faster!" Deacon repeated, slapping his large hand on the dashboard of the speeding car, sitting in the passenger seat as his friend and former comrade, Butch, drove like a bat out of hell. The two of them used to serve in the army together until Butch retired and became a cop, occasionally giving Deacon a couch to sleep on. The vehicle sped through the waking city, swerving corners and passing red lights. Any other vehicle would have been pulled over in a heartbeat, but thanks to the siren and flashing light they were making good time. Butch groaned as drove, looking tired and frustrated as Deacon struggled to get a boot on in the passenger seat.

"Damn it Deacon! I can't go no faster! Just relax!" Butch said, grunting as he turned another corner. Deacon managed to get the boot on and rested it on the dashboard, dirt sprinkling onto the once-clean surface. "Deacon! Man come on!" Butch shouted, wincing as a dirty bootprint was left behind.

"Just drive man! I wouldn't be tryin to get ma big ass dressed if ya didn't oversleep! I mean what cop unplugs their damn alarm clock!?" Deacon shot back, popping a toothbrush in his mouth and scrubbing like hell.

"A cop that got the damn day off!" he replied as he blew through another red light. "Just relax man you're not that late," he assured him with an annoyed frown. Deacon scoffed, mouth full of foamy toothpaste.

"This ain't just some regular military transfer Butch, this Vanguard! A whole new team! I gotta show up at ma best! Especially for this unit!" Deacon said before opening the window and spitting out the side, a line of toothpaste sliding along the side of the car. A long groan escaped Butch but kept driving, shaking his head. Deacon just focused on making himself presentable, buttoning pants, brushing down his clothing, and fixing his hair. To say his nerves were high was an understatement. Deacon usually always keeps his head cool, but this was his dream transfer. His former unit was a comfortable place filled with good people, but this was Ironwood's unit! He's always heard talk about him, people saying he's a legend in the Vanguard. It's only been a year since Deacon underwent his training and officially became a member of the Vanguard. Serving in this unit would offer more important work, no doubt. His hand would slip under his jacket and rub over the burn scar on his left shoulder. He'll be able to do more here, he had to. He couldn't afford to mess this up, not even show up a minute late. That though seemed to be flying out the window. Butched noticed the distant look in Deacon's expression and started to slow down, the Vanguards HQ finally in sight.

"Relax brother, ya got this," he assured him, slowly pulling up to the front of the HQ. Deacon glanced at him, a small frown on his face knowing his friend could read him like a book. Butch grinned and slapped his bulky arm. "Come on man, you're an agent of Vanguard! The Tower! You kicked ass in the army, kicked ass in training, even after all that weird science shit they did to you, and stood out in your last team. If anyone is up for the job, it's you," an amused scoff left Deacon, cracking a smirk before extending a hand. Butch smirked back and took his hand, giving a firm shake.

"Thanks, Butch, for everything. Stay safe brother," Deacon said with a nod which earned a chuckle from Butch as Deacon got out of the car.

"You're the ones that gotta stay safe man. Gonna be a big ass target out there!" Deacon huffed with a smile, holding up a middle finger as he walked to the entrance of the HQ, his duffle bag in his hand. Deacon took a low breath, taking in the HQ before entering through the front doors and showing the guards his papers. First things first, report to the CO. As he walked through the halls he glanced to his duffle bag. Luckily all his gear and equipment was already brought here beforehand, but perhaps he under-packed. After turning a few corners, he spotted the door to the CO's office.

He took a moment out the door, checking himself over before opening the door. He went to speak but paused, seeing the office full of other agents. The atmosphere was familiar. A briefing. His eyes gave a quick scan of the faces in the room before landing on Ironwood himself. He tensed for a moment before standing at attention. "Apologies for interrupting sir, uh... Agent Deacon Godfrey, transfer from West HQ. Here to report for my first day under your command, sir," he says, his voice firm to hide his nerves as he stood at attention.
 

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