Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Emmett James

Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic Mqueserasera RedArmyShogun​

"I am now."

Naturally, Zelda paid more attention to the weapons and Emmett to the Meister, but even in light of the lopsided resonance Noah now took center stage. In periphery he noted the aptitude and skill of Maria's defense and quick counter movements under pressure, but his concerns were primarily with his own students. After the forceful lightning shock, their resonance had become strained - a product of focused manufacturing rather than an even flow, and the lightning that was being generated now was dangerous at best, catastrophic at worse. Briefly, he looked past his students and eyed each of the appointed referees, wondering exactly how far things would have to go before they stepped in.

Then, time seemed to slow down. Emmett watched as Thaddeus' and Noah's souls intermingled further, and a feeling of dread washed over him. Emotions were exchanged, a wonderful thing in and of itself, but out of place in a friendly competition such as this one. Sure, they riled one another up with words, but Emmett had hoped it was disconnected and only a strategy to get the advantage. Their souls touched further, and began to inflate. Only, they weren't in tune; like mismatched cogs not made for the same machine. Their resonation was attempted over passionate emotions that Prudence did not share, and while one-sided utility resonation was not outside the realm of possibilities, there was seldom a reason to conjure one. Like a haphazard split soul self-resonation, Thaddeus' soul half-resonated with Noah and grew crooked before then invading Noah's far too violently. Emmett looked on in horror as the train wreck began unfolding.

The first physical sign of misfortune was the light. The lightning, without focus or direction, grew like a small star; it's energies dispersed aimlessly to all sides. It was not long before Noah sparked outwards like a Tesla coil. Sensing the incoming danger, Emmett took a sidelong step next to Zelda. He slipped the gas tank out of his lighter and tossed the empty case into the air before them, where a wayward bolt of lightning that had previously gone straight for them instead arced to it and dissipated into harmlessly into the sand. The case followed soon after, distorting the air above it from all the heat generated.

Things were going to get worse before they got better though, as not even a manaless individual could ignore the incoming energy surge from Maria's doll. The explosion broke their contact, and quickly dispersed the thunderstorm. Emmett raised an arm to stop the sandstorm unleashed by the shock wave from getting into his eyes - but he perceived no less. The trio were tossed across the arena violently, and Maria hadn't fared much better herself. Prudence's soul signature shone with energy, but aside from her they were all in shambles.

He averted his gaze. This fight was over, and it was bitter at best. While it revealed a great deal of things to be worked on from a mentor's perspective, the potential fallout was severe. The referees let the fight play out, and chose not to interfere when even when severe injuries were at stake. It felt as if though they were cursed to be failed by their superiors, no matter what they did.

"We'll have to check up on them later. Noah's spiritual well-being and Thaddeus' physical well-being are... debatable at best."
​

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Ulysses Stein​

"D-Stein"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank One-Star

Location Death City, Central Main Street, Death-Nova
Mission None
Status Elated, interested

​

Mentions: EmperorsChosen

Silence. A moment of silence from both Ulysses and his soul. It was internal turmoil. A debate, basically, over what to share with her. Honesty was important, but he didn't like airing this dirty laundry. He wasn't sure how she would react to his knowledge. Or, if she'd think him some type of fool for trusting her despite the volume of knowledge he had. Chances are, she already did. That, or maybe she was at least a little smitten or intrigued, it was hard to tell. Ulysses, oddly enough, was markedly humble given he grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Fredrick, so he was constantly surprised by the effect he had on people despite how he outwardly portrayed himself.

"My dear, you ask the hardest questions," he responded in a softer voice. His soul began to let that turmoil shine through, behind her or not. The Stein family line did have magnificently bright and obvious souls, so much so that her keen perception didn't entirely lose it merely because he was out of her line of sight. One of his hand lowered the necklace to the side of her opposite of where she swept her hair, the other slid between her hair and neck to guide it through. He avoided touching her directly to the best of his ability with the only brief moment he did so being when he guided the pendant itself to her chest, assuring it was at the centerline. Afterwards, he simply started clasping it together from behind with a small snap.

With that, the pendant was on her, although the scarabs and ring were still left in the box. From behind, he sighed and started to explain himself, "Eloise O'Quinn, a family history darker than mine with crimes that could make the devil cry. I saw the whole laundry list of accusations from your cousins, and that there no way to either prove or disprove which you did or didn't do... everything from murder, drugs, human trafficking, extortion. Is that what you want me to say?" he asked, rhetorically of course. His tone was less frustrated and more of defeated. He didn't want to vocalize these things, yet it seemed she was determined.

"You may have been a criminal, a sinner of the highest caliber," Ulysses went on, walking back around the table to in front of her, his fingertips only briefly trailing along her shoulder as he did. This was a mistake on his part. He avoided touch because it could give much greater insight with perception like hers. Joe Buttataki was considered a human lie detector with his, capable of seeing the fluctuations of a soul to such a degree no falsehood or deceit could pass him, and eventually even breaking the barriers of a Witch's Soul Protect. Elly may not be near that level, but touch for even a moment could shed light on things to make the picture much more clear.

A brief moment provided two pieces of insight here. The first was that in the corners of his mind, he had some oddly specific faith in her. In his heart of hearts, he was sure she was guilty of the vast majority of what she was accused of. Yet, that knowledge of guilt came with this understanding of her environment. Toxic, cutthroat, groomed from a young age to be these vile people. Despite her sins, he saw her as a product of her raising. And, he remembered his own. Growing up a Stein, being nearly forced into the role of being a Meister, knowing his brother Fredrick had become incarnate of their grandfather, and that he already had Agent kills under his belt. The expectations, the training, the pressure. It may not have been to do the same things, but Ulysses knew the pressure of expectations, and the cost of sinking instead of swimming.

The second piece of insight was far more simple and superficial. He did, in fact, find her significantly attractive. Not just her looks, but her behavior and personality. The fun little quirks, the cat and mouse, the back and forth, and most of all, the fact she wasn't a push-over. She had depth, she provided resistance, there was clear intellect there--she wasn't a fan girl. While not exactly part of his soul, he wondered if she had ever actually heard any of his music.

This mistake he made was one he glossed over. No fixing it out. He continued on, "but you aren't with your family anymore. You aren't in some cartel. You are here, and you have a chance to make Eloise Keegan whoever you want to be. You escaped not just with your life, but gained a new one." He then leaned in over the table to reach for the ring he noted was his, gingerly prying it from the box and inspecting it with those red eyes of his before sliding it down the pinky finger of his right hand. "You can ask me what I know you have done, but that matters a lot less to me than what you intend on doing," he said, those red eyes now making contact with hers.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Death City, The Colosseum​

Watching the fight continue she shrugs as Dani was quick to point out that at least Nadia knew what she was doing, to which she exhaled. "Da, da, I'll pay her. She's done good work even if she doesn't have good economics. Though are you so straight and narrow that you do not shop for discounts, I doubt th- Ah!" Watching as Maria shot the lightning off, it was clear it had hurt her but she was not so sure Gauss was immune to the runaway resonance that the pair had failed, then she watched as the doll used her own creations to step, throw and fling herself upwards. "Ebanashka!" Letting out an amused chuckle or laugh at that, Nadia then took notice of Dani and snorted.

Laying her right hand upon her partner's shoulder, Nadia gives a bit of a squeeze as she rubbed the other a little to console her. "Calm yourself Dani. Did you think that man made his way to the top by not being a two-faced asshole? This is the DWMA as it stands, it controls all of the money yet must play the part of an arena announcer as it has lost that much of touch with the people. They have to put on such shows to keep the people interested, we bleed so others can smile for bullshit that doesn't matter to us." As the lightning hit Maria and her bomb hit Gauss she cheered a bit.

"Poshli! Dani, Dani, keep in mind we are clowns in this circus too. I won't tell you to not be mad. Anger is a powerful feeling, when it has cause and it does not blind. Maria will be alright; she played her hand well. We know they will attempt to rile us up. Let us show we are not to be taken lightly."

With that, Nadia lowers her hand and goes back to watching the fight, though it seems to have been called. "Hmm well that leaves a couple of minutes I think. We might should go see Maria when all is done if able.. Unlike us I'm sure she had someone to come see her."

Interactions: EmperorsChosen

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | Death City | South District

March 9th

With nothing to hold on to Zosar flicked his wrist and recalled Adra's flock with a gesture as he eyed Adrian, pondering why he had hesitate or perhaps if he'd been trying to assess the situation and the best action to take. Using three fingers to catch Adra's whip once she'd taken the opportunity to retract herself. Hearing Adrian's question Zosar took a moment to think. Then tuned his attention over to Jarvis as he spoke, essentially listing off the things they'd seen.

Wait, maternal phase?

The brief look of surprise vanished for thoughtfulness. If she's given birth to a litter then we either must be nearby her kittens...or must be intruding on what she considers her territory. Jarvis being here specifically probably might be enough to explain the aggression but...what if her litter's nearby also? His thoughts spilled over to Adra in a question. Would going after one of her kittens be the better option? Seeing Adrian pause for a brief moment had made the ex-merc start to think if it'd be easy even getting the Shuumei in a state where they could capture her now that she'd had a taste of Zari's wavelength, however brief. He'd done some research and he knew these creatures were adept and smarter than your average Big Cat to be able to survive against the relentless Undead that were their natural enemy. Plus if she could so fluidly switch forms in that semi-aquatic state, that was a problem. Adrian's pain wavelength may have been lethal but it wouldn't do them much good if none of them could land serious hits on her to incapacitate her long enough to do it.

And it seemed she was already getting ready to retaliate again. The glowing water Shuumei had created as it leaked into the crevices puddle and expanded forwards towards them made Zosar instinctively already begin moving away from the glowing water. However it was seeing one of the puddles explode nearby Zari and miss him by barely an inch that had Zosar's eyes widen when he enhanced his sight to hone in on the steam appearing from the ground.

Asphalt bubbled and sizzled like hot oil spilled on a burning cooker coil, popping and sizzling, soupy and steaming- it made the Meister tense as he realized just what she'd done and just what each glowing expanding pool of water was capable of. "Don't let the water touch you! It's toxic!" He yelled out in warning. Once again repeating the process of flaring his arm, he made a mental call to Adra to latch on to Zari to help him pull their teammate back, then continued his warning as he leaped away from the exploding blast of droplets from the glowing puddle that was nearest to him grimacing in pain as he rose an arm up to shield his face, yanking on Adra to pull Zari back once she'd caught on.

Mentions: N/A

Interactions: Sir Les Paul Prizzy Kriyze QuirkyAngel Sybil

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Death Nova
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Eloise smirked a bit as Ulysses seemed to pause and struggle with the question. Her eyes followed him is much as they could before he disappeared behind her. The smile shrunk slightly as he began delving into what he did know, which was most or everything. At the very least, he knew of the claims against her. It only cemented how altruistic a thinker he was, believing she wanted to turn a new leaf or that she was a good person deep down. It was quite foolish, but Elly didn't exactly dislike that given it suited her in this circumstance.

"More or less, yes," Elly answered simply.

As he came around her, the woman felt a brush against her shoulder and her eyes centered on him once again. It allowed her a far more intimate peek into the confines of his soul. The first breadth of insight confirmed what he displayed earlier. He earnestly believed in her and the supposed "good" she had, despite also believing in her guilt. Elly wasn't sure if this made him more or less daft, considering. Though he did seem to empathize with her based on his own personal feelings. His family must've been strict in a way, albeit different from hers.

The second burst of information brought a smile to her face and a bemused huff from her person. It too was useful information. Half of these battles were knowing your opponent; what they liked and how they thought. For now, Elly had a fairly decent gauge on both. It was good to know that if she needed to further her good graces, this was the way to go. Perhaps she could even play up the charm, not that she would have to force herself much. She wasn't a fangirl and she wasn't the type to get swept off her feet either, but she could appreciate a pretty picture, certainly.

"A new life with a tight leash, mind you," Elly replied with an index finger held up. She then glanced down at the necklace, tracing it lightly a moment before turning her attention back to him.

She listened to his words, then seemingly humming in thought as her eyes averted elsewhere only to return after apparently giving the statement some thought. "Well... I was going to setup a drug lab and make some Molly... but I think your pretty face and honeyed words convinced me otherwise~." Her words were sing-song again and laced with sarcasm. Then she tilted her head a bit to the side with a grin. "The jewelry helped too."

Interactions: Sir Les Paul

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

March 11, 2067
Location: Colosseum
Interactions: Dani ( EmperorsChosen ), Nadia ( RedArmyShogun )
Mentions: Gauss, Noah, Prudence, Maria

It was interesting that Nadia had this simple plan due to her inability to resonate well with Dani, if at all. Yet, she couldn’t help but think her robust demeanor about such might win her anything. Sara’s strategy was about confounding the opponent with flexible maneuvering and strong attacks that her form disguised. She was a shortstack, but one that packed a punch and can grapple an enemy in just about any position due to her training in calisthenics. She found Nadia’s point strange, as you can conserve your strength and stamina without resonating with a partner, it was just more difficult. However, she wasn’t able to say anything about it, nor about magic being something she could still feel despite her Ice Blood, as things were picking up on the battlefield and she was already leaning over the banister.

While Nadia and Dani seemed more worried about Maria - the scent coming off of them both, especially Dani’s, was quite clear - Sara held more worry for Noah. She can smell the mild, cold, stony scent of Prudence’s soul being nearly forgotten as Noah and Gauss tried again with their resonance. She smelled the intermixing of souls, but in a way that made her feel gross. What were they doing? She wasn’t close enough to see what was going on, but as Maria made her way up the dolls as stepping stones to reach the trio, that’s when she smelled it.

Sweet roses turning into sour ozone.

Noah was being spun more, and she knew Noah must have been grateful, but then she smelled iron; blood. As if the soul was torn. She jumped back as the resonance had failed and lightning shot forth throughout the stadium. To people who did not understand wavelength and resonance, it would look like the best light show they’ve ever seen - one filled with the potential everyone came to see - but in actuality it wasn’t the ideal. There was too much sour, and she figured it was because the resonance was uneven and the unsound mind of Gauss made resonance next to impossible without it backfiring.

Thankfully, Gauss’ hold on Noah was severed. She can smell real blood now as the doll exploded next to them, tearing Gauss’ suit open if the electrical assault didn’t already try frying him. In fact, he was saved by the explosion despite the damage it did to him. Everyone fell from the sky like glorified banners of self-destruction and ruined potential. Sara stepped back a bit more, her heart rate increasing as she watched Noah’s bo-staff spin towards the ground before sticking into the floor, transforming back, and going back to Gauss. Even from here, his soul was potently strong-smelling. He was so upset, so furious, and his soul was damaged.

She wondered when the effects of his soul would start to act up on his body, when he would vomit and become too exhausted to move properly like when they had their own rejection. Looking back at Nadia and Dani, she saw the taller woman putting a hand on Dani’s shoulder to calm her. Ignoring that Maria tagged out for the mushroom witch, Sara grabbed her platter of food and, in an action of selflessness brought on by the desire to help Noah but not being able to in the moment, she gave the platter of food to Dani. She had noticed the pink-haired weapon eyeing the food and seemed to have trouble deciding on eating or not. So, she offered her own plate, which still held quite the selection of crackers and cheeses and a doughnut, as well as some sashimi and sushi rolls.

“Here, have some. I know you’ll probably be going to see Maria, but I… I’m not hungry anymore.” She looked away to avoid admitting defeat on her face. Her expression was uncharacteristically stoic as she left the platter with Dani and walked her way back to their room to wait for the trio to enter, so she may better assess Noah.

 

[Merciless Medic]

​

Zelda Zemo
The Colosseum | March 11th, 2067 | 1038

Just like that, the resonance exploded into a brilliant shower of sparks.

If only the destructive and admittedly beautiful show of power was made with the beauty of resonance between not only the two souls, but their third wheel as well, then it would have been a beautiful show of just how much potential they all had.

That’s sadly not what happened. Despite not having soul perception, Zelda could tell. Gauss got greedy and Noah tried to bend over backwards to give him the support he needed, just to have his soul nearly torn in the end. The flash of light had her stepping back in time with Emmett’s sidelong step, partially behind him, but ready to be wielded just in case. She wasn’t sure if the lightning would be held at bay by the magitech, but Emmett’s sacrifice of his lighter casing may not have been in vain.

The explosion from Maria’s doll had caused the rejection during the resonance to break, separating the meister and weapon. Zelda’s breath finally escaped, releasing the tension she held as she saw the trio fall from the sky, along with Maria, who took the energy like a trooper despite how raw and unfiltered that energy she took was. Yet, the raw energy wasn’t refined, so it wasn’t as strong as it could have been. Zelda tilted her cap down to cover her eyes from the dust that blew in, only looking back up when she felt movement by her side. Looking over, Emmett had looked away, and Zelda didn’t feel the strength to look for him.

Something peculiar happened however. She heard Maria yell out tag amidst their talking. Gauss and his team weren’t done yet, and the trio had regrouped once Maria was taken by her doll back to her side of the colosseum. She nodded at Emmett’s concern, looking at the trio. “They’re coming back. I think we should check on them now. Both of their souls are of concern to me. If Gauss doesn’t resonate with Noah, they should be able to continue fighting against Chanterelle.” Zelda sighed and her tone was terse, not liking the fact that Gauss had to be put back out there. Despite his narcissism and histrionics that left a bitter taste in her mouth, she didn’t like that their failed resonance was a part of this show. She spat venom with curled lips, eyes boring into the stands that held the prospecting businessmen.

“I hope they got their money’s worth.”

Turning on her heel with hands clasped behind her back until the whites of her knuckles showed, she walked towards the debriefing room, where she may wait for the trio to return.

[/color]

Interactions: Emmett
Mentions: Gauss, Noah, Prudence, Maria
Prizzy Kriyze

 

[The Regal Rper]

Meetings & Endings

Eustice & Zosar

The liveliness of the Colosseum was truly a sight to behold. Among his peers, at least those that came, Zosar had a keen interest in seeing the fights. For one case, he hoped whomever Gauss was facing, he would struggle to beat.

That, was ultimately his strongest hope. Was it petty? Yes, but Zosar had not forgotten the absolutely painful way Gauss had decided to face him in their little duel. Sure, he may have landed a punch in, one that might have caused some internal damage- but Gauss had almost taken out not one but both his legs, something that would have dropped him right out of the program on the first day.

It still boiled his blood to even think about it. How bad the damage could have truly been had he not been using his wavelength, odds are he’d have had to sit out of the program for at least a month to recover– and that, that really made it hard for him to just move on from the whole experience. For a first impression, Thaddeus had certainly left one.

One the ex-merc wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon.

Entering the halls in a sea of moving and excited bodies, chatter and murmuring, Zosar slid onto the side to observe people file into one of the many different levels of the colosseum. While things weren’t as packed as they could’ve been a more traditional event, though this had been short of notice it was somewhat interesting to see how people filed in. He could practically feel the excitement in the atmosphere, charged with eagerness at what was to come.

While Gauss might have been one of the reasons why he specifically came to this event, there was another reason. Dani and Sara. He hadn’t seen either of the two in a while, well to be precise, three days- but still. He wanted to at least see how they were once the tournament itself had settled down.

Leaning against the corridor wall as he watched on the first level, crowd of people on either side just a few feet past the entrance, Zosar looked to his right, where up in almost a throne like display, sat Lord Death himself as the seats were filled. Cyrus present in the distance by his side.

His observations as he moved out of the corridor, picking a seat close to the exit as Adra emerged and he himself waved her over. Though he liked to think their mission from the past two days back had done a little to strengthen their bond a bit, even if it was insignificantly small, it was hard to tell with her.

Not like he had any right to complain. Probably wasn’t easy on her either given his status in the DWMA. He had noticed the occasional surprised look from a few people who he recognized. Even now, as he goaded Adra to take a seat before him, he noticed on the other side of the colosseum how someone pointed at him while saying something to their friends. Practised skill and years of learning how to walk in a crowd and observe everything without looking it proved to be something of a curse in this case. The boon was he had a mask like anyone else that could be worn in situations like this. And so just pretended like he hadn’t seen any of the legit EAT agents pointing and staring in surprise or the noticeable poking a formerly assigned Weapon Partner, Bradley McClain had done with his twin sister Brittany McClain, and pointed in his direction.

Mentally sighing, Zosar tried to ignore it. The festivities had begun, late attendees whom had spent the time to buy snacks from the vendors slithering around the colosseum now came in.

He had to admit this was nice. It's been years since he had been to a stadium. The last one he went to was back when he’d been thirteen. But that had just been for work. He’d been working with Master Hiki, with Claudia and Becky as his partners. Investigating a politician they’d been hired to get the dirt on for a job at a baseball stadium. Even as Zosar sat there looking around at how different the atmosphere had felt then, he couldn’t help but recall how keenly aware he’d been of his surroundings. The exits. The ways to blend in with the crowd to avoid the disguised security their target had hired to accompany both him, and his teenage son that had come with him to watch the baseball game.

Yet here, there were a lot more Witches and Mages, Meisters and Weapons in the stands along with the civies. And he wasn’t on a job to track a target and take out their security if necessary.

Cyrus’ voice kicking in is what drew Zosar’s attention. The guy began introductions first off with himself and then went further.

To say he was surprised in the manner at which Cyrus was currently displaying himself would be a lie. He was completely different from the man that had assured him if he ever stepped out of line, he’d see his last moments by someone else’s hand and that contrast stuck out to Zosar sorely.

All it did though was make him raise his brow and turn to look at Adra and gauge how she was taking all of it before turning his attention back to the ring below.

“Gauss, Noah and Prudence going first huh?” He was glad at least he’d get to see how the ‘hotshot’ would handle himself in this. He hoped the Marionnette gave him a tough fight.

Then again if she couldn’t he doubted she would have been in this match to begin with. The mage team were bound to be smart if his personal experience with Mages among the Enlighteners were anything to go by since they too had once been from the Guild.

Speaking of the Guild, as Cyrus continued, just as he was calling both fighters to approach the ring, Zosar allowed his eyes to glance around- a lot of Witches could be seen in the upper rings around Death’s throne on his right, where other senior Agents of DWMA could be seen on his left. It was an interesting contrast.

One Zosar soon turned his attention away from as he noticed both Gauss and his partners as well as the Marionette began stepping to the stage.

His eyes moved away as a little deliberation began, and that’s when his senses picked up a familiar soul he hadn’t been paying attention to. Following the source he looked up, and his eyes caught sight of her.

Sara?


His brow went up, slight confusion. Shouldn’t she be down there with the rest of her team?

“Odd.” He muttered. Wouldn’t question it, wasn’t his business after all.

He turned his eyes back to watch as some new decision had been made before the fight began– and just as it started, someone rudely bumped into him as Gauss took to the skies.

“Sorry, I should really watch were I’m going.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood up, his ears twitched, Zosar felt his heart pound.

He knew that voice.

He looked, slowly, controlling his expressions. It shifted from annoyed to stunned as his eyes fell on the amber eyes of someone he’d genuinely never thought he’d see again.

“Eustice.”

The young man with dreads tied into a ponytail, simply smiled.

Zosar felt a cold sweat begin to hit him, just as a lightning bolt struck the ground and the crowd gasped and leaned forward, enraptured by the fight before them. Maria responded- whatever it was, Zosar didn’t hear it, the fight was background now. His heart was the only noise he could hear.

Eustice was already moving and Zosar felt the pull, not like a Mage’s internal struggle with the self, but he felt the powerful awareness, the social tug as Eustice glanced over his shoulder with a pointed look in his amber eyes, a signal for him to move.

“I’ll be back Adra give me a minute.”

Move he did.

If he didn’t he knew Eustice would create some kind of scenario to get him outside. There was no doubt if he was here he had brought help to make something possible. Hired help or help from their own friends he didn’t know, but what he did know was that like Gauss- Eustice was a sly fellow.

He wouldn’t put it past him to have come prepared for trouble.

Getting up casually and following Eustice out a couple seconds later, they both stood in the shadows of the corridor while an explosion echoed behind them, the crowd responding in kind with various reactions.

Zosar didn’t hear the crowd, his senses were now on alert. He had extended his spiritual sense to ensure that not a soul was following them, nor a single person had paid attention to the exits of both.

Eustice smiled at him. A cheeky grin. But looking at him Zosar could see the sense of alertness in his soul, even if he was being smug and could see the actual satisfaction at his surprise in seeing him.

Curtly, he asked: “What are you doing here?”

The smug expression became a wide grin. “Is that anyway to talk to an old friend?”

“Eustice–”

Eustice laughed. They were the same height, both light brown in complexion, though Eustice’s East African descent made him slightly darker than Zosar due to his Wiccan mother’s paleness. The latter wrapped his arm around Zosar’s shoulders, pulling him into a one-sided embrace that Zosar didn’t entirely return due to how tense his muscles had become, but Eustice didn’t really seem to care.

“C’mon buddy it’s been nearly five years, I haven’t seen you in forever! Last time we talked it was in Manchester, and that was five and a half years ago on our last mission together to hunt and kill those pair of Corrupted murders, and the robbery job before your flight to New York. We finally get to hang out in a place like this and the first thing you do is give me the cold shoulder?” He patted Zosar’s back as he moved away to face him and began moving further down the corridor. “Relax a bit dude, Kidd’s unborn son, you’re acting like we’re already dead.”

“We could be.” Was Zosar’s immediate reply as he followed his old friend.

“We won’t.” Was Eustice’s equally calm but immediately stern remark.

Zosar paused.

Eustice stopped.

“Why did you come here Eustice?” The FATE agent sighed. “This was stupid, HQ–”

“--Gave me permission to come here, provided they knew I was on my own. I’ve been planning this for a year, dork. I was just waiting for the right time.” The smirk was back. “And looks like I found the perfect time.”

So many thoughts ran through Zosar’s head. The only way he would’ve known about the tournament today given the suddenness, must have meant their informants inside DWMA gave the others the tip.

He looked back to where the fight was currently going through its close.

“Are the others here?” Zosar asked with a new wave of alertion and alarm.

“No.” His muscles relaxed just a little. “They wanted to, I told them to back off. Y’know the rule.”

Never jeopardise the team. The Team first. The Mission second.

He nodded. He knew the rule. Even as a look of concentration on his face as he now focused on any small movement. Without being able to see he couldn’t tell who was who but he could at least detect the exact presence of souls around unless they did that bullshit Midori did.

“You need to leave.” Zosar informed him once again, only for Eustice to sigh.

“Dude, come with me, seriously, you’re bumming me out. I’ve got help here–”

“Doesn’t matter Sticks.” Eustice smirked at the old nickname, even if Zosar said it with no joy or warmth. “Lord freaking Death is out there, so are some of the most high class agents in both the Guild and DWMA, you’ve practically handed yourself over to them when they catch you–”

“Heh, if they catch me– and I’ve thought of that already.” Came the dismissive reply. “They won’t. I’ve made plans for it all.”

Zosar’s eyes narrowed.

“Nothing dangerous idiot, I know there’s civics in here.” He chuckled. “Look c’mon, we’re wasting time. Walk with me.”

He shouldn’t have, but he did. At least to only outside the little corridor of darkness that led to the outer entrance into the colosseum. Eustice asked him questions. The whole way. Small ones. Such as: How he’d been. If he was eating right. How he was being treated. Who the girl he’d been sitting with was.

Short quick responses, for who knew how much time they really had. Eustice would eye him as they walked at a distance alongside each other. Zosar knew what he was doing. He was observing him. Seeing if there were any lies he was giving to cover stuff up.

They’d known each other for years after all. It’d just been half a decade since they really had interacted.

“Alright Zozo,” his nickname now. Zosar couldn’t help but huff with a small smile. It wiped away quickly though as he glanced over his shoulder. Senses still on high alert for anyone following.

“No one’s moved yet.” Eustice said to try and calm him down, but he knew saying that wouldn’t do anything. Of the two of them, whenever they’d been in a team mission- Zosar had always been the more tense and alert one. He’d been in more heavy on field fights than Eustice had been, but given the gap since he’d been an Enlightener, who knew what had changed. He could certainly see Eustice had put on muscle than when they’d been younger. Sticks had always been a reference to how lean he was despite his agility.

While Zosar checked their back, Eustice watched him. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”

“I can’t.” Was his annoying response.

Eustice chuckled, though it was dark. Growing irritated. “Zosar–”

“They have me chipped Eustice. Somewhere on my back. I can’t reach it, and even if you could, its triggered to go off and send a signal the moment it’s removed. Magitech, needs to be deactivated first. The collar will stun me if the signal goes off. Don’t bother trying either- I’ve tried many times to get it off. It doesn’t work. You’d need to find a remote to break the latch on it. And I have no idea where that is.”

Silence.

Each step the group took further from the civilians was another step into the abyss, another bit of distance away from the crowd making any attack that much safer. This mission was a demonstration of arrogance to think that infiltrating the DWMA was any small feat.

“You need to leave.” Zosar patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t want you ending up like me.”

A disgusted look of rage flashed over his eyes but Eustice squashed it with a sardonic sneer. “Don’t worry, I won’t. And you’re coming with me. I told you I brought help.” In the halls outside the staircase that led up into the corridors above which would lead into the colosseum itself, the whistle was low but it did its job.

Five people entered the entrance hall, two wore hoods, the other three Zosar recognized instantly given they were in civilian clothes and not their usual magically altered gear. People they had worked with before: Lars, Wendy and Matthew. The other two women he didn’t know. Perhaps new additions to Lars group.

“You brought them and?” Zosar’s eyes shifted from Lars, Wendy, and Matthew, then stopped at the other two he didn’t recognize.

“Witches. Their using Soul Protect.” Eustice grinned.

“I told you, I’ve been planning this for a while.” Eustice smiled at the five older adults behind him. “Lars and his gang even gave me a huge discount since they know us so well from past jobs. They’re helping me help you get out of here. You think I wouldn’t have figured they’d keep you collared? I’m not stupid, Zozo. I know I was a bit rash–”

“A bit?” The gruff voice of the unshaven Lars drawled. Towering almost everyone in the room at seven feet his snicker was like watching a cartoon bear looking down on a rabbit. “Right, right. Only a bit.” The werewolf smirked then chuckled and Wendy and Matthew smirked. The two hooded Witch females merely glanced at each other.

Cheeks flushing, Eustice huffed and moved the dreads out of his eyes. “Whatever, look we got this. Let’s go, now. We can’t waste anymore time– see.” He pulled out a phone and showed the display of the live stream of the match. The field was still being cleared of Maria’s dolls, and Gauss was getting inspected by an on-site medic. “We need to move.”

“He went with them,” a voice said over an earpiece.

Lars grin faded. Wendy and Jacob suddenly tensed. Eustice didn’t notice it but Zosar caught it quickly.

“What?” He asked. It was the only thing anyone got to say before it began.

Lars was about to speak.

“Take them out, leave only Zosar and one other alive,” came a response. “Standing orders from Cyrus,” they added.

Lars eyes widened.

Two things happened. New wavelengths sparked to life in the darkness and in near the same moment they did, twin blades of an assassin were already being aimed at the backs of two of these robed figures with singularly intentions to pierce the heart. Lars turned seconds too slow, catching the new presence seconds too late.

Their mage had failed to account for one simple thing: the Spellbreakers. While some of them were topside, all of them were actually present. Another figure made himself known just as the new wavelengths flared into existence. Marek Rung, grandson of Kilik, and a Utility Meister utilizing two pots much like his ancestor, although these two were of entirely different origins. Each pot had a different ability, one to absorb mana, the other to convert personal mana into wild mana. Marek was not one to play, and as Zosar was to make a move, Marek literally punched his way through the stone wall of the corridor to begin his assault. He was already resonating with the left pot on his arm, Mateo. This was not the failed resonance that had occurred earlier with the trio. This was true resonance from a Three-Star Meister and with it came sparks of purple light that began bouncing down the hallway. As mana became wild, he was able to send his wavelength down it for a long-range Soul Menace, shocking the entire group aside from the two bladed-assassins.

Too slow. Zosar thought the second he felt the wavelengths materialize out of nowhere, heard the wall shudder then break with the force of Rung’s blow right before the ball of menace struck him and all his allies.

A cold terror wrapped around his body, leaving a cold sweat in its wake even through the pain– Eustice flinched, lucky, or perhaps it was intentional- that the Hoshi had not gone for him first as one of the Witches suddenly went down in a jerking motion.

It happened in nearly a blink, one went down, then the other. Blood sprayed into the air in a brief cloud as sudden splotches of red appeared on the chests of both Witches. To Zosar it would have meant nothing. He’d done the same thing as a kid just as the Hoshi was now.

But these were his friends, and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop the bloodshed that was to come.

Even with the regenerative capabilities Lars, Wendy and Jacob were capable of— even as Jacob lifted a pill to his lips and Wendy’s fingernails became deadly claws- they were too slow to react quickly to the speed of the senior Hoshi.

Zosar had recalled the challenges he’d issued to Midori the day he’d believed Death had come to collect its due on his soul. He’d seen personally what it was like being toyed with by the assassin before he’d gotten serious.

It had infuriated him then, just like it infuriated him now.

Even with training in the Amazing Star Style, the werewolf mercs didn’t measure up to sheer speed- and had never had the opportunity to personally face off against one of DWMA’s most recognized clan allies.

Lars snarled and his movement was a blur, milliseconds too slow- he jerked, a blow dealt, grimacing as his blood shot out at the speed and strength that tore open his chest where the ripped heart lay and before he even collapsed, his eyes were following the trail of the Hoshi as they moved on.

Zosar watched each death on a knee thanks to Rung’s Soul Menace attack- and watched in silence, a look of pain in his eyes as DWMA did what it did best. Dispatch the nuisances that made themselves noticeable.

Wendy began collapsing with pain written on her expression and the pill Jacob managed to throw into his mouth never got to take its effect before he too was hit with the same fatal wound. One-by-one, they were dispatched- Jacob grimacing in fury, his eyes on Rung as he fell to hand and knees and tried to feebly swallow, only to collapse alongside Wendy who fell in a crumpled fetal position on her side.

Only Lars lived, but he lived barely. And the only thing he managed was to roll over onto his side with a grimace and a sweat stricken face just to stare at the Hoshi as he stood at Jacob’s side making certain the werewolf was dead along with the others.

They were all dead or dying. And even in a second, Lars too passed on with them. The blank, empty look in his eyes, familiar, but all the same unfamiliar on his face.

Eustice however became a ball of light, shifting instantly. Flying right for Zosar’s hands, and Zosar caught him. Indestructible in his Weapon form, and familiar as a partner at least. Zosar held the sawtoothed blade of Eustice’s double-sided polearm in one hand- but did not move. Did not take action.

He rose slowly to his feet, and merely stared at the dead bodies. His eyes shifted between them. Lars, Wendy, Jacob- and the two unknown before settling on Lars once more.

“Dead in seconds.” He said quietly. Tone cold, yet there was an understanding in it.

Eustice’s voice spoke calmly through their link. Even after all these years, it was strong. Even though he was furious with him, Zosar knew the difference between this link and the one he had with Adra.

Compared to his link with Adra, his resonance with Eustice couldn’t even be compared on the same level. Right now if he wanted to, he could perform resonance with ease and Eustice would be able to handle, unlike Adra who hadn't had the chance to even experience what he could really do with his Volatile wavelength.

The ex-merc closed his eyes, realizing how much he’d missed this kind of familiarity. Where most links had been unstable or stable enough for every pairing after he'd gotten out- it’d been years since he’d had a link this strong.

We’ll be next if we don’t buy some time Zozo, get it together.

Zosar merely stared at the dead bodies as he opened his eyes and steeled himself for what he was about to do.

He found himself thinking about what it was like, sinking those blades into each person’s chest and watching the pain and surprise flare in each person’s eyes.

Then again he didn’t need to think hard when he’d done the same thing to targets in the past before. Maybe, he thought, this too was some form of universal karma?

Oh yes, he knew there was a Three-Star spellbreaker right there, knew the Hoshi assassin was nearby but they didn’t quite matter, not right now. They weren’t really important in the moment. They’d already done what they had needed to, and all Zosar could do was revel in the aftermath of it as the blood began to flow onto the ground.

A small part of him believed he was already dead.

Perhaps they were just watching to see what he’d do. If he’d betray the DWMA even further, not like he had a reason to stay loyal when it had just ruthlessly killed his friends right in front of him.

Perhaps Cyrus had been hoping something like this would happen so he could get rid of him also.

“By time for what?” he asked his partner aloud. Tone almost bitter but pinched with a disturbing level of calm for someone who’d just witnessed another murder of a friend.

In about five minutes the help I hired will be here to stir the pot if you know what I mean. I was hoping we could get out of here quietly, but like I said, I planned for this. What’s a few couple hundred lives for us getting out of here?

A pit formed in Zosar’s stomach. Call it off Eustice.

Can’t do that. Promised myself I’d get us out of here. I took a big risk coming all the way out here Zozo. You know how I hate leaving empty handed. I’ve got the signal here with me. But unless you plan on betraying me to these assholes, I–

Eustice screamed out in surprise.. Zosar’s collar beeped, the painful sense of his wavelength attacked- and in a moment, the Demon Weapon had been forced back to normal. Both went down, Zosar fairing somewhat better than the latter. After all, it’d been years since he had experienced it. Years since he’d felt the sting of his wavelength.

Fainted from the pain, Zosar moved a shaky hand to tap his ‘friend’s’ pockets. And in a moment, he found the beeper, blinking yellow. Tapped it once, and it shut off.

Tossed it over to Rung, then with aching muscles, and sweat stained clothes, he stared at the dead bodies, looked at his unconscious friend, and sat down in the blood that had managed to trail a bit closer in their direction.

He sighed. Ignoring the Agents there as he leaned back on his hands, the wetness of blood on them ignored as he looked up at the ceiling.

“...What a day…heh” he chuckled.

But the laugh was empty, unlike his eyes which burned with both pain and fury. The worst had happened.

And he was paying for Eustice’s stupidity.

Yet even though he’d rather not have given the agents here the satisfaction, for as good as he was at hiding his emotions, the feeling of blood on his hands, was just a reminder of whose blood it was. The lone conscious survivor felt the stinging in his eyes spill over the first tear that followed the shaky sigh.

“...Damn..”

“Restrain them and take them to the holding cells,” Marek announced to his counterpart. The assassin from just a moment ago flung back her hood and stared at him for a moment, her eyes as sharp as her daggers.

“What make you think you can toss me orders, Rung?” she spat.

“My hands are in pots, Akashi,” he said flatly, unentertained by her ego. Her glare continued for just a moment before the realization that his hands were, in fact, inside of pots and thus could not apply the shackles. Her weapons transformed with a flash of red light and she pulled out several narrow, metallic bands that attached to the wrists of both downed targets, then clung together with an immediate and harsh zap. With that, she flung one over her shoulder and her weapons, two short individuals with little under their own hoods beyond curled white hair, picked up Zosar to be carried.

“Targets acquired, send a clean up crew,” Rung said, this time to his communicator.

Spoiler: Cyrus Announcement

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to perform a quick inspection of the barrier to assure there is no electrical damage. While we do this, representatives from both teams will return to the wings and we encourage you to remain seated as this delay will not be long.”​

Mentioned: Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Mqueserasera QuirkyAngel Sybil Prizzy Kriyze @Meredith
Interacted:N/A

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Ulysses Stein​

"D-Stein"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank One-Star

Location Death City, Central Main Street, Death-Nova
Mission None
Status Elated, interested

​

Mentions: EmperorsChosen

He could only laugh at her, honestly. A genuine chuckle. Perhaps it was because negotiation and scheming was such a large part of her upbringing, but her ability to maintain a sense of humor even after all of that was something he found a delight. She was pleasant, but he did wonder how much of this was engineered. How much of her personality was part of her upbringing. This almost diplomatic posture to her, her demeanor. He wondered if it was possible for her to just genuinely enjoy the company of another person without an agenda. That was honestly a hypocritical though, he considered, given he asked her here for a purpose.

"The leash can't be too tight if you can walk through the city to meet 'lil ole me," he responded in his more jovial tone. "But, in fairness, leashes aren't always so bad," he added, following up with his typical flirtatious tone.

"And, if you're going to distribute, don't lower yourself to Molly... I'm not against a trip here and there, a slip of LSD, few shrooms, but a classy lady like yourself shouldn't be seen near petty amphetamines," he responded to her humorous quip, somehow weaving in a compliment with a touch of perhaps a little elitism from his side of the world. She did bring up the jewelry, too, which brought up the next point he had to address. Arguably, the final one, but most important.

"Ah, yes, the jewelry. I didn't know you were so fond of sweetness and shiny baubles, but now that I do, I may have to use that against you in the future," he said to her, clearly joking, although with a touch of seriousness behind it. "But for now, there is the scarab. I'll let you pick which you want, the red or blue. Once you touch it, you will feel a tiny pinch at your soul, but it'll fade. I've been told the eyes glow just briefly, then never again. Once that's done, you can set it inside that necklace and it will clamp down around it like a gem, then you can close its hatches to cover the beetle. It will look like a regular locket, aside from the fact it's priced for a princess," he explained to her, guiding her through the process of actually imbuing the scarab with her soul and how to wear it. He did, at the least, let her pick which color would compliment her more.

"I personally couldn't pick which for the life of me," he added, "I can't imagine either color would look bad on you."

[/color]

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Prudence Montgomery
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, Death Colosseum, exiting arena to the right
Mission Exhibition Tournament
Status Exhausted, relieved

​

Mentions: Merciless Medic Mqueserasera Prizzy Kriyze

After the trio was checked out by on-site medics and the announcement was made to check the shields, Gauss made his way back to the side of the arena near Emmett. His first look at his mentor made him immediately shift from relief that the fight was over to the realization of what he had just done to himself and Noah, and that Emmett likely was not happy at all. In his mind, he processed at least a dozen different conversations all resulting with him getting grilled about how that was disrespectful, or it tied into his use of people as tools, or how he put himself and his weapon at risk--all of which had some element of truth to them.

"Mr. James, I am going to kindly that we wait for the scolding I am sure I am to receive until at least after my next fight, please..." he said, requesting in a fairly sincere and obviously defeated tone. A nonchalant shrug and hand wave dismissed him and he continued into their wing, down the hallway, and eventually back to their temporary quarters. There, he promptly just... sat down.

He hurt. His wavelength was off. His soul felt shredded. His body battered. Only now did he realize that cuts on his head from his broken helmet were bleeding down from his scalp into his face. He started picking out the remaining parts of what was his helmet from the zipper line of his suit around the neck, most of it releasing where the suit itself wasn't just blown apart from the back. He then removed the straps for what remained of the backpack he wore, which was little, wondering how much worse things might have been without it. All that remained of the quirks of his suit were the steel lines at his waist, which proved pointless given even when he tried to use his wavelength to tug at them, it caused discomfort and no real magnetic field was made. If one was, it was too weak to even generate a little pull.

Gauss rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, his back aching, most of his equipment destroyed beyond recognition, his suit torn to shreds, and a mix of emotions running through him. He did, in fact, feel bad for subjecting Noah to that feedback. He had no idea it would have that type of explosive result; he expected it to fail simply by not working, not overcharging. In his whole history with weapons, he had used many special wavelengths, but none that did that. He didn't mean to just push his will onto Noah or ask too much, he just... he just didn't want to lose in front of his sister. He felt guilt. He felt rage. At himself, at her, too. He knew if she wasn't there, that whole fight might have went different. He might have just damaged what growing relationship he had with Noah and predicting what Prudence thought was a nigh-impossible task. Some things she cared next to nil about, others, she seemed to act like Dani.

And then there was Dani. Dani and Nadia. Maria was apparently their friend, and he just shocked the ever living shit out of her. Was it his fault? Yes. Was it intentional? Kinda. He was sure whatever teamwork dynamics they were working on were probably just as damaged as his suit. Gauss was, for all intents and purposes, surrounded by failure of his own creation, and he really didn't have anyone to blame. That, in combination with his aching body, put him in a dark place just sitting there, hoping no one would address him during this brief intermission. He rested his head in his hands and leaned forward, just crouched over waiting. Breathing. Existing.

There was no way to salvage this.

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Azariah "Zari" Vasher

"I didn't know. The nonverbal tone of voice was guilty at best, frustrated at worst. Zari hadn't intended to take from Jarvis, but the many simultaneous maneuvers and the Soul Force proved too much to keep track of - especially when their lackluster resonation was already hard to keep track of. Most of Zari's experience with resonation was parasitic, but even compared to those few weapons he managed to fully connected with, Jarvis was a wholy different beast. He was in fact not alive, and by virtue of that fact naturally incompatible with a living soul - no matter how close Azariah's relationship with death was.

He stood back up to his full length and looked on as Adrian missed his chance, but Zari blamed him none. He'd just impossibly assumed that his team mates would be close enough to follow up in the first place. Jarvis' further comments served to force a small smile out of Zari. "Don't be worried. I'm really strong." He echoed, and from within the darkness of their shared soul space, he took a decisive step forward across the tightrope. "I promised to you. Trying. You too, at least a little." Confidence seemed to reverberate from his side of the crevice. Right here, now, in the heat of battle, Zari shined the brightest.

The Shuumie retreated, but it was clearly hurt. As written, wavelength attacks damaged it just as well as anyone. Zari took his eyes from it for a moment to reexamine his gloved hand and consider the applications of actively reshaping the blood as a weapon. If they'd learn to resonate more deeply, a malleable weapon that moved and reshaped itself to his whims on demand was... ridiculously powerful. At that point they controlled the rules of engagement, and could completely bypass traditional weapons to create offensive shapes to fit every situation and balance otherwise impossible maneuvers. His eyes returned to their prey as Adrian asked about its capabilities and Jarvis offered an explanation. In short spurts, he offered his own input from what he'd read. "Naturally magical. Wavelength attack works, but mine hurts its soul. It nurses its young with it. More from me... might kill it, or them. Adrian-"

He paused as the Shuumie, perched on a car down the street, readied another attack; this time not utilizing anything he'd read about. As the water burst from the pavement, he returned to relying on his hearing to track as many of the individual bright droplets as possible. "This, not in the books. He managed to snarl out, before dodging low and avoiding a cascade of magical droplets by a hair's width. Then the smell hit. Vicious, disgusting smells being released from within the grime of the cobblestone as the droplets hit the ground and began corroding through them. Zari knitted his eyebrows in annoyance. Then he heard Adrian's shout of warning. He realized he'd left himself uncharacteristically open with his attention divided between the droplets and his resonation with Jarvis.

Then, he felt Adra's whip wrap around his left arm.

No.

His eyes darkened. Though her shape was blunt now, a long series of circular scars on his arm burned under her razor touch. Azariah hated being touched, and as his wavelength began to steal energy and burn her soul, a number of emotions passed through his head. Guilt that he had no choice in stealing from her. Fear that she would blame him for it. Fury that they had the audacity to lay a single finger on him.

Wavelength amplified and with more force than was remotely necessary, he slammed Jarvis' clawed gauntlet into the pavement to hold himself in place and pulled excessively hard against the force attempting to drag him back. Contorted with rage, he turned his face back to stare into Zosar's eyes with murderous intent. A wayward droplet of acid water made landfall on his shoulder and burned into his skin, but he made no motion to indicate that he noticed. Neither did he flinch at the sudden burning from Jarvis' gauntlet as their resonation began to fail. His collar whirred to life and began it's awful ticking, threatening to incapacitate him if the madness didn't calm down. Blocking out all outside interference, he only snarled at Adra and Zosar.

"Let. Go. Before. I. Break. You. Off."

Inside of their shared soul space, an inferno had exploded at Zari's pillar. A distant roar shook the tightrope, as a single, massive, clawed skeletal hand slowly began rising from within the flames - but this time, Azariah did not face it. It served as a blazing backdrop to his staunchly defiant and still stance on the tightrope. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time he'd shown Jarvis the furious madness bubbling just beneath his skin, so easily triggered by the littlest of things. Such was life without a madness collar, but he pitied not himself. This time, he wanted to be different. He wanted progress. But he couldn't do it alone.

Avoiding every impulse to turn away and face his monster, he sought Jarvis' eyes across the chasm. He didn't know if he really knew anything about the vampire, but in their brief acquaintance they'd talked. Superficially, about abilities, skills, and such. Neither had been interested in delving more than skin-deep; whatever trials and tribulations Jarvis had gone through was hidden from him, but he needed him now. If ever was the time to throw caution and pride to the wind, it was now.

"You said I changed your mind a little." He called out. Whatever determination had previously pushed him forward was now gone, as his voice cracked with indignity. His soul's appearance contorted and shrank, laying bare what little defense he had against his demons. A young Azariah, no more than ten or so, not yet grazed by tattoo needles or sharp blades, now stood on the tightrope across the crevice. Fear ran rampant in his eyes, as tears ran down his face and his throat ran out of words. With a trembling, weak voice, he threw his arms up in Jarvis' direction and cried "Please help me."

Anyone. Ever.

Interacted: Sir Les Paul QuirkyAngel The Regal Rper Sybil

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - The Colosseum
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Dani tensed as the hand fell upon her shoulder, though remained as an onlooker until the parties dispersed from the field. She scoffed at the woman's explanation, as if rejecting it. "They'll fucking live, I don't even know the last time I smiled," She remarked coldly. "And the dandy can keep sucking Death's dick and everyone else's, so long as he keeps his fake-ass away from me, and me out of his fucking circus."

Folding her arms, she leaned back in her chair with a bitter expression. Though pissed off, she wasn't expecting much from their opponents. After all, what could their mages say to really upset them? The same poor shittalk they just witnessed? Dani was sure they would irk her, but she was doubtful that they could send her into a rage like the pretty-boy, his board, or this whole damn shit show for that matter.

"After or right now? Otherwise we're just sitting here waiting for them to start up again, unless you wanna go visit the fuckin' trio," Dani growled out. By now, one leg was bouncing up and down repeatedly from the irritation, staring forward with a venomous gaze.

It wasn't until Sara sat a platter in front of her that her eyes peeled away from the space in front of her. It was the first time the wolf actually looked stoic, save for the first day maybe. She was close with the staff, if Dani recalled right, so she was probably freaked out about that. Waiting a bit, she grabbed the donut off the platter and took an angry bite. While she wasn't eager to accept anything from Gauss, Dani had less issue taking something offered by Sara.

After angrily chewing a bit, Dani looked at her meister with a raised brow "Well?"

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic

 

[Merciless Medic]

Noah & Sara

​

March 11, 2067
Location: Colosseum
Interactions: Gauss ( Sir Les Paul )
Mentions: Maria, Prudence
Anyone within earshot: Gauss, Emmett ( Prizzy Kriyze ), Prudence ( Mqueserasera ), Nadia maybe ( RedArmyShogun ), Dani maybe ( EmperorsChosen )
You may choose if they hear or not.

Noah walked with Gauss and Prudence, his body ached but his soul ached more. It was like having a body ache, but it wasn’t your body. More inward, but not your organs. Inside of oneself. But with the pain his soul went through came the toll it did to his body. His stomach churned, his mind fuzzy and spinning as if he suffered a concussion, his muscles all aching. What was worse, was his attempt at generating electricity. When he was with the on-site medics, even partially transforming into his weapon form left him in enough pain to grit his teeth. He didn’t have the strength to even generate electricity.

But they told him it was going to be okay. That it was like a ripped muscle and it’ll take time to heal. Since he had a Healing Wavelength, he’ll be feeling better in about a few days.

He didn’t doubt them, but he felt like his trust was broken. With Gauss. With DWMA. With his own mentors.

Why didn’t they stop Gauss? Call off the fight to prevent the pain they would endure?

Noah looked back through the entrance to the arena, its tiled concrete singed from their electrical outburst and littered with doll parts. He can see some of the people on those stands, eating or talking about the fight that had occurred. He seethed. Was this all what it was? A show? For their amusement? The cutthroat white collars of society who wanted to watch a bloodsport? The witches who secretly wanted to see meisters and weapons shed blood? Were they all bad?

His mind spiraled. With a hurt soul came with it a toll on the mind, as well. He felt almost lost, he was confused, and he felt like the world was against him. He didn’t dare look at Gauss, nor Prudence, nor anyone else’s face. A part of him felt bad for ignoring Prudence, but seeing as she needed to start aligning her wants and desires with the rest of them, she was bound to be left behind. But with that guilt for leaving behind Prudence in a three-way resonance and not telling Gauss ‘no’ when he should have came anger.

His therapist always commented on how much of a firecracker he was when upset. The internalized guilt was never dealt with appropriately or in a healthy manner, so it always became fuel for aggression and irritability.

It was only a matter of time before the medical team was done prodding and poking him to see if he was okay and he rushed along, ignoring whoever wanted to talk to him. He blew past someone - he didn’t know who - until he stopped short into an adjacent hallway leaving the debriefing room.

Who he blew past happened to be his former meister. Sara.

The werewolf tilted her head as her nose picked up the fear, the guilt, the shame, the embarrassment, the anger… She watched as he pressed his back against the wall, and he slid down it, curling up as his hands gripped his dusted and scraped pants, his teeth gritting and eyes squeezing shut to prevent tears from falling.

Sara approached him carefully, knelt beside him, and held out her hand as if to touch his shoulder.

“Don’t… Touch…” Noah snarled, lips raised as if he were an animal.

Sara took the cue and put her hand back on the ground, leaning in to see Noah’s face. He was still irate. Still trying not to cry. Then, his eyes opened, and the emerald green snapped to her. She can just see the fury covering the hurt in those eyes.

“What’re ya doin’?” He spat.

“Seeing if you needed help… Is there something I can do?” Sara asked timidly, knowing Noah when he was like this and it was best to leave him alone. But her good conscience couldn’t leave him be. “I just-”

“Just what? What’re ya gonna do, huh?” His voice rose and his head picked up. The two stood immediately and Sara’s ears were back as his voice grew in volume, but she stood her ground as his voice echoed through the halls. “My soul’s fuckin’ torn! We shouldn’t have done that. But no, Gauss hadta sucker me in with his familial troubles, that his death-awful sis was here, ‘n’ make me forget that he’s not of sound mind. Resonance attacks’re impossible without a sound soul for both cases, ‘n’ we left Prudence outta the picture! But how the fuck can she put effort in her soul to resonate if she doesn’t let anyone in? How can we be a resonating trio if she doesn't want to take the rest of the steps ‘n’ join our souls in solidarity!? How can we do resonance attacks if Gauss’ mind isn’t in the right space?!”

Sara stood there, frozen. Her eyes wide and her hands up to her chest clasped together as Noah blew up at her. It had been years since he spoke to her in this way. She just shook her head. “Noah, you’re backpedaling. You’ve never spoken to me like this before-”

“Do I fuckin’ care???” He yelled, eyes boring into her amber ones. “I can’t even fuckin’ partially transform properly, and I’m not allowin’ that rich punk to wield me again! In his fuckin’ dreams!”

Sara’s eyes narrowed and, with her ears still pinned back, raised her lips in a sort of snarl, which caused Noah’s eyes to narrow and train on her with caution. “You know that it takes two to tango in a resonance, Noah! It wasn’t all his fault, you allowed him to do so! You do care! A lot! You just don’t know how to fucking externalize it, so you sound like a fucking dick! I bet you feel bad for not reminding him of how unsound his mind is, or that Prudence was also there. You wanted to show off, just like him. I could smell it! His sour scent was mixing with your sweet one! You wanted to show that you weren’t like the rest of us outcasts and had something to prove to what Cyrus said!”

“Fuck what Cyrus said! His two-faced attitude’s infuriatin’! Did ya hear what he said in the beginning compared ta now? He doesn’t believe in us! It’s all for those fuckin’ corporates out there ‘n’ those who wanted to see a bloodbath. ‘N’ the DWMA let this happen! The rest of this fuckin’ organization let this happen! Even Kidd! This is no better than an actual Roman Gladiatorial fight to the death!”

“He doesn’t believe it will work because he doesn’t think any of you will work on your issues and function like a normal agent and that doubt is what should be propelling you all to prove him wrong. You are proving his point, Noah! Are you just being stubborn or stupid?!” With Sara’s yell came silence except for each other’s heavy breathing and the small echo that rang through the corridors. Noah’s face was starting to soften in realization while Sara’s eyes narrowed as her eyes began to water. “You said we were going to be better together, no matter if we were partners or went our separate ways… Where did that go?” Voice quivering and quiet, Sara’s lips trembled and she shook her head, walking away with her tail drooping low. Noah simply stood there, watching her go back to the debriefing room. He felt torn, but it was best to let her go and sit here, wallowing in his guilt that Sara all-too-kindly exacerbated.

He just realized how loud they both were too, and it was likely everyone heard that. Besides embarrassing himself further, the adrenaline that shouting match gave him had lessened the impact of his body’s deteriorating state. If only it would last.

Sara entered the debriefing room to see Gauss, doubled over on a chair holding his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. She can smell real blood and she neared him, seeing that it was on the back of his head. She didn’t know how long Gauss had been here, but she did know he was suffering. Much of the same emotions were made out in his scent much like Noah’s. They both felt similar emotions.

Sighing, Sara rested a hand on Gauss’ shoulder, her tone quiet and soft. “Thaddeus?” She quickly remedied her approach, realizing that he wouldn’t want to talk right now. “Don’t worry about speaking, I just came here to give you a hug.” With that, she went in for a hug as she said, being careful of his back as she noticed he tumbled on it after he broke his fall with Prudence. “I’m sorry. Noah will come around.” Her voice cracked in her soft spoken apology, despite not being the one who caused the pain. But that didn’t matter. She still felt sympathy and empathized with him.

That was when the familiar clicking of heavy heels were heard throughout the debriefing room.

Zelda Zemo​

The woman saw Gauss, her expression unreadable. That was, until, she divulged some news to Gauss. Her face shifted to sympathy and irritation, but not towards the poor, young man before her. It fluctuated in her words, as if she knew what was likely to come for Gauss. “Thaddeus. Your… Sister would like to see you.”

Sara looked up at Zelda with concern, her tone sounding strange for a family member coming to see Gauss. She gave Thaddeus a firm shoulder squeeze before letting him know where she’ll be. “I’ll see if I can’t help Noah somehow.”

With that, Sara left to speak in hushed tones with Noah in the adjoining corridor, but kept an ear out for Gauss. Zelda also left the debriefing room, choosing to give the Thales’ kid some space so as to not embarrass him further.

Of course, whatever will happen, it was likely they’d all hear anyway.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thea Thales​

"Galerender"​

Species Human
Partner Herakles
Rank Three-Star

Location Death City, Death Colosseum, Right Wing
Mission N/A
Status Irate, bitchy

​

Mentions: Merciless Medic Mqueserasera EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

"Still a disappointment, I see," she remarked, waltzing into the wing with no real regard to the others in it. Her dark skin matched that of Thaddeus, albeit shorter, and her eyes are as markedly bright as his, but her resting bitch face could have competed with Dani. Entering from the same set of halls Sara would have when she returned from the stands, Thea came in as if she owned the entire room. Or, perhaps, she was just a woman on a mission. In either case, her focus was directly squarely at her younger brother, Thaddeus.

"The gifted Meister that can wield any weapon, or even two, but look at you," she spat at him with no lack of sarcasm in her voice. She continued to approach, only stopping a few feet short of him and planting her hand firmly on her hip. Gauss did not move. He did not move when Sara hugged him, either, but he was not opposed. Then, he was at least relaxed. Now, of what he could muster, his muscles were tensed knowing she was there. "Twenty years old, dozens of weapons, and you can't even resonate? I could at seventeen, Vi' even earlier. Yet you're the star child, huh?" she continued on.

"No wonder, though. I bet you're ploughing that shield of yours," she continued, her words as vile as hydrochloric acid and just as effective at eating into him. Her blue eyes then darted up to scan the entire room. She chuckled to herself seeing the motley crew around her. "Or is it? Sweet little werewolf, is that who you're chasing? Or, did you gun for that mountain of a woman over there? No one in here's your type; closest one is pinky over there. But then, I wouldn't put it past you to gun for your mentor, so maybe its her? C'mon, Thaddeus, tell your big sis, who are you sleeping with here?" she asked, although clearly it wasn't a real question. She was goading him.

Breaking his silence, he shouted at her, "No one, Thea, fucking no one." The frustration and even pain was obvious in his voice.

"Oh, is that the problem then? Does little bro have performance anxiety 'cause everyone learned what kind of piece of shit he is?" she asked him, again, just goading him.

He looked up for the first time, his eyes watered, but not crying in front of her. Anything he could do to avoid that. "I am trying to be better, sister."

And she just laughed. Of course she did. Little Thaddeus getting better was absurd to her. He was who he was just like their father was who he was. "Then what was that out there, oh shining star of the Thales? I'll tell you. It's the reason Vi' didn't show up. You are just like our father, and you won't change no matter how hard you try. You will always be a user," she told him, cutting to him deep. Gauss had no response. If anything, she was hitting him where it hurt most. Where that void inside him left by their torn family was. Worst part was that for a moment, he thought maybe she was right.

"Nothing to say, Thaddy? Oh, poor you. All dad's money and support. You're the the only one he calls; I haven't seen Ray or Nav' in years--because he won't let us," she continued on, hammering at him even when he was this broken. "If you're such a shit Meister, you can always go back and work for dad. I'm sure he would be elated to have his favorite son take over Thaltek and I doubt anyone here would actually give two shits if you gave up," she went on, just cutting into him with her pure hateful spite.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Death Nova
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

She tilted her head to the other side at that, seemingly giving thought to his remark before responding in kind. "Only if I'm the one holding it, love." This had a double meaning, though it was carried with her exaggerated sultry tone of voice. It held a bit of truth. She needed to have her hands on the wheel so to speak, just to be sure nothing would go awry, or to adjust if something does. It was aided by her gift of Super Soul Perception and her wavelength that distorted her soul's view. That was control that she couldn't give up.

Eloise as well laughed at his bit about the drugs. Some in her family took quite a bit of pride in their activities, like one would as a chef or a manufacturer of some kind. Elly however never really cared on a personal level, it was just something she had to do. To her, there wasn't a "classy" drug, save for maybe alcohol. Though, even that played with your mind and body, and so Elly didn't partake often. She had taken to the advice of "don't indulge in the product".

"I'll take your words into consideration," Elly replied. She had no such plots as of yet, but who knew how much of a downswing this program would be. It wasn't founded on very good roots, after all.

"Oh, no. More jewelry. How awful," The woman replied feigning a voice of hardship. Clearly, she didn't mind the idea, though how much it would move her would depend on what he'd be attempting to garner. "Just remember it doesn't clear your debt here~"

However, then there were the actual scarabs. Elly glanced at them with a hum as he pondered the options. They'd do the same thing, presumably, so really the only decision here was color. She smirked again.

"Oh, come on rock star. You should know how to pick something out that will accentuate your features. You'll drive the fangirls crazier," Eloise chimed back before reaching in and procuring the blue. Like he said, she felt an odd momentary pain on the inside of her soul, but it didn't show. She held it, waiting for the eyes to dim. "The red suits your eyes more."

Interactions: Sir Les Paul

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Death City, The Colosseum​

With her fun now over, Nadia turns her attention back to Dani and lets out a brief bemused sound, not a chuckle or a heh. Seemingly a mix of them, like the start of a laugh as the other did not seem to accept her words yet again, while also being unable to refute it. Her gaze lingers on Dani as the other starts to snack on the tray that Sara had given her. How quickly the tune changed depending on the presentation. What a truly amusing thing.

"Do I strike you as that petty that I would purposely seek out the three just to insult them? He sullied himself as a Warrior and his team that held all the aces ran amok. He took Maria lightly and she went further than any would have expected. Shit happens and I already thought little and less about him. And the hell do you mean "Well?" If you insist on seeing them, then let's just go down there. Might as well see Maria while we are at it, she got as good as she gave."

With that she motions for the other to follow her as she straightens up from her lean, adjusting her clothing as she leads the pair back down into the interior and the halls leading to the briefing rooms, debriefing, same thing really. On the way down it seemed Noah and Sara were having a heart to heart, or rather something more heated, if she cared so much about him and they worked well together why partner him with someone else? Were the ties they shared really so close, or more of the drama the Americans seemed to love? Did they all really expect victory and this blood arena to just be a friendly game of tag? An easy win? Still, she had expected this team to be able to resonate, but it seems more internal issues were splitting them.

For all of this, Nadia did nothing but meet his gaze briefly as she walked on. If what he said was true, then this match was all but concluded, she wouldn't be surprised if the Meister tried to fight all on his own, and Prudence for herself? Well Nadia didn't really care where the monotone girl went. Entering the debreifing room, Guass seemed content to rest in a manner that made it seem someone had shot his dog. Did he worry she would get angry at him for fighting back against a friend? She was more insulted he had not fought at all till she forced the issue. They all signed up for this and only the most moronic would have trusted Cyrus to act in good faith.

They all were in a blood match and Cyrus had made it clear that all of them were expendable trash, then he makes up a fight to showcase their skills. Nearly everyone here wanted to see what damage the fuck ups could do. She didn't really care to say anything to Gauss, he was beating himself up enough and though a bit bloody he had all his bits. Laughing at the value of his armor would be pointless, it was then some loud tan girl made herself known, seemingly his sister and boy did she go on about the family problems or questioning who he was fucking.

"Suka Blyat.." She was ready to say something, just to get the girl to shut up. It was funnier that the pair of them seemed to think money was the gateway to all things, or at least their genetic powers towards being DWMA assets. Turning to look at Dani, she did need to keep something of a watch on the other, though she doubted Dani would give a shit about all of this.

Interaction: EmperorsChosen

 

[Sybil]

Adrasteia Chandrice

The fight with Shuumie was feeling more and more like a handicapped struggle they were doomed to fail due to a lack of coordination. No one seemed capable in her mind, Adrasteia taking note of how much fumbling on the part of the captors as well as the lack of abilities to make it work. Add onto the fact that Adra was also in the first real combat situation she had in such a long time that it almost was a blessing she was just the weapon to be swung and not actively fighting it. Even despite her weight to those who didn’t fully resonate with her, Zosar seemed to brute force it. It made them effective, so she found no reason to complain yet.

Yet. Then the beats pulled themselves from the grasp of her whip, making the fight continue. Sure she was usable that way as some simple lasso-of-sorts, but she knew she could be so much more. Her abilities could slow and debilitate this beast over time, but she didn’t need to think about why she was ineffective. She could the device preventing her abilities, stunting her as a safety precaution. She felt a twinge of anger, blossoming and stomped out as it asked for revenge. Revenge on partners, but more importantly a revenge on the collar itself. Despite how often she was reminded, she couldn’t help but feel opposition from any soul around her. Her against the world, the nature of the world is one big enemy that fought her a thousand ways. The collar was just the most blatant thing to be blamed right now.

But what was worse? When Adra latched onto her fellow teammate. The powder leg had been kicked, a violent act to an already sensitive situation of mental states. As her spikes and chains wrapped and stuck Zari when wrapped around his limb, his wavelength flared up like an electric charge. At first, she ignored it, but as it began to suddenly drain and burn away at her soul her tune soon changed.

Wait…. Ow… OW…. HEY! What? WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS SONUVA BITCH HAD THE AUDACITY TO TOUCH ME LIKE THAT??!

She hissed, gritting her teeth as she glared through at Zari. His words of threat only caused her to almost blow a blood vessel, her mind tingling from a surge of adrenaline from the damage and the physical threats. It no longer mattered about what got them there, her brain solely focused on the fact he struck her and threatened her.

It was almost as mad as she had ever been. Almost. It was a terrible feeling she felt, insulted to her core even if it was sometimes too easy to hit that core. If it hadn’t been for years of therapy and determination, this would have been the moment she snapped. If it wasn’t for the incident on that isolated island where she broke? She wouldn’t be stronger. She grits her teeth and growled aloud, the sounds of stifling a scream through raw hissing practically. She could hold herself back, biting back her tongue and attempting to be something socially acceptable.

Unfortunately for Zosar specifically, however, her weight would increase. She may be averting the worse case, but her focus on her calming down only resulted in a worse-off condition of their bond. It practically was paper thin, almost more likely to be heavier than a normal chain her size now. She was struggling hard enough that her spikes turned completely into small painless bumps, her mind struggling to keep the shape as she foamed more akin to a rabid animal.

Zosar definitely wasn’t in a position desired by anyone.

coded by: @s e v e n

Interacts: The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul
Mentions: Prizzy Kriyze

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jarvis Briseis

Location: Death City (South District...a couple blocks from South Oak Street
Date: March 9th, 2067​

Jarvis, for his part, didn’t think resonation was necessary at the moment. Certainly, he intended to try resonating with his partner eventually–preferably in a safer environment and not for the first time mid-battle–but he saw no need to rush the process. Jarvis liked to take things slow and steady (lazily). It had been two days since they met. They hadn’t even seen each other’s soul spaces yet. Even without resonating, Jarvis could manipulate blood. He was still a durable weapon with sharp claws. Every individual that had ever wielded him (a total of three) used him differently.

Atli like to punch with him, combining their physical strengths in resonance to deal heavy-hard hitting damage–granted, this was before he became an undead. Black when he’d been an ordinary glove/gauntlet.

Valerija, his blood ‘sire’, liked to scratch and drain blood of her opponents until they became shriveled prunes, storing herself snacks for later use.

Azariah, his newest meister, liked the versatility of his weapon’s blood manipulation capabilities.

There was no one right way to wield him, therefore Jarvis had never really been picky in that aspect. He simply observed what the meister preferred and worked with them. One could almost say he was a pushover in that regard, but that itself was a source of pride for him. Passive. Easy-going. Rarely getting angry. Those were good traits when it came to getting along with others. In getting things done quicker, easier, and without conflict. Compared to Zari’s passionate and fiery soul, Jarvis’s was an empty void. Dark. Silent, save for the slow, sleepy thrum of his wavelength. Since he wasn’t as impacted by emotion, he was generally able to make decisions in a calm, rational manner.

They didn’t need to resonate to defeat Shuumie. Clever tactics were enough; They were only trying to catch it, after all. All else failed, he could even return to his vampiric form and try putting it to sleep. That was how Jarvis normally hunted anyway.

His meister was simply affected by what Jarvis liked to term ‘battle fever’. Atli caught it sometimes too…and Valerija when she was drunk on the blood. The thrill of battle, of being in his element, heightened his desire for more. To push his limits. To challenge Shuumie with greater strength? Either way, Zari was distracting himself, leaving himself open, by trying to cross their tightrope link. Focus on the battle–woah there!

Adra latched onto Zari–to pull him out of harm's way–and the rest went to hell; literally, given Zari’s soul, on his side of the chasm, was starting to heat up like an inferno. Jarvis didn’t even need their link to see Zari’s rage at being touched without his consent. A mighty roar from Zari’s madness as it emerged from the flames threatened their already thin line of connection and Jarvis, or at least his soul, reached out to catch wobbly rope. It burned. Unlike before, when he only felt tired at Zari taking his wavelength, this time, with Zari no longer in control and their wavelengths completely out of sync, Jarvis could feel the heat. Still, Jarvis grit his teeth and tightened his grip until the line wasn’t shaking anymore.

Calm down! She’s a friend!

No dice. Jarvis could only watch helplessly as Zari burned at Adra’s soul to fuel his own. Blood retreated back into the container as Zari used him to resist being pulled, rather than shielding himself from wayward acid drops. Even if the magical water had melted through Jarvis’s sanguine defense, it wouldn’t have harmed him as much as it seemed to harm Zari's human body.

“Do as Zari says! I’ll calm him down, somehow, so distract the cat please!” The demon weapon spoke to his allies in Team Arrow before focusing the majority of his attention to their souls.

Across the chasm that separated them, at the half-way point between their two vastly different platforms, Zari’s soul seemed to be calling for help. For some reason, it seemed de-aged as well. A reflection of his current mental state? His purest self? Jarvis didn’t know. He didn’t care. He told himself that he wouldn’t let what happened to Atli happen to Zari and he had no intention of going back on his word. This time he would be there for his meister. Fight along-side his meister.

Besides, not even Jarvis was immune to the crying child reaching their arms out to him.

“I guess I did! So stay where you are, Kid! I’m coming to you!” Removing his hands from where they cupped his mouth, Jarvis slipped them into his pockets, sighed, leaned forward, and dashed straight. He kept his gaze on Zari the entire time. Didn’t look down (that’d probably be the end of him). Didn’t hesitate. He simply trusted his feet to take him where he needed to be. Trusted his vampiric sense of balance.

Time was of the essence, after all. Madness was inching closer. Besides, the quicker he moved the easier it was to ignore the heat that seemed to stronger with every step forward he took. Another reason he wasn’t eager to cross the space that separated them was because it felt like walking towards the bloody sun. Jarvis found comfort in the darkness. Cold, he could stand. Heat, he could not. Fire, his weakness. He didn’t like the light. But, even so, if Zari could overcome his weakness, why couldn’t he? Jarvis had come to Death City, Nevada, for a reason, after all. A part of him had wanted to change as well.

Racial difference? So what?

His partner needed him.

That was enough to keep him going forward, one foot in front of the other across the tightrope that seemed to harden and stabilize beneath his feet with every step he took. Only after stopping in front of the kid, did Jarvis realize he had no idea how to comfort a child…but that didn’t matter. He’d just do what he could. Crouching down, Jarvis hugged the kid the way Valerija had hugged him right after he’d eaten Atli’s soul. “There, there. You’re fine. You did nothing wrong. I’m here now…Sorry I took so long.”

Glaring fearlessly at the demon that emerged from the fire pillar, Jarvis let out a low growl, his eyes glowing briefly in warning before he returned his attention to Zari. He took the blonde kid’s little hands in his. “You remember how Calm Mind works, don’t you? Isolation. Separation.”

He quoted the words he’d read from the book he’d been reading when they visited DWMA’s library the other day. After reading up on Calm Mind, he’d gotten a better idea of what Midori wanted for their long-term homework. He’d been practicing…a bit. Not enough to coach anyone through it, mind you, but it wasn’t as if they had any better options. “You want to be as far away from that thing as possible…” Jarvis paused. “Let’s make our own private shared-space. One far, far away from 'it' where ‘it’ can’t reach us and we can safely try resonating.”

Their souls were touching now and they could try passing their wavelengths back and forth to amplify each other’s sounds…but doing so on a tightrope was a little awkward. It would also leave them open to the demon’s assault. Jarvis had no desire to resonate with madness. Frankly, this was already further than he'd gotten with most other meisters besides Valerija, who was of his race and shared his blood (in a manner of speaking). Even then, they'd never really tried resonating, and he'd be hard-pressed to call her a meister...though he figured anyone that could wield a demon weapon was pretty much a meister.

“I’ll help you. We'll do it together.”

Re-create a 'seal', that is. The current one seemed to lacking it all it took was a touch from Adra to let it break free.

Their other option was to fight the demon and beat it back into the fire pillar...or wherever it was normally stayed. Either way, the skeletal creature clawing its way to their link had to be dealt with before anything else. Hopefully the others were handling Shuumie okay. And...if they couldn't handle Shuumie...at least had the common sense to run away from the aggressive beast. Should it come down to it, he'd have to de-transform, but if he did, he left Zari's soul all alone and vulnerable to the demon.

Prizzy Kriyze The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Rand Mabason​

"Soundwave Sorcerer"​

Species Witch
Partner N/A
Rank Two Star

Location Death City, The Colosseum, Left Wing
Mission The Exhibition Tournament
Status Frustrated, irate

​

Mentions: RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic The Regal Rper @Meredith Prizzy Kriyze

► "What the Hell? You said no one on your team could resonate"​

A quick voiceclip sent from Rand, rightfully irate, at Zelda and Emmett. Rand was no Meister, but he knew what Resonance looked like, and it was that. In his debriefing, Rand didn't inform anyone on his team that resonance was on the table. That could have impacted team selection. Hell, that could have impacted the entire match. Rand was about to pipe up and play rules lawyer if not for the texts he had incoming, particularly in regards to whatever this security breach was. He closed his eyes, sighed, and squelched the frustration inside him.

Just keep moving forward. Don't make a scene. This tournament isn't about that. He had to recite this to himself a few times before it really settled, but once it did, he approached Maria and those helping with her dolls to guide them down the hallway. He wasn't precisely sure how they would deal with the... scrap. But, that was a problem for later. "You demonstrated your skills well out there, Maria. I won't say I agree with your tactics, but I doubt you were prepared to face a Meister that can fly. That's... quite rare. Normally one in fifty million or so, by the statistics," he told her, although he was erroneously quoting the rates of Grigori souls. Still, he thought it applied to the overall rarity of the fight.

I do have to admit that you have some of the most advanced constructs I have personally seen. Your method of creating them must be quite tedious. Do you inlay that mana to the dolls you gift others as well?" he asked her, also noting he somehow knew she was gifting her creations. A quick addition was made, "They may not appreciate that if they aren't aware."

Once arriving in the left wing, surely after more menial conversation, he looked to the rest of his team and counted each one of them. Each single one had the potential to be another mess like that, especially if resonance was officially possible. That changed everything about these fights. Still, he opted not to bring this up. The brackets were set and adding any extra anxiety to those around him was hardly a wise decision.

"I have received a few updates while we have this intermission. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the brackets have changed. Once this first match is over, win or lose, the next will be Raphael and Ark against Nadia and Dani. Following them will be my dear cousin Iris against their werewolf, Sara, and a wildcard, Midori☆Hoshi. Apparently, Iris has been doing well enough in standard classes that they want to demonstrate her as some type of... early success story. I am uncertain of how this affects the previous point system, but I believe this fight will be in our favor. According to my information, Iris has had some relaxation on... limits, is how I'll word that, and I can't imagine a werewolf and a two-star weapon of his caliber will fair well against her," Rand announced to them, informing of the upcoming changes to the tournament, including the shift in brackets and new arrangement.

"If you have any questions, ask, but I personally know little more than what I just informed you of. This intermission will be brief, I am sure, and ideally there will be no other extended delays in the tournament," he added, although partly because he didn't exactly want to answer questions. His voice was faster, tone a little higher pitched, and he was just not content with the current situation.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - The Colosseum
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Dani stared at her meister as the sound of amusement came from her. Then, it continued as the woman asked her rhetorical question. The Demon Sword wasn't sure if she should answer that. Though, she was sure Nadia wouldn't seek out someone just to ream them—but she certainly would if they crossed paths. Regardless, Dani wasn't suggesting that they go visit Gauss, Noah, and Prudence. They were all on her shit list to varying degrees, and even though that didn't necessarily mean she enjoyed seeing them hurt, she also didn't hold that much empathy at the moment.

"I was talkin' about Maria you fuckin'..." Growling out whatever she was going to end that sentence with, Dani got up, taking the platter with her. She didn't care about them! "Whatever, I'll drop this fucking plate off at least."

As they made their way to the quarters, it seemed as though they were all worse off—save for the board who always had the energy of a corpse. However the smartassed Noah and cocky Gauss were defeated in morale at least. Sara appeared attempting to console them all. Zelda was here too trying to fix this somehow. If the fight wasn't called off, it should be now. Regardless, of everyone here wishing words of comfort, Dani certainly wasn't going to be one of them. Just drop the damn plate off so that she's not a litterer and go see Maria.

Then this bitch walked in and started giving the pretty-boy an earful. Dani was going to opt to ignore the annoying, shrill voice, even if she could see an unbearable resemblance. However, for whatever reason, the woman deemed to include the two in the conversation.

Just as Nadia thought it might be best to watch her, the platter Dani was carrying was already mid-flight, aimed at the woman's head. It wasn't in defense of Gauss, no. It was the addition of all the stressors that day, of being part of this bullshit circus, how the last match was handled, her "cute" nickname, and the sheer nuisance factor emanating off of the woman. This woman, more so than a representative of Gauss' family, was a representative of the "masses" that they were being forced into this bullshit to entertain.

"My name ain't fuckin' Pinky and if your bitch-ass doesn't want me to plough you with a fucking sword... Leave me out of your bullshit and SHUT YOU HARPY-VOICED-ASS UP!" Dani remarked, her voice escalating suddenly into a yell as she obviously sought to "out-harpy" the sister. The collar around her neck beeped a bit, signifying its activity for those that didn't have the perception to feel the spike in her wavelength.

Interactions: @People in the meister/weapon quarters. RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | DWMA | Colosseum

Hearing Raphael's sudden exclamation that Ark turned to look at him. Noticing the intense glower he was shooting the Meister.

Did he say something offensive? If he had, the earth mage clearly hadn't been paying much attention. Maybe it was what Gauss had said about suggesting Maria drop out when he'd offered, but to him it hadn't really been anything to gripe about it. The guy was cocky- the people they'd talked to had said it. It was precisely the reason he was glad Raph hadn't decided to fight the guy himself given his own state of affairs when it came to cockiness and ego in general.

At the mention of his father however, Ark had to admit, he was a bit caught off guard. "Wait- I'm sorry?" coming out of his trance of observing the fight, Ark blinked like an owl out of a nap. Before Raph could respond though he reran the words that had been spoken to him over in his head before actually processing it the second time. "Oh!" He chuckled, "You know you'll have to pay right? He'll charge you for it even if you are my friend. Doesn't do anything really for free, not even for me. But sure, we can meet him after our fight." He reassured him. "Not literally though since he isn't here, but still I can talk to him. Grangran might be able to give you some advice also for ideas on your chain magic." He stated as his eyes returned to the monitors for them.

Witnessing Soul Resonance and understanding what was actually happening were two entirely different things. Ark however, found it interesting to watch. It was always interesting to witness the synchronization of souls, even if he couldn't actually see them in raw form exchanging and magnifying each other in a feed loop.

That Maria had managed to land such a decisive hit though and then tag out? Ark was grinning even when she stepped back to join them. Nodding with Rand when he mentioned the impressive skill she put into the craft of her dolls.

Ark had just been about to speak to the Marionette before Rand gave the update on the sudden changes. Hearing that Iris would be joining the fight though against the werewolf and a Hoshi, did make Ark perhaps a little wistful of his friend. At least he would get to see her in action once again? So there was that at least.

Turning back to Maria he was about to compliment her on her good work, but seeing her state after the fight he changed what he'd been about to say from a compliment to: "You are feeling alright, yes Maria? That seemed like quite the shock you had in the end there." He gently patted her shoulder. "From personal experience, I know how twitchy electrical currents can make you." Leaning down to eye her given how much of a blank mask she was so good at keeping up he eyed her. "So if you end up needing to go to the infirmary, don't hesitate. Understand?" His tone concerning.

Rising back up he added: "Oh yes, you were excellent during that match by the way. I agree with Rand your work is quite exquisite. I didn't even know you were capable of charging your dolls like that."

Mentions: N/A

Interactions: Prizzy Kriyze Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun @Meredith

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Death City the Colosseum
​

As rand said the words on her tactics, her battle-damaged form shifted a narrow-eyed gaze as she looked at him with what passed for a threatening face from the Sorceress. Before his following words dragged her out of it, she snatches one of her creations from one of the helpers, and carried it in her arms, taking a look at the fabric.
"I am not equipped to deal with ranged combat past three meters or up to 10 if I limit myself. No one knew he could fly. Adjustments were needed." She says a bit defensively.

Pondering her next question, she gives a nod. "This wasn't how I expected the battle to go at all. I was fully expecting to have lost all of my small ones. I had expected him to stay within melee range and to ultimately need to call in my medium doll. A protracted battle would have ensued with my sole goal being the destruction or at least piercing of his armor, to then let the Mushroom Witch handle the rest. I expected to need to fend off his weapons together, or to be hard pressed with him acting within my range, did he fear me I wonder? A normal girl like I? Hehehehe."

"Ironically him not committing to the battle led to his destruction through my improvisation. In safety did he find destruction... Comical is it not? Though I must admit I did not expect my mana bomb to be so destructive and reaching him in the sky took most of my energy, had it nor worked I would be the one bleeding.. I do not use my creations as steppingstones or to lift me, it infuriates me that I had to defile them with my own hands and boots. It crawls beneath the skin and bites at me. I have learned much from this encounter." Biting on the end of her right thumb briefly she continues on and chuckles briefly.

With that she adds on a very purposeful and back biting as she called him by what he asked for her to not to do; "Instructor Rand, he also I am sure had reached or was close to resonance. It is not fun being hit with electricity in such amounts you know. Not fun at all, in fact I think I hate that staff and him, my hair is burned a little, my clothing will need to be replaced. Though why did they allow us to battle so far? A mummer's farce all the more... maybe a gift I should leave for some in that crowd, something inspirational to remember this day by."

Pondering his next question, she nodded her head. "The small ones are not so detailed, the medium, or Alicia as I named her, she is a near scale replica of the points of articulation of the human body, the process I use to make them is indeed taxing and takes a while. In a protracted battle, I will run out of dolls in quick order. But DWMA missions are rarely such long affairs, much less on the defensive, I am a bit tired to go into all the details, but, ah yes. The question." With that she turns to look at him and pauses briefly.

"No. The dolls I make for others are largely cloth craft works, plushies as you call them. They have none of my magic or manipulation features. They can take days to make or hours, other than that I've forged things with Alchemy or crafted furniture. It may be selfish of me, but I see no reason or have the desire to make one of my constructs or something infused with my power to give another. While I wish to not be alone as much as I also wish to be alone, which is which I wonder of the wish... Ah, but hmm, let us say I have no desire to spy on them or to interact with them from behind a veil, interactions only matter when they are personal."

With that they walked on to the debriefing room where the sudden changes were announced. None of which mattered to her at all, though she wondered what may have happened, she remembered what she said earlier, someone, likely in that crowd wished this to happen. When Witches Smile, Others Frown. The phrase repeated in her mind as she smiled thinly and spoke up.

"If there is no further use for I, I would like to head out and visit who I wished to see. I am a bit charred, but I've endured worse over my craft. I can see the medics afterwards. Afterall the Meister had no break from his wounds, I shall not cry for the healers mend, my honor did I defend... A farce is over and yet more to face, the healers aid will yet be needed before the day is done."

As soon as she was done with Rand, her attention turned to Ark, her face still a blank slate, though her eyes told another tale, one of anger and yet, maybe sad. "I won't say I'm feeling well or better, but I wish to see Mirai.. I promise I won't pass out so easily, but you should worry for you. What we both did had not broken up the fight so it may be worse for the rest going onwards. A slip for a stall, a trip for a fall, a bomb for lightning, blood versus burns, yet the stage continues and all the world here to see." Nodding at that she continues;

"I had not wanted to do that but she is a rather old doll and underwent many repairs, I considered her... Expendable."

Interactions: Sir Les Paul

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jarvis Briseis

Location: Death Colosseum, Death City
Date: March 11th, 2067

Seated on his bed with his eyes closed, in his own personal soul room, Jarvis clutched an ordinary-looking orange box in his hands. Silence passed. A long silence. Then a lock appeared on the box. “How about now?”

The box shook. Moments later, the lock he’d just created shattered. Jarvis heaved a sigh. “I worked hard on that, you know…”

Atli, who’d been watching Jarvis work on re-designing his second level ‘seal’ for the last 15 minutes, giggled. “I don’t think he likes it very much.”

Jarvis rolled his eyes. “Of course he doesn’t.”

His ‘hunger’, or rather his vampiric nature, had always been kept in a box guarded by Atli ever since he and ‘Atli’ first tamed it. However, he’d never considered confining it there. It was free to roam as it pleased. It was a part of him, after all…one he’d accepted. His bloodlust. So long as he kept it sated, he didn’t go feral. He’d made a separate place for it to stay, a personal space of its own, but it had never been truly ‘separated’. At best, Jarvis guessed what he had was an incomplete second seal, but he couldn’t be positive until he showed it to someone who knew what they were doing with Calm Mind Training. "Maybe I'll just give up for the day..."

“Why go through all the trouble then?”

“It’s a good thing to learn considering what happened on our first mission,” Jarvis shrugged. “And if our team mentor asks, I’d probably have to show him something..”

How did one even pass the FATE program? A successful completion of all missions? Assignments? Tests? Were there grades? Because Jarvis didn’t know, he didn’t want to fail…because that would mean starting over. It’d be that much harder to complete his goal of becoming a Deathscythe…unless Lord Kidd accepted weapons that remained in the FATE program...assuming it didn't get canceled for being a 'waste' of resources. If it did, he could give up without feeling guilty. “...I’m doing all this for you our old dream, after all.”

“Oh? So if your new partner was held back, or couldn’t resonate with you, you’d go on without him?”

“That’s–,” His soul space started to disperse as someone shook him. “I’ll talk to you later, Atli.”

The figment of Atli’s soul–or perhaps his imagination–waved him goodbye.

~~~​

“Did you see that, Jarvis!? Did you see!? The kids just electrocuted themselves!”

Jarvis was suddenly hit with an onslaught of noise as the audience cheered, roaring their approval–or perhaps disapproval–of the first match…which he hadn’t really been paying attention to. He’d never really been a fan of watching fights. He didn’t care who won or lost. He had no deep desire to compare or observe the skill of Team Stitches against Witches. Why was he here again? Oh right, Valerija, making another one of her random visits to the youngest (and pretty much only) member of her "bloodbrood", had found Jarvis's invite to the FATE event in Death Collosseum and dragged him out of his coffin so she could attend. The elder bloodsucker donned a soul protect as she sat amongst humans since very few bloodsuckers have joined the Reformed Monster Clans and most are still considered quite sinister. Though, listening to her excitedly recount the events, one wouldn’t think so.

More like an excited schoolgirl.

“Sounds to me like they tried to go for a stronger resonance and failed.”

“Are all your classmates so amusing~?”

“Not classmates exactly…” Nor did he find it particularly amusing. He’d seen them once on the first day of the Fate program where they played a ‘game’. Well some played the game. He’d fought briefly with Noah, who’d been Sara’s weapon at the time, and Prudence. Not much to say about Gauss, but he’d been vaguely aware that the rich kid had picked several fights with several meisters on the side–one of which was Zosar–and had been wielding the demon gun when it resounded enough madness to summon the Anti-Madness squad. “So, who won?”

“No one. The witchling tagged out. Now there’s a brief intermission before they get to go again. ”

“Huh…” Jarvis didn’t see the light show, but he could see the aftermath. The Stitches trio (Gauss and Noah especially) didn’t look in any condition to handle another round.

Valerija huffed. “How can you go watch a fight and not pay attention to any of it! Those are your friends out there, aren’t they!? You should introduce me to them~”

“Not really…” Jarvis shrugged. “I didn’t return to DWMA to socialize. And I’m not here by choice…”

Resisting Valerija’s whims were pointless because she could wrestle him to the ground with her hands tied behind her back.

“Seriously, Jarvis?” The bloodsuckeress rolled her eyes. “You’re just a baby, yet you’re acting like an old man! You’re back in school! You should be enjoying your youth, not sleeping all day!”

Jarvis shrugged again and yawned. He wasn’t a day bat. Putting on sunblock and hanging with humans even when the sun was out really wasn’t his style. Certainly, joining the FATE program required him to adjust his sleep schedule quite a bit, but such things still weren’t natural to the lazy vampire who indulged whatever was comfortable for the most part. If Zari, or any of his fellow FATE agents visited him, Jarvis preferred it to be in the evening.

“Fine, be that way!” Valerija flipped her currently pink hair and turned away. “If you’re not going to pay attention then go get me food or something.”

“Can’t you just call your harem…”

Valerija’s eyes flashed red and Jarvis sighed. Standing up, the younger bloodsucker pulled his hood over his head, slipped his hands in his pockets, and slumped off to do as told. He had just bought a tray of Death Dogs, a pair of drinks, and some other random goodies from a nearby concession stand when the smell of blood caught his attention. Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal. They were in a fighting colosseum…and he wasn’t the sort of glutton that salivated at the scent of blood…but there was a lot of blood. And it was coming from outside. Glancing at the corridor that led out of the stadium, Jarvis shook his head, looked back down at the tray of food in his hands, and sighed.

Valerija would probably want a bit of blood mixed in her drinks anyway.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Ulysses Stein​

"D-Stein"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank One-Star

Location Death City, Central Main Street, Death-Nova
Mission None
Status Elated, interested

​

Mentions: EmperorsChosen

So, the red it was, huh? He was fine with this. The gemstones were fairly small, and on a ring, wouldn't have been seen much anyway, but she was correct. Red matched him well enough. Those trademark eyes of his, which plenty of glamour shots had played up in his time, were a feature that many were quite fond of. "As you wish, so shall it be," he told her, offering a wry smile as he reached for the blue-eyed scarab. Admittedly, he was at least a tinge nervous. Not really for the pain, but mostly not knowing what to expect. It wasn't like a typical visit to the doctor where some bloodwork might be drawn. This was, in fact, a rare and arguably quite powerful mystical object he was about to touch.

But, he did it nonetheless. Reaching in quite carefully to make sure he only touched the one scarab, he pressed his fingertip to it to begin with. Just as described, and more importantly something Elly could actively see, the husk of the scarab almost forcibly drew in a tiny sliver of his wavelength. It was not like a living thing consuming it, it was more akin to the filling of a vacuum. Something once empty becoming filled immediately upon touch. To him, this did have a bit of a sting. Not to his skin, but more so his soul. It was difficult to describe, if he had to, but he really didn't. It wasn't enough to make him wince, but was at least enough to make him firmly believe it sucked.

With that out of the way, he then carefully slid it out of its recessed container in the box and snuggly fit it into his ring, his long fingers doing a fairly nimble job with such a small item. Once it was firmly planted in the ring, six metal elevations clamped down around it, locking it into place. It was admittedly slightly gaudy having the normal gold against the white, but he wasn't notably concerned about that--at least for himself. At least her necklace would cover hers to make it more uniform. He did put that much thought into things, at least.

"Yeah, not gonna lie, that's not a fun feeling, but it was quick," he said, that honestly coming out of him in full. It would have been true through her keen eyes as well; after that first sap, it seemed to either be inert or draining so little that it was imperceptible to even her.

"And, as for fangirls, I'm not particularly interest. I like a challenge. That which is difficult is rarely worth it and that which is worth it is rarely easy, or some shit a president said once," he explained to her, a response a little less eloquent than some of his others, but that sting he just had was pretty unpleasant to him.

But just then, when he intended to add more, the scarabs truly did kick in. A brief moment where the world seemed to freeze and the two scarabs connected. It wasn't entirely dissimilar to perhaps touching a weapon insofar that the connection was clearly deep, to their souls even, but it was unique to itself. There was no need for them to touch. There was no resistance. It was almost like a tunnel between their very souls had been built connecting them, the most effortless soul connection feasible--one even easy by the standards of someone like Elly. While Ulysses could not make out much from her Distorted Soul, at least not yet, his was plain as day. His soul was bright, vibrant, beautiful. Not even muted pastels, it was genuinely like neon signage. Filled with a faint tune, vibrations passing through him in all directions like a busy interstate, and had his core, a simple truth to who he was: a desire to help. It was perhaps surrounded by some insecurity of his non-combative nature, a fear even of not living up to the Stein name like his brother Fredrick, but at the core surrounding his worst attributes was that one pure desire. He wanted to help how he could, and what he was doing was just that.

"Well..." he said, taking in the feeling. While true he picked up far less about her than she did him, the sensation was something he was far less accustomed to--he hadn't held a weapon in nearly a decade, let alone felt this close to someone via their soul. "...that's definitely something." For the first time since they started speaking, the musician was dumbstruck slightly. Odd, given this was his idea.

 

[The Regal Rper]

March 9th | South District
​

Collab

Adra & Zosar

Zari's reaction and the sudden increase in weight Adra had gained following the contact were two things that threw Zosar off momentarily- but even while in midair it did not distract him physically from landing with only a minor adjustment as he landed and adjusted his footing with a minor stumble.

Hearing Adra's cry of justifiable anger, given the link required some form of consensus to even hear each other through it, the Meister could not help but share in his partner's anger. It wasn't their fault Zari had never mentioned this rule- and in a situation where injury was likely if he didn't react instantly, of course he wouldn't ask in the heat of the moment. It was stupid to even think of asking when they were trying to help.

Perhaps if Zari had brought this up at the meeting as a minor note, it would have been something he could have avoided, but oh well.

It didn't help that Adra's rage was now impacting his ability to use her even further thought. It was frustrating to feel her weight just double like this, and now he had to think quickly on just what exactly he could do to overcome it.

Telling her to calm down was certainly out of the question because if his experience had taught him anything, it was idiotic to be telling someone like Adrasteia to be calm in a justifiably infuriating situation.

It seemed he'd have to take a gambit here. With how things were they'd do nothing but slow everyone else down, and with Zari currently incapacitated with his Madness from what Zosar could see, he'd be of no immediate help which was something Shuumei could take advantage of. Even if Adrian guarded Zari and Jarvis while they worked him back into a sensible state, he couldn't keep fighting like this.

The link between them was thread thin and it wouldn't hold much more punishment if he could barely feel what Adra was thinking through their link, let alone hear her thoughts clearly.

"That's it." He decided. "If this thing wants to play dirty like that, we'll give her something to fight with. Adra, anyway you could let those barbs of yours out so we can do some more damage?"

Adrasteia was barely hanging on to her transformation for miniscule moments, her mind battling itself to remain something not inhibiting her teammates. The last thing they needed her team needed was a fight between students, even Adra knew that and she frothed she had to keep that in mind despite the clear fucking insult this fucking dreg threw at her and injured her with. She could feel the burns from the Zari’s abilties, stinging deep into her soul’s projection of her right hand and arm down to her bone. If there was one major weakness of the whip, it would be her soul over body.

So call it a miracle that she could hear and comprehend Zosar’s words at all in her rage. They were worthless words to her as she seethed, not even noticing the tears falling from pain and restraint. The only part her brain didn’t throw away was the request from him to change. Her shape was wavering, the concentration fading as she tried to concentrate on holding back and her frustrations with the collar and damage taken sharing her mind’s space. “.....AAAAHHHHH FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK THIS COLLAR FUCK FUCK FUCK IT! FUCK THIS STUPID ASSIGNMENT!! BUT FUCK THAT CAT MOST!!!”
Her blades practically became dull thin imitations of blades, barely able to cut butter and akin to wind chimes than a weapon. Her spikes however erupted back into potent small spikes. She had her spikes back, but some grew bigger almost at random. Now some spikes were easily an inch long while others were thin and small like her thorns. What was worse is she was still, even with her immense struggle to remain focused, she could not prevent abnormalities in the form of spikes jutting out in her own handle and likely stabbing her Meister if not careful.

He could practically feel the formation of sweat forming on the side of his forehead. The collar really was being more of a detriment than he’d expected. Just what on earth was it about her specifically that so much seemed to be repressed by her Madness inhibitor? Unlike the others, Adra really seemed to be less motivated as far as he’d noticed with this thing on.

At least they shared a hatred for the collar overall.

Even if it was being a literal pain right now. Barbs prodded into his hand and Zosar’s lips tightened into an expression of irritation. Even with her attempt it seemed she wasn’t able to fully release it.

Good enough, not something she could hear him think given their shaky link. With a flick of his wrist and a burst of wavelength spiked up to his whip carrying arm, Zosar shifted focus from amplifying his body to amplifying his arm.

I’m going to need to talk to Midori about this when we’re done. Maybe we can get some changes made to that collar of yours so we’ll be able to fight more effectively.

With a flick of his arm back Zosar struck out towards Shuumei with a chastising strike, something meant to get her attention away from the others if it was already on them, and get attention on to them. “HEY GARFIELD! OVER HERE!” He flogged the air above Shuumei again, a wrist flick bringing a row of the dull barbs Adra had dragging across the big cat’s back before it retracted. The weight slowing him down by a second or two and making his arm draws use more strength than he was wanting but at the very least if he could get her attention it would satisfy.

Mentioned: N/A
Interacted: Sir Les Paul (Adrian) Prizzy Kriyze Sybil QuirkyAngel @Kyuubey