Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Meredith]

Chanterelle Fuir

Interactions: Rand Sir Les Paul , Maria RedArmyShogun , Raphael Merciless Medic , Ark The Regal Rper . ​

The crab’s desiccated corpse collapsed to the ground, diced by Maria and her dolls; Chanterelle's spores fizzled to nothing as her concentration slipped. The body thumped to the ground so closely it seemed to shake beneath her knees; the witch's hands reached for its slick shell and pushed herself to her feet off of hanging fingers. Her cotton gloves, she noted with scorn, had been ripped through several fingertips. Her frown did not have much time to linger. Rand's voice cut through the silence to order her forward; there was a sort of wildness to her dilated eyes as they fixed on Maria on the other side of the beast from herself and the larger doll. She'd started to get used to the tools; originally they'd seemed almost creepy but the passion behind them made them more tolerable day by day. "Thanks," she intonated, though of course the words passed her lips without any such sound reaching her ears. The idea of mana conservation was little more than an idle, weak, easily dismissed thought: the adrenaline running through the witch's veins took much higher precedence.

It was the smell that drew her attention, more than his voice. The tantalizing reek of cooking meat; aquatic creatures had their own unique odour but it was meat just the same. It only added to the fire of the moment. A few steps toward the crab, breaking into a stride, her head turned to observe their scene. Lava. Honest-to-God lava, the likes of which she'd never really seen up close, and Raphael in the middle of the body peering into a crab leg. The bubbling of molten sand, as liquid as water exploding from an underground geyser, popping and spitting as the bodies of the smallest crabs reduced to nothing. Her head turned to focus on the last crab that threatened the edge of the group. Just on the other side of Ark and Raphael, just past Rand-

The forest witch knew she was faster at wading through the sand than her comrades, but she couldn't hold a candle to the crab itself that almost seemed to throw itself at her. It met the witch, a dozen feet in front of Maria, claws extending toward her shedding form. Another starter growing in her hand branched forward from her palm, some strange amalgamation of flesh and flora; a type of novel cordycep that hungered for the notion of flesh. The eating of her fear, swallowed hard, was none but habit.

So when its mouth dipped toward her, she reached up, offering a pseudo-limb while still backing up periodically. It took a few tries - the beast wanted to hit her with its claw, but the appendage dangled in front of its face instead, teasing it - backing up almost to the sorcerer before the creature finally wrenched the bait from the false hand. It was a clunky attack at best; more focused on her own safety than any sort of elegance. From there, it was a scramble to get back behind Maria. She focused on the packet, chewed, making its way in tiny bits into the crustacean and falling in pieces toward its stomach. It took a moment to find it again. She felt the concentration of mana in its gut; it was difficult to make things bloom, from a hidden place, but by no means impossible with enough concentration. Maybe it took more mana than spewing spores, but it was a test. A test of grit.

She could feel its tendrils growing through the crab's body; the parasitic entity would soften its shell to crack through on their own and so it was an obvious choice to aid Maria will less danger to the dolls that almost made it worth the mana. The smile on her face grew tight in concentration; the pull far away from dedicated fascination. A thick black cap burst through the shoulder-joint of the crab; her hands unclapsed to wave Maria forth. "Go," she mouthed, eyes bright with apprehension.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Dall Island​

So, the second did not run at all, a pity. But to be expected. These creatures did not have any higher thought processes, if they did, they would have run away long ago. Smelling the snitch of burning meat, it seemed that Raph was enjoying himself, though she wasn't about to try the meat of these corrupted beings. Well, least she was told it was good...

Though the process of cooking soon came out of hand when she paid half a mind to look at it, molten lava was now meeting pockets of water, was that the work of Ark? It was impressive in its own way, but she could not afford to sit and stare, one more threat was here. It was then her attention turned back to Chanterelle, the woman seemed to be mouthing something at her, judging by the movements of her mouth it was but one word. Thanks maybe, alert, a swear? Well, she doubted the later, honestly it was unnerving having to fight in total silence, she could not even hear the movements of her own body as she moved her fingers and took a breath. It was then that she noticed the Toadstool Witch was up to another trick against the enemy.

Watching with some interest as a strange organism flowed, flowered, out of an outstretched palm, Maria quirked her eyebrow a little as she tried to process what was going on. Was this some sort of mushroom? She didn't know enough about those to understand it, but she could tell mana was being focused into it. Some form of trap? Watching as she offered the beast the "limb", it seemed more interested in mauling her with its claws than eating the false arm watching as the other continued to back away, this was all a bit dangerous. While a melee fighter to an extent herself, she just found it so strange that the Witch would throw herself in danger close and at great risk... Maria was no trainer, nor experienced with battle all that much, but maybe she should try teaching her some more refinement to her moves, rather than just watching her fight a desperate action.

Still, it had worked. The Fungi was spreading through the beast given the sudden jerks to its movements, mana was flowing around them, or rather from Chanterelle towards her trojan gift. Soon a black mass had exited a portion of the crab as Maria waved her right hand, reconnecting to her smaller shield bearers calling them to her and positioning them behind, additional red wires, these being made purely from mana form between her and the larger human sized doll. It turned in turn took up position along her front as the Mana blade shits back into its grimoire form, energy burned at a slow steady rate, pages flipped through the book as it hovered in the air above Maria's right hand.

Suddenly the pair in perfect unison shoved off of the shield dolls with the armored doll being just ahead and in front of Sorceress, right as the silent "go!" passed Chanterelle's lips. Or so Maria hoped it was a go, and not a no. Those eyes seemed to be more troubled than confident, either way it was too late to stop herself now. Flying through the air, the doll seemed to be like a shadow puppet, control connecting at dozens of points, a claw slammed into it in what seemed a halfhearted attempt, as it left a hollow, soundless existence, a metalic thud that went unknown as Maria raised both her arms starting to fall back, the doll did the same, though not holding any blades Maria still mimicked the action and even the weight and distance as both blades slid up and then jammed themselves under the bottom plate, the doll being pushed by the red strings that connected them, shoved upwards at the prompting of Maria, a jolt of power as the armored knight stood to its feet, Maria a few feet behind as it shoved backward, pressing the crab upwards and off to the left side, withdrawing the blades, Maria mimicked a kneeling stab as the doll carried out the movement, slamming down and into the under plat till black ichor and fungi leaked and all movements of the beast ceased. With that done she gave another wave of the hand, and the shrouded Warrior placed the dual blades back into whatever holders or sheath waited beneath the flowing robe, the red lines breaking as the book closed.

They had done their part.

Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Meredith Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Midori☆Hoshi​

"Dark Star"​

Species Death Golem
Partner Various / Autonomous Weapon
Rank Two-Star

Location Death City, West Nevada Desert
Mission N/A
Status Mildly intrigued

​

Tags: The Regal Rper @Sybil Meredith (eventually)

Midori carried a fairly blank expression on his face as Zosar explained his perspective on things. He wanted to stay. He even cited the compassion he was shown. If these were taken at face value, perhaps it might have meant something. Something to spark Midori. To make him feel like he had succeeded as a mentor somewhere, somehow, even if he didn't have his own team at the moment. Maybe it would have shown that breaking the cycle of exclusion and distrust he was shown years ago was making some impact. Maybe, just maybe, he would have seen the first difference he made in the world.

But, Midori did not take these words at face value. One might call him cynical by nature, but that itself wasn't the most accurate, either. He was a realist. Zosar was impulsive and a man torn between two worlds. The one he grew up in and the one that he was in now. An old life of excitement and romantic tales of a small but slightly impressive band of thieves and criminals that made a misfit family of sorts. It was something out of an adult fiction novel, really. A band on the edge of society that stood somewhere between good and evil in a world that had far more at stake than anything they had ever involved themselves with. An image somewhere between Robin Hood and Jesse James despite notably less renown than either.

On the other hand was the actual good of the world. The people that wanted safety and security. That dedicated and even at times forfeit their lives against real evil. Sure, it was flawed. It's leadership was young. It's support questioned. But, at the end of the day, the the vast majority of the people there--the agents that they were surrounded with--were there to do good. It was a responsibility. One plenty forsook when they went renegade to become mercenaries, and one that most gave up when they transitioned in life to have a family. It wasn't easy. That's what Midori knew and more importantly why wasn't so quick to think Zosar would choose it over his former life.

Still, though. He wanted him to. In the most selfish way possible, Midori wanted him to.

"I've ran a lot of scenarios in my head, too, Zose. I won't lie to you; no reason to," he said, with the added lack of a reason only hinting at the defeated nature of his somber state. "Nine chances in ten is what I think. Nine chances in ten, you see Eustace in his restraints, then you get to thinking on the drive to the drop off point, and you weigh the memories you have versus the future you have here... and you change your mind. Hell man, you've done it before," Midori explained, just laying out the facts as he saw them to Zosar with little to no inhibition in doing so.

"See 'cause Adra has this wonderful point about freedom. We agents, we may not be criminals, may be free to do what we like as U.S. Citizens--I have dual citizenship, in fact. But freedom on paper isn't as liberating as you think. The life of an agent isn't really free, is it? The things you can do and see if you go back to the Enlighteners and the obligations, oh Death... the responsibilities of this job just suck sometimes," Midori continued on, liberally explaining what he saw as the fault in their perspective of freedom.

"Fuck man, I'm just sayin'. The carrot is getting dangled in front of your face and you've fuckin' snatched at each damn time it's ever been put there before," Midori said, but then shifted his tone avoiding putting the blame on Zosar, "An', the fuckin' thing is, man, I can't blame you. We only got one life to live. Not everyone can be a Paladin of justice of whatever the fuck the DWMA expects us to be. I fuckin' get it, man. Because even in that one chance out of ten..." he said, but then started to trail off before a sigh.

"Even in that small chance, and this what I think will actually be the deciding factor once you get alone in your thoughts, you look at what shit is gonna be like if you stay. You're staying in the Fate Program, you're a known flight risk and that stigma isn't going anywhere any time soon, and you've been an absolute shitty partner to the one weapon who's stuck it out for you this whole time. She didn't fuckin' have to come, man--this whole thing was labeled optional for her. Maybe she just wants rid of the kitten, who knows. My point," he explained, although he stopped to collect himself. "My point.. is that choosing to stay is like choosing the roughest path to live in a run down city with a social ladder that's a bitch to climb where every person at every rung thinks they have some moral high horse to stand on and judge you," Midori told him, summing up what he meant to say in one fairly blunt comparison.

"So yeah, I fuckin' get it if you don't keep your word, Zose. Maybe a good mentor or agent or just general fuckin' person would try to convince you otherwise, but nah.. not me. 'Cause I've said it a million times: I've been in your shoes. I'm the glimmering, shining example of what happens if you stay. No partner, no team, a questionable reputation, still being judged by more people than I can count, and standing here in the desert heat laying out the facts before a prisoner exchange of all things. I wake up and wonder what the fuck happened almost every morning. I was actually excited to become a mentor; maybe I could help someone not feel like I di--no, like I still fucking do." Midori stopped, and paused. Then sighed.

He realized what he did. He wanted a short speech, but it turned into a rambling confession. He was frustrated. He spent so long in the DWMA trying to earn back his reputation and do good, but he was still under scrutiny. He wasn't the best assassin. Not a top tier autonomous weapon. Still not a partner to anyone significant. He wasn't anything notable aside from having a tiny part of Kidd in him. He hadn't done anything to redefine himself. And, worst of all, in the one chance he thought he had to make some type of difference, he felt like he had taken from him when his agents were reassigned. All that frustration just came out to Zosar, and a lesser extent, Adra.

"I'm sorry, jus--" but his words were cut short. Whatever apology or revelation was in store--whether it would have made a difference or not--wasn't fated to escape his lips. A ding from his phone escaped and moments after the doors to the domed detaining center slide open, revealing Eustace being carried out by two of the guards. In terms of his upkeep, Eustace didn't actually look bad. No bruises or scars, he even looked half decently shaved. The concerning factor was the leg and arm restraints on him; a dull metallic set of cuffs that were connected at the ankles and wrists in front of him, then again going up to a waist strap, and oddly enough all leading up to a mask that covered his mouth. No soul signature could be picked up from him. In fact, no signs of life. No body heat, no EMF. Nothing. It was all suppressed by the harness. A little lower tech, but still effective, was the thick, navy blue blindfold over his eyes.

Midori went off to retrieve him, scanned the identification plate he provided earlier, and escorted him to the passenger side of his ride before helping him in. It was almost humorous to see how difficult it was to get him into the ride and strapped in given how Eustace couldn't see and had limited movement to assist. It was like watching a grown-ass man being treated like a toddler. Or, maybe it would have been funny if it wasn't so damn sad. Either way, Midori hopped into the drivers seat, mumbled a few things to Eustace, then fired up his vehicle again. "It's time to move out. C'mon," Midori relayed over to Zosar and Adra from his vehicle, inching it along waiting for theirs to get in motion before taking off into the wider array of dunes to their West. This was more of a barren sandtrap than the rockier terrain they came from, but that was part of the point. To lose sense of direction.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Rand Mabason​

"Soundwave Sorcerer"​

Species Witch
Partner N/A
Rank Two Star

Location Dall Island, Western Beach
Mission Return to Dall Island
Status Analytical

​

Mentions: Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Meredith RedArmyShogun

From this encounter, Rand had garnered plenty of information. Not just about the crabs, but his team. Maria was easily the most composed of the four. The Pull seemed to affect her the least when engaged in this type of relentless combat. In his experience, this had little to do with her being a Sorcerer and likely had more to do with the type of Pull she had. That likely coupled with the fact her particular type of spell casting required constant control and finesse, making it slightly more difficult to give into the lust for destruction. Beyond that merit, it seemed the time in the Magitech labs had a notable impact on her battle prowess, although just how much of one would require more observation to determine.

Ark had demonstrated a level of reliability despite his PTSD. Rand was genuinely concerned whether or not the veteran would be able to pull through in this situation. Using his most dangerous spells in close proximity to allies. It required an element of blind trust. Trust placed in Rand, specifically. Under normal circumstances, Rand wouldn't be one to instruct anyone to give so much trust, but it proved incredibly useful. That likely wasn't a correction he was about to make while they remained on Dall Island--if at all while Ark remained his pupil.

Raph, whether he knew it or not, was an excellent follower. He shined in taking instructions and his abilities seemed much more honed when they were directed by someone else through him. What this indicated to Rand was that the most fundamental thing lacking in Raphael was focus. If Raph was to start using his most powerful spells in succession, then the Pull would likely become a problem with him anyway. However, focus that by convincing him to listen to someone--a leader--and that young man might be able to make his odd and honestly somewhat limiting selection of spells into something quite productive.

Then Chanterelle. She blossomed in combat. Destruction came naturally to her. And, her spells were well-suited for it, although not the type of rampant town-razing that might immediately come to mind. The problem was that her potential was clearly tied to the Pull. The only Witch of the group aside from himself and her more innate spellcasting made it known. It was organic. Her spells, her use of them, how she creatively found ways to apply them, and of course, how the Pull seeped into her as it did. This was something that needed to be watched. Rand knew these spells were hardly her strongest from her dossier, and didn't begin to touch on the Blood Magic. She could become perhaps the biggest threat to the team if left unchecked.

With this assessment, Rand mulled over the idea of assigning a co-captain. Someone to delegate responsibility to in the event he was incapacitated or the teams were split. He really only had one option: Maria. Raph was too unfocused, Ark had too much self-doubt although if he overcame that would leap ahead, and Chanterelle demonstrated too much influence from the Pull. This wasn't the time to be announcing these thoughts, but he was fairly certain he would need to make a decision sooner rather than later. The longer the idea of a leader was planted in their heads, the more likely they were to listen to whoever it was--especially Raph.

The beach was left in worse condition than Daytona after Spring Break. With Chanterelle using her insipid magic to tear down the defense of these crustaceans, Maria was able to make quick work of them. The fungal spores that had infested the second one had spread through its body, creating white-beige veins that sprouted through the thinnest parts of its chitinous plate, growing outward into grotesque protrusions of fungal branches that innevitably created cracks no different than concrete on the sidewalk. Those beautiful dolls were easily capable at peeling away these layers from the already-decaying crab to finish it off by slashing, hacking, and bashing its soft, unprotected insides, spilling splatters of dark green blood and fluids to stain the sand just like its brother before it.

Meanwhile, as hoped, the largest of these crabs saw this destruction, and opted to flee away North up the bank alongside what few of the smaller crabs remained, bringing this fight a conclusion based on the previous instructions Rand gave. With that, Rand ended the mute spell, bringing the unnatural lack of sound to an abrupt end, and allowing the return of the roars from the ocean waves and breeze through the foliage to permeate the air. A world without sound was definitely a different one.

"All in all, good work," Rand said as he sheathed his sword. "If this indicative of what the next few days will be like, then we're going to have to take extra precautions... but before that," Rand announced, then looked directly and quickly at Chanterelle. "Halt your spell, I want to get a section of that crabs flesh unmolested to take as a sample," he instructed her. His eyes then darted over to Maria, "And, if you could find a small shard of the outer chitin, that, too. We don't need much, just ideally as clean as possible."

Rand then looked over his shoulder at Raph and Ark and nodded them over to follow up as he walked back towards Maria and Chant, trying to congregate the group together. "From now on, we use a buddy system. If there are tasks that involve us being split, no one is going solo. So, Maria and Chanterelle, you two. Raph, Ark, you. I'll do my best to always stick with one of your groups," Rand explained.

Rand then breathed in deep and exhaled, mulling over how to proceed. "I'll you four make a choice. We can proceed once the samples are done, or try to prepare a bit more. I have some ideas for how to help out everyone, but we don't have the time to waste making everything perfect. My first thought here would be to use our surroundings. There is plenty of that stupidly hard chitin around, and it's somewhat obvious that cutting edges aren't the greatest against our adversaries. If Chanterelle can weaken specific pieces of the hardest chitin, we may be able to fashion some better blunt or serrated weapons for Maria's dolls by breaking off only the softened parts. Given the size of those crabs, I would assume they're the predators of the spiders, so it only makes sense to use the traits of the predator against the prey," Rand went on, tossing out one of his ideas. He wasn't sure of Maria would go along with using what would potentially be such crude weapons, but if it garnered some teamwork and any modicum of an advantage, Rand was all for it.

"Raph, I believe it's time we taught you how to support someone, too. Casting a Magic Circle then casting your own spell, that's hard. But casting a magic circle and having someone else channel into it like we just did--that's a lot easier and as you saw, make the original spell stronger than it would have been otherwise. If the girls want to fashion some weapons, I would teach you how to channel spells from Ark in case we need something heavy hitting--that way my utility won't be on lockdown if it's needed," Rand added, giving an objective for the other half of the group.

"Or, like I said, we can skip all that and proceed into the forest. Both options have pros and cons, but I want your input," Rand told them, rounding out the options the group had in front of them.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara & Eva​

March 28, 2067
Location: Paris, France - Outside of Tunnel to Hell
Collab with Mook-LandStrider
Interactions: Gauss, Emmett, Nadia
Mentions: Dani, Noah, Zelda
Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Prizzy Kriyze

Sara perked her head towards Nadia as she spoke up, pulling up her mask so her eyesight and nose could work for once. She noticed that putting on the gas mask had kept her from smelling anything she could, so that meant her olfactory soul perception won’t work with the gas mask on. She’d just have to power through it if she ever wanted to use it.

Nadia spoke of the creature’s weakness. Their chests. Their metaphysical ‘hearts’. Lovely.

Her advice was sound and she gave her a thumbs up and a tail wag for it upon her perch on a broken down piece of rubble.

Eva’s lantern turned and began to tick as gears and cogs turned internally, moving a mechanism that suddenly with a loud click slotted itself into place. The sides of the lantern opened up, the flames flickering. The bumbling lights floating about began to pick up speed before darting and growing smaller. Flying into the lantern, they melded seamlessly with the fire before it dulled and returned to its static flame.

Looking at Emmett, she watched how he held Zelda. Like it was comfortable. It was always so cool watching a three-star do their thing, and even more so as she watched with awe as she effortlessly froze a building with Zelda’s ice! Her eyes sparkled at the ice, the air around them cool. She grinned with a ready, bloodthirsty glint in her eyes as she pulled her gas mask back down and ran with Eva still in her hand. She nearly overshot Emmett’s brisk run, but slowed down just enough so she was just partially behind him as she checked where everyone else was. The feel of the air caressing through her, the feel of the smoke and the flame’s heat and embers hitting her body and trying to singe her…

Oh, it felt amazing. Wondrous, even. Her adrenaline agreed by getting even more of itself pumped into her system.

Eva had been uncharacteristically quiet the last several minutes. The rush of initial combat had passed, and she had begun to find her center among the chaos that was fighting. Still, despite the relative calm her soul emanated there was a sadness there, one of lamentation and sorrow. While Paris was not her home, she had called the city home for some time in her earlier years. In fact, it had been one of the cities she had most enjoyed being in. There was always just light and feeling pouring from all parts.

Seeing it burning, collapsing and turning to ash was difficult. While it didn't sway her combat effectiveness, it was like watching a place you remember change forever. ‘I don’t think they will ever view things quite the same way after this, Sara. Think of the change that the virus brought. The catacombs were likely expanded and their dead stacked high. Yet, here we are with the dead coming from beneath them, vengeful and wrathful. I wouldn’t judge them if they collapsed the tunnels. Who could sleep knowing their basements could be breached by evil without their knowledge. If it happened once, it could happen again.’ Eva spoke rather coldly.

Sara hummed at Eva’s thoughts, nodding. ‘Yeah, I getcha. It’s rather sad that it had to be this way, hm? But that’s why you have to keep looking forward. If you stagnate, you become the rubble instead of building yourself up with it.’

Eva began to reflect on what Sara had to say, there was a deep truth to those words. It was difficult letting go and moving on, she had already taken a huge step. Cleaning up her house with Sara and getting rid of many things was hard but it had gotten her out of a house she rarely left and away from a place that was consuming her body and spirit. ‘Yeah, they say that each civilization was built on the rubble of the last.’ Eva spoke, processing it out in her own way. She began to feel herself slipping into absent minded thought but managed to pull herself back into focus.

When they finally made it to a tunnel, Sara looked around and noticed the battle worn state of the area, as well. When the witch stood up, Sara’s fur on her tail bristled, but the way she held herself made Sara realize she was no enemy. Pulling the gas mask up, she smelled-

She started coughing, the dusty scent making her want to sneeze. She quickly put her mask back on, not wanting to breathe in that soul anymore. The exchange between Emmett and the witch was interesting. Clémence was her name, but Sara was just going to call her LaRue.

It seemed as if the French didn’t find the DWMA’s agents as acceptable though, and her ears fell back as she glared with a defiant, stubborn look on her face. One nobody could really see, but Eva could feel.

Seeing the witch, Eva felt her blood run cold, but the adrenalin of the recent fight as well as her mind being semi occupied saved her from the worst. Within a second she realized that the woman was friendly, yet Eva didn’t lower her guard. ‘The city is burning and they judge those coming to its aid.’ Eva said to Sara with a sigh, who nodded with a sigh of her own.

A sudden explosion rocked them and - for a brief moment - Sara wondered if this was what hell was supposed to be. Seeing the flaming skeletons and - further behind them - a flaming corpse with skin had her skin crawling but that grin upon her face growing wider.

Hearing Emmett’s command, she nodded and went the opposite side Gauss was, swinging Eva’s lantern around as she rushed along the slanted wall, slamming the lantern against the chests of the flaming skeletons.

In the meantime, she had given Eva a flow of confident energy from her own wavelength, wanting to keep her spirits up. As she did so, she tried to go off topic. ‘So, Eva, do you think these bones could make for some good chew toys? Not sure if I’m gonna like the taste of charcoal, in all honesty.’

Eva laughed. ‘While they would, I don’t know how well they would hold up. I would imagine the fire would make the bones insanely brittle. But considering how tough they are, I don't know if that would apply here.’ Eva mused as she was swung around. Eva heard the warning from Gauss. ‘Best be on the lookout, I think they are about to send out something strong.’ Eva watched, longing for a time when she might be able to resonate again. Pushing her desires down, she refocused. ‘That thing back there is disgusting, it looks different.’ Eva pointed out.

‘It does, doesn’t it?’ Sara agreed, curling her face in disgust, yet no one would likely see that. She looked over to see a blast of lightning fire from Gauss and Noah and she smiled wide at the sight. Finally, Noah can resonate without there being a horrible electrical discharge. She was jubilant for them, so much so she spoke to them on her comms. “That was cool! And hey, nothing went awry this time. Nice!” She then dove into the masses of fiery skeletons from the side to smash into the ones they had weakened. She noticed the wavelength attack caused them to seize up and she glared at them. That didn’t seem right. When did magic ever seize up from a wavelength attack? Maybe there was just something magical that could be affected by a resonance attack. Or maybe they were just seizing up from the electrical current, right? Unless that wouldn’t be a thing because some of them that were seizing up didn’t have a nervous system left over.

Still, she rushed in before the skeletons in the back could overtake the group of their fallen, looking like a blur as she quickly smashed the chests of those on the ground, doing flips as she was doing so to keep that momentum going.

However, those skeletons came in a little too close and she dove back to her side of the ditch, her tail burning as one attempted to grab at it. Its skeletal hand closed around it, making Sara fall on one hand as she came from underneath with Eva’s lantern to smash the hand that held her, the air around her now permeated with the scent of burning hair strands. Of course, that didn’t lessen the fire that now enveloped her tail. Making a lot of pained, distressed animal noises, she hurriedly took her coat off to bat at her tail, trying desperately to put it out while backing away from the swarm.

Eva hadn’t noticed it at first, but the quick reaction of Sara brought the emergency to her attention. “Oh christ, your tail is on fire!” Eva exclaimed out loud for everyone to hear, going over her options but ending up going with the only one she could think of on the spot. Partially shifting, her torso and bow outfit beginning where the chain ends, her head closest to the ground. Rocking herself back and forth she directed her attention to Sara’s wagging tail. “Bring me closer! I can whack it! The fire I mean! Not your tail, though I guess I have to hit that too!” Eva said frantically, her arms flailing and trying to help put out the fire.

“Yeah, no shit!” She yelled vocally, letting the dangling half-shifted weapon to hover next to her burning tail as she did her best to still it, allowing Eva to smack it at her leisure. “Don’t worry about smacking my tail, the tail is the thing you’re supposed to smack!” If this weren’t in a tense situation, it would have been incredibly comical. At least, when they get out of this in one piece, Sara can laugh about this later. Upon seeing the ground, she crouched. “Wait, I got an idea.”

Sara tried smothering the flames with the dirt and rubble by wagging her tail on the floor, getting it down to smoldering embers that lit her tips to candle-sized flames that she still tried putting out with Eva’s aid.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | DWMA | Dall Island | Rings: 0/3

He'd done it. They'd done it. And the spell had gone through without a hitch. Seeing the use of Magic Circles in combination with his magic Ark now knew for certain, that he would be taking a much more invested interest in the applications of using spell circles in combination with his magic. Who knew, maybe he could combine the other elements to create different environmental effects like layering the ground in ice by converting his mud shifting spell to create the pit into an frozen ice land. These thoughts bubbled to the surface- even as he broke his stance and sighed with relief, shaking his hands to get rid of the sudden tremble that took over them as he clenched and unclenched either fist.

The buddy system sounded like a good idea to him. It would keep him from going too far out with his magic if he were acting alone and with Raph already being someone he was alright with, this just worked out perfectly.

It took Ark a second to realize however that Rand wasn't speaking through that unique echo style of magic he had been earlier- and only after realizing the cancellation spell was gone, did he pitch his own input first.

"I think the buddy system's a good idea, so I'm for it" He supplied. "I would rather that than us going straight into the forest. Plus" he looked back at their base, how it had tilted and shifted off its original balance. It bugged him. "I want to see if I could do anything to fix up the base again. These crabs had magic that basically made moving the land around them like cannonballing into a pool and if they can do that, I want to see if I might just double the base's support to prevent it from tipping over again like that if we end up seeing these crabs again. Or any other creatures with unique innate magical traits like them. Could have been worse if we ended up facing more than just a few of those things." As if that had happened he would have resorted to turning the whole ground into lava and burning the magic to layer everyone in burn proof spells. Would have drained him completely but he would have done it. "But...that can come later if you want." It was really just a suggestion. The base wasn't in any immediate danger and neither were their supplies, he'd know given his gem- but still. The possibility to test out things was on the mind now that he'd seen creatures capable of negating some of his own magic.

Mentions:

Interactions:: Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun Meredith

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Black☆Star Dojo™, DC
​

The Death City Black☆Star Dojo was a site to behold. Perched atop an unnaturally tall plot of land and consuming multiple city blocks, it was far larger than one might anticipate for a dojo of any size. Most city dojos were typically situated with a building, and while perhaps large, they were most commonly renovated gyms or even general commercial buildings fitted with equipment and furnishings to fit the theme of the martial art being taught there. In fact, there were several within Death City dedicated to a single martial art or style of fighting that fit that exact description. The Black Star Dojo was less of an outfitted building and more of a Japanese style castle with its own dedicated courtyard and entry way. If approaching from the West or South, the most common ways to approach the building given its location in the Northwest part of Death City, the first sight of the building would be it built into the ledge of the elevated ground and overlooking the roads and other nearby buildings, as if a staunch guardian to those around it.

There might have been a hint of truth to this; crime was definitely at its lowest near the dojo.

Given the elevation and later fences that surrounded the property, the only method of actually entering the dojo grounds was from a large Torii gate situated to the East which led up through what itself was a beautifully landscaped walkway that spanned nearly the length of a city block itself, accounting for a good portion of the size this property consumed. It would be quite easy to argue this was a waste of highly valuable city space and planning given the prime location of the property, but Black☆Star had the money and ego to justify this type of expense. Beyond that, the wide variety of colorful plants, flowers, and shades of green in the shrubbery made for a visual delight as one ascended the stairway to the higher ground the rest of the facility was on. The walk required to get to the dojo may have been lengthy, but the sites one was allowed to see--especially later with a large bridge overlooking a koi pond and the more traditional, reserved landscapes of Eastern culture--made it seem fairly condensed given what a newcomer would see upon entering the dojo.

The reality was, Black☆Star made this property his passion project, pouring more money into its development and upkeep than the other dojo, effectively making this the headquarters for the business model. It was used in all the promotional material, and it was easy to see why.

Upon reaching the main facilities, there were several Japanese-style wooden buildings surrounding a white stone courtyard that lead to a large, red building that was the front face of the castle. It appeared more akin to a monetary than a castle, at first. This cemented in the obvious aesthetic the dojo was going for, which made sense given the Star family was technically a branch of the Hoshi family; known even more for their deep cultural roots and preservation thereof. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for the construction crews of Death City, transplanting a mountain range wasn't exactly feasible within the confines of Death City, so trying to perfectly replicate the Hoshi homelands in a misty, secluded mountain wasn't quite on the table. Still, in a word, one might call this entire dojo setup overkill. But then, students of the DWMA were likely accustomed to this type of radical aesthetic given the nature of the academy as a whole.

Arriving at the entrance to the dojo, any of the agents that Starwulf had instructed to attend would have been met by a dedicated greeter. A fairly attractive woman in a bright red kimono, adorned with gold stitching and dark purple accents to the sleeves and sashes of her garment. Arriving there would have been exactly as Starwulf told them: easy. Agents of the DWMA were given an identification card that allowed for free public transit. There were at least three separate bus systems that could have dropped them off, the underground railways that had a designated stop not far from the East entrance to the dojo, dedicated biking lanes the entire way there, and even cabs were common to get there. Beyond that, the foot traffic to the dojo was in no small amount; the dojo had hundreds and on some days thousands of students in it every day. Chances were, none of the agents had to walk alone to the dojo if only because of how many people attended it in a day.

The greeter would have gleefully introduced herself and informed them that Starwulf was waiting in his wing. An explanation that the higher ranked sensei were given their own wing to train within, sometimes on underground floors that were reinforced for the intensive training. His was one such area. Another attendant would be summoned to guide the agents through the lavish first floor of the castle, debuting only even more of the extravagant yet traditionalist decorum of the dojo. The foyer was easily the most well-decorated with a large carpeted walkway over beautiful stark-stained floors guiding them into the main halls, with well-groomed plants and crystal clear waters for golden koi to be seen as one walked by.

The hallways beyond that were starkly simple. Strong, but simple wooden accents through large halls, and only two right turns before a stairway that transitioned from wood to a hard, polished but naturally colored stone as they descended down the stairs to the underground levels. This was not the normal ten or twelve foot spacing between stories either, but closer to fifteen or sixteen foot, which translated to an odd-feeling amount of walking just to make it one level. The wing that belonged to Starwulf was not on the floor immediately blow the entrance, but one further down, and required a fair bit of further walking to arrive at. Despite the impressive size of this dojo, it most definitely was larger on the inside. The elevation of the area and landscaping above was to hide how expanded it truly was, thus the expenditure was hardly just for show.

Wooden doors slid open by the attendant to reveal a large open area lit with magitech lamps, and a stone floor roughly sixty by sixty feet in space surrounded three sides by a set of three wooden stairs acting as a a border, with the back wall and two open but dim archways there simply being met by the stone with transition pieces. Off in one corner of the dojo were a series of bamboo practice dummies, and against the back stone wall was an assortment of standard weapons, although no firearms of any kind. The entire area seemed relatively simplistic, the most complex part of it being the illuminated ceiling with arched wooden supports. Aside from that, a set of four more sliding doors; two on either side.

Starwulf was, in fact, present. Standing between the two archways against the back wall, he was scrolling through his phone waiting for the students to arrive. His dojo had no seats or chairs, nothing immediately in the clearing that indicated any kind of rest. So standing in the soft yellowish lighting of the dojo was about all one could do if they weren't already training intensely.

"Hopefully, you lot came up with something interesting for your training," he would comment, wanting to get into the meat of things.

Nobody Special simj26 FireMaiden Prizzy Kriyze

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Daniella Ethalyn- Paris, France - The Rail Line​

Watching her two allies join the fray, it seemed the pair both had shining things to show off, the lightning show Gauss, or rather that bastard Thadeus had put on was impressive and the mad dash of Sara, which now left her in the midst of the horde was impressive. She was pretty agile for a Werewolf, or maybe that was how they normally were?

Though now Nadia had her attention torn, did she save Sara from her precarious situation or did she make use of the shambling horde to just attack the charred man down beyond.. Here they were in close quarters, the undead, or whatever in the Death’s will these things were. Within the tunnel and towards its opening they were, space would be close or limited, the skeletons would have a free shot to the surface. But Nadia stops and speaks. “Dani, what do we do, help our allies or press on… Everything I have say’s to press on, but we both know what that will mean.”

“...Help’em before she gets turned into a rottweiler,” Dani replied after a brief pause. “Let’s not be like those other jackasses and get fucked in the ass because we wanted to be prissy.”

“Heh. We really need to work on talking over our minds. Well that and me being able to range with you… Though well enough, though a show huh?” Watching the rest of the shambling horde she speaks. “Or I could disappoint everyone and end this all within three seconds.”

“That’s gonna be a while, it takes some restraint since you have to time the wavelength matching… and do I look like fancy boy there? Wait, wouldn’t ending it in three seconds be showing off?” Dani questioned.

“We aren’t fucking Cavemen Dani, we have those Death given grenades. And all these fucks are bunched up in the tunnel, I don’t know why they didn’t think of it, any of us. Though I would need to get the wolf away from the ice.” Nadia said testily.

“Then pull the wolf out and then use the grenades? The fuck are we gonna expend energy over this shit?” Dani retorted in confusion.

“Yeah, yeah, what is the expression hold your pants… hmm maybe not best, but fine, I’ll do my Job. And yes, we should save energy for that bastard, I want us ready to run as fast as we can, both for her and towards that bastard once the Ice has cleared. Thaddeus over there is using up a bit of power, I think three Grenades is enough, leaves us with one. And to think they all put on such a wonderful show, bah, we’ll have to make up with the burned bastard. Ready?”

“Fuck their show, I don’t wanna die here,” Dani replied grumpily. “Ready. Do it.”

“Da, Da, like you would be the first to die if we go. Let’s do this then.” Running into the Melee, Nadia focused her power into speed and the offensive, shoulder ramming one inferno skeleton and kicking another, these moves would do little more than knock them around or throw them off balance into their allies, but that was all that Nadia wanted or needed them to do, as she stands a bit triumphantly over her ally who was burning a bit on her tail… But only briefly as in the same instant she grabbed Sara by the waist and hoisted her up in a fireman’s carry with her right arm.

“Sorry, but you don’t want to be here.” Saying these words her left-hand arms and throws or simply drops and rolls three cryo grenades into the midst of the hoard one by one. There was no point in fighting over a dozen of these things in an enclosed space, as she said, they weren’t cavemen, they had technology.

At highspeeds Nadia escapes the soon to be frigid blast zone, with luck maybe a bit of the ice would lick Sara’s tail, putting out the flames, either way she didn’t have the time nor cared to confirm this. “Tovarish (Comrade), when giving support, do not make frontline support instead. But I cannot leave you two to such a fate, da?” She says in light rebuttal as the grenades did their job, waiting for the haze to clear Nadia had dropped Sara and was taking a charging stance, she wanted the burned man, these small fries didn’t mean shit before that prize, and it may give them some answers too. Now was the time to await the result of her bombardment of the skeleton pile.

Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul Prizzy Kriyze EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Rieko, AZ & Cyrus
DWMA Airfield - Helipad 03 - Death City ​

In the aftermath of the mission a terse silence had befallen the group as they returned with their parts, Az for his Part keeping to himself and Rieko ordering the rest to gather and to be silent or to speak in soft tone as they flew back, a radio in her hand and a sour expression on her face as she stroke Blackie, letting it rest where it had for the flight in, about thirty minutes later it all made sense as Cyrus awaited them just outside of the landing zone, an blank look to his face. However the looks on Rieko and Az hinted this was no normal social call. As Az got out Rieko remained behind, motioning towards the terminal building, she then walked over to Jarvis, handing him his pet back.

"Team Reaper, all six of you are to remain by the Terminal building, do not attempt listening in on this conversation... This is not some sort of Reverse psychology game or a hint. I mean it. Please just wait, this will not take long. Your day as a team isn't done right yet." With that said the pair go meet the approaching Cyrus as the helicopter's blade finally stops turning, the pilot going his or her own way in a heavy pair of coveralls and a helmet with a flipped down visor.

~~~

Off the back of a long conversation with Starwulf and Salem of all people, Cyrus now had a new situation to deal with for Team Reaper. The only joy Cyrus took out of the previous situation being the beautiful moment when Bellamira decided to pummel–or at least try–Starwulf. While the layers to the event, as outlined by Salem, were far more sad than face value, Cyrus didn’t really care. Even his brain had these few primal simian cells that took enjoyment from that specific moment, and he would be damned if he let some psychologist steal that from him.

The members of Team Reaper and their assorted adversaries had not yet returned, but they would shortly. This meant the meeting, or at least the important bits of the meeting, would need to be relatively brief. Reiko and Sunder were already in position at the designated clearing for the incoming Team Reaper Helicopter, meaning it wasn’t precisely difficult to find them. Even if it was, Sunder had a fairly unique Soul Signature.

Cyrus approached, waltzing over to the pad in his semi-formal attire with a blank expression on his face. For now, the winds were warm and mostly still, and this landing pad for the training grounds was fairly clear. At least they weren’t in the Lots again. Thus far, every single group had started in a Lot and it blew his mind that this became the tradition when they were permitted anywhere within Death City.

Why didn’t anyone choose a coffee shop? A bowling alley? It was not mandatory to do these huge introductory feats; they could play billiards and share a pop. Mentally, he condemned Emmett, Zelda, and Midori for starting this trend.

”I’m not going to be particularly harsh with my critique,” Cyrus informed them, only speaking once he was close enough he was sure to be heard and thus wouldn’t need to repeat himself. Oh, how he hated doing so. ”Starwulf managed to cut his team in half and he used a nearly opposite tactic you did, so obviously there doesn’t seem to be a formula for success,” Cyrus added, explaining the reasoning behind why he was limiting his input.

He inhaled deeply, although quietly. He wasn’t exactly a fan of this particular element of his duties. In fairness, he didn’t exactly like his current role to begin with.

”Hindsight is twenty-twenty. The obvious now was a mystery before. There is one thing that I think should have been obvious from the beginning. These agents are volatile, and even though half of them had worked together before, it wasn’t under your leadership. Sending them out on a partially unsupervised mission off campus in their first meeting was a poor decision, regardless of how you executed it. The second, less-obvious flaw I see here is that because you were so quick to separate yourselves from your agents, you have established an extremely weak rapport with them. I would even say these two issues go hand in hand,” Cyrus explained to them, giving a fairly formal yet still heavily conservative critique of their meeting.

”I could bitch and whine about the fighting, especially the Maiden, but why bother? The way I see it, bitching at you over their decisions is like complaining because a Rook only moved horizontally across the board. It is not the fault of the player for the limitations of a piece. Handle that how you want,” Cyrus told them, wrapping up what could have been the real ass-chewing of the exchange in a quick summation of his perspective.

”What you need to do is take a step back and level with your team. Build a rapport with them, get to know them, understand their frustrations. Salem is adamant that we need to use actual empathy to find the root cause of these behaviors before we can work on any solution for them. In fact, that’s why Starwulf is such a polarizing instructor. His empathy is limited. His goal is to work people through their issues and drive them to success by brute force. That method can either be incredibly successful or abysmally pointless, all depending on the agent. If we have him, we need to strike a balance with your group. Good cop, bad cop, I guess is the way to go,” Cyrus went on, giving them his suggestion for how to proceed with their team. It was a culmination of his personal experience, the success he had seen with Team Stitches, and the input from Salem. It was also the only hope he saw at getting things back on track.

”Do you two have any questions? My formal reports will be short and succinct and no action will be taken for this team due to what went on, unlike the other,” he asked.

Asmund ran a hand through his hair. He was thinking. He’d expected Adrian’s anger to get the better of him, had thought with Ashi’s personality there would have been a good contrast to abating that of being too much- maybe it had been a bad idea to pair the two AW’s together, he found himself thinking. His intent hadn't even gotten through with what he’d watch on the screens when the group began. Trying to show Adrian the capability if two AWs worked together, as well as with Ashi- had not even happened. They’d both faced their own opponents separately and there’d been little coordination after.

“I…” he trailed off, still forming his own thoughts, “am a bit surprised Wulf ended up fracturing his” then again,the guy was gungho- push through it sort. He completely understood how in this program that was a double-edged sword. “Good cop, bad cop huh” he rubbed his chin.

Umbra landed on the roof at the edge of where they stood overhead. Asmund glanced in the magical creature’s direction.

“They don’t like her much–” the bird squawked, whatever she said, he ignored it, “--and by extension were upset with me for obviously fair reasons. I can take bad cop- Reiko’s probably going to be better at being good cop since I intended on addressing Adrian in private anyway.”

”To be blunt, no one likes the bird much. In fact, I recall when you first brought it, it stayed in a form similar to a hummingbird or a falcon. It was small and endearing then. But… that...” Cyrus said, eying Umbra with a discerning eye as if she wore an ugly dress down the red carpet. ”Is much less personable. I believe the bird disliked it. Most agents that know you are aware of it and handle it accordingly, but you are a mentor now. You see what it did to your first impression as is,” he added, elaborating on what he was referring to and emphasizing the advantage of a smaller form.

”As for what you do with Adrian, I suggest only this. Remember you attract more flies with honey than vinegar; and, that your situation is already sour,” Cyrus suggested, switching topics back to Adrian quickly after his comment about Umbra.

Rieko for her part remained mostly silent as she processed what they had to say for both parts as she remembered the kitten and the situation with that. Then there was the information on Wulf’s team… That sounded bad… Though she did not much mind the words of Cyrus. Still she would at least try and defend what they did in a light manner.

“This exercise was a bit off of the plan, though it allowed an insight into our teammates. Originally there were to be obstacles at their drop off points but weather and time cannot be overturned. I do agree with you in regard to the team, though I’m afraid I won’t be so much a good cop to them.”

Reading the mind of Cyrus she motioned to where they were now. “This is a drab and boring place, it puts them in the mind of recruits starting over from day one. Not just this landing site, but the training lots in general. However, making them start all over is not so bad in essence.”

The Veteran weapon smiled thinly, she had not even told her partner what she had a mind to do till now. “I plan to put all of the students through my morning training, or a variant of it when they are not on missions, and I do not wish to debase them with a faceless yard. I will have them over at the lot where my Family has our home and Tea House. I also would like to have one on one talks with all of them to somehow show I actually do value their existence. I know your own opinions of F.A.T.E., or the public ones at least. I intend to save every single one of them if I can. Even the hot-headed Adrian. A measure of faith, a measure of sweat and a measure of civility is what I plan to throw at them. In fact, the sooner I can carry this out the better. More so for the three boys, they had a team with a leader that did things for them, reached them.

That was all taken away suddenly, though for good reasons that they cannot yet know of. They are likely resentful of the program and of us. Faith and Martial ideals saved me over some of the worst years the DWMA has seen. So, I’m going to offer the same to them and place a bit of faith in them.”

With that she chuckles a bit and crosses her arms beneath her chest and tilts her head to the left. “I’m not so sure the drill sergeant that gives you tea and sermons is much of a good cop, but I like to think it isn't a bad cop either. For most of my life I’ve had older Meisters to serve as a mentor to me in some ways, so now I shall try the same for them in my own way.”

Cyrus listened to Reiko explain her intentions. Perhaps it was a parallel to himself and Lord Kidd, but there was a notable amount of respect emanating from the man in seeing the weapon take charge while the Meister laid back, mostly complaining. Cyrus reflected on Kidd for the briefest of moments. He was taken aback when their pairing was even brought up; the two men existed as near foils of each other. Kidd was… idealistic. He was part of Spartoi; the group that defeated Asura and sealed him on the moon. There was a period in his life that anything felt possible. Perhaps that blinded him to the impossibilities of life, or more aptly the existence of a pyrrhic victory; the reality that sometimes the cost of success outweighed the benefit thereof.

Cyrus did in fact value what they were doing here. What he questioned was whether or not it was worth it when the DWMA had so many larger issues at hand.

”The Hoshi boy. Or golem, if you care to call him out. I believe he made headway with those three, but to be blunt, I believe he’s an example of caring too much. There is a certain professional distance one should have as a mentor and his… specific experiences blur that line. If Starwulf is on one end of the spectrum and the Midori on the other, I would suggest all my mentors find a middle ground between them,” Cyrus explained, giving some insight as to the previous mentor for half of the team.

”Your approach seems agreeable. You already know how to fill the requisition forms for any additional resources or spaces you want. Just try not to trigger any of them and I won’t have to add to my report,” Cyrus announced, effectively approving the method Reiko had outlined. He then unfolded his arms and slid them down to his sides before turning around to leave, not intending to waste another moment present if need be. ”You know how to reach me,” he told them both as he departed.

“Hear that?” Asmund called up to Umbra. “Switch to something less intimidating like before.” And in a lower breath muttered, “used to be actually cute when she was a chic.”

Ignoring the squawk that followed that statement, Az turned his attention to Reiko. “So tea and sermons huh?” He smiled, “Guess this’ll be a good time to catch up with the sport and pop.”

"Indeed. Let's not keep them waiting shall we? Adrian is likely still half out of it from the collar, I'll try reaching him if I can with what saved and served me well for decades of service, but he already does not like you and I suspect he will not find his actions wrong."

~~~

With that all said and done and the duo going one way as Cyrus went another, Rieko looked at the group a bit sternly, she was sure they used the time to speak to one another, but for now that was to end, the sun was still up at least, darkness was not far away.

"We would like to say none of you are in trouble, but we are not going to dismiss you just yet either. Az has words he would like to say and once he is done, I will be taking you to our new meeting location starting tomorrow. I promise it is a bit better than an empty lot and we may make use of other locations thereafter, but a few things will be explained once we arrive.

I also will not send you all home without some food for those that require it, drink for those who do not and rest in general. Arrangements will be made to get you all back to your rooms and residencies at no expense to yourselves. I also wish to speak to each of you in a one-on-one manner. Do not worry, I don't plan to keep you that long, once the basics have been met you may leave whenever you like after I've arranged for a ride to take you home."

Allowing for this to settle in their heads, the Miko takes a couple steps back, allowing Az to be front and center, for his own words and orders to part from his lips to their ears.

Interactions: QuirkyAngel The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen Serei2477 Azurian Dream

 

[The Regal Rper]

Az | DWMA | Lot E

With Reiko giving him the stage, Asmund merely started with two simple words: "Analysis time." A small smile on his face.

"Shouldn't be much of a surprise to you all that we were watching the fights. The objective of this exercise was for us to see how you guys would handle and solve a task yourselves without causing exceptional damage to yourselves or your opponents considering your opponents themselves were all volunteers from DWMA itself; how you chose to go about it would change how each team defended their specific items and their own personal approaches." He explained simply.

"Since this group is rather..," he tilted his head, "unique" he nodded to himself, "given your respective capabilities we had to select people that would not be immediately floundered or had some sort of advantage that would give them the opportunity to actually pose to you a challenge in a fight, physically or mentally. Of the few volunteers I had available, the ones Reiko and I picked for this exercise were specifically focused on being able to counter any of you in a sparring exercise- but not just meatheads mind you. Not to win outright, but to at least pose a challenge- and for the most part that seems like it was a success." He said glancing at Reiko and then returning his gaze to the team.

"Sage and Elly displayed excellent teamwork as did Zari and Jarvis in retrieving their respective parts. Elly," Az chuckled, "sly move throwing Arlington off the way you did with that peck." He chuckled. "Sage as well, you played a perfect role in handling Elly's wavelength control throughout the fight. I'm glad to see the fight did not exacerbate into something more. I listened to each of you very carefully- and I must say your teamwork together seems to have gone so far without a hitch."

"Zari, excellent job using Zeke's ability against him to your advantage. And Jarvis, you did phenomenal holding Lapis at bay the way you did. Your physical prowess in close-quarters combat proved to be just as it said, and the creativity behind you two will certainly excel in our future missions. I have no doubt you'll excel exceptionally as a CQC combatant especially with your Vampiric partner by your side."

"Adrian, Ashi- you both did extraordinarily well against your individual opponents, I must say. Especially against opponents I sought out to be real obstacles against the two of you. Given your Undead Physiology, Miss Ashi, I had to find someone capable of having an actual impact against you if they couldn't match your superior strength, hence Ginny. And Adrian, well, you've met Sampson, and despite how the fight went, you did well in your utilization of both Self-Resonance and application of Partial Transformation, however- this is where we come to the critiques now that the compliments are over."

"Ashi and Adrian. I was hoping that your opponents might be able to teach you both something interesting- but it seemed that was unlikely. Not only was there little coordination between you two but when you came to your goal- it seemed to me you both got sidetracked. Adrian" his tone just as calm but a touch gentler here, "specifically, you didn't even care about the goal in general. You focused solely on your opponent, and you went too far for what was a sparring match against an essential ally of the same organization. You achieved the goal, but you failed the overall objective- and that, is something to reflect on." And for a moment, a brief sigh, Asmund said: "Look" he spoke to all of them now, "for some of you- three in particular, all of this might be frustrating. I get it. I understand how frustrating it feels to lose what felt like great progress and then have to start from scratch all over again." His eyes moved up to Umbra, the bird now no longer its larger more intimidating form, but rather no bigger than a crow. The purple, silver, and red feathers the only thing distinguishing it from such.

His eyes moved to look at Adrian. "You've been tossed out of what felt right and now here you are, basically having to do it all over again or trying to salvage what you can so you can get something better at the end of the road." Glancing at Elly and Sage, Zari and Jarvis, "I get it- I've been there, many many times- we both have. I know my introduction didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked, and I apologize for that, and for the doubt I put in you. Truly. However, if we are to be a team- I'd like to start fresh, and try this again. This time without the foolish pranks from my dumb friend up there. Isn't that right?" He called.

Umbra flapped, descending on Asmund's extended arm, alighting. Then opening her beak she replied in Elly's voice: "Crystal clear dear. My apologies for before." Her beak closed with a click.

"With that, the stage is once again yours, Rei" The meister conceded to his Weapon.

Mentions: n/a

Interactions: QuirkyAngel Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Serei2477 Azurian Dream Prizzy Kriyze

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, landing pad near training grounds
Mission Mission recap
Status Groggy

​

Tags: The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen QuirkyAngel Prizzy Kriyze Azurian Dream Serei2477

Nothing in his life really prepared him for the sedation. Adrian was straight-edge. Outside of the occasional caffeinated drink, no substances he ever consumed had any notable effect on his body--or mind, for that matter. It wasn't his thing, and that was likely for the better given all the baggage he had to begin with. So, the fact that Adrian was still reeling from the sedation was hardly a surprise. His body was partly numb and where it wasn't numb, he felt an odd tingling sensation. His mind was hardly clear. Critical thinking was hardly an option. Fine motor control would have been next to impossible. But, beyond the mental haze and loss of physical capability was the calm loss of his emotional volatility.

Granted, that was likely the goal the whole time.

It wasn't until a good portion of the trip on the helicopter, easily well over half way through it, that he even awoke. There was no headache. No distress. Not even a touch of shame from Ashi carrying him for the bulk of it. He didn't have the drive to express either gratitude or the type of reserved guilt of having her carry him. Not like it was difficult for her, but on principle. Adrian was in many ways a man of principle. Although at his age, many might not even consider him a man to begin with.

Mumbles and groans prior to landing would be all to emanate from him prior to landing, even a constructed response to Zari given he hadn't had the chance to do so would have been beyond is current capabilities. Or, perhaps not his capabilities, but his drive to function. That was more accurate. Even once landing, he had little outward reaction to the criticism provided by his mentor, Asmund. Previously, this would have ignited something within him, but not now. Not now.

"Y-You... you aren't thinking about this right," Adrian finally responded, his half-dead voice almost carrying a hint of defeat, if not just outright depression. "You did not tell us it was just sparring or anything like that... you just dropped us off," Adrian explained, justifying his actions in a calm, monotonous voice. "An', you put two autono..nomous weapons together. We work alone normally, an' we never met before. If you expected us to work like them, you're stupid," Adrian explained, still interrupting before Reiko got a word in.

But he looked at her. Cold, hollow eyes. It was clear he wasn't all there. His words were still stumbling, his speech slurred, his thought process not quite together. Still, he had some valid points. Mildly impressive given his state and the fact they were clear responses to what Asmund said. "Why do you let him talk at all?" Adrian asked her, flatly.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - DWMA Lot E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The helicopter flight back was rather relaxing comparatively. Basking in her success, Elly lounged with the rest of her team, those that were conscious anyway. It appeared that she was correct in her expectations of Zari and Jarvis, their job going off without much of a hitch. The zombie and sleepy boy, less so, given he was knocked out for the trek back to the helicopter and half the ride back to the lot.

Elly wasn't too familiar with those collars, more specifically their kick. However, she surmised they were loaded with a fair bit of sedatives given the types they were typically strapped to. Clearly, she was right given how loopy he appeared. Elly hadn't seen his soul simmer like that since even before the bird showed up to cat-nap Blackie.

As they were dropped off onto the lot, a prominent figure appeared. Death's famous Deathscythe himself, hopefully here on good terms. With all the high-profile eyes, it only further incentivized Elly's urge to impress. Stay on the good side of those whose opinions matter.

Unfortunately, the Irishwoman wouldn't be able to listen in to find out if it was positive. She was doubtful she could hide from any of them truly, and pushing her luck here wasn't beneficial.

However, if Az's words were anything to go by, it was positive. Elly gave a small, theatrical curtsy in response to the praise, paired with a little grin. As he went on, the rest of his words were rather predictable. Sage and her received compliments, as did Jarvis and Zari; Adrian and Ashi criticism. The reappearance of the bird cause Elly's eye, and vice verse considering the crow stole her voice. Another skill of the two to take note of. Voices without a face to match couldn't be trusted inherently.

Though, while she was examining Umbra, it seemed Adrian had some commentary to put forth. It was surprising, given he looked prepared to take a nap on the grounds any second now. He was right on the second point, not so much the first. Anyone could infer since they were allies that no one would, or should have been, treating it like a real fight with an enemy. He wanted an outlet for his anger, that was it. However, Elly supposed this was the "drunk" talking.

Elly stifled an amused smile from growing further as she turned her attention back to the mentors. "Well, he's got ye on the second," She chimed with a smirk. A small joke, followed by another to hopefully keep things light. "An' Umbra can't be that bad. She has good taste, after all."

@Team Reaper

 

[Azurian Dream]

Ashi

Location
DWME Lot E

The whole roll-around scenario played out as well as it honestly could have at this juncture if they were being honest. They had won all three parts accomplishing the mission, and while Adrain's spat of extreme violence did indeed come off problematic. Especially with the powerful showcase of what the collar could do to a patient the Greater Zombie could tell from the silence of the plane ride that it had not been up to par what had hoped to be gained. Along the windy travels, Ashi kept an eye on Adrian contemplating her thoughts. At first, she believed herself completely at fault for the ending act. Yet that was an unfair viewpoint as she had in fact worked with what she had in a sudden sequence of meeting her partner then, and there. Adrain refused to have any desire for cooperative measures at the time out of frustration from a clear building repertoire of prior incidents that had ascended to an eruption point. While a file told her a good starting bit about him it could not warn her of his current dealings. She had used her techniques to trick her way past her opponent, but she had not made it in time to assist her partner in his own troubles.

The very fact he was willing to go so far as to attempt an extreme injury on a practice round against a fellow agent painted a wider scope of why Adrain was in this program. Ashi had been too lax not in her trust, but in an understanding of what Adrian had needed, and for that, she was at fault. She had assumed his letting loose would wane down the festering madness of rage in the boy, and she couldn't be any farther from the truth. Thus with one mission, it was clear for this to work she would need to work herself into his life. Get him to see her as someone who wouldn't judge him as was, but would help him nurture back to a stable state. Given her own qualms of life, it would indeed be no easy task nor could she simply give him what he wanted they needed to learn to act like Anubis's Scale of Justice perfectly balanced in life. However, just like relearning to live in a century far beyond your own, this would be a very rocky venture in itself. Yet for this partnership to work they would need to traverse it together... though the together part would be the first of many issues.

Upon landing they were met with none other than the big bad death scythe himself Cyrus... she wasn't really sure how to feel on this particular meeting, and thus kept her mind blank with a nod to his request for them to behave. While Az, and Reiko were discussing whatever was deemed necessary she looked over to her other teammates curious as to how their particular conflicts had gone. Such a trifle would be easier to answer via vocal request, but that could be done later. Upon that thought, their mentors returned and gave them their evaluations. In full It sounded like they were impressed by the fighting ventures of them all. However when it came directly down to Adrian, and Ashi it was clear they were expecting in truth a little too much. Before anyone could respond to Az, Adrain came into the conversation nearly a shambling mess. His words though were not, the zombie listened to his viewpoint before finally expressing her own thoughts to their mentors.

"It's true. Expecting two meeting souls to function together minutes after is a... madman's venture? However, I think we need to hear them out. Remember they have survived much more dire straights, and are seasoned in numerous conflicts way beyond our scope giving them much wisdom. While we can disagree with their measures we should still give them the respect they earned risking their own existence. Alas... or is it also? Ahem there might be point to why they chose things this way," Ashi commented with a analytic like gaze to Adrian in particular balancing the scales of opinion on her thought to the situation. He was right there was no time for Ashi, or Adrian to adjust to one another also given the fact they knew he was going into this with high emotion was a unfair showcased moment. It was like boxing in someone to fail immediately on purpose there was no gain from a obvious result. Adrain's disrespect to superiors was a very evident common trait with how casual the boy threw his last comment to Reiko it was like he wanted them to retaliate so he could keep going on trying to prove his faulty first point.

"But you did know they were fellow agents, and that is on you not them," it was sharp, and straight to the point as Ashi brutally pointed out the major flaw to Adrain's first sequence of verbal attack. He was just lashing out at them cause his own lash out had not satisfactorily ended to Adrain. The fight had done nothing to bleed out his frustration which was clear as he still aimed to pick a fight even if only vocally. However there was also another fault to be claimed.

"Just as it is on me for going equally as... rouge," it was weirdly more a question at the end to whether or not that was the right word. Very evident as the zombie woman had a perplexed look on her face. She even went as far to eye Eloise momentarily to see if the English word was properly being used when no confusing look came to the other girls face she assessed it was the correct meaning she wanted.

"I should express... English is still a strange language to me I apologize if I miss use? Misuse? It...," once she had started the chain of doubt in the tongue it seemed Ashi was loosing her ability slowly to speak English as such she simply bowed politely. The woman who for the most part had kept a very professional business like appearance was now showcasing a mumbling goofball trying to reclaim their lost stride.

"Maybe it is I who should not speak," she chimed half in joke, and half in to stop before she tripped over anymore on her own words.
.......................................................................................................​

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | West Nevada Desert | DWMA

Hearing what Midori had to say, left Zosar feeling odd. He didn't blame him for saying it. Wouldn't have blamed anyone for saying it. Midori wasn't wrong. If there was an opportunity involved that brought him towards his goals, the odds were likely he would take it. That was what living the life of a merc had led him to embrace. During the plague, life was short-lived, not for all of them, but for some. Why not take the chances you got, when you had them?

It was a mentality he hadn't fully realized he had taken into himself, even before his training truly kicked off in intensity.

However when he'd presented an easy out in terms of his escape, he had also chosen not to turn around and leave when the team he'd been a part of were being overwhelmed by a Corrupted Soul. There had been many chances for him to leave them behind. What were just a few souls compared to his own personal gain in the long term? That had been an actual thought that went through his head--

Their your friends, had been the thought that spurred him ultimately to play the sacrificial pawn.

Send the others away and then turn around and go help his other friends that were linked to DWMA. It was a rookie move. He knew it. To this day he still felt stupid for doing it. All those times they'd been reminded throughout every mission, to never get too attached to the mission itself or the people that were surplus as a part of it, things he thought he had gotten down pat considering the stuff he'd done as an Enlightener- ended up proving him wrong at the worst moment when he really didn't need it.

Here was the chance he had been hoping for- and here he was turning it away. Out of fealty to Midori, Adra, and just a few in DWMA who may actually like him.

Compared to his relationship with Becky, his friendship with Mark, his connection to many others within the Enlighteners- reviving that...why risk them for this. When it'd brought him nothing but stress and continued to do so even now.

He'd taken the chance, and stayed to help, and if he had been younger, more impatient and less tolerant perhaps what Midori had been saying would have striked a chord and left him truly bitter. He'd risked his life to help some of his friends and prevent some deaths from occurring and continuing considering the success his miniscule aid had brought in putting that Corrupted down, albeit at the cost of injuring himself and getting captured in return.

And despite that he was still getting questioned for his fealty?

He should have felt anger-- there was a fraction of his mind that felt maybe Midori was barking up the wrong tree here, probably even a bit of disgust- but what he did feel instead was understanding. Not blind abject fury for what were the clear facts, but a calm, neutrality that came from clear understanding.

That was the problem, it seemed. Perhaps another reason why DWMA was giving him up so freely. He flipped like a dime in a coin toss.

It was, to some degree, how he managed to survive fights where he should have died. Play the wounded fool- land the fatal blow, come out on top. Dad had taught him well in how to learn how to play the part and Hiroshi had taught him well in how to build the emotional control- as had others in the Enlighteners. It was easy to understand why Midori, and even Adra, felt that he could still possibly flip on them when the moment of truth came, when he had proven that if he was given the means to meet his goals he would likely take and most certainly use them.

Opportunity meant gains- if it was played right, that's what being an Enlightener had taught him. Learn to play the game well, and you had limitless resources and connections.

After all, that's what he'd done to get Abacus, the young aquatic feline he'd taken for himself. Even given the others a chance to get one for their own- not that he had really cared if they did or didn't. He'd only been looking out for his own means in that brief moment when Midori had given him those instructions. That pinch of selfishness was there, he couldn't deny it- and it was something he could recognize a bit more clearly as Midori spoke.

Midori had gone on to start to say something else- even while Zosar remained pretty silent throughout everything he brought up. Yet he never really got to hear where that would have gone, as that is when he turned to see Eustice.

He looked well.

Good. I would have been disgusted otherwise. And he shoved that rather dark thought deep down below.

He didn't want to think about the alternate realities where things could have been different for him or Eustice in the now. He'd been ready die before- and Midori hadn't taken his life in payment- so he was not about to start thinking about it now. Not with all the other stuff happening around them. He focused on the present- and found Eustice's stare to be judgmental and somewhat scathing.

Which it was.

He ignored Zosar entirely as he was passed to Midori, and as Midori gave the instructions for them to move on, Zosar's expression did not change but he certainly felt no longer as certain in his final choice as he had a moment ago.

His mind went to Adra- and how she probably could and would do better than him.

Eustice glanced back at him, a look in his eye as he did so and then turned his attention straight ahead. Saying nothing to Midori as they moved forward.

The action sparked something in Zosar as he sat back down and exhaled slowly, starting the engine, waiting for Adra to board and then following after Midori.

It was seconds as they drove- and all he could do every now and then was glance at Eustice. Thinking about that look in his eye.

It for some twisted joke- reminded him of the look in Lars eye. Nowhere near similar, but the thought alone brought the visuals back in pieces before they began flashing like pictures in his head.

In his mind's eye, he saw them. Lars and the others- life blood splattered, bleeding-- dying. He was holding Lars' head. Their cold eyes turned to look up at him and as he was lost in desperation, trying to figure out a way to staunch the blood flow- to give the werewolf a chance.

For some weird reason, he hated how his werewolf physiology wasn't doing what it was supposed to and saving his bloody life- but that was how things had turned out and that was how things played in his mental theatre.

The werewolf struggled to breathe- struggling to draw in air. And he looked at him, Zosar- tried to say something.

It gurgled out into his ears in a harsh whisper of accusatory fury that left him suddenly feeling a cold sweat as if someone were watching them.

There was no one.

Zosar blinked- ran a hand through his hair- focused back on the road.

Tried to think of something else-- couldn't.

Lars voice rang in his ears. His dying breathe: Why.

Why indeed.

Why had things turned out this way.

Why were these thoughts going through his head again, just like Midori had said. He hadn't thought it would, but here it was happening- and no matter how he tried to change the flow of thought, the brain whipped it up again. And again. And again.

He glanced back at Eustice, and every time he did-- he thought of saying something. Explaining himself-- snapping at him for putting them both in this mess-- he'd been certain but now, now Midori's points had come to fruition--

--For a brief moment, he hated Midori for that- hated him fiercely--

But it isn't his fault, he had a point.

--then he forced those thoughts away from those anxieties, those doubts. Telling himself that it wasn't an admission of believing he would backstab them ever, but an admission of what the Hoshi assassin, his friend, had observed. All stuff that was true. Yet the demons in his mind, the ones he rarely spoke about to his therapist- to anyone, started comparing the coldness as a template to what the other Enlighteners might show him if he returned.

It wasn't if he could go back- it was if he could go back in peace, compared to what he now had here.

Zosar thought about that point. His future in the DWMA. Would it be hard? Yes. It would. If he went back to the others though....Becky would never betray him, Mark would never look down on him, but Vanessa- Luthor, the others? The possibility they might actually despise him for the choice he made, forcing them to go back and report he had been captured-- Hiroshi would be furious, even if he wouldn't express it outwardly.

The drive went on and as it did Zosar found a sickness stirring in his gut-- a whisper in his head-- they'll never understand. Just like he doesn't-- snarling, he slammed the breaks, grimacing. The four-wheeler came to a screeching stop, his stomach rolled- emotions writhed within his chest, he moved away from Adra and the vehicle, a burning sensation in his throat--

He scowled as he choked down the burning in his throat.

Shaking with fury at himself. Unsure of why these thoughts had come back at seeing Eustice alone.

"DAMN IT!" He said through clenched grit teeth.

Eustice watched silently, staring at Zosar from within his seat.

His old friend, had never really been good at opening up and dealing with his emotions in a healthy kind of way.

Yet he did not move to go near him.

Zosar breathed, closed his eyes- trying to suppress the pounding in his ears-- just, needed to think- curb stomp those thoughts. Just a moment, he needed just a moment to not have the fury, the anxiety, the doubt, bubbling in his mind- he and Eustice were being targeted and here he was wasting their time--

Get it into gear he told himself. Keep it together, you've been through worse. He breathed, darkness surrounding him behind closed eyes and exhaled slowly.

Just like Hiroshi had taught him back when he'd been struggling with his training- getting angry and having to repeat the cycle.

Breathe, he could practically hear his voice instructing.

"Breathe." The pounding in his chest slowing.

But he grimaced-- because for a moment, he could not help but see Lars in a pool of his own blood yet again.

"S-Sorry." He instead said to the others in a breathy voice.

Mentions: N/A

Interactions: Sir Les Paul @Sybil

 

[The Regal Rper]

Az | DWMA | Lot E

The responses were quite fair. Asmund mentally took note of the critique and at the same time remained unphased to Adrian's slurred slight in his direction.

Edmund smiled at Elly and Ashi's attempt at lightening the air. His smile shifted to a more calm demeanor. He thought of repeating a line Adrian himself had said during the assignment that the speakers had picked up, that he had heard.

Weighing where that would go though, he opted not to. Instead saying: "Noted Miss Ashi." He humbly replied, a small smile and nod her way.

Deciding not to add or weigh in more- lest the next thing he say add to the fire. He stepped back and merely replied. "Reiko, I believe the stage is yours once more."

It was his way of saying: I'm stepping back, before things get heated. Because if he said what was on his mind, he was certain it wouldn't lead them anywhere but arguments. And he had neither the energy to care for such a turnout nor the desire to engage in such an outcome.

Mentions: n/a

Interactions: QuirkyAngel Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Serei2477 Azurian Dream Prizzy Kriyze

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jarvis Briseis - Lot E

Jarvis wasn’t trying to listen in. He just had exceptionally good ears as a bloodsucker and couldn’t be bothered to block them, though he wondered if that excuse would fly…if Reiko asked, of course. Sitting by the terminal building with his legs crossed and playing with Blackie, Jarvis certainly didn’t look the part of someone eavesdropping…which he wasn’t. At least, not intentionally. However, he wasn’t intentionally not listening either.

It seemed the mentors were being tested as much as the students of the FATE program were.

Jarvis hadn’t been especially tense during the helicopter ride, though he’d been obediently quiet as requested. What was there to say, really? His eyes occasionally wandered worriedly to Maiden, who had to be carried back to the Tower on Ashi’s back, but he’d managed to wrangle out a brief, whispered, explanation from Eloise and inferred the rest. He could see the collar-sedated state–similar to what occurred in the Lot C game with Sara–Maiden was in as well. The sudden flare had been a surprise, since he hadn’t expected any of them to encounter opponents they couldn’t handle, and forfeiting due to inability to continue was perhaps the last thing he would’ve expected from the Autonomous weapon team since neither of them seemed like the sort that would “give up” very easily, but if Adrian had gotten “a little too excited” it made a bit more sense. It aligned with Maiden’s temperament going into the game as well.

And after he’d told Zari to trust his teammates too. Jarvis sighed, glancing sheepishly at his partner. “...My bad.” He played with Blackie’s paws. “Well…you win some and you lose some…”

Perhaps they should’ve checked up on Adrian after finishing their task, after all…though Jarvis doubted it would’ve made a difference when not even Ashi could prevent the Iron Maiden from “getting a little too excited.” “...I’m sure they did their best.”

The parts had been retrieved, after all, though as a team, they still failed the mission if one followed the original conditions. Naturally, Jarvis was a little disappointed, but he’d been prepared for the possibility of failure. At least it was quick and no one ended up dead. Pessimist that he was, Jarvis had thought of a lot of different ways that they could’ve failed the assignment and the flare going off was one of the more benign options.

Worse would be if the flare hadn’t gone off at all…though, it was hard to say the necessity of it all without seeing the fight itself. Just how “excited” had Maiden gotten to get his collar activated? Maiden was a type-A agent not a type-C one…what could have triggered his behavioral issues? As Jarvis pondered these thoughts, the mentors came back.

The analysis…was a little boring if Jarvis were being honest…but an informative summary, so Jarvis listened without a word. Essentially, everyone did well…except for Ashi and Adrian…who also did well, but could improve on their teamwork and focus. It was like being fed spoonfuls of sugar, and a bit of salt, but mostly sugar…which was nice, but not particularly useful. There also wasn’t much advice tacked onto the few critiques either. Jarvis now knew that he and Zari displayed excellent teamwork. Elly and Sage displayed excellent teamwork. Adrian and Ashi did not display excellent teamwork. So in summary…teamwork was important? What a surprise. Still…he could see Az was trying so he lifted Blackie–who attempted to run away as soon as Umbra descended–in front of his face. “He says you’re both forgiven.”

Umbra and Az, that is. The angry hisses and meows might imply otherwise, but Jarvis fortunately did not know cat-speak.

“He also says he looks forward to future interactions, though I suspect he’s learned his lesson about the many predators on DWMA grounds and won’t be following me around on assignments anymore. He’s a bit of a fraidy cat.”

Releasing the struggling animal, Jarvis watched as the feline jumped on his head in a miffed manner before scampering off…likely returning to their dorm, but who knows? Blackie was a free spirit, after all. Jarvis shrugged before returning his attention to a sedated Maiden that, despite his state, still managed to give justifications. Or were they excuses? All within the same line really. Valid points that let him escape liability, but they didn’t particularly ‘justify’ his actions.

Both Eloise and Ashi gave their input, one attempting to lighten the situation with humor and the other voicing her thoughts as best she could. Jarvis yawned. “If you’ve got something to say, might as well say it.”

The irony of Maiden questioning Reiko’s “letting Az talk” when Maiden was the one that first interrupted with his input wasn’t lost on Jarvis, but he didn’t feel the need to point it out, nor did he care enough to. The statement made one thing clear. Maiden clearly did not respect Az as a mentor–an underlying issue that would probably have to be dealt with if Team Reaper was to function properly. Mentors wouldn’t be much use if their advice weren’t listened to, after all. Then again…that was their issue. Jarvis didn’t think any words he added in defense of Az…or any of their mentors…would change much.

Therefore, Jarvis simply slipped his hands into his pockets and replied to Maiden’s points in a lazy manner. “It’s just like the game in Lot C, isn’t it? The rules weren’t all clearly laid out. Just a goal. Therefore we made our own rules. Only this time, you didn’t win Maiden. None of us did.”

Because the flare was pulled. Unlike the Lot C game, this was a team assignment. Therefore, if one of them failed, they all did. Frankly, he thought it had all been pretty straightforward. If you were assigned a partner, you were expected to find ways to work with the partner. If you knew your enemies were classmates, you didn’t try to permanently maim or kill them. Then again, Jarvis wasn’t put in FATE for personality issues.

He shrugged again. “I don’t particularly care,” as there wasn’t much to be gained from winning in the first place, “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any expectations at all. It’s a natural part of once being human, I’m afraid.”

And it sounded to him like Maiden had expectations of their mentors as well.

The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun Prizzy Kriyze Sir Les Paul Azurian Dream EmperorsChosen Serei2477

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Rieko Tanaka
DWMA Airfield - Helipad 03
Death City - Tanaka Residence and Eastern Breeze Teahouse​

As events rolled on it seemed not all were content with being silent or waiting on Az to speak, Adrian to no surprise was first to interrupt, before Asmund could get his words out, then he did but was followed up by Ashi, Jarvis and Elly, with various little remarks, rebuttals or support given to his talk, though very little of the later. With a harsh glare to her face Rieko says nothing as she stands at ease in a very rigid pose as the conversation plays out. Being handed back to her It was then that her face squinted in confusion as Asmund had very little to say and the students seemed to not care much about being quiet.

Though they had been partnered for years, she doubted the whimsical Meister would just leave matters here. What would his future reaction be? How would he instill respect out of this lot or reach them at all? Well, that was a problem for future Rieko, not present one, as control is handed back to her. If her Meister did not wish to be combative then she would just continue on with her plan, he was welcomed to join if he so wished it.

Nodding her head at Adrian she decided to address his three questions first. Going off of what Asmund had said, she nodded her head, keeping at ease as her hawk like eyes locked unto his.

"Indeed, I did not tell you such. The test was originally going to have physical obstacles and some form of problem solving. The lack of information was to see how you reacted or think. The fact that you needed to be told it needed sparring rules with allied forces answers more about you than not. Also, ..." With that she stares at Jarvis and continues speaking, "...this mission could never be failed or completed. The radio had backup components and it was instructed to the fighting teams to not take things too far. If the parts were broken or you were, or we witnessed cause to call the event early, a flare would be fired off. My own observations of you all will come at a later time."

"As to answer two, we put the two of you on one team. I cannot speak for your previous commanders, but I am not comfortable with sending one-man teams to do anything, if a DWMA team is operating solo it is as things have gone poorly.

Experience has taught me this is how you get people killed. While pairing you two AW's together was a failure for the time being, you will be paired with Zari and Jarvis for the foreseeable future on deployments. If being careful makes me stupid in your eyes then so be it, but I've been doing this job for more years than you've been alive. Either way my own observations were not that you failed, nor that you succeeded, but an insight to your cores."

Which left the third question, as she cast her eyes upon them all.

"I do not let him do anything. He is my partner and also your mentor. He speaks for himself, and I speak for myself. We both have our own opinions and mindsets for this team. I offer you tears, sweat and blood. A matter of Faith. Faith in Death, Faith in me, Faith in you from me and Faith in one another. I will not apologize for anything that happened as it all was acceptable in its outcomes. Success and Failure are measured in blood, yours or the enemies of mankind.

If there are further questions or complaints, I will be happy to answer them in our one-on-one chats. I will be asking some questions of you all in either case. Also, I mean to put you all through your paces soon enough. You may speak to one another if you wish, but for now we are headed for the bus terminal, and I rather have such talks over Tea or Sake.

Follow me."

With that the Miko makes way from the Airfield to the Terminal, leaving the matter an open and shut case of "follow me" or be left behind. While she made no offer Az could join, though she expected he would turn up after or during tomorrow's training. It seemed neither the bird nor cat would be playing a direct role for this exchange. In total Silence a waiting transportation bus for the exclusive purpose of running Agents and groups from DWMA HQ to the Airfield or other important locations within the city that a large group would conceivably need to go to in the city. For this ride she would keep silent, till they reached the HQ Building gates, the funny looking castle. But that was not where they were going, with a motion of her right arm and hand she beckons them to follow.


~~~~30 Minutes later~~~~


With a walk of a little over a mile the group passes through the old city, where a number of those in the FATE program lived, with its old Middle Ages styled homes as Rieko led them down packed alleyways and shingled roofs, they come across a place that seemed a bit out of place, a stone wall that was smooth plaster with Oriental designed roof tiles and structures of Japanese design within. Of note was a massive opening in the wall that showcased a store front in the same Japanese style, a sign that said, "Eastern Breeze Teahouse." And right off to the side by a few more feet was an iron gated door with a handle and a keyhole. Continuing past the store front and up to the gate, Rieko opens the gate, ushering the others in, beyond was a rather modest yard that had a home beyond it, a few Japanese decorative statues or fountains, a small shrine and a good percentage of the yard was taken up by what was an assortment of outdoors stands, benches and poles for all sorts of exercises, a large boulder and a few bamboo mats and rolls. The ground was very worn dirt in places, and it should comfortably be able to hold the current class within the confines of the workout area.

"Starting tomorrow morning you, all will be coming here at 7am sharp, least a message tells you to go elsewhere on your DWMA issues phone. This is my home and I'll be instructing you to the form of my morning workout. Once that is done, we will head out to meet Az for additional training and studies, or whatever activities I come up with."

A slight pause,

"And of course, Missions when the time is right. Jarvis, given your nature I may show you some leeway here, but I expect you to undertake the same training at night. I will be testing your progress."

Allowing this all to process in the minds of the others, she then motions towards a side door into the tea house. "For now, I would like to invite you all in for Sake and Tea, to have one-on-one talks with each and every last one of you. There are also Japanese and American snacks and sweets you can help yourselves to and some food is being prepped, the last customers should be out by now. I ask that you all mind your manners, my husband has agreed to serve you all. Please rest and get comfortable, speak with one another. Once I have had my talk you only need ask and we'll have a taxi carry you back to your residence. For Ashi and Jarvis, depending on what you require or eat we can arrange it."

For talk of Faith, the woman had gone out of her way and invited them all directly into her home, well, her yard and teahouse at least. And it seemed this would be where they would undergo morning training.

With that being said she once more stops to allow processing of the information before venturing a smile. "Well, do we have questions or a preference in who goes first?"

Interactions/Mentions: Prizzy Kriyze EmperorsChosen Serei2477 The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul QuirkyAngel

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, wherever tf Reiko took them
Mission Mission recap
Status Slightly less Groggy, moody

​

Tags: The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen QuirkyAngel Prizzy Kriyze Azurian Dream Serei2477

"I'll go," Adrian chimed in, volunteering first for this talk. Reality was, he just wanted out of there as fast as possible.

He stepped forward, too, following up his actions although they were slightly sluggish due to the still present albeit now decreasing affect of the sedatives. He wasn't particularly fond of anything that happened. It didn't quite infuriate him, but what did was how it seemed these people believed him some type of dunce. That was how he interpreted these actions. The way he saw it, they made assumptions. They assumed each one of the agents here would by default think a fight had some type of limitations. They assumed it was common knowledge these were just sparring matches. Those ice shards from Samson sure fucking hurt and it didn't seem like there was much assumption there.

Adrian tried to quell that thought. Samson did at the very least concede to their duel of sorts limiting their weapon transformations. It might have been fair to infer that it meant there was some type of limitation in place. But, that didn't matter. Because that was still an inference. A type of assumption. If they wanted to make some type of judgement based on what anyone did there, they should have provided more ample information. Fact was, it wasn't impossible for the entire mission to go haywire. What would have happened if some incredibly strong creature got in there? Or if some enemy infiltrated? That'd happened before. Look at Zosar. Adrian had every reason to logically believe that they should have been provided information about the context of those fights.

Agents of the DWMA were trained to protect the world from evil, even if that meant snuffing that evil out like a wicked little candleflame on a crooked wax base. You can't predict evil any more than you can predict the actions of the Mad.

"Doesn't seem like a damn thing we say matters anyway. You set a real bad example being self-righteous," he commented, only chiding his mentor that much more.

"Oh, and I don't drink. Underage to begin with, but probably best your leashed hound doesn't get a sip of fire water anyway, huh?" he added, specifically aiming to tear into her hospitality.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Raphael Valerias​

March 28, 2067
Location: Dall Island, Beach
Interactions: Rand, Ark, Maria, Chanterelle
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun The Regal Rper Meredith

Upon hearing the sounds of the flora and sea, Raphael looked around for his group before running after them. He had noticed the mushroom sprouting from the crab and smiled at the work Maria and Chanterelle put in. Despite their pulls being opposites of each other, they were a really great team. If Maria and Chanterelle could continue - and then obliterate - their dislike of each other’s innate magical abilities, then they were practically unstoppable.

As Rand spoke of the buddy system, Raphael internally cheered upon being partnered with Ark, which he had to hide the outward expression of a fist pumping in the air, but what was left was him smiling like an absolute dork. Why was he so excited? It must have been the fight with the crab and that amazing power. Oh, he could get drunk from it.

Rand continued to speak, talking about using the chitin as armor. If Raphael felt better with creating anything, he could probably help with the armor and weapons, but he didn’t know if he’d just fuck it up. It was then that Rand told him that he should be taught magic circles. Raphael grinned at him wide, nodding. He’s always wanted to learn how to make a magic circle, but the times he’s tried it never went so well.

Then Ark began to let everyone know his ideas. Raphael snickered at the cannonball comment, though it did leave him very uneasy. What other creatures can do that to the ground? Were there anymore on this blight of an island that could do that?

As Ark was done, Raphael let his own explosive energy out that was running erratically through his system from the fight beforehand. His hands were balled into fists and he looked like he was about to punch something, yet there was a crazy smile on his face. “Why the fuck would we just go in without proper preparations???” He realized how odd that sounded and he cleared his throat, his cheeks turning a bit rosy from how embarrassing his outburst was. Death, this isn’t a fucking anime, cut it out! “Er… Uh, anyway, yeah, it’d be incredibly dumb to just go out there without getting some kind of preparations done. I need to know how to do magic circles anyway. The last time I tried learning magic circles, I didn’t really have a teacher to teach me and I’m pretty sure I flowed the mana in wrong-er… Something like that.” He looked off to the side, unsure if what he was saying was accurate. He then shrugged and continued, crossing his arms. “Anyway, if we can get some weapons and armor made, that would be extremely helpful. I bet the chitin can be a great focus for mana just like how the animals and plants seem to derive mana from this island. And hey, the chitin can have leftover mana that we can tap into to copy the abilities of the crabs or allow us to tunnel through dirt.” He sounded so confident when saying it, yet he knew there was likely a catch to it and he was at the risk of sounding just as presumptuous as always.

 

[Meredith]

Chanterelle Fuir

On the Beach, interacted with Rand Sir Les Paul , Maria RedArmyShogun , Raph Merciless Medic , Ark The Regal Rper . ​

The pair worked in near-perfect tandem. Two of them, or three or four, if you counted the dolls. Maria’s physical expediency and consistency far outweighed her own; there was something invigorating in the direct decimation that she was capable of that stirred the witch’s blood and made it yearn for it, too, to belong to her. These thoughts cascaded quickly through her mind as the creature collapsed; the fungus she had grown so delicately through its back slashed inevitably in the struggle. Something caught in the witch’s throat; maybe just the surprise of the blood rushing through her ears not just in motion but also in volume. She turned away from the vision of the corpse. It was, somehow, now horrific.

But Rand’s orders made her turn around, hands moving and eyes closing as the witch halted the growth of the plants, almost as if reigning it back in with a rope to herself. There was a deep breath; as they grouped up and their mentor began to present their options her eyes caught Maria’s across the circle. The witch did her best to offer a smile. Her head was pounding, just like the blood in her ears.

There was a case to be made for the contemplation of the destruction they had already wrought, but Chanterelle supposed that was the real point of this mission. The idea of using the resources from the crabs appealed to her; it would not be so hard to make a club out of growing a particularly sturdy sapling and cutting it down to sustain the self but the use of chitin from an already-dead animal seemed more ethical. The witch stepped forward toward the limp animal; throwing her gloves to the ground, having pulled them off finger by finger, she began to slowly ease her hands into one of the cracks Maria made. Separating the chitin from the wet, atrophying tissue inside it. The smell, as she cracked the makeshift joint, was not dissimilar to rotting meat. Her lips were straight as a board. The horror was shoved back down, somewhere far hidden, somewhere it could hardly be felt despite its rancidity. Like the material she knew was now lingering in the corpse.

“Preparation it is,” she affirmed after the boys, fingernails scraping against the inside of shell. There was nothing on her face that indicated disgust; although the motion was not joyful it was purposeful. Ark’s anxieties became her own. She was briefly reminded of her embarrassment preceding their flight. It was, perhaps, rude to assume that Maria would want to do the same- but she was a craftswoman, so why should they not let her craft? It only made sense.

The side of its claw made a sickening, wet crunch, side-plate popping off its last remaining connective tissue as her hands scraped at its innards. “Do you want wet tissue?” She asked Rand brusquely, her gaze snapping critically to the others as the shell slid from one of the crab’s legs and the liquid and growing fuzz inside it poured down into the sand in a mix of mould and seawater. For the first time, her nose wrinkled. It was hard to tell if it was the smell of decay or the boys that her eyes flickered to acknowledge. The timing was well-considered.

It wasn’t that she’d given the preconception of being judgmental so much as the narrowing of her eyes at them despite their obvious agreement. She’d nodded along to discussion of the buddy system, had kept focus on the task at hand, even with the bubbling excitement of Raphael’s potential to cast magic circles to help them all. It was not bitterness so much as appraisal. Ritual magic was something that Chanterelle, too, wanted to explore. “I’d prefer to split up less,” she admitted firmly, looking around at the others for validation, “as we all do good work.”

She offered the curled chunk of chitin to Maria by its end. The smell of the rot, thankfully, had begun to fade as most of its liquid components were absorbed by the sand. “Do you think you can use this?” She asked, but looked away, her eyes wandering up the side of the corpse to look for more vulnerabilities.

Do Not Touch!

 

[Sir Les Paul]

The Spring in your Step​

​

Wavelength still coursed through him, raw power like the electricity they conducted pulsed through what felt like his veins for several euphoric moments following the release and control of that bolt. It was a thing of beauty, both in execution and the elevation in his senses following the release. It was even quite unlike anything he had done before; this elemental power being a new taste to him, and one the Meister was fond of beyond words he cared to admit.

Another satisfying moment followed as he saw his teammates following up on the attack. Openings created everywhere and taken as Sara turned half rabid and Nadia seemed to actually make an effort to work in conjunction with them. All that talk about planning and heated moments within the truck, but lo and behold within the battlefield, it all came together. Less words, more action it seemed.

Gauss, riding off this feeling of success, decided there was still more they could do, although continuing to fire off bolts wasn’t the direction he intended. That could only last so long. The fact the skeletons even reacted at all indicated that there was something at play here that didn’t fall into any defined category he knew. Whatever arcane force created them was beyond him, but waiting around for the mystery to be solved would prove a waste of time and a downer for his current mood.

‘I have another plan, this one more on me,’ Gauss told Noah from within their silent connection. Gauss then dashed forward straight into the fray, but avoided the direct conflicts both Sara and Nadia had engaged in. Instead, once he neared, he ripped back the ball bearings from each of their original targets and began hopping around the rubble of the field, transitioning from impressive agility to downright defiance of physics–doing so by polarizing the surfaces he was on.

‘I’m charging these bearings with a strong field, you make it stronger,’ Gauss instructed Noah. Meanwhile, he was firmly planting the bearings in higher perches and inconvenient places with seemingly little rhyme or reason, only taking a moment to shift his attention once Nadia decided to ice down the field. He would have questioned using those resources so early, but what room did he have after that bolt? No, he continued on his mission until a solid eight new anchors were made, each with an extended duration with the assistance of Noah.

Once completed, he found a lull in the backline not too far from his allies. Those grenades did a hell of a job; the intense heat of the area was being cooled down quickly; the ambient temperatures of the air felt like they had plummeted in no time at all, and he was hardly near their epicenter. Magitech for the sake of combat was a truly daunting thing.

He once more extended Noah outward and began spinning him, the same technique utilizing two fingers, and this time generating a significant amount of power for both of them–but he did not pour his wavelength into Noah for resonance. Instead, he offered insight to his idea, ‘I want to create a field in front of you to charge anyone that lands on it. Their feel polarized can stick to metal or the fields I made for a good few minutes. Then we just need to keep focus on maintaining it… and not taking a hit. We may not crush them like they do, but we can certainly help them be crushed.’ There was a subtle hum that sounded like he was excited, with Noah graciously giving him more of his electrical generation to make that field happen.

With that explanation aired, Gauss then sent another message over their comms, “Jump in front of Noah and I’ll polarize you. Then Noah and I can help you cling to metal or launch off any place I just put those bearings. You’ll be fast as hell and hit like a truck playing pinball with the few that remain,” he told them all, hoping at least Sara would give it a shot. If he could get them to try this, it opened the door for more uses of it later.

“Thanks, Nadia and Dani. Thanks, Gauss and Noah.” Sara grinned. First, Nadia saved Sara with some banter Sara overheard between her and Dani, and now Gauss and Noah made the field so much easier for her to launch herself to and fro. Even her tail wasn’t on fire anymore! She caught sight of the anchored portions and giggled. Making sure Eva was fully back as her weapon form, she watched Nadia’s gaze. It landed on the burning man. She grinned. “I’ll make an opening for you to get that guy, Nadia! Don’t worry, I won’t need saving this time!”

With that, Sara charged ahead, feeling her hairs stand on end from the electricity produced by Noah. She almost felt like her collar and feet were floating. She powered her wavelength through her body, a twisted grin growing on her face as she launched herself to one of the anchors, only to swiftly become a blur as she slammed down on a skeleton. Her swift speed made it near impossible for the fire to stick as she either used her feet to crush them or she somersaulted and used Eva’s lantern to bash them to the ground as she came down from above, only to land and launch herself up and out of reach. Sara made sure the center portion of the mob was cleared so Nadia could make her charge with barely any resistance. She’ll pick off the sides once the center line is clear for Nadia to make her move.

Luckily, Sara had the endurance and stamina to continue throwing herself around like a ping-pong. Gauss and Noah had a slightly more difficult task in maintaining the fields they had made. Not of raw endurance, but of focus. This skill spread them thin and relied on combat not becoming so intense they required that focus for other abilities.


Prizzy Kriyze RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Merciless Medic Mook-LandStrider

​

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Spoiler: Rieko and Adrian with special Cyrus

As the the AW made his own intentions known, she had a feeling he wanted to do this all to just get out of here fast, though his quipes were bothersome, her own self discipline and faith kept her just staring at him with a slightly amused expression. “Very well Mister Hackney, come this way. I’ll see the rest of you soon.”

With that she cut short any question answering for this session as she led him and the rest into the Tea House, which mostly had western style seating and tables, minus some rooms with dividers in the back, which had seating cushions and a lap table. Giving a nod to the only other person in the building, a male with dirty brown hair that was graying over in lots of places, he gave a smile in turn as she led Adrian alone to one of the aforementioned backrooms. Closing the partition she took a seat as a small heater heated up a pot of tea, two cups were on the table, green and made of clay, while a couple small white cups and a bottle of Sake rested at the corner nearest Rieko’s right hand.

“Hmm, If nothing you said matters I would not humor you with a conversation now, and for talks of the self righteous you have been looking for any reason to be disagreeable with us. Did the cat mean so much to you or are you angry that your teacher was taken?”

“As to drinking, a DWMA Agent that actually follows that rule, how interesting. Though I’ll have that as I pour you some Tea.. And don’t be in such a hurry to leave, you of note had pushed all your team aside minus the two’s whose existence you could be bothered to acknowledge.” Setting the cups out, she reaches for the pot and smiles. “Some Oolong Tea?”

“If I must have tea, then black. Warm, no sugar. I like the bitter flavor,” he replied to her in a simple, matter-of-fact tone. The simple reasoning being the question regarding tea was the easiest. It required the least thought. It bought him some time to actually conceive a response to the rest of what she said. If this was his chance to have any sincere input, he would make his words count.

He wasn’t sure how to feel about being referred to as ‘Mister Hackney’, either, but that was a gripe for another time.

“The self-righteous believe they are inherently correct. You said you would not apologize. Certainly sounds like you believe you are correct, or at least justified. For every comment I have made, can you name one time I have ever rejected the idea that I was wrong?” Adrian asked her, cutting straight to one of the points she decided to emphasize about his word choice in calling her self-righteous.

“Or, do you just again assume that because I say anything at all in opposition to you that I’m making excuses for my actions?” he followed-up, quickly and assertively offering the alternative that he was sure everyone thought–and that many in fact did before her–in that he was simply making excuses for his actions.

“Hmm, black tea is it? Hiro!” She calls out a bit loudly. “A cup of black tea, straight!” With that she then looks at Adrian and replies to his questions in turn. “Hmm, inherently correct, ah I see. We did nothing to apologize for, the cat situation aside, which Az did apologize for. And while you have not said anything we said is wrong persee, you have not taken on any burden of the sort. Or as I said, neither side was wrong, you just flipped our terms to terminate the study early. Or would you rather I show doubt to any and everything and ask for the thoughts and opinions of all as we go about this? Could you respect such a Mentor? Trust them even?”

“As to your actions and excuses, as you put it. Hmm.. Not really. Given what I’ve seen in your file and here, there are some areas I think you could use some improvement on. I hardly intend to tell you how to fight, but I did tell you at the start that none here in the DWMA are your enemy.”

Adrian was more than quick to interject, especially upon the use of a very specific set of words. ‘I’ve seen your file.’ Yet again, proof he was being judged before he acted. Proof that despite all of the work and therapy, the effort both with others and in some lofty office, seemed so pointless at the end of the day. ”If you read my file, then maybe you should have paid a little more attention,” he responded with absolutely no respect in his tone. ”The DWMA put me on monster hunting missions with a few scant escorts here and there. I don’t work with others. This mindset that I should just meld into some perfect cog in a machine is absurd and I am tired of it. You told me they’re not my enemy, but it’s not like I tried to kill him. Think about it. Let me paint the picture for you from my perspective,” he went on, now more intensely explaining his side of this scenario.

”I fought someone that I didn’t have an answer for without causing potentially lethal harm. Perhaps swapping opponents might have been helpful, perhaps not given what the other could do. I don’t know. But, I do know this. The fight stopped being about our forms and started being about our other skills. I got him in grapple meant to debilitate or break and he did not opt to tap out. He could have. He was a grown ass man. But, he didn’t. So what I was to do? Let him go, pretend we were in the octagon for round two? What bullshit is that when a sparring match isn’t over when someone should be down and out?” Adrian told her, criticizing the main point he had been mulling over. Informing her of the crux of his personal issues with that last round. He was being judged for how he reacted to what he perceived as the mistake of the agent they chose. That was on them.

“Adrian, that is more than enough.” She said with a sigh as the tea was brought in. “This is not a board to get rid of you nor a condemnation. However it should be noted that the man you were fighting was under orders to not badly harm you, and he has missions to do of his own within the week. Had you broken his foot, what then? Too bad? And if I were to condemn you by the file would I be sitting here with you now much less letting you know where I call home?”

As her husband left the tea and went about his way, she motions for him to take it. Hiro then departed the room. “Did it not once strike you to work with your ally and to distract or tie up the pair and steal the part and leave the zone they could escape? The one who picked you did so on purpose as he knew you would stand and fight. I am sorry to say however, that if you found the information lacking that is the case with most DWMA jobs.”

Then there was one final issue to call out. “As to being sent out alone, I have earned more than my fair share of scars and one day you will run into something that will laugh at your pain influence, you may not want to be a cog in the machine, but you are no one man army. You will need allies in this work lest you wish to not retire. Under my years of service I have seen many Weapons and Meisters fall and even some AW’s fall.

As to your previous missions, you will find not all commanders value the concept of having survivors as I do. I do not wish to turn you into a Cog, but I do wish to break your mindset in regards to being cannon fodder. Call me self righteous if you will but the DWMA can ill afford to cast aside assets as if we have ten more to take their place.”

Adrian listened to what she had to say. Quietly. Her words went through his brain and spun the gears he had in their, processing them as best he could in his current state. He took the platter with the tea and then a gentle sip, if only to prove he could do so in a civilized manner in front of her. Then he sat it back down just as calmly. To prove his point.

”That is exactly the type of self-righteousness I mean. But, I don’t think you really care to admit it. It’s like the old saying goes, anything that comes before the word but is bullshit,” he told her, still showing his characteristic but this time more refined and thought out resistance.

”You have the audacity to tell me what you think I need to work on. To judge me for that fight. To justify the actions of that other agent. The fact of the matter is that he could have just tapped out or forfeit instead of putting himself in that position, and I would have stopped. Yet, I don’t see a single ounce of accountability taken for that. He was your subordinate. That makes it your mistake,” Adrian explained to her, his tone getting slightly fired up again, but showing obvious signs of at least attempting to control the outburst that occurred earlier.

”I am going to be incredibly blunt here. If you cannot admit that mistake was his and not mine, every word you try to feed me will fall on deaf ears and I will leave this house taking absolutely nothing you say into consideration. If you can’t afford to cast aside assets, then I would suggest you pick your battles. If not, this is a war of retention that you will not win,” he explained with an absolute sense of obistant finality. This was without exception the greatest display of thought-out responses he had debuted since his time within the program, and it came from the sheer amount of time he had to reflect on this particular issue. These responses were not one of an irrational kid, but the constructed responses of someone adamantly defending their perspective.

“My subordinate?” The actually laughed at that one, an amused laugh as she then poured herself a cup of sake. “Ah, you didn’t know who he was did you? I had assumed you were trying to break his leg out of spite. Though would you have surrendered in his position? Let's say I threw someone a few years younger than you at yourself, and then they tried to handle you so? I give? Hahah. Ah. However had the situation been reversed, we would have flared him. As to assets..” With that she gave a pause as something of a dangerous look washed over her face for an instant, she then softened.

“We cannot do this work bloodlessly, but there is a difference between fighting a war and then throwing in cannon fodder. If I had no alternative would I not send you to your Death just to keep you alive? No. I would offer up prayers to the Ancestors and Death himself and send you off. Sacrifices must be made, but there becomes a fine line where there is a sacrifice and where there is wholesale murder disguised as competency.”

With that there was a pause as she decided to set the record straight. “To be more spot on, the man you fought is something of a Jailer, he hunts down agents that go rogue or witches that turn against the agreements, including those in F.A.T.E. So his missions aren’t exactly ones that can be replaced and he agreed to help out, same as all the rest. They do not work under us nor with F.A.T.E.”

It was then she took a drink and looked at him with a somber expression. “I fully intend to see you and all the rest returned to active service. As to talk on what you need, I intend to vent your aggression elsewhere and teach you a measure of faith and discipline. Is it wrong to fight as you do, to be as violent as you are? There are things in this world far worse and they deserve nothing less than total destruction. You also need to learn to operate with other forces so that if you are in trouble they may just come to help you. And for the third, hmm, let us say it as well is a matter of Faith.”

With that she gave him a look that seemed tired. “If there is anything I am sorry for, it is that we who came before could not stop the madness in its tracks and that our failures then led to what more than a few of you are now. If you truly wish to return to service, I do not ask you to trust me, trust is not just so easily given, but I do ask you give our mentorship a chance. Just as I am willing to give you that chance. I am not Cyrus. I wish to see you all returned to the fold and will take risks to see that happen.”

Adrian inhaled deeply. She went on. And on. And on. And on. And frankly, he didn’t care. He didn’t care who the individual he fought was. He didn’t care about half of what she said. He just didn’t. Because she completely overlooked and neglected the points he was making. She wasn’t listening to him. And that, that he couldn’t work with.

“No,” he told her, standing up from his position. ”I will request a new set of mentors and wait months if I have to, but I will not work with you. I asked for very simple things and you ignored me. At the very least, I wasn’t ignored before. I would rather set back for another year with another therapist than sit here while you ignore what I have to say,” he told her. And, with that, he calmly started walking to leave back the way he came.

”Good luck with the others. Maybe they’ll make it back to the fold,” he added with absolutely no intent to hear her out further.
“Fair enough, however I ask you to take your set again, we’ll call Cyrus himself and see what can be arranged.” She says as she watches him. It was difficult to say what she was thinking behind that blank expression
Adrian stopped. Not out any form of respect, but solely because it seemed like for the first time she listened. ”Alright then. Give him a call. I’ll wait,” he responded, turning back around to face her, although there lacked any real enthusiasm in his voice.

With that she shakes her head a bit and pulls a cell phone out of the chest portion of her outer robes but on the outside of the leotard, pressing a couple buttons she dials the number.

“Cyrus, Rieko. It seems Adrian has no will or interest to be in this class and wants to see about being assigned new mentors. He seems rather serious about it. I’ve decided to give you a call as he’s stated no willingness to listen to us. I’m not sure my solution to this would be of much help, you want to talk to him?” She says flatly.

”Reiko. I was a on date. In fact, still am. Do you know how many of these I get with my schedule?” Cyrus responded in a clearly irritated voice. Then a sigh. ”Do not put me on speaker until I ask. In one sentence, I want you in your own words to tell me why he wants to leave the team,” he said, providing her simple and clear instructions through his mask of frustration.

“In short, he wants an apology and to continue as he has or he requests to walk. And I’m not going to say sorry for what was a needed evaluation.” She says in a simple reply, she had fully heard Adrian and decided his demands were bullshit.

”One sentence is what I asked for,” Cyrus responded flatly. ”If he is requesting an apology, what for?” he asked, again, flatly.

“He believes I’m being self-righteous and that he was right in trying to maim his opponent as he wouldn’t tap out.” She says in short reply.

”You are referring to his fight with Sampson, correct?”

“Correct.”

”Alright. Put me on speaker, please.” Cyrus requested.

Doing as instructed she lays the phone down. “Done.”

”Adrian. You obviously hear what Reiko said. In as few words as possible, please elaborate on the situation,” Cyrus requested. His tone flat, yet irritation still seething through his tone, the phone hardly doing it justice.

”I did not request an apology. I don’t really care if she’s sorry. I was told she was judging me and telling what I need to work on based on the observations of my fight. I do not believe this opinion about my fight with the Jailor is a good representation of a sparring match to judge me on when I put him in a lock he should have tapped out to. Then, she proceeded to rambling about a ton of shit I don’t care about,” Adrian explained.

Silence.

”Reiko, do you have any response to that much shorter summation of events? Again, as few words as possible, please,” Cyrus asked, again flatly, but this time with less of a hint of irritation more of grated tone gained from repeating himself–something he hated to do.

“The mission was not about the Spar so much as actions taken. The fact he assumes it to be after explanation means we are at an impasse.” She says in an equally terse response.

”Adrian, what leads you to believe this assessment was based on that sparring match?” Cyrus asked, immediately following up on the point made by Reiko without directly referring to her.

”Aside from stating she read my file, she has given no other explanation for what she is assessing. If it is the events prior to the mission, she already accounted for her partner apologizing. If it is information in my file, then that seems to defeat the point of the therapy and mission at all. If it is the mission, then I stand by my point that I was paired with essentially a stranger and my opponent should have tapped out if I wasn’t permit to harm him,” Adrian explained, trying to cover all his bases at the knowing cost of length to his explanation.

”I have just one question before I offer any input. Reiko, what was, in the simplest terms, your criteria for the training of Adrian?” he asked, almost immediately after Adrian had finished–almost as if he had the question loaded and ready to go before had even finished speaking.

“Experience in the field, from what was written and what was observed. I believe Discipline in the Martial arts and learning to operate with others will lead to a greater outcome than if we just keep tossing him in as a solo force. I do not find his skills in battle lacking, but I do find his inability to consider even working with an Ally to be, when coupled with his disrespect for his mentors..”

”You have many valid points of which I agree. However, you have in your own words, admitted that young Adrian is correct. You made an assessment based on what occurred, and he questions the validity of that. Try as you might, if he questions the very foundation on which you’re trying to build, you will build nothing,” Cyrus commented, taking a bit of information from both sides.

”I will reassign him if this next suggestion fails. Simple as that. I do agree that the other party involved effectively set Adrian up to fail in terms of combat. I will speak with him personally, and you will expunge any data or observations about Adrian taken from this mission. In short, you willt create a lesson plan for him as if you had never met him,” Cyrus offered, creating what he found to be the simplest compromise to both sides based on the facts he knew of the situation. Otherwise, it meant mountains of paperwork for the man.

”Is that agreeable to both parties?” Cyrus asked. Adrian listened intently, but watched for what Reiko would say. What a mentor like her would do when placed in a situation like this. To see if she was truly so self-righteous, or at least his definition thereof, to reject the notion of simply ignoring this had ever happened.

“Ha..” It was after a little bit she let out a laugh and a tired sigh. “Hahaha. Ah, the training was to be universal for them all, not specifically aimed at him. I am not against him doing another test not limited to such or observations as we go. However I do have a request that must be met in kind. I would like him to at least have his meal here and attempt talking with the rest before he just vanishes. A simple request to ignore a report no?” The Miko says in forms of a counter offer, seemingly not against this plan.

”So long as the events are not referenced again, I do not care. I will allow these two another opportunity,” Adrian commented, specifically emphasizing that he was providing this chance to them–not the other around. ”I am also not so petty as to request something in return. I can stay for a meal and remain civil,” he explained.

”Then so be it. Adrian will remain on the team, you will not use this mission in any evaluation, and he still stay for whatever you have planned after. A suggestion, though. Perhaps not laugh when you have someone clearly upset or distraught,” Cyrus announced all before the beep of his line being cut off. He just hung up the phone call, plain and simple.

Adrian stood there momentarily, waiting to see if that was some type of static from the line before being quite sure the call was over. ”I suppose if there’s nothing to evaluate, I have no reason to be here. I’ll wait outside ‘til the others are done,” he told her, opting to yet again turn around and leave without picking up any of the discussion they had prior. He didn’t care whether or not any of it still applied.

“Wait, there is one question. Thank you for your time Cyrus, enjoy your night.” She said reaching to hang up the phone if he had nothing else to… or so she was, but he hung up. Shrugging at that and pocketing her phone she smiles thinly.

“There are a series of questions I planned to ask most, but only this one should matter to you I think. What do you want from the program?”

Adrian stopped, if only briefly. ”To shut people like you up,” he responded succinctly, although this time, as disrespectful as the comment was, it didn’t seem targeted specifically at her. Adrian had underlying issues with plenty of people judging him, including himself. All he wanted, in truth, was for people to stop. ”Anything else?” he asked, this time his tone far more neutral than earlier, offering some hope for his promise of civility.

“Hmm..” Listening to his tone, she poured another cup but seemed to not be bothered by his words. “We’ll see what we can do then. Enjoy.”

With that she motioned for him to go with a shoo’ing of her fingers. “Next!”

With that, Adrian was gone. His GPS implant informed Cyrus of that much. Reiko may have asked for the next to come in, but she had a bit of business left to attend to. Cyrus returned the call, knowing Adrian was far out of earshot.

”You didn’t think it would be that simple, did you?” he asked her, quite sincerely wanting to know her response to such a question.

“Wait till I say next again!” She calls back out into the open room before turning to her phone in a quieter tone. “Cyrus. No, I was ready to honor his request, though I do wonder how difficult it will be for him to respect us.. Though Az will have a harder time of it.”

”Hm,” he responded briefly, analyzing her answer to him. He asked an open ended question intentionally. ”Adrian is young. Petulant. At times, too stubborn for his own good. But, he has absurd talent for partial transformations, and dedication to his combat style. Out of curiosity, did you read the report Midori wrote for the last two weeks of his oversight him?” he said, first giving his opinion of the young man followed by an important question he wasn’t sure Reiko had read, given it was recent and by provided someone so junior to her.

“Indeed, I read all the reports. Though I can see why he reacted poorly to calls of discipline. He will see what I mean in time. Midori took a lot of risk with his initial trial. Though if it is something very new I may have not gotten it. Records is a bit behind, after all it did not account for the rank up of the helpers. Was there something important in it?”

”There was. The mission he gave them was a risk, but it did allow them agency to choose–and they did well. I would keep that in mind if I were you. But, beyond that, it was the training he put them through. Adrian lost over a hundred duels to Azariah in that time, likely far more than the report accounts for. Yet, he does not hate him. It was part of his training. The boy did that without transforming to hone his Self-Resonance, a skill he adapted quickly. He is not without discipline in the right scenario. What he is, Reiko, is very insecure,” Cyrus explained to her, giving her the insight it seemed she lacked in regards to the very end of the training. Or, perhaps something that needed read between the lines to grasp. Either way, it was important.

”I am going to tell you two important things here, and it is paramount that you and Az do not share them. The first is that the promise not to evaluate him was a complete lie. Just like a jury, once evidence is provided, you can’t really cleanse it from their memory. I doubt he believes that’s truly what happened here, and if he does, then chalk that up to his immaturity. The second is that you need to keep in mind the difference between an insecure kid and a prideful one. In most normal circumstances, you may lose respect and seem weak from indulging him. Fact is, that’s all I did here, but it worked. To him, you’re not being weak. You’re showing respect by compromising. If you want to earn his respect, then remember that at his worst, he is an insecure teenager and anger is his first outlet,” Cyrus explained, lecturing her to a degree on the specific characteristics of the weapon she just let walk out.

”Are we on the same page?” he asked, ”because you will need to explain this to Az.”

“Hmm..” Pondering his words for a bit she nods. “I lied to them once, what is another? Shintoism does not forbid lies for a greater truth and peace. When a soldier dies you tell them it all will be fine and let them fall asleep. You do not tell them “ah, you are dying, too bad.”. Least you plan to survive his or her comrades.” With another pause she speaks in kind once more.

“Insecure hmm. This is why I plan to train them all and do these silly talks. The Temple helped me, the Dojo helped others, if he can be self controlled on a mission then we need only fill him with resolve and confidence, enough of both to temper the collar around his neck. He is a man not a dog. I will explain this all to Az. Rather I will make a log of all of this for him to have later. I do have a record function running on my phone after all, marvel of Japanese electronics and Magitech batteries.”

”Just don’t pick a stupid hill to die on with him,” Cyrus told her, his tone much the same as the one he had after Adrian had finished speaking earlier. ”It’s much easier to swallow your pride than to deal with the fallout of a fractured team,” he added, hoping the example of him there making it appear as if they did just that–accepted a loss–would not be lost on her. ”Now I do have things to get back to, so enjoy your… whatever the Hell it is you’re doing,” he said. He was about to hang up, but paused, remembering the last words she said before he hung up the last time. ”What was it that you were previously going to ask?” he tacked on, as an afterthought.

“Huh? Ah, that question was for him. What do you want out of the program? He said to shut people like me up. I know what he meant and I do hope to help him succeed, preferably in a way that leaves me talking rather than testing if I can fight an AW.”

”Ah, fair enough. I thought that was for me. He will be sorely disappointed, though. Even at the top, someone always has something to say and assholes still ask stupid questions. Hopefully, he’ll have that realization in time,” Cyrus commented, the first and only semblance of sympathy the man had displayed during the entire exchange. ”As you were,” he added before hanging up, ending the call with abrupt silence yet again.

“Hah. Be careful Cyrus, people may start to think you care, then your Identity goes up in smoke.” She had made a point when in the meeting about stating his public opinions of the program.

“Next!”

Elly expected more of a boot camp approach than a counseling one, and it seemed she was still half right. However, they were going to do a bit of interviewing first. A sort of psychiatric evaluation, perhaps? Or a behavioral one. Likely she would be confronted on her past in the little one on one. However, certainly it wasn’t going to be as simple as being asked if she was truly straight now.

Regardless, Adrian was a bit less groggy now, and that meant he was more conversational. He practically volunteered himself to go first. Relaxing in a quaint teahouse with snacks was certainly preferable to running around the woods, and even if everyone else was less talkative than she, that never stopped her before. She could carry the time until it was her turn.
Having finally finished with Adrian, she hoped the next conversation would be less… difficult. “Next! Whoever wishes to be it.” Rieko says in short reply to any that would hear.

Elly perked up at that, raising a brief hand to announce her own volunteering. “I don’t mind,” She added.

Standing up with her tea in hand, she followed behind Rieko to wherever she planned to hold the meeting, waiting for them to be well out of earshot and seated before speaking up. “Trouble in paradise?” She questioned with a polite smile.

“Let us just say some mountains are more difficult to move than others.” Looking at the girl she motions for her to come in, a shame she already had a drink in hand, the tea would go unused still, well maybe she could have a cup in place of just Sake. “Care for a shot or two or content with the tea?”

“Mm,” Elly hummed in response, shaking her head briefly. “Alcohol isn’t my cup of tea, if it’s all the same to you.” The smirk on her face as she took a sip from her cup gave the impression that the pun was intended.

Alcohol clouded the mind, and having been as close to the logistics and abuse of various narcotics, you either became an abuser or grew sick of it all. In Elly’s case, it was the latter.

“The key is to know your limits as with all things. Fortunately for being something of a giant I have higher limits than most.” She said as she poured Oolong tea instead. “Though I will say that is not a bad mindset you have, I’ve heard tell of another in the program that carries a flask of vodka with her at all times.”

With that being said she takes a sip before sitting the cup down. “I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind though, ah, we shall not discuss your file too much in case some ears are better than most. Did you have any for me?”

“Oh, please. I’m Irish. I just don’t see much good in it,” Elly replied simply. “Though they sound fun.”

Alcohol had many uses, but outside of killing bacteria, Elly didn’t find any of them to be all that helpful. It was used to cope or loosen up. She had no difficulty with the latter and as for the former, she’d prefer to eliminate the issue than stress about a hurdle.

“Well, while I appreciate that, I am a tad surprised,” Elly admitted with a curious expression. “But if not my file, then what questions did you wish to ask?”

“I have three.” She says holding out the fingers of her left hand with each one. “What do you want from the Program? What do you think of your team? And lastly, what do you wish for yourself?”

“Take your time with them, I don’t mind some company.”

“Hmm~” With a neutral expression, the girl seems to consider the three and think on for a few moments, thumbing the side of her cup idly as she does so. “Simple questions, I suppose.”

Taking another sip, she sets the cup down. “Opportunity. As for my team, they seem suitable. Sage meshes with me rather well and Jarvis and Zari appear level-headed and capable. Adrian will need some morale-boosting, but he’s certainly not incapable, neither is our zombie friend. As for last, comfort, if you choose to believe it.”

“Hmm.. Considering your past, Comfort is not an unreasonable thing to ask for. Sadly I only have blood, sweat and tears to offer you, and through those and other teachings I hope to pass the best comfort of all to you. Peace of mind.

Though, ah, opportunity, I do not plan to treat you with kid gloves or distrust, and I doubt Az will either. You all will see use again and soon. Though it is nice you think so about your allies. It is a good place to be and think.”

Simple questions tended to get simple answers, ones hopefully free of deception, but she had decided to trust all of them. The girl did not need people second guessing her every move or doubting her. As far as she was concerned, Elly did not belong here, but she understood the need for security. And having her here could help the rest.

“Did you have any questions for I?”

“You should know I’m no stranger to hard work. I was a field agent before this,” Elly remarked confidently. “That more eludes to a light at the end of the tunnel. Currently, comfort is the absence of a knife in my back, which I don’t think is too much to ask?”

Smirking at that, Elly appeared to perk up a bit, her personality becoming more bubbly. “Well, I do appreciate that as well.” Of course, she didn’t actually believe it. One of the pair came equipped with a mask designed to hide even from her Super Soul Perception, after all. It was hard not to see that as a precaution targeted at her. Though, the woman did only say that she wasn’t going to treat her with distrust. That didn’t mean she had faith in the girl, or trusted her.

“None that won’t be answered shortly,” Elly replied. “Though I am curious as to what you sought to glean from those questions?”

“Simple questions get simple answers.” She says after a bit. “Lies more often than not are complex things that take a life of their own. Though there are exceptions. And I am well aware of what else is in your file. Hard work is good for one to engage in from time to time.”

“A simple answer of what you wish to have can aid us in aiding you.” The miko then looks down at her tea cup and took another sip before continuing. “Plus this is more to establish a measure of that faith I mentioned. Our talks will turn to other things as time goes on. But two of those questions I’ll keep in mind. Or rather the answers.”

Or grant knowledge of how to incentivize them. Elly didn’t fully believe that they truly wanted an exchange of faith. She didn’t blame them, either. Faith was a liability that the girl didn’t rely on.

“Tis all I can ask,” Elly remarked to the latter bit. “Nothing else then?”

“No, nothing else least you wanted to talk, send someone else in or I’ll call them, are you enjoying the food at least?”

“I’m not opposed, but you do have a few others to go through,” Elly chimed back followed with a nod.

“Nothing urgent. We can always talk again, no? We can small-talk, but that can happen anytime,” Elly replied again.
With her hand she motions the towards the door.

“Very well Elly, till then."

When Elly was gone or said her peace, Rieko called out “Next!”


Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen

 

[Serei2477]

Sage + Reiko: Sage's Interview
RedArmyShogun
--------------------------------​

From the same Tearoom the call of “Next!” echoes though the side room as Rieko remains at the lap table on her cushion, cup of oolong tea in hand as she sips on it wondering who would be the third to come. The questions would be the same as before and she did not expect a need to call Cyrus with any of the rest as she waited.

Sage had been idly playing with a section of hair when he heard “next” being called. Oh, was it his turn?

He walked over into the tea room where Reiko was waiting for him. The muscled woman in front of him, even though she looked at ease drinking her tea, was as intimidating as ever.
Sage went ahead and sat on his knees on the pillow across from the scary woman, “Ready when you are.” He said.

“Ah, Sage, both unexpected and not a surprise.” With that she motions towards the tea. “Have you had anything to drink? I have a pot of Oolong if you like."

But ah, I had three questions for you, but first do you have any questions for me?”

Sage’s eyes went to the Oolong tea. His mouth did feel a bit parched, but he chose to ignore it. “Thank you, but I’ve a feeling I won’t be here long enough to properly enjoy it.”

At her question, he paused to think. Did he have any questions for her? None that he could think of when put on the spot. “Not right now, but I might think of something while we talk.”
He figured Reiko’s questions would be all technical babble, required by the organization. Sage gave her a little nod, a silent gesture for her to ask away.

Nodding in kind, she holds up her left hand, raising a finger for each question in turn, “What do you want from the Program? What do you think of your team? And lastly, what do you wish for yourself?”

Would "to fight and see blood" be an acceptable answer? Would she pick up on it? So, he paused, thinking about his answers. He wasn’t trying to think of the most textbook answers he could give them; he was trying to find a way to word everything. Let's see~

He smiled, “Honest answer? Food and water. Something you can use? Behavioral correction. Needing to watch what I say most of the time gets pretty exhausting after a while...”

For her next question, it didn’t take much thought. “I think my team is great~ Elly meshes with me pretty well, Adrian’s hot-headed nature makes him interesting, Jarvis is pretty good at being smart, and that Ashi girl seems strong. Zari… Can’t comment on him. I barely remembered his name.” Sage finished that question with a grin. He’d probably have to work on interacting with the rest of his team, huh?

Then again, save for Ashi, there was a good chance they’d be less than thrilled to bond with anyone who wasn’t their meister or weapon.
Now the final question. This one also didn’t require much thought. “A place I can call home.”

“Hmm, I know a bit of you from the files, least you say something like Lord Death killed or to wear the hands of school children as a necklace or something equally asinine I ask that you speak truthfully, food and water is well and good, but no rapport can be built from that.” If she found the answer unlikely or thought he was lying, it was hard to say.

“Though I will accept behavioral correction, though… Violence has a time, place and necessity.” Was it a lucky guess? Either way she seemed to be finished. “Have you any questions before I let you go?”

Sage, hearing her response to his first answer, almost started laughing. His big grin was evident of his amusement. Had she caught him and was subtly calling him out? Or was it just a lucky guess? He couldn’t tell either, but assuming she had access to all the complaints his previous meisters had of him, he felt he could assume she was calling him out.
“Would you rather I tell you the whole truth or just stick with the “Behavioral Correction” answer?” He asked.

“Yes. I would like that answer, depending on the confines of it I, no, we would like to use it if we can to bring you back into the fold. This is violent work, I have no plans to turn you into a pacifist or to bash against what makes all of you, well, you.” With that said she reaches for her cup, taking another sip.

“You’re right, this is violent work. And that’s what I love about it.”

He slouched over a little, propping his elbow on the table so his head could rest in his hand. “I want to see people’s blood run out of the wounds of their bodies; Stabbing, cutting, I don’t care how it happens. This program lets me get what I want without running the risk of getting arrested; As long as that’s not taken away from me, I’m happy to stay.”

As he talked, Sage subconsciously brought up his other hand, eyeing the veins that colored his skin. “None of my other meisters appreciated that, unfortunately. Always looking for pacifism. The ones that actually liked to fight never wanted to take it as far as I did. How boring…”

Realizing he was rambling, Sage sat up again. “Sorry, sorry~ Was that answer better?”

Processing this information, she didn't seem disturbed at all, even finishing her cup as he spoke. With a few moments of silence between them she speaks. “I’ve seen a few like you, more often Meisters than not, though you are right it would be off putting to most. More so as you are a staff such…” A pause as she searched for words, “...let us say far more effort is required on the part of a Meister. Staff tends to be a striking weapon favored by those who keep a distance or the more peacefully minded.”

With that said she sits the cup down and stares at Sage as he laid about. “I cannot say we’ll give you that, but at least you can return to duty. I care little what happens to our enemies, provided they do not trouble us again. Your answer is acceptable. That being said, has Elly been made privy to all this?”

Reiko did have a point. A weapon like Sage, with the personality he had, didn’t do him any favors. But there wasn’t much he could do about that, could he? If anything, Sage just got the shit end of the stick at birth…

Though from what Reiko described, his parents would have been perfect for Meisters that liked staff weapons.

It was a little disappointing the program may not be able to give him everything he wanted, but it was to be expected. At her question, Sage shook his head. “I haven’t had a chance to tell her yet.”

“Hmm…” It was then that the woman strummed the fingers of her right hand upon the table, as if lost in thought. A sudden stop was to follow. “You may have work to your liking soon enough, however you should reach an understanding about this with your Meister. I will say neither when nor how, less it becomes a problem. Elly however is a strong girl I think. Was there anything else?”

He shook his head gently. “That’s all from me. Glad to have this talk.”

With that, he got up from the spot and left without another word.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Dall Island​

With the conflict now over, the veil of silence was lifted as the sudden overflow of information was back to normal, Maria grabs at her head as the sudden ringing and crashing waves, wind and voices all flow in from the soundless void. "...ah." Was Rand talking? Yes, he was, wasn't he? Trying to focus on his voice over the assaulting sounds, it seemed the rest had a better time of it. Shaking her head clear it seemed he wanted her to use parts of the crabs for reinforcements for her creations, wanted her to get part of the chitin for return to the DWMA.

Chanterelle was also given a task, to retrieve physical samples of the creature's body, which she set about doing, giving a smile in kind to Maria. As she and the others voiced their own opinions to Rand's question. "Er, we should likely prepair and I'm fine with the buddy system, but as Chanterelle said, it would be better if we stuck together. I am not keen-URG!" It was then that the foul scent of the beast entered her nose, the rotting flesh as Chanterelle prying into the beast, with her ringing ears and all else, this was just too much.

Gagging a bit as the material was handed to her, Maria forces herself to remain steady as bit by bit the smell went away. Spitting off to the side, she takes the piece in hand and felt revolting at the mere idea of using living shells to make equipment for her creations. There was no skill here, no purpose but at the back of her mind the ever-present taint of Madness pulled and pried at memories long lost, that were flashes of the past, of art made of organic components and how when measured up to her own works and teachings, it was both revolting and calling. The pull of creation with the code of the workshop played against one another, leaving her in an even more sour mood.

Thinking back to what Rand had requested and what Raph had pointed out, she bit onto her right thumb as her left hand held the piece of chitin. Looking out at the body, or bodies, she had to reach a quick decision to appease the masters and to prevent the decent into seeing organic parts as valid for her creations. Down such laid a dark path, though in this case it was not like these were natural things and her weapons had proved ineffective. After a bit she had actually bitten her thumb hard enough to draw blood, at the notion of this Maria turned her attention to what was in her left hand, armored scrap of the behemoth.

"Hmm... It may be useful, however..." At that however she turned to look at Rand before continuing, "...I cannot just blindly make new arms and weapons of it on a whim. I have a craftsman's touch. First the meat must be cleaned out and flushed, I must then find suitable wooden supports or nails, drills or screws that can penetrate the shell, then comes shaping, purposing, drying." With a shrug, she holds the piece in her hand, and taps her knuckles of the right hand against it.

"That being said, I could likely take off the lower abrasions of the legs and make them into spearheads, or overlap and resin glue them to my lances, the smaller claw or larger I could repurpose into a great sword, however as Raph said this may be better suited into making primitive armor and blades for some of you. These I can do maybe in a few minutes if I can gather enough tape, glue and such and theoretically I may have an easier time outfitting some parts to you all to make use of in the form of grabbers, armor, shields or swords.

And likely faster than outfling my own creations."

"While we all agreed to stay here enough to rebuild does that mean we have hours, I can make some basic armaments for my smaller dolls and a large blade for the one that matches me. I maybe could make armor and other arms for them, but we will be here for a long time if I do this. If, however, I make larger items for immediate use with a few alterations for your use... Well, It depends on how much time you have. The wood of the Magic tree or an ore deposit would be far more of use to me. So, how long do we wish to go with this? "

Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Meredith Sir Les Paul

( RedArmyShogun )~~~Rieko and Zari ~~~ ( Prizzy Kriyze )

Zari and the Miko

​

With yet another case out of the way, Rieko calls out once more with a, “Next!” This time with a shot of Sake in hand she takes a sip of it, setting the cup aside next to her tea, who would it be this time she wondered? Least the cushion was comfortable. Up till now, Adrian, Elly and Sage had been through.

The divider was gently pushed aside as light, barefoot steps entered the chamber. Zari had done himself the favor of leaving the heavy steel-toed boots outside, thinking he’d steal a few moments away from the others, but when the call was made nobody else had moved. Wordlessly he approached the cushion across from Rieko and sat down cross-legged. There was a hint of familiarity in the confidence his movements had within these corridors, but it was faint enough that it might as well have been a trick of the light.

“Hmm…” Taking note of his performance, she briefly wondered if he had been here before. Or was it from his upbringing? Still that was not what she was here to talk about. Offering him a cup of tea she speaks, “Oolong if you care for any. Zari is what you like to go by, yes? I have three questions for you, but before that, do you have any for me?”

“Mm.” He nodded, accepting the cup from her while keeping his gaze low. The atmosphere kept him at ease, but intimate meetings like this were not really inside his comfort zone and it showed. “No question, just… that’s my name.” A sigh escaped with the end of the sentence, but he wasn’t wise as to what that would be perceived as.

Amused by this slightly, the muscular miko decides to do things quickly, though she would make note of his discomfort, even as slight as it were. He would likely do better with things like this among his peers. “Very well, I’ll be quick about this so you can return to your friends. What do you want from the Program? What do you think of your team? And lastly, what do you wish for yourself?”

As often was the case when he was bombarded with questions, Zari seized up. Still with the tea burning against his lip he sat still for a good few seconds before he managed to structure his thoughts and compose himself. He set the cup aside and clasped his hands in his lap, almost as if to try to soothe himself. “I want… control. Without fear… of… of losing it. So I can live without worry.” Satisfied with the statement, he reached out for the cup once more but stopped halfway and added, “At least for that.” then finished the motion.

Another few seconds passed as he took another sip, then for the first time raised his head to meet Rieko’s gaze thoughtfully. “Individually, or… as a group?”

“Hmm… Control. Noted. As to the second, that is wholly up to you. Both or either. Concerns with the team, preference in who you are with. Of course, your partnership won’t be moved around.” Rieko says in regard to his own question and earlier response.

His eyes wandered down into his cup once more as he took the liberty of formulating his sentences in his head before speaking them aloud. “Jarvis and I, we’ve… gotten along good, better than I hoped. He’s strong, just lazy. I like him, though.” According to Salem, that much at least could be counted as progress. “Adrian is my friend, too. I hope he’s getting better.” There was a hint of sadness there, underlining the fact that no matter how neutral he looked, Zari had taken to heart what had happened today. “... I don’t know the rest of them. Elly with the perception, I remember. She’s helpful. The other two, I… I don’t know.” He sounded shameful, as if it was his shortcoming not to already have become acquainted with the rest of the team.

Listening to his words, Rieko gives a sharp nod and has a serious look in her eyes. “Hmm, well it is our job to try and help you all be better, though I consider it more than a job. Even though some of them may be more difficult than others. As to the rest, it has only been a short while, I do not expect you to know all. We will revisit this question later.”

With that she holds her hand out towards the door and smiles. “You should make use of this time to check up on your friends or make new ones. You are of course free to go. Or did you have anything more to say or ask?”

“Of course, and no.” Azariah rose suddenly and sharply from his seating. Then, almost like an apology, he tacked on a “I will leave now. Thank you.” as an apology.

With a nod the woman calls out once more; “Next!”

Prizzy Kriyze

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Rand Mabason​

"Soundwave Sorcerer"​

Species Witch
Partner N/A
Rank Two Star

Location Dall Island, Western Beach
Mission Return to Dall Island
Status Analytical

​

Mentions: Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Meredith RedArmyShogun

And just like that, Rand had to reconsider everything he was relatively sure of just a moment ago. It seemed the suggestion to use the chitin was enough to spur the Pull from within her. Rand could see it. Literally. The Pull of Magic had its own distinct affect on the mana and subsequently soul of a Witch. Just as he saw Chanterelle was overly enjoying her destructive rampage against the crabs, Maria was intrinsically against the idea of using the chitin. Perhaps she was just plain disgusted. Perhaps, the idea of using something so ill-refined seemed insufficient for her creations. He could not read her mind to understand why, only make inferences based on what he knew. But still, it was concerning.

Barely a few hours in and half his team had already had been affected by their pull, even if one was slight. He mulled this over. Ark and Raph seemed more than delighted about the plan, Chanterelle seemed fine with it as well, but Maria seemed like she would require convincing. If she didn't understand--no. Not that was the wrong thought. That's not how the Pull worked. Maria was intelligent. Rand knew that. She may full well understand the value of the suggestion, but some very core, primal part of her detested it. Overcoming that was a larger task than attempting to make someone understand.

Ignorance can be fixed; nature deeply ingrained inside someone, however, is not so easily adjusted.

"I have decided now is the time to show you something," Rand announced, stealing the reins from Maria as she was the last to give any form of direction. "Gather round and watch me close," he instructed them, then waited a brief moment for them to be close enough to watch intently. "And, for brevity, yes, wet samples are fine; though, do your best to remove any excess secretions or fluids," he added, making sure to answer the one important question to the mission itself that he recalled.

Once eyes were on him, Rand closed his eyes and lifted the always-present headband from his forehead. In doing so, he revealed a third eye considerably different from his natural two. Glowing with magical luminescence and a deep violet in nature around its iris, it contrasted the rest of his more neutral appearance a more than significant amount. "This is a Mabian Eye. Most that have heard of it talk about it like a rumor, but I assure you, it is real," he informed them, explaining to them what they saw. Granted, it was mostly in name and not in function.

He then pulled his headband off entirely and opened his other eyes, taking a more natural stance as he did so. It was an odd and almost grotesque sight as the eye utterly changed his facial structure, seemingly out of place. The forehead was not an intended place for an eye to begin with, and the odd structure the surgery required to implant it made it obvious why this was only ever seen in doodles and cliché anime. Still, the eye itself far outweighed the questionable nature of how it was implanted. Even at a glance, it seemed alien. Foreign to his face. Perhaps as if it as a simple organ had a mind of its own. It definitely had mana all its own, for anyone capable of noting that.

"I know few of you care about the hierarchy of the Witch Realm, but it is incredibly relevant to this eye. It is a cloned eye of Maba herself. If you paid attention in your history classes, you will know the werewolf Free stole her left eye. When she allied with the DWMA, a cloned replacement was made for her. Then, more. Maba is powerful, and even just this eye imparts a great deal of that power onto me. Without it, I wouldn't even be half the Witch I am today," he told them, trying to succinctly tie together the history of the eye.

"That said, only a direct relative of Maba can have the eye implanted without risking rejection--which can result in death. Even then, the chances are high. I took that risk as I was tired of being a weak and pathetic male Witch. Granted, the risk was a little lower for me. Someone like Iris is several generations from Maba. On the other hand, she is my grandmother," he then told them, outlining the risks and even providing a little insight to his own line.

"But, that isn't why I'm showing you this," Rand told them, shifting the topic from the eye itself and soon into what it did. The problem was that the Mabian Eye often granted what many called "Super Magical Perception", a play on Super Soul Perception. These were all mages. They had no idea what that comparison would mean. This forced Rand to backtrack. "The eye does many things. Increase my reserves of mana, my magical potency, but all of that pales in comparison to what... it can see. Even with it closed and covered, I can see all the mana around me in fine detail. I can trace every wire in Maria's dolls, feel each shift in magic as a spell is cast, see mana convert to whichever element Ark chooses. I can even see the passive mana inside your blood, Chanterelle," he explained, doing his best to emphasize why this was such an important trait.

"I do not show you this to boast, but in hopes you will all come to trust the judgements I make... knowing I can see things you cannot," Rand told them, doing his absolute best to sincerely communicate that point without sounding pompous or arrogant. It was probably impossible.

"Maria, I can tell you do not like the idea of weaponizing the chitin. I won't pretend to know why, but I want you to know why I believe it to be such a good idea. And, furthermore, why your normal weapons may have been ineffectual. The chitin has trace amounts of mana in it. It is likely imbedded in the exoskeleton much like calcium is built into our bones. I also assume the crabs are predators to the spiders given we see none of them here on the beach and the difference in size. As simple as it sounds, if it works for the crabs, it should help us. But it is more than that. You are a workshop Witch at heart, yet you are here to learn new experiences that cannot be found within four walls. The solution, in my opinion, is beautifully simple. Make the world your workshop. This island is full of resources to use. You may find them crude, but it is the mark of a skilled crafter to use even those. I don't think you need to armor or redesign your dolls, but you are the only one here that would benefit from weapons. So, make weapons. If you need tools, make tools. If you need help, ask. Chanterelle can weaken any organic material, Raph can give anything structure or hold in it place while you build, and Ark can condense stone or help temper anything you need. Your teammates are your resources, if you ask kindly," Rand explained to her, giving her what would be the closest thing to a heart-to-heart speech meant to inspire her as he feasibly could.

"As for you two," Rand said, turning his attention and oddly enough all three eyes to them specifically. "A Magic Circle represents control and knowledge. It is comprised purely of mana and intended to add refinement to whatever spell is cast onto it or within it. It has limits, however. There is no one singular Magic Circle to rule them all. Unlike Runes, a Magic Circle requires concentration to keep up. Unlike Calculation Magic, it can adjusted once made. The most basic of Magic Circles is the five-point pentagram. Raph, draw a circle approximately a meter wide to practice, then create five points. Within each of the triangles made, you will write one rune or word in witch language. The first is the word 'confine' and the second is 'enhance'. The other three, you will need to work with Ark to determine. You are enhancing and confining his spell, after all. Ark, you should know your own spells well enough to put them into condensed words. Once you do, you will have to adjust the spell in your spellbook to a simplified version to make it more compatible with the circle. You two can figure that out together. If you have to sacrifice some elements of the spell, then so be it; remember, Raph will be controlling it with the Magic Circle. So, essentially, you're the source and he is the control, and the end result will be more powerful than either of you can do alone. Given you both are sorcerers, believe it or not, you have an advantage in that you understand your spells as written language, so I don't expect this to be as difficult as it would be for untrained Witches. Once you get the Circle working in one meter, your goal is to get to at least three and ideally five meters wide. The wider, the better, but the bigger the circle, the harder it is to maintain," Rand told them both, giving them specific instructions for how to proceed with their upcoming attempt at training.

"Preparation is important, as you have all noted. We simply don't always have time for it. We have approximately six hours until its dark, so we intend on scouting the woods before we lose light, we need to be quick with what we do now. Ark, you should have time to repair the base. Raph will take a fair amount of time practicing just getting the circle completed. Chanterelle and Maria should have time to collect the samples and work on the chitin. And, if you need help from anyone, Maria, it shouldn't be a problem as long as you time it right," Rand said, responding to the bulk of the questions about preparation and time management. It seemed to him many of them took for granted the time they had on this mission. Issue was, this wouldn't always be the case.

After that, Rand began wrapping the headband he wore back around his third eye after closing it. As he did so, he took a moment to give a distinctively focused look to Chanterelle. "You are aware that you were giving into your Pull back there, right? I do not know if Forest Witches frown upon that culturally, but it is not a good sign to the DWMA or Guild," he asked her before noting that it was, in fact, not a good thing.