Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | Egypt | Rings: 0/1

The second they were in the chamber holding the frozen massive figure Ark’s eyes went up. To say he was momentarily caught off guard by the sense of reality the statue held alone would be an understatement. He briefly paused, seeing it-- and then immediately switched his attention to their primary objective: Ishmael.

Who went on to spout some drivel that focused on Moreau.

Before Gauss had even spoken the order, Ark had already charged a magical attack in wait and sent it out. By the time he had finished his sentence the mage had released his left arm with a hand flicking upwards, two fingers pointed out in a diagonal gesture-- striking with thorns with blunt tips, meant for batting and hitting instead of piercing the side of a human at the right side of the empowered mage. A move done to force the Sorcerer to move or at the very least split his thoughts away from that magic object he was working on, at the same time, his eyes narrowed as he focused on Ishmael closely.

True to the test, the attack did not in fact make it. It struck and when it did something flickered off at the exact point of contact a good distance away from where Ishmael physically was, and the blunt tips meant for Ishmael were shattered on impact with that same force, the rest of his construct crumbled immediately after.

Not good.

The gauntlets could have been the flicker of light, maybe even a defensive spell Ishmael had cast in the moment with the support of that Solar magic at his side. Though the earth mage didn't waste a second for there to be a chance of counter. That had proven it. Ishmael had a shield around him.

It was time to switch the playing field. For a majority of this mission he had played supportive offense and dominant defense. It was where he was at his best. Now, he was switching up to the offensive line with a sliding motion as he took a step, as if moving on rollerblades or skating on ice. He moved before Gauss even got the instructions out to Feng on what he was planning, before Noah began spinning around the magnetic Meister's fingers.

And it was a second after he had given his instruction to Feng that the earth mage stated plainly with a pinch of annoyance: “He's got some sort of spell protecting him. Physical attacks aren't going to work until we get through it.”

At the same time Ark had to wonder how much strain that was putting on Ishmael. A constantly active barrier was exhausting to maintain, especially one that the eyes couldn't see. Then again with that necklace to further boost him…

He knew he had been sensing something strong around Ishmael the second he had laid eyes on him but with that magical piece over there, or even the statue of the dormant Sphinx, it could have been a combination of environmental influence messing with his senses, making it truly hard to tell what had been the source. The magic he was sensing had spiked briefly when his attack had hit- it reminded him of the barrier, when they had met Ishmael he had a barrier around him that had stopped every attack.

Which meant he had the advantage. He could work on that piece safely, summon the dead, or fuck them over area wise.

If the fight dragged out, they really were screwed. The saving grace was that it seemed at the moment he couldn't do something without the assistance given his earlier speech.

Seismic Sense would make any attack within a fifty range noticeable and given the size of this place, he had plenty of room to work with. This type of open field fit in both with his advantage and Ishmael's. Plenty of room to work with, plenty of points of attack. With that barrier, he had the upper hand till they broke it. Even if they did though, it likely wouldn't do that much to dent the magical reserves that the suped up Sorcerer had.


This wasn't going to be the same as any other fight he had before. The duels and mock fights he had with Witches would always be different compared to facing another Sorcerer. He had spent plenty of time with his own friends, Meister's and Weapons, training with them because such formations were the bane of every Mage.

This was the first time facing someone with a skillset similar to him.

Perhaps Ishmael might have been a great mentor for him, if he had turned to the Guild and offered his services instead of going down this path of godhood. If this guy had been a prodigy, like Rand, learning under him would have been interesting.

All he felt in the moment though, was that stingy sense of anger as he slid into place.

The slide was akin to a Meister's short dash forward, and thanks to how he handled his style of Earth Magic it made the next move he followed up with, a smooth almost martial art style transition of the Chinese variant.

Ark’s slide ended with a hop, where he landed about almost a foot ahead of the team. The space he landed on collapsed inward, like stepping into a deflating floatie as both feet connected.

Imperceptible to the eye the same spot he had landed on, had risen a few centimeters in a square formation, then collapsed inwards with his weight and magic. As the ground directly below him caved inwards, Ark's magic flared when he flicked both arms out. The simple puff of dust that should have come, exploded in sudden shape of exploded stone.

He felt some resistance in the magic, like the earth was refusing to bend to his will, something that made the fact that Ishmael had displayed a similar skill previously so easy a source of immense irritation. Hence why he did it this way instead of launching pillars of stone at him.

It was possible that by limiting how much earth he controlled, he could limit the effect of this place on his own magic. The concussive blast came from launching pieces of earth out of the ground like projectiles instead of manipulating them like he normally would.

Balls of stone around the size of a head came flying out in different directions at Ishmael, twenty in total. Each one aiming for a spot at him or nearby where Ark presumed the barriers reach maxed. Dust that came, was immediately shoved aside for visibility by Ark’s own personal magic.

The next move was to wait and see, then counter. Whether he made a move on the others or focused on him, Ark would sense it before the attack fully formed.

Mentions: Merciless Medic

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - Hancock Park
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Following Nadia over to where the others were in the armory, Dani perused through all the things mostly Adrian had created. Nadia asked for some help fitting in the bodysuit, and though she didn't mind the look on Adrian she also didn't feel the need to squeeze into one herself considering she was non-autonomous.

Then came the meeting with the mercenaries, which Dani had worse and worse feelings the more that they heard. They were going to be separated across the park at different establishments and directed through sketchy texts. The logic behind the actions made sense, but it still didn't give her a good vibe considering they were dealing with crime lords and mercenaries.

Dani eyed the man at the booth as they made their way to him, and as he opened his mouth her concerns were not alleviated but mostly replaced with minor annoyance for the moment. She folded her arms, giving the standard resting Dani bitch face to him.

"Is that a genuine question or are you just trying to start off with a dick-measuring contest?" Dani remarked with a narrowed gaze.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - LA - Hancock Park, Koreatown, LA
​

Going along with the plan, Nadia didn't feel much different than Dani. Being spilt up and left with the means that they were, was not good for communication or organizing an assault, she would have refused if not for the suddenness of it all. Though at least they were all relatively close. So that was a plus. But then the present company, well, he was very charming.

And Dani of course, she took the bait. Though not like Nadia would let such words go without a response, as she laid her right hand upon Dani's shoulder to give her some reassurance as she had become used to. "Don't be silly Dani, it is a simple question." With that she eyed the other over and smiled, her wavelength tensing ever so slightly with its icy properties. "Likely, but who can say, running such a distance seems counterproductive, and I for one am not given to running from my enemies, or letting them live long enough to take me on a chase. A better question to ask of me is not how far I can run, but how short I can make the distance." If they knew anything about her, then they would know her preference for breaking through walls and attitude towards collateral damage being acceptable.

Looking around at their venue, she was not very impressed or interested in it at all, this area overall wasn't her sort of venue, and being tested in such a way, was, while annoying, trifling. "So, do we talk business or do you wish to compare fitness scores?"

Interactions/Mentions: EmperorsChosen (Dani) Sir Les Paul (Adrian/NPCs) Merciless Medic (Sara - Raph) The Regal Rper Chibistaryuu (Noise)

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Kris Orksen​

"Red Fang"​

Species Bloodsucker
Location Lemonade Bar, Southern LA, California


​

Tags: EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

Kris listened to the back and forth between the girls. Both were sarcastic little firecrackers, though already they gave off wildly different attitudes. The pink-haired one just seemed nasty to begin with, the one of white hair carried an air of superiority. Their exchange between each other was short. He already knew who the leader was, but by their verbal dynamic, that hierarchy was validated. Nadia was in fact the one in charge; as mouthy as the pink-haired girl was, she became more docile at the suggestion of the other.

Even more interesting was that she was the far more dangerous one. A Murderous Soul alongside a touch of the corruption from that black flame. Kris had been hunting them long enough he had trained his Soul Perception to finally see the residue left on a soul, like soot a volcanic valley. He hadn't met anyone other than a cultist with that black taint and admittedly hers was far more intense, but it was definitely the same source. Yet, she remained entirely in control, let alone borderline subservient to her Meister. All things he hadn't seen so far...

Before he could answer the question, a waitress of light auburn hair, appearing in her later twenties, delivered a tall plastic cup containing a pink drink inside it. It was cloudy, cold with ice, condensation running down its walls, and sweet enough that Nadia and Dani could have smelled the sugar rush in the air. It was dropped off with a quick and polite, "Here you go, hun. Strawberry lemonade, my personal faaaav. Enjoy!" She slipped both Nadia and Dani one of her pocket menus before darting off; the place was somewhat busy.

Kris took a sip through the straw, making direct eye contact with Nadia. It was a power move. Make her wait while he enjoyed his drink. They had their sarcastic words, he had his dominant actions. It was all fair game.

"You are hunters," Kris said, finally breaking the silence he had allowed to hang from the artificial delay created by the arrival of his drink. It wasn't necessarily truly silent, though, as the sound of his hardened paper straw made an annoying creak in the lid of his drink.

"Of course you only care about sprinting; it's how you catch your prey," he expanded, making a direct parallel to the answer Nadia provided and the natural world.

"Out in the grander world, you are both predator and prey," he went on, "so, you have to learn to both run fast and run long."

Those steely eyes of his kept rock solid contact with those of Nadia's for the entire duration of his answer. It was a simple answer with complex implications. Not that he intended to explain them, but it was one of the huge issues he saw with agents of the DWMA in comparison to mercenaries. Agents were tools trained by their respective branch and branches normally wanted them to just kill or get rid of a problem. Rarely did they send proper investigators, rarely did they use specialists. Too much of their attention and resources were put on public relations, especially since the death of Lord Death. The answer Nadia provided him only validated this belief of his. Out there in the dog-eat-dog world of mercenary work, you played by different rules and developed different skills. Mercenaries might not have been as strong as certain agents, but they certainly could fight longer and run harder.

DWMA Agents were like race horses with fuckin' blinders on.

"The name is Kris. You can drop the codename now," he went on, completely changing tune and the direction of the conversation on a dime. He didn't actually care to waste time with an argument, should that have been the direction Nadia wanted to go--or worse, the little pink haired half-devil.

"With-that-out-of-the way, sure, let's move on to my plan. There are two Bishops you have confirmed: Cameron Diaz and Sofia Harkness. I got the rest of the intel," he told them, that cocky attitude of his still showing through his minor slights toward them, "Sofia is in the wind at the moment, but Cameron has a day job at the Cell Swap station over on Melrose."

Cell Swaps were this generations version of charging stations for vehicles. Instead of plugging into a public outlet, they went through a quick maintenance facility not unlike a Jiffy Lube and simply had the Magitech Crystals in their car changed out. Whole process took five minutes and was pretty standard. The only complication came in the form of some vehicles having a hybrid-electric and hydrogen fuel cell, but those were normally serviced by dealerships, not Cell Swaps. The job while mundane was actually somewhat technical, meaning Cameron likely had a decent level of intellect or education. You did have to be certified to work at those places.

"Those Paladin-jockies started a small war on Skid Row. The cultists used it as a noob-friendly hunting ground with the homeless and the Paladins turned it into a crusade against them. I'm sure their kill-count is in the hundreds by now, including some priests and bishops given the reports of magic," Kris explained, having his own way with words when he wasn't being deliberately antagonistic. He might have been a bit of a dick, but he was competent. That did shine through, at the very least.

"That all started some time last night well after your run in with them and since then a lot of the cultists have gone dormant. The news is already acting like the Paladins are solving the problem, but really they're just squashing a few bugs and sending the others under into their dark corners until it's safe," he went on, demonstrating he had qualms questioning the people and media in a less than flattering light. "The goal is to capture Cameron. I know when their next meeting is. I also know how they operate when they're busted. A Bishop never stays to fight. They flee and leave it to the others," he went on, though by now the plan was coming together fairly clearly. The Bishops were treated like any VIP, removed from a dangerous situation and guarded closely.

"My plan is to host a false assault on them, flush out Cameron, then capture him when he tries to flee. We've never had the identity of a Biship, location of a meeting, and quite plainly this many individuals on a single mission before. Together, it shouldn't be that hard to capture one man," Kris said, rounding out his actual plan. It was as straight-forward as it could be, but he did go on to explain why something so simple hadn't been done yet. The main issue was clearly that before Dani had outed mister Diaz, they never had a face or a name. Bishops likely got out of each scenario before anyone even knew they were there.

 

[Haze-]

Wren
Vale of Ffestiniog; Gwynned, Wales​

At Kisei’s harsh remarks regarding the social skills of Monster Cats, Wren could only reply with a disregarding shrug. Plain, quiet. The following back and forth between him and the witch would’ve gotten one too, if only she’d paid an ear to that as it went. As an Italian woman, the only thing Wren had found bothersome of their whole bridge language debate was the passionless delivery in the inflection of Maria’s ‘Lingua’. Not that she didn’t have any passion behind the words, she seemed to have taken Kisei’s word to the chest, and as per usual, she’d gone on a tangent.

Bothersome in of itself, she supposed, but she tried to drown out their noise. And quite literally too, trying to shove a pinky on the backside of one ear and scratch their voices out.

A sigh made her expression tighten, Wren turned to the monster cat, fingers tap-dancing on her phone’s screen already. She held it up to him, tapped again, then a robotic voice sounded off — “Diolch, sori am yr anghyfleustra.” — Wren shadowed Elly, nodding and mouthing a quiet sorry right after them. Polite and professional, she hoped.

She still shot him one last glance before they left, just out the rim of her eye, she stabbed suspicion up at him. Many things weren’t lost on her. The fact that this had been the only local that’d gotten them somewhere, out of everyone else. Hell, no one else had even mentioned the loss in translation between ‘Hag’ and ‘Witch’ before the guy.

“…” — Then again, maybe she was just overthinking things.

Knowing where he’d gotten his info wouldn’t help with summoning the water spirits anyway.

The piling hours of non-sleep were starting to get to her now that they were way past the double digits. Something weighed on her eyes, something else tugged on her legs when she shifted mid-stance; her arms swayed funny. Sluggishly, but she put a resistance against it as they went through their shopping spree.

The ring of a bell forced one half-closed eye open, ears standing on end. Wren grunted, huffed a breath out.

She shot an insultingly large, equally forced toothy grin at Elly, eyes droopy and narrow— like a 3rd grader that didn’t want to be in the group photo. She sucked her teeth, made a face — “Got it.” — There wasn’t a hint of enthusiasm behind those words, and not that she cared to hide that fact.

She was for a fact, tense. There was no telling, for her at least, if she’d be sent to the familiar sight of their shared soul space, or if she was too far gone now to get there anymore. She was worried that, if she resonated with Zosar, she’d open her eyes and see a checkered floor losing itself down an echoing hall. Feared she’d have to hear that thing’s voice again.

It was a headache to think about, but like she’d done so before, Wren quieted down the thoughts. Reached a hand out to grab Zosar’s shoulder, established the link — ‘She really should’ve let me pick the cake, don’t you think? If I was a lake spirit, I wouldn’t fall for that bland, tasteless vanilla garbage.’ — As usual, she bombarded his mind with annoying jokes, further establishing the fact that it was a mistake to give her the gift of telepathy.

This time however, where there would’ve been a chirpy voice followed by light laughter, there was plain monotone in the delivery. Their resonance felt weighty, mechanic, not the usual natural flow from before. Luckily, stable. As always.

Before she could go chainsaw, the scent and bristle of fur brushed under her nose, head immediately snapping to that jumbling, foreign feeling coming off the Fae’s soul. She scowled at the creature, without even noticing her own expression had changed — “Huh?”

That tense look of irritation quickly turned to confusion as she allowed her team bicker with the thing. She turned to glance at Maria’s raised hand, the whole nonchalance about the talking monkey before them starting to wane on her focus. She only turned back to add to Zosar’s bluff

‘Water horse, not a person.’ — Kelpie, Nøkken, Nuggle; all these water spirits ended up being the exact same thing if you squinted your eyes hard enough — ‘I also don’t think he’ll buy the whole ‘lost travelers ringing bells in the lake’ story.’

“Wait…” — She crossed her arms, tail swaying slow as she jumbled her thoughts together.

“You. Monkey cat,” — She raised a hand to get the teacher’s attention — “You said we’re lucky this was only mixed metals. How? How do you know? Is this not an iron bell?”

‘Iron, not brass… Maybe that’s why nothing’s happened yet, we just got scammed. These fae rituals are supposed to be annoyingly specific, are they not?’

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper EmperorsChosen

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Aki Kiyoko - Egypt - Feng Long - Wes
The Great Tomb of Meskhenet - Egypt
September - 20th​

Well, that was that, it seemed they wanted to conduct an all out offensive, see if they could overwhelm that shield. She had heard of defensive magic before, but it was typically an elemental force or physicality, this seemed to be just pure raw mana being used to nullify and push out physical presences, awfully inefficient, or so she thought, but if what Seth said was true, he had a lot of magic to call upon, from their soul space, Feng speaks to her two partners, a simple and short question;

’So, we got any ideas? I could just keep shooting at him, but eh.’

’…We could keep at it, see if it wears him down.’ It was a simple plan, but hardly efficient. If they were planning on overwhelming Ishmeal before he had a chance to finish breaking through the wards, it would come down to whether they could punch through that barrier fast enough. Wes was no expert when it came to the arcane, but he assumed that it worked on a similar basis to soul energy. If they forced him to constantly expand whatever was keeping the barrier up, it could at least weaken it enough for a strong enough attack to break through.

’Can’t we do what we did before with the mummy? The big shot?’ Aki proposed simply. She wasn’t a witch-hunter or something, but if it was a battle of endurance, she was confident that she could win, the bottomless pit that she was. ’He can’t keep that shield up forever. Maybe time it right after fancy-boy does his thing.”

’Power shot might be the best, though I dunno about going for the kill so soon, I think I want to try partially disarming him, unless whatever Gauss and Ark do takes his shield that low, still, got any tricks Wes? Something to play around with? I know you aren’t used to this, like me and Aki are.’

‘…Yeah, but I have no idea if it’ll work.’
The barrier around him was blocking their attacks, but those were physical attacks, things that had mass. The barrier had to have some way of determining what to let through, or else they wouldn’t have been able to hear the man speak. If the barrier wasn’t blocking sound, then there was a possibility that he could bypass it by using his wavelength.

‘I can condense and amplify sound, irritate it enough and I may be able to burst his eardrums.’ Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy to pull off in practice. First, they would have to get close enough to Ishmeal for Wes to direct the burst, and he doubted the man would make that easy for them. Secondly, he may have been completely wrong about the properties of the barrier. For all he knew, it could have had some way to determine whether something was an attack or not.

‘But you’ll have to hit me, either against something or with Aki. I can’t set it off on my own in this form.’ Normally, that wouldn’t have been a problem had he still been with Annika. With her wavelength, she could set a pseudo-timer that would oscillate and clash against his own wavelength, triggering the burst. But she wasn’t here, so they would have to brute-force it for now.

’Huh… Yeah, thats not a bad idea, he might can block attacks, but sound is another matter. I can’t go all out here, not yet at least, I only get a few minutes before they collar shock me… Still, not a bad idea, we’ll use the sound first, then the power shot, alright, let’s do this!’

’Yeah, Feng can just hit you with me… Wait, that won’t… like, bite us too, right?’ Aki considered, all for the attempt but also wanting to hear.

‘It shouldn’t.’ Wes answered. ‘I can direct the sound so that it releases in front of you two. It might ring your ears from the reverberation, but that should be it. Just make sure I’m pointed at him and you’ll be fine.’

Wes offered a silent nod, although more to himself than his temporary meister, before closing his eyes and focusing. Inside of his soul space, he brought a hand forward, bringing up his fingers and snapping his fingers together.

The sound echoed slightly, before reverberating off of seemingly nothing. More snaps joined the first, each one adding onto the chorus of noise that quickly rose to deeper and deeper pitch. Taking a deep breath through his nose, he held his hands out in front of his shoulders, palms facing inwards as he slowly began to bring them together. As he did this, the sound that was once echoing through his soul-space began to grow more focused, as if it were emanating entirely from the space between his hands.

With each inch closer, the sound became deafening, his soul vibrating and humming with the restrained energy just waiting to erupt. Closer and closer, his fingers curled in the air, further compressing the sound until it was ready to be released at a moment's notice.

~~~~~~​

Seth for his part remained silent as the DWMA went about their work, studying the chamber as he radiated the mixed essence of spiritual power and the tell-tale of magic, the guardian seemed to be living up to his name, though much about this place eluded him, Ishmael for his part found this assault upon himself to be rather amusing, at first, then indigent. Lightning crashed into his mana shell, then earth and finally, sound? The pure vibration and sonic pulse assailing his ears as Feng slapped gun form Aki into Wes's gong form, directing the wave of concussive sound directly at the mage. All the while Ark had respected the use of magic and its awe-inspiring power, he had been wrong...
Ishmael would not be a great asset to the guild, whatever means had found him, it was painfully obvious he was using these tools, tools that were too dangerous for this world some may say.

In effect he was a novice fully embracing the pull. One given power, rather than having earned it and one that came to view the living world as beneath him. It was not too uncommon to see happen, even some in the current program likely felt that way, but without proper training, with whatever machinations he was set about to put in motion, he simply did not have a hand over what he could control. The blitzkrieg had worked, mostly. As Feng took her shot, she aimed for the right shoulder and slightly towards the mid section, in truth she had not aimed to kill him directly, so much as wanting to less his power as the mana shield shattered.

Dropping his staff as blood spilled from the wound, Feng went for another shot, as Seth had a sudden realization, born of the changes he could see within the glyphs as the blood spilled and flowed over the hieroglyphics. "No! Don't! Take him alive!" But it was too little, too late, so much history had been lost to this point, but it seemed the relics with a sacrifice was enough to...

"<Ah...>" Came a feminine voice as the statue dissolved, or rather as it's sheen shifted, from sandy stone to that of flesh, fur, and clothes.

As soul entered body and the corrupted sun in the room started to flow into her, the Sphinx Meskhenet lowered from her battle stance, as she gazed out at the rest. A sudden glow emitted from her eyes as she studied each person in the room. Ishmael weakly called out, having lost a lot of blood, the would be Pharoah lifted his hand in command. "Meskhenet..." "<Destroy my enemies... Help me... I command you...>" A laugh was given in response as she watched. "<But he said... He said, the power would be mine. I->" Before he could finish the massive front right paw clawed down into him as the Sphinx grinned ear to ear, if one had a power scale of the ability to detect mana and spiritual power, it was clear she was far more powerful than anyone in the room and would only grow stronger, as she spoke, shockingly in perfect English.

"My, what a course and ugly language. And weapons, the DWMA, so many modern inventions, and oh so many more people. I'm going to have so much fun with all of you. So many deaths, the Nile doesn't belong to man. I've glassed the east once before, now I shall do so to the west." While it didn't seem she could read intentions or minds persee, she for sure would read memories or the sum of knowledge, she became instantly aware of the time, language, and even general history and concepts, and her first thought, showed nothing had changed in her banishment. For her first thought was how to destroy it all, or at least Egypt. Lifting up her bloodied paw, Meskhenet eyed Seth and smiled.

"There are not enough of you this time, or are the sons of man truly so much stronger thanks to these toys? I suppose you won't let me just leave, so I'll kill you either way." For her part she seemed mostly alright in letting them make the first move, seemingly enjoying this, playing with her food so to speak. The true battle had begun as she unleashed a powerful swipe of her staff, aiming for Gauss and his partners.

EmperorsChosen (Aki) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) The Regal Rper (Ark) Merciless Medic (Moreau - Noah) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Peckinou (Arky)​

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Maentwrog, Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales​

"Chwi butain canine!" was the most immediate response the black creature made, particularly aimed at Wren. It was a tale as old as time. You could be as polite as possible, but one insult and it ruined everything.

"I am a Cynhaeaf Púca (Pooka)!" the creature shouted, switching back from it's native tongue yet still just as defensive. "I am the spirit that farmers leave their harvest after Samhain. My kin have overseen these lands for generations," he spewed, not only identifying himself but doing so with a clearly high sense of self-worth and even a touch of entitlement. His pitch was even higher than before and cadence sped up considerably. His command over English and ability to weave between it and Welsh was actually somewhat impressive given how fast he spoke.

"The audacity to call me a monkey cat... I would call you a poodle, except it would be a compliment," he added, still going on and taking shots at Wren. Her off-color comment clearly got to him. Then again, werewolves notoriously hated to be compared to dogs and pets. Chances were, he compared her to a poodle knowing that. It also acted as a testament to the intellect of the creature. Given that it knew about poodles and the inference that werewolves dislike being compared to dogs, it had critical thinking skills alongside communication that put it well above most magical creatures. Even above the Queen of the spiders Maria met on Dall Island.

"Carys would not be pleased with you calling her a hag, either," the Pooka said, turning his attention to Maria, though his ire had lessened significantly from what Wren had incurred. "She is Gwyll. Hag is just as much an insult to her as it is to you as a Witch, girl," he added, educating Maria on a touch of culture for the Fae. It was true, though rare, that some ignorant or hateful souls would call a Witch a Hag, normally as an intentional insult. The fact the DWMA used it as a general term for certain Fae Witch-like creatures now came across as culturally insensitive.

Because of course it did.

"You need not the Ceffyl Dŵr to find Carys if you are that determined, and that horrid bell will be of no use," the Pooka continued on. "And, no, it is not pure iron. Not even close. It is ugly garbage that should be returned to whatever forsaken foundry first poured it," he explained, being quite hateful in doing so. Even though it wasn't pure iron, it was still quite annoying to hear this close. Overall, his tone had shifted to one of annoyed condescension, as if the effort being spent on these words was an excruciating waste.

"Venture North to the foot of Moelwyn Bach where the road splits in twain. At dusk while the sun is at the horizon but has not set, whisper the name Carys the Unmarried three times and she shall grant you an audience," the Pooka told them, almost as if reciting these instructions from a pamphlet or clipboard. Memorized or not, he knew them well. That was obvious. "Waste her time and ye shall wander the mount for three days and nights, such is how she punishes those that would call her name needlessly," he added, pointing out that there would be a cost if they were to follow through with no point behind it. A prank would be punished, and seventy two hours on a mountain for most normal people would probably be death.

The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | Gweynedd, Wales

‘I doubt they would, it's pretty clear the thing's smart enough to know about the bell, which that alone is suspicious enough.’ In response to the bluff.

It pleased him all the same that Wren’s follow up was exactly following that line of curiosity. Making her Meister, smile slightly when the Fae took offense to such a comment.

So he was another type of Fae after all. The response to the bell had brought that possibility into the limelight, for Wren's commentary to elicit such a reaction, having her snappy and witty commentary was a boom of it's own.

”The audacity to call me a monkey cat... I would call you a poodle, except it would be a compliment,” ​

It was easy to suppress the urge to eye roll. An inflated ego and what could only be determined as some form of grandiose self-perception were likely common among a species with a folklore such as these. At the same time the education on what to say and not to say to Carys, was insightful and very helpful, more than he honestly would have expected of a Puca from what he could remember of his studies on European mythological creatures. His lips moved silently, trying the word out on his tongue like a new jacket. Listening keenly to how the Pooka has pronounced it.

Wren could hear Zosar mutter it. “Gwe-hll”, enunciating it at least three times, the first slow, the second and third slightly faster.

Taking mental note of the stress on syllables. There was a ‘h’ sound in there that was stressed. He was no master linguist but his understanding of Spanish and French came not from tutelage but from exposure. Still though when it came to meeting Carys the Gwyll it was doubtful he would be doing any speaking. Unless told to, he would leave it to Elly and Kisei to speak.

He stepped right back up against Wren's side, tapped his shoulder against her arm: ‘Nice job with the monkey comment.’

It felt like it needed recognizing for how it had loosened the lips, or maybe they would have always been loose to begin with.

‘Problem is coming up with a way to get that mirror.’

What was it that would sweeten the process and smooth over all this running around and work? Fighting a Fae wasn't really something he wanted to do unless he had to.

Wren wouldn't have realized it but the touch to compliment her witty remark and the brief exchange they were sharing was also his way of checking to see for himself the state of their resonance.

A heavy conscience could blind from the obvious, and he knew that well from criminal justice activity. Even if Wren were like Elly, skilled in hiding true feelings, the mind and soul were bound, whatever shift occurred in the mind, reflected in its own way at the spiritual level too.

So when he had tapped his arm to her side, it was also a brief examination aside from him just sharing thoughts on the upcoming issue with meeting Carys. He wasn't sure what to make of those flickering brief moments where he felt something but he did have a clear enough sense that their link felt…somewhat off. It was subtle. As subtle as the thoughts they both held about everything that had happened after the mission before this.

They really had gone one step forward, two steps back.

Where they could have picked up on emotions of the other easier when resonating and even be able to identify things the other might have been suppressing with some degree of accuracy instead of blind guessing or complete unawareness, they were now stuck at being able to sense surface layered emotions. What the other wanted you to see or feel or know, not what the other truly felt. That openness they had had, as small or wide as it had been, was now shut.

From Zosar's perspective, it didn't feel weak, not like with Adraestia when she had been upset or mad at him, not by his standards and experience- Wren’s natural tuning ability however simplified a lot with him. Something about the rhythm or the tempo, the spikes or maybe the way it was flowing felt different. And not being able to immediately pinpoint by how much was itself, mildly annoying because he wasn't used to this-- when there was a change it was immediately easy for him to pick up on it. Everything was so easy, and Wren made everything easier to do but also…difficult.

With her…he had to figure it out like he was a guppy learning how to swim again.

It brought up that thought of how he wasn't as good as he had seen himself.

Yet he didn't let that show in the link. It couldn't anyway. With the shift in their resonance, Wren wouldn't have known at all that Zosar's mind had cottoned on to the change, even if that change was subtle for her, for him it stuck out, just not in total clarity. Her senses would have completely missed the fact that this shift in resonance, though expected, disturbed him.

And given the conversation and the fact his expression never once changed the entire time he talked, made it hard to even know any of this was on his mind.

Brushing it off for later though, was easy in focus for their situation.

‘ I'm going to try something.’ he informed her through the link.

“I don't suppose you have advice on a gift we could bring fair Carys once we attain her audience?” And then, he followed with: “Unless ‘the unmarried’ status has the potential to be changed by a mortal.” And it was quite literally a joke, or maybe it wasn't, but even if it wasn't, it was harmless to ask, no?

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen

Interactions: Haze- Sir Les Paul

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales​

What in the Death damned hell are you even saying? She thought to herself, looking directly at Zosar. Turning her attention back to the Fae creature, he was quick to explain who and what he was and what exactly he did. Though the DWMA never much liked it in its previous policies and crusades, there were a great many cultures on the Earth that worked with magical creatures and the Fae remnants. Maria's own education of them was academic at best, but his offense and how Zosar was now asking for more... She could have let her leader deal with it, but at least in origins she was equally an oddity.

"Forgive our ignorance Cynhaeaf Púca, those who sent us out were ignorant of her name and we shared in that. This... Gwyll, what I know of her kind comes largely from books and of those regionally located in Scottland and Ireland. And my...friend here is joking." She said of Zosar's hit on remarks, she wouldn't be surprised if the creature was rather crossed. Though old legends told of Hags sleeping with mortal men, or abducting female infants from the crib, or buying them from mothers to raise into their own... If not darker things... The problem is these legends could easily be laid at the feet of witches as well. Regardless, to make such an advance to a Hag would carry implications that one could not walk away from. Course personal relations aside, they were known to give tasks on a whim.

"I would not overly worry about a gift, Gwyll will likely assign us a task, though who knows what."


Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Elly) Sir Les Paul (Kisei) The Regal Rper (Zosar) Haze- (Wren)

 

[Peckinou]

Arkayis Misonuka - Egypt
Mentions: Gauss Sir Les Paul , Noah/ Sara Merciless Medic ,@Meredith The Regal Rper , Wes Shotgunpenguin ,@Mook-LandStrider, Aki EmperorsChosen , Feng RedArmyShogun
​

Arkayis was starting to get annoyed with this entire event, dealing with a arrogant statue was not on their to do list, but they really didn't have much choice in the matter. Arkayis really didn't expect much of a fun time on this trip in the first place, having to be limited with their flame usage and forced to work with a Magic User, wasn't exactly their idea of a fun time. Nevertheless it was something they were kinda able to deal with for this long, still they really wanted to just complete this entire little mission and get out, and to do that required them to be fast, something that wasn't new to Arkayis though he wasn't sure about the others. Either way Gauss gave out his orders to the others, and then began to talk to them in the soul space, Arkayis was honestly expecting him to bark out some orders as well, but instead it was a bit different, he gave out a story about himself. Not really something Arkayis expected but Gauss seemed to be doing many things that he wasn't expecting when it came to him, perhaps it was a new approach, Arkayis wasn't for sure yet. Still Arkayis listened to what Gauss had to say, he really didn't know much about what tournament Gauss was speaking of, Noah hadn't really been forthcoming about that story. Though when he mentioned his sister Arkayis tensed up, recalling his own sister, as he explained his relationship with her, though when he mentioned how she didn't forgive him, Arkayis began to wonder what exactly he had done that was unforgivable to her in the first place. That was one of the things Arkayis couldn't exactly relate with Gauss with, as he mostly followed his sisters lead, and their relationship was close and they still would be if she wasn't stolen from him. Something that still upset him to this day.

But Gauss had now gotten to the point, he wanted to try something reckless, something that Arkayis didn't expect from Gauss, as he considered him to be more on the cautious and goal oriented side of things until pushed. Pure reckless actions wasn't something he considered to be his MO, but here he was asking him to do something that honestly would of fit his sisters MO better, though he still didn't think she would of tried anything like this either. Still though Arkayis wasn't exactly one to say no but he did have his doubts about this 'You sure about this? We could always try other options....' Still though he was ready to go through with it if Gauss really wanted to, and despite the request Arkayis was perfectly calm. Not being the one to panic or succumb to his own madness too often, they were willing to do what Gauss wanted despite their apprehension and they weren't really fond on the possibility of failure especially if it's a mess up on their end, so remaining calm they kept focus on the task at hand ready to assist Gauss but the wave of nervousness was still there, as they refocused onto the battle, muttering a few German words in the soul space as they soon got targeted for a attacked.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Hancock Park, Koreatown, LA
​

Chuckling lightly as if bemused by the man's earlier remarks, Nadia shakes her head, deciding to correct him on at least one, not amused by his antics and would be power plays. "Oh, you don't understand. I don't sprint. I simply use force to make the distance from point A to point B as short as possible. But I digress." Looking at the menu, she decided to order a blueberry lemonade for herself, two could play the waiting game, though she fully expected to need to take hers on the go. "Do you want anything, Dani? And my, how amusing. We are said to be the ones with bad PR, but we aren't killing people by the hundreds, declaring a crusade, nor deploying an Army on the streets. The people are truly blind. Though I am not surprised, they are a militant order, of course they do Militant things."

Moving on, there was then his plan. Or rather, it was an objective, not so much a plan at all. "I see the need to catch this bishop, though I rather not speak of the details here, but there are details yes? Also do we have any idea what ranks are above the bishops? Though the premise seems simple enough." She didn't think much of this man, nor he her, but it was, what it was, and for now they had to act before those knights burned it all and nothing was left to learn.

Interactions/Mentions: EmperorsChosen (Dani) Sir Les Paul (Adrian/NPCs) Merciless Medic (Sara - Raph) The Regal Rper Chibistaryuu (Noise)

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Ice Cream Shop, Los Angeles, CA
Mission Return of the Stalker
Status Hesitant
​

Tags: Merciless Medic

The instructions Nadia was given stated the agents were free to order any food items they wanted. In fact, it was suggested as to make the meeting appear more natural. Sitting around without ordering failed to do that.

That said, Adrian wasn't particularly fond of anything this establishment offered. Soda was nothing but sugar and empty calories with some carbonation. While he may not have been a vegan, treating his body like some sacred temple, he wasn't keen on ingesting what was arguably a sugary toxin. Ice cream wasn't as offensive to his lifestyle, though it was hardly much better. In general, Adrian simply wasn't fond of many sweets. He preferred, most often, more spicy foods. Sometimes even sour, sometimes earthy, sometimes a light amount of sweetness from cooking, but candy-like treats simply weren't in his domain of ideal consumption.

The ambiance of the parlor was nice, though. It reminded him of the Fallout games he had played, and the attention to detail was immaculate. He wasn't aware that over a century ago, this type of style truly was the pinnacle of chic and bright, bold colors like these were found on muscle cars that defined the era. As time went on, this type of imagery was getting closer and closer to being left in the past. Only places like this that intentionally brought it back truly had it. It was an intentional design choice, but it was one Adrian liked. Odd though it may be, something about the bright, popping colors appealed to him. Specifically, he liked how shiny and plump the red, leather seats were.

Upon entering, Adrian and Raph split up. Not due to any disagreement, but because Raph had some interest in how these old-fashioned soda pops were made. Admittedly, it was different. It wasn't prepackaged or out of a push fountain. Instead, a bartender poured strong syrups and even various additional flavors into a large glass, then spritzed in what seemed to be seltzer water to mix it manually. Apparently, it was wildly different than normal sodas. The carbonation would be different, aeration changed, flavors could be more or less intense, and there was a bit of a show based on the skill of the maker.

This left Adrian to the ice cream bar. He had a lot of issues choosing any single one flavor. Nothing stood out to him and this place didn't exactly list nutrient content for him to evaluate. In the end, he found his attention drawn to one of the strawberry ice creams. One, it was pink, which reminded him of Dani. Two, it had real pieces of strawberry mixed in, which convinced him it had to at least be slightly healthier. He declined any drink to go with it or be mixed in, which was common; strawberry wasn't a common drink for floats. Instead, he was given his frosted bowl, spoon and elected to go sit off in a corner.

Except he was stopped, though not forcefully. An elderly man with a slight moustache, serious half-scowl on his face, utter lack of hair, and a suit that was somewhat overdressed for the parlor managed to catch his eye. As Adrian had turned around, this man had a notable stare and a type of gravity to it in his eyes that made Adrian slow down and take a moment. It was almost too intentional to just ignore. It created this intuitive feeling he was going to say something.

Which turned out to be right.

"It seems our choice of venue was not to your liking, young sir," he said, a slight snootiness to his tone but nowhere near as condescending as might have expected from someone so overdressed. At the very least, the man appeared old enough that he wasn't horridly out of place in the parlor at first glance, but it was nonetheless a drastic difference.

"Come - sit. We'll wait a moment for your friend to finish up. He seems to be enjoying himself far more," the man commented. That slight, almost aristocratic tone he had, lifted once he referred to Raph and how he took in the events. It seemed there was some genuine enjoyment of seeing him take pleasure in the older establishment.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Contrary to what they all expected, a small furry creature appeared speaking to them all as if they were daft. At first, Elly simply watched it and allowed it to finish, however before she could respond, several of the others spoke off and ticked it off. It was some kind of crop deity, a prideful one at that. All the more reason Elly's eye twitched when her party aggravated their only lead. Thankfully, it divulged information despite tis offense, though Elly wasn't positive it was out of maturity so much as wanting to lord over them how ignorant they all were. Elly didn't really care, nor did she car they had been scammed of the bell. They had a lead and that's all she wanted.

Nonetheless, Elly shot the two speakers, primarily a Zosar a look. It wasn't much but a narrowing of the eyes. Jokes of marriage to an entity they already aggrieved was not the play.

"We greatly appreciate your education," Elly chimed in, putting on her best 'I actually want to be here' face. "I don't know if you care for any of these sweets, but if you do, by all means help yourself."

It was a simple gesture to win back any points that were available whilst also not taking up too much time. Whether or not Puca partook in any, Elly would soon after herd them all forward. Part of her hurry was out of a wish to move on, however there was another reason. They needed to reach the location by sunset to call on Carys, so there was little time to dawdle.

As they ventured north and reached the base of the mountain, they found a road, old and paved with packed dirt. The creature mentioned splitting in twain, so Elly predicted the road would diverge into two paths. Soon enough, they found such a split, seemingly marking the location they would need to be. The sky had long since turned amber as the sun closed on the horizon.

"Alright... Showtime. Let's not try to fuck the Gwyl before we've had the chance to gauge her, hm?" Elly commented, the hum at the end less inquisitive and more insinuating. "Or otherwise piss her off," She added further.

As the auburn color deepened and the sun touched the edge of the world, Elly breathed out a sigh. "Carys the Unmarried. Carys the Unmarried... Carys the Unmarried," She whispered, pausing slightly before the third repetition simply from caution. These sorts of missions never sat well with Elly, the ones in which they held limited information or experience in.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul Haze- The Regal Rper

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Burger Joint, North Gower and Melrose Avenue, Hancock Park, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
Interactions: Noise
Mentions: Raph, Nadia, Dani, Adrian
Chibistaryuu RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

Unlike Nadia and Dani, Sara didn't seem to mind splitting up. She thought it was a good idea. Given their faces were known by the cult, making sure they weren't all in one place decreased the chance of being noticed plus Sara had a new partner now.

As she and her partner made it to the burger joint, Sara's mouth was watering. The exquisite yumminess of the burgers were fantastic. Her tail within a fake furred sleeve wagged quickly as she eyed the food. “You smell that, Noise? That's heaven right there~.” She giggled, coaxing Noise along (if it was even needed) to sit down and eat and wait for their contact. She let Noise sit beside her, and she awaited for the waitress to arrive.

When Sara wasn't trying to ogle at the smell of the food, she was thinking. Or at least trying to. Honestly, the smell of the food was just too damn distracting and she needed it in her stomach, pronto!

The ecstatic werewolf finally did have a thought about what kind of intel they got. It must be good for them to be separated like this. Aside from this being as inconspicuous as possible, Sara wondered if she was going to be used for tracking. That was her specialty after all.

Still, they waited for their other person to arrive, her body unable to keep herself still as she hopped about on the seat like a kid on caffeine, her excitement having a slight possibility to make it easier to spot her.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Raphael Valerias​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Vintage Ice Cream Shop, North Larchmont Boulevard and Beverly Boulevard, Hancock Park, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
Interactions: Adrian, Contact
Mentions: Sara, Noise, Nadia, Dani
Chibistaryuu RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

Raphael was indeed amazed at literally everything in this ice cream shop. Everything looked so good, the sodas looked exquisite, and he wanted to get a good tasting going. But they sadly were not able to enjoy it too much, so he got himself one of those seltzer cherry soda things (Italian soda, possibly), and rocky road ice cream in a bowl with caramel sauce and a cherry.

He was in absolute heaven, and then he noticed Adrian was talking to someone. Raising an eyebrow, he went over to sit beside Adrian, giving the older gentleman a slight wave. “A pleasure to meet you, sir.” He didn't exactly catch what Adrian and this guy were talking about earlier, but that was neither here nor there.

He sipped from his drink as quietly as he could and kept his ice cream eating to tiny spoonfuls so he didn't look like a savage shoveling sweets in his mouth and being rude. He also wanted to have a chance to speak and getting annihilated by a brain freeze and having mouthfuls of ice cream would likely destroy whatever impression this guy had of them.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Noah Wiley​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: The Great Tomb of Meskhenet, Egypt
Interactions: Gauss, Arkayis
Mentions: Ark, Wes, Feng, Aki, Annika, Seth
Sir Les Paul Peckinou The Regal Rper Shotgunpenguin RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen

Noah was oddly not apprehensive as they were led by Seth to the Great Tomb, and great it was. It was huge (well, after getting through the menial undead).

It was then that Noah saw the absolute monstrous statue and the light in the sky. And then Ishmael trying to do something about the wards. Seth was spoken to, but of course everyone essentially went on full offensive. Ark flung head-sized rocks at the guy after confirming there was a shield, Feng hit Wes's gong for a blast of sound and was building up to a powered shot,
and Gauss told Arkayis of Gauss's and Noah's electrical blast during the tournament (not in that order).

Noah was really hoping it wasn't going to be something like that, but he realized it had nothing to do with an off resonance and more so to do with more power than normal.

That was at least a bit better than having a false resonance.

Noah felt ecstatic, even sporting a huge grin as he readied himself whilst being spun. He took as much energy as he could, amplified it, and waited for Arkayis to amplify and send him the energy.

Noah was going to put his all in this charged shot, no longer nervous if it wasn't going to work. ‘Alright! Shock ‘n’ awe, let's go!’

Noah cringed under the weight of the energy he was subjected to, but it was only for the moment. The staff practically became a high intensity light bulb in brightness as he let loose a blast of lightning towards the mage.

It was only after the shot fired that Noah realized their true boss was encased in stone.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location The Great Tomb of Meskhenet, Egypt
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper

Power. Exhilarating power. It flowed through Gauss as an intermediate. He was both the supply and the channel. He was like copper wire—no, gold wire—allowing that power to flow freely through him from one point to another. It was a sensational feeling. Arkayis had done exactly as intended. As a Demon Weapon, the Scythe had grown so much. As a person, sure, but the difference in his skill was night and day. Months ago when they met, he would have never been able to handle this. He relied so much on the familial bond from his sister that he lacked refined skills. But, now? Now he was truly a force to be reckoned with.

The folly of wielding two polearms was meager problem compared to the ecstatic electricity that enervated his nerves and soul.

It was unfortunate it seemed a good portion of the attack was cancelled by a shell of mana, but the amount of sheer power it had to have taken to dampen that bolt must have been immensely draining. Moreover, it's not like their target survived long. Their Blitzkrieg was far, far more effective than the historical one. There was some truth to the issue of killing would-be mage, but victory wasn't assured and the line between an overachiever and an unnecessary failure wasn't necessarily a bond one.

Nonetheless, it seemed the sphinx was free. And, it spoke. It spoke, well, actually. It crushed the mage, but it spoke. That mattered. Gauss had more weapons in his arsenal than Noah and Arkayis. Besides that, anything that bought more time gave them precious moments for reinforcements to arrive. He had an idea for how to proceed, and internally, all he could do was urge his partners to trust him.

Gauss extended out his arm, holding Noah horizontally in front of him, as if acting like a barrier to stop Feng, Ark, and ideally Seth. It was a sign to halt. He then tilted his head forward and down, but looked up to the Sphinx from his spot significantly below her.

"I am Gauss of the DWMA, leader of the group you see before you, and our mission was solely to investigate the undead in the area," he explained, offering an introduction and leading into what would hopefully become a conversation between himself and the sphinx.

"We will gladly stand down as you aren't the enemy we came here for—in fact, it seems the man trying to control you was a mutual nuisance, so you did us a favor," Gauss explained, further trying to extend the conversation out and build a bridge to the sphinx.

"You are correct, though. The man of this era is much stronger than the last. The warriors of your era compare, at best, to the novices of ours. Magic was replaced by science, and with it, man has created weapons that wipe entire countries off the map in an instant," he explained, using her own words as a lesson in just how dangerous this new world could be. She felt powerful, sure, but it was doubtful she would overpower Lord Kidd and Cyrus if they fought together. A platoon of elites would stand a fair chance, especially if they fought alongside veteran Witches. This sphinx was no God.

"I mean no threat, though... more that I admire your form and would rather show you the world as it is than dare let it hurt you before you could see it," Gauss told her, boldly shooting his shot with zero shame. There was an element of truth there, but only insofar that he would rather not have this become a violent outbreak. The sphinx could rampage, but she would surely be killed if she did, and in doing so, accomplish little more than menial damage. Ideally, everyone in the room could escape, but even if not, they would die protecting Ark with the final instructions being to bury them alive to buy more time.

Surely, Thea couldn't bitch if he sacrificed himself for the greater good of Egypt.

Now, whether or not Feng, Aki, Ark, Noah, and Arky would forgive him in the after life, though, was a different story. Seth he gave two shits about.

Either way, this moment would be Gauss' Gambit.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Moelwyn Bach Mountain Pass, Vale of Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales​

The air cooled rapidly, dropping dozens of degrees in seconds.

That same air immediately felt more damp, as if the humidity skyrocketed to that of the woods after freshly fallen rain.

Together, the result was a wicked chill.

If only that chill were the most concerning change to their environment. The cool air became silent. The birds and insects that, while faint, created the background ambiance of the aged mountains was gone. The air was still, resulting in the silence born from it being only that much more eerie. Not as if the fact it was such a sudden change brought on by the final utterance from Elly didn't play a roll as well.

Regardless, the sky itself inverted in colors and contrast. The sun stopped setting and became a black orb floating over the horizon, the pinks and reds shifting to blues and extending out into an unnaturally white background. It was an instant change, too, like applying a new filter on a photo, except this change was applied to the entire world around the agents on that pass. As an introduction to Fae Magic, beyond that of the Pooka merely appearing from nowhere, this was astonishing. Maria would know full-well that no Witch, alive or dead, possessed the power to seemingly warp reality on this level. It was absurd, assuming that is actually what was occurring.

"It is Carys the Unmarred..."​

The voice was feminine. Faint. Dry, almost raspy, and through it, the group could hear the frustration. The fact that the first words spoken by this individual was a correction meant that, yet again, the group had been fed false or otherwise not-quite-correct information. More so, it meant that—exactly as Elly wished to avoid—they started off their interaction with the Gwyll on the wrong foot.

Why wouldn't they, though, in this mission? Planted in the middle of nowhere in Wales in part of the country that primarily spoke an entirely different language, led astray by a Monster Cat that directed them to conjure dangerous water horses to get directions, sold a bell of the wrong metal, and only now where they are due to the specific instructions given to them by a notable rude, self-entitled little creature that spoke down to them at every sentence it uttered.

The origin of the voice quickly made itself known. Emerging from what started as a bright, white light that emanated from the frozen black orb in the sky where once the laughing sun hung was a shower of snow and snowflakes, frozen fractals falling all around the group yet no more cold radiating from them as if they were solid ice. Instead, they floated down with a serene grace, glittering an odd blue and green set of sparkles from the inverted sky above. From the very center of this shower of impossible snow emerged Carys, a beautiful, lithe, ghostly figure of a woman that floated down as effortlessly as the wispy flakes that preceded her.

"Unmarred—as they named me for my skin, flawless, they said, like virgin snow," she added, explaining two-fold that it was not a self-imposed title, and more so, how it came to be.

"Though, little did I know—at the time, it was a mockery. They believed skin should be kissed by the sun and that marks of beauty were gifts bestowed by the gods," she told them, her words unfolding like poetry with rhymes riddled between them and her speaking structured out like stanzas, spoke with a cadence to make their syllables and stresses more apparent.

"You, who have ran around this forest like fools, in search of me - yet seem to harbor no malice..." she said, dropping her more theatrical mannerisms in favor of a more direct method of speaking to the group. She was hardly respectful, though unlike the Pooka, it was merely due to her blunt use of the truth. Her tone did not carry the same self-entitlement, just a sense of frustration and impatience.

"What do you want from me?" she asked plainly. She waved her arm over in the direction of Zosar, her hand flaring out as if to pinpoint him specifically. "Many a young men have sought me out alone, seeking the legend of unmarried maiden who would alleviate their cursed virginity... but you are not alone, and while lewd in heart, not a virgin," she went on, pointing out one of the more probably possibilities. "It is much more uncommon for a wielder of mana or bearer of lycanthropy to seek me out," she added, again, going over her observations of the group.

"Lest the Irish have taken arms against the country of Wales, I see no reason for you to need me..." she continued, pointing out Elly, and soon then Kisei, "and, frankly, I have no idea what you are, so I know not what I could offer you."

"Be quick, with haste. My curiosity does know have a limit," she urged them, despite the fact she went off on her own tangent about each one. Of course, she cared little about time she wasted. That was theirs. Only time they wasted, which was hers.

The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | Gwynned, Wales

For all the reactions to his line of inquiry the ex mercenary merely ignored the expected glances or looks.

Their destination was reached, the needed words were spoken--

It was really a sight to behold. The chill aside, didn't bother him, not by much it was paltry compared to the sudden altering shift in space. The sun became a black dot wreathed in blue hues on a canvas of white and sound itself suffocated on the mountaintops as if it had been barren of life all along. To witness it, was in its way, its own reward.

To see her descent was an even greater memory.

Fae were mythologically and dominantly known for being both demons in nature and angels in appearance, he could see why such a terminology even in stories, hit the nail so perfectly in line

It didn't surprise at all the Pucca had deceived them in one way at least. The entitlement leaking off the introduction had made it likely a possibility, and the fact it happened at all really just confirmed the innate expectation he had of the creature known for its mischief.

The ‘unmarried’ had been an odd title like he thought.

That reward however no longer mattered once she spoke. And with such frustration in her voice too, Zosar could only help but glance at Elly upon the first line being a correction that expressed displeasure she had been hoping to avoid.

He could have interrupted, but, experience with ancients, specifically his mother, told him that interrupting a centurion when they were the ones here to make a deal would seal the fate of any possible salvage or negotiation. Instead of interrupting he allowed the Fae mistress of the woods to finish, demand what they were here for- and then he spoke before anyone else could.

Shifting her attention off of Elly who could follow up with an apology and then their goal here, didn't seem right. It was the gang experience here at play.

Unintentional offense was not to be followed with a short apology and a request by the same person it came from. It was better if someone else step in.

He didn't care to wait for Midori, Maria or Wren to. And given his experiences in where you were dealing with someone that could shift a situation from good to worse and the present state of reality…

“Our apologies, Lady Carys,” his voice clear but the apologetic smile he mustered being sincere as was the inflection in his voice, for it really was a shame to call one with her appearance a title made to be a mockery as she had explained it. So he elected not to call her it at all least told otherwise.

There was a lot to take note of from how she had addressed them. The least important was the fact she was aware of a mage in their party. The most important being how she identified the rest of them; Elly from her origins and Midori by extension given the nature of his soul, and could see enough to identify the fact he himself was no longer a virgin. The surprise didn't show in his face but whatever surprise did show in how she might have glimpsed it, vanished quickly.

He didn't think Fae could see souls, but this proved otherwise, even more so, proved their abilities were more than just mere magic he had basic understanding of.

Yet, he didn't let those observations get in the way of the apology he stated as he split away from the others, not to take the lead above Elly but to stand within a similar distance, albeit at greater width from the others at only a foot or so away, dropping a bow, respectful in its own way, and humbling as the apology was spoken before standing straight after it was delivered.

“We were led astray in how to call for an audience, neither my friends nor I knew, m’lady. As”, it was the eyes that shifted from her to Elly, “for our reason for summoning you…” and the whole reason he had made that gap of distance between himself and the others was for the position to transition smoothly and swiftly from the Gwyll to the Irish female without having to actually turn his head in a manner that might be considered rude.

After all it was quicker for him to just say it, but mission etiquette...

The look really just told her to follow up and retake the reins while he had spoken, it gave a window for her to seamlessly pick up where he had left off, before another shift had indigo and violet eyes return to the mesmerizing source of change as he listened in on what would be said.

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen

Interactions: Haze- Sir Les Paul

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Meskhenet
The Great Tomb of Meskhenet - Egypt
September - 20th​

Listening to what all Gauss had to say, Meskhenet paused for a bit as her red eyes bored in on his, and the light from the "sun" above her adjusting just enough to show that her hair was red in kind. Stopping the movement of her staff just outside of his reach, before pulling it back, she speaks. "From your own knowledge, the sum of which I can read from the offering, I foresee a great many things have changed. What was once annoying insects, does seem to have picked up power, power all of its own. Even the manner of your fabrics is quite queer and far removed from mine. I am a being of so-called Wisdom and matters of the mind. You are far removed from those I knew, and further still from the Sea People's."

Standing still, the Sphinx studied all of those here in turn, even Seth. Then the mage that rested beneath her paw, or rather next to it. Then to Ark, peering at them She decided to take something of a risk, as her magic and spirit returned, she decided to seemingly reduce her size via some unknown biomancy to go from standing thirty feet tall to standing a mere six. Though even then she radiated power to be truly dangerous. "I can tell from the scent of the air and the souls I sense that your words have a measure of truth, I have dwelt for thousands of years, even tens of thousands. Your weapons are no mere bronze, and I have been a captive for thousands as well. I am Meskhenet she who seeks knowledge and carries the blessing of the Sun. Disappoint me at your own peril."

"I may be amenable to your words, but you must do three things, or at least two of the three. I wish to test these achievements of men, of each of you present and offering, of knowledge and of value, of your histories and of your futures. Show me those things you say make men great, that separate you from the grain and date farmers of the Nile. Those who prayed to any and all things and lived in its ignorance. Or secondly, engage me in battle and cause me to be marred, and prove you are greater than the warriors of long ago. Should your...hmm, Steel be true, then I shall acknowledge the worth of man.

The third thing, which I'm sure the Dog will balk at, is I wish for these relics to be destroyed. If not today, then assurance that they will be in the future. The magics within them, well, the scale and scope, the Mage with you, I can sense is more powerful than those sages from before. However, should one as trained as he gain these items, then you may see what they damage they can cause... Especially that book. I shall not be a prisoner to my mind again... Though such an agreement will not be so one sided, but rather a position to start, so, son of Man, Gauss, and your band of Seven, I shall give you five minutes to reach an agreement, before I go about as before.

Provided your words are true, and the might of man is such, then my life will be measured in days or weeks should you refuse either of my terms. However, I still can kill all of you at the very least... And such honeyed words, the audacity of them, the amusement they produced, has bought you this time." These was no malice in the words, a form of sureness was in them, as crimson eyes watched in silence.

~~~

Seth​

Seth for his part sputtered and went towards the group a look of, well it was hard to be sure, what with the face and head of a jackal, but constrained would be the best option. "She committed several acts of terror and killed hundreds! Just for her amusement! And the relics, they are of a cultural importance! Though even I admit, being rid of them and our charge would not be something we balk at, but by rights they belong to my people. Their fate cannot be decided with only the thoughts of your DWMA, or at least one as junior as you...

If you can buy time, I am sure we can reseal her. Unless her time imprisoned with only her own thoughts to keep her sane turned a new leaf, she is dangerous. But this is not my decision to act upon.." Bowing his head, the Anpu stepped back, awaiting whatever verdict the people here decided upon.

~~~

Feng Long​

"Er..." With all that happened, her shot being blocked, and the Sphinx being amused, she at least didn't seem out to kill them now... Though hearing what she said, Feng kinda didn't blame her for immediately attacking. If she were in prison that long, well she would fight too. Though, it bothered her how this being seemed to wish to see the Strength of their words, or Gauss's words. Be it Martial, or providing evidence of the greatness of man that separated them from Egyptian Civilization over three thousand years ago.

Looking at Gauss, then her two weapons, she sets both down, leaving them free to transform. "Eh, I mean, we all got a cell phone, so we can show her our best and worst qualities? I don't know, I would just show her something from China, our history is just as long as, if not longer than theirs. She's only seen one aspect of the world. Fighting her on the other hand, that works too. Or we could try trusting Seth, to reseal her. Though er, I know this isn't our mission, and as soon as she goes around flying and burning things, she just going to get some aircraft putting a missile or several into her... But, I do think, if we fight her, she's not bluffing, it'll be a fight for our lives.

So, Aki, Wes, I want your input too, this isn't our job, but we can't just leave..."

EmperorsChosen (Aki) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) The Regal Rper (Ark) Merciless Medic (Moreau - Noah) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Peckinou (Arky)​

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | Egypt | Rings: 0/1

A gloved hand went through fire red hair in complete exasperation.

Ark listened to everything to put it simply. He had been ready, if things got bad, to force the team out of the temple and bring the whole place down on top of himself and the Sphinx.

He had done it in a decrepit building within Nigeria while facing off against one of the very phantoms he had seen of his past in Hawaii. A Nigerian mercenary, Jedo, of insane strength and speed who had fought with two Weapons, scimitars to be precise. Power that had pushed him to fight at his full strength where he hardly saw that opportunity much outside intense missions like this. A consistent fight that had been determined by battle stamina, wit and endurance, more so than who was stronger when they had both been equal.

The Sphinx exceeded that ten fold, he was expecting this fight to be intense- just for it to be postponed by Gauss’ quick thinking.

He couldn't say he wasn't appreciative at the very least. Anything that could postpone their collective death or maiming was a gift.

Still though, Seth had a point. The Sphinx had a history. A bloody history, one stapled in her own twisted sense of amusement. Then again, every FATE Agent had one too, and unlike them, they hadn't spent century upon century frozen in place, to her credit, trapped in her own mind.

Did Sphinxes even suffer from that kind of thing? Or was it really just a period of reflection for them when they had long lifespans and a mind of such unique power and fortitude? He couldn't imagine any Witch or Sorcerer being in that position and coming out of it mentally coherent, but from the manner she spoke of alone and how she offered and followed up with a chance to let them prove anything instead of just lashing out in delusional madness, the kind of madness he had personally seen on the battlefield among the select few Outlaws he was sometimes sent out to assist in capturing or eliminating, the sort a few humans working with subservient Outlaws willing to cut a deal for the chance of power…

If there was one thing he didn't like, it was how Feng and Seth didn't really try to play the card of the situation more subtly.

He could really just sigh and keep his magic on up. Gloves glowing and waiting for command, same as Grimoire.

“The offer she made to destroy the artifacts at all is…surprising.” Was all he had to say. He wasn't about to tell Gauss what he already heard again on repeat.

The fact she gave him credit that the artifacts would be more powerful with him than they had been with Seth was honestly a little surprising too. Perhaps he has misjudged the deceased.

Yet still, he had to say it. “Smart move, Gauss.”

It was his way of saying: that was a ballsy move.

There was a lot more to say about the direction Gauss had taken it, but, he had to give him credit, it worked- for now.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I don't want to fight her”, picking up on Feng’s line of being fine with it if they needed to but also highlighting the point she made about knowing how serious such a fight would be.

“if she wants evidence that our world has developed beyond what she saw in her time, proof what Gauss said is factual” He added, more for the sake of those that didn't catch on. Then with his glowing gloves Ark turned his attention to the Meskhenet.

“In your time, man knew only bronze, copper, tin, and lead. There are over a hundred elements that have been discovered since then.” And with his hand raised he made sand conjured from his Grimoire rose to condense into a ball that became dirt, shifted into stone, cracked into gravel, fused into igneous, altered into mortar. It wasn't flexing his magic so much as demonstrating a point as the ball hovered forward in the air in front of him for the Sphinx to see.

“Just as I can change the very structure of sand, mankind has learned to combine elements to create new metals, alloys, have grown in knowledge of science to develop weapons that can level the very structure of this whole temple with a single high grade weapon. Enough force that could destroy this whole temple and the area surrounding it with one blast, and there are greater weapons,” Ark explained, demonstrating by shaping the globe, a flat map depiction of the whole world. He designed it all in just a few seconds because that's how short they were on time to convince her, highlighted Egypt on the content of Africa with heat that made the sand glow, and then he formed a structure. A simple missile that hovered in his hand, raced off with a finger flick towards the map and when the sand hit the ground it fractured, creating a ripple, like a wave across the sand map.

As he did this, he made a note to the others behind him with his magic, hidden behind him while he kept the attention.

In sand particles he created a simple message that hovered low to Gauss and co: Video evidence. Nukes. Electronics. Bio Weapons.

Short and simple, enough to get the message across.

The ripple spread from the impact zone, like a wave, created a dust cloud that rose slightly off the ground, wiped out a good chunk of all North Africa where the sand shifted to erase border lines between countries and turn them into broken mirrors of their former selves, along with some of the Western and Eastern countries that went with them, and took out some part of the Mediterranean. The ripple stopped when Ark made a gesture with his fingers as if to halt the motion he was creating, leaving a much smaller version of Africa behind in the image.

“Without magic or warriors like us, mankind has learned to harness mosquitos, the very pests of these lands, as biological weapons to destroy the crops of an enemy or bring disease to their home.”

He made a brushing motion with his right arm and the sand world map erased itself and rose to form a gun. “Spears, arrows and bows are obsolete in our era unlike it was in yours. Technology has made these the more common weapon, and not the only one. Metal machines that fly can hit at a greater distance and are faster than any arrow, just like this weapon I am showing you. And this common weapon requires no training aside from basic understanding to wield them. Countless versions with different functions and stronger forms exist all over the world. More powerful versions exist with Magitech. And an innumerable number of people, the average person that might have one reared crops or washed clothes in the Nile, can possess them. Their sizes make them easy to conceal, and just as dangerous all the same to fell even the novices of our own type. My colleagues can prove it with a simple video.”

Which was really their cue to prove what he was saying.

If they were going to cow the Sphinx into understanding she was truly outgunned, they needed to do it immediately and not waste time while he had her attention.

Mentions: Merciless Medic

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Aki Kiyoko - Egypt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

Aki was ready to go. Her wavelength flared and focused, ready to fire and turn the relic-thief into paste. However, then he turned into paste, but she hadn't shot yet. "....Oh..." She hummed aloud with obvious confusion. Her eyes gleamed from the metal of the pistol, centering on the liquified remnants of their original target and slowly gliding up to the sphinx. "...Huh."

She could feel some disgust, presumably from Wes, though other than that Aki was relatively unphased by the sight in front of them. Really, she just wanted to know what they did now given their original plan was incompletable now. It didn't help that the sphinx spoke in long, drawn out sentences, and then Gauss spoke up, raising an arm in front of them.

This caused Aki to pout from within the gun. 'Wait... so are we shooting the cat lady or not?' Aki questioned, seemingly a bit frustrated with her confusion of the current situation.

Then Ark started speaking to her about current technology and Aki just sighed. At least she understood a bit more of what Ark said. She felt like she missed everything with Gauss's spiel. "...I'm lost. Why don't we just shoot her like we were going to him?" Aki pondered aloud.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Merciless Medic Shotgunpenguin Peckinou

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Wes Kraven
The Great Tomb of Meskhenet, Egypt
September - 20th

Mentions: Sir Les Paul (Gauss), Merciless Medic (Noah), RedArmyShogun (Feng), EmperorsChosen (Aki), The Regal Rper (Ark), Peckinou (Arkayis)
​

Wes sat on the floor, having undone his weapon transformation after being placed on the ground, legs crossed and with an elbow propped on his knee. Whatever Gauss was planning, it had worked to an extent. The sphinx wasn’t immediately trying to kill them, and it was even giving them some time to try and convince it to not try and slaughter them. Of course, the fact that it came from Gauss essentially asking her out on a date wasn’t lost on him.

Idly, his mind drifted back to the Hawaii trip, as much as he cringed at how it ended. He and Gauss both had found themselves attracted to Sarah, a effect of the wine both had drank. On his part at least, that attraction worked it’s way out of his system after he had woken up. With Gauss though, how much of that attraction had been from the wine? Either he was putting it on for the creature, or maybe Gauss just had a thing for more animalistic features.

Oh well, more power to him he guessed.

“I mean, do we really have to?” Wes responded to Aki's question from his position on the floor, stifling a yawn before continuing. “Having to fight her sounds like a lot of effort.”

A whole lot more effort than trying to convince her, something that Ark was already working on. Where Ark’s argument was far more logical, detailing exactly why humanity was more dangerous than it ever was in her time, Wes had different ideas. Sure, they could threaten her with weaponry, promise annihilation if they were to fight, but she was probably used to that by now. Might as well try offering her things she hasn’t experienced before.

“You were probably bored to death trapped in here, right?” He asked the sphinx, cocking his head slightly. “I can’t speak for most of it, but humanity’s been busy making things to pass the time. Books, music, television, countless ways to enjoy ourselves without even having to leave the comfort of our beds.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his personal cellphone. It was an older model, showing clear signs of wear and tear with small scratches all along the screen, but it still worked for what he needed it for.

“With hundreds of years of content to catch up on, you won’t be starved for choice. Why not give it a try for a few years, see if you like it. You can always change your mind later if you get bored, try and destroy or enslave humanity or whatever it is you want. Do it the other way around, and it’ll be really hard to try and relax when people are constantly trying to either kill you or seal you away.”

And, if she did decide to go on a rampage after a few years, humanity would be more than able to defend themselves, as Ark had just finished explaining. Regular people may not be able to go toe to toe with the sphinx, but when you put a human in the cockpit of a fighter-jet stocked with high explosives, well that evens the field quite a bit.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location The Great Tomb of Meskhenet, Egypt
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper

With the exception of Aki—who honestly didn't seem to know any better—it didn't seem like there was any actual objection to strike a conversation with the sphinx. Aside from the gruesome reminder of her history made by Seth, which was bound to happen given his role in the interaction.

Actually, it appeared that the vast majority of the team favored this non-combat outcome. Which meant there was only real one course of action...

...double down.​

"My companions bring up many great examples of the accomplishments man has made in the millennia," Gauss said, following up on the point Wes made last. Feng thought of their phones, Ark brought up metallurgy and elements, Wes brought up arts and entertainment. All profoundly important things that humankind had progressed since the era of the Sphinx.

There was a way to tie it together.

"The fact of the matter, though, is that you gave us a mere five minutes to explain what required thousands of years to develop."

"The device described by Feng, the woman with the red hair, is the culmination of more science an engineering than men of your era ever dreamt of. It was originally built to send our voices long distances—entire continents, my dear. Now, almost every citizen in every developed country has one, connecting us all together—now numbering eight billion. Since then, those devices were made better; they can send moving pictures, let us access a vast wealth of information at any time in nearly any place, make purchases from markets we have never before been, and partake in a wide array of services that once required days of journey."

"With our study and the advancements of elements described earlier, we have created devices far beyond mere wooden carts with spoke wheels. We can till land as far as the eye can see and increase its yields tenfold while fighting off plagues that would have decimated them in yesteryear. We can construct buildings that kiss the sky and surf amongst the clouds. We have cured diseases that in your era were accepted as fate."

"And, yes, as Wes stated, we search and yearn for new forms of entertainment because humanity has became so effective at farming and trade that the average person need not spend their entire life struggling to survive."

Gauss inhaled deeply, taking a brief respite from the sales pitch he was making in regards to humanity. It was a lot. Bundling together the accomplishments of man and trying to paint out the impossible scene the sphinx requested. As confident as Gauss was, the challenge of thinking through the things his companions presented and detailing them in a way that the sphinx might respect given she was some thousands of years old... well, it was something he certainly didn't wake up this morning anticipating.

"It was my intention, regardless of the protests Seth might make, to take the objects to the DWMA. I do not know if they will be sealed or destroyed. You see, it is an embarrassment to admit to you, Meskhenet, as it would be to any such beautiful creature, but the group you see in front of you are but examples of the mediocrity of man," Gauss told her, trying to transition into a bigger, more ultimate point that would matter significantly more in the long run if he were to make this work.

"We are not the most powerful—far from it. We do not have the authority to make such a promise to you, though that does not mean our Lord would not offer you such an assurance. Also, Seth is not of the DWMA, so his voice is not ours," Gauss told her, moving forward to try and provide some clarity on one of the three requirements the sphinx had made if the group wished to quell her rampage before it began.

"If you wish to go on a warpath in this era, your life will not be measured in days or weeks. It will be measured in hour—at best. I do implore you wholeheartedly to consider the role you may have in this new world," Gauss told her, switching his tone entirely. There was a veiled threat in there, but it not from him. It was of what the DWMA or even any single government might do in response to her.

"Warfare has also changed since your era. We have had two great wars known as World Wars that involved virtually every country on this planet. The second one was ended with a bomb so powerful that it removed cities larger than any you have seen from the map in the blink of eye. That was over a hundred years ago—they have only grown in force," Gauss told her, explaining the situation of the world. If she truly was a being of wisdom, she would understand the implication of mutually assured destruction. Or, Gauss hoped she would. If her ego would make her blind to that, pride was a sin that infested her worse than himself.

"You may kill us, you may protest yourself a God once again, but men you will never meet will end you with little more thought than to make sure they use a small enough weapon from their arsenal that they do not blow up half of Egypt with you," he told her, simply giving her the facts of the matter.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Hancock Park, Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA​

Lemonade Bar (Nadia & Dani)​

"There are plenty protesting them," Kris replied, speaking in a fairly flat, matter-of-fact tone, "it's just that the type of people to oppose warriors of the church aren't generally the type to walk out in open warfare—or their apartment at all, in some cases."

Kris stared over at Dani, wondering if the girl was ever going to order. That, and wondering just what type of being she was now that she was touched by the black flame. Was she still really human? Ironic type of question for him to ask, all things considered, but given what he had seen in the last few weeks, it was all too far. He didn't stare longer than a moment, though. It wasn't as if he was admiring her, no, he was if anything uneasy with her presence.

"The ones that support them them are just a lot more vocal. They want humanity to be its own defender. They want their God, not the God. The idea of worshipping death is just too much for them; they'd rather project onto a group of heroes and their allegedly non-denominational, Abrahamic diety," he went on, not exactly withholding his sardonic nature at the general idiocy he perceived people as possessing.

"But, yes, we need to catch a Bishop, and, no, I don't think there is a rank higher. From what I've gathered, the Bishops are the only ones that convene with the cult leader, so it wouldn't make sense," he told them, quickly shifting tune.

"And, yes, there are details—we have a whole plan and several contingencies, in fact," he told her, some amount of annoyance coming through at her line of questioning. Clearly, she was accustomed to half-wits running in blindly. That was not the case here. "I just need your people on board with it. The other four should be meeting my companions now. If you have no objections, we'll be staying in cells of three and they will prepare separately. Each of us will fulfill a different role," he explained, being somewhat forceful or at least more blunt in how he pushed this agenda.

---

Ice Cream Shoppe (Raph & Adrian)​

"Is it really, though, young man?" replied the elderly gentlemen, taking the pleasantry provided by Raphael and turning it on its head.

"It would be quite odd to take pleasure in being pulled aside by a well-seasoned gentlemen in a parlor of delectable treats, firstly," the man said, knowing full well and in fact playing into the fact his word choice conveyed a type of innuendo he had the tact not to clarify further.

"Secondly, it would also be quite presumptuous to believe I am such a pleasant fellow that you will enjoy my company," he told them both, at this point really just pointing out an obvious fact. Of course no one really knows whether or not they'll get along with someone before they meet them, though coming from the lips of this gentlemen, it carried a bit of a second meaning, as if he wasn't content with how they assumed their meeting was a pleasant one, or that he was a pleasant individual.

"It is as they say: beware an old man in a profession where men usually die young," he went on, shifting the narrative slightly. Now it was not just that they shouldn't make assumptions, but reasons why they might think to dislike him in general. It was quite the odd, almost condescending message he was giving them.

He sighed, then drummed his fingers on the table. In front of him was a glass bowl of sounds, vintage like the rest of the adornments in the area. It was mostly empty, though messy with smears of what looked like strawberry syrup and bits of melted vanilla. A dish not unlike the one Adrian selected, at base, though this one was larger and considerably more fancy.

"My apologies, young sirs," he said, his tone shifting to a more refined one. "I have grown distasteful of pleasantries over the years..." he explained, even if it wasn't much of an explanation. Pleasantries were a fairly standard part of every day life, mostly.

---

Burger Joint (Sara & Noise)​

Inconspicuous was a relative term. On one hand, it could just mean not standing out from the rest of the crowd. On the other, it could mean not drawing attention to yourself specifically, like doing a small flip over a booth. In either case, Rosé didn't really succeed on either merit. That was part of her charm, though; for the most part, she didn't really have to.

Noise didn't get a lot of time to respond before Sara was met by their contact. Rosé found herself gracefully flipping over the bench within the restaurant, keeping her body low to avoid kicking up at the ceiling, but still undoubtedly making a small scene by her antics. Not only that, it took a fair amount of skill and strength to glide so effortlessly over the table as she did. That said, she also had a specific landing spot in mind: right into the lap of Sara. Sure, she drew a few eyes, and sure, Red Fang and Mister Prey objective, but in the grand scheme of things, three attractive girls making a fuss in Los Angeles was probably the best way to blend in... or so would be her argument.

"Ooo, she's right, y'know," Rosé said, following up with what Sara had said about the burgers.

"Only way to get fresher meat is if a vet could still bring it back," she said, right before leaning back into Sara and giving her a backwards glance. The blonde was fairly forward, or actually, backward, as she pressed her body right into the bosom of Sara.

She then gave Sara a playful little pat on the cheek. "Nothing better than fresh meat, right, girlie?" she asked teasingly, though she did mean it. In fact, she meant it in more ways than even Sara might immediately interpret.


Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Chibistaryuu