Fantasy Vexpara | Hell Unraveled

[Katsuya]

Magnolia Noir

​

Magnolia was counting the dots on the floor tiles when Haruka groaned, not reacting to the sound. It wasn’t until she tried to sit up, did the tiny woman perk up; seeing her movements in the corner of her eyes.

“Ah! Don’t move like that.” Magnolia lightly scolded, shuffling herself off the uncomfortable window couch to stand and walked over to the demon’s bed. Gently placing her bandaged hands on the bedrails and grinned. “Glad to see you’re awake, Haruka.”

She hadn’t reacted to Angelica’s giggling but she did see her head movement; being too still for the energetic demon before. Maggie read her lips and raised a brow. Did she stutter? She might have stuttered. Then the crane figured it’s the drugs the doctors pumped into Angelica. Her grin grew wider in relief.

“Hi, Pumpkin~ everything is okay now.” That’s a lie. Everything’s a mess, their boss is in critical care, but it’s best to keep them calm while resting. Magnolia gingerly walked over to press the call button, letting the nurses know the wounded pair are awake. She should probably call someone in Vexpara too, let them know they’re okay.

“You just relax, alright? You too, Haruka.” Maggie said.

The One Called X Aldur Coin

 

[Aldur]

Haruka

"I- There's- I was worried? What was I worried about before? Is it okay now?"

Haruka stopped and stood still. Maggie was standing over her bed, telling her to not move like that. Like what? She asked, but nothing came out. This was becoming rather tiresome. It was as if she was in some bad comedy, not being able to talk and all. She couldn't move her head without it hurting so she just looked from the very corner of her eye. The more she forced it, the more nauseous she became and she still couldn't see Angelica.

She then looked over at Magnolia, locking eyes with her. Haruka sported a very inquisitive look, as if to force a reaction, or to observe a pattern. She blinked twice, a brief moment between each of them. She then looked towards Angelica's bed and back at Magnolia. She couldn't really talk, so she couldn't tell Maggie what she wanted to do, so she just looked at her the way a very curious cat would eye a human. Slowly, Haruka narrowed her eyes, hatching a scheme. She could either turn her head slowly and risk a ponderous and frustratingly long lasting pain or she could turn quickly and face the brunt of it for a little while.

And then she did it. She cried out, but could barely be heard since, again, her voice had long given out already. Didn't matter, though, she now had Angelica in her sights. Haruka then mouthed out a phrase: You're lucky the paramedics got to you before I did! and coupled it with a threatening gaze.

That statement, though, had holes in it, more so than Angelica and Haruka combined. She did, in fact, get to her before the paramedics, and instead of having her revenge for all the pain she had to endure, grabbed Angelica's hand tightly and made every possible effort to make sure Angelica was still with the living.

That wouldn't stop Haruka from being a smart-ass, though.

The One Called X Katsuya

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Irma Grace Beauregard

There was a high pitched ringing in her left ear that was most insistent and her right ear felt as though it were stuffed with cotton. The most audible sound to her was that of her own breathing and despite the relative calm she displayed, she struggled to keep her hands from trembling as she treated Angelica. Irma wasn't a savior, it wasn't as though she hadn't lost someone on the field despite her utmost effort and desire to keep them alive. She wasn't entirely able to keep that little voice in the back of her head from nagging, 'is this it?' 'Are you going to lose her?' 'She's so young...' 'Stop, you were younger still when you came into this business, it's a known professional hazard.' 'No, that doesn't matter, she can't die.' Irma closed her eyes, keeping her head lowered to allow the brim of her hat to hide them as she withdrew the needle from Angelica's arm and said a silent prayer for her before she continued her treatment.

The mission was coming to a close... or at least part A was currently in the process of closing. What came after would be a media circus and bureaucratic nonsense that Irma was thankful that she didn't have to deal with; city cleanup of a practically nuclear level, and of course the aftermath for everyone who had passed and everyone who would need to heal. Irma didn't even want to think about all of the families that would need to be notified both for Vexpara associates and the civilians that had been sacrificed in the apartment complex before they had arrived. The idea of all of the funerals that would take place and all of the mourning broke her heart and if anything she just hoped that Erin would surive. For her part, Irma was not yet finished on the scene, she had barely returned to her feet after tending to Angelica and getting her stable before turning her attention to the unconscious Haruka when the reinforcements they so desperately needed arrived.

She spent much of the remainder of her time on the devastatingly bleak scene informing the paramedics of the status of each of the individuals she had treated as well as what treatments and medications she had administered and in what doses. Maggie called her attention as she was making her statements for Haruka and Angelica and she stopped from following the paramedics when they assured her they would take care of them. She gave them a nod before she focused on Maggie. She shook her head briskly before signing back to Maggie that she had too much work to do, closing her eyes when Maggie hugged her, her body tensing up a moment. The embrace, however brief, caused her mind to wander from her present tasks and she felt herself slipping. It was best for her to keep busy and focused, there were important things to tend to and when all was said and done there would be time for her to pray and likely cry as well.

When Maggie released her, she signed that she had better get herself taken care of too, walking away backwards for a moment before she turned and jogged to check on the paramedics that were tending Lattimore as well as to give specific instructions for the civilian who she wasn't sure whether or not was still volatile. After she had seen these other two patients off and was certain that anyone else that needed emergency care was seen to and possibly on their way to the hospital did she collect her belongings and make her way to the SUVs.

It wasn't an easy thing not to just let go once she was in the safe and warm interior of the Vexpara SUV. She found herself shaking, whether it was from cold or emotion she couldn't tell but she made the effort to stop, not willing to let anyone observe her weakness. Her fingers felt numb and clumsy as she fumbled at the breast pocket of her tactical vest, seeking entry so that she could withdraw her rosary, her fingers deliberately examining each bead as she rolled them around in her fingers one by one and muttered her prayers. It had already been a long night and would likely prove to be even longer but that didn't make her any less eager to get back to the Vexpara labs and examine the green goo she had collected from Erin, certain that with Claudia on the scene, there would likely be even more work to do and her help would be needed.

Interactions: Coin Katsuya
Mentions: Aldur The One Called X The rest of the Vexpara injured

 

[Coin]

CHAPTER 3
Caught in the riptide.​

Two days later.

"Eighty-four missing, presumed dead. Over a dozen private exorcists slain. Demon barely contained by Vexpara," Valentin Bishop read aloud, then tossed the newspaper onto the hospital side table. The damning headline was accompanied with an image of the upturned SUV that Davis had crashed into the black demon two nights prior. In the background was a candlelit vigil offered to the dead at the base of the collapsed apartment. Every newspaper in the city sported a similar headline.

Kendra was unflinching, but she did not look. She was tucked into a hospital bed, her gaze fixed on an undetermined point outside of her window. She took her glasses off as tears started to well in her eyes, but the rest of her body language did not show such weakness. Lattimore was hurt rather gravely, but she would pull through. Under her hospital gown was a layer of chest bandages and a new set of burn scars to remind her that she and Vexpara were one in the same.

Nik growled at flung a backhanded swing at Val's arm, "Stop. You're not helping you idiot."

Nik was no better off than Kendra, but the wolf had a determination of steel. She was without her armor, and in a simple short-sleeved workout shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. Without her glamour magic, the fresh scars of searing burns and deep lacerations across her scaled forearms nearly glowed an angry red. The left side of her auburn hair that normally flowed to her shoulders had been nearly singed off by hellfire, so she elected to shave half of her hair off just to get it out of the way. It was the closest Nik could get to non-intimidating.

"We can't sit on this for much longer, I can't be the only one who sees this," Val snapped back angrily. He rubbed his arm at the spot Nik had struck him. "Someone hurled a rock into one of our vehicles this morning! The public needs a scapegoat, with one mystery black demon dead and no one else to answer for, it's unfortunately us. If you think this is bad, you should see Twitter."

"Who care about social media, Val? We just have to let our PR team do the work and let this roll off our shoulders. We did everything we could," Nik flared her nostrils and started to inch closer to Val, towering over him.

"We won't have a PR team if no one is paying our bills, Nik," Val hiss back, getting right back into her face. "Get your head out of your ass and start acting like a real leader. Being a hunter-captain is more than just playing soldier-girl. We have a duty to the people, and to them, we've failed them. We need to earn their trust back or we'll never be hired out again -- done, no more Vexpara. Simple as that."

"Who are you to tell me wh--," Nik started to growl and clench her fists, but was interrupted by Kendra clearing her throat. The guildmaster was staring at her two hunter-captains arguing. Tears had started to roll down Kendra's cheeks.

Both Nik and Val sized down like scorned puppies and muttered apologies.

"Nik, I'd like you to continue to brief me on our injured, please," Kendra hushed. Her voice was cracked as she brushed away her tears with the back of her knuckles.

"Yes, ma'am," Nik nodded and bit the bottom of her lip as guilt washed over her. She reached over to the side table opened a manila folder containing a stack of medical files.

"Davis sustained heavy trauma to her left arm, but most of Kaganetsu's first aid held strong. Davis was discharged from the internal hospital this morning. Both Haruka and Angelica exited the state trauma ward yesterday and should be en route to Vexpara's internal hospital today. Both of them are expected to make a full recovery, though Angelica's injuries may take longer to heal. In between working with the research team, Irma Beauregard is to tend to them once they return." Nik paused as she flipped over to the next file.

"Is something wrong?" Val asked, eyeing over to the document.

"My apologies," Nik cleared her throat. "Xiang will need to remain at the state trauma ward. He was resuscitated twice, and will need to remain in state care for the time being. Magnolia was discharged the internal hospital the night of the incident with superficial injuries assessed. Nathan as well."

Nik closed the folder and tucked it under her arm, "That's all that was left to report, guildmaster."

"Thank you Nik," Kendra nodded, tugging the uncomfortable hospital blanket closer to her chest, despite the searing pain. "Please, Nik, Val, alert all of our available guild members to report to the guild meeting hall tomorrow evening at 8pm. I would like to address everyone."

"Shall I get a laptop ready for you, ma'am?" Val raised an eyebrow.

"That shouldn't be necessary, Val, thank you," Kendra gave her hunter-captain a weak smile in return. "I will address my guild in person."

"Kendra--," Nik began.

"Nik," Kendra interrupted flatly, a smile still tugging at her lips.

"Yes ma'am."

The two hunter-captains looked briefly to each other, then turned to exit the hospital room. Once the door had shut behind them, Kendra was alone once again. Her smile dropped and her gaze drifted to her folded glasses in her lap.

"I am doing my best, but perhaps it isn't enough?"

- - -

Claudia yawned. She had been working around the clock tirelessly along with Vexpara's internal science division processing samples from the incident. It was just before lunch, and Claduia was certain she had already gone through six cups of coffee just to stay awake. The caffeine wasn't even waking her up anymore, it was just raising her heart rate fruitlessly while she penned in reaction results. Her eyes threatened to close on her with every passing minute, and the dull hum of the air conditioner unit above her only made her sleepier. She was alone in the science wing, as everyone else had either gone home or stopped for lunch.

The intern was just about to slip into unconsciousness when the sound of clattering test tubes and a tiny movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her head snapped to where she swore she had seen the movement, but the whole lab was still. She was about to chalk it up to sleep deprivation, but then one of the vials being suspended under a heat lamp wriggled back and forth. Claudia's eyes widened as she straightened up and the hairs on the back of her neck raised. She looked around. She was still alone in the lab.

The vial wriggled again.

Breathlessly, Claudia approached it, trying to slow her breathing and heartbeat. There had to be logical explanation to this. There was a green liquid substance in the test tube suspended in a dark red infernal reagent. Claudia's heart sank as she read the label. Sample: Unidentified Green Liquid. Source: Unidentified Infernal Entity. Handle with caution. It was Irma Beauregard's sample.

Claudia squinted into the contents of the vial, trying to discern why it would move on its own and her heart nearly stopped. Was that a... face in the solution? She stumbled backwards and shrieked.

"IRMA!"

- - -

Spoiler: GM Notes

Lucem , Aldur , The One Called X , simj26 , The One Eyed Bandit , Roleplay Skittle , Katsuya

Whew everyone. Welcome to chapter 3. Thanks for sticking with me. Let's have a few posts of downtime, shall we?

Once most of us wind down a bit, we'll bring everyone together for Kendra's meeting. It's safe to assume our injured characters will be brought back to Vexpara's internal hospital for treatment. Healing is faster in this universe with magic, but still not instant, so while most people will be in better condition after a few days of care, the seriously injured will not be in fighting shape for a while longer. So, in this time, feel free to explore your character during the downtime with some other characters (or alone if that's your thing).

If anyone has any questions, feel free to send em my way.

 

[Lucem]

Nathan Pierce

Nathan hovered over the stove in his tiny kitchen, making sure he turned off the burner before emptying the contents of the skillet onto his plate. Anticipating his first bite of food since last night, his stomach growled as he moved to the living room. The TV was still on, showing another group of newscasters that couldn't stop talking about the black demon incident. That's the only thing people had been talking about for the past two days, both on the news and the net.

At risk of losing his appetite, Nathan turned off the TV before the people in suits could start rambling about how incompetent Vexpara and its exorcists were. He let out a groan as he took a seat on the couch, feeling the media-fueled frustration set in. Running his hands through his hair, he bemoaned the current situation once again.

After a rough night of following orders and trying not to do anything that would result in him getting an earful from Lattimore, things still ended up like this. He wasn't being called out as an individual, but it was still exasperating to be grouped together with the others as reporters and people on social media complained about Vexpara's handling of the exorcism. If he had known things would end up like this, he wouldn't have bothered worrying over certain choices during the operation.

While the complaints were a little annoying, that wasn't what was really bothering him. Vexpara's reputation suffered a major blow. The black demon had been dealt with, but nobody was willing to call the operation a success. There were tons of people living in that apartment, but the only survivor was the woman he and Irma recovered. On top of civilian casualties, several exorcists were killed in the conflict. Vexpara had lost public favor and a lot of manpower, and there was no telling how long it would take to recover. This would affect what jobs they'd be able to take, assuming anyone would be willing to give them a contract after all the negative press. That was his main concern.

Finding work was about to become more difficult. If business took a serious hit, then he'd have to think about joining another guild. Even that might be easier said than done, considering that the only listing on his work history would be a disgraced Vexpara. If that failed, he'd have to go back to independent work. He wasn't great at marketing himself, but his current employer would probably be struggling with that too in the near future.

As he considered drafting a new resume, his phone started ringing, forcing the mess of jumbled thoughts to clear. Pulling his face out of his hands, Nathan looked over at the black brick resting on the coffee table, quietly watching as the wooden surface shook a little with each vibration. It was never a good sign when his phone rang. He only ever got calls from work or telemarketers, but he would've preferred either of those to the third option. Still, he knew that this wasn't HQ or someone checking to see if he was satisfied with his current cable provider.

Since the person on the other end refused to give up until they got an answer, Nathan reluctantly grabbed his phone. Just like every other time this happened, he slowly turned the screen toward him to see the familiar string of numbers. He immediately ended the call and blocked them, but he knew that wouldn't do much. They hadn't bugged him for a while, but he had a feeling the calls would start coming again after Vexpara started showing up in the news. Of course they wouldn't sit back and leave him alone when something like this was happening. He'd have to change his number again. Maybe it would've been better to just buy a new phone. Either option would just be a temporary solution. If they wanted to find him, they'd find him. The operation was over, but it kept finding new ways to screw him over. Negative outcomes always promised consequences, but some were worse than a cold, a wrecked bike, or a lecture.

Before he could toss his phone to the side, the world decided to give him another little punch to the gut. Unfortunately, he was a more popular than usual today and got a message from a second person. He didn't feel like going into work so soon, but it wasn't like they were gonna let him slack off at a time like this, especially when he came out mostly unscathed.

Putting his phone away with the hope that it would stay as silent as usual, Nathan turned to the neglected plate of stir fry. He still had a bit of his appetite remaining after all those blows to the stomach, so he lazily picked at his late dinner. He grimaced a bit as he chewed on the pieces of tofu, trying to focus on the crunch of the peppers and mushrooms instead. Even if it wasn't meat, the similar texture made it slightly unpleasant. Maybe it was the phone call or the close look he got at the demon's face, but his sensitivity was starting to worsen.

Ignoring the sensation of flesh-like chunks smashing between his teeth, Nathan finished the mixture of rice and vegetables with little enthusiasm. He still had some free time after doing the dishes, so he'd be able to work on a model or two before it got dark. He didn't want to stay up too late and be exhausted during the meeting. The young Augur sighed before carrying his plate to the sink. He really didn't want to go into work tomorrow.

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Irma Grace Beauregard

Most people who at some point in their lives knew one or more of their grandparents tend to hold some sort of warm remembrance of them. It could be how they smelled or the fact that they always had candies in one of their coat pockets, for Irma it was the joy of doing crosswords with her grampa. She hadn't felt that joy in a long time. What happened to her parents and her brother and sister always stayed with her and reminded her that sometimes it was best not to have people around that you cared for. The demons her father had been facing, the ones that had gotten away, had found his family and left her the only survivor. Her grampa and gramma were still safe and well, and that was the comfort she got, the joy she had to accept instead of the one that allowed her to be in their presence.

The fact that she could no longer sit at their old dining room table while Pete watched cartoons and Lily drew in her sketchbook and just pass the time until gramma's chicken and dumplings was ready by solving the Sunday paper's crossword with grampa wasn't something she focused on even though it was something she missed and the fact that she couldn't solve the crosswords with her grampa also didn't stop her from sitting in the sterile and cold environment of the break room near the lab. It may not have been the antique wooden table at her grandparents house, but the cold metal and plastic did its job. Irma sighed as her fingers flicked the slightly ragged top corner of the page in the crossword book she was working in, rubbing her right eye with her other hand as it began to feel irritated from all her focus.

There were very few people in the break room at the time, most seemed to prefer not to eat there, Irma had a pretty basic sandwich, turkey, cheddar, and lettuce on some generic wheat bread. She had only taken a few bites of it but her bottle of sweet tea was empty. The other people in the room quietly chatted, the sound of whatever wrappings that had protected their lunches crinkling every now and then, but this relative silence was broken by the sound of her name cried out in such a way that made her break out in goosebumps from the ripple of sickening unease it sent over her skin. Her chair scraped against the floor as she quickly moved from the table, dropping her pen as she rose before she ran down the hall, the lab coat she wore over her long sleeve gray shirt and black slacks whipping out behind her as she moved.

The only thing she could think of that would make anyone call out for her like that was the sample she had collected from Erin, though the fact that there had been no reaction from it for days, had led her to believe that it was no longer a volatile solution. Could she have been wrong? She wasn't winded when she arrived back in the lab and considering it was empty besides Claudia, when she spotted the intern, she briskly walked to her, "what? What is it?"

Interactions: Coin

 

[Aldur]

Haruka ded

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Since the incident, Katsura hadn't eaten much. A few dirty dishes decorated her high rise apartment, but they hadn't been topped with much more than pieces of fruit or a handful of potato chips. Likewise, she hadn't had much sleep, and had met with the scant few hours she'd had on the couch rather than her bed.

It would've been terse to say that the tragedy at the apartment build wasn't a concern to her, but it at the very least wasn't the reason why she was losing sleep. Rather, she just couldn't peel her eyes away from the various social media and news feeds that were currently littering her laptop's monitor.

Sprawled out across her sofa and dressed in a set of unironed casual clothes, Katsura looked about as close to the modern ideal of comfy as one could hope to, but was about as far from it as she could be. Her shoulders ached, eyes burned, and eyebrows furrowed with concern. The will of the people was far scarier than the infernal might of any rouge Demon, and that had been on full display over the past couple of days. Harsh criticisms and bitter hatred flowed towards the guild from all sides. For once, both the media and the word on the streets seemed to be crying out in unision; Vexpara was a joke of a guild, and the punchline had long since soured.

She let out a long groan for the nth time that day, and flitted from one blog to the next.

Not long after the incident had gone public, she'd started to receive a litany of messages on social media. Not ones of bitter hate, she'd long since made her profiles private, but rather offered hands of concern. A few of her former co-workers had sent both their condolences and best wishes; Her uncle specifically had raised the topic of returning to her previous guild. Them aside, her parents had called more times than she could count, and she'd had to placate their concerns even more than that.

The fact of the matter was, she'd gotten off easy. Her publicity amongst Vexpara's ranks was quite low, given her brief time spent with the organization, she hadn't come away from the operation with any injuries, and she hadn't even been involved with its major failing. Really, it made her feel kind of guilty. As the thought crossed her mind, another show of exasperation escaped her lips.

Speaking of the others, she hadn't exactly been on the radar since the end of the operation. She hadn't even called to check in on anyone, much less gone out of her way to check in on her injured comrades.

Reluctantly, Katsura reached to her side, retrieved a fat pair of glasses from atop her coffee table, and then placed her laptop atop it to replace them. She hadn't been in the mood to bother with contacts recently, and she'd hardly needed to be able to read properly to get the gist of what most people had been saying. Producing a phone from her pocket, she begun to flick through her contacts. From her previous position, Katsura had become quite familiar with the importance of communication, so she'd gone out of her way to get most of the guild's contact information, but...

Well, just because she had someone's number didn't mean that she was on particularly friendly terms with them. She wouldn't name names, but Demon Hunting was a career path that tended to attract people with personalities that either leaned towards an extreme, or were so zen that it was hard to have a conversation with them.

That, or she was just awkward.

Grumbling to herself, Katsura shut her phone off and shoved it back into her pocket. To hell with calling anyone, she'd just pay a visit to the ones that'd gotten themselves shacked up in hospital, she decided, and readied herself to leave.

 

[The One Called X]

Angelica Hudson
Heeeeeeeeeere, kitty kitty, one of the boys called, sing-song voice pitched high and mocking. Come out, come out, wherever you aaaaaare.

Angelica ground her teeth and pressed herself deeper into the narrow gap between the alley wall and the dumpster. There was a cold, heavy dread in her stomach, even though she knew she was safe. They wouldn't be able to get to her here. They were all in their teens- even the youngest was bulkier in the shoulders than she was. She was skinny, and tiny, and could fit herself into places where no one could follow her. And if they did-

It scared her a little, sometimes, the things she could do.

Come on out, the voice repeated, distorting and deepening. Come and face me, little rabbit.

A sudden rush of air as the dumpster was flung away, and there was no Haruka to drag her away from the stag, not this time. Haruka was dead. Everyone was dead, Angelica knew, as sure as the sky was blue, and it was because Angelica was weak. She bared her useless teeth against the beast. She was in the air again, helpless in its hand, and this time there was no Katsura, no timely rush of strength and truesilver.

Broken little rabbit, said the demon in a teenage boy's voice, and Angelica's pulped guts seeped from between its fingers.

***​

Angelica woke up more unsettled than afraid. Nightmares weren't exactly new to her, and she'd never been the bolt-upright-screaming sort. No, her bad dreams didn't panic her. It was more of a pervasive nerviness, a pall of dread, a low thrumming helpless rage that settled itself behind her molars and took most of a day to burn itself out.

All told, she'd prefer the screaming.

They'd taken her off the good drugs, she thought, cataloging the dull pain throughout her body. She could move a little more than before, she thought, but that still wasn't much. She was definitely on something, though. And in a new room, she realized, glancing at what she could see of her surroundings. Another day, another hospital. How cheerful.

She shut her eyes, wondering if she should try to sleep some more, only to open them again with as much violence as one could imbue into the act of blinking. In the dark, all she could see was herself oozing from Bambi's clutches like- like- like a toddler squeezing a goddamn strawberry pie.

"Fuck," she muttered to the ceiling. Then, softer but more emphatic: "Fucking Bambi."

 

[Coin]

How quickly life fades, Ouro.

In a sterile intensive care unit, an array of medical equipment and monitors beep and hum a mechanical dirge. A team of world-class surgeons and Ouros, human and demon alike, crowd around a single patient. Erin Macie Newmann, the sole civilian survivor rescued by Vexpara has been placed into a medically induced coma. She has also been interred in strands of golden holy magic that suppress magic and physically binds. Though she survived the incident two nights ago, death would have been a far simpler affair. Erin is at the hedge, somewhere between life and death. The substance that had stained her wound was a poison not yet documented by modern medicine. It obliterated her DNA, and began to rewrite certain parts of her body anew and made her nearly unresponsive to plague magic. It was as gruesome as the worst phases of radiation poisoning, yet where old cells killed themselves, new cells took their place.

Outside, the ICU room is guarded by no less than a dozen armed guards. Submachine guns and truesilver weapons adorn their military-style kit. However, there are no patches or identifying insignia on their kit and their faces are concealed by balaclavas. Not a word passes between the guards. Beyond their perimeter, two federal agents stand and observe the surgery room from CCTV footage being broadcast onto a tiny monitor outside.

"Doctor Fitzpatrick says she won't last another hour, and Doctor Kallisdottir says that she should have been dead yesterday," one of the agents mutter. His appearance is that of an older gentleman, dressed in a suit and tie, appearing in his late 50s. His voice is monotone, uncaring and without empathy. "The mayor still wants to keep the subject within city boundaries for treatment, whether she lives or dies -- something about the city's integrity being on the line."

"Formalities, Yeoman," the other agent shrugged. Yeoman's partner is a soft-spoken demon, red skin and a head of jet-black hair, pierced by two stubby horns of ivory and not the kind to conceal any of it with glamour magic. His attire is nearly identical to Yeoman's. "The subject will be on an Osprey to Fort Gallagher within an hour. This case is beyond 'integrity', when national security is at stake."

"And what of the doctors?" Yeoman posited, raising an eyebrow but not taking his eyes off of the CCTV monitor. "We can gag the family, but these are prominent members of the medical community, Hector. People are going to--"

"Information quarantine," Hector said flatly, golden eyes narrowing on his partner. His voice surrenders any notion of innocence or empathy. "Don't worry about the doctors, Yeoman. I will handle them."

- - -

Halfway across the city, a vestige of the poison that afflicted Erin stirs in its sealed glass test tube. The intern, Claudia, was still collecting herself off the floor when Irma burst back into the room. She was fumbling with her glasses, and against the far wall of the lab, having gotten as far as physically possible from the vial without leaving the room. She finally managed to get her glasses onto her face and brushed several strands of her hair aside as she began to calm slightly at Irma's presence.

"Th-the vial!" She pointed. "It moved! There's something in there!"

Claudia wished she had brought her handgun, a piece of truesilver -- anything to make her feel a little more secure.

Upon closer inspection, the vial of green substance that Irma had collected had indeed morphed into something. Though it had been dormant for a couple of days, and wholly nonreactive, it seemingly changed its entire molecular structure in a matter of hours. There was no green substance left, but only a wet, skin-like solid that had formed a rudimentary mouth, nose, and gaping holes where eyes should be. Its expression was pained, and worst yet it seemed to be breathing. It stuck to the inside of the tiny glass vial and shifted about like a jumping bean in a series of ungodly twitches.

"What in the fuck is that, Irma?" Claudia gasped as she started to compose herself and study the thing in the vial. "Sh-should we call Nik?"

Roleplay Skittle

 

[simj26]

She woke up to a headache, one that felt like someone put a jackhammer to her temple, and started it up at maximum power. She didn't think she'd have this bad of a hangover. To tell the truth, she didn't think she'd get a hangover, seeing as almost half of her blood level was comprised of whisky or vodka, depending on the day of the week. She reached up to rub her neck, then winced, as the aching began to set in, previously dulled by the uncomfortable sleep she had. She sat up on her couch, and began to process the pain that slowly filtered into her brain. Her entire torso hurt, her face stung, and her arms felt like they were tied to lead bricks. It definitely wasn't the night terrors that caused this. She would have to be packing heat if that were the case. She shook her head. As the haze of sleep began to clear from her mind, she began to understand just what happened in the gaps of her memory.

She got into a fight right after being discharged, took a cab back home, and fell asleep on the couch.

Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure why she picked a fight in the first place. It certainly wasn't because it was out of anger at the words that came out of their mouths. She always knew that, no matter how hard they worked, no matter how hard they fought, no matter how many demons they put down, just one mistake, one loss of life, and they were a mess. Useless soldiers who couldn't protect anyone. She knew this more than anyone, she expected. Truth be told, perhaps she just wanted to die, again, just like always. Truth be told, he wanted to be one of those eighty-four who died that night. Anything, to have actually saved a life worth more living than the one she led now. Days upon days of vengeance awaited her yet, and she was convinced that God, in his almighty grace, was keeping her alive, just so she could watch the suffering of others, and harbor hatred for evil. This recent development was just another reminder that she was still carrying the weight of Epsilon-4. She leaned forwards, now fully ignoring the pain coursing through her body, one that would send a normal man collapsing to the couch, writhing. She reached forwards, picking up the pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She lit one up, and fell back onto the couch, taking in a deep breath of the acrid smoke. She lifted the cigarette from her lips, gazing up at the ceiling, and exhaled a cloud.



Nothing. She felt nothing. She wanted to feel sad about the deaths, but she felt nothing. She wanted to feel angry that she couldn't do more, but she felt nothing. She wanted to die. She wanted to fight, and she wanted to die. She needed to wipe the evil from the face of the earth, and she will die trying. It wasn't her time years ago, it wasn't her time two nights ago, but that time would come soon. Perhaps then, and only then, would that weight from her shoulders finally be lifted. She scattered the ashes of her cigarette into an ashtray, and reached for the bottle of Jack's next to it.

Until then, she was going to try and make sure that the night terrors stop for just long enough. Maybe an entire bottle ought to drown them for the time being.

 

[Life.]

Felix B. Wright

If there was one thing that his momma taught him, it was that things happen, you can dwell in the past and miss out on the present, or accept the decisions you made and look towards the future. Felix pulled back the hair from his face as he sat on the recliner of his semi-furnished living room. An inner war of feelings clouded the man's heart and mind. There was the unfortunate, humane feeling of relief that he had bowed out on joining on the recent, large mission of Vexpara but opposing it was his guilty cowardly convictions. Was this a blessing in disguise for the man, or simply a cowardly action he took? As much as he could continue mulling over the idea, it happened as his eyes looked up to the TV screen in front of him. Vexpara had been on the headlines of local and national news for days now. But there was not much positive light being shined on their actions. Rather the news blew up the negatives.

This was only his second month in New York. It was a large contrast compared to the familiar lands of Texas. There was certainly a truth when people called it a concrete jungle. Everything and everyone moved at a faster pace. And there barely seemed to be any room to breathe. Fortunately, it did not take him too long to settle into Vexpara. Multiple members worked to ensure he felt welcomed, and he worked in return to remember some faces. But due to the high toll of dead and injured persons of the latest mission, Felix was unsure who was still alive and who wasn't. Which is why he had made it his own personal mission to visit the hospital that currently housed many of the injured Vexpara before touching base at HQ.

A repetitive ringing of a timer snapped him out of his forlorn state. Felix stood up, walked over to the kitchen, wore on some oven mitts, and pulled out a large tray of brownie-cookies. The blonde man had laid in his bed for fifteen minutes that morning debating on whether flowers or pastries would be more appreciated among the members, finally settling on food as the more desirable option. He packaged a majority of the treats in one container, while saving a few in another. Felix wanted to be sure that those who were at the headquarters received some.

What he had planned as a fifteen minute trip turned into an hour expedition that ended at Vexpara headquarters. His first mistake was trying to take a taxi to the hospital. The cars hardly moved at some point which tested his patience and forced him to continue the rest of the journey on foot. This would've been an easy task, if only he knew his streets. There were no landmarks that were familiar in the area to provide as guidance for Felix. He decided to try and map the location on his phone but right when he got an answer he started to doubt it as he second-guessed which hospital they were located at. Then somehow he made it to the site of the disaster, seeing that a lot of debris still laid around. It was clear that the clean-up process would take at least a week or even a month. But as much as they could clean up the mess, the memories would continue to linger. Balloons, bouquets of flowers, and other colorful items decorated the boundaries of the taped off area. Not only were Vexpara lives lost, citizens had their own losses as well. Felix released a long sigh. He understood the power of death and the struggle to continue forward. But he was a different point in life now, and currently he had to reach some destination. Since he wound up at the site, Felix decided to check in at Vexpara and receive information there.

Since there was only one Vexpara headquarters in the city, Felix had an easier time navigating to it. With the familiar building in site, he quickened his stride and entered the building.

The air was thick and heavy. It seemed like he wasn't the only one affected with post-mission feelings of conflict. He looked around, somewhat disheartened to see many struggling with the same thoughts. Felix adjusted the containers in his arms as he made his way to the break room, knowing that he didn't have much power to help them. There weren't many familiar faces in the break room when he entered, but then he spotted one that was hard to forget. The Ouro named Beauregard. Felix had stood for a minute with pastries in hand before he heard sudden screaming of Beauregard's name. The woman was quick to action as she slipped out of the break room. Concerned from the magnitude of the scream, Felix placed his pastries on the countertop (with some faith that there will still be some when he returns) and followed after Beauregard. The Blooden readied his hand over the handle of one of his daggers as he entered the lab room right after the Ouro.

A younger woman was fumbling on her words as she pointed to a vial in the room. He didn't see any immediate threat yet, but Felix stood close by not quite sure on what to say at the moment. All he was prepared for was a fight at the moment.

Roleplay Skittle Coin

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Irma Grace Beauregard

It was just as she had thought. Despite the lack of any activity from the specimen she had taken from Erin prior to treating her, it seemed that it had just been dormant and only now awoken. Perhaps it was Claudia's shaky exterior that caused Irma's lack of reaction, or maybe she just wasn't unnerved, but regardless she retained a calm facade as she looked in the direction the intern was pointing and squinted her eyes while reaching in one of the pockets of her slacks with one hand and pressing a few strands of her blonde hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail back behind her ear, "I'm afraid I don't rightly know..." she unscrewed the cap of her eyedrops and carefully squeezed a few into her right eye, blinking a few times as she returned the once again closed bottle to her pocket. Her voice was little more than a whisper, perhaps out of a subtle urgency, perhaps because she was afraid of the unknown entity hearing them.

"Yeah... we probably should..." Irma placed a reassuring hand on the visibly shaken intern as she tried to recompose herself and offered her a gentle smile, "do you think you could take care of that while I try to secure this thing?"

It was probably best to at the very least, let Nik know what was happening if not question her on how to proceed given Ms. Lattimore's current state. Irma was now pulling a pair of safety glasses out of one of her lab coat's pockets followed by some surgical gloves, "could you please let the doctors treatin' Ms. Newmann as well?" If something was happening with the sample here, it was likely that something also might be happening with her former patient and it was a good idea to make certain that everyone involved was prepared.

Irma was wearing black loafers with her business casual outfit and her footsteps hadn't been heavy enough that the sound of someone following her had been lost with her pace. She didn't make much acknowledgement of the fact that Wright had tailed her back to the lab but was actually slightly comforted by the fact that the Blooden was present, in the even that something went awry, it would be nice to have someone there that was formidable rather than just she and Claudia, the latter of whom's abilities were as of yet uncertain where lab work wasn't concerned.

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[Coin]

"I'm on it, Irma. Erm, I mean, Ms. Beauregard," Claudia cleared her throat after she corrected herself. Scheiße. She thought to herself, she had let her panic get the better of her again and was probably making a poor impression on her seniors. Claudia hid her embarrassment by fishing into her lab coat's pocket for her iPhone, which she hoped still had even a little bit of charge left. The last two days had been so hectic, she and her gear had been woefully neglected as a result. After fumbling with her cellphone and nearly dropping it, she managed to unlock the thing and start dialing for Nik. She was going to have to make 13% battery work.

By the time the ringing had started, Claudia had at last settled her hyperventilating. Her heart, however, was still thumping loudly in her chest and ears, making it hard to concentrate. She took a moment to take stock of her surroundings and spotted an unfamiliar face that she had not seen before. He looked old enough to be her father and was a whole head and a half taller than the intern. Though he was a stranger, his Vexpara badge, was a sign of relief. At least she and Irma were not alone with that thing in the vial.

"Thank goodness you and Irma were around," she directed her comment at the stranger. Her voice was still shaky, "Are you an exorcist too?"

Just as Claudia finished her question, the ringing stopped and Nik's heavily accented voice came through on the other end. Claudia raised a finger to the stranger and whispered, "Just a sec, Nik picked up."

- - -

Nik was in a sour mood as she and Val left the hospital. Val had went his own way as soon as they stepped outside, muttering something about taking care of the guild alert and stalking off before Nik had a chance to say anything. If there was one thing that Nik absolutely hated about the other hunter-captain, it was his superiority complex. Nik was a tough demon bitch, but something about Val's condescending tones and adversarial nature made her skin crawl and her anger flare. This time, she shrugged it off after taking a cab home to her apartment and downing a stiff swig of vodka from the bottle. She didn't have an ounce of hate to waste while there were so many unanswered questions, and especially not when the perpetrators responsible for hurting her guildmates and Kendra could still be at large.

Kendra.

The demoness seethed as she thought about her guildmaster. The veil of anger crept back up her spine. If only she were faster, more powerful, she could have neutralized the threat and prevented the need for Kendra to risk her life so selflessly. This time, she was lucky and she would survive, but if there was a next time -- no, when there would be a next time, it could cost her much more. Nik knew that if Kendra were to die on her watch, she would never forgive herself.

Nik wasn't able to steep in her vodka-infused anger for long. She was half way through her bottle when her phone began to vibrate on the countertop. As soon as Nik saw the caller ID, she groaned and knew she didn't want to hear the other end already. It was the blonde-haired German intern with the energy of an excitable puppy.

"What is it?" Nik asked bluntly as she answered her phone.

There was distant whispering on the other end before Claudia at last spoke up, "Ms. Vorbieva? It's Claudia. There's been, uh, an incident at HQ."

Nik pinched the bridge of her nose and screwed her eyes shut. Of course there was. The demoness bit back a groan of discontent as she wrangled her professionalism back in, "Incident? More hecklers?"

"No, ma'am. It's the sample that Ms. Beauregard retrieved a couple days ago. It mutated, or something. Irma's taking a look at it, and there's another guild member here too besides me, but we though you should know," Claudia explained. "It's moving, ma'am."

As the intern was explaining the situation, Nik was already sliding her jacket and boots back on. She was in such a rush that she nearly left her apartment with the bottle of vodka in one hand, "Tell Irma to follow standard containment protocols, and follow Irma's exact instructions if she needs help, Claudia. I am coming back to HQ now, but I will be twenty minutes. I need you to call me if anything changes at all. Get more help from other guild members in the building if you need it. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am, got it, but what about the patient we retrieved the sample from? Shouldn't we try to reach out to the hospital? If this sample is mutating, the doctors should know too."

"You're correct, but your safety is my priority, along with everyone else in that building. We can worry about the hospital after we're certain that sample is no danger to us," Nik was never great with words and conversation, so she hung up immediately after ending her sentence.

- - -

"Hello?" Claudia peeled her phone away and looked at it after her phone clicked and there was no response. The duration of the call flashed a few times before Nik's name disappeared and she was staring once more at the homepage of her phone's screen. "Nik hung up."

Claudia didn't know if she should have been angry or disappointed that the hunter captain had been so curt with her. She was too numb with adrenaline, and the situation was too tense for her to devote more than a few seconds of thought to it. After shoving her phone back in her pocket, she looked back up to Irma.

"Nik said to follow 'standard containment protocols'," Claudia echoed. "I hope you know what that means, because I don't think that was in the field manual that I was given."

Roleplay Skittle , Life.

 

[Aldur]

Haruka

"If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life." - Plato

Haruka found herself looking at a pillar of the most marbleous quality. Atop the pillar stood a man of great worth, thought to be dead in the flesh, but not the spirit. Plato spewed wisdom the way a dragon breathes fire, but he appeared slimmer than how he was usually portrayed. How peculiar. Haruka felt a mediterranean breeze wash across her body and she realized she wore a toga. Most peculiar. She looked around, left and right, quite dumbfounded by the current circumstances. How did she get here?

"Besides... what is man if not a featherless biped?" - Plato

Haruka narrowed her eyes. A weird feeling gripped her mind, as if she could predict the outcome of the current events. They were very familiar to her, as well. Of course! Man was a featherless biped. Plato was right in his assessment, surely. And yet, he drew the criticism of a very disgruntled individual. Standing at full height was a dogged man, strangling in his right hand a chicken robbed of its beautiful feathers.

"Behold!" he cried, drawing attention to himself. "I've brought you a man!" he continued. What followed were deep gasps and the disgruntled looks of passers by. Haruka stared in shock, hand over mouth. Suddenly, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She broke herself away from Diogenes and turned to face the man behind her. A curious character stood before Haruka's gaze, sporting the most aggressive mustache she had ever seen. He opened his mouth as if to warn her and after a brief pause he said:

"I wouldn't stare for too long if I were you. For if you do... he might stare back at you..."

***

Eyes wide open, Haruka would quickly rise in her bed, immediately regretting her decision. A few seconds later, she would realize that she was no longer in Ancient Greece. Instead, she was relocated to Vexpara's own krankenhaus.
An expression bluntly spelling "indigestion" washed across her face. It was comical, really. Her head was the only thing exposed, the rest of her body was covered in a pearly white duvet she would enjoy, if not for the fact that she couldn't move it around. It was getting rather hot and she started sweating. Haruka then looked around the room, her eyes fixating on the suspended TV screen in the corner of the room. Before she could make out what the news report was about she recognized a muffled voice.

Fucking Bambi

"Morning, sunshine!" Croaked Haruka, although with much less pain and rasp than before. "You watching cartoons?"

The One Called X

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Irma Grace Beauregard

"There's no need for formalities, Claudia," the way the Ouro pronounced the intern's name as she snapped the latex of her gloves around her wrists was in an accent distinctly different from what was typical of her and likely came from her time spent over seas, "Irma's fine."

It would be unfair to say that Irma was entirely unaffected by the events of the last two days, but unlike some she was not in the position of attending press hearings, nor was she really exposed to public scrutiny directed at her personally. Even though she wasn't one to participate in social media, it didn't mean that she wasn't aware of the backlash towards Vexpara over their recent operation which she would not call a failure nor a success. It was actually a little difficult for her not to be angry with the people criticizing how the mission was handled. They were not there, they aren't the ones on the front lines fighting the dark entities that would otherwise rule the surface world, how could they know what a clean operation was and what wasn't when in fact, nothing involving demons could really ever be called clean. It's like they say, it's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it.

Irma silently went about the task of containing the specimen all the while retaining a calm demeanor that wasn't uncharacteristic of her. Once her gloves and safety glasses were on, she retrieved clamps in order to collect the test tube in which the unknown entity currently resided mainly because in case the creature decided to start jumping around with increased ferocity, she wanted to avoid accidentally getting cut by any shattered glass and potentially being infected by the same goo that had likely been the cause of so much destruction at the apartments.

The fatality count at the apartments was another thing that got under Irma's skin. There was little they could do as far as all of the tenants that had gone missing considering they were long gone once Vexpara had been called to the scene, didn't the public realize that? Or maybe it was just that they were furious over the destruction, which would have likely been so much worse if they hadn't been there and put an end to the Black Demon.

Irma didn't think about these things however, nor did she pay much attention to the fact that she wasn't alone in the lab with the Blooden and the Intern behind her and just focused on moving the vial from the stand with the other experimental samples and onto its own stand which she then placed in a shatterproof box before carrying it over to a containment unit. She then drew in a deep breath to prepare for the next step. Irma wasn't used to casting barrier magic, certainly she was more than capable of dispelling them along with various static magics, but casting them was a whole other territory. However, even though the situation was a little tense and uncertain, it wasn't a combat situation which made it easier for her to concentrate on what she meant to do.

Her hands raised in front of her as she opened her eyes as though she were directing the thin threads of golden light that flowed from her gloved fingertips, each of them folding over and around the specimen that she had set inside the containment unit. As she wove the magic strings of barrier magic, she appeared as a weaver at a loom and as the glow faded from her fingertips, it left an orb of encasing magic around the unknown creature that continued to glow and aware others of its presence.

She hadn't missed a beat as she protected their unusual guest, and once the barrier magic was secured, she closed the lid of the see-through containment box and clamped it shut before stepping away and removing the clear plastic glasses she had been wearing, "there," she hadn't really heard Claudia when she showed her gratitude for the fact that she and Wright had been present when she made her discovery but she voiced her own gratitude as she looked directly at the Intern, "I'm glad you were here to tell me what was happenin'."

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[Katsuya]

- Magnolia Noir -
After making sure the demon pair was alright and nurses looking out for them, Magnolia left when it was time for visitors to leave. The doctor that looked over her had already gave her the ‘good-to-go’, saying her injuries were superficial and will be able to heal on it’s own. Which is great, she supposed, feeling a bit empty whenever she visited Haruka and Angelica who were still drugged at the time.

Okay, not great. Sure, she can move and can still fight, but will she next time? The mission they took on proved to her that all she’s good for is running around. That should not be an option, not in this sort of job, fighting harmful demons to society. It pains her even more that she couldn’t even support Angelica when she needed it or help Haruka or stop the demon from moving or something-! Doesn’t help that the public are in an outrage too, not that she is putting a lot of thought on their view of Vexpera, but based on what she did hear; it seems like New York believes they wouldn’t be safe with Vexpera on the job to defend.

On her case, they are right. She can’t defend.

Magnolia sighed heavily, staring at her sticker-covered rifle case that’s on her bed before shaking her head, grabbing her headset that’s covered in cute cat and pumpkin stickers too. Then she silently climbed out of HQ’s residents building through her floor’s window, and down the multiple flights of escape ladders. She didn’t want to see her comrades at the moment and the best course to go is through the window instead of the front door. Once she touched the grimy cement ground with her orange sneakers, the half-demon peeked around the corners and frowned at the sight of news reporters trying to go inside for a scoop. Ugh. Luckily for her, there’s alleys. With a few bends of rancid smelling alleyways, she managed to avoid the reporters too, pulling her pastel orange hood over her head, and walked to the nearest Metro train. Choosing to go Midtown Manhattan in the C train, 7th Avenue and 20th street being her stop, and walked the rest of the way to the Westside Rifle & Pistol Range.

The place is nice in her few experiences of coming, especially the owner. He treated everyone like family and taught newbies about how a pistol or a rifle works. As she went inside the shop, looking around as she heard a jolly ‘Welcome! What can I do you for?’, she walked up to the desk worker with a forced bright smile. “May I rent a pistol? A glock, if you have one. If not, I’m okay with any hand gun.” After buying appropriate bullets from their store and walked down a familiar path, pulling her hoodie off and her headset over her ears; she went inside the firing range. Walking over to an empty booth that’s ways away from the door and the other shooter that’s in here. Loading the pistol with bullets, she briefly looked at the paper dummy that’s several feet away and sighed. Her accuracy is decent, so she decided to work on her timing instead. A shoot or not shoot trail where the paper dummy is spinning around and moving further back or close up in an unpredictable manner and she has to shoot the head. Just the head, is a rule she’s putting on herself for now. Hoping she’ll get better soon and maybe dare to order the expensive truesilver bullets in case of a major mission like before.

She aimed and waited for the trail to begin. Magnolia pulled the trigger just as the paper dummy faced her, only to spin around on the last minute, and miss. Her eyes narrowed. She tried again and missed. She finally got a few shots, but most landed on the neck or upper chin. She wanted to get the brain. The more she missed from the paper dummy spinning, the more frustrated she became. “Fuck-! Okay, breath.” This is going to take a while.