Futuristic Death Trick

[NiflheimArisen]

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You wake up in the middle of nowhere with a strange envelope on your person. Everything aches and a closer examination of your body reveals wounds that almost seem... fresh. Unfortunately, you recall nothing.


Inside the envelope, you'll find a letter and a black and blue playing card with strange, morbid designs on it, as well as a small pamphlet. How convenient.


The letter and pamphlet each read (respectively):

Spoiler

IMPORTANT: READ THIS ENTIRE LETTER BEFORE CHOOSING TO END YOUR LIFE. AGAIN.


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Congratulations on receiving your very own 'Death Trick'!


Clearly, you died a horrible, brutal death, but even death has its ups and its downs, right?


The card in your possession - your very own Death Trick - is the reason you're alive again. The pamphlet contained within this letter should have everything you need to know about your Death Trick and how to use it. It's really a wonderful read. Take some time and get to know it when you get the chance.


To those of you who would have much rather stayed dead, I apologize sincerely. And whatever you do, please don't go trying to off yourselves. At least live long enough to hear me out. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lay your poor weary head to rest with an angry soul lusting for blood and revenge, now would you?


Listen, tricksters, and listen clearly. I know for a fact that the ones who killed each and every one of you are still roaming this Earth. I'm afraid to tell you justice has not been served. But if you scratch my back, I'm very willing to scratch all of yours, and I can help you get revenge on your killers. In order for that to happen though, we need to come to an agreement. In return for your service to me as my Emissaries of Judgment, I will give you the information and power necessary to enact vengeance. And when all is well and done, you shall be put to rest once more painlessly and quickly.


Or, of course, you could always choose to live as an immortal trickster. I really couldn't care less either way what you do when we're done, but as it stands, I'm going to need all of you.


Anyhow, within this letter is a map. I'm off the radar for various reasons, so I'm afraid I cannot provide you with an exact address. But you shouldn't have much trouble finding me. My lovely, homely little abode is placed out in the gorgeous countryside of Dorset so I'd say it's at least worth coming for the view, no? But I digress. There's this little stone pillar on the nearby hill with a chain. Don't knock on my door. Instead, go pull that little chain and just wait. I'll explain everything to you when you all arrive.


Now, tricksters, I eagerly await your arrival. Good luck.


And please, do not dissapoint.


~ With the sincerest of love,


the Director

Functions of the Death Trick

The Death Trick may look like an average playing card, but it is a trickster's most valuable possession. This card allows you to use your own signature "trick", a powerful ability that expends a portion of your life force. Most importantly of all though, this card contains your life. If a Death Trick is damaged beyond repair or destroyed at any point in time whether it's ripped, burned, drenched, shredded or anything else, its owner will face a fate worse than death known as "nullification". This particular course of events is best avoided at all costs.


Life Force and You

As you use your trick more and your energy begins dwindling, you'll start to feel tired more often and become weaker, both physically and mentally. When your life force becomes drastically low, your Death Trick will immediately perform an emergency shut down, using its energy to hold you in a protective coma until it receives more life force. This comatose state costs a small amount of life force to remain constantly in progress, so within a few days, the comatose trickster will be nullified due to a lack of life force in their Death Trick.


Murder and its Many Benefits

By killing other humans, tricksters can absorb their life force into their Death Trick, though excess life force will go to waste. By killing another trickster, one will gain ownership to that trickster's Death Trick and the trick that comes with it. However, no additional physical strength will be gained. Rather, any Death Tricks after the first will act merely as additional backup reserves of life force for the first.


Life Force Trading

Last but not least, life force, like normal currency, can be traded between tricksters voluntarily. By pressing one's Death Trick to another's and willing the transfer of life force, one can drain or pass life force to another Death Trick.

 

[NiflheimArisen]

The smell is coming through the floorboards again, thought Reagan with a sigh, sipping his coffee. He looked around and got up, placing his hand on the glass sliding door and looking outside. The sun was just beginning to rise, soon to be stifled by the clouds that muffled the sky with grey. It was only a light rain shower now, but it would soon be a downpour. He turned around towards Scirocco who was equally silent, leaning on the counter across the kitchen.


"Scirocco, would you mind handling that atrocious smell for me? I've a date at 10:00 and visitors at 12:00."


"Yessir. Might I ask who your visitors are?"


"My new employees." He shook his head vigorously and let out a heavy breath, scrunching his brow. "This coffee. It's much too strong. You would think a woman would get better at her job, the longer she does it, no? Ha!"


"While you're handling that smell, go grab Cherry for me. It seems I need to give her a bit of a demonstration."


"Yessir." Scirocco nodded and disappeared into a hallway.


I do hope he fixes that smell on time. The 'aroma' of death, as a rule, is generally inconducive to both romance and business, thought Reagan. I suppose I may just have to move her out of the basement after all...


He shook the thoughts from his head and got up to go take a shower. In the living room, there was a painting. The painting was of a man, holding onto a little girl as if she'd fly away if he let go. Reagan stopped in front of the painting for a moment to straighten it, staring at the face of the little girl, and then sighed and walked away.


@MaverickPun @BlackSwan @verifiedkat @Elizabeth Schuyler @Elision of Ecritures @Clairvoyance

 

[BlackSwan]

Julia


I trudged up to the house. my combat boots clicking soundly as I made my way almost angrily to the door. Today had been a really long day. a really long day filled with idiots attempting to grope me, said idiots ending up incapacitated, and trying to find my way here.


oh and finding out i died today. lovely. Down right absolutely Fuucking Lovely,


My pink Hair blew in the wind as i approached the door, for a second i wondered if showing up in the same blood stained clothes was a good idea..


then i realized. I didn't care anymore.


So there i was, dressed in my Bloodied Hospital uniform with my Pastel pink hair swirling wildly in the wind and crusted blood covering my forehead and trailing down the side of my temple.


I looked like something out of a horror movie i'm sure. Never the less, i rung the door bell and waited.


wait....rung the door bell? rung the fucking door bell...I just died and left my Kid to fend for himself.


I'm Knocking Bitch.


Clearing my throat and tossing my shoulders back a knocked roughly on the door and awaited a reply impatiently.

@NiflheimArisen

 

[NiflheimArisen]

"Ha! Ridiculous, right?" Reagan exclaimed, nodding and sipping his coffee. "And then, you know, because I was drunk - and you know I've told you I never like being drunk - I just went up to him an-" There was a knock at the door. "Oh, bother. How inconvenient. I'll be right back, love, yeah? You just sit and make yourself comfortable." He lifted her hand and kissed it softly, grinning.


Reagan made his way down the hall and found Scirocco climbing the basement stairs. The smell had grown very dull now, even with the door to the basement open. "The issue is solved, then?" Reagan inquired, pursing his lips and stuffing his hands into his suit pockets.


"Yessir. The smell shouldn't be noticeable for a while now. I heard the knock, sir. Do you think it's the f-"


"It's not the feds, Scirocco. Methinks one of our guests just didn't read the letter properly. Probably just missed the part about pulling the chain and not knocking."


"We can't be too cautious, sir."


"If you want, come to the door with me, then."


"Yessir."


A few moments later, Scirocco and Reagan came through the kitchen past Reagan's date to the living room. Scirocco readied his handgun at the door just in case. "Ready, sir."


Reagan put on his best, most approachable smile and opened the door to find a pink-haired woman covered in blood.


With Scirocco's face stern and his gun still pointed at the woman's head, Reagan said, "Oh hello, Miss Ambrosia! Fancy meeting you here!" As if oblivious to the gun Scirocco was pulling on her, Reagan reached out a hand for a friendly shake.


@BlackSwan

 

[BlackSwan]

Julia


I blanched as yet another gun was pointed at my head. my blue eyes quickly bounced from, 'i'm guessing he's the director of this freak show' , to the barrel of the gun, and back again. then yet again. and again. 'these people are hit men...they have to be. some sort of mafia or, or assassins unit or something! who else comes prepared to answer the door with a fucking gun? slow down...deep breaths Julie.' i took slow calming breaths inwardly, closing my eyes for the briefest of seconds...'get it together, think about your son , your doing this for him. now look that mofo in the eyes and show him your not taking his shit!' whew...nice pep talk. my eys opened and i glared viciously at the man. opting not to shake his hand. Instead i used a finger to phase through the gun and 'manually' unload all the bullets to the ground.


"who are you and what the hell have you done to me."

@NiflheimArisen

​

 

[MystiicWitch]

Riley A. Barnes

Jolting forwards with a strangled gasp, the twenty four year old found herself staring into the dark shades of the woods surrounding her. Confusion swirled her mind as she tried forcing her mind to recall how she managed to arrive here in the first place. Everything was hazy at first until everything began to click in place while her expression morphed into horror. How in the world was she ALIVE?!


Scrambling to her left, she noticed that all of her belongings were oddly besides her and began to dig through it all. Not bothering to take note of the envelope that landed onto her lap, Riley pulled out her cellular device which successfully came to life within her hands. Upon request, she immediately entered the required pass-code to only click onto the messaging app to contact her loved ones in the hopes that everything was just lie. With shaky thumbs, she pressed onto Sharon's icon and willed herself to believe that she was alive.

Sharon<3

them

Riley! Still on for the sleep in a bit? I'm about to go over [/FONT] :) [FONT='Book Antiqua']

me

Of course. Just let Steve know before he ends up barging in like the last time! >;(

them

OMG. Yeah. I'll do that. Thanks for everything Riles! See you in a bit! <3

me

Got it! Just let yourself in.

them

Kay! Love you! [/FONT] ;) [FONT='Book Antiqua']

me

Sharon?

me

Sharon! Hello!?!

them

We are sorry for the inconvenience. But this line is no longer in service. Please try again later.

Letting out a wrecked sob, she numbly allowed her phone to fall onto the ground as she began screaming out incoherent words. The world around her was spinning wildly and couldn't grasp the concept of how cruel it can be at any given time. Oh god. Steve. The image of the male appeared in her mind suddenly and it made her grab all of her belongings in order to find her friend. Quickly that is.




After having reconnected with Steve, he clearly appeared to be in denial about Riley having survived everything. The media and everything doing with the forensic side of things declared both Sharon and herself dead within twenty four hours of alert. "I don't even know who you are! GET OUT!" Steve roared after a couple of seconds of silence. The action from her friend caused her to step back in fear as the memory of those men violating her to death began to fill her mind. With each step, Steve was within her boundary and in turn, Riley gently pushed him away with a great amount of force.


The sound of him grunting loudly in pain startled her greatly as Steve was clenching his head tightly. "S-Steve?!" She called out worriedly until he managed to compose himself over the course of a couple of minutes. "LEAVE!" With that being the last thing to be said, Riley quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and hastily left his home.


Confusion and hurt filled her features as she was now standing in the place that she had awoken from. In all honesty, it wasn't far from where she lived, it happened to be the forest that was located a few miles away from her home. The thought of her source of comfort made her feel even more pained since she imagined what her family must be going through at the moment. Her intentions on going to see them were increasing, but with how Steve reacted, Riley knew that her loved ones will cast her out the same way.


Deciding to check her belongs to clear her ill thoughts, she was surprised by the envelope that was neatly on top of everything. Not wasting anytime on opening and reading through it quickly, her mind was well made by then. She was going to find this individual and demand him to answer all of her questions.




Upon seeing the grand area before her eyes, Riley knew that she was in the right place according to what the letter said. Rushing towards the door, she pulled on the chain rather impatiently. The feeling of discomfort was filling her system while she waited for the door to be opened.

 

[NiflheimArisen]

"Ha!" Reagan watched as she used her trick to unload Scirocco's handgun. "Hahaha!" Reagan clapped in delight, almost childishly, as he saw Scirocco's expression of confusion and burst into laughter.


"What the hell?" Scirocco said under his breath, glancing between the bullets and the girl.


"Ooooh, that was amazing." He nodded towards Julia while still looking at Scirocco. "I love this one. She's feisty. I think things will be a little bit more interesting around here. Oh, do come in!" Reagan bowed lightly and stepped to Julia's side to let her in. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I would have personally recommended you'd shaked my hand. I'm impressed by your resourcefulness, but things run on respect around here. And the little things do count. Believe me, I can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy, and you'd greatly, greatly prefer the former."


Suddenly, a loud jingle played from somewhere inside the house that caught Reagan and Scirocco's attention.


"Oh, look, one of my attendees actually read the letter. Scirocco. Go attend to that. I'll attend to Miss Ambrosia here's concerns and make her comfortable. Just go check the back door and let them in. We'll be in the kitchen."


"Yessir." Without a second thought, Scirocco holstered his gun, ignoring the dropped ammunition for now, and was back in the house.


Once he was gone, Reagan raised his eyebrows. He made an excited "Hmhm!" sound and rubbed his hands together, looking at Julia wide-eyed and waiting for her to enter ahead of him.


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Scirocco opened the backdoor and found another woman waiting. Damn, which one is this again? He showed me their pictures and gave me names, but I can't seem to remember... That girl who disarmed me must be throwing me off. Get it together, Balboa.


"Riley, right?" He paused, looking for some sign that he'd gotten the name right. "Come in. The Director is in the kitchen waiting for you. I'll show you in, miss."


He stepped aside and cast his arm out to the side as a sign of invitation, keeping his voice, face, and posture firm all the while.


@BlackSwan @MaverickPun

 

[BlackSwan]

Julia

I swallowed but willed forward and into the house. this place just gave me the dame chills.


i honestly wished i was back home and safe in bed, but of course not. At least this place had style. My ice blue eyes darted from corner to corner, taking in all i saw, and making a point to note all the exit routs. Never know what this phycho might do. My hand went to clasp the sea world water proof phone carrier around my neck. i figured it would be the best place to hold a card that basically decided wether i lived or died.


but seriously, the dolphins and Orcas were killing my Badass vibe...no wonder he didnt take me seriously.


"um so, why am i here exactly? you never answered that." i asked, spinning around to face the Man pulling the puppet strings behind this operation.


"and how the hell-i mean how did this happen." i sighed, my anger deflating and giving way to fear.

 

[housekat]

With a strangled gasp, Mizerka was alive again.


In the dry grass of a hillside, her death had never happened.


This shouldn't be possible. A bullet had broke through her skin and ripped a hole through her right lung. The blood was still all there, she could still feel the oxygen escaping into her chest cavity, and bullet's entrance and exit point was still a gaping wound. Her lab coat was still on her person, though rumbled and dirty beyond belief. All of her medical training was screaming at her at once, saying that she should be dying of hypoxia and a collapsed lung, but she has never felt like a newer person. The woman sits up, then sees a white letter flutter down to the ground next to her. Her gangly fingers grab the letter and break the seal hastily on the envelope. Out of the mysterious sleeve, a card, a pamphlet, and a handwritten letter fall out. The card immediately catches her eye. It's a 7 of diamonds with the normal design, 7's in the opposite corners and 7 red diamonds organized so they're an equal distance from one another. There's nothing blatantly strange about it so she sets it down on the ground next to her and reads the handwritten note.


"Congratulations on receiving your very own 'Death Trick'!


Clearly, you died a horrible, brutal death, but even death has its ups and its downs, right?"


The memories of her death come back to her in detail.


But don't cross your boundaries and think that it's cool


Misguided by darkness and lost on the road


That's right. The company she worked for demanded her team worked on a vaccine for a small disease that affected only 10-25,000 people throughout the world. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't going to challenge her employers.


It had taken 2 years, but they finally got something that worked. Ecstatic, her team told the company about their discovery. The company congratulated them at first, but then they said that they were waiting for the disease to spread to more people before they sold it.


"We have to make profit somehow. We put a lot of money into the research in hope that it would spread quickly." Her boss explained.


But I'm such a sucker for the rain!


Mizerka simply nodded her head and complied, not thinking about those suffering because of a financially-based decision.


Here we are


Crashing once again


Into the center of your moonlit face


Our caved-in ribs


One day, a man came in. He looked tired and on the edge of breaking.


"I'm looking for your vaccine storage."


Our receptionist answered "Can I see your company ID?"


"Tell me."


"I-I can't do that. If you will wait, I can call the-"


He pulls out a gun. "I'll find someone who will." The receptionist slumped to the floor.


The man killed everyone of my research team and stole the vaccine.


A rush of anger overtook Mizerka and the paper crumpled in her fist. She quickly scanned the rest of the letter and pamphlet. She had a new destination in mind and knew exactly what she wanted to do. She put her card in the large lab coat pocket. Nobody could get in the way of her new purpose, and if she had to kill to get to that bastard, she would do it in a heartbeat. Conveniently, she had been abandoned by the location in the letter. The large house looked like it was only a mile or so away from the hill she was sitting on. Not caring about the gaping wound still in her chest, she started her trek over to the pillar.


The brown-haired woman made it to the stone pillar and pulled the chain, hair a tangled mess with grass captured by the strands. She didn't care. She had instructions to follow and people to eliminate.


@NiflheimArisen


This is possibly the edgiest thing I have ever written and I am unironically proud of it.

 

[Clairvoyance]

• Claire •



"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm not going to say anything to him, but...Kaid, he was talking about killing his wife and her family, including his kids." She said, holding her phone to her ear and staring out at the Parisian expanse before her. "Kaidan, don't worry. He doesn't know I overheard him. Did you pick up the cat food for Mollen? Yes, I did tell you to get it!" The young woman groaned, pressing her free hand to her forehead. "Alright, I'll run by the store and grab a bag on my way home. See you-" She paused, seeing the man from the restaurant exiting the elevator and approaching her. "S-See you soon." She hung up, slipping the phone into her pocket.


"C-Can I help you, sir?" She said, tapping her nail against the metal railing nervously. "You overheard me. I can't have you blabbing about me to the police." He never broke his stride as he came over and grabbed the girl's arm, twisting it painfully behind her back before leaning her over the railing. "It's a shame," he said, smiling as she screamed. "You were quite pretty." And with those final words, he sent the ginger tumbling over the edge.


Far below, hours later, the body of Claire Jesette was discovered by the French police. It was ruled a suicide, and the girl's death went unpunished...


"No!" Claire yelled, jolting up from the rocky ground. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were wide with fear, but as she looked around, she realized that she wasn't at the base of the Eiffel Tower. She was somewhere else entirely. And, to her complete shock, she wasn't dead.


It seemed like she was at the base of a mountain, alone with no humans in view. Upon closer inspection of the horizon, she could spot a good-sized town though. She had the sinking feeling that she was no longer in Kansas France, but would need to get to civilization to verify the suspicion.


The young woman's clothes were covered in blood and she looked like a wreck, but she didn't exactly have a teleporting closet and shower to clean up. As she walked, she noticed extremely faint scars all over her body where -- presumably -- her bones had decided to visit the outside world. "I don't understand..." She mumbled, sticking her hands into her torn jacket's pockets. The crinkle of paper made her stop though, retrieving what seemed to be a letter of some kind detailing what was happening, a playing card -- the 10 of Spades, to be exact -- as well as a pamphlet and map saying what she needed to do and where she needed to go.


She wasn't sure she could trust whoever had written the letter -- they sounded a bit off their rocker -- but what could be crazier than coming back from the dead? She decided to follow the instructions given, at least until she knew what was truly going on.


After finding out that she was lost and a long way from home, the people of the small village in Scotland offered clothes and a much-needed shower to Claire, even giving her enough money to reach her destination. Finally, after a long cross-country trip, the redhead found her way to the mysterious man's home and pulled the chain as asked.


Tags:

@NiflheimArisen

((Sorry, openers aren't my forté!))

 

[NiflheimArisen]

The Director guided her through the house to the kitchen where he sat her down next to his date.


"Mrs. Ambrosia, this lovely lady here is my date, Angelica. Angelica, Julia. I didn't expect you all to get here this early so I thought I could fit in the time with her." He massaged her shoulders, making her giggle nervously. The PDA was cringeworthy, but clearly something Reagan didn't mind.


"Oh, darling, should I make my leave? I wouldn't want to bother in your business," she asked him.


He sighed and placed his hands on his waist. "I suppose that's the best thing to do. But look," he began whispering with a big smile plastered on his face, the words now inaudible to Julia, "I'll make sure to give you a call as soon as I can breath freely again and we'll set up some time... alone, yes? Hmhm." She nodded, grabbing her bag and started to walk out with a grin plastered on her face. Reagan wasn't necessarily in his prime, but evidently, his 'game' wasn't gone as a whole either. Some people just age better than others apparently.


"Goodbye, Mr. Reagan!" she called, leaving out the front door and craning her neck to wave to him one last time.


"Tata, love!" He blew her a kiss. Once she was gone, "You know, for once I really wish someone was late. You totally blew it for me, you know. Ahh," He took a sip from a cup of water, "but I digress. You win some, you lose some, no?"


He completely ignored her question. "You're very resourceful. I wonder if that's just part of that maternal instinct or something. Once had to deal with this lady - black market deal gone wrong and all, you know, purely business - turns out she had a kid. That woman was dangerous, believe you me. Woo! I got my payment in the end, but unfortunately we had to utilize the kid as bargaining material. Nothing personal to her, just the way things turn out. Coffee? Cherry!" he called out. The assistant, caked in make-up, launched out of the hallway, looking mildly nervous and started making coffee.


He looked distantly into the kitchen, as if staring through everything, then passed a sideways glance at Julia. His voice was suddenly very serious, not harshly so. No, in fact, it was, at the very least, an attempt at voice of moderate comfort. It was definitely a bit less vibrant than his normal tone. "Your child's going to be alright. Everything is taken care of, Miss Ambrosia. All you have to do is just work with me on this and everything will be just splendid in the end." He looked her straight in the eyes, his face a bit softer than usual, as if trying to make a sincere connection with her on the matter.

 

[BlackSwan]

Julia


I gave the girl a seriously look as i took a seat opposite of...Reagan. yeah no. not on first name basis. The Director, as i sat opposite of The Director as he dismissed his harlot.-I mean lady friend from the room with promises i really didn't want to think of . I eyed her distastefully as she passed the clown faced assistant. i took a deep breath and tuned back into what The Director was saying. whoa whoa whao, Black Market? What the hell, I knew these guys were shady. But still to set up a woman with a child...she must have been really desperate in order to deal... But thats no the point. 'Get it Tofether Jules..' I scolded mentally. i swallowed thickly whenever he Mentioned my son. I wanted to sigh in relief at his words, but found myself catching the breath in my throat. unable to release it.


This man was like dealing with the devil.


" what do you want...and how can i trust you." i whispered

 

[BlackSwan]

Valentine

Valentine awoke with his lungs burning and his joints aching. turning over abruptly he puked. water came pouring from his lungs as well as his dinner from last night. Valentine took gasping breaths as he attempted to get air in his lungs in-between hurling. Puke covered the ground of the mountain hill and stained the front of his clothes. finally stoping his expunging of his stomach, he rolled over from his mess and flopped down onto his back. Taking in large gulps of air as he squeezed his eyes shut. His heart pounded harshly in his chest, giving off a painful feeling of tightness that spread to the rest of his body. Valentine slapped a hand over his chest, ignoring the sick staining his black shirt he fisted the fabric around his chest and ripped it open, desperate to stop the burning exuding from his chest. Tattoos spiraled an twined around his his chest and ribs, depicting vicious battles in Russian.

"vrake it srop. prekrati eto!" he snarled finally opening his dark eyes. The cloudy sky greeted him along with several tall tree's and birds. all waiting for him to kick the bucket so they could devour him. But they would not. because he had already died once, And he was not about to die again. Valentine got shakily to his feet. TEaring free of the puke stained shirt and zipping up his tan coat. One thing was for certain. he was not in Russia anymore. As Valentine took in his new surroundings, he spotted a card lying in the dirt atop his soiled black shirt. Frowning , mainly because Valentine Petrov Did not play cards, he wondered just how the mysterious little bugger got there.

Picking it up he noticed an envolope beside it. doing the smart thing when you end up in an unfamiliar place feeling as though you were drowned, he kept cautious. And Read the letter.

And he couldn't believe his eyes. HE had DIED?! 'so...Mother Russia finally did me in.' he chuckled mentally. a bitter note in his voice. of course things would come crashing down, right as they began to look up.

'Snap!'

Valentine whipped around in the direction the noise came from. his body tensing up and his fists in a ready position. suddenly he realized that he was not alone. And he probably wasn't safe here. Grunting, VAlentine hualed himself through the forest and to the house he saw. after several hours he finally made it. Only to find a bunch of women already there and pulling the chain.

"Vrhat fakticheskaya yebat'" he cursed in Russian.

...​

@Clairvoyance


@verifiedkat

​

 

[NiflheimArisen]

"Now you're asking the right questions." The jingle sounded again. And then a few more times. "And you'll have your answers," Reagan got up, walked over to a coat hanger, and put on a black hat and tipped it towards Julia, "soon enough. I'll be right back. Your soon-to-be partners are finally here. Feel free to make yourself comfortable and ask Cherry here," he raised a hand to Cherry who was passing Julia a mug of coffee with a smile on her face, "if you need anything."


Reagan walked through the living room and past the laundry room, which had two washers and dryers and four clothing racks mounted on the wall above them, to the back door. Although it was raining a bit harder now, it was still only really a nice shower. A storm was definitely brewing though. He passed cleanly by Scirocco and Riley, but then stepped back. "Hello, Riley, you look lovely. I'm the Director, but please, do call me Mr. Reagan. 'Hello The Director' really just doesn't roll of the tongue too well, you know? Make yourself at home, I'll be right in." He raised his brows at Scirocco. "Take care of that, will you?"


"Yessir."


Reagan made a quick smirk at Riley and straightened his coat and hat before heading out into the rain to greet the newcomers. He saw three of them standing around the little pillar. He waved at them and called rather loudly so they could hear him as he came from the house. "Greetings all. How wonderful of you to make it. This way, come in. Wouldn't want you to catch colds when you've all just revived, no?" He bust into laughter at his own little tease, as if it were really the funniest thing in the world and clapped his hands together, gesturing toward the house and coming back to wait by the back door.


---------------------------------------------------


Cherry passed Julia her coffee. "I'm Cherry. Nice to meet you." She looked at the counter for a moment. "Julia, right?" Her smile was soft and understanding. "He's not as bad as he seems, I promise." As she went to go make another cup of coffee, probably for Reagan himself, she accidentally spilled the pot. She stepped quickly out of the way as it all began to flood over and pour onto the floor, still steaming from the pot and the puddles slightly. She looked around anxiously, waving her hands in exhasperation, clearly caught up in this desperate struggle. Quickly, she located a towel and began her work trying to clean up the mess, glancing towards the laundry room and praying that Reagan and his guests took their precious time.


"Oh, this is terrible. Terrible! Terrible! He's going to kill me!" she said to herself.

 

[BlackSwan]

Julia


my brows shot up into my hair line at the word Partners. "wait, Partners! what do you mean Partners? Director!" i called after him.


but he was already gone. i exhailed a large breath i ddint realize i was holding. my entire body seemed to deflate as defeat seemed to take over.


It was useless trying to fight against this man wasn't it. It was useless to fight against this whole thing really. Upon nocieting Cake face, also know as


Cherry was adressing me i perked up. raising a thin pink brow at her words. "not that bad huh? i guess he's ok. as far as old dogs go." i snarked.


running a hand through my tangled pink curls. I was about to ask where the shower was when she suddenly spilt the coffee . Muttering profously about


how he was going to , and i quote "kill her" . yeah with the whole black market talk... i wouldn't doubt it.


Sighing i bent down to help her. taking off my bloodied lab coat and helping mop up the spill, leaving me in only my scrub outfit.


"look if this mans really that dangerous, why don't you just leave?" i whispered quietly. i cast the girl, CHerry, a glance with my icy blue eyes.


my concern for her well being almost won over my apprehension of this place. almost. not quite. i was still suspicous of this girl this place and the reason i was here... all of it was far to strange. All i really wanted was to take a hot bath and change into some non-blood stained clothes.

@NiflheimArisen

 

[BlackSwan]

valentine

Valentine just stared at the man. Barley understanding his language in his muddled state. he wanted to scream why was he here. and what the hell was going on. but he just felt so...tired. his body slowly began to slump forward. his dark eyes beginning to close against his will.

his muscled felt clogged like moss in a drain pipe, he felt so sluggish and drained, he barley even felt it when he hit the ground. his body sprawled and knocking things over in the process. the moss slowly creeped to his brain as he slowly faded into unconsciousness.​

 

[MystiicWitch]

Riley A. Barnes

Staring at the new pair before her, Riley only narrowed her eyes and gripped tightly onto the straps of her bag. The uneasiness was not settling down after seen the man that had probably set her 'revival' up for fun by the looks of it. By the mere thought, her anger was beginning to escalate. How could he not do this for Sharon?! What qualities did she not have for him to bring her up as well?! It was downright cruel and probably selfish. The pain that their loved ones were going through was not the worth her current existence. Riley would rather be dead than be where she was currently standing. "How can you be laughing at a time like this?" She seethed before she continued to speak "Why couldn't you just leave us dead?!" At this point, the young woman was trembling from anger.


Right now, all she wanted to do was what was not advised to in the first place. Multiple cases of where her cases victims were replaying in her mind and the methods they used seemed to trigger more images. This was not right. "I-I cant stay here. I'm leaving!" Her words were beginning to falter as tears were now rolling down her cheeks. Pushing past the assistant that brought her inside, she kept her gaze in front of her while she retraced the directions that would eventually lead her back outside. Her curiosity from earlier was diminishing with every step she took. The intent to execute her new goal was now radiating loudly in her conscious.


Riley didn't care of about the others during this current space of time. What brought them here and why there were also 'chosen'. None of that mattered to her. All she could think of at this very moment was the look on Steve's face when he had seen her and when she had touched them. Feeling the weight of her hands, she made sure to keep them within her distance so she wouldn't hurt anybody else.

 

[housekat]

Mizerka was on a strange sort of patrol. Her eyes darted everywhere, waiting for something to pop out or another person to approach. So, when she heard the crunch of grass under another person's feet she automatically tensed up. It's not like she could have done anything if the other person decided to attack, but it's better to be prepared either way. She didn't loosen up even a bit when a woman, who showed no signs of hostility, pulled the chain like the virologist had done earlier. As far as she was concerned, everyone could be a threat to her plan. They had waited within an uneasy atmosphere for even longer, until another trickster had shown up. This time it was a man who seemed annoyed from the beginning. He cursed in a different language, presumably Russian, before the Director had walked out from his house.


"Greetings all. How wonderful of you to make it. This way, come in. Wouldn't want you to catch colds when you've all just revived, no?"


She simply stared at the man with his jovial manor and didn't make a new expression. The only thing on her face was dirt and the fire of determination in her eyes. The other two didn't seem to find this good at all. One collapsed out of exhaustion and the other seemed to have a breakdown of sorts. Mizerka glanced at her peers with disappointment and started heading inside, her matted hair now soaked with water. That would be a pain to deal with later. Luckily, the rain washed most of the dried blood on her lab coat off. She stepped inside, her t- shirt, jeans, and lab coat dripping wet and accumulating water on the floor. Her hand grabbed the card out of her pocket when a sudden jolt of what felt like wetness started to creep on the edge of her soul. The card was only a little wet around the edges because it was protected by the pocket, but it was still too wet for what the scientist would have liked. She stared objectively at the Director waiting for him to say something or go help the others.


@NiflheimArisen

 

[NiflheimArisen]

"Look, if this man is really dangerous..." Cherry perked her head up from the mess on the floor when she heard this. A smile came again over her face. It was an expression she wore often, because really, what was there to frown about?


She shook her head vigorously and pushed some of the hair that had fallen to her face back to tie it in a ponytail, batting her eyelashes. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that." She laughed a bit.


"Reagan is a man with a big heart. He's helped a lot of people. This smile?" She pointed to hers. "He's the reason that I have it. And I wouldn't be here were it not for him. He's a good man caught in a bad place just trying to manage his way through doing the least damage possible. He acts tough, but only because people take advantage of the weak in his world. It's different from us, you know?" She looked down for a second and took a deep breath, not of sorrow or pensivity really, but of... relief? Like she was just letting go. She looked so incredibly relaxed and truly, truly happy.


"This might sound cliché, and that's because it is." She got back down to finish cleaning up the mess (which she had almost finished doing, mind you) and looked up at Julia. "But nobody wakes up one day and chooses to live life the way Reagan does just because they want to 'be bad' or 'commit a crime'. When you put a man in a hard place, and try to take everything from him... Well, you can only expect him to defend himself." She sat there, silently squeaking away at the tile to get away every stain - every slightest tinge of brown. And God damn it, she was going to clean that tile even if it would be the death of her.


@BlackSwan


-----------------------------------------------------------------


"Oh dear, this is quite the predicament. Scirocco, and Miss..." He looked around behind him. "Leona! Hate to trouble you, love, but you've got a medical sense about you. Would you and Mr. Balboa here go help out Mr. Petrov? He's the one who just collapsed. If you could just take him inside, that'd be just swell." He started walking forward hurriedly, but stopped and leaned back. "Scirocco, go ahead and take him to the second room on the left, just down the hall. When she's done, just let him rest... And make sure the basement is all locked up and tidy for me! Have Ms. Leona make sure he's fine- You don't mind that do you, love?" He only paused for a second, then shot off, shouting, "Wonderful! Thank you kindly!"


"Now to you," he muttered.


Time to drop the formalities.


"Riley, is this what Sharon would want?" He drew closer to her than he was before, an equal distance between his house and her. Close enough that she could see his eyes. They were empathetic, but the hint of something slightly off was broiling in them. Reagan slipped his hand into his suit pocket and twiddled with the slightly frayed end of his Death Trick, stirring the vaguest of power into his eyes.


I'm not going to use the Aspect unless I have to, but please, please, don't make me make her suffer like that, he thought to himself. He bit his lip and kept his eyes locked with hers so she'd feel the creeping presence of the Aspect as darkness, like dull shades of violet and crimson, swirled in the browns of his eyes, but did not activate it fully.


@MaverickPun

 

[Clairvoyance]

• Claire •



Another woman waited by the pillar, a doctor of some sort by the looks of her, and soon a man joined the two girl's as well. How many people did this 'Director' bring back? Claire thought, moving away from the man slightly as he yelled in what she recognized as Russian. What's the criteria to come back from the dead? I'm not special...I'm just a waitress. Why me?


Rain soon began to drizzle down on the trio, setting the somber, tense mood wonderfully. Claire pulled on her hood, glancing at the other two and seeing them turn their attention to something ahead. "Greetings all. How wonderful of you to make it." A man stood before the three of them, strangely and almost annoyingly jovial, gesturing for them to enter his home. "This way, come in. Wouldn't want you to catch colds when you've all just revived, no?" At that he laughed. He seemed to think himself funny, but in the dismal, confusing situation, Claire couldn't even force a smile. She simply nodded at him, shoving her hands in her pockets and beginning to make her way to the back door.


Behind her, however, the clattering of a garden gnome startled her. She whipped around quickly, seeing the Russian fall to the muddy, water-soaked ground. It was raining that night...when he pushed me...I probably looked like that, just with a lot more blood and a lot of exposed bone. She began to shiver then, quickly walking over and grabbing his arm. The thought of her broken, bloodied body had sent shivers down her spine, and -- though she wasn't in a particularly helpful mood -- she felt the need to help this man who had gone through the same thing as she and everyone else there had.


Death.


Before the others that the Director had called out could get to him, she began to half-carry-half-drag him inside. She was more willing to trust these people -- the ones in her position -- than the staff of the house, the Director, this Leona person or whoever Scriocco was, and she could only assume that the man she was dragging inside felt the same.


One of the other girls who was there began to holler and yell at the man -- presumably the Director -- but Claire paid them no mind. What she wanted was some coffee, and someone obviously had some, because the aroma filled the air in the luxurious house.


She pulled the Russian into a small seating area, leaving him on a couch before making her way to the origin of the sweet, sweet scent of coffee.


Tags:

@NiflheimArisen

@BlackSwan

 

[NiflheimArisen]

Cherry, from her post in the kitchen was still rubbing away at the stains. Any normal person would look at it and say, that's fine, but she noticed on the section where the coffee had spill the lines where the tiles split had taken on the slightest, almost unnoticeable brown hue.


Unacceptable.


However, her attention was drawn away when a woman came in and dragged a man onto the couch.


While the mess was certainly a dire issue, people were of more value to Cherry than clean tile. She threw her coffee-stained rag to the sink, casually passing the lady in a lab coat. She leaned over the man. "Is he alright?"


She looked expectantly toward the same woman she had just passed. Her face was plastered with an expression of sincere deep concern.

 

[housekat]

The doctor nodded and went to look at the man who was just dragged in. Her hand rested on his forehead, looking for symptoms of a fever of some sort. She then took his pulse. He seemed worn and stressed out just at first glance, so she immediately knew he was alright.


"Syncope is common with those under high stress and anxiety. This is probably just isolated vasovagal case. He might have also collapsed out of exhaustion of some sort. Just give him a blanket and let him sleep. When he wakes up make sure he has water and crackers." She explained with a monotone, almost bored voice. Her face turned toward the concerned woman. People used to faint all the time after seeing the hypodermic needles for vaccinations, especially new interns. But she didn't really care that much. If the Director hadn't told her to check on the man, she wouldn't have. This would merely be a stepping stone toward her goal.


@NiflheimArisen @BlackSwan

 

[BlackSwan]

Julia


I sighed in exasperation. "yeah i get what your saying i gues." a dronned. wiping up the last of the mess on the floor and standing up as others entered the room. Oh greeat. theres more of us Undead freakshows. huffing i got to my feet ignoring cherry's wrords and instead choosing to eyeball my new companions. one looked like a robot. all blank stared and emotionless, though i could tell there was somthing behind those blank eyes. anger. thats what it was pure anger. well...i certainly didnt want to be the one who set her off. pushing a peice of tangled pastel pink hair behind my ear, once again wishing for a shower or hell, even a hot bath at this point. anything to get the blood and grim off my body.clearing my throat i glanced between my new 'companions'


ignoring the unconscious man on the couch. i stepped foward slightly.


"i'm Julia, Julia Ambrosia. I'm Guessing the DIrector brought you guys here to join in on this...circus he's starting." i joked bitterly.

 

[The Omen of Death]

Konstantin woke up with a start, he was feeling an aching pain in his head and his area where his heart was. Noticing he was no longer currently in Lepizig, which was where he was initially. He groaned as he got up and realized his shirt was bloodstained, exactly where his heart was. "Was zum teufel?" (What the hell?) he muttered as he looked around him and saw the letter and pamphlet including his card, a King of Diamonds card. Then reading it over he was left with a sense of disbelief, but he could only remember his murderer was obviously someone who had been conned by him and seriously wanted him dead... This left him feeling with a sense of strength but also vulnerability. But whomever this 'Director' was he still did not know what his 'trick' was nor why someone as bad as him would be brought back. Either way, he felt slightly indebted to whomever he was and decided to at least figure out what was going on and hear this out. Konstantin then found the pillar, and the cord to pull. And a small crowd gathered, he ended up calling out to them "Hallo? Weiß jemand, was neben der Tatsache vor sich geht, dass dies war, wo wir von zu bekommen haben?" (Hello? Does anyone know what is going on besides the fact that this was where we have to get in from?)

 

[MystiicWitch]

Riley A. Barnes

Taking a couple of steps back, Riley scowled deep in thought at his words. Sharon might've said otherwise, but she knew that deep within her mind, she would've envied the fact that her friend was the only one to come out alive. The more and more she replayed their last moments together, the more she wanted to end things here so she could fully go into the afterlife. However, no matter how much she weighed the situation, Riley had to pull herself together in order to bring justice to their brutal deaths. For both her family and Steve's peace of mind. "Let's just get this over with." Her frail voice was replaced with an indifferent and cold tone as she spared The Director a glance. By pure looks, she could tell that he was someone that's not worth the energy to fight with and all she wanted to do was change out of her dirty attire to rest.


Shoving those thoughts aside, Riley once again made her way back to where everyone was hurdling over the Russian male that had fainted just a while ago. Not being able to place her field of expertise in the situation, she opted to stand further away from the commotion to prevent further occurrences. She was aware that one single touch would send anyone in mental pain just by what happened with Steve earlier and she didn't want to inflict it towards them.


Not wanting to stay around the area for a while longer, she quickly claimed the restroom that happened to be down the hall to her right. 'Please tell me I have spare clothes or something..' She bitterly thought while digging through her bag with a grimace. Grabbing onto what felt like clean clothes, she pulled them out and instantly grinned when she realized that it indeed was. The smell of her wounds were ever so present and it lingered loudly in her nostrils as she then hopped into the shower. Scrubbing away the dried blood and dirt, Riley felt as if she was someone else, she was no longer that old Riley Barnes. She was just the shell of that person that tragically left.


When she knew that she had cleaned herself thoroughly, she stepped out and pulled on the clothes that she had dug out of her bag with a tired sigh. All that was left to do was to wait for everyone to gather around to question The Director.