• This section is for roleplays only.
    ALL interest checks/recruiting threads must go in the Recruit Here section.

    Please remember to credit artists when using works not your own.
OOC
Here
Characters
Here
Lore
Here
Other
Here
Libla (Spirit)
CS Link
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 2 [The Dragon and the Phoenix]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Isaiah Lucem Lucem , Kanna , Meirin QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel , Rin EmperorsChosen EmperorsChosen , Elenion Aura Elenion Aura , Vulken , Yong-Yut gxxberkit gxxberkit .

The Dragon and the Phoenix

Libla could feel the herself rushing past the piercing wind, as she moved forward, her shadow boots and the orb of darkness she had in her hand, allowing her to reach a inhuman level speed that, she took full advantage of, knocking down Dragons got in their were in her way, and being gone before they even knew what hit them. As she moved forward, she was soon able to find a skyscraper and run up it in order to jump off and utilize her hoverboard, to gain a better vantage point. It did not take long before she was past the two grounds of Dragons and Phoenixs alike, and was soon able to find Lyric fighting, someone, it Libla was a bit far from them and wasn't able to properly identify the people she was fighting until the fight was over, and she could clearly see that the ground she was fighting was 3 Phoenixs that she knew, and 2 strangers that she didn't, she didn't know the other two but assumed they were Phoenixs, cause Libla couldn't imagine why Phoenixs would work with Dragons, though she also couldn't imagine why Phoenixs would attack Lyric when their fighting the Dragons. It was very confusing but she began to wonder if those Phoenixs were the possible traitors that Helva was so paranoid about being in the gang, the thought made her shudder a bit as she recalls YY being in the gang for a very long time, and couldn't help but wonder what would make her turn against the Phoenixs?

But before Libla could burst into action in order to help Lyric, take down the 5 rouge Phoenixes, Lyric seemed to have stopped, it was now talking with the group, it was bewildering and confusing to say the least, as Libla had to take a moment to register what just happened. Her eyes were set on Lyric but she noted down the absent Dragon King, from the fight, wondering if he retreated or was taken down for good. If either were the case, they perhaps a extraction wouldn't really be needed, besides it seemed that Lyric and the other Phoenixs were prepared to leave anyways, though just as it seemed that Lyric and the Phoenixs with her were getting ready. As Libla contemplated on what to do next she saw a hand rise up, in order to wave at her, she couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion at YY as she looked towards them, but Libla doubted that she could see her, though Libla was originally going to go down and relentlessly question just what was going on with the group. That plan was soon scrapped the moment Tigers entered the picture, originally Libla was going to assume they were Dragons considering the hostile positions they took around the group, but was able to tell they were Tigers the moment Markus entered the picture, using his ice potential to surround the group with ice, but not making a straight up attack.

Knowing the Lyric was probably in no condition to fight the group, Libla went back to her originally plan and dived down, orb of darkness in hand in a near blink of a eye, was on upon the group, covering the Phoenixes in darkness for just a moment. Before Libla made a grab for Lyric, in order to pull her onto her shadow board, in order to extract them to a safer area, and leave the fighting to her fellow Phoenixes, adding on "Lyric, we need to go, other Phoenixes will be here shortly to help YY and their group of Phoenixs take down the tigers, but as of right now, we need to get you to safety, your in no condition to fight, these guys especially after your fight with the Dragon King, and whatever that was." she left it ambiguous as she didn't understand what reason she had for fighting the other Phoenixes. Though she knew Lyric was a fighter, and she wasn't sure why she fought the other Phoenixes, she did understand that Lyric more than likely had a good reason for doing it. Though as soon as Libla would be able to get Lyric onto her hoverboard, she would have the shadows cover Lyrics footing in order to secure them, and retreat away from the Tigers, with terrifyingly fast speed, thanks to the Orbs of Darkness that she had in hand, plus she knew targeting them would be more difficult as the Tigers wouldn't be able to see them unless they had proper equipment or a HP with a potential that would allow them to see through the vail of darkness.
 
Last edited:
NPC POST - MIASMA
LOCATION:
Mysterious Black Site, North District
PARTICIPANTS:
August, Damian, Kinsley, Kisara, Kyo, Peyton, Raph, Sab, Shinko
THICKER THAN WATER
When Sabrina magnetized Miasma, he crashed into the dark, winged monster that Romero had transformed into. The impact dislodged a small component of his mask, causing him to collapse, wheezing for air as his hands scrambled to readjust the mask so that he could breathe. Stuck, magnetized to the side of Romero, Miasma could only watch helplessly as Romero lost his humanity, Chester lost her battle, and Romero's eventual demise.

When the Raven's carcass collapsed to the ground, Miasma was knocked off of his body, and only then was he able to stand back on his own feet. It felt difficult though, to stand back up, despair leadening his feet. Romero and Peacock's deaths felt as if a part of Miasma died along with it, and the reinvigorated hope that he received from the two of them.

Their company had soothed the wounds of getting kicked out of the Minor League and his subsequent death. Now that they were gone, it was as if the wounds were torn apart once more. It hurt. It didn't hurt like a gash or a stab, but it felt debilitating nonetheless. And the only way that Miasma knew that he could soothe the pain was to avenge the two of them.

---​

From the shadows of the prison, Miasma and a group of the prison's soldiers waited under the shadows. The sounds of people conversing echoed down the endless hallway. Taka sauntered down the hallway, her giant stature looming over Miasma who was squatted in the dark. It was the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack. They just had to wait for the optimal moment to strike.

"Now!" Miasma commanded. The masked baseball bat wielder leaped out of the shadows along with the other uniformed members of the blacksite. They spread out to attack the various members of the Serpents and Co.

At least that's what Miasma thought was going to happen. Instead, Miasma found himself standing out in the empty hallway alone. None of the other members of the Serpents were there-- it seemed that they had escaped the illusion. And none of his compatriots were with him either.

"What the hell are you all doing?" Miasma demanded to the soldiers all still in their safe spot within the shadows. After realizing that they were all shaking with fear, he commented, "What, are you all scared of one lady? Sure, she's tall, but are you telling me you've never fought an ostrich? Just strike at the neck."

When none of them moved, Miasma rolled his eyes and decided to just leave the soldiers where they were. They were all useless.

All by his lonesome, Miasma trailed a few paces behind Taka, finding the best moment to strike... or to see where she would end up.



AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa
 
GUARDIAN
SCENE:
Securing the Future
LOCATION:
East District, Tech Expo
PARTICIPANTS:
Jesper, Amari, Sophie, Kasumi, "Jane"
Securing the Future
Amari got to the bystander first, and instead of a helpless hostage, Ariadne was face to face with a violent maid ready to kill. She turned her lunge away on pure instinct, stumbling into a wall with her force instead. She was cornered.

Guardian and its drones hovered closer, the look of horror on the murderer's face growing each inch he neared. "I-I have money! Connections! I can get you anything you want!" The drones lowered to her head level, guns trained on her. She froze stiff.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we got her," Guardian remarked, arms crossed.

"It wasn't my fault! She made me do it! A Phoenix woman with red hair! She went by Carrion!"

Oh. That confirmed it, didn't it? It was all unraveling, now, but... "Thank you for your cooperation." Guardian ordered the drones back, and Ariadne breathed easier. Only for him to fly in close with a solid punch to her skull, rattling the woman unconscious. If Jane was the accomplice, why rat out her partner...? "We should head back. I bet Roy's dug up everything about 'Carrion'!"

If that wasn't enough, Kasumi had sent a message to everyone. It showed up in his vision. If Jane isn't alone... how big was this? A gnawing concern wedged itself in Jesper's mind. One step at a time. Roy first, then the rest.

Guardian led the way, dragging Ariadne by her wrists.

But when he made it outside the cafe, there was a commotion happening afar. One of his drones was flung up through the ceiling. When he tried moving in with his own robots... "The drones aren't responding..." The surrounding four froze mid air. Then turned at the Dragons.

They fired... thankfully only into the ground in front of the gang members. In the distance where the prior commotion occurred, a voice called out, "You are under arrest! Do not resist... or you will be killed."

angel doe angel doe azenva azenva FabulousTrash FabulousTrash
 
BAPTISTE LEROUX (NPC)
SCENE:
Securing the Future
LOCATION:
East District, Tech Expo
PARTICIPANTS:
Jesper, Amari, Sophie, Kasumi, "Jane"
Securing the Future
An eye for an eye. Such was Corvo's premise that lured him here. Revenge for the bridge incident—what should have been done instead of a fruitless peace meeting.

So far so easy, he thought. Then Corvo texted him.
compr
go in


And they lost the puppet strings.

"Merde!" Baptiste stumbled flat on the ground as the bullet struck his leg. There was a unified gasp, then momentary silence around the expo. He rolled and sat up, hearing the drone hover ahead. All eyes were on him, now. And he smiled. "Ma chérie... Baptise LeRoux, at your side," He offered a polite curtsy with his upper half, one hand caked in a bright pink glow, the other in a diamond blue. The man's shaky breath betrayed his suave visage. Nonetheless, it lingered. "How may I help? I'm afraid I do not know what you speak of, 'others that you are working with', 'true intentions' and all that. My services include a night's worth of pleasure, problem solving, and cooking! I also provide..."

Baptiste threw a metal disc from his coat, landing under the drone. In an instant, the drone flew into the ceiling, crashing through the material and creating a window into the outside. Rubble from both the ceiling and the robot fluttered down. "A free remodeling business!" The bystanders began to panic. Baptiste aimed his other hand at the disc, and it flew back to his possession. He demagnetized the metal, then pulled himself up on his good leg.

There were more drones, he was aware. It didn't concern him, however, not even when they trained their sights on him. Because Corvo retrieved a valuable USB stick: The key to the Dragons' weapon. He plugged it into a laptop in one of the janitor's closets. And, looking at his watch's timer, it would finish connecting in three... two... one.

Every drone, work-in-progress robot, and machine under Guardian's control froze. A grin reached Baptiste.

The drones around Guardian and the others turned and shot at the ground in front of them. Baptiste's voice followed. "You are under arrest! Do not resist... or you will be killed."

#EE468A
 
CORVO CORDESCO
SCENE:
Securing the Future
LOCATION:
East District, Tech Expo
PARTICIPANTS:
Jesper, Amari, Sophie, Kasumi, "Jane"
Securing the Future
"Charming..." was all she said in response to Amari, though noticeably taken aback by the sudden shift in demeanor. Sometimes she forgot how merciless these gang members can be. Once they all left, Corvo sat down, dusting herself off.

Roy checked his messages. His lax smile curled downward. He glanced to the other three guards—Albrecht Industry employees under his command—and rose one hand signal. Each of them drew their weapons: two pistols, one baton. Electricity crackled from Roy's fingers. "Jane Sherman, if that really is your name, you are under arrest. Surrender quietly, and no harm will come."

Corvo spun freely in the swivel chair, legs still crossed. She met eyes with each of the four who surrounded her. She stopped with a sigh. "Well done, Roy, I hope you're proud."

Admittance. Roy furrowed his brows. "What's your play?"

Corvo quashed her cigarette on the table. "Roy, you were promoted to your position because of your applauded experience in other security firms. I expected better rationale for this situation."

"It's four against one."

"Yes. See your mistake?"


Corvo drew a silenced pistol. She shot once. Spun on the chair. Shot again. Two bodies dropped. She pounced out, barely escaping the shot of lightning. She landed on the baton-wielder. Roy charged another array of lightning. Corvo stunned the baton man with a blow to the head, swapping her gun out for a garrote wire which wrapped around the man's neck. She pulled him around just as Roy unleashed his power. She winced behind the crude shield.

Corvo pushed forward against the electricity with all her might. She felt her arm heat up from the guard's back. She knew she reached Roy when he swatted the man's body away, thrusting his other hand at her.

One hit from his taser-like fists, and lights out. She played it safe, evading his attacks or blocking them by his wrist. Roy swung wide and strong—she could hear the wind as each strike brushed past her. He threw a punch outward. It hit Corvo's trenchcoat, and it erupted into flames. She threw the clothing off towards him. Roy raised his hands to block it away.

And behind the burning coat, Corvo moved in. Her knuckles struck his solar plexus. Roy keeled over with a gurgle. His face met her knee, sending him backward against a chair. Corvo dashed to his side, wrapping the metal piano wire around his neck. His hands went to the wire—he was running on instinct, now. She pulled his neck over the chair's back, meeting eyes with him. He was scared.

Corvo gripped the wire handles tight, and let herself fall. A snapping noise. The chair toppled over, as did a body.

Pushing both objects away, a silence fell. She looked to her wire. Roy became a bobblehead—if only his head returned to its position after falling to one side. She shut both of his eyelids, slowly gesturing the sign of the cross.

Corvo rolled away, sat against the wall. Breathe in, breathe out. Sorry, Chief. It was self-defense. Her limbs stung all over, but she needed to move. Everything hinged on this plan.

Stumbling on her feet, Corvo had to hunch over as she walked around. The surprise fell apart quicker than she'd have liked. It happened when she met the slew of Dragons—one of them must have had a compromising Potential, considering they struck against Baptiste before he made his move. The bird butler's Potential was fairly obvious. Could it have been Jesper? But the brat didn't put up much fight during the meeting. That left the other maid and the four-eyed girl.

Whoever it was, she'd corner at least one of them.

Corvo looked to the hallway where Kasumi and Jesper ran down.
 
The Jack & Her Goons
SCENE:
Tigers Arc 3: Scene 1 [Where Giants Sleep]
LOCATION:
Heavenly Beast Plaza, Lower Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Elias, Ezra, Isobel, Kenji, Passeri, Wren
Where Giants Sleep
It wasn't the poison, not anymore. The room shifted and cracked, a low, deep rumble reverberated throughout the earth, threatening to fill the cavern within which they stood with rubble. Behind her, even the cultists buzzed with panic, but Passeri's remained steeled. There had been too many questions raised today. She wasn't leaving without answers.

Under the cover of her and the Webber’s exchange of barrages, Passeri focused her mind, reconnecting with the crystalline constructs which she'd left limp above them. Beyond the sight of both Ezra and the Webber patriarch, they stirred, bouncing into the air with a renewed sense of purpose and skirting their way around the room. When Ezra moved, rushing the older man with his blade, and then the hidden constructs did too. From above, the three glowing crystals shot at Webber from behind, careening down in a sharp arc of trailing magenta, all of them aimed directly at his knees.

There clearly wasn’t enough time for them to be asking questions, so she’d take him with them.

Jacob Webber had made a fatal error. Assuming the Knight boy’s leap of faith off the bridge to be a deranged escape attempt, he’d completely disregarded Ezra until it was too late. The blade drove cleanly into his back and out his abdomen, staining his shirt red. It had happened so fast, his body didn’t even have time to process the pain. Falling onto his hands and knees, he fought against the excessive blood loss and his fading consciousness.

He would not go like this. He couldn’t go like this. Pulling himself to the edge of the bridge, he peered down at the waters below. Better to risk swimming with the fishes than end up a prisoner of the degenerates. With the last of his strength, Webber pushed himself over.

“Oh no you don’t!” Passeri’s voice came unbidden, spilling out of her lips at the Webber’s escape attempt. Her barrier jerked to life, speeding through the air and over the platform’s edge. She had no idea where those currents led, and she would not have him swept off to safety by some mystery current.

The barrier swung past the elder Webber, skimming against the water at the last moment to bring itself level, repurposing itself as a safe, firm platform upon which the Webber would fall. As he fell atop it, the platform jerked back to life, pulling him up and away from the gnashing white teeth of the water below.

“Make this easy, Webber.” Passeri spoke over the edge, projecticing her voice clearly through the chaos of the collapsing chamber. “Nobody else needs to die today. You don’t want that daughter of yours attending your funeral next week, do you?”

"Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be getting an answer." Wiping away the filth on his bloodstained blade, Ezra approached Passeri and the man she was serving up on her bright pink platter. Battered, broken, and laying flat with both eyes closed, Webber was unresponsive. However, the subtle rise and fall that accompanied each shallow breath let the Tigers know he was alive. For now. If the hole in his back wasn't dealt with, they'd probably have to bury him with the Sleeper.

Ezra flicked the unconscious man's forehead, and as his finger continued to rest on suspiciously wrinkle-free skin, the injury began to heal. Blood flowed back into the shrinking puncture wound, erasing any concerns pertaining to sudden death. He then joined his patient on the floating barrier and turned his back to the now opened path.

“That was a lot of bluster for him to go down so easily.” Passeri regarded the unconscious Webber with a frown. She was glad that he’d gone down smoothly, and even a bit satisfied, too, that’d she’d been given an opportunity to give one of the city’s post prolific leeches a bit of what he deserved, but not so much that she’d be grinning to herself about it.

Sheathing his pristine weapon, he looked over to Passeri. "If you still have the energy to move this thing, I think it's best if we make our exit now. I'll try to work on your poison problem on the way out." With the entire place collapsing, he didn't see the point in hanging around. Unless they had an interest in being reduced to a splatter at the feet of their false god's tomb, the same probably went for the cultists.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” For the first since she’d they’d separated, the Knight boy was talking sense. Passeri stepped onto the platform, dividing herself from the shaking earth, and gripped each of the unconscious Webber’s wrists in her hands. She pulled them together, and then, in a flash of light, a set of luminous handcuffs manifested around his wrists.

“For when he wakes up.” She explained, while repeating the action for his ankles. His Potential had allowed him to puppet bullets like she did her constructs, and she wagered he’d been the one to reflect Isobel’s knife, too. She wasn’t about to take any chances with him.

“Now grab our friends, and I’ll get us out of here.” She glanced at the rocks, pebbles, and boulders raining from the roof above them. “Time’s short, no~?” A touch of her usual demeanor had returned to her voice. Despite the situation, Passeri was finally starting to feel like herself again.

Ezra looked across the bridge and noticed Isobel sign at him. He figured she was requesting a bit of help getting to their sparkling ark, and he was happy to oblige. He still planned on having a little chat with her to discuss a few of his grievances with this little recon mission, and it'd be impossible to do so if she was squashed like one of the many bugs Elias had to contend with. Speaking of which, it was probably best to try fishing for the other members of their team while he was at it.

For the second time, he poured his Potential into his notepad. As if tethered by invisible strings, the strips of paper that had been handed to each Tiger floated upwards, dancing with eye-catching motions and practically begging to be snatched up. One of them was much more eager to return than the others, and within seconds, a single scrap floated over to Ezra, lacking the person that should've accompanied it.

Grabbing it out of the air, he unfolded the paper and noticed that someone had left a little message. After giving it a quick read, he pocketed the note and chose not to give it too much thought. He figured Yumin could handle himself with such a powerful ability, but his safety wasn't a particularly large concern. Although, having him around for some friendly questioning with Webber would be quite useful.

"Well, Elijah's found his own way out. As for the others..." If everything went smoothly, they would've been here by now. But of course, nothing around here could ever go smoothly. Especially not when their lovely Jack was helming the operation.

Just as the familiar draw of Ezra’s potential tugged the scrap paper tucked in her pocket, Isobel felt a sharp painful snap around her ankle and stop her in her tracks. She turned in time to see Beatrice’s face split in a determined grimace and the object of her affliction held in her hands. A long chain whip studded with spikes. With a forceful tug, Isobel went down again and was reeled in like fish on a wire. Dagger still in hand, she tried to cut though the whip but that proved to be completely ineffective. Glancing back, she noticed Ezra and Passeri still hovering on a large pink platform by the collapsed stone door. Chunks of rubble continued to fall around them, threatening to seal up whatever exits still remained. There was no time left.

“GO.” She signed as fiercely as she could. In her heart she wanted to say otherwise but knew it was better them alive than all of them dead.

Time slowed for Ezra. He had experienced the feeling plenty of times since he joined the Tigers, often feeling a disconnect between himself and the world whenever he struggled to process events as they unfolded in front of him. However, unlike those previous instances, he didn't feel the deep pit in his stomach gradually fade away. This time, it was just the opposite.

For a moment, the unnatural confidence fell from his face. His brow furrowed, and the self-assured smirk broke as he opened his mouth to shout. His fingers twitched, tempted to reach out for the person captured in his widening eyes. However, his hand and the unspoken words trapped in his throat were forced to stay in place.

All too quickly, his weak will was suppressed and morphed by someone else's. His concerned expression was erased and replaced with something far more desirable. Appearing calm and even somewhat unimpressed, he quickly turned away from the captured Jack as time began to flow normally again. With the world crumbling around him, he looked at Passeri just as the falling debris blocked Isobel from view.

"Let's go. Jack's orders." He spoke flatly, not showing much care for his boss's current predicament. Admittedly, he had a certain unexplainable fondness for her, but he wasn't about to throw away his life for the sake of whatever this relationship was. There was no point in getting dragged down with her. Such a shame. She would've been a useful rung for his climb up the corporate ladder.

Placing a hand on Passeri's shoulder, he used his Potential to reverse the effects of the poison. It was a tiring process, but he preferred a driver who wasn't under the influence. He'd focus on keeping her and their sleeping prisoner in one piece. She could handle the escape.

Passeri grimaced, and her brow cast a deep shadow over her eyes as she looked past the tumbling rubble. She looked first to Isobel, and for once, felt some minor inkling of respect of the mousy woman. Putting aside her apparent penchant for causing trouble aside for the moment, it took grit to order her own abandonment like that.

Of course, she would’ve preferred she’d not gotten herself caught in the first place. She still had questions for her, after all, and even worse than that, she was sure that these cultists would have their own ones too.

Worse yet, she’d lost sight of Wren and her partner completely within the chaos of the collapse. Her eyes darted about the room, grasping at some scant chance of happening upon the pair, but time was short.

Above them, she heart the ceiling crack, and a fresh shower of rubble rained down on them

“Shit.” She scowled. Forget short, their time had just run out. Beneath their feet, Passeri’s barrier jumped to life, bouncing up and into the air. They went up and over the heap of rubble that been oh-so-recently been a door, and glode cleanly into the darkness beyond it. The collapsing chamber quickly vanished behind the wall of rubble, and the pair only had the soft, pink glow of the barrier left to keep them company.
 
NPC Post - ???
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 1 [PASSERI PARK'S ULTRA PASSIONATE MELODY ONSLAUGHT]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Pascal, Gavril, Milo, Jackson
THE HALL OF INSIGHT
A laugh, muffled by its own echoes, spread throughout the dark.

"You guys've got sharp ears, you know that?" Whoever it was within those dark corridors took a few steps forward, pacing in Jackson's direction. Her footsteps sounded wet. "Ya think that's got to do with the dark? That's a thing, isn't it? When one of your senses compensates for the loss of another?"

"I actually did some digging into that!" With each step, the voice grew nearer. "Some foreign company based in Wakoku. Apparently, they normally work on those nutty-fuckin' gameshows they air over there, but I guess the Queen Bee of this circus managed to convince them in some way or another. Pulled some strings. That's the wonder of money, I guess." She was close now, the voice almost near enough to touch.

Almost.

"Though I guess it'd be lying to say I'm not familiar with the concept." She scoffed. Even without seeing her, it wouldn't have been hard to imagine the wry grin spread across the mystery woman's face.

"Did you know they were a Serpent?" There was a chuckle in her voice now. "Your friend, I mean. Never would've guessed, right? They were so nice. They aren't the only ones either. You wouldn't believe how many of those Four-Heavenly-Gangsters are here today." She paused for a moment. There was a noise. Clink.

"Or would you?"
 
Fade (Isaiah Spade)
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 2 [The Dragon and the Phoenix]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Isaiah, Helva, Kaede, Kanna, Meirin, Rin, Shen, Vulken, Yong-Yut
THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX
When the fighting stopped, Isaiah blinked, tearing down the phantasmal walls as he listened to the explanation given by the possessed Lyric. There were still some things about Momo's Potential that weren't clear, but this was no time to ask questions. Right now, they had to capitalize on their success and get the Phoenix King somewhere secure.

While the others regrouped and began to make their way back, Isaiah turned to face the car, intending to prepare for their escape. However, the moment he did, he was assaulted by an intense mix of hot and cold. The vehicle exploded, propelled by a piercing dagger that threatened to freeze him in place.

Knife already in his hand, he looked in the direction the blast of ice came from and was met with an unpleasant surprise. Another King had entered the ring, leveling his arm like a cannon as he demanded an explanation. The threat gave Isaiah the impression that Markus wasn't under the same mind-altering influence as his ruling peers, but it seemed as though that may have been even worse for him and the others.

Despite being held at something far worse than gunpoint, Yong-Yut was quick to explain the situation to the leader of the Albino Tigers. There were some key parts left out, but even giving that much information could have been dangerous. They didn't know how Markus would react to what he'd been told. The chances of him actually backing down and providing more insight into the current situation seemed low, but it was impossible to say for certain.

Before the newly arrived King got a chance to respond, a black sphere swooped in, passing by and floating higher into the air faster than anyone could react. It came as quickly as it left, but the confusion it caused wasn't nearly as concerning as the realization that followed its departure. Lyric was gone, no longer standing where she once was.

"Spirit! No, that's not— Don't take— Stay he— Fuck. Spirit!"

Yong-Yut's screams filled in a few of the newly formed gaps. They knew whoever took Lyric, but judging by their reaction, it was far from a good thing. More chaos was being injected into the already distressing situation, but he maintained his composure, focusing on what needed to be done.

His gaze flitted to Meirin. Once she was in view, he used his Potential to reach out to her with ghost-like whispers. "Giant, can you get her back? We might need to make a run for it. I'll try to support as best as I can, but be mindful of the Tiger King."

Right now, Meirin was the only one who could reach the distant Phoenix. Whether or not she could grab her in time remained to be seen, but that was far from the only concern. They still had worry about Markus. If he suddenly decided to attack, it'd be difficult to fight back.

Meirin was injured. Momo was out of commission. Lyric's body had been taken. That left him, Yong-Yut, and the horned Phoenix. While he couldn't speak for the other two, he knew enough about his limitations to know that he wouldn't be of much help if this came down to a brawl. His Potential was basically useless against attacks that covered large areas, and the overwhelming power of King Cold's ice would be more than a match for martial arts. He knew that, but it wasn't as though he feared for his life.

If they fought, they risked Momo losing control over Lyric, and they likely wouldn't get a second chance. More civilians could end up getting hurt, and the people at his side might die. Trying to escape and defend their single opportunity was the safest option.

Things weren't looking good, and with the sound of police sirens getting closer, they were bound to get worse. With that in mind, he looked at his current allies and reached out to them with quiet words that filled their ears. "If we stay here any longer, we might lose our only chance to fix things. I can try to get us out of here, but the Tiger King might attack."

He set his sights on Markus, watching for the slightest hint of movement with a neutral expression sewn onto his face. He waited, knowing how the rest of this played out would depend on what this man decided to do. "If you want to vanish, just give me a signal."


 
Alva Blank
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 3 [Silence for the Damned]
LOCATION:
Dilapidated Clinic, North District
PARTICIPANTS:
Charmy, Dagger, Guinevere, Jack
Silence for the Damned
"Actually, right now it's Mister." Guinevere spoke over her shoulder, or rather, Alva spoke over his. He'd recovered quickly from the tremor that had laid their undead assailants low and now stood casually before their corpses. "I understand it's a bit confusing, but try to keep it in mind. It ain't often I've got my hands on the wheel, so I'd like to make the most of it."

"And sure." Snap. He clicked his fingers, and then Roland's vision went black. "Welcome back to the world of flesh. Hope you enjoyed our services." His voice was sardonic, dispossessed of the esoteric glee that had possessed Guinevere's. Even though they wore the same skin, it was easy enough to tell that the woman whom they'd been speaking with a moment ago and the person in front of them now were different people.

"Luckily, the folks are out of town right now." Alva trailed behind Roland as he strolled from the building. "We do have some buddies over there, but they're pretty competent. Sis'd probably lecture me if I even suggested they couldn't handle themselves." Alva moved subtly as he spoke. His hand rustled lightly in his pocket, and Guinevere's phone snapped a silent photo. He didn't have much of a head for policework, he'd only attended the combat classes in the Police Academy, after all, but being around his sister and her coworkers so much had given him a nose for how to help. He figured that the guys in charge would be quite interested in news that there was a dead King roaming around.

And, well, he wasn't sure if they'd believe his crackpot of a sister if they didn't bring back proof.

"I'm sure we will." He'd never hear the end of it if they didn't. "In fact, why don't we make a date out of it? Do zombies still carry phones? Flick us a number if you've got one."
 
SCENE:
Serpents Arc 3: Scene 3 [Filth In The Gutter]
LOCATION:
Lab Icarus, North District
PARTICIPANTS:
Sang-Cheol, Jiak, Bash
Filth In The Gutter

Hearing Schro’s warning loud and clear, Jiak wasted no time deciding to beat out a hasty retreat- between the coming explosions the building falling apart, the gas- and everything else his time to leave was now.

As Jiak emerged from the spontaneously combusting building, a lone, bespectacled figure stood in front of the gate. The sunglasses covered their eyes, but it was clear they didn’t seem to be in their right mind. “Are you the one who initiated the attack?” Sang-Cheol said to Jiak.

A faint smile rose up on his face. “Did you know that I lost a valuable friend and a close acquaintance because of you?” Thoughts flew in and out of Sang-Cheol’s head. It was hard trying to form a coherent sentence. “You were the one, no? Yes, I knew you were it.” The scientist chuckled to himself.

The smile vanished immediately. “You’re going to fucking pay for killing Mimi and Darius!” Sang-Cheol injected himself with Maxwell’s Process. His body’s internal temperature cooled immediately, but he didn’t care. In a blur, Sang-Cheol closed the gap between him and the Dragon. Hands armed with brass knuckles, he swung at Jiak’s mid section.

Bash was the last to escape from the fiery wreckage– breaths heavy, skin drenched in sweat, and eyes that were normally so beautiful and triumphant clouded by a heavy fog of beastlike rage. For the first time in a long time, Bash actually had to take a moment to stabilize his hyperventilated breathing. To calm down.

A surprise to many, the violent licks of a raging flame were one of the few things that actually struck fear into the audacious and boastful heart of the Serpents’ Ace. As he lifted himself on the ground, his breath slowly recovering, his ears picked up an annoyingly familiar voice– but the words that voice uttered served as more of a shock than a relief.

Mimi…n’ Darius…?

For a second, he thought he had felt a tear run down his eye, and he would have been okay with that. But instead of a griefful tear, it was merely a bead of sweat falling down his enraged face as his feet unconsciously stomped him in the direction of Sang-Cheol’s voice.

Jiak surprisingly didn’t even try to dodge, he stepped into the line of attack, and when it landed on his left side’s abdomen, he returned the hit with a jab into Sang’s own gut, multiplied by the force he absorbed from Sang’s own attack, and the force of his own kinetic propulsion, so that when it landed, it didn’t just hit with a thud, but it hit as if being swatted with a titanium baseball bat.
“Kuh-” A vibration rang through Sang-Cheol. It took the breath out of him, but he did not back off. “You motherfucker!”

His eyes, black pits with glowing green at the center, narrowed-- the hit had probably cracked some of ribs, but with the steroid still active, Sang-Cheol felt like he could take down a falling skyscraper. With a glare, Sang-Cheol swiped his hands forward.

If Jiak was going to try that shit on him, then Sang-Cheol was sure to send him straight down to hell. Flames emitted from his fingertips as a big wave of fire jutted out-- in that moment, Jiak’s body had already gained a green outline-- it flickered-- flashed-- It’d set all of Jiak’s clothes on fire at the briefest contact of the flames before wildly spreading-- if a spark had been able to land. One moment he was there the next there were two of him, a flash image- Jiak’s flickering form dissipated and then the next the green wisp of energy he’d become vanished, breaking off his body in fragments as he quite literally appeared, with a distance between them.

I remember you.” He lifted his shirt up, and glanced down at his bare skin from where he’d been hit. Not even a bruise, not even a swell. It was more of a display, to show Sang that trying to beat him to death with his fists, would get him nowhere-- but it also showed a sign that by stepping away from the flames, his body wasn’t completely invulnerable.

You were that kid who ran errands for the old man, if I recall correctly.” He muttered as the image came back to mind. “Sure been a while, huh?” He asked, not really expecting an answer.

For Sang-Cheol, time went slowly for him. After injecting Colchis’s drug, it affected his mind to the point that everything came out slower, yet his body was able to react faster. That being said, it took him a three minutes, in his time, to figure out what the fuck Jiak actually saying to him.

The ex-Serpent laughed, recalling Sang had injected something into himself earlier. He tapped his temple, said: “Getting to ya, ain’t it?” Not that he expected an answer any time soon if this was any example. His eyes, turned black and the green of his pupils glowed- his skin radiated a nuclear green like light-- “Doesn’t matter. Guess I’ll kill you and Bash then make my way back to the others.

(Heads up I’ll have Jiak cut him off)

“...You talk way too much,”
Sang-Cheol growled. “I guess that’s why your partner-” He blurred, for a brief moment he charged forward then with a side step, a pivot, and a punch, Jiak came from Sang’s right, looking to clobber him on the cheek.

Shutting his mouth, Sang-Cheol barely had enough time to move out of Jiak’s fist. Despite the drug running its course, Jiak’s fist still grazed him and sent a ripple down his body. Flames poured from his hand to the ground. Sang-Cheol was soon engulfed in his own flames in an attempt to light the both of them aflame.
Surprisingly, Jiak only grinned wider. He threw the punch early-- CRACK, was the sound that followed as he released the energy stored in his fist and arm, it exploded outwards, air and sparks, blowing the worst of the fire off, but not enough that he couldn’t still feel the burning heat around them as he followed up with a high drop kick the second he landed.

Sang-Cheol was sent flying back. His shoes skidded against the ground as he endured the explosive power of Jiak’s fist. “Guh-” Though that didn’t end there. Jiak was already gone from his sight and by the time Sang-Cheol looked up he was already descending down at him.

Out of sheer instinct, Sang-Cheol raised his arm to block the attack-

Idiot.

His foot went from a dull green glow to a stinging green radiance and then he brought it down right on his arm- the impact, force from his foot through Sang’s reinforced body, caused a thundercrack and burst of air to flow around them from the point of contact. The flames danced in the force of wind, some blown out- others reduced, the ground cracked under Sang’s feet, Jiak, followed through, twisting off his striking leg in mid air to land sharply with his trailing foot and did a turn to land a roundhouse-- where for one brief second, the murder fueled malice in his unnatural eyes, vanished- for confusion, but it did nothing to slow his attack down.

A series of cracks ran through Sang-Cheol’s body as he took the attack. The scientist gritted his teeth as it forced Sang-Cheol to his knee. Though that did nothing to persuade Jiak otherwise to not follow-up on his next attack.

Though as if Sang-Cheol had suddenly grown shorter, the kick flew over his head.

“Lucky you.” Was the single comment.“That would’ve killed ya.”

“Unfortunate for you, I actually have friends.” Aristotle had manipulated the lab ground’s with his ability earlier. While unintentionally killing Darius, Talos was now activated. A series of sharp pipes jutted upward from beneath Jiak with the intent of buying Sang-Cheol some time and pierce the Dragon.

He blinked, right as Sang gave that retort- and there she was again. Pale, messy brown hair, scratches on her skin, the same rosiness to her cheeks- Bell stared at him from beyond the grave and then her eyes looked down-- Jiak’s eyes followed, his power charged up but the spikes were faster--

Metallic clangs and the piercing sound of rending metal was the sound that followed as Jiak bear hugged-- or more precisely swept his arms over the pipes as they struck him. His clothes ripped, cuts appeared where the pipes slashed, but-- “Nice try, but I got into the Serpents because the test they put me through was whether or not I could survive a beat down.” He grabbed one of the falling pipes in mid-air, flipped it in his fingers and with a gentle flick of his wrist-- it shot forward like a projectile. “This ain’t shit.” And followed it in a blur of green mist.

Mid-air despite everything, Aristotle’s HP allowed him to give life to ‘still’ objects. The pipe that was sailing towards Sang-Cheol was still affected by the HP. All of a sudden, it grew a pair of wings and fluttered back in an attempt to not hit Sang-Cheol. Not that it mattered as it still hit Sang-Cheol in the forehead as it circled around.

“Fuck- Goddamit, Aristotle.” Sang-Cheol cursed. Though that still gave him enough time. While Jiak was busy dealing with Aristotle’s shit of a distraction, Sang-Cheol injected a drug into his very damaged arm.

Greenman.

A green color flourished through Sang-Cheol’s badly flourished arm and began to regenerate the broken bone at a rapid rate. With his arm coming back to functionality, it was time to get back to fight. “Well, whatever lab you went through must have been a fucking idiot to leave you alive. I’d blame Chryos, but even she isn’t this lousy.”

Fire couldn’t touch him, using physical attacks will only result in him getting hurt in return, creating a strange mist, and amplifying the Dragon’s strength.

Aristotle’s attack managed to hit, but Sang-Cheol wagered a guess that it was merely a fluke. It also gave Sang-Cheol a sign. “Though, I guess it doesn’t matter anyways. Whether you’re dead or alive, you’ll return back into being a guinea pig.” Getting back up, Sang-Cheol took out his handgun with one hand.

BANG BANG BANG

Three shots rippled out of the gun with a thunderous crack. Bouncing off Jiak’s body as he took the shots, absorbing the kinetic force each one exerted.

Again he saw his sister hovering next to Sang-Cheol and it made him grimace. Why now? He wondered. Sang kept injecting himself with stuff so he had to wonder if his power was even his or if it was one of the fabricated experiments the gang had been conducting when he had joined- or was it related to why he was seeing his sister? He hadn’t a clue.

Which ironically made him realize, Where is Bash?

What the fuck…?

In Bash’s eyes, what stood before him was a battlefield. He could recognize a few faces he’d encountered from each of the four gangs, they were all just slugging it out with each other. It was like the Ragnarök of New Oasis– Kings and Queens, rivals, everyone was up for grabs.

But the only target in Bash’s golden crosshairs in this fiery battlefield was the one who he suspected of taking two of his fellow Serpents away from him. Without wasting another second, he bolted behind Jiak– his bare, hardened fist aimed directly for the back of his prey’s head.

He turned, skidding on his heels, a fraction of a second too late, Bash's fist grazed his hair, making contact and Jiak felt it- he knew the second he felt it what that meant, hence the charged force in his palm that dispersed as he swung his back hand at Bash in the same instant. His potential would be gone but the force- the kinetic energy build up in his swinging hand, that would be the last thing he could do- and with that four eyes- probably the last thing he'd ever do.

"Sneaky bastard" he whispered under his breath.

That was all Sang-Cheol needed. The scientist aimed his gun at Jiak’s unprotected back. He had switched out his handgun with a different gun. A syringe was slotted. With one press click of the gun, the needle was shot at darting speed.

His tongue clicked, "Shit."

The syringe pierced through the skin and the contents disappeared into Jiak’s body. Heroine ran through Jiak’s body. It was refined with Sang-Cheol’s flames enhancing its base properties. In addition, it also had the same euphoric feeling that Jiak was experiencing now.

All of those effects ran through Jiak in an instant as the heroine kicked in.

Jiak laughed, though it was more because even as his vision blurred and he saw flickers of the dead between every rapid blink-- it was also because he knew for a fact that this was it. He was screwed-- even as he stumbled backwards in an attempt to get away from his opponents.

“Yknow, only reason I came back here” he blinked and was looking at his sister, at one of his old Serpent buddies- one of the ones that joined with him and died trying as a result-- “was because I thought I’d teach you a lesson about your faith in this gang.” He laughed-- overhearing Micheangelo had said-- not that they’d hear him. A derisive comment about just how ratty Bash’s hair was now compared to back then.

“Terrible” he sighed, stumbling once more and catching himself barely. “Just terrible. It was bad enough when I joined- now it’s worse with pricks like you.” He pointed at where he thought Sang was, but was an inch off . “And now tha tboth our actions indirectly killed one of your friends, you come here blaming me?” He shook his head with a sardonic smile.

“How do you think I felt when the shit you just pumped me with, killed my sister when she tried becoming what we were born with?” He asked Sang-- and somehow, even with his power gone, when he took a stomp in his direction and tripped on the next one to strike the ground with a fist that cracked with fresh cuts and blood, it shattered the asphalt below.

It seemed, even without his potential- he was strong enough to still do some damage.

“Mikey” he said looking to his shoulder right beside him, his eyes glazed-- the whites reddening- “you were right, this city really is hell incarnate.” He blinked, vision blurry- breathe panting-- and collapsed to a knee.

Whatever Jiak said didn't concern Sang-Cheol at all. After all, civilizations thrived through the blood and tears of the populace. “You’re an idiot, Jiak.” Sang-Cheol growled out. It seemed that the battle was finished. “Your meaningless tantrum rewards nothing but death. Though, I guess there is some consolation.” The scientist gave a smug look towards the weakened Dragon. “At least you’d be able to reunite with Mikey down in my lab. He has been collecting dust for quite a while now.”

Coughing Jiak said: “Hey Bash!” He called out- as if he were far away, in his mind he was. “BASH!” he yelled louder, and then as if hearing him reply, when it was all in his head he said: “I had high hopes for you when we used to train. You’d kick my ass and then the next round I’d kick yours twice as hard-- how many rounds--” he coughed, hacked, spat-- when he rose his head, sweat glistened over his brow, a single rivulet of blood trickled from his nose-- “how many rounds did we used to go before we called it a break and got food?”
Bash clenched his fists once again as he listened to the man’s words, glaring daggers at him with revenge-starved eyes. “I don’t give a shit. ‘Yer fuckin’ dead, and so’re the rest ‘a the fuckin’ Dragons.”

He shook his head. “I always hoped the day I decided to leave, you’d come with me.”His tone was bitter. “Fuck the Serpents and come back and fuck em real good.” He grinned fiendishly. Even as sweat coated his face. “Make em pay for what they did to both of us-- making our lives hell in this shitty rat hole we both grew up in. Fucked up families and fucked up lives.”

Then he sighed, falling to both knees and arms for support. “But it looks like I won’t be able to do that.”

He tapped his chest-- a light flashed under his clothes.

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

Sang-Cheol’s eyes widened. He was well aware what the sound meant considering he watched Hubert blow himself up many times of the year. “Shit. Bash get back! Aristotle!”

“I hope you bastards get what’s coming to you--” he coughed and then keeled over, bracing against the ground. “I hope you all burn in hell.”

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

There was a pause-- a moment of silence-- Jiak’s body glowed-- and then the world went KABOOM.

Suddenly the ground gave away. The land warped and contorted as there was no ground underneath the explosion. A strange metal wrapped itself above the explosion to contain the burst. Though it wasn’t enough as the sheer force blasted the steel and sent Sang-Cheol flying back.

 
Meirin Azuza
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 2 [The Dragon and the Phoenix]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Helva, Hou (inactive), Isaiah, Kanna, Maho,
Meirin, Ra (inactive), Rin, Shen, Soren (inactive), Vulken,
Yaroslav (inactive), Yong-Yut, Kaede
The Dragon and the Phoenix

Meirin winced as she popped her shoulder back in place, winding her arm to test it. Definitely not the most professionally done, but doable until she can get a medical professional to examine it. She reached down to pick up Momo, the real Momo’s, unconscious body and place it over her not-recently-dislocated shoulder like a sack of potatoes before glancing to the Oni.

“Let’s go–,”

Her eyes widened when a pillar of ice rose from the ground, flipping the car, and YY, over. Meirin followed the faultline of ice to the figure that held them at icy-finger gunpoint and internally groaned. Markus Weiss, the King of the Moneygrubbers. She recognized him from pictures and news reports alone. What was he doing in Central?

Evidently Yong Yut trusted him enough to answer his question, or perhaps, she wanted answers of her own. It was a leap of logic to assume that Shen and Lyic’s ‘insanity’ involved all the Kings, but at this point, it wasn’t as if they had much to go on. “What she said.”

As janky as Yong Yut’s explanation was, Meirin could see no better way to put it. She had no desire to fight yet another King in the current situation and the disbelief in his eyes could be alleviated if he only got a look at Lyr–

Darkness.

Then Momo/Lyric was taken away, kidnapped by…a Phoenix. One that Yong Yut seemed to know. In all honesty, Meirin wasn’t sure what the problem with a Phoenix taking away the Phoenix King was. She only interfered with the Shen-Lyric fight in order to prevent her King from doing something he would later regret (assuming Momo hadn’t been lying about the handshake). What would they even do with Lyric? Between Isaiah forcing induced illusions–which seemed to work somewhat–and contacting other voodoo, mind-potential specialists, it wasn’t as if Meirin had any better solutions to helping Lyric. If Momo currently inhabited the Phoenix King’s body, she could end all the fighting. As rough and rowdy as the Phoenixes were, they’d listen to their King…

Fade’s voice echoed in her mind and Meirin sighed, passing Momo’s original body to Rin.

Since she didn’t consider Shen to be himself–much less capable of speech–Isaiah and Kanna were the next highest-ranking gang member. She glanced back at Weiss.

“Look Cold King, if you want to talk, aim that finger elsewhere. Didn’t anyone teach you better?”

As an orphan herself, Meirin didn’t use the word ‘mother’, but she was familiar enough with that phrase. She looked to the rapidly retreating darkness.

Then she started to dash as fast as her HP legs would take her, her body growing and her large hands held out in front of her. “Don’t be afraid to jump, Momo! I promise I’ll catch you!”


Peckinou Peckinou Lucem Lucem FabulousTrash FabulousTrash EmperorsChosen EmperorsChosen Elenion Aura Elenion Aura Nobody Special Nobody Special gxxberkit gxxberkit Damafaud Damafaud
 
Last edited:
Kaede Shimokōbe
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 2 [The Dragon and the Phoenix]
LOCATION:
Eastern Edge of Upper Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
a bunch of names
The dragon and the Phoenix

Play Me and the Devil theme music
The explosion was ear-deafening, but the ice was bone-chilling. Who? No, she knew who. There was only one person that could fit the description for that who- Ugh. The visceral discomfort was transcribed into wrinkles on her nose, then a hardened look. This mess was bound to attract some flies sooner or later, just like the Tiger King's carcass was bound to do if his finger even as much as wagged in the direction of Yong-Yut.

The Phoenix King dragged a hawkish look from one person to the other. She wasn't as worried about him harming her, as much as she was worried about them talking too much. Talking, which Sommy seemed to hold no qualms about when she proceeded to reveal a possibly fatal weakness. Wha- Yong-Yut! KaeLyric hastened a step forward. "Velvet stay back he's-" But was just as hastily cut off by a helmet of darkness, a new one. Oh for fucks sake.

She watched the world blur away on the back of the hoverboard, feet detached from the ground. The King's head perked up at the voice that unveiled the identity of her kidnapper- Libla. Tired. She was tired. Thoughts spun at the speed of light, the very thing that was nonexistent in their space of vacuum. "Don't you think you're overstepping here, Spirit?" KaeLyric slowly craned her face back towards the source of the sound "-Having an opinion is one thing but telling your King, what they should and shouldn't do-".

"Is another, no?" The words resonated coldly to the shadows that enveloped them. Pain flared to life in her gut as a stark reminder of the fight and to ring truth in the words of the spirit. She steeled her expression and stared out into the nothingness. Would he follow? Another voice cut through the mantle of night, the giantess who entreated her to jump.

Or would he take this opportunity to wipe them out?

Soles gained traction when the potential activated and pulled the hoverboard down as if by an invisible string. It hit the ground with an earth-shattering slam. "We're not leaving without Velvet." The earth budged and cracked under the weight of her steps and a heavy pressure permeated the air that surrounded the King.

KaeLyric strolled into view for the participants of the battlefield. Would she be able to take him on if it was necessary? "Are you only here to gawk Tiger? Because if so then, we will take our leave." Her voice carried over the wind, strong and resilient. Did she have a choice in whether she took him on or not? Eyes settled into glaring blades "Velvet. Fall back. He won't help".

Why would he? He was a Tiger.



gxxberkit gxxberkit Lucem Lucem QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel Elenion Aura Elenion Aura Peckinou Peckinou EmperorsChosen EmperorsChosen
 
Last edited:
LUCKY RABBIT CASINO
SCENE:
Phoenixes Arc 3: Scene 3 [Whole World Blind]
LOCATION:
Lucky Rabbit Casino - 3rd Floor, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Charlie, Hector, Hide, Raquel, Yukito, Zachariah
Alicia, Dante
WHOLE WORLD BLIND

Those whose ears were intact would’ve heard a scream from the closest woman, who stumbled back into the arms of the man behind her. There were 6 of them, all customers dressed in partywear, who stood stunned at the elevator’s carnage. After the initial shock, reactions among the group were mixed. Two people immediately fled, pushing past a few curious, oblivious people in the process. A few of them didn’t move from their spots, unable to look away, unsure what to say.

“H-help! GET HELP!”

One woman rushed forward, barking orders to the growing crowd, and against all good judgement, knelt beside the felled worker, ignoring the woman that took a chunk out of his throat. Though no signs of life remained as the spurt of blood slowed, she still placed her hands over Pierre’s injuries, in a futile attempt to save him.

Almost instantly after that, three large security guards pushed their way through the forming crowd

“MOVE, MOVE!”
“MOVE!”

Some in the growing crowd quickly ran away as soon as they realised the severity of the situation, but many remained to watch as the security shoved their way to the elevator, guns pointed at the guilty pair.

“DROP YOUR WEAPONS! HANDS UP! NOW!”
 
NAKAZAJO CHIKAGE
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 2 [The Dragon and the Phoenix]
LOCATION:
Upper Central
PARTICIPANTS:
Chikage, Sebastian, Markus, Isaiah, Meirin, Rin, YY, Kaede, Libla
THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX vs. HUNKS IN THE CITY
Chikage drove with one hand as he reached with the other to tear the emergency light from the roof, breaking its suction with ease. Traffic had dwindled enough that its employment was no longer necessary. If anything, it would only serve against him at this point. “We’re taking a detour,” he muttered, tossing the LED fixture to the back of the Jeep where it rolled and clattered about per the Captain’s haphazard driving.

Juggling that feat, he also took his phone from the cupholder—offering no thanks to Sebastian for putting it there—and tried the precinct again. It rang once, then black-screened and shrieked.

Chikage winced, tilting his head away from the device. Cursed. Useless…. Youuuu. He looked briefly at Sebastian—Fuckerrrr—saying nothing, and returned his eyes to the road before dialing, between back-and-forth glances, the number to the nearest precinct he could recall.

It went through.

The receptionist’s voice rang clearly through the speaker, a voice Chikage didn’t recognize but was glad to hear. “Apologies, this is Central Captain Nakazajo. Please, put Lieutenant Sky on the line.” He waited. When the familiar voice spilled into his ear, he started immediately, “Lieutenant Sky, this is Captain Nakazajo; I need you to send someone to headquarters,” he gave the address to be clear, “And get word to me about the situation there.” The Lieutenant sounded to part her lips to speak but Chikage stopped her. “My apologies. I have no time for questions. If you have any HP field-trained manpower, deploy them to,” he gave his current address, repeated the request, and stayed on the line for a spell to make sure she knew everything he could think to relay, and vice versa.

“No one is forced to deploy. Let them choose.” When the call was concluded, Chikage returned the phone to the cupholder and yanked the steering-wheel to the right.

A fight in the skies… so the Lieutenant had told him.

The wheels shaved the curb, squealing as traction played hard-to-get between rubber and cement. Then he hit the brakes. The Jeep slid to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road, angling him toward the distant grouping of gangsters. Tigers—that much he could tell without exerting even a flex of thought as he stepped out of the vehicle and eyed upwards at the skewer of ice. But more. By the mere aesthetic of the half-giant’s garments, he presumed Dragons if not also for the alias ‘Sleeping Giant’ crossing his mind. He knew that one. Briefly, he studied the black orb in the sky, adjusted his tie, clicked his tongue with distaste, then stared forward at the main attraction.

Markus Weiss.

A rapid beeping begged for attention from somewhere that now eluded the Captain.

He slipped off his red long coat and folded it up, tossed it onto the roof of the Jeep, and began rolling his sleeves. A crooked smile cracked his face. “A sight to see.”

Chikage walked forward slowly, expecting that Sebastian would accompany him. Then, when he felt close enough, he spoke up. “How's a Police Captain supposed to feel when he's never invited to the fun?” The taunt seemed pointed at Markus, as that’s where his eyes were locked. “Where’s your red-haired counterpart, huuh?” A reference to Draken of the Phoenixes.

The thought of him made the scars beneath his suit burn over again, a mark that strayed up the right side of his neck and itched. The beeping of his watch, still present. Blood pressure rising.

Closer, he finally took note of the other faces. A red-skinned woman of incredible stature. The Burger Knight woma- Chikage’s scrutiny lingered on Yong-Yut… He tilted his head. “We meet again.” Not a woman. He remembered.

Finally, the Phoenix King, Lyric Crianza.

Chikage wasn’t so close as to touch anyone. No, he was close enough for comfort. Close enough to ask questions. “Would either of you be so generous as to offer an explanation of the event? Perhaps a holiday I wasn’t aware of?”

Far enough for a running edge.
CHIKAGE/POST NOTES​
— —The majority of the front, right half of Chikage's body is badly scarred from burns, stopping halfway up his neck, covering his arm's entirety, ending at his shin. For this reason, he wears a black, leather glove always covering his right hand, and usually wears long-sleeved, concealing clothes. Reference (X)

— —What he's wearing: (Click) Formal suit with a red overcoat + Watch on his left wrist; Only the right hand is gloved

— —Chikage's Jeep: (Click)

— —POST RECAP: Chikage calls for backup. He and Sebastian arrive at the scene of Dragons, Phoenixes, and Tiger King, Markus Weiss. He asks questions.

(Interacting w/ Sebastian, Markus, Isaiah, Meirin, Rin, YY, Kaede, Libla)
(Mentioned no one)
Coyote Hart Coyote Hart Elenion Aura Elenion Aura Lucem Lucem QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel EmperorsChosen EmperorsChosen gxxberkit gxxberkit Sei Shonagon Sei Shonagon Peckinou Peckinou
 
Last edited:
Raquel Filo
SCENE:
Whole World Blind
LOCATION:
Alleyway, South District
PARTICIPANTS:
Raquel, Hector, Alicia, Dante, Hide, Charlie, Mizuya, Zacharius
Whole World Blind

Raquel's face paled at the sight of the elevator's doors opening. They were too late in killing the supervisor, and now they were caught. "W-what do we know, honey?" She looked back up to the Hide. Things were looking bad for both of them. Raquel quivered amidst the bloody pool of the supervisor's body. "We're caught- and- and- and-"

A vicious grin suddenly appeared on her face as she reached down to her dress. Her metal whip made from Hector's HP was in her hand. In an instant, the air was cut thin as the guards stood still. Motionless, the guards stood there in confusion until...

Blood is starting to spurt out of their necks.

"I GUESS IT'S TIME TO GO UP, GYAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA" They vainly tried to cover the gaping hole but soon collapsed. Raquel opened her mouth wide to take the tiniest drop of blood into herself. The cannibal's hands dived into the supervisor's pocket and retrieved the key card from the corpse. In one movement, she darted over towards the elevator and clicked the ninth floor. "Honey, be a dear. Can you please tell them not to enter the elevator will you? She said to Hide.

Right now, everything was a bust. With their element of surprise now in ruins, it was time to call in some tactical support. "Hey-yo, Zachy-poo," She cooed over the comms. "Me and Hidey-White made a small big oopsie. Can you help us out a little?" Without giving him a chance to respond, she hung up the radio. Zacharias was probably doing nothing at the moment, so he should be free to help them.

Though Hector was going to scold her later for this, she shouldn't have played around with her food on a mission. A gloomy expression briefly appeared before it turned into a resolve. There was still time to change it. As long as she killed those big bad tiger people, she'd be forgiven! With that, she fervently began mashing the close button to hurry the elevator up and ascend the elevator to the 9th floor. If they had a stop on another floor, Raquel would have a quick snack.


 
Last edited:
Zachariah C. Locke
SCENE:
Phoenixes Arc 3: Scene 3 [Whole World Blind]
LOCATION:
Vantaggio Tower, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Charlie, Hector, Hide, Raquel, Yukito, Zachariah, Mizuya
Alicia, Dante
Whole World Blind

A glass window on the third floor of Lucky Rabbit Casino shattered as a bullet sailed through at an angle, instantly killing one of the Tiger-hired security guards that tried to rush a closing elevator. Five dead bodies. If the crowds weren’t scrambling before, they certainly did so now. The smart ones ducked for cover. The not-so-smart stood there dumbly like living targets. It didn’t matter either way because five more bullets followed the first one through the broken window. However, unlike the first one, the succeeding five bullets exploded upon impact, steadily spreading potent sleeping gas along the third floor.

Bodies that took a deep breath dropped quickly enough, NPs faster than HPs for obvious reasons.

“Haha, since you asked so nicely~” Smoke escaped the barrel of the rifle Zach lowered as he jumped from the edge of the roof to a lower balcony, running down the steps until he found a nice spot to crouch and take aim again. He pressed a hand to his earpiece. “But don’t expect that cute-sy act to work forever. You’ll get yourself a stomach ache if you try to eat too much, Dear.”

Between guiding Yukito through the vents, keeping an eye on the target, the insanity in Central, and whatever chaos Gourmet was brewing, Zach certainly had his hands full. While he considered sending the rookie with the best crowd control potential to assist the chaos-brewers, it seemed to him that assisting Charlie (and the Queen) in nabbing their target should be a priority.

Besides, for all his cute appearance, Nico was still a Tiger, and tricking him had been a little too easy.



@Roda the Red WhiskeyMarten WhiskeyMarten Caffeine_Obsessed Caffeine_Obsessed Misuteeku Misuteeku AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa @The Regal Rper @weatheringwings
 
Last edited:
LUCKY RABBIT CASINO
SCENE:
Phoenixes Arc 3: Scene 3 [Whole World Blind]
LOCATION:
Lucky Rabbit Casino - 3rd Floor, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Charlie, Hector, Hide, Raquel, Yukito, Zachariah
Alicia, Dante
WHOLE WORLD BLIND

Any confusion among the crowd quickly left after Raquel lashed out against the guards, who let an array of bullets spray the elevator walls before collapsing from the wounds inflicted on them. The thing that alerted the floor to true danger was the bullet that crashed through the dimmed windows, letting in a ray of natural light that guided its path into another approaching guard’s skull. The floor devolved into chaos now, heightened by the mysterious gas that flooded the floor, also courtesy of Zach.

Many of the regular staff, who didn’t immediately flee, began to make attempts to herd customers away, but efforts were held back by the panicked atmosphere and the spreading gas. On the lower floors, the scene wasn’t too far from usual business, but many were now aware that something was up, as customers began to be refused travel towards the floor by staff. It was apparent that no memo had been passed about the nature of the gas, causing some security arriving from other levels to have their progress halted, though others wisely stayed out of the gas’s influence.

“EVERYONE MOVE! GET OUT!”

A voice rang out, shouting orders to those that remained standing. A woman could be seen floating near the ceiling in a security uniform, higher than the gas had spread. Though she was muscular and grizzled in appearance, she soared with elegance across the floor, her aim being on the elevator doors. Whether she reached them in time or not, she planned on getting to the murderous duo.

“Oh shit.. Oh my God, wake up.” The woman knelt by Pierre’s corpse tried again in vain to help the man, at first ignoring Raquel even when she grabbed his card, but it seemed the realization hit her. She slowly looked up at Raquel and Hide, fear and shock mixed with hatred. She rose as some gas swept through the closing doors, back pinned to the wall. Her eyes began to glow a fiery orange.

“You monsters…”
 
JOZEF DAALMAN
SCENE:
Serpents Arc 3: Scene 2 [Hunks In The City]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Half of New Oasis question mark
HUNKS AND THE DRAGONS AND THE PHOENIXES AND THE POLICE IN THE CITY

At that point, it might’ve been wise for Jozef to wait till the King returned. Even if they disagreed on methods, back-up was vital in this situation. Jozef had no intention of waiting though, as he continued to jog towards the epicentre of the conflict. He recognized the man ahead of him, Markus Weiss, the Tiger King he didn’t particularly care about. What he cared about was what was being done to the city, and flipping cars wasn’t very cool.

“Now who are these?” Jozef asked Celeste. He noticed the larger gathering now, the forming standoff between gangs and police, and it piqued his interest more. He didn’t recognize any of them, but he was sharp enough to pick up on it being a gang conflict now.

“AHOY-HOY!”

Once he was close enough to the group, he called out, though remaining out of reach.

“I wanna know what's happening too, but be careful before my boss gets here.” His voice was nonchalant. He wasn’t sure what his next plan was, but as he was now limited to how much he could help in the area, his priority had switched to having a bit of fun. Jozef-brand fun, the silly kind, not the harmful kind. He brushed a hand through his hair as he waited for the next to speak up.


-->
 
Last edited:
HIDE ISHIDA
SCENE:
Phoenixes Arc 3: Scene 3 [Whole World Blind]
LOCATION:
Vantaggio Tower, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Alicia, Charles, Dante, Hector, Hide, Mizuya, Raquel, Zachariah
WHOLE WORLD BLIND
Shit. How had things turned downhill so fast? Actually, scratch that- he knew how. He glared pointedly at Raquel. The stupid fucking cannibal got them into this mess. She was soooo taking the blame for this. As his dear idiotic companion dealt with the guards with her whip, he glanced down to Pierre's body, eyeing the quivering woman. For fuck's sake. They were in such a fucking mess.

He watched as gas spread across the floor, his skin breaking out in goosebumps. Shit Shit SHIT they had to get out of this floor, NOW! He rushed after Raquel, his eyes darting up the the floating woman in alarm. He mumbled, "God fucking damnit." He felt panic surging through him as the floating woman advanced towards them. He spared a fleeting glance the lady on the ground, before backing up to press his back to the wall, A mantra of 'hurry up hurry up hurry up' repeating in his mind.

Hide shoved at Raquel's shoulder harshly, a snarl breaking through, "WHAT THE HELL?! This is your fucking fault you nut job!" He snapped his head to the door, watching how it was finally nearly closed. He yelled in frustration, a fist slamming the wall nearest to him. He mumbled, "Learn to control your fucking urges for fuck's sake..." Hide couldn't give less of a fuck what she did by herself, but she was with Hide right now! Her actions had fucking consequences and now these fuckers were after them! A growl tore from his throat, his nails clawing the metal beneath his fingers with a screech. He was going to fucking kill Raquel.

 
LUCKY RABBIT CASINO
SCENE:
Phoenixes Arc 3: Scene 3 [Whole World Blind]
LOCATION:
Lucky Rabbit Casino - 3rd Floor, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Charlie, Hector, Hide, Raquel, Yukito, Zachariah
Alicia, Dante
WHOLE WORLD BLIND

The woman with the glowing eyes continued to glare, as Hide turned on her partner-in-crime, she made no attempt to do anything else, legs feeling like jelly, frozen in place. The elevator door was shutting now, almost closing as the other woman sped in its direction, it seemed she would at least get to it before it closed but then-

BANG.

Another bullet, and another shattered window, fired by Zachariah from his new vantage point. Rather than a swift entry, a loud crash could be heard as the woman’s flight was interrupted. The metal dented as she hit the door, halting its progression momentarily, and the woman began to bleed from her shoulder. Though she was grounded, it wasn’t for long, as she sprung back up with force only an HP could manage, lunging at Raquel.

As she lunged, her hands morphed, armour resembling that of a bird’s foot forming over them. At the edges of her fingers, razor-sharp claws replaced her nails. Her aim was to slice up and down the cannibal before she could cause further harm.

Deryn Katona - Potential: Bird of Prey Deryn’s potential gives her the gift of flight, as well as the ability to take on some qualities of a bird of prey.

Despite what happened, the elevator door was only delayed for a few seconds, before closing fully, and beginning to ascend. The terrified woman took a step back, to avoid the newcomer to the fight, her foot colliding with Pierre’s lifeless body. She flinched, looking down, and then back up at the pair. Her glowing eyes locked with Hide’s, and she bit her trembling lip. At that moment, they glowed brighter, and Hide would begin to feel a burning sensation as hot rays shot out to his face.

Lady Sonnen - Potential: Sunrays Lady Sonnen’s potential allows her to shoot burning rays from her eyes. It takes a few seconds for her potential to charge, and affects her vision with overuse. Being touched by her rays is similar to touching a candle flame, but will not cause a fire.

 
MILO NAGISA
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 1 [PASSERI PARK'S ULTRA PASSIONATE MELODY ONSLAUGHT]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Pascal, Gavril, Milo, Jackson
THE HOTEL BETWIX
Milo dashed out of the way of two contestants as they came at him from both sides. Without his art, without his tools, he felt... Decidedly less confident about his chances of success. Though, there was nothing for it, nothing to be done but keep moving forward. Sprinting from one end of the large corridor to the next, Milo skidded underneath the outstretched arms of another would-be kidnapper, a middle-aged woman in a business suit, whom he'd just narrowly avoided.

Craning his neck back in the direction he'd come, watching the tide of frenzied superfans and game aficionados clamber after him, Milo barely caught wind of the danger from above—like a tingle running up the length of his spine—before the amorphous blue horror landed in their midst. Milo dove for cover and to escape what looked to him like snatching claws. As if he could miss having easy access to his Potential even more in this moment... He felt his heart sink as he realized that, in his haste to leap to safety, Milo had inadvertantly placed this hulking creature between himself and the exit he sought. Even now the floor beneath him shook, though he couldn't tell if it was another of Miles' special effects or the result of his own body shaking with frustrated rage.

But then, as if the universe had seen the dire straits he'd found himself in, Milo saw the silver lining. Whatever this being was, its untimely arrival had caused the other pursuers to back off, standing near enough to not let their prize out of their sights, but not too close as to risk any... Untoward attention. Small mercies.

Then the being spoke.

Milo recognized the voice. Well, he recognized parts of the voice, though the same couldn't be said for the man's vestigial companion—another woman who looked for all the world like she'd just spent the last hour screaming. All told, it was hard for Milo to tell whether this thing was actually the Gavril who'd shared the dais with him earlier that day, or some monster that had consumed him and was now mimicking his voice. Either way, Milo was suddenly of two minds on the whole thing. On the one hand, he was relieved to not have been attacked on sight, that Gav seemed interested in at least getting to know more about the situation. That was good. Maybe he could convince him to see reason. But on the other... He didn't have time for this.

Milo rose to his feet again, ready to give diplomacy another go. Without wasting a breath, he cleared his throat and made his plea as honestly and as ardently as he could.

"Sorry, but please step aside. Find me again later and I can tell you everything I know. But for now I really need to get out of here, and this key is my best shot. It's worth more to me than some stupid gameshow... Look, I know this probably sounds like I'm trying to pull a fast one on you, but I want you to believe me when I say that peoples lives are at stake... My friends' lives. So, please..." He paused, and splayed his hands in a gesture of good faith. "Will you let me pass?"


 
CHARLIE, HECTOR, AND NICO
SCENE:
Phoenixes Arc 3: Scene 3 [Whole World Blind]
LOCATION:
Lucky Rabbit Casino - 1st Floor, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
On the floor: Alice, Charlie, Dante, Hector, Nico
Elsewhere: Hide, Raquel, Yukito, Zachariah
WHOLE WORLD BLIND

Nico, Nico. Oh, that Nico? Hector was surprised he didn’t recognize him sooner, and almost wished he hadn’t. He was no fan of Based or whatever they were called, but by being present in other online music circles — he was far more of an Iroi fan — he had absorbed enough information through osmosis to understand what would bring Nico from such heights to a place like this.

The Nico Charise? Wow…” Though he continued to play the part of the excited tourist, he was quick to shut up, controlling the violent impulses exasperated by the pink-haired boy. Besides, it seemed he had important information past the sickening persona that he should pay attention to. The description seemed to fit at least, there was a reason he sought Miss Wonderland out of all the schmucks being wrung dry by the Tigers, and he intended on getting his money's worth.

Hector stood from his stool, abandoning what remained of his drink on the countertop. “Please, if we can see her now that’d be great. And if she’s as worth seeing as people say then… well, I’m already thinking ‘bout dates to return.”

If what Zach was saying was true, and there was no reason for it not to be, there was no time to waste.

Nico giggled at their apparent recognition, reeking of pride. Even better that they were “fans” of his. “I’m flattered! Really! It’s thanks to you guys’ support that I’ve stuck around!” Nico’s hands hugged his cheeks as he gushed. “But I’m glad you’re interested! I promise you won’t regret meeting her, one bit!”

Nico twirled off towards the entrance, motioning for the two to follow.

Charlie was relieved to hear that at the very least his superior was aware of the odd fellow’s name and reputation, whatever made their facade more convincing was welcomed. He stood up as well, following right behind the other two. He took a peek at the inside of his jacket, opening up both sides a little bit to make sure his knuckle dusters were still secured in place. It was a matter of time before things went south and he needed to be sure he was ready for it…physically prepared, at least.

Without further ado, Nico marched away from the bar, further into the cacophony of the casino, towards a light at the end of the tunnel: Alice’s tea room. Entranced by a fairytale aesthetic bound to the walls and costumes of the employees, they made it to Wonderland.

Down the rabbit hole they went.

“Here we are!” he said in a hushed tone. His smile twitched, though, when he remembered Dante’s interruption was still ongoing. Even worse… he and the main star of the show were missing, now. He grabbed one of the nearby guards. “Hey, what happened? Where did they go?”

He pointed sheepishly at the staff door towards the back—now awkwardly fixed to its position after being apparently broken down. Nico sighed. “Nico is sorry, but Nico didn’t expect the main attraction to be absent! Nico will go fetch her out!”

Hector paid little attention to the change in scenery as they delved into Alice’s domain, instead he stood behind their guide, fists tensed up by his side, twitching with excitement. The confident grin on his face was no facade to act friendly, he was pleased with how smoothly things were progressing, and it dropped only a little when their prize seemed to be further out of reach than expected.

“Oh, that is a shame.” Hector side-eyed the guards, before looking back at Nico, “She isn’t busy right now, is she? After we came all this way? What’s the point of all this,” he pointed flippantly at the guards, showing some of his agitation, though his tone remained cheerful, “if she ain’t even here?”

Nico seethed behind his customer friendly smile. “I will—” God, fucking damnit. Nico will have her out in no time! Please wait a moment!” He dashed off towards the gathering, over to where the golden goose hid.

“Sure.” Hector muttered, peering over to where Nico had run off to. He was restless now, and this wasn’t a good situation. He needed to fix it in time for their meeting with the Tiger girl. Too many eyes. He lifted his foot up slowly, so as not to attract attention, before pressing it firmly down on Charlie’s own foot. He then repeated the action with more pressure but said nothing to the Rookie.

At that moment, activity buzzed from the security guards’ radios, and they took their eyes off of the Phoenixes for a moment to attend to the message.

“Think he’s okay?”
“They’ll tell us if we’re needed off our post.”

At that point, Hector had started to slip away, towards the door Nico was heading to. He had an opportunity now and didn’t intend on wasting it.

He only quickened his pace as a guard called after him, “Hey, wait a moment!”

Charlie could hear the rising tension going on within the floor. Guards were walking around and directing their attention to a different matter, he also noticed Hector’s intentions as he started to slip away through the crowd. However, the guards were more keen than the rookie expected, and attempted to intercept the Queen. He needed to act, and be quick about it.

Temperer skipped over to the guard, grabbing a hold of his wrist. The man turned his head around, confused by the sudden grasp. “Let go of me you br-”

His words were cut short as a surprise fist landed on his face, knuckles connecting against the jaw and pushing forward with the pressure of a truck. The guard was sent flying away at a high velocity, violently clashing against the wall, slightly cracking its surface. The guards’ full attention was now drawn towards the rookie, who stood firmly in place with a determined air in his eyes, cracking his knuckles.

”What are you waiting for? Come at me already!

It was now up to Hector to get to their target.
 
MARKUS WEISS
SCENE:
Serpents Arc 3: Scene 2 [Hunks in the City]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Markus, Tri, Nikolai, Celeste, Jozef, Toru,
(and Helva, Isaiah, Kanna, Kaede, Meirin, Rin, Shen, Vulken, Yong-Yut)
HUNKS IN THE CITY vs. THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX
Markus lowered his arm as she spoke, but the confused line between his eyebrows only deepened. He thought about calling back, questioning what the hell they meant about him being 'sane', suddenly paranoid about how much she could see... If only she knew what four-legged, furry creature was currently whispering into his ear.

“See-see! That could a' been YOU! If it ain't 'fer me, ya'd be a mindless sack a potatoes by now, nyehehe.”

Somehow, this did not make Markus feel any better about his current situation.

The King stepped closer to the mess, and opened his mouth to retort about how even after all these years she was still shit at explaining situations, only to have the words snatched out of his throat when a strange entity swooped down, grabbed the Phoenix King's body, and made off with it. He immediately trained his eyes, and his fellow arm, on the new, dark development. Waves of cold emanated outward from his outstretched palms. A warning. A preparation for the battle that was yet to come, that seemed like a foregone conclusion at this point.

When a stranger spoke to him—he failed to recognize her as the large woman whom he'd spied over the tops of the adjacent row of rooftops—Markus merely glowered in response, though he did lower his arms, albeit slightly. This didn't have to go all the way bad, not if he got what he was after. Once she started after the roiling darkness that held the Phoenix King did Markus make the connection in his mind.

Eventually, the the dark orb was grounded and the Phoenix King was returned to her feet, and all the while Markus' patience wore thin.

With one fiasco down, Markus swiveled his gaze, and his sights, onto the Phoenix King again. Though, what was it that YY had said? This... Isn't the King? Markus cocked his head to one side. It sure as shit looked like her, anyway.

“Naw, that's where yer wrong. Y'ain't leavin' at all.”

The Tiger cheered. This was what it wanted. It wanted Markus to fight Kings. This King. Under normal circumstances, he'd have rather not. But when the hell was the last time anything had felt normal? His heart was hammering in his chest, uncertainty and trepidation gnawing at his senses, though he was old hat at hiding that by now.

This was precisely the moment that he showed up. As if this clusterfuck wasn't enough of a cosmic joke already. His reaction to Chikage's arrival was practiced in its nonchalance, though to the close observer, one might pick out the fresh ridge of tension that lined his shoulderblades. “Oh, s'you,” he said lightly, through gritted teeth. “Dunno, don't care.”

For the moment, the Phoenixes were forgotten, in spite of Tiger's protestations.

When Chikage spoke to YY, Markus couldn't help himself. His mask slipped a little, and he nodded toward the police captain, jamming his thumb rudely in Chikage's direction, while his eyes studied his old friend. He asked aloud, “You know this clown?”

Chikage's question went unanswered, and not just because Markus knew just as much as he did. Markus hadn't even noticed that the Serpents from earlier had slinked their way back onto the scene, though Tri was notably absent. Markus didn't know which was worse, a Tri he could see, or a Tri he couldn't.


 
Rin Chiyase
SCENE:
The Dragon and the Phoenix
TIME:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 2
LOCATION:
Upper Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Hou, Isaiah, Kanna, Meirin, Ra, Shen, Soren,
Helva, Maho, Rin, Vulken, Varoslav
The Dragon and the Phoenix
The reddened Rin stared with a tilted head at the woman she was wrestling with only moments ago. They explained that the woman with the tattoo was her real body and she was controlling Lyric now. So that was her potential. Still, the oni looked back at the corpse-like body, then at the King, and few times after that before it finally clicked.

"Ohhhhhhh...." She hummed a long sign of understanding.

She didn't fully, but from the looks of it the fight was over. As short-lived as it was, Rin began following the others toward the car before the explosion of the vehicle rocked the area. The oni brought an arm to shield herself from debris, but was otherwise more confused than startled.

In the aftermath, she spotted Yong-Yut and some guy she hadn't seen before. The former seemed to be trying to converse with the latter, or trying to glean any information as to what was going on. Adding more chaos to the situation, a shroud of darkness covered them all again, gaining a growl from Rin.

"Aaagh, not this shit agai-Oh, that was quick..." She glanced around as sight returned to her again, noticing that Not Lyric was gone after Yong-Yut began shouting at the kidnapper. "Wait, what."

Blinking a few times, Rin looked off to the distance where the shroud of darkness was retreating. The dandy-looking guy they were with talked about covering them if they chose to run, warning them about the Tiger King as Meirin handed Kaede's body to her. King?! So that guy was another king? Three kings...

A toothy grin of anticipation grew on her face. Here was a king and one that there shouldn't be a problem with her punching. However, it seemed that Not Lyric had returned, addressing the supposed King and issuing a retreat. Rin's grin shortened to that of a scowl before yet another newcomer appeared. Police Chief huh? He seemed to know at least a few people here. The oni didn't much care though.

Too much sitting around. Too much talking.

"The pretty-boy don't want us to leave. Should let me have a crack at'im... Hehe... I'll take the other dandy too if ya' want~" Rin suggested with a menacing chuckle, not speaking particularly loudly but also not taking care to keep her words unheard from said pretty-boy and dandy. "I ain't fighting with her over my shoulder, though, so someone's gonna have to take'er."

Peckinou Peckinou @SilverFlight Lucem Lucem FabulousTrash FabulousTrash @The Prophet Elenion Aura Elenion Aura @LXI Nobody Special Nobody Special @L.Amour QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel @The Suspicious Eye Doctor Llamabean Doctor Llamabean
 
VULKEN BECKMAN
SCENE:
New Oasis Arc 3: Scene 2 [The Dragon and the Phoenix]
LOCATION:
Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Chikage, Helva, Isaiah, Kaede, Kanna, Markus, Meirin, Rin, Shen, Vulken, Yong-Yut
CURRENT STAGE:
4 (Current Temp: 2,500° F / 1371° C)
THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX

Vulken was on the ground. Groaning at max volume, writhing in pain– all while his hands shielded his recently-demolished crotch from any further assault.

MOTHERFUCK!

It hurt. It fucking HURT. Sure, he’d been hit there plenty of times in life– it was practically routine for a guy’s jewels to be ambushed when you were an adolescent, after all. But he’d never let someone get a full-force kick into his god damned balls before. He’d never let someone get close enough to pull something like that off… unless he couldn’t fucking see.

Throughout his brief but excruciating recovery process, his eyes remained locked onto Helva. Murderous eyes. Kanna was keeping her occupied. Her focus wasn’t on him. If he really wanted, he could get his revenge on her– right here, right now.

His eyebrows furrowed as he slowly struggled to lift himself back to his feet, his groin improving by the second. He just promised her that he’d burn everyone to the fucking ground if she could just place her trust in him for a while, and this is how she decided to respond? The heat in the area symbolized Draken’s scorching anger. With a suddenly numbed expression clouding the rage he was feeling deep inside, he raised a hand in the direction of his fellow Phoenix and his friend-turned-rival gang member.

Just kill two birds with one fuckin’ stone–

Bzzt!


Suddenly, with a single vibration, the light returned to Draken– no, to Vulken’s muted eyes. His hand lost all of its ill-intent, crosshairs disappearing from around Kanna and Helva to now focus on the notification from his phone. ...YY?

Amidst the chaos around him, he was able to calmly read the message, and was able to deduce the actual sender from her use of nicknames, particularly the familiarly harsh one that was at the end of it.

Really, Dollface? He chuckled to himself, picturing the stern look Kaede probably had on her face as she typed the message (of course, he had no idea what she actually looked like at the time, or else he’d probably be shedding tears instead of daydreaming). Take care ‘a YY only? I’m gonna have ‘ta scold you once I sweep you off ‘yer feet and get you outta this mess.

He took note of his best friend’s current location, slipped his phone into his pocket, and channeled the built-up energy he was just about to release into an explosive sprint in the direction of even more chaos– his speed rivaling that of a high-speed vehicle.

As he followed the roads to close in on their location, he took the fleeting, chaos-free moment to look back on his actions in the past few minutes. Was he really about to lay the hurt on Helva– and Kanna? Over a kick in the nuts? He squeezed his eyes shut for a second as he tried to fully regain his lost composure. It was back again– that dark, horrible wrath that he had locked away all those ago, along with his position as Jack. It had come back plenty of times in the past, sure, but the only difference now was the effort it was taking to re-fasten those rivets onto it.

Hold it together, numbnuts– God DAMN it, no fuckin’ pun intended. His eyebrow twitched in response to his inner monologue. Didn’t we say we’d change for the better? For everyone’s sake?

His self-therapy session was cut short when he skidded to a stop, his phone alerting him that he had arrived at Yong-Yut's destination. The only issue was that they were nowhere to be seen. He scanned the area for a few seconds in hopes of catching a glimpse of a familiar face, until his gaze stopped on the pillar of ice in the air– that dreadful, jagged sculpture that always reminded him that he was there.

In a heartbeat, Vulken bolted towards it at a breakneck speed. Ah, so this was where the party was! He saw people he cared for– YY, Lyric, Meirin, and so on– and then, people he couldn’t give a shit about. For a second, his mind raced with questions. Where was Kaede? Why was Frosty there? Why was Officer Ogre standing there? Where were Alex and that shitty Dragon King? Where the fuck was Kaede??

Suddenly, a chain link snapped. Vulken could feel his fury pulling on him, and this time, he didn’t have the time– or the energy– to stop it.

As if a switch were flipped, Draken was now in guard dog mode. His King– surely in a weary state after everything– was being threatened by two dangerous threats. So was his best friend, and multiple other people he cared greatly for. Because of this, he zipped in front of them in order to protect them with his life.

Scalding hot flames licked the area in front of Draken to act as a warning barrier– one that would result in death if it were crossed. Multiple ear-shaking explosions boomed around him like hellhounds viciously barking at their prey. The temperature rose and became more and more unbearable with every passing second, as the air around him produced a rumbling sound from the sudden drastic change. All the while, his hardened, bloodthirsty glare burned holes into both Markus and Chikage.

This… feeling...

This mindless bloodlust. The adrenaline endlessly flowing through his bloodstream. This urge to incinerate everything that stood in his way until nothing remained…

It felt fucking good.

Maybe this side of him was what was really for the better.



Peckinou Peckinou FabulousTrash FabulousTrash gxxberkit gxxberkit Elenion Aura Elenion Aura Sei Shonagon Sei Shonagon Doctor Llamabean Doctor Llamabean QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top