Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Sir Les Paul]

???☆Hoshi​

N/A​

Species Death Golem
Partner Eloise Keegan
Rank Two-Star

Location Western European Branch HQ, Canterbury, England
Mission A Reflection of Question
Status Relaxed

​

Tags: The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

"With all due respect, Maria, I do feel the need to embrace a different identity," he replied, focusing in on Maria. He was still calm and collected, there wasn't a fire behind him with a means to debate the topic. He did at least want to explain himself.

"I've struggled with who I am for years... I don't think it's something you can really understand until you experience it," he told her, "and I hope you never have to.

"She only touched me for a brief moment, but in that moment, I felt what she felt. She meant every word she said. She was adamant in who she was--or who she wasn't. She's one of the few people that can actually relate, and I guess... when I was faced with her logic and her conviction, her answer just felt more correct," he explained, trying to give Maria some idea of what he went through and why he switched to the way of thinking his former partner provided.

"Really, though, I don't think I was ever given a name. Midori was named by his parents. Eros gave me that same name when I was to take the place of the old Midori. Kidd never gave me a name, though. He saved my life and gave me a little bit of his own soul, but he didn't give me a name. He never told me to keep being Midori or to be someone new. So in this life, I've never been given a name or a direction," he added, though this time he was making a play on the words Maria used. She said Midori was the name he was given, but he didn't feel that was accurate.

"And, I would probably like to stay within the realm of my culture... I know I still feel Japanese. I know I still feel like a Hoshi. Just not like Midori," he went on, transitioning from what the rest of the group had chipped in.

"Shigai is a touch on the nose. I'm not a huge fan of names that follow the trend of Kuro. It means black or dark, in general, and when you put Kuro beside Hoshi, it just comes out to Dark Star, which was my old stage name. That also feels wrong," he said, audibly going over some of the suggestions that were pitched. He was being picky, but it was in fact his name.

"We can get to name ideas in a minute. There's something a lot more important I think we need to address," he said, halting the discussion on the current topic to switch to a new one. With this abrupt subject change came a new refocus. Up to this point, he had mostly been engaging Maria with some references to what Zosar and Elly pitched as ideas. However, Wren was a much larger concern at the moment. Not because she was dangerous, but because it seemed she was electing to repress the majority of her feelings here. That would only make things worse in the long run.

He approached her. Soft, confident, perhaps cocky smile. He was never good at conveying his emotions deliberately, but he did have quite the concern for her. What she went through was traumatizing, to say the least. He knew that. He had seen it plenty. He had more experience than anyone present; he knew all too well what side-effects her outbreak could cause. Not only that, just how quickly she was knocked out by that collar. He knew that feeling, too.

"You went through something intense. We haven't had a chance for you to stop by your normal therapist and decompress. You also ended up with new accessories as a result..." he said, acknowledging her situation. "We can sit and talk about the what-if's of Fae all day, but we need to put ourselves first. Zosar might have a few scars, but his body was healed. It's not the same for a soul..."

He inhaled, then looked up, lazily letting his eyes stare up and over to the left. "I want to share something. I've never had a Madness Outbreak, but I did go through something. Like I said before, I died and was brought back. It changed who I thought I was and I've been struggling with it ever since," he told her, "but it used to be worse."

"I was part of the Paean Program. Think if it was the beta testing for the F.A.T.E. Program. Some of the people from that program really helped me... and I would have never expected it," he went on.

"One good example, since a few of you have met him. Guy name Gav. I used to fucking hate him, you see. He's a competitive guy. Saw me as a Hoshi and always wanted to prove he was better. Eventually, I figured out what his issue was. He's a regular old human that comes from a line of powerful Witches. Cousin of Rand, actually; the guy that trained Maria. He had a complex about it. So I indulged him. Duel after duel after duel, almost always with me winning," he told her, going into his story-telling mode.

"But, then came that life-changing event for me. I was an Autonomous Weapon at the time. No partner. Gav wasn't there, either. Probably for the best. See, I was supposed to help guard an envoy of Little Witches. It's a whole complex thing; some real powerful Witches go through a transition because their young bodies can't hold all their power. That's exactly what Eros wanted. When the time was right, he took control of me and tried to assassinate those Witches. I guess the idea was that killing them and the wedge it might drive between the DWMA and Wiccan Council was more valuable than having me spy..." he admitted, going into some details that he had thus far only shared with Elly. Even Zosar wasn't enlightened on these details.

"I killed two other Agents before I was put down. I didn't end up doing what Eros wanted. I wasn't killed immediately, but the influence of Eros was purged from me... thing was, his magic was all that was holding my soul together. Kidd came and fixed it by giving me a tiny piece of his--that's why I respect him. He's almost like family, in a way."

He was going to say more, but stopped. The words were stolen right out of his mouth.

"It was rough. I was alone. A prisoner, not unlike Zosar a few months back. No one trusted me, no one wanted anything to do with me. I had my life, but my career was looking bleak..."

"Then Gav came out of the woodworks. Apparently, he had asked about my condition and had his family get on it. They were sure I was no longer a threat with Eros purged from me, so he was, too. Gav, as annoying as he was, as much as I hated that all he saw me as was a Hoshi, came around and made sure I wasn't entirely alone. He said he knew what it was like to ostracized like that. Being a guy with no Witch Genes from such a long familial line made him a black sheep, too," he said, still pouring out some of his life story.

"In my darkest days, I got help from someone I would have never expected. He wasn't the only one, but he was there. He went through the Paean Program, too. We both got our asses kicked by the same lady on Dall Island. We may have started out rocky, but we became friendly rivals over those shared adversities. It helped," he told her.

He returned to smiling. It had faded for some time when he went over some of the melancholy of his past, but it was back.

"You may be upset with the decision I made, and that's fine if you are. But, don't think you're alone. Even if it's not me, you're surrounded by people that are all struggling, too. Zosar, Elly, Maria--they all have their own battles and they're all on the same battlefield as you," he explained to her, his tone soft and his delivery very down to Earth. He was trying to be considerate, and more so, trying to make her aware that it was okay to open up about how she felt or what she went through.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location New Temple, Egypt
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper

With Ark seeming on board and aware with the technique Gauss intended to use, the Meister was now prepared to actually delve into the fight headfirst. It was a greenlight for actual combat.

Situational awareness override his initial drive to actually dive headfirst into the enemy lines, however. There was another important piece on the chessboard that needed to be setup before they could go decimate the line of pawns their opponents had arranged in front of him. Wes was distraught over Annika and rightfully so, but that didn't mean the Demon Weapon needed to be considered off the table. In fact, the resources to amend the situation were present the entire time.

First and foremost, Gauss began to flood Arkayis with his wavelength. Arky would be his primary weapon in this fight, and he needed to establish resonance between the two. The increase in power with Annika down, even if it ate into their reserves, would make for a quicker, safer fight. It was unfortunate for Annika to drop like she did. She could have been a key player in a fight like this. Feng had strong martial prowess and a few side weapons, but her actual Demon Weapon was a handgun. Gauss had two polearms with the more useful one in this situation being a doubled-edged sword. If Annika had her destructive potential on tap, she could have rend through these foes much easier without the risk of suffocation or collateral damage.

Unfortunate though it may be, the situation could be salvaged.

'Alright Arky, it's time we use that new trick of yours. The explosive slashes, airless fire. We want them small but strong, so make Raya proud with all that training you did on wavelength control,' Gauss said, encouraging his partner and using his affection for their trainer in an attempt to further that goal. It truly would be up to Arkayis here. Even resonating, Arkayis was the one in control over the explosions and the heat. Small bursts of plasma were effectively what he made, but without control, they could cause some nasty shockwaves.

With Arkayis preparing combat, Gauss dashed over to Wes, helping him against his foe. Gauss slashed the scythe head of Arkayis clean into the mummy that Wes had stabbed just a half-moment prior. He wasn't sure if the slash would end it, but that wasn't necessarily the goal. He wanted to make sure Wes wasn't going to get caught in a follow-up grapple. With the blade firmly lodged inside the mummy, it at least couldn't advance onto Wes. Meanwhile, Gauss extended Noah over to touch Wes, just barely, but enough that Noah could be in contact for both a light jolt of electricity and more so, his healing wavelength.

'Noah, calm him down. Do your thing,' he explained, hoping his next bit of speech would work better of Wes had a little spiritual help reconciling with his emotions. The battlefield was a poor place to delve into a blind fury.

"Wes, Annika may be down, but you still have options. Feng is a Utility Meister just like me. We worked together in Hawaii, so I'm sure you can work with her. Be her shield or help out with Chain Resonance, but don't just do nothing. We will get out of here and we will have vengeance," Gauss said, giving Wes some insight as to what he could still do in this situation and hopefully getting through to him once the Healing Wavelength from Noah brought his rage down from explosive to at least a light simmer.

After his last act in attempting to inspire Wes, Gauss mustered his amplified strength to lift up the mummy, dislodging it from Wes and his knife, and subsequently twisted his body to fling it in the direction of the archers. They seemed like the best target, at least for the moment. Even if only bought them some cover, it would hopefully be enough for Wes to make it to Feng and Aki.

'There, Arkayis. Pour your wavelength in him and try to detonate on impact," Gauss instructed, though he admittedly wasn't sure if Arkayis could actually do that. In the past, he only used the technique when in direct contact. They simply had never tried it this way. But, Arkayis could control his own flames and his wavelength now at pretty significant distance, so there was some merit to this attempt. Even if it didn't work, the mummy would simply be hit with the fiery explosion Arkayis caused with body parts being flung at the archers instead. The worst case scenario wasn't a total step down from what he had hoped for.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - DWMA HQ
​

"Sara, we have Diplomatic immunity. We just took down several American Citizens and have them locked away in a prison where they won't see the light of day. We've also been slaughtering our way across the world when needed. It is just they share this with us and they are better liked." Was the girl really that dense? Did she just accept the shit they did as being normal everyday life?

"As to ruining their image, we don't have time for that, and frankly we have neither reason or cause just yet. Geopolitical games are better left to our betters and to our politicians. That is something for the DWMA as a whole to consider, or at least Lord Death."

Listening to the rest that was said, Nadia gestured with her hands out to the side. "In other words, fight them in a crowd or with a Drone filming it and let them start first. And a non-aggression pact! How Astute! My homeland learned about how well those pacts work during the Great Patriotic War! And not attacking innocents, ha. I'm sure the wolf will like that, but in regard to this case and those related to it, is there such a thing as innocence or merely degrees of Guilt?"

As the conversation rolled on, Nadia didn't skip a beat, as she was quick to give her opinion on the businessman.

"Anatoli Morningstar may be worth cooperating with. While we could compete on the ground against this Church, we still have the axe man's blade over our heads in regard to Dani. Anatoli, his curious last name aside is a plutocrat, I'm sure he's working an angle and may ask something of us, but he has a vested interest up to now in cooperating and connections that not even those fellows have.

Money is what runs the living world, not some random concept of God and faith, we deal with that when we are done here in this life. And as long as those killings continue, Anatoli is losing his divinity. I see no reason to not take up this offer, but I must see what my team has to say on the matter at least."

Eying the new girl, Nadia scoffs. "I'm still taller at least."

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

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Wes Kraven
Eastern Shrine, Egypt
September - 20th

Mentions: Sir Les Paul (Gauss), Merciless Medic (Noah), The Regal Rper (Ark), Peckinou (Arkayis)

Interactions: RedArmyShogun (Feng), EmperorsChosen (Aki)​

The blade easily sunk into long dead flesh, although it was far from the lethal wound that he was hoping for. His knife was lodged in the creature’s shoulder, and with gritted teeth he attempted to wrench it out and stab again. Only for someone to beat him to it as a large blade dug itself into the walking corpse. He only had a second to acknowledge the situation before a calming sensation slammed into Wes, sending a jolt of electricity through his body as his blistering rage quickly cooled to a simmering anger.

Turning to the source, he found Gauss wearing a tense expression as the magnetic meister turned to address him. Despite the calming effect washing over him, his knuckles were still white from the death grip he held on the handle of his knife.

Wes knew that Gauss was right, that him just charging in all by himself was the objectively wrong move. But he didn’t want to do what was ‘right’, he wanted to take action, to shut up the nagging voice in the back of his head that kept reminding him that he couldn’t help his partner. Noah’s wavelength was doing it’s job however, and he soon found himself agreeing with their squad leader, even if he still wanted to personally get revenge on the corpse itself.

With a small nod his knife slipped free easily from the mummified corpse as Gauss lifted it into the air, twisting and throwing it towards the bow wielding mummies.

He spared another look behind him where the two older men continued to do their best in treating Annika. Seeing her laid on the ground sent another pulse of rage through him, although it was tempered with Gauss’s words and the promise of getting that fuck Ishmeal when this was over.

Ducking his way out of the melee, he made his way towards Feng, focusing on her wavelength as well as Aki’s. It was an odd mix, vibrant and pulse pounding beats were complimented by deep pounding drums and melodic strings. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was certainly not something that Wes would have thought would work together.

Resonating with a brand new meister on the first try was going to be next to impossible. During the events of the Hawaii trip, him and Gauss had managed to pull off a false resonance due to their shared feelings, but that was a perfect storm of circumstances. Additionally, there was no telling whether or not their group would have to face off against anything else during their escape from the temple. He doubted that either of them could manage to hold a false resonance for that long.

It was a different story if they were capable of achieving chain resonance however. If they were, all Wes would have to do was piggy-back off of their resonance and act as the mediator. He could theoretically handle that at the very least. Whether he could extend that beyond the duo to the other members of their group was far less solid. With Annika the two of them had experimented before with his limit. With a first time partnership like this, there was no telling whether he'd be able to cover their entire group, let alone anyone beyond the duo.

Still, in the worst case scenario, he’d at least be more useful as a weapon in the hands of a meister than he would flailing around with a knife.

“Heads up!” Pushing off of his dominant foot, Wes lunged forward with a hand outstretched at the meister. As soon as he made contact with her arm he assumed his weapon form, a thick red cord wrapping around Feng’s upper arm and shoulder in a tight bundle, leaving the gong pressed flush against the outside of her elbow. She would find no loss of movement in her arm, leaving her to wield Aki as normal.

“Resonance.” He stated, his voice being projected to both meister and weapon. His tone was curt as he began to try and familiarize himself with the two wavelengths as much as he could in the short time they had. “Can the two of you resonate?”

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara & Raphael​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Conference Room, DWMA Main Grounds, Death City, Nevada
Interactions: Nadia, Dani, Cyrus, Noise
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Chibistaryuu The Regal Rper

As Nadia told off Sara that they had diplomatic immunity, the fact they were still Fate Agents who had been attacked in Hawaii… It didn’t sit well with her. In her eyes, they didn’t have diplomatic immunity. They were just pawns in some experimental program and as much as she wanted to be optimistic about this, they had literally no sway. They weren’t enough.

Raphael noticed Sara’s mood, her ears had shifted back and her gaze - while looking more apathetic - looked akin to a glare. Squeezing her shoulder, it helped calm her down enough while Raphael took the words she was wanting to say and putting it to the side for later.

Raphael made Sara wait until Cyrus and Nadia were done discussing, until they were given some room to speak. Despite Nadia’s possible opinion of Raphael being rather low, he knew he was at least higher than Sara on that list. Letting go of Sara’s shoulder, he spoke his thoughts, trying to drown his fanboyish thoughts about the Morningstars until he got there..

“Before I talk about anything else, the reason why Sara said what she did was because it doesn’t really feel like we have diplomatic immunity at all. We are literally recovering addicts or otherwise trying to find a foothold in a seemingly competitive ladder about making rational decisions out in mission environments like this. I don’t think we have any immunities. If we did something wrong, we’d be sacked for sure. If those paladins do something wrong, they get a slap on the wrist and sympathy. We’ve done quite a bit, but it’s not enough. People don’t trust us yet besides being a possible interest point to get them more money and pawn off their experimental tech to us.” He hoped that at least spoke to Nadia, his cynicism showing as he curled his lip in disgust.

“But I do agree. We don’t have time to play the politics game, especially when religion is in play.” He continued with the idea of potentially catching them with some media backlash, along with the paladins seemingly not even following the same god. “As religious as they are, if they are not on the same page, it would be easy to make a good rational point to break their numbers and cause a schism. Europe has seen a schism of a greater size that took several years - give or take a century - due to differences in opinion on how a certain religion should be, especially if they’re similar enough.” He then looked at Cyrus. “But if there is a way to get a go-pro or a durable enough camera to record any and all incidents with the paladins put upon our persons, that would be a great start at least.”

He then returned to Nadia. “I’m not going to play the morality game here. But the eyes and minds of the public have a different idea of how they view innocents from how you see it. If you don’t want backlash, we must at least keep ourselves from attacking those who they would consider innocent. An unarmed individual who looks like a bystander, even if they are helping with a crime and while guilty, would be considered “innocent” because they aren’t doing anything to directly harm you, and the paladins can always twist the situation for the masses in their favor. While I personally don’t care what you do and will still follow orders, I do care about you getting sacked because the court of public opinion decides they don’t want you in Fate.”

As Noise entered the room, Raph and Sara both waved, with Sara taking a moment to pull away from the table to greet her new partner more personally, her tail now wagging and her sour look becoming much cheerier. “Hey, I’m Sara. Nice to meet you, Noise. Wish we could’ve met each other before all this and get to know each other, but I’m so grateful you’re here.”

Meanwhile, Raphael focused on the meeting, also breaking into a wide grin upon talking about the Morningstars. “You’re not wrong about Anatoli. He’s an amazing guy; I love watching him on Shark Tank. Despite his more dubious connections elsewhere, he’s a great ally to have on our side. Just as long as we don’t become a PR nightmare for him to cover up, he can help us politically against the Church Fathers and receive an even greater diplomatic immunity by having him help us. He’s got a nightclub called Luxe and helped in funding magitech for the MIBVI and has been working around the west coast in his deals-” He realized some of those details weren’t needed and he chuckled sheepishly. “Ah, apologies. Got carried away there.”

Sara had heard what was being talked about, and had come back to the table to voice her own opinion. “Sounds good.”

Raphael looked at the tall woman and was smug. She was just an inch off from his own height. But with heels, she could cheat, and now he didn’t feel so great about that. He didn’t make a comment about height though, that wasn’t the point right now.

 

[Chibistaryuu]

Juniper "Noise" Veselovsky​

Interactions/Mentions: EmperorsChosen , RedArmyShogun , Sir Les Paul , Merciless Medic , The Regal Rper
Upon getting the message and the door opening automatically, Noise stepped in with the usual nonchlant gaze as she eyed her surroundings and her fellow teammates one by one with two of them waving at her (Raph and Sara), each one left a sort of impression on her; on a rate of 1-10 on impressions, she had to say she was 2.1. Upon Noise's impression of the team, was extremely low and hell shedidn't even care about being on a team, as a guess on how Noise- Uh felt.

But when the Leader- Or Nadia scoffed and said she was taller, Noise rolled her eyes, groaning. "Pechal' vo blago." She grumbled in Russian, her accent quite noticeable. " Since you're so tall, How's the weather up there, Miss Nadia?" Snarkily replied Noise with a small smile forming on the Demon Weapon's face.

But then, a Short Werewolf approached her, The girl's forehead just barely reaching to her neck as She introduced herself as Sara; she apologized for some reason with Noise not caring for the apology either nor the girl. Guessing on the shorter girl's tail wagging, Noise's eyes narrowed inspecting her a bit before sighing. "Guess you're my partner huh, Pipsqueak?" She asked reluctantly, referencing her shorter status and seemingly enjoying calling someone shorter than her that.

"Why do i have to be with a team, They're going to hold me back." She complained looking at Cyrus. Truth be told, Noise only wanted to work alone but by whatever meaning of life or fate, Noise having to have to work in a group Together, especially with a meister.... was not something that Noise didn't even wanted and somewhat regarded to making that known. But upon the mention of Antoli Morningstar, she perked up a little listening a bit, interesting and having heard of the guy on TV.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Conference Room, DWMA Main Grounds, Death City
Mission Return of the Stalker
Status Focused
​

Tags: Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Chibistaryuu

"As much as I hate to pick sides..." Adrian chimed in, having finally found a niche in the conversation he cared. For the most part, Adrian elected to remain silence during briefings or high-stakes conversations. The decision never fell on his head. He was no leader. At this point, if he was anything, it was the second weapon of Nadia indirectly through Dani; a position he didn't mind.

"It's pretty damn obvious we still get special treatment out there," Adrian continued, taking the side of Nadia to little surprise.

Depending on the perceptive ability of anyone listening to Adrian, it might have been fairly clear that he wasn't entirely comfortable throwing his opinion in on this topic. It seemed fairly divisive within the group, but it also seemed fairly clear to him. If he were his more immature self from a year ago, he might have slung a few insults at those with a different opinion. In fact, he might have outright had a different opinion; he might have made a decision based on his feelings instead of his thoughts. It was this shift in how he thought and acted that added to his discomfort; this more rational side to him was also a new side. New was difficult.

"A civilian would have probably gotten some charges for bending cell bars or stealing police-issue handcuffs," Adrian said, giving at least one example of what he and by extension they had gotten away with that no normal civilian would have.

"We ignore traffic laws all the time during missions, we have transit passes that can even get us free flights. We can flash our ID's and get into most places. Clubs that would kick out A-list celebrities are probably gonna let us in no questions asked," Adrian added, giving more examples of the benefits they had as agents. These things weren't brought up often. They were standard for pretty much all DWMA Agents. Probably to the extent they were taken for granted, which is what he felt was going on here.

"I think it's real easy to forget what we have when we hear of someone else better off," Adrian said, trailing off after he mentioned it. He had more he wanted to say. He really did. But, he was struggling to put it into words. The quizzical look on his face hid how he felt they still had it better then plenty of people. Mercenaries had to dodge cops and DWMA Agents if they wanted to do anything. Civilian life was wildly different. Even the lowest-level DWMA Agent still had a lot of privileges; it was just jealousy that made them feel as if they didn't.

In a parallel world, Adrian might have even been that jealous one. Pissed off that these Paladins had better favors and reception than him. In fact, he would have been pissed off seeing a One-Star agent being treated better, assuming he were still a Fate Agent. That feeling of entitlement and being deprived of what you ought to have; it was one he was familiar with. With recent events, or more so his recent relationship with Dani, he had a slightly different perspective. Not only did he have a pink-haired, rage-fueled reason to slow down and think more, but he had a sense of fulfillment that came from something other than being an agent. It was easy for him to acknowledge that jealousy. Not because he didn't have it, just because he had better reason not to indulge it.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

QUICK RESPONSE: Noise​

Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, almost as if screaming 'kill me' once Noise elected to question why she needed to be on a team. He had a thousand reasons to be frustrated at the moment and the petulant attitude of one more agent happened to be something he didn't appreciate.

He noted that there seemed to be a whole separate topic going on about the privileges agents had. Nadia seemed to see it pretty clearly: diplomacy was a spectrum here. Even if they as a group didn't have the same level of flexibility as some others, they didn't go without. Other more empathetic agents based their decisions on what they felt, which was slighted. The real surprise came from Adrian. An agent notorious for his own petulance and argumentative nature...

...that provided a well-thought out response. Cyrus might have been proud if not for his general belief compliments should not be dolled out for doing the bare minimum. Still, it was good to see some progress. More importantly, he was a solution.

"Alright, Noise, I'll entertain your delusion," Cyrus said, sporting a cocky smirk. He thought his idea was quite devious.

"Adrian there is a true Autonomous Weapon. No partner. If you can beat him in one-on-one duel, then I'll let you be an Autonomous Weapon and only send you out on solo missions," he offered. The program director then leaned over the table, his short temper forcing out an annoyed glare directly at the Demon Weapon. "You will lose, you will be writhing in pain from his wavelength, and after you can finally stand... I don't ever want to hear this non-sense about being in a group again," Cyrus told her, returning to the brooding tyrant he was months ago when the program began. The one Nadia and Dani were familiar with from the tournament.

Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Chibistaryuu​

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - DWMA HQ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

"You're all partly right. We do have immunity and a lot of privileges, but if it came down to it I don't think the DWMA would hesitate scratching us unless our usefulness outweighed the public bitching," Dani cut in tiredly. "As for these assholes, I don't much trust a non-aggression pact. Maybe we can have some kind of a camera or recorder on us while we're dealing with them, just in case."

Glossing over that she was actually in agreement with Raph's suggestion, Dani turned her eyes to the newcomer. Another amazon, and another Russian. Dani's impression of her was relatively limited. Woman was prickly with a tinge of arrogance. However, she also very much doubted that Cyrus paired her with a meister if she could perform as an autonomous weapon. Either the girl didn't have the capability but wanted to due to some issues, similar to Dani, or she fucked up or couldn't be trusted operating by herself. At least, those were Dani's hypotheses.

Regardless, Cyrus's suggestion earned a curt narrowing of the eyes from the Demon Sword. On the one hand, it was praise for them and recognition of their ability from a hard-ass like Cyrus. On the other, it was the same kind of tactic during the introductions or the arena, the same kind of attitude that put him on her shit list in the first place. Other than that, she didn't like that he was more or less devaluing Adrian to a torture device to humble a brat.

"Right, because throwing us in an arena before worked out fucking great for all of us," Dani spat out venomously. "At least, it did from what I could remember after the collar pumped me full of drugs."

Maybe the girl needed a bit of humbling. Maybe getting slapped around a bit would hit a reboot button. Or maybe, it would make her crawl further into her hole and work with the rest of them even less well. If they wanted to prove the point that the second-tallest amazon wasn't as hot shit as she seemed to think, the same point could be made through less extreme means, especially if the woman wasn't even a proper autonomous weapon like Cyrus insinuated. Hell, the point could be made from giving the girl a chance to swing and Dani using that scorpion tail of hers to show that even she was faster and deadlier, and Dani had never been an autonomous weapon.

Her gaze softened a bit as she looked at Adrian. "I don't need to tell you that you don't have to do that, or even fight at all," She said, ultimately leaving a choice to him, but making it clear she didn't care for Cyrus's strategem. Then her gaze hardened a bit as she pointed it at Noise. "...Do you even know how to self-resonate?"

RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul Chibistaryuu

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium - Western European Branch HQ, Canterbury, England​

Maria did not understand him at all, she would need to research this all some more, if what he said was true and they would have had nothing to hold on to if not for a portion of the soul of Death, an idea that was rather stupid of the man. His position was such that he needed all the power he could get, it would be akin to if Maria used her own soul to power her creations. Heretical to the extreme. While many witches had sought out or obtained immortality by putting them into other objects or beings, in all cases they ended up dead in short order or infirm. What sort of price had Kidd paid and should Midori, no, the man with no name really be sharing this with them? Though it would not be the first great secret she had been entrusted with.

That would be her part in the schemes of her master, then learning how to seal the power of a witch with her fellows. While Maria was not heartless, she did not feel sorry in the least for this cursed entity, in place she sat about pondering what was done and how, turning them all back was impossible. Was killing them really the best option? Of course, one with optimism could say to split Death's soul even more, or lock Eros up, but Maria was determined the only fate that man deserved was death. If that were the case, would it not be easier to free them all with the release of death? Her creations were much different from those of Eros, and if anything grounded her all the more in staying the course towards magitech integration. But she was left with more questions that answers, biting into her thumb as she was given to doing when frustrated with tasks she did not want or ideas that went beyond her knowing, or those which betrayed her ethos.

Still, the insistent and noisy nature of those about her, did not leave her with her thoughts, rather they insisted on dragging her into their own issues, as mundane as they were. He had a name, he should keep and use it, but he was against that and he had told them too much, then their was the argument.

"Given this topic and your dislike of the other names, what about Rei for Zero, or Maru for much the same reason, or to come full circle.. Zero is the origin of all and the sum of null. From the studies I had, I am no Linguist, but the following names I recall had association with death or dark things, even if you do not like them, Kuro, my own suggestion of Rishi, Haka, Kuro, Kagen, Yami, Kisei, Rakumei."

Turning her attention towards the wolf girl and then Elly, Maria shook her head when all was said and done. "You are being too hard on her. All of you nearly lost it. Those enemies were designed to specifically target Meister-Weapon pairs. Think of it, while I was pulled into my pull, you all, minus Midori were bombarded with madness by them passively, or directly upon each hit, and their bodies were more than durable. Or think of that woman and the Lizard. The archery gave you much more trouble than it did me, because those arrows, or how they were aimed and shot were specifically able to target soul presence, or so I theorize. While the Lizard and her tornado were designed specifically to kill mages like me, and the three witches we never found. He has gone far beyond his initial crafting of you and is making purpose-built pieces with particular goals and skills.

The problem is neither she nor Zosar. Nor yourself. The problem is the nature of Meisters and of the Soul. And should we face them again the DWMA needs to research new methods of combating Madness. No self-talk is going to recorrect what I have seen clearly as the enemy putting more strain on us with each hit. You also, while not turned by madness, pulled us all into a lethal situation because of wanting to chase a ghost of your past, only giving information when there was no other choice.

You had your reasons, but we had our lives, and you a spark of the Soul of Death... You did not lose yourself to madness, but you very nearly doomed lives beyond counting for one desire. One which you seemingly turned against at the drop of a hat.

And as to the DWMA not sending us out on something dangerous. What Lady Elly said. I may be different from all of you in many regards, but I do have eyes to see how the DWMA operates... Either way, I do think I will take my leave from this conversation, if permission is given, I still have need of a workshop till we leave."

"No one is to blame here, nor anyone to cheer up. All of this was the work of that Bastard Eros. All we can do is learn from our lesson."

In truth she just wanted to be away from all of this, away to the quiet and mechanical hums of the workshop. Being around others was tiring. And as with her mission on Dall Island, Maria's pleasantries went right out the window with the more strained she became.

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

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - DWMA HQ
​

"Otlez’ gnida, Nu ti dajosh!" "<Fuck off flea child. Well, aren't you a brave one?>"

Nadia shot back in Russian at once, eyeing over the other, a gesture best described as a mix of a bemused huff, a partial smile, eye roll, followed up with a sneer born purely from regional grievances, given the slight infliction, accent, and regional differences that only a native speaker or skilled translator would notice in the speech. All nations had them, all places had old grudges or friendly rivalries, or even not so friendly, as the Far Eastern native of Vladivostok shot back another broadside; "<Muscovite. Your shit smells the same as any of ours.>"

Turning her attention to Cyrus, Adriand, Sara, Raph and Dani, it was a mixture of things to reply to, on top of before.

"The hell you keep going on about not killing innocents? When in the name of Death have I razed a fucking Village? I open an attack on twenty-five of those murderous cultists and because there were three people who were not infected, whom I marked for recovery, might I add, you all act like I was the NKVD Servicing a Gulag." She said directly while looking at Sara and then at Raph.

"It is hardly my fault if you cannot improvise when needed in the moment, though as I recall, it was from one of you that it turned into a circus. And now we have the clown. I work better alone she says. Good, we can use her to find any ambushes. But da, they would get rid of us, but you all are looking at this wrong. Just because we are on the fuck up list, doesn't mean we are on the door mat list, to be stepped on by a bunch of cultists pretending it's the 16th Century. I will do this mission as an Agent of the DWMA should, I won't walk on eggshells because of them. If you let them do that, then they control the initiative and you've all but lost. The enemy of my enemy, well, he may be tomorrow's enemy."

Turning her attention to Dani, Nadia shrugs. "Let them fight, unless you want to do it yourself. I don't know anything about her, but by those two words alone, I know she's a Moscow Princess. Only a bit of force will teach them anything. If we don't settle this now, she's going to walk all over that meek wolf." Nadia said flatly, and without hesitation as if the ones she didn't bother to address by name weren't even there.

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

 

[Chibistaryuu]

Juniper "Noise" Veselovsky​

Interactions/ Mentions: EmperorsChosen , RedArmyShogun , Sir Les Paul , Merciless Medic , The Regal Rper

After hearing his words on the challenge, She stared at Cyrus thinking about the perks of actually going solo as she placed her hand on her chin somewhat thinking about it as her foot was tapping. But then the older dude had to burst her bubble, saying she was going to lose her brow twitched in annoyance as she was bent on winning, But another part of her slightly feared Adrian's Wavelength based on what Cyrus said. But her expression fell upon Dani's question.

"Nope..." She said grudgingly and somewhat annoyed by that prospect. But someone had to push the Brunette's button, someone had to and it couldn't be worse that a fellow Russian did it. Casually, Noise noted the gesture as that poked some nerves that she was getting annoyed at; with the young adult casually glaring at Nadi, and if her Glare could kill it'll kill millions based on the intensity. " Oy, kto govorit? [Translation: Oh, Says who?]" Noise said.

"Eto ty chertovski pokhozh na der'movuyu gornichnuyu [Translation: You're the one who fucking looks like a shitty maid]" She spat somewhat cockily.

But it seemed like that wasn't enough, being called a clown tho... a clown.... and saying on using her for bait, and boy was Noise angry as she seemed to look like she didn't care... But she was angry and extremely angry for once. "Kakogo cherta ty mne tol'ko chto pozvonil? [Translation: The hell did you just call me?]" She asked, her voice hinting malice and her tone going up in volume at each word being spoken. "I'm no goddamn clown, All because you're the Leader, Gives you no right to not call me that." Noise said annoyed.

That's when her judgment is clouded and as she went with the idiot's way, and this is one decision she will later regret.

"Let me fight, him then." She challenged.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Conference Room, DWMA Main Grounds, Death City
Mission Return of the Stalker
Status Focused
​

Tags: Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Chibistaryuu

While Adrian couldn't say he was keen on being used as a living learning tool for the new girl, he could at least sympathize with the frustration Cyrus seemed to have at the situation. The new girl and Nadia were having a Russian shouting match, half the constructive conversation had devolved into a debate over their privileges, everyone was in agreement that the Paladins weren't to be trusted yet for some reason they were going to take an offer made from a guy named after the literal Devil, and now this same new girl had the audacity to pick a fight. Or, at the very least, the gall to accept a duel within minutes of meeting someone.

What a shit show.

Adrian wasn't entirely sure of what to do here. Nadia seemed in favor of the duel to put the new girl in her place, Dani seemed against it, Sara had been off this entire time being under Nadia's leadership, and Raph still seemed half-dazed, creaming himself over this Anatoli guy. Fundamentally, he didn't want to displease Dani regardless of if she were to allow it. On the other hand, both Cyrus and Nadia were all for the duel, and they were both his superiors.

What broke his dilemma was a text that came across his phone. From none other than Cyrus. Something he had quickly thrown together. More accurately, a bit of information on their new teammate. This bitch had the brass balls to think she could duel an Autonomous Weapon when she had virtually no experience fighting alone. If Cyrus was to be trusted, and Adrian couldn't for the life of him figure out why he would lie about this in the moment, then Noise was doing little more than wasting time here.

Dani may be salty with him, but Adrian hit a point where he felt a lesson definitely needed taught.

His wavelength flared around him, spiking quickly as he stood. It was the fastest way to get the attention of everyone present, which was important given he was about to make his own announcement. "Everyone just shut the fuck up for a moment," he said, letting his voice bellow out while he vented his frustration. "Nadia said we're going to visit Anatoli and I hate to break it to you, but there won't be a duel today," he went on, making bold declarations as if his word was law. It wasn't, but it didn't matter when his word was merely a repeat of their leader whom did make the decision.

As for the duel, he had a reason for his outright denial of it being a duel.

As one might expect from an Autonomous Weapon making a mad dash, he was but a blur. Cyrus could have caught him, Nadia and Sara could at least see him, but Dani and Noise didn't possess the sheer perceptive ability to keep up with him. Noise never really stood a chance here. For all that bluster, she was just a Demon Weapon. She needed a partner. She needed a team. She just didn't like it. Perhaps she had a few solo skills, but nothing like a truly dedicated Autonomous Weapon. Even if she did, she would only be wasting her potential in the long run. Regardless, what it meant was that she had no real hope in a one on one match against Adrian. Or, truthfully, against anyone else in that room.

At the very least, Adrian was not cruel. He didn't want to entirely ruin his rapport with this girl. Instead, he was just going to do enough to get the point across. He was being a good little soldier, playing his role. The one Nadia would respect. The one Cyrus could at least repress bitching about.

A quick punch to the her gut was the only real damage he intended to do. Amplified for speed, but not force. He didn't want to hurt her, just cause that reflexive motion to bend over. Worst case scenario, she vomited up her lunch.

The punch wasn't the point. What came next was. He poured his wavelength into an open-palm slap to her back. His pain wavelength pulsing through it with all intentions of maximizing the pain she would briefly feel. And, what did he do? He brought it down on her back. Even through clothes, an open-palm with all that surface area could be a pretty painful experience. He intended to dial that up to eleven. An experience that would feel like a branding iron searing her skin while a thousand rusty knives tried to cut into it all in the outline of his palm. In all reality, it could have been worse. Had this been skin to skin or someplace more sensitive, it most certainly would have been a shocking amount of pain.

Adrian didn't want to send her into shock. He just wanted it to hurt. Excruciating, even, but nothing more than a short-term nuisance.

"A duel is like a contest, but this was never a challenge," Adrian explained. He wasn't smug about it, if anything, his words were venomous. Spiteful and aimed at Cyrus whom he glared at. "Cyrus knew you couldn't win and that's why he offered," Adrian told her, though at this point, she was likely still in too much immediate pain to process all of what was going on. Between the blitz, the gut punch, then the hundred-fold slap to her back, a lot happened to Noise in a short time.

"Any other stupid ass displays, or can we move on to meeting Anatoli?" Adrian asked, not pleased with the whole situation. Sure, he played his role of a good, little soldier. He was non-offensive to most of them. He minimized damage and followed every instruction. He also didn't like feeling used, and that's what this moment was for him. He felt like a five-dollar whore with his skills and wavelength being exploited to make a point. He wasn't proud of what happened, nor was he happy with Cyrus or Nadia. He might have even felt bad for Noise had she not brought it upon herself.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Aki Kiyoko - Egypt - Feng Long - Wes
Qena Dig Site, Eastern Shrine - Egypt
September - 20th​

With the enemy being upon them suddenly and the mage retreating, drunk on power seemingly, with Annika rushing in with her chainsword in an attempt to do what Feng and Aki could not, in regards to the barrier, Feng suspected it was elemental in nature and met energy with energy, in theory a physical attack should be able to puncture it. Though such thoughts were better left to another, if not another time as a soul suppressed greater Zombie leapt over the throne, slicing into the Meister with what had to be a wavelength enhanced strike.

Things continued to devolve from there as an undead commander, with not even a face shouted words at them, ones she could not guess what they meant, and a pair of archers shot at Gauss, who seemed to have the situation in hand. These creatures, no, what once were people could not stop them, only stall them, the Commander was far stronger than his men, he would have been a powerful two star Meister but, that was then, this was now. He did not have the advantage of a weapon partner.

So long as they played it smart, they should win, though the immediate attacks upon herself showcased that this wasn’t a singles battle, this was a coordinated unit, trying to force their enemies into single battles. ”Clever.” It was soon after that she found herself using Aki and her spare handgun to cross block the egyptian sword strike as she suddenly found a bit of weight added upon her person, in truth she would have rather he locked upon her lower arm in her left hand, but this was a desperate time and a desperate measure.

”Aki, lets do it!”

”Roger~,” Aki chimed, seemingly no less distressed than before despite the current happenings, neither in tone nor soul. As Feng pushed wavelength into Aki, the Demon Pistol regulated and stabilized it before adding her own to the mix, careful not to overload the mixture by amping it too much. Then, she sent the enhanced wavelength back to Feng.

Feng for her own part was rather calm as she quickly turned to shoulder check the gong into the next mummy to strike, knocking it back as she aimed to the knees, rapidly firing shots as she walked backwards before snapping up with kick into the new recovering undead, aiming to unsteady him as Wes now had a resonance to grab hold of. ”Alright! Work your magic!”

Wes breathed a sigh, focusing on the duo’s resonating wavelengths. Slowly, as if he was weaving a cord together, he began to push his own wavelength into the resonance. Rhythm pounded in his ears, forceful but not unpleasant as he prepared to amplify the duo’s power, a low drone sounding out as the cord wrapped around Feng began to flash with spiritual energy.

With that done, all that remained was to keep it stable while he poured his own wavelength into the mix. The sounds of their souls playing out like a track inside of his head, only growing louder and more intense as he amplified their wavelength with his own, not unlike turning the volume knob on a speaker. The low droning began to increase, more and more until it was akin to a constant buzz of restrained power, until finally it was ready.

”It’s ready.” As if he were hitting play on his phone, the combined wavelength surged forward, filling both Feng and Aki with a rush of power.
”Wow! That’s a kick!” Aki mused in response, having never been apart of a chain resonance before this point. It was little wonder that the one that struggled to find a single partner hadn’t experienced having two.

”Alright! Let's deal with the Bone boys first, with the swords. We'll be leaving those guys with the double shields alone if we can, though they are advancing! Send the Link to Gauss!”

”Here goes nothing.” The droning buzz of their combined wavelengths built higher and higher, as Wes formed and shaped the connection before releasing it in a low, powerful reverberation. While all present in the room would hear it, for Gauss it would feel as though it was actually impacting him, slowly encompassing his, as well as his weapons, wavelengths, adding their unique sounds to the connection.

~~~

With these actions in rapid order, the Egyptian Hero was confused... The weapons were talking... Too much had changed, too much did not make sense. He had an order from one with the sacred treasures, he spoke the language of the Kingdom, he was a mage and well versed in this place, while these people made awful guttural noises, that sounded akin to those wretched Sea People that attacked the kingdom long ago. Where. Were. They. His allies, the other half of keeping this place. Where were they? Watching as a scythe seemed to deploy explosions among his forces, his shield men were quick to get in the way, and though it had knocked them off focus, his archers were preserved, now was time to reopen the gap, to move forward.

Curiously the woman he marked as an archer, had blocked the finest of bronze, gold and alchemy with something so small, and it seemed to have gotten the better of the exchange, then there was the Assassin, being caught midair and stabbed by a mage and a man, who turned into a metal disc and attached himself to the archers arm, that she then used to shoulder check a strike from the second harrier. Their power was growing suddenly, the stone door was nearly shut, a warriors death was nothing to be shamed of, and he had died once in service to his home. Today was a good day to die, to rest. All he could hope for was to take one of them with him.

"<I am Aker of Thebes, son of Makalani, General of Chariots, Warden of the East. I come for your head!>" He knew it was only a matter of time, the spiritual presence they gave off was growing and for reasons he did not know or understand, he had only seen this level of power when the Priests conducted a battle chant, hundreds strong. But he by no means was not without power. Rocketing in towards Gauss as his jewelry gleamed, absorbing and distributed the heat and fire of the blasts, glowing dimmer each time, the magical enchantment through means that were not yet so clear, seemed to be specifically attuned for dealing with fire and akin elements, even the lesser guards were withstanding the barrage as energy convergence went to work, meanwhile, there was no obvious reaction or defense to the spells of Ark, or as one of the Mummies lost a leg to Feng's rapid fire to the knees, her soul energy was not being dissipated.

With the fury of a two-star Meister, a high end one at that, the skeletal Lich Mummy used wavelength enhancement and struck out with speed and force, in an attempt to cut Gauss down where he stood, as the Archers noticing the immediate threats, shifted their attention between the Mage and the other so called Archer. They had reached the same consensus, a few said names, a few let out battle cries, their ghostly voices carrying a wispy wrath.

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

 

[Chibistaryuu]

Juniper "Noise" Veselovsky​

Interactions/ Mentions: EmperorsChosen , RedArmyShogun , Sir Les Paul , Merciless Medic , The Regal Rper


She was prepared to fight quite ignoring Adrian's... Uh words, But in the end what happened next was extremely too fast for her to process as she caught off guard by the punch towards the stomach, bending over as it felt like the wind was taken out of her for a moment. But what happened next was the worst of the worst, Being hit in the back it felt like searing pain hit there was she lost balance and comically fell with hints of cursing here and there that was incomprehensible.

The noise was in pain for a moment as she squirmed on the ground sorta unable to comprehend anything except the pain of the blow guess that was Cyrus meant by Adrien's wavelength and the damn pain.... Yep Terrible choice right then and there; She was suffering from the hit as her face as twisted in what could be a Russian variant of pain and regret... - Yep, She officially hated this, She hated her choice and groaned in both terms of annoyance and pain as she then sits up rubbing her back wincing a little as it stung trying to ease the pain a little.

"chert, eto bol'no"

She looked at Adrien registering some of his words as she grumbled something, and glanced in Cyrus's direction in a displeased manner but at the same time she had regrets and Cyrus was definitely on the people she had issues with list as it seemed like the rough start on her team was pretty bad and seemingly so, Noise didn't care but What Cyrus did was cruel and annoying. She grumbled something as she didn't say anything further, letting the meeting continue instead of causing any further issues as it seemed like she learned her lesson.

For now.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - DWMA HQ
​

Looking at the girl and the expected result Nadia remained with her annoyed expression, she was not jubilant over the fact the other had lost or been harmed. Understanding what the girl had said perfectly, Nadia would tap her left index finger to her chin, before finally speaking, "And yet if you are not a clown, why did you honk your nose for us all to hear? And of course, he hurt. Unlike you, Adrian is an Autonomous weapon. And his wavelength is a nasty one at that. I'll find out why you are here soon enough, but I am not given to sharing the why's of another unless given cause. However, do not mistake why I speak to you as such given my position, I respect strength and power, you however lacked them both within the first five minutes of speaking. A true Warrior shows what they are made of, they need not yell it.

Adrian there is rather strong by most measurements, but I do not let him go alone anywhere on the field. I do not do that with any of my men. We all operate as a unit, or at the least in pairs or trios. Trust is something earned, however, Sara there, well, she is somewhat easy to predict, a terrible liar and overly friendly for this work. So you should be in good hands, though there is the issue of her insubordination that I've not yet forgotten."

With a pause, she then motioned to her headdress. "And that is because it is. A reminder and memento of my mother who was a maid, and of my brother and my father, of a life long ago, or so it feels. I wear this in remembrance of what was lost and where I came from. A lone wolf is a dead wolf. Never forget that. And now, unless others have words to be said, may we get back to the original purpose of this meeting?

Anatoli seems to be our most valid option, as investigating on ground zero, well, I am confident in my assessment that none of my men are a Sherlock Holmes, and so far none of mine have disputed taking this path." Nadia seemed to have changed a bit from how she originally was when this program started. She bothered to explain why she had done that, and for a couple of those in here, had divulged the secret of the headdress, she had no intentions of removing it now. Getting back to the issue at hand, she eyed Cyrus, waiting to see if there were any negatives in doing things this way.

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

 

[Haze-]

Wren
Western European Branch HQ​

Zosar offered a name, something she wouldn’t come to untangle her tongue from if she spoke up to try and pronounce it, so, instead, an eyebrow danced up — “Nah, that’s not it at all…” — She tried to force it on her, a light smile. The type that’d form out of reflex on other days. This time, it felt like the muscles at her face were frozen solid. Rigid, pulling harshly— but she willed it to be there.

She could at the very least show him that, even if her eyes weren’t really smiling with her. Things had been an awkward stillness between them, back when she awoke at the hospital Negative space, a setting silence; she’d set her boundaries on it. And now he was minding the gaps, tip-toeing around her, looking for whatever words wouldn’t tick her off.

And she couldn’t help but wonder if it was the same as stabbing stilettos down a muddy road for him. Wobbling, criss-crossing his legs while he got to her. Or at least tried to.

Wren wanted to tell him she was fine, untangle the tension. Break the silence. But…

That would be a lie, wouldn’t it? An obvious one.

She wanted to tell him, too, how blatantly fucked everything was. How the lack of sleep had gotten to her, how the harsh friction of those bracelets against her wrists felt like grimy shackles— how tight the collar had gotten.

That would hurt more, to tell the truth. Funny how she’d thought of herself as shameless once.

She watched idly as the room grew to another voice, Maria added, and she added a lot. Wren got lost at the first mention of the Hag from her, didn’t try picking back up from where she’d left off, only watching the witch’s mouth open and close like she were a Maria-sized hand puppet. One more voice, Elly, flipping through names on her phone. Something Japanese, something on the nose.

Wren was mostly pretending to hang on every name as she spoke.

Eyes trailed off around the room. Looking for something, anything that would pick at her waning attention more than it was supposed to. A light, crooked bent on a painting. A fruit fly throwing itself over and over at a window. Anything mildly amusing.

There was nothing.

It wasn’t until she gave up looking that her ears picked up a fourth voice, her eyes snapped back to it. Back to the Hoshi. She’d kept the keenness of her nerves from showing, trampled them under a guise of calm, kept them on long enough for the witch to speak again— she had this nasty distaste burnt in her palate when the silence hung between them all.

This was the first real emotion she’d shown them thus far, complete and utter defeat. Eyebrows furrowing. Still, she had this pathetic grin on her as Maria walked away— “She always has a lot to say, doesn’t she?” — She scoffed, went quiet.

Her mouth hung open, looking for words, the right ones. Only a sigh of shaky breath came out, she deflated and stood there looking idly at the ground. Counting the weave of laces on her boots, ticking down how long it was taking her to build up the courage. To open back up.

“Upset would be underplaying it…” — She started, huffing a breath — “I wanted to punch your nose in when I first woke up, if we’re being honest. But that’s just petty now, isn’t it…?”

Her eyes refused to lock with anyone as she spoke, whole body tensed up. But she forced her voice out, putting in a conscious effort not to have it crack on raw emotion.

“I know that, in the eyes of the DWMA, in the eyes of Lord Kidd himself— I’m nothing but a dog that can’t be let off its leash. I failed. Again. And I can’t do anything to fix that now, I can only move forward. Kind words and a good chat are nice, sure. But that won’t get these things off my wrists…”

“I used to think a little motivation and a proper purpose would prop me back up to where I wanted to be. Maybe some semblance of support would get me to prove I could lose the collar one day. Maybe then my old crew would feel safe around me again. Ask how Wrenny’s been, give me a chance to apologize eye to eye.” — Her breath hitched, face scrunching up like she had a bad taste in her mouth. Wren begrudgingly clanked those grimy shackles of her together, bringing up her shame to show it to them all — “But here we are now. I didn’t prove shit. Even when there were people cheering me on.”

Her eyes went to Zosar for a moment when she spat out those last few words. Couldn’t hold eye contact for long, Wren deflated again. Gulping that awful taste down, speaking back up — “That’s why, if you’re worried about me being a rusty cog, or a broken toy…don’t. I won’t have any of you babysit me when you shouldn’t have to in the first place. Doesn’t matter if you put your hopes on me. Doesn’t matter how I feel.”

“I have to prove it now. None of you can do it for me. That's how I see things.”

“So just…let me do my job, would you? Don't worry about me.” — She begged, trying to smile weakly at him — “I won’t sleep a damn wink feeling this useless...”

EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper

 

[Peckinou]

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

This entire situation was a bit chaotic, though not something Arkayis wasn't use to, between the two meisters he has had, he would admit that Gauss was more orderly of the two. Though when it comes to chaotic situations, the most you can do is adapt to it, and this one was no different, Arkayis wasn't exactly fond of a few group members he was with, but Arkayis was atleast committed enough. Remaining calm he listened to Gausses plan, the encouraging tone was a bit surprising, though it did motivate Arkayis to focus better and maintain control. As Gauss closed in and made his request, Arkayis couldn't help but be a bit surprised by it, as it wasn't something they exactly trained in, but they supposed it was the same school of thought anyways. "Alright..." there wasn't much confidence in his voice but he had they will to try it out, taking the wavelength Gauss had poured into them, Arkayis pushed a some of it back out. Though the end results weren't exactly perfect, as the explosion happened a second earlier than expected, and it was a bit stronger than what he was initially going for, though it wasn't too strong as the shockwave was minor, compared to the ones they usually did when it came to training.

Still though it probably wasn't exactly what Gauss or Arkayis wanted but they figured it was something that Gauss was willing to work with in this case, still though Arkayis muttered a bit in annoyance, but did give out a minor apology for not giving out the results he figured Gauss wanted "Sorry.." Still though he doubted that any sort of undead creature would survive something like that anyways, ever since they started working with Gauss, he had to get use to holding back a bit, not something they were exactly fond of since conflicts like this one tended to end up being longer than they should be, though they trade off for it was less destruction. Different meisters, different schools of thought he figured, if only this was out in a open field that no one cares about instead of some area that they wanted preserved. But there sadly wasn't much they could do about that, since they were the ones that went after these undead, and not the other way around.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - DWMA HQ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Nadia was all for the fight it seemed, on account of the woman being a "Moscow Princess". Dani agreed that the girl's overconfidence was a problem, especially when the girl admitted that she couldn't self-resonate. That admission almost seemed to dissuade her, but then Nadia's remarks and Cyrus's goading replaced all rationale with anger.

Dani half sighed and brought a hand to her forehead, barely catching Adrian looking at his phone before even he seemed to get a bit ticked off. Then he was gone. Dani blinked before her head turned to where his voice came from next. Then came the "lesson", and it all the more proved her point in her mind.

Dani didn't even track Adrian's movements, and it must have been less so for the other girl. Moscow girl could've been given a few shots, missing all of them, and the same point would've been made. Her pride would've been kicked the same. She just didn't have much faith is Cyrus's mini carrot and whip approach, which was evident in the way the Demon Sword's eyes glared at him after.

Dani'd be lying if she said the look on Adrian's face didn't make her even more irate. Even if she was normally dense, she knew him well enough by now to know that he felt the exact way she didn't want him feeling about it. She gave him a light squeeze on his bicep, something subtle to signify a consolation while they were still in the briefing.

"...Nadia is right. You're gonna die if you go it alone," Dani stated with a tired sigh. "And you probably don't think it right now about any of us after all this bullshit, but Sara's a good person. Even if you don't wanna stay in the long term, she's a good partner to have for the moment."

At the very least, Sara will take care of the girl, and that wolf may be what Miss Moscow needs. Dani didn't know if it was just arrogance, distrust, loss, but regardless Dani didn't see the whip approach as the best option.

"As for fucking Lucifer, I don't like it but we don't have much of a choice here. Going it alone against those weirdos is fishy at best..."

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Chibistaryuu

 

[Sir Les Paul]

???☆Hoshi​

N/A​

Species Death Golem
Partner Eloise Keegan
Rank Two-Star

Location Western European Branch HQ, Canterbury, England
Mission A Reflection of Question
Status Relaxed

​

Tags: The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

The Hoshi listened to all that there was to say, and there had been plenty. Maria, as always, had plenty of opinions. There existed one opinion that she shared in which the Hoshi didn't appreciate: this common belief that his decisions alone endangered the group. This irked him as he said he would do it alone had the others elected to stay behind. More importantly, even if Lady Crimson had elected to attack them on site, there was a trump card that could have assured most of their survival.

Sure, one of them was likely to die, but one was not all. That made for a clear and important difference.

Well, at least to him. Perhaps not to everyone else, but he cared plenty.

Wren had plenty to say, too. In fact, this was the first time he had heard her speak quite this much in the entire time she had been paired with Zosar. If nothing else good came of this, getting her to open up might qualify.

Once the conversation came to a point where the Hoshi could finally continue speaking, he elected to do just that: speak. And, in doing so, he would choose the path of least resistance. The Hoshi could find something he would disagree with in just about everything that everyone said around him, but ultimately, some of those disagreements were pointless and personal while others had actual, important value. Something that he felt actually mattered as opposed to just splitting the hairs of differing perspectives.

"Maria always has plenty to say," he responded, politely piggybacking off of one of the very first comments made by Wren.

"And, what she says isn't always agreeable," he continued on, "but, in this case, she did bring up what might just be the most important thing to remember here."

"Eros is truly the one to blame. With what we learned today, he's more dangerous than ever," he explained. The weapon then reviewed through the various other topics Maria had brought up, but only felt one was productive to the conversation as a whole. He was trying to be agreeable with her when, in general, there was little the two presently agreed upon.

"Of the names listed, Yami and Kisei stand out to me," he commented. For the moment, he took his attention off Maria and back to Zosar for a moment. Elly had said her piece before, but Zosar hadn't spoke up in some time. "Which do you think is more fitting?" he asked, aiming at Zosar, though really open to all.

He still wasn't done. There was one thing that was said in the last exchange that he could not let slide. Just one thing that he disagreed with that he would not let go unaddressed. And, that one thing came from Wren. He turned to her with that same soft smile and even walked just a bit closer to her. His porcelain hand extended out to gently grab her shoulder, and his eyes conveyed the passion that burned inside him behind this next point. What he said now, he meant. Not as a peacekeeper or as the mentor of the team. Even more personal than that.

"Wrenny," he said, stealing her self-imposed nickname from her own internal reflection, "You are not just a leashed dog to Lord Kidd. Just like Zosar isn't just an ex-merc, I'm not just a salvaged golem, and Maria isn't just the daughter of a famous Witch."

The Hoshi peered into Wren, trying to make this point as clear as possible. It was one of the few cornerstones of his own identity left: the charity of the Shinigami.

"I'm not gonna spew some bullshit like Lord Kidd loves us all.. but he does care. This entire program was his idea. He cannot stand to see a soul go down the wrong path. Human, Weapon, Witch, Werewolf--it doesn't matter," he explained, genuinely conveying the point of the program that Kidd had communicated to him so many times. A point the former Midori could understand whole-heartedly. Sometimes second-changes weren't enough. Sometimes, you needed a third, fourth, or fifth fuck-up before you got it right.

He let go of her shoulder, never having meant to hold it long. He just had a point he wanted made, and made clear.

"You are right about one thing, though: we all have shit to prove," he told her, ending his speech with another resounding theme of agreement. "thing is, it's mostly to ourselves."

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Team Status...
▓ ▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌[ Arrived ]▐▐▐▐▐▐▐▐▐ ▓​

September 20th, 2067​

If any of the agents expected to be ushered into Lux after agreeing to meet with Anatoli, they would be surely and wholly disappointed. The reality of a meeting with the Morningstar family was one of secrecy; specific steps upon steps including catching public transit at pre-ordained location only to inevitably hopping into to more private vehicles. And, in the end, their meeting would involve neither Anatoli or Lux itself. Instead, the Morningstar family put forth a massive effort to bring the group to one of its other clubs, closer to the coast, by the name of The Venus Lounge. Of course, if they were truly hellbent on meeting Anatoli, such arrangements could be made, pending their success on this mission.

Not that anyone aside from Raphael had any apparent interest in the affluent family.

It was best this way regardless. Given that the Lux was a place of extravagance that catered to Hollywood A-listers and the most prominent figures in the plutocracy of the West Coast, sending a group of a no-name DWMA Agents there was a sure-fire way to arouse suspicion. Given the political climate of Los Angeles at the time, this extra effort wasn't exactly unwarranted. Had the public caught wind that the DWMA was assisting the Morningstar affiliates, the backlash would be immediate and obvious. Anatoli was already suffering quite substantially from the distrust being thrown on his name, regardless of how ludicrous it was. He was losing millions per day. The DWMA stood to lose much more, and not just financially.

It wasn't Lux, but it was no less impressive. The Venus Lounge was a club not unlike Lux, but designed with a glass roof and large outdoor pavilion that allowed for Venus to be spotted quite easily. A large swath of land around the club had been bought out to lessen light pollution and give the location more of a natural, beach-like environment. Unironically, this lead to the club being one of the least popular within the line-up of Morningstar clubs despite being one of the most expensive to develop.

But, then, it wasn't necessarily developed to be profitable. Instead, this specific location was designed to be a gift. A little-known fact about Lucifer Morningstar is that he happened to be an incredible romantic. The Venus Lounge was designed to enjoy the sight of Venus, the Evening Star, which happened to be the doting pet name picked up by his wife, Chloe. This club, which was more like a resort, was his twentieth anniversary gift to the missus. A coast-side retreat for when the bustling city life was just too much.

It also made for a wonderful location away from the bright, vibrant lights of the city and all the media attention that came with that.

Unlike Luxe, The Venus Lounge had front entry way with a foyer, intended for guests to have to travel through or around to get to the front. It perhaps was somewhat out of the way, but given that there were still a hundred or more people trying to get in, the layout of the club grounds wasn't the worst deterrent. The neon-lit gardens above and flowing fountains illuminated by installed lighting created a cyberpunk-meets-Victorian ambiance of romance. The nearby thump of the club kept it lively.

Not that the Fate Agents entered through conventional means. No, the entire lot were taken in via the employee entrance on the North side of the building, which was the darkest portion of the building simply due to the fact the East and West were built to allow guests to view the morning or night sky from several stories in the air with minimal obstruction. The North and South portions of the building were comparatively irrelevant.

The agents were led through the back end of the facility until they reached the elevator which would take them to the executive suites, all the while led by a Hispanic woman that had been with them since their pick-up off a public bus and into high end, black SUV's. Her name hadn't been exchanged, only her purpose: to get them to her boss. That boss later being clarified as one Charles Martin, Jr., a cousin to Anatoli. The explanation here being Charles has been looking into the satanic incidents more closely, and this would keep eyes off both the DWMA and the Morningstar affiliates.

Aside from the whole process taking several hours and the abundance of secrecy, the relocation went off without any complications. Nadia got a glimpse at what the competent underbelly of society looked like; it ran like a well-oiled machine. Sara and Noise had some time to actually talk. Without the anxiety caused by Eva, Sara had an opportunity to see just how off she had been this mission. Dani had a chance to talk to Adrian, and the two had a brief moment to exchange how they felt about what Cyrus had Adrian do. It was an odd situation where Adrian felt like he should apologize, but the logical part of his brain told him that didn't make sense. Raph, all the while, would both be let down by not getting to immediately meet Anatoli, but also impressed at the Venus Lounge and how it was a whole modern night club classed up and based on the night sky. It was still a few hours until evening, but soon enough, Venus would in fact be visible in the westward sky.

The office could have been lush and over saturated with expensive, materialistic objects. Instead, it was sleek, bright, and minimalist. Charles was a large, African American man with a clean-cut appearance, bald head, and well-shaped beard. He lacked the Grigori Soul of his cousins, but his soul was nothing to scoff at. Bright, vibrant, warm, and alluring. It had a pull, not unlike that of their comrade Gauss, though much weaker than what his allies felt. What few things were in the office were of course incredibly nice. A massive, ebony desk, though kept clean with just a computer screen as a display and all forms of peripherals hidden. Behind him was a large, round bookshelf, capable of housing a few hundred books. The rest of his office was left fairly open with massive glass panels to allow in the light from outside, all hitting matte grey flooring that oddly managed to avoid ever making a sheen in the light. Aside from his desk, little else aside from a few chairs and some plants were within the office; the rest was walled off by giant, metallic frames that formed a sleek transition into the glass panels that defined most of the room.

"Story is, you've already met the charlatans claiming to be Satanists and the Paladins pretending it's the eleventh century," Charles said aloud, his tone about as deep and serious as one could expect from a man that operated a multi-million dollar establishment. He spoke smoothly, his confidence being clear through his tone, but not bridging into arrogance or electing to use five dollar words just for the sake of it. Charles shook his head, a disapproving look creeping across his face. Of the few things on his desk, a bottle of scotch was one of them. He lowered his hand down to his desk and pulled a chilled glass from a compartment in it, then poured himself a splash of his presumably overpriced liquor.

"Forgive my... perhaps brutish train of thought, but in an era where we have literal superhumans working alongside actual Witches after we combined magic and science to save the world from an undead pandemic... I admittedly find it insulting that God has anything to do with our current troubles," Charles told them, winding up his delivery of his distaste of religion with a winded but somewhat eloquent choice of words and timing.

Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Chibistaryuu

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | Canterbury, West Europe HQ

Listening was all he really did after his suggestion was retracted.

Elly, then Maria, they both pitched in. Each in their own way to the conversation. Having no real knowledge of the Japanese language it was hard for him to really offer anything. Instead he listened to what Elly listed off and then shifted over to Maria as she spoke.

One thing came clear to him as Maria gave her opinion on the matter concerning their Hoshi friend’s name choice and that was the young mage was a lot less…to put it simply, aware of the more subtle reasons as to why their friend felt so strongly about this subject. Granted Maria had little knowledge about their Hoshi friend's past, outside of what they had seen it didn't paint a clear story, not until he began sharing more about himself of why he felt so strongly about this subject.

Out of all she said though, ranging from Songbird to the subject of identity itself and how that tied to the Hoshi, there was the one thing he agreed with resolutely, and that was the fact Eros was responsible for all this pain and more. And while the possibility of conflict wasn't unlikely in this mission, he wasn't about to stress about that in the immediate moment. From the details so far, it was possible bartering could be done.

Elly was a smooth talker, and he had his fair share of experiences buying time in lethal situations.

There was always the factor the Hag could show interest in any of the others also. And that wasn't something he could ignore if it played a role in the mission later.

What got his attention was the shift in conversation as their Death Scythe addressed Wren, whom at this point wasn't even properly looking in anyone's direction for any decent period of time. It was the story he told that got him. The real story. The details that bits of rumor has hinted at. That someone up top has stopped Midori from being expunged, that Kidd had played some part of influence on it.

It was horrifying to realize just how bad it could have been if Midori had gone alone, things had gone different, and Songbird had whisked him away. It was even worse to think about, for just a moment, what would have happened if he had fell to his Madness along with Wren's.

His father had turned his Weapons to blind rage and Dani had done similar to Nadia by indirect influence. What would happen if two partnered souls resonating, fell to Madness together and it was one that complimented the other?

If Eros had gotten a hold of Midori's soul, a soul that held a fragment of Kidd’s…Maria called it idiotic, Zosar didn't think it was. The God of Death had not seen himself stuck to Death City like his predecessor nor were there rumors in the links they had within DWMA prior to his assignment here that shared any news of buzzfeed about the lord of the organization in the last decade that he could recall.

Ultimately now that he knew this, there was a greater sense of respect he had for Kidd for it. To do something like that for anyone, was…well beyond words.

Just as he was at a loss to what to say to the information. He knew Midori had been robbed of something irreplaceable, hearing it though, knowing that they had shared in similar situations and that there hadn't been any actual favoritism because of bloodline alone?

He had to clear his throat for a moment. Quietly, so as not to disturb the flow of what his Hoshi brother was sharing.

Maria's input joined soon after and Wren's following comment made his eyes shift to her. Gauging.

He stopped trying to analyze her like he normally did with anyone, and instead, just listened to what she said.

He could see the struggle in her refusal to look at anyone. The light tension in her voice that even if it didn't cause a tremor or reveal much in the way of the layers, was still there to sensitive ears. And when her breath hitched and she clanked the bands together that stayed on her wrists, he felt himself since. Unable to stop it.

He could feel it when she did that. A phantom sensation. Something he had done when in anger he had thought, before FATE and after the first two or three escape attempts had failed, when he had tried shattering his own shackles by raw force. Before the deal. The sensation of metal on skin. Snug and comfy. Robbing dignity and freedom.

And their eyes met- only for a moment, and he felt like, for what she had said, he had to respond.

“If that’s what you wish, then I'll fulfill that. I'll let you do your job, but I won't ever stop worrying. Stuck with me now. Fair to say that's a no-can-do. He's right too though.” His head gesture to Hoshi. “You're more than someone on a leash; I saw it when we met Silver.” Sticking to his own nickname for her.

“Still see it now. They'll see that too. Sooner or later.” He tacked on at the end.

And if they don't, their loss.

“Between Yami and Kisei, I think Kisei sounds better.” It was deliberate he didn't say why he thought Yami didn't and he wasn't about to make the reference of why that name reminded him of something.

Yami Hoshi didn't roll off the tongue like Yami Yugi, and he didn't want to think about that past the surface level.

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen

Interactions: Haze- Sir Les Paul

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | Egypt | Rings: 0/1

When the first pop and boom echoed off Arkayis blade he felt the cold take out the heat he could magically will, a cold that raced down his shoulders and slightly exposed upper torso in the form of electric frosty pin prickle tingles. A feeling he he hated-- being like this, where in the past he wouldn't have flinched or felt so tense, the mere sound of it alone set him on edge-- got his heart rate racing.

Magic went through the bands on his biceps and as Feng knocked aside and took down her assailant while Gauss and Arky wiped out the other.

The Lich Mummy shouted his claim and made a move as the plates along Ark’s arms expanded to cover, arms and shoulders as well as part of his chest and back.

Grimoire glowing, a new Weapon materialized with heat in his palm and with a flick of his fingers to try to impede the path of the approaching Mummy and raised arm he hurled the magma spear, giving it a guiding shove with the use of magic and sent it straight for the Lich Mummy as it blitzed right towards Gauss.

In the same instant after throwing the magma spear, new weapons formed into his hands. Magma based knives, designed purposely for throwing, each one contained between a finger in each hand. Four each, eight in total.

With the Archers shifting attention to them, Ark took that sense of stress, that innate sense of internal self-hatred at how tense he presently felt when he knew he should have been feeling more calm and collected, and instead channeled that into his next spell, where a series of earth conjured stones materialized in the air above while he shifted land below himself, shooting himself into the air slightly as the archers let loose their volley, he fired those same stones at their arrows, like fired cannons. Moving with enough speed they should smash through or completely knock whatever firepower sent off course entirely. Cover fire to handle the long ranged users.

In the same instance of doing that he also whipped out both arms. Blades of burning white hot earth flew through the air and with magical support and a touch of guidance from the burning glow of his grimoire, they appeared more like conjured arrows. Shifting mid air, adjusting angle aim low for the massive guards defending the archers. Burning hot and radiating trails of heat as they shot through the air with a curving dive in the same instant the earth mage made his descent back to ground. Gloves glowing in preparation for any retaliating attack.

Mentions: Merciless Medic

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location New Temple, Egypt
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper

'Arky, I wasn't even sure if that was possible,' Gauss shared internally, admitting to neither of his partners that the attempt to make a delayed explosion was just that: an attempt. The Meister genuinely didn't know the Soul Studies theory behind that technique. On one hand, Arkayis could clearly control flames he generated from a distance; but, on the other, delaying when his wavelength manifested its elemental affinity once it wasn't in contact with him was a whole separate can of worms.

Had Gauss the time to sit and actually think out logic behind the action, he might have been more confident in his request. Instead, he had to test the theory the crude way.

'So, I'd say you did fine," Gauss continued, further supporting his partner. "In fact, we might just have to see if we can work on some surprise attacks using that combo,' he added, his mind now piecing together some dirty tactics using a delayed explosion. Just as Gauss had proven with the Witch in the Fool's Festival, he wasn't above dishonorable tactics.

Then came Wes and that pulsing melody he created. A thumping reverberation that Gauss was more than happy to pour his wavelength into, tying himself, Noah, and Arkayis all together with the Chain that was now forming. Normally, this would be quite the taxing technique to execute. Had he tried to initiate a chain with Feng and Aki on his own, not only would there likely be a delay, but it would likely be far less efficient and stable. With help from Wes, here it was.

And, it was a beautiful thing.

Chain Resonance provided flat bonus to all those involved, but Gauss wasn't content with just ending it there. Gauss was ever-considerate of his surroundings. He knew that not only was he the target of the most powerful undead in the room, but that Ark had taken the liberty of targeting it for him. A magma spear, it seemed. That idea could be brilliant or it could have been absolutely useless given Gauss had just witnessed heat itself become irrelevant to this undead. If that were the case, Ark was doing little more than throwing rocks. While still dangerous, they would likely only slow down a foe like this.

Gauss took the power granted to him through the Chain Resonance and doubled it back onto Arkayis. If raw heat wouldn't cut it and fire was off the table, then like it or not, raw spiritual energy was likely necessary for a deciding blow. With help from Wes and Chain Resonance, Gauss could quite easily supply the power and stability for a Weapon Amplification form. Arkayis would be granted power unlike the trio had accomplished alone. A new form, comprised of wavelength that was a mix between his own and that of Gauss, and a whole new level of raw destructive force that came with his increased size and ferocity.

If this undead were to attack him, surely it would need to adjust for the spear from Ark. Gauss would move in the opening that adjustment would create and avoid revealing the boost to his speed until then. This chain resonance and form had the potential to become significant drains on his reserves, so he was focused on bringing this fight to a close as safely and quickly as possible.

'Seems like this mission is just comin' up Arky,' Gauss said, 'Slice'n'dice that Egyptian jerky.'

Note: The actual appearance of a Weapon Amplification Form is at the discretion of the Demon Weapon.​

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Western European Branch HQ, Canterbury, England
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Elly had remained rather silent throughout the exchange, stuffing her phone away and taking another sip from her cup of coffee as she waited for the caffeine to kick in. Most of the names were too on the nose or too Midori, though he seemed to decide on a couple he wouldn't mind. Most of his words were spent on Wren, who still seemed to be reeling. Encouraging words were fine and all, though Elly would be quite shocked if the wolf bounced back so quickly just from that. She'd probably need time. All the more reason to avoid combat here.

Maria's thoughts echoed that, and more, that Elly agreed with. Eros was to blame, but they weren't blameless. They could have done better, made better decisions. Elly had no issue assigning blame to others, however she tended to focus on her own as that was what she could control. She has no control over Eros or where he sends his undead hussies. She can control her own choices, her training and precautions. To say the group didn't make absolutely idiotic decisions was delusional, though Elly was perhaps even more annoyed at her own out-of-character decision to go along with it. A feeling lingered within her that she didn't know, like a memory she couldn't recollect. It was something on the tip of her tongue, yet that she simultaneously felt she would never be able to catch it. Nonetheless, that was one issue. They had another to deal with.

"Which is why when we find the hag, we will approach her amicably. I do not expect her to forego the relic because it was stolen, however if all this turns into is paying her off with some of the branch's resources, that is the best-case scenario," She stated simply, adding after Maria. "I will do the talking, or perhaps Zosar if she takes a fancy to him as the folk tales are given. No running off, no detours."

They were in less of a position to take risks now than they were before, save for Midori now being a Death Scythe. However, if the hag had previous dealings with the branch and no one had done anything to piss her off since, they could use that good will to hopefully bring this quest to a close quickly.

"Kisei it is, then. Now then, any other questions about the hag or territory?" Elly posed. "If not, let's get a move on. The sooner this is done, the sooner we can all actually recuperate."

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze-