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Fantasy Within the Core




latest



Name: Alexander Hales


Age: 25





Alexander still trying to process, and at the same thinking of a way to get closer to the beast, without hurting himself. Flinching a bit, as he look over his shoulders to only find out that the others have discovered their ability. Well, at least we can get rid of this shit now.. probably. He thought, as he clenched his sword, tightly, and look up at the monster. His eyes narrowing at the beast in front of him as he thinks of a way to get closer. He then dodge when the monster came charging at someone, he turned to look at where his charging at and saw the lad from earlier, Ruk Cras..? Then his eyes widened as the beast got flipped backwards."Holy.." his expression got cut off as the monster flung to the right.


Alex can't keep himself from smirking in amusement, and the thrill now getting in his veins. "That was amazing, Ruckus!" @Aiakaos He said in excitement, and pronouncing that guy's name wrong, unconsciously. He let out an amuse chuckle as he slowly backed away, I can't fight that beast head on.. He thought, as he felt the weapon in his hand change it's shape. Looking down, it changed into a bow. he then grinned, the idea popping out of his mind as he knelt down. This is how it works right? he thought, as he lay his free hand to the ground, water coming from the soil came out and soon turned into a sharp arrow. Smirking in amusement, he still cannot believe that this is happening.


He slowly stood up straight,then smiled calmly as he prepared to attack with his bow and arrow. Pointing it at the monster's head. Steady.. He breathed deeply, closing his eyes, remembering how he used this weapon before, in the woods, hunting some animals. Then he shoots. Opening his eyes, as he watched the pointed and solid blade of arrow, flew at the beast's head. Causing the monster growl in pain, and stumble backwards, gushing out some blood coming from his attack. Alex, lowered his hands as he sighed deeply, Am I this easy to lose stamina? He thought, as he slowly pants. Controlling the water needs a lot of focus, and can cause fatigue. Alex looked up, seeing that the beast, is still not in the ground, dying. He groaned, annoyingly, but he knows that his attack will not be able to defeat it. "You young ones need to run wild with that ability of yours, If you don't want to die that is." he manage to say with a slight smirk. Purposely mocking them so they can just move on and defeat this thing.
 
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After witnessing each of the their abilities, Gilda had to keep herself from applauding. She wasn't kidding about wishing that they were prodigies, but she hadn't expected them to be actual prodigies. They each released their core, looking as if they'd put in minimal effort into it. Gilda thought back to when she was just a child, and how long it took her to summon an itsy bitsy blade- four, maybe five months? And even longer to master how to use it. She huffed and placed her free hand on her hip. Well, can't let the newbies have all the fun. Besides, if pops was coming anytime soon, then she can't let them wreck the place too badly. They've already seen what they can do, so that should be sufficient enough.


"Over here!" Gilda called out loudly, flailing her hand in the air and jumping up and down. The rowdy behavior immediately caught the spider's attention. It roared furiously and charged at the girl, its thunderous footsteps mimicking her heartbeat. No matter how much she does this, it never gets any easier.


Letting out a small breath, Gilda gripped her sword tighter and braced herself. When the beast was only several meters away, it jumped into the air and pounced, baring its sharp claws. Without so much as a flinch, Gilda leaped backwards, missing the attack by mere inches, and landed steadily on both of her feet. The spider screeched and shot out another of the slimy substance. It resembled a regular spider's webs, but it was so dense that it looked like it could knock a person's head straight off. Gilda stood firm at the spot and swung down, cutting the substance through the middle. Instead of sticking to the sword, the projectile was split into two and whizzed past her body.


The spider took the chance of the momentary distraction and leaped in front of Gilda once more. It raised one of its legs and brought it crashing down. Gilda's mind raced- if the impact didn't kill her, the claws would. Without much thought, she twisted her body to the side instinctively. The claws ripped the side of her shirt but barely missed her flesh. Without giving the creature a chance to regain its balance, Gilda spun around and slashed at its front leg. The spider screeched in anger but only managed to stagger forward. Seeing an opening, Gilda brought down her sword with a shout and cut the spider's head clean off.


Dark, gooey liquid spurted out of its body, and its limbs twitched grotesquely before it finally went still. Almost immediately, the garden was filled with the nasty odor of rotten eggs and dead fish. Gilda grimaced and pinched her nose, but gave everyone a thumbs up, silently congratulating them on a job well done.
 
First Appearance
VEuU9SJ.jpg
Claudo V. Rez
The final moments came quick---as the head of the monster collided with the ground, it vanished almost the same second with the rest of the body, and with a blink of an eye the whole figure had disappeared, evaporated into the thin air.


The disgusting stench was gone, the air cleared up with no more echoes of the piercing screeches. It's as if nothing had ever happened in the first place, for no monster was no longer in sight. The only evidences indicating there had been a fight then, perhaps, would be the collapse of the huge black fences that once stood mighty and tall around the garden, and the devastation the monster had left behind on the poor flowers on the dirtied grounds.


Silence befell upon the air, then, for the peace had come way too sudden. But the quietness did not last long.


Slowly, from their backs, the direction of the entrance to the garden, came the sounds of clear footsteps, the familiar sounds of high heels hitting against the floor. But the more recognizable compares to that, would be the heavy hand claps that began to make its way to resound around the garden.


"Splendid! The fight was beautiful, well done."


His voice wasn't too deep, but not high either, it was an equal balance with an unfamiliar yet elegant accent, the voice that they all heard once before from the monitors in the room they once came from. His compliment sounded sincere, yet still questionable, and there was a long pause before he spoke again. Before then, he had made sure to make his appearance clear, as he took his time to step out from the shadows.


Even in the careless manner he dressed, his handsome face was obvious along with the clear, gray eyes that made its ways to scan around the group.


His hair's long, stretching all the way down to the end of his back, its warm, light brownish color reflecting the sunlight gently. His lab coat seemed to be lazily put upon the green shirt he wore underneath, with a cute stuffed head of a white cat pinned upon the tie he had hung down from the collar, which didn't seem to match his personality, but ironically suited him.


Beside him, a young woman stood, her pace in unison with his. She's as beautiful as he's handsome, yet significantly more obvious with the tidiness of her attire, her emerald green eyes the same color as her long, silky hair, tied up neatly as two ponytails. She looked only straight ahead, seemingly in no way interest in the small crowd of people that had gathered here. Her expression was stern, in a way empty, contrasting to the light smirk the man had hung upon his face.


It wasn't until both of them had caught everyone's attention did the male start to speak again, his back straight as he glanced toward the crowd, displaying no attention toward the fallen fence and the messy garden.


"It seems like everyone's 'core' has awakened. Congratulations, everyone, you are now part of the top 2% of the population," he made his greeting fairly short, leaving out plenty of unexplained materials before he began his own introduction. "My name is Claudo V. Rez, called mostly as the Doctor by others, though...I don't mind being called whatever you like. What have I been called before again? Prince? Hero? What's the bad ones, Asshole?"


6WQfa3I.png
Aira Venoz
"Garbage," the woman besides him added, her voice flat with no emotions. Yet upon hearing her he still burst out laughing.


"Yeah, that too. I'm both famous and infamous, after all. Anyways, jokes aside..." the man let out a sigh.


Landing his view upon the spot where the monster would've stood if it's still alive, the Doctor...or so he's mostly called, had his eyes narrowed slightly. His attention once again directed back to the group, studied them for a moment, then grinned ever so friendly, "I'm pretty sure you guys want some explanations."


"Gilda, you've done very well so far. I'm sorry, I have not expected the monster to burst through as well. It's not planned to be like this," starting off with an apology, Claudo first nodded toward the cheerful girl, indicating his gratitude. "All of you put it through perfectly well, though. I believe you guys all understand it by now, the fact that you all have powers residing within you. I assume a first battle would prove that the fastest way, but man, it destroyed our precious garden instead."


A dry chuckle escaped from him, and the man carried on. "Now now...Where should I start? Gilda had most certainly went over the basic ideas as to why you're all here today already, so I guess my job is to elaborate? Aye, I suck at explaining though. Let's see...Should we start with powers? The organization? You guys? The core?"


"How about this," pondering on what to do, Claudo finally seemed to settle down on one solution.


"Throw me your questions, and I'll answer them all. Sounds like the quickest way, isn't it?"
 
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Backing off from the arachnid-like monstrosity looming before the ragtag group, Jordan backed up. That feeling... it was gone. That empowering, surreal feeling was only there for a few seconds. like this, with no weapons and his ability suddenly no longer there, Jordan found himself at a loss for what to do. So, he found himself resorting to what he normally did in situations like this: use it as time to observe an analyze the situation. Keeping an eye on the monstrosity of course, he found his eyes widening in amazement as, one by one, all around him, the others' powers, for lack of a better word, make themselves known. To be honest, it was all too much to process.... perhaps if that acutely state of mind was still present he'd be able to comprehend the barrenness of the others' powers, but for now his mind almost refused to believe what his eyes were seeing. One girl seeming to melt into the nearest shadow, the blonde man from earlier conjuring up some sort of weapon made of.... water? As Jordan's eyes darted around, at one point he stopped trying to understand what was going on. Perhaps he simply couldn't, just like he couldn't understand his own ability.


After another admittedly very impressive display from Gilda, the fight was over before Jordan could even entirely process what the hell was going on. It seemed like it would take a while to comprehend, as much as Jordan felt pressured to understand the logical conclusion that must be able to be drawn from all this he simply just couldn't right now. Jordan wrinkled his nose at the foul stench the now-dead giant spider emitted, finding himself shaking his head at Gilda's cheery thumbs-up, though with a slight grin on his face. Her enthusiasm was... slightly contagious, Jordan had to admit, but he'd certainly make an effort not to show it. These thoughts were all but replaced with the shock of seeing the monster's body seemingly disintegrate before his eyes.


Suddenly aware of the footsteps echoing through the courtyard behind him, Jordan turned to face the mismatched pair of mysterious labcoat-wearing people. The man seemed like a sleazebag right out of the gate, and when he spoke up Jordan's eyes narrowed. 'Great... this clown's the one who's supposed to let us know what's really going on isn't he? Welp, looks like we'll be here a while, Jordan thought broodingly. The entire time the man spoke Jordan stood there silently, arms crossed, stoically observing the man and the woman beside him. The only time he really emoted at all was a small grin flashing acorss his face for a moment when the so-far unnamed woman beside Claudo seemed to channel Jordan's own opinion of the man,in an off-color manner that gave a rather amusing first impression to Jordan. She certainly wasn't bad-looking, either.


Jordan rubbed his temples in exasperation as Claudo pondered where to start explaining, and, unsurprisingly to be honest, foisted the responsibility of such on the ones who, by apparent design by Claudo and his people, had no idea what was going on. Jordan stepped to the front of the group, looking Claudo in the face sternly. He had some questions, alright. "Okay, so how about telling me how, if the world was destroyed, we all got here unscathed? On top of that, there's the question of how you hand-selected us from all over the world and brought us here without our knowledge, apparently into the future. This sort of thing doesn't seem... possible. Though I suppose our abilities don't either. Also, I remember getting a mysterious email a few days before I ended up here. The ridiculous vagueness and talk of saving the world is definitely spot-on... was that you people's doing? One more thing... why is this place," Jordan pointed towards the building, "in such pristine condition compared to everything surrounding it?" Jordan was aware there were other pressing matters, but right now he was concerned about the how of all this. None of this seemed possible, and Jordan would honestly love to be proved wrong so his head could stop spinning with the questions he just asked.


@SilverBlack
 
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The sound of clapping had her head turning before she even registered the action, amethyst eyes zeroing in on the garden entrance in a narrowed gaze and lips pulling into a soft frown. It was a slow, even sound that bounced off the walls and reverberated through the garden with ease, the kind of noise made by someone far too amused with his own game and much too comfortable in his own shoes. It was mocking, and Evelyn found that she didn’t care for it. She didn’t care for it one bit.


Even though the monster had been dealt with in an impressive show of skill by Gilda, a tension still hung in the air over the group like a fog. With the emergence of two new people and the steady approach of who she could only speculate as being the mastermind behind their current situation, Evelyn was hard-pressed not to rank out her hair by its roots. The only thing that kept her from attempting to do so in the first place was her injured hand, a reminder of the anxiety attack that could very well have cost her her life. It throbbed from where it lay limply by her side, and though she did her best to ignore its pained cries, the snowy haired women dropped her gaze for all of a second to check its condition.


When she looked up a man and a woman had stepped into the light.


The woman unnerved her with the blankness behind her stare, but it was the man that caused her to bristle. He was entirely too calm, too friendly. For someone who claimed surprise in the face of the attack, he was disturbingly flippant. Surely if a group of people destined to save the world was attacked after being awake – after fifteen years of sleep no less – for barely an hour was attacked you’d step in to help? Never mind the fact that Gilda had managed the beast on her own – this man looked like he could care less about the battle that had just graced his once immaculate lawn. She had the sneaking suspicion that he’d known about the monster from the beginning.


Jordan was the first to voice his questions after Claudo’s speech. She watched him silently from her position, clamping her bandaged hand over its wounded counterpart in an effort to ease its throbbing, and digesting his words before she bothered to voice her own. When he finished she nodded her head. “I agree,” she said at length. “While I want to know about what’s currently going on, I think figuring out how we got here in the first place is important. But more than that…”


Evelyn drew in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “I want to know what happened to make the world like this in the first place.”
 
Aiden paused, looking to the pair. What the hell was going on. This is not natural by any means, and his mind was soaked in information, and it was sickening


Aiden didn't hesitate. He clenched his fist, and tore another boulder from the soil, staring at the new pair with almost animalistic fury. He started toward them.


"I want answers. I want to know what's going on. Why have we lost 15 years? Why is it I don't look like a day has passed!?"


This anger wasn't entirely toward them. He was upset with himself. He missed clyde's funeral, and that pissed him off to no end.


"What cause that...that human, to become some sort of fuckin experiment from a movie!? And how do we know" He reared his arm back as he came only afew feet from the new pair" that you aren't monsters like them? We have been given abilities, while they became monsters. How do we know there aren't monsters that can look like humans? Your words are the only one We can listen to, But how do we know you are trust worthy?"


Every fiber of his being was on fire. He was on edge. He wasn't processing everything right. "And why Us?"
 
Ruk immediately swerved to face Alex upon hearing the all so familiar word he had a love-hate relationship with. Yes, he didn't really like it when people mispronounced his name after he even enunciated it to them, but at the same time more people would turn their heads to see who on earth would be called 'Ruckus'. With his appearance that already made him stand out from other people, it was quite easy for them to spot the owner of the anomalous name while he was in a swarm of people who had stopped by to watch his performance. More people meant more friends he could make besides learning more fascinating things about the world. If he thought about it, his name might as well be a blessing in disguise.


Speaking of performances, he couldn't believe it when Alex turned his water sword into a bow and arrow, successfully striking the beast and inflicting damage upon it. Water changing into a solid weapon..how was that possible? Putting aside his attempt to correct the man about his name, Ruk simply returned a small smile and thanked him, "Same to you, Alex." @Satans Spawn The pronunciation of his name could wait, they had a monster to deal with. He flinched when the monster roared again and widened his eyes at the sight of Gilda finishing off the beast, leaving a gruesome corpse that gave off a disgusting stench he would've almost thrown up over if it hadn't disappeared instantly. In disbelief that something so terrifying could disappear like a mere hallucination he took a step forward, looking around the garden as until he reached the very spot the monster had stood before it vanished into thin air. Gripping the strap of his messenger bag for reassurance, he bent his knees and lowered himself to the ground. Surely the monster left traces of itself. The slimy substance it spewed out of its mouth, chips of its fangs, pieces of its claws, even little blood droplets when it got wounded. Where were they? Ruk reached out his arm, brushing his hand through the grass and petals. There were a few spots on the earth that looked as if something pierced and left a hole there. "..that's where its claws were." Ruk said to himself, pausing as he remembered he should note everything that occurred just now. Standing upright, he opened his bag and took out his notebook and pen, opening it just as a pair of footsteps echoed from the building and a new voice resonated into the air.


He turned around, taking one look at the people from the organization before jotting down the man's name. Aside from wearing a simple lab coat, Claudo didn't look like a doctor but Ruk didn't pull that matter into question. Anyone could be anything nowadays, no matter what their appearance suggested. Which certainly didn't seem to change even 15 years later. Ruk rocked his feet back and forth as he sketched the monster in his notebook while the others questioned Claudo. He steadied himself and raised his hand, bringing it down to his notebook once more when he received the man's attention. Sure, he wondered about the inquiries that were made, but there was something else that seemed more important for him to know. A grave expression rested upon his face and he looked straight into the man's eyes.





"Is it possible for us to turn into monsters, such as the one we just fought? What about cures? Can you save the ones that show signs of changing into inhumane creatures or is there no hope for them? "
 
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latest



Name: Alexander Hales


Age: 25





Alexander breathed deeply as his solid weapon soon turned back into it's liquid state. Seems like that's the limitation of his 'ability'. Looking up at the monstrosity, when his eyes widen in amazement at Gilda, who single-handed killed the creature. He should still be astonish to all this circumstances, but right now he got no choice but to accept it. That is until he get some explanations. With that thought he turned around when he heard footsteps coming from the inside of the building. His face slowly falling, and icy blue eyes narrowing some when he heard the familiar voice. Yes, he quickly recognize the voice.


Listening to the man speak,he can't help but smirk in amusement. This man certainly have the vibe of an arrogant dude,but that what interests Alex. The man seems to be almost like him, hiding something from the shadows,and acting like it's nothing on the outside. In short, to him, the man is also a great actor. He let out a slight chuckle as he puts his hands in his pocket, completely turning to face the man and the woman beside him. Watching the people from the group, asking their own questions.


Alex's lips slowly turned into a smile, a friendly/kind one smile. Of course it was just an act. Instead of running his mouth like the rest of the group is doing, he kept silent with his unfazed smile as he listened to the others.Currently, the questions he wants to asked, are being asks currently, there's no point in repeating it now. Observing the man and woman's action as he remained silent.
 
First Appearance


VEuU9SJ.jpg
Claudo V. Rez



"Well, well. That's a lot of questions."


It wasn't until a certain moment had passed, when no more voices could be heard, did Claudo finally spoke again. His expression remained the same as before, however, where the light yet insincere smile hung meaninglessly upon his face. The man had his eyes slightly narrowed when he listened to the questions, although none was enough for him to show a particular reaction, except for a raise of an eyebrow once in a while as if the wordings of the askers had strike him as amusing. Nevertheless, it was in his eyes the obvious idea that he had expected to hear all those questions being asked already, as though he had been waiting for it all along.


Claudo set his eyes upon the first lad who spoke up first, before his grin widened. "Jordan, is it, please consider that mysterious email you'd received as a simple welcome," somehow knowing his name already, the man didn't bother to explain how as he greeted. "You said I hand-selected you guys out from around the world? Ha! You sound as if you guys have been chosen by me to be brought here--as if I have the ability to do so! You see, I would prefer you to say that you guys are selected, not by me, but by the divine, the so called 'God' if it is to exist. And I," he paused, taking a look around the group of people. "Did the simplest thing any human beings could, by discovering and picking you guys up. It's as easy as that. Now, why did I do that? How did I do that?"


He continued his explanation by asking questions himself, and with each step he began to walk toward the group, his arms outstretched. The woman that was originally standing beside him stayed within her place, her eyes fixed upon them, her face without expressions.


"Ladies and gentlemen, how many of you believe in magic? Well, I suppose even if you don't, you'll have to believe in it now. After all, you all have seen your abilities, abilities that should've only existed in the fictional world," his tone was that of a man ready for a grand speech or lecture. Being now in the center of the group, Claudo constantly turned around so he could face each of everyone once in a while. "Magic--such existence, so divine, one that kept us--no, kept the whole world alive, has always existed. Perhaps it's the incredibly advanced technology that ran the world fifteen years ago that benefited the societies so much that people forgot about it, forgot about this...inhuman, supernatural powers, or so they often referred it as, that laid invisible to our eyes but always there--around us, within us....Perhaps," suddenly, he halted, and his direction turned sharply toward Evelyn, as if the next words would be specifically for her. "It is because of such obliviosity people displayed that no one expected it when the magic explosion occurred--no one's ready for it when it destroyed the world, changed the people...Leaving the world in such devastating state."


He took a breath, inhaling deeply before talking again. "Now, all of you must be really confused about what I just said--magic explosion? What the hell is that? All we know so far is that it's such a collection of dark, supernatural matters that interrupted and disturbed the balance magic had maintained for the world, a balance that existed within all things and organisms, that lies within every single one of us too--" he placed one hand upon his chest. "We call that...the "core.'"


"Every person has a core within them, and we are all connected to magic by the 'core', in a sense. The world...hm....was born from magic, you can say. And all those scientific evolutions that made Earth and you guys the way it is today are possible because magic keeps it running--aye," he suddenly paused, scratching the back of his head. "I guess that's not important for now, too much work to explain things I'm not even sure you guys will understand in the first place. Now what's the question again? Ah, how people turned into monsters, huh."


Clearing his throat, Claudo once again scanned through the group, his eyes set upon Walker for a second. "When the magic explosion occurred, as I stated before, it destroyed the balance that kept the world alive, and distorted it. It twisted and ruined the 'cores' that existed in all beings, and it changed them, forcing them to evolve into something that should've never existed in nature--monsters. Ladies and gentlemen, as you guys all have seen already, that monster you had fought just now, is an example." Gesturing his head toward the collapsed black gates, he reminded them of the creature they were forced to go against just now. "Yes--all the people--well as far as what we know so far--had transformed. Their cores were unable to withstand the dark energy caused by the explosion, and their balance with magic erupted. And yet!"


6WQfa3I.png
Aira Venoz
His eyes widened slightly as he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "You guys--instead of also getting your cores destroyed--have awakened. Instead of losing balance with magic, you guys are now one with magic. And this is what makes you guys so unique, so spectacular! You, unlike those monsters out there, are superior. Hence is why we need you...To save the world."


"We have noticed your abilities soon after the explosion, and we have you gathered here--you guys have all traveled fifteen years into the future. Apparently, the key to save the world has been sent to this era, where the world is already destroyed. This building remained unscathed because it is protected, long protected, for the sake of your awakening," suddenly, the woman who had long remained silent spoke up, halting Claudo from continuing. As if it is also her job to provide an explanation, the young lady then raised her voice, exchanging one look with the male, before she went on. Different from Claudo, she remained still, her tone stern and lacked any emotions.


"We will never ask you to trust us. Anything you disbelieve about what we had said, you may go out to the world and explore it yourself. However, we do guarantee you will get nothing out of not listening to our advice. We will also guarantee that we will not turn into monsters. We are...protected, after all," she had paused for a second while explaining, as if thinking about what word to say, although provides no reason on why she choose that word in the end. It is obvious that, within both Claudo and her explanations, a lot of holes remained unfilled, a lot of details lacked out. Yet, they didn't seem to bother over it, much less notice it in the first place."But," her gentle, soft voice rang into the air as she spoke again. "If somehow, by any chance, it happened. We have turned into the monsters that will simply devour you, then don't hesitate--"


"Feel free to kill us all."


The rest of the sentence was finished in unison as Claudo joined in to say so as well, both seemed utterly confident and direct to say those words, with a light smirk hanging upon the male's face.


Silence followed, then the woman's eyes quietly landed on the last lad that asked his question. "No, it is impossible for all of you to turn into monsters due to your cores," she answered simply, the truth in her words unknown. "However, transformation into a monster takes only seconds, so it is also impossible for the victims to be saved."


A small sigh escaped her as she completed her explanation, viewing it herself as fulfilling a duty. Yet, as she noticed Claudo's eyes resting upon her, the woman looked to his side.


"What is it, Doctor?"


"You have forgotten to introduce yourself."


She blinked for a moment, before humphing.


"Aira Venoz," she stated simply.
 
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As Claudo arrogantly addressed him, Jordan's expression become more and more annoyed every second, his eyes narrowed, mouth curved into a frown, and one eyes twitching in frustration. He began to think expecting any sort of workable explanation for this illogical phenomenon from the man who unmistakably greeted the group over over the speakers was a futile pursuit. The longer he spoke for, continuing with his savageries and presenting nonsense theories and romantic notions concerning magic and some higher power, the strong the urge was to punch this man square in the face. If it wasn't for Jordan's uncertainty of what this man, or the insofar unnamed woman beside him, could do, Claudo would already have a bloodied nose... or at least that's what Jordan told himself. In all honesty, he was starting to realize that any sort of retaliation, or indeed further questioning, was futile... the only way it would seem to get any more answers, as they seemed to be suggesting, was to go along with thier plans. If that was thier intention behind this lacking, unbelievable tag-team speech the two scientists were doing, they were quite clever. The fact that Claudo had spoken Jordan's name added to the feeling that, perhaps, the best thing to do was play along for now. Jordan's pride and his inquisitive, certainty-biased tendencies fought against this notion with all thier might, but his voice of reason was starting to say that perhaps, to avoid overload of his brain or possible injury of some sort, Jordan should play along for now. This frustrating inner conflict could almost be seen on Jordan's face as he listened silently to Claudo and Aira's speech, Aira's name only being revealed afterwards. He wasn't surprised about that little detail, seeing as Aira seems quite guarded, and both of these strange people seem to be so bothered and forgetful about such common-sense details like one's name.


After they had finished, Jordan was quite clearly at his wit's end from this lacking information, but now was more concerned with what they expected of them. There must be a very specific reason they wer brought here... "saving the world" is a broad term, they must have in mind some method to achieve that if they brought it all here. If they don't for some reason, Jordan would be on the brink of boiling over. Any certainty at all, any clear concept of anything about this place, was needed... and apart from some few small details that he honestly didn't trust were completely true, there seemed to be none. No definitive answer the the bigger questions of what, where, how and why... at least any that were justifiable and made sense to Jordan's perhaps overly analytical mind. the two shady lab coat wearing individuals standing before this ragtag group of "awakened," as they seemed to have been dubbed, seem to be either avoiding giving true answers for some frustratingly vague and suspicious reason, or simply didn't know.


Jordan let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing his temple as he kept one hand in his jeans pocket, mostly to keep it visibly balling up into a fist. Appearing more calm and cool than he truly was could give him a considerable advantage here, or at the very least give a somewhat better first impression to the others than showing his emotions plainly. He spoke up after a short pause, noticing no one else has replied as of yet. "Well, I can't say I expected definitive answers from your behavior so far... I suppose the most pressing matter is: How, if we choose to even participate that is, can we go about "saving" that?" He asked, pointing to the wasteland beyond the half-destroyed garden walls. "I am aware we all have powerful abilities, but isn't the world beyond dooomed anyway? If you have any sort of plan, I'd honestly rather start doing whatever it is we are here to do then stand around here still not understanding what's really going on."


@SilverBlack
 
Skimming through his notes, Ruk frowned at the information he just wrote down into his notebook and shook his head as he looked up at Claudo and Aira. The things they were saying, none of it connected to each other. The two of them increasingly reminded him of the displeasing aspects of school. There would be certain teachers who had absolutely no interest in the subject they were teaching, most likely just in it for the salary or something, and they would aggravate him to no end by giving him answers that only beat around the bush. But these two seemed to resemble the type of classmates he had no patience for. The ones that went up to the classroom to showcase a presentation that was obviously made last minute and gave bullshitted answers that had absolutely no correlation to the actual topic they had to talk about. Ruk scoffed and shut his notebook as it became clear that he shouldn't waste pages on these "scientists" and shoved it into his bag before pulling out his telescope. Let's see if you really work. He would get to the bottom of this one way or another. Ruk huffed as he put the telescope to his eye and directed it towards the building windows, scanning every single one of them for a hint that would help him dissolve his confusion. Surely, something in the rooms would be found. Such as a small lab or a storage room full of boxes. After a quick minute, disappointment clouded his eyes as he pulled the telescope away from his face and let it rest on his shoulder, holding it like a baseball bat. Of course the window were tinted or the sun's glare made it impossible for him to figure out what was beyond the glass.


But even so, he wasn't going to give up. Letting out a silent breath, Ruk found himself looking back at the two of them once more. "So who is this God you are referring to? Is it the organization you are part of?" He lifted the telescope from his shoulder, lazily pointing it at the both of them. He briefly closed his eyes before letting out a dumbfounded smile. When he opened his eyes again, they clashed with his smile. Disrespect towards the two of them were building up inside of him and he had zero intention of staying silent about this new found irritation. He didn't like showing this side of himself to anyone, it was quite...un orderly, but his patience was running low and he didn't want to deal with half assed replies It was better to act this way now instead of exploding later on. He didn't like exploding. That did no good for anyone especially for himself. "Yea okay, let's say everything you're saying is true." His usually formal tone had vanished and so did his smile. "But don't you think it is a bit inconsiderate to give us such vague explanations when we have absolutely no idea how we ended up like this?" A scowled rested upon his face as he stepped forward. "Shouldn't you be elaborating on exactly how you 'found' us? Did we even give you permission to keep us, what- preserved in this building? I bet this place holds all the answers to our questions. Is this were you people gathered your 'magic' research? How about those lab rooms where you perform experiments? Oh yeah, how did you even manage to have our bodies exactly the way they were fifteen years ago? Cryogenic freezing? Powerful, long lasting anesthesia?" He pointed his telescope at the building as he now stood next to the blue haired boy. "And if you were able to keep this building untouched for all these years why haven't you kept this whole city protected while you were at it? For the sake of our awakening? What if we.." Ruk paused, glancing at the group before continuing. "..had never woken up? For all you knew, we could've died while 'travelling' to the future. You could've saved all of those other lives while you were waiting fifteen years for this." He huffed as he looked around. "You were able to keep such a nice garden out here. Don't tell me you have no sanctuaries or reservations for the survivors out there. You didn't leave them out to die, did you?" He accusingly stared at the both of them. The subject of magic was a questionable matter, but these powers they had proved it wasn't all a hoax. At least not everything.


Taking in a deep breath, he lowered the telescope and held it by his side. "If I didn't know any better. I would think the two of you escaped from a mental asylum." Shaking his head at the two of them, he tossed the telescope into his bag, turned around ,and started heading towards the smashed garden gate. He didn't expect any answers from them. He didn't even want to venture back into the building to search for answers. Right now, he was disgusted at the logic, ethic, and morals of these people from the organization. All he wanted to do was get far away from them as possible.


He stopped at the gates. "Ah, where are my manners?" His voice regained his usual formal tone. He turned around and gathered his hands together, bowing as he did so. When he stood straight, he gave a genuine smile to the group. If anything, he really wanted to befriend every one of them but his desire to get away from this building for more surpassed that goal. "My name is Ruk Cras. I'm sorry that I cannot stick around for introductions. It was a pleasure meeting you. Good bye now." With that he turned back around and stepped past the ruined gates.
 
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*Collab between @Aiakaos and I*


After finishing off the spider monster, Gilda almost immediately took notice of the pair that trotted into the garden. She maneuvered herself so that she was standing next to Aira. She didn’t mind that they didn’t quite acknowledge her. After all, they had more important matters to deal with. Either way, the satisfaction of finishing off the rogue beast was rewarding enough.


Gilda listened quietly as the group and Claudo exchanged questions and answers. Those questions were pretty much uniform to what they had asked before, just worded differently and more in depth maybe. Each time, she would listen to Claudo’s answers and wrinkle her nose in disdain. Those were awfully vague answers from someone who knew so much. Was that how she sounded like when she was answering them? No wonder they were so irked.


The tension and irk-ness seemed to reach its peak, when Ruk suddenly turned around and stalked out through the gates, but not before properly “excusing” himself. Gilda’s eyes widened slightly and turned to look at Claudo and Aira, hoping that the franticness in her eyes was enough for them to do something. Or at least, tell her to do something. Without even receiving any instructions though, Gilda chose to go after Ruk on moral grounds. If her superiors decided to let him stay out there (even though she doubted that they’d do that), he’d be killed within hours.


Completely ignorant to the perils beyond the gates Ruk stood outside and immediately started coughing. In contrast to the clean garden setting, dust particles and all sorts of debris floated around him. It was as if he entered another world. Some kind of awfully polluted world that covered the land with sandstorms and carried other nasty odors. Ruk waved at the air, trying to get a space to breathe through. What?! How..? He covered his mouth, almost taking a step back until he caught himself and stood in his place. How was this possible? Did the garden have some sort of barrier to keep it protected? Is that how the people kept the building untouched? He looked up then back down, tapping his feet against the ground in an attempt to uncover some sort of..odd machinery or whatever the organization could’ve created to filter out the air. After a few stomps he gave up. Nothing. He looked at the polluted air, searching his mind for a plan that would help him get through the potentially toxic environment he would explore in the next minute.


When a lightbulb finally decided to show up within his thoughts, Ruk reached into his messenger bag and pulled out his black cloak. In any case, it looked like he was finally going to wander outside wearing something that covered his whole body. He needed it anyway. If he continued to move along, he was sure to collapse onto the ground and faint from a lack of oxygen. Quickly putting on his cloak, he made sure to cover his head with the hood and pulled on the cloth so that it would serve as a mask for his nose and mouth. There. Now he could move along.


Gilda made a dash for him, running past the group without so much as a pause, and caught up to Ruk in a matter of seconds. She reached out and grabbed the edge of his cloak, pulling Ruk back in a desperate attempt to stop him from going any further. The girl winced when she realized that she had pulled a tad too hard, feeling the cloak pushing back against Ruk’s neck.


Ruk widened his eyes and a strangled noise rang out his throat when he felt a very strong pull around his neck. The next thing he knew, he toppled backwards and fell back into the garden. Whether it was from a lack of oxygen, which wasn’t possible since he only held in his breath for a few seconds, or because of his windpipes being momentarily threatened by his own cloak, he didn’t even recall falling down, whatever happened after the tug went by in a blink.


“Dang it, I’m sorry! Is your neck okay? I didn’t break anything, did I?” Gilda let go and circled around so that she could see Ruk’s neck. Though, she couldn’t really see too well past the literal gray atmosphere. The girl sighed and scratched her head sheepishly. “Sorry, but I had to stop you, y’know. Can’t let you go wandering off into the Great Beyond. Or, uh, just beyond. Nothing too great about it, really.”


Ruk gasped for air, rapidly breathing in and out as he tried to calm down while Gilda apologized. He couldn't even make out her words as dizziness scrambled his thought process. Trying to figure out what just happened, he slowly sat up and squinted his eyes when he saw the silhouette past the garden. Speaking of the garden..Ruk blinked as he felt the fresh grass against his palm.


Gilda lifted her arms and flailed them awkwardly, unsure of whether she should try to force him back into the garden. He seemed pretty pissed when he left, and the teensy incident no doubt worsened that.


Ruk closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before exhaling. Pulling his hood off to reveal his narrowed eyes, he glared at the silhouette. “Did you just..pull me back in here?” His voice started off as low as a whisper, shaking as he tried to keep in his anger.


The girl looked aside nervously, her mind racing to find an answer. Ruk looked like a volcano that was ready to explode. He wasn’t even an angry volcano, but just any other volcano sitting there on an island. Sort of calm, but at the same time pissed off. Somewhere at the back of her head, Gilda decided that she wasn’t going to become anyone’s anger outlet today. Without really thinking about it, she blurted out, “I didn’t pull you. You just tripped. Probably.”


Ruk’s ears twitched as he recognized the voice. Ah right, the girl. He didn’t even know why he didn’t associate her with the other two. He raised an eyebrow, “You didn’t pull me?” Again, his formal tone vanished along with his usual optimistic spirit. The young man let out a false laugh as he placed his hand to his neck, readjusting the cloak so that it didn’t feel like a choker. “How could I have possibly tripped on my own. Backwards to say the least..!” He threw his arm, pointing it back to the entrance of the building at Claudo and Aira. “--Onto the same territory as these sick people?!” He spat out the last two words, making it obvious that he clearly didn’t like the pair.


At the words, Gilda’s eyes darkened, and a rather unpleasant heat settled in her chest. It always happens when she gets angry, and she hated getting angry. She would start shaking all over and be mean to people, and she didn’t want to be mean. But this time, it’ll be an exception. She opened her right palm, and a familiar blue light shone in her hands. Before the sword even finished materializing, Gilda closed her fingers around where the hilt would be and stabbed forward. The last of the glimmering light dissipated just as she halted her arm, the tip of the sword just millimeters from puncturing Ruk’s nose.


Gilda took a breath, trying to calm her heart down. Honestly, she didn’t even know if her sword would have hit him or not, but she took a bet. He didn’t need to know about it though. She looked at Ruk straight in the eyes, her eyes harder than she had ever made herself do. “First of all, don’t insult them- any of them, whether it’d be my pops, Aira, anyone else in the organization, or even the rest of the group- in front of me, ever. How would you like it if I insulted something precious to you, huh?” She waggled her sword in anger, nearly slicing his nose off in the process. “Second of all, stay inside the organization’s perimeters unless ordered otherwise. If one of those monsters caught sight of you, they wouldn’t stop their attacks for anything. If I was one of them, you’d be dead. So stay inside. I won’t be saving your sorry butt a second time, understood?”
 
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The teen released a low grumble,letting the stone fall as he took everything In. Magic, monsters, time travel even. All this was way to...insane to comprehend!


These people seemed to have an idea of what was going on, but other than that, there was nothing to tell about them.He cracked his wrist,staring down at his worn knuckles.


15 years. 15 years had passed. The world they knew was gone, that was clear. But all this talk of cores and magical abilities was only aggravating him. He didn't get it. What was so special? He was a simple kid. For gods sake he's a farm hand! He's as simple as they come!


He shook his head, his hand finding his necklace, rolling the crystal by his fingertips as he thought. They were to save the world? That's a joke. It has to be. What are we? A group of strangers. He couldn't see any pattern, or plan. There wasn't an order, or similarity. They were all comepletly different. The abilities were all over the place aswell. From what he saw, there was moving rocks, becoming shadows. Generating gusts of wind, making a sword out of water, producing electricity, and pulling a sword from thin air. Next to two swords and several elements, that's all at random. There was no connections or clues here. Nothing.


Nothing


"These...cores. you say most got destroyed...ours just...changed...is it possible we 're...just half way there? You know...almost broken?"


These monsters were even more mind boggling. What would happen if another came? This is all a fluke. We had the girl, Gilda, here. If another of those things came back, it would slaughter us. We barely held it off....


Then another conversation caught his attention. This... Ruk fellow wanted to leave. He couldn't blame him, but it was foolish. It wasn't the intentions that caught his agitation. It was the girl's words.


Something precious...





He turned sharply, giving a harsh scowl


"Miss. From what I understand, most everything We find precious is gone... be greatful you still have your father, because from where I stand, we have just lost a great deal. Family, friends, wives, husbands..." he gave a glance to the people who were just as lost as he was,"... honestly...If possible, I think it be best If we go to a safe place...and... let us take all this in. We did lose our entire world...you all have had fifteen years to adjust. We haven't had that luxury..."he sighed,hand coming to his head. Adrenaline was wearing off and he was getting a serious headache. "Is...is that agreeable?" He managed through the pain
 
First Appearance


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It was fairly interesting--how while people seemed to be thrown into a pit of confusion, the two remained completely composed within their stands, remaining unfazed even as they were called mentally insane, although it is of course not pleasant to hear. Nevertheless, Claudo’s expression was that of an unconcerned grin as he rested both hands behind his back, watching as the commotion went on, and Ruk’s attempt to leave. Gilda’s reaction was fast, then, as she grabbed Ruk back, her loyalty to the Organization so clear within her action while she hissed her angry threat to the lad.


When Ruk questioned him, he had remained completely quiet, the only response being the slightly narrowed eyes he used to gaze toward the group. Even Aira had looked toward his direction, her curious expression wondered if he’s going to answer them or not. It was only after a long period of silence did he give an unconcerned reply of complete apathy.


“How will the game be fun if I answer all of the questions now?”


There was a slight mocking in his voice, and then a pause. It was then he caught attention to Walker’s words, stating that they had lost everyone precious--from friends to family, in response to Gilda’s furious words. Clearing his throat, then, Claudo directed the topic to Jordan’s question. ‘Oh, no. All your precious existences should not be ‘lost,’ at least not yet. After all,” his sharp eyes laid upon both lads. “The key to save the world...Involves returning the past. Now, you all must be wondering---’Why the hell did you send us to the future only to tell us to go back to the past?’ Well, you see, it’s more like...We can’t help it.”


The man lightly shrugged, but for once his smile showed a hint of grim. “Even we...The Organization itself, is not yet clear of how and what exactly his intention is, and what he planned on doing...But there is a man, known...or rumored to be called as Dallon…who has ability just like all of you. Except his power is to manipulate time,” he paused, looking around as if to make sure everyone’s catching up with what he’s saying. “After the magic explosion occurred, he had time traveled himself 15 years into the future to the period where each of you are in right now. We have no idea where he is, and we have no idea why he wants to do that. But he did have a group of followers, each of them similar to you all.”


“We didn’t bother searching for him earlier firstly because we lack the powers as we do have now,” he gestured to the crowd, intending them to be the powers he’s talking about. “And secondly, even if we found him, he wouldn’t be able to use his ability. After all, such powerful and alarming skill as time manipulation takes time to develop again. He had used it once to reach here in the future, with whatever plan he had behind his back. Now he’s in hiding within this destructed world, with his followers. What our plan---As all of you must be curious to hear---is to find him.”


Claudo placed his palms together, as if pleased by his own words. A confident smile laid across his face as he glanced to the group, ready to mention the most important part of his plan. “We want all of you to get him, and have him return time---not only to 15 years ago, but to a time even before that----before the magic explosion occurred. That way, we can prevent it from happening,” he paused. “Of course, though, that may not be the best plan. Maybe what we have to do first is to stop whatever plan he has. But all we know for now is that he may just be the key---he’s our so-called villain, but might also be our hero. Who knows?”


Tracing back and forth, the man took his time to sort out the rest of his words. “However, it is not an easy task. We can’t possibly have all of you here traveled into the future wasting our wonderful technology just to have you find a random guy whose whereabouts is totally unknown, can we? Let me now tell you the reason why, without all of you here, we the organization is not powerful enough to handle him alone,” staring straight to the group, Claudo’s voice was unexpectedly stern.


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“Although it is not within his powers...He somehow has the ability as well...to control, or at least, order, the kind of monsters you’d just fought. Mainly, we know so far, is that there’s four of them, each placed somewhere north, east, south, west---they are powerful existences who prevent us to further our search for him. Oh, and they’re not the only ones preventing us too--his followers, each with abilities like everyone of you--reside within the destructed world as well, being merely some obstacles.”


Claudo blinked, “Ah, yes. That means you guys’ not the only one alive in this ruined world. So I guess it’s good news in a sense? We would love to if you happened to meet one of them and captured him or her back here so we can have some new friends. Well, well, I guess that’s not possible.” Laughing at his own dry joke, the man then let out a sigh. Although he did intend on continuing to speak, his mouth slightly opened, Aira had immediately stepped in. On her face wore an expression of complete dissatisfaction, as if displeased by Claudo’s explanation.


“Basically, we want you all to find a man called Dallon, who could manipulate time, who escaped into the future we’re in right now, for whatever reason he has. We want him to return time to 15 years ago before the explosion occurred so we can stop that from happening. However, we don’t know what his intention is. After all, he has four monsters and a group of followers equally powerful as you all by his side, supporting whatever plan he might be plotting. Thus the reason why we need all of you here. Together we might be able to face that secret, evil force,” summarizing everything in simply a few words, Aira looked calmly toward the group. She could hear Claudo’s secret mumble of how that’s exactly what he had said earlier, but ignored it nonetheless. “Yet, we know that all of you right now is not powerful enough. You guys have all just awakened, basically amateurs at your own abilities. One step outside like Ruk right there and you could be dead. Thus, you all need training first,” her eyes scanned sharply across the group as she continued.


“Training…Ah, it’s the second mission Claudo wants me to do, right?”


The third voice’s interruption was sudden, then, for no one expected it when the sight of a lad became visible toward the direction of the collapsed gates. Turning to look at the direction of the voice, there stood a young man around 17 years old, his eyes and his hair the same color of a bright, attractive blue. Despite wearing a nice suit of black and white, on the corner of it stained a deep red of blood, which he himself looked completely unconcerned about.


The lad threw one glance toward Ruk, before he mumbled “idiot” under his breath, his eyes cold and belittling as he then walked past him, into the ruined garden. “Sorry, boss. I was originally planning to hold that spider-thing back, but I failed and it burst into the garden.” Acting as if the group of people didn’t exist, his tone was completely casual when he stepped up to Claudo, patting the dirt on his sleeves away. “I could fix the gates though.”


“That’s alright. They handled it well,” giving a pleasant smile in response, the lad’s eyes followed Claudo’s gesture as he finally took notice of the people at the back of him. Humming lightly, the lad had his head tilted slightly to one side as he stared at the group with his eyes narrowed, judging.


“So….I guess they’re it, the saviors,” emphasizing on the last word sarcastically, the lad scowled when he felt Claudo placing a hand upon his shoulder, forcing him to face the group.


“Everyone, as Aira had stated, you all need training before you can step out to the outside world. Do not worry, this building has everything for it. Here, though, stands your trainer. His name is Len---he and Gilda will be helping you prep yourself for the outside world. Now, please be completely aware that we’re not only training you for our....’goal’, but also for yourselves. You all don’t want to randomly step out and be killed, don’t you? Well, I’ll say Len has quite the attitude, but it’ll be balanced out with Gilda’s sweet personality, so don’t you all worry,” he pat Len twice on the back.


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Finally, a long sigh escaped him, and Claudo took a moment to check the watch around his wrist. “Oh, here, look at the time! I must go, there are still matters I need to attend with. Now, doesn’t Walker wants some time and place to let him absorb everything that’s happened so far? I believe the same applies for everyone of you right now as well,” he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Len, come with me. Aira, I want you now to take them to the living room. Feel free to tour around though, this building’s a huge place for exploration in itself. Gilda, can you go with her? I’m sorry I haven’t given you a time to rest yourself, but I’m sure you’ll have fun getting to know them as well.”


With that, and a sharp turn on his heels, Claudo then turned around and walked off, with Len following behind without a word.





 
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Jordan turned sharply towards the one calling himself Ruk as his outburst rang throughout the courtyard. Jordan found himself standing there with wide eyes trying to comprehend this choice of Ruk's and failing, not able to grasp why he could be so unthinkingly, stupidly bold as to step out into the wilderness where, just moment ago, a deadly monster that took a multitude of fantastical and powerful abilities to kill had just emerged from. Did the boy have a deathwish?


Jordan watched with equal interest, shock and disbelief as the girl from earlier went after the strange, delusional young man, and did... something to him, immobilizing him somehow. It was over with so fast Jordan's tired mind could not understand what she had done. As innocent and happy-go-lucky this girl acted, it seemed as though she certainly wasn't one to trifle with, if she had even caused Ruk to essentially fall back into the garden in the first place.


Again, Jordan found himself back in his silent analysis mindset, his gaze sweeping between Ruk, a boy he hadn't caught the name of yet, Gilda, Claudo and Aira as they spoke. At this point, Jordan had decided that further questioning or outbursts wouldn't get the group anywhere. This seemed to be a sticky situation... every time Claudo opened his smug mouth to speak, every time he and Aira seemed oblivious to the pleading tone and frustration of someone's speech, and every time Gilda acted with these strange abilities of hers, this organization made themselves harder and harder to trust. Still, he had no reason not to doubt them on the fact that venturing outside alone, and not building up these abilities of his, sounded even less logical and helpful then going along with these suspicious people's plans for now. Jordan found himself grinding his teeth angrily at the thought, especially as Claudo gave his long-winded , convoluted, sarcasm and insult-ridden "explanation" of what exactly they were supposed to be doing here. Just when Jordan felt as though he was about to have a brain aneurysm, Aira gave a short, simple, and to the point explanation of what they were facing. If she was telling the explicit truth, Jordan now saw no reason not to follow along with these clowns for now. Aira was so far the only one of these lunatics to earn Jordan's respect, except technically Gilda if only for her abilities and her bravery.


Jordan found the words spoken by another member of his group, speaking of what they had lost and of a need for time to recoup after all of this, to ring most true to him out of everything t hat has been spoken so far. He gave a curt, respectful nod to the boy after his passionate speech was done, then felt relieved when Claudo of all people agreed with the boy. This served to distract him momentarily from the rude, Angry pipsqueak Claudo had introduced as the one who's going to train all of them. Not able to handle much more anger right now and still keep his cool, Jordan diverted his thoughts and gaze from the boy the moment his overly toxic personality made itself irritatingly clear. Jordan wordlessly followed the moment Aira and Gilda began leading the group into the facility, finding no reason in his mind to stay here. He kept an eye out for unfamiliar technologies of any kind ,interested into what advances this place has made beyond how he and the others were brought here, as well as taking note of any other members of this organization milling about. He also glanced towards the others following every now and again, trying to gauge what they might be thinking and thier general emotional states, whilst trying to keep as clam and nonchalant an air about him as possible.


@Mistory1997 @SilverBlack @Dawnsx
 
At the sight of a sword pointing at his face, Ruk widened his eyes and curled his pointed finger, steadily lowering his arm until his palm met the earth again. He remained silent when Gilda angrily confronted him and asked him if he understood, eyeing the sword as one of the group members intervened. His racing heartbeat that was pleading the sword not to slice off his nose slowed down while he listened to the boy speak. Perhaps it was then Ruk realized he had gone about and let his emotions get the best of him. What a fool he had made out of himself. If he hadn't gotten so ill heartened he wouldn't be in this mess right now. If he hadn't gotten so angry he wouldn't embarrassed that he had acted like a little child throwing a tantrum. If he hadn't...! Ruk bit his lower lip and pulled on his hood again, hiding his blushing face.





Multiple regrets over how carelessly he behaved piled up in his head, making him blush even harder until he caught a certain phrase from Claudo. Returning the past? Why that sounded quite..charming. A spark of interest budded in his eyes. Not wanting to risk getting cut by Gilda's sword he kept himself from looking over his shoulder and listened carefully to the man's words. His adventure loving and thrill seeking ears greedily transformed the words from sound into scattered out pieces of information that could be mixed and matched with one another however he liked. He nearly broke out into a smile when Aira restated Claudo's lengthy explanation into simpler terms, catching himself from showing any means of giving Gilda an actual reason to cut off his face. This was nice, memories of how he would eavesdrop at other people's conversations during his travels flooded back to him. Of course he wouldn't do it intentionally, it was just that he would pick a sentence that would catch his attention and he would find himself learning about the nearby town's ghost story or how an animal escaped from the circus. Ruk's cheeks reddened again when Aira mentioned how he could've died if not for Gilda, making him remember his rash actions he had managed to wipe out from his mind while listening to Claudo. He blinked when a rather cold voice entered the garden, looking up and meeting with the eyes that had the ever so arrogant gaze he was very familiar with. He didn't really mind the boy's belittling look. It was something he came across everywhere he went. People would throw him judging stares and disapproving shakes of their head at his attire. Sometimes they would laugh at him as if he was a monkey doing a ridiculous antic when he performed. In fact, this whole saving the world mission seemed a bit more realistic now that such a person appeared.


Ruk remained sitting on the ground when Gilda started to lead the group with Aira. He let out a sigh and lifted his hands to cup his face, "Now I'm sure that I was a jester in my past life." He stood up and brushed off his pants from dirt. "Who in their right mind plays with death? No one! No one except you. My goodness I don't even know how you managed to travel around the world without getting one of your limbs chopped off or something. I can't even take off this hood because I'm still embarrassed. I don't even favor wearing this cloak. It makes me feel as if I'm some kind of.. rogue grim reaper or a cult member." Ruk frowned and looked down, pulling at the cloak's cloth. "I should have picked out a nicer color when the merchant set up his shop. What a pity." He let go of his cloak and patted his messenger bag. "I did a good job choosing you though. Thanks to you I get to carry all of my notebooks in a neat bundle." He smiled, proud of himself for having a convenient accessory and took out one of his notebooks. "Ah..I remember you. This was when I studied the history of.." Ruk blinked, remembering Claudo's words about returning the past. He snapped his head up from his notebook and whirled around. The group!


The young man scrambled forward, entering the dreaded building in a rush to catch up with the others. He slowed down once he reached the same pace with them and tried to catch his breath from the sudden sprint. He made sure he still had his hood on and looked back at the notebook he held in his hand. For now he needed to stop acting with his heart. Which was really a problem. If he kept acting on impulse he was sure to face more near death situations. He certainly didn't want that. He wanted to go back to the world where the earth's past still lived on, where hidden facts were waiting to be discovered. Then again..Ruk opened his notebook, flipping through the pages until he found the same information he had showed to the "researchers". This time frame was fairly interesting as well. They were trying to find a madman who had caused the earth to become this dangerous alien-like planet, weren't they? Why not play along? Ruk hummed as he tapped on a picture of the earth he had drawn long ago. He studied Gilda and Aira. He had spent years studying the past but these people were trying to rewrite a part of it. What more fun could it be than to wait and see how successful they will be? A questionable smile curled on Ruk's face.His eyes had a lively spark to them, waiting for something else to happen.
 
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She was surrounding by idiots – surely that explained what was going on? Truth be told, Evelyn wasn’t so sure. It was the only realistic conclusion she could come to, especially after watching the one male – Ruk, if she remembered correctly – attempt to venture beyond the gate, but that didn’t mean that it was the correct one. Still, she had picked up on Ruk’s adventurous, and dare she say naïve, nature nearly from the start. And, to the best of her knowledge, he was no cat – he didn’t have nine lives to throw away.


And yet, he had decided to venture out on his own anyways.


It wasn’t only stupid; it was death wish. She may not hold any feelings of comradery for these people, but Evelyn wasn’t comfortable with the idea of watching one of them die. After all, her humanity had to make itself know at some point, didn't it? ‘Then again,' she reminded herself absently, ‘it would have been his own fault in the first place.’


What was it that Darwin had said? Something about survival of the fittest? She didn’t remember much about biology, but willingly taking on the outside world – especially after witnessing just what the monsters therein were capable of – certainly didn’t seem like something a “fit” individual would do. Or perhaps it was. Either way, it certainty seemed like something that someone lacking in the commonsense department would do.


Rubbing the bridge of her nose, the snowy haired woman sighed. Claude’s explanation sounded like it came from a sci-fi novel – and a bad one at that. Listening to him, there was no doubt in her mind that a migraine would be paying her a visit by the time this was through. When did normalcy decide to ditch humanity and join the freak show? Because there was no way she wasn’t going crazy. And the new boy, Len – well, wasn’t he just a ray of sunshine?


Truth be told, Evelyn didn’t know how much of his presence – of all of their presences – she could take. What she needed was time to sleep, time to digest everything that had been dumped upon her and organize her thoughts; she needed to prove to herself that she hadn’t lost her mind and that, in the end, there was hope for her yet. She needed – she needed to clean her hand.


Blinking at the offending appendage, Evelyn frowned. It wasn’t throbbing as much as before, but there was definitely dirt mixed into the drying blood around her fingers. While she may have had “special abilities” now, the woman doubted that super-human healing was one of them. She wasn’t that lucky. Nonetheless, the quickest way to taking care of her self-inflicted wound was to follow along like the good little girl her mother had always wanted her to be. Once the necessities were taken care of, she’d look for some disinfectant and bandages; after all, her hand wasn’t so bad that it needed immediate tending to. A little more time in a – hopefully – cleaner environment wouldn’t make it any worse than it already was.


Tagging along with the rest of the group, she caught the gleam in Ruk’s eyes and frowned. Hadn’t he had his fill of adventure for today? “For your sake,” she murmured, slipping past him into the building, “I hope you’re thinking about food.” But if the feeling in her gut was anything to go by, Evelyn was certain that the only type of “food” he was imagining was the kind that only knowledge could give. So long as he didn’t drag her or anyone else into his scheme, she was content to focus on more pressing matters. More pressing matters such as what she was supposed to do about clothing. They didn't expect her to wear the same outfit all the time, did they?
 
Although it was a brief moment, Ruk caught the disapproving voice that followed after the young lady's frown and merely grinned at her. He didn't know what to make of her comment. Her words didn't really match her scolding tone. She reminded him a bit of a schoolteacher who was always lecturing children who had caused trouble. Was that how she saw him? As a problem child? He wouldn't be surprised if the whole group did as well. After all, he had put on quite a show by attempting to run out of the garden. If they thought of him as a dunce, he didn't care. It wasn't his problem what they thought of him. He would simply be pleased that they took a minute or even a few seconds out of their lives to think about him or regard him as this lady did just now. Speaking of the lady, Ruk looked at her and shrugged as a means of replying to her, if she even expected one from him. Judging by how she slipped past him, he didn't think so. But that didn't matter. It surely wasn't going to keep him from talking to her as well.


Ruk quickened his pace so that he walked next to the snowy haired lady and greeted her. "Hello. I suppose you already know my name by now after the ruckus I've caused." He let out an embarrassed laugh and cast his eyes forward, making sure he wouldn't miss anything. "So what is yours?" Once making sure that nothing would pop out out of the blue he looked back at her, "Your name. What is it?" He gave her a warm smile, an automatic gesture. The young man felt it was always nice to meet new people. "I really fancy your eyes by the way. They remind me of little violets and lavenders." Ruk blinked when he mentally reminded himself he was talking to a woman and held up a hand, keeping his other one continue to hold his notebook. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not flirting with you." He let out another short laugh, "I beg your pardon, it's just that I always need to compliment someone when I exchange words with them. Giving compliments are a lovely way to start off a greeting, don't you think? They help you remember a certain trait about the person and the person who receives the compliment feels good about themselves! I don't really give compliments when I'm speaking to a group for the first time though. It's pretty hard to compliment everyone in a single go." He rubbed his chin, glancing at the group as if he was trying to figure out a way to do so. He focused back to the lady, "I'm awfully sorry if I am being rude, I don't mean to. But are you part of some type of royal guard? I couldn't help but think that you belong to royalty, your appearance is very elegant if you ask me." Ruk politely gestured to her bandaged arm with an upheld palm before holding his notebook with both hands again. "Did a warrior manage to strike your arm with their weapon? Or perhaps you got hurt while saving someone?" He tilted his head, trying to figure out what happened and straightened his posture again as his hood started to slip off. "Of course, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to. It's fine if you don't. I just need to get these questions out of my head or else I will feel rather stuffy inside from not being able to let them out into the world where they can be heard!" He let go of his notebook as he held up both of his hands so that both of his palms faced the sky. After hearing a thud, Ruk looked down and quickly picked up his notebook. "Oops.." He bit his bottom lip as he dusted it and rushed to match with the young lady's pace again. "Anyways, it is nice to meet you!"
 
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Gilda heaved a sigh as she walked side-by-side with Aira, leading the group back into the building. For once, it finally seemed like the group was willing to cooperate, albeit a bit unwillingly. But hey, she'll take it. She didn't bother checking to see if they were following this time. Hopefully, the encounter with the Spider, plus Ruk's little endeavor outside would keep them from going off track. Besides, she had her hands full, trying to deal with the silence that loomed in the air between her and Aira. The latter has always been a pretty quiet lady. A stark contrast from Claudo, really, but at the same time they complemented each other perfectly. Even more the reason why it's so awkward to be alone with her. Whenever Gilda sees Aira, she was always with Claudo. Now that she thought about it, she's never had a one-on-one conversation with the young woman before. Gilda straightened herself, deciding that this would be her chance to get to know the lady better.


Mustering up all the courage she had in the little body of hers, Gilda started up what would hopefully become a conversation, "So, Aira, we've never really talked before, huh? How long have you known Po- Claudo?"





"A while." Aira replied rather briskly.


The smile on Gilda's face stiffened ever so slightly, but being ever so determined, she continued. "I see! You two seem to know each other really well. He's a really cool guy, isn't he?"





"I suppose." She answered, never taking her eyes off the path that they were taking.


Gilda's smile faltered, and she sighed softly. How did Claudo do it? How did he ever manage to make her speak more than two words at a time? She supposed that she'll have to find out another day. But mark her words! She was not giving up! For now though, she tore her eyes off of Aira and focused on walking. They had been walking down a wide hall. Its ceiling, floors, and walls were white, similar to the other rooms that they had seen. Except this time, they would pass by some doors once in a while. Most were closed, and if anyone attempted to open them, they would find that they were locked as well. However, one or two doors would be slightly opened a crack. A strange smell wafted from those rooms, and, if one would peek in, they catch sight of a detached limb or two.


Soon enough, they reached another open door, which Gilda pushed open wider for the group to see. In contrast, this room actually had some colors to it, and was even larger than any of the other rooms. Rather than white, the walls of the room was painted in beige, and the floors were akin to that of a gym. Upon closer inspection of the room, it'd make sense. Near the walls of the room were various training equipment, most seemingly built for muscle training. Despite the spacious room, the majority of it was empty though.





"Here," Guilda said, "Is the training room! Y'know, to train for some muscles, practice battling and whatnot. We'll be coming in here eventually, but for now, this isn't our destination. Now come along."





She made a "follow me" motion and continued walking down the hall. Just as the trek was beginning to seem endless, they came to the end of the hall with a double door in front of them. Gilda pushed them open, and what came into sight was unlike any of the other rooms. It was spacious, but decorated. The floors were matted with expensive-looking red carpet, and the walls had various artworks hanging on them. Plotted plants were placed to the sides, and little trinkets and ornaments with set on small tables. At the far end of the room, there was a nice, fair-sized fireplace. In the center of the room, there was large table that was almost akin to a dining table, but not quite. Sofas that were accommodated to the height of the table were littered around it, more than enough for everyone in the group to find a seat. All in all, it looked like the living room of a wealthy family.





"So this is the living room, and basically where members hang out when they're free. You guys are free to socialize and do your thing in here whenever you'd like. Y'know, when you're not saving the world and all." Gilda laughed at her own little "joke", but was cut off when Aira spoke up.





"Since we've led them here, please excuse me. I have other work to finish up." Aira said. Without giving anyone a chance to reply, she swiftly exited the room.


Gilda heaved another sigh, but smiled at the group regardless. "Well, you guys can sit and make friends if you'd like before we start doin' the important stuff. Anyone want anything? Water? Food?"
 
Jordan followed towards the back of this ragtag group of individuals, looking towards the odd white-haired girl as she mumbled something he didn't quite catch towards Ruk. Ruk was certainly the biggest oddball Jordan had ever met, perhaps besides the clowns running this mysterious place. As he seemed unable to take a hint and began to chat up the girl seemingly endlessly, throwing obvious flirty compliments at her then trying to explain away his words as something more innocent, Jordan rolled his eyes and tuned the boy out. He had to admit the snowy-haired girl was intriguing, sharp and pretty beautiful though... but now was not the time to be thinking about such things. Jordan needed a nice, quite place to sit and collect his thoughts right now.


The group passed a few doors that had a very suspicious smell coming out of them, almost like decaying flesh. When it seemed like no one was looking, he took a peek into one of him and his eyes widened, clasping his hand on his mouth and barely managing to avoid throwing up as he was visually accosted by the culprit of the rank smell within that plain white room, just like the others aside from its gruesome contents. He turned towards the two women guiding the group trhough the halls and said, "Would either of you two mind explaining the severed limbs just lying around in that room?" He pointed towards the door he had seen said disgusting sight within for emphasis. He was a bit more unnerved now but was more or less able to keep his cool as he headed down the hall, pushing back his thoughts of possible human experimentation being conducted here.


Jordan glanced around disinterestedly at the beige-walled, gym-like room where apparently a foul-manner boy that looked half Jordan's age would be "training" him... to Jordan that thought was almost as ominous as his theories of where those severed arms and legs were doing here. Finally, feeling relieved, Jordan was led to the place where he was apparently allowed to rest, sitting down nearby without a moment's notice and kicking back, seeing where the others would go and if perhaps he would have to relocate based on that. The room was large enough that he didn't need to be near anyone if he didn't want to. As Aira left, all but Ignoring Gilda's attempt at conversing with her, Jordan sat back and stretching his arms, attempting to collect his thoughts and come to some sort of conclusion about all this. namely, just what he should believe and how much he should cooperate with these scientists.Sadly, logic would dictate Jordan do so more than he truly wanted.


@Dawnsx @SilverBlack
 
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