Anicademy IC

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

The Anicademy stood imposingly large in the center of the even larger campus made up of many buildings, training grounds, shops, and pretty much everything needed to make sure the students wouldn't need to leave campus unless they were on a mission. Today was the day where new recruits would be tested, and put into their teams. It was a day that many looked forward to, and a day that was necessary for people to survive.

The new students were expected to arrive at at main hall - which also doubled as a tournament hall - and sit in the auditorium to listen to the headmaster's speech. It was a simple thing, explaining the importance of the Anicadmey, the danger of the Mangates, and the rules. What came last was the most important. The students were to report to an enormous Virtual/Hardlight training ground called the Hall of Fire. Once there, they would be directed to a single-person teleportation pad which would transport them somewhere onto the field, where they would arrive with two other students and these would be who they are teamed with for the rest of their lives...
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Zothar looked out upon the giant ruined city which was the setting for their assessment exam. He thumbed the lid of his deck holster nervously, remembering the fact they were told they would face virtual Mangates, and be expected to fight and defeat a Mangate master. His focuser was set up on his wrist, ready to have cards inserted to help materialize them.

Nevertheless, he took in a deep breath and would step forward when commanded. In but a moment, he was in a closed room inside what had to be a ruined building.. and there were others there too...

 

[Tiguidi]

Hands in his pockets, Neil glanced around with a neutral expression, relaxed yet on guard. He had admittedly half-listened to what the headmaster said; mostly because it was just a repeat of things logical people would deduce. The fact Mangates were dangerous, basic school rules. He did start to listen once the headmaster started talking about. Already fighting Mangates -even virtual ones, wasn't in his schedule, as well as the fact that he'd be teamed up with two other people right off the bat.

After stepping on the teleportation pad, the blond found himself inside a heavily destroyed room; debris everywhere, shattered glass all around, wood splinters all across the floor. "Oh my, they sure had fun making this one...", he mumbled. He almost not noticed the others as he was occupied looking around.

 

[Ariel]

A buzzing sound and a golden-yellow glow announced the arrival of the third member of the group - a rather nondescript girl who frowned as she saw the state of the ruined room. She looked over her new group members with a cool, assessing gaze.

"I guess we're a team now," she said, her voice clear and high and firm. "My name is Arasai Yuki, and I'll be in your care. Perhaps we should all say what our abilities are and figure out how we can work together? I'm... well, I transform, and when I do I get snow magic and I can fight pretty well with a sword. What about you two?"

 

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

Zothar sighed and he rubbed the back of his head and looked at the two who he seemed to have been teamed with for the rest of his life. He looked over at the other guy first, curious what he was talking about, but then the woman - named Arasai - spoke and he smiled with a nod. "I'm Zothar Alvrenum... it's a pleasure." he said, though when asked what he could do, his eyes sparkled.

"I'm a card summoner!" he said with a grin, pulling out a card from his deck holster and placing it on his focuser. A ball appeared in his hand and he dropped it to the floor, where it then materialized into a standing Blizzard Warrior. When he spotted what he summoned, he blushed. "Oh. Um. This is awkward." he laughed, having summoned an ice swordsman in front of a snow swordwoman.

"Anyway.. that's what I do." he said, glancing over to the other guy. "And you?"

 

[Tiguidi]

"Straight to business, huh? Alright, I can deal with that.", Neil shrugged with a lazy smile. He nodded along as the other two explained their abilities. An ice swordwoman and a summoner; sounded interesting. "Hm? Eh, nothing too impressive.", he said as the question was diverted to him. As he said so, he glanced over at a small pile of rubble, his eyes softly glowing in a bluish hue. The pieces of debris then started to levitate off the ground, slowly moving around the room. "I'm an esper. Meaning I can do a lot of things with my mind.", he said, keeping his smile.

The esper gently put the debris on the ground before letting out a small chuckle. "I... should probably introduce myself too, huh? My name's Neil Blues, nice to meet you all." He was admittedly relieved to know that his teammates didn't seem like complete jerks; being teamed up with idiotic people most certainly would've been the end of him.

 

[GhostofManchester]

Having woken up late, Manny rushed to the teleporter pad. Though he didn't care about excelling per say, even he knew being late on the first day was a very bad way to start off the year. As he materialized in the broken room, he put his hands on his knees, and took in several deep breaths. It was far too early for THAT much exercise, in his opinion.
"Perhaps it would be prudent to set the alarm to go off earlier, sir." Ghost said in Manny's mind. "I calculate your average morning stress-level will deplete by a rate of as much as-"
"No need for a lecture THIS early in the morning, mom!" Manny said gruffly to his lunchbox.

Finally turning to view the ruined room around him, Manny took in the sight of his three teammates staring at him. Smoothing over his jacket, Manny stood up straight.

"It's nice to meet you all. My name is Manchester, Manchester Hudson. You can call me Manny if you'd like. I'm sorry to be so late, I-uh... got lost finding my way here. You know how it is, late nights, busy mornings and the like. So... I may have missed most-if-not-all of orientation, what're we doing here?"

 

[Ariel]

@GhostofManchester

Yuki gave this Manchester fellow the kind of look she'd spare for a piece of gum stuck to her shoe.

"We are here to form a team that will stay together till graduation, so I hope that everyone here will be responsible and reliable," she said. "Or else we might face some difficulty in defeating the foes that are soon to come our way. I expect that you bring some useful talents to our situation, Hudson-san. Or should I prepare to be disappointed?"

 

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

< @Ariel @GhostofManchester @Tiguidi >

"Honestly, give him some props for even showing up here. I'm surprised he made it, considering that nothing was said about it until orientation." Zothar said as he pulled the card off his focuser, the monster disappearing. "So, I showed what I did - making monsters and effects real, as you saw.. Yuki here sounds like she's a powerful ice-based swordwoman.. Neil is an Esper I think they are called... so, what do you do?" he asked, and looked at the lunchbox. "And does that thing talk back to you?"

Right after Zothar finished speaking, there came a clacking sound from outside the room. "We should probably talk as we go." he said. "We need to find and defeat a Master before the time limit.. and I quite doubt that'll be easy." he looked around. Anyone want to take the lead?"

 

[GhostofManchester]

"Sir, I am detecting several Kinesic communications from one or more of your team-mates, indicating agitation regarding the time of our arrival and several other contributing factors. It is my recommendation that you may activate gauntlet mode as I calculate doing so will negate the negative tension in the group by as much as-"

"Yes, I get it Ghost! If you think it's time to activate, then let's activate. You don't need to give me the riot act every single time."

Bringing his head away from the lunchbox, Manny gripped the handle tightly, preparing to armor-up. "To answer your question, I'm a... soldier. Trained to use heavy duty machinery as a means to defend populated areas. With my Mecha currently broken, I rely on hand-to-hand combat mostly. And regarding Ghost here..." he said shaking the box slightly, "Sometimes it seems like I can't get him to shut up. But I'm going to need him if we're heading to a fight."

Manny gripped the handle in anticipation. "Ghost. Engage Soldiers-Gauntlet Mode."

The box abruptly began to slide apart, pieces reworking themselves they flipped, and twisted their way around Manny's arm. The pieces tightly encased his arm from his fingertips up to the halfway point between his shoulder and his elbow. A faint glow came from the joints around the hand. Flexing his fingers in the gauntlet, Manny gave a sigh of relief. He had only activated gauntlet-mode a handful of times, and was relieved to see that he came out of this one without breaking a bone.

"Alright. I'm good to go if you folks are!"

 

[Tiguidi]

"... Neat.", Neil commented as he put his hands in his pockets. He sensed the tension in the air but figured that it'd go away soon enough once they actually started the mission. Hopefully. But hey, having a lunchbox wielder as a teammate sounded like a great asset, even though he was late! Letting out a hum, he started to walk out. He probably shouldn't be the one taking the lead but he figured his barrier would easily be able to protect him should unexpected danger arrive.

"If no one wants to go in front, guess I will.", he shrugged. "So let's go.... this way.", he said, pointing to a random direction. Mangate masters could virtually be anywhere so it was as good a choice as any. "Knowing who we are and what we can do is good and all but... why did you guys decide to join the academy?", he asked to his teammates as they walked. Not really bothering with staying on guard, he turned his head towards his teammates, waiting for their answers. "... Please don't tell me it was to avenge someone who died because of Mangates.", he added, partially stating his own reason.

 

[Ariel]

Yuki nodded tersely. Perhaps this Manchester person might not be as hapless as he appeared to be.

"I joined the Academy because - well, it's where you learn to be something better than a mediocrity," she said to Neil. "I just want to burn brighter."

 

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

Zothar took a moment to look between the other members of the sqaud, taking third spot in their walking order. He would follow whoever followed Neil, looking around for any signs up trouble. Though when the mention of why they brought themselves to the Academy came up, he smiled a bit sourly. "The worst of humanity brought me into this world, and the worst took them away." he said. "After my powers emerged, I had nowhere else to go." he shrugged.

"What about you, Manny?" he would ask the other. "You mentioned you were a soldier.. why would a soldier need to come to the academy?"
@GhostofManchester

 

[GhostofManchester]

Manny paused for a moment before answering the question.

"I joined up because.... I was in need of a place to stay, and access to some areas controlled by the Mangates. Several pieces of my mecha are lost in their territory, and I need to recover them. This academy regularly sends students into those very areas. And then, how can I as a soldier stand idle, letting people die, when I could have been there to help them?"

That explanation, he thought, was mostly true. He HAD been homeless when he first crashed on earth. He DID need to recover the pieces of Specter-1586. This Academy was probably his best shot at getting those back. And he did feel bad about the situation earth was facing. But he cared about returning to The Trident more than that. The moment Specter was in good enough shape to undertake long distance space travel, would be the moment that Manny left earth. He felt that telling the team THAT detail was not a smart idea.

And with that, Manny took position at the back of the group, figuring Ghost would be able to warn him of any incoming hostiles from behind.

 

[Tiguidi]

Neil nodded along, acknowledging his new teammates' answers. He didn't particularly think much of it; there wasn't exactly a 'best' reason for joining an academy such as this one but it was definitely entertaining to at least know a little more. "Nice, nice.", he commented. The tension already seemed to somewhat alleviate so that was good, at least.

He turned back to face forwards, letting out a yawn. Despite being in a completely destroyed city, he had to admit this was the perfect place for a stroll; so many different sceneries to see in a relatively small space. A rather grim thought to have considering this type of terrain is only born out of mass violence and destruction but he wouldn't say this out loud. 'Eh, it's all virtual, I guess...', he shrugged. "So... What's the plan in case a bunch of Mangates want to ruin our nice evening?", he nonchalantly asked the others, trying to get some conversation going.

 

[Ariel]

"From what you all have said about your powers," Yuki said, "I am the one most suited to standing in the line of battle. When we're attacked, I will take the vanguard. Zothar can summon some of his creatures to stand beside me. And you two should watch for opportunities to take action, while keeping yourselves as safe as possible."

 

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

"That sounds reasonable enough." Zothar said in response to Yuki's plan of attack. "I can do other effects than just creatures, but those are my specialty." he said, though soon went quiet as he heard a chattering sound, and clicks of metal on stone. The hallway they took brought them to what seemed to have been a large observation deck looking down into the bottom of a glass dome, which laid broken above.

What was more pressing, though, was the swarm of Mangates that were in the room. This style were bipedal, hunched over, and had scythe-claws at the end of long arms. Zothar frowned and clicked open one of the deck-holders on his belt. "Those look dangerous." he said, deadpan, as he flicked to find a specific card.

"About.. fifteen?" he said in his attempt to count. "We fight, or we want to try and run?"

 

[Ariel]

Yuki's eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Give me a moment to get changed," she said. "Let's do this."

 

[GhostofManchester]

"My vote would've been to run..." Manny mumbles to himself. With democracy out the window, Manny began charging up some energy in his gauntlet.

"Ghost! How many shots do I have today?"

"Assuming each shot reaches our current maximum magnitude of power, the gauntlet will be able to produce 5 non-lethal, concussive blasts, before requiring time to recharge."

"Just four? This is going to be rough. And we can only muster up non-lethal? Really? You'd think tha-"

As he said that, absently he flicked his wrist, firing the charge amongst the Mangates. The blast, hitting into the head of one, gathered the attention of the rest.

"Four shots remai-"

"Oh CRAP!" Manny yelled as the Mangates began to charge in the direction of the party.

 

[Tiguidi]

"If you give me enough material to work with, I can do pretty much anything so don't worry about me.", Neil shrugged, only raising an amused eyebrow when Yuki mentioned the need to get changed.

He was about to speak again when Manchester suddenly fired at the Mangates, gathering the entire swarm's attention. "C'mon, don't I get a say in what we do...?", he pouted. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. 'Oh well, showtime it is, then.' He opened his eyes, which now emitted a soft blue light. Raising both hands in the air, he focused on some of the debris surrounding him. A good number began to levitate on their own, floating towards the party and staying afloat above them, ready to be launched at the Mangates. A smirk grew on his face as he saw the scythe-armed creatures approaching. "Welp, ready to smack 'em when you guys are."

 

[Ariel]

"Here we go," Yuki said with a smirk. She stepped forward and raised one hand high, shouting "Sorcerous Princess Yukihime Glorious Transformation!"

Immediately she was surrounded by an orb of dazzling blue light, so bright that it was painful to look on. Within that orb, her casual clothing fell away as she began a dance to a music that only she could hear. Pieces of metal and fabric materialised, slipping into place while she seemed to grow, becoming taller and broader, putting on muscles and curves, her movements becoming ever more graceful and powerful until the light faded to reveal a statuesque, mature version of the young girl.

The smirk was very much the same, though, as she twirled a gleaming azure broadsword in her hand, its blade rimed with frost. The temperature seemed to have dropped and a chill wind circled about her.

She spared a glance for her teammates. "I told you I should take the vanguard," she said, her voice ringing like church bells on Christmas morning. "Let's go!"

She charged the Mangate swarm, sword held high.