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Reikoku-Sama

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Long before this world came to be there was another, a world seemingly unimportant if not for the chain of events that let to its ultimate end. A group of unsuspecting strangers from different walks of life, time and worlds came together. The unrealized maiden saint who never seen past her flaws to unlock her true power and surpass what she even thought possible,a orphan girl turned vampire with a natural instinct to lead, but always let the details of her friends well fair stop her from making the hard decisions in war the timeless teacher and his gun toting other half forever trapped in the same body and in love with the same girl, the struggling knight trapped by his haunting past of regret and torturous demons yet still found time to cheer up his family, , a sword master vampire lord who realized only to late that the throne he fought so hard for wasn't what he really wanted, and his other halves tearing themselves apart fighting for what they thought their king wanted of them only to fall victim to their own emotional fears and rage, A solder caught between family and his duty to fight in a war he helped start, A wolf demon sworn to the right hand of her lord, and the shell to a Fallen god constantly teetering between who she wants to be and the fight to suppress thee who is The Fallen.

Time began to split around them from the paradox' and breaking of the laws governed by fate, the fabric of time and space around them began to split as their universe quickly began to decay. In attempt to save their new found family the Forsaken pleaded with the Angel to open her eyes to what she really was, and there, surrounded and encouraged by her friends as all they had ever known as reality and existence was being ripped away from them, the Angel within awoke and the powerful light always held with in her shined out around them all. The Right and Left hand of the Forsaken stepped forward and offered their bound life force back to their lord in hopes it would keep the group alive, and with a touch of her hand their lifeless bodies fell to the floor where they stood and began to designate at her feet along with the world around them. The now confident Angel rose her arms and began to pray as the Forsaken stood across from her hands raised and chanting as their light and dark energy poured out of them encompassing them and their friend. Soon the energy of all who were there began to drain out into the sphere of energy, mixing and sharing it between them. With this their fates were forever linked to each other. As the group looked around they seen the good times they shared with one another in the past, the laughs and love that kept them so tight despite all the bad. These images from their past seemed to silence the hellish sounds of destruction and brought them a sense of peace as their bodies began to wither. As their energy tapped out their life force began to drain from them, their faces blissfully unaware of their skin shriveling to the point of dust, their bones crashing down before they to turn to dust. The Forsaken shed many tears as she watched more loved ones age and shrivel into dust, until the Angel's voice rang out "This will work, I can see the result, we will make it through this. I must guide them though now, but don't give up. She said as her skin began to flake away like clay then to dust like the rest. "Find us. Make us remember."
The colored energy dust began to reshape the chaos into something new. As the forsaken looked on she watched her friends energy influence the new worlds and histories to make a universe more fit for a second chance, a universe where each individuals single wish would influence this new beginning. The Forsaken couldn't take much more punishment as she fought to contain the old universe until the new one was finished and she could destroy the old. Not much of her physical body was left when she watched the last world made. She knew that when fate brought them all back together that would be where. With that thought she used what was left of her physical body and much of her ethereal to destroy what was left of the old universe before loosing consciousness and falling into the new Universe.........
 
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◊ ◊ Itra Elizabeth Seras

The sun hung high, its rays shining brightly upon the bustling market place. Stalls stood lined up side by side as sky fairers and merchants alike sold their wares to passing persons. While some sold food, decadent jewelry and exotic clothes, others sold more taboo wares. Rare beast and humanoids stood along side various shops awaiting new masters. Despite the alluring scents and charming sounds, this planet was know best for it's exposed underbelly. Criminals, crooks, and pirates frequented the place to conduct their business without disturbance from lawful interference. A certain fiery haired captain was no different. Her eye blazed a deep blue color, and her skin was fair. Her various activities had earned her the name 'The sky witch', where the name had come from she hadn't the faintest but it was better then other names her enemies had often spewed. 'Blood sucker' and 'worthless demon' to name a few, they simply minor annoyances really. Of course at the moment, that was of no importance.​

This certain captain was currently sitting silently behind an a old table, a small light blue fairy sat perched upon her shoulder. Around her, her underlings ran this way and that, bringing their wares on and off the stage all under her careful guidance. This was not her first time running a auction, and in her mind, it would not be the last. She had held many a auction on this planet before, and her wares had earned quite the reputation across the black market. The bounty upon her head did not hurt her customer's expectations either.

One of her younger men stood center, waving his arms flamboyantly above the crowd's heads as he called out various numbers so all could hear. Currently the object in question was a gilded spear, adored with various brightly colored glowing jewels. It was rumored to have been cursed by the god, which would unfortunately would hurt the value as the planet was full of the superstitious type. Captain Seras had of course decided she would keep that little detail to herself.

"150! Do I hear 150?" The young boy called out. One of the audience's members raised there hand in response "150! I have 150!" After a few more back and forths, the auctioneer looked towards his boss. The captain nodded to signaling that he could close the sale.

"Sold to the young lady in purple for 250,000!"

Th item was then brought down from the stage and quickly exchanged for the gold. With another big ticket item gone, the finally drew closer. Today would be more 'special' then her previous auctions. Her attention turned briefly to the cages standing near her behind the stage. Some of them had already been emptied, however her most important ware still sat behind bars heavily guarded and awaiting it's turn.


"Much larger crowd then usual Captain" commented the muscular man standing beside her.


"Well of course Hawk" Miss Seras replied with a smug tone "I spared no expense making sure word got round of our special 'catch'. Surely anyone with half a mind would take interest." She leaned back in her chair recalling how she had gained such a precious treasure. The whole ordeal had caused her quite a bit of trouble, but it would all pay off quite soon. She had spotted quite a few wealthy participants among the commoners, today would surely be a huge pay out.
 
Aiden

Aiden's luck seemed to have finally run out. He had been able to stay hidden from the Bounty Hunter's, Pirate's, and Mercenaries that had been sent after him for month's. If he was found, he was able to make a quick escape, and he thought he would be able to keep that up. Well, now he was sitting in a cage, shackled to the point of immobility, and waiting to be sold off to the highest bidder. Quite a few people were staring at him from the crowd, but he was a bit...different. His arms looked like that of a demon's, the majority of them covered in black, rock like scales with sharp spikes jutting from the shoulder, and bright red-orange claws extending from his fingers, the color following back to a similar large claw protruding from his elbow. These also seemed to glow faintly, as if made of some kind of energy. On top of that, his eyes did not look natural either. They were blood red and, where his eyes where supposed to be white, they were pitch black.

Aiden sat in his cage, occasionally thrashing against the shackles, trying to snap them, as the auction went on. He needed to break out and get the hell away from here before he was sold. He rather liked his freedom, and he'd rather not be someone property. Besides, the large groups of people waking around and staring were making him uncomfortable. Aiden never did like being around crowds, ever since he awoke in that crater. If he ever lost control again, he'd rather not be anywhere near someone. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break the shackles. He was held down pretty tightly, and didn't have a lot of room to move in the first place. He couldn't get enough force or momentum behind it.

Aiden sat and listened to the auction as he continued to try and free himself, sending glares at his captors whenever they looked towards him. Aiden had never been a very violent guy, but if he ever got the chance, he'd at least beat them within an inch of their lives. The entire trip to this place, he was stuck in the cargo hold, the pirates coming down to mock him, sometimes drunkenly, calling him "Demon" and "Murderer". Those were names he had heard to often, and he hated it. They knew that to, since he was bad at hiding anger, and did it to rile him up, just to watch him try and get at them. Not to mention the captain was a cocky little shit. Even now she spoke of their "catch" and making him sound like an object to be used.

Finally, the last item was sold off, and it was Aiden's turn. He stopped thrashing and grumbled, hoping to at least have the chance to escape after he was sold. He turned his attention to the captain, whistling to get her attention. "Hey, It. I hope you know that once I'm free, I'm coming back and repaying you for all of this." Aiden said, glaring daggers at the captain, the temperature immediately around his cage getting rather hot. He had heard one of the Pirates call her "Itra" so, in an attempt to annoy her, he started calling her It. That and Tomatohead. Let's just say Aiden was not the best at coming up with insulting names.​
 
JINN

Too much work, not enough booze... Too much booze, not enough women...

If it wasn't one thing on his mind, it was another. As a tinkerer, his hands were his best tools. They could stripe a gizmo down to scraps and build it back up into a masterpiece, under the right influence of course. Usually it was money, hard cash, precious jewels, or sterling coins that stirred his creative juices. Other times, it was some crazy idea that struck him; his muse struck him again, he would swear to the high heavens. Even as he has profited, he has struggled. Becoming a smith of any art cost money, which usually means having a day job in order to pay the bills. The constant purchase of whores doesn't help much either, but hey a man has his pleasures.

Of course by this point in the day, he was hung over again. Third night this week he drank himself stupid and blew most of his money on stupid shit again. Then again, you never know what this old port town could have in store for you.

He decided to take to the streets, get some fresh air and some supplies. His last project banked him some had left him enough for pay off the gangs from bashing his skull in for another month or so until they started demanding more money out of him. Better yet, it stopped the local feds from snooping around his shop, as if they were to find something of interest. Even for a human, he stood out. Soft white hair, blazing red coat, twin pistols that he always had within arm's reach; just for such an occasion something wanted to get within arm's reach. He strolled with confidence, a swagger of a champion and a wide grin on his face. He ignored the people who called out to him, trying to sell today's choicest catch.

However he stopped as he heard some major cash being thrown around. 'Two hundred fifty thousands? Now that is some pretty spending, which means they have some spare pocket change they won't mind missing.'

Now. normally he wasn't a thief. He was an honest man, pays his protection on time and with a smile. However, he was an honesty man in a nest of scum. He was willing to do what he needed to to survive, even if it meant using those handguns at his side. It was easy to slip into the crowd, his feet moving with their ebb and flow. He felt as comfortable here as he did anywhere. He danced to his own airy rhythm. A wallet here, a coin purse there. Even one as skilled as he can get caught, to which he would calmly hold up one of the firearms so they could see the bullet loaded and ready to be used. It was a scare tactic and an effective one at that. It left him wealthier and them mumbling angrily under their breath. It was win- win really, because they didn't die that day.

He looked up at the stage as the next bid was being prepared, curious as to what these salty scrubs brought back from beyond the sea.

"Hope it something worth all of time I am gonna spend working off this hang over," he stated aloud before sighing. The crowd was noisy and sneaking around was almost not worth it. Almost.
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~Ota~
A large black bundle of clothing and hair slept peacefully in a tangle of old roots and vines. The sunlight always hit this particular spot perfectly. A soft breeze swept across the creature's pale face, a small fang hanging from the side of it's mouth. Tangles of wild jet black hair and the leaves stuck within were gently stirred by the wind. The creature was entirely clad in dirty, black clothes with tears on the sleeves of it's shirt and knees on it's pants. Large black claws protruded out of combats boots that looked like they would fall apart should another breeze come. But the most striking feature of this peculiar being was the gray cat ear helmet she wore. Scratches from various squabbles and mischief were all over, and it appeared as if cat eyes and a nose were stitched into the hat itself. The "cat" too had a peaceful sleeping expression. The creature slowly rolled over on it's back, revealing that it....was actually human? A scraped up black tail protruded from underneath, showing further proof that this human was not just human or creature, but both.

This half human half creature-"Ota"-slowly opened her sea green eyes. She sat up and let out a large yawn, her fangs glistening in the light. Ota was quite satisfied from her five hour nap and was ready to find something to eat. The feral girl awkwardly fumbled her way onto two feet. She grumbled with a scowl-no wild vultures or dead carcasses in sight. It was slim pickings thanks to the lack of nature (she was fortunate to find such a great napping spot), but at least the city was nearby. Most humans would look at her with horror, others would try to chase her away. The hungry catgirl would have to be careful, but she knew that there was treasure awaiting her where normal humans resided. Some of these treasures would be stored in large metallic structures, others in black bins, some were just left out in front of houses/shacks/etc. But a normal person did not see such edible delicacies as treasures like this strange creature. Oh no, to the normal person, these "treasures" were in fact trash.

Ota was still waking up as she made her way towards the city. She was too preoccupied daydreaming about what sort of "delicacies" she would find-part of a dead fish perhaps? Or maybe the last morsels of some dry chicken. Every once in awhile she would find a whole piece of meat for herself!...If it was burnt. Not very tasty, but more filling to say the least. What this strange girl didn't realize was...well, she didn't realize alot of things, but what she didn't realize on her small trip was that she was headed straight for the most dangerous, despicable part of the city. She had always stayed far away from this particular area-it was dangerous enough raiding through trash cans in the daytime anywhere else, but here there were no trashcans or bins or anything. Instead there were crowds, huge crowds made up of ruffians, criminals, gangs, pirates and all sorts of evil. Of course all Ota noticed was all the pointy sticks everyone carried-what we know as swords and knives. Despite this there were food booths everywhere. Food just LAYING out in the open. Food of all kinds-fish, chicken, birds, and tons of other stuff this girl had no idea about other than all of it was most likely tasty. All that was given in exchange were small round pieces of a silver or gold color. Ota didn't understand the concept of money, nonetheless could she find any even if she did. Not that it mattered-to her this was all just one big tempting buffet and a game of snatch and run. But there was also a much larger price for getting caught. No one simply screamed or threw newspapers, oh no. People here threw KNIVES and MEAT CLEAVERS. Random people would threaten to kill her or do things she didn't understand like cut off her tail and ears for profit. No, this cat was not picky. She stuck to the suburbs and more civil areas. Ota would rather find little to eat or not eat at all than die on a full stomach. Too bad she was stuck in her food daydream to notice she had already arrived.

---

"Nya!" Ota was brought back to reality as she bumped into a ruffian. "Oi, watch where you're going you stupid cat!" Her eyes widen. This was the one area she stayed far away from. The leather-clad man smirked. "What's the matter? Cat got ya' tongue?" The scared catgirl took a couple steps back, her hands folded over like cat paws. A glimmer suddenly sparked in the crook's eyes. "Heeey you're one of those freaky crossbreeds. I bet you would fetch me a nice price in the auction! That is, if that fiery vixen and her cronies would stop hogging the stage..." Auction. Normally when someone said that word to Ota, they would try to grab her and haul her away. This was bad. With no warning Ota rushed past the man and darted down the busy street. "HEY GET BACK HERE! YOU'RE MY MEAL TICKET FOR TONIGHT!" After running through countless alleyways and dodging angry vendors, the ruffian lost track of his target. He was no match for her speed.

The winded catgirl darted under a wooden table to catch her breath. Not even five minutes had passed, and she was already threatened! She had to get back out of here, and fast! Suddenly her cat ears perked up beneath her hat. Ota sniffed the air a few times....Such a delectable smell engulfed her senses. Her mouth watered. She was hungry before, but now she was famished from the chase. The curious catgirl slowly crawled out from under the table and sat up just enough to see where the smell was coming from. It was meat! All kinds of meat! There was fish here, chicken there, pork on the other end-it was sweet, succulent meat!

No one seemed to have noticed her yet. If she could just grab a chicken-even that small one right in front of her face-she would be more than satisfied. Ota glanced up at the burly butcher. He was hairy with a large gut and bulging muscles. There was no doubt he would skin her alive for stealing...but he was too busy haggling with some other man over a few pounds of duck meat. If she was quick, then no one would even see her. Ota slowly lifted her "paw" towards the meat. All she had to do was quickly bat it off the table, grab it in her mouth, and run.

SLAM!!!

A meat cleaver the size of her arm landed mere inches from her hand. Ota's slit pupils grew small as she looked up in horror. The brutish butcher had fire in his eyes. "What do you think you're doing, you mangy CROSSBREED?"
 
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The mid-day terrestrial platform had moved out from over head allowing the bright sun to to beat down to the lower levels of a large trade planet. Beings and creatures of all types came here to trade goods, it is one of the few places goods can be traded between beings with such drastically different chemical make up that they require different environments and in some cases beings who's proximity to one another would be volatile. With numerous layers shaped like the skin of an orange after being cut into fourths, these continent sized platforms manage to avoid collision with one another as they orbit the same planet far below. Each surface has its own environment suitable for a range of species with similar enough biology's that they may walk among one another with out the need of special technologies to sustain life. Trades are found and made digitally, and as the two surfaces pass in orbit, unman cargo ships make the journey across and are sorted on the other side.Both sides of the surfaces are usable, the outer side held in with gravity, the inner with centrifical force, this can make for some amazing light shows when certain cities fly past each other, and other times it means days of darkness as one surface would move only to reveal another in the suns path.


The crowd was especially thick today, the new shipment of goods from an outer continent and a clearing allowing in some sun through to ours had everyone out in the streets. With some downtime before the next cover, Now seemed like a better time then any to see what the new catch brought in and stop in for some grub. I had found some strong materials, metals, leathers, and a few softer yet resistant materials too. I even managed to score a few rare crystals, a couple to help focus the energy for the ships, some smaller ones that would be better for weapons and two that with held something within them for Kiki, she always loved freeing what was sealed inside. Soon the combined smell of the different food vendors filled the streets and I knew it was time to eat. Slithering through the crowd I soon arrived at the food cort and pulled myself off to the side to gather myself before facing the crowd again.

-BANG KICK CLANG LANG LANG-
I turned to see what had caused the ruckus and seen a pile of trash fallen over in an alley way, an old disc still dancing to a stop. Glancing around to see what could of caused it I find a Black tail sticking out from under a vendors booth. The tail, held straight was quite thick with all its hair standing tall and erect ready to fight, its owner on the other hand, not so much. This not being the best place to just stick your tail out for some one I thought it best to stick around and make sure someones pet didn't unknowingly wander in to the wrong part of town only to become someones free food again. As I watched the tail shrunk down a little more and started whipping about nervously catching the eye of the butcher. With a snarl on his face and a loud AH-HA!!! He slammed his cleaver down into the wood.
"What do you think you're doing, you mangy CROSSBREED!! ˜The tail stuck straight out fully fluffed again. I managed to make my way over in time to stop the first step of cat stew. Come out from under there now." I said firmly yet softly as I gave a light tug on the tail. I told you, you can have anything you want for lunch if your GOOD. Running ahead and choosing before asking isn't good behavior. I said as I placed a firm hand on the girls shoulder, soft enough that my sharp nails didn't hurt her but firm enough to keep her from running off. I looked up from the girl at at the butcher with a cold glare. Two piercing blue eyes looked out from from under a dark hood, a soft pale face was framed by long white locks of hair that cascaded down on a full chest. "And as for you." I said angrily as I moved my cloak back enough to reveal my sword as I rest my hand on it. "My crew preforms many duties out here including babysitting shops like you, I make sure to assign only my best to problem areas like this even when you and your neighbors cant afford it. I am quite generous am I not?" I ask with authority. "Oh, my Lady Reikoku, I am so sorry I didn't recognize you, I'm Sorry I wasn't aware you had a Neko or that this was yo-" "The point I am trying to make here is that your section have been undercutting me lately and I can clearly see your business isn't hurting at all. I haven't raided your supplies and I haven't told you to find protection from any thugs around here, but I will explain this again. If you cant make enough to pay me for my protection then you should have plenty of stock that is probably going bad because its not being sold. Last time, you help your community and feed the strays and beggers with your overstock or else you will be on the menu, Understand?" With that I grabbed a hole bird he had just cooked and bagged and threw in a few of his more rare meats, grabbed hold of the Neko better and looked for a place to eat. I remembered a good place and headed there.

"You know, this is a really dumb place for you to be with out something showing you aren't a stray. Most people in this area don't see hybrids as equal, they see you as pets, slaves or worse and with no marking your free game. " I felt a little of a struggle and grabbed tight with my nails and stopped in the crowd. "If you run you wont make it till the next colony is over head, even now people are watching, waiting for me to let go so they can snatch you up for themselves. I will let you go free, but not until you hear what I have to say and help me eat this food you picked out OK." I said as I smiled down at her loosening my grip. "Now come on, there is a place right up here, we can see what is going on at the auction while we eat." I patted her on the head and steared her forward through the crowd. We passed through an opening between two stands when we came to an edge. I let go of her shoulder and looked over the barrier at the city below, we were actually on a layer of tall buildings all along but from our prospective it just looked like level ground. I took my small shoulder cloak off and put it on the Neko and fastened the buckle to keep it in place before handing her a piece of the bird. "I want to offer you a home, I know how hard these streets are and your are raggedy and thin. I take in strays all the time." I got another piece out for me but she had already finished hers so I gave her another. " You would be well cared for, food, water, clothes, friends, we will train you in what ever you excel most in, and you would have your own bed to come home to and a safe place where no one will hunt you. You dont have to answer right away, think about it for a while."

She had already finished and her eyes begged for more food. " Lets get closer to the auction, sometimes there are others like you there who just need a second chance... Wait, before we go." I said as I pulled out and cut a piece of the material I had just bought and put it around the girls neck. I took a pin with my gangs insignia off my jacket and attached it to the cloth. "Now this isn't saying you have to join my family, and I'm not putting it here to make you feel like property or that I own you. We are equals, but there are people where we are going that dont see it that way, But if they see this on you then you will be safe, understand?" With everything in order I grabbed hold of the Neko and jumped up over the barricade sending us both flying down deeper, into a more dangerous part of the city.

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As the ground quickly drew near I slowed us to a hovering stop as our bodies repositioned to be right side up. I snickered and patted the fluffy tailed cat girl on the head. "You remind me of a old friend, she screamed like hell the first time I did that to her. Hahaha, Maybe, maybe you will meet her someday." I said with a look of hidden sadness. I grabbed two more pieces of chicken and handed one to the girl as we walked closer to see what was on stage.


 
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[BCOLOR=#333333]Sekt & Trick[/BCOLOR]


"A poorly lit backroom, a few chairs that have seen better days, and a table that's been re-repaired a few times too many. The uh, smell of rancid beer." a man on the shorter side grins as he leans back lazily in one of the aforementioned chairs. He bared down a boot on the table to hear it wobble in an unbalanced manner. With a powerful sniff he focused. "Of... Blood?" He shook off the idea, bringing his mind back on track. "Anyways! Real typical of ol' slickster aye? Has enough beans to buy out Diso(*1) twice over, and he chooses this hole in the wall for a business transaction..." The man turns to his partner with an almost scheming look thrown over his face. The only light provided in this small and cramped room was a single bulb hanging from above. It sounded off a weak buzz warning that it's use was almost up, but the footsteps above drowned out it's plea. "How much you wanna bet he's sendin' in Sunshine to pass off the package?" One of the legs of the chair groan as though it's about give, giving the man second thoughts about his posture as he flounders about ungracefully to correct his weight distribution.

Another man of an average height sits about a quarter over from him, running a hand over a deep cut in the table. Bored with it he slouched in his own chair, shifting his weight subtly back and forth between two of its uneven legs. "Of course he's sending Hugo, when does he ever send anyone else? With how much you deliberately piss him off, I wouldn't be surprised if he's waiting for the day Hugo loses his temper and "accidentally" blows a hole through your gut."

"Pshh." The shorter of the two waves it off, now sitting upright. "The big guy loves me, he wouldn't harm a hair on my head. B'sides, it's not like we couldn't take him, right?" He shrugged cockily before swatting at a fly that decided to make itself a nuisance.

The other shook his head. "On, no no no. If you want to stir the fucking hornet's nest be my guest. But you're on your own." The clacking of his chair turned into something of a beat as he continued shifting back and forth.

"Gee, thanks." The former said with second thoughts written across his face. Those thoughts however were quickly overwritten with annoyance as the same fly made it's return.

The guests to this room were two parts of a five piece mercenary team, getting work where they could. Their main source just so happened to be Strelok Inc, one of the largest weapons and armor manufacturers/distributors this side of the multiverse. This was in regard to both the upfront public and the underground shadows. If something was too discreet that Strelok's personal army couldn't handle, it was more often than not handed over to this small team. As long as it were somewhere remotely close to Diso that is.
"If you have a gun, we have one better" -Strelok Inc.

The taller of these two was Sekt Salva, standing just a touch short of six feet. His general build was that of a medium size, though this wasn't so distinguishable under the layers of a brown duster and a set of defender-class armor. The padding that rested on the suits black base was that of a dark crimson, meant to ward off curious and prying hands with intimidation. To add to this factor, many portions of the suit were thick and clearly built to take a beating, hence the class name. Up by the head around the neck was a sort of retractable mechanism, one could deduce that this was for a mask or helmet. On top of all this was a set of slated brown eyes, contrasting the dark, near-black brown hair atop his head. It was of a medium length and straightened style, accompanied only by a soul patch on his chin.

His rather short and quick-to-speak partner was Hudj "Trick" Blekkingameistari, and he was a man who hated his name. Trick's armor was much similar, but different from Sekt's, enough so that you could tell if was by the same manufacturer. It's build was much sleeker, revealing his more slender, albeit scrawnier build. It's color scheme failed to match Sekt's red with a forest green. There was no strategic value implemented here however, Trick simply liked the color green. He was a rather simple man, really. He had hair that matched his personality: short, spiky, and vibrantly red, it was clearly dyed. Accompanying his baby face was a bit of chin scruff to add some artificial age. If there was one thing that the two held any uniform harmony over, it was the TVSUs(*2) latched to their backs, a product being experimented and tinkered with by their corporate peers.

The two shared a quiet moment before the faint sound of the bar tender's voice was heard just outside. They took the moment to sit proper before knob of the room's lone door turned. Through it walked the large frame of a man almost too big for the door, making the floorboards bend with each step. "Ah, yes. Sekt and, uh..." The beastly man glared down at the shorter of the mercs from behind a pair of aviators, giving a venomous snarl, "Hudj."

Trick waved, wiggling his fingers gingerly in the large man's direction. He had lost any sense of professionalism when he found out who was relaying this part of the deal, "Howdy big boy." One could almost hear the behemothic man's log-thick arms stress his suit's capacity as he fought the urge to bludgeon Trick. After another moment of starring down shorty he shut the door behind him, carefully trying to keep his temper. Trick knew he had a hook in the man now and it could be seen with the simple smile he wore, "Ohhh come on Hugo, don't tell me you're still upset."

Hugo let another few seconds pass as he starred daggers at Trick, entertaining fantasies of how "horribly" this deal could go down. He took another deep breath, "It has been 5 months, and I am still finding glitter WHERE GLITTER SHOULDN'T BE" His voice erupted, enough to make Trick jump out of his skin. Hugo pulled up a brief case, dropping it carelessly onto the table, "FIVE. MONTHS." The case was adorn with Strelok's gaudy logo, something that everyone recognized and no one could miss.

Recollected after his little scare, Trick opens his mouth to say something. Whatever it was though would have to go untold as Hugo slams a holographic communicator onto the table. Trick shrunk back in his chair, the sawed-off shotgun Hugo pulled from his harness afterwards was enough to keep him quiet.

After a moment of making sure the loud mouth was done egging, the large man tapped a button on the side of the device. There was a quiet ringing followed by the appearance of a orange hologram of a man with long, slicked back hair in a lavish business suit. The hue of the hologram filled the room with it's color, overpowering any light provided by the lone bulb hanging overhead. A slimy smile crossed the man's face has he looked up from the table, "Ah, Sekt. I have a very interesting deal for... Oh, you brought your pet." The grimace quickly turned into an expression of disgust as he turned to see Trick. Every word came across like he was a man with the world in his hands. He had perfect enunciation and syntax. His charm made you feel like his best friend, and his condescension could make you feel worth less than dirt.

Without even doing anything, Trick's presence alone managed to interrupt the meeting. Before Sekt could pull Strelok's focus back to the business at hand, Trick was lapping up the opportunity to spin some heads. "Hah, that's funny 'cause that's what your sister use to want me to call her. Meee-OW!" Sekt slapped his hand as Trick made a pawing gesture, giving him a stern knock-it-off expression. The warning was laughed off however, "What? It's true, why do you think we split?"

Strelok lost his better than thou posture and began to spout back, losing his eloquent diction. Small holographic spit flew out of the holograms projectional range, "LISTEN HERE YOU SMALL CRETINOUS FREAK, I-"

Trick decided he was going to dig as far as he could go as he became more gesturally animated, "You wanna talk about cretinous freak? Boy howdy you should talk to yer sis about that 'cause she's a cretin in bed!"

Each word filled Strelok's body with a sour note, for these were not blind insults. Oh no. Trick indeed had some brief history with the empire-running business owner's sister. That on it's own would have been enough for him put a price on Trick's head if it weren't for a few complications. "HUGO!"

Hugo grinned as he grasped his shotgun with a second hand, giving it a firm cock. "Right."

"Aw man, the way you cocked that there shotty sure remindGLECH...!"

Hugo's fantasy was about to become a reality before Sekt grabbed Trick by the throat and blocked the view of the shot, shaking his friend vigorously. "I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T STOP TRYING TO DESTROY THIS TRANSACTION I'M GOING TO CHOKE YOU OUT MYSELF!!"

Trick cackled breathlessly, "You know who else is into choking?"

"I WILL GIVE YOU A HANDSOME REWARD HERE AND NOW IF YOU END THIS LITTLE RAT'S LIFE." Strelok shouted out, clearly trying to regain his stance as he fixed a stray hair.

Sekt stopped shaking for a moment as he looked towards Strelok's holograph as though considering the option, "How handsome we talking?" Trick responded with a choked and scared noise.

The suit grinned menacingly at the thought of inconsequentially offing Trick, "I have been looking for a replacement representative on your side of Diso for some time now."

"Eh," he let go, dropping Trick to the floor with a heavy thud. "Not really a desk man."

Trick reached for his neck, rubbing away the feeling of having someone else wrapping their hands around it. Up on the table Strelok took a breath of disappointment, "How... Unfortunate. Anyways, I suppose we should get back to the business at hand." He rolled his eyes as he changed the topic, finally collecting himself. "There has been a small change in plans. Originally I had something that needed transporting from here, but- Well, we had some second thoughts on the transportation of this package. We became concerned with how teleporting it would effect it's atomic structure."

Trick stood up, grabbing the table on his way. It wobbled, momentarily disrupting the hologram as it flittered around to which Hugo gave an annoyed sigh. Things continued however, the projection was quick to correct itself. "Don't tell me we came all this way for nothing, it costs fuel to get out here, Strelok! Why didn't you contact us and can-"

"I am getting to that, if you would be so courteous to give me your patience." The context he spoke through was more demanding than that of a request, "We will be delivering the package to your island in a discrete manner along with the supplies and upgrades you requested?"

Trick piped up, finally showing some genuine interest in what was going on, "What about K-Bot's stuff?" He leaned uncomfortably close to the hologram.

"Yes, yes. We have not forgotten about the parts to your little... primitive toy." Strelok gestured his hand out dismissively at the mention of the subject. Trick perks up as though to make a snide comment in return to the condescending response, but seems to let things go without further interruption. "Then you get the rest of your payment once the package has been delivered to my headquarters. What we have here in this case Hugo brought, is a key. You will need it to access the supply drop and the package itself." Strelok's expression changes to one almost hinting concern as he goes further into explaining the boys' mission, "Not just that, but you will also need the rest of your team. Should anyone approach without the entire unit AND the key, it's defense measures will activate and, well you know how it goes. Same goes should ANYONE else without your data signatures comes within range."

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold on." Sekt paces with an expression of disbelief before sitting down in his chair, taking a great focus on Strelok, "What is this? What's the point of having us come out here for a key when we could have just stayed put?"

Strelok sighed heavily, breaking eye contact as he tries to excuse his own fault, "Listen, the change in plans happened after you were already half way here. You're still getting paid so I do not understand what the big deal is." His expression changed quickly from one of embarrassment to snappy.

Hugo takes a look at his watch and grumbles as the conversation proceeds. Before Sekt can make a rebbutal, Trick comes back into picture. "No, wait up, I don't really give a rat's ass about your stupid key shit. What the HELL are you having us move around where you need to go to such lengths to keep it safe??"

Strelok begins to raise his voice with great agitation, "WHO CARE WHAT IT IS? You are a MERCENARY! You do a favor, I pay." He sighs, "Listen, I am a busy man. I have things to do. You bring the key to the unit that I am dropping on your island. You take the package, you keep it hidden under a watchful eye. When I give you the okay, you transport it MANUALLY to my headquarters, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!" Strelok had progressively gotten more and more steamed as he gave the two their details. He took a moment to pause and calm himself, "If it will make this go quicker and convince you to stay on the plan, I will DOUBLE your payout. As much as it goes against my better judgement."

The room stood silent for a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the humming of the holoprojector's base. With some thought and hesitation, Sekt finally spoke up, "Fine. Your... Whatever it is, is safe with us. When can we expect the drop?"

Strelok almost looked relieved, "It should be arriving shortly, close to the factory. I have had a supply ship staying a few miles away from the coast for a day now. All I have to do is contact the ship and give them the okay. Once you have it in your possession I will give you further details. Now please, Don't make me regret this endeavor." Hugo, almost as though he had been waiting for the queue, slid the case across the table. The rough texture and splinters on it's surface were audible as the transaction was finally made. "Are there any inquiries you have before we conclude this little meeting?"

"No, we're-" "YEAH, why the FUCK do you have to plaster your logo all over this shit?" Trick taps hard on the case's surface. "Real discreet, asshole. I feel like-"

"GOODBYE." The hologram abrubtly ended with a shout, leaving barely a sound to the room. Sekt looked over to Trick, annoyed with his partner's behavior to which Trick simply shrugged. Without a word, Hugo collected the holoprojector and made his way out of the room, yearning to get as far away as possible from the thorn in side as fast as he can. Behind him he left the door open, letting in the light from the bar upfront. There wasn't much business this time of day. A couple of guys in the corner catching up on their lives and a drunkard were the only other visitors at the time.

Sekt collected the case and made his way out with Trick stalling behind, eyeing the drunkard's table as they approached it. The bar itself was quite as one may guess, but the hustle and bustle of the market's streets beyond the exit could be heard from within. "Should probably contact BS, huh?" Trick reminded Sekt as he casually snatched up the lone bottle that was sparred from the drunk's liquid feast. Sekt nodded, waiting to get out into the loud streets where none would get a good eavesdrop on them.

As they opened the door it gave a loud creek, and their footsteps transitioned from loud and hollowed bangs upon a wooden floor boarding to the crunch of gravel. Almost in unison, the two men brought up earpieces, adjusting them to fit. The street was crowded, and as mentioned before, loud. It was hard to hear over the merchants and customers bartering for prices, higher and lower. There was the occasional laughter overheard from groups just coming through this area, on their merry way to a better part of town. The buildings held no proper scheme, each felt like they were jammed onto the next building as conveniently as possible.

"Big Sister, this is Big Brother, can you hear me?" A woman's voice cracks through the headpiece, only audible to Sekt and Trick, "What's up Big Brutha. How'd the transaction go?" Sekt groaned a moment before being bumped into by a passing girl hauling some large foreign bird.

"God, these crowds. There's been a bit of a change. Deal's still going as is, but the package is getting dropped by on the island by the old factory. Keep a look out, and do NOT let anyone near it. Strelok's got some damned security system active on it" He sighed, forcing his way through a thicker part of the crowd with Trick beginning to trail on before him. "He gave us a key to open it, but we need that and all of us present, otherwise the container will go apeshit and blast away anything near it."

The woman's voice came through again, questioningly but unsurprised. "What? Then why in the name of the Faces did he send you all the way out there?" "Because-" "Because 'Loks a jackass, why else?"

"Thank you for the input Little Brother, Big brother?" "Some complication with the shipment, he seems REALLY worried about something happening to the atomic structure of the package. Seems a bit sketchy, even for us. But he's offered double pay, soooo." "Christ, double pay from his swindley ass? When does he ever do that?" "When he's serious, I guess." "Right, right." "He said the drop should be discreet, so again, try and keep a look out. I know no one else is on the island, but it'd be best to play things safe."

Trick looked up to the sky with a look of disappointment. It was a beautiful and sunny day, with barely any clouds in the sky. "Hey, BS?" "How many times do I have to ask you not to abbreviate that?" "Forever times a lot. Anyways anyways, any word on big 'n trapped 'n scary?"

The crowd began to thin out a bit as the two approached a port area of the town, more specifically in an area of lockups. "Reports confirm what we were expecting, the pirate that snatched up the bounty you were after is having an auction. It'd be safe to say he's part of it. You boy's gonna go through with what you had planned?"

Trick pouted in frustration, "Well we sure as hell are gonna try, only problem is the weather. There was supposed to be overcast, how am I suppose to pull this without overcast?"

"We'll figure something out, even if we have to track down the buyer. My only worry is how many people are after this guy? And just how badly do they want him?" Sekt brought up with a touch of worry as he stopped by a large door. "This is it right?"

Trick stepped up, fiddling around his pocket for a key. "The hoverform is riiiiighhhht..." The lock released with a rusted hesitation, "In here."

"Alright you two, we'll keep a lookout for the drop. You two have fun, try not to get captured or anything stupid, I don't want to send Grim out there to make hostage negotiations."

"We'll do our best. We'll contact you later once everything said and done, for now we're out." Sekt removed the earpiece, putting away in one of the duster's many inner pockets. "Alright, ready to get professional?"

Trick laughed, "As long as you're the one talking, I think I might be able t'manage." He brought up his right hand, TVSU input/output glowing in his palm as a bag of gold digitally materialized itself bit by bit. "All We Need Is One, a story by the Trickster."

"Try not and get cocky, huh?" Sekt threw the door open, and with barely a moment taken the two slipped in and shut the door behind them.
 
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~Ota~

Rei.jpg


It was over. Ota's whole life was about to end. All over a small pound of chicken. Normally the catgirl would have bolted by now, but this time....she was paralyzed by fear.

"Come out from under there now." A small tug of her tail jolted the catgirl. She ran back under the table and stuck her head out to see a tall beautiful woman looming over her. Something was strange. This woman wasn't looking at Ota with fear or disgust. What made this situation even stranger was the fact that the butcher had not taken this opportunity to slice the neko's head off. Perhaps...this woman's presence was the reason?

Ota slowly made her way out from under the short table on all fours, then shakily stood up. A soft hand held a firm grip on her bony shoulder along with light scolding that the cross breed couldn't understand. Again, something was strange...this was not a grip of death the catgirl had dodge and wiggled out of so many times before. It was strong enough to keep her from running, but not uncomfortable...Ota looked up at the mysterious woman in wonder. She scolded the now cowering butcher about pay and protection. How could this one person make a cleaver-slinging meat salesman into a pitiful bundle of fear?

The catgirl blinked a few times as a whole bird, as well as other mouth watering meat, was taken without a word from the seller. No threats, no shouts about a crossbreed, nothing. Whoever this woman was, she had power.

"You know, this is a really dumb place for you to be with out something showing you aren't a stray. Most people in this area don't see hybrids as equal, they see you as pets, slaves or worse and with no marking your free game. " All Ota could understand were the words stray, hybrids, pets, and slaves. Why would a powerful person like her save a stray cat person? She had to have a plan of some sort...but what? The catgirl made a futile effort to break free, only to have the grasp on her shoulder tighten. The woman stopped. "If you run you wont make it till the next colony is over head, even now people are watching, waiting for me to let go so they can snatch you up for themselves. . ." Ota's eyes widened. Run...won't make it.....are watching.....She was right. The catgirl looked around her in a frenzy to see countless pairs of eyes staring back at her with dark intentions. Her body trembled with fear. She was trapped.

". . . but not until you hear what I have to say and help me eat this food you picked out OK." Wait. Help...eat? Food? The confused catgirl looked back up at the woman, still quivering a bit. This powerful mysterious woman...was smiling. At her. At that point Ota definitely sensed that something was different. It wasn't her power, or any "plans". No, this person....really did save her. She was "good".

"Now come on, there is a place right up here, we can see what is going on at the auction while we eat." Normally, if a stranger had even uttered the word 'auction' to Ota, she would be gone in a heartbeat. But not this time. For some reason, she didn't feel alarmed. It was as if this woman was her protection. Not to mention she did say 'eat'-a word the catgirl associated with food. For the first time since entering this area, Ota smiled. "Nya~!" A purred slightly as she was patted on the head and gently guided through the crowd. Never before had she felt so at ease in this place. It was so rare for her to receive help.

The catgirl looked around curiously as she was guided toward an edge. "Nyu?" Ota cocked her head to the side as she made no fuss over the shoulder coat she was given. She made a few arm movements with her hands still held up as paws. The clothing almost engulfed her torso, but the fabric was light and didn't affect her movement. "I want to offer you a home, I know how hard these streets are and your are raggedy and thin. I take in strays all the time." Before the catgirl could try to understand, her mind quickly diverted to a piece of chicken held out to her. "Nyaaa~!" The meat was swiftly snatched by a pair of small retractable claws. Ota opened her mouth wide and sunk her fangs into the delectable meat. In a flurry of nomfs and swallows, the bird was gone in nearly an instant. The mysterious woman took out another piece of meat, causing Ota to forget about the small chicken she had finished just seconds before. This too was handed out to her, and she grabbed it once again with tiny claws sunk in.

"You would be well cared for, food, water, clothes, friends, we will train you in what ever you excel most in, and you would have your own bed to come home to and a safe place where no one will hunt you. You dont have to answer right away, think about it for a while." Ota stopped mid bite. Odd...she actually understand all the words this time. She didn't get what some of the phrases meant like training in whatever she excelled in, but for the most part...Food, water, clothes....Friends...? Were friends people like this lady? People who wouldn't try to hunt or trap her? People who would gladly give food instead of killing to keep it for themselves? Plus the word home....Was that like the small patch of dead roots and vines she slept in every now and then, or something more permanent, more safe? She didn't know why, but tears welled up in the confused girl's eyes. Something felt different, like she had obtained something better than "treasure". For once in her life Ota felt like she....what was the word....belonged?

With a growl of her stomach, the catgirl was brought out of her trance. She hastily demolished the unknown tasty meat and looked at her supplier with pleading eyes. "Lets get closer to the auction, sometimes there are others like you there who just need a second chance... Wait, before we go." Ota gazed with curiosity at her provider as a piece of soft material was gently wrapped around her neck. Something small was then attached. "Now this isn't saying you have to join my family, and I'm not putting it here to make you feel like property or that I own you. We are equals, but there are people where we are going that dont see it that way, But if they see this on you then you will be safe, understand?" Once again Ota could understand the words. She didn't know what 'equals' meant, but apparently this thing around her neck would provide protection. Like power, perhaps? She nodded at the woman's question. With no warning the woman grabbed her as she was launched off her feet. Everything happened in slow motion. Their bodies were no longer right-side up and instead faced the next planet's layer below. Ota opened her mouth to scream. For a split second she saw something completely different. The girl was falling through the air with someone else...similar to this woman, but different. A small black cat was being squeezed in her arms.

"NNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The terrified catgirl did not stop screaming until they were right-side up again. She had a death grip on her supplier's arm, and her hair was poofed out wildly like her tail. For some reason the woman held back laughter and patted her head again. "You remind me of a old friend, she screamed like hell the first time I did that to her. Hahaha, Maybe, maybe you will meet her someday." Still catching her breath, Ota gazed at her with curiosity reflected in her eyes. An old friend? Who could she be? Was she as nice as this lady? Ota too wanted to meet her someday. The catgirl blinked a couple times. Did her provider look sort of...sad? This thought was put out once again by the sweet allure of chicken. "Nya!" The catgirl unknowingly made a spectacle of herself with her not-so-polite eating habits, but that didn't bother her. No one could harm her now that she was with her.....






friend?
 

Itra Elizabeth Seras ◊ ◊
The captain smirked, she was almost amused. Threats from her 'cargo' were nothing new, but somehow it was always funny to hear. Maybe it was because she knew something they didnt. The thing about being a pirate captain was she had a ship. A large sturdy ship that after the auction would carry her far, far away. Should one of her customers be stupid enough to allow their 'product' to break loose, well that was their problem. Even then without money or power, the likeliness of her seeing said merchandise again was very slim. After all It's hard to chase someone across the cosmos without a way to travel yourself. This time in particular, Itra would be more then happy to ship out rather quickly. She was well aware what the beast could do should he get free, but even more aware that once she made her profit a second target would be placed on her back. This was a theive's den after all.

Itra stood up from her chair, casually stretching but careful not to knock off the small sprite from it's perch. It was time. "Hawke?"

"Aye, captain?"

"You know the drill, start readying the ship."

"Aye captain."

Her first mate quickly scuttled off to go and inform the rest or her crew. The captain watched him as he went, letting out a small sigh of sudel irritation. If she was honest, she would say that was not very close with her crew. They hadn't done anything to her but she saw them as simple employees, employees that could easily stab her in the back at any moment. They saw her as their boss, their blood sucking vampire boss. She wasnt a nasty captain, nor would she ever drink from her crew ( excuse one treacherous morsel) but none the less they kept their distance. For a moment Itra recalled the time they had run out of blood to satisfy her hunger. The crew had avoided her all day, fearing that she would lash out and take their lives. For her it was better to be feared anyway. She was a captain and had a reputation to up hold. Besides it was not as if she was completely alone. A small pull oh her hair brought her attention back to the present.

"Impatient are you? Don't worry we'll be far away soon Asa." Itra said, a delicate smile graced her lips but quickly returned to her usual cocky grin. She had always had a soft spot for her fairy friend. While the fragile creature could not speak words her gestures spoke volumes, and that was more then enough to keep the captain company.


As her final merchandise was pulled onto the stage, Itra followed pursuit placing her self on the front corner of the platform. She did this for two reasons. The first was so her audience would know her face and remember how capable she was. Fear and infamy was how pirates made their gold. The second was so the audience knew that she personally guaranteed the quality of the product, as both a vampire and a traveler of the seas.


"Ladys, Gentlemen and the like I present to you out final object for bid!" The auctioneer announced, gesturing to the chained being "Captured from a land far away, this fearsome creature has the strength to level villages in the blink of an eye. Our Captain has personally verified that his blood is of the highest the quality. An oddity as rare as this comes once in a life time! Look at his eyes and the, his fear inspiring arms! We will start the bids at 50,000! 50,000! Do I hear 100,000?"

 
~Ota~

Rei.jpg


Ota finished the last of her chicken, excited to see exactly what was sold at auctions. She had never actually been to one before...normally the catgirl would be too scared to dare go near such a place, but with her new provider protecting her, she would be able to enjoy the show like everyone else here. Her tailed flicked with curiosity. Her ears perked up as a few crewman dragged a large cage onstage.

Her eyes shrank into tiny slits. The catgirl didn't know what to expect, but she sure was not expecting this. There was no meat or jewels or clothing in that cage. Oh no. A PERSON was stuck in that cage. For a second Ota saw the same man...similar, yet different. They were outside under some black sakura trees. He laughed and gave her a warm smile. The catgirl took in a sharp breath as a flamboyant female's voice filled the room.

"Ladys, Gentlemen and the like I present to you out final object for bid!" Object...That wasn't an object! No, even Ota could tell the difference between a human and an object. Besides...there was something strange about this man. She had a...."good" feeling about him, like she did for her new supplier.

"Nya!" Ota tugged on the mysterious woman's sleeve, then pointed a paw at the cage. If she helped Ota, then maybe she would be willing to help him too. "Nya, nya!" The catgirl stared deep at her companion with pleading eyes. She didn't know why, but they had to free him.
 
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[BCOLOR=#161a19]We moved our way forward to get a better look. I kept a close eye on the curious little cat girl making sure she didn't get to far off when I ran into something. I turned and looked up, locking eyes with the tall white haired man I had collided with. I gave a soft smile and a quiet Sorry, as we passed. A few feet away I pulled up a small bag and started going through it with a sigh. What ever happened to honor among thieves? There was a random assortment of tools and parts in the bag. Well, I bet that wont be seeing the last of him, if he wants his stuff back he will have to pay with what he lifted from me.[/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=#161a19]We came to a stop as they began to ready the stage for the next item when a man emerged from the shadow the two of us cast. Reikoku, he has returned and our tail has him bugged. There are signs that his presence may interfere with other plans, What are your instructions? Damn, I was hoping this could be handled with a little more grace. Keep the Tail on him for now and make sure everyone is ready for shit to hit the fan. We aren't going to fight this, it will just make a bigger mess of things, we will just wait for the right time to intervene. I noticed a tugging and looked down to see a pair of big sad eyes. What is it hun. I Said with a smile as I looked down to her. "Nya, nya!" I lifted my eyes to where she motioned as a caged man was brought on stage to be auctioned off. "Do you know him some how?"I asked her before scanning the crowd seeing how many other looked interested in making the purchase. Kain leaned down smiling softly as he spoke to the young girl. Well hello there. My name is Kain and Lady Reikoku and I have known each other for a long time, so you can trust me when I tell you she will get your friend out of there ok. Maybe when we are all done here we can show you where we live and both you and your friend can decide if you want to come be apart of our family. He said patting the girl on the head. "Hm, you don't seem to have anything to protect yourself with do you? Here. Not wanting her to see her friend bid off like a piece of meat he thought to distract the girl. He proceeded to remove one of the smaller belts that strapped two daggers and a small pouch to the back of his main belt, he then knelt down and put it on the little cat girl. You should always be prepared for danger, that way when bad stuff happens you can stop it by force if you have to. He said as he tightened the last strap. Now don't take that the wrong way, if other options are available then they should be used instead. But there are times where there wont be any other choice, when some one is going to be hurt no matter what. That is when you have to stop that danger from hurting anyone else. But don't worry to much about that right now, in many cases you can stop the bad from happening by just being there with a way to defend what is right. In a very big way you are keeping both yourself and those around you safe just by having these with you.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#161a19]Meanwhile the bidding battle ensued, the price high enough that the individual bids could now be heard apposed to the earlier wave of shouted numbers.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#161a19]Becoming annoyed as the bidding had gone on longer then most and the amount going up by smaller and smaller increments a woman's voice rung out. "I WILL DOUBLE THAT, PLUS GIVE YOU HIS WEIGHT IN GOLD!!! THAT'S 1,000,000 PLUS HIS WEIGHT." I knew that even if this didn't win, it would at the very least speed up the process.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=#333333]Sekt & Trick[/BCOLOR]​

The sun hung high, its rays shining brightly upon the bustling market place. It had only been a short while since Sekt and Trick hid themselves away into a storage shed. They had since made their way further into the depths of the harbor sides marketplace, where smells pleasant mixed with odors unfathomable. A good deal reminiscent of the deals between the corrupt rich and crooked thieves. The two men stood at the back end of a large crowd, covered by the shade of an overarching structure. The crowd hooped and hollered with a mix of awe and frustration as numbers were called out. Before the crowd was an old stage worn for ware, and crawling back and forth upon it were busy worker ants bringing objects of obscure and interesting designs here and there under the watchful eye of their queen. The current center piece that held the flock's attention was a decorated spear, something of an old origin by a tribe forgotten. Or, "Maybe it's painted gold. Painting shit gold don't make it any better. I mean, unless you're like, into collecting wierd-WHAT?" The distorted voice was interrupted by a thick jab to the side.

"Professional, remember? Keep on track. Stop rambling." The voice responding had much lower pitch with a side of garble and intimidation. Helmets connected with their suits now concealed the identity of Sekt and Trick. Metal plated and near featureless with the exception of the jagged contours where metal plating met at a joint. The only line of sight being a single strip of space between one of the joints, where a light of the user's color obscured any hint of the eyes that lie beyond its glow.

Now accompanying the two was a hovering platform meant for transporting cargo. It was square and basic in it's design, with a color scheme of red and white. Basic siding to keep its hold in place. A small seat on the side upon which a driver, in this case Trick, controls its movement and regulates the output of its multiple anti gravity emitters for balance. The hum it gave off could be considered near-calming. Whatever calmness it might bring however would be easily overpowered with curiosity drawn towards what the hoverform was carrying: a hefty pile of mystery hidden under a tan tarp.

"That's her isn't it? Fuckin' firehead that made off with our lil' friend?" Trick gestured subtly to a woman sitting at a desk among the commotion onstage. She was covered in the gaudy this-and-thats that pirate captains were reputable for wearing.

The crowd erupted with applauding and a few disgruntled comment as a woman in purple took home the prized spear. "You mean the one that fits the exact description we were given?"

"Yeah."

"Nope."

Trick looked off with a small hint of embarrassment, "Oh."

A few moments of silence are shared between the two as they watch the busy worker ants prepare their next display. Sekt gave a garbled sigh, "Yes, brother. That's her."

Trick looked off once more in an awkward and thoughtful daze, before looking again towards the stage. "...Asshole."

This time a cage was brought up to the stage, and in it was held a demonic looking man covered in scales and strange colors. And accompanying him was the captain herself. As she went on about what this demon could do, Trick gave a light chuckle of excitement. "Jackpot." The two, almost in sync, brought up their arms as though holding a weapon that wasn't there. With the blink of an eye, fitting guns lit up in their hands as their TSVUs went off. Trick armed with a large, chunky shotgun of advanced make. The hilt was lined with a red bar separated into six blocks with some form of strange battery attached at the end. Sekt was fitted with something of a stranger build. It had a body much similar to that of a sniper rifle, but with odd turbines running down the "barrel" and what seemed to be a storage unit towards the butt of the weapon.

"So, we start blowin' off numbers or what?" Trick placed the shotgun to the side of his personal platform, securing Strelok's case in one hand. It wasn't long after obtaining it that they had discovered the greaseball had a blacklisting chip on the case, preventing them from storing it in a digital space. Once more, adding difficulty to the whole subtlety act. Fortunately these two were what could be considered adaptable, deciding instead to use it as a badge. As sleazy as Strelok is, when it comes to deals, his money is reputable for being good money, and plentiful money. Usually small little, but pleasant, twists added on here and there to endear those willing enough to indulge in his propositions. There was also the addition of justification for the heavy artillery, knowing the business and who was arming the thugs.

"Nah... Not yet. Let's let some of the rabble let off their steam." Numbers start pouring out, at larger increments towards the start and a decreasing flow as it went. The explosive rounds would always be pushed up as it reaches it's climax of course, as is the way with such "items" for trade. Such a climax seemed to be reaching it's point as a woman shouted out a million units plus the previous bidder's number.

"I think the strategic thing to do here, would be to add........ One piece on top of that."

"Shut up." The two decided they would wait for additional bids, or to come out over last second as the clock is ready to pick this woman as a winner.
 
-Bump- I will be putting a post up soon to try to pull lugi in again, I just need to finish it up and run it by dark first.




[BCOLOR=#000000]Update!!![/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=#000000]If i need to edit the next post let me know. just wanted to get it all done finally. [/BCOLOR]
 
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[BCOLOR=#000000]
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Kiki playfully pawed at the large caged bird to entertain herself as she waited for her turn to act as the tail. "Are they out yet? I told you we should have had me tailing from the start, at least then we would know what was going on." " Relax Kiki, the mission wasn't to find out what they were up to, it was watch their back and make sure they didn't get into to much trouble, prevent it if we can. -Oh, get ready, they are coming out of the room now." The man cut of the psychic link the two were chatting through and downed another bottle while slumping forward lazily in his booth.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]Outside a eager wolf girl conjured up a simple humanoid pawn clothed in a raddy dress and an old shawl covering it's dull un life like face. "Ok, we cant screw this up so act natural ok." The doll loomed forward with the weight of the large birdcage on its back. "Mmmhhhhhhh" it groaned starring blankly at the ground. I really need to work on your speech some more. . . Kiki said before transforming into a pipe fox and slithering up the leg of the pawn. She peered out of a small tear in the sleeve of the dolls dress as they walked out of the alley into the flow of the commotion. "Look they are over there, head that way!" The pawn pushed her way through the crowd and was on rout to contact the target. "Ok get me close, but do it gently! Just a little bump, A little one. I dont want him flying across the crowd into a building or something. ok here we go" The pawn pushed her way through the crowd and lightly bumped shoulders with a darkly dressed man, and in the blink of an eye the little pipe fox slipped into one of the many pockets lining the mans jacket. As she settles in she over hears something that peaked her interest.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"God, these crowds. There's been a bit of a change. Deal's still going as is, but the package is getting dropped by on the island by the old factory. Keep a look out, and do NOT let anyone near it. Strelok's got some damned security system active on it" "He gave us a key to open it, but we all need to be present, otherwise the container will go ape shit and blast away anything near it. ---[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Deal, package, security system, Strelok, container, key? All these words tickled the pups ears. "What could it be thats so important, the extra security could prove interesting if nothing else, and Strelok always has good loot waiting for me to find. She thought to herself.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Because-" "Because 'Loks a jackass, why else?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Some complication with the shipment, he seems REALLY worried about something happening to the atomic structure of the package. Seems a bit sketchy, even for us. But he's offered[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=#000000] double pay, soooo." --- "When he's serious, I guess."--- "He said the drop should be discreet, so again, try and keep a look out. I know no one else is on the island, but it'd be best to play things safe."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]She continued listening to the two men commune with some un-heard person. What are they saying, who could it be. She had decided to slither closer to the mans head in hopes of being able to pick up on the audio she was missing. But just as she was about to start her journey she heard a name.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Hey, BS?" --- "Forever times a lot. Anyways anyways, any word on big 'n trapped 'n scary?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]---[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"We'll figure something out, even if we have to track down the buyer. My only worry is how many people are after this guy? And just how badly do they want him?"--- "This is it right?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Hearing this made her remember why she was really here, and this did sound like the type of trouble she was suppose to be looking out for. "I wonder if that's the same big 'n trapped 'n scary we are after." She through to herself.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"The hoverform is riiiiighhhht..." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Kiki heard a familiar click and her ears perked up again.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"In here."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Could this be it? Could this be the big secret treasure?" She had to see it, had to know the secrets it held. But she couldn't peep out the pocket or she would definitely be caught. She took her little claws and strand by strand cut through the thread lining the pocket until it was finally thin enough for her tiny eyes to see through.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"We'll do our best. We'll contact you later once everything said and done, for now we're out."--- "Alright, ready to get professional?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"As long as you're the one talking, I think I might be able t'manage."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]She watched as the two men moved through the door unaware of the little stowaway. The smaller of the two men began fiddilling with the trinket on his arm before pulling out a coin. "Really, what is it with people and these stupid discs? They don't even do anything, just sit there. Cant eat them, cant play with them, cant hunt them and they don't do anything cool, even rocks would be more fun and useful to collect." She watched as he made many from one using the gadget on his arm. "That however is what I call a treasure, I could cause so much chaos with that, I could drop so many things on people heads with out having to pack so much crap, I could get away so fast and no one could catch me! I want it, I need it, I will have it!!!" She thought to herself, a mischievous grin covering her face.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"All We Need Is One, a story by the Trickster."[/BCOLOR]



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[BCOLOR=#000000]Kiki was so lost in the the gadgets possibilities that she hadn't noticed they started moving. Her fantasies were cut short however when she felt a familiar presence among a large crowd at the end of the alley the two men were going down. "Oh shit, they are going after the same big, caged and angry we are. How am I suppose to keep them from doing anything stupid when they knowingly walk into it." Kiki panicked.[/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=#000000]"Hey Kaaaaaaaain?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000] "Yes Kiki."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"You know how you guys told us all to try to keep our targets away from your big, pissed and trapped?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Who?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"You know, big red, the target you and Reiko are going after because you knew he was going to be a hand full when he got loose."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Oh God Kiki, Please tell me you haven't let your targets stray this way. Your suppose to keep them out of danger not let them wander to the one place we are almost certain there will be. That and we aren't sure how they will react upon seeing each other, how long it might take for memories to trigger or if they will. You know there is a possibility that the negative feelings surrounding the end of our lives there might come back first in a flash, they might all try to kill each other based solely on the fear finding its way through from their old lives."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"I Didn't just let them stray towards you, sheesh, They are headed there on purpose. And its not like hes going to die either, he and his friend are both heavily armed. Besides, they have already met Big Red, they are coming to visit him right now. ^.^"[/BCOLOR]



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[BCOLOR=#000000]Kain facepalms and lets out a sigh as his hand slides off his face relieving a look of aw and frustration with the pups ignorance before turning to his companion.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Before I say anything just know I have a plan to make the best of the situation."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"What situation?" She said with an un-easy tone.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"We have an armed in bound target with a companion and possible intent to make aggressive contact with our target."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Kiki. . . Its fine, it seems our theorized worst case scenario is bunk anyway. Almost all of them are in the area and shit hasn't hit the fan, we just need to try to keep it that way."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Well maybe just a little chaos, for the greater benefit of coarse. I'm thinking if Kiki can cause a big enough distraction to the whole crowd and crew then I can slip the big guy out and try to get him under control so he doesn't go after The Woman. You have enough of our guys here, I'm sure you will be able to bring in at at least one of them." Seemingly challenging her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"One? I'm going to try to get them all. I'd be more concerned how your going to get another man to control himself around a women when you can barely handle that yourself."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"You and I both know I handle everything just fine." He said with a smirk.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Smart ass.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]Ok, it sounds like a plan.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"Kiki did you get all that? you good on the plan?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Yeah I got all of it. -Unfortunately-"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"What was that?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Nothing, just -----------EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK SOMETHING JUST GRABBED ME!!!!!!--------------------[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Kiki bit down, and hard on to the hand that slipped into the pocket and grabbed her. Her furry snake like body flipped and squirmed, wrapping itself around the hand as it quickly jolted her out. Now in the open she could see the had didn't belong to who she thought it did. Instead it was a tall white haired man with a long coat and lots of guns. She bit down harder on his hand, the taste of blood, metal and grease used to maintain guns filled her mouth as she began to transform into a young beautiful woman. She held tightly to the white haired males arm and began screaming in a loud yet still pleasant voice.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"HELP HELP!!! THESE TO MEN ABDUCTED ME FROM MY MASTER!!! THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO BRING ME BACK TO THEIR CAPTAIN SO SHE COULD SELL ME BUT NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO SELL ME TO THIS GUY!!! HEEEEELLLLLLLLLP!!![/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Reikoku grabbed the cat girls hand and ran over to the commotion Kiki had created, telling the girl as they ran.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"No matter what stay by me little one, we just need to do this to save your friend so just play along."[/BCOLOR]


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[BCOLOR=#000000]Reikoku jumped up, landing softly on a tall post holding a sign. The crowd and chaos between her and the captain, drawing eyes away from the stage.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"WE ALL KNOW THE RULES HERE, WE DON'T STEAL FROM OUR OWN. WE TAKE ONLY FROM THE FOOLS ABOVE US, YET WE MAKE ENEMIES OF OUR ALLIES! TELL ME CAPTAIN, ARE THERE ANY OTHER OF YOUR CREW IN MY TERRITORY ROBBING MY PEOPLE OF THEIR HARD EARNED GOODS, OR ARE YOUR TWO MEN JUST ACTING OUT?" She said with authority over the crowd. As she spoke many of her people reveled themselves, surrounding the captain and the three men Kiki had brought attention to earlier.[/BCOLOR]



[BCOLOR=#000000] Meanwhile, Kain had made his way close to the stage. He had changed his body into a shadow, slithering his was through the rest of the dense crowd and under the small stage. After seeing it was safe, he reviled his solid form. He could feel where the mans energy was above him, there was also two weaker energies guarding him. He reached up phasing his hand through the stage and grabbing the ankles of the two guards as he proceeded to drain the life from their bodies leaving nothing but stiff frozen corpses guarding a soon to be empty cage.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000] "Hey " He said telepathically to the caged man.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000] "Hey I'm here to break you out, but if I do I need you to work with me you hear. I know your wanting revenge, i know you want the little red head but you need to re-gain yourself. There are a lot of innocent people here, and a lot of people who think what they are doing to you is wrong and are trying to help. People who were like you that we helped, and now they want to help make sure it doesn't happen to any one else. You don't want to cause any harm to come to these people so you need to get a hold of yourself, if you go after her that little rocket is going to release her goons on the crowd and people will die and you don't want that on you. Now i'm going to pull you off that stage and I'm going to drain some of your energy to try and pull you out of the fog of rage your in now. It will hurt a little but not like the scarring pain of a thousand deaths on your hands. "[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000] Kain reached up and pulled the fiery beast down through the floorboards and quickly grabbed his restraints from behind with one hand and the mans throat with the other. Kain grit his teeth shut to keep quiet as he absorbed some of the rage, pain and hopelessness this man had experienced that was now clouding his sanity. As he felt the man platou at a semi stable level he broke the link and stumbled backwards to regain himself. His body was smoking with a few 2nd degree burn patches. He stood calmly for a few moments as his body covered the burns with a thin sheet of ice before letting out a slow controlled breath. As he exhaled black smoke bellowed forth from his lungs with the smell of burnt flesh. Finally his eye popped open reviling a fiery red eye as it changed back to its icy deep blue.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Are we on the same page here, or are you going to force me to defend these people and become your foe?" He asked in a painful sounding raspy voice as the smell of his charred lungs again filled the air.[/BCOLOR]
 
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~Ota~

Rei.jpg


"Well hello there." Ota looked up to see a man as mysterious as her new protector. "My name is Kain and Lady Reikoku and I have known each other for a long time, so you can trust me when I tell you she will get your friend out of there ok." Kain...She had never heard that word before, yet somehow it sounded familiar. So did the word Reikoku, minus the Lady part. The catgirl blinked behind her large glasses-the right lens had a crack in the center that reached all the way to the edges. "Nya..." She let out a slight purr as the man lightly patted her greasy head. Another provider perhaps?
She mewed curiously as he wrapped a small black leather belt around her scrawny waist. Ota happily batted at the tiny pouch. "You should always be prepared for danger, that way when bad stuff happens you can stop it by force if you have to." She stopped suddenly as the two daggers glistened in the sunlight. Normally Ota would be terrified, but this man...Were these pointy weapons hers? She didn't understand most of what her new provider was saying, but maybe he was protecting her in another way...Perhaps he was "good " too. Ota flashed him a wide smile and mewed happily. "Nyank nyu~!"

Wait. What did she just say?

Before Ota could ponder the strange phrase she uttered, her first provider raised her voice above the noisy crowd. "I WILL DOUBLE THAT, PLUS GIVE YOU HIS WEIGHT IN GOLD!!! THAT'S 1,000,000 PLUS HIS WEIGHT." Ota obviously had no concept of money, but judging from the gasps and murmurs from the crowd, it was a lot.

"HELP HELP!!! THESE TO MEN ABDUCTED ME FROM MY MASTER!!! THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO BRING ME BACK TO THEIR CAPTAIN SO SHE COULD SELL ME BUT NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO SELL ME TO THIS GUY!!! HEEEEELLLLLLLLLP!!!" The catgirl jumped at the commotion coming from a young woman. She was awfully pretty-even her voice was nice to listen to, despite her screaming. But it wasn't the woman that caught the scraggly catgirl's attention. No, it was the dirt ridden gunman with the woman. His ivory white hair and emerald green eyes looked so familiar...For a split second she saw the same man in a classroom. No, it was someone different. He had a more gentle face. Suddenly the gun totting man appeared next to him, as if a spirit. The "spirit" looked more like the man she saw before her, but something was off. Could it be they were the same person? The vision left as soon as it had come. Ota blinked slowly. A strange feeling filled her chest, and a slight blush crossed her cheeks. Who was this guy?

"N-Nya!" She was taken out of her daze by her provider. "No matter what stay by me little one, we just need to do this to save your friend so just play along." Save...We have to save him! Who said that? Was that...Ota's voice? "N-NYAAAAA!" The catgirl's tail fluffed up as she held a death grip on her master's arm. She awkwardly stood behind her. There was barely enough room on the post for both of them to stand. "WE ALL KNOW THE RULES HERE, WE DON'T STEAL FROM OUR OWN. WE TAKE ONLY FROM THE FOOLS ABOVE US, YET WE MAKE ENEMIES OF OUR ALLIES! TELL ME CAPTAIN, ARE THERE ANY OTHER OF YOUR CREW IN MY TERRITORY ROBBING MY PEOPLE OF THEIR HARD EARNED GOODS, OR ARE YOUR TWO MEN JUST ACTING OUT?" Ota looked up at the back of her provider's head. This was the first time the catgirl had seen her new friend angry. Was all of this for the caged man?
 
JINN

He stood around like the other idiots gathered in hopes to find some real sort of treasure. People were practically throwing their money up at the stage in order to get their bid taken. Some walked home richer, others not so much. Jinn knew better however, he knew there was something better coming. He calmly kept his wits about him until the grand revel.

"To be completely honest, I was except something that would toast my bread while giving me head," he commented to himself. A person, or rather what he considered a person to be, wasn't high on his list of essential buys. Though to be fair, he could use the test dummy for his shop. 'I could name him Patsy, or whatever his own name is. He could sleep in the den, along side Sir Quackington the Third and Chief Bigbill Wetbottom. I can already imagine those three fighting over who gets to sle-'

His private thoughts were cut short by a sudden roar from the crowd. It drove them all to silence, commanded everyone to listen.

"I WILL DOUBLE THAT, PLUS GIVE YOU HIS WEIGHT IN GOLD!!! THAT'S 1,000,000 PLUS HIS WEIGHT."

"Welp too rich for my blood, see ya Patsy. Enjoy your new masters, nigga!"

As quickly as he approached the stage, Jinn turned and made his way back through the crowd. He stopped as he felt his arm being grabbed by someone, his free hand already holding Tiamat at the ready. "Hey, if you want it back that badly to die, then I am just the man for-" He took a paused to regard the woman, though her words went to deaf's ears. "Listen here sweet cheeks, I ain't your daddy, I ain't your sugar daddy, and you aren't my issue right now. I got business to handle," He said before tugging his arm back forcefully.

It was at this point that Jinn started opening fire. The crowd was too large and he wasn't liking the attention he was getting. They were out there somewhere, monitoring and waiting. Omnipresent in all things, all instances, all beings. He quickly leveled two sailors whom happened to be too close. Once, twice, three times he fired off his pistol. The first was a clean shot through the head, a splatter of brains and one man dead. The second two were to the chest, buried like treasure and put another man to rest. Jinn could feel his adrenaline pumping as he reached for his second gun, Bahamut, and started to move through the crowd again.
 
"Eh, I dunno man. Probably gonna retire it after this one."

"Already? You've only brought it out, what, twice?"

"Listen, dude. Fuckin thing's chafin' me, givin' me some of the old swamp ass. And I'm not exactly fond of the whole aesthetic."

"Why is the aesthetic even a factor in this?"

Trick gestured towards himself, turning to look at his partner. They were still using personal channels between each other, unheard to the public around them.

"Look at this!"

"What about it?"

"We look like generic space marine protagonist numero three hundred and twelve. The only thing we're missing with this shit is the rechargeable shield."

Sekt looked to Trick, almost like he had two heads. "Uh."

Trick took a moment to run the gesture through his head before slouching disappointingly, and then regaining his posture almost in defense. "No way. You have a fuckin' shield? Are you shitting me?" There was salt in his voice.

"Were you not paying attention to the demonstration? You were quick to pick out the stealth class model, you were all up on that thing."

"Yeah no shit, you know stealth is my thing, of course I hopped on it as soon as it was presented."

"You're a fucking idiot."

"Eat my ass clean."

"You complained in the last mission that your suit actually makes sneaking around even harder, maybe if you paid attention to the attributes of what you were picking out you wouldn't have a problem with it."

"DEH, my name's Sekt and I'm better than everyone else because I pretend I'm professional."

"I swear to-"

It took less than a moment for things to go to shit. Waiting for an opportune moment to place a killing bid was replaced by replaced with receiving end of a distraction. A girl claiming to have been captured by them, another quick to leap to action and make some big talk about code among the rabble. As quickly as fingers were pointed towards the two, they were able to recognize the red flags being waved.

Sekt was right and ready to turn the tables, recognizing poorly planned spots that would easily pull the rug under who they assumed to be pulling the strings in this situation. The questioning of code among thieves as they tried to sell of slaves to one another. The obvious implications that they were working under Strelok and not some pirate crew. A mental list built as the two turned focus to the stage, it had become clear wear there attention was meant to be drawn away from. The rebuttal Sekt had ready would go to waste however as the other accused party, a man with white hair, began to fire randomly.

"Plan, uh... F?"

"Execute."

Trick couldn't help but sigh as Sekt made an attempt to sound a little too serious, or "Badass," an attempt that is made a little too frequently. Regardless he readied his weapon as Sekt tore the tarp off from the hoverform, revealing it's bounty.

And time froze.

Or so [BCOLOR=#000000]Ì̡[/BCOLOR]t would seem fr̸̸͠om the perspé̛̕ctive of only one participant in this sinners' auction. M̸҉̢̨̛ore spȩ̶͢cifically the one stealing the spotlight and serving as the distraction. Som̷͘ewhere in the crowd b̨̡efore̶̡͢ stood a figur̴̛e, cloaked predomĮ̛nantĺ͠y n shades of blade and a steely grey. Not an uncommon scheme of colors in such a crowd. What made the figure stand out, howev͜͡er, was that the̷͝y were the on̨̧͠ly one̸͘ with motion, and their form was not entirely tangible to the eye. Focusing on the figure, impossible. It's presence more akin to an old and v̀̀ague me̡͏͝mory stitched togethe with blurs. It was as though it was struggling to take it's place in this reality.

The lone piece that seemed to fully manage making it's presence was a mask, with goggleḑ͟ eyes pi̷̛ercing through the crowd. Some̵͞thing akin to a voice spoke out as a bassey static before time resumed. The figure was gone.

Under the tarp rested bags upon bags of gold coins. Under the shade they refused to glitter, but for them to do so would surely blind even a pirate. Without a hint of hesitation, Trick to aim at the pile with his shot gun. Two hands, pull the secondary trigger, prepare for recoil. A loud and electronic whir announced itself before bellowing into a sound that could only be described as a pulse within space as a field of kinetic energy released itself, scattering the entire pile into the air of the auction. Trick took a deep breath, focused within himself, and released. For a moment the coins glinted in the air like a holy rain, before erupting into clouds dark as the night. The occasional sparkle of a coin could still bee seen.

Trick was a Harvester that specialized in the art of illusion and stealth. Weaving darkness to his likes was a common ability among his "class," Trick however found more interest in bending literal shadow to his will. It took more focus than the natural adaptive relationship that Harvesters had with darkness, and furthermore proved to catch others off guard even more so. The cost however was how shadows worked. The powers could only last so long in direct light, he'd have to take his place in the shade, much as they had been doing throughout their observation of the auction.

The original plan had been that Trick would take a single bag and make it into enough shadows to win over the auction. Grab the target. Leave. When far enough out of site, Trick would blow the coins, and they would make their way back to the ship while everyone else tried to find themselves in the mess they'd have left behind. Instead they had to fall back to a plan involving "competition" trying to snag the target through tricky means before they could, Trick with his agility would focus on getting to the target while Sekt with firepower would create a focal point of attention.

It didn't take long for the darkly clouded area to begin lighting up as though it was a small localized thunderstorm. Sekt had primed his weapon, the darkness danced and twirled around the turbines of the gun, gathered energy was ready to unleash unto anyone who dared to confront him. A voice rang out, garbled to a low pitch by his helmet. "STAND DOWN UNTIL BUSINESS HAS CONCLUDED, LEST YOU FEEL THE MIGHT OF THE STRELOK ARMY."

Trick, familiar with the shadows, bounded through the crowd not unlike a bat. Not a soul slowed him down, until his own confusion did so itself. He escaped the clouds and reached the cage to find it empty with a couple drained corpses at it's sides.

"Ah, some weird fucks we got today, aye?'"

He looks around frantically for a clue. It was barely a moment and somehow the target and whoever had taken him disappeared, not that he would put that out of perpetrators skill set considering the husks they left behind. It was a moment before Trick felt compelled to look down at the floorboards. Residual dark energies could be felt, fresh.

"All I got goin' for me is a hunch, FUCK IT!" Trick let loose another kinetic blast through the floor, reducing the wooden boards it made contact with to splinters and reducing the glowing segments of his gun to four. Foolishly he choose to duck his head in, hanging from above. Lo and behold, the target and the perp. Too focused and single track-minded, to remember the fiery pirate captain that caused all this trouble in the first place wasn't all too far away.

"There you are! You spooked me darlin'. Hey, who's you're friend here?"

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

In one of the upper layer, the largely built Hugo stood with an uncharacteristic smile across his face. It was certainly sunnier up here, the flow of theives and the like much less prominent with more traditional shops and vendors running the sides of the streets.

"Ahh, it has certainly been a while dear"

A thick hand with the words "Hugs" tattooed across the knuckles (paired with "Kisses on the other, with the "es" running onto the thumb awkwardly) gently gripped a pistachio ice cream cone. As if on queue, a distant voice below called out, interrupting the merc just as he was about to make contact between his taste buds and a moment a moment of reminiscence.

"STAND DOWN UNTIL BUSINESS HAS CONCLUDED, LEST YOU FEEL THE MIGHT OF THE STRELOK ARMY."

Hugo was quick to peer over the edge to see a cloud of darkness and lightning on a layer further below. There was no certain recognizing the voice or person from here, but it wasn't hard to put two and two together. His calmness quickly turned to face red with rage. As though too precious to waste, he dumped the entire cone's scoop of ice cream down his throat in a single gulp. Barely a second passed before a brain-freeze induced scream escaped him. There was cleaning up to do.
 
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