| World Synapse : Arc 2 Gardania |

Skyswimsky · May 14, 2015

"Yeah, planning to get drunk right in the morning is a oh-so great start in our relation. And why should I, Kyouko, apologize for something I did 100% intentionally? Not to mention I, Kyouo, don't give a single fuck about some dumb society norms!" Now she had to pay for it? Hell no. The girl had a few more words to say, but seeing how Fei didn't really pay much more attention to her, well, the blonde would just repeat herself the next time she met her.

With her out however Kyouko nodded to the elderly woman, food was always good. "People have to do something to earn respect. And claiming to be our superior or whatever while plunging yourself into the depths of some dumb bottle isn't helping." That said, the welcome food did help her mood to for a more positive change. And considering the blonde didn't had anything the day prior, she actually ate quite a lot.

Patrick sighed as Fei stormed out. He had heard Kyoko's outburst, and wasn't really sure what to say. On one hand, he sided with the girl, being drunk wasn't really helping anybody...but Fei also had a point in that she didn't really have to do anything. Fortunately for Pat, a kindly older woman had food prepared, so tensions were stopped before they even had a chance to flare. Sitting down next to Kyoko, he started eating his breakfast. The food was good, and having not eaten with the exception of the banquet, Pat still hadn't eaten well for days. So as he ate, he decided to make conversation with Kyoko, her being the one who seemed to start Fei's disfavor.

"So uh...What exactly did you do Kyoko? To Ms. Chi I mean."

"Huh?" A bit surprised to actually get questioned from Patrick, Kyouko looked at him for a moment. "What I, Kyouko, did? Well, I, Kyouko, took care of her alcohol problem!" Easy as that. Really. "And I, Kyouko, wasn't even done with MS. Chi."

Patrick frowned, that didn't sound good. His mind ran on for a while as he tried to figure out what Kyoko had done, but his mind slowly puts the pieces together. The open window, Fei's anger, even Kyoko's declaration, he finally put it together. Groaning, he puts his hands in his head and shakes them before turning back to Kyoko. "You tossed her booze!?" He exclaims, obviously frustrated. "Kyoko, I know you think you don't need training yourself, but what about the rest of us? Was ticking of the trainer a good idea? We don't know anything about the competition!"

About the 'rest of them'? Of course the blonde thought about her dear Servant! She knew just too well how...weak? he was, well, actually, she wasn't that sure but considering he let himself get abducted. "Well, I, Kyouko, had the choice between a drunken trainer and something else. And anything is better than a drunken trainer, so I, Kyouko, took the initiative." Easy as that. "And if you want, I, Kyouko, could train you too." Could she though? The soon-to-be-queen never trained anybody and...explanations? Well, some basic stuff...and more basic stuff, sure, she had a bit theoretical and practical practice at some dumb mandatory clubs, but what she mostly did was simply collecting experience through actual fighting and using her ~~head~~ instinct.

Patrick sighed, clearly getting through to Kyoko would prove to be a monumental task. With a pause to collect his thoughts and eat another spoonful, the boy gathers his thoughts. "I appreciate the offer, I really do Kyoko, and I'll probably ask for help, but there's just a few problems." He says, holding out his hand up in front of her, Pat would lift a finger with every point:

"One, I have a ranged weapon, and from what I saw in the 20's, you use that wooden sword of yours right? That means you most likely trained in blades. I haven't been to the market, but as it is our team is really melee dependant, we can't' afford for you to train me in something that would give up our only ranged weapon." A pause

"Two, let's say you can help me learn blades, great. What about strategies? Battle plans? A good training regime? I know you're strong Kyoko, but do either of us know what prepare for? Which actually leads to my third point."

Patrick paused to adjust his glasses before continuing.

"None of us have any idea what this competition is about, at least I don't, and I'd be willing to bet you don't either. Is this a bunch of one on one's? Team fights? Will combat even be the main focus?" Patrick sighs. "For all we know Kyoko, this could just be a really aggressive form of soccer." He chuckles at his joke, even if it wasn't particularly good, he needed to laugh for a second or two.

Please. Don't do this. Kyouko accepted Patrick kind of, but what he did right now was kinda like, similar to those smug smartass kids in school. Looking visibly annoyed she took a mouthful, maybe two, or even three, while Patrick continued talking. "Of course I, Kyouko, am not using any ranged weapons. How cowardly would that be, all you do is aim and press some trigger! Not to mention such weapons usually kill... . And I, Kyouko, HIGHLY SUGGEST you are not daring to call my SHINAI a wooden blade again, the next time you do, Servant or not, I, Kyouko, will make sure you will regret that. That aside, sword, stick, fist, lance or whatever kind of close ranged weapon exists, in the end it is all the same, really, I, Kyouko, mean, sure, there are different tactics and stuff you can do and all but that is pretty much common sense, no?" Continuing eating, she paused a moment. "And while it is true that I, Kyouko, don't have any information as of now I believe to know a good source to get some...sadly, I, Kyouko, have to pay for those." With that all said the blonde took now the last piece of her bowl.

Pat held his hands up in defense. He had a feeling the Wooden Sw- Er...Shinai, was a bit of sore point. "Right. Right. Shinai, sorry." He sighed. "But listen, that just proves it. I don't even know such an important thing!" He sighs, frustrated, but Kyoko would be able to see it was more directed at himself then at the girl sitting next to him. "I just...I dunno, I'm tense alright? Ever since we got shipped into those portal's we haven't gotten a chance to prepare ourselves, I'm not even ready for combat." He holds up his artifacts, (Which he could sadly do with simply two hands) "I have a pencil and a revolver, now a great combo." With a helpless shrug, he looks down at his PTC. "And now I have this. "It might be cowardly, but it's our...er...my...only shot. I need to get strong Kyoko, the fight with Scratch proved that. I can't just rely on others you know?" A pause as he gathered his thoughts. "I really do appreciate any help you can give me though, god knows I need it."

Kyouko nodded, a pencil and a gun sure wasn't that promising, well...a gun was still killing, and she kinda doubted the boy was any more willing to kill than Kyouko. "I, Kyouko, didn't ask for this either! And I, Kyouko, already took measures of finding whoever is responsible for this! And once I, Kyouko, found that out...well, he or she will wish to have never been born." With that said, the blonde finally stood up now. Looking around a tad confused. "Wasn't this other girl with us just a moment?" Actually, weren't there two of them? Whatever. "Anyways, I, Kyouko, might not be capable of teaching you much...shooting?" She never shot herself in the first place, so who knew, maybe the blonde was a genius in that too?! "...BUT knowing some basics for close combat is never wrong! So how about we go to the arena now? I, Kyouko, even got a few sparse artifact weapons and stuff for you to use! Though I would actually suggest trying to use your gun or whatever in meleew too." That sounded actually very awesome, and depending on how one would hold it, if it was a gun and not a rifle, then it could surely serve as some sort of knuckles?
Though while walking to the door the blonde did say, without turning around. "And while it is certainly the right decision to not rely on others, as you can ultimately get stronger only by yourself, I, Kyouko, will protect you no matter what." Or did she just set another death flag?

"No matter what?" Pat chuckles, then realizes that may have hurt Kyoko's feelings and stands up. "Sorry, it just sounds cliche you know? Although maybe...cliches are nice every now and again, especially considering what a topsy turvy world we've gotten into, it's nice ot have some solid ground. Weird ground, but solid." he chuckles, and heads towards the door. "Looks like we're behind the others, let's get going. Some training can't hurt, so let's see what we can do." With a shrug, he leads the way to the Arena thanks to the map on his PTC, which he had managed to figure out the night before. As they leave however, he waves to Rebecca. "We're headed to the Arena to train, when you get the chance, you should head there when you have the time, Fei probably won't stay calm for long." And on that note, they leave the building and are on their way.

Being on their way and Kyouko being Kyouko, she obviously couldn't keep silent, talking about silly things here and silly things there. Though sooner or later, they did actually arrive!

When they DID arrive, Pat scanned the area, and found that Annie was there as well, probably not for long as she can't have left very long before Patrick and Kyoko themselves. Walking up, Patrick spoke up from behind her. "Hey Annie, you figured out how the systems work here yet?"

♦ = Currently wearing
◊ = Currently stashed away (Pockets etc.)
[stabs]{slide=Inventory|center}♦ Casual Clothes

◊ 2x Artifact Earring of Telepathy #Barstronk

♦ Artifact Bulletproof Vest of Shielding
♦ Handbag

◊ 2x Artifact Baton of stretching

◊ Artifact 1920 Style clothing with reality denying pockets

◊ Artifact Orange Knife

◊ ---

♦ Artifact Heels of everywhere walking
♦ Artifact Earring of Telepathy #Barstronk Channel{/slide}
{slide=PTC|center}Name : Kyouko Hiruma
Team: 2
Points: 0
Rank : B

Funds : 5000 credits
Slot 1: Blade I
Slot 2: Locked
Slot 3: Locked
Slot 4: Locked
Slot 5: Locked
{/slide}[/stabs]

AiDee · May 14, 2015

[BCOLOR=transparent]"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Good morning,"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The self-titled class president mused back a morning, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I'm sure we introduced ourselves back in Ravenwood, but I think a lot's happened since then. You can call me Iphie if you'd like." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Now we had cute nicknames for each other. I think I can come up with a cheer. Yay, go team 8. We're not so great![/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"What's the agenda, then?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Eto wasn't as amused by their mocking, his one armed friend had a sense of humor. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]One armed man, huh? I once knew a one armed man. He was a fucking asshole, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Welcome everyone. This is one of the training arenas for the Gardanian participants, I've programmed it for today's training, but if you wish to use them on your own later simply speak to one of the arena personal."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Great. Time to forget that bit of information. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"The first order of business is then introductions. This is an old friend of mine, Praelin,"[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Asshole or not asshole?[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]"Who is much better with a sword than I. He also has a massive hangover so shout at him when you need an opening."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Toto is an asshole.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"And this is Eto, an old asshole of mine who mutated into human form."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Rini couldn't stop grinning at the joke, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Nice to meet you all." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Eto cut him short, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Now." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Katherine imagined that Toto was laughing on the inside. He gestured to the access terminal next to him, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"If you need more charges for your weapon you can use this recharge point. Remember to look out for these during the Gardania matches. They're a good place to hang around and get some easy shots in while your opponents go to recharge. Just remember people will be doing the same, and if they get to the recharge point you'll be facing a full stocked opponent."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Just hog the recharging stations. It'll be fine. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Next, your armour. The arena is set to generate your armour as soon you say a colour." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]He gestured to Praelin, Rini stared at his armor. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"It'll only take one hit so make sure you say another colour before you start training after you get hit."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Only one hit. Why is it colors?[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Gotou."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Praelin waved his only hand, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You're with me."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Aww, I wanted to be with the one handed guy.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The two quickly shuffled out of the girls' way and to a remote part of the training area. Eto took the rest of the group down the arena, off to the distance were targets. Blurry targets, to be precise. Katherine stared off to the distance and wondered why she picked what she had. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Your turn now. Shoot eight shots as fast as you can, as accurately as you can. Show me your best. Iphie take the second pole, Aimi the third, Rini the fourth."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Alright, furthest from you. No chances for you to see me mess up.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Katherine glanced at Iphie, she managed to manifest the weapon out by using the PTC. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Okay...I'll just try to recall what I did last night.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She glanced down at the PTC and pressed a few buttons. Before long, she was holding the rifle in both hands.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]The two girls were already firing at their targets. Rini pulled the hender rifle up and aimed, "Green." She quickly shot off one bullet and watched as the gun jumped back into her chest. She quickly adjusted the gun to keep it from hitting her torso after firing one bullet. She squinted and realized she couldn't see much. Blindly, she shot another bullet. A crowd showed up out of nowhere, with loud roars making it harder to concentrate. Rini grimaced and pulled her glasses out. Putting them on, she aimed carefully at the targets and pulled the trigger. The crowd died down and she shot off a couple more. However, she became restless as the crowd grew again. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Shut the fuck up, I'm trying to shoot. I'll your face in.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She shot off the rest of the eight. The first bullet was at the edge of the target board. The second wasn't better, it was on the other side. The third and fourth were about an inch or two off of bull's eye. Fifth and sixth were closer. The last two, as the crowd became the loudest, were nearly on target. Rini huffed her bangs away and dropped her arms, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Jeez...that's heavy."[/BCOLOR]

Inventory: Flute with healing powers like wowzers
Pair of glasses
Gold coin necklace

Stats: [BCOLOR=transparent]Name : Katherine Remington Drayton[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Rank : C[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Funds : 5000 credits[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 1: Hender Rifle[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 2: Locked[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 3: Locked[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 4: Locked[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 5: Locked[/BCOLOR]

ERode · May 14, 2015

[BCOLOR=transparent]So that turned out to be a complete crapshoot and waste of time as well, the "conversation" filled with almost robotic and pre-planned responses rather than any actual answers. While he managed to keep the annoyance off his face for a while, by the time he'd walked away from the reception desk it was with a scowl. 'Even tournament officials weren't this bad...' And boy was that saying something given how much of a stickler for rules and regulations they could be at the national level. He grumbled in annoyance for a few minutes by a pillar, the air thankfully keeping others away, before someone finally approached. Looking up at the familiar voice, Kir was a bit surprised to see that Darius had also decided to come into the city's heart. With a small sigh, he calmed his expression and shook his head. "That wasn't the plan, but a spar would be nice I guess. Makes coming here not a total loss I guess."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Darius shook his head in disbelief, more at the fact that Kir just used 'I guess' in two consecutive sentences than anything else. Glancing at the receptionists of the lobby, he narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what was different from those birdbrained smilers compared to others, before snapping his fingers. "Of course", he stated, "They're probably just virtual reality answerbots because no one else wants to start their work shift that early, yeah?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Anyways," Darius continued, "Where's the one that manages those practice arenas?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I'd hope so…" He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he gaze drifted back towards the reception desk before he pushed off the pillar and motioned for Darius to follow. It seemed that some recognized the connection between the two of them, but a sharp gaze and cracking of knuckles dissuaded any approach. For a moment he let his thoughts wander on how the match might go and hoped that Darius had chosen one of the melee weapons; though given what he knew of the other boy that was almost a certainty. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I'd imagine in the actual Arena towers," Kir replied as he was brought out of his thoughts, [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Darius couldn't help but snicker at Kir's tough guy attitude, complete with knuckle cracking and murderous glares. "Thought you wanted to be dark and mysterious," he joked, "Not a total douchebag."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"More broody, less intimidating then?" Kir asked as he turned to glance at Darius as he straightened his posture out and slowed his pace down just to let the other boy catch up.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nevertheless, the two got to the Arena tower with little incident, and, as it would have it, the receptionists there were a carbon copy of the ones at the other desk. Yup, definitely answerbots. Walking up to the desk, the boy waved and said, "Morning, got a room for us?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Rooms 7 to 1 are empty until 10 AM."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Cool, we'll take 1 then. Gotta get dat fighting aptitude up."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"And your ante?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Darius grinned and announced, very loudly, "5000 credits."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Needless to say, that got some attention from those sleepy morning bastards.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]As the door hissed open, Darius eagerly stepped through and with a small shrug Kir let him take the lead. It looked more legitimate if he wasn't the person dragging them around. Unsurprisingly, the reception was manned by VIs rather than "people", but these responded effectively enough. As Darius engaged in a quick back and forth, Kir met the interested gazes of those who spared some attention towards the two. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Suffice to say, the onlookers weren't the only ones who were surprised by Darius' declaration as Kir forced himself to turn around slowly to face the other boy. "You're serious… You think one match is going to be enough to get a hang of this?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Darius, meanwhile, ignored Kir, instead going on to ask another question to answerbot-chan. "You can record duels in the practice arenas, right? So people can study and such?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Yes" came another robotic reply, and, with that Darius's grin became wider.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Kir," he explained, "You know of an information broker, right? And we're a much talked-about duo, right? And being able to see the fighting styles of two A-rankers is something that people would pay for right? If not reporters, the teams themselves would. And we're going to do further training today anyways, hopefully."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He leaned over the counter as the answerbot gestured to his wrist, an electronic key passing between the two. "See what I'm getting at now?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He clicked his tongue at being ignored, and sighed as Darius "plan" revealed itself almost immediately afterwards. "You do realize it's probably not all that hard to get access to the recordings right? I'm sure even if there are "safeguards" to protect our privacy, there has to be at least a dozen backdoors people have worked into the system." His attention shifted to the bot behind the counter for a moment and he asked, "I assume there's some sort of privacy mode that doesn't allow outside spectators?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"That would be correct, and as participants in the upcoming Gardania the service is available without fee."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Well, that was a small blessing at the least. As Kir tapped his foot in thought, running through the pros and cons of intentionally leaking such info, he finally gave up with a small shrug. It probably wouldn't fetch all that much with the broker, but it'd be useful for gauging how things were valued. "Sure we can try that I guess. We'll probably just end up letting down expectations given I didn't bring the Gem with me." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Wow, at this point, I can't even tell if you're pretending to be an edgy pessimistic dude or not," Darius muttered, as Kir went off on his own mini-rant about the infeasibility of a plan that had already been set into motion. Nevertheless, the crow hadn't fallen so far that he would just give up that idea, and Darius nodded in approval as it was made apparent that there were security measures in place after all when recording dueling sessions. And thus, like that, he walked off, saying with a lilt, "Don't worry~ I already mentioned that we'd be handicapping ourselves during this tournament~ You know, make things fair for everyone else~"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"..." Muttering something under his breath, Kir made to follow after Darius with a slow shake of his head. Sure it'd be nice if things went according to plan, but ever since they'd… actually now that he thought about it, everything they'd done had basically worked out in one way or another. Sure Darius had nearly died the last time, and the first time with the bandits had ended with Dimitri saving their asses, but their track record wasn't too bad… Although with that said, the consequences of failure had generally been death or grievous injury so Kir wasn't exactly keen on pushing his luck continuously… [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The door's hiss as it slid open brought Kir out of his thoughts and lights flickered on in front of the duo when they stepped into the arena. At the moment it was remarkably plain; literally a white room that stretched a couple dozen meters in length and width. If the lodge had been any indication though, the interior would be almost completely malleable, capable of simulating all sorts of environments. Raising his PTC, a prompt was displayed almost immediately afterwards showing that it and the room had established a connection. He glanced towards Darius, dropping his arm to dismiss the display, and asked, "So, just start a brawl in a plain old arena?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Darius did the same, lifting up his own PTC and pressing the prompts that popped up. The room seemed to be analyzing the contents of their PTC, and soon, both of their credits disappeared from the wrist device. A holographic screen emerged from the far end of the room, detailing both the equipments available and the pot. Raising an eyebrow at Kir, the brunette said, as a sword began to materialize in his hand, "You picked Fists? Really?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He frowned as the credit counter scrolled swiftly down to zero, unable to stop the reaction as a sinking feeling appeared in his gut. He didn't think that Darius would keep his credits if the other boy won, but still… As their equipment appeared on the display across the room Kir had to stifle a groan as he realized how out of luck he was. The equipment actually materializing onto themselves elicited said groan though as he heard Darius' comment. "Yes… its upgrade paths looked better, but I'm probably fucked until I actually get to them." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Well, market's open today, so you might as well, eh?" Darius laughed, before placing his right hand on the pommel of the longsword. He held the leather grip in his left hand, centering the blade to his body. "Whenever you're ready, Kir. And 'recording start', I guess?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]With that, four spherical objects emerged from the corners of the room, clicking sounds audible for a few seconds before another screen popped up on the far wall, this time showing a recording of their actions, just two seconds past.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Well hopefully we get some credits for the video so I can get some armor instead," Kir muttered with a slow shake of his head before he brought his fists upwards. His equipment was a pair of knuckles that seemed to be made of light. When his fists were clenched they solidified, but with his grip relaxed they broke into pieces which drifted around his fingers. A backwards glance revealed that several camera spheres had in fact popped out at Darius' command, and he lazily raised a hand in mock cheer. "Glorious, now we can review my thrashing from all the angles." [/BCOLOR]

Accelerated World

[BCOLOR=transparent]Before he'd even finished saying that though, Kir surged forward towards Darius just to probe the other boy's defenses. Check out his reaction time, get a glimpse his form, see if there were any glaring flaws he could take advantage of because with these damn knuckles he'd need to exploit everything he could.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I'll make it as flashy as possible," Darius replied cheerfully, before his eyes widened in primal excitement as Kir rushed in, lines of light still breaking off from his freshly digitized knuckle dusters. As Kir moved forwards, Darius stepped backwards one step, flicking the blade downwards using the leverage he had with his right hand being on the opposite end of the sword. A simple move, to start things off.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The moment he saw Darius shift his body backwards, Kir stomped to accelerate himself towards his opponent even faster. The swing might have been a bad one to try and lock blades with given his grip, but instead Kir stepped slightly to the left as he used his right arm to smack the blade away, angling it so his arm wasn't in its path. Rather than go all out, he started off with a quick jab at center mass from his left hand, hoping to stick within Darius' guard and render his weapon a handicap.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Momentarily, as Darius's blade was knocked astray, he considered going full melee, tossing his sword at Kir for an instant's worth of distractions and then going wild. But that wouldn't be fun. Instead, he followed the momentum of his sword's movement, sliding his right hand over the hilt and slashing diagonally at Kir, from lower stomach to upper shoulder. A game of chicken, essentially, one that was made easier by the fact that the brunette leaned sideways for more space, almost bending over Matrix-style.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kir would admit that Darius handled himself pretty well, and given how his punch had connected with almost no effect the other male had a pretty good body as well. Rather than give him any room to work with though, Kir simply continued forward and shoulder checked Darius, locking his arm up and forcing his swing to a stop before it could come close. As the two of them went down, his other hand that'd been pulled back was thrown forward to slam into Darius' face. Given body blows would probably take a while to wear his opponent down and he wasn't inclined to test out his non-existent kicking skills, face blows were basically the only real option thanks to the height disparity between the two of them. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Darius grunted as the two smashed into each other, his back sliding onto smooth ground. It was almost sponge-like, the sensation of falling, but that was far from his mind as both of his arms were pressed against him, left arm and the sword on the side. Essentially, not a good position to be in. But definitely a challenging one. As Kir's fist flew to his face, Darius's left hand snapped out and caught it by the wrist, his muscles bulging as he forced the fist away.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Holy fuck this kid was strong! Even with the better position, he was still straining to force his fist downwards and even then it was a losing battle. Still, he forced Darius to work for every inch he managed to gain, and shifted his legs to stabilize his position on top. While he wasn't in danger of getting flipped over by the other boy as was, he did not look forward to getting a haymaker to the face even if Darius would be punching up. So, he braced himself, took advantage of being on top, and slammed his face downwards towards the other boy's squishy nose. Apparently Darius hadn't been so focused on the competition of strength that the movement went unnoticed, and a slight tilt of his chin forced his forehead in front. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Stars exploded in Darius's vision as the two heads collided, sending his head back into the oddly spongey ground whilst Kir's own was repelled. In that moment, all pressure from Kir's left arm disappeared, and Darius's left hand stretched outwards once more, this time taking Kir by the collar and pulling him in once more, for another headbutt. He was pretty sure that he'd win in the hard-headedness category, after all.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]'Oh god, that was a bad idea.' Kir wasn't quite sure what had compelled him to try and bash skulls with Darius, but the experience mere seconds ago highlighted the horribleness of the idea. Reeling from the blow as his head rang, he was just able to feel the tug on his collar as Darius apparently intended to bump heads once more. With his left arm now free though, he dropped it back down in a haymaker towards the side of Darius' skull. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Just like how Darius liked to bash heads, it seemed that Kir liked to abuse his knuckle dusters and punch poor kids in the head. Relinquishing his grip halfway through, he clenched his fist and struck for the throat with a quick jab, trading blows as the knuckle dusters glanced off the side of his head. It hurt, but his head was already numb from the headbutt.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Given he was resisting Darius' pull, Kir almost managed to pull back before he felt the fist plow into his throat. Recoiling as he felt himself gag at the forced closure of his airway, Kir nonetheless followed through with a glancing blow. Understanding that he'd let the other arm free, he backpedaled to try and recover from the hit, but not without delivering a particularly vicious parting stomp. Not particularly good sportsmanship, but this was basically a ruleless brawl at this point. It was hard to aim properly given his watering eyes, but he'd literally been on top of Darius mere seconds ago so it was also hard to miss.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The moment Kir finally let his right arm free, Darius's right hand moved outwards, bringing the sword in front and blocking the stomp with the edge of the blade. It sank half an inch into Kir's shoe, but after that, the blade was flipped to the flat, and the brawling knight hopped back, relatively unscathed. Rolling up to a standing position once more, Darius couldn't help but grin. "So much harder without your magic, eh?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]'That could have ended much worse.' He'd managed to hop back in part due to Darius not drawing the blade through, and glanced towards the other male as he rolled to his feet. Coughing once to clear his throat and ignoring the pain that came with such an action, he grimaced at the Darius' cheerful expression. "Yeah, choice of equipment doesn't help either," he muttered as he crashed the knuckles against one another. Even if Darius wasn't all too skilled with a sword, as the initial part of the fight had shown, the other male could hold his own against Kir even without it. Well, maybe if he didn't have the blade Kir could have used his longer reach as an advantage, but that was a fucking moot point at the moment. Grumbling in annoyance that was heightened by the fact that the cameras were still rolling, he raised his fists once again, spat to the side, and muttered, "Round two?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"No, the final exchange," Darius flourished his sword, flicking it from side to side, before rushing to the side, swinging horizontally. If he wasn't stopped, he would complete the sweeping blow behind Kir, and that was just fine with him. His legs were still full of energy, having not worked at all during that whole struggle.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]With what he had to work with, retreat wasn't exactly an option for Kir and he rushed in to meet Darius's blow. While it would have cost him the match in almost any tournament, he had no choice but to devote his entire attention to the blade and Darius' arms at most. With a blade of his own, parrying the blow would have been simple, but what he had was worse than the fucking bucklers they broke out on occasion. With the momentum behind it, there was no way he'd be able to simply block it with his left hand. Digging his heel in as the blade approached, he kicked off the foot and slammed his right fist against the weapon's tip, hoping to tear it from Darius' grip.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]What a man, rushing towards him like it was going to be a final clash.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Well, if Darius's plan went well, it was. Right before Kir's fist could connect with the tip of the blade, Darius pushed as hard as he could with his left hand, bringing the blade diagonal to his body, now more suited for a thrust. The boys passed each other and he thrust backwards, hoping that the speed of the tip would surpass Kir's own rush and catch the brawler in the back. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]His arms were drawn in close the moment Darius managed to pull his weapon in close from the counter. Given that both of them were still in motion, he could feel the blade's tip just push against him. Instinctively, he guessed that it wouldn't have been enough to actually fatally injure him, but the system apparently registered it as a hit as a spike of pain burst outwards from that point. With a scowl on his face he slid to a halt before spinning on his feet, kicking off and surging forward to clock Darius in the ba- [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Not really. While it would have been nice to do that, Kir simply straightened his posture after coming to a halt and rubbed the spot where Darius' Blade I had made contact. Though his clothing was unharmed, there was still a phantom pain that ran through the area, pulsing at his touch. "That…" The protests died in his mouth given Darius would probably label him a 'sore loser' or something of the sort, and Kir simply shook his head as he dusted his hands off; the digitized knuckles vanishing with the motion.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It definitely didn't feel good, but, at the very least, in the video, it looked like a decisive blow. Darius tossed his sword up into the air as it dematerialized, popping into a countless array of pixels. The spheres retracted as well, and the pot of credits flowed into his PTC, his wallet now numbering at ten thousand. Rolling his neck and relaxing now that the cameras were gone, Darius remarked lightly, "That was messier than I expected. Does it still hurt around your neck?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A glance revealed the sad state of his wallet before he dismissed the display, the zero signs too painful for him to look at. "About as ugly as I expected," Kir replied with a small shrug before he frowned and rubbed at his sore throat, "and yes, it does and probably will for a while. Guess the system doesn't do anything about blows from our physical body." A small beep from his PTC caused Kir to raise it back up and upon doing so, he found that the recording had been loaded onto the device with an option of scrubbing it from the arena's database. "Got your copy? I'm gonna delete it now if you have."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Mm, so the pain was still there after all. He could feel the headache numbing his thoughts, but it probably wasn't as bad as Kir's windpipe. Checking out his own PTC, and this time surprised by a message from their glorious trainer, Darius nodded. "Go wipe it, send it to your info broker, and hopefully we get royalties, eh?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He began tapping a message back to Lissette, mainly to explain the fact that they were going to be late. Shame Kir didn't bring his Gem. Dude probably could have carried him back while sprinting faster than Usain Bolt.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A tap caused the file to literally break down and the resulting pixels to vanish in small flashes of life; a rather fancy display for a simple file deletion. Nodding towards Darius, he brought up Fen's contact information and began to tap out a message to the man, idly noting the new message that had arrived from their trainer. The contents were fairly to the point, he had a video of the two of them in a practice spar if that was something Fen could find people interested in; they'd get an initial payment as well as a cut of each "sale" Fen was able to make. "This sound like a good position to start from?" he asked Darius as he flicked the display towards the other boy and, surprisingly, actually managed to transfer it from one PTC to the other.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Catching it with his own PTC, and equally surprised that it actually worked, Darius muttered, "Just like an Iron Man movie." He gave the message a quick readover, and nodded, before lifting one finger up. "Of course, there's just another thing for us to do before heading back."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Without another word, he walked out of the practice arena, and pretty much laughed at the amount of reporters huddled about, waiting, making offers for the video, and tossing questions in his direction. It seemed that, when one was piss poor, a 5000 credits all-or-nothing gambit was a pretty big deal. Darius stayed quiet for a while longer, before calling out, "There's a...friend of ours in the market. Perhaps you people know him? He'll have the video, if you're willing to pay for it. But, for now, we'll be off. So if you excuse us…"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]With a nod, a tap on his PTC brought his display back in front of him. Ignoring the crowd that had gathered outside the arena, he sent the message off with a small flick of his finger before the display was closed and he scanned the gathered parties. Reporters and media folk were the majority, but there were also some individuals who just seemed to be curious. As before Darius spoke for the two of them, and he nodded, seemingly in acquiescence, before he stepped forward and began to push through the crowd and leave a path for the other male to follow through.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The moment he broke through, ignoring the gadgets and what not that were pointed in his direction, Kir motioned for Darius to pick up his pace. Their trainer hadn't seemed like the most patient of individuals, and a quick glance at the message just moments ago showed that a night's sleep hadn't done much to change that. It wasn't until they were actually out of a building that Kir broke out into a run, hoping Darius wouldn't have trouble keeping up.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Might as well take drugs now. Slipping a hand in his pocket and bringing out the brilliant talisman once more, the brunette strung it around his neck, felt another burst of sunwarm energy and ran off after Kir. He'll miss this feeling of empowerment when training started, sadly.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]And thus, the bird duo ran off into the sunrise, gloriously and freely while training montage music began to play in the background.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]~[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Surprisingly, Darius had no trouble keeping up with the pace he set and the pair arrived to the residential districts within mere minutes. While curious given Darius' apparently top heavy build, it was better than having to wait for the other male if it turned out his cardio was crap. Slowing to a walk as he approached the lodge, the door opened as he raised his arm and Kir was bounding up the stairs within seconds afterwards. At the top he came to a halt though, glancing at the four unknown doors and wondering which one was the right choice. A few moments of glancing between the four and chewing his lip was enough for Kir to just settle on calling out, "Kir and Darius have arrived! Which room's your's Lissette?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Christ man," Darius interrupted, "Just open them all."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]And with that, the brunette stepped forwards, brought his hand on the first knob, turned, and sighed. It was locked. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Of fucking course.[/BCOLOR]

- PTC: 10,000 credits, Blade I
- Talisman around neck
- red shirt, green pants

- PTC: 0 credits, Fist I
- Blacksmith's Hilt
- Shinjiro's Outfit

Knight Aarant · May 15, 2015

|Rabble Rousers|
|Building 5|

Minutes passed since she sent her message, but none came the responding messages. In the back of her mind, she felt the misty cool of the dawn bleached air would finally temper itself to mid mornings comforting warmth before she had seen hide or hair of any of her trainees. Her skepticism was getting the best of her. She took another quick sip through the mugs thinly portioned slit. She gawked the horizon blankly through the delicate strands wistfully riding the short breezes. A sort of impatience in bliss.

Abruptly, a stronger gale skimmed her jawbone. Waking her from her sunrise trance. Almost as if in tandem with the wind, she heard a voice. A younger voice, beckon from below. The sound reached her ears and pulled her attention away from her musings. She peered down, studying whoever it was who called out to her, "Is that the boy from yesterday?" He was recognizable enough, however she first saw him through a visor of vitriol. Her recollection of most things yesterday evening was hazy behind the bog of hate she surrounded herself in. However, he knew her name and that's something she doesn't tell most people. It could only be one of her own.

"Yes, hello Blake." She replied, only raising her voice a tad, "I'll be down to get you soon." She turned tail and returned inside, from where she could her a ghostly tumble on her door knob. The sound caught her off reserve, causing her chest to thump anxiously to the sudden noise. "Either another admirer, or Blake is really fast, and really rude, and really impatient." She growled underneath her breath. She turned the locks with an audible clunk through the door, grabbing the knob and turning it against the will of whomever else may have been on the other side. She swung the white door open and caught a brunette prodding on the other side, accompanied by a fair haired young man. She studied the two with her deep sea blue eyes. She let the door hang open, digging her hands into her jean pockets. Her face sported an obviously displeased demeanor, though halfway palpable with the area around her left eye bruised. "And who might you two be? Are you also part of my team?"

Tsu · May 15, 2015

Standing at the edge of the kitchen entrance was the elderly lady who watched as two of the participants departed from the room while a single girl remained behind. A curious expression encompassed the lady's face as she observed the girl tampering with her PTC rather than making her way over towards the practice arenas. Stepping out into the living room, the lady began hovering over the couch as she spoke in a warm, cheerful tone of voice.

"Don't let Fei get to ya.
If anything, shouldn't you following the rest of your team over to the Arena?
You might have been successful in your past tournaments, but the Gardania is at an entirely new level.
Many confident participants have slacked off their training only to fail in the first round.
Even if a match begins before you, the arena attendant can still get you squared away. Go have fun with them."

| Collab : @DoughGuy @TerraBooma |
| @Skyswimsky |

[BCOLOR=transparent]West Gardania, the heart of the city given its fame by the Gardanian Hall which symbolized the very pride of participants and citizens alike. The hall, itself, was a magnificent display of architecture; a large dome of steel and glass encompassed by towers of similar design on opposite ends from themselves. With all of its space and offerings, the hall summoned a diverse selection of people ranging from workers to participants and finally to the Gardanian Council whose office resided at the upper level of the dome. In regards to the participants, the hall provided a selection of practice arena's within either tower; all which were accessible from a single attendant who stood forefront to both elevators on the western and eastern sides of the dome. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Annie's words came as no surprise to the male attendant who quickly directed a smile her before providing her with the answer that she desired.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"As a matter of fact through me. I'll just need to see your PTC information, and after that, I'll have a few questions that you will need to answer."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Before Annie could respond to the Attendant's words she heard a familiar voice behind her and turned to see Pat and Kyouko had also arrived. Her mouth turned down slightly before she decided it would be better to train against human opponents than whatever the arena could produce. "I'm doing that now." she replied, "I couldn't find Fei." Tapping the button on her PTC she brought up its information and held it out to the attendant.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Pat sighed, frustrated with their trainer. "Okay, I guess we're self training." he shrugs, a bit unsure of what to do. He really wished that Kyoko hadn't gone and pissed off the trainer. Following Annie's example, he does the same as her, showing his PTC info to the attendant. "So do we even know what to train for?" he mumbles out loud.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The attendant took a quick glance at the first PTC before he activated his own PTC for a quick search via the digital display and keyboard. After a short moment, the Attendant hummed a small 'hmm' under his breath before he spoke the results of his finding.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"First, I'm going to assume all three of you are from Team 2, but unfortunately, there is a small problem. The fact that there are more than two of you makes me believe you are here for training, but I wasn't given advanced notice from Ms. Chi. Since she also isn't present, I could set up a duel arena, or I could try and contact her for further instructions. Up to you guys."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Annie thought about the decision for a moment. The easier option would probably be a straight duel. But it might be better to let their trainer know what they were doing. And there was obviously something else involved with having a trainer's permission. "Try contacting her." she said.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"As you wish. If you could just give me a moment."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The attendant nodded in reply to Annie's decision as he brought his PTC display over to the book of contacts. From there, he selected Fei Chi's name and began standing in wait for her possible chance to answer his call. Unlike the phones from the past, calls in the present time were controlled entirely by the PTC and were spoken through transmitted thoughts; a system which eliminated the possibility of third-party eavesdropping and interception. Time passed with the attendant simply standing in place; however, out of the blue, he suddenly jumped back with a pained wince on his face. With a sigh, the attendant took a moment to regain his composure before he turned his attention back the group with a somewhat bewildered expression on his face.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"You have been given clearance for a Rank A arena simulation. I can't say that I approve of this decision so early in the tournament, but the trainer's orders are absolute. I notice that one member of your group is currently missing. I can provide a small window of time to allow for his or her potential arrival, but for now, if all of would prepare for your match to come. Your Arena will be located on the 9th floor. Simple take this elevator up to the appropriate level then wait in the room provided. Connect your PTC to the room's access terminals which will activate your base armor. When the match begins, you will be transported into the arena space. All in all, good luck and have fun."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Patrick blinked slightly, confused. A rank A simulation? That didn't sound good. He, Kyoko, and Rebecca were B or C rank, that meant they were probably over there heads...the question was how much. With a frustrated sigh Patrick doesn't say a word as they enter the elevator. Mind racing with possibilities. An idea comes to his mind, and he ponders it for awhile, wondering if Fei would actually do it to them. After they all arrived in the room, he spoke up.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I've been thinking, something doesn't add up....at first I thought the A meant rank...like what we got, but I remember that AI that talked to us when we showed up, she said our weapons were E rank [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]right?" Worry shows in his eyes behind his glasses. "What if this sim is for A grade gear?"[/BCOLOR]

Doughguy · May 15, 2015

@AiDee @Click This @Kitt @Voltin

Eto watched the girl's intently as they took up their weapons and began firing. None of them required help generating their guns, but one of them had trouble getting the voice activation words right. It was all he needed as confirmation for her. Whatever experience the other two had, Aimi had never been in a Gardania tournament before. And after reviewing their shots it was clear while the others had experience, they didn't have the level of skill they should to have been accepted into the Gardania. Aimi's shots were misses or barely hits, though given her apparent lack of any experience it was a decent display with the crossbow. Rini's shots were closer but only when she had her glasses on. Iphie had performed the best thanks to Rini's initial misses. And though she had showed experience by testing the weapon before firing, the fact she needed to test it showed inexperience itself.

The crowd distraction had performed its job well in testing their concentration. Easily broken by the first appearance but better prepared for the second, except for Aimi who had dropped her bow in surprise. Looking over to the side it appeared that Praelin and Gotou had finished their testing and he waved them over. He walked over and pick up Aimi's weapon and push it into her hands. "Never drop your weapon. You hold it until you're sure the battle is over, then return it to your PTC." he said. Next he led the girls towards the others so neither group would be waiting for too long. Once they were all gathered he pulled Praelin to one side and they discussed something in quiet whispers. After about a minute Eto turned back to the group. "It appears you weren't lying last night as I had hoped. None of you are near the level required to make it into the Gardania. So the question is how did you get into the Gardania? Gotou has already mentioned a Fushinsetsu and Iphie has mentioned a Ravenwood. Who is the former and where is the latter?"

Regardless of how the students answered his questions they were in the Gardania now and there was no backing out. It was up to him to train them to survive and win. With a few presses on his PTC another panel rose out of the ground upon which were two guns. Praelin grabbed the Voltblaster 9000 and Eto picked up the Hender Rifle. "You all need to work on your offensive game. But for now you can all hold a weapon and shoot it. You need to be introduced to the defensive side of the tournament. As you may have guessed from the crowd's appearance, my style of battle involves tipping your enemy off balance, taking them by surprise. Which means you need to know how to react to the same so it cannot be turned against you. And so you know how to design your own distractions. As such, I'm going to throw you into this without any further explanation. Learn to react quickly, and tell danger from not."

He tapped his PTC a few more times and waited. After about a minute there was a subtle shift in the entire environment that would have made people who suffer car sickness or the like slightly nauseous. When it was over the recharge terminal had been moved to behind one of the pillars and a twin had appeared behind a second. A crowd had also appeared in the grandstands and begun cheering. It was loud but constant, as if one was standing on a football field during a close game. "Iphigenia make sure you generate a set of armour. If you get hit you'll be teleported to the side to safety. Make a new set and rejoin the battle. If you have any final questions ask them now. When you're ready head back over to where you were shooting from before. Also, this is purely defensive. Not firing back." Once any questions were answered the pair of men walked over to the pillars where they took cover and waited for the others to get in position.

Doughguy · May 15, 2015

Location: Team 2 Residence
Time: Morning
Interactions: Patrick + Kyouko + Rebecca + GM @TerraBooma @Tsu @Ookami @Skyswimsky

Annie looked at Pat in response to his statement and gave the boy a curt nod. "She's getting revenge for earlier." she said, "We'll need to be prepared." But at least it's some sort of training. Even if it will be over in about ten seconds. She didn't fancy anyone else's chances in making it far into the simulation, and she was realistic enough about her own given the Attendant's words. She walked over to the elevator and entered, waiting for the other two to join her inside before pressing the button to the 9th floor. She was silent on the way up, and upon arriving quickly connected her PTC to the room terminal to activate her armour before taking a seat in one of the waiting chairs. Tsuki hopped into her lap and curled into a ball as they waited, while she checked the knee brace. Given the fact it hadn't cost any money she'd wrapped the inside of the piece in silk where she could to prevent it rubbing against her skin painfully. She now made sure it wasn't slipping out of position. "Stay together when it starts." she told the others, "And keep a careful watch."

Names
PTC: 5000 credits, 1 slot
Mist Shard, now swordless
Blade I (1 slot)
Broken Ring Conduit
Knee brace
Tsuki

Ookami · May 15, 2015

Rebecca Johnson | Arena | Morning
Interactions: @Tsu - Elderly Women , @TerraBooma - Patrick , @Skyswimsky - Kyoko , @DoughGuy - Annie

Rebecca looked up at the elderly women with a soft sigh. "That's not it. I didn't even know this place existed until last night. I just want to go home. Back to my family and back to my friends." She told her then looked out the window. "But I guess there's no way out, is there?" She asked. Rebecca stood up before she got an answer and left the Residence. She already knew the answer but hearing someone say it aloud would be like knives repeatedly stabbing her heart. But I should practice if I'm going to live through this. No more tears. She told herself. With a firm nod, Rebecca opened the map on her PTC and followed it until she reached the arena.

Rebecca turned off the map and in a flash it went away. Rebecca didn't know what to do so she walked up to someone who looked like they could help. She listened closely to the instructions then walked over to the elevator. Once it opened she stepped inside she hit the button that would take her to the ninth floor. Rebecca waited quietly as it moved upwards. Upon arriving, Rebecca connected her PTC to the room terminal to activate her armor. Rebecca noticed her other teammates but di didn't know whether to approach or not.

Rebecca stood there for s few minutes, unsure before tr sighed heavily. No point in failing the first time so I might as well stick with them. At least until I know I can handle things on my own. She thought then smiled and walked over to them. "Hey." She greeted the three of them casually as she took a seat beside Patrick. He was the only one she actually had a conversation with so it just seemed natural.

Inventory

???
???
???
???
???

PTC

Name: Rebecca Johnson
Rank: C
Funds: 5000 credits
Slot 1: Blade I
Slot 2: Locked
Slot 3: Locked
Slot 4: Locked
Slot 5: Locked

Attire

Only the Armor

Skyswimsky · May 15, 2015

Kyouko simply followed, for now, though gave the Arena guy a few annoying looks, thinking of him as yet another artificial intelligence, being overly friendly and all. "Hmpf, whatever." Having given him her PTC as well, the blonde followed her comrades into the elevator. "Yo, Servant." browsing through her handbag, Kyouko soon revealed what looked to be like some sort of small baton. "Since you only have a gun, I, Kyouko, can borrow you this. It got a nice surprise effect going for it, but they are not pretty durable." That said, the blonde demonstrated how to use the artifact property of said magical items, making it extend around 10 feet fast enough to hurt anyone standing in the path. If he would take it fine, if not, the soon-to-be-queen would simply put it away again. With the elevator ride nearly done though, Patrick actually started to worry about the whole thing being an A-Rank. "Who cares about some silly ranks?! And anyways, the tougher the opponent the more worthy the battle!" Really, getting through whatever simulation with a breeze wouldn't do Patrick any good, at least that is what Kyouko thought.

Arriving at 9th Floor together with Annie and Patrick, Kyouko also connected her PTC to the Terminal, much to her dismay though, the armor didn't just equip itself over whatever she was wearing, instead, it completely replaced Kyouko's casual clothes. Well, except for her artifact again...so basically she was wearing armor under her armor, just great... . Next was...getting her blade out? But how would she even do that? Well, a simply click on her inventory made it appear. With everything finally prepared, or something, Kyouko would simply...wait? The vibe that the brown-haired girl with the cat gave off was so cold, that it knocked her mood-meter one inch down.

A few minutes later, the last one of their group actually appeared, and hey, while she didn't introduce herself, she at least said hello! Kyouko simply raised her hand as a greeting. "Yo!"

♦ = Currently wearing
◊ = Currently stashed away (Pockets etc.)
[stabs]{slide=Inventory|center}♦ Casual Clothes

◊ 2x Artifact Earring of Telepathy #Barstronk

♦ Artifact Bulletproof Vest of Shielding
♦ Handbag

◊ 2/1x Artifact Baton of stretching

◊ Artifact 1920 Style clothing with reality denying pockets

◊ Artifact Orange Knife

◊ ---

♦ Artifact Heels of everywhere walking
♦ Artifact Earring of Telepathy #Barstronk Channel{/slide}
{slide=PTC|center}Name : Kyouko Hiruma
Team: 2
Points: 0
Rank : B

Funds : 5000 credits
Slot 1: Blade I
Slot 2: Locked
Slot 3: Locked
Slot 4: Locked
Slot 5: Locked
{/slide}[/stabs]

Zombehs · May 15, 2015

Early Morning.
Residential (Team 5 Lodge: Second Floor).
Finally meet with their trainer at last.

He stepped aside and against his own room's door to let Darius pass by and simply grinned as the first door proved to be locked. "Yeah, just open the-" His jab died before it could finish as the door swung open to reveal a rather beautiful woman, though her irritated expression garnered his immediate attention. Despite her apparent annoyance towards the two of them, Kir didn't immediately back down and simply raised an eyebrow in response to her questions, his hands sliding into the coat's pockets. "Darius should have sent you a reply?" His tone was a bit questioning as he glanced towards the other male since he actually wasn't sure if such a message had been sent, but nonetheless it was only a moment's pause before he continued, "But yes. He's Darius as mentioned and I'd be Kir."

Kir's Key Items

Blacksmith's Hilt.
PTC (Rank A, 0 Credits, Fist I, 4 Slots Locked, Info Broker/Darius/Lissette Contact)
Outfit

PandaChu · May 15, 2015

Gardania: Residential - Team 5 | Early Morning | Interaction with: RIPstronk; Lissette: @Voltaire Kir: @Zombehs Darius: @ERode
Hunger Meter: ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ 100%
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
An annoying beeping disturbed Camilla's dreamless slumber as it was a message from Lissette for their meet-up at her room, as her PTC had told her. With sluggish movements, she had got herself ready along with a nice meal for the morning from the staffs. With the staffs help, she managed to make it towards the room where Lissette resided in only to stand behind two towering figures in front of her, hiding her small form perfectly from view though it was obvious she was there. She didn't dare say a peep of her arrival as she stood there quietly, hoping not to be acknowledged.

[OOC Notes: I'm gonna be gone for a while and will be on and off a lot. My posts are gonna be quick and short because of this with only at least one dialogue in each so don't try talking to her much :V Okay, see you guys whenever.]

Status: Name : Camilla Oliver
Rank : C
Funds : 5000 credits
♦ Slot 1: Fist I
♦ Slot 2: Locked
♦ Slot 3: Locked
♦ Slot 4: Locked
♦ Slot 5: Locked
Artifacts: ♦ Bracelet |Right wrist|
♦ ???
♦ ???
Apparel: ♦ Dress |I hate masquerade balls ._.|
♦ Mask

Astoria · May 15, 2015

Training Arena for the physically challenged
The future and beyond
Totostronk @DoughGuy @Kitt @AiDee @Voltin

Iphie watched her two fellow 'marksmen' in their practicing endeavours. Her own prediction was about right; Rini performed on a level similar to her own, confirming her own suspicion that the thirty meter range wasn't a particularly big deal. Rini's performance also validated her guess that it would be more difficult to hit, and indeed, the shorter girl even ended up dropping the crossbow in a very poor showing. This was confirmed by Toto, who admonished the crossbow wielder for dropping the weapon before heading away for a moment to apparently discuss something in confidence with his one-armed, sword wielding friend. From their demeanor, she could tell he was not impressed with their performance. Honestly, she didn't think she did too badly, for somebody that could count how many times she'd gone shooting with her two hands.

When he returned a minute later, his words to the group confirmed Iphie's suspicions. She flinched inwardly as he mentioned Ravenwood; it was clear that she'd slipped up slightly and allowed the man to overhear her offhand comments to Rini and Aimi. How was she going to explain that one away? Regardless, it was evident now that they technically weren't supposed to be here, whether they liked it or not. Time to bullshit this through.

"I wouldn't be a B rank if I didn't make the threshold for the Gardania, Toto." Iphie made a pouting face. She hadn't the faintest clue what the actual requirements were for making it in here. Iphie still thought she deserved a higher rank. "Your guess is as good as mine for the former. I can confirm he is a psychopathic murderer, though." Well, it wasn't like she had a problem with it. She was curious, however, about Gototo's interactions with the crazy bloke.

"Ravenwood was a private academic institution." Saying where it was was a bit risky. It was in Portland, Washington, in the United States, but that was nine centuries removed from now. She wasn't even sure if the landmass of the North American continent even still existed. "We all met there a very long time ago." Nine centuries ago was a very long time ago, yes?

If this was seen through or if Aimi or Rini spilled the rest of the beans, Iphie would have been irritated, but would have filled in the rest of the clues for Eto. While it was probably in the best interest for both parties to know as much as they could about the other, she hadn't the faintest clue on how trustworthy their trainer was yet.

But soon enough, he moved on after commenting more on their technique and his style of battle. And with only a brief warning, he threw them into the next training mission, a defensive one, apparently. On his cue, Iphie activated a blue set of armor with her PTC. She hasn't found the need to equip anything for a simple range exercise, but of course, it was needed now. It took a few moments for the arena to rearrange itself, and after a few seconds, the crowd from before appeared once again along with the appearance of pillars behind a rearranged targeting terminal.

Before walking back to her starting point, she had a single question, since the objective was particularly vague.

"The goal is to reach the terminal without getting hit, then?"

Inventory - On Person Wallet Clothes

Wallet
An Android smartphone with a Gilgamesh lanyard. It's a dud.
Jeweled Headband – Unequipped
Letter Opener – Blood in reservoir
Jeweled Money Clip - Worn, attached to sleeve cuff
Comms Earrings - In Pocket
Flower Pin - In pocket
Blue armor
Bloody nothing
Black Skirt
White button down shirt
Black thighhighs

Doughguy · May 16, 2015

[BCOLOR=transparent](OOC note: I swear my players are getting me to post their stuff for them for formatting issues!)[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Rini's post[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Eto trudged over to Aimi, he picked her bow up and shoved it back into her hands, "[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Never drop your weapon. You hold it until you're sure the battle is over, then return it to your PTC.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]" [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Cool it,she just dropped it.[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Rini tipped the weapon on her legs and stretched out her arms. Without a word, he led the group to the Praelin and Gotou. Toto pulled Praelin to the side and began to speak to each other in hushed whispers. Rini exchanged glances with the rest.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]It appears you weren't lying last night as I had hoped."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]He was drunk. Are you sure that you want to trust a drunkard's words?[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "None of you are near the level required to make it into the Gardania. So the question is how did you get into the Gardania?"[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Don't really care. We were invited, if that helps.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "Gotou has already mentioned a Fushinsetsu and Iphie has mentioned a Ravenwood. Who is the former and where is the latter?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Rini yawned at the intro of Iphie's words, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I wouldn't be a B rank if I didn't make the threshold for the Gardania, Toto."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She feigned a teasing hurt on her face. The cute pout disappeared and she took on a more serious look to explain, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Your guess is as good as mine for the former. I can confirm he is a psychopathic murderer, though."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Katherine nodded at that, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]He's, in fact, Hade's asscrack.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Ravenwood was a private academic institution. We all met there a very long time ago."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Rini turned her head side to side as if she was evaluating the weight of the statement, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Wealthy families and all..."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She shot a look at Toto.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He dismissed the words and fiddled around with his PTC. A panel rose from the ground with two guns. One of her own and the other, something that wasn't as familiar to her. Eto picked the same gun as her. The one armed man took the other, "[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]You all need to work on your offensive game. But for now you can all hold a weapon and shoot it. You need to be introduced to the defensive side of the tournament." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Are we the tactical team? It would work like that...[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "As you may have guessed from the crowd's appearance, my style of battle involves tipping your enemy off balance, taking them by surprise." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Couldn't concentrate as well. Lesson learned. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Which means you need to know how to react to the same so it cannot be turned against you." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]That sounds like a lot of work. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"And so you know how to design your own distractions. As such, I'm going to throw you into this without any further explanation. Learn to react quick, and tell danger from not.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He played with his PTC again, slowly the environment changed like it would in an observatory room in the planetarium. The recharging terminal was split and moved to the pillars. A crowd reappeared, cheering loudly. Rini grimaced at the fake crowd, Shut up. You're annoying, "[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Iphigenia make sure you generate a set of armour." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Full name huh? How did you remember that?[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "If you get hit you'll be teleported to the side to safety. Make a new set and rejoin the battle." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]What fun. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"If you have any final questions ask them now. When you're ready head back over to where you were shooting from before. Also, this is purely defensive. Not firing back.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]" Iphie had one.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"The goal is to reach the terminal without getting hit, then?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Is it more like....?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Rini trailed off. What she imagined it would be like a scenario. The two had already fired off eight bullets. Rini didn't know how many Aimi had left. So, group is out of supplies. Another team were hogging the recharging stations. Team 8 has to get supplies.[/BCOLOR]

Doughguy · May 16, 2015

--Mid Afternoon--
@AiDee @Click This @Kitt @Voltin

Iphie's words were partially true, except a B rank was as low as you could go and still have a chance of making it into the tournament normally. It wasn't much to brag about.

A psychotic murdered, an old academy, wealthy families and a long period of time, the girls answers were evasive with few definite facts.

"You can try." Eto replied to Iphie's question, "I'd recommend getting some experience dodging first." In truth there was no real goal apart from learning what they would be facing, but a little taunt about their abilities to make them try harder wouldn't hurt.

Once everyone was ready Eto counted down, "3 ... 2 ... 1 ... go." Immediately Praelin spun around the pole and unleashed and full salvo at the group, shifting his weapon laterally so they were all caught in the crossfire. The first thing the group would notice was the lines. Dozens of red lines appeared in their vision for a split second as each shot's trajectory was calculated. If any shots would hit them it was possible to see the location by where the line passed through their body. And then the laser shots quickly followed, flying down the lines towards their targets. Given the range and inaccuracy of the weapon the task was slightly easier. However the sheer number of shots made up for it and the group would be hard pressed to dodge them all while lacking any cover.

Then Eto would appear, taking strategic shots at anyone who attempted to move forward and covering Praelin while he recharged. The rifles shots moved faster and were harder to dodge, less time was given between the prediction lines appearance and the time the bullet was fired. At 30 metres they were almost impossible to dodge for the newcomers, none of Eto's shots were off target, the man was a master marksman. He targeted their legs often, forcing them off balance as they dodged while Prealin's chest high shots distracted them. The combination of the bullet storm and sniper shots would tax the group's mental reserves to keep up with. At times the pair would stop firing altogether leaving a lull in the training. If any of the students used these periods to advance they would quickly find out that the closer they got the harder it was to dodge as the prediction lines gave less warning.

If that was not hard enough there was a third factor for the group. Around half an hour into the training the crowd became active. They turned their attention to the students and began booing and throwing objects. Cans and food packets flew towards the group to bounce off their armour harmlessly. However amongst the trash was the occasional knife that would register as a hit and force the student to restart as a shot from a gun would. Sword and fists didn't produce prediction lines, and the knives simulated a surprise attack from the side.

If any of the group did manage to make it to the terminal they were simply sent back to keep trying with a short, "Good." from Eto, and a rather more enthusiastic, "Great job." from Praelin, who was looking much less pained though a little nervous. The entire activity would go for an hour, pushing the group to their physical and mental limits. If they found themselves lacking the energy to continue before it was over they had the option of sitting where they respawned and resting.

(OOC Note: This is another post that will form the baseline of your abilities. It is also a very difficult test.)

Tsu · May 16, 2015

[BCOLOR=transparent]Patrick gratefully took the baton from Kyoko. He wasn't sure how useful it was going to be given his lack of training, but hey, the more the merrier right? Following suit to the others, he puts his PTC in the terminal before standing back and wondering what will happen next. "Hey guys." He asks allowed. "Will we even be allowed this magical gear stuff in the tourney? I don't know much about competitions, but don't they typically forbid outside influence? How can we know that we'll still be able to use them?" With a puzzled look, he sighs. when he opens his eyes again, Rebbeca has appeared in the room with them, bringing the full potential of team two all in one room. Nodding to her, he "Your injured?" He asks, somewhat stating the obvious. "That can't be fun." An idea comes to his mind, and he pulls out his revolver. "This might be able to help, if you'd let me try it." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]One of Annie's eyebrows rose as Pat pulled out the gun and offered to heal her. She wasn't quite sure how shattering her kneecap into a hundred pieces would help her leg heal at all. "I'll pass." she said, then gave a possible answer to his first questions, "Our gear survived when our clothes didn't. Maybe they bypass their laws."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"'Survived'?" Kyouko bugged in now, after all, she had an important point to make. Just for her own satisfaction though. "I, Kyouko, am pretty sure our mundane gear survived too! As some sort of silly data or whatever! And we WILL get that back too once we get out of here." The blonde might have looked a little bit sad while saying all this, but apart from that she was pretty steadfast.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Welcome to the Practice Arena Instance 9[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]You have been cleared for a Rank A match.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]This match will be selected at random.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Searching…[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]…[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]…Complete[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]A match has been found.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]This game will be played at the Maw of the Nile.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Prepare for transportation in 5...4...3...2...1...Good Luck and Have fun.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Out of the blue, the familiar voice of a feminine AI spoke the announcement of their match just before they were suddenly transported into the Arena field. Similar to changing clothes, transportation between zones consisted of the body's temporary decomposition and its subsequent restoration once the data arrived at its intended location. In the present case, the destination was an endless room similar to the CORE Access terminal just before the rendering of the environment took place. In an instant, a wave of heat washed over each participant as their feet sunk into the sandy ground below and the sound of rushing water soon became audible. As far as the eyes could see, the landscape consisted of solely of a desert-like environment with their immediate location being an oasis along the bank of what was presumably the Nile. That being said, it wasn't the customary appearance of the great river as its source stemmed from an large pyramid that was nearly a hundred metres towards the north facing direction. At the front of the pyramid was a large throne from which a creature with resemblance to Sobek sat with a curious smile directed the participants' way. In the case of the participants themselves, Annie and Patrick were located on one side of the Nile while Kyouko and Rebecca were on the other.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Welcome to the Maw of the Nile, young humans.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]If I ask you, here and now, do you plan on winning...how would each of you reply?[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Choose carefully."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Before anything more could happen, the very same AI voice that the blonde heard in the very beginning, the really REALLY annoying one, resounded in the waiting room. 5 Seconds later, bam, they were... teleported?, or something, into yet another familiar room, though that one soon changed into a friggin desert with some hugeass pyramid...would they now go dungeon exploring? Though, if she hadn't seen it by now, the crocodile-face that started speaking was a sight to behold as well.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]'Do you plan on winning.' It asked, 'Choose carefully' it warned, well, for the straight-forward soon-to-be-queen there wasn't much to be 'careful' about. Speaking even louder than usual, as the crocodile face was pretty far away, Kyouko simply responded. "Naturally!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Arriving in the new world the first thing Annie noticed was what she was lacking. The weight of the artefacts in her pocket was gone, as was the pocket, a black? bodysuit had replaced her previous clothing. Tsuki had also disappeared and looking around, was nowhere to be found. She was suddenly worried about him, and hoped he had been left in the other rooms safely. Evidently there old artefacts had been left behind. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]If anyone touches them …[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She then paid more attention to the new surroundings, with the Nile dividing the group into pairs. She looked to the crocodile god as he spoke and pondered the question, unfazed by its appearance. Mistaly and this new world had been strange enough. "It would depend," she said, "on what we were winning."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Sobek's booming laughter echoed across the area in response to the statements of those who had spoke. Rising from his throne, the crocodile god stepped into the river from which he began walking closer to the location of both groups. In his hand was a scepter that he thrust into the riverbed and set tendrils of water and sand spiraling towards each individual. The tendrils formed into a casing around each individual, and as a result, any sound apart from Sobek's became mute.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"To each human stuck within my trap, I present you with your first trial.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Consider the human who was at your side an ally and the pair across the river an enemy. With this knowledge in mind, now choose the target of your retribution. The next word you speak shall be your answer to my riddle.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]To smite the enemy, venom is your bane.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]To smite an ally, solo one shan't reign.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]To smite oneself, loss surely is your aim.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Pat decided he didn't like the crocodile man. Maybe it was the fact that they were being asked stupid riddles, maybe it was that they were bound by mud or some crap, but basically. He really didn't like him. As he sat there trapped, he took a breath. Slow and steady, no point in panicking. It was like working on a sketch, deep breathes, and don't get distracted. Smiting himself wasn't an option, and he wasn't willing to smite Annie or anyone else from team two. So what to do? Options were limited, and he couldn't move. Concentrating, he smirks to himself as he comes up with an idea that was probably too stupid to work...but if it works...Pat might have figured a way out. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]But what was the croc's name? Pat remembered looking at Egyptian gods sometimes back homes, he somewhat admired the culture, they used sketches and art for communicating, it was hard not to be impressed. But Crocodiles...what was it, Kotek? Noneck? No wait, that was it. Gathering his courage, Pat shouts out a single word. "Sobek!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Here's hoping smiting the crocodile god didn't end badly.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Fuck no. All of a sudden, crocodile-face decided to make a move on them. Putting the blonde into some sort of sand-water prison. Alas, instead of just doing whatever to finish them off. The blonde could actually hear is voice over the sand, nonetheless she tried to slash the prison to no avail. A fucking riddle? Great. Just great. There was no way the soon-to-be-queen would sacrifice her ally, sure, her enemy could have been one choice BUT considering that this fucker decided to simply change some 'rules', well, it meant there was theoretically only one option left, and a leader who couldn't protect her subjects without losing her own life was not worthy of ruling anyways, BUT that was if she had to abide by the apparent rules in the first place. Kinda threatened by this dumb water-sand prison, Kyouko tried to point her finger at where she believed him to stand behind this makeshift wall. "You! Crocodile-face." If he was going to punish anyone, then fucking beat up yourself or something.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It appeared the crocodile god was not going to elaborate upon his question. Rather he initiated an attack. "Activate slot one." Annie called out, bringing her sword to life in her fist. She swung at the approaching tendril, only for it to have no effect, her sword bouncing off harmlessly. As the tendril then began to encase her form panic took over. "No, not again." she hissed, as she screamed internally, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]NOT AGAIN![/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She struggled against the mixture with all her strength, but it was no use and she was quickly covered.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Inside the trap her breathing quickened dramatically as memories of the past returned. But even with adrenaline pumping into her system the mixture was solid, impossible to break. She could barely hear the god's words over the pounding of blood in her ears. It was just like Setsu's first encounter all over again, except she felt even more powerless. She could already feel her concentration slipping from the reduced air she was getting. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]However once again her mind latched onto the words as the only way out, trying to find a meaning in them that would help. Somehow the trick of the god's words occurred to her. No one could win if their partner was smited. Either you both were unharmed or you were both smited. His last words were another hint. To smite oneself was an option that could lead to victory. "Oneself!" she said, "Annie." her voice barely kept level. If Pat took out one of their 'enemies' and they smited him in return they might win. Or if Pat took out himself it was another chance.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Without even waiting for the completion of the answers, Sobek burst into a fit of laughter as he raised his scepter towards the sky. Immediately, the casing of sand and water fell to the ground while a noxious cloud began to form overhead.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"To smite the enemy, venom is your bane.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]For the choice of any answer, the result is pain."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Bolts of lightning shot from the cloud and crashed onto each of the four individuals who were unharmed by the energy but soon engulfed by a cloud of noxious fumes. Immediately, the feminine AI spoke from the PTC with the declaration of each armor losing a single ranged rating. Nonetheless, more important was the sudden sense of searing pain which began to well in the lungs of each person stuck within the cloud. While the pain was enough to partially incapacitate an individual, it wasn't enough to render them entirely useless. To make matters worse, a sudden stench began to well in the air as the very water of the Nile began to dye crimson with blood.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"The decision is yours if you wish to cleanse.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Consume of the blood, lest the next trial begins."[/BCOLOR]

Voltin · May 16, 2015

Date: ???
Place: Training Field
Time: Early > Late Afternoon

@DoughGuy @Click This @AiDee @Kitt

Gotou followed Praelin back to the bulk of the group. Eto then conversed with the boy's trainer privately, before speaking up; telling the group that he knew something was amiss. Iphie and Rini spoke up, mentioning a Ravenwood academy that was in a location that he was at least a little familiar with, while Gotou himself remained quiet. Perhaps I was too forthcoming with information, he thought, picking up on just how few details the girls were truly giving.

Following came more instruction from Eto, explaining the defensive training they would receive from the next exercise. "At this rate," Gotou said to himself, "I will not be able to be hit." The room around them began to shit, causing a wave of nausea to rise within the boy, but repressing it all the same as to not look the weakling he knew he was. Their goal, as Iphie had guessed, was to make it to the other side of the arena where the two trainers would be guarding their recharging terminal. Of course, this was not set out as an easy feat, but Eto's goading did its job in making Gotou feel all the more inspired to reach it.

Eto began his count, and at the end of it, Gotou began to rush out. Before he was even out in the field though, one of the lasers clipped right past the boy's head, making him recoil back into the safe zone. His heart racing, and breath already ragged from the near miss, Gotou simply peered out on to the field as the rest of his team marched out on to the field. For the first ten minutes, the boy simply watched, picking up on their rotational strategy, and the way you could predict the round's trajectory based on the laser's sights. During a five second lull in the duo's firing, Gotou sprinted out, using his more than above average running speed to clear half the field. At that point, however, he met his end at the hand of Eto's bullet.

Starting from the beginning was frustrating, but it was a lesson that his current tactics weren't going to be good enough to reach it to the end. Gotou sat in his spot, thinking of new ways to approach the task at hand while playing with the sand under him. Sand... Something from his previous bout with Praelin struck him. As strange as the sight may have been, the boy began filling his pockets with sand, before picking up two fists full as well. If he had knew that this was going to be part of today's practice, he would have picked up the weapon upgrade from the shop earlier on his run. Gotou waited again for the lull that the two had incorporated into their firing and he ran. At the half-way point, he threw his improvised smoke screen, and instead of moving into it, he bounded to the side where he threw another. This time, however, he ran into it, trying to throw off his trainers with this unconventional defense. He made it through to the trainers the first time using this tactic, but was only twenty meters away when the crowd came to life, and he found a knife lodged in his side for the next run.

Gotou let out a yell as he found himself in the safe zone yet again, flailing in irritation. Is audience participation like that even allowed?! Figuring that his sand trap wouldn't work again, Gotou went at it again, throwing caution to the wind. The sand, while hindering the sight of the two marksmen, also obscured his vision to the point where he wouldn't be able to spot the oncoming weaponry from the stands; a true double-edged sword. So, instead of being crafty, he decided it was in his best interest to hone his body in the way the practice was intended, by increasing his reflexes so that nothing could hit him. During a few of his runs, he was able to get to the thirty meter mark just on dexterity and luck's sake alone before slipping on a crowd thrown banana peel, and others, he would dodge one bullet and to put himself in harm's way for another. It was a truly menacing cycle, one that pushed his bodily limits as well as tested him mentally. Still, his first success made him know it was possible, so his perseverance had steeled him through the day.

At the end of the hour long bullet-treadmill, Gotou collapsed, being the first break he had taken since the exercise's start. He had made it through twice on his own, and had felt rather accomplished with the fact. "Hey, teacher," Gotou said over the distance that separated them. "Is there any way I could get water. I feel like I am dying."

Gardania Inventory

Name : Gotou Mason
Rank : C
Funds : 5000 credits
Slot 1: Fist l
Slot 2: Locked
Slot 3: Locked
Slot 4: Locked
Slot 5: Locked

Apparel

-School Tracksuit
-White ankle socks
-White tennis shoes

Kitt · May 16, 2015

•Aimi Minako•
| Suffering | Literally dying | Interaction: @DoughGuy @Click This @AiDee @Voltin |

The crowd, Aimi assumed, had done its job well. It was either a scare tactic, or an accurate representation of what was soon to come in the arena. Everyone else seemed to have dealt with the distraction better than herself, which made her feel sick to her stomach. She had to better. She had to improve. Toto, who had appeared by her side during her pouting, picked the fallen crossbow up off of the ground and shoved it against the girl's petite figure. "Never drop your weapon," he said harshly. "You hold it until you're sure the battle is over, then return it to your PTC." She flinched slightly at his words as he led them towards to sword fighting pair.

When they all grouped together, Aimi watched nervously as they discussed something in low whispers. Oh, shit. We-- I. I fucked up. "It appears you weren't lying last night as I had hoped. None of you are near the level required to make it into the Gardania." So we are definitely fucked. Cool. "So the question is how did you get into the Gardania?" Forced entry. "Gotou has already mentioned a Fushinsetsu and Iphie has mentioned a Ravenwood." Perfect. "Who is the former and where is the latter?"

Aimi frowned as Iphie replied promptly, her crisp British accent filling the space, "I wouldn't be a B rank if I didn't make the threshold for the Gardania, Toto." Iphie made a pouting face not too unlike one she had seen the liar make before, when they were trying to bargain back in the mist world. That felt like it was ages ago, but it was still fresh on her mind. She could tell from the girl's face that she thought she deserved a better rank than that. And she probably did, but whatever. Aimi deserved an F. "Your guess is as good as mine for the former. I can confirm he is a psychopathic murderer, though." And a myriad of different people, as well. I can elaborate, if needed... No, that would be a bad idea. Iphie continued, "Ravenwood was a private academic institution." Saying where would be rather dangerous, so... A city, in a state, in a country, on a continent that was probably sunken at least a few hundred years previous. "We all met there a very long time ago." Aimi snorted quietly. That's really fucking accurate. Almost hilariously so... A thousand years, almost.

Eto seemed a little unsettled still, but it wasn't like he could just shove them back over to the administration or committee or whatever organized this shit and say, 'I don't want these spoopy space kiddos. Take them back.' No, no, he had to train them. Well, she assumed. That's the nice guy thing to do. And he seemed like a nice guy.

The man pressed a few times on his PTC and another panel containing two guns rose out of thr ground. The swordsman grabbed the shiny gun which Aimi remembered was the "Voltblaster 9000" or something, and their trainer too the rifle for himself.

"You all need to work on your offensive game." Obviously. "But for now you can all hold a weapon and shoot it. You need to be introduced to the defensive side of the tournament. As you may have guessed from the crowd's appearance, my style of battle involves tipping your enemy off balance, taking them by surprise." Tiny little girl attack, go! "Which means you need to know how to react to the same so it cannot be turned against you. And so you know how to design your own distractions." None of us have boobs, man. So I dunno how that's gonna work out for you. "As such, I'm going to throw you into this without any further explanation. Learn to react quickly, and tell danger from not." Wait, what?

He tapped his PTC quickly, and the entire enviorment changed. The terminal had shifted positions, and another had spawned behind a second pillar. Fantastic. Secondly, the crowd had reappeared and begun to scream, cheer, and chant in the same fashion as before. It was loud, painful, and kinda like the football games her brother always made her go to. Stupid high schoolers.

"Iphigenia make sure you generate a set of armour." Woo, big words! "If you get hit you'll be teleported to the side to safety. Make a new set and rejoin the battle. If you have any final questions ask them now. When you're ready head back over to where you were shooting from before. Also, this is purely defensive. Not firing back." Cool, I can do that. No, actually, not really. Fuck.

Iphie asked a question about what they were supposed to be doing or whatever, which was met with an ever so encouraging, "You can try." Ah, lovely. Good to know you believe in us. "I'd recommend getting some experience dodging first." So you're going to try and kill us. Goody.

Once everyone seemed good and prepared, the man started the count down, "3 ... 2 ... 1 ... go." Immediately, Praelin began his assault, unleashing full on Hell on the group. Dozens of red lines, rather than the typical bullets shot out of the weapon, giving Aini time to figure out what they were. Oh, shit. Going into a full panic mode, she avoided a lot of them. She was able to go about twenty seconds without being shot, since the weapon was rather inaccurate. Thinking it was over after about a minute, she stopped to take a breather. Dodged almost all of them.. Except the very last one. Watching the red line go straight through her upper abdomen, the shot disentergrated the armor, so she shouted, "Blue!" before running a bit more, panic fully revived. Get to cover, go go go!

After that first assault was over, she found that Eto was going to start killing them too. He was taking rather strategic shots at her as she tried to move forward towards the station. He was fast. Scary fast.

She was shot at least ten time, each time getting easier. Her morale was low as it was, but this was just humiliating. At around 30 meters, she was shot constantly. No moooore, pllleeaaaaseeeee...She tripped at least twice, shot in the legs as Praelin made attempts at her chest. One of the red lines almost got her on multiple occasions, forcing her to roll over on the dirty ground. Fuck, I looked cute. Whatever. Time to just fucking run.

Rising from the ground quickly, she just made a beeline towards the recharge terminal, screaming random colors in between cries of "Fuck! Shit!" and various threats, such as "When this is over I'm going to kill everyone here, damn it!" Eventually, as they reached the half hour mark, things started getting thrown. This prompted Aimi to not only run with more vigor, but with her two hands in the air, actively flipping the booing crowd off. "I'm so done with this! Purple!"

Soon enough, she finally reached the terminal. It probably took her around fourth minutes of persistent cursing, yelling out colors, and frantic running to get there, and she got a stupid, deadpan "Good job" and was sent all the way back to the start.

She was going to kill herself before anyone else could.

Doughguy · May 16, 2015

@Zombehs @Skyswimsky

My dear Kir

Such a video may generate some interest, but so early into the competition with the base weapons, it will not attract as much as you wish. At least, not from those who wish to pay in credits, only from those who cannot afford to pay enough. I can buy it off you for 100 credits, perhaps if there is something exemplary within a small bonus may be added, but no more. As for the cut, my dear friend, I cannot do business that way. Information is valuable, and it is even more so when people do not know you have it. If you were to know how many people had purchased your video it would go against my principles of business. It may not seem like much, but small steps lead to larger ones I cannot afford. I'm afraid I cannot do that.

However I do have some good news for you. I have located a small job that will require your assistance. Please meet me at my shop tomorrow morning and we shall discuss it further. Have a pleasant day my friend.

~Your friend~

My dear Kyouko

My search for your answers has begun, and in return I have some questions for you.

I am interested to know where you were born? Did you grow up in the same place or elsewhere? Have you ever changed your name in your life, or been known under another name? And where my dear, did you learn to fight so ferociously you attracted the eye of another who entered you into the Gardania?

I do hope I am not prying too hard. Also, I have some good news for you. I have located a small job that will require your assistance. Please meet me at my shop tomorrow morning and we shall discuss it further. Have a pleasant day my friend.

~Your friend~

Ookami · May 16, 2015

Rebecca Johnson | Battlefield | Morning
Interactions: @Tsu - Sobek , @TerraBooma - Patrick , @Skyswimsky - Kyoko , @DoughGuy - Annie

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

Rebecca sat quietly, listening to her teammates amusing conversation. She wanted to join in but didn't dare to. She was new to all this while they probably weren't so she wouldn't even know what to say. She suddenly realized something which made her look down at the ground. It's like school. Rebecca, the outcast. She thought to herself and smiled slightly. Her hair feel down in front of her face, hiding her facial features well. It was like a small miracle since her eyes had become clouded by sadness. It would have been embarrassing if the others saw that. Rebecca stood up and was ready to walk off somewhere when that familiar annoyed AI voice rung out above them. Forcing the thoughts away, she looked up and listened to what it was saying. By the sounds of it they were about to start the battle. Rebecca became serious and spread her feet slightly apart. It was time.

Rebecca looked down and saw her body slowly dissipate like her clothes in the Core Access Terminal room. Thankfully, she couldn't feel any pain which allowed her to keep calm. Rebecca soon found herself gone from that room and looking at an endless room similar to the Core Access Terminal. It was only there for a split second when she found herself with her eyes closed and a wave of heat washing over her. Rebecca snapped her eyes open only to be met with the blazing sun. Shielding her eyes from the light she turned around and found herself standing in front of the Nile River. Rebecca looked up from the water to see Annie and Patrick on the other side. Which means.... Rebecca said to herself and looked to her side to find Kyoko. No surprise there. Rebecca looked around more and noticed a pyramid about a hundred meters toward the north side of the river. Rebecca noticed that a creature similar to the Egyptian god Sobek. She was caught by surprise at his question. Do I plan on winning? Of course! She thought to herself in less than ten seconds

Rebecca held her head high and turned her body to face Sobek completely. "Defiantly." She told him, determination sparking in her eyes like fireworks. She refused to be defeated. Whether she was new to Gardiana or not. Rebecca had always been like this so it wasn't surprising but the others didn't know this. Actually, now that she thought about it, they knew nothing about her. Better to keep it that way. She thought to herself. Rebecca watched closely as Sobek stood up from his throne and walked into the river, coming closer to them. She faced the water but kept her eyes on him. Rebecca watched as he thrust his scepter into the water and as a reaction, tendrils of water and sand shot towards her. Rebecca took a few steps back but was still captured. She watched them form a case-like shape around her, trapping her inside and hiding the world outside. All sound became mute except for the voice of Sobek.

Rebecca listened to the God's riddle but it confused her so she repeated it in her head. To smite the enemy, venom is your bane. To smite an ally, solo one shan't reign. To smite oneself, loss surely is your aim. She said to herself over and over again. It still didn't make sense. She heard the shouts of everyone else but found it pointless to do the same so stayed quiet about it. After a few short minutes Sobek burst into laughter and the cases fall to her feet. Rebecca noticed he had raised his scepter to the sky and looked up to see a noxious cloud was forming above them. Damn! She thought to herself and slightly spread her feet apart. Something was going to happen and it wasn't going to be pretty. She heard Sobek give them the answer and she narrowed her eyes, still staring at the cloud. This guy was serious.

Without warning bolts of lightning shot from the cloud toward Rebecca but she dodged it. But the cloud seemed to be rather persistent and shot another one toward her. She dodged three more but as she was landing from dodging the third one the cloud shot at her again and she found herself in the cloud. Rebecca stood straight, refusing to breath. She was like this for two and a half minutes before she couldn't take it any longer and breathed in. The AI's stupid voice arose from her PTC and told her she had lost a single ranged rating. The others might have thought this was useless information but Rebecca made sure to remember it in case she would need the information later on. Pain suddenly seared through her lungs, causing her to instinctively put her hands to her neck. This stupid cloud! She yelled mentally, knowing nothing would happen if she yelled aloud. There wasn't really any point in wasting her breath on something so stupid. Rebecca breathed in but was met with a very familiar smell of blood. Sobek's words rang out and she was forced to think quickly. If she drank the pain might cease but what did he mean. Lest the next trial begins? Lest means 'In case' so does it mean that by drinking the blood I might be saving myself from something in the next trial? She thought. Rebecca was brought to her knees by the pain in her neck and she closed her eyes tightly in order to think straight without the pain interrupting her. Rebecca knew one thing. She needed to get out of this cloud.

Forcing herself to stand, Rebecca ran out of the cloud to the river like she was going to drink it. The smell became overwhelming as she sat on her knees beside the river but forced herself to breathe even thought it stunk. She fell into a coughing fit and bent down over the bloody river though she refused to drink any of it. She stayed bent down and concentrated on one thing. Breathing normally. The pain in her lungs was intense but if she breathed enough of the clean air, though stinky, it'd help to clear her lungs of the clouds. It may not clear them out completely but it'd work enough for the pain to lessen. She hoped her efforts weren't in vain.

Inventory

???
???
???
???
???

PTC

Name: Rebecca Johnson
Rank: C
Funds: 5000 credits
Slot 1: Blade I
Slot 2: Locked
Slot 3: Locked
Slot 4: Locked
Slot 5: Locked

Attire

Only the Armor

AiDee · May 16, 2015

[BCOLOR=transparent]"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]I'd recommend getting some experience dodging first.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]" [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]This is a big game of dodge ball.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Katherine did as Eto told her to be considered as ready. He waited for the group to simmer down and be attentive towards the training he had assigned. Once the group members were in place, he began to count down, "[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]3 ... 2 ... 1 ... go.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]" One handed guy quickly shot off red lines that would lead into a microspheric explosion, disturbing the sand's wavy path. He quickly turned the gun to aim at the group, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]For a guy without a hand, he is pretty fucking fast.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The delay allowed the party members of Team 8 to become more alert get into safety.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Rini quickly realized that the red line's were going to hit her directly. Taking the training a little too seriously, she quickly slid out of the way. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Fuck, that was close…[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She wasn't given time to recover as she spot more red lines on her. The ground wasn't an ideal place to be in, she quickly got onto her feet and ran for her attackers. Immediately Eto's gun came into view and sniped her, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Fuckin'..."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] As she was occupied with the first shot, Praelin managed to hit her. Katherine was suddenly at the safe zone, back where she had started,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "Fucking hell...Orange."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She quickly charged back where she had started. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Okay...two hits and I'm out.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She knew what was going to come for her. Katherine ran in, dodging Praelin's shots. Eto's was more difficult as he wasted no time for attacking. All of a sudden for a few seconds, they stopped firing. Rini sprinted for the two men. She was nearly there, Eto aimed at her first. Rini embraced the hit to the leg and tried to continue her journey. Praelin's random shots hit her once more. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Fuck![/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She was quickly transported to the safe zone. Taking only a moment to breathe, Rini quickly went in to try again.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]On her fourth try, she didn't rush in. Instead, she used the others as meat shields to advance further in. The unlucky meat shield was Gototo, the team's drunk. It was working very smoothly, until the audience created an uproar and threw a sword at him. With only twenty meters left and no hits on her, Rini sprinted for what Iphie said was the finish line. Eto and Praelin were not as impressed as they gave out stoic compliments, "[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Good.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]" and a, "[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Great job.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]". She was quickly sent back to the beginning. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]What was the point of this? Avoid all attacks?[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Rini found the activity to be redundant. Nonetheless she kept going, occasionally making it without meat shields or getting impaled with a sword.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Towards the end of the training, Rini grew restless at the loud, buzzing crowd in her ear. The throwing items act was getting tiring and she just wanted to shoot them. Making one last race to the two figures, she did her best to avoid all of the hits. Eto's sharp shooting were always on target if she was distracted by the random ones. The best way she could avoid Eto's bullets were to run in random places. Yet, the best way to avoid Praelin's shots were to go straight ahead and watch for all bullets coming at them. She would run during the pauses the two took.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Finally, it all ended. Rini fell to her knees, breathing heavily as the crowd died out,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Hey, teacher,"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Gotou yelled out. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Is there any way I could get water. I feel like I am dying."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Rini agreed, but she had her own request to make, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Can I shoot the audience? They piss me off."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Pointing to the crowd with the hand that had the PTC. Katherine fell back whenever she tried to stand. Her joints cracked a little as she pulled them close to her body, her muscles were sore from the constant running and no rest. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Fuck. Never doing that again.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] She laid down on her back and shielded her face from the artificial light emitting from the devices around her. It was safe to say that she was sick of being in this training environment.[/BCOLOR]

Inventory: Flute with healing powers like wowzers
Pair of glasses
Gold coin necklace

Stats: [BCOLOR=transparent]Name : Katherine Remington Drayton[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Rank : C[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Funds : 5000 credits[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 1: Hender Rifle[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 2: Locked[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 3: Locked[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 4: Locked[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Slot 5: Locked[/BCOLOR]

| World Synapse : Arc 2 Gardania |

Skyswimsky

Nien Scheiße!

AiDee

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ERode

Shadow and Truth

Knight Aarant

The Neutral Party

Tsu

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Nien Scheiße!

Zombehs

Maximum Weeb.

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Astoria

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