Infinite IC

[Julian84]

It's a warm, sunny Monday in Bluesky City. Summer vacation has ended, and all the kids and teenagers are back in school, back to the tedium of their daily lives.

Hajime Gordon , an athletic young man who enjoys some popularity, walks into the old worn down halls of Nicholas Little High School, an urban school located quite close to the Holcomb river, rushing on it's way to join the Ohio. Nicholas Little is a busy school, full of teens mostly from the lower middle class.

As he enters the school, his friend Marcus beams from across the hall, quickly joining in step with him. "Packed today, huh? Isn't your little brother starting today?"

Across the Holcomb river in the sleepy suburban village of Ottenstad is Montgomery Hughes Private School, where Melvin Groden is busily reconnecting a circuit board inside of an old laptop. Alone in the computer science room, he is hard at work honing his technological skills.

His computer science teacher, Mr. DeVries quietly comes through the door. "Hard at work already?" He sits down opposite Melvin. "This wouldn't have anything to do with your mother being hospitalized again, would it?"

[stanleyindraven]

"It keeps my mind busy. It should be just as powerful as today's most current laptops now," Melvin responds without looking up. He finishes connecting the last of the wires and starts clipping in the keyboard.

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven: Mr. DeVries stares at you for a few seconds. "I see. Well, your father called the office earlier, he wants you to visit your mother when you get out of school." He leaves the classroom. "And the bell rang, so you're already late for your first class!"

[stanleyindraven]

"Seriously, I don't know why I put up with this place," Melvin says as he closes the laptop and grabs his backpack and rushes out of the room to first period.

[bladesmith]

Hajime(or simply "Haj", for those who didn't have a crazy Japanese mother) gave Marcus a smile and an offer for a fist bump, which seemed to be all the effort he put into greeting anyone.
"That's the idea." He said as he noted that the place was indeed packed. Kinda kicked the idea of fashionably skipping the first day of class out the window.
"We'll see if the kid can drag himself out of the house, though. He got pretty used to sleeping in over the summer."

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven: The day passes dully and monotonously. The idea of Melvin having friends is rather laughable at this point in his life, so he passes through the school like a ghost, unseen and uncared for.

As the final bell rings, his cell phone buzzes with a text from his father.

"Don't forget to visit your mom."

Bladesmith: Things go smoothly on Hajime's first day. Vanessa, the pretty new cheerleader said hi to him on the way to class, there were tacos for lunch, and the trig class was canceled because the teacher apparently had a nervous breakdown in his office.

As he walks through the halls, he sees Mr. Johnson, coach of the basketball team, talking animatedly to Karasu, his younger brother.

-And that's why you should think about joining the team!"

Karasu nervously clutches his bag. "I'll... have to run it by my parents. They can be pretty strict."

Johnson shakes his head ruefully and walks off, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"Hey, bro." Karasu says, his eyes downcast.

Karasu was roped into working for their grandparents at the family shop after school, so there is no way he could do basketball.

[stanleyindraven]

Melvin looks at the message with a sigh. He hated having to go to the hospital. The doctors never could give a good answer or solution. He knew there had to be a way to help his mother and was intent on making sure he did so. He headed over to the hospital as quickly as he could and managed a smile when he entered his mother's room.

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven: As he enters the room, he sees his mother, frail and sickly, hooked up to a few machines, tubes running in and out of her arms.

"M-Melvin?... Is that you sweetie?"

[bladesmith]

"Hey, kiddo."

Hajime gave Karasu a friendly push to get him moving down the hallway at the same speed as Haj. With things going this well, the older boy was in a great mood, and even his little brother's current predicament wasn't going to bring him down. After all, he had dealt with the same thing the year before.

"You know, dude, Coach only really goes after the kids that he thinks will be really good. You might wanna reconsider at least trying out. You just gotta be smarter then the problem."

A small smile formed on Hajime's face as he looked over at his younger brother. Maybe he wasn't some kinda brainiac, but he'd seen and heard a few good tricks that had gotten him out of the shop for long enough to keep up at the dojo. It'd be harder with Karasu, but the kid wasn't dumb. They could figure something out.

[stanleyindraven]

"Its me mom, how are you feeling."

[Julian84]

Strainseir: She struggles vainly to pull herself into a sitting position. "I'm... I'm well... Tired all the time though." She smiles weakly. "How's school going?"

Bladesmith: Karasu smiles ruefully while rubbing his shoulder. "Yeah... I guess. Just don't like having this pressure, y'know?" He looks down. "It's hard to have all the attention on you."

[stanleyindraven]

"Oh you know, I should be teaching but instead I am entertaining them. I wish there was more I could do for you. For us."

[bladesmith]

"Your loss, dude." Haj shrugged, then added with a facetious smile,
"But you really should consider sneaking out a bit. Maybe just hit the court in the park while everyone's there, show off a bit. Then you can be wicked awesome, but without the pressure of being on the team. Right?"

[Julian84]

Hey guys, just a quick update, the campaign isn't dead, I've just been really busy. I promise I'll update by tomorrow.

One small matter of housekeeping for the rest of the campaign: If I type information or dialogue in a spoiler box under your name, you must reply in your own spoiler box. Please refrain from reading each other's replies.

Bladesmith: Karasu smiles tentatively. "M-maybe. Anyhow, I gotta run, or Gramps will be mad at me all afternoon. Bye!"

He runs off. School is over, so you can go home.

Stanleyindraven: Your mother smiles weakly. "My... little genius. Everything will be alright... Melvin... Everything will be... fine..." Her head lolls to the side. She's lost consciousness.

[stanleyindraven]

Melvin calls for a nurse to make sure that she is okay.

[Julian84]

Quickly, a doctor rushes in and checks her vitals.

"She's still fairly weak... She isn't yet ready to be active."

The doctor walks over and closes the door. "We should talk, Melvin."

[stanleyindraven]

"What's wrong?"

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

"Your mother's cancer is progressing quickly. Before long, she...will not be here, any longer. Most would say that she is already beyond saving." The doctor will look up at Melvin, taking a few steps closer. "But she is not, Melvin. There is something, something that can be done to save her."

[stanleyindraven]

"What is it? Anything that can be done should be, I don't know where I will be without her."

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

"Good. That is what I wanted to hear." With that, the doctor will turn and walk to your mother's bedside, reaching out and laying a hand on her forehead. Suddenly, the monitors attached to her all switch to showing perfectly normal vitals, her skin gains a healthy glow. The doctor stays like that long enough for you to see and then removes her hand, looking back over. "I will heal her, Melvin, but I need something from you in return."

[stanleyindraven]

"Anything, just tell me." Melvin looks astonished.

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

"There is darkness in your city. A darkness wrought by a powerful evil. Left unchecked, it will bring about great destruction of unmatched severity. However, alone I cannot stand against it. I require your aid."

Everyone else:

The afternoon sun blazes hot as the final bell rings, signaling the end of school for the first day. “Crypt” Jackson Walker strolls out onto the blacktop, backpack slung over his shoulder, cracking his knuckles as he surveys the hustle and bustle of kids leaving the over-crowded halls of Nicholas Little High school.

He hated that place, full of dead beats and numb skulls that wouldn’t know two plus two from what the Gettysburg Address was. It was a small consolation that he was graduating in two years. Everyone knew that the idiots only get dumber in college, and everyone in Bluesky City went to Holcomb River University. This city was a trap that no one could get out of.

Walking home, he casually yawned and peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, the moronic gang of pug-faced twits was following him, looking for a fight. Lead by Big Jimmy, the gang wasn’t exactly known for their fearsomeness, rather more for their inexplicable ability to get into trouble.

Well, they had found trouble all right.

Crypt takes a hard left, ducking into an alley.

---

-And that finishes out first foray into Socratic teaching. Be sure to read chapter 2, everyone, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!”

Adam Wentworth stretches and groans, rising from his chair. First day of college, and he was pretty sure his brain was going to melt from sheer boredom. He gathers his textbooks and notes under one arm and quietly trots out of the classroom, heading back to his dorm to deposit the heavy load, all the while questioning how he has forgotten to buy a backpack. He quickly descends through the empty stairwell, abandoned by most other students in favor of the elevators, numbly thinking of a warm dinner, a warm shower, and a warm bed.

Lost in his thoughts, he fails to notice the short blonde girl dashing up the stairs, who runs straight into him with an almighty crash.

“Oh!” She yelps, as they tumble to the floor, her landing on top of him.

“Er… Sorry…” She mumbles.

---

Meanwhile, in the large dusty stacks of the University Library, junior-year student Gary Jesmond is quietly solving his new V-Cube 7, a simple mechanical puzzle that his little sisters, Dana and Darian, bought for him to herald the new school year. It wasn’t really hard, just a 7x7x7 rubik’s cube.

As he methodically solves the puzzle, across the aisle to either side of him from him sits Wendy Springer and Theo Silbern, his two best friends at Holcomb. Wendy sits cross-legged, all attention focused on the laptop sitting on her legs, hurriedly pecking at the keyboard, while Theo idly reads German poetry. Wendy grumbles in frustration. “I’ll never get this program finished by tomorrow! Dr. Adkins is so strict with his prerequisites…”

Theo licks his thumb and turns a page. “Perhaps you should have thought of that and started earlier. Like yesterday, that would have been a good time to start.”

Wendy pauses for a split second to glare at him, and continues rapidly typing. “What about you, Gary? Any prerequisites you have to do for Professor Ferdon’s class?”

[EdroGrimshell]

After ducking into the alley, Crypt decides to just get out of there, "sometimes I'm glad I learned how to do this," he says as he slings his pack on and starts climbing the wall, jumping from one wall to the other as he ran out of handholds, and gets onto the roof, then starts heading home again, over the rooves until he has to scale down into an alley and walk along again, "those idiots never learn, I'm not interested in fighting them."

Take 10 on Climb and Acrobatics. PARKOUR!

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

"That's too bad." A woman's voice calls.

A tall brunette steps around the corner, the gang in tow. "Because they're just dying to get a hold of you."

She is Verda, a vicious street fighter possessing no concept of mercy. Rumor has it she dabbles in the local competitive underground fighting scene, as well as the occult.

[Anecronwashere]

Meanwhile, in the large dusty stacks of the University Library, junior-year student Gary Jenson is quietly solving his new V-Cube 7, a simple mechanical puzzle that his older brother, Dave, bought for him to herald the new school year. It wasn’t really hard, just a 7x7x7 rubik’s cube.

As he methodically solves the puzzle, across the aisle to either side of him from him sits Wendy Springer and Theo Silbern, his two best friends at Holcomb. Wendy sits cross-legged, all attention focused on the laptop sitting on her legs, hurriedly pecking at the keyboard, while Theo idly reads German poetry. Wendy grumbles in frustration. “I’ll never get this program finished by tomorrow! Dr. Adkins is so strict with his prerequisites…”

Theo licks his thumb and turns a page. “Perhaps you should have thought of that and started earlier. Like yesterday, that would have been a good time to start.”

Wendy pauses for a split second to glare at him, and continues rapidly typing. “What about you, Gary? Any prerequisites you have to do for Professor Ferdon’s class?”

(OOC: In my backstory Gary's dad abandons his mum the same time she got pregnant. No Older Bro)

"I have too, hmm, translate a Base 13 code into a Reverse Morse. So basically nothing."
Gary finishes the cube and puts it down, eyeing up his two friends calculatingly
"Soo, I earned 4 tickets to The Flamers. Taking into account me taking Frosty Danielle that leaves two extras."
Gary leans forward in his seat, smirking knowing that neither would pass up the tickets. add in a few choice sentences, emphasizing certain words and the two would be dating by the end of the night.

[EdroGrimshell]

"...You know, it's because of people like you that I can't have any peace in my life," Crypt says, shaking his head, "I don't have time for this today," he mutters, and does the little trick that makes him look more intimidating, a change in demeanor, really, but little more, "I don't intend to fight, join a gang, or anything of the like, I'd prefer you just shove off."

Using Fearsome Presence

Readied Action to run and climb up onto a roof again. If I need a check, let me know and I'll roll it. If i can, though, assume i take 10.

[stanleyindraven]

"Whatever it takes. I am sure I can find a solution."

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

"Take this gift that I bestow upon you, and with it fight the evil that plagues your town."

The doctor reaches out and places her hand upon Melvin's brow. A glowing light emanates from her palm, filling the whole room, until all is white.

Melvin awakens on the floor, his Mom sitting up, humming to herself, and reading a book. "Oh, you woke up! That was really an odd place to take a nap, Melvin, but whatever you like."

The doctor has disappeared.

An instinctive force tells you that you can now do more than that of a normal man.

Your new powers:

Magnetic Control 8 ranks
Alt. Power
Nullify Electronics (Electromagnetic pulse)

Electrical Control 6 ranks
Alt. Power
Stun


EdroGrimshell:

Verda grins nastily as the rest of the gang shrinks back in fear. "Ooh, widdle Walker thinks he's so special, so above the rest of us." She tosses her hair over her shoulder. "I don't think so, Walker. I think you're just a widdle boy. And I'm going to break you."

Anecronwashere:

OOC:Duly noted, and changes made. I assume the flamers are a band? :smallbiggrin:

Theo looks up, mildly surprised. "How did you manage that?"

Wendy whacks him upside the head. "Forget that, you're giving them to us right?!"

[EdroGrimshell]

"I don't think I'm special, I have a deadbeat dad that can't keep a job, a sick mother that has trouble with her job, and I have a part time job just to keep the family afloat," he says, little hesitation, "honestly, I think I'm pretty run-of-the-mill compared to most of you guys, I just don't want trouble, already have a record with the cops even if it was self defense, don't need to go to Juvie just yet. You want to talk to someone that thinks they're special? Look for the jocks, they all think they're the kings," he bounds off a nearby wall onto a raised fire escape and climbs up, "See ya!"

Take 10 on an Acrobatics check. Obviously assumes that we're in or near an alley where I can do that, if not, spend a hero point to make it so.

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell: You start climbing up the escape, but Verda is hot on your heels, a knife in her hand. She flips the blade between her fingers and throws it at you, hitting you in the shoulder.

"A little going-away present, Walker! We're not finished here!"

[EdroGrimshell]

Once on the roof, Crypt pulls the knife from his shoulder, "tch, looks like I'll be spending my check on the medical bill, f***," he swears, heading towards the hospital, he could handle the pain, but it'd be a detriment at work, and his mother would worry, which could cause her condition to worsen. He keeps the knife, rolled up in a book cover in his pack, it was evidence he could use against her. Better to keep her off the streets, and throwing a knife like that would be a oneway ticket to Juvie, or Jail.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary simply smirks and pulls two tickets from his jacket
"I have a friend who knows a friend who knows a friend."


"I don't know... I mean Dana and Darian are into this group just as much as you... I'll tell you what, if one of you two minions tell Jenny that Jack said to tell her to meet him down the docks at 5 tomorrow I'll consider it. I need some way of getting Danielle free to come with me after all. And what better way than letting the School Gossip see her bf cheating.
I can't be seen to be involved though, it'll ruin the aim of Cupid's Arrow if the frost-queen suspects my puppetstring involvement."

[Julian84]

Editing because I forgot which pronouns I was using.

Edrogrimshell:

As Crypt climbs over the low rooftops towards downtown, he eventually is forced to climb back down, due to the space between buildings growing too wide to jump. As he climbs down the fire escape, he find an odd black leather-bound book.

Necron:

Theo and Wendy stare at each other for a moment.

"Deal." they say in unison. Wendy leans forwards the thwacks Gary's nose with her middle finger, though, saying, "But call me a minion again and you'll never get a date in this town for the rest of your life."

They quickly get up, Wendy stuffing her laptop away. "How did you know Jack was cheating on Danielle?"

Theo quietly tucks his book away. "And where is the concert being held?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt raises an eyebrow, shakes his head, and then grabs the book, putting it into his pack before heading off again. He still needed this stab cleaned out and stitched, luckily it hit a spot that bled sluggishly, so he didn't have to worry much about blood loss just yet.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary grasps Wendy's hand after she flicks his nose, kissing the knuckles as he bows, overacting "Oh forgive my most grevious slight milady. You are much, much more than a mere minion. Would you prefer the title of Flunky? Or mayhaps Lackey? Ooh or maybe."
Gary steps really close to Wendy "Maybe you would like the Title of Mistress to the King." he breaths, glancing at Theo to gauge his reaction.

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

Crypt walks wearily up to the main doors of the hospital, past worried pedestrians, sick elders, and a single doctor impatiently pulling off her badge and stuffing it in her briefcase, pausing only to cast an irritated glance at him, presumptively because of his disheveled appearance.

As he walks in, he sees that the front desk is occupied by a friend orderly.

Necron:

Wendy flushes to light shade of pink, but manages to keep her cool. "When the king is ready to make his appearance, maybe I'll think about it." she replies smoothly. Theo appears bored, studying a fingernail for blemishes, but smirks at that jab.

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt walks up to the orderly, someone he'd often dealt with after his fights, "Yo, got another addition to my list of injuries, first knife wound that wasn't an accident at work."

[Anecronwashere]

I frown internally at the lack of reaction from Theo but reply "I'll hold you to that then my dear."

Grabbing my own backpack I turn to Theo "As for you, I know Everything, I have a series of spy cameras planted in every part of the city that relays information right into my head, for I am Spyman!" I strike a silly heroic pose before laughing
"Nah, I found out when I tried to set Angela up with Tom. Turns out she was taken."

[crazydude369]

"Oh no, no, my fault entirely!" Adam says as he awkwardly gets to his feet, helping her up as well. "Are you alright?"

[stanleyindraven]

"I am sorry mom but," Melvin stops mid sentence. "You're better!" he stands and rushes to her bedside.

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

His mother pauses. "I... Do feel much better. Better than I've felt in years. But... how? I have terminal cancer, it... doesn't just go away."

She looks at Melvin quizzically.

EdroGrimshell: The orderly clucks his tongue reprovingly. "Jackson Walker, what are we going to do with you." He signs some forms. "Take these to the ER nurse, they'll get you stitched up in no time"

Necron:

Wendy quietly extricates herself from Gary's grasp. "We'll see." She replies.

Theo shrugs languidly. "Faaasscccinatinngg." He offers an arm to Wendy, who hooks her own through it. "Shall we go?"

Wendy giggles. "Yes, we shall. Off to destroy romances and sew intrigue!" She shouts, dramatically pointing a finger into the air as they march down the stack.

"And you better still have those tickets for us when we get back!" She shouts over her shoulder."

Crazydude:

She suddenly blushes as she realizes she's laying right on top of Adam's chest. "Er... Um..."

She quickly pulls herself up. "Th-thanks, that's very nice of you." She slowly backs up, he cheeks burning red with embarrassment, until she bumps into the wall and squeaks with fright.

[stanleyindraven]

"Don't worry mom. Everything is better now, we can leave here soon and go back to being a family. I was finally able to help you." Melvin's eyes well with tears of joy.

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt shakes his head, "not my fault the gangs keep picking fights, ot that the latest one likes throwing knives," he says before heading to the right room.

[crazydude369]

Adam smirked slightly at the girl's obvious embarrassment. "Hey, don't worry about it, **** happens." He extended his hand out, "I'm Adam."

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

Another doctor walks in, and blinks in surprise. "... Tina? You look... Well. You look like you did years ago."

Tina smiles. "I... Feel better. Perhaps it's a miracle."

She turns to Melvin. "Honey, how about you give me and Doctor Hoosier some time to discuss what's happened. Maybe you should go back to the house for now."


EdroGrimshell:

The orderly nods and smiles. "Never a dull moment with you, eh?"

As Crypt enters the ER, the head nurse, Mrs. Diehl, spots him and moans in mock despair. "So young Mr. Walker waltzes into our halls once again. Don't tell me you've finally gotten shot?" She pulls the slip of paper from his hand and guides him over to a corner, motioning over a tech. "Patch him up, hon. He's got places to be."

Crazyguy:

She smiles nervously. "I'm... Veronica." She twists a lock of hair in one hand unconsciously until she notices the proffered hand and shakes it enthusiastically, then flushes again as she realizes her total freak-out. "S-sorry... This is my first day in college... And I'm a little on edge..."

[Anecronwashere]

"Don't trust me? I'm hurt really." Gary says, heading in the opposite direction

[crazydude369]

"Heh, so I noticed. Are you heading to another class? Maybe I could walk you there. Ya know, just to make sure you don't run into anyone else."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Knife this time, Verda's got her eyes on me this time," Crypt says, then sighs, "wish they'd get the hint already..." he lets the doctors work, this was not as bad as some of the stuff he'd dealt with in the past.

[bladesmith]

Bladesmith: Karasu smiles tentatively. "M-maybe. Anyhow, I gotta run, or Gramps will be mad at me all afternoon. Bye!"

He runs off. School is over, so you can go home.

Haj lets Karasu run off with very little more pestering, then begins the long walk home. Sure, he could probably take a bus or something, but he really didn't like being packed in like a sardine. Besides, with a little more work on the carburetor, the old camaro that had been sitting behind the house for more then a year would be in working order. Not great working order, and she'd still be ugly, but she was his. He called her Meryl. Well, not in front of anyone, but when he was sitting on the cracked leather bucket seat, that's the name he used.

However, he had to get home first. Long, confident strides easily swept him through the after school crowds and down the street, whistling as he went. Not a bad way to start off the school year.

[Julian84]

Necron:

Wendy sticks her tongue out at Gary before vanishing around the corner.

As he (I assume) walks down the main steps to the library, he surveys the sun hanging low over the circular Holcomb campus. The first day back is over...

Or is it?

EdroGrimshell:

Mrs. Diehl sighs, "Lord have mercy, Walker. You seem to be a veritable magnet for trouble." The tech finishes the stitches and packs away the kit.

Mrs. Diehl lays a hand on his good shoulder. "You going to be ok, hon? Your dad still have that job at the car dealership?"

Crazydude: She smiles cautiously and pulls a notecard out of her pocket, studying it for a moment. "Introduction to Philosophy... Top floor..."


Bladesmith:

Hajime starts walking home, the afternoon quickly dipping low, casting long shadows across the streets, which are curiously more empty than usual.

The walk home doesn't take too long, and he bounds into the flat, grabbing a snack and plopping down on the couch.

There's no one else home.

Suddenly the phone rings, blaring at the hook.

[bladesmith]

With a groan, Hajime levers himself back up off the couch. No rest for the wicked, it seems.

"Don't worry. I'll get it." He slurs around the last bite of PB&J before swallowing and picking up the phone.
"Gordon's pizza palace. What can I get for you?"

[Anecronwashere]

Gary heads home, walking along.
Taking several shortcuts and seemingly lost in thought. Mentally adjusting his Social Board where he keeps all the information, links and plans on everyone he knows.
Thanking the library for those books on Meditation that allowed him to make a virtual Mindscape, which houses his lessons, his memories and everything contained inside his mind

[roll0] Making a Sense Motive test on anyone approaching him. The streets aren't the safest place to be walking without taking notice of the general populace.

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt moves his arm to check how the stitches affect his movement before giving a wry grin, "no kidding, luckily I can usually get out of it with relatively minor injuries. Gotta say, I never expected being a monkey as a kid coming in handy when I got older. Thanks, send me the bill when it comes in, I'll pay you back as soon as I can," he waves as he heads off, carrying his shirt and using his jacket in its place now that it's stained with blood, luckily it was black so it wasn't easy to notice. He went back home, he'd have to get work to mail his check from now on, if Verda knew the path he took, he'd have to avoid going that route from now on. He'd change routes every day, good way to not be caught easily. Once home, Crypt tosses his shirt and jacket into the washer, and heads to his room. His parents wouldn't be home for another couple hours, and he wouldn't have to start cooking dinner until then, so he sat on his bed and took the book out of his pack, he didn't even remember what made him pick it up now.

[Julian84]

Bladesmith:

A shrill, frantic voice comes over the phone. "What?!?" It's Hajime's grandfather. "Is this Hajime?? Listen, you have to get down here, the shop was fire-bombed by a gang of thugs and they took Karasu!"

Necron:

The atmosphere on the college grounds seems light-hearted and thrilled, though there is an odd sense of foreboding in the air. In the distance, sirens are blaring quietly. There must have been an emergency somewhere.

EdroGrimshell:

Mrs. Diehl nods and waves Crypt along his way. As he leaves, he passes by a younger student from some private high school with a silly grin on his face.

In his room, he holds the old black leather-bound book, old and weathered from long years of use. Opening it, he finds a single sentence written down, page after page after page.

Say the name of power and embrace the Darkness.

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt raises an eyebrow, he know the Latin word for Power, it presented itself often in Occult books, "Potentia?"

[Anecronwashere]

Gary heads home, to his mum and sisters. Coincidentally in the general direction of the blaring sirens.
Curious, Gary follows. After all, One doesn't know everything in town without a little digging.

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

There is a peal of thunder and the book rips out of Crypt's hands, floating in the center of the room, pages rippling back and forth as billowy winds tear the shades down and knock the lamp over, casting the room into a gloomy light.

The storm is over as soon as it begun, the book dropping to the center of the room. In the eerie silence, the shadows seems to grow and stretch out towards the book, pooling and collecting until they form an inky humanoid shape.

In the quiet passing of seconds the teenager and the otherworldly being stare at each other.

"Greetings... Jackson Walker." The shadow's voice is a thousand whispers in the deepest of caves, sound being heard where no sound should be.

"Your world… is in grave danger…. Threatened by forces from beyond time and space…"

Images flash through Crypt’s mind of worlds far off burning and crumbling into nothingness.

"They have come here to harvest this world’s life for their own purposes… for they hate all living things… Their minds are cold and closed to suffering…

You can choose to turn away from this fate… to hide… but it is too late… By calling forth my power, you have already drawn their attention… they will hunt for you, seeking out your blood like a dying man seeks water…

I… can give you a gift, the power to protect this world… This shadow, a mere portion of my power… Will you take it?"


Necron:

As Gary walks through the quiet city streets, illuminated only by a few streetlights, he can't help but get the feeling he's being watched.

The sounds of the sirens grow farther and farther away, and the ground begins to reel underneath his feet. As he totters, he twirls to look down the long, dark alley.

Where two large bright yellow eyes stare back at him from the darkness.

Run awaayy little one... your time hasssssn'tt yet commee... Go back to your liittllle sisstteerrs and reflect on your forrttunneee A sibilant voice whispers in his mind.

The eyes slowly sink back further into the darkness, the warning echoing around it as it slowly fades into the shadows.

[crazydude369]

"What do ya know, I just came from that class. Come on, I'll show you the way."
Adam slowly lead Veronica back up the stairs, quickly deciding that this was a much better use of his time then sitting in his dorm room. "So you're into philosophy?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"What the F***!?" Crypt shouts as the storm occurs, getting into a defensive stance, then it calms, and the shadows pool into the figure, "holy sh**," once it finishes talking, Crypt has calmed sufficiently, which is to say enough to not be freaking out because of the obvious display of magic, "Not like I have much of a choice if they're hunting me, I accept," he reaches a hand out for a handshake, "Just one question, what can I call you?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Who are you! How do you know of my sisters.
What do you mean my time?"
Gary leans forward, peering into the darkness after the yellow eyes

"How did you speak without words. I know I didn't hear you, but I did hear you."

[Julian84]

Guys, if I send you information in a spoiler box, you have to do the same in turn. Please edit your posts accordingly.

[stanleyindraven]

"Okay, I will tell dad the great news." Melvin is very excited and darts out of the room to get home as quickly as he can.

[Julian84]

Crazydude:

She twists a lock of hair in her fingers. “Er… Yeah. I just want to study all these worldviews… Figure out what is the answer to all of this, y’know?” She opens the stairwell doors, and the two walk down the hallways. “My mom is a nurse, so I’ve seen the effect death can have on people… I’m just searching for truth, I guess.”

EdroGrimshell:

The shadow doesn’t move.

“I… am known as the Mindwalker… This Shadow is my gift to you… Name it whatever you wish… Call on it when you are in danger…”

The shadow reaches out, past Crypt’s hand and touches his brow. The world explodes into light and fades to darkness.

He has fallen unconscious.

Necron:

OOC: Do not forget to spoiler your posts from now on, including your previous one.

The eyes have disappeared, and Gary is now alone. No answers return.

Stanleyindraven:

As Melvin goes through the hospital halls, he passes by a surly-looking high schooler favoring his shoulder.

He arrives home after a while, finding his father sitting at the kitchen table with his face in his hands, a glass of scotch sitting on the table.

“Hello, Melvin…” He mutters quietly.

---

At the BCPD station, rookie cop John Adams tiredly stuffs his gear into his locker. It’s been a long day working the beat, what with the city’s gangs getting more aggressive and erratic in their outings.

His partner, Shane Salazar, pulls an energy drink out of the community mini-fridge. Popping the tab, he takes a long gulp. “It’s crazy how brazen the gangs have gotten in the last few weeks. Muggings, turf wars, murders… It’s like the city is being turned upside down.”

As they walk out of the locker room, an intercom blares.

“Code 315, Code 315, there has been a report of arson on 12th and Corbin, any available units respond.”

Shane shrugs and takes another sip. “’S not our problem.”

[stanleyindraven]

"Dad, you'll never believe it. Mom is better. You need to go see her." Melvin blurts out at his father with vigor. He then thinks about the agreement that he made, to do something right.

[The_Admiral]

As the intercom blurted out the request for help, John closes his eyes for a few seconds and makes a decision. He runs back into the locker room and grabs his gear saying as he exits still putting them on, Sorry Shane, but it is. You do know we are still on the list of available units. tossing Shane his gear. You really do need a better combination than one, two, three, four. Also, this time I'll drive. he continues, walking to the squad car.


OOC: I'm making crap up. I have no idea how this works.

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt goes unconscious. (nothing much else to say ATM)

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

Melvin's father stares at him for a long second, taking in his son's look of conviction. He suddenly bolts up, grabbing his suit jacket and his keys.

"Watch over the house, I'll be back later."

And he's out the door.

Captain_Obvious:

Shane catches his gear, grumbling, "Yeah, yeah whatever."

The squad car revves to life and Shane flips the sirens, and you tear out of the parking lot and head towards the scene of the crime!

You're doing fine, this is just a little bit of filler to establish your character before we get to the main event.

EdroGrimshell:

Yeah, sorry :smallbiggrin: I have to put the brakes on a little, and that means putting some characters to bed until the next "day".

[stanleyindraven]

Melvin will go to his room and try to practice with his new power.

[crazydude369]

Adam stifled a chuckle and a comment about how cliche that sounded. "You're not going to get anywhere with her by being snarky Adam, just stay friendly and polite." he thought. "Wow, that's kinda deep. So where's your mom work?"

[Anecronwashere]

Gary leaves, hurrying faster through the streets as he tries to analyze what exactly happened

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

Melvin sits cross-legged in the center of the room, a coin resting on his palm. As he focuses, the coin floats up into the air, bending and twisting to form new shapes. With one finger, he sends a bolt of electricity through it, pulling the coin apart to guide the lightning through the air, casting a purplish glow on the room.

Breathing in and out slowly, he sends a stronger bolt of electricity out, which blasts the coin into numerous smaller droplets which float about the room. Surprised by the sudden shock, Melvin loses control of his powers, causing all of the metallic objects in the room to float and revolve around him.

CrazyDude:

"She works as an ER nurse at the hospital downtown." Veronica explains.

You come to the class room door. "Well... thanks." she says half-heartedly. "Do.... I was thinking... Maybe we could get coffee tomorrow? Or lunch?"

She shrinks back on herself in nervousness.

Necron:

Gary makes it home unscathed, where his two little sisters run up and cling to him, giving him tight hugs. "Welcome back!" they cry happily. "How was the first day back? Didja see Theo and Wendy??"

[bladesmith]

"WHAT!?!" Hajime's eyes go wide as he tries to absorb what gramps was saying. "Get somewhere safe, be there in a second."

Slamming the phone back down, Haj sprinted out the door, barely remembering to close it behind him. This couldn't be happening. Not today. Sure, gangs were pretty bad in this part of town, but nobody targeted the shop. Nobody cared. And abducting Karasu? What was that about?

Thoughts skipped around inside his head as he sprinted down the street. It was a half mile to the shop, and he could cover that without slowing. His martial arts training took over as he controlled his breathing and ran like he'd never run in his life. Most obstacles and people were dodged around if he could avoid them, if he couldn't go around them, they were shoved out of the way. He had to make sure his family was alright.

[Julian84]

Bladesmith:

Running down the streets, it doesn't take Hajime long to reach the shop. A firetruck and a few police cars have already arrived, but the shop is still burning. His grandparents are sitting outside the tentative perimeter, his grandmother weeping into her hands.

[crazydude369]

Adam looked up for a moment, pretending to think about his schedule; as if he hadn't already made up his mind. "I'm game for lunch tomorrow. How bout I meet you here, right after this class?"

[bladesmith]

Hajime ran over to his grandparents, breathing heavily from the run. At least the fire was contained. Wrapping his arms around grandma to try and comfort her, he looked at gramps. For half a second, he couldn't think of anything to say, then he managed to choke out,
"What happened?"

[Julian84]

Crazydude

Actually, this class is at the end of the day, so that doesn't lend itself well to lunch :P I shall make things work for the greater good though.

"After my math class and your English class, got it." she smiles. "thanks... Adam."

She ducks into the classroom as more people come.

Bladesmith edit: never mind, I got it down faster than I thought I could via mobile.
His grandfather shakes his head numbly. "I- I don't really know. Your brother got here from school, then this gang of ruffians showed up... Had a weird look in their eyes, weird grins... One pulled out a Molotov cocktail and smashed it on the counter, lit everything on fire. In the chaos... They grabbed your brother and ran. *They could be anywhere by now. "

[crazydude369]

Adam smiled to himself as he casually walked back to his dorm. "Not bad for a first day, not bad at all. He heads inside his dorm and opens up his laptop, doing random crap on the internet for the rest of the night.

[bladesmith]

Hajime wasn't quite sure what to say to that. That it would be alright? He didn't know that, and it was their shop that was burning. That he'd find whoever did this? How was he going to do that? He wasn't really familiar with the gangs around, except for their occasional appearances at school. It was all one great big hopeless mess. It sucked. Hardcore.

But he couldn't say that, either. He couldn't give up that easily. He was only one dude, but someone was going to regret messing with his family.

"Don't worry, grandma." He hugged her a little tighter. "It'll be alright. We'll find Karasu, and bring him home safe."

[Julian84]

Bladesmith:

As the family sits together commiserating, a police officer walks up to them.

"I'm sorry, but we have no idea where they took the boy. They could be anywhere." The officer nervously fiddles with his hands and walks away. Hajime's grandmother moans and weeps.

His grandfather turns to him. "Hajime.. You are young... But you must go out and find your brother. He is your flesh and blood. You must at least try."

He pulls his cane over to himself, and twists the handle. With a click, he pulls out a thin, finely sharpened blade a few inches. "Take this, it's a family heirloom."


CrazyDude:


Your patience is rewarded :smallbiggrin:

Long into the night, after Adam goes to sleep, he begins to dream...

He stands alone atop a ruined skyscraper, looking out across the decayed husk that once was Bluesky City. Not far away a man sits dressed in black rags, his mouth stitched shut and blood seeping from one ruined eye. Adam begins to hear a thousand whispering voices, with only one loud enough to be heard, though only barely. He cannot move nor speak. "Adam... I've been waiting for you. You have been chosen. Chosen to bring chaos and to show the world the true nature of the cosmos. I gift you with the ability to let them see what you want them to see. After all, if they see it woth their eyes, then it must be true, mustn't it? Seeing is believing..."

The man looks like he's laughing behind the stitches for a second before he looks up with his good eye and the whispering resumes, "Use it for personal gain, use it to run your city, use it however you see fit... but there will be others. This is a war and you are one of my soldiers. Some people will want to protect the world. Torment them and destroy them, let no one stand in your way"

He rises from his position and glares, "Now I've wasted enough time here, begone." His hand extends unnaturally from his sleeve, alighting in unholy blessing upon Adam's brow.

And the world goes dark.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary grins and scoops the girls up "Oh sure, first thing you say is Theo. Ignore your wonderful, marvelous God of a brother for his best friend."
kissing their cheeks he lets them down and messes their hair up
"My day was fine, the usual of messing with people. I solved your birthday present too, thank you for it."

[The_Admiral]

This is squad car 42, we're en-route to the scene. John, says, making another turn as the police sirens blare. Arriving at the scene, John steps out of the car and takes a quick gander at the scene.

[crazydude369]

Adam shook awake suddenly, breathing heavily and sweating slightly. "Man, I'll have to add that to my list of more ****ed up dreams." He got up, and began his morning ritual for the day, unable to shake an eerie feeling of dread. Or was unable to, at least, until he thought about his 'date' with Veronica today. With that in mind, he headed off to class in a relatively good mood.

[Julian84]

Necron:

The sisters look excitedly at each other. "Our birthday present??" They start hopping up and down around Gary. "We whanna know! We whanna know! We whanna know!"

As they repeat their mantra, his parents, Neil and Gabriela stroll into the foyer. "Quite the welcoming committee, eh son?" Neil says with a wink.

C_O

As John arrives at the scene, he sees a small shop lit up in a blaze, firefighters trying to push it back. The bereaved family sits off to the side, consoling themselves, and a senior officer walks over to John and Shane.

"This is a huge mess. Turns out the arsonists also kidnapped their grandson and ran off. I want you two to go northwest and help set up a perimeter."

[stanleyindraven]

Melvin, with a surprised look, tries to regain his control and end the power.

[The_Admiral]

how large a perimeter sir? John replies.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary smiles down at his sisters
"Well since you two didn't like my Python idea I thought I'd let you decide. One free teenage wardrobe. The whole set of clothes. But nothing really bad. I don't want my little sisters to be little teases. No matter how grown up you think you are." Gary looks sternly at the 12yr olds before turnig to his mum and her boyfriend.

"Hey Neil, Mum." Gary greets his mother and her boyfriend, neither his deadbeat dad or the twins deceased father but his mums newest romance. "How are things? And please no gory details this time. My Brain can't take more bleach after last week and the Thin Walls."
He mock-shudders, smirking to ruin the effect

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

The scattered objects settle to the ground slowly. Melvin stands in his still room, electricity still dancing at his fingertips.

C_O

The officer points you in the direction you're supposed to go. "100 ft. Canvas the alleys, make sure you don't miss anything."

Necron:

Dana and Darian shriek in delight and run around their older brother, intermittently hugging him.

Gabriela gives a pained smile at the jab, while Neil grins, his eyes shooting daggers. "Gee, kiddo, sure you can afford that, y'know, with a college kid's finances?"

[stanleyindraven]

Well, no time like the present to see what I can do to help out. Melvin leaves the house and takes to the streets to walk for a while to see if he can help anyone.

[The_Admiral]

Sir yes sir John replies. Moving in the direction the officer pointed at, he motions to Shane to follow him. As they begin to approach the location, John draws his gun and torchlight, motioning to Shane to do the same. and begins to canvas the area.


I'm assuming police gear is standard stuff. Torch, baton, stuff like that.

[Anecronwashere]

"I can make it stretch. I'm not hurting for money, especially when these two are involved. Besides, I did just get a couple Gs from buying then reselling that autographed football. I told you Mum that bloke was about to be signed. It's all in the details, the guy was playing slightly above his average, looking out into the stands between plays, always the one spot about a 1/4 of the way in where there was a man who looked a bit out of place writing.
Suddenly he is taking more practices, the man shows up a bit more.
It's all just patterns in the social puzzle."

[Julian84]

As a note for all players, the current date ingame is 8/20/12 (or depending on your schooling, 20/8/12), and it is the late evening. Edro, Stanley, and Crazydude are currently in the next day, while Bladesmith, Necron, and C_O are all still in the current day. We will conduct actions in 8/21 when every player has finished their actions on 8/20. Thanks!

Stanleyindraven:

Melvin lives out in the suburbs, so crime isn't as present tonight. He walks around for a couple of hours, finding nothing but scavenging raccoons and aloof cats.

C_O

John and Shane canvas the first alley, but find nothing. Shane seems a little on edge, but it could be just nerves.

As the two canvas the second alley, they find a large puddle of sizzling ooze on the concrete. Shane moves closer to investigate.

Necron:

Neil rolls his eyes and shrugs. "Hmph. Whatever." He walks back into the kitchen.

Gabriela folds her arms. "Girls, why don't you help Neil set the table."

The girls nod and prance off into the kitchen. Gabriela edges closer to her son. "Could you try to not annoy Neil? I know you think he's... beneath you... But you still live under my roof and my rules. I won't have you disrespect me by talking in such a way. Understand?"

[stanleyindraven]

Melvin, feeling a little disappointed, decided to call it a night and go home to get some sleep. He could go to the city tomorrow and try to find someone to save.

[Anecronwashere]

"You're right I'm sorry Mum. He just gives me the creeps. I mean, how long have you been going out with the guy? And he is already calling me pet names and son! I'm no man's Son.
I'll be less antagonistic for you."

[The_Admiral]

Shane, I think you should back away, slowly. John says, as he unloads his gun, to retrieve a single bullet. Putting back the clip, he holsters his gun, and tosses the bullet at the puddle, tracking it with his torchlight as it flies into it.

[Julian84]

Stanleyindraven:

And so he returns and sleeps.


Necron:

Gabriela nods hesitantly. "Two months. And I like him." she says with a dignified sniff. "Now come, dinner is ready."

She walks back into the kitchen.

C_O:

Shane steps slightly to the side, but doesn't really move away. The bullet lands in the puddle, which starts smoking and fizzling. Within seconds, it has dissolved.

Shane whistles. "What the heck is this..."

Suddenly, a drop of liquid falls into the puddle, with no reaction. Shane slowly points his flashlight (torchlight) up, swallowing nervously.

He illuminates a furry, scaly, thing the size of a lion clinging to the fire escape, sharp fangs shiny with drool in the light. Fast as lightning, the creature leaps forward, landing on Shane who cries out in terror.

[The_Admiral]

****! shouts John as he draws his gun and opens fire at the beast



To hit: [roll0]

[Julian84]

C_O

The bullets whack into the creature's side, but there is no visible effect. It looks up, red eyes glowing with hatred and malice, the bloody remains of Shane hanging from it's jaws, bubbling as the acidic saliva melts it into mush.

Suddenly, a woman with green-dyed hair jumps down beside the creature, petting it's main affectionately. Her hair hangs limp and greasy, her eyes wide and bloodshot. "He... thinks he's special, sweetie. Thinks he's special. Th-thinks he's special. Thinks he's special." She's decked out in knives, one in her hand.

Her eyes dart over at John. "THINKS HE'S SPECIAL!" she shrieks, jumping at him.

She lands a hit across his chest! Roll toughness!

[The_Admiral]

John grunts as he is hit in the chest.



TOUGHNESS! [roll0]

I have never really done combat in M&M. so, yeah.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary follows, making a conspicuous effort to not annoy Niel as he eats his dinner.
"So, how was your day at school Dana?" Gary smiles and leans forward conspiratorially "Meet any cute boys I have to beat up?"

[Julian84]

C_O:

John is injured and bruised. -1 on toughness saves for lethal and nonlethal damage.

The beast drops the sizzling remains of Shane and charges, landing another hit with it's claws!

Again, roll toughness.



Necron:

Dana wrinkles her nose in annoyance. "No, there are tons of cute boys though. Enough I could bring home a new one every night for months!" She sticks her tongue out while Darian giggles.

[The_Admiral]

John grunts in pain as he is hit again, too dazed to react.

[roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

"You little scamp! You know you aren't allowed to date until you're at Least 27. So no cute boys are coming over for dinner.
Same for you Darian so I don't know why you're giggling." Gary pokes both of them in the sides, tickling them on either side of him after he finishes eating.

[Julian84]

C_O:

Amazingly, the creature's attack merely scrapes by on his uniform. John is still only injured and bruised, and it is now his turn.

I suggest running.

Necron:

The girls giggle and squirm, and Darian nearly falls off her chair. Gabriela intervenes, "Enough roughhousing at the dinner table. So what's your plan for tomorrow, Gary?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Attend the lecture, hang around Campus and maybe go to the gym. I know you've been on me to work out more."

[The_Admiral]

John bravely retreats, but not before getting one shot at the crazy woman out.


To Hit: [roll0]

[Julian84]

C_O:

John misses the woman, who chases after him with the beast in tow. "SPECIAL!" She screams, pulling more knives out, when a sudden bird-like screech is heard. Two giant birds drop out of the sky, raking the woman and the beast with their claws, before snatching John and taking wing!

They fly out towards the center of the city, and drop him off on top of a skyscraper. Their appearance is of giant eagles, machinelike and glowing, with periwinkle eyes.

Circling around John, one glares sternly, "This fight is not yet yours to take. Be wary, trust not, evil has you in its sights.."

They fly off, leaving John with more questions than answers.

Necron:

Gabriela nods. "You can't be growing pudgy sitting in the library all day. How will you get a girl if you don't have any muscles?"

[The_Admiral]

What, just happened. John exclaims to himself.

Switching on the radio, he says Dispatch, we have a dead officer northwest of 12th and Corbin, it's Shane, he's dead. John finished sadly. He then starts looking for a safe way down to the ground from the roof.

ooc: What is this? A horror movie?

[Julian84]

C_O:

John hears the horrified mutters of the officers who find Shane's remains.

The woman and the beast are gone.

John makes it down from the skyscraper via a rooftop stairwell. He receives orders to go home for the night and come in for debriefing in the morning.

OOC: Nope. Just sadism.

Necron and Bladesmith are the last two who need to finish their 8/20 actions.

[The_Admiral]

John follows orders and returns home and gets some sleep after dropping off his gear at the station.

ooc: eyup, horror movie. So next move?

[Julian84]

C_O:

Next move? Well, "tomorrow" you get debriefed. Aside from that, it's up to you.

For now though, we wait for the others to finish. No way I'm doing players on various different days.

And the attack was based more on your proximity to a place your character wasn't supposed to be. But hey, you've got a guardian angel it seems.

[Anecronwashere]

"Any girl who likes me solely for my muscles isn't a girl for me Mum. Besides I have the two best Girls right here. Well, unless Jello is involved then all bets are off." Gary hugs the two girls then stacks his dishes in the sink "I'm goin to go finish my homework for the whole month then go to sleep."

[Julian84]

Necron:

Dana and Darian smile at their brother affectionately, while Gabriela sniffs and starts clearing the table. "There is something to be said for a little eye candy."

Gary goes up and does so, then sleeps. Tomorrow is a big day after all, winning the heart of a girl, going to the concert, setting his friends up, etc. etc.

Bladesmith is the last player with actions for this night.

[Julian84]

It is the morning of Tuesday, the 21st of August.

Bladesmith:

OOC: Sorry, but I can’t wait for one player over five others.

Hajime’s grandfather sighs and sheathes the blade. “Maybe… Some other time.”

Cops go running northwest, and the family is told to relocate. They return to the Gordon household, where Hajime sleeps fitfully.

The next morning, Marcus arrives at the house.

“Hey man, I heard the news. Are… Are you doing ok?”

Stanleyindraven:

Melvin rises bright and early and begins his trek into the city, making sure cops and truant officers don’t notice him. Using the metro, he comes out near the Aria Plaza, a popular shopping area. For the most part, all seems quiet.

However, across the plaza he sees an odd sight: Mr. DeVries, the computer science teacher, apprehensively looking around, obviously very nervous about something.

EdroGrimshell:

The next morning, Crypt awakens in the center of his bedroom, which is a complete mess. The lamp is knocked over, papers are everywhere, it looks like a tornado went through it. Casting his eyes around, he sees one very important difference from last night:

The book is gone.

Necron:

Gary wakes up early and eats breakfast with his sisters before they all go their separate ways for the day. At the college, he meets up with Wendy and Theo.

“So far, we’ve formulated a plan for distracting Jack and Jenny. It involves a mysterious hobo, two pounds of gunpowder, and a ballista. It’s probably best for legal reasons that you don’t inquire further.” Wendy says with a smirk.

Theo pops the joints in his neck methodically. “It was actually more fun than I imagined. Wendy even finished her assignment on time.”

She bops him on the shoulder playfully. “So how about you? Did your night go well?”

CrazyDude:

Adam wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, excited about his lunch date with Veronica, thoughts of his nightmare far from his mind. He busily prepares for the day ahead, and almost flies (not literally) out of the dorm.

He coasts through the morning classes, barely taking any notes, just doodling in his notepad for hours until lunch.

With spirit and vigor, he beats a path to the local bistro they agreed to meet at.

And there she is, hair tied back, wearing a yellow sundress.

Obviously, he should be rather smitten.

C_O:

John walks into the police station, the object of many whispers and pointed stares. A man walks up. “I’m Detective Clay. Come with me please.”

They lead John into an interrogation room and sit him down.

Clay pours some coffee, opens a file, and sits down as well. “Alright, what happened last night?”

[EdroGrimshell]

"If I didn't know any better I'd think someone drugged me last night," Crypt mutters, rubbing his head, only problem with that theory was he felt absolutely full of energy, like he'd had twenty energy drinks, only without the stomachache or headache. He cleans up the room, grabs a shirt, and heads out towards the school, saying goodbye to his mother if she was still home, entirely on autopilot as he thinks about what had happened the previous day. The cut on his shoulder was entirely healed, but the stitches were still there. He goes across the rooves and sticks to the more crowded streets when he has to go to the ground, it'd help him avoid the gangs on the way to school, at the very least.

[The_Admiral]

We got a call to respond to an arson at 12th and Corbin at twenty one hundred hours yesterday. Arriving at the scene, the officer there asked us to canvas, an area northwest of it. A few minutes in, we found a pool of bubbling liquid. I tossed a bullet into the pool, trying to figure out what was it. Then officer Shane was jumped, by a ... thing I fired one shot at it. THen a green haired lady with a lot of knives, jumped down from a fire escape, I think, and attacked me. I fell back and fired another shot at her; I missed. Then that thing, attacked me, luckily it failed to penetrate my body armour. By then officer Shane's corpse was unrecognizable. After that, I don't think you would believe me if I told you..

[bladesmith]

{OOC: Apologies. Made it home late tonight.}

He dreamed about the sword. It was an offer to go vigilante with his grandfather's blessing. An offer to try and get justice the old fashioned way. It shared him $#!*less. Sure, he'd had the training. Martial arts had been his passion for a long time, now. He knew how to handle a sword. But he wasn't wearing a cape and cowl. He wasn't the goshdarn Batman.

But Karasu might need him to be. That is what kept Hajime tossing and turning all night.

Which is why he looked so ragged when Marcus dropped by. Dark bags had formed under his eyes, and he stared without seeing into his bowl of cereal.

"No. Not really. Can we talk outside?" Dragging Marcus out the door into the yard, Haj gets a little more animated once he is away from his family.
"Hey, I know you pay more attention at school then I do. What gangs operate around the shop?"

[Anecronwashere]

Gary blinks. Several times
"You do know I only asked you to pass on a simple message right? And where in the Hells did you get a Ballista?!?
And my night was... Uneventful. Apart from Niel staying over again. He just isn't right for My mum. I mean what kind of weirdo calls their girlfriends kid their 'son' after 2 months?"

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

As Crypt makes his way to school, moving across the final rooftops before having to go to ground, he is stopped by the sight of a single tattooed man standing in his path.

Trying to backtrack, another comes out behind him.

Three more emerge from hiding spots on the roof. While lost in thought, Crypt didn’t realize he had walked into a trap. The men look strange, their eyes hollow and breathing heavily.

He’s surrounded. Roll Initiative.

C_O:

Clay raises an eyebrow. “You just told me the sort of thing I would expect to hear from someone high on LSD. The only things corroborating your story are the pool of acid and the remains of your partner. We’ve sent a team out to run tests on the acid pool, since collecting a sample has proven… difficult.”

Clay leans back. “You are, however, not in a good place right now. The death of an officer is always handled with the utmost seriousness, and your story is frankly outlandish.”

Bladesmith:

Marcus stares at Hajime worriedly. “Um… Yeah… Around the shop? Well, Big Jimmy’s gang goes there sometimes… usually at the request of someone with more power. But besides that… There’s Verda and her Gatos, as well as the Skins. But you don’t want to mess with them, they don’t joke around. They’ll kill you as much as look at you. Leave Karasu to the police, man.”

Necron:

Theo smirks. “I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. Don’t worry, no one will be harmed.”

Wendy shrugs and breaks off from the trio, heading to her own class. “Maybe Neil wants to earn brownie points with your mom? I dunno. Catch you guys later!”

Theo waves back at her quietly.

[The_Admiral]

I know, I can barely believe it myself. Maybe we were hit by some kind of gaseous hallucinogen. That's the only thing I can think of that makes sense. But, that is what I saw.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Damn," Crypt says, looking around, "this definitely isn't good..." he knew he had a bit of a power boost from that shadow, but that was mainly passive, he'd need to get out of here and fight smart, "guess this is what Mindwalker was talking about," Crypt looks at his pack, which still had the knife from Verda, then he looks back, fists first, knife if they proved too dangerous for him to handle, powers after that.

[crazydude369]

Adam sat down at the table with a smile. "Hey, glad you made it. Have you been here before? I hear good things about this place."

[Julian84]

C_O:

Clay stares at John for a few moments, sizing him up. “Perhaps. For now, you’re free to go.”

He rises, closes the folder, and picks up his coffee. “But you’ve been placed on inactive duty until the investigation is closed. So leave your gear behind.”

EdroGrimshell:

The thugs snarl, muttering the same word over and over, “Enemy”.

Three dash forward to attack Crypt! He dodges around one, but the other two land hard blows.

Make a toughness save.

Crazydude:

Veronica primly walks up and smiles. “I haven’t, but I’ve also heard good things. Shall we go in?” She folds her arm through Adam’s elbow, leading him in. The nervous girl from yesterday is suddenly much more confident.

“Table for two.” She says, gesturing towards a riverside table. The waitress leads you over and leaves you sitting across from one another.

[EdroGrimshell]

Toughness 1: [roll0]
Toughness 2: [roll1]

[crazydude369]

Adam noticed the slight change in demeanor, "Looks like you got over your first day nerves alright." He chuckled, "Confidence looks good on you."

[bladesmith]

"I'd love to, Marcus. And I don't plan on doing anything stupid. Yet. But I have to help Karasu, and even if its just getting an idea of where to look... Hajime paused, trying to make sense of what he was trying to say. "The cops have their hands tied as it is, with things going so crazy. I can't just sit back and hope that they find him. Can't leave my bro hanging like that."

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

The first thug’s punch glances off of Crypt’s chest, rattling him, but not bringing him down. The second thug however lands a punch square to his jaw, stunning him.

Crypt is stunned and bruised (-1 to nonlethal toughness saves). Unless you decide to use extra effort to dispel the effects of the stun, you’ve lost the turn.

The last two thugs rush Crypt from behind!

Crazydude:

Veronica smiles demurely. “It’s a brand new day. Carpe diem and so on.”

“I’ll have the vegetarian Panini and water.” She mentions to the waitress passing by.

“So, Adam, tell me about yourself. What does the knight in shining armor who helps poor maidens to their classes do on his off time?”

Bladesmith:

Marcus blanches. “… I… I’m not going to let you go out there to get killed. Think about it man, these people are killers!”

He sighs. “… Listen, if you shake down Big Jimmy when he’s alone, he’ll collapse like a house of cards. He’s always hanging out at that 7-11 by the school, so start there. Just tell the police whatever you find, don’t go off and be a hero!” He

[EdroGrimshell]

Yea, extra effort. Add in a Hero Point to negate the Fatigue since I need all the help I can get here.

Crypt taps into an inner reserve and shakes off the stunning blow before whirling and sending a kick at the attacker and dashing past him in an attempt to keep them from surrounding him.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[The_Admiral]

Sure, all of it is in my locker. Goodbye inspector. John says, getting up and leaving the room.

ooc: eer, what now? Common sense indicates that I should go home, get a drink and forget this ever happened. Now, since I am a PC, I shall not listen to common sense. Problem is I do not know WHERE to start.

[crazydude369]

Adam smirked at the question. "Heh, this and that. Waste time on the internet, watch TV, homework. Nothing too fascinating, I'm afraid. I'm much more interested in hearing about you anyway. What exactly do you do when not falling on top of", he punctuated this with air quotes, "'knights'?"

[bladesmith]

"You know me better then that, dude. I'm not looking to get killed. Just help out. I'll be careful. And... Thanks. For helping me."

Haj patted Marcus on the shoulder, then went back inside. Finding where they were keeping Karasu was the first priority. Everything else would be worried about in due time. Slipping through the house, he grabbed his favorite hooded sweatshirt and slid out the door without a sound. Gramps thought he needed a sword, but with any luck he wouldn't need weapons. Just a little smarts.

Which, he pointed out to himself, he wasn't terribly high on. Ah well. Do the best ya can with what ya got.

[Anecronwashere]

Theo smirks. “I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. Don’t worry, no one will be harmed.”

Wendy shrugs and breaks off from the trio, heading to her own class. “Maybe Neil wants to earn brownie points with your mom? I dunno. Catch you guys later!”

Theo waves back at her quietly.

"See you Wendy, have fun ordering around plastic and metal to make pretty images from blinking dots. I shall miss your radiant presence in my otherwise dreary existence." Gary dramatizes as she walks off.
"It's not the fact that no-one will be harmed, but more the fact you can somehow turn "Go tell this to Jenny" into "perform a legally and probably ethically dubious act involving a homeless man, an outdated weapon and an explosive." that I am worried about..."

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

Crypt’s attack fails to hit, but he manages to evade them long enough he can dodge around them. The other two charge after him, one managing to land a hit.

Toughness agaiinnn.

OOC: You’re calculating your attack damage wrong. You don’t roll a d20, you just take 15 and add whatever your damage modifier is. Just FYI.

C_O:

I have provided you with a hint. Where you go from there is up to you.

Crazydude:

She smirks. “Well, as you know I study philosophy. I also volunteer at the hospital spending time in the Ontology ward, and I enjoy soccer when I find the time.”

She takes a sip of water. “Oh, and I work for a little non-profit firm that supplies water to third world countries.” She studies her nails. “But I’ve been thinking of quitting.”

Bladesmith:

As Hajime makes his way to school, he cuts through an alley. Suddenly, an old hobo jumps out from behind a dumpster.

“Howdy kiddo!” he says, clapping Hajime on the shoulder. “Aren’t you a strapping young lad! Big n’ tough, eh?”

He smells like he spent a long night nursing a few bottles of jack and hasn’t had a shower since a time immemorial. He slings an arm over Hajime’s shoulders and starts walking him slowly to the other end of the alley. For some reason, Hajime feels like he can’t move or speak under his own power. Nausea, maybe?

“I’ve met plenty of young strappin’ fellers like you, boy, had to, what with the war and all comin’. Thar’ll be lightnin’ in the sky and thunder rattlin’ the windows! Boy, you’d be great, get you sum real dadgum stuff to throw around, no namby pamby teh-leh-kin-esis for you, no sir!”

He looks at Hajime seriously, poking a finger into his forehead. “Best be sure you’re on the right side, kiddo. This gonna be the war to end all wars, da piece de resistance!” He smoothly slides around to Hajime’s front, clapping him on the shoulders one last time. The look in his eyes is fierce… and utterly insane. “You gonna be good kid. Ya gotta be, for Karasu’s sake. Arright, I’m headin’ out! Don’t die!”

He breezes around Hajime, leaving the teenager just standing there.

Necron:

Theo rolls his eyes. “Ever with the theatrics.”

He splits off to go to his own class, pausing only to shoot one last comment over his shoulder. “I think you’re just annoyed to find you’re not the only master planner around here. Don’t worry, I’ll show you. Everything works out for your benefit, Gary. At least, today it does.”

He leaves to go to class.

[The_Admiral]

John walks out of the station breathing freshish air.

He goes to the location of last night's arson and asks around for the current domicile of the Gordon family from the neighbors.

[EdroGrimshell]

Toughness: [roll0]
Yea, I'm actually used to my method, where Defense and Damage are rolled rather than a fixed number, it's just the way I GMed my games.

And my luck absolutely SUCKS

[bladesmith]

"What the #^@*?"

Haj stood in the alley for a minute, just looking around. It would be easy to just dismiss the whole thing as crazy hobo talk, if it weren't for him mentioning Karasu. How did he know about that? Or was it just a hallucination? He figured he was a pretty stable guy, but maybe yesterday had driven him crazy. Hajime would've thought going off the deep end would be a longer process, but perhaps that's just the way it was.
Either way, he couldn't afford to be distracted right now. Back on track, he shook his head to clear it, and continued over to the 7-11.

[crazydude369]

"Wow, sounds like you've really got your life going in the right direction. So why don't you want to work there anymore?"

[Julian84]

C_O:

John is directed to the current home of the Gordons, where he finds the elderly couple staying. The boy is gone, and his parents are both working.

Mr. Gordon sr. comes to the door. “Yes? Who is it?”

EdroGrimshell:

Crypt is hit square in the back, landing roughly on his chest, the wind knocked out of him!

He has been bruised and stunned again.

The other three thugs menacingly surround him again.

Bladesmith:

As Hajime looks around, the hobo has seemingly disappeared. Perhaps it was a hallucination.

He continues onward, easily finding the 7-11. Big Jimmy, a large brute of a boy not known for intelligence dully leans against the wall, possibly waiting for his gang to show up.

Crazydude:

Veronica runs her finger along the edge of her glass. “Well… They don’t accomplish much. If there’s going to be a change in this world, it would need to be big. They aren’t big. They’re small. Small and ineffectual.” She finishes with a slight scowl.

[crazydude369]

Adam smiles nervously, taken back just a bit by Veronica's sudden cutting tone. "Hm, an interesting point of view. What sort of 'big changes' do you think the world needs then?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Barely ignoring the hit, Crypt decides to take his chances and jumps around the one blocking his way, using the wall as a springboard, this'd be his only shot. If he makes it he takes off, otherwise, he tries to summon the shadow.

Extra Effort to ignore the stun, but now fatigued

Acrobatics: [roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

Gary walks to his class, eyes open and ever-moving tracking who is with who, yelling at who, etc.
"Everything always works out in my favour, whether it wants to or not."

[bladesmith]

"Hey. Jimmy."
Haj made his way across the street after checking that no one else was around. He'd put up his hood, and kept his hands in the pockets of his loose-fitting jeans. He'd rather not have Big Jimmy recognizing him all at once, just yet.
"Got a question for you."

[Julian84]

Crazydude:

She flips her hair over her shoulder. “Peace. An end to suffering. Not the same old half-hearted attempts at utopia that people so desperately wish for.”

The cold edge in her eyes suddenly disappears, and she seems to deflate a little. “I just want people to stop hurting. If something can be done, it should be done, right?” She looks at Adam with wide eyes full of hopefulness.

EdroGrimshell:

Crypt pushes off the ground and darts around one thug, stepping off the wall to clear the rest. They lunge to catch him, and one catches his foot, but can’t hold on.

However, this does knock Crypt off balance. He goes careening over the edge of the roof, landing on the fire escape with a clang.

Necron:

Gary goes through a relatively normal day, boring classes and idiotic classmates, until he reaches the one class he shares with Danielle, the object of his affections.

Bladesmith:

Big Jimmy grunts and swivels to look at Hajime. “What? Who’re you?”

[bladesmith]

"Simple question, Jimmy. Who pulled the job on the Ninamori shop? Give me an answer, and I'll be your friend."
Hajime paused, reminding himself of what was at stake.
"Lie to me, dude, and I'll be your worst friggin' nightmare."

{OOC: Made up his mother's maiden name, since they seemed more like the Japanese side of the family. Also, Intimidate check, in case I need it.
[roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

Gary sits next to his current prey. smiling genially at her
"Hi Danielle, how are things?" he asks
"I mean, I heard you and whats-his-name, Derek? Steven? Anyway that you are having a tough time, I hope you guys get through it, He seems good for you. You've loosened up a bit ever since he came into our life, lost a little bit of that Ice-Queen thing you have going on."

[Julian84]

Necron, roll a charisma check.

[Anecronwashere]

[roll0]
Add 5 if I can use my Diplomacy mod

[The_Admiral]

Sorry for disturbing you sir, but I was of the officers who responded to the arson at your house. I have a few questions about the people who took your son, can you think of any motivation whatsoever for these people to take your son?

[Julian84]

Bladesmith:

OOC: Congrats, your low intimidate check crushed his pathetic will save.

Jimmy gulps nervously. “Listen… I don’t want any trouble, ok? What happened at the shop… the fire… It didn’t come down the normal grapevine, you know?”

He looks around nervously. “There’s always a bigger dog, someone higher on the food chain. Every two-bit gang knows that. But what happened there… What I heard is that skins and gatos were behind it. That never happens man, they hate each other. What’s weirder is that Verda let it happen. She would kill anybody in her gang if they hung out with a skin. And Verda… she’s been acting weird too, man. Grabbed my boys and I and had us go after this punk kid named Walker… No reason for it…”

He backs up a little. “Lissen, that’s all I know!”

Necron:

…

Amazingly, she doesn’t slap the twinkle out of his eyes.

She coolly turns to stare at Gary. “I wasn’t aware Jack and I were having any difficulties… I’m sorry; I can’t seem to recall your name. Gilligan, perhaps?” She raises an eyebrow.

C_O:

Mr. Gordon let’s John in. “It’s… no problem, though I’ve already given my statement to the police. It just seemed to be a random act of violence… except for a couple of things.”

He sits down in the living room heavily. “They all looked… ill. Like they hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. Pale skin, sweaty, limp hair, eyes all wide, but didn’t really seem to be looking anywhere. And they were all muttering stuff… None of it made any sense. Just something about some guy being special, leaving a parting gift, and how it would all burn.”

He sighs. “Obviously, the last part would refer to my shop. The other odd thing is that it wasn’t a single gang, no sir. It was the gatos and the skins, bitter enemies in this part of town. The skins don’t really have a leader in this part of town, they’re trying to muscle in, but the gatos are established, led by this girl named Verda, for her hair. It’s dyed green you see. But they do not mix at all and the fact that they do… means that someone else is muscling in on the leadership.”

He thoughtfully strokes his mustache. “Or Verda and the gatos and the skins have all just lost their minds overnight.”

[Anecronwashere]

"It's Gary, and sorry I must have been misinformed. You know how college grapevines are. I heard from a girl named Grace that he was flirting with her? Or was it her sister he was flirting with..."
Gary places the seeds of doubt as he leans back
"Just remember, Ice-queens don't last long in college and having a Boyfriend agrees with you. I hope you two are together for a long time."

Gary stands up and moves seats to sit next to Wendy, letting Danielle stew as the seeds take root.
"Phase one complete, now things will go either way. Either she takes my words onboard and starts loving Jack more, forgiving his transgression that is about to become Very public while loosening up. Blaming herself.
OR she will dump him and be both vulnerable and considering getting a new boyfriend."

[bladesmith]

Hajime allowed himself a smile under his hood. Marcus was right. This guy rolled over easy.
"Good job, Jimmy. You've made a friend. Are you sure you can't tell me where to find Verda, though?"

{OOC: Sense Motive, in case he tries to lie. [roll0]}

[The_Admiral]

Thank you for your time sir.

Excusing himself, John makes a call to a friend at the station. Saying
I need a favor, can you run a name, Verda, V, e, r, d,a. in connection to some gang called the gatos. Thanks. as he walks out and parks himself on a bench outside.

[Julian84]

Necron:

Wendy nods her head agreeably. “By your word empires rise and fall, oh glorious leader.”

Throughout the class Gary can see Danielle’s mood shift from indifferent to troubled, and she often pulls out her phone and texts people.

Bladesmith:

“She-she-she’s not usually easily found man…. The school’s in the northwest corner of her turf, the Ninamori shop is the south east corner… So she’s usually somewhere in between, just do-doin’ her thing. I don’t know anymore man!”

C_O:

“Verda? Yeah, I know her, Viviana “Verda” Ramirez. Leads the Gatos gang on the north side of downtown usually. Got her nickname for dying her hair green… Ahhh… Lemme see… Multiple counts of armed robbery, assault and battery, grand theft auto, possession of illegal substances, DUI’s, DWI’s, and… huh. Says here she was pinged as a suspect in the murder of Shane Salazar. Wasn’t he your partner?”

[The_Admiral]

Yes, he was. Got any info on the Skins?

[Anecronwashere]

"Not yet, but I'm still young. My offer of Second-In-Command is still open by the way, really I think it's a good deal. All the fringe benefits of being one of my Favoured, some authority when I gain some, and not to mention you get to be with me." Gary mildly flirts like he always does.
"Oh, how are you and Theo? I mean, I know you two didn't really know each other before I befriended the both of you and forced you together but you've had a while to click together."

[bladesmith]

Thanks Jimmy. I won't forget this." Hajime gave a dismissive wave as he turned his back on the sniveling gangster and faded back into the alleyway.

Well, he'd gotten that much information. He knew what gangs did it, had a name for who was responsible, and knew that it wasn't an isolated case. Plenty of information for any decent detective. The unfortunate part was that Haj was no detective. Which meant that it was time to visit the police station, and let them in on everything. Hajime took off into the fast jog that normally carried him around the city for exercise. Now he needed it to get him to the station quickly(or the nearest bus stop).

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt cringes, this, was bad, at least he wasn't surrounded anymore. With that in mind, Crypt gets the hell out of dodge, running to get out of there. He was by no means a coward, but he knew when he was outmatched.

[Julian84]

C_O:

“The Skins are located in the north industrial zone, past Victorsburg. Allegedly headed up by a Dean Edwards, but that’s not known for certain. Known for their general lack of clothing… Generally keep to themselves, but it’s not smart for cops to go into the industrial zone alone.”

Necron:

She studiously pulls out her notes. “I will wait and see whether or not the dear girl would wish to vie for such an esteemed position.”

She scratches down the date and the lecture title, pausing for only a half second too long before answering. “And Theo has been a perfect gentleman for as long as I have known him.”

Bladesmith:

As Hajime waits for the bus to roll in, he feels a slight chill crawl up the back of his neck.

Roll a notice check.


EdroGrimshell:

Crypt jumps down to the alley and runs to the end, when suddenly the trash can next to him explodes into bits of filth and metal, scratching him across the arms and face and splattering him with detritus. Looking back, he sees three more gang members slowly advancing down the alley, two with pistols, the third with a shotgun.

The other gang thugs are climbing down the fire escape.

[EdroGrimshell]

"You've got to be kidding me," Crypt says, then sighs, willing the shadow that he was promised to help him out, he was too injured to do this alone, even with regeneration.

Really? is it really necessary to pit me against 8-10 guys at once? Crypt isn't BUILT for this kind of fighting.

[bladesmith]

Hajime perks up, looking around at the odd feeling. Notice: [roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

"Who Danielle? That's just a pastime, I don't Like her, like her. I just need a girl to get my mum off my back, and if you came around claiming to be my girlfriend she would laugh and tell you to stop joking."

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

The shadow springs up behind him.

“… Servants of our enemy…”

It lashes out a wrippling arm, darting through the forehead of one of the thugs. The thug stares for a moment, then collapses.

“… You are... scared… why?… These are… not the worst you will yet face…”

The thugs briefly glance at their fallen comrade before pushing onwards.

The shadow glances back. “Your fear… will be your undoing… But fine… I can grant you this at least…”

It suddenly stabs Crypt in the abdomen. Coldness pours into his body, filling him to the brim with ice. Black marks stretch and contort across his skin, leaving him tattooed with odd markings.

“… The blessing of our benefactor. Now fight… or die.”

Crypt now has an extra 5 points of toughness, and all of his toughness is now impervious. This bonus will only last for 5 turns.

OOC: Yes, 8-10 was completely necessary, because it provoked the reaction I desired: Desperation. I'm experimenting. Not everything is going to be a walk in the park.



Bladesmith:

The world seems to tilt and whirl around Hajime, time slowing, and his heartbeat a thundering roar in his ears. The man at the hotdog stand across the street stares for a second too long, recognition flashing his eyes. He mutters something to the police officer across the stand from him.

Cars speed by, fast, too fast. Didn’t everything seem to slow down?

The woman walking down the street is only pretending not to look at Hajime, pretending so hard it’s obvious to anyone he’s the object of her attention. What does she know? He feels an unbearable pain in his hands, in his arms, in the tips of his fingers; it feels like fire is running through his veins.

The cars have stopped, or are so many passing it seems like a still image?

The police officer nods to the hot dog man and mutters something into his radio, eyes never leaving Hajime as he walks away.

The windows of the cars, or car, create a reflection, a mirror. Hajime sees himself, terror in his eyes, pain contorting his features, as two glowing yellow eyes slowly descend, venom dripping from the dagger-like fangs, mocking laughter echoing all around him.

Necron:

Wendy sighs. “Then why pursue her at all? Just for practice?”

[Anecronwashere]

"Practise, to see if I can, and to say I have a girlfriend to my mum to get her off my back.
I reckon she is worth... Two months? 3 if I take her on a 2nd date.
Though it's not all selfish. I reckn I can get her off her Icey persona into a more social one, giving her an increased chance of finding love, getting a good job after college from having a better group of friends that will help her study so she has better grades and being in general a nicer person."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Heh, fear? Maybe, but that's what happens when you face the unnatural," Crypt mutters, he looks up, cold fury making him look more dangerous, "time to end this," he says dashing forward to slam a fist into his opponent.

Mainly not used to it. Crypt usually tries to get out before fighting, he's not a real fighter.

Rage Activated for +6 Str

Attack: [roll0]
Damage is 15 + 4 for unarmed, so 19

[The_Admiral]

So it's a no go. Thanks for the info buddy. John says, starting his way towards the north side of north side of downtown.

[crazydude369]

OOC: Sorry about the delay, I've been adjusting to a new sleep schedule.

"Er...right, absolutely." Adam slowly nods at her. "Man, this chick is a little offbeat. Can't really seem to get a good read on her. But then again, I guess I'm not really the most 'onbeat' person either." "It sounds like this is pretty important to you."

[Julian84]

Hey guys, just as a second reminder, I've decided to lift the rule on discussions on the OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13900383#post13900383). I gave it some thought and decided it wasn't a big deal in the long run.

All the other rules still apply though, so please no metagaming and remember to use your spoiler boxes!

Necron:

“You’re such a philanthropist, Gary.” She says with mild amusement. “Where would all the mean girls be without your understanding touch?”

She shakes her head. “You’re going to have so many enemies here by graduation.”

EdroGrimshell:

Crypt’s fist smashes into the goon with the shotgun, cartilage and bone crunching underneath the blow. The thug drops like a bag of bricks.

The summon lashes out at one of the thugs coming down the fire escape. He’s dead before he even hits the ground.

The last thug with a gun pulls the trigger, hitting Crypt in the gut.

The bullet bounces off.

OOC: Running will not pay off in the long run though. Besides, these guys are rolling really crappy toughness and will saves.

C_O:

John reaches the north side in a relatively short amount of time. Trash litters the streets and the buildings all show signs of wear and tear. A few miscreants stand at a street corner smoking and drinking, but for the most part no one else is around. Cars pass through as quickly as they can.

The loiterers are all burly guys, covered in tattoos of various types.

But they all have fangs on their knuckles, a sign of the Gatos.

Crazydude:



Your punishment will be severe! Just kidding, you only missed two days, hardly an unforgivable offense.

She smiles somewhat awkwardly. “Oh… Good...”

She suddenly changes the subject. “So, uh, have you heard the Flamers are performing tonight? They’re doing a show by the river up in Drakesville. I wanted to go, but the tickets are so expensive, and I really should study.”

[The_Admiral]

John starts discretely asking around for the location of Verda, making sure to avoid being pinged as a cop.

Gather Info: [roll0]

[crazydude369]

Adam continued having trouble pinpointing this girl's motives, but somehow that seemed to interest him even more. "So, was that a giant hint or is she sincerely just pointing something out? I mean, I could probably afford tickets for us both, but it'd mean eating nothing but ramen for basically the rest of the month. Hm, should I..... Yes, of course I should. There's no way I'm missing a chance on a girl this cute so early in the year. Besides, ramen's delicious."
"Yea, we've all gotta study. But then again, it is just the start of the semester. Seems more like the time to relax and have some fun; save the cramming for midterms, right? Maybe you should go, and maybe I will too, and maybe we could like.....meet there....and sort of....be there together...?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt picks up the shotgun and goes to the next guy and slams the butt of the weapon into the guy, trying to get rid of the gunmen before his increased defense wore off.

Attack: [roll0]
Toughness DC 19

[bladesmith]

Hajime reeled under the pain, unable to string coherent thought together as he pitched forward to the sidewalk. When he looked up and caught the reflection in the car window though, reflex spurred his body into action. Clutching at his head, he awkwardly swept a hand that he only vaguely recognized as his own around him, then took off running. Some rational part of his brain that wasn't affected by the pain recognized that this couldn't be real, that it had to be a dream or hallucination. That part of the brain was very quiet, though. Instinct told him to run. Unfortunately, all he could manage was stumbling a little ways into an alley, and collapsing under the pain again, his back against the comfortably solid brick.

[Julian84]

C_O:

The information is iffy, but she’s probably gone to one of two places: Benning’s Tower, a hub of business located by the river, or she’s hidden out in Boydstown, a suburb on the north edge of the city.

Neither makes much sense though – Boydstown is a rather stable middle class suburb not known for heavy crime or being a place where the gangs are welcome, but Benning’s Tower is the HQ for a respectable business man. Neither seems like the sort of place she’d normally go…

Right?

Crazydude:

Veronica blushes a deep red. “Re-re-really? You and me? That’d… That’d be great! Are you sure it isn’t too much of a bother?”

EdroGrimshell:

The thug goes flying back, dropping his pistol. He survived that blow though, but blood is pouring profusely from his nose.

The other four thugs jump down. The shadow summon lashes out again! Another thug collapses, frothing at the mouth, but still alive.

The other three thugs rush Crypt, but their attacks are pathetic against his protection.

Bladesmith:

Slowly, the nausea and vertigo subside. Hajime is able to stand, but he can only move a little bit at a time. As he begins to look around, he sees the bus downtown has already left.

And carved into the bricks across from him is a message of the utmost seriousness:

IF YOU DON’T ACT, HE WILL DIE

[bladesmith]

Haj groaned as he stood up, trying to piece together what just happened. He could remember details, but none of it made sense at all. However, as he rested his palms against the newly carved lettering, he knew that this couldn't be a dream anymore. Weird crap was happening, that was for sure, but the important part was that Karasu was in danger. The cops were to far away. He still had no idea where to find his brother. The gangs had him. So, where could he find the gangs? Hajime racked his brain for the places that were known gang hideouts, all those places that everyone avoided.

It was time to be Batman. Karasu needed him to be.

{Int or Wis check to remember hideouts: [roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt does the same as he did before with another of the thugs, slamming the butt of the gun into another thug.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage 19 + whatever the gun adds

[crazydude369]

Adam smiles at her. "Right back to the innocent girl, eh? Well, at least she said yes."
"A bother? Of course not. In fact," he leans slightly across the table and lowly says, "I think I might kind of enjoy it."

[The_Admiral]

John starts his way back home, having hit a dead end. Neither locations was likely, he might as well let his boss drag her in. looking up, he starts mumbling to himself. Let's review, no physical evidence, nothing needa nada. Wait a minute. Taking out a phone, he makes a call.
Hello, I need a blood test. Tox screen specifically.

OOC: May I call one of those free clinics to run a blood test on me?

[Anecronwashere]

Hey guys, just as a second reminder, I've decided to lift the rule on discussions on the OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13900383#post13900383). I gave it some thought and decided it wasn't a big deal in the long run.

All the other rules still apply though, so please no metagaming and remember to use your spoiler boxes!

Necron:

“You’re such a philanthropist, Gary.” She says with mild amusement. “Where would all the mean girls be without your understanding touch?”

She shakes her head. “You’re going to have so many enemies here by graduation.”

"Only if I do my job wrong. Can you tell me which part of my plan right here will make someone hate me? Or even know I did anything?
Besides, if I did make an enemy I'd simply make it so they owe me something and then it doesn't matter if they hate me, they'll be in my debt and can't do squat or so relieved I did a big grand gesture that helps them out they'll forget their gripe with me."
Gary grabs his stuff as class ends, handing two tickets to her "You can give the second one to Theo. I trust you not to stuff up your complex plan. I will see you there Friday Night. Well, I'll see you around long before that but still..."

[Julian84]

One small note guys, I'll be away today and tomorrow on a seminar for school, so updates will be limited to when I find time in the evenings tonight and tomorrow. Regular posting will be back by Sunday.



Bladesmith:

Everyone knows not to go into industrial zone 4; it’s a Skin’s hideout. A metro rail goes between it and the city regularly.

EdroGrimshell:

Another thug hits the ground. The rest stop and glance at each other, but the unwavering look of anger and dedication never leaves their eyes.

And they start to walk away.

The summon suddenly whirls it’s head, staring off into something you cannot see. “… Now… You… Ought… To… RUN….”

A bullet shreds through the brick work, hitting Crypt in the back and knocking him straight into the wall.

Crazydude:

Adam makes headway in the study of how deeply red a girl’s face can go. “S-sure. We can meet at the metro station outside of the campus… 7 o’clock?”

C_O:

OOC: I don’t see why not.

A quick trip and blood test later, and John is back out on the streets with a clean bill of health, besides the wound on his chest. He wasn’t hallucinating.

As he walks through the streets mulling over the case, someone bumps into him, dropping a piece of paper, and hurries off.

Necron:

OOC: Actually, we’re not waiting until Friday. The concert is tonight.

Wendy just shakes her head. “Friday? The concert is tonight, did you bump your head? Danielle will know by now her beloved isn’t where he’s supposed to be, Theo and I have made sure of that. The plan is sound, you’ll see.”

She walks away, flashing the tickets over her shoulder. “See you tonight, lover boy.”

[Anecronwashere]

OOC: Ok thats cool. I can work with that. Though why there is a concert on a Tuesday is beyond me.

"Right Tonight, Sorry I was thinking about all my plans and got my wires crossed. See you then."
Gary leaves, heading to the gym for a workout until he was sure Danielle would know all about her bf's cheating

[The_Admiral]

Picking up the paper, he goes after the man saying, sir, you dropped your paper!

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt growls, before making for the fire escape, it's the only chance he really had at this point, "thanks for the heads up," he practically growls, not really aiming his anger at the shadow, but it leaked into his voice nonetheless.

Climb: [roll0]
Acrobatics: [roll1]

I'm guessing this counts as a stressful situation, so I can't take 10. If I can, I'd prefer to do so.

[crazydude369]

"7 o'clock? It's a date.", Adam says coolly before paying the bill and standing from his seat. He walks out with her and before parting at the exit leaves her with a casual, "See ya tonight."

[bladesmith]

Right then, it was off to the industrial zone. Probably a terrible idea, but the Skins had helped pick up Karasu, according to Big Jimmy. Actually, probably a really, really, really terrible idea. Dammit.

Hajime took off for the train station, running full tilt. He could come back and find that lady, and the hot dog stand guy, and the cop later. Figure out what on earth was going on with his brain. Maybe that hobo guy, too. But, first things first. He could ask all kinds of questions when his brother was safe.

[Julian84]

Necron:

OOC: It happens when my players stand the risk of dying before they even finish their opening subplot.

After Gary finishes up in the gym, he heads to his next class, finding Danielle standing outside, glaring at him.

“How exactly did you know Jack was cheating on me?”

C_O:

There’s no one there.

The paper is tightly folded up.

EdroGrimshell:

The summon makes no comment and slithers up the wall.

As Crypt hops onto the roof, he catches a glimpse of his attacker: A thin man in a light suit with a pink tie, hair meticulously combed back, and a giant pistol in one hand.

Oh, and he’s crying tears of blood.

The man pauses, and aims. The brickwork beside Crypt explodes into a vapor of red dust.

Crazydude:

She smiles. “Yeah, seeya!”

The day passes as normal for Adam, and he gets a text from Veronica during one of his classes.

Sorry I was so ditzy at lunch, you just make me really nervous >.<

Things continue on as normal, and he goes out to meet her at the bus stop at 7.

And… She isn’t there. 15 minutes pass, and she still doesn’t show up. As Adam waits anxiously, a loud CRACK splits the evening air, and the plastic partition on the bus stop suddenly breaks and warps.

Spinning around, he sees 7 tough looking thugs with guns coming from the alleys northward, blocking his retreat back to the school.

Bladesmith:

The metro deposits Hajime in an empty train stop. As he walks around, he finds no one. The workers of zone 4 are no where to be found.

There are multiple large foundries surrounding the metro stop. One however echoes with the sound of moving machinery, and a low orange glow emanates from the windows.

[Anecronwashere]

"He was WHAT? I'm so so sorry for you. All I knew was he was flirting and that was second or third hand information. I knew as much as anyone else.
Who was he cheating with?"
Gary arranges his face into a sympathetic look, stepping forward towards her

[Julian84]

Bluff Check, Necron

[Anecronwashere]

[roll0]

Space

EDIT: I am really glad I have +9 Bluff. I doubt a 6 would be enough to beat her Sense Motive

[The_Admiral]

John unfolds the paper, wondering what's inside it.

[crazydude369]

Adam clumsily stumbles backwards away from the thugs, almost frozen with fear. "Wh-what's going on...?", he manages to mutter. "Who are you guys? Wh-what do you want...?

[Julian84]

Necron:

She stares at Gary, shock written across her face. “H-How come no one… Told me? I-I mean… Why would he…”

She buries her face in her hands, her shoulders bobbing and shaking.

“Jenny… He was seeing Jenny…” She says, muffled by her hands.

C_O:

In neat handwriting:

Look to the West.

If he does so, he sees Benning’s Tower poking through a gap between buildings.

Crazydude:

The thugs don’t respond. They all have hollow eyes and are staring oddly, their chests heaving. Some cry tears of blood. Another few shots ring out, one hitting Adam in the shoulder.

Roll toughness.

As he cries out in pain, a voice calls out behind him.

“Over here, follow me!”

[EdroGrimshell]

"Tch," Crypt mutters before getting the hell out of there, if the shadow told him to run, it was likely beyond his skill level. He keeps a hold of the shotgun, it made a good weapon, even if it was meant for ranged combat. His adrenaline fueled rage subsides and his breathing becomes heavy as he takes a short rest on a roof, "he following us?" he asks the shadow.

[bladesmith]

Well, he was here, now what? The guys that worked in this area might be able to help him, but otherwise, he didn't know where to start looking. So, with that in mind, he headed off towards the factories, with a dim hope that someone would underestimate him, and try to mug him. Then perhaps he could get some answers.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary steps forward, taking her into his arms as she cries "There there. It's ok. I didn't know eh was cheating just that he was flirty and I did tell you remember? This morning.
It's ok just, let it out. He was a jerk, a cheating jerk who didn't deserve someone like you.''

[The_Admiral]

okayyyyyy. You know what? screw it. John says as he makes his way to Benning’s Tower.

[crazydude369]

Toughness: [roll0]

"Ahh! What's happening?!" Adam clutches at his shoulder and spins around in panic. Feeling more out of his wits than ever before, he wildly runs towards the voice, and away from the guns.

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

“…Following? … As…. I understand your question…. No… There is… too much strain… on his body… to continue this chase… For now.”

It travels in idle circles around Crypt. “But… does that mean… he has given up? … No… He will hunt you… until you are dead… or his body no longer functions… This… is the curse of your… enemy… The effects are… easily seen… the blood in his eyes…”

Bladesmith:

Hajime enters the only working building, walking through the large double doors into the warehouse, finding it to be empty.

Blast furnaces filled with molten metal line the wall on the right, scaffolding connecting various walkways, chains hanging from the ceiling. Across the large room is another large double door, the entrance to the next section of the foundry

Necron:

She sobs into her hands for a while. “Am… Am I really so off-putting? I th-thought people liked me!”

C_O:

After a half hour, John walks into the lobby of Benning’s tower.

It’s empty. No one is sitting at the reception desk, there’s no security.

Across the room, there’s a door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

Crazydude:

The bullet wound disorients Adam, and he falls down, stunned. You can use extra effort or risk further gunshots.

The voice calls out in the distance, “Hurry! This way!”

[Anecronwashere]

"People do like you. They do just, no-one is perfect and to achieve perfection is impossible. You have your less attractive features as well as your more attractive features. You simply need to attract attention to your better features and try to minimize your worse traits. Mabe lose the Ice-queen act just a little.
Here I'll tell you what. Come with me tonight, to go to the Flamers concert, have a good time and prove that it was His fault, not yours.
Remember, he is the jerk you're the victim. So hit back, screw him and let your hair down."

[bladesmith]

Oh. Yeah. Empty factory. Great for horror movies, epic fight scenes, and everything that generally ended up hurting. If the movies made it seem spooky, it was way creepier in real life. Mostly in that it didn't make any sense. There should be someone around. Instinctively, Haj began stepping lightly, sticking to the shadows, and shading his eyes against the glowing metal to keep his darkvision intact. While his mentor at the dojo may not have taught him a lot about being sneaky, he did have plenty of experience at sneaking out of the house. He used all of it now to make sure he was going to get the jump on anyone, rather then the other way around.

{Stealth roll:[roll0]}

[The_Admiral]

John walks up to the door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY and knocks on it.

[crazydude369]

OOC: Can't I use a hero point to remove the stunned condtition?

[Julian84]

Crazydude:

OOC: You could, but I'm stingy with hero points, so I wouldn't recommend it. Up to you though.

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt nods, "I figured as much," he says, "what did this to them," he mutters. Then shakes his head, "you can stick around if you want, but I think I won't need your aid for now. I'll try to not call you unless I have to."

[Julian84]

Necron:

She sniffles. “… I guess that would be nice. The concert starts at 7:30, right? How about you pick me up at my dorm later and we can go together.”

Bladesmith:

Hajime creeps through the shadows, hugging close to the walls on the side opposite the blast furnaces.

Tip toeing through the dim light, he manages to avoid running straight into a thug, shaved bald, hiding behind a crate, unaware that Hajime is standing right over him.

C_O:

The door swings open, the locks scattered in pieces on the floor opposite. A hall way stretches out, and through the windows you can see the security room, banks of monitors lining one wall, projecting video feeds from all over the building.

EdroGrimshell:

The summon stares for a moment. “If… you wish to know… find… the Mindwalker… He will tell you…”

It sinks into the ground, melting away into the surrounding shadows until it disappears.

It would probably be best if Crypt returns home.

[EdroGrimshell]

Once the shadow is gone, Crypt opens the shotgun and removes any shells in it, he would be using it as a melee weapon, most likely, not a ranged one. Once that's done, he slips it into his pack as best he can and heads for home. He really hoped no one else would track him down.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary smiles warmly "See, things are looking up already. Would he have taken you the Flamers concert?
I'll pick you up in your dorm in time for the concert, just be ready."
Gary lets her leave, smirking to himself at another plan successfully completed.
He didn't feel bad about breaking them up, the guy was cheating without any intervention by himself all Gary did was arrange a couple more dominos and send in course the events that were inevitable so that they fell right into the "Advantage: Garry" pile.

Hefting his bag he walks off in the other direction, a stray thought of visiting his sisters coming to the fore as he makes a snap decision.
It would be almost hometime anyway at their school.

[crazydude369]

OOC: So what can I use extra effort for?

[The_Admiral]

John tries the door to the security room.

[bladesmith]

Alright, then. Moment of truth. If he could convince this thug to spill on his gang, he might be getting somewhere. Didn't hurt to be a little cautious, though, so he carefully looked to make sure this dude didn't have friends.** Not seeing anyone, he stepped out of the shadows and kicked the thugs knees out while throwing him roughly to the ground. It was a familiar, easy, and reliable movement for Haj.*
{Trip check: [roll0]

*{If he goes down.}
Standing over the bald flunky, Hajime doesn't bother repressing a snarl of disgust.
"I'm looking for a kid, taken from the Ninamori shop. You and I should both hope you know where I can find him."
{intimidate: [roll1]

**{If he sees someone else.}
Seeing as there are others in the room, and wanting to even the odds a bit, Hajime simply steps up and attempts to strike the pressure point on the thug's shaven temple.
{Attack: [roll2], +1 damage}

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

Crypt returns to his home. His mom quietly sits alone in the kitchen, his father nowhere to be found.

He walks into his bedroom, and finds a message scrawled across the wall with a suspiciously red substance:

Your time is up

Necron:

Gary hops on a bus, taking him across the city to the Boyd’s town suburb where his family lives. He finds Dana and Darian playing tag with some friends on the front lawn, and the twins yell with delight when they see their brother.

Crazydude:

OOC: Weeeellll…

You can get a check bonus of +2, increase your carrying capacity +5 for one round, double your speed for one round, temporarily add a power feat, willpower (which is for will saves against mind control), and surge, which grants you an extra move action. I generally put actions such as shrugging off a stun as a surge. You’ll be fatigued afterwards though, but you won’t be stunned.

C_O:

Again, the door swings open easily. As John scans the moniters, he sees Verda talking animatedly to someone sitting in the shadows in a conference room.

They’re on the 50th floor.

Bladesmith:

Hajime doesn’t see any other thugs, so this one must have been a lookout. He goes down like a sack of bricks.

Under the dim light, Hajime can see the man is oddly ill. His eyes are hollow, his breathing fast and shallow, and ever so slowly blood is starting to leak from the corners of his eyes. He just growls at Haj and thrashes at him.

Grapple check, DC 19

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt freezes, they've been to his house, into his room... he runs downstairs to check on his mother, she was quiet, which wasn't unusual, but that could be a far more ominous sign if the substance on his wall was what he thought it was. He tries to remain calm as he goes down, not wanting to panic her if his thoughts were unfounded.

[Anecronwashere]

"I'm feeling a distinct lack of hugs here..." Gary smiles, opening his arms for his sisters "So these are your friends? Anyone I should know about?"

[The_Admiral]

OOC: Do I recognize her as the crazy lady from last night?

[crazydude369]

OOC: Ok, I'll definitely use extra effort to take a move then.

Adam was still shaking with fear, but now adrenaline had kicked in, putting him in survival mode. He grunted from the pain, but managed to pull himself to his feet and stagger towards the mysterious voice he heard.

[bladesmith]

Haj tries to jump back in before the crazed thug grabs his shirt. Something in him registered that this was not right, but right now he was focused on getting the counter-grab right. As he pushed back against baldy, he could feel the adrenaline surging, and a power that he wouldn't have managed otherwise flow through him.

{Grapple: [roll0]

[Julian84]

EdroGrimshell:

Crypt cautiously walks up to his mother, still sitting at the kitchen table, staring out the window. He now notices the slightest touch of red at the corner of her neck, so thin he missed it passing by the first time.

As he nudges her, she falls over limply. Stretching across her throat, a thin red gash, contrasted by the paleness of her skin.

They’ve killed her.

Necron:

They hug Gary. Dana points: “Joan, Maggie, Kayla. This is our brother Gary!” They announce proudly. The other girls shyly say hello.

C_O:

OOC: You do indeed.

Crazydude:

“Hurry!”

The voice leads Adam south, past blocks and blocks of buildings. Where were the pedestrians, the police? Gunshots echo down the streets as the thugs chase Adam further, bullets whizzing past him.

“Run!”

Blood trickles down his arm and side from the bullet wound, an aching throb making every second seem like an hour. As he runs, he vaguely notices a yellow eye gliding with him in the reflections of windows.

“A little bit farther!”

Bladesmith:

Hajime knocks the thugs arms away, grabbing him instead!

You can either hit him, throw him, or pin him.

[The_Admiral]

John starts making a copy of the live feed, looking for a CD to burn it into while keeping an eye on the other cameras for people approaching the camera room. While he does that, he also makes quick glances at the feed of Verda, making sure she is still there talking.

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt is frozen in place, then his fists clench and his teeth grind. He slams a fist into the wall, leaving a dent in the wood, tears fall from his eyes. He goes to the phone and, as calmly as he can, calls the police, which is fairly difficult, they'd be able to hear the hitches in his voice.

Once they're on their way, he goes to the front and sits there, waiting for them. Mindwalker, if you're listening, please, just help me let this not happen to anyone else, he tries to use his mind alone to send the message, I'm going to take the fight to them.

[Anecronwashere]

Gary smiles warmly at the girls, trying to make them more comfortable with his body language
"Hello girls, I trust you've been looking after my little sisters here? They keep resisting being wrapped in cotton wool for some reason."
He laughs, standing and ruffling the twin's hair.

[crazydude369]

Adam's eyes widen at the lingering eyeball floating along with him. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare. In fact, he would have already conceded that it was, had the pain in his arm not felt so shockingly real. So he ignored the floating spirit, and the strange thugs, and the gunshots, and the lack of anyone anywhere, and he just kept on running.

[bladesmith]

Haj watched it all go down as instinct took over. His hand over the attacker's wrist, a twist in the hips pulled Baldy past him, and with a heave he shoved under the man's armpit. Normally, this resulted in people being off balance, usually enough to be sent sprawling on the floor. However, this time the thug was sent flying ten feet through the air, and into a support beam.

Maybe the adrenaline was hitting him a little harder then he thought. The rational part of Hajime's brain registered that his fingertips were tingling rather oddly, and that he was snarling.

"Last chance, dude. Where's Karasu!?!"

[Julian84]

C_O:

The copy begins recording, whilst Verda begins arguing animatedly with whoever is sitting in the shadows. She begins gesturing and points to her wrists and throat.

Suddenly, she jolts in her seat, sitting stock still. Slowly, she turns to stare at the security camera, right at John.

She jumps out of her seat, her wrist flicking. The camera feed turns to static.

A few seconds later, she appears on another camera, walking down a hallway.

EdroGrimshell:

After waiting for a bit, the police arrive. A man in a suit strides up to Crypt. “I’m Detective Clay. I offer my sincerest condolences, and if there is anything you need, you let us know. For now, though, I need your statement. Could you tell me what happened?”

Necron:

They laugh sort of nervously. “Er… Yeah. We play safe.”

The sisters grin. “So tonight’s the concert, right? Didja ask anyone out???”

Crazydude:

Adam runs after the stranger through a narrow strip of suburb and across the 13 highway, into a dark and wooded area.

Freeman Forest. Originally intended by the city to be a public park, it fell into disrepair and has since become abandoned and empty.

“ust a little farther! Come on!”

The thugs grunt and shout behind Adam as they make their way through the underbrush.

Suddenly, Adam bursts through into a meadow, light filtering through the sprase canopy. Across the clearing, two yellow eyes, smaller now, stare menacingly.

"Hello, Adam."

Bladesmith:

The thug starts sniggering uncontrollably and points to the double doors, which slowly open. Orange light from the furnaces trickles into the room, and more four more thugs start advancing through.

And silhouetted against the light, Karasu is tied to a chair. He's pretty battered looking, screaming something at Hajime, but he's been gagged. Standing over him is a scruffy middle-aged man in outdated nomadic clothing wearing leather gloves, smiling softly, his hands placed congenially on Karasu's shoulders.

“Hello, Hajime.”

Pain sears through Hajime’s arms, his claws finally sprouting through the tips of his finger, a feral roar splitting his lips.

[Anecronwashere]

"Safe? That's good to hear... Provided you actually do something risky now and then, I was joking about the cotton wool girls.
you two remember the 2nd and 3rd rules? It's not against the rules unless you get caught. And I always catch you."
Gary smirks as he recites them
"I got Danielle, you know her, the Ice Queen."

[EdroGrimshell]

Crypt sighs, "It started yesterday," he starts, "I was leaving school and encountered Verda, she runs one of the gangs in the area, and she wanted to fight against the 'tough kid' in the area. I just got onto a fire escape and climbed to the roof, though she managed to get a knife on me. It's healed up already, but you can ask Mrs. Diehl from the hospital, she stitched me up. Today, I ran into a group of the Skins. They looked like they'd seen better days, like they were sleep deprived, but they had guns, so I tried just getting out of there, but they were persistant. I had to get a shotgun off of one of them, I used that like a club to knock them out. Then this other one, he was bleeding from his eyes, but he shot at me a few times with some kind of pistol. I managed to get out of there without getting shot and got to the roof and just stuck to them until I couldn't get any farther. That's when I came home, I went to my room, and there's a message in my room written in blood. I remembered seeing my mother sitting in the kitchen, and went downstairs to make sure she was okay. As you can tell, she wasn't," his tears are flowing, and there's a strain to his voice, "I don't know what happened here before I got home," he then tells them where he fought the skins and escaped from Verda, for a little proof. He knows a few are dead, but at this point, he could care less. Right now, he was dead inside.

[crazydude369]

Adam stumbled and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of this new craziness. He looked nervously back and forth, between the glowing disembodied eyes and the zombie-like men shooting at him; he wasn't sure which was the worse option. "Wh-who are you? What are you? Who are those creepy guys?" He was breathing heavily and clutching his injured shoulder, "What the hell is going on?!"

[The_Admiral]

**** exclaims John as he rushes to make a hardcopy of the video with Verda in the building. He keeps track of Verda's movement through the building. If she approaches the entrance, he gets the hell out, grabbing the copy of the feed.

[bladesmith]

Seeing Karasu tied up, some smug looking loser standing over him, thugs rushing out to meet him... Haj had been through a lot of stress that day, but this pushed him over the edge. The rational mind, the part of him that asked him to make banter, show that he was confident and in control, all that was shoved so far back in his brain that its screams could not be heard over the torrent of rage and hatred that flooded in. Flexing his fingers, he could feel the claws growing, the pain of them splitting his skin making him almost double over in agony. As he looked down and saw the ebony talons rake the concrete floor, though, he knew that those who dared mess with his family would feel far worse. Snapping his head back up, he catapulted over the ground, completely silent except for the snarling, feral roar that escaped between his fangs.

He was a predator, an animal. And these guys were pissing on his turf.

{Charge attack on the obvious boss: [roll0], +4 damage, DC 14 fort save vs. Fatigue. Defense currently 12}

[Julian84]

Necron:

The girls nod knowingly. “Right right, you’ve mentioned her.”

OOC: Need to push things along, so we’ll cut this short.

Gary has a nice chat with his sisters and mother, before Neil arrives. After that, he returns to the university to pick up Danielle, who is nicely dressed, though unsure how to act around Gary, smiling slightly awkwardly.

On his phone, a text from Wendy appears. “We’re all set!”

EdroGrimshell:

Clay nods and finishes writing down his notes. “Alright, we’ll follow up.”

Another officer walks in, an old lady in tow. “Sir, we’ve got a witness.”

Clay extends his hand and shakes hers. “What can you tell us ma’am?”

The old lady clears her throat. “Well, I was just doing the normal chores to keep everything running, outside most of the time, making things look nice, when this nice-looking younger gentleman comes in, polite enough, if a little awkward. He had a backpack on, had brown hair, n’ blue eyes. He seemed pretty fit, some sort of body builder. Anyhow, this fella comes up asking to know where the Walkers live, said he was visiting Mr. Walker. Mr. Walker don’t work much, so I figgered he must be at home and pointed him on his way. Was ‘bout an hour before he came out, this time in a different set of clothes. Then he walked off without a word.”

Clay nods. “Can you accurately recall his features for our sketch artist?”

The old lady nods and smiles. “Oh sure!”

Crazydude:

Out of the shadows, the terrifying misshapen man from Adam’s dream calmly shuffles out, angry reproach and menace written on his face.

"I told you last night a war was coming, I gave you power, now go and kill those men"

C_O:

She starts coming down the elevator, so John grabs the tapes and runs.

Where’s he headed?


Bladesmith:

The man smiles congenially, and Hajime suddenly finds himself falling towards a lifeless, burning plain, fire crackling in low pits, tortured screams echoing on the winds. A portal opens beneath him, and he’s abruptly teleported back to the foundry, slamming against a wall.

The man conjures three spikes from the surrounding metal and drives them into Hajime’s wrists and ankles, the unbearable pain causing him to scream in agony.

The man motions his hands, and he floats into the air on blue light. He chuckles lowly. “Oh, you stupid, stupid boy.” Blue lightning crackles from his fingertips, arcing into Hajime’s body.

“Your brother? He’s mine.” Another surge of electricity.

“So run back to your master. Tell him he’ll have to try harder than this.”

The blasts of lightning stop. “And as for you? I’ll let you live. Just to see me take him away from you again.”

He floats down, grabbing Karasu by the shoulder. “Seeya around, kid.”

He and Karasu vanish.

OOC: You get a hero point simply for attacking him, even if you had no clue what would happen. Sorry about the fact you couldn't save, but you really didn't stand a chance.

To the others: Holy epic beatdowns, batman! Discuss at your leisure.

[Anecronwashere]

"You look ravishing tonight Danny."
Gary takes Danielle's hand, smiling disarmingly as they head towards the exit

"So have you listened to the Flamers much?"

[bladesmith]

For a while, Haj could only scream/roar/snarl as he thrashed weakly about, almost dropping himself unconscious trying to free himself. It was only then, when he finally had no more energy for rage, that he was able to calm down and start thinking clearly. Well, at least a little more rationally. Blood loss did funny things with your thought processes. Either way, things were definitely worth trying to puzzle out. First point of interest: he had claws, unnatural strength and speed, and he didn't make noise. Or something like that. He was more then human. He could be a superhero, or whatever. Secondly, that he wasn't the only one. The man that had Karasu not only was able to teleport him, but also reform material to create spikes, and shoot lightning bolts. And fly. Can't forget that. Seriously, what the crap? The guy had more powers then Superman.
Which left Haj pondering a lot of things, including the fact that he was still stuck to the wall. With spikes. Looking to do something about that, he started carefully trying to work his way down off the spikes, while his brain starting working on something else.

There was a third, and for now, last point for consideration. The Bad Guy(as he was now to be referred to) thought Haj was working for someone. Which, Hajime could only assume, was why he and Karasu were in this mess. Which meant that Haj had to find this person or persons and both figure out what the heck was going on, and probably kick the crap out of him/her/them. You know, when he wasn't reeling from pain, grief, blood loss, or whatever.

[The_Admiral]

Depends, if she turns towards the lobby, he gets out and loiters in front of the building, waiting for her to exit. If she turns towards a back door, he gets out through the lobby also, but runs around the building to the loading dock.

[crazydude369]

Adam is filled with dread at the sight of his nightmare literally coming to life. "Wh-what do you mean? What power? None of this makes any sense!"

[Julian84]

Necron:

She blushes a little at the compliment. “Uh… Sometimes. Y’know, on the radio. I don’t own any of their albums… or anything.”

The two hop on a bus up to Hedriksville, passing by Gary’s neighborhood along the way.

Stepping off, they see large neon blue and green pavilion set up, beyond it a huge crowd listening to one of the warm-up bands on stage.

Bladesmith:

As Hajime struggles to pull himself off of the spikes, a man walks into his line of sight, dressed in an immaculate pinstriped suit with red tie, beard neatly trimmed and hair slicked back.

It’s the Hobo, except… different.

He glances up at Hajime. “Owch. Teleported, electrocuted, and crucified. Bet you didn’t see that happening on your morning agenda.”

He waves a hand and the spikes crumble into dust, allowing Hajime to fall in a heap. The man grabs him by the front of the shirt and drags him over into the light. He grabs one wrist and starts pushing the sundered flesh back together, which causes Hajime terrible pain. “In all honesty, I admit I should have warned you that he was going to be here.”

As Hajime claws at the back of his odd rescuer, he sees that the wound on his wrist is beginning to heal under the man’s ministrations until it is closed entirely. “On the other hand, I didn’t expect you to attack him like a complete idiot.” The man grabs the other wrist and begins to repeat the process. “There are some people that you should really just avoid for your own safety. Vain is one of them. By rights, he could have just killed you and called it a day.” He finishes closing the wound on the other wrist and moves down to Hajime’s ankles. Within minutes, those are healed as well.

The man stands up and rubs blood off of his hands. He stares down at Hajime with a mixed expression of slight contempt and weariness. “Told ya a war was coming kid. You’re a soldier. He and his boys n’ girls are the enemy. Get that straight in your head, or someday you’ll try a dumb move like that again and he will not be quite so merciful.”

C_O:

She begins heading down towards the lobby, so John vamooses before she can get to him, waiting outside.

Soon enough, she strides calmly out into the fresh air, looking around, sniffing the air.

Crazydude:

The mutilated man sighs and rolls his eyes in frustration as the first thugs hurtle into the meadow. They stop and stare at the man warily.

He stares back, lifts his hands. “I’m done wasting time on you. You want my attention, prove yourself. Sink or swim, Adam, sink or swim.”

He steps back into the woods, and the thugs start advancing slowly, reloading their weapons.

As Adam realizes he is about to die, he feels the itch of tears in his eyes.

Notice check.

[crazydude369]

Notice: [roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

Gary leads Danielle through the crowds, hoping to get a good spot beofre the place hits capacity

[bladesmith]

Haj growled as he was healed, his voice coming out more animalistic then would be possible for someone without fangs. Admittedly, the pain wasn't quite the same as being crucified in the first place, but having bolts of electricity fry his nerves might have something to do with that. In the end, though, he was able to sit up, rubbing at his wrists to make sure that they really were there. One less ambulance call to explain. Though this guy might need one, if he kept talking.

"It's not my war, and I'm not your god d@^% soldier. I don't know what the hell you are fighting over, and I don't really care. I came to get my brother, and that's it. All you nut jobs are looking pretty much the same to me."

[The_Admiral]

John grins slightly as he attempts to stay our of her field of vision and tail her.

[Julian84]

Crazydude:

Caught in the reflection of some thug’s sunglasses, Adam sees a pair of burning red eyes.

His own.

His mind explodes with power and knowledge as the shadows seemingly rise and intertwine around him.

Necron:

Gary finds Theo and Wendy with drinks, which they pass over to the two newcomers.

“You’re just in time.” Theo remarks.

As the crowd begins to get restless, the lights dim down, signaling the main event to the stage. A chant goes up, quietly at first but soon erupting into an ear-deafening level of noise as fans scream for The Flamers. Gary’s vision becomes spotty at the corners, but when he shifts his eyes to look, it returns to normal. He doesn’t have long to investigate, as the lights return full-force, blinding the audience momentarily. When his vision clears again, it is as if a dark film coats it, ink-like shapes clouding around the edges. The stage with the band and the crowd can be seen behind the film, but only faintly. Everything has gone silent.

Feeling the sharp cold of metal, he looks down at his hands to find them in chains, bound to the ground that is rapidly falling away from his feet, leaving him stranded on an island-like piece of earth. Before he can test the strength of the chains, they give a tug with surprising strength, the far ends receding into the ground as he is forced to kneel. He is accosted with a loud groan suddenly, coming from all sides, from all directions. Where once stood his fellow concert-goers, there are now shapes, dark but skeletal in appearance with empty eyes, reaching for him across the chasm left by the fallen earth. They scramble over one another, fighting to reach him, some falling into the darkness below, others hanging back but still reaching towards him with utmost yearning.

“Foul creatures,” comes the chuckle from the direction where the stage used to be. One of the creatures, taller than the rest, stands before him, speaking in a hollow voice that barely carries so that he can hear it. “They would see you bleed, you and the rest of your kind. Is that what you want, child? To bleed?” It takes a step closer and Gary finds himself looking down, feeling moisture dripping from his eyes, his nose, his mouth, as blood pools down below him, pouring from every orifice on his face. The pool grows much too quickly, soon flowing off the edges of his barren island. “No? I did not think so.” The chuckle again, devoid of any emotion. It is closer now, dark skeletal feet at the edge of Gary's view. He feels a soft touch against his brow, barely any pressure at all.

“Your world is dying, child. Go, before it is too late.”

With a sudden gust of wind, the creature is blown away, as if dust. Gary finds himself as he was, at the concert. Wendy looks over at him, concerned. “Hey Gary, you alright?”

Bladesmith:

His eyebrow twitches in irritation. “Don’t call me a nutjob.”

He begins pacing around the boy. “You’ve had a rough day, I understand. It’s not all the time your brother gets kidnapped and you’re crucified to a wall.”

The man cracks his knuckles. “But this is reality, Hajime. Vain and his minions will not rest until you, your family, and all life that doesn’t bow to him are dead. And frankly, I don’t buy it, kid. You, not a soldier? You jumped at the opportunity when your gramps said you had to take responsibility. You enjoyed taking that idiot little gangster to task this morning. You thrive on this. Look at what you did, you threw that punk 10 feet! It’s just today, you bit off more than you could chew. Work your way up the food chain, and wait for the day when you can take Vain in a straight up fight. It’ll come, don’t worry.”

He drops a note beside Hajime. “If you have the guts, that’s where you’ll find one of Vain’s boys, and he’s itching for a fight.”

He begins walking towards the door. “But remember kid, you ain’t getting anywhere without me.”


C_O:

John follows Verda down the busy sidewalk, trying his best to keep up with her fast pace and navigating the crowded streets.

Suddenly, she stops. Peering ahead, he can see in the reflection of window she’s grinning from ear to ear.

And there are police directly behind him. A hand claps down on his shoulder. “John Adams?”

[bladesmith]

Haj works had to calm himself as the man paces around, saying a lot of words that might mean something later. He wasn't particularly listening to the part where the guy was making him out to be a soldier. That was manipulation, just someone trying to get something out of him. Plenty of people had been trying that on him for years, trying to make him fit one profile or another. The twitch over the insult was probably worth noting, but it would take time to process. This whole situation needed a good thinking over. Best to see how far down the rabbit hole went, though, just to see how far he was going to fall.

Well, at least he had one name to hate now. Vain. The man that had taken his brother away. Maybe he should know the name of the man trying to guide him.

"So," Haj's voice was calm, having lost its snarl. He crumpled the note in his hand. "What should I call you, then?"

[Anecronwashere]

Gary shakes his head "Dying world. But where do I go. Me, yeah I'm fine. Just had a dizzy spell. I'm fine. So, how has your night been Wendy?" He asks, grinning keeping an ear on the crowd in case of any more sudden spikes or fading of the sound.
"Has Theo been treating you right?"

[The_Admiral]

John turns around saying yes?

OOC: ****, I'm screwed.

[Julian84]

Bladesmith:

The man waves over his shoulder before rounding a corner. “Call me Tye.”

Necron:

Wendy stares at Gary curiously as the music thumps and booms and the crowd screams. “… Gary, we talked about this today already. Are you sure you’re ok?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Theo drifting out towards the edge of the crowd and Danielle looking at him and Wendy oddly.

C_O:

He turns to see four cops and Detective Clay. “John Adams, you’re under arrest for the murder of Helen Walker and under suspicion for the murder of Shane Salazar.”

Clay steps forward. “I suggest you come quietly.” He says with menace.

Absentmindedly, he notices over the roar of the traffic the sound of an eagle’s call.

[bladesmith]

"Tye. Right."

Well then, here he was. Tired, hungry, and beat up. At least he didn't have any injuries that seemed serious. Alright then, time to figure out his next move. Going home was definitely on the list, even if it was just to apologize for not being there for a little while. Then there was this person... Haj unfolded the paper, trying to get an idea of who he was looking for.

[The_Admiral]

You're accusing ME of killing my partner?

OOC: Who is Helen Walker?

[Anecronwashere]

"I'm fine really. I wish they'd believe me, I need to examine that vision and them doing it is messing with my concentration. I can only do 3 things at once. Must be a delayed effect from all the 'studying'. Let's just find a good view of the stage."
Gary smirks, both of them knowing he didn't study at all, his mind too good to need it. He takes both of them, leading towards a better position

"I hope the Flamers are good tonight. I don't want to screw this up with Danny because of a bad date. Hey where did Theo go? he is supposed to be here wooing Wendy so I can stop fanta- I mean, so she can be happy with a good boyfriend. Yes, that's the reason I did this..."

Italics mean thoughts

[crazydude369]

OOC: I'd be able to make just like a 20 ft long wall in between me and them right? That'll be my standard action, then I'll hide as a move. (Hopefully the cover of the woods and it being night will be good enough, given my utter lack of stealth. :smalleek:)
Stealth: [roll0]

Adam is in awe at his new found power, reveling in the sensation as he feels control of the situation returning to him. He is for a fraction of a second at least, then he clenches his fists and goes to work, eager to dish out some payback. With a wave of his hands, a large wall suddenly erupts up of the ground, separating him and his attackers. With that done, he quickly darts behind some bushes and stays low to the ground.

[Julian84]

Bladesmith:

The note reads:

Told ya you loved this stuff =P

His name is Melvin, and you can find him wandering around Aria Plaza. I have some agents watching him and they can help you out, all you have to do is shout “Tye, help me!” =)

Have fun!

-Tye

C_O:

OOC: Well, I’m glad this means you don’t read other people’s spoiler stuff. She was the mother of another character, John doesn’t know her.

Clay glowers. “Suspected of doing so, yes. And we have an eyewitness report however that implicates you in the murder of an innocent woman.”

Necron:

She nods slowly as the group moves further into the crowd. Everyone seems to be having a great time, the Flamers are rocking and the lights are flashing. Theo drifts in and out of the crowd, he doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself too much.

In the midst of the final set, Gary finds himself pressed close to Danielle, who is hopping, screaming, and pushing against the crowd.

Wendy suddenly checks her watch. “It’s time!”

Over the river, in hues of green, red, and blue, fireworks pop and explode, reflecting off of the water. The crowd oohs and ahhs appreciatively, thinking it’s part of the show. Gary catches Danielle gazing at the fireworks in wonder, her eyes sparkling.

“The plan bears fruit. Now go get the girl!” Wendy says, prodding Gary gently towards Danielle.

Crazydude:

The thugs stare at the wall in confusion, walking up to it and pressing their hands against it. For a brief instant, the sunglasses wearing thug passes by Adam, again reflecting his red eyes back at him with disturbing clarity.

Adam successfully hides behind some bushes in a tree. The thugs don’t even realize where he has hidden.

[The_Admiral]

John eyes the police officers suspiciously and after some time thinking says, Fine, take me in.

[Anecronwashere]

"I love you Wendy you're the best." Gary grins at her before moving up to Danielle.

"A perfect night with a perfect girl. Not a bad start to college. Ok that was cheesy still let's hope she goes for it. And if not there's always plan b: Wendy. Nah she knows me too well. let's focus on the woman in front of you you are about to Kiss stupid."
He takes her hand, looking into her eyes before leaning in, capturing her lips with his own to a backdrop of fireworks.



Slowly pulling back, eyes twinkling "Is that strawberry I taste?"

[crazydude369]

OOC: Next, I'll dismiss the wall and create a copy of myself behind the thugs and moving away, to put some more distance between me and them.

Adam grins smugly to himself, obviously pleased with his work. "Fanfreakingtastic. These idiots are so going down. And now, for my next trick...", he waves his hands once more, and the wall suddenly disappears as another Adam pops up behind the thugs, taunting them as he moves away.

[bladesmith]

Melvin, huh? Well, perhaps he could find out what this Melvin guy was up to, then, that had him in the employ of a kidnapper. Sounded like some geek's name, but if he was working for that Vain dude...

Or, he could be in the same position as Haj. An unwilling soldier. Gah, that Tye dude was really starting to piss him off with all that stupid talk. Haj wasn't a violent guy. He'd never looked for a fight... Well, except for that one time. And that other time. Okay, so maybe he was a fighter. But he wasn't a soldier. And he wasn't doing some crazy old dude's dirty work.

He would like to see what Melvin's deal was, though. So, it was off to Aria plaza, after a stop at home for a new pair of jeans and sweatshirt. Tye might've healed him, but rips, burns, and blood didn't make him look very respectable. Or... Haj thought about the few crumpled bills in his wallet. He knew a thrift store on the way, he could pick up something new. Then he wouldn't have to explain things to his parent until he knew a little more.

[Julian84]

C_O:

Clay slaps cuffs on John’s wrists, two more officers flanking him.

“Come with me.”

Behind him, John hears Verda giggling to herself.

Necron:

Danielle smiles, a twinkle of malice in her eye. “No, that’d be failure.”

Before Gary can process this, a hand clamps on his shoulder, pulling him about to meet a devastating right hook.

Toughness save, DC 17

Crazydude:

The thugs snarl, chasing after the apparition and shooting at it as it dances among the trees.

Bladesmith:

Hajime stops at the thrift store, flitting through the aisles finding some comfortable fitting clothes.

Notice check.