Persona In The Playground-The Next Step

[Philemonite]

It was unusually dark and quite in the headquarters, the only source of light was the faint glow of the velvet door. Jessica was the first one to arrive. She was tired and a little pissed she didn't have the time to catch up on her studying, and now she had to sacrifice her morning. She didn't like any sudden change of plans, but it wasn't her decision. Her father wasn't really in a good mood and she wasn't about to poke that hornet's nest. Sometimes it is best not to know the answer. She was sure about one thing, the order came from somewhere above him, and if they are interfering with something so insignificant they must have a good reason.
At least the operatives were notified in time, they won't be happy, but they will be here. She still wasn't sure that giving them all the keys to the headquarters was a good idea, but hopefully they aren't stupid enough to touch the equipment. On top of that the professor decided to add another operative to the group. That wasn't her problem anyway, it was Benjamin's task to bring him down here.
She considered turning the lights on, but she decide that this semi-darkness was more appropriate. Instead, she decided to turn on her computer and all the equipment connected to it.
"I might as well check out what's going on, since I'm the first one here."

[nersxe]

It would probably surprise most people who knew him, but Kennen arrived not long after Jessica did. He slumped into the room, still clutching two to-go cups of coffee. He'd grabbed the other for Levi on a whim, but seeing Jessica made him reconsider.

"Cheers," he said shortly, putting the cup down next to her.

[Morbis Meh]

The call came and woke the sleeping bear, disturbing his precious rest but get up he did despite his body screaming at him to ignore it. His mind knew what it was for and he would heed the call but this time he would be more prepared than previously; he had finished receiving his possessions from home so it was time for him to gear up. Strapping on his practice armor, a practice plate made of boiled leather and stained black to blend in better with the other side, Levi grabbed his card and keys and left his room.

The walk to the basement was a peaceful one, the majority of the student body and faculty were still sleeping and blissfully unaware of what was going on. The big Russian was surprised to see Kennen here before everyone else but gave no indication of his emotion. He approached Jessica and stood straight offering a proper salute "Operative Averin reporting for duty Commander."

Good say sir, I was curious to know if I met the requirement for the social threads to advance in level? Also I am reminding you I spent my training points and went full caster (Mabufu and Bufala were the new additions to my spell repitoire and I chose Dark Mastery I so he can spam Mudo if he runs low on SP.

[AnimeKid]

Damian came in not long after Levi. Surprisingly he wasn't all that tired. He stretched languidly, multiple pops emitting from him as he walked in. He wasn't quite a morning person but he usually did wake up in the earlier mornings for a few light exercises such as shadow boxing. Taking one of the many seats he said, "Hey there Jessica, looks like your having a rough morning. Need any help?"

[Philemonite]

It would probably surprise most people who knew him, but Kennen arrived not long after Jessica did. He slumped into the room, still clutching two to-go cups of coffee. He'd grabbed the other for Levi on a whim, but seeing Jessica made him reconsider.

"Cheers," he said shortly, putting the cup down next to her.

Jessica was to focused on the screen to react to Kennen's arrival. She gave him a quick glance and a slight nod before getting back to the screen.
"I don't really drink coffee. It's not good for my blood pressure."



"Operative Averin reporting for duty Commander."

"20 minutes early. It is nice to see someone is taking this seriously. Make yourselves comfortable, the others should be here shortly. The furniture is not very comfortable, but it's functional. That's the last time I let Alexander make the order."
The last sentence was spoken quietly, but still loud enough for others to hear.


"Hey there Jessica, looks like your having a rough morning. Need any help?"

"You have no idea how nice that would be. Unfortunately, by the time I thought you how to use my equipment it would be time for dinner. Or maybe lunch, if you are a quick study."

Surprisingly, her usual aggressive attitude was gone. Maybe she was just too focused on the screen, or maybe there was something else. Whatever it was, she seamed different than yesterday.

[nersxe]

Kennen shrugged, finding himself a seat and sucking at his own coffee. "Whatever. Give it to someone else, then."

[Philemonite]

Kennen shrugged, finding himself a seat and sucking at his own coffee. "Whatever. Give it to someone else, then."

"Benjamin usually takes care of the coffee, but since he has other obligations this morning, one of you could make a fresh batch. Kitchen is across the hall, the key is on the table. It's fully stocked so if you missed breakfast you can take anything you want. Except the candy bars, those belong to Alexandra and she will punish you if you touch them."

[Xhosant]

Soga stepped through the basement's door yawning and stretching. He felt his body awkward and kinda numb.

"Hey, I didn't know heroes had to get up so early. What's with the early call, did something interesting happen?"

[Philemonite]

Soga stepped through the basement's door yawning and stretching. He felt his body awkward and kinda numb.

"Hey, I didn't know heroes had to get up so early. What's with the early call, did something interesting happen?"

"Let me disperse all of your illusions, you are always on call, whatever you are doing you will always be thinking about your next mission and the worst thing, you don't get a batmobile. Life is so cruel.
To answer your question, yes, something is happening, and no, you may not know what, since I don't know it myself, and our captain is not in a mood to explain."


The door slowly opens and a new face appears, followed by Benjamin.

"This is the headquarters, you will get your key later. Please don't touch the equipment, it is very sensitive, and you are not trained to operate it. The kitchen is across the hall, here is the key." He picks up the key from the table. "It is always here unless someone is using it. I presume no one bothered to make a fresh batch of coffee, so I will do it. Does anyone want breakfast?"

[Xhosant]

"Let me disperse all of your illusions, you are always on call, whatever you are doing you will always be thinking about your next mission and the worst thing, you don't get a batmobile. Life is so cruel."

"Ow, no ride either? In that case, letting me disguise the communicator as a Batphone is a deal-breaker to me."

With a short shake of his arms and a kick of his feet, Soga shook off the last of his sleepiness, or at least tried.

"Tongue-in-cheek aside, what do we know? Another team needs help? Shadow uprising? Surprise inspection?"

"Hey, James! Rise and shine!"

[Morbis Meh]

Levi regards Soga silently not bothering to chime in on the conversation How is it these people are still alive when they don't take this job responsibly? Do they think this some pleasure cruise?

He remains standing even though he was offered to sit, in this line of work there was no time for sitting around so he didn't bother. Levi kept his face neutral when the new operative came in with the other field commander. This was not a time for chit chat, he only wanted the others to arrive so he could receive his mission briefing and execute it.

[andiemus]

James is dressed quite differently than he was at school. He's wearing a tight black shirt and a cargo vest over his upper body and a pair of fatigues and leather boots.

He acknowledges Soga's greeting and shakes his head when the batmobile is mentioned.

Certainly dark and creepy enough down here for it though... How many are we waiting on?

[oblivion6]

Brianna slumped into the semi-dark room and promptly plopped herself into a desk in the corner, exhausted. She wore a shirt, jeans and the usual necklace around her neck. While some others had coffee, she had a bottle of Mountain Dew: Gamefuel with her. Fitting considering she had been gaming up until about two hours before then when she had finally passed out. She found it easier to just go until you crashed rather than normal sleep schedules.

Looking around she took in what was going on but decided it wasn't worth her energy. She offered a tired smile to Damian and even to Levi--all memory of their arguement seemingly gone--before laying her head down on the desk. Just a few more minutes...

[Chase_D]

11:30 P.M.

***

Will stared at the ceiling, lying down on his bed. Sleep seemed to avoid him, due to his mind running over and over what had happened. To him, this seemed like a ridiculous thing to stay awake over, but it made him more excited the more he thought about it. Also, his surprise over how many knew BEFORE joining up was astounding. It seemed like out of everyone, Will had nothing interesting to him. He was a nice guy, sure, but at the end of the day it didn't count for anything when it came to people like Brianna, or Levi. He felt like a bunch of people seemed broken in some way in there, either on a mental level or a spiritual level. Did that mean that he was broken? Did his older brother absence leave a noticeable scar in him? Thoughts flood his mind, and he did the best to push them away. Slowly, after tossing and turning for a while, he finally managed to lull himself to sleep.

***

The Next Day

***

Will had received a message from Brianna, ordering all Students to report to the basement for today's assignment. Early, but nothing coffee wouldn't solve. Stopping by the coffee shop today, Will orders an extra large coffee, black yet again. It took him a bit however to decide on what to get, as he wanted to change it up. However he knew that it was going to be another long day.

The way to the door was still the same, and he made sure no one followed him by accident. He opened the door, not sure if he was early or late. Immediately however he spots Soga, and Levi. He quickly gives a small hello to Brianna before moving somewhere. He didn't sit down, since it wasn't necessary, he knew that pretty soon either someone will come through that door or orders would be given out. He checked to make sure he still had everything he needed from yesterday. Velvet card and communicator still on him in his right pocket, along with his medallion and Evoker in his left pocket. He pulls out his medallion, playing with it to draw his attention elsewhere for now. Looking around every so often to take a sip from his coffee.

[dethkruzer]

Davis steps into the basement, loudly sipping on his espresso. His movements seemed both careful and shaky, his sleepy gaze drifting about absentmindedly. In his hands he was carrying two styrofoam cups, the other already half empty. The youth slumped over to a small table, setting down the cups before turning his attention to Jessica. He did a motion that could perhaps remind one of a certain cartoon character chewing on a carrot. "Eh, what's up, doc?" His imitation of Bugs Bunny was awful, but usually he could at least do it with a straight face. This, as it turned out, was not one of those times, as not only could he not finish the quote without snickering, but he outright burst into laughter after finishing it.

Just goes to show that sometimes too much of a good thing didn't work out all that well, especially when said good thing was four-and-a-half cups of high quality espresso.

[andiemus]

James looks at Davis. I'm sorry, was that supposed to be Bugs Bunny? You sound like Eric Cartman mixed with Rob Schneider. :smalleek:

[Mono Vertigo]

It's Lenora's turn to enter the basement. She couldn't help but choose a skirt, shirt, and vest that looked expensive. Humility wasn't among her qualities.
"Greetings, everyone. What's happening today?", she asked pleasantly, trying to look radiant. First, second, and third impressions were all important, therefore she needed to look like she was already full of energy, when the truth was that she wasn't a morning kind of student.

[Morbis Meh]

Levi's head turned at the cheerful greeting and quickly notices yet another new face. He takes one look and immediately feels disgust and unfortunately for him he is too tired to hide it "Stupidity it seems that's 'what's up' or better what just walked in. He mutters it under his breath low enough that only Brianna, who he is closest to would hear it then proceeds to softly spew a string of muttering curses in Russian.

[andiemus]

It's Lenora's turn to enter the basement. She couldn't help but choose a skirt, shirt, and vest that looked expensive. Humility wasn't among her qualities.
"Greetings, everyone. What's happening today?", she asked pleasantly, trying to look radiant. First, second, and third impressions were all important, therefore she needed to look like she was already full of energy, when the truth was that she wasn't a morning kind of student.

Why hello, I don't think we've met. I'm James. I'm new around here, if you can't tell. What's your name, Chiquita?

[nersxe]

"Chiquita?" Kennen asked sarcastically, breaking his silence to give the kid a disbelieving look. "What, is she a banana?"

[Mono Vertigo]

The girl glares in disbelief. "Lenora Hepaunton, as in Hepaunton Corporation, and I have enough money to buy the next company you'll work at and ensure you get fired on the spot. If I don't own it already." (Conveniently avoiding to mention that, of course, as a teenage girl, she has no role no power in her late father's corporation.)
The smirk that immediately follows is cold as the North Pole. "... but I am sure we both misheard you, and there is no reason to get angry. Isn't it? No need to get on a bad start for a less than optimal word choice."
Silently, though, Lenora took mental note to ruin that "James"'s life in whatever petty way she will find fit.

[AnimeKid]

Damain sighs as more people start walking in. He shakes his head no at Benjamin when he asks about breakfast and leans in close to Jessica as he whispers, "I'll try to corral this lot so that you don't have to get worked up. So try to relax, well as much as you can with work." With a cheery wave towards her and Brianna Damian heads into the breach.

Damian waves towards Davis and he says in a well meaning voice, "Might wanna work on the delivery champ." He then walks over to James and Lenora to shake hands with the both of them. "Nice to meet the both of you, names Damian Rosier. Anyway don't worry too much about what your going to do here. You've got some of the 'old guard' as it were to help keep things smooth. And Lenora? A big part of this group is being able to work with others. Your attitude could come off as antagonistic if you keep it up. Just try to relax okay? We can see that you are used to a higher standard of living, but your among comrades here. So try not to throw it around so much."

[Chase_D]

Seeing the sparks already flying, Will stops flipping his medallion and puts it away. Although yesterday was great for him to get to know Lenora, this side of her was although scary, was rather interesting. James was going to get himself into some hot water if he continues.

"Hey Lenora-san, you excited for today?" Trying to draw the attention away from James, so that he didn't have 'another' incident again. "I think you'll have a good time, perhaps even learn something about yourself." giving her a small wink.

[Mono Vertigo]

Lenora sighs. "Alriiiight. I'll relax." The suggestion mostly flew over her head, though.
At least, she caught the occasion to change topics. She winks back at Will. "We'll get to see those Shadows, right? I'll do fine, I think! We'll all do fine."

[oblivion6]

Brianna moaned when the next group came in, being loud and obnoxious. Couldn't they wait a few more minutes before screwing around? He looked at Levi. "Third group of noobs in as many missions... Each worst than the last--you and Kennen being the exeptions to the rule."

[Mistre]

"Am I late?"

Asked Sho, noticing the number of people already in the room before him. He didn't expect morning calls, to be honest. Now that he thought about it, he should've expected them, but you don't see heroes getting woken up early to fight the forces of evil in the shows. Lucky them.

"Soo, from 1 to 10, how much should I worry about our mission?"

[nersxe]

Kennen starts at Brianna's unexpected credit given, but doesn't comment. All his ability to words has been used up with the banana crack, and only coffee can resuscitate him now.

[Morbis Meh]

Levin grins wickedly then lowers voice "I already made suggestion to Commander Jessica that we start betting pool on how long the new recruits survive on the other side. 500 yen says the princess lasts a week and no more... Maybe we start odds as well make this a legitimate betting pool. If we get stuck with her we could use her as bait or a chew toy."

[andiemus]

James leans over to Lenora. Ooh, tough break chiquita. he gave me three. I think it's the skirt. Outside of certain genres of manga I don't think many women have kicked much ass in miniskirts. Then again you strike me as the sort who's used to setting trends, so maybe that'll be our new uniform standard. I must warn you though, I don't do pleats.

James is entirely too energetic and cheerful for his thuggish appearance and the early hour.

[oblivion6]

"1000 Po- Yen she won't make it through today." Had she really been about to say that? Yeah, way to early in the morning. "I thought Kennen's presence would be a big enough affront to draw every shadow over there to our position. I imagine she'll fare even worse." She gracefully glossed over the fact she had very nearly done the same thing just the other day when she had screamed at her team. That had been a bad day for her.

[AnimeKid]

Damian looks over the 'veterans' and James as he says, "Hey, hey, hey. If you guys want her to be more bearable then you have to try to make an effort to do the same. Slinging mud doesn't do anything but get everyone dirty. James both of you are new to the group and comrades. Heck for all you know you could be in the same group, don't think it can't happen just ask Brianna. Brianna, please try to be cordial to the new guys? They could also be on our team as well. And I would have thought that you would know better than to judge a book by it's cover Levi."

[Mono Vertigo]

Lenora rolls her eyes behind her glasses. She wasn't going to throw more fuel over the fire, lest she would be accused of not even trying, but as a teenage girl, she had plenty ways to make them pay later for their disrespect.
... or she could prove her worth, that was an option, too. But she kind of preferred petty revenge. This is something that will have to be decided later.
"Look. I was told there aren't many Persona users out there, and only them can fight Shadows. I happen to have a Persona. We're meant to work together. It's not in anybody's interest that I fail, isn't it?"

[Xhosant]

Soga rolls his eyes. Here we go again...

"All right, big guy. I bet no casualties today. Loser buys everyone a round. Deal?"

Looking at the newcomers one by one, he adds: "How's that guys? Easy drinks for us!"

[nersxe]

"1000 Yen someone screams," Kennen contributes, leaning back in his chair. He's not quite so awake as to smirk, though, even though his tone implies it. "I'm thinking it'll be Mr. I-think-girls-are-fruits."

[andiemus]

James looks at Kennen with mischief in his eyes. I knew there was a reason my health teacher always looked at me funny in middle school... he then puts his hand to his chin in mock contemplation.

[Chase_D]

"I'll go with Soga's bet, I think that some people here are better than others, but overall I would rather have an alive team than a dead one."

He made a small sigh before turning towards Brianna.

"So Brianna-San, how was your night last night? You look dead tired." He says eyeing the Mountain Dew on the table. He takes a big drink from his coffee, bitterness waking him up even more. "I think coffee would be better at waking you up than a bit of sugar. If you want I could show you this great little place after school. Hell if you don't like coffee I'm sure they can serve you some tea, maybe even juice." He says, giving a small smile, different than his usual smile.

[oblivion6]

"Ah, lighten up Damian. Just having a bit of fun, nothing serious. I clearly can't go back to bed so might as well poke fun at the FNG's, right?" She smiled to show that she meant no harm.

She turned back to Will. "Best night i've had in quite a while actually. As for coffee..." She looked disgusted. "I'll stick with my sugar. Tastes better. I used to drink tea before I lost all interest in it. Do they have fruit smoothies? If so... I'm in."

((Why is Brianna, seemingly the most high-strung and scarred member of the group so popular? :smalltongue: Social Thread away!))

[Philemonite]

"Tongue-in-cheek aside, what do we know? Another team needs help? Shadow uprising? Surprise inspection?"

"Big heads, in their eternal un-wisdom decided to screw-up our plans. Nothing new." What she "forgot" to mention is that big heads always have a reason for interfering.


Certainly dark and creepy enough down here for it though... How many are we waiting on?

"It's better to get used to the darkness right now, you won't be seeing much light on the other side. A few more, but they have 15 more minutes to get here."

She choose to ignore Davis, she didn't have the stomach for that kind of jokes so early in the morning.


"I'll try to corral this lot so that you don't have to get worked up. So try to relax, well as much as you can with work."

"I would be very grateful, you have no idea how it is to deal with a bunch of children."


"Am I late?"

"Soo, from 1 to 10, how much should I worry about our mission?"

"If you are going with me 0. If you are assigned to someone else... Well, just be prepared."



"You know, it would be impressive how much energy you guys have in the morning, if you didn't waste it on petty squabbling. Speaking of impressive.." She looked at her watch "...five, four, three, two, one."
The door opens, and the twins come in, exactly 10 minutes early.
Without a word, they both take their seats, reaching for the coffee that Benjamin already prepared for them.
"Benjy darling, did I mention how much I love you for those little thing that make my life so easier?"
"Not since yesterday." He answers with a smile.
"Anything interesting happened last night?" Alexander asks, without moving his eyes from the screen.
"Nothing too interesting, just some minor activity. And operatives behaving like children, but that's nothing new."

[nersxe]

"Betting pools are very mature," Kennen sniffs, pretending to be affronted. "They do them in offices, and you have to have a minimum age of 'about to waste my entire life' to work in an office."

[oblivion6]

Despite herself Brianna actually laughed at Kennen's comment.

[andiemus]

Ooh, a comrade-in-comedy. This is going to be great.

Equally important is the maximum age of "my kids aren't about to have grandkids" because white-collar labor doesn't like you giving out your dignity to other people.

He walks over to Kennen Do you know who these people are? I'm starting to get whiplash from the sheer number of new faces.

[nersxe]

"Barking up the wrong tree, mate," Kennen replied, finishing off the last of his coffee and throwing the cup in the garbage, "I don't do crazy, and you have to have gone on at least one mission for me to talk to you like you're gonna stick around."

He eyed the kid, sizing him up. "Don't worry about learning names, yet. A lot of these people won't be here next time, and a lot of those won't be here time after that." He shrugs a shoulder. "I think the reason the Potential is so rare is 'cause most of us go crazy or wimp out, and the Personas either ditch us or go to sleep."

[andiemus]

"Barking up the wrong tree, mate," Kennen replied, finishing off the last of his coffee and throwing the cup in the garbage, "I don't do crazy, and you have to have gone on at least one mission for me to talk to you like you're gonna stick around."

He eyed the kid, sizing him up. "Don't worry about learning names, yet. A lot of these people won't be here next time, and a lot of those won't be here time after that." He shrugs a shoulder. "I think the reason the Potential is so rare is 'cause most of us go crazy or wimp out, and the Personas either ditch us or go to sleep."

James leans away from Kennen, a mixture of surprise and bemusement across his face.

Well, with optimism like that I can't help but wonder if you're not taking this whole thing seriously enough. Jessica makes it sound like this could be serious and potentially dangerous business here, you know.

[nersxe]

Kennen stares at the kid. "You're kidding, right? You walk in here, start hitting on your teammates, and I'm the one not taking this seriously?" A fist forms, and he forces his hand to un-clench. "Get out of my face, kid. You have no idea what you're dealing with."

[Philemonite]

"Betting pools are very mature," Kennen sniffs, pretending to be affronted. "They do them in offices, and you have to have a minimum age of 'about to waste my entire life' to work in an office."

"In that case I'll send a recommendation to send you to real prison instead of juvie, when you get convicted. That will be very mature."


"Barking up the wrong tree, mate," Kennen replied, finishing off the last of his coffee and throwing the cup in the garbage, "I don't do crazy, and you have to have gone on at least one mission for me to talk to you like you're gonna stick around."

He eyed the kid, sizing him up. "Don't worry about learning names, yet. A lot of these people won't be here next time, and a lot of those won't be here time after that." He shrugs a shoulder. "I think the reason the Potential is so rare is 'cause most of us go crazy or wimp out, and the Personas either ditch us or go to sleep."

"Honey that's cute, but you wouldn't be here if you weren't crazy." As always, it is unclear if Alexandra is actually insulting him, or just teasing. "It's not so rare here. I guess that's because of the stuff they put in the water."


Well, with optimism like that I can't help but wonder if you're not taking this whole thing seriously enough. Jessica makes it sound like this could be serious and potentially dangerous business here, you know.

"Danger is always present on the other side, but you need to trust your teammates and your instructor. You won't last long if you don't."

[andiemus]

Kennen stares at the kid. "You're kidding, right? You walk in here, start hitting on your teammates, and I'm the one not taking this seriously?" A fist forms, and he forces his hand to un-clench. "Get out of my face, kid. You have no idea what you're dealing with."

James backs up, hands up in mock surrender.

Whoa whoa whoa, bona fide badass over here. You miss the joke so it's on to fisticuffs? Call my flirtations inappropriate if you want but if you're supposed to be some sort of educator you might look into growing as a person to having the emotional maturity of a three-year-old first. It's hard to think of you as any sort of authority on what's going on if you want to throw down over an innocuous comment that was clearly not supposed to be taken seriously in the first place. If this is as dramatic as you guys are making it out to be, I can't help but wonder if my supposed immaturity is going to cost as many lives as your demonstrated hot-headedness.

[dethkruzer]

Davis had been laughing hysterically ever since this new guy got the fruit comment from Kennen. He Finally slumped against the wall next to table before falling onto his ass, sitting with his back against the wall. The laughter died down somewhat as he seemed to run out of breath, the youth taking the opportunity to reach up and take the half-empty cup of espresso from the table.

He still chuckled occasionally, letting his head droop about lazily as his caffeine-drunk system tried to cope.

[nersxe]

Kennen rolls his eyes at the girls' comments. You'd think they'd be more grateful to him for trying to get someone to tone down the way he's hitting on them, but no.

Turning his attention to the new kid, Kennen snorts, shaking his head. Leave it to some punk not to know what's what. "First of all, I'm not a teacher. I go here same as you. Second, if having your fists balled up means it's a fight, everyone I've ever known would be expelled for brawling. Third of all, I haven't demonstrated a damn thing, except, oh, that I'm willing to put my life in danger so others don't suffer."

Cracking his neck, Kennen decides to let the kid have it. "You want people around here to take you seriously, you work like everyone else. Not too long ago, me and them-" he nods at Brianna, Levi, and Damian, "-went into a shadow dimension with nothing more than some cards, a couple medieval weapons, and my Evoker. We fought abominations from another world, so your mommy and daddy and you could sleep without being in danger of having your soul sucked out." He pauses, eyes raking over the kid. "What have you done in your entire life that is as important as what most of the people in this room did last Tuesday?"

[AnimeKid]

Damian sighs as he says, "Kennen, may I remind you that last Tuesday was your only mission? Just last week you were a newbie just like James, and your attitude was actually worse than what he is displaying right now. Look we need to at least try to get along so that we can work together and more friction between members is not something that we need. Especially when it comes from some sense of pride. If you want to talk about something like that then how do you think your behavior looks to Jessica, Alexander, Alexandra, and Benjamin? They have possibly been here for months doing this and here you are throwing your weight around after only a single mission.

There is no need to try to make someone out to be less competent than they are, so hold off judgement until we see what their made of. Kay?"

[andiemus]

If you're not a teacher than don't try to hold yourself up as all experienced and drop the condescending "get out of my face kid" attitude you start throwing around when you decide you want to feel superior. I love that you once again completely ignore the obvious subtext of what I just said in order to twist it around. Obviously I didn't mean that clenching your fists is the same thing as getting in a fight but one little comment and you were just about ready to have one.

Since you obviously don't understand the subtle nuances of what I'm saying, I'll make my next two points clear: One, you don't get to hold your previous experiences over us like that. You've been doing this longer than us? Congratulations, my persona literally leapt out of my head a couple days ago, by the way don't speak about my mother again, whereas obviously you've had yours for longer. You want a cookie? Most people don't brag about doing the right thing, because that's not something deserving of praise and adulation. If the world needs saving and it has to be you, you don't get points for doing it, because you don't get points for not being a selfish *******.

Two, no obviously I was not there. How the hell do you expect me or anyone else to know to come to some random school and go through a door behind a locked door in a basement? Even if we did know it was here, would we be able to go through? You cant complain about having it so hard because you don't have much outside help when you go so far out of the way to hide everything you're doing from everyone else! Whether you have your reasons for keeping this so damn secretive or not, if you think it sucks having to do this all on your own it's your own damn fault.

He turns around and walks over to Jessica. Can we get going now? I need to pummel something into oblivion.

[nersxe]

All Kennen has to say to Damian is, "and yet, I didn't say a word to him about anything until he came at me."

"Since you obviously don't have the self-control to finish this without 'pummeling something into oblivion', I'll let you have the last word, except one thing," Kennen raises a finger, his eyes cold. "You mention my dead mother one more time, ever, and I will gladly take all the consequences that come from making you regret it."

[AnimeKid]

Damian looks at both of them, obviously frustrated as he says, "Both of you stop it! Kennen he is right in that you have a over inflated sense of superiority for having gone on just one mission. Last I checked your intentionally snubbed him first. These people are supposed to be working with us and you are throwing around false information and being obnoxious to instigate something. It comes off like your trying to compensate. Also does the phrase 'Don't dish out what you can't take' mean anything to you?

James your not totally in the right either with what you said. The Velvet Dimesion can be a pretty scary place. There is also a very real chance of dying once you go through. It would be understandable if someone did want to stop once they went through there. There is more to this than meets the eye. I know your irritated but please don't marginalize what we do here. Saving the world isn't as easy as you seem to think it is. So please try to calm down."

[Philemonite]

Turning his attention to the new kid, Kennen snorts, shaking his head. Leave it to some punk not to know what's what. "First of all, I'm not a teacher. I go here same as you. Second, if having your fists balled up means it's a fight, everyone I've ever known would be expelled for brawling. Third of all, I haven't demonstrated a damn thing, except, oh, that I'm willing to put my life in danger so others don't suffer."

Cracking his neck, Kennen decides to let the kid have it. "You want people around here to take you seriously, you work like everyone else. Not too long ago, me and them-" he nods at Brianna, Levi, and Damian, "-went into a shadow dimension with nothing more than some cards, a couple medieval weapons, and my Evoker. We fought abominations from another world, so your mommy and daddy and you could sleep without being in danger of having your soul sucked out." He pauses, eyes raking over the kid. "What have you done in your entire life that is as important as what most of the people in this room did last Tuesday?"

"Great start honey, but your closing can use some work. If you ever need some practice I could help out"


"They have possibly been here for months doing this and here you are throwing your weight around after only a single mission. "

"Years, actually."


If you're not a teacher than don't try to hold yourself up as all experienced and drop the condescending "get out of my face kid" attitude you start throwing around when you decide you want to feel superior. I love that you once again completely ignore the obvious subtext of what I just said in order to twist it around. Obviously I didn't mean that clenching your fists is the same thing as getting in a fight but one little comment and you were just about ready to have one.

Since you obviously don't understand the subtle nuances of what I'm saying, I'll make my next two points clear: One, you don't get to hold your previous experiences over us like that. You've been doing this longer than us? Congratulations, my persona literally leapt out of my head a couple days ago, by the way don't speak about my mother again, whereas obviously you've had yours for longer. You want a cookie? Most people don't brag about doing the right thing, because that's not something deserving of praise and adulation. If the world needs saving and it has to be you, you don't get points for doing it, because you don't get points for not being a selfish *******.

Two, no obviously I was not there. How the hell do you expect me or anyone else to know to come to some random school and go through a door behind a locked door in a basement? Even if we did know it was here, would we be able to go through? You cant complain about having it so hard because you don't have much outside help when you go so far out of the way to hide everything you're doing from everyone else! Whether you have your reasons for keeping this so damn secretive or not, if you think it sucks having to do this all on your own it's your own damn fault.

He turns around and walks over to Jessica. Can we get going now? I need to pummel something into oblivion.

"I think you made your point, and it's about time you stop. And we still have a few more minutes, procedure must be followed." She subtly points to Alexander.


All Kennen has to say to Damian is, "and yet, I didn't say a word to him about anything until he came at me."

"Since you obviously don't have the self-control to finish this without 'pummeling something into oblivion', I'll let you have the last word, except one thing," Kennen raises a finger, his eyes cold. "You mention my dead mother one more time, ever, and I will gladly take all the consequences that come from making you regret it."

"Like my sister said, you will stop. If you continue like that we will have no other choice then to decide you do more damage to the project then good and act accordingly."

He leans in, so that only Kennen can hear his last sentence.

And don't play the dead mother card, because I can beat you at that game.

[nersxe]

It's not really a threat to Kennen, and he'd love to respond to the "you do more harm than good" schtick, but he's already said he's done, and he means what he says.

Kennen shakes his head at Benjamin, then responds in kind.

"The fact that you think of it as a card tells me you wouldn't. Cheers."

[Xhosant]

It took Soga a while to realize he had been carried away through most of the argument. Damn, he was sleepy, but he hated coffee so he couldn't count on that. Maybe that Mountain Dew was worth a shot some other time...

[oblivion6]

Brianna had to fight to keep her laughter in check during the first half of the festivities. It almost made up for getting up and having to deal with people so early. Yeah, she was getting to be too much like Sophia... Then something Kennen said instantly sobered her up. So Kennen's mother died... That explains a lot...

[Mono Vertigo]

Lenora bits her lip, sullen. Oh. He too. It's the ones you love who hurt you most when they leave you behind, isn't it?
She still doesn't think she likes Kennen very much, but at least, it turns out they have a wound in common. One that not everybody possesses.

[Chase_D]

Oddly enough, Will stood still during the entire argument, instead of his usual 'break it up' routine. He chalks it up to exhaustion leaving him less caring of verbal arguments such as this. As soon as he hears about Kennen mother dying however, he feels a slight twinge of pain in his heart. Will wasn't trying to be so judgemental against Kennen, but he could see why Kennen was such a idiot at times. If Will had lost one of his parents, he wouldn't be the same person he is today.

He turns back to Brianna quickly after things calm down.
"Yeah, I think they do serve smoothies. I'll show you after class..if we live." The dark addition to his offer made him slightly worrisome. Quickly he distracts himself, "Hey, uh...Alexander....uh, are we heading out soon." he stutters through that sentence, not thinking clearly.

[Morbis Meh]

Levi remains neutral but inside the head he is laughing That's right my pawns, dance for me, your strings are already taught and I only have to move slightly for you to follow my lead. The big man walks over to Jessica and whispers into her ear "May I suggest a proper team training session after this mission is cleared up commander? Over half of these people do not know what they are doing and will either be killed or get someone else killed. None of them know how to function as a workable unit and most of them are acting like children. For now I will take Kennen with me and make sure he doesn't do anything foolish but keep comedian on short leash."

[BurntDownDream]

Hikaen enters the scene looking quite beat, like he got in a fight or something. He doesn't say anything except for

"Don't worry too much I am in position to fight normaly."

He then, just like that, sits on the floor and waits. He stays silent for a bit then says.

"Oh and something else. I would apreciate it if you didn't ask why I was late or how I got in this state."

[oblivion6]

Brianna grinned inwardly and opened her mouth to speak. Then thought better about it. Sophia would be proud of me today. She was channeling an awful lot of her humor this morning.

[Philemonite]

Oddly enough, Will stood still during the entire argument, instead of his usual 'break it up' routine. He chalks it up to exhaustion leaving him less caring of verbal arguments such as this. As soon as he hears about Kennen mother dying however, he feels a slight twinge of pain in his heart. Will wasn't trying to be so judgemental against Kennen, but he could see why Kennen was such a idiot at times. If Will had lost one of his parents, he wouldn't be the same person he is today.

He turns back to Brianna quickly after things calm down.
"Yeah, I think they do serve smoothies. I'll show you after class..if we live." The dark addition to his offer made him slightly worrisome. Quickly he distracts himself, "Hey, uh...Alexander....uh, are we heading out soon." he stutters through that sentence, not thinking clearly.

"In a few minutes, yes."


Levi remains neutral but inside the head he is laughing That's right my pawns, dance for me, your strings are already taught and I only have to move slightly for you to follow my lead. The big man walks over to Jessica and whispers into her ear "May I suggest a proper team training session after this mission is cleared up commander? Over half of these people do not know what they are doing and will either be killed or get someone else killed. None of them know how to function as a workable unit and most of them are acting like children. For now I will take Kennen with me and make sure he doesn't do anything foolish but keep comedian on short leash."

"They were picked for a reason, they wouldn't make the cut if they couldn't do this. Have some faith. Besides, I already had enough of them, and we didn't even start yet."

"Now that Kezu has finally decided to bless us with his presence, we can finally start the mission. Hepaunton, you and your team are coming with me. You will get to see how a lady acts in the Velvet World. It is very different from what you are used to.
Tareso, you will get to go with Benjamin. There are some irregularities that need to be checked out.
Kezu, you are going with Alexandra. There has been an increased activity in one section of the Velvet World, and you get to investigate. You might even meet some old "friends", I have a feeling that Hunters are up to something.
Alexander will be monitoring the situation from here. Don't use your communicators unless necessary, the three of us will maintain radio contact with him.
Communicators and Velvet Cards for the new people are on the table, there are even a couple of Evokers for those who want them.
Since we already wasted enough time, we are leaving immediately."
She walks to the door, swipes her card through the reader and punches in a code opening the door.
"Hepaunton, your team goes first."

[Mono Vertigo]

Lenora picks a communicator and a Velvet Card. It's hard to believe it's going to help her summon her Persona, but there's been too much going on to dismiss a card.
"Alright", she nods to her team leader. She looks back, searching for Sho, Will, Brianna and Damian, before stepping through the door.

[Morbis Meh]

Levi sighs, his feelings were quite mixed at the moment. A part of him was relieved he didn't have to put up with the snot nosed valley girl but another part wanted to get inside her head. There will be time my love, patience... All will be yours for you are destined for greatness. The big Russian lets the thought slide into the back of his mind before the group leaves he grabs Bri's shoulder "Good luck with the new recruit, remember stay safe you and I have an arrangement after all. I would hate for it to end." Tug on this string and time to watch her dance...

[oblivion6]

"I'm always careful, Levi; it's others you have to worry about." She grinned at the hulking Russian. "I'm not going to die before I play Suikogaiden." She was in a good mood today so she decided on one last closing remark. "If I do die... Wave the game in front of my nose, i'll wake up."

She stood up and went to find her companions.

[nersxe]

Kennen rolls his eyes but waits semi-patiently for his team to get ready to go.

[Chase_D]

Will see's Lenora grouping up with Jessica to go through the door. "Good, glad to see you'll be here to provide us help. I really appreciate the chance you've guys given us, by the way." He quickly says to Jessica, before turning to Lenora. "Just a quick heads up, it'll be quite dark in there, so when you come back out you might want to shield your eyes for a couple of seconds." He says, before searching his left pocket for something...he pulls out his communicator from yesterday and sets it back in his ear.

"Looks like I'm all set, good luck everyone." He quickly says to his team.

[andiemus]

James walks over to the table and picks up a card, twirling it in his hands, waiting for someone to tell him who to go with. Nobody had said that he was on anyone else's team. He looks back at the table uncomfortably.

Never liked guns. He mutters.

[Xhosant]

Evokers... Soga had considered using one. He was curious to see what they felt like, or how different their effect could be. Perhaps he could force more of Cell out? Or call on him sometime that the card couldn't handle alone?

He walked up to James, who looked confused, playing with the card he had just picked.

"Feeling ready? This will be your first venture through. Feel free to ask me about anything that troubles you."

Soga looked at the handguns for a moment, then hesitantly picked one.

"Which reminds me, you are coming with me and Davis, right? As for the cards, they help you tap into your powers, plus they change when you first use them. Think it's something about the inner you, or something. As for the guns," he said, slightly raising his, "I hear they're for the more stubborn personas. I wonder how they work, though I don't use one myself."

Scanning the dwindling crowd for Davis, he waves him over. "Ready to show James around?"

[nersxe]

Kennen eyes Soga, but decides not to comment. He tried telling people to leave the Evokers alone if they could help it, but apparently even the people present for that advice ignored it.

(Maybe for them it wasn't as bad. Maybe they didn't end up feeling off-kilter and irritable for hours after forcing out their personas.

Lucky them.)

[Mistre]

Glad that the discussion was over, Sho walked towards the table and got one of the cards, looking at it for a few moments. It seemed so outlandish, all this! And yet, here they were weren't they? Fighting to keep the world safe... while discussing amongst themselves and feeling lousy because of the lack of sleep.
Sho made a mental note to write to the comic authors that the whole super hero business wasn't all that glamorous, and they shouldn't give people false hope. He wondered if they would take that seriously.

"Well then, time to keep the world safe, huh?"

He picks the communicator and the card, and smiles to the rest of his team while walking with them.

[andiemus]

James chuckles at Soga's question, and his response is intoned a bit more cynically than anything else the group has heard him say.

To hear you guys talk, I wonder if anyone's ever ready, but I guess we gotta do what we gotta do, yeah?

[AnimeKid]

Damian pounds his fists together to psyche himself up for the upcoming mission. he walks over to his group and looks at all of them and gives a sort of fist pump for encouragement. Looking at Lenora he says, "Don't try to do too much at once for your first mission. Don't be afraid to rely on the rest of us okay?"

[BurntDownDream]

Hikaen stands up while letting a sigh out. His condition was pretty good. He didn't feel tired or hurt, maybe because of the trips in the velvet door. He was however a bit absent minded.

"Self-control... Focus."

He mutters managing to pull himself together. After that he says to the people going inside the door.

"Best of luck to you all. I hope to see you again when I get back."

The thing about them having a leader was bothering him but he didn't let it get to him. He knew this would happen sooner or later when he joined this group.

[Morbis Meh]

Levi smirked at Kennen "Ready for round two Sherlock? This time we have a larger group of people so don't worry about showing off to impress me this time." The big Russian headed towards Alexandra and offered a sharp solute "Awaiting your orders Commander."

[nersxe]

"I impress you just by existing," Kennen smirks, coming up behind Levi. He sticks the communicator in his ear, and waits for someone to signal them to go in.

[oblivion6]

Hearing Damian's words to Lenora, a thought occured to Brianna. "What do you do best Richie? Who... Or perhaps what might be a more accurate term, is your persona supposed to be?" She asked the girl as she went to join her party as they waited for orders. As an idle thought she wondered how differently things might have turned out for her had she been rich like Lenora. Sure her dad spoiled the hell out of her--especially lately--but she wasn't rich by any means.

[andiemus]

James looks at Damian doing his best Manny Pacquiao, slaps himself in the face, lightly, and starts to go along.Boo-yah! Let's break some heads! His heart's not entirely in it, however, making it feel more like an immature display of bravado than anything substantial.

[dethkruzer]

Davis pulled himself back to his feet. Wolfing down the half-cup of espresso as he did so. He emitted a loud hiss from between clenched teeth, crushing the now empty styrofoam cup in his hand. Discarding the cup, he walked over to Soga.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Now don't go getting us killed Jamie-boy" He commented to Soga, somewhat off-handedly, pointing the last bit of his comment to James. He then pulled out his communicator and Velvet card. A bestial grumble echoed in his subconcicous, it seems the beast had awoken. "I have a feeling someone's ready to get out and wreak some havoc." He uttered to himself, having noticed that Strigoi seemed to awaken a much more sadistic side in him, particularly under stress.