Sutoratosu

"Alright, enough with the crap!" both of the brothers yelled simultaneously. They leaped over the counter, pulling silver spikes from their inventory chest and grabbed hold of Artemis, one brother pinning her against his chest and preventing flight while the other held the spike to her throat. "BACK UP! BACK THE F*CK UP, OR SHE GETS IT!" The crowd smoldered with raw fury for a moment... then one by one the assembled denizens of Seacrest began to back away slowly... many of them had claws and fangs at the ready though... if they weren't going to tear the bastards apart before, they definitely were going to now... "Taking a hostage like this!" one of the mob members snarled. "Simple despicable!" "Theives and kidnappers!" another shouted. "Outlaws! Outlaws, you morons! those two obviously aren't part of the Kecleon clan!" Everyone turned to face the speaker. It wasa young alakazam, his eyes flaring with brilliance. he held up a wanted poster... revealing the faces of two Zororak. "WHA!!!!???" everyone cried at once. "Those two are none other than the notorious Zororak Brothers! Con men and thieves extraordinaire!" He levitated the poster in the air, passing it around for everyone to see using telekinesis. the crowd set it's attention back on the two. "That means..." someone began. "that we've been doing business for the past three and a half months with outlaws!" "Indeed it has," The Alakazam said. then he looked over at rodric and Otto. "Rodrick, if you would be so kind!" "Just like we planned!" he said, cracking all twenty of his fingers. he crouched down low and began charging towards the two with surprising speed, leaping right over the heads of the crowd members and preparing a focus punch while still in mid air, nailing the brother holding the spike as he landed. The Kecleon was sent flying into the wooden stand, shattering it into pieces and kicking up copious amounts of dust. A Zororak limped out of the wrekage, shouted a few slurred profanities at Rodrick, and then fell over unconscious. He turned to the remaining brother, crossing his arms in front of his chest as they took on a white glow. "Let me have some of em too, Rodrick!" The Machamp looked up at something invisible. "OH, so you want to get into it now? alright, have at em." "LET ME PUT YOU DOWN FOR A NAP!" a ghostly voice screamed in response. the air rippled as a Gengar materialized beside the remaining brother, grabbing him by the back of the neck and forcing him to look into his eyes as they glowed an eerie blue. A moment later he released his hold on Artemis and fell over backwards; snoring. "THERE'LL BE NO PLEASANT DREAMS FOR YOUR ACTIONS!" The alakazam roared as his eyes both twinkled for a few seconds. he glanced over at the Gengar. "Cage!" "With pleasure!" The gengar, his name apparently Cage, launched a shadow version of himself towards the sleeping brother, opening it's mouth wide and passing right over him before fading into the air. the Zororak noticeably began to struggle in his slumber. All was silent in the crowd, until the Alakazam spoke up once again. "I'll go get Officer Magnezone and tell him we brought down the Zororak brothers once and for all." he said before teleporting away in a flash of white. the towns folk just looked at each other. the machamp and Gengar both kept their eyes peeled on the brothers, encase either came to. Rodrick glanced over at Artemis though. "Sorry they did that to you, little lady," he said. "Being held as a hostage... how awful. But I can assure you that after this, they won't be hurting or wronging anyone else."

You have no freaking idea how much trouble your CO (Surge) is gonna get in for this mess you've caused. needless to say, the entire squad will be on very thin ice by the time chapter three opens. and the only reason you won't be just kicked out of the program is because of the fact that you saved the base and that your little escapade right now will have somewhat... helpful results in figuring out who is behind the attack earlier. and the kidnapping attempt six months ago (Yes, the Russians had a hand in that two. they're much better liars than Americans.) Oh, and Kenny, it's not Murphy's law technically. It's actually Stratos's law, which is this: The worst possible thing that can happen will only happen if an individual does not act intelligently and appropriately in order to prevent the situation from escalating in severity. you had Eve use dig the first time, caused a sink hole. you had her use it the second time... and failed to account for how badly the ground might have been damaged by the first sink hole you caused, thus opening another one... it's pretty much just repeating the same mistake twice in a row without learning anything from it either times.

Whoops, never mind, I derped a little. It's a Treasure bag, not a wonder bag... Sorry, not sure how those got mixed up in my mind. and dobby, what you would be thinking of is the Wonder Badge. I'll fix that in the post real quick

Eh, Chimchain... where would Mareek be able to get one of these little guys? (Shuckle)

Mareek sat back on one of the couches in his and Slade's dorm, his feet stretched out before him. His bag had been set in the unburnt bedroom down the hall. Figured he would make Sid take the damaged one... it was his mistake that caused it to get like that, after all, only fitting that he be the one to live in it. though it could've been much worse, one had to admit. the wall and some of the furniture was a little scorched, but all in all it seemed that whatever the guy had done to put it out, he had done a good job of it... so, at least his foolish roomate had that going for him, right? Hell, Mareek had even done the guy a favor and had Erce go in earlier and clear out the remaining Ariados webbing with her scythes. He questioned as to why he even cared at all. No skin of his back no matter what happened to Slade... so why bother? why give a damn in the first place? Truth be told...he knew why before ever posing the question in his mind; he simply couldn't help it. It was who he was as a person. Instead of simply standing by and watching others struggle, he preferred to step up and help them if he could. Aloofness was simply a primary defense mechanism he used to try to protect himself in unknown waters. either that, or he was simply too damn nice for his own good... "Hey, Erce!" he called down the hall way. the mantis emerged from Slades room, carrying bundles of cut webbing in her arms. "Come here, I think I found something..." She went back into the other boy's room and tossed the silk out of the open window before walking up and peering over Mareek's shoulder in what could be best described as the living room. He held the Pokedex up for her to see, a small turtle like creature with a red and white shell was displayed on the screen. "I heard of these things a while ago," Mareek explained. "Their called Shuckles...and apparently they can withstand any blow you throw at them... think maybe this will make a good partner for us both?" Erce nodded her head simply. Mareek powered off the device and stowed it in his jacket pocket, glancing over at the Scyther as she went back to cleaning out the few remaining cob webs in the other room. "well... " he said "guess we just wait for whatever tomorrow might bring then..." with that he put on his head phones and powered on the MP3, kicking his feet up to the table and propping them there as the music began to play. He choose something befitting of the situation...he had a feeling that this was just the beginning of many things to come... and of many stories to tell. ((This is my last IC post for chapter 1. Exlink, if you make a post later about slade coming back to the dorm, just say that Mareek is asleep on the couch and Erce is just finishing up clearing the webs from Slade's room and about to leave. She won't attempt to interact with you or anything though, she would just cast a glance and then leave the room.))

Kenny, you're meta gaming again. Not even Ethic himself knew before hand that he was bugged. Or did he? so yeah... no real logical way for someone to already know of Max's eaves dropping... and the truth behind why I created the Temperance Effect as the "Negation Field" call me what you want, yes, I had ulterior motives. but I'm only human.

updated. and yes, the Ditto that Smoke's attack took out transformed into the Big Boss immediately afterward. there's your easter egg, folks, enjoy it. because he would've whipped all your asses... or just straight killed you. as you can see, those little pink blobs are sooo overpowered in this... oh, and the russian's location had been revealed. now... can you find him in complete darkness? oh, and you all who got knocked out by the Flash bang can wake up if you want. (You don't have any idea of what the hell just happened though.)

((Mr. Murphy, I don't think Kenny learned the first time. can I barrow your law for a moment? Thnx)) The roars stopped as Jory ordered oliver to maintain fire... because there was another loud Rumbling and CRASH! sound that overshadowed it entirely. None of them could see it, but before the tiny group was now another gaping pit in the tarmac. Despite Kenny's specific orders, it seemed the Eve had been too careless where she dug, weakening earth that was already not in good shape from the weight of the thing attacking them all, and hence causing yet another sink hole to open up. Mother of Christ, was there gonna be absolute hell to pay... and heaven knows what would happen to Surge for this fiasco. ((Stop using dig!)) *** As Buddy's water attack closed in on the source of the beam earlier, the jet of hydration became engulfed in violet light and began to split and branch off from the blast issuing forth from the Slowpoke's mouth, forming into tiny droplets in the air that began began to circle back around Lionel and Lars and Surge in a strange manner before turning to razor honed needles and zipping towards the three men, heading for their vitals. Surge didn't hesitate. "Do It!" he ordered the mouse on his shoulder. the creature concentrated and a moment later a torrent of electricity burst forth, zapping all of the conjured up projectiles before they could hit impact. "Good! now take em out!" the torrent of thunder was redirected towards the direction of the blast moment's ago, hitting it's target squarely and lighting up the area for a few moments. Surge looked to Lars and Lionel. "Stay close," he ordered as he drew his sidearm and proceeded to creep onto the darkened tarmac. **** A man crept around the back of one of the few remaining choppers as he took cover and spied on the four tangos before him. He ducked down, maximizing the hiding space he would be provided by the vehicle's girth. The Armored bird would have to go out first, of that he was sure. He stealthily retrieved a machine gun laying on the ground, moving back to his perch quickly and again scouting for his foes, his one good eye analyzing them all quickly... He took a flash bang from his belt, tossing it out in front of the cadets before dashing off across the dark, letting out a gravelly battle cry and leveling his gun and firing like a madman. His face was briefly visible in the muzzle burst from his automatic weapon before the grenade went off. It was the last thing the soldiers all saw before they were stunned by the flash grenade and knocked out by the sonic effect... if any of them had played a certain vintage Video Game Series as kids, they would've recognized the man in an instance... Genisa managed to protect from the fire however, stepping in front of the four of them as the lay unconscious and putting her all into keeping the barrier up...She didn't know what the hell was happening, where this enemy had come from, and how he had gone unnoticed until now... but that didn't matter, the others and their partners were down now; it was up to her to defend them. She tapped into something she felt welling within her mind, not knowing what, if anything it would do... just that it had to do something. She couldn't keep the barrier going at this rate... and something indeed happened. something...very disturbing to a physicist.., or very exciting, depending of their standpoint. Her eyes and horns took on a stronger than usual scarlet hue as the very fabric of the world itself began stretch and contort... The following event was very unpleasant for the Legendary Soldier... *** ALL ACROSS THE TARMAC A light bright as day could be seen from everywhere on the Tarmac, as well as in the base. Alongside a fearsome tearing sound as a man in all black gear was seen being hurtled up into the air into a tiny hole of pure blackness hovering in the air, his body being drawn into it like a Ragdoll as he was tossed into an entirely different dimension. a few seconds later, the rift closed...but the light remained. And the entire Tar mac was visible as if it were daylight out. Needless to say, it was an absolute mess Two giant holes in the pavement, almost all of the aircraft missing, bits and pieces of destroyed vehicles scattered all about the place. The dead bodies of several humanoid yellow GAOs were littered all across the place. it looked like complete hell. and among this hell... was a single man who could be seen attempting to break into a locked chopper. A Machine gun sat by his leg, belt still steaming from being fired. he seemed to have been at it for a good while now, with no success (He couldn't just break the windows for obvious reasons...). Then the light faded. but Surge's entourage and Kenny and Clint and Jory had all seen the guy's location. The sound of a dragon roaring in the distance and the General shouting orders could be heard n the could be heard soon after, along with dozens of boots stamping across the packed earth. Reinforcements had come, and they were emerging out of the wood work it seemed. But they were all still a good bit away, so far that none of those within the area could even see them in the darkness that had resettled.

He had a bad batch of BBQ as a little kid and ended up getting really sick for a few days because of it, so now he honestly despises the stuff and will refuse to eat it. The gagging part comes from it being a reaction his body subconsciously developed in order keep from getting food poisoning again.

Mareek got up as soon as Redwood had left the stage. He looked down at his watch... there was still some time before the deadline he had set... but still, seemed rather strange that Slade and the Dragon Master would take this long getting back. Erce was right behind him as he exited the contest hall and stood on the stone pavilion outside the front doors. He was going to head to the tree line and watch for a while, but something told him to just drop the whole thing and go about his own business. He didn't know what it was exactly, but he figured it was just his own introversion. "Oh, screw it..." he said finally. "Honestly, I'm just wasting my time over this. If he can't even find his way out with a guy capable of that..." He turned around and walked just inside the door way of the the Hall as he recalled how Devin had torn down an entire section of the fence using nothing more than his Haxorus. And they had made it seemed as though it were absolutely nothing. he might have been even more impressed if he really cared about raw power just by itself. He still considered maybe striving to be like the man someday, but shot down the Idea as quick as it came. "I think I'll stick to strategy alone for my fighting... Might doesn't necessarily mean right." he looked up as people were beginning to mill towards the entrance, moving out of their way and leaning against the door frame outside. Barbecue didn't really interest him right now, given the fact he wasn't exactly hungry, along with that he simply hated the taste to the point where it would make him gag a little.

Oh...what a twist for Seacrest. The brothers have been jacking up prices and then making a huge profit... Hey sparky, you were right; never trust a Kecleon... And Ark, I don't really know whether or not orbs would work out side of a dungeon, I'd have to check with grass to see.

Tempest "Alright...here you are!" One of the brothers said as emerged from under the counter. he emptied the contents in his arms onto the wooden stand. counting to make sure he had gotten it right. "Three oran berries, two pechas, a Revive herb, and an escape orb. Your total is nothing." then he turned to face Draidon, rather sheepish from earlier. "Sorry..." he sighed. "We honestly wanted to give you more in order to make up for...earlier, but it seems we've been running rather low on stock lately. We've barely been able to get our hands any three of a particular item at a time..." "It's fine," Driadon said. he turned to others. "Any of you got your treasure bag on you? I kinda left mine back at Tempest for the day..." Seacrest The Machamp glanced down at the tiny Oshawott at his feet. "You see!" he said to the brothers. "You all should be ashamed, committing your scams in front of children! and then making me have to dish out some justice because of it!" He turned his attention back to the Oshawott, whom he presumed to be a child due to his size and unevolved state. "Don't get into this, kid." he advised. His face held genuine concern. "You'll just get hurt in the fight that's about to start!" "We didn't mean to mark up the prices, damnit!" one of the brothers yelled; this time in a fury rather than fear. He looked around at everyone in the crowd. "OH COME ON!" he shouted. "Aren't any of you gonna come to our defense! You've all shopped here before! speak up, help us out!" "Er..." Some one said. "Well...um..." another chided. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF ARCEUS!" the other brother shouted. "What, are you afraid of him!? Fine! but I'm not gonna stand back and take this slander!" "well, actually," someone finally offered. "It's not that we're afraid of him... he's not a stranger around here. and truth be told, you two have kinda been moving the prices up little by little ever since you set up shop here a few months ago. Back when your cousins ran things... it was only done if that item was low in stock... but with you guys, everything's been goin up lately..." "Yeah..." another pokemon seconded. "We kinda aren't surprised if you did something like this all of a sudden... it was kinda only a matter of time before you went to straight swindling us. So I'm actually kinda in favor of this guy dealing with you..." "What!?" Both of the Chameleons cried simultaneously. the shock on their face was unforgettable. "U...Us? you think we would ever do that to you all!?" it was yet another voice in the crowd that answered. "We don't have to think at this point; it's what you've been doing so far." "So... if you were so misfortunate to go and try to pull your latest crap when Mr. Rodrick here came to buy, then... tough for ya; you honestly deserve what you get." Both brothers glanced at each other. things were going very, very, very badly now. "Is...is this what you all really think of us?" one asked. "We haven't been trying to up the prices, honest... things have just been so much harder to find lately, we can barely keep three of any one item in stock at a time!" There was murmuring in the crowd. Machamp crossed all four of his arms, glaring at the lizards ominously. "Prove it then," Rodrick ordered. He thrust one of his thumbs over his shoulder. "Show us the entire shop inventory, and if then we'll all know if you're lying or not. if you're telling us the truth; then I'll take you at your word about the mark up being a complete accident." "OH...um..." they both scratched their heads nervously. "well, you see, we'd like to, but you kinda wrecked everythin-" "Here you go!" Rodrick said, picking up their stand from where he had tossed it and dropping it down right in front of them. The two again glanced at each other, pure horror on their faces as they knelt down and began to take bag after bag of supplies from under the counter, one retreiving them from the chest, the other opening them and spreading the contents onto the stand. They at least ten bags filled with twenty Oran berries each, along with one bag stuffed to the brim with revive herbs, and another full of blast seeds, and more and more... "Now... I'm not much one for hearing sometimes," Rodrick smirked as he watched the two quiver in fear before the crowd. "But I do believe that you said, and I quote: things have just been so much harder to find lately, we can barely keep three of any one item in stock at a time!- End quote." Neither brother had anything to say. They looked down at the inventory on the table with complete guilt. "You know..." Rodrick continued. "This type of business ethics is an absolute disgrace to the shop your cousins used to operate here; absolutely shameful..." with that, he turned and began walking away slowly, but not before picking up Otto and moving him out of the Crowd's war path, placing him beside him as he stopped a short distance away and prepared to watch the lying bastards get their just-desserts. The various town dwellers assembled there began to inch forward towards the Brothers, anger on their faces... so this is why the Machamp hadn't launched a single attack at them. He knew that the others would be just as pissed off by their deceit and treachery just as much as he was...

Ethic could only watch as Kenny and the random guy as they went off and put their little strategy. He could feel a presence nearby... but it wasn't like a keeper; no, this was different, very different. And then as soon as he had detected it, the thing was gone in the blink of an eye. He couldn't even figure out who or what it was, but there was one thing he could figure out; the flaming sword hurtling towards him like a saw blade. "What in the hell...?" He took a few steps back, knowing from it's trajectory that it was aimed right at him. Then he noticed that even despite the flames, the metal of the weapon was black as night... then he put two and two together. "Shit!" he called as he dove to the ground just as the thing passed where his head had been seconds before, crashing into the stone floor and losing it's fiery swath. Ethic got up slowly, scanning the ceiling for any sign of where Maxwell could've launched the attack... but all he found was darkness. "Kenny..." he began, just now noticing that the other young man had returned from setting the trap...though why was he that far up in the air? anyways, He didn't bother to finish the sentence though, he was more focused on the sword he had stolen from Scott and had subsequently been stolen by Lucian... and apparently by Maxwell as well. "Oh, good, I missed," the lawyers voice rang out from the weapon. the surface of the metal began to swim, revealing his face in it like a mirror reflection. "Wouldn't want to kill you too soon now. Anyways, yeah, that little plan your friend had isn't gonna work out, kid. I'm onto you, and even if I wasn't, you would still fail." then the metal began to swim again, revealing his face once more. "And PS," he continued. "Check the lapel of your fatigues. I put a little something something there a while ago, but I won't much be needing it now, so do me a favor and get rid of it. Ta-ta." then his likeness vanished and the sword regained it's all black coloration. Ethic did just that as he walked over and removed the thing from the floor, tucking it under his arm. whatever the hell Maxwell had planted on him, it was well embedded in the clothing... "Got it," he said, looking up at Kenny. He brought his hand away from the collar of his black fatigue jacket. A tiny microphone was visible as he opened his palm, complete with a micro transceiver attached; the thing was a bug. "He's heard everything then..." Ethic said dejectedly. He fiddled with the thing, finally finding the power source, which was surprisingly a small watch battery, and removed it. He stowed the battery and the bug in separate pockets on his jacket, calling up to the other young man "Hey kenny! Any plan b's? Because that one you just gave me is officially dead now."

Mareek leaned back in his chair as the professor asked if there were any more questions. He had finally gotten back and found a seat towards the back of the crowd as Redwood had been finishing up the explanation on tournaments and the school shop... and he had to say, things looked like they would prove to be interesting here. Erce Leaned forward on the chairs in the row directly before them, careful not to tear up the cushioning with her scythes. she hadn't much cared for actually sitting down, but then again, since when had any scyther ever wanted to sit down? But at least leaning against the next row like this, she wouldn't appear as tall and draw as much attention to them. She turned and eyed her trainer expectantly when Redwood inquired if there was anyone else still with questions. "What?" he said, noticing her gaze. "I understand all this; so no point in asking anything right now." Erce seemed to shake her head before resetting her attention to the speaker. Mareek felt that he had missed an obvious question from her. "What, are you wondering about what you might get as a new partner?" The Mantis turned back around and nodded expectantly. "I...hmmm..." He stopped and thought about that for moment. Now that he pondered it, he had never really ever conceive of using any other pokemon than Erce. He'd known her for so long, but honestly, another partner? kinda seemed weird... "I actually don't even know myself," he finally answered. "guess we'll just have to see tomorrow, won't we?" The only thing Erce responded to that with was a rather disappointed look before turning back to the front. Seems she wanted a new friend, and was looking to Mareek, as her trainer, to have already planned for it; hence her sense of feeling let down a little.

Ooooh.... Eagle...why you... Fine... can't use temperance yet because not everyone has given their consent to it's possibility... but I guess it's time for some stealth tactics that would make Big Boss himself smile in pride...just like the ones he used to kill Longicus... or maybe Ethic will just fall out dead from the physical strain of the attempt and again deny Marcus the chance...

Courageous, but not bright. you're just lucky the guy isn't an outlaw...cause you'd be gone sooooo fast.

Anver adjusted his sleeve cuffs as he walked through the front doors of the Estate, glancing around at the party goers and refined social elites and government officials in attendance. It was a bit ironic, if one thought about it. The former CEO and his families would used to attend parties just like this from time to time... Anver himself had been among the elites. But he had fallen from that position a good while ago. And yet here he was, at another party. It was just that this time his wife and daughters weren't with him; this time, his family were hostages, and this Dinner party a test... a test that would decide whether or not they would live or die. And there was no way in hell he was going to allow himself to fail. He found a relatively quiet corner of the place, sitting down at one of the many tables and pulling out a triple encrypted burner phone. He usually reserved the ones this powerful at discretion and stealth for emergencies, given the fact that most of them cost more than a damn smart phone because of the advanced software required to preform the call in the first place, encrypt it all three times, getting more complex with each round, send it wherever to what ever mobile or land line it needed to get to, and then de-encrypt it all three times on the other end. And it had to do all these things in just a few seconds at the very most, for efficiency's sake. "Anver!" Alan's voice echoed in his ear after he dialed the man's number on the touch screen. "Thank god! I was beginning to think that you had been captured by the TSA!" Anver raised his eyebrow upon hearing that. "Why would you think that?" he asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice. he had a feeling something had gone down after he'd left Donovan... "Didn't Donovan call you after wards to tell you that everything went fine?" There was silence on the other end. "Allan?" he questioned. "Allan, what's going on; how is it that you thought I was dead?" "Donovan's gone without a trace,"Allan blurted on his end. "After his jet landed in New York, I received word that all his bank accounts were emptied... and then I didn't hear anything more. I've tried at least a dozen times in the past day to reach him, but my calls always end up ringing forever and ever on his end. Though, I guess he probably fled to somewhere in Europe or Asia; he does have investments in a few foreign companies...and God knows how many dual citizenship the guy has managed to obtain over the decades. But i figured that if he just up'd and left without a single word to anyone, it had to have had something to do with you." "Oh, it probably does..." Anver sighed. "How so?" "I know the man a lot better than you; that's just the way he is. The guy's prudent beyond words with almost everything he does, whether it be his investments, his business choices, his associates, or even getting into any type of agreement at all. And he's damn near paranoid about the law; hence why I was a bit surprised when you told me he was willing to let me hitch a ride with him. But I can see now that this was his plan all along, probably from the minute you asked him to help me; he would do it, because his sentimentality ruled stronger than his paranoia. but the moment the deed was done, he was gonna get the hell out of America entirely, and head somewhere where it would be absolute hell for the government to get him back here to file any Felony Charges." There was silence on Allan's end for a minute, then: "I see. This was his ultimate insurance policy, encase things didn't work out for you." The was an edge of anger in Allan's voice just then. Being a Spec Ops veteran, Allan had a pretty damn strong ideal of comradery and not abandoning your allies in a fight. Anver could tell that he was probably grinding his teeth on the other end, thinking of Donovan as a complete coward for not staying in the states. "Don't think of him like that," Anver chided. "What? how did you...?" "I know you better than you think, my friend" He answered. "Don't go wasting your time fuming over the man, this is just who he is. He's always going to be thinking about himself first and foremost at the end of the day, even while he's helping friends. I've come to call it Selfish Altruism over the years." "Oh please, Altruism my ass!" "He helped me, didn't he?" Anver interjected. "You and I both know he didn't have to. He could've just flat rejected your plea and call the feds on both of us." There was again silence on the other end. Anver heard another voice in the background over the transceiver, one thick with an Indian or Pakistani accent, whoever it was, they were speaking in a fast paced foreign tongue. There was the sound of the phone being placed down and a heavy set door closing shut. then a few seconds of silence. Then the sound of the door opening again, a person running and the phone being picked up a abruptly. Allan's voice came back on, somewhat Urgent. "Shit! shit! Shiiiiiit!" he repeatedly cursed. Anver leaned forward a bit on the table. "What's going on, Allan?" he demanded, his own voice filling with an urgent tone. "Feds! A Couple of fucking feds just busted in while I was meeting with a potential contact for you! A Little Pakistani man who owns a dry cleaners. Used to be in the Indian army before he went A-wall and illegally immigrated in a boat." "So... what?" Anver asked. "Did they come to come to send him back? he get caught or something?" "No!" Allan shouted. other voices doing the same could be heard in the background in the call. "These guys weren't Immigration! They sported full black head from though, shades over their eyes! I know damn well you know the type!" The sounds of Dogs barking and even more shouting filled the call. The K-9s sounded as though they were getting closer and closer to the phone. "Fuck!" Allan cursed. "These guys definitely aren't Immigration, they move too damn fast!" "They just sic Attack dogs on you?" Anver questioned, a bit concerned now. Allan was fully capable of handling himself, much more than Anver. but if the feds were resorting to sicing dogs on people they suspected of associating with people...well, with people like him, then that was an extremely troubling sign... "No! Thank God the didn't!" Allan shouted on the other end. even as he spoke, the barking faded. "I had to freaking hop the fence into someone's backyard. they had a Fucking German Shepard and a Pit-Rot-wieller mix out!" That's when a gun shot was heard. Allan screamed in pain, the sound of someone falling to the ground could be heard. Allan's voice was more urgent than Anver had ever heard it. "Bastards just shot me! Right in the damn back of the knee, Jesus!" "Allan!" Anver shouted, standing up bolt upright from the table. "Allan, where are you!?" There was no answer. just more shouting and the sound of more of Allan yelling obscenities... and then a line akin to "Say hello to my little friend!" followed by the sound of sub machine gun fire. "ALLAN!" he shouted again. he had no idea who the hell had shouted out the phrase or opened fire. Then the call ended. Anver reached up slowly and pulled the device away from his ear, seeing the words "Signal Lost" scrawling across the bright blue screen in bold white letters. He jostled the table roughly in anger at having lost the call at that particular moment. The cuffs on his sleeve were beginning to singe with heat. he could smell a slight smokiness... "What? Oh, No, No, no!" he said, flustering as he tried to control himself and his power. he quickly was able to force himself to calm, thankfully. He looked down at his white cuffs. The thing's hadn't been singed too badly... but they would still be noticeable. "Fuck it," he said, taking both the accessories off and stowing them inside his Tux. The only thing he could hope right now was that Allan hadn't just been killed...and that no one had noticed his reaction. He glanced around discretely, thanking God that no one had even so much as looked in his direction during the whole conversation and reaction just now. He had made a good choice with this table. "Alright," He said, preparing a pep talk for himself. "Calm down, we can figure out where Allan is after this, but right now, there's a job to do...Focus! They're counting on you!" and focus he indeed did, bringing up the Thermal Field in his mind. he homed in on the Bartenders lower than average heat signature in an instant. "There!" he said, snapping his eyes open and directing his attention to the bar. Oh...how Ironic...well, he could see why the Utopia guy, Alister, had called his target "The Bartender" now. "Now... to wait for an opportunity... towards the end of this, when everyone's leaving..." He smirked at his entirely new plan. He'd pose as the sad drunk and go over and start drinking half way through the event, evaporating every drop of alcohol before it could get into his system. Then, after the party ended, he'd wait till the fool would doubtlessly call for a cab for him... and then he'd start this whole mess with the element of surprise on his side, and do what was needed... for his family.

I should also mention that one could simply move out of the area of effect and thus regain full use of their abilities that way(It would only cover a circular area of say... a 15 foot radius maybe?) though entering within it's boundary would resume the effect and again nullify the ability while the person remains in, same thing would go for ability-generated projectiles that are fired into the area from outside the boundary. (they would just wither to nothing long before hitting their target within the area). just think it would make things a bit more interesting by facilitating a "fair" fight from time to time. (Not to say that the fights we have using our abilities aren't fair, after all, at the end of the day, you either live or die depending on how intelligent and sound your strategy and snap judgements are. But this might spice things up a little by removing power from the equation entirely and essentially putting everyone on a relatively "Leveled Playing-field" for a short while.)

I was thinking that Temperance wouldn't actually be reliant on the Link itself in order to function, but rather, simply would set up a stationary field of energy that accomplishes it's stated effect, which is how it would be able to affect Ethic as well and stay in effect even if he dies before it's time of effect is up. though If Notus vetoes it or anyone has objections, I have no problem going off and finding something else for it.

Mareek has pretty much left the group and headed towards the Contest hall while you guys were standing around chit-chatting.

you'll do fine, I'm sure of it Rose. this gig really isn't that hard once you get used to it. Oh, and I finally figured out suitable abilities for Temperance and Justice; Behold! The Justice Link Effect: Blade of Truth - When activated, this Arcane Link causes a long sword burning with gray fire to appear in the middle of the air. The blade then evaluates the validity of Verbal Statements by it's flames shifting to White to signify Truth, or a Black to signify a lie. The sword itself is not tangible and can not be used in combat. Cost: Ethic forgets the results of the Evaluation immediately afterwards. The Temperance Link Effect: Negation field (AKA leveling the Playing field) - when activated, this Arcane link negates the powers of all other individuals within Ethic's vicinity, rendering them, in terms of power, back to their state prior to entering the hill and gaining abilities. Effect last for twenty minutes. Has no effect on Denizens of Hell. The Effect will still last even if Ethic is killed. Cost: Ethic's own powers are affected by the field and are rendered unusable right along with everyone else's. in addition, this Arcane Link has an hour long cool down time before the it becomes available to use again. So...what do you all think? I especially like the Temperance effect...Because it'll actually give people a fighting chance against a certain serial killer.

Lord...ten days, this is the longest it's ever taken me to get a RP up and running with an IC. And it's still not quite ready yet. Yay! a new low... eh... again, sorry about the wait guys. I honestly did no work for Esperanza before hand because I was running up on the ETC deadline I set. I've pretty much been making everything about the settlement up as I type it. but shouldn't be too much longer before we can finally begin. And here's a list of Characters accepted so far: Sarah Answell- Rosesong Zero Pax- Exlink Mauro "Big" Gomes- Notus Garen Forrest- Flux The list of characters still in the works remains the same pretty much (Because I'm taking so damn long to get the details in...) I'll update the OP for acceptees.

Oh, well, look at that. so, should I go back and read the RoG IC now just encase? or will that not be necessary for me to play out Galen's role?