Under the Hill - Fourth Circle: Greed [IC]

[Notus]

Previously in Under the Hill

C.1

http://www.pokemonreborn.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8177&hl=+under%20+hill&page=1

C.2

http://www.pokemonreborn.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8672&page=1

C.3

http://www.pokemonreborn.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9484&page=1

Sound

After they went through the door left open by Cerberus, the adventurers found themselves advancing in ever growing darkness, to the point they couldn't see anything around them...

***

Ethic, Enya, Marcus, Mr.Taylor, Rose & Kenny

...When sudenly a white light blinds them. As their eyes adjust to the new environment, they realize they are in a completely different place.

It is a spacious and clean hall of white marble, equipped with heavy wooden desks, leather couches and chairs... and video cameras in all corners, leaving practically no blind spots.

There's no sign of the way they came from, as if they had simply appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the hall, and in addition all the numerous doors were locked, leaving the incoming adventurers stuck in the room while the others arrived.

((You arrive in the same order you left the last Circle, and find the players that arrived before there.))
***
Edward, Phantom, Ixidor & Annie

...Until gradually light starts to come back, and the next thing our heroes know they are standing in a dimly lighted, dirty and empty alley. It's night, but they can see they are in some kind of town...

No, more like a slum. The buildings all seem to be falling apart, and they can hear dogs barking and someone crying in the distance.
There's no sign of the way they used to come from the Third Circle, and it would look like they simply materialized in there.

((You arrive in the same order you left the last Circle, and can choose wether to explore the city or wait for your fellow players.))
***
Quincy & Ellaria

Quincy finally found a spot to rest a bit in the dirty town. After arriving in the alley, the gunslinger rat went around looking for an empty - and preferencially dry - room to use as a base. The second part was the hardest one, and it took a while for him to find a place that fitted the bill.

Slowly, the rat-man laid Ellaria in a chair and stretched his back. The girl was very light, so it hadn't been a problem to carry her around. On the way he had also found a poor soul in the streets and (lucky!) the fella had a battered but strong coat, which Quincy kindly relieved him from, and now was using it to tie the girl down.

It seemed she wouldn't wake up anytime soon, so he got a position by the window and decided to rest a bit, waking up from time to time to keep watch on his surroundings.

[anethia]

Annie's cold eyes gently grazed across the new landscape, one of the first to arrive. Looking back at the portal, she let out a small sigh and looked around for some holds. Finding none, she narrowed her eyes and lightly grazed herself with the wooden stick she had fashioned, before throwing it away. She quickly smashed her hand into a wall, finding a grip and doing the same with her feet, scaling the wall. She reached the top, pulling herself up and lightly landing on the top of the building.

She elegantly ran along the top of the buildings, jumping from one to another, looking around the town. She paid most of it no mind, instead thinking about the place this was. What circle was it? What could it represent? Nothing sprang to mind in this place. A disgusting slum. She was so caught up in her questions, she didn't realize the blood had stopped flowing until she was already smashing through the roof of a house.

She twisted in mid air, landing on her feet with a hand on the ground to support her, disorientated by the sudden fall. She looked around at the shabby house, and saw a brutish looking man staring at her with a candle in his hand. He was almost twice her size, but he didn't seem to have muscles. Maybe they just didn't bulge out in the same way others did. He coughed, and squared his shoulders, standing up as a sign of defiance towards her. He was trying to act tough, and not scared of her. It was almost a shame his eyes betrayed him. She reached into her sleeve, pulling out a small silver knife from it's hidden sheath, making it seem casual - as if she was rolling up her sleeves. She adopted her normal fighting stance, eyes alight as she stared at the man. She quickly spun, raising up her foot and smashing it into the man's skull, causing him to fall back and hit his head against the wall. She jumped onto the table in the middle of the room covered in debris, using the table to gain more height and smashed her fist into the mans temple. Then, in mid air, she grabbed the tip of the knife, threw it out and caught the handle right before it left her sleeve, driving the blade into the man's neck as hard as she could, before pulling it out and adjusting her hair.

There was a huge mess, with fallen rubble everywhere and some chairs smashed. There was a smear of blood on the wall, along with a pool at her feet. She walked out of the sticky substance, sighing and turning the tap. No water. If they had the ability to, she would be easily tracked. With no other option, she took off her shoes, along with her socks, placing them in her pocket. If they had the technology, they could probably use the dead skin from her feet in them. Better safe than sorry. Perhaps she could steal some later.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Annie Leonhardt

[Notus]

Annie

Out of nowhere, Annie heard a soft masculine voice coming from behind her.

"Mon Dieu, you've sure made short work of my unlucky roommate there, mademoiselle. I would be most grateful if you would find in your heart the kindness to spare this poor soul that now speaks to thee."

Turning around, the girl saw a man in dark cloak bowing to her. He must have been hiding in the shadows on the of the room, but the fact she didn't sense his presence until he spoke up was impressive by itself.

As he kept his head low in respect, all she could see was that he was tall and had straight, long and dark hair. The man stood there motionless, as if waiting her permission to move.

[Rosesong]

Rose strode into her new surroundings, blinking against the harsh light and brightness of the room. Looking around, she noted with a huff that Quincy and Ellaria were nowhere to be seen, and stormed toward one of the desks. Rapping on it loudly, she called out, "I know you're here rat, so come out now. If you've hurt one hair on that girl's head, I will kill you, and that's a promise I intend to keep."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The child in Ethic's arms coughed and heaved a bit, looking even paler than usual. Additionally, she still didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon either.

[Ragnar]

Ixidor continues to pedal his bike towards the inner slums hoping to find an exit asap, the painter left a maker on each walls as he passby each corner. making sure he won't get lost in this new place and serves as a marker to those who yet to explore the place.

Ixidor knew the risk of traveling alone, but its better to venture this place alone, rather than dragging someone with him. Especially every freaking time he's with someone, he end up seeing them murdered right infront of his eyes. The boy made his decision and went straight towards the nearby town.

Edited November 13, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic ignored that... incident from the unconscious child in his hands as he entered into the New Scenery, The kid was lucky none of it had gotten on him, otherwise he would've dropped her like a stone. He couldn't help but notice how pale Enya had grown though, even more so than she had been to begin with.

"And of course..." he sighed to himself, "That bastard steals what's rightfully mine, the group completely breaks apart for no reason, I make a psychopath for an enemy, and now of course the You're getting sick all over the place... I just seem to be a lucky bastard lately, don't I?" Despite his griping though, he made his way over to a leather couch and Layed the girl down on it. Only after that did he finally take in the surroundings in the New Circle, setting his bag down on a table top and taking a seat not far from where he'd put Enya. He began rummaging through it, trying to see if he had any relevant medicine or the like... none that he could see, but god, did he have a lot of stuff from his searching... he was surprised he had forgotten about all his gear. In his defense though, he;d been more than a bit...occupied since coming down here.

"So I'm guessing that Rat Bastard isn't here then, Eh Rose?" He called out, noticing the woman standing there out of his periphery for the first time. He didn't look up from his rummaging. "I see you just standing there like you're waiting for someone, and from his track record so far, he seems to like getting down to business quickly." He finally closed his bag, giving up on the search for medicine and instead pulling out his old pair of aviators, putting them on.

"And I'm pretty sure Enya's getting worse, by the way," he continued, now looking at Rose and leaning back in the chair as if nothing was wrong. Honestly, at this point, when shit like this happened there was no use even panicking or scrambling about it anymore... hadn't done him any good down here so far anyway. Yeah, the girl was sick, but a solution was more likely to be reached if he just approached it as it was; a problem to be solved. "She kinda heaved while I was walking in here, I don't have any fever medication or anything like that, do you?"

[Rosesong]

Rose looked up, startled. "Ethic, I didn't expect to see you so soon," she said as she ran over to Enya. "What happened to her?" the woman asked frantically, checking the child's temperature and pulse. Trying to stay calm, she added, "That damned rat isn't here."

[Sutoratosu]

"Not much," Ethic recounted. "But she's gotten a bit paler than usual since I carried her out of the Third Circle, and she threw up a little as I was walking in here a minute or two ago." he opened his bag again, rummaging through and pulling out a full bottle of water and a loose rag, wetting the strip of fabric and handing it to Rose. "Here, if she's got a fever, put this on her forehead... it's about the best we can do right now without any meds. As for the rat, he better be thanking God and all the Apostles that he isn't..."

[Flux]

Phantom walked through the tunnel, his boots making an echoing tapping as he moved. As he reached the city, he looked around, taking in the dirty stone walls and crumbling buildings. For some unknown reason, the whole scene felt familiar, as if he had been somewhere similar before. He adjusted his mask, the red glow of the eyes flaring briefly. He stood in the middle of the street, stopping and simply staring at the buildings around him. He would be visible to the people who might be in the nearby houses, but for some reason, that didn't bother him. He put his hands in the pockets of his coat as he stood in the open, staring straight ahead.

[Rosesong]

Ixidor

Ixidor rode his bike until a lone, hooded figure stepped in front of him, blocking his path. With incredible speed, the figure took out a bow and two arrows, rapid firing and deflating the bike's tires. "Now then," came a deep, rough voice. "Why should you get nice things when none of us get them? That's not very fair, now is it." The man lowered his hood, revealing a face that was worn but intelligent. "It seems that even in this place, I'll have to take from the rich and help the poor, though that blasted bank is a problem for another day. You, on the other hand... I can deal with you right now!" With that, the man jumped forward, ready to attack Ixidor.

Rose, Ethic, and Enya

Taking the water and rag from Ethic with a nod of thanks, Rose quickly poured a tiny bit onto the cloth and then pressed it against the child's head and neck in an effort to cool and rouse her.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

It seemed to help, the discomfort on Enya's young face easing somewhat. Feeling a bit cooler, the child buried her face in her big teddy bear as she slept, looking like a dark-haired, pale cherubim instead of a demonic child who spouted cryptic prophecies and warnings.

[Ragnar]

Ixidor waves his hands at the guy and draws a cube, for outta nowhere, transparent box appear around the mans feet. trapping the mugger inside a mirror prison. it seems strong enough to hold down the criminal.

lol wut? who is this guy? a cheap knockoff of robin hood? he seems decent enough compare to the other hellish creatures here, for one thing, he can talk and seems intelligent enough, another lost human perhaps? the boy approaches the cage.

"You're wasting time mister.." He said with a chuckle."I aint got no money, neither am i rich, also you'll be wasting your arrows on me, for you see, i have the ability to create and erase objects with a simple wave of my hands...reality no longer bounds me." the boy said with a smug look on his face.

"Now how about just calm down and tell me what you want?" he said to the caged bowman.

[Notus]

Phantom

Suddenly a voice broke through the silence of the alley where Phantom stood, coming from above him.

"Uhmn, so many newcomers tonight... Guess things will get fun for a change!"

Looking up, Phantom could be a young blonde woman smiling at him, her legs hanging in the air as she sat in the rooftop of the building to his . She had a pretty face, her hair cut short and lively blue eyes, and was wearing a plain black dress. She was staring at him playfully, and the scene would be not worrysome at all... If it wasn't the old-looking machine gun she was pointing towards the lone explorer while she smiled.

"Sooo, do you have anything interesting you'd like me to keep care for you, cowboy?"

[Flux]

Phantom turned his head to face the woman, his body unmoving, and his gaze blank. The eyes of his mask burned red. He said nothing, silently examining the woman. He did not recognize the object she carried, though he assumed it must be a weapon of some sort. Swiftly and silently, a portal opened beneath his feet, and Phantom fell right through the street into the welcoming grasp of the other dimension.

[CURIE]

Edward wandered through the darkness for a bit before remembering he had two flashlights in his backpack. He reached around to the left side pocket, reserved for both of them, and pulled one out. Pressed the button, and nothing. Dangit, he got the wind up flashlight. You see, the first of his flashlights was battery powered, but of course the batteries on it would run out eventually. For when that happened, he had a less convenient, self powered flashlight with its own built-in generator. On its side is a handle that you spin around really fast, which generates thermal energy, which somehow gets converted to electrical energy. So, it's infinite use, but at the cost of having to spin the handle around A LOT.

The first flashlight still had plenty of battery left (he'd used it like what, twice so far?), so he was just gonna use that. He switched the two, flicked the switch, and WHOA, THIS THING IS BRIGHT. It's so bright, it's lighting up everything around him, even stuff that's not even... in range... wait.

He was standing in what looked like an alleyway of some run-down slum. It was still pretty dark compared to how it would look on the street, but nothing compared to where he was just a second ago. Speaking of that, all that was behind him was a brick wall, no indication of where he came from. Was this part of Hell, or did he get transported to Earth somehow? He tested his "gift" by hovering a few inches off the ground. So he still had his superpowers. Maybe he might have a better idea of where if he was if he got to some higher ground. Actually, he could do better than higher "ground".

In a single leap, he went all the way to the top of the nearest building. As soon as he landed, he jumped again, putting himself at more or less twice the building's height. But instead of falling back down, he hung there in midair.

[Chevaleresse]

Marcus stopped when he moved into the next circle, looking about at his surroundings. He set Taylor's corpse down beside him, and noticed that he was not alone on his way up. He thought he recognized one or two of the people in the room, but he didn't look for long as he saw the man that had killed him earlier. Wordlessly, he dashed forward at him, hoping to take him by surprise.

[Notus]

Phantom & Edward

The woman shouted in surprise as Phantom disappeared and even tried to shoot at him before he disappeared, but to no effect. He slipped to fast into the Mirror dimension and the bullets landed with a big noise in the stone floor where he stood a little before. Then someone else spoke from a window in the other side of the street, this time clearly a man.

"Stop honey, the man is gone and we got to save ammo." The owner of the voice came out of the shadows the relative clarity of the window frame: he was a tall and thin man, with chestnut brown hair and eyes and wearing a white t-shirt and black pants. He carried a rifle over his shoulder, supposidely to give cover to the woman in the other side of the street.
"May we stop worrying with bullets for a sec love? I mean, did you see that?! That man just vanished into the floor! This is way too weir-" Before she could keep talking, a noise in the end of the alleyway made her stop.

And that was when Edward made his entrance in the fourth circle, flying up high as the hidden duo watched dumbfounded.
"Aaah, screw it, this is getting too crazy even for my taste! Hey you up there!" The woman shouted towards Edward. "What in nine hells are you doing?"

[Sutoratosu]

After watching Rose tend to Enya for a moments, Ethic's attention was ultimately drawn away when he heard new footfalls from behind them in the large room, glancing back for a moment just in time to hear said footsteps grow even heavier. And who did he see but the psychotic bastard from the previous circle?

"Well look who joined the party..." he said cooly, taking note of Mr.Taylor... wait, was that the old man? looked about fifty years younger... either way though, there was a corpse on the ground not far in the distance. But that wasn't the thing that drew his full attention, oh no, it was the guy running straight at him like a bull. "Ah, is someone sore about the whole "Trial by fire" thing earlier?" he mocked, aviators shining gold in the light of the room. He even went so far as to cross one leg over the other and continue leaning back, letting the man get closer and closer...seemingly amused by the charge. "I have to admit though, you burned well, didn't you? Why, I should consider becoming a chef someday, what with my going around torching psychos and making rat sushi."

As he spoke though, what he was really doing was counting paces, distance, timing. He took note of the man's very fast, far faster than a normal person's should be, gait... and then just as he was about to close in on him.

"Well, nice talking, but tu-ta-lu, Motherfucker." He got up from the chair, grabbing his bag and kicking the table over to give the man an obstacle, right before he shot his left arm straight into the air and sent out a Life Saber in it's whip chain form, sending the thing straight to the ceiling and embedding it there, forming a hook on the end to anchor himself. Then just like batman, he was steadily flying upward, retracting the blade into his palm as he did so. The moment he reached the ceiling he flipped himself around and planted his feet on the surface, sending out his spikes.

He looked down at the would be assailant, forming his Chain Saber again encase the bastard was going to try throwing shit at him like in their previous encounter. "So I take it you want to kill me for revenge, don't you? Interesting, seeing as you've no right to, given that I only acted in the defense of my own allies...but eh, people will do as they will, now won't they, Sir Murdersalot?"

[anethia]

Annie harshly stared at the man, gripping the knife tightly in her hand. She didn't feel safe around this man. The fact he was brave enough - or perhaps stupid enough - to talk to her after seeing such an event... it unnerved her. She hadn't even seen, heard or felt his presence until now. He was probably hiding something.

"I trust you have the sense to keep your mouth shut. Keep it shut and you'll be able to live on as if nothing happened. Think of some excuse as to what happened here if someone asks. And believe me when I say that if you speak even a word of what truly happened here, I will hunt you down. Please don't make me kill another innocent soul." She turned around, climbing up onto the exposed wall. Before she left, she felt a twinge of curiosity and turned back. "You. Why did you even talk to me? Surely you are aware if you had said nothing I wouldn't have found you, and my threat wouldn't need to hang in the air."

[Notus]

Annie

The cloaked man stood up and looked straight into Annies eyes smiling. His were black, contrasting with the pale skin of his face-which was a handsome one, thin and well treated. "Why mademoiselle, sure I am aware of that. But as Churchill once said: 'Un optimiste voit l´oportunité dans chaque difficulté' -An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Judging for what you can do and the way you behave, you sure are new in here, and I think it would serve you tré bien to have a guide to this place... As well as I could benefit from a strong friend like yourself. I don´t intend to lie, your ability impressed me and I think we could both profit from a deal." The man then moved his arm swiftly towards the body lying on the floor, pointing at him with all naturality. "For example, you don´t need to worry about me telling anyone about this incident here. Come morning this big fella will be alive again, and he will be able to tell for himself."

[Chevaleresse]

Marcus rolled his eyes. He skidded to a halt, then, in one deft motion, picked the table up and tossed it at Ethic. After this, he advanced on Rose at full speed, ready to take her out as quickly as possible.

[K_H]

Kenny walked into the Circle, his Ashen Mask missing due to him having slipped in a slippery substance on the way, and it having crumbled away when he fell. He noticed that he looked like a normal Human when he'd regained his Sight, as well as noticing that he was in quite the different place from the Third Circle. Then, he noticed Rose caring for Enya, and walked over. Kenny then spoke to Rose.

"Hi, Rose."

Kenny and Enya both then started glowing a faint Turquoise as Kenny started using his Aura to help soothe Enya's discomfort, Kenny becoming slightly dizzy in the process.

[Sutoratosu]

"Thought he would do that," Ethic mused to himself as he brought up his arm and lashed the table with his extended blade, slicing it into nothing but splinters before it even got close to him. He borught the thing around again, prepared to dish out another strike... only to find that the table was the only thing the Killer had thrown at him. And he could see why; the bastard was going for Rose now. The damn table toss had been nothing but a distraction.

"Goddamn it..." he sighed. "She's done for. The bastard moves too fast for me to get there in time, and by the time she notices him, it'll still be to late..." He noticed motion out of the periphery of his vision though, turning his gaze to the source and finding non other than Kenny down there with Rose. Maybe she and Enya weren't screwed after all... wait... did Kenny even notice the psycho running up on them? The hell was he doing, why was he just standing there chit chatting- Goddamn it...

"Hey, Kenny," Ethic called as loud as he could down below. "You've got company down there! Take his ass down, won't you?"

[K_H]

Kenny heard Ethic shout, and looked up to see Marcus running at him, Rose, and Enya. In response, Kenny Put Up a Barrier underneath the three of them, which he then raised into midair, putting them out of Marcus's reach. Kenny then got a mild Headache, but continued to maintain the Barrier.

Edited November 18, 2014 by K_H