Samurshy

Masun reached into his suit pocket, and pulled out a pack of Marlboros and took out a cigarette, giving it to the Kitsune. He then grabbed a match from the teepee and picked up the empty matchbook and struck it, offering the flame to the Kitsune "Well, since you weren't here for the introductions, my name is Masun Murray. Or Matchstick Murray, apparently. This Aussie guy over here, his name is Chuck Wallaby Moss but I call him Crocodile Dundee. The girls name is Lenaria Sarris, but again, apparently she is also now Silvertongue Sarris. As for your question about what we are all doing here, I wasn't briefed on all who would be showing up, but I would rather have those two over there in the corner be in on this discussion as well, before we start. Masun pointed to the hooded girl and the other one who now didn't have her hood up. It appeared the girl without the hood cast a spell on the other girl's open wound. "And also, Kitsune, if you could take the form of someone who isn't already here, that would make things a lot easier." There was something odd about the hooded girl. Masun had smelled her blood the moment she entered, but it didn't smell the same as a normal human. Had an average human entered with an open wound, Masun would have had trouble keeping himself from hunting that human down, in the state he was currently in. But, for some reason, the scent of the blood almost repulsed him. Not to the point of complete sickness, but to the point that he would very much rather find another prey. It didn't repulse him, per se, it just didn't attract him like normal blood does. It didn't have the same pungent allure that Masun so strived for, and it scared Masun in a way. Because Masun had never once smelled blood that he did not want to instantly drink out of instinct. "Anyway, I would rather we all be together when we do a debriefing, and I need a shower and a new set of clothes, so I will be off to the living quarters. Charles, could you round up those other two and have everyone meet in the Living Quarter's Lounge Area in, oh let's say, fifteen minutes?" Without giving Charles a chance to reply one way or the other, Masun stood up and walked away. Soon he found himself back in the elevator, waiting another three or so minutes to get to B2. Once the doors opened, Masun thought he had somehow reentered the first floor's number by mistake in the elevator. The familiar security checkpoint was right there. But then he quickly realized it had to be different, because the scent of the two men guarding the door, were completely different. After sliding his card through the security checkpoint he made his way into the living area. Map The lounge area looked a lot like the lobby on the first floor, except there were refrigerators, cabinets with easy to make food in them, microwaves and minibars with things to drink other than alcohol (though it still did have alcohol), along with the leather seats and hanging flatscreen televisions. He noticed there were two hallways connected to the lobby, one on each side. the one on the right had a sign dangling from it that said, "Males' Quarters" and the one on the left said, "Females' Quarters." Masun made his way to through the hallway marked with, "Males' Quarters", looking at each door that passed. They all had name placards on them, like Masun though they would. Eventually he came to the last room at the end of one of the Hallways that had the name, "Muramasa" on it. Very funny, Director Davis. Masun thought as he slid the placard off and entered the room. The rooms were very nice. Each one had a king sized bed, a desk, a flatscreen television, a closet, a night stand, a dresser, and a bathroom connected to it. Sadly enough, to Masun's dismay, there were no refrigerators or mini-fridges, which meant that he could store his own booze cold, if he were to buy some. He would have to store his booze out in the refrigerators in the lounge area. Masun looked in his closet and saw there were a bunch of Air Force Officer uniforms, without medals or badges attached to them, except one which was a big golden 51 attached to the chest of the first Officer uniform hanging in the closet. Well, Masun thought, at least they are clean. Masun reached for the first uniform and laid it out on his bed, and tossed the Muramasa name placard in the small trash bin by the desk. He then walked into the bathroom, which was very nice as well. The bathroom was all tile, and had a large bathtub in one corner, and a walk in shower in another, as well as dark blue marble countertops and nice ornate sinks and a large ornate mirror above the sinks. It's amazing how tax dollars are used in America, Masun thought. He quickly stripped out of his suit and underwear and draped them over the golden rod attached horizontally to the wall. It was then he realized he had no other underwear. He walked of the bathroom, nude. And walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Surprisingly there were various packs of unopened Hanes boxer briefs in the top drawer. Masun opened one up, pulled out the blue pair of boxers, and walked back into the bathroom. Masun placed the pair of boxers on the marble counter tops, and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror when he did so. Masun looked at himself, his shaggy blue hair, his red eyes, a dark skinned, toned japanese body, a large scar going from his right pectoral down to parallel with his navel. Looking at that scar brought back the memory of when he first found out about the power that holy artifacts have over vampires. The blessed silver tipped sword that sliced into his skin back in Hiroshima, the reason why he was unable to stop the sorcerer from finishing his incantation that completely leveled the city. And also the reason why he was bed ridden during the attack on Nagasaki. Masun shook his head clear of those thoughts and turned on the shower. He stepped in and adjusted the nobs so the temperature was just right.

"A kitsune, huh? Anata wa, eria 14 kara koko ni tensō shimashita? (translation: Did you transfer here from Area 14?)" Masun asked, testing the Kitsune to see if he spoke Japanese. Masun watched the woman place a guard into a hypnotic like state. Masun felt the familiar small feeling of inclination that hypnotic suggestion made, but his vampiric nature fought against it. If Masun was at full power, the feeling would be considerably less, but as he hadn't drank very much blood as of recent, (he barely drank anything from the unconscious escort in his hotel room), he was more susceptible to everything.

"With my certain archetype, alcohol doesn't affect me nearly as much, as say, a normal human. And, if we take into account the fact that I have quite the experience with drinking, I know my limits when it comes to alcohol. Though, if you don't believe me, would you rather have a demonstration?" Masun replied. Masun extended his right arm in front of himself and clenched his fist as if he was grasping something in mid air. After a second or two black energy collected around where he was grasping until a katana and its sheath was fully conjured into his hand. Masun reached into his suit and pulled out a matchbook he get from the Rabbit's Foot Casino and threw it up ten feet in the air. Masun then drew his katana, then he made a few slight articulated wrist gestures and then swiftly placed the katana back into his sheath. Masun released the grip on his katana and it faded away back to wherever it came from. The intact matches all fell down onto the long coffee table in front of Masun's chair in such a way that they created a teepee shape as each match leaned on top of one another for support. Masun did this all while sitting down, he reached down and pulled the leaver on his recliner to extend the leg rest and recline the chair, propping his legs up.

"Very funny, Crocodile Dundee." Masun said, as he pushed a few strands of his blue bangs out of his eyes. "It's quite presumptuous of you to make a lighthearted joke like that to a man you have never met. Had I been an angry man, I might have taken offense and attempt to get revenge of some sort." Masun paused to drink the rest of his drink. He placed the empty glass on the table to his right. "All I am saying, is that you might want to be cautious in the future. Apparently there are all sorts of monsters and demons living here. Wouldn't want to upset one by accident. Right, mate? Or is it, perhaps, that you feel the utmost confidence in your skill set, that you are willing to make such jokes because you feel that you are strong enough to defend against any threat? Or maybe you feel as though, since we are all in the same Area that no one would dare attack their comrade? In either case, be wary. Nothing is infallible, and no one is truly here for their comrades, everyone has their own agenda." Masun turned to Lenaria surprised that she spoke Japanese perfectly, as she didn't look Japanese at all. "Yes, my name is Masun, Masun Murray if we are telling our full names." Masun intentionally left out his middle name, because he didn't think it was relevant.

"Konnichiwa watashi wa sumisu Masun desu. (Hello, my name is Masun)" Masun said as he took another sip of his drink. He didn't feel much like talking, and something about his native language seemed much easier to speak when he was feeling lazy. Masun went back to watching the Liam Neeson movie that he now realized was Taken 2.

Masun looked over at the Australian man who sat down in a couch next to him. "No cake. But if it is refreshments you are looking for, there are plenty of different alcohols to choose from." Masun said as he took a sip of his drink as a sort of gesture to show that there is, indeed, alcohol. Masun was still in his casino suit, and it felt kind of dingy. He realized that he didn't bring anymore attire and wondered if there was anything to wear down in his assigned living quarters. Though, Director Davis never really told Masun what room he would be staying in. So he guessed they would have name placards on them. Masun was contemplating going down to see his living quarters, but he was comfortable sitting where he was, watching some sort of Liam Neeson movie that was playing on the TV.

Chelsea's question caught Zeke off guard and left him flabbergasted. He tried to reply immediately but the question was so out of left field that he didn't know how to react. Finally he replied with a, "No, we aren't together, that's crazy. She's just one of my only friends." Zeke replied

Las Vegas, Nevada was certainly an evil place. A place where a man could buy an escort, gamble away his winnings, and get the best drugs money can buy all before dinner time. Yes, if there was ever a sign of the downfall of western civilization, Las Vegas would undoubtedly be it. Las Vegas was truly the bottom of the barrel, and a perfect place for someone like Masun Murray. Scraping the bottom of the barrel as if trying to break through the barrel and dig into the ground underneath; Masun was a broken man. And what other better place was there for him to drown and escape his sorrows? Las Vegas was disgusting, and that was alright with Masun. This place had everything Masun needed; various types of alcohols, various ways to lose his money, and various types of escorts he could pay for. Masun was a young looking man, possibly in his twenties, but that was far from the truth. Masun had been alive longer than any human could possibly dream of, except maybe the humans recorded in the story books from over two thousand years ago. Even though Masun had never read a bible, because just merely holding it in his hand caused him immense amounts of pain, he had decided long ago that they were nothing but stories told to children at bedtime. With everything Masun had endured throughout his lifetime, he knew there could be no God, at least, not one that was loving and caring. Masun still couldn't explain why certain things of a holy nature held power over dark entities like himself. Perhaps the reasoning behind holy water turning to sulfuric acid on skin contact with a vampire had something to do with magic. Masun tried to not think about that prospect, it always led to him thinking too deeply; and if Masun took time to think too deeply, his mind would always arrive at the things that he desperately tried to forget. Masun didn't want to remember the sole reason why he drank so heavily. The funny part about him drinking in excess, is that, if he wasn't a vampire, his liver certainly would have shut down years ago. Masun's vampiric nature allowed him to indulge in absolutely everything of a negative nature, and never suffer the adverse effects that mortals suffer for doing the same thing. Of course, at the same time, this meant that Masun could never truly find peace, or at least that is the conclusion he came to. "C'mon, roll the dice already", an impatient livid balding man said, from the other side of the craps table. Masun realized that he had just been sitting there shaking the dice in the cup for a few minutes now, lost in thought. Shit, I come here to escape, not to deep think. Masun thought as he threw the dice. He bet on snake eyes, but it landed on a five and a six. The casino employee took the chips Masun bet, which was everything, and with that, Masun left the table. Masun concluded he needed to heighten his blood alcohol content. He already heightened his blood content with that escort who passed out in his hotel room thirty minutes ago. Now he needed to work on that alcohol part. Mason sat down at the bar and ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. Masun never understood why it was called a Long Island Iced Tea. It wasn't even made from iced tea, nor did it taste like Iced Tea. It was made from Rum, Tequila, Gin, Vodka and Triple sec, with some lemon juice and coca-cola. And to Masun it just tasted like sprite with an alcohol bite. "That'll be seven dollars." The familiar goth looking female bartender said from behind the bar. "Just put it on my tab." Masun replied and he reached for his drink, but the bartender slapped his hand. "I would put it on your tab, if you didn't already have over eight hundred dollars worth of debt on your tab already." She said. "C'mon, it isn't even the end of the week, yet. I can win the money tonight." Masun said as he reached for the drink again. Yet again receiving a hand slap. "I'm sorry, but I am not letting you put more debt on your tab. You don't have to pay it right now, but I am not allowing you to drink for free anymore." the bartender replied. Masun's expression quickly turned to a sour expression. "Listen," Masun reached over the counter and grabbed the women's nametag which read, Tally, Masun then cracked a fake smile as he attempted to convince the bartender, "Tally. I know you only just started as a bartender at the Rabbit's Foot casino last week. And I am not going to tell you how to do your job. But the last Bartender here, Jace, he was a real swell guy. You see, he let me drink on my tab all the way up until the last minute of the deadline. And I always payed Jace his due. Now just let me..." Masun reached for the drink again and a final time received a slap on the top of his hand. Which this time Masun released a, "Fuckin shit." from under his breath. "Listen, you asian shit. You can have the drink, but only if you pay me in tangible money. I am not Jace, Jace ran things fast and loose and almost never met the house quota because he let too many people get away with cheating him out of drinks. I will not allow the same thing to go on while I run the ship." Tally replied. Masun rolled his eyes and opened his wallet to find it barren. Masun was about to get up to get money from the ATM, when a pleasant smelling woman in a business suit placed a hundred on the counter in front of Masun and sat down next to him. "I'll pay for him to drink tonight" Said the woman in the business suit. Tally rolled her eyes and reached for the hundred, but Masun held up his index finger as if to tell Tally to give them a second. Tally again rolled her eyes, left the hundred, and walked over to help other customers. "While it is true that I don't know every person that walks through this casino, I don't need a photographic memory to know an Area agent when I see one." Masun said. The woman smiled at what Masun said, but didn't seem to be surprised. "Well, it is to be expected of an old Area member like yourself to be able to spot one of their own. Right Masamune?" The woman asked. Masun's eyes narrowed at the mention of his previous name. Masun turned his head and looked at the Area agent, taking her all in. She had black hair that was probably pretty long, but since it was in a bun on top of her head, he couldn't really tell. Her bangs were fairly long, which she attempted to keep out of her face with a barrette clipping her bangs to the side of her head, but a few loose strands managed to come loose and hang in front of the left lens of her bottom half rim glasses. She was resting her head on her right hand, her right arm making a triangle from the bar which acted as a stand for her head. She was looking at Masun and smiling a devilish smile that only seemed to make Masun even more angry. After assessing his opponent, he replied. "The name is Masun Murray now, got it? I don't like bringing up the past." Masun's tone was that of anger. "Now that I have that out of the way, just who the hell are you?" "Well, that depends. If you want the truth, you will have to accept an offer I am about to extend to you. If you want me to lie to you, then I can tell you my name right now." the Area agent replied. "No deal. I am not going back to warmongering anymore. Not after Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I can't be responsible for lives anymore." Masun said preemptively. "I would understand your reservations about the failure to protect human life, but alas, that is what happens when you are on the wrong side of a war. However, if you wish to continue your decade long binge in Las Vegas, you might want to consider my offer." She rebutted. "Okay, I am listening." Masun said. "I'm going to get straight to it. First point: We need you. We are on the cusp of World War III, and we are currently collecting as many important forces in Area 51 as possible. We would like you to be the leader of a new group we are putting together. We are willing to do everything possible to get you to join Area 51, which leads me to my next point. You should check your bank account on your phone" the woman suggested. Masun reached into his black suit and pulled out his iPhone and tapped on the Washington Federal bank icon. He typed in his information and password expecting there to be a large sum of money transferred into his account within the past hour because of Area. What he found, instead, was that his information was incorrect, or rather, it was as if his account had been closed. The rest of fifty-thousand something dollars that he had from his savings, gone. Masun crushed his phone into glass and microchip components in anger. "Being an enemy of the US is quite a problem for someone with your... How should I say this? Vices? However, you come work for me and I will guarantee you will never be short on money, and you will always have access to any drink you want." Masun didn't like this, not one bit. He hated being forced to do something, this was something the old shogunate did back in his first generation of life. Something he fought against. But his need to forget the past outweighed his rebellious nature against the powers that be. "Fine, you have a deal. Just give me back my money!" Masun said, angrily. "My name is Felicia Davis, I am the director of Area 51, from now on, I will be your direct commander." Felicia extended her hand for a handshake. Masun shook her hand and let out a, "tsch" his actions contrasting his vocal mannerism. "There is a black Lincoln Continental downstairs. It will take you to Area 51, you will be living there from now on." Felicia said. Masun grabbed the Long Island Iced Tea and left the whole one-hundred dollar bill. He downed it in thirty seconds and then proceeded down to the car. Felicia was riding in the passenger seat, and the driver seat was taken up by a man in full United States Air Force attire. Masun opened up the back seat on the right of the car and sat behind Felicia. The car only drove on for about a an hour. Surprisingly Area 51 was only about seventy miles away from Vegas. They had to make various stops at checkpoints along the way, as they drove through government land. Eventually they arrived at what looked like an airport. They parked in front of a small building that almost looked like a shack that soldiers from the airfield would take breaks in. Felicia stepped out and motioned for Masun to step out and follow her. They walked into the small white building with only one window. There was only one person inside, and it was a women who looked to be in her late fifties who was tapping away at a keyboard. Felicia handed Masun a keycard. "This is your Identification card, it is how you will get in and out of the Area. Also step right here and look ahead." Felicia motioned Masun to stand directly in front of the desk where the woman was tapping away. There was a small wall extension that came out right behind Masun, that was completely blue. A bright flash came from a camera mounted on the desk. Masun noticed that the card he held hadn't had a profile picture until now. "Pretty cool, right? Our ID cards are dynamic, we can beam your profile picture directly to it." Felicia said with enthusiasm. Felicia went behind the desk and was standing right in front of the wood paneled wall that covered the entire shack. She placed her hand on the wood paneling it scanned her hand, and then the paneling slid upwards to reveal an elevator that could only go down from here. Felicia motioned Masun to come into the elevator. Inside the elevator was a hand biometrics scanner as well as a series of physical buttons to go down to certain floors which went all the way down to b66. Felicia scanned her hand and tapped a few buttons on the scanner and motioned Masun to place his hand on the scanner as well. " Now you are in the system as an Area 51 Agent. Welcome aboard Masun Murray." Felicia said. She pushed the button for b1, the elevator droned on downward for about three minutes. They had to have descended more than three hundred feet by now. Before the elevator stopped on the first floor, Felicia got a phone call. Masun wasn't paying attention, but she sounded a bit frantic. "I have a meeting to attend, I wish I could show you around, but the only two floors you will be using are this one and b2 which is the living quarters. Make yourself at home" She said as she stepped out, "because this is your home now." Felicia went through the security checkpoint and was gone. Masun stepped out of the elevator into a brightly lit room which seemed to be a security checkpoint. There were two heavily armed soldiers guarding the door into the main area. Masun stepped over to the door with the two guards standing on each side of it. He swiped his card and placed his hand on the scanner, and walked into a massive room. It was a well lit, carpeted lobby area. There were various couches and recliners to sit down on, and a television hanging in front of every one. Masun turned back around towards the door he came in and saw a large map on the wall next to the door. Masun looked around the lobby area for a minibar, and he found one embedded into the wall. He made himself another Long Island Iced Tea and found a nice leather recliner to sit down in. Link to OOC

Zeke was still livid, though he was keeping a calm facade. Chelsea was just an hour ago trying to kill Raiya, and now Zeke was supposed to be friends with her? Even though he thought these things, he knew that if he didn't get along with Chelsea, it would rub Raiya the wrong way. And if he wanted Raiya to stay in the group, he would have to trust her even more than he already did to prevent Raiya from having a reason to distrust the group and leave. So, Zeke attempted to reply to Chelsea. "Um... Hi. Nice to meet you as well." Zeke replied. He was trying to sound genuine, but his voice sounded more robotic and uncaring than he was trying to prevent it from being. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Raiya went and bought various items, not just the water and granola bars, but beef jerky, soda, various candies, and a pack of Camel menthol cigarettes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hmm, I like you, comrade. For you, I will take one-thousand notes for the bus." Vern replied to Misha

I am twenty-one years old. I have had all four wisdom teeth for years now. I remember going into the dentist to get a cavity filled and them telling me to set up a time for surgery to have my wisdom teeth removed. I told him that they weren't bothering me, and that I am not going to get them removed until they bother me. He insisted on me having them removed as soon as possible, and wouldn't let it go until I actually left the dentist office. I am now convinced there is some sort of wisdom tooth conspiracy, because my wisdom teeth don't hurt me, but that brah really wanted me to get my wisdom teeth removed. He more than insisted, it almost felt like he was demanding it. Creepy shite, bros.

Zeke brushed the dust off of him, and frowned. "Yeah, it seems making friends is all I have been doing lately." Zeke said as he walked past Chelsea and Raiya. "What now?" Raiya aked Zeke who was now walking towards the gas station. "We find a way to get back to Novarius." Zeke replied. "I would teleport us, but I can only teleport a maximum of two people at a time, and it drains my energy pretty quickly" Raiya said. Zeke walked back into the gas station. "You want something to eat or drink?" Raiya asked Chelsea. "I'll get you whatever, if you don't have any money on you." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hm... the only vehicle I got in the back that is functioning is the mini bus. I actually just got done cleaning it out, too."

"RAIYA! GET AWAY FROM HER! DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING SHE TELLS YOU!" Zeke screamed as he ran full speed (his maximum super human speed, which was about 100 mph). His right fist pulled back for a punch straight at Chelsea's head, as he ran at her. He was about 10 feet away from Raiya and Chelsea when Raiya stepped in. Her reflexes were superhuman, and Zeke couldn't tell if it was that she was moving so fast that even at his speed he couldn't see her, or if she instantly teleported (she used Judgement Step). At his speed, all Raiya did was put her right hand on his stomach and her left hand on his pectorals and she used momentum and speed to shift his trajectory to an air born one. With her Zenith Fists of Judgement equipped, she was easily able to change his momentum with a small angle shift using her hands and arms extended outwards in an arc. Zeke didn't know what happened. Even with his enhanced reflexes and early warning system, it was too quick to detect. One moment he was rushing towards the assassin, the next moment he was flying through the air, up and over both the assassin and Raiya. Zeke landed, bounced, and rolled a few times before skidding to a stop on his back. Zeke had no time to be disoriented, even though that wasn't necessarily his choice. After about 20 seconds he got back up to his feet. He quickly fired off a bolt of plasma at Chelsea, but Raiya judgement stepped in front of it, using her fist weapons to block the energy attack. The plasma split into 10 separate smaller beams which arced and diffused harmlessly around both Raiya and Chelsea. "Zeke, if you don't calm down and rationalize within the next ten seconds, I am going to have to knock you out." Raiya said with an angry expression. But what is there to rationalize, that girl tried to kill Raiya but she is defending her, she is obviously being tricked. Wait- I saw the Escalade get sucked into that black hole thingy. How did Raiya escape? And more importantly, how did she meet Chelsea who ran away as soon as she thought Raiya was dead? As Zeke thought these things, he realized he rushed in a bit too hastily. "I guess I was a bit hotheaded there...But I thought you were dead, and I thought it was that girl," Zeke pointed at Chelsea, "who was the one who killed you. "I am not dead, that much is false, however, it is true that this girl, did try and kill me." Raiya explained. Her angry expression changing to a stern one. "After I was knocked unconscious because of Misha, I woke up the moment prior to Chelsea throwing the grenade. I was able to teleport out of the vehicle before it was consumed by the singularity. Afterwards I followed Chelsea, and challenged her to a battle. During this battle I decided that she is now my underling and under my protection. So, I suggest you lower your laser cannon before I have to hurt you again." Zeke couldn't believe what he was hearing. "SHE TRIED TO KILL YOU!" Zeke said in confused anger. "I THOUGHT- I thought you were dead" his tone changing to a more melancholic tone. "Why would you care about her? She kills for money." "My reasons are my own. You are just going to have to trust me. And, I am sorry that I worried you. Though, if it wasn't for Misha, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place." Raiya growled, sending a death stare to Misha who she could faintly see sitting in the station. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ah! I don't see very many strangers from back home." Vern said, putting his newspaper down to look at Misha with his own eyes. Even though he could see perfectly with his clairvoyance, it was a sign of respect in Morden to look a comrade in the eyes when exchanging words. "Though, judging by the amount of money you must have, what with those seven platinum level credit cards, and the fact that you have $2157 notes in your wallet alone, it doesn't seem that you see very many people from back home either." Vern finished with a smile.

Considering Zeke was a friend of hers from a while back, and Misha was just a complete asshole, she knew it was Zeke and was pleasantly surprised. "Hmm? I see. It appears Zeke must have a soft spot for me. Not all that surprising considering I am probably the only person he knows in this world, and one of the only people he could call truly his friend. It still takes me by surprise a bit, though." Raiya said. "Well, we better try and find where they are, they can't have gone too far by foot." Raiya used her index finger to draw a magic circle in the air. The pink glowing circle was bout the size of a diner plate, and after drawing it in the air she grabbed it as if it were a physical thing. On the magic circle it showed two blue dots close to the northern edge of the circle and growing ever so closer to the complete edge. "It looks like they are about thirty miles to the north of here." Raiya said. Raiya pointed her palm downwards and created another pink circle, this time the circumference enclosed Chelsea and Raiya. They both began sinking into the circle as if the ground they were standing on was made of liquid. Soon enough they were both engulfed and they found themselves traveling through the In-between worlds with immense speed. The in-between worlds (as Raiya liked to call it) looked a bit like the a music player visualizer. A long blue psychedelic tunnel of fluctuating brightness and tones. Eventually the reached the end of the tunnel and manefested out of a pink circle that was placed on the ground about forty meters away from the SletCo gas station. SletCo's all too familiar giant orange tabby cat sign waving at them from a distance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zeke and Misha arrived at the gas station, pushing their way through the entrance doors. Vern was leaning back in his usual chair reading his newspaper, as if nothing had changed in the past day. And for him, nothing had changed. But it still angered and saddened Zeke to know that the world could go on as normal without Raiya. Zeke's thoughts continued to worsen which made his expression turn ever more forlorn as he made his way back to the liquor isle, and grabbed four large bottles of fireball whiskey, placing them on the counter. Without looking away from his newspaper he spoke in his rough mordenic accent, "Something troubling you, friend?" Vern asked "A lot of things are troubling me." Zeke said "Don't beat around the bush, comrade. I can tell when something is bothering people. Now spit it out." Vern demanded. "It's Raiya..." Zeke lamented. "She's dead, and it's my fault. I couldn't save her" "You must have done everything in your power to save her. And if it was outside of your power, it is not your fault because you couldn't have done anything." Vern replied. Zeke realized that Vern was right. Raiya died, but it wasn't Zeke's fault. He did everything he could, but in the end it was just a matter of bad luck and circumstance. "Thanks Vern. I guess you are right." Zeke said trying to smile but only being able to force a smirk." "But if we are talking about the same Raiya, I can tell you one thing that might make this all better." Vern said, still reading his newspaper. "She's not dead. In fact, she is outside right now." Zeke looked at Vern like he had lost his mind, but he still turned around to look out the store front windows. And what he saw brought as much joy to him as it did confusion. It was Raiya walking along side the assassin that he assumed killed her to begin with. Zeke's tattoo started to glow as he got angry and made his way outside to confront the assassin once more.

Raiya placed her hands on Chelsea and recited the incantation which were direct bible verses. "The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm one forty-seven verse three." Riaya didn't need to end it with the verse number but she felt more empowered when she did. Immediately following the end of the recital of the incantation, her hands were covered in a green glow as the energy seeped out from her hands into Chelsea's body mending her wounds and giving her a bit of stamina.

Raiya looked a Chelsea. She was cut and bruised all over, and even though Raiya wasn't the only one who put those injuries on Chelsea, she felt bad. She decided to use healing magic on Chelsea but it would work better if Chelsea was laying down, relaxed. The sky was darkening ever more so than five minutes ago, and she knew that she had to regroup with Zeke. But this took prescience Raiya found a large patch of grass and walked over to it. "Chelsea, could you lay down on this grass for me really quick?" Raiya asked.

"The gas station has vodka, that's all that I need to brighten my spirits right now" Zeke replied as they continued to walk forward. It took them about thirty minutes, but eventually the SletCo station with the familiar orange cat sign appeared in the distance. "I hope Raiya and Vern weren't too close. I don't want to have to give bad news right now" Zeke said to Misha. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I don't know that you won't turn on me. I am trusting you, since I know I am strong and can handle myself. I am also trusting my strength. Don't disappoint me. You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger." Raiya replied as she dematerialized her armor and weapons, fading away back to her normal leather outfit. Raiya extended her hand to Chelsea for a handshake.

After the volley of flame arrows subsided, Raiya judgement stepped within talking range of Chelsea. "I don't normally deal with Espers. I lead an entire gang of only magicians and that is how it will always be. But, there was something about you, the way you carried yourself, that made me take interest in you. You reminded me of myself when I was younger, you have the demeanor of someone who has been abandoned, like I was. That's why you became a mercenary, right? To be independent? To not ever have to get close to anyone ever again? Join me, Chelsea. I can show you that having friends, and relying on each other is one of the best things in life. I can show you that killing doesn't have to be the only answer. I can show you that compassion for your comrades isn't a weakness. And above all, I can show you how to believe in all these aspects, while at the same time, ruling with an iron fist." Raiya said all these things as she extended a hand to the wounded Chelsea.

You leave me no choice, then. Raiya thought. Raiya saw what Chelsea was doing when she punched the ground, and so she readied a judgement step. She judgment stepped thirty-two meters away on the right flank of Chelsea. Raiya held out her fists and turned them 180 degrees so that her open palms were facing each other. She then clenched her left hand into an open fist as if she was grabbing something and yelled, "Zenith Judgement Bow!" her fists immediately jumped back into flame form and the flames took a bow shape. As the flames died down an oaken ornate recurve bow appeared. She pulled back the bowstring and an ethereal flaming arrow appeared as if she had drawn it from Hades' quiver and placed it there herself. She then yelled, "JUDGEMENT BARRAGE!" Releasing the arrow which immediately split into forty separate arrows of flame all arcing in a different trajectory from one another, but all homing in on the same target. Even though they arrows appeared to be made out of pure flames, they were actually sharp as well, which is why Raiya aimed the arrows to only graze her and not pierce anything vital. Because the lacerations would be cauterized immediately, and Chelsea would only have to worry about the pain and not blood loss.

When Riaya's fist collided with Chelsea's, there was a small explosion of energies as they pressed their fists together. Raiya was impressed at how much power that Chelsea had in her punch, had she not been using her magic and armor, she would have taken substantial damage. But as it stood, the only damage she received were a few bruises and lacerations on her hand that she was punching with. Raiya's magic and armor had absorbed the mass majority of the impact. Even so, Raiya was still impressed that Chelsea was able to survive and even (if not just a very small fraction) ward off her attack a bit. "Don't you see? It's pointless to fight me." Raiya yelled as she pressed her fist with more effort against Chelsea's fist.

Raiya saw the punch coming, and there were a couple of things she was thinking of doing before Chelsea through the punch. Raiya considered judgement stepping behind Chelsea, again. But she knew that, if she were to display her power before Chelsea in such a way as to make her feel powerless, she would have to meet force with force, and not dodge the attack. Before Chelsea through the punch Raiya called out to her Zenith blade that was still stuck in the ground back where she left it when she shout the judgement bolt. As she called out to the blade she shouted, "Zenith Fists of Judgement!" The blade turned into flames that flew at Raiya, and surrounded both her hands. Once the flames dispersed, her hands were covered in a new weapon. She had new gloves on that were plated with ethereal metal right above the knuckles and on the backs of the hands. She wound back a punch with her right hand, and punched to meet Chelsea's fist yelling, "JUDGEMENT STRIKE!". Her hands were now covered in ethereal flame as she cast the Zenith spell Judgement Strike which empowered her punch to cataclysmic levels of destruction. It was clear that if it were a normal human's fist meeting Raiya's, there probably wouldn't be anything left of the normal human.

Raiya watched as her judgement bolt was bounced away as if it were nothing. "Hmph. I applaud your reaction time but you are only delaying the inevitable." Raiya said with a grin. "Let me ask you something." Raiya began slowly walking towards Chelsea ever so slowly while she was talking. "Do you honestly think I have been using even a fraction of my power? Because you would be sorely mistaken. I have been toying with you." Raiya was now twenty feet away from Chelsea. "Did whoever hired you even think to mention my power level? Or perhaps they did, but maybe you didn't understand it or didn't care?" Raiya was now ten feet from Chelsea. "Well, let me let you in on a little secret. I'm a magician saint, but do you know what that means?" Raiya was directly in front of Chelsea within touching distance. "Let me put it in terms you espers understand. In terms of esper capability, my magic level would be on pare with a Level 5 esper's abilities. If I actually wanted to kill you, I could have done so ten times over by now, in so many different ways. Especially in the weakened state that you are in right now. I guess the only question right now that should be asked is why. Why have I not struck you down yet?" Raiya let the rhetorical question float in the air in case Chelsea wanted to speak.

Raiya's swing cut through the empty air, missing her target. Hmm, impressive reaction speed. She is definitely experienced, not just with her bodily reflexes but with her power as well. Raiya thought. Let's see how she fares with this. Raiya extended her left hand, which was empty, and held her palm out facing the direction of Chelsea. She stabbed her claymore into the ground for it to rest there for a moment while she placed her right hand on her left arm as if bracing it. Energy seemed to accumulate around Raiya's palm as a etheric red magic circle began to form. She continued to gather energy and then shouted, "ZENITH JUDGEMENT BOLT!" Immediately a bolt of red hot energy jumped from the red magic circle speeding towards Chelsea. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zeke continued onwards, the heat of the sun, which was in the first stage of setting, was beating down upon them. They had been continuing on for about thirty minutes, and even though Zeke didn't feel much like talking, he decided to tell Misha his plan on getting back to Novarious. "We are pretty close to Vern's gas station. I am sure he can help us, so that is where we should go." Zeke said in a quite, forlorn voice.

She blocked a few bullets using her Claymore, and then her brestplate before shouting, "JUDGMENT STEP!" There was a bright yellow flash and one moment she was standing where she was getting shot at by Chelsea and the next she was standing to Chelsea's direct flang within touching distance. Raiya quickly swung her sword with all her strength in a downwards arc, like she was a golfer trying to tee-off. Raiya aimed for the kevlar as she new that if the swing hit, it would not kill Chelsea, only knock her off her feet and the wind from her lungs.

Zeke slumped over in silence, as if abstaining from speech was a reply in and of itself. Zeke stood up with tears in his eyes, his long red hair hiding his expression as his gaze was downcast. And they began walking, walking towards the same path they would have taken had they driven on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raiya had been tracking the essence of the esper through the in-between space for only a few minutes. When Raiya was sure that Chelsea had slowed down, she was ready to reveal herself. First Raiya equipped her armor by yelling the name of the primal she made a pact with, which in this case was Zenith. As soon as she shouted, "Zenith!" it was as if her body was struck by lightning. After the brightness subsided, she was clad in gold armor from pauldrons to greaves. The only piece of armor she wasn't wearing was a full helmet. Instead of a helmet she wore a golden circlet with scales of justice inscribed on the middle pendant. After she was equipped she felt it was time to step out and greet the foe that attempted an assassination on her life. A grand, vertical, yellow magic circle opened up five meters in front of Chelsea and her invisible esper comrade. After about ten seconds of the circle standing there, menacingly, Raiya stepped out of the portal, clad in golden armor. "You have attempted an assassination on my life, instead of battling me face to face, you chose a coward's tactic. I don't care who you are or who hired you, all I care about, is your punishment. I can assume you already know my real name, but I shall tell you my Magic Name. If you are not familiar with the tradition of Magic Names, a Magic Name is only announced as a declaration of a duel to the death. My Magic name is Vincio590 May My Punishment be Swift." She finished. And then she shouted, "ZWIESS!" And a large ethereal claymore that was just as gold in color as her armor fabricated itself out of flames in front of her, she snatched it up with her right hand as soon as it was done manifesting itself before her.