Kuro

How high can we count before a mod gets involved?

6

What Are You Listening To?

the alphabet game. lol

Korean

Word association Game!

Car

How high can we count before a mod gets involved?

3

What Are You Listening To?

What Are You Listening To?

Heroes Rise: Paragon City

Z E R O - Z E R O
Z E R O - Z E R O

Location: Financial District, Paragon City
Skills: N/A

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Nancy had been given her answer. The thugs were looking to expand the Delgato network to further their criminal schemes. Unfortunately for them, they had been given incorrect information by whoever had scoped the site out. Of course, however, Nancy was more than annoyed by this response. The construction site had been her makeshift home; her secret lair. Now that the Delgatos were aware, they were bound to show up again. She'd have to move again and find a place more secluded.

"Sounds like your buddy needs glasses. How could you miss a tall, red robot?" Nancy replied nonchalantly. "Or maybe he just dislikes you and wanted to see get your ass kicked. You Delgatos are always stabbing each other in the back, after all."

Nancy refused to let go of the criminal she held in Zero-Zero's grip despite his pleas.

"Unfortunately for you and your friends, however, I'm not one to cross."

Mechanical clicks vibrated within the suit as she aimed a pulse blaster towards the other two Delgato thugs still on the ground. Nancy had no current intent to fire it at the criminals. She wanted to avoid collateral damage. Everything Nancy owned was in the building; blowing it to pieces didn't seem ideal. But the thug hadn't known that. Nancy was willing to let him think she was outright deranged and willing to vaporize his buddies just to get any workable information out of criminal trio.

"Keep spilling the beans unless you'd rather be known as the one who got his buddies killed."

Trials of New Rome - TEMPORARY HIATUS

Location —The Canadian Frontier, Some Years Ago

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It was a promise broken.

"Look out!"

The cavern rumbled like a giant's final breath. It shook rock and stone, caving in on the motley group of companions. The archer had been split off from the pack, blockaded by a pile of impassable earth. Had Rauni taken one more step further, she might've been caught beneath the rubble herself.

"Rauni!" A voice shouted, one that she had long since cherished hearing. Yet instead of the sweet, honeyed words Rauni was used to, the son of Mars now held the tone of panic and desperation. "Hold on!"

"This..." A legionnaire began. She tugged, pulling away at the pile alongside their comrades. "Damned stone! It won't budge!"

"It has to! Keep trying!"

To no avail the group tried to clear the obstacle, chipping away at boulder and rock with all their strength. And yet, their combined efforts struggled and failed to accomplish anything. Each and every stone they removed was replaced by seemingly more that fell from the ceiling, firmly keeping them separated.

"Stop!" Rauni called to her allies in a desperate plea to save their strength. "I'll find another way."

An uncomfortable silence was held between both parties. Only the sound of dripping water echoed through the cavern, seemingly louder the longer the silence lasted.

"Rauni."

"Yes?"

"Just don't go dying on me."

A slight, soft smile caressed her lips. Rauni placed a hand against cold stone, as if she had felt out for his rugged, calloused hand.

"Felix, you idiot," She gently spoke. "You know that's my line."

"I know, mea vita."

She swore that she could feel him reaching out, the palms of their hands meeting each other.

"I know."

And so, Rauni turned away from Felix, unaware of the coming horrors she would soon be witness to.

The cavern was a maze, the jagged rock winding for seemingly miles. Each twist and turn looked the same, as if she had been traversing in a circle. Perhaps she had been, having long since lost track of time. Little sunlight could creep within the dark depths of the cavern, and so Rauni had been travelling largely blind. Even the slightest data signal for her phone was unreachable, leaving her unable to contact Felix or anyone else in their group of adventurers.

But then, as she neared a large cavern, the rumbling began once more. Thundering. Shaking. Booming.

Rauni took cover behind a massive rock, and peered from her hiding spot. The cavern appeared to be some kind of room, with crude furniture and supplies strewn about. A towering cyclops entered the cave, humming to itself in its toddler-like speech. Rauni could only figure that this must been the creature's den, and knew that she needed to warn the others that she had found the target they been tracking all this time. If they were going to return victorious to the Legion, they needed to formulate a plan.

Before she could attempt to sneak away, however, a familiar face caused her to pause. Cast across the cyclops' shoulder had been Felix, his body mangled and half-chewed.

No. It couldn't be.

Rauni stumbled in shock, kicking rocks across the ground on accident. She could only look on in horror as her longtime fears came true; the cyclops dropping her lover's corpse in a pot of boiling liquid and who knew what else.

"Wot's dat?" The cyclops questioned, now alerted by the noise. He looked around the cavern, and stared back at Rauni. "'Nother halfie for dah stew?"

The cyclops received no answer. Every moment she had treasured had been busy passing through her head in rapid succession. The dreams of a quaint future in the New Roman countryside. The countless starlit nights in each others' arms. Even the little things—like the time Felix won her a stuffed toy at the games, or when he accidentally made a massive mess trying to impress her with his cooking skills.

And then, she saw red. It was all gone. It had all been stolen from her. From Felix. From them.

Her father's temper flared within Rauni. It called for vengeance, whispering away in her ear. There had been no other thought within her head; her wrathful anger focused only on the cyclops. Unconsciously, she had begun to churn a howling, fierce storm, feeding on the primal breeze and water that had long ago carved the cavernous hallways they now stood in. Debris and makeshift tools were sent flying into the air, scattering across the cyclops' den. The temperature within the cave plummeted, freezing the boiling pot of legionnaire stew that had begun to slosh from the wind.

Without uttering a word, she launched her wintery furor at the cyclops and sent it hurtling backwards. Rauni then reached for her bow, and launched arrow after arrow in rapid succession. She could feel the skin of her hands turning raw from the endless volley she fired, but Rauni refused to cease until the bow string snapped under the constant pressure.

Still, even fresh out of arrows, Rauni wasn't done. She cast the broken bow aside, and drew her spatha from her belt.

"No more!" The cyclops begged for mercy. "No more!"

Mercy? It got none.

Rauni unleashed flurry after flurry. There was little rhythm to her swings; her vicious anger and lesser skill with the Roman blade giving way to wild motion more fitted to a barbarian than that of a legionnaire. She swung and swung, cutting away at flesh and bashing into stone. When it, too, finally shattered, only then did Rauni move for the kill, using a broken table to jump upwards and plunge the battered blade deep within the cyclops' singular eye.

As the cyclops fell to the ground, Rauni, too, fell with it. Her hands gripped tightly around the blade's hilt, holding on as they both went plummeting downwards. She didn't make a sound as the cyclops drew its last breath, her prior furor now dissipating into confused anger. Her head and thoughts had become fuzzy. The sound of television-like static rang in her ears, and regardless of how many times she tried to drone it out, the noise refused to go away.

Rauni didn't know how to react. She wanted to cry and wail. She wanted to curse Felix's name for dying and leaving her behind to suffer alone. She wanted to stab the cyclops more; to desecrate the creature's body like it had done to Felix. She wanted to pull Felix out of the now frozen soup, as if he could still be alive. There was a million things she wanted to do, and yet Rauni found herself unable to process any at all.

And so, Rauni, sitting upon the cyclops' chest, sat in silence. She could only stare blankly off into the darkness of the cavern, listening to the uncomfortable sound of dripping water.

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_{Interacting With — N/A}

Trials of New Rome - TEMPORARY HIATUS

Location — City Streets, New Rome

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Shiori continued her wandering path, pizza in-hand, towards the reenactment.

It hadn't been a long walk; the tall, towering brick wall standing high above the crowds being a dead giveaway to anyone nearby. Anyone who knew their history, and Shiori could only hope they did, would easily recognize it as Scipio's grand battlement—the wall he had ordered his soldiers to build during the Siege of Carthage. A group of archers were stationed on top, raining arrow, pilum and the like down on the opposing reenactors.

She had been in luck, Shiori knew as she took a seat among the growing spectators. There was still time to experience the epic finale. Even now, with the Legion since behind her, the final Roman push brought a sort of bravado; a heavy feeling in her chest that made her proud of her heritage. The fall of Carthage had been a defining moment in Roman history, showcasing Roman prowess on the battlefield. Retirement may have long since called her name, but even an old soldier could be stirred by the fervor that had began to overtake the crowd.

One soldier roared. Then another. Shiori leaned up in her seat as the Roman reenactors charged from their encampments, sallying forth against the Carthaginian forces. They swarmed their enemy, overwhelming them with sheer ferocity. The makeshift corridors and buildings built for the reenactment gave no quarter to the defenders, with the Romans clearing building by building. It had been like an antique version of Fallujah, and the Roman reenactors left no stone unturned.

As the reenactment began to draw to a close, ending with Cato's famous words—Carthago delenda est—Shiori found had herself cheering with the spectators. For the reenactors. For the battle. For the lifeblood of Rome itself.

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_{Interacting With — N/A}