Letter Bee

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

((Collab between @Letter Bee and @Supertinyking))

Ken Illustrious Ikari and Hajime Sakurazaki

A second later, Ken remembered the existence of one ‘Mr. Immortal’, and pulled out his smartphone, turned on maximum encryption through VPN, then called the guy, asking, “Hey, Mr. Immortal, you free?”

The other end of the line comes to life with the sound of…bubbles and muffled screaming?
“Depends, how important is i- SHUT UP!”
CRASH!
“Depends, how important is it?”

Ken said bluntly, “I killed a person. He was leading a conspiracy to kill all Gifted. No one knows I did it yet but his death is all over the news. And now I need help destroying that conspiracy while making sure I get legally exonerated of all wrongdoing. Is that important enough?”

There is a moment of silence before a few bursts of gunfire blast through the microphone, most likely hurting Ken’s ears.

“Yea, I say that’s important enough. Where do ya need me boss-man?”

Ken mused, “Find Mrs. Plagrezes and her secret laboratory, wring as much information about their plans from both as possible, then leak it to every media outlet willing to cover it. Also, rescue one Alrune, also known as a clone of Shal-Akkun, an ancient hero of Rhea. Yes, this applies even if this is a scenario where they are blackmailing or coercing him to do their dirty work, which is perfectly possible.”

He grits his teeth, then continues, “Also, find out what you can about the ‘Old Faith Collective’; see if there is anything redeemable about their followers and beliefs. Is that doable? Also, tell me if you need any additional rewards…”

“Alright, so, full looting right. Anything I can steal and not get caught with, I keep. Secondly, I don’t leave trails, so I’m going to scrub a lot of my involvement as I go. Thirdly, this is a pretty big favor, so you’ll owe me one. How’s that sound?”

There is another crash, and the sound of a dumpster closing.

Mr. Immortal can hear Ken give a small “Hmm…” before saying, “Full looting, yes. But if I am going to owe you one, I want to know what you’ll use what debt I owe you for. I don’t want to suddenly find out that you have a blood feud against someone I’m friendly with or I might need in the future. Otherwise, I’ll just try and make it on my own, despite the drawbacks; I don’t like feeling like a pawn, hypocritical as it might sound.”

Ken then remembered, Oh, right, the ghost I was sharing my body with; she’s grown quiet lately…

“Ehh, it’ll be something small like hiding something, or letting me crash on your couch for a few days. I do my own fights.”

There was the sound of an engine starting up, and tires squealing.

“Where are ya?”

VROOM!

“I’ll come pick-ya up and we can keep talking more secure like.”

Somehow, one can tell Ken was smiling as he said, “I’m always open for a sleepover! As for where I am… I’m at the doorstep of an apartment owned by one ‘Galand’; I’m trying to reconcile with him before alerting him of the threat, then warning him to keep away.”

He breathed in, then out, then spoke, “I can ask my new fiance to come in my stead if you want. His name is Hajime; future Emperor Consort of Izumo now…”

“....aaannnddd….I think I know where you are. I’ll be parked outside in case your negotiations go awry. Also, congrats on the engagement, and becomin royalty.”

The sound of a vehicle going faster can be heard, screeching tires, horn blowing, wind bustling. It sounded like Mr. Immortal was goin quite fast.

“Thank you…” Ken said. “And this means a lot; you helping…”

“You saved my life buddy. Least I can do, besides, I’ve learned you’re marrying soon. Gotta help the new grooms out. Hehehehehe….If what you say is true, and these wackos were gonna kill all gifted, they’d also be goin after my pops…and I’d of done this for free.”

The joy and jest in Mr. Immortal’s voice drains to a cold serious tone.

“No one fucks with my friends and family and leaves unscathed.”

Ken smiled at that, then said, “Good.”

END

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Ken Illustrious Ikari and Hajime Sakurazaki

Ken Illustrious Ikari was heading for Reverio's home; Hajime was at his side, and both carried their swords openly.

They now had a name and face to attach to the person Ken had murdered, and an organization to name as the legal front of the Conspiracy... And Ken knew whom he had to kill next; his heart had grown cold upon hearing that woman's words and how she was stoking the subtlest embers of social unrest - A wedge between Gifted and Non-Gifted. He will need Reverio to bring this conspiracy down; he was ready to concede a lot of things to do that.

After all, he was not going to disturb Chinami's quiet life, all so that he can be acknowledged by her.

Imagine that; I want that woman to acknowledge me. Who knows, she might have been my first love, if not for Hajime... Nah; her standards are too high.

He arrived at Reverio's apartment door; found him not at home yet. Nevertheless, Ken decided to pass the time to wait for his... Friend (?) before saying to Hajime, "Hajime, I keep believing this, that I broke a band of true companions before it was fully formed, that my courage failed at the wrong time. And now, I come to him because I need to ask a favor? What I should be doing is ask for his forgiveness, then refrain from doing anything more. As it is, I broke the fellowship that was forming between us, a fellowship he tried to form, but which failed due to... Disagreements."

Hajime's response to this was, "Then why not refrain from asking for a favor, then? Apologize to him, admit fault for ruining the fellowship, then solve our problems on our own."

Ken turned to him, then ventured one more concern, "He deserves to know."

Hajime acted as a foil once again, voicing ideas that were pushed at the back of Ken's subconcious, "Then let him know, but tell him that you don't need his help if he feels obliged to give it, that you're letting him know for his sake, not yours'. That if he feels obliged to help, to stay out and let you handle it, but that if he is genuinely willling to help you to rekindle the friendship you break, with no preconditions besides that, he can join."

He paused for effect, then continued, "But what's important is to admit to your faults, to apologize, but not feel obliged beyond that. My mentor, Akio Takaki, told me that when you did something bad, to not feel entitled to people's forgiveness, nor to let your genuine faults put you in their debt."

Leaning close to Ken's ear, he whispered, "And do not let him know you killed a man. That is the sort of thing that he or someone he might allow to know can use as blackmail..."

Ken looked away a little and said, "How quick I was to leap to murder as a solution. But honestly, I don't feel that much guilt. How sociopathic, even if only for a moment..."

@Dezuel

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

Balibago, Angeles City, Philippines - 10/18/2022, 20:47 UTC+8

Cornelio Malong was about to reply, but then he heard the sounds of fire, of mobs, of chaos, and Salamin shifted to show scenes of zombies - The infected human variant, not the undead kind - rampaging throughout the neighborhood. He then gave a sigh and said, "You have your answer; while I did not know that the Chinese would resort to a zombie virus, I did not want to bother the other Arms Masters here as they're supposed to protect the city from any major terrorist incident. So yes, I was asking a child to do my dirty work; how like the political clans I am seeking to dismantle."

He chuckled and spoke, "I've changed my mind; I'm taking care of Flores Corriente myself instead of asking kids to do it. I do still need you, though,... So I'm offering 100,000 Philippine Pesos to get me out of here; is that good enough? After that, we need to link you with First Lieutenant Alonso's 'Task Force Obsidian'; they can take care of you better than I can, I think?"

-------

Noel Alonso was expecting to have to confront a mob but was not expecting the mob to be mixed with zombies, zombies that were not actually undead but rather infected living beings. So the First Lieutenant swallowed his pride as he pulled out his radio and called the rest of Task Force Obsidian, including Qingshe, "Task Force Obsidian, we need your help - Qingshe, you have full authorization to quarantine the infected in your shadow until a cure is found!"

Certain people might find him incompetent, but he knew when to use every resource available. Deftly sidestepping a burst of bullets on instinct, Noel swung his Noble Arm to try and invoke La Luna's power of enchantment, but found out that aside from copies of Qingshe's shadow, which he did not know how to use yet -

"What are you doing?!" he heard Myron's voice call out as the latter and his knot of MPs, who had shot their way through angry lynch mob and zombie alike with their guns. "You're authorized to shoot to kill here! These aren't civilians anymore - Defend yourself while waiting for Qingshe and the others to save the rest!"

Myron was right; he should at least defend himself while doing his duty - Command. So Noel sent a radio to all military and police units in Angeles City, saying, "First Lieutenant Noel Alonso requesting a quarantine of the Balibago Neighborhood! Repeat, First Lieutenant Noel Alonso requesting a quarantine of the Balibago Neighborhood!"

The reply was immediate, "Affirmative; should we ask the Air Force for an airstrike?"

Noel was repulsed by the notion, "No! Primary-friendly assets are here! Give us 45 and we'll have it under control!"

45 minutes, Noel? he thought to himself. You're really depending on Qingshe now...

------

Amadeo Balagtas was flying above Balibago, his Noble Arm giving him the power to act as an aerial asset in lieu of Indra Larsdottir, who had returned to the Ukranian front. Right now, he was scanning the streets for any clue as to whoever started this whole mess.

He didn't expect to find one almost immediately, as he saw a man throw a knife at the neck of a woman carrying a baseball bat and then after wounding her slightly, telekinetically pull said knife out to stab her a second time, in the lower abdomen; strangely enough, the man had a standoff with a stray cat as the woman raged somewhere else, ignoring her fatally bleeding wound. Was that man American? He clearly looked like one, and he had cause to defend himself if he was... But he did not look like a listed volunteer.

Amadeo regretted not having the precision to drag that man's breath from his lungs from a distance. However, what he did have was a height advantage and access to the Philippine Military's Arsenal, including a Barrett M82 strapped to his side.

Lock, load, swirl a few winds around himself to compensate for the recoil, and he was ready to shoot - But first, a warning.

"Oi, you a Volunteer?! If so, state your name and purpose!" Amadeo was not precise enough to carry sound specifically to other people's ears yet, so he settled for being loud.

Jason would be able to turn around to see someone shooting at him from the air - A redheaded man, one who looked like an American-Asian himself, but whose face and expression betrayed privilege that most of them did not have. A redheaded man just barely out of boyhood, with androgynous features that mixed masculine and feminine perfectly.

And one dead-set on confronting him...

@Lewascan2@Conscripts@Gerlando@Creative Chaos@Nimbus@QJT@Amidatelion@Ryik@Digmata

Rise of Rasalhague

Alvin Davion

Alvin knew that Remy needed help, and Fuka's command only sealed his decision to go and back up the Firestarter. Reviewing the weapons he had, he decided that he needed to focus on his longest-ranged armament, the Laser, and thus aimed it at the Jenner giving Remy problems, moving forward to the edge of the valley before firing the beam and just barely missing the foe, but he noticed that the Center Torso had already been pre-seared by Remy and his Firestarter. Good; time to press on for the kill.

Staying within sight of his comrades, Alvin fired his autocannon next, perforating the area he had already hit with swift bullets that ought to turn the enemy Mech into Swiss cheese, even as he thought, I should begin evasive maneuvers soon, so no time for a third shot - Besides, I don't like my flamer anyway.

Alvin despised the concept of burning humans to death, not just because it was cruel, but also because he hated the idea of burning flesh beyond repair, heck, he hated the idea that anything could be beyond repair or even use. So he used the time he could be using to use his flamer to check the situation; were they winning? Or was the enemy providing more resistance than expected?

Rolls

Medium Laser; Center Torso(?)
Autocannon; Center Torso

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

Intermission Two: Ghosts of Angeles City

Balibago, Angeles City - 10/18/2022, Philippines, 20:45, UTC+8

Her client was an old man; a fellow Filipino whose wrinkled brown skin and wispy white hair fit well with his immaculate tan suit and silken beige tie. Facing the Arms Master, the man spoke, "Cristina Bernardino; I have heard much about what happened to you."

He was sitting on a small chair in the small hotel room, before saying, "Now, let me introduce myself - My name is Cornelio Malong; I am with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency."

A pause for effect as he breathed hard. "I have spent a third of my life - 34 years - Trying to save the Philippines from itself. I grew my Noble Arm when I saw Angelito Jaime, the 'Hero of ASEAN', force the Chinese to back off with only his courage and a Noble Arm that wasn't even the most powerful, and saw that my country needed me more than I needed to live comfortably."

It was clear he had a habit of pausing often as he halted for a few more seconds and said, "Angelito Jaime is dying; the enemy no longer fears him. Age and lung cancer - A special type that shares his Arms Master Survivability - Are going to claim him within a year. But he fights on, using his own portals to return Chinese drones, missiles, and bombs to where they came from. And who am I to show less resolve?"

He coughed slightly, wheezing a little as he continued, "I'll be blunt. We've thrown away every opportunity to lift ourselves up since that glorious day in 1988. Our politicians are cynical, the poor, alienated, our activists, squabbling among themselves about how to help until their support ebbed away. Our army is split between those who want to fight China - Our side - and those who would gladly yield if it meant cash, a luxury home, and girls."

Breathing hard, Cornelio continued, "And now, we are at the breaking point. China is invading; their supporters, are everywhere. The political clans and 'great families' would gladly fight on the enemy's side to maintain their privileges, clients, and disinformation networks. Even those who want to fight the Chinese are vulnerable to blackmail, threats, intimidation."

He cupped his right hand forward, and a palm-sized mirror with razor-sharp edges materialized, floating above it. Cornelio then said, his tone gathering strength and steel, "This is Salamin (Mirror)."

Images then began to appear on the glass, of various people in dark apartments, typing furiously on computers that somehow kept operating despite power cuts and internet blackouts.

"These people are spreading disinformation about the situation to the world, while at the same time devoting their spare time to convincing the locals that the Amerasian - Asian-American - community in the city is to blame for the war and should be attacked. I will deal with them myself."

Then the mirror showed pictures of various influential politicians of Angeles City and the surrounding province of Pampanga, finally settling on a profile of an influential Ex-Speaker of the House from the province. Cornelio coughed and wheezed some more, then said, "This woman once held a very high position of power, and used it to work closely with China. She was thrown out when the Government of National Salvation was formed but has returned to her childhood home in Lubao, Pampanga, south of Angeles City, and is openly spreading propaganda advocating surrender to the Chinese. Bring her to Justice."

@Lewascan2@Conscripts@Gerlando@Creative Chaos@Nimbus@QJT@Amidatelion@Ryik@Digmata

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

@Digmata, if there is no third review by tomorrow, I'll approve you.

Edit: QJT approved on Discord.

Vampire The Masquerade: Seattle by night

@letter bee there's no mages

@Hyyde322

Understandable; sorry for the trouble.

Vampire The Masquerade: Seattle by night

@Hyyde322, I presume I cannot be a Mage?

Chronicles of the Six: Magic’s Awakening: A Magical Boy RP.

Deuel Akakios

Deuel let Noah light the flames, before looking at Ciel and saying, "So, umm, are you okay? You seem flustered."

He then turned to look at Niles, trying to make sure the moonlight and shadows highlighted his muscles, before leaning forward and risking Ciel getting a good look at his neck, shoulders, and back before saying, "Thanks, Niles. I'm glad I'm not losing you."

And then the youth smiled before leaning back, smiling, then musing out loud, "You know, guys, I'm happy - Despite everything, we've stood with each other through thick and thin and it's going to be hard to imagine life without you guys. I'm happy to have met you all; known you all. But enough sappy stuff; considering the fact that today is our last day... I brought gifts in a spare bag."

Walking back to the tent for a bit, Deuel waved hi to Conner and Kieran before pulling out that spare bag he mentioned and opening it, giving the two their gifts early. To Conner, he handed over a custom-made set of swimming goggles; dark-blue except for the area around the glass, which was royal blue, plus a waterproof phone 'for emergencies'. Then to Kieran, he handed a paperback copy of The Emerald Tablet of Hermes and the Kybalion, before heading out with his spare bag to give Ciel, Noah, and Neils their gifts.

To Ciel, Deuel gave a digital tablet and stylus, guessing that the latter might need those for his hobbies. To Noah, he had a new maroon jacket of syntethic fibres in reserve. And for Niels, last but not least... He gave this plushie:

Not Being Subtle

This also indicated that he had been planning to confess to Niels for some time now...

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Raven Rivers

Raven was the first to arrive, his pace almost frantic as he said to his commanding officer and old friend, "I should have known to keep my mouth shut. And to think these bastards actually think I'd come near ten meters of a Firestarter."

Colonel Wayne and any other observer who looked hard enough could see that Raven was both more composed than he was during the supply raid, yet somehow even angrier.

The man's next words were, "I'm taking full responsibility for this, Sir."

He didn't elaborate; he didn't need to. He allowed the enemy to get under his skin and now all of them are going to suffer for it. Nevertheless, he had to ask, "We can't get there in time, can we? All those people, they're going to die not knowing whom to properly curse."

This is our darkest hour, Raven Rivers thought. There can be no full rising from this, no ending without something we deeply regret. We'll forever be scarred by this, no matter what happens after.

Even if we kill every last one of the impostors, our enemies, our abusers, we will never rid ourselves of the unclean feeling that they stained us with. Our honor - God, I sound like Ingrid - has been sullied forever.

Raven sighed and said, "The Prisoners in Fort Tie Shan will further suffer for this. Everyone we loved and cared about, including my Katrina and Andrew, they'll suffer from everyone, including their fellow innmates and the guards."

He looked at his Colonel, then at Ingrid, and Reya, and Ziska and Tarak and everyone else and said, "What's the plan? We have plans for a turnaround, right? We can't let this be our darkest hour, we can't let this be the edge of the cliff..."

Andrew Rivers

Andrew was trying to gain the FPA's trust by doing menial labor and chores whenever permitted, giving them advice on weapons and motorcycle maintenance and as much information about the Green Knights as he can without outright compromising the latter. He was trying to prove himself useful and he seemed to have gotten a little bit of progress in that.

Then those impostors just had to burn down North Nui Awa and now he was trying to clear his name to a bunch of soldiers, some his age, then various officers, continually saying until his voice wore out, "We don't even have a Firestarter - These are Impostors! None of us would never touch a Firestarter with a ten foot pole!"

He needed to make his case clear, he needed to convince his captors that the Green Knights and him were innocent. He must not sound hysterical as he did so, or else...

A fist came flying at him; he didn't know whether it was a child or adult who hurled it, but he caught the blow with his forearms - Courtesy of his father's lessons - before repeating his assertion, "Those are impostors. We would never do this. Not when the real enemy is out there..."

He cannot cry. He was sixteen, he cannot cry! He was older than this, he was more capable than most other folk, he was supposed to be - No, no, no, no, he was crying!

His eyes were wet with tears, tears of grief and rage and sadness. He was not above it all. Nevertheless, he could hear footsteps stepping away from him; did they believe him now, or did they still doubt him?

He collapsed onto his knees, inadvertedly, overcome by emotion. Andrew Rivers knew that no amount of hatred hurled at the enemy will fix what they did. Only clearing their names would.

But he had to admit, maybe he had no role to play in that?