Lonewolf685

Deep Ground Online (Hiatus)

@Lucius Cypher
By the way, would Kanbaru know Retsu's face if she walked into the club? Also:

To: Broker of Fortune
From: Dark Wraith
Subject: Re:Business
Meet me at The Network.

To: Broker of Fortune
From: Dark Wraith
Subject: Re: Business
Trying to meet me face-to-face again? You know how I am. I'll find you in Deep Ground.

E tu, Retsu?

The World of Wasted Dreams

Katashi Todo

---

It wasn't an easy process but the surviving members of the group had managed to evade the Friagne and escape to the floor below via the drainage pipe. Though evade may have been giving them far too much credit, as it was already retreating with a captive Mii in toe when they were on their way out. He looked upwards at the series of frantic thuds above, showing that it had apparently stashed Mii away and returned for more. "Close the window and someone keep an eye on it. If we can get down here in heels, who knows if it can." He said to the air, not trying to command them in this crisis when it may only spur provocation.

Finding a decent enough spot beside Yuriya to center himself after their disastrous first encounter with the supernatural, he allowed himself a wistful smirk at her efforts to provide them a measure of levity so they don't succumb to the bleakness of the world around them. "While Shizune is a alluring by every definition of the word, I'm surprised you'd think so little of your own allure as the picture of a traditional Japanese beauty." He met her gaze with an arched brow as she swept across them all, a touch surprised she lingered on him when they weren't anywhere near as familiar with each as she was Shizune, but let it slide as she came to notice the source of Alex's concern. "I hate to bring the mood back down, but we can't rest here. Even if that is plain water that isn't part of a larger trap to harm us, that is not going to do us any favors if we stay. Chinese water torture anyone?"

Assuming something ridiculous didn't happen, like the room sealing itself and everything filling to the brim or aquatic monsters spewing forth from the faucet, the psychological affects of water used to torment people were a well known fact through out history. If they stayed it likely would only put them further on edge, and that could cost them. "Though if we insist on not moving, we should jam the door with a chair to buy ourselves some security. Unless there was something else you'd like to add, Shizune, Yuriya?"

Deep Ground Online (Hiatus)

Hildr Reinhardt

The Reinhardt matriarch waited till her daughter and her close friend had left the apartment, even going so far as counting to twenty just to ensure they were well out of ear shot or hadn't left anything behind. Certain in her solitude she reached into an inner breast pocket of her jacket and produced a featureless flask of polished silver. A flick of her thumb removed the stopper before she upending the contents down her throat, welcoming the burn of something a bit more potent then hard liquor as it worked through her system.

"Sons of bitches, I can't turn my back for two minutes before these craven shits descend on my baby girl! She gets enough of this shit from her father, she doesn't need it half way across the world too." Hildr slammed the flask down onto the table and dug into her other breast pocket to produce a sister container. It met the same fate as the first and joined it on the table, noticeably lighter. "I should walk right back in there and kick in those brats teeth! Grah!"

Freed of the influence of home life and higher society, Hildr allowed herself to loosen the metaphorical tie and indulge in the anger characteristic of her DGO days as a Berserker. Too a lesser degree Eris had followed in these footsteps, but the different times seemed to be hampering Eris where Hildr had flourished. Then again the matriarch was far too loose to be bogged down by the ideology that Eris had clung to. It would be fair to say that Hildr would have remained to stew in her anger, contemplating the best way to eliminate Eris' Sweeper problem and escape to a country without an extradition treaty when her massager went off, her driver wanting to know if she'd be staying over.

"Ugh, may as well leave before I foul up dearie's evening. Oh, her and Cassandra do look adorable together, wouldn't want to get in the way of that." Face flush as her libations began easing her rage to a simmer, low but still present, she pocketed her flasks and made for the door. As much as she wished to right all the wrongs and fix Eris' life, it was apparent that this situation would require a different tact. Several minutes and dozens of floors later, Hildr slid into the passenger seat of an orange BMW. Releasing a world weary sigh, the Reinhardt Matriarch turned to her driver with a strained smile.

"Hey, I'm going to hate asking you such a huge favor, but how do you feel about transferring schools to do a little protection work?"

---

Broker Of Fortune

When she had offered her services to the overworked mage, Broker had hoped for some work of a technical nature so she could begin on her path to be a Grand Master engineer, not being a glorified tour guide. The phrase 'Shit rolls downhill' had to have been the Blue Guild's motto at some point, as it was still prevalent to this day just as it was in reality. "Whatever you say, chief. Just make sure we get some good mats down to the workshops so we can make use of these professions!" Broker called out to Absinthe's back before she could get out of ear shot, putting forth a great effort not to show her exacerbation with having busy work left on her lap.

The artificer turned to Joker, the latest to bolster the Blue Guild's swelling ranks and gave him a quick nod. "I'm Broker of Fortune, though you can call me Broker 'cause I know it's a mouthful. Since Absinthe has, well, ditched us to our own devices, how about I take you on the five cent tour before we find something to do?"

She waved for Joker to follow as she led him through the bowels of Blue Castle, a brief and hurried tour that really only touched on the most important of locations like the King's Throne Room, Absinthe's office, the access points to the Castle walls, several popular gathering halls, farmlands, and concluding it in what was undoubtedly the most beloved section of the Guild's capital, the workshop. Dominating the center space was a tank not unlike the ones plastered on all their recent propaganda, bringing a pleased grin to her lips.

"Whether you drive them or not, you have to admit having a tank at your back is amazing. Personally I can't wait till I get good enough to start making some worthwhile modifications to them, but for now I have a lot of grinding to go before I can tack on something useful." Turning around to lean against the war machine's treads, she regarded Joker warmly. "Now that we got that out of the way, got any questions or something you needed another hand for? I should have time left before I head back the The Network."

NCQ — Season I: Favors for Favors

Hehe, no food for cowards like Percy. bwahahahaha!

*Sees Agatha sprinting to make it to lunch on time*

Okay, maybe I don't have a good leg to stand on in that regards.

God's Shattering [Concluded]

<Snipped quote by TheWindel>

At this rate it's just going to have a family reunion with Jessi being the guy no on is related to who awkwardly sits in the corner only leaving to hit the buffet table when no one is around it.

@Awesomoman64

Lorelai will be standing beside him, losing out on love because she isn't a red headed relative of Lady Eleanor.

God's Shattering [Concluded]

And I'll just wait for 42 Gecko to respond before having Lorelai report back to Eleanor again. Man, this is one hell of a working vacation for her.

*Archived* Carmine's Monster Girl Adventure |1x1| (FxM) *R-18* *Archived*

Ah, get well soon Carmine.

God's Shattering [Concluded]

Lorelai

Lorelai stood in marked silence as Axon confessed himself to the embodiment of Imperial justice and her chosen knight. During his speech she returned her blade to its sheath as the need for threats and posturing faded away. It was curious to find how sloppy Yggdrasil and Emilia were in covering up their collaboration against Lady Eleanor, considering how many were beginning to come forward with knowledge of their works. There hubris was great if they believed they could act with impunity and be so flagrant with their treachery. At this rate the Imperator would publicly execute them before Lorelai even had a chance to tear Emilia limb from limb.

The Abyssal Knight reached out to Axon and clapped his shoulder. "I can not say I fully trust you, your profession and previous allegiance are matters I will only reconcile with time so bear with me, but I am impressed by your willingness to throw yourself before the judgement of Lady Eleanor. Regardless of what may befall you, I applaud you for stepping forward to shed light on this grievous injustice committed against my lady."

A coded knock upon the door drew Lorelai's attention once more, eyes widening in surprise before her face went taut with contemplation."Lady Eleanor, a company of knights is approaching the chateau and they are headed by an imposing figure in golden armor. I could be wrong , but my intelligence had lead me to believe that the knight Midgard was nowhere near us, so I would presume that this is an emissary of some note. Loath as I am to think poorly of a fellow Imperial I considered favorably, we can not presume that this visitation is for joyous news. I will take me leave to address them, as well as that peculiar old man smoking on your stoop."

The Abyssal Knight left Axon to either be accepted or executed by Lady Eleanor while she returned to the Chateau's entrance to address the knight and smoker who seemed to latest in the cadre of fellows hell-bent on ruining Lady Eleanor's well earned reprieve. Her attitude sobered while she schooled herself for coming face to face with General Yenma, a man who cut an impressive figure atop his stead, resplendent in armor that was befitting one of his position. "Greetings general, I am Lorelai, sworn protector of Lady Eleanor during this times. The lady is currently occupied with a guest, but if you would relay the reasoning for your visit I would gladly relay it to her and see if she will take you. In the meantime you may take your mounts around back to the stables if they require food and drink...pardon me a moment."

Her gaze drew to the man who had been patiently awaiting outside the chateau, and nodded to him briefly."Excuse me sir, but as you can plainly see it is a busy morning so I thank you for your patience. If you have business then you may speak it here, for the Imperium will not ignore its subjects."

Deep Ground Online (Hiatus)

Kanbaru Otoko

It had taken some time being caught amidst throngs of foot traffic, but Kanbaru had finally arrived at The Network, likely far earlier than Retsu would have intended to meet with her. She flashed her student ID to the man at the front door and made her way inside unmolested, the influence of Purple Crown Academy within the city limits showing itself in her favor on this evening. Upon entry to the club Kanbaru found her ears assaulting by the steady Whoomph of some age old techno beat that seemed to be in these days, or at least that was what the club thought. The first thing she did after acclimating to the sights and sounds was finding the nearest employee and reserving a room in the back. Not to misconstrue the facts, the club catered to students so there was nothing too illicit going on, but it wasn't uncommon for friends to gather in person here, transition to DGO for an event or some such, and then conclude their evening back in reality at the club proper. A peculiar practice for a peculiar time where games where the litmus test for human potential. Kanbaru's credit card exchanged hands briefly, the mental calculation for how much this would be cutting into her bank balance already done before the card was returned. The club staffer raised four fingers before pointing towards a door leading away from the club proper, her time limit and destination now set.

"Oh thank the lord, free at last!" Throwing on a dramatic air, Kanbaru collapsed boneless into a posh leather couch, a worn navy that may have once been sapphire in color, while her lips curled upwards as the walls deadened the club's incessant beat. There were four more couches in a predictable color scheme arranged around a table that was similarly divided via wedges of black, blue, green, red, and white. "Someone was trying way to hard with decorating this space. I mean sure, they could have gone all ten years and plastered the walls with posters, do a mural on the ceiling, and leave a Chinese checkers board on the table, but this still screams of something in the ballpark of desperate."

Taking a moment to check the time, Kanbaru figured that she probably had some time before Retsu would even show up, the mob daughter likely allotting time for transit and finishing business already in progress, which she currently had none.

To: Dark Wraith
From: Broker of Fortune
Subject: Re: Business

Hey, I've gotten us a room here at the club. Sad to say there isn't a sweeper section of the room, but I figure the Black King's throne over here will suit you just fine. Anyway, shoot me a message when you get here, I'll be the catatonic one grinding a few XP on the blue couch.

With her message sent to her erstwhile employer for the evening, Kanbaru slipped the surly bonds of the mortal coil in favor of her digital persona.

3...

2...

1...

The Market is Open,

Broker Of Fortune

In a refreshing change of reality, Broker of Fortune found herself outside the grand bastion of the Cobalt Bruisers, the Blue Castle. Rolling her shoulders to reacclimatize to her virtual form, she idly considered if the Blue King had given their capital a more poignant name she just couldn't recall before discarding the pointless stream of thought aside. "If I'm here then the patch must be live, so..." Broker of Fortune perused her menus in search of the system she had long awaited, a goal to strive for that seemed all the more fulfilling then being involved in massacres the likes of the Black Guild's Thursday war with an Outlaw army, and let out a small cheer when her search bore fruit. "Bingo, professions are live." It was an easy choice for her to make, after all, the money was in the STEM fields nowadays.

Profession: Engineer has been unlocked. Associated Skills are now available.

Feeling far more worthy of the goggles dangling around her neck now that she had her profession, Broker of Fortune approached the grand doors to her guild's sanctum. They parted with a modest push and brought her to the entry way, where she immediately found she was not alone."Ah, hello there Absinthe." The Artificer greeted as she strolled up to her and the one she could only identify as a recent recruit to the guild. Truth be told, she wasn't too familiar with Blue Guild's eccentric tanker, but she had a healthy respect for her position. She gave Blue Jester a brief wave in greeting as she stopped amidst them."I take it your new here? Well I'll parrot Absinthe here and welcome you to the Blue Guild. It's a nice operation, and if you pitch in then you'll get along great here." Broker of Fortune finished with a nod before returning her attention to Absinthe."So I'm an engineer now. If you need a hand with that project I'm ready to lend it whenever you want, though I need to get some facilities set up to start creating schematics and fabricate them. Not sure how much time I have to be online before I have to get to a meeting, but I could do with farming some mats if you are going out."

@KoL@Lucius Cypher

Deep Ground Online (Hiatus)

Sorry I haven't posted recently. I'll get something up tonight or tomorrow morning.