Rina

Over

Gris 2
Geko 5+1=6
Rikka 15-1=14

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

-2

Updated the OP

Over

Gris 3
Geko 4+1=5
Rikka 15-1=14

Over

Gris 7

Geko 6 (5+1)

Cade 4 (5-1)

Rikka 6

There, Geko still have friends

Over

AJ: "Kill the weakling"

Gris 5
Geko 4+1=5
Cade 8-1=7
Rikka 6

Over

Midnight Sun

“What a waste of time.” AJ scoffed as the duo walked out of the ship to see the end of the battle happening between the waiting Asylums. With the mission's priority focusing on the safety of the Bloodlines, he couldn't see how stripping in front of the Peraltas' abode was even an idea someone would contemplate as a good way to spend their time as they waited for the ship.

“If they have nothing else to do but wait, why not. Don't you think a sparring match is a good way to gauge people's skills and get to know who you are working with?” Keith said with a shrug. He was glad to see that AJ was back to his normal self after the man had some time to gather himself before the ship arrived. Although his partner was an odd person to be with, the breakdown AJ experienced was far worse than anything he experienced even during the nearly two crazy years they've been with each other. This was something new. Keith could still visualize the blood and the torn off fingers laying limp on the deck of the ship and the cries of the young heir as she clung to her mangled hand. With the way Apate was muttering the word monster and the state AJ was in after he finally found the man, it made Keith wonder what exactly AJ saw while he was prisoner to the hallucinations.

”Not when we are supposed to be bodyguards. I don't see the professionalism in this.” AJ said stubbornly to emphasize that he wasn't going to let his partner's logic derived from Keith's pelvic region cloud his own sound opinion of his comrade's choices. As they neared the gates and joined the others AJ turned the conversation inwards and continued with Keith through their link. 'It's highly unprofessional to be unclothing yourself while on the job like this. We are at work, not at a strip club.'

A look of surprise crossed Keith face as he watched the gates open and took in all that the sinful pleasures the Peraltas had to offer. A chuckle escaped Keith as he briefly glanced at AJ before letting his eyes continue to take in his surroundings 'Your idea of professionalism might be a bit off here Spock.'

'It isn't my concern how the Bloodlines handle themselves in their day to day lives and their business unless AMRO decides to make it so.' Shrugging Keith's pestering aside, AJ slowly looked around the estate. Unlike his partner who was busy rating the scantly clothed women, AJ was calculating the new totals concerning the unimportant personnel and as he worked on memorizing the places someone could easily conceal themselves as well as weak points in the security, Keith was trying to figure out the routes of the nearby butlers to work out which one would come close enough to snag an alcoholic beverage before AJ could stop him.

A sigh crept out of AJ as the snippets of his partner's thoughts seeped into his mind through their even open link. It was times like these AJ wondered if Keith would purposely get sidetracked just to pester him. They had a job to do and instead of focusing on the important things he was busy letting himself get consumed by the pleasures that filled the estate. 'Can you at least put half the effort you are taking to ogle these wome-' AJ mentioned before suddenly pausing when he noticed the distortion in his field of vision.

As he watch his partner's composure stiffen and a great uneasiness could be felt through the link, Keith watched with curiosity as the distortion grew worse and Angel's voice explained the void. During the five years he was forced into joining AMRO and learning about the world of alchemy Keith has seen many things he wouldn't have thought to be possible and although he wasn't close to forgiving AMRO of the past, he was still amazed about the powers and wonders he has seen from time to time. ”This is actually quite neat.” Keith said as he looked around the library and brushed his fingers alongside a few books on a nearby shelf. Not only were the visual details quite impressive but even the feel of the books seemed to mimic reality with great accuracy.

”No, not neat.” AJ muttered as he shot a glare at Keith. 'Definitely not neat.' Keeping still in his place, AJ looked at Angle as he continued his thought to Keith. 'The mind, consciousness or whatever he wants to call it is a dangerous place and isn't something that should be meddled with'

“The Delacours are all dead!” The Chrono suddenly chirped, interrupting further conversation the duo were having between themselves.

”Well this mess will be interesting to deal with.” AJ muttered out loud to no one in general without a hint of surprise or sorrow as he waited to hear the rest of the details however was unimpressed when the Experimental Team got the debriefing derailed with Cade's overly emotional outburst. 'Are they seriously going whine and complain about the mission given to us?'

'Can you quit being you just for five minutes and be sympathetic? People have died AJ.' Although he didn't know the Delacours personally or even much about the bloodlines in general besides the things he read and heard over the years he knew that the bloodshed of that many people wasn't something to take lightly and Cade had the right to act the way he was.

'Deaths happen all the time. What makes this one so bad compared to all the people out in the world that die every day? Besides, the bloodlines have been at each other's throats recently so I don't see what is so sorrowful that more people have been added to the list'

It's not just the random killings that have been happening within the bloodlines but rather a whole bloodline has been annihilated. Innocent people were killed AJ and it doesn't end there. A second bloodline will follow suit by our doing.'

'And justice will be served so I don't see the problem.' Giving a shrug, AJ tuned their discussion out knowing that things wouldn't end with Keith and focused on the Experimental Team as Samad tried to reign in Cade before leading them to the door. The good news was that at least another overly emotional Asylum stepped up and gained Angel's attention before Keith could even get a chance to blurt out stupid nonsense and that he wasn't in Samad's shoes and making his way out the door with his partner.

Hearing voices above, Keith looked up in confusion and was surprised to see where Cade and Samad ended up after going through the door.“What the hell?” Keith muttered as he looked between Angel and the duo above. “If these doors leads us to god knows where, why didn't you putting the effort into stopping them or starting off about the dangers of the void when you first sucked us into here?”

”It's their fault they ended up there. They were being stupid.” AJ scoffed as he looked up at the duo. ”There are reasons why the mind and things like that shouldn't be tampered with.” AJ said, breaking his gaze upwards to look briefly towards Angel before continuing.”It's a dangerous thing to tamper with and they are lucky that they've only made a fool out of themselves rather than anything worse.”

”Whether you think of them as fools or not, we can't just leave them on the ceiling like that.” Keith said as he walked towards the door the duo walked out of and grabbed the handle.

'Don't.'

He wanted to help Samad get Cade right side up again or at least help point them in the right direction but as aggravating as AJ could be, he trusted the man for the most part and didn't open the door. Could he guarantee that the same door would lead him to the same exit? With very little knowledge of how the void works he couldn't be certain. But there was someone who did. Turning around to face Angel, Keith took a few steps away from the door.

'No, don't do that either.'

”Hey Angle,” Keith said, intentionally messing up Angel's name after the countless mistake the lost number had made throughout the day with their names.

'You are playing with fire Keith. Quit it.'

“You're the one who brought us in here so why don't you fix this little mess? It would be a shame if more paperwork was added to your pathetic little busywork due to a mishaps within the void.”

'You idiot.'

Over

Awesome! I'm excited to see where things lead. I'm going to have the Palladinos scattered around so if any of you guys need a direction to go feel free to interact with them once I get a post up.

Over

“Dead. Yet again.” A woman voice whispered as AJ looked around trying to find the source of the sound. “If you can't even get the basics down how do you think you will ever survive when you join Innocence much less the rest of your life?” The woman's voice continued as a chill ran down AJ's back. It was cold out.

Continuing to look around, the young man noticed a faint figure to his left but the darkness made it hard to see. With only one thing in his perimeter he could see, AJ rushed towards the figure but before he reached it, it vanished. The only remnants of the being was a wisp of smoke that quickly dissipated. His feet and fingers felt numb and the rest of his body felt chilled. He could see his breath in the cold even with the limited lighting.

"Was all this effort in saving you from normality that man and his family tainted you with worth it? Did I waste my time raising you? Maybe Dante was right?"

Focusing on the sound of the voice, AJ tried to locate the source but as always, her voice was crafted in a way that it always engulfed him during their training sessions and without a clear voice. There would be no escape from her. "No...He's wrong..." AJ responded quietly as fear resinated in his voice. "Y-you're wrong..."

"Then prove it to me that you are worth my time." The woman said as the figure returned along with reinforcement.

~.~

“Ava?” Keith muttered in confusion as he looked at where he last saw his partner. However he wasn't there and off to the side he saw the all too familiar woman he said his farewells to earlier that morning. The anger he held about the bomb going off faded away as he took a step towards the woman. “No, this can't be right. You can't be here on the ship.” She was supposed to be back at headquarters or whisked away on another mission unless reinforcements were called. She still wouldn't have been dressed in the silk robe she had on that morning. Most of all she wouldn't be as quiet as she was after the quarrel the two had earlier.

The woman turn around and start to walk away and trying to close the gap between the two Keith took a few steps towards Ava. "No. Don't leave." Seeing that Ava wasn't going to stop Keith ran after her. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry about whatever stupid thing you think I did. Alright?" Although the lack of sincerity was present he hoped that he could win over the lady with an apology or at least get her to talk to him. But it wasn't working and the woman was heading right towards the edge of the ship. Was she going to jump?

~.~

"...Ap..Apa...Apate," Dolos hestitantly muttered as his fingers pointed towards the ocean, or more so what appeared to be surfacing. "Is that a...mother of Davy Jones....its a...a fucking KRAKEN!" The boy couldn't believe it himself and despite his trembling knees he was grinning ear to ear. The Queen Anne lived for the thrill of life and what greater thrill could live offer than witnessing...nay battling the beast of the sea.

The creature continued to slowly emerge, its size towering over the ship as its tentacles began to coil around it. The entire scene was as if something out of a fairy tale and Dolos was struck in awe, this was his moment to carve his name on the tides, the ocean itself. Since the Bloodlines' inception, the Queen Anne had always been obsessed in taming the oceans and what greater symbolisims of conquest than defeating the beast of mythology.

Time for hestitation had passed, with a snap of his fingers the metal on the ship began to liquify and slowly transmute into a harpoon, that he now clenched in his hands. The boy couldn't help but laugh hysterically as he gazed into the Abyss that was the Kraken's eye.

"I will tame you and with you the ocean and then the world!" The boy screamed as the sky darkened and thunder roared from above. With those brave words spoken, the boy hurled the harpoon, lightning enveloping it, towards one of the tentacles that had crept on board.

---xx-----xx---

"I am so confused right now," Rena thoguht as she blinked while looking up towards the commotion. The Chrono had wandered off from her partner only to find herself in a situation a little more bizzare than A.M.R.O's Blood Draped Angel getting sea sick.

What she saw was the Queen Anne heir stripping off his clothes while looking at the empty ocean and frantically hurling a fishing rod all the while laughing maniacally.

"How am I the weird one...." The child contemplated before stepping away.

---xx-----xx---

"Damn girl!" Keith exclaimed as he dodged one of her high heels being thrown at him as she started to laugh. "What the hell is wrong with you?" The man said as he approached Ava. "Sure, I understand your need for being pissy at me but throwing your shoe at me and acting like a lunatic doesn't solve anything. Let's talk it out, okay. No weird silent treatment or acting like a psycho, alright." Keith said as he tried to close the gap between them for an embrace.

~.~

"What a splendid job dear. Just make sure my weapons are just as pristine as this dress. A matriarch must look her best if she is going to be visiting the other bloodlines." Apate said as she did a slight twirl to admire her newly handcrafted dress that was made just for this occasion.

"Oh, and please make sure Dolos stays...occupied during all of this. I don't want brother dearest getting in the way of my first meeting as the matriarch." Apate said with a chuckle as she sauntered down the hallway. She could hear the yells of her brother off in the distance but with it mufffled she paid no heed to it. There were more important matters to focus on.

But before she could make it to the end of the hallway she felt a tug which was followed by a loud tear. Turning around she saw one of the young brats look right at her in an dazed expression. Matriarch or not, she wasn't going to let one of the bloodline brats get away with destroying her dress on her special day."You just reached the end of my patience kiddo. You best be ready for the hell that I am going to relea... wait a moment!" Apate yelled, the anger replaced by confusion as the kid ran off in an erratic pattern as he flailed his arms or swayed back and forth every so often. "Did you get a little too much to drink or something? I don't think mommy and daddy will be happy with your decisions." The girl snickered as she tried to catch up with the kid which little did she know was AJ.

"Don't...Stop this, please." The kid pleaded quietly as he contined to stumble forwards.

"Stop what? Me telling your parents?" Apate asked as she grabbed the kid's shoulder to turn him around and figure out which bloodline he was from. However she was met with a surprise when the boy bit her hand.

"Get off me. GET THE FUCK OFF YOU SHIT FUCKING DUMBASS! GET OFF ME!!!" Apate yelled at the boy as she tried to pry him off her hand but was met with no success. The grip he had was strong even compared to an adult. She could feel the bones in her hand start to give from the pressue it was under as the sound of her bones being broken coinsided with a new wave of pain. Prying wouldn't work so it appeared that a new approach would be needed unless she wanted to lose her hand.

---------Xx----------xX--------

"Songs will be sung of this day, the day I kill a kraken!" Dolos declared heroically, his palm thrusting out towards the illusionary beast and dousing it a shower of steam. Amidst his highentened excitment and obnoxious laughter the boy was clueless that he had just assualted the Asylum in front of him, albeit the hallucigins might have played a role as well.

"Fight me foul creature!" The boy provoked the imaginary monstrocity in front of him and madly dashed towards, what was actually, the Asylum known as Keith.

---------Xx----------xX--------

"I guess acting like a psycho it is." Keith muttered as a burst of steam engulfed him.This wasn't a normal response from Ava but given her mysterious entrance maybe there was something that was going on with her. However he was momentarily distracted by an overwhelming sense of fear intruding his thoughts. Something was wrong.

AJ, where are you? What's going on? Are you okay?
Even during the most heated arguments between the two there was never a moment he could think of when the two were on radio silence from each other besides when he started to get intimate with Ava or another lady. He needed to find AJ.

Come on Spock, you never let your emotions get in the way. You need to answer me.
Concern was creeping into his voice as he tried to communicate with his partner again but there was nothing but fear responding.

With nothing more than a taunt to fight and a mad dash towards him, Keith had just enough time to sidestep and avoind the attack given his distraction. "Not now, okay. Something is wrong with AJ. Feel free to beat me up or get your revenge later on but first we need to find him. I don't have time for this." Keith said knowing that even if there was a tiff going on between the two of them they would be able to set it aside just enough to solve this problem.

Damn it AJ. You need to answer me. I can't lose lose you. I can't lose another partner. Not again.
However seeing that Ava was preparing for another attack Keith could see that there would be no getting through to her at this time. He needed to solve this issue quickly. "Fine, I'll help you cool off." Keith said impatiently and with a quick flick of his hand Keith then quickly balled up his hand. The sand that scattered during the explosion gathered by the woman's legs and crept up as it wrapped around her and bound her legs and arms into place. "I know I'll get bitched at later for this but let's just say this is for your own good." Keith said as he picked up the woman and before tossing her onto one of the pool lounge chairs, gave her a kiss. He didn't like leaving her in this way but he needed to make sure she would stay out of the way while he looked for AJ.

"AJ! Where are you?" Keith yelled as he made his way back towards the last spot he saw his partner. Taking a glance back towards Ava he noticed that the woman was missing. "That's strange..."

Over

Awesome! I look forward to it.

Over

You will be missed. Hopefully we will be able to cross paths in the future in terms of roleplaying.