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7 yrs ago
Recruiting for Chrono Asylum! =D
8 yrs ago
I figured out VMS ... finally!
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9 yrs ago
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White House Down
Collab between Rina and Ryver

Rikke watched bus load after bus load of tourists turned away at the gate. He blinked as a yellow school bus was the latest one spurned. It amused him somewhat that a big group of them were standing here, in plain sight, right smack in the center of the oval lawn, and no one was any wiser. He was even more amused that he had ice cream and Nana didn’t.

He jammed the chocolate cone closer to his lips, creating a melty mustache around his lips. A smile brightened that impish face as his feet scratched another line in the sand. The instructors called this a sigil. He didn’t know what to draw, really, but since the Frozen lady was here, he planned on drawing a snowflake.

The star-shape was done. Now he had to add those squares and triangles to add complexity to his incantation. Nana said it had to be BIG! Really, really BIG! And, wet!

He turned towards Zane with a frown. His faulty hearing-aids picked up garbled noise from the man. He stared a little longer at the moving lips before he stretched out his arm to offer Zane his half-eaten ice cream. Shaking his head, because he didn’t know what else to do, Rikke pointed to his unfinished snowflake. Nana was waiting for him!

“Sooo…” Zane said as he took a lick of his mocha flavored ice cream as he tried again to get a response from the quiet boy. “Now that we got our ice cream, shall we start on our part of this plan? The drawings are nice and all but we finish our side so nobody nags us while we enjoy our ice cream.” The plan so far was pretty amusing for the man. Getting ice cream for the two of them was a fun added bonus of this mission.

“I think the sign for work is this.” Zane said thinking out loud as he repeatedly tapped his right wrist on top of his left. “Do you know ASL?”

Rikke’s eyes never left the ground. He worked steadily, connecting lines together. Zane’s words continued blurring together into a stream of incomprehensibility which made it easier to zone the man out. He spared the man a half second of his attention after seeing the shadowy wave stemming from the signing. He recognized the signs but he was almost finished.

Those eyes bobbed back up shortly after. His hands signed “Done”. Followed by “Sorry” and “Urgent”. These gestures were symbols he retained from the repeated lessons with his instructors.

“Good, you do know ASL.”Zane said with a smile and nodded. “Hmm, I know done and sorry but you lost me on the third. Just because I work with someone deaf doesn’t mean I also know sign.” Giving the boy a thumbs up, the man sat down on the bench next to them. “If you say you’re done, that’s good enough for me.”

Rikke returned the gesture with a confused expression before signing “More”. Slipping his empty cone into Zane’s hand, the boy signed “Vanilla”. Indicating that he regretted pointing to the chocolate ice cream earlier. It was done on reflex when Zane pulled him over to the ice cream truck. That cheerful plastic clown freaked him out so much that he couldn’t wait to get away!

Rikke added a pout at the end to guilt Zane into agreeing to his request. “Please” he signed.

“Sure.” Zane said and nodded as he stood up and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Seconds sounds like a great idea.” The man said as he watched the ice cream man lock up his truck and walked off for a short break at the white house. “Well, if he’s going to get caught up in the upcoming mess. I might as well help myself in his absence.”

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Men and women decked in black suits lined the hallway. There was no twitching or fidgeting. Light and air seemed more alive than these agents which sent chills down the backs of scurrying secretaries. They were ready for AMRO’s trigger-pull.

They were briefed to be on the alert for Asylums storming into the White House.
They were told that the President was the target.
They were working hand-in-hand with the military parading the grounds.

More than twenty-four hours had passed and there was no sign of the invasion. Until…

A Wendy lolita popped into existence. She smiled at them while leaning forward with her hands placed firmly on her hips. “BOOOOOOO!”

Nana watched the rippling of movement as the nearest secret service agents approached her. A tall Caucasian stood further behind as his hand reached behind his ear. He was radio-ing for backup which was abso-tiffly-perfect! She stuck out her tongue in glee as she whirled around to look at the blank space.

“Are you gonna hide under the inivshbility cloak forever, Babadella? You’re supposed to be the adult.”

“...Your idea…” Bella’s robotic voice said as she bashfully pulled the makeshift cloak off of herself and neatly folded the tablecloth. She wasn’t fond of playing along with the girl’s pretend play but from the laughs she got from Zane when the makeshift cloak was handed to her, she knew that there was no escape to her embarrassment.

Gently placing the tablecloth on a side table, Bella watched the agents carefully as she spoke. “...Now what…”

“Put your hands in the air!”

“Why?” Nana asked in a sing-song voice.

Hushed murmuring filtered down the line. Some of the agents hated the idea of shooting at a child, but their in-charge had already drawn his weapon. Reluctantly, they followed the silent command. Most of their guns trained on Bella. Being an adult she was deemed the greater threat.

Ignoring the tension in the room, the little Wendy leaped forward, forcing the agents to take a step back. Her green eyes glowed with merriment at how scared they looked. “Do these people really guard Mr. President?” she asked her reluctant supervisor.

’No!’ Concern relayed telepathically from Bella as she stretched out her hand towards the girl moments too late. ’Don’t get too close.’ The woman continued as she prepared her bots in case things started to get messy.

“Like this?” Nana shouted as she teleported into the center of the group.

A shot echoed in the hallway before her echoing voice faded. The bullet whizzed through the air, slowing visibly, as it peeled itself like an orange. The metal strip flowed into Nana’s outstretched hand and swam in circles like a shimmering eel. The girl giggled as she tried to get Bella’s attention as more guns went off.

Freezing the bullets in mid-air, the child Asylum pirouetted and sang. She danced safely out of harm’s way until she heard the last gun click uselessly. She wagged a finger at the agents. “Aw, don’t run away! We’re … here …. to … play!”

A silvery aura flowed from her diminutive form. Nana’s hair whipped wildly around her as she thrusted her hands out. “I said STOP!” she bellowed.

All sorts of metal flew towards Bella and Nana at alarming speeds. Bullets collided into each other, causing mini explosions, while the guns rained against the wall. Cellphones, keys and coins were the worst of the projectiles, pelting the people in the hallway and leaving them bruised and bleeding.

Not satisfied, Nana dug deeper into the foundations of the building and felt the tremble of metal warming to her call. They rattled with a screechy groan, radiating tremors throughout the White House. Agents fell back onto the ground as the hallways folded upwards on either end. Feeling completely exposed, the leader called for a retreat. Men and women scrambled towards either side, determined to reach the incoming backup.

“Send the signal, please.” She asked Bella.

Bella nodded and reached out to the other two telepathically. ’We’re ready’

’Sorry, what?’ Zane teased in response. ’I’m certain that ”We’re ready” wasn’t the secret code.’

With a sigh Bella responded ’This is Babadella, ready for ice cream and bamboo.’

’Roger that. Ice cream and bamboo heading your way. A truckload of ice cream’ Zane said as he cracked up laughing.

’What did you do Zane.’ Bella asked in response.

’Minor details Babadella, minor details.’ Zane said as he snickered again. I’m just doing a small favor for Cici. Nothing more.’

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------

A sizable crowd surrounded the premises. Everyone pointing fingers or phone cameras at the steel beams wrapping the walls and crushing the building inwards. Pulverized plaster lined the walkways and lawns like snow, reminding Rikke that he was late. Shoving his ice cream into Zane’s hand, the boy joined up the final line. Light traced the shape in the soil, glowing faintly, as he focused on the mental image his twin shared with him from earlier.

He scrunched his eyes shut, imagining the feel of rushing water. The foam spraying everywhere as angry torrents tear away rock. His mind flickered to images of the river cutting through the Grand Canyon before honing in on Nana’s request —

Loose pebbles flew into the air as the earth prepared to erupt. Fissures splintered the soil, swallowing up anything that fell into the widening scars. There was so much screaming that the army’s orders were obliterated. Rikke zoned all of that out as he tapped into the reservoir underneath. Feeling the same wonder Nana did when she felt so much metal at her feet. Almost there!

“GEYSER!” someone shouted over the din.

Water spouts burst skywards, shattering more of the White House. They rose like dragons - tall and powerful - shooting endlessly into the high heavens, saturating the air with so much moisture that the clouds turned black. Almost nothing was left of the impressive monument. Only the jagged base from which battered survivors limped onto the lawn. There they met the remaining Asylums.

Rikkie turned back to Zane only to realise the man hadn’t returned. Shrugging, he watched the group again. He wondered if this part of the plan would play out like the mental images Nana shared with him earlier. Elsa and Samad were supposed to be play Good Cop, Bad Cop with Mr. President. Strangely, he didn’t remember seeing the man among those on the lawn. He hummed his confusion as he rocked on his feet. He wondered what would annoy Papa Angel more: his uninterrupted cast or the missing president.


Two heads pressed against each other. Hair meeting and becoming a mess of red. The girl sat on the left, dressed in a “Wendy-Meets-Alice” mishmash of blue frock, black-and-white striped stockings, black mary janes and curly hair beaten into two Harley Quinn tails. Panda coloured ribbons completely with plastic panda faces kept Nana’s hair in place. Rikke, the boy on the right, wore a yellow-faced shirt. Gudetama, the forever depressed egg, dropped from collar to diaphragm, melting as it were into the upturned white tulip-shaped shell. As if undecided about his look, Rikke’s pants were classic white and blue rimmed sailor pants, paired with a pair of blue rubber boots and a sailor’s hat.

All this hinted at an indulgent adult. Someone who couldn't say “no” as the children grabbed items off the rack at random in the nearby outlet mall, staring at him with puppy eyes and overzealous smiles. Still this was a mission and the children had promised to follow his orders to the letter. Thus, their current task - decoding this message for Sister Rena!

“The Secret to Awesome Power,” Nana read out loud as her fingers traced the latin words with ease. The next few symbols were gibberish at this point and her scrawling didn't help.

Rikke counted on his fingers, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Nana was talking, and pausing to write the corresponding English alphabet beneath each symbol. Some of the letters came together in patterns he recognised but, to him, the words were no different than the symbols - nonsense. Having finished several words at random, he slid the paper firmly in his twin’s direction.

Nana’s head straightened as she took the paper. Her attention had been pulled away by that annoying tapping. “Panda Power … Ka-Pow!” She giggled when it clicked that this was a prank message. Drawing several pandas in power ranger suits and colouring them with Alchemy, the girl hopped over to Rena. “Princess! We solved it!”

“Aaaaaand,” she continued in her bubbly voice, getting into her best power ranger pose. “Hello! We’re the Panda Rangers here to help Princess Rin and Princess Rena …. um save the world! Yeah!” She finished with renewed bravado as she puffed out her chest with childish pride.

Rikke ambled over and peeked from behind Angel. Staring at the adults in turn and watching their lips move with a burning intensity. The occasional flick of his eye made it seem like he was listening yet the slowness of his movement begged the question if his hearing aids were working that well. Those brown eyes finally rested on the robot lady whose glasses looked like an accessory from a gundam movie. Rikke pointed at Bella and continued staring. His mouth formed soundless words as he struggled to bring across his message. Instead, Bella received a mental replay of that annoying tap from earlier.

“Oh! This is Rikke and I’m Nana.” His sister slid in. “He thinks you made the tapping noise earlier,” she explained as she bent forward and smiled. Her own brown eyes gazed at Bella, albeit with far less intensity than Rikke’s.

Suddenly, she grabbed her brother’s arm and pointed at Elsa. “Rikke! Remember her?” She exclaimed, hoping to distract him before Bella became uncomfortable. “She’s got the same name and powers like the Disney Princess.”
Hello! Lemme prod the GM on discord.
Collab Between Rina and Ryver (Double R's Go!)

Bella could feel her cheeks start to redden again at Geko’s flirtatious response. She knew that she didn’t want to lead him on but wasn’t certain on how to best draw her boundaries with him. Would a blunt response to avoid any further comments be best? Would it be better to shrug off his comment and ignore it? It was situations such as this that she wished Cici was with her. Unlike her, her friend would know how to best react.

‘Are you almost here? You said that you were a few minutes away and that was over five minutes ago. There was a hint of urgency in Bella’s question as she reached out telepathically to Cici, tuning out of the conversation between Geko and Zane.

'The perfect cuppa takes three minutes to steep. You know that, Belle.' came the smug response. 'Twas a rough crowd and I jolly well deserve this respite. Fancy one?'

‘Well, not rea…’Bella’s words trailed off as Geko suddenly was kicked. Looking towards the students, Bella could see the drive to win seeping out of them. ‘Hopefully you’re ready to fight. It looks like the students were waiting to fight us.’

“Are you really that desperate to leave Innocence that you are willing to take a gamble at your life?” Zane scoffed at the boy as he pulled out a coin from his pocket and flipped it in the air before letting it land on the back of his hand with a lion facing up. “Even in a sparring match you need to calculate all your risks and the chance that an Asylum might accidentally slice your head off.

Without waiting for the student to respond Zane threw a heavy punch towards the student’s face and as he punched, the coin expanded into a shield which covered his left forearm and ended at a point by his fist. Zane intentionally angled the point of the shield away to avoid any deadly lacerations knowing that the impact itself would buy him enough time. Even if the student didn’t fall back the cut would be enough to introduce anti-alchemy substance into his bloodstream.

“No time for line, rhymes or gimmicks
Strength must surge yet again
To squash the pride out of students
Muscles build, skin hardened”


Zane said in a loud voice as he scooped Bella up with one arm. With the Asylums behind them and the students in front, he knew that being in the center of the battle wasn’t an efficient place of combat. With the added strength to his leg muscles, Zane was able to leap high above the students and landed behind them, moments before the battleground turned to ice.

‘Zane, you’re not really going to try and kill them are you?’

Lemony nodes of Earl Grey announced Cici's grand entrance into the madness. Her ladyship sipped, with pinky out, from the porcelain cup in her right hand and a saucer in her left. She stepped swiftly behind Bella, allowing her friend to guard her and the precious cup of tea. "Thanks, love. I know you've got me." Cici winked when they were face to face.

The drying blood stains barely hidden against the dark brown of Asylum's corset confirmed her assessment; her mission had been rough enough to draw the sniper closer to the fray and it likely ended in a bloodbath at close quarters. Cici raised an eyebrow in wicked amusement and exchanged the cup for a shortbread biscuit. She waved it temptingly at that open mouth. "Biscuit for your thoughts?"

'Ignoring them is the best way, you know. Let them tire themselves out while we watch and laugh. Zane?' Cici zeroed in on the third party in their friendship as the shortbread disappeared between her own lips. 'Really, Belle, my pretty, this is practically tradition. It's our turn to haze the recruits. Just let loose and have fun!'

‘Maybe on a typical day Cici but these kids need to get knocked down a few times and humbled. Their ignorance will get them killed if they think they can waltz into a fight like this.’ Zane said as he took a few paces in front of the other two in anticipation of any stragglers. ‘Besides, if I scare them enough maybe they will be too timid to bother me for the rest of our time here.’

The Craftswoman hummed her approval, turning her attention from Zane, and watching the duo across the room. She beamed a little wider having caught a glimpse of 'Ice Mother'. Nudging Bella mentally, she directed her friend's flustered attention towards the Wrecking Crew. 'Do you know the song 'Let It Go' from Disney? I dare you to hum in front of Elsa later.' Cici teased as she pressed a familiar orb into Bella's hand.

‘No…wait, yes...’ Bella mumbled with hesitation. ‘I know the movie but I don’t think she would take the joke well.'

'Aw it'll be fun!'

"Tarantallegra," she spoke using her real voice. She winked at her friend again, knowing that few of the students would catch the Harry Potter reference. She hummed the opening bars of 'Shall We Dance?' once Bella started taking aim.

She continued humming while sending Zane and Elsa a friendly suggestion. 'Might I suggest avoiding the blast radius? This is one cast that will keep you on your feet for the rest of the day.'

‘Got it’. Zane responded as he took a leap back and waited for the sigillum to take effect.

The sound of sweet wrappers crinkling behind them made Cici spin around. She blinked in surprise at the two ginger children standing calmly in the doorway and sucking their lollipops. She raised an eyebrow which prompted the girl to respond with a bright smile.

"We learned to teleport yesterday," the thirteen-year-old chirped. "Eskil," she paused to point to her twin. "He thought we should step away and … well, find our friend. We don't think he'd fight either."

"Well now, isn't that precious!" Cici exclaimed a little louder for Bella's sake. "What's your friend's name? This big sister and I will be happy to help you find him."

The girl bounced on her feet and beamed. "Cade."

Name: ‘Cici’ de Grey
Official Title: M'lady (some pronounce it as Malady)
Gender: Female
Age: 24

AMRO Stats
Position: Asylum
Specialty: Silencer
Alchemic Style: Sigillum (Primary), Motem (Secondary)
Tattoo: CC (200) (upper right thigh)

Alch-Specs: Combustion Manipulation
She is able to create strong explosions. This ability is deadly at close range.











Extra Info

She is a specialized Asylum, a Craftsman. More will be revealed in IC.

She has been given the nicknames - Lady Grey (after her favorite tea), Dulci (shortened form for the Latin phrase ducenti which means 200) and C. According to Zak, she likes 'Dulci' best because it reminds her of Mexican caramel.

Only her close friends know her actual given name.
Join us! It'll be fun =D
Name: ‘Cici’ de Grey
Official Title: M'lady (some pronounce it as Malady)
Gender: Female
Age: 24

AMRO Stats
Position: Asylum
Specialty: Silencer
Alchemic Style: Sigillum (Primary), Motem (Secondary)
Tattoo: CC (200) (upper right thigh)

Alch-Specs: Combustion Manipulation
She is able to create strong explosions. This ability is deadly at close range.











Extra Info

She is a specialized Asylum, a Craftsman. More will be revealed in IC.

She has been given the nicknames - Lady Grey (after her favorite tea), Dulci (shortened form for the Latin phrase ducenti which means 200) and C. According to Zak, she likes 'Dulci' best because it reminds her of Mexican caramel.

Only her close friends know her actual given name.
In The Promise 6 yrs ago Forum: 1x1 Roleplay
-blank-
The collab's up! =D

I have plans to work on one with @Riffus Maximus next!
Collab Between @Fallenreaper and @Ryver et Rhine

Location: Overseers’ Lounge (Dining Hall)
Time: Day Time (Approx. 2 Hours Before the Meeting)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Samad’s incoming message provided Zak an opportunity to distance himself from the tensed atmosphere at the breakfast table in the Overseers’ Lounge. Sitting between two irate gentlemen who were engaged in their version of the cold war was the least ideal way to spend a lovely morning. If it weren’t considered rude to up and leave, he’d have left the table the moment the Iranian Asylum contacted him. Surmising that a truce won’t be reached in the next ten minutes, Zak felt it was safe to respond to Samad’s message via their telepathic link.

“What happened to being nice to Cade?” Zak teased. “It’s not even lunch yet. So yup, way too early to be bickering. Why don’t you grab a bite with Cade first? I’ll join you once I’m done.” He left the last bit vague, trusting that Samad would understand his wish for some privacy.

‘If I wasn’t, I would’ve broken his legs then tossed him back into the fish tank for another week while I did a mission. He nearly got us both killed. The sooner he’s up and running, the better. However, I will get him something to eat,’ The Iranian grumbled back.

Zak closed their communication link after that, deciding he needed to focus on the situation at hand. He was supposed to be trying to persuade Morty to find someone else to be Ante Mortem’s Overseer. Needless to say, Zak knew the discussion was over before it even began. The ex-Overseer outranked him and by default someone more junior would have to accept whatever mission their superior assigned them. He was lucky to have his mentor step in before Morty forced him to accept the mission.

Speaking of Morty, Zak turned to look at the man again. The ex-Overseer was busy spearing one of the glistening yolk on his the plate. A stream of yellow burst from the incision and splattered the sausages nearby. Zak stopped himself from wrinkling his nose, as he continued watching Morty attacking the rest of the food barbarically. Losing his appetite, Zak pushed the sausage he was cutting away, wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed his fork and knife onto the plate. A waiter waiting nearby cleared it immediately.

Two cups of coffee, Zak noted. Three glasses of whiskey before that and now a third cup of coffee. Make that a third cup of coffee and a cup of hot chocolate. He picked up his cup of tea and took a sip. No wonder Asylum Deacon wants to foist them on me, he concluded. The stress must be immense considering that his scalp is visible after sticking with Ante Mortem for six months.

“Aren’t you eating, my boy?” Morty urged. “Your meeting is in two hours and I say you should eat when you can.”

So I don’t end up embarrassing myself at the table? Zak questioned quietly, cringing at the thought of himself ending up like this disgusting pig. He withheld his sneer as best as he could and forced himself to smile politely. The last thing he needed was to antagonize the slob in front of him when he was already on the losing end of this bargain. “I’d choose sleep over food right now,” he spoke calmly. “An alert mind is better than a full belly.”

The unwanted guest dropped his fork and burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he practically doubled over, clutching his sides. Tears streamed from his eyes, as he banged the table top with his fists repeatedly. Another sign that Morty was on his way to becoming a hatter. Zak’s smile climbed an eighth of an inch up the sides of his face. Looks like the infamous Ante Mortem drives another Overseer insane. They sure go through them faster than the other Chrono teams.

Alistair briefly chuckled at his past student’s preference, his expression flashed a hint of pride and acceptance in Zak’s direction. The older Overseer tightened his hand about his mug as he felt the liquid chill causing him to look down and frown. Arguing with Morty over Zak’s future had made it that way as his alchemy began to vibrate and heat the surface he touched. He shot a glare at Morty when the man spoke.

“F-fully belly?” Morty sputtered after gasping for air. “You have no idea. No idea at all! I’ve been stuck with them for a year! A YEAR! Sleep and food are luxuries I don’t have time for. Do you even know ANYTHING about Ante Mortem?” his voice was already rising hysterically.

“You aren’t obligated to stay with them,” Zak reminded the man. “Overseers have every right to request for a transfer if they need one.”

A dark look crossed Morty’s face when Zak mentioned transferring. The haggard man sat up straighter, as the air around him hung heavily over his side of the table. “No one in their right mind accepts a mission with a troublesome pair like those two. No one! I was assigned to them and …”

“And now you are assigning them to me,” Zak completed. A slight twinge of annoyance stirred inside but it didn’t show on his smiling face. “It is a big favour you are asking of me,” the youngest Overseer stated. “One Alistair can reject on my behalf.”

“I’ve already made it clear I object on every level,” Alistair commented when Zak mentioned his name, “You aren’t fully ready for them and you already have two you’re responsible for. They aren’t fully cooperating, are they yet?”

Zak grinned. “Quite so. Sorry mate, I think we are done. No point wasting your time and mine since you are busy enough with the latest brouhaha over the Pyramid of Giza.”

“I-is that a NO?” Morty’s eyes began bulging worriedly, as he saw Zak and Alistair getting ready to leave. He was practically wheezing at the thought that he might remained saddled with the most notorious Chrono team on AMRO’s roster. The very idea was enough for him to contemplate suicide if this negotiation failed. “Why don’t you have a look at the roster first?” he pleaded. “I’m sure you won’t say no.”

Morty’s panic was more evident than ever, as a brown paper folder slid towards MMXVII. Zak raised an eyebrow and sat down again. He was surprised that anyone would want to print anything these days. Asylums have been blessed with a variety of smart gadgets - watches, phones or even palm sized computers - that made file sharing easier. A refusal to do so made Morty seem like even more of an anachronism than ever. A man who should have retired when he had the chance.

“Fine,” Zak agreed after exchanging a glance with his mentor. “I wonder what made you think I’d find this assignment bene. Have you seen the file, Alistair?” he asked the red haired Overseer seeing across him as he began scanning the names of the Asylums assigned to the mission. “Your frown has become more pronounced, so something must be bothering you.”

“I’m more worried about your diplomatic nature at this moment. I know how you are and I don’t like the fact you will wear yourself thin trying to find a solution for peace,” Alistair stated then answered the question, “And no, I’ve not. Personally, that worries me greatly.”

“You speak as if I have a choice in the matter,” the mentee noted. “I sometimes wonder if we are even speaking of the same AMRO. My only chance of getting a fair consideration would be asking you to plead my case or finding someone else to accept the mission on my behalf.” Zak’s lips curled slightly. “And we both know what the others feel about Ante Mortem. They are too much of a liability.” He added air quotes as he spoke the last bit.

“I’ve never discourage you to follow through on your own choices, but I do request you side on caution when I ask you to. The Experimental Team is a handful as it is and adding on more will likely wear you thin,” Alistair commented then continued, “Personally, if that file says what I fear it might…. My plea will take time or become fully denied.”

Brown eyes flicked from the paper to Alistair’s face and back. A gloved finger hovered above the two names they suspected might be mentioned in the upcoming mission. A not so cunning trap, as expected from someone so far gone. Zak thought, tapping the edge of the paper with the same finger. He noticed Morty gloating slightly. An air of renewed confidence shimmered round the worn out Overseer like a eye-watering halo. The sight annoyed Zak even more.

He could walk away now as Alistair suggested. Wash his hands off this assignment and get a small slap on the wrist for refusing thanks to his position as a mentee. On the other hand, the repercussions are bound to include him being reassigned from the Experimental Team. The higher ups as he liked to call them would fear him getting too attached, which was a big no-no to them. Something they’d try their best to nip in the bud so to speak.

“I hate to admit it, but he knows how to pick his aces.” Zak shrugged nonchalantly to hide the worry he was feeling at the moment. He lapsed into silence after that as he reflected on the contents of the file. Based on the brief, he could already anticipate how messy things were going to be. A tensed political situation was the last thing Samad and Cade needed to test their imploding teamwork.

“Oh? I wondered why he was so smug during the conversation,” Alistair’s displeasure showed through his tone of voice. He paused to sip the tea and let it’s heat calm his nerves, before he continued, “So, do you still want me to attempt to get this reassignment jerked from your lap? Either way, it will take time and until then you have to play nice.”

I am in a bind. The higher ups feel that Samad or Cade needs to be on this mission. I am placing money on Samad but I can’t shake the feeling that the matter doesn’t concern the Kians, the Darwin confided telepathically. If anything happened to the family, one of the exiled Kians would have contacted Samad.

Zak laced his gloved fingers together and leaned forward. To his credit, his solemn face managed to mask most of the frustration he was feeling right now. It was another useful trick passed down to him through Alistair and one he was exploiting to keep Morty squirming. I believe you are aware that Cade has connections to another family. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m liking this less and less.

’Yes, I’m aware. The Legendes. Cade’s family was indebted to them due to medical care relating to a rogue’s poison and permanently crippled the father, an agreement was reached they would work it off in the clinics within America. When Cade was in his late teens, he demonstrated Alchemy specializing in electricity. The Legendes then contacted AMRO who later came to retrieve him. He seemed rather attached to the Bloodline from the reports.’

The young man considered his mentor’s words. He knew he was waddling through dangerous waters with each additional second spent deliberating. Of course, he could cut ties with the Experimental Team if he chose to, but something else was nagging him. An indignant feeling born from the fact that he sensed that someone was cruel enough to consider using Cade as a pawn. The poor guy was a nervous wreck and Zak doubted he’d be able to live with himself if he allowed those two to head into the mission unsupervised in their current state. It was a liability that AMRO shouldn’t be taking considering the current climate of trust.

Could you buy me some time? The novice asked. I think I shall accept the mission for now, but it isn’t because of them. I want to investigate the person assigning them their missions lately. I believe there has been a breach of conduct. Even without Alistair replying, he could already sense the worry radiating from his mentor. He didn’t like it one bit. All that concern was making him doubt his own judgement; something he could ill-afford at a time like this.

‘I can, if this is really what you want, but I seriously advise against it. Trying to watch both the Ante Mortem and the Experimental Team at once is harsh even for a mentor. AMRO might worry you’re judgement is becoming… weakened.’ Alistair looked at Zak and took a sip, his expression blank through every trick he knew during his time as an Overseer and made it impossible to read.

Jerking his head up, he looked the man in the eye. I’m not getting soft, he insisted. I’m doing what’s best best for AMRO. Killing two birds - maybe three - with one stone. Meanwhile, I’d like you to help me find a replacement. It’s too late to find someone now and Morty isn’t fit to be going on this mission. He needs psychiatric assistance, which I hope you wouldn’t arranging for him too. I’d offered to arrange that but two hours isn’t a lot of time.

‘Personally, I would rather toss him into the nearest padded room for R&R and normalcy. It would do him much more good than a shrink and being left to his own devices. However, I’ll see what I can do. As for your ‘mission’, a tip on making things easier for you: Try to nudge the others to help you with Cade and Samad. Having more than yourself on their case might help get through Samad’s thick skull that’s it’s not Cade’s fault that he replaced Elise. It might also give Cade a reason to grow a pair in order to stand up against Samad’s attitude and even kill off some of that humanity he holds onto so strongly,’ Alistair finished up his cup after his last sentence, his figure had finally rose up to his feet and glared at Morty. Though Zak had come to the conclusion of wanting to be replaced and requested his help, the mentee’s actions would determine the damage from here on out. There was no going back to the way things were now.

“I’ve got a few things to do because my next assignment as it seems my mentee has made up his mind,” Alistair, while not outright saying the decision, hinted to Zak to tell Morty about his decision over the matter, “Contact me if you have issues and I will be checking in time to time. I wish you good luck, Zak.”

“Looks like you’ve accepted?” Morty’s sounded incredulous.

Zak contemplated if he should be kinder to the long suffering man, but Morty wasn’t exactly the most enduring person out there. His manners and his character were found to be wanting in many areas. For instance, Morty being completely unaware that he was dabbing his sweating face with a ketchup stained napkin. The unbecoming behaviour made even the waiters stare at him with a mix of pity and disgust. Indifferent as he tries to be, the annoyance made it that much easier for him to be ruthless when dealing with this man.

“No,” Zak corrected, relishing how big Morty’s eyes were growing. “Consider this as a favour owed. Alistair made it clear that he planned to reject the mission if I hadn’t convinced him otherwise.” A smirk played lightly on the Darwin’s lips as he lay the file on the table. Now it’s time for him to try his luck with this man. There was a small chance that Morty would spot the bluff, but all evidence indicated otherwise. The man’s mind lacked the sharp edge one expected of a Sniffer. He was, if truth be told, no more alert than a druggie in withdrawal.

“Favour? I thought it was …”

Zak held up a hand to cut the man off. “No. I’m Alistair’s responsibility until he chooses to release me.” He allowed his words to trail off as he remained as calm and compose as he had been throughout the latter part of their meeting. “Don’t worry, it’s a simple request.”

“Fine,” Morty blasted, throwing his soiled napkin on the table. “Just accept already and I’ll do what you want. I’m tired of you stupid games. Yours and Alistair’s!”

Even more dinners turned to stare at them, which made things twice as awkward. Zak simply waved his hand in silent apology and waited till they looked away before he resumed the conversation. “Good,” he stated simply, deciding that he’d save himself the bother of chastising a man twenty years his senior. He saw the maître d' hovering close by out of the corner of his eye, so it was reasonable to conclude that one more uproar and they’d be asked to leave. “I’ll be in touch with you soon. Right now, I have an appointment to keep.”

With that, he stood up and gathered his cane and the file. “Have a good day!”
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