tsukune

Enigma Final Fantasy [High-Casual]

Now I gotta decide which character to be.

<sub>I'm so gonna be Celes.

Or Faris</sub>

@Fabricant451

Or, if you're awesome enough...

Just take both. XD

I'll wait for more players to show up before I get the ball rolling and put up more OOC stuff + basic lore I've already prepared for discussion here.

_{I did say that all players are welcome to contribute to the lore.}

Bot Reporting 2.0

These bots simply love RPG so much that they have bookmarked this site to offer us kitchen deals!

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

I'll sound like an asshole (it's because I am) but grammar. It's not that hard to use the proper "there", "too" or "your". If you're not sure, fuckig google it.

People who use coloured dialogue as an excuse to write it incorrectly. I don't care what shade of neon pink your dialogue is, you can't have more than one character speaking in the same paragraph.

Capitalization. Oh my Christ it isn't that hard. I've come across several people who capitalize ever goddamn noun and even verbs and adjectives. You capitalize the beginning of a sentence, proper nouns (AKA names) and acronyms. Thats it.

People who insist on writing everything (IC AND OOC) in italics or coloured or both. You don't have to be a special ducking snowflake. Write normally. I can't read that shit. Even if you must italicize your OOC chat for some goddamn reason, dont italicize everything IC. Italics are for emphasis and thought. If you italicize everything, you're both confusing the audience and looking like a tool.

Whew, now I feel better.

@Obscene Symphony

And on that note, every time when you finished your post, always take a step back and reread what you've written before hitting the reply button. If you're in such a hurry to post bad, cringe-worthy writing, that's been selfish to the others who have to waste their time and effort to read your crap.

RP is not a one-man island. It's a community. So be considerate and don't be a dick.

B!tchfest: a healthy release for our non-roleplay annoyances.

Gaylord Hotel & Resort, National Harbor, Maryland, USA
Top Floor, club scene
Friday 23:00
21+ years only

There was a Cervantes (Soul Calibur), Super Saiyan Goku (Dragonball Z), and a Cloud Strife (Advent Children) all dance battling! Shit was hype, and I remember screaming at the top of my lungs.

@Volenvradica

>tsukune approves
>VIP ticks plz

Enigma Final Fantasy [High-Casual]

@Penultimate_Pi, @Bounce, @AirBender, @Fabricant451:

Remember I said this was just a PRE-Interest Check?
It's about time we strike off that three-letter word - with a nice update of this check.

Get hyped, people! (Who cares if it's just the few of us?)

And well, also a shameless bump, yes.

Have questions? Fire away.
^{But because of my timezone I might not answer them when you're on.}

EDIT: Anyone is free to express their interest. Not just the peeps mentioned above. ;)

Weird Roleplay Ideas You're Afraid To Pitch?

Not really weird, more like unpopular:

• Taking up canonical character roles (beyond those Marvel/DC stuffs!) - then deconstruct them and rebuild them into someone deeper.

...Oh well, of course it's unpopular. Because it does sound insane when it's not Marvel yo.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

Lihua, Meifeng, Sonya, Trevor, Cindy, Quentin, Cass, Reed, Shizuka, & Task Force RAVEN.

---

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core OST - Controlling the Iron Beast

---

With all preparations complete, every member of the squad gathered into the APCs and started rushing towards the Iron District. Taking the safest routes decided by Dana, Daphne, and other members of I&I. Fortunately, the streets were clear and there were no beasts (nor enemies) to slow them down. They were quickly approaching the destination.

This was quite the task for Cindy, waiting for the battle that'd determine Verthaven's future. She was nervously sitting here, patting her hands against her knees. No one was really talking...and, to be honest, the only person she'd talk to would be Scarlet - and she didn't look like she was in the mood to talk. Cindy turned her head towards one of the viewing ports, and saw all the rain in the area. It was raining twice as hard here. "Daaaaaaamn, it's really storming here," Cindy said. "Were you guys really having that hard of a time finding her?"

"Dana told me that the storms started picking up, probably all the poison we gave her," Maria said (in her true form, of course), who was standing up, with her hand on the straps overhead. She was happy that she'd be underground for once. The last thing she wanted to be was ink in this storm. Though, she was curious about the backup that was taking up two spots next to Cindy. She pointed at it and asked, "What's that?"

"Oh this?" Cindy put her hand on top of it. "It's pure glass I gathered from all over the base camp... Dana suggested that I bring lots of glass because I won't be able to find any down there." And making glass would be a pain in the ass. Cindy was not looking forward to the sewer adventure.

Across the glass manipulator, Shizuka had the same feeling as her; however, instead of losing himself in the spiral of uncertainty and fear, he chose to focus his mind on maximizing his chance of survival. He had been debating internally about who he should ally with later on, but in the end he decided to go with the cop again (who, thankfully, was now out of his arm sling, though still with the bandages wrapped around the forearm). "Hey mister, mind if I pair up with you - for this mission?"

"Huh?" Reed wasn't seated too far from him. "That's what we're doing already, isn't it? Going up against She-Cthulhu with a few kids and a guy who almost lost his arm," he said with a sarcastic tone, to which he received an approving grin from the teen boy.

On account of his arm, he'd foregone the pump-action shotguns his brother and uncle preferred and had gone with a light MP5SD resting next to him - and the tactical vest and uniform that he'd thrown on for their mission left him indistinguishable from being part of SWAT or even one of NEST's own assault teams. Somehow, he bet that his colleagues back at VPD would've jokingly called him out for going over to the 'shininess of NEST if they could've seen him right now.

Everyone's comms turned on as Lihua spoke. "We're here," Lihua said. "The Interfere Squad is going to go in first."

Within Lihua's APC, she turned her head towards Peter and he willed the APC door open with his magnetism. He started stepping out until he dropped right off. It wasn't long before the APC came to a stop either. Then the rest of the convoy followed. Curiously enough, one of the APCs was mounted with an oversized speaker opposed to any gun.

Sonya hopped out of the APC holding plastic explosives. "Hate to waste some quality bombs," She said. "But let's get this over with, is everyone else ready? Because once this blows, it's going to get really argo up in here."

"I'd hardly call it a waste." The veteran cop shrugged. "It's a fair trade for the lives of a couple thousand people." It was a rare occasion to see Cassius Taylor outfitted in an official police uniform, let alone the tactical gear that he wore over it. At a first glance, he almost looked the part - until one realized just how old the guy was and what kind of shape he was in. Like always, he'd brought his Ithaca 37 along for the ride.

Lihua stepped out and looked up at the Walmart, Maximilian took her side and deployed his Echo who stood valiantly behind him.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Maximilian said. "Go ahead Mayfield."

"Everyone else get in position - and don't go in until I give the clear, we need to time this just right," Lihua said. The last thing that they needed was to be in there while a potential army of monsters started heading out.

"Okie dookie," Sonya said, hopping to the top of the Walmart. She started placing the explosives on the roof, it was only a few minutes until she was done. "Alright, is err'body else ready? Because I'm ready to blow."

Lihua pressed her earpiece. "Quentin, Maria---"

"Hey, wait!" Sonya loudly said, really worrying Lihua. "Before we blow up this Walmart...we should rescue some snacks." She started snickering.

Lihua shook her head. "...You're really making up for Olin's absence, aren't you?"

"Yup," Sonya said, sitting on the edge of the building.

"It breaks my heart to think of all the good food that's goin' to waste in there," Cass remarked with a wry grin. "Guess it's worth it if means the Dirty Dozen down there get a shot at fixing this mess."

First Squad's APC drove down a hill into a wooded area. Quickly driving along a concrete wall until they reached a metal sewer entrance in the wall (which was twenty feet under the level of the Walmart). It was basically a hole in the wall with a metal gate. The APC pulled into the bushes away from the entrance. Maria nodded her head, then turned to the driver and snapped her fingers. He turned off the APC - engine, lights, everything.

"...Everyone stay quiet as possible," Maria whispered. If the beasts were as blind as their intelligence said, they should ignore the APC and everyone inside. She pressed her earpiece. "We're in position."

"Good," Lihua said. "Quentin?"

The other Squad's APC were opting for another entrance. There was a massive gaping hole in the ground caused by a beast bursting out of the ground. It was semi-flooded, but a perfect entrance into the sewers. The APC pulled into an alleyway, and did the same thing - turned off the engine, lights, and everyone stayed quiet as possible.

"We're in position," Quentin finally confirmed, positioned by the exit in full tactical uniform - complete with his preferred Remington 870. He glanced back towards the others for a moment, particularly casting an eye on Meifeng and recalled how Lihua probably wasn't too pleased at the notion of being separated from her daughter, making a mental note to keep a particular watch out for her. Not that the kid couldn't handle herself; there'd once been a time, mere months before, when it'd been Quentin relying on her to get him out of a sticky situation. "Everyone prepped?" He wanted to check, knowing full well they were headed into a (literal) shitstorm.

"Yeah," Meifeng said, putting her palm up and producing a swirling torrent of water above her hands.

"Well," Trevor said. "I got a sensitive nose, and we're walking into an homicidal maniac's evil lair - if I'm not ready now, I'll never be."

"Everyone's in position," Dana said. "Maximilian, you know what to do from here."

The NEST leader nodded his head, he pressed his earpiece. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen," He started off. "This is going to be the operation that finishes it. I hope each and every one of you are heroes, because this day's going to go down in history." He pulled the detonator out of his utility belt. "Mayfield, I suggest you get off the building now."

Sonya just remembered what was about to happen - right when she was getting comfy. She hopped off the building, onto a different one. Then hopped to another. She laid down, lounging against an air conditioner. "I'm clear." She grabbed her sniper rifle - a Barrett .50 cal this time (she'd need to bring the big guns) - and loaded it with a fresh clip. Ready to give these bastards hell from a distance.

Lihua inhaled sharply. Taking a stance where her feet were shoulder-length apart. Hands were up - her right hand to eye-level, while her other hand was more pressed against her chest. She raised her foot up into the air, and slammed it down. Sending a shockwave through the air almost like she hit the ground with immeasurable force. Two concrete blocks sandwiched her. The shockwave would already attract a few of them to their position - but that didn't matter.

Adam did the same - he inhaled, and summoned powerful winds around him. Prepared as they'd ever be.

PR-1 didn't even move. His ability to sense electrical currents through the area has already given him enough information. Thankfully, the agents have given him plenty of electricity for this operation. So it should be enough to kill all the monsters.

Echo pounded his fists together behind Maximilian, and the tall man cracked his neck. "Brace yourselves everyone," Maximilian said, raising the detonator to chin-level. "Because the explosives are going off in three, two, one..."

One that last word, Maximilian pressed the button and an enormous raged through the Walmart which absolutely destroyed it. Sending a shockwave throughout the area that could be felt from deep underground, and heard from all over the city. It was enough to give Maximilian and the others - who were spaced away from the group - a jump. Lihua felt the need to put one of those concrete blocks in the way to worry about some stray debris.

Once the raging boom of the explosion faded, all that could be heard was the building crumpling...followed by the mass of roars, snarls, and growling. Along with claws scraping the streets heading straight for them.

"...A moment of silence for all the food that was destroyed here," Sonya softly said into the comms followed by a bout of faux-weeping.

Just as predicted, there were many heading straight for them. Plenty were pouring out of the sewers (some were coming out of the entrances the bomb squads were going to use).

"Alright, it's clear," Maria said the moment the stream of monsters began to slow down. "Go, go, go," she said, her group started pulling out of the APC, running into the dark tunnels.

Once he'd seen a gap to cut through, Quentin raised a hand to signal them. "On me!" he barked, before disembarking from the APC and making a straight push towards the gaping fissure which lead into the sewers.

With both teams in the tunnels that only meant there was one person to keep the monsters up here.

Maximilian cracked his neck, he pulled his pistol from his belt. "Alright, everyone," he said, seeing how the monsters were attacking them from all directions now. "Just do what you do best..." he trailed off, before gunshots erupted from all around him as the group utterly declared war on the monsters.

---

Jennifer Caspin, Haruka Takashiro, and...

---

Jennifer was walking down the halls alongside Haruka. She was taking her time - even though she had a feeling she doesn't have a whole lot of time left - as she looked over towards Haruka. She wondered if the others are doing well. She'd ask...but with all this attention on her, she knew that it'd be stupid to ask. Just keep her head down until all of this is over.

"You know..." Jennifer said. "I really appreciate what you said back there..."

Before their conversation could continue, there was an explosion not that far away and an alarm filled the air.

"Attention! The Changeling Unit have breached the building!" Dana's voice loudly shouted through the comms.

---

There wasn't any time. A portal opened in NEST Headquarters and the Berserker ran on through the portal and tore through the place like it was paper. Followed by Luis, Heartbreaker, the Contessa, and the Mannequin. This group was all their needed to extract Jennifer before they tinkered with the bomb.

Heartbreaker reached for her revolvers - bringing them to face-level spinning. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Luis said as he started running at full speed.

They started heading straight for Jennifer - the Berserker should already have her scent and it wouldn't be long until they reach their young, blond friend.

---

"Oh no," Jennifer said. "We have to go! We have to go right now!" she loudly shouted as she grabbed Haruka's wrist and started charging down the hallway. Thankfully, she played lots of basketball, so she had the running game down. She knew that the Changelings were coming for her. Whether it was because they thought they were saving her, or to kill her themselves...they'd probably get some kind of glee from watching her last moments before the bomb goes off.

"W-Wha---" Haruka was confused about the whole situation. Why are the Changelings back here again? Haven't they reunite with their comrades already? Even so, he still ran after Jennifer. Unless... "Are they coming for you?"

"I-I don't know!" Jennifer said - she quickly heard the Berserker's footsteps running up behind them, she looked over her shoulder and saw the hulking beast coming right for them. She came to a skidding stop right before them - and before Jennifer could take another step, a bullet split the tile underneath her foot.

"Stop right there, partners," Heartbreaker said as she blew the smoke away from the gun. "Our boss would like to have a word with you."

Luis stepped around the Berserker and clapped his hands together as Jennifer came in sight. "Jennifer... Why were you running away from us?" he asked as he got close. "Aren't we friends?"

Jennifer clenched her fists as she came face to face with the man who made her go through this hell. She was shaking, as she hissed out the words, "You're no friend of mine, you bastard!" Jennifer's face was red as the tears soaked her shirt.

"Oh?" Luis said, raising an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten already...? Perhaps you need a reminder or two." Luis pressed his earpiece, "Flashbang, would you do the honors?"

A portal opened up behind Jennifer, and Luis pointed towards it.

"Step in," he said.

"Hold up," Heartbreaker said, she quickly stepped over to Haruka and yanked him by the arm and looked him in the eye. "What about him? Do you want me to blow his fuckin' heart out?" Heartbreaker asked as she turned over towards Luis.

Haruka froze when the Changelings appeared before them. His mind had put the two and two together that Shizuka's suspicion about Jennifer was right - but the poor girl didn't choose to betray them out of her own free will. They probably got hold of her weakness or something and used it to threaten her...but even if he wanted to help her out, there was nothing he could do to stand up against these psychopaths.

He couldn't even resist when Heartbreaker grabbed his arm.

And his twin wasn't around to save them this time.

Luis grabbed his chin, thinking about it for a second. "Sure, let's bring him with us." He exploded with cheerfulness. "He can play with us for a bit."

Disappointed, Heartbreaker simply just shoved Haruka over towards the portal. The very second he was away, she pulled out her revolver at lightning speeds and aimed it at him. "If you value that worthless fuckin' life of yours, I suggest that you get in."

"Yes, get in," Luis said, pointing towards the portal.

Jennifer turned towards Haruka, and hung her head in shame. "...I'm so sorry."

Haruka could only managed a weak smile at her before he nodded stiffly to the Changeling leader, slowly walking into the portal. Followed by Jennifer.

"Lovely!" Luis said he followed behind them, before the Berserker's hulking frame stepped in, and the other Changelings walked inside.

The portal closed behind them.

---

Final Fantasy X HD Remaster OST - Gloom

---

The portal lead to the Changeling hideout, specifically the room where Jennifer's family was being held.

When Heartbreaker stepped through, she shoved Haruka forward for little reason other than she didn't like him, causing him to stumble and fell face down on the ground. He stood up and spotted a group of people huddled before him - the resemblance told him that they were likely to be Jennifer's family. Beneath his fear for the Changelings, a bubble of anger was rising inside him. So this is what they used to threaten Jennifer...

Unforgivable.

Luis walked over to Jen's family, who were still tied to the chairs. He stood behind them, and leaned in towards Jennifer's mother. "...So, Jenny... Where did you tell me to go again?" Luis started off with a lustful grin on his face. "I hope you were telling where I can find the Devil...because that's obviously where all your RAVEN buds went, yes?"

Jennifer kept her lips sealed.

Seemed that Jennifer could use a little motivation. He retracted a claw and sliced Jennifer's mom's cheek... Annebelle, her name was? He never quite caught it. The woman winced as the maniac drew blood from her face.

"Okay, okay!" Jennifer said, finally giving in. "They went to Rising Sun Avenue in the Iron District... The Devil is underground."

Luis stepped over to Jen with a delighted smile on his face. "Thaaaaaank you!" Luis said. "This is just a hiccup in our relationship, yes? You'll see the light either way." He wrapped his arm around Jennifer's shoulder, which made her hang her head in shame.

Heartbreaker was more focused on Haruka - she quickly got behind him and kicked him behind the knee (Jennifer winced as she saw the scene - and felt even more awful about what happened). Forcing him to the ground. While he was on the ground, her hands went all over his body, searching for objects. Anything like a phone or a weapon. First thing she found was the comm piece...and she threw it on the ground and crushed it underneath her boot. The last thing they needed was them tracking that piece of shit (they probably should have snatched it off him before shoving him in the portal). Next thing she fished out his clothes was his phone.

Oh, she was going to be flashy with this one.

She threw the phone up into the air, and her hands moved like a blur as she whipped out her revolver and blew the phone into a million pieces with hot lead.

It made her chuckle. She pulled Haruka up to his feet, then pushed him away, and he fell back down next to Jennifer's family for the third time in a row. "Alright, Luis, he's clean," Heartbreaker said. "Unless you want the Mannequin to do a 'Deep Rectal Examination' on this one." She started loudly laughing as she threw her head back.

Haruka clenched his fists, the hatred was beginning to overwhelm his terror towards them. With nothing on him now that would give them any chance to get out of this, he had to think of alternatives - but first, he would have to keep himself alive. And maybe get some useful information out of the big mouths of these egoistic terrorists.

"B-But...aren't you supposed to be working with the Devil?" His voice was trembling, but it was more from rage than fear.

"Hahahahaha - no." Luis said, pacing around Haruka and Jennifer. "If the Devil was on our side, that Headquarters of yours would be long destroyed, and the city would be under our rule..." He said with a refreshed grin on his face. He flicked his wrist like he was waving something away. "...But, more than that. The Devil will play an important role in helping me forge a perfect world," Luis said, laughing.

"I've been waiting centuries for this, you know," he started off. "I can't let ignorant fools like NEST blow away such an opportunity when it's practically in my hands."

Centuries? But more importantly... "So...you are just using the Devil," he said slowly. "But isn't it the same for the Devil too? Using you all for her own gain? I mean, you helped her to wipe out almost half of NEST back at the Headquarters."

"Even if we were playing into her hands..." Luis gave this adorable boy an amused smile as he tilted his head. Crossing one arm over his chest, and holding the other to his jaw. "...She's too afraid to actually wipe out the city," he started off. "You see, with her trapped in here, the only stopping the government dogs from dropping a nuke on this place is - well - you."

Luis walked over to the boy and looked straight in the eye. "You're her shield...up until she finds a way out of here - then she'll kill you and everyone here." Luis stood straight up and shrugged. "Which is why I intend to add her to the Changeling ranks once I tell her of a power out there that is above even Metahumans."

Haruka widened his eyes and continued to lock his gaze with the madman. "A power that is above Metahumans?" he echoed after him in a hushed voice.

"Yes, my boy...and the only way to obtain that power requires a certain set of...instructions to be followed," Luis answered him. "And you require a Metahuman with the power to burn all to ash." He started laughing.

Haruka didn't like where this was going. "...And that is why you need the Devil - she is the Metahuman with enough destructive force to fit your description."

"And I need her alive...whether or not she's willing..." Luis trailed off with a grin. "...Oh well. She has no real choice in the matter. Like I said, I've been waiting centuries for another to pop up."

"Centuries...?" Jennifer asked, absolutely horrified at this conversation. What the hell does Luis know? And how? "...Where - how do you know all of this? Just who are you?"

"...How do I know all this? Well let me tell you..." He put two fingers against his head. "Inside my head rests two centuries worth of knowledge of the secret world of Metahumans. And let me tell ya', it ain't pretty. If any of it got out..." Luis leaned into Haruka. "...The global suicide rate would triple." He started laughing some more.

"Me? I'm just old as Metahumans themselves, one of the few fortunate enough to be born with immortality - and born just the right time," Luis explained more about himself. "I've seen it all...where it starts, and I want to see where just it ends," he said. He started walking over towards Jennifer and put fingers underneath her chin and guided it upwards until he was looking her right in her blonde eyes. "If you help me, I can guarantee you a spot in this new status quo."

Jennifer was silent.

"But enough talk... You'll see soon enough." Luis started laughing. "You still have a part in our deal, yes, Jennifer? I promise you that, if you help me one last time, then your family gets safe passage out of Verthaven."

Jennifer remained quiet.

"So, what's it gonna be, Jen?" Luis said. "You know where they're going - It seems that you know enough of the plan to tell me just what they're planning."

Jennifer's lips were sealed.

Finally she gave in. "...They're going to set up bombs in the tunnels," Jennifer shamefully said. "Then try to crush her with the debris."

"Excellent!" Luis said. "Now I know just what to do to stop them."

He turned towards Haruka, and put his hand on his chin. Grinning like a madman.

"...Are you ready to be one of the many glorious stepping stones, child?"

Haruka gave Jennifer a sideways glance before he looked back at the leader. "What...what do you plan to do with me?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer before the blood manipulator opened his mouth again.

"What? Did you think I took you for no reason?" Luis asked, tilting his head to the side as he gave him a playful smile. "Just to amuse myself?

"...You're going to be my leverage." Luis said. "To stop them from setting off the bombs, and allow me time to speak to the Devil about...well, you know. Because I know they're sooo ignorant that they'd drop any and all of their plans if we have an innocent little hostage."

Haruka had to force down the urge to roll his eyes in order to keep up the scared act - Shizuka would definitely do that, but he highly doubt the rest would do the same. It wouldn't hurt them to sacrifice an insignificant life for the greater good just like these freaks. He had heard from his brother that Lihua was in charge of the operation, which made him even more depressed.

But he despised these creeps even more.

Jennifer started crying again - only to be surprised when Luis stood behind her, and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Don't feel too bad," Luis said. "Jennifer's going to be there by your side... Except with a modified role..."

Luis leaned in and whispered a few things into Jennifer's ear that made her eyes shoot wide open.

"...Flashbang! We are ready," Luis said, and a portal opened up in front of him. "Let's go, Changelings, we have plenty of work to do."

The entire Changeling Unit poured into the portal.

Ready to make Luis' dream come true.

---

Lihua, Meifeng, Sonya, Trevor, Cindy, Quentin, Cass, Reed, Shizuka, Task Force RAVEN, and...

---

After attaching the last bomb to the designated part of the tunnel, Maria quickly took a step back and said, "Squad One has planted all the bombs. Awaiting further orders."

Cindy had produced a sheet of glass on both sides of the tunnel. They ran into a few of the monsters on the way here - but they made short work of them. Cindy and Shizuka did - Maria suggested against using firearms unless absolutely necessary. Which Cindy respected. What she was most happy about was getting out of this damn sewer.

Reed's choice of weapon came particularly handy here - firing off an unsuppressed weapon would deafen them in here. He wasn't much a fan of the stench down here either, but in truth he'd faced worse in his career. Some things were better left forgotten.

Shizuka wasn't too happy with the 'extra work' (not to mention, absolutely revolting), but he still did his part - phasing some of Cindy's glass bombs into their creepy purple eye, where they would writhe with agony at the foreign object stuck inside them before they finally burst apart into a pool of muck.

He couldn't help cringing at the mess. Lovely.

---

On the other team's perspective...

Helena was floating upwards, she did the same; she attached the bomb to the wall, then armed it. She heard a large splash and looked over her shoulder to see Meifeng jetting a kick outwards and shooting a powerful blast of water at a stray beast. The monster was thrown against the wall. Trevor quickly ran up and primed his arrow - shooting an arrow right in it's purple eye. The beast dissolved into a solvent puddle.

"Alright, ten points, I did it." Trevor fist-pumped - earning looks from Meifeng and the others.

"Good work," Quentin said with a low voice, disdainful of the stench. Of all the condemned buildings, piss-soaked alleyways and junkie dens he'd been through, none of it smelled half as bad as this. His shotgun wasn't exactly ideal to use in the echo chamber of these tunnels either, so he'd switched to his suppressed 92FS. Just like old times, skulking through the city's underbelly.

---

The Interference Squad was doing its job quite well.

Echo's lightning fast fists managed to cut down a horde of monsters. They were getting weaker, just as Dana said. They were punching through the monsters like it was nothing. PR-1 was carving through the monster horde using electricity and his magnetism. Lihua was throwing concrete blocks that cut a path through the monsters. Adam had created a massive tornado that funneled the monsters, and slammed them into the walls and floors. The other agents were simply gunning down the beasts.

They didn't have strategy, or coordination, as before. By coming at them in a reasonable manner - and the lack of reinforcements, RAVEN had all but wiped them out. All was going according to plan.

When Maximilian received confirmation that the bombs were placed, Maximilian pressed his earpiece. "Alright, all agents pull out of the sewers." He ordered.

"Maxmilian!" Dana loudly said in the comms. "We have a problem..."

Maximilian rolled his eyes up into his head. "What is it?"

"The Changeling Unit broke into NEST Headquarters earlier - they've taken both Jennifer and Haruka before we could even figure out what was going on."

"What?!" Maximilian said. He sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "We'll have to handle them later...we can track Heartbreaker and the others down..."

"Wait!" Dana said, as she realized something else. She was scanning for Heartbreaker and the other Changelings - and realized they were in the same area of operation as RAVEN. "...They're on the field. Attention all Agents! The Changeling Unit have entered your field of operations!" Dana explained. "They're north of you, Maximilian!"

Maximilian quickly turned his head towards the building, and immediately deployed Echo. Making him act as a shield between himself and the Changelings (specifically Heartbreaker).

Fortunately, the Agents thinned out the monsters so much that they had enough breathing room to handle the Changelings.

Lihua slammed her foot into the ground and created concrete blocks and pressed her back against them. Like hell she was going to fall to Heartbreaker. Other agents took position against the wall - including Adam.

Sonya turned invisible, hoping that with all the fog and rain, she'd be unnoticed by Heartbreaker. She quickly took position on the edge of the building, and aimed it at the building which had the Changelings on top of it. She lined up her shot with Heartbreaker - but held her fire. There were two kiddies on their knees on the edge of the building... Oh no.

"They got hostages!" Sonya whispered into the comms.

---

A portal opened up on top of the rowhouses that was in clear view of the RAVENs - and Luis, Heartbreaker, the Mannequin, Contessa, Count Vicious, Flashbang, and the Berserker stepped out of it. The Berserker knelt down, trying to make her even more brutish frame concealed in the rain and fog. Their two 'hostages' were pushed through the portal with their hands bound behind their back.

"Get to movin'," Heartbreaker said as she kicked Jennifer over to the edge of the building, taking leisurely steps behind her. Heartbreaker grabbed Jen by the shoulder and pushed her to her knees. "You, bitch-boy, you better do what she's doing, or I'll stomp your balls some more," Heartbreaker said, laughing. Haruka had to grit his teeth to suppress the anger rising inside him before he knelt down beside Jennifer. If only he had a power to get out of this...

The portal closed, and Luis knelt down by the edge of the building, looking down.

"All we have to do is get their attention..." Luis said...before the RAVENs down there began to freak out as they dove for cover - most notably Lihua and Maximilian who used their powers to shield themselves.

"...Well, that's convenient," Luis said, shrugging. He grinned widely as he stood on the edge of the building. His longcoat was fluttering in the wind. He stretched both hands out as he announced, "Hello RAVEN! It is so great to see that you found my newest friend! But we can't have you hurting her before we at least get a chance to talk to her..."

Luis went on and on.

And on.

...And on.

---

"...What the hell is he saying?" Lihua said, as she poked her head around cover. A combination of rain, wind, and distance, made it all but impossible to hear Luis' grand speech. She didn't know if she should be glad, or worried (in the off chance he became impatient).

"Jen?!" Cass could barely make out the girl as one of their hostages and was just as surprised as the rest of them to see her in that state.

"I don't think he realizes that we can't hear him..." Maximilian trailed. "Okay, we need a plan..."

"Want me to take the shot?" Sonya said. "Take Heartbreaker out in one shot..."

Cass was quick to voice his apprehension, "They'll get caught in the crossfire."

"We can't take that risk with those hostages," Maximilian said, agreeing with Cass. "We need to assess the situation before he realizes, then come up with a plan."

---

"...So, furthermore, it is not too late to join my perfect world. All you have to do is vacate the area, and these hostages of mine won't get hurt. Okay?"

Luis didn't get any response whatsoever.

"...Did they hear me?" Luis asked.

Heartbreaker was too busy facepalming. "...Of course not, you dipshit." Haruka would have done the same...but his hands were tied firmly behind his back.

Luis groaned; he snapped his fingers and Flashbang created a portal in front of him, and Luis stormed in. A few moments later, he came back with a red megaphone. The sight of it made the Japanese boy roll his eyes. He couldn't tell if the great leader of a crazy terrorist group was actually a terrifying supervillain or just an old fool.

"I never thought I'd be using this..." Luis said as he turned up the volume to maximum. "Okay, where was I?" Luis asked his fellow Changelings, only to get shrugs. He simply rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't like repeating myself," Luis said through the megaphone, which was amplified enough for RAVEN to hear him. "So, I'm going to make this brief... We have two of your own, bound and helpless.

"If you set those bombs off, they'll die," Luis said. "So, you best leave the area at once if you don't want my associate here to blow their heads off."

Heartbreaker took two steps up, and started twirling her revolvers in full view of the RAVENs.

Though...he was just stalling, of course. His real plan required that Jennifer would get rescued.

Because this would be the day she prove she's Changeling material or not.

---

Immediately, Maximilian's finger went for his earpiece. "Team, we have a problem: the Changeling Unit is holding Haruka and Jennifer hostage and are threatening to kill them if we detonate the bombs."

Lihua gritted her teeth as she heard every word.

Of course, they'd pull something like this of all times. It was the only thing that'd give everyone a pause. Right when they're so close to the finish line. Lihua didn't know what the Changelings were after here - whether it was defending the Devil in her weakness, or some other reason - but they essentially got them in a deadlock. If they detonate the bombs, then Jennifer and Haruka are dead (and she didn't want to get such young blood on her hands). If they didn't, then who knows what would happen.

While she didn't want to detonate the bomb, the pragmatic side of her was telling her to go ahead anyway. For the good of the many, as they would say...but, it's so easy to say that when you're not the one making the sacrifice.

"Holy fuck, are you saying they took Jen?!" Meifeng loudly said in the comms, almost ready to slam her fist into the wall. "We gotta get her out of there."

"We'll deal with it after." Quentin shared her sentiment, yet he knew that they couldn't afford to charge headfirst into it. Luis and that bitch Heartbreaker were more than a match for them without throwing the rest of his attack dogs into the mix.

In the other team, Shizuka didn't take the news too well. The Changelings got his precious brother! How could he pretend to be calm about it? "Those motherfuckers," he growled. "I'm so gonna kill them for laying their bloody hands on Haru---" Before he could storm out of the tunnel - blinded by his own rage - someone pulled him into an arm lock and pressed him against the wall.

"If our places were switched I'd do the same for Quent," Reed firmly told him. "But you're no good if you get yourself killed. Inhale, count to ten, exhale. Think."

"Shizuka, you've got to chill." Cindy was quick. She didn't understand their relationship (from what she can tell, they're weirdly close), but rushing to fight them - when RAVEN couldn't take them - would be suicide. "Do you want them to ice the two of you?"

"They're right, you know," Maria quickly added. Trying to help them talk some sense into this boy. "With both Heartbreaker, Luis, and the Berserker there, you'll be torn to shreds - if Heartbreaker even lets you get that close."

Luckily for them, their words managed to reach the boy - and helped to regain the logical side in him. Finally, Shizuka stopped struggling and relaxed. Reed relinquished his grip when he was sure he'd collected himself.

His comm was still live; he took in a deep breath and spoke coldly into it, making sure the other teams could hear him loud and clear, "I know that some of you are thinking to sacrifice them in favor of making this suicide mission a success, but that is because those lives sacrificed mean nothing to you." He then let out a defeated sigh, his voice broke as he spoke into the comm again, "I'm begging you - save Haru...and Jennifer. Please."

"We aren't sacrificing anyone," Maximilian immediately said.

"Yeah, what do you take us for? The Changeling Unit?!" Sonya robustly said into the comms. "Yeah, we probably don't know much about them - but RAVEN is all about saving the little guy. I even got a plan!"

"They're stalling us..." Lihua groaned in irritation. "Mayfield, how many Changelings do you see up on the building?"

Sonya quickly checked through her scopes. "Ooooooh boy, seven of 'em," Mayfield answered. "Which means we're about eight short."

"The rest are likely scanning the tunnels, searching for the bombs so they can disable them," Lihua said. "That, or they're going after the teams."

"So the hell do you suggest?" Meifeng asked.

"We need to come up with a plan," Lihua was quick to answer. "For now, pull out of the sewers... We don't know what's going to happen next, nor do we know what's going to happen."

Truth be told, she just wanted them out of the way just in case they had to detonate the bombs.

"Gotcha," Maria said. She pointed down the tunnel. "Get moving, we don't have much time." Team One began running through the halls of this maze. Shizuka trailed behind them without another word, more or less back to his usual self...except for the icy glint in his eyes.

Tugging on his sling, Reed grabbed for his weapon once more and followed suit.

---

Dana was working hard in the NEST Mission Control room. Tirelessly, because she could be the thing that would save the mission, and the world. While she couldn't walk, every agent knew that she was the best damn mission control they had, and the only thing standing in the way of complete annihilation. She wasn't sure what they could do to turn the mission around in their favor. Which was why she was surveying their environment to come up with a plan of some sort.

The last thing she wanted to do was sacrifice two innocent lives for the sake of the mission.

But, while she was switching screens, something didn't look right. When she was looking at cameras, she saw several of the beasts going straight for the field of operation. On a hunch, she looked a little further out, and saw that, from all over the city, the monsters were heading right for the Devil's lair.

"Oh no," Dana said.

"She's back."

---

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core OST - On the Verge of Assault

---

"...Do you think they'll fall for the trick I pulled in the armory again?" Sonya asked...honestly out of ideas as to what to do.

The impasse was tense. Both sides was waiting for the other to pull something. Because they both held a gun of some sort. Maximilian was doing his best to come up with a plan of some sort.

"...Oh my God," Dana started off, her voice was frantic. "Agents, Maximilian, anyone! We-we-we have a giant problem!" she shouted.

"Dana..." Maximilian trailed off. "Calm down, and tell me what it is."

Taking a deep breath, Dana couldn't help but lose her shit. "...Every monster in the city is heading your way!" she continued shouting into the comms. "They're coming from all sides, there's no way out!"

"What?!" Maximilian said.

Lihua shook her head. The amount of options they had were quickly running out. She didn't want to say it out loud...but perhaps setting off the bombs would be the best course of action. She'd take full responsibility for whatever happens next - no matter how bad.

Before they do anything, they had to confirm the groups were already out of the sewers. "Quentin, Maria, double time!" Lihua snapped into the comms.

"Oh, fuck---" Quentin mouthed, before his focus shifted back to his team. "Everyone on me, we're pulling out!"

"What in the bloody hell do we do?!" Sonya asked, mostly to Maximilian.

Before either side could come up with a plan, a group of monsters squished up against each other and started violently shaking. They exploded, and their sludge combined to form the Devil's proxy form - a thin woman, with massive tentacles forming her lower body, making it three times as thick as her upper body. With grey skin, and claws.

The Devil floated up into the air in between both NEST and the Changeling Unit. Suddenly, the rain storm started to lessen up - to allow the Devil to speak.

"...Disgusting," the Devil said. "All of you are so disgusting. You thought you could poison me and kill me like it's nothing?"

"Oh bloody hell - I thought that heart was poisoned with some of the worst shit NEST got! And she shrugged it off like it was nothing?!" Sonya shouted through comms. "How are we supposed to kill this thing?"

Maximilian was silent.

"...But, the only people who are going to die here are all of you." The Devil said, her hands started crackling with electricity as the storm picked up again. Beasts of all sizes came charging into the field.

"Oh fuck," Luis said to himself. "This is not what I had in mind."

A puma-like monster came flying at the group - only to quickly meet it's end when the Berserker hammered the beast with her fist. Splattering it on impact.

"Maybe we should pull out," Heartbreaker suggested. "Let NEST die in this fight."

"...If we pull out now, NEST will definitely set off the bombs and render this moot." Luis shook his head. "Besides," He looked over to the Berserker. "We have one of the most powerful Metahumans on our side." He whistled, getting the Berserker's attention, then pointed forward. "...Kill them. They won't be able to stop you."

The Berserker let out a roar as she jumped off the roof, and hit the ground with such an enormous thud it shook the area around them. She started running fast as she could - and anything in her way was destroyed as she reached the speed of cars. The beasts were splattered on impact, and anything else was sent flying.

Luis snapped his fingers, and said, "Flashbang, we'll need reinforcements for this one."

On command, a portal opened and the rest of the Changeling Unit stood valiantly behind Luis. Before they ran on past him, and jumped into the fray behind the Berserker - save for a few.

Maximilian noticed the Changelings joining the fight - he looked up at Luis. They still had the hostages. Not only that, the Devil was fighting, too. "Alright, everyone hold steady!" Maximilian loudly said, "...Looks like we got ourselves a three way battle on our hands!"

Lihua shook her head.

"...Nothing is ever easy in this city."

B!tchfest: a healthy release for our non-roleplay annoyances.

Time for a b!tchfest.

<Snipped quote by tsukune>

If Bernie Sanders became president, the United States would not run out of money within a week, unemployment would not sky-rocket up to 50%, violet crime rates wouldn't triple and America would not become a Soviet Socialist Republic.

If Donald Trump became president, the United States would not nuke Mexico City within a week, the incarceration rate would not sky-rocket to 50%, the poverty rate wouldn't triple and America would not become a fascist dictatorship.

People from different ends of the political spectrum need to learn how to respect and empathize with one another. Two people can have the same goal and different ideas of how to achieve it. An election isn't about siding with one pack of rabid, partisan wolves or the other, it's about deciding which set of ideas you think are best and politely disagreeing with the other set. You aren't changing anyone's mind or making your country a better place by cussing out a cardboard cut-out of the person you disagree with, or setting a scarecrow in their likeness on fire. If you have a lot of friends interested in politics, you should be able to think of at least one that might not vote for the same party as you come election day.

@The Nexerus

Looking back at the full text I wrote in my original post...

I'm not American and thus the whole election process is merely a dramatic piece of news in my region.

@tsukune

While I do understand your point that this election is where you guys, the Americans, are going to cast your vote to the candidate who best represent your political ideology with respect to what you think is best for the future of your country, don't forget how much the US has been putting themselves into the affairs of other nations beyond its mere borders. It's natural for the other countries - especially those that have close ties with US and are not white nations - to worry about the future of their relationship with a president who isn't going to see them as an equal just because, well, they are not white.

My stand with Trump is, in actuality, neutral. The reason why I'm a bit concerned with the higher probability of him winning is not because of the way his speeches resonate with the frustration of the majority, but the choice of words he used to deliver his ideals. While you guys are all about freedom of speech and liberty and whatnot, it does not mean you can go around saying whatever you like to say without respecting and empathizing the people you are dissing - what's more, in a country with a multiracial society, openly promoting the idea that "white is superior than colors of all other races" is not something you would want to say in the wake of ISIS and the Syria problem now... Which is basically begging them to turn their target from Europe to US. This goes back to the point you made about "people from different ends of the political spectrum need to learn how to respect and empathize with one another". Not just the voters, but the candidate who isn't merely going to rebuild your country, but also maintain the ties with other nations across the world.



...And ignorant dictators, of course.

Anyway, my two-cents about US political drama aside.

While some of the people above in the previous page are complaining about how "anime is the Japanese revenge to poison the American entertainment industry", I'd say the same about how "the American culture is a poison to our Asian society", etc., etc.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

Lihua & Meifeng Vuhong, Sonya Mayfield, Cass Taylor, Task Force RAVEN, & PR-1.

^{(@Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101)}

---

"...Did we lose 'em?" Sonya asked as she looked over her shoulder towards the back of the APC. Currently, they were driving around the Isabella Isle after a high speed chase with the monsters. The last thing they wanted to do was lead them back to the camp.

"That, or they gave up," Lihua said, stern as always. She glared over towards Meifeng, "...Good thing we didn't go with her suggestion."

"Hey, hey, hey." Meifeng put her hands up. "Fighting them would have worked juuuust as well."

Lihua crossed her arms as she gave Meifeng a look that just screamed bullshit. "...We would have been slaughtered."

"Well, at least we didn't do anything stupid like lead them straight back to base, right?" Leon said.

Scoffing it off, Lihua cynically said, "Please." She started, "If the Devil wanted to, she could have them pop from right out in the middle of the base - our defenses be damned."

Everyone looked at Lihua.

"She's just playing with us," Lihua started off. "She knows that, if she massacres us long as this shield is up---" Lihua pointed up above at the blue shield above them. "---High Command will just drop a nuke on her." She finished that statement with a shrug.

"...Heh, that's one way of looking at it." Sonya cheekily said.

"Agent Vuhong, we have a problem," Dana said into their exclusive comms channel. "The Changelings---"

"I know," Lihua said, wondering why Dana was choosing now to inform them of the Changeling's attack. "Is everyone okay?"

"No, more than that," Dana said. "They've liberated Heartbreaker and the others."

Lihua almost gritted her teeth. Letting out a deep sigh. She wasn't there, but she knew that RAVEN worked their ass off capturing Heartbreaker. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I repeat, is everyone okay?" she asked.

"Maximilian and Agent Taylor took a few hits," Dana said. "And a large chunk of the base was destroyed...and they killed a lot of people..."

"Those animals," Lihua hissed. "We'll get back fast as we can, you can debrief us then---"

"But we have another problem: the Changelings released a lot of prisoners and they're currently wreaking havoc in the safe zone. Everyone else is currently exhausted, so it's up to you to help take care of them."

Lihua closed her eyes for a moment. Everything was going to shit, but she needed to focus. Keep fighting. She was praying that Lijuan got out of here.

"...We're on our way."

---

The convoy quickly returned and they saw the walls were knocked down, and the droves of escaping prisoners.

The APCs came to a skidding stop, and the APC gunners quickly took aim. The prisoners quickly scrambled - realizing this wasn't a fight they can win. They were promptly ignored by the NEST agents who were focusing on the escapees that were attacking people.

A pyrokinetic was raining flames upon a building - he saw the headlights closing in on him and turned his head, only to see the APC hit him at high speed and ram him into a wall. Lihua stepped out of the APC, holding her earpiece. "Focus on those who are causing damage," she ordered. "We can afford to let the small fry get away."

She saw a group of the prisoners running up, and she slammed her foot on the ground, and a slab of the street flipped over and created cover that she crouched down besides. Coming out of the APC was a storm of razor sharp arrow heads made out of ice. They penetrated the prisoners giving Lihua enough of a distraction to shoot the cover out and crush the three fighters.

Sonya hopped out of the APC, and shouted, "Get the walls back up, I'll cover you." She reached over her back and grabbed her Barrett. She quickly hopped to the highest building and knelt down. Getting in position to snipe some fools.

That'd be a good plan. Just close the breach and handle it from here...though Lihua worried that they'd be trapped in here with them. Nonetheless, she was going to close this hole, and then focusing on eliminating the prisoners. She walked up to the breach and focused on the broken concrete wall. She raised her hands up into the air, and the broken pieces also began floating as well, filling the holes in the walls.

The rest of the APCs, and the agents within them, began pushing out to rectify the situation.

"We'll cover you!" Leon said as Adam and himself took position in front of Lihua. Leon drawing his weapon, and Adam summoned his Echo.

Meifeng created an orb of water, and froze some ice inside of it. "Ready and waiting!"

"You chaps won't have to worry much!" Sonya said as she aimed down the sights of her sniper rifle. She spotted some thugs running up on them, before she pulled the trigger to her sniper rifle and blew them away.

PR-1 paced on by them, earning looks from the RAVENs. "...Do you want me to engage?" he spoke in his robotic voice.

"Yes, that'd be nice," Lihua said...it felt strange talking to Peter now. A few weeks ago, they were sworn enemies (and Lihua declared that she'd destroy everything he worked so hard to build) but now they're speaking casually as allies. Hmph. For now that is.

Another prisoner who'd been skulking behind the scenes had grabbed for a dead agent's rifle and looked ready to take a potshot at Lihua and Meifeng from her their flank, until another gunshot rang out and the man slumped against the broken fragments of the wall, crimson red soaking his jumpsuit. From behind appeared an old, veteran cop wielding an Ithaca 37 - who quickly kicked the gun away from the man's slumped body and checked him for a pulse.

Cass found none in this guy, yet just ahead were his nephew's colleagues - their APC having just pulled up at the broken ruins of the wall. Huddling close behind him were others: a few children, some with parents and some without along with a shivering teen clutching a snub-nosed revolver close to their body. If he'd not found these people trying to make a break for it, they might'd been slaughtered by the inmates or worse.

He recognized one of them for sure. "Agent Vuhong." Cass approached, bedraggled and bruised like the rest of them.

Lihua turned her head and looked at the retiree-aged cop. Cass Taylor. The man who helped them with the little predicament with Jen. "Cass, it is great to see you again but..." Lihua asked. "Are you okay? I can arrange for any medical attention if you need it."

"I'm fine, Vuhong." Cass added, "Had to stop a couple people from running out into No Man's Land. My nephews, you heard from either of them?" His tone suggested that the Taylor brothers were more on his mind than anything - which they were.

"No, not yet," Lihua replied. "But, I can get in contact with them." True to her word, Lihua pressed her earpiece and accessed the channel with Dana. "Ms. Alcott, what is the status on Quentin and Reed Taylor?"

"Um..." Dana asked, a tad unsure of how to explain it to Lihua - since it was a rather odd question to her. "Quentin was injured, and is currently being patched up by Trevor. Reed is here with me in the control room."

Lihua nodded her head. "Good." Before she faced Cass. "Your nephews are fine - Quentin has been injured apparently, however."

"Quentin?!" His heart sank for a moment, his face awash with fear for his eldest nephew. Not again, Cass thought. "Jesus, what happened out there?"

"...Believe me, I have the same question." Personally, Lihua wanted to know where Mika, Cindy, and Lijuan is.

PR-1 walked on. Going to engage the prisoners in battle.

"...He's helpful." Leon said as he pulled the trigger and a prisoner met his end at the hands of his revolver.

"He's lovely!" Sonya said into comms. "When, you know, he's not trying to kill us." She saw someone coming up on Lihua, and pulled the trigger. Ending him at the twitch of her finger!

Lihua ignored that comment as she assembled the wall. This should keep out any intruders. However, at this point, the roar of gunfire and screaming has finally ended.

"The wall has been repaired," Lihua said, somewhat tired from that task. "How is the situation?"

"The situation has been rectified," Dana said.

"Oh shit, by her closing the wall up like that?" Meifeng answered in the comms, getting looks from Lihua for using the comms like that.

"Well, no," Dana answered. "Everyone escaped." She sighed.

"Oh."

"Get back to Headquarters for your debriefing," Dana said.

"Affirmative," Lihua said. "We're on our way."

---

Cassius, Reed & Quentin Taylor.

^{(@Zombiedude101)}

---

The sight of a familiar face brought relief to the Taylor brothers as they spoke outside the meeting room. Quentin had felt that he was the guilty party for allowing the old man to take off as he did.

"Are you boys alright?" Cass' focus shifted towards Quentin, searching his nephew for some sign of injury, then did the same to Reed. "What happened out there?" he asked, turning back to Quentin, "Vuhong said you were injured."

"Me? It's nothing, all things considered. What about you?" Quentin's attention was shifted towards the well-being of his family more than himself.

"It didn't sound like it. And..." Cass' inquisitive gaze shifted to the puncture in Quentin's vest, where the spike had entered earlier. His eyes widened at the sight of the dried blood soaked into the area around the puncture, yet he was even more surprised to see his nephew stood there, almost as if nothing had happened. "That doesn't look like nothing."

He wasn't the only one who'd noticed. Reed had seen his brother while that spike was still in there, yet here he was - standing and unharmed. "Yeah, I saw it too."

"It's fine. Look, see?" Quentin jabbed a finger through the hole in his clothes made by the spike. It still felt surreal, walking away from it as easy as he did. "Not even a scratch now." But then, these past months had been surreal.

"Quent, when I last saw you, you had a god-damned spike lodged in your side. That's not 'fine' by any measure," Reed argued. Even now, it was hard for either of them to get used to the notion of Quentin being something more - and he realized that.

"It's fine. Just take my word for it."

"What? No, if you think---"

Reed's voice was quickly cut off. "You two, don't start," Cass interjected, sensing a storm brewing between the two brothers, well-intentioned as Reed was. "What's good is that you're both alright. Beat up, sure, but beat up is better than nothing."

Both Taylors shared a look, before relenting. "Sorry if I had you worried," Quentin apologized. "How's that been?" he asked, gaze shifting to Reed's slung arm.

Reed flexed its fingers. "Better than before. Probably don't need this now." he fingered the fabric of the slung arm. "Whatever stuff that guy gave me, I think it's doing its job."

"Trevor?" Quentin arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's what he gave me for it."

"I won't ask how it worked faster on you," Reed answered, having figured it out already but not admitting it. He'd not forgotten how Jen had survived being impaled on that wreckage when he'd seen others killed by less. It almost made him envious of his elder brother, if only for a second, yet he wondered just [i]what[i] Quentin might'd been through and come out so unscathed.

"Come on, I think they're starting in there." Cass thumbed towards the meeting room, where the others had already set off inside. Nodding, Quentin went in to join his colleagues whilst Cass and Reed followed suit.

---

Lihua & Meifeng Vuhong, Sonya Mayfield, Trevor Obott, Cindy Keagan, Quentin Taylor, & Task Force RAVEN.

^{(@Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101)}

---

Once again, everyone was gathered for one awkward meeting in RAVEN's favorite meeting room!

"That was a disaster," Lihua started off, shaking her head. "That was a total loss against the Changeling Unit..." she trailed off.

"Well," Sonya chimed in, her frog mouth opening wide. "At least we got Heartbreaker tagged!"

"...But the Changeling Unit tore NEST Headquarters apart, killed lots of civilians, and has potentially recruited some of our worst prisoners," Lihua explained. "And we only eliminated two of them? Two irrelevant members...and they got three of their psychopaths - plus at least ten more."

Everyone listened.

"And that isn't the only thing we have to worry about," Lihua started off, raising her finger in the air. "A lot of the prisoners they released were REAPERS and HOS scientists...who will certainly fall back into their hands. Not to mention the psychopaths and gang members making the streets even more dangerous."

Lihua didn't want to be the - as the Americans would say it - 'Negative Nancy', but it was her job to inform the field agents of the threats. And the problems just kept stacking up.

"And..." Dana started off. "I feel like the Changelings were going for a psychological angle during their attack," she theorized.

"Hm?" Lihua said.

"Now what do you mean by that?" Meifeng started off, who was leaning back in her chair with her hands behind her head.

"It's like...they were trying to make the civilians lose hope in us, too." Dana said. "They were trying to prove that we can't protect them from threats like them. Just think about it; they proved that they can knock down the walls like it's nothing, massacre them for little reason, and take whatever they want - unobstructed." Dana shook her head. "...I've received a few reports that people have been venturing out - rather taking their chances out there than stay here."

Dana looked around at the group. "After all, we can't protect them from the Changelings."

Maximilian - fully healed by Trevor's drug - sunk his head into his hands for a moment, shaking them. Before his just put one hand over a fist. "That isn't good...especially now of all times," Maximilian started off. "At this rate, the Devil won't have to lift a finger," Maximilian said.

"Fine, jeez, we get it," Leon said, raising both hands up into the air. "Shit's fucked, give me the good news for a change. Like God damn," he stated, annoyed as all hell that all of this went down while they were gone.

Dana sighed. "...Fortunately," she said, and everyone got all excited. "Agent Vuhong's mission was a success."

"Of course," Lihua arrogantly said. "It was lead by me after all."

Dana turned herself in her wheelchair until she was facing the center of the meeting room. She grabbed a remote that was resting on her lap and pressed the button. Suddenly, the lights in the room dimmed, and the hologram projector in the center of the table activated. Showing a map of Verthaven.

With another press of a button a red dot appeared on the outskirts of Verthaven...in the Estella isle, quickly heading southward.

"The heart has been taken by the monsters as planned," Dana said with an affirmative nod. "It won't be long until it leads us right to the Devil. Maybe a few hours I estimate."

"Great," Maximilian said. "Then we're one step closer to ending this, once and for long."

"Yo," Cindy said to catch everyone's attention, raising her hand up into the air. She had a few things to say...not everyone would like it. "After all that, shouldn't we just go after those Changeling assholes and get 'em back for everything they did here?" Cindy suggested it.

The room went empty, everyone was hoping that someone else addresses the elephant in the room.

Before long, it was up to Maximilian. Who first sighed, "...I know they did some damage here," Maximilian said. "And I hate to say this, but we're going have to let them go. For now."

Quentin placed a hand over his side, where the spike had once been. To say the least, he didn't look too happy about that fact, but kept quiet about it. Cindy was silent too for a moment, before she exploded with, "Why?"

"The Devil grows stronger with each day," Lihua beat Maximilian to the answer. "She's the more dangerous opponent - because she's keeping us in here with her."

"If we can confirm the Devil dead, then we can convince High Command to let us out of here," Maximilian said. "Then, we can worry about the Changeling Unit when we get support...possibly lead us right back to their base."

"Point being, we're not exactly in the best position right now..." Lihua said placing her finger on the table. She then elaborated, "It's true that if we go after the Devil, we leave ourselves open to the Changelings...but the inverse is also likely. We could be playing into the Devil's hands by targeting the Changelings."

Lihua paused for a moment, as she decided to catch her bearings. "What I'm trying to say is that we have to run under the assumption that other threat will target us the moment we go after the other," Lihua quickly said. She gently placed her hands on top of the table. "Our best chance is to deal as big of a blow to one threat before we move onto the others."

"At least we'll have some forewarning if the Changelings attack us." Leon raised a finger in the air.

"That is current," Lihua said. Before letting out a sigh. "But, we're pretty much going in circles now." She shook her head. "Me, Maximilian, Ms. Alcott, and Ms. Hope will be compiling information and formulating a plan." She looked at everyone else. "Everyone else...just get some rest. You'll all need it."

"Alright, meeting adjourned." Maximilian said.

---

Haruka & Shizuka Takashiro, & Reed Taylor.

^{(@tsukune and @Zombiedude101)}

---

Kara no Kyoukai 5 OST - 10-M11

---

Shizuka wasn't paying much attention to the meeting - not due to his rather low opinion of the Vuhong woman (as if he would want to waste his time on someone so insignificant in his life). Besides, from the random snippets that had managed to reach his bored brain, it seemed like RAVEN had the Devil problem under control - for now (the mission was a success, obvious from the boastful tone in that ladydude's voice).

Hmph, so she wasn't that dense like a stubborn rock as he had originally thought.

He straightened up slightly when Cindy mentioned the Changelings. He did expect the agents to prioritize the Devil rather than those wacko terrorists - every single person, whether a Meta or normie, good or bad, were trapped together within the blue energy shield. All that's left was to have some mass-destruction bomb dropped right on top of their little heads. Who wants to perish with those bloody psychopaths just like that?

Worse, the recent fights with them so far had thinned out the NEST forces quite drastically - they would need to focus whatever remaining manpower they had to eliminate one threat at a time.

While Shizuka knew that RAVEN made the right decision, his gut feeling was telling him otherwise...that now was merely the calm before another storm. He tried to brush it off and push it behind his mind, but it only made him mull over the series of events with the Changelings more.

He had ruled out the possibility of them having a telepath or clairvoyant when he replayed Heartbreaker's escape in his head - their leader might be a bloodthirsty madman, but he didn't strike him as the kind who was stupid enough to charge headfirst into Max's team and sacrifice his own comrades pointlessly; or even the need to go one big round to reach the cell where Heartbreaker was being kept---

"...That's it!" the silver-haired teen hissed under his breath. "Hate to disappoint you, Haru, but we do have a mole among us."

"Huh?" Haruka glanced at his brother with disbelief. "It can't be - why would anyone here want to work with those terrorists? Aren't we supposed to fight against them in the first place?"

"Try to remember: Trevor asked for Heartbreaker's location, and Dana provided the info," Shizuka said with a rush. "Who else was there in the room who had heard that? Not counting the other operatives in the control room, of course," he added hastily, tapping on the comm still in his ear.

When Haruka didn't speak, his twin continued on, "Ink Lady went back to the fight after she brought us, the injured cop and Jennifer into the room - so we can rule her out. Trevor and his sister came in shortly after, with two female agents... Among these people, one of them is a traitor who passed Heartbreaker's location to the Changelings, which was supposed to be 'classifed'.

"Anyway, technically we're not part of NEST or RAVEN - or whatever the hell they call themselves - so I decide to be nice to do them a little favor." A smirk appeared on Shizuka's face. "Screw their military bullshit. We're gonna investigate this on our own."

"Are you insane?" Haruka exclaimed in a low voice. "There is no guarantee that we will still be alive if we cross paths with the Changelings again!"

Shizuka considered for a moment. "I guess we'd need to get a few more reliable people on board, huh?"

"How about Jen---" Haruka began, but Shizuka shook his head. "I don't care if you're her 'boyfriend' or whatever - and you still owe me a good explanation about all those dramatic blood episodes - but there's no way I'm gonna put my trust in a shameless liar in this shitstorm."

Haruka didn't like how his brother was still mocking his relationship with Jennifer (and also the way he's perceiving her), but now wasn't the time to be petty over such trivial matters. "Right... Then Trevor? How about Cindy? Or Meifeng?"

That made Shizuka roll his eyes. "Him? He isn't gay enough to go along with a couple of Asian boys like us when he can tag behind those bootylicious agents. As for glass chick and gorilla girl, I think they would rather kill us outsiders than suspecting their own kind."

Haruka frowned at the sarcasm, but chose not to comment on it. He sighed and went on, "Who do you suggest then?"

"The sling cop. He's in a neutral position - and before you start about his broken arm and being as powerless as you are, we both have seen that he's capable of handling firearms...single-handedly."

By then the meeting was over. As everyone began to leave the room, Shizuka pulled his twin with him and brisked towards Reed Taylor, raising his free hand to tap on his shoulder. "Hey mister, there's something we want to talk to you about..."

"Huh?" Reed glanced over his shoulder, eyebrow arched. The two kids from earlier who'd been with them when Jen and the agent, Maria, were trying to get away from that madness. He felt his slung arm itch as they approached.

Once the last person was out of the room, Shizuka slammed the door shut, making sure that it was locked properly before turning around to face the one-arm cop. "We - fine, I mean just me," he changed mid-sentence, shrugging at his brother's glare. "I've a suspicion that there's a traitor among us who's been working secretly with the Changelings - that's how they know where exactly Heartbreaker was being kept, and also keep tabs on our every move." He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets before continuing on, "While the big-shots - the RAVENs - are concentrating on the Devil, we'll need to remove this mole, ASAP. Because either way we're still playing right into the hands of these nutters."

Reed flexed a couple of fingers and habitually glanced over his shoulder once again, then shifted his gaze back towards them. "First things first, have you got anything concrete here?" he asked, despite having his own reservations on the matter. He'd seen from the security room that those bastards had known just where to go, where to hit - it was a little too convenient. Hard to notice then, but now? Something stank, but things had to be done the right way. "If what you're saying's true," he began. "You need something to work with before you start pointing the finger around."

The cop was right - they would need some hard evidences before they could pin down the damned betrayer who had led to all this. "No, I don't have anything concrete yet, but I know where to start."

He sat down on the table, kicking away the two chairs before him, gesturing at the man and his twin to sit. "First clue: Dana was the one who revealed the top-secret info when Trevor asked her where Heartbreaker was; and right after we heard the location, the Changelings, who had been blindly thrashing around the Headquarters and causing random damage, suddenly changed their tactic and started going straight to their friend's cell. The timing is too coincidental." Sure, they tried to hide that by releasing the other supervillians along the way, but still not good enough to throw someone with a sharp mind off the track completely.

"So you're saying it could be Trevor?" The detective asked, a skeptical expression adorned across his face. They'd made a good case - but he knew that timing wasn't the only thing they needed. "Alright, just consider that there were other people in that room. We all heard it, any one of us could've passed that on somehow - assuming it was someone in there with us. From a legal perspective - assuming we had evidence of an informant, we're all suspects. It could've been either of you two, maybe both, or even me." He gave them a firm look after that last note.

Shizuka let out a short laugh at the man's serious expression. "Of course. Which brings me to the next clue: before Ink Lady brought us to the control room, the Changelings came for us. Why would they do that - what's more, even leading Max's team on purpose to us to save us from them? I mean, he was hellbent on shredding Inky with his nasty blades even though he knew it's useless against her power, and he sacrificed some of his own people for nothing."

Again, Reed thought they'd made a good point - it wasn't something he'd picked up on first off but in retrospect they had gotten off easy. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was more. "Aside from that, did either of you pick up on anything suspicious?"

"Adding on to my second point, the only possible reason I could come up with at the mo' was that the Changelings paid us a visit for a certain someone in our group - which narrows the suspect list down even further." Shizuka sneered at his twin.

"Hold on a minute! Why would you---"

"Not you, idiot." The white-haired boy rolled his eyes at him. Then it dawned upon the older teen who his brother was referring to. "No way. Why would she---"

"Look, why would the Changelings be interested in the three of us?" Shizuka pointed at Haruka. "You, and---" He then jerked his finger to the cop, "---him have no superpowers. What's more, he's got only one arm now, and you're a total wimp. They have no need for me either - to them, my power is pretty much useless. No fancy offensive stuns as far as they're concerned...and no fun for them if they wanna try torturing me. That blonde is different - she even said so herself that her regenerative power is something worth killing for."

"But why would Jennifer do that? Selling us out?"

While he couldn't help but feel an inclination towards Haruka's skepticism here, something else had occurred to Reed; she had been behaving strangely back there, even remembering when he'd gone over to check on her when she looked like she was in pain. Maybe... Something wasn't right, but he wasn't about go and start pointing the finger just yet. "Look, as I said - have you got anything else to back that hunch up?" he finally asked.

Shizuka raised both hands in defeat. Well, that's what they were going to find out! "That's the problem - all the warning signs are pointing to her, which is why I'm asking for your help with this little detective work...if we truly want to clear her of any suspicion. Also," he directed his attention to his brother. "It's about time you tell us the 'secret' you've been trying to hide for that girl. It's obviously not some diarrhea crap."

Secret? Reed shifted his gaze towards Haruka.

Now it was the older twin's turn to cave in. "Alright," he began slowly. "I will be honest that I did find her 'illness'...strange. She told me that her power could heal her from anything, but that contradicted with how she kept coughing blood out from her mouth. Like there is something stuck inside her that her power could not work on and her body was trying to get it out... And it's trying to kill her." He shook his head at Shizuka's questioning look. "She refused to tell me - I knew that something bad must have happened to her because she had cried before we saw each other at the hall, but I felt that she probably wouldn't tell me no matter how much I press her about it... Since we weren't close at all."

"Seriously?" Shizuka facepalmed. "And you call yourself her 'boyfriend'?" While he was pissed at his twin's stupidity for not trying to get more out of that little liar's mouth, at least the part about having something inside of her was worth looking into.

"Jennifer," Haruka shot back at him through gritted teeth. "Is not my girlfriend."

"Shut up already, will you?" The detective had grown tired of their bickering over something so trivial.

That did shut the twins up - and gained their full attention towards the cop.

Satisfied, Reed carried on. "There's someone possibly endangered here and you two are acting like---" High-schoolers...which he realized they were, cutting himself off before continuing, "For all we know there could be something wrong, suspect or not. And I noticed that she was in pain. I would've said more if we weren't in immediate danger."

Shizuka clapped his hands together before hopping off the table. "Awesome! Now that we're all on the same page, shall we get started with the sleuth work? Of course...this is to be kept among just the three of us. Not a word to anyone else - especially NEST."

"This isn't Hollywood," Reed pointed out. The last thing he needed was two kids running around thinking they were deputized, though he suspected they were smarter than that. "I'll check up on her, make sure everything's alright. You two, just do what you normally do - but if you want to help then keep an ear out. If you hear anything that might be worthwhile, then say it. But don't put yourself or anyone else in danger."

"Yes sir!" Shizuka gave the cop a mock salute; Haruka simply responded with a nod.

"Let's go, team - commencing Operation Molehunt!"

The older teen groaned - his twin might be a pretty shrewd guy (maybe even too sharp for his own good), but his naming skill was cringe-worthy. Reed shared the same sentiment, but simply shook his head and hoped that this wouldn't end up backfiring somehow.

---

Jennifer Marissa Caspin.

^{(@Mr Allen J)}

---

There, she did it. She betrayed all of her friends, and made those psychopaths even stronger.

Jennifer was in her bed, wrapped around the blankets. After the meeting, she couldn't even risk to look anyone in the eye. Just because of the guilt, and shame. But, at least Jennifer ended their little rampage through NEST Headquarters.

Only down side that they'd just go on more rampages with the new members in their ranks. There was so much guilt and shame coursing through her bones. While she did it to save her family, betraying her friends like this to their utter worst enemies. No matter how many times she told herself it was for them, that didn't make it any better. For the rest of her life...she'd have to live with the shame of these actions for the rest of her life.

If she made it.

Tears ran down Jennifer's eyes and soaked the sofa. She was willing to do anything to get out of this, but she was trapped. Being that monster's plaything. Hell, Jennifer knew that he could blow her into a million tiny parts now that she had served her purpose. Or, he might not want to break his toy too quickly. Not when she had purpose.

The only thing stopping her from killing herself is the fact that it would guarantee the deaths of everyone she called a family.

Her phone started ringing once again, the screen glowing brightly through the sheets, and she knew that it could only be him.

Her hand reluctantly drifted over to the phone and dug it out from underneath the covers and pressed answer and heard his horrific voice speak to her oh-so-casually.

"Jen, Jen, Jen," Luis said rather grandiosely. Like Jen did a good thing today. "Thanks to you, we got Heartbreaker out safely and made lots of new friends..."

Jen was silent...every word hammered regret and sorrow into her head.

"...You can join us whenever, you know," Luis said.

"Oh-oh, no...no thank you." Jennifer answered, the first time she has ever said anything back to the maniac. She was clenching her fists. He killed Alice at the drop of a hat - who's to say he wouldn't do the rest to the rest of her family?

"Okay, maybe another time then?" Luis spoke again with that usual level of casualness. "You'll change your mind at some point."

The words hung in the air for a moment, before Luis went straight to the point. "Now, I'm going have to ask you to lay low...I know that they're tossing around the idea of a traitor in their ranks as we speak!" Yeah, Jennifer knew that they were on to her. "Hold out for long as you can...and if you get found out, give me a call and I'll get you right out of there."

That took Jennifer aback a bit, before she was given little time to react when Luis said.

"Alright, xoxo my favorite hummingbird!" Luis loudly said. "You're almost out - just hold on for just a little while longer."

He then hung up the phone.

Why would he bail her out if she's nothing more than a puppet to him?

What was that bastard planning?

B!tchfest: a healthy release for our non-roleplay annoyances.

I'm not American and thus the whole election process is merely a dramatic piece of news in my region, but if Trump wins in the end and becomes the president...

Then racism in US is probably beyond just a hopeless issue. And the world will hate America even more than we are already now.

Oh wait.

As if US would give a damn about that - when pretty much half the world are so deep into this poison called American culture.

:/