Angus shook his head at Itsuko’s comment about Chiyo being their “boss”.”I signed up for the Rangers, not the Masks. Chiyo might be a king, but as far as this alliance is concerned we’re working with her, not for her. Even then I’m not sure I care for either.” he stated while finding a place to set his edibles down. ”Ah, but this is the festival. Let’s not fret over DGO politics. Right now we’ve got a booth to run.” Angus kicked off his shoes and began unbuttoning his shirt. ”Let me know when that friend of yours shows up. Til then, I’ll be in there praying for constantly changing winds.”

Stripping down to the swim trunks he’d been wearing under his clothes, Angus climbed into the dunk tank and took a seat. He actually didn’t mind being there that much. His hair was usually scruffy anyway, and since they had access to the showers it wasn’t like he’d have to be sticky the whole festival. All in all it wasn’t as bad as people thought. So when their first customer showed up Angus had an idea of how to really reel them in.

”Ah, yer wasting yer time Cassy! From the looks of it, I doubt that lass could even lift a ball much less throw it!” He yelled from the tank. Nothing got people motivated quite like heckling from their potential victims.

@Caits@KoL@Mega Birb

”Alright, alright… Final speech I guess. Ahem.”

Asahi walked over to the center of the room, standing on a stool so everyone could see and hear him. Just about everyone was ready and dressed. Retsu was fiddling with a computer so presumably she was getting the special effects ready. Yuuno had left, effectively leaving everything to him. Again. Asahi remembered why he never bothered to advance himself in the Sweeper organization; this level of organization and management was a complete mood killer. Were it him he’d just grab this group, head into Deep Ground, and kill things until they hit the next level. Hell, there was probably some people doing that right now. But Asahi had responsibilities, and regardless if he does his job or not, everything was riding on him right now. So taking a deep breath Asahi started his speech off strong.

”From this moment forth, I’m disbanding the Sweepers.” Asahi let that sink in for a moment, letting it roll around in everyone’s head for a bit before speaking up again. ”I know many of you here are a Sweeper, or at least can stand them well enough to work alongside them as a Stryker. But make no mistake: We’re Ebony Strykers now. It’s also obvious that whatever justice or positive influence the Sweepers once held has been mired with corruption and thuggery. Sweepers are arguably worse than the outlaws we hunted down. So let me say it again that today’s performance is vital to the Ebony Strykers. Because today we aren’t performing as Sweepers. We aren’t a guild of assassins or hitmen who hurt and kill people, either in DGO or in real life. We’re here to start fresh and with a clean slate, and show the world that there’s more to us than just violence and death.”

Asahi let out a chuckle before bringing things to a close. ”Now with that being said, as a show of us ex-Sweepers turning a new leaf, being the good guy Strykers we are, there’s a slight change in plans. Originally the Cobalt Bruisers were suppose to cover our second act, but with the recent chaos they’re a no show. Now a pettier guild might resent them for their lack of organization, but we’re not like that. When things were looking bleak for us, the Cobalt Bruisers came in and helped out. So now we’re going to help them.” Asahi looked towards a few of the others, namely Akane, Jiro, Shiro, and Kosuke.

”Akane, Jiro, Shiro, and Kosuke, I need you four to perform under the banner of the Cobalt Bruisers. This is suppose to be a collaborative effort between the Strykers and the Bruisers, and we can’t let that fall apart. You four have been the most talented of the dancers I’ve trained, so I trust that you can take care of it. I’ll take the rest of our crew to handle the opening act.” Giving each a pat on the shoulder and a nod, he walked over to Yoshino and bowed his head. ”Sorry for the wait. We’re ready to begin now. Places everyone! And let the show begin.”

And with that, Retsu took Yoshino backstage where she would be operating the holographic projectors. Or at least she would, if she hadn't already programmed the routine into the system. So long as everyone is moving on schedule, Retsu wouldn't need to do a thing. Which is important considering that Retsu may not be there to fix any issues, depending on when the problems arise.

Soon on the streets, criers for the performance were out. There were already a few handing out flyers reminding everyone of the performance, but now those with a big presence were out there telling everyone that the show was beginning. Of course the music blaring from the local theater made it audibly known that something was going on. It was just some generic anime song played on a loop, catchy at first, but anyone who’s there for ten minutes would forget about it. Fortunately, the show started ten minutes the song started playing.

For everyone at the theater, everything suddenly went dark. It was quite a surprise considering that they were just sitting or standing underneath the open skies a moment ago. But it wasn’t going to be dark for long when spinning, glowing lights appeared in the air just as the music began.



The lights appeared in five different colors, appearing high and low on the stage. Thanks to Retsu's holographic projectors they didn't need to set up much equipment to get the spinning lights placed, and in fact could place even more than usual. But the lights were just an opening act; suddenly one of the dancers appeared, wearing a dark bodysuit and mask but covered in glowing neon lights that gave his form an sort of digital outline. From the darkness more dancers showed up to join, their bodies a blur of movement thanks to the neon lights as the holograms practically editing their performance live. And despite the room being so dark that the only thing anyone could see was the lights on their suits, the dancers having been drilled well enough that they were able to coordinate and maneuver to their respective places without being able to see where they were going. The background soon shifted as rays of light shot out from the foreground, and the dancers themselves were zoomed in upon to look even bigger, as if they were on some sort of movie screen. But no, they were really dancing, with technology altering the perception of their performance for dramatic effect. Eventually Asahi himself arrived, wearing the same blade body suit with neon lights, though his was orange and blue and with a unique design. His appearance was short however as soon it shifted to the other dancers, who took on different colors than the usual blue and red from the beginning: first green, then red, then the blue, yellow, and purple colored dancers arrived. Finally Asahi returned with a full retenuie of dancers, including the five uniquely colored dancers (Who he calls the power rangers) for one last flurry of dancing. Soon their four minutes were up and the first dance was done.



That was it for the Ebony Stryker's first act. Now it was time for the Cobalt Bruisers... Technically. This was suppose to be the Ebony Stryker's second act but in order to cover for the Bruisers, Asahi did some last minute adjustments to put up Cobalt Bruisers paraphernalia after he had drafted some others into posing as Bruisers. All of this of course wasn't known to the audience until the lights dimmed up and revealed the dancers already in place, ready for their act. As soon as the light was at their brightest the group started. Unlike before this was not only a dance, but an acapella. Originally it was suppose to be an all boys group including Asahi, but he had to stay back in order to hide the fact that the Cobalt Brsuiers had brought nothing to this performance. Instead he had Shiro, Jiro, Kosuke, and Akane (Disguised as a pretty boy) up there to dance along with a few more Ebony Strykers who knew the moves. It was shorter than the first performance due to it's rather rushed production, but Asahi felt it did well for itself. Soon it was time for the final and most important act, so important that Asahi had to step onto the stage to introduce it.

As the dancers left the stage and the applause died down Asahi spoke into the mic. "Thank you all for coming here today! Today is an important day for all of us here. It's been nearly five years since the Ebony Strykers closed their doors. During those five years Purple Crown has moved on, and many wondered what would become of the Ebony Strykers. Surely a guild that accepted no one for that long wouldn't have last long even if they opened up now. But thanks to the Cobalt Bruisers, the Ebony Strykers have a chance to stand on their own once more! But it's more than just that." Taking the mic off the stand Asahi began to move about the stage, getting into position for the final act. "The Ebony Strykers opening it's doors marks a change in DGO. For so long there had been many players lost and wayward. Some have joined other guilds, but most have fallen through the cracks and left abandoned in DGO's harsh, competitive environment. But when the Ebony Strykers opened it's doors, it didn't just give everyone a chance to join a new guild with new opportunities. It made a home for the homeless, a place of belonging for those who don't fit in with society. I would say that the Ebony Strykers is a guild for outcasts, but that's not true. No, the Ebony Strykers is a second chance for us to make things right. To make Deep Ground great again. And all of this couldn't be possible... Without our great leader, Moon Rider." Bowing his head towards the audience, spotlights focused onto one part of the stage. And from that part of the stage, Moon Rider herself manifested in real life. And that wasn't all: Asahi walked up to his Black King and handed her the microphone, which she was fully capable of handling despite being a hologram.



This was a stupid idea. The full brevity of it had only now hit Yoshino and she was beginning to regret agreeing this whole act. But unfortunately it was too late to back out now, especially with Asahi handing the mic off to "Moon Rider". Only thanks to Retsu's holograms was this possible, though Yoshino still had to make sure she didn't tremble or pass out with so many people staring at her. So many people staring at her....wait, had the song begun already? Crap, and now everyone really was looking at her! She was supposed to give a speech too?!? Like hell she would-!

"Good to see you Purple Crown! Are you ready for a fun time!" Moon Rider said with a smile, body slowly beginning to move to the beat. Throughout it all, Yoshino's mind screamed at her to turntail and bolt off the stage, to go now before she noticed the eyes staring at her. She didn't even have her glasses with her! "Thanks to all you guys for coming out and supporting Purple Crown! Let's all have a good show tonight," she finished before starting to get into the rhythm. A left step here, a right step there, a finger wave to the crowd for bonus points...slowly but surely, she was following the routine Asahi had showed her. All the while, she tried to keep her mind a blank because she knew damn well Retsu was getting a kick out of watching her like this....

And Retsu certainly did entertain herself watching Moon Rider dance. It wasn't often you'd see the Black King, let alone when she dances. Alas, the moment would soon be cut short for Retsu... When she had to make an appearance. Materializing from a cloud of smoke Dark Wraith made her appearance, wearing a new get up. Asahi as Arms Slave mentioned how her usual look wasn't good and she needed to change into something more beautiful. And since Retsu didn't do cute, she chose this form instead. Something stoic, something beautiful, and still fits her quasi necrotic ascetics. Asahi didn't like it. Retsu didn't give a shit. Retsu followed Yoshino's lead as Moon Rider, as she was suppose to take point in this dance routine. Retsu had nothing against dancing, but disliked this entire fiasco. But that's already been said.

Asahi himself debuted as Arms Slave, a very risky move on his part. He knew quite well what sort of infamy Arms Slave had as a Sweeper, let alone the grudge that Eris had against Arms Slave in particular. But just as Moon Rider needed to be here as a show of strength, so did Arms Slave. It wouldn't be suitable for the quasi leader of the Sweepers to hide behind his king, after all. His transformation was initiated with a dab, and suddenly the portly Asian boy became a four-armed, well toned, Frankenstein like monstrosity who was still dabbing. When questioned why Arms Slave still looked like how he was when Dark Wraith had to change her look, he simply noted that girls are suppose to look cuter than guys, and that his form as Arms Slave was familiar. That and he was aware that many people wanted to see the legendary four-arm dab.

With her backup dancers summoned, Moon Rider would continue to dance throughout her song, with Dark Wraith and Arms Slave giving her support for their various acrobatics and other maneuvers. In addition, the hard light projections from the holograms weren't just for show, as assistants moved near the stage to put on props and other stage devices that the avatars were able to physically interact with. And fortunately for Yoshino, it was about to be the end of her song. In more ways than one...

"Is...Is that Moon Rider?"

"Whoah, she looks so cool up there!"

"I didn't know the Black King could dance!"

Truthfully, she wasn't; Yoshino was only going through the rushed steps Asahi had showed her last night. She could have sworn everyone could notice her mess ups and mistakes, how she almost missed putting one foot after another. But with the crowd's approval along with Retsu's presence on stage, her confidence began to grow a bit more. And it wasn't just the students who were impressed; each of the Kings couldn't help but watch as well. Kenji was busy wondering when the Strykers had time to prepare all this. Micheal was nodding, impressed by the constant light show and routine of it all; and come on, that was a catchy tune too....bem, bem, bem. Chiyo watched with a deep scowl, greatly annoyed some of her own Guild was enjoying this. Ok, most of her Guild...all of them...but as the ending of the dance came near, she hid a deep smirk behind her hand, flashing a glare at her mother.

Bel tapped her foot to the beat of the song...backstage, still gripping onto Alex. "You can't breathe? Well, I hope you weren't planning to because what happens next is gonna leave you breathless Jukey!" the Blue King snickered out, yanking the boy with her as she moved further back stage to her target. It took some minimal searching but the pair found the dressing room that contained performer's comatose bodies. Slipping inside, she quickly darted to Yoshino's side...right before clamping her hands over the girl's throat and pushing downwards. Slowly, but in a way that would make breathing hard to come by. The result was apparent, Yoshino's body twitching and instinctively trying to move Bel away. Then it became more frantic as it realized no oxygen was coming into Yoshino's brain.

"Go ahead and do the same to Retsu, Jukey," Bel said with her grinning visage.

Everything was going fine. While Moon Rider and Dark Wraith were a bit mechanical, they were dancing just like Arms Slave had taught them. This was good. Perhaps it didn't quite have as much emotion as Asahi had hoped, but the fact he got them dancing was good enough. Everything was going fine. And then something odd was going on with Moon Rider. Her movements were slowing down. Something seemed off to Arms Slave and he knew it. Sure Moon Rider didn't like the entire idea, but surely she couldn't be tired? She was a DGO avatar! They could fight hours on end without feeling out of breath. And then Retsu started slowing down as well. This wasn't right. Their movements were going completely off beat. "What's going on?" Worried that something was happening Asahi tried to contact Retsu back at the command center. Perhaps the holograms were lagging or something. But when he tried to get a line across, nothing. No responds. Asahi wondered if this was sabotage by the Sweepers. "Shit!"

And all without warning, Moon Rider and Dark Wraith vanished. Asahi had no idea what was going on, as this wasn't even part of the act! But the show must go on, and Arms Slave had to follow through. Fortunately he had planned for such an occurrence in case that the two queens of the Ebony Stryker ever get cold feet, and Arms Slave took over dancing the final stretch all on his own. But while he did so, he contacted the others back at the dressing room to find Retsu and figure out what's going on. If this was sabotage by the Sweepers, or possibly even Eris when she dropped by to visit, Asahi needed as many troops there as possible.

But Asahi's dreams of even attempting to bring this all back together was ruined with the lights suddenly blowing out. Maybe they had gone over their budget or maybe someone had forgotten to pay the electrical bill this month. But as one light sprang up to shine on the grinning form of Chiyo, it slowly became evident that this was no accident. Shouldering off whatever looks she was receiving, she took advantage of the gaping silence to project her voice, booming and loud. Every student and every King, bar for Yoshino and Retsu obviously, would hear her words very clearly.

"Do not be alarmed my fellow students! All of this was seen forward by yours truly," the White King said with flair. "Evidently, I knew you idiots would be too soft to ever take advantage of an event like this. So I, as usual, took it upon myself to think for you. The Black King is...well, I don't think you need to worry about her anymore. As to the other Guilds, my offer still stands. Join me in conquering Deep Ground...or deny me. Whatever works for you," Chiyo said, an evil smirk spreading on her features. "Though to those who still think they can rise against me, you'll be happy to hear the Ivory Masks are already attaking your Guilds. as we speak. All of them."

The war had begun.

---

Aaron had done many things in his life. Moved across the world, got an unabashed girlfriend, and was even friends with one of the Colored Kings.

But walking down the hall outside Purple Crown Academy's gym in full view of the student body was something else. This was what he got for making stupid bets with possibly the greatest jockess in existence, and he was sure Emma was somewhere in the crowd with a camera, recording the whole thing. On the bright side, everyone knew he wore boxers now.

While he approached the tank, he locked eyes with the next thrower, a small girl he vaguely recognized. It took him the ladder into the tank to make it click, but this was Aderyn Finch staring him down with a baseball in her hand, one of two tech wizards in the entire school. He had to question her strength, it was a known fact that her legs were almost entirely supported by titanium rods, but her aim could go undisputed. With one leg over the edge and a foot on the seat, he gulped and shook his head nervously, silently begging for her to miss. All he got in response from her was an eager nod, to which he sat down and accepted his fate.

The girl was handed a ball and she wound up, the American gripping the seat that would imminently fall out from under him. "Please miss please miss ple- GAH!" A loud ding was heard right before he hit the sports drink, the humility of the American was cemented now, the mark of the Fanged Rangers now upon his reputation for all eternity. Or at least until college. He started to get up to the horror of the Welsh girl taking a second ball, idly tossing it in the air and waiting for him to get back in the chair. "Please don't..."

"Sorry guy, but I've got a crush to surprise..." Needless to say, almost the exact same thing happened twice more until the Welsh girl walked away with a five-foot tall stuffed animal under her arm. Did it make walking awkward? Yes. Did it say just how awesome she was? Absolutely.

---

Sometime later, with an announcement that the Strykers were starting their performance, Aderyn made her way to the auditorium, knowing that Masae would likely end up there as well. A good a time as any to give the creature under her arm to her. So she walked among the sea of students to get there, taking a seat up near the sound and lighting booth in case anything went wrong up there. Helped to have one of the techies on call, at least.

Aaron, on the other hand, was busy in the locker room when the all-call went out, still trying to remove both the feel and stench of green apple and/or lime flavored sports drink. Or maybe kiwi, it smelled a little like kiwi now that he was thinking of it. No matter how long he stood under the shower head in the back of the room with a bar of soap, or how much deodorant he put on, nor amount of shampoo saved him from this now, and he was condemned to smell like a fruit for the rest of the day. "Well, this could be a lot worse right now..." Little did he know...

The impending future aside, he gave up and dried off, getting dressed as quick as he could. Of all the things he brought that day, a comb was not one of them, so he was doomed to messy hair until he went back to his dorm... or more likely Emma's grandmother's house, now that he thought of it. He buttoned up his peacoat just as an uproar reached his ears, probably from the dance performance going on at the moment, it was supposed to be huge after all. With the scarf in place now, he left the locker room, still smelling of an unconfirmed green fruit. The halls were empty at this point, so he had an easy enough time getting to the auditorium... just in time to see all hell break loose.

The White King was on the stage, a spotlight on her and a microphone in hand. All he heard was that every guild not allied with the Masks was under attack. This also included the Harleys, because unless Itsuko had informed her of what had happened already, they were still a neutral party. He needed to find Mike and he needed to find him now. Despite the throng of colors and people scattered about, his signature red hoodie was easy to spot in the back right, where the Red Guild had set up for as long as anyone could remember. The American rushed over to his King, flagging him down with concern on his face. "Our attraction's void and Cheeto up there's a dead woman, isn't she?" The rogue was already sending out an all call to the entire Guild with his phone, dropping an alert on the gates to the Red Kingdom for every available Harley to drop in and drive the Masks out.

With a reputation of combat perfection, everyone knew it was a horrible idea to pick a fight with a long-time member of the Red Guild, but to war with them? The enemy might as well sing a funeral march while they advanced.

In the meantime, Aderyn was desperately trying to open the door to the Bat Cave, prize from the dunk tank holding her seat. It was locked alright, and she lacked the raw strength to take it down... then it hit her, she was the tech for half the clubs in the school. And all of them had convinced the custodial staff to give her a key to this particular door when her skill first got recognized. She dug into a pocket and pulled out a small, brass key, and slid it into the lock like a glove. A quick wiggle of the key and it turned, letting her in to find an unnamed stranger fiddling with the lighting sliders. "Get away from those, dumbass!" She grabbed one of the rolling chairs and threw it at the guy, letting it slam into him before whacking him painfully across the face with a wireless keyboard. Technology from the early 21st century still had it's uses after all. With the intruder sufficiently stunned for a moment, Aderyn's arm fell across the sliders just as Chiyo finished her dictatorly speech, causing a blackout to fuel the pandemonium. With a flick of another switch, dull red hazard lights came up in the auditorium, and the girl's voice filled the speakers.

"Everyone please exit the auditorium and make your way out of the building! The White Gui- AHH!" The sound of a punch came over the speakers around the stage, and a fight drowned out the sound of anything anyone tried to say now. It was finalized by a loud crack and the hasty flight of the stranger from the sound booth, Aderyn no where to be found in the chaos.

---

Jiro came off stage from the second performance, a coverage for the Bruisers. None of them had shown, which was suspicious as far as he knew. They were ones to keep dates, though it wasn't a huge deal to him. He knew the dance already and was just glad he didn't have to actually do much singing, couldn't do that for the life of him. Either way, he was free for the rest of the festival and intended to enjoy it, so he started to strip out of his costume the moment he was back stage with the others. Something seemed off, though, like it was eerie back stage for no reason. Through he shrugged it off, content to change back into his usual pants and jacket, and pick up the drink he had popped open several hours ago.

Much to his disappointment, it obeyed laws of convection and was warm at this point.

Thomas and Finn had long left the white guild cafe. There wasn't that much to see, after all. They'd experienced what they needed to before they heard that the black guild had something interesting going on. And as it turns out, it was sort of interesting.

As it turns out, the black guild had made a mini festival inside the school festival, juxtaposed against the specialized approach of the white guild maid cafe to appeal to a wider audience.
"I suppose they had to make their own game to compete with the white guild." Thomas thought.
Although the average quality was low, the overall production value was likely around the same considering the sheer amount of stuff the black guild had managed to get into their area. It was alright, he supposed. But...

"Hey come on, Tommy, why're you still so serious?" Finn asked, hands full with a box of takoyaki.
"You're gonna be sick eating that much junk." Thomas said.
"Snacks go into a second stomach." Finn said, munching away. "And you're being kind of evasive today, buddy. Got something to tell good ol' Finn?"

Thomas looked around the venue, scanning the faces of those around. Most were having fun with this, or at least appeared to be, which contributed the party-like atmosphere of the black guild display.
"... Have you seen Maribel around?" Thomas asked offhandedly.
"Now that I think about it..." Finn began.
Finn also glanced around at his surroundings. His brow furrowed, however, when he set sights on a particular person.
"Isn't that her over there?" He said to Thomas, pointing to some figures on the stage.

Thomas turned to look and frowned. He spotted her behind the stage, dragging a hapless student around with her, before they disappeared from sight. Her behaviour from the past few days still worried him and this was the most suspicious thing she had done so far. And as president of the newspaper club, it was his job to investigate.
"Let's follow her." Thomas said, walking towards the backstage area.
"Thomas, I don't think we're allowed back there." Finn warned.
"You've never needed an excuse to be somewhere you're not supposed to be." Thomas retorted.
Finn shrugged and went after him.

Upon entering back stage, however, the blue king was nowhere to be found.
"Just where have they gone?" Thomas muttered.

@KoL I guess

A little while before the Dance Number started

"Well, looks like our game is about to end! Given that we have only one contestant left, as long as you get at least three of these last few questions right, you win the grand prize, Miss Kanegawa. And I want to go see my sister and look at the Stryker's dance." Eins said in a cheery voice. However, she seemed to have forgotten for a moment that she was earing a microphone, when she thought the last part of the sentence out loud. "Let us go for the final sprint, then, shall we?"

"Hard Sciences: What's the value of the elementary electric charge possessed by both protons and electrons, in Coulombs?"

"Medium Philosophy: What's the name of the famous German philosopher who first proposed the concept of the 'Übermenschen' or, the 'Superman', on the book 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'?"

"Easy Sports: What's the name of the soccer player who scored the famous goal known as 'La Mano de Dios' or, 'The Hand of God' on the 1986 FIFA World Cup?"

"Medium Pop Culture: What's the full name of the famous singer known as the 'King of Pop'?"

"Hard History: What's the name of the first European explorer to set foot on the American continent?"

"The die is cast, will our last contestant come out as the great victor or, will she know the bitter taste of defeat like all the others? We shall find it in a moment, ladies and gentlemen!" Eins announced with a dramatic wave of her hand as she pointed at Masae.

---

It was perhaps a great irony that the one who had avoided conflict would be the first to witness. True to Chiyo's word back in the real world, many of the White Guild's forces had begun their assault in the digital one. Maybe it was luck or Chiyo's confidence that Moon Rider's Kingdom would fall so easily, but the majority of forces were focused on the Blue Guild, some sprawled against the Red. Needless to say, the players who knew combat like the back of their hands, mostly Red players. Whether or not this would mean something had yet to be seen but evidently, it seemed the prediction of all out war had come true at last. And with the majority of Blue Guild players scrambling to log back in, the only real threat was a certain tanker who had avoided responsibility.

"Eheh, nice day isn't it kid?" said the Blue Joker, stretched out in relaxation atop Broker's vehicle. He had decided to tag along with the reasoning that festivals were just not his gig; a sentiment both players could share apparently. "Wonder what kind of food they're serving out in the school anyway, eheh. Can't be anything too good if we didn't tag along, right?" he said casually.

While the rest of DGO was exploding with activity, Broker of Fortune was finding herself clued in by the absence of it. What had been a long running slaughter of the Green Rangers had stopped with the drop of a hat, leaving the tanker with an inventory crammed full of dissembled armor and weapons, a hearty jump to level 5, and a whole lot of nothing to do out in the wastes. Leaning against the hood of her vehicle, she'd been considering heading back to log out when Blue Joker reminded her he hadn't fallen asleep on her. "You're in high spirits for someone whose done nothing but laze about. If you wanted to rest you could have just used your dorm, ya know?" 

"Eheh, I'm not exactly liked in the dorms, y'know? Too many rules for someone like me," the shorter player said idly. "Besides, there's nothing more refreshing than the slaughter of enemies, am I right? Or you trying to say you didn't have fun beating some skulls in today, eheh?" By now the fighting had started but the both of them were too far out in the badlands to hear. And it wasn't like Faded City was collapsing or anything, giving no cause for suspicion.

"Sure there's plenty to like, but don't know what you get from watching it all. May as well  go watch a snuff film if all you want to do is be a voyeur." Broker snarked back, not entirely liking the laid back attitude of her associate when the eerie silence was weighing on her. There were people in the area minutes ago yet they all seemed to have dropped off the face of DGO. "Was there some event on the calendar I missed? I swear if I'm missing on some server wide raid boss...."

Broker trailed off, color draining from her face in shock and horror upon opening the global chat to gleam some information on the present situation. What she found was pandemonium exceeding that of the uprising in the Black City, more akin to a server wide takeover by the joint forces of the Green and White if the barrage of posts and pleas for help were anything to go by. "Joker, have you seen the chat recently?"

"Eh? Well sure I did friend! But you looked so happy with your onslaught that I didn't think bothering you would be the best idea, eheh."  Blue Joker sat up now, grinning face directed onto Broker; actually, did his Avatar ever have any other expression? It was like his face was always frozen that way. "Besides, it's not like it's our problem, right? I'm sure the Blue King has it covered right about now. Why don't you just go ahead and keep on getting experience, eheh. That way you can level up to super crazy levels!" he said, slowly shifting about.

Only one of them looked to be amused, and it wasn't the one fingering her gun in irritation. "What the hell?! The guild is more important then grinding out in the badlands, and you know damn well we can't leave this to Titania when she isn't even logged on!" Broker snarled as she clambered up the tank, resisting the strong urge to kick Joker off of it, and slid inside to occupy the cockpit. The behemoth of armor plating and heavy treads roared to life soon after with a belch of exhaust out the back. 

"If you're just going to sit around, then get off my tank so I can kill those pansy ass White Masks, because for some damn reason, I am the only Bruiser with two working brain cells to rub together and actually logs on." And it needn't be said that there was far more experience to be had in killing the White Masks then there was in sitting around with her thumb up her ass. 

"Hey, hey, there's no need to get so worked up, eheh!" Blue Joker said. Yet he did what he was told, backing out of Broker's way. He shifted around, moving out of her sight along the side of the tank. "Eheh, y'know, I was thinking....you really like killing things, right? That's why you have this fancy tank. You really, really like taking things away right?" If his questions were supposed to make sense, he wasn't doing a good job of making it so. But in the moment it would take Broker to even try to understand, he was already lunging at the armored player from behind, scrambling around to hold her still. 

"Eheh, it'd be real nice if you decided to work for me y'know. We already know how much you like killing things," he said, one eye shining an eerie glow as he struggled to turn Broker over and face him. "There's no need to fight it Kanbaru Otoko. It's just a little jolt and you'll see just how much more fun you can start having real soon, eheh."

Joker wasn't making a whole lot of sense, and it was getting on Broker's nerves how much of a psycho he sounded like equating the gameplay loop of an MMO to actual homicide. It was the kind of speech that served as the precursor to an attack in any horror movie, but it was only being on the receiving end that let her grasp how much such inane chatter could distract one. 

"Gah! What are you-!" She cried out in alarm as Joker lunged in through the open canopy and grappled with her from behind. Instinctively she reached for the arm grabbing at her, struggling to resist his efforts to turn her around even before he made mention of a 'jolt'. If whatever he had in mind- and it was certainly no good for her- required eye contact, then Broker would deal with the blatant hacker that stole her personal information another way. Fortunately for her, he chose  to attack after she'd jumped to level 5, or she'd have been lacking the trait that gives her an edge in this scenario that she desperately needed. 

Utilizing her new Sleight of Hand feat, a looted dagger was within her grasp in the blink of an eye thanks to the instantaneous weapon swap it gave her. Broker twirled the dagger into a reverse grip and stabbed backwards, knowing the Joker would be too occupied with grappling her to evade such a blow. When it struck home, her Disassembly would remove whatever article of clothing or armor it touched as well as stunning the treacherous Bruiser for a few seconds, ample time to tear his arms off her and switch back to Fortune's Favor. 

"Only warning. Get out or I put a bullet through your unarmored chest. Won't even need a follow up to put you down clean."

"Eheh....that really hurt y'know," said the Joker, expression not really changing even with the knife sticking out of him. Despite supposedly being stunned, the Avatar slowly rose up like a corpse, tinkling at the embedded knife in his body before yanking it out. No blood flowed like it was supposed to, only a stream of digits and codings. "And I thought we could be real swell friends Kanbaru, eheh. Friends are supposed to help each other out, right? I understand though. Maribel Harper had a similar reaction to me when I tried to be her friend. Eheh, but now we're the bestest of buddies!"

Blue Joker did more than just follow Broker's orders; he fizzled out of sight before appearing atop the muzzle of her tank. His entire body was crackling like bad static and he raised a single hand to snap his fingers. A moment later and something loud had crashed into the sand against them, the roar of engines filling the air. From the dust was a motorcycle and on its helm was the reincarnated Corpse Collector. "Maybe we can be friends some other time Kanbaru Otoko, eheh. But you have to understand, I can't just let you go alive. Cya later, eheh," the former Bruiser said before crackling out of existence.

As he departed, another explosion hit the tank hard and almost careened it off its wheels. Corpse Collector smirked with sharp teeth gleaming and a grenade launcher already being reloaded in hand. "Hey blue bitch! We can do this the easy way or the die hard way! Either you stay still long enough for me to blow your ass out of the water or you make my life difficult and I take my sweet ass time tearing your ass scrap by scrap. And then I'll rip off that cannon of yours and fuck your head with it!"

"Maribel? Are you the- Hey, get back here asshole!" Broker shouted in alarm, both at discovering the cause of Bel's madness and in finding Joker may not have been a player at all. At least, she'd never heard of a hacker swapping their blood for coding, not even CC or the Erasers did something that blatant. Maybe it was his ability? The teleportation wasn't too farfetched a power to have, though these ruminations would have to be shelved when Blue Joker left her a very unwelcome parting gift.  She may have missed out on the Corpse Collector's attack on the Black City, but the hacker was still infamous and for good reason that Broker would be learning of first hand.

 The old King Tiger tank shuddered from the grenade round, but such a beast would not be so easily felled and fell onto both treads with dust billowing in either direction. "Interesting proposal, CC, but how do you feel about my counter offer?"

Broker spun the turret around to face the reanimated hacker while the tanks hatches closed and quickly aligned her sights with the dust beneath CC's motorcycle. A gentle squeeze of the firing mechanism sent a high explosive tank shell hurtling towards CC, and Broker would like to imagine 'Yippee Ki Yay Motherfucker' was etched into the casings side.

"Oh fuck you," Corpse Collector muttered, forcing both hands on the handles to maneuver her bike to and fro. She skidded and streaked, returning fire whenever she could to show her love and compassion to the arrogant bitch with the tank. "Blow me off all you want shit face, I'm still going to bite your fucking arms off!" the Hacker sneered with contempt. Revving up her bike to the max, she zipped forward to forcibly yank her ride up and over. Maybe it was some hacking magic on her part, but the motorcycle jumped way higher than it should have, vaulting over the tank entirely. Sharp grin sported, she aimed her gun downwards and shot a grenade right atop the hatch of Broker's tank. 

Broker had a feeling the Corpse Collector wouldn't go down so easily, and true to expectations the motorcycle evaded the tank shell with a violent plume of dust and fire left in her wake. "Feel free to try, I'd love to have a clean shot on you"

CC's efforts were plain to see, and with the motorcycle's maneuverability it was only to be expected that she would go for the tank's weak point. So very expected that Broker was grinning from ear to ear when the bike went to leap over her. A flick of a switch released the tank's emergency countermeasures and released a cloud of white phosphorus above and around the tank. Being caught in a burning smokescreen wasn't likely to kill the Corpse Collector, so Broker was quick to slam her boot on the accelerator and start driving in the direction of the Blue Guild. As tempting as it would be to gain some infamy of her own by slaying CC, the White and Green guild's attack was a far more pressing matter to deal with.

"The fuck are you doing-blargh!" screeched the hacker. The shell still made impact with the tank, damaging the hull significantly. But whatever more pot shots she wanted would have to be ceased now thanks to the smokescreen. Corpse Collector coughed in spasms as her bike landed on the sandy ground; by the time the air cleared, Broker was already making her get away a good distance away. "Get the fuck back here you piece of ass fuck!" Corpse Collector snarled, already back to chasing her.

@TheWindel

Masae Kanegawa

Glancing around, Masae watched as the results were announced, with her as the only one left. That was something of a surprise, but she would not complain as she relaxed in place and waited for the next round to begin. She was glad that she had made it this far and was looking forward to winning the prize, even if she didn't actually know what she was going to use it for just yet. Shed think about that once she had actually gotten the prize.

A glare of sorts would be aimed at Eins as her comment slipped across the microphone, with an accompanying silent protest. It wasn't her fault that they had been here so long, she wasn't the one who had scheduled for the two events to be so close together. Admittedly it was a comment that might not have been aimed at her, but considering the context of the surrounding sentences she couldn't help but feel like it was directed at er to some extent.

But at last the next round started, and several questions were thrown her way. She did have to compliment the club, they certainly knew how to pull up obscure facts that could really stump a person. It wasn't enough to trip her up though, especially considering all the free time she had without being involved in DGO.

So once the questions were listed off she got to work, jotting down one answer after the other. '1.6 coulombs, Nietzsche, Diego Maradona, Michael Joseph Jackson, Leif Erikson.'

With that she sat back, and waited to see how the chips fell.

Even before the White Guild takeover had started, Kosuke was on the ground. Having been the social equivalent of Coral for many, many years, the amount of stress he had been subjected to within the past 10 minutes was close to a lethal dose. As soon as their number was done, he dashed back into the backstage and threw himself at the couch they had back there. Unfortunately he aimed a little too high and bounced over the top, but his head was already spinning and at least hitting the ground felt like something. The other finishers started piling in and outside the music amped up as Arms Slave started building up to his climax.

The other guys were also talking but it was all fuzzy to him. He was blearily aware of a lot of stuff going on over there but he wasn't in a position to be worrying about that. He was fading fast, he needed an out.

He took out his phone and texted the non-family he currently had a number for, Machidai. This would be the first message he'd ever send to anybody that wasn't his sister or his mother.

Need... Extraction... 6... Trash cans...

In his current state he couldn't even see the words he was typing properly, but he was sure auto-correct had his back.

From: Kosuke Kimura
To: Todo Machidai

Knee extract 6 trash scan pay 3.50

Nailed it. He thought, as he faded out for good.

---

@Jedly@Mega Birb and @Lucius Cypher maybe

Rufus found that the myriad distractions occupying Dana's attention had passed, and the dumpster diving girl was finally ready to dig into the treats he had brought for her. They'd been lost and damaged in places from the red herrings and empty trash cans he'd encountered up to now, but it was finally time to offer unto Dana the confectionaries she hungered for. 

It was around this time that students came screaming out of the auditorium in a stampede of technophiles down the fair grounds. He quirked his head from the crouching shark and wondered if that approaching mob had any intention of going around them in their escape. "Dana, did you have any amusements planned for the auditorium?"

"Um....does clogging all the public toilets count?" the shark-toothed girl asked, tapping the side of her trash can impatiently. She wanted those cupcakes. No screaming crowd was going to keep her from what she wanted. But as most mobs of panic tend to do, their sense of common sense had evaded them, espcially in this instance. In some efforts to get back to the dorms or their homes as quickly as possible, some chose to take what was in their minds a shortcut. This only translated to running right for the pair with no intention or possibility of stopping their acceleration.

"As amusing as that may be, I doubt lavatories are the cause of this. Here, have these while I get to the root of this." The bishi maid said, hands moving in a blur to deposit the cupcakes into Dana's arms in a manner slightly more dignified then dumping the tray upon her head. The tray was tossed aside to free up his hands so Rufus could take Dana's trash can by the handles and lift it to his chest. "Care to see what has them fleeing?"

"We can if you want," Dana said, though the words would come out garbled due to the three cupcakes being shoved into her maw. As quick as Rufus deposited them, Dana was equally as fast in consuming them. But it sure did beat walking about. "Onwards and let the Trash Mobile discover the heart of this dark mystery, oh ho! Mush! Mush!" If anything, it probably had to do with Rufus' Guild since their leader was a bit more on the nutty side.

Rufus took to his chauffeur role as quickly as he had the maid café, and hefted the Trash Mobile with vigor belying his frame. They darted between stands to avoid the outpouring of students and passed through the least populated aisles on a course for the auditorium. Considering the mob rule that drove the students, it was safe to say they hadn't spread themselves out, so Rufus had no trouble approaching the main doors they poured from at a side ways approach. He paused at the doorway with the can close to his chest, eyes scanning the thinning number of students still leaving till the opportunity came to slip inside the darkened room and sidle up against the wall. 

"Huh, I don't remember this being the in weekly White Mask newsletter."

"I thought you didn't check your subscriptions," Dana commented between munches of cupcake. Even so, the rampaging chaos seemed to confirm Rufus' suspicions. This was way more frantic than something caused by a little leaky faucet in the bathrooms. The good thing was that no one seemed ot question the girl riding around in her trash throne and they were able to slip by relatively easy. "Yeeeeah, this has your leader's name written all over it. And not just because she blared out her plan on the intercom a minute ago," Dana said.

"I don't respond to my subscriptions. There's a difference, though I have to admit this does look like White Sun's handiwork." And that assessment had nothing to do with the announcement or Chiyo's prominent position on stage in the center of the chaos. Before them was a scene of near indiscriminate violence that looked more fitting for DGO then the physical academy, with faces he vaguely recognized to be White guild members being the predominant aggressor in the attacks. "If its bad here, I can't imagine how chaotic it is on DGO. Theatrics like this would be rather pointless as anything but a ruse." At least, Rufus couldn't see any sensible reason to risk expulsion and arrest unless it served a greater purpose.

"Hmm, Dana, you mentioned the toilets being clogged. Which restroom was that? I believe that would be a secluded place to log in and see what White Sun has done this time." 

"Oh ho! Are you implying you're gonna try and stop them if you see something you don't like?" Dana questioned with a manic grin. "And here I thought you had soooome loyalty to your Guild. But I guess there are some things even you wouldn't dare to do, right, right? But sure, the restroom is that way?" she said further with a snicker. A motion of her head revealed it to be a girl's restroom; not that she doubted Rufus would have a problem given his last cross-dressing attempt. The area around it was empty and abandoned, no doubt the other students having already moved out of the way.

"Stop them? Maybe." Rufus said with a questioning look at the shark toothed girl he ferried around. "I'm as loyal to the White Suns as I am to the Library that issues me a library card. You know anyone can be snatched up by a guild recruiter and inducted into a colored guild? There's only 6 if you count the Sweeper's and they all want cannon fodder. Why would I deny the perks of a factions facilities when all I need to do is wear their colors when its convenient?"

"Heh, that's some fine words coming from you. A deserter at heart," Dana snickered in response.

Dana was right in assuming that Rufus wouldn't bat an eye at the woman's restroom and pressed inside to find the floors were wet from the overflowing waters which poured into the lavatory's central drain. He set the Trash Mobile down as far from the bathroom stalls and their clogged toilets as he could before sitting down on the sink beside her. "Besides, not like we have anything better to do now that Chiyo upstaged us. Anything else here would just be playing second fiddle, so may as well see is going on Online. Want to party up?"

At that, Dana hesitated. It was rare of her to do so but she took pause as if slowly thinking over the offer. [color=f7941d]"Maaaaaybe. I think it'd just be better if I stayed here and...ahah, guard your body! Yeah, don't want any weird girls molesting it without my supervision. Yep, yep, yep! I'll even steal one of the cheerleader uniforms to root you on back here. And you'll get to see something special when you return, oh ho~"[/color[

He seemed non-plused at her refusal to join him, but didn't push the matter any further. In the week they'd been running roughshod over Purple Crown and the city, he hadn't heard a peep about DGO from Dana, so he wasn't surprised when she didn't break the trend now. "It's for the best then, though I wish you luck in guarding me. There are many deviants who wouldn't pass up the opportunity to molest a slumbering maid ."

Unconcerned with the theft of cheerleading outfits, Rufus leaned back against the bathroom mirror and booted up the chip for DGO with a nagging feeling he'd either wake up in the Trash Mobile or with a pompom shoved in his face. Contemplating the perpetrator had him drifting off into his digital avatar with a smirk on his face. Needless to say, he wasn't too wrong. Only that Dana had decided to casually move his body over to one of the toilets-clean, she swore!-and set his face in the water. Oh sure, the risk of drowning him was a concern but Dana was certain she would move him out. When his body start to twitch for air of course.

@TheWindel

---

Cassie rolled her eyes at Angus, and fired back quickly "Oh, lets be fair, Angus. You can't pick the ball up yourself" Just where was she getting these things from? What had changed, so much in her, or had it always been there, just unlocked now? "I'd apologise, but...I wouldn't be sorry" She said quite truthfully. Maybe...maybe it was just...having...friends? She blinked, suprised, a slow smile spreading over her features. Friends. A strange thought, really. Suddenly happy, Cassandra let out a slow breath, and straightning, she continued about her job, thinking that if no one got Angus dunked, she'd dunk him herself. It would be fun for all of them.

Chuckling to herself, she settled back at the...could it be considered a cashier? Either way, she moved back there, glancing about them, waiting. She was kind of hoping that she'd see Eris, She could just hear what was going on in the theatre, and that was a slight...comfort, as well as an annoyance. She wanted to be there, and see what was going on, but duty called. Oddly enough, this duty didn't seem like a burden, unlike back home. Maybe because it was something she wanted to do. Even if it might, although she wouldn't let that happen, be dunked.

Frownign though as there seemed to be something going on, Cassandra looked to the others, wondering what could possible be happened. She felt a little...on edge, like she was missing something that she should know. Looking at the plushie she'd been given, she hugged it to herself for a moment. From confident, to nervous all in the space of a few seconds. She was a mess, and maybe that was a good thing.

Nuts, this nuts. No, not just this. Bel’s nuts! Bel is seriously messed up. Why am I listening? Why should I listen? No. No I shouldn’t releasing Retsu, Alex backed off and still gasping for air he looked at Maribel. Really looked at her as she was right now. She was manic, the grin splitting her face in a disturbing way. He wanted to stop her, see the fun person who helped him up when he messed things up. Who stopped his Green King from making him lose a level.

“What’s happening Bel, seriously. You’re acting really weird and you’re choking your friend and wanting me to choke someone else! Why would I do that? Why would you do this?!” clenching his teeth, he really wanted to just run and get help, but… Bel was seriously hurting the Prez. Frowning, Alex looked at Bel with what might be called a glare if you were far away and squinting.

“Bel. I’ve been pretty alone until I met you. I was fine with being alone, my company was enough. Then you were my friend and no matter how brief this has been… I’ve been happy. But if this is what a friend is, someone manipulative and mean, I don’t think I need friends. If I lose you because of this, fine. I’ve been alone before and I’ve been fine with it. I think I can endure it a bit longer” with his attempt at explaining himself over and done with, Alex tackles Bel low and from the side, hoping to tear her off of Shino by either the force of the tackle, lifting her, or breaking her balance.



Boss watched Chiyo’s master plan unfold, frowning as she listened to her daughter. “Well played Chiyo. Taking out all opposition in one fell swoop. Aiming to establish a new world order in DGO are we? History is repeating itself once more. I can appreciate the strategy of this. It’s sufficiently heartless and brutal, while also striking at what can only be called the opportune moment. Congratulations.” Her brow creased, recalling the last time a tactic such as this was used in her school days and how that bastard had pulled the strings back then.

“I’ll keep my eye on you” the tone of Boss’ voice making it seem as if she wasn’t even talking to Chiyo as it passed her lips the hard tone barely reaching Chiyo’s ears. Finally standing up, Boss left the White guild café and avoided the panicking crowed as best she could, a steely glimmer in her eyes as she headed towards the back-stage area, pulling out her mobile phone to attempt to report this riot. The long arm of the law does have its uses and if she can’t use it for her daughters, who could she use it for?

@TheWindel

Before Broker of Fortune could even evade the tag game with the most obnoxious and infamous of Deep Ground's hacker scum: A.K.A., Corpse Collector. Someone else had arrived at the Blue City and was trying to control the chaos that had spread everywhere.

This someone was none other than the Cobalt Bruisers' second-in-command, Absinthe Blue. Her real world counterpart had run out of the theater, seeking Maribel when the messages began to spam her interface. Yuuno had no choice but give up on finding the Blue King and -- once more-- take matters at her own hands. And so she did. She run as fast as she could to her room and logged in on Deep Ground.

"Seriously! Out of all the times for Titania-sama to be unreliable and unreachable, it had to be when the world is falling down?" Absinthe muttered under her breath, sulking as she materialized at the Throne Room of the Blue Guild. "..." The Blue Fairy sighed before slapping her own face. "Stand on your own legs, Yuuno.. It's not like you can count with others forever, you know that!" Yuuno spoke some words of encouragement -- or was it assertion?-- to herself.

The yelling outside would cut her internal monologue, though. Absinthe had no choice but to unfurl her wings and fly, streaking like a start to the top of the Blue Castle.

"Hear me, everyone!" Absinthe's voice echoed through all of the city as she used the local chat to broadcast her message. "I don't know what's happening, none of us know. But there are enemies breaking the things we worked so hard to build. We can't let them get away with this. We are the Cobalt Bruisers, the economic heart of Deep Ground. We'll throw this offensive back and then we will make them pay for what they have done... with plenty of interest. Now, shake off this blue and get working, our priority is open a corridor for the infantry, once our tanks roll out, the tide of battle should turn in our favor. Let's Jam!"

Without spending time, Absinthe joined the fray as well, double casting her Arcane Bolts and Azure Busters with wild abandon.


When Eris came back from the multimedia room, where she escorted her older sister to, she decided to take a small break. She went to watch the final moments of the Ebony Stryker's show, if for nothing else, to have a chance of seeing Moon Rider face to face once again. The young German was surprised or, maybe, abashed at Moon Rider's appearance. "So, she's capable of such things too, huh? Though, if that's the best she can do, Moon Rider's really better off as a fighter. However, such awkwardness is really kinda cute or, I think so-"

Eris' mood was greatly sullied by the appearance of Dark Wraith and Arms slave, her expression sunk into a deep frown at having to look at the faces of those pieces of digital trash. Nevertheless, she made a point of being as close to the front of the crowd as she could, which would become a source of contempt in a few moments as her world was almost turned upside down. Chiyo's appearance and speech, the violence and senseless real world bloodshed that ensued after it. This left the young German momentarily dumbfounded, stunned without any idea of what to do.

That is, until a group of three Stryker thugs, most likely Sweepers, took the chance to circle Eris and pressure her against a wall.

"Well, well, look at what we have here, boys. If it's not the Eclipse bitch in flesh and frills-GAAH!." The one who seemed to be the leader said as he placed his hand besides Eris' head. Not for long, really, as soon enough the maid outfit dressed girl would twist said hand before bringing her elbow to the boy's gut.

"You little runt, what do you think you ar-ARGH!!" Seeing their boss be disabled by a girl seemingly way weaker than them, the other two boys -- all of them likely to be older than seveteen, by the way-- jumped at Eris who stepped forward taking the space previously occupied by the leader. Eris swiftly took her apron off and used it to assist on tripping one of the boys over the other, stepping on the back of the knee his knee and twisting his arm as well, all in a seamlessly fluid motion, slightly remniscent of martial arts like Aikido and self-defense methods like Kravmag.

"I don't have the time to deal with the likes of you. I don't owe you any explanation, nor apologies. Stay away from me, both on that game, or out of it, if you don't want this to happen again." Eris said as she took the chance to dash out of the theater, in search of her sister.


"Everything is correct! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new winner of an all-paid weekend trip to the a genuine hot springs inn for a whole family!" Eins declared dramatically as she extended her hand to give the voucher of the reserves to Masae.

"Would you like to give us any declaration-What's!?" The bunny-dressed hostess was about to pass the microphone to Masae when all hell broke loose around the campus. "They did what?" Eins said when one of the other members of the Computer Research society came and whispered something on her ear.

"I'm sorry, everyone, because of unforeseen circumstances, we will have to end our game here. Please, take care on your way out, it looks like some sort of riot has taken the campus." Was the last of Eins' annoucements before she put the mic away, rigth on time to get Eris' call asking where and how she was in a worried voice.

"I'm alright, Sis. I'm at the Computer Research Society right now..."

"Sure, I can wait for you here..."

"No, there's nothing wrong with me, Sis. By the way, Gunnr and Mom should be ok. If anything happened they would be all over us now..."

"I know, I know... Ok, I'll be waiting for you. Take care, Sis." Was Eins' last reply as went to at least change the heels she was wearing for indoor shoes. As she waited for her sister, the platinum-haired girl wished that nothing serious would happen this time, for real.

Masae Kanegawa

Masae thought she was being pretty patient overall, as she waited for the answers that she had given to b verified. Yet as sh glanced over at the clock she couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance course through her. She had been hoping to go see the music show, but it looked like it was already well underway. It was odd, since one would think that the Computer Research Society would be more on the ball when it came to holding to a schedule. Oh well, not much she could do about it. And she was starting to get hungry.....

Eventually they did get around to it, and Masae gave a grateful smile as she prepared to take the vouchers. She still wasn't sure what she would use them for, but she'd think of something. The buzzing of her phone was a distraction compared to that, as she rose from her seat. "Thank you," she replied before faltering as Eins announced that there was some sort of riot going on now.

That was probably what her phone was going off about, wasn't it. Quickly fishing it out, she went to check the new message that she had gotten, figuring it was some sort of automatic alert about a civil disturbance. Well, she knew that was going on since she could hear it outside, aside from the yelling and arguments that had sprung out in the room itself.

A chill ran through her body, hands trembling as her eyes widened. Aderyn....she needed help...the sound booth!

The vouchers were shoved into her pocket by an idle hand before the chair was sent spinning to the side, and Masae wasted no time in charging out the door and down the halls of the now chaotic academy. The text didn't have all the facts that she wanted, she just knew that Aderyn was involved in all of this somehow, and given her physical condition she probably hadn't been the one to throw the first punch.

Damn it, why now of all time?!? She fumed in her own mind as she ran for the sound booth as if her life depended on it. Aderyn was counting on her, and she couldn't let her down now. With precious seconds dripping away, she would only apologize scantly as she moved down the halls of people suddenly milling about in the aftermath of the announcement that had been made.

But of course, the answer was obvious, as she faced the inevitable. DGO. Deep Ground online. It always came back to that damn game. She couldn't think of any other reason why someone would have messed with the sound booth, much less injured her friend. She couldn't think of a single enemy that Aderyn had in the school, aside from whatever might have happened inside of DGO.

Her muscles burned as she took as near a straight line as she could manage, cutting past booths and empty classrooms as she moved along. "Crap like this is why I left DGO in the first place!" Game politics had no place in the real world, especially if it put people in danger. Even if it was a bit hypocritical, having been a part of the Sweepers in the past. But she liked to think that she had turned over a new leaf since then.

But at last she drew near, passing by the 'Dungeon' before heading on to the Bat Cave. Steps were taken at a speed that she was surprised didn't result in her tripping and hurting herself, an idle thought amidst a sea of otherwise focus as she slammed the unlocked door open and ran inside, already wary for whatever sight might be waiting for her. "Aderyn? I...I'm here. I didn't think I could run that fast." Her gaze swept the room, noting the signs of struggle as she looked for her roommate. Was she too late?

@KoL@Mega Birb

Her tennis shoe slapped into a puddle, scattering water everywhere. She'd spent a little longer inside DGO than she'd meant to and now she was behind in enjoying herself at the festival. Tch. Not to mention the subway had seemed incredibly slow today. Dammit, Dammit... Whatever. She'd been working on her skills with her brother all weekend to the point her parents had started worrying about her not eating. She still hadn't eaten, planning to stuff her face with the goods of the festival and her stomach was getting angry at her for it. Fuck, Erika couldn't think about her stomach right now. Her heart and mind had been focused, dead set on her fight with Micheal.

Her boyfriend, basically.

She couldn't help the smirk from spreading across her face as she paused at the entrance to the gates of the school and stared in. Today was the day. For sure, her declaration of war on the Red King for her title of being his... it would come to a head today.

Her back straightened and she lifted up her chin. Today she'd tied her long dark hair back in a ponytail which was held together with a "festive" red scrunchie and opted for the contacts she'd bought over the weekend when she'd make a shopping run over glasses. Despite the fact she still wore her school uniform she'd gussied herself up with shimmery lipstick, eyeliner and a cute sporty new jacket with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows over the typical dress code. She smirked, her eyes narrowing.

"You better be ready, Red King," She smirked to herself and head into the school.

---------

No luck. Dammit, Dammit. She had come in during one of the performances and everything was dark. Where were the booths supposed to be set up? It was sort of dark inside. Not to mention... the music really wasn't her taste. Whatever... she'd find him after the performances. Wandering around like this, Bel might find her and right now she wasn't in the mood. She tucked herself back into a corner, having been swarmed by people in flocks to try to catch her attention, but all she wanted right then was to see Micheal and get to work.

And then the lights went out.

The announcement was made.

Erika was on her feet, a dark shadow over her eyes. The Ivory masks had always been blue-bloods in how they behaved, at least that was how Erika had always felt about them. Now they were just being plain selfish and stealing everyone's fun. . . Whatever. It seems sitting around is no longer an option... She needed to find Micheal now more than ever. The booths, he had to be there now that she thought about it. Thus she dashed into the area he might be, looking around for him with a scowl on her face. Internally, she considered that the J... that he, might call upon her. Right now... All she wanted was to find Micheal. If the white guild were going to be ambushing bastards, then she could at least be of help to him...

Right... he hadn't seen her in Deep ground yet... She pushed the thought out of her mind, arriving in the area of the booths. She cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Micheal!!" She shouted for him, hoping to find him this way.

And so everything went to hell.

Asahi should have seen that coming. Of course the Ivory Masks would attack during the festival. Fortunately Asahi had the insight to assign some of his friends to protect the Black City, and with their repairs done even without their full strength the Black City wasn’t going to fall any time soon. However that didn’t change the fact that Chiyo had attacked them not just in DGO, but real life as well. He was certain she had some hand in sabotaging their show and may have even gone after Yoshino somehow. Initially Asahi suspected that Eris was the assassin, until he activated the night vision HUD on his chip and noticed that Eris herself was front stage, watching the performance the entire time.

”What!? How could I have missed her?”

Things didn’t really improve when some goons showed up. Asahi vaguely recognized them; they were stagehands helping him and the others set up the performance today. Asahi had no idea what they were doing, and Asahi couldn’t blame them if they felt she was somehow responsible for this. Asahi himself felt the same. But she quickly escaped and Asahi jumped off stage to give chase. He turned to the trio that initially cornered Eris and spoke sternly to them. ”Deal with these fucking mooks around here, I’ll go after Eris myself!” Sure enough some Ivory Mask goons had made their way inside the auditorium. Asahi may have said that the Sweepers were going to go clean this time, but that doesn’t mean they were going to be weak. If they wanted a fight, Asahi was going to give them one.

He saw two of the Ivory Masks goons, dressed in their fancy maid/butler outfits, and Asahi proceeded to lift one of the fences off the ground and hurl it at them. It was only a 30 pound fence, barely three feet wide, but in this darkness they never saw it coming. Using his bulk and a gratuitous amount of elbows Asahi knocked his way past anyone else trying to stop him and went after Eris. Of course Eris had him beat on speed, but Asahi knew where she was running back to: the White Guild maid cafe. There’d be nowhere else she’d go, and even if she wasn’t heading there, Asahi would at least be able to find Chiyo. Sure it may have seem suicidal for him to go there alone, but Asahi was the same one who also took on Eclipse Princess by himself. And he just got shot. Dying wasn’t really a thing Asahi concerned himself with. Fighting for what he beleived in was.

Still he wasn’t too shortsighted. He at least popped a message over to some of the others to let them know where he was going. It was short and to the point.

To: Kosuke Kimura, Shiro Kawabata, Akane Himura, Jiro Katsurou, Retsu Goroshi, Yoshino Tsugumi, Yuuno Kurogami
From: Asahi Goroshi
Subject: Find somewhere sage
Black and Blue Guilds under attack go defend them

@Jedly@Mega Birb@RoflsMazoy@Kol@TheWindel

---

Retsu noticed something was off when Moon Rider’s movements were laggy. Retsu had tested the machine herself, it had nearly perfect synchronization. The only way there’d be lag is if there was some feedback issues with Yoshino herself, which could only happen if… Something was happening to her. One moment and everything went dark. The hologram machine shut down, forcing Retsu off DGO. When she opened her eyes she saw Bel choking Yoshino, shortly before she was tackled by some guy Retsu was only vaguely aware of. Doesn’t matter what the details were, Retsu knew what was going on: This was a hit.

Retsu turned to Yoshino and picked her up in her arms. Adrenaline was pumping through her body, allowing Retsy to lift Yoshino and run out of the door. She didn’t even bother opening it and simply kicked it off it’s hinges. She ran down the stairs and it was utter bedlam; the Ivory Mask had sent their agents here and are fighting the Ebony Strykers. In real life no less. This was the sort of mess one would expect from Sweepers, and no doubt the blame would be placed on them. In hindsight maybe it was for the best that Asahi had disbanded them, even if he lacked the authority to actually do that. Regardless Retsu needed to take Yoshino somewhere safe.

Fortunately Retsu saw her uncle waiting for her, along with his two bodyguards and his attendant. They seemed oddly calm all things considered, but it wasn’t as if this was the first time they’ve gotten involved in an improv gangwar. Retsu went over to her uncle and explained the situation as simply as she could. ”This is a gang fight and I need to take my friend somewhere safe. She’s very important to me.” One of the bodyguards took Retsu off her hands and together they all left the auditorium. The attendant called for their vehicle and Retsu informed her of the backstage road he could take. Normally only for trucks to bring stage materials, but Retsu could make an exception here. It only took five minutes for their ride to arrive, and everyone filled in.

Around this same time Retsu just received Asahi’s email. Of course he was going to go face the Ivory Masks on his own. Frankly Retsu didn’t care and hoped he gets himself killed, she was getting tired of his antics. But as she thought that, her uncle was looking at her. Not just in her general direction, but right at her, as if he knew exactly what Retsu was thinking. She tried not to notice but knew it was pointless. Her uncle may have… Problems, but he wasn’t blind. He knew how Retsu and Asahi fought and how he thought about it. Family was suppose to stick together and help one another. It didn’t matter if they were only half-siblings; they shared blood, and if needed they’ll spill blood.

Sighing Retsu closed her eyes. While the hologram projector at the auditorium was down, there was still one more place at the festival she could use. She was going to use this earlier before Yoshino had distracted her, but now was as good a time as any. Retsu logged into Deep Ground as Dark Wraith. Soon after, Dark Wraith herself appeared at the Ivory Mask cafe.

@TheWindel

Finn and Thomas moved out of the way as a red haired girl barreled through the hall with another girl in her arms, a very familiar one at that.
"Wasn't that-?" Finn began.
"Yeah."
"Prez?"
Thomas looked after the disappearing figures. He was sure he knew the red haired girl as well, although he wasn't able to put face to name at the moment. But judging by the fact that she was holding the student council president in her arms, it was likely that she was rather significant.
"Shouldn't we go after them?" Finn asked.
"...No." Thomas decided.

The disappearance of Maribel and this incident were no doubt linked as the red haired girl showed every sign of taking the president out of danger. Besides, they didn't have the resources to chase both her and find Maribel, so Thomas decided that they should focus their efforts on their club member.
"If we find Maribel, we can find the same answers." Thomas said. "I have a feeling they're linked."
Thomas headed off in the direction the red haired girl had emerged and Finn reluctantly followed. Turning the corner they faced an open door with a scene of chaos inside, featuring the blue haired king along with another student wrapping their arms around her.

"Hey, just what's going on here?!" Finn yelled, confused.
As he did, Thomas retreated and went back to the backstage hallway. He couldn't pretend to know what was going on, but it was apparent that there was someone in need of restraint, either the student or the blue king, and he wasn't sure which. He quickly found the tool he would need for such an action: the omnipresent duct tape roll. Tape in tow, Thomas rushed back to the scene of the crime.

@McFazzer@TheWindel

One moment Shiro was indulging himself in a carton of strawberry milk after pulling off a performance in his "allies'" steed, the next the contents of the very container spattered all over the floor. What a waste. He had spent the scant minutes following their performance mulling over the absence of the faction they were forced to cover. The show must go on, as they say. Though this surely wasn't the after party he was anticipating. The trepidation gnawing at his conscience was affirmed by this recent development. To be candid, the Cobalt Bruisers weren't the most trustworthy characters. Altruism isn't a prevailing policy they operate off of. It's mutual gain, a fact embodied by the guild's mercantile ethos. Commerce flows in both directions. But the second either party has the slightest leverage, boom, and just like that you may find a knife sinking into your back. Although there was nothing more Shiro wanted to do than take a leak on Titania's tank, as it stood there constituents to support a claim of betrayal. At least none that he could visibly see, given the fact that the entire area had plunged into darkness. There as a more pressing matter at hand- that being the literal hand currently making an effort to cease the facilitation of air through the Sweeper's lungs.

A loud thump followed shortly after the strawberry milk carton. "Jiro? Kosuke?" One of his comrades was just dispatched with acute diligence. So either they weren't dealing with casuals, or the fatigue coupled with the abrupt shock of a sneak attack got to one of his buds. Judging from the ominous lack of thrashing in the room besides Shiro's, it was safe to say the other had succumb to the same fate. "Great." His lungs felt like they were about to burst out of his chest. He had to make his move, and fast. Unfortunately for these schmucks, they picked a fight with the wrong person. A Sweeper.

A dangerous job has its equivalent risks, and while the veil of anonymity is used as a shield by many, relying on it as a crutch was foolish. Normally Shiro was armed with some means of self defense, commonly a pocket knife or something just as concealable. Unfortunately, he had placed his faith in the hope that people would have some decency to not crash such a joyous event and was currently unarmed. Which was, evidently, pretty fucking foolish. Now he had to make amends for this slip up. The arm that ensnared his neck continued to tighten its hold to expedite the process. "Like I'm going to let you finish the job!"

These jackasses had put a dent in their performance, iced his bros, and worst of all, spilled his strawberry mil- wait, that didn't sound like the correct order. Well, anyways...

The orange-haired boy reeled back his arm and drove it into his assailant's side. A faint cry brushed his ear and the grip slackened slightly, yet it was enough to suffice as an opening. Without pause Shiro took hold of the arm that was strangling him and spun around, dragging the attacker along right into the counter-top which encompassed that side of the dressing room. As the unidentified individual crumpled from the marble, the Sweeper seized the opportunity and extended his reach for whatever provisional weapon he could get his hands on. The familiar texture of fabric sent a shiver down his spine.

Aside from being the only thing known to mankind scarier than Asahi taking a dump after Taco Tuesday, a mannequin head isn't exactly a go-to bludgeoning tool. "Welp, beggars can't be choosers." Shiro gritted his teeth as he assumed a fighting pose that could somewhat complement his weapon. The shifting of two separate pairs of feet confirmed that the other scrubs realized they were down a comrade. "Well, shall we? I'll show you all the power of an all-time classic best girl! EXPLO-"

Just then the door to the dressing room burst open, its joints creaking as they threatened to snap under such immense pressure. Light pooled into the room causing Shiro to shield his vision with the mannequin. After his eyes dilated, he was able to make out the iconic petite silhouette. The figure chucked two incapacitated students through the doorframe, both of which were covered in bruises and their clothes crudely mangled. "Uh oh."

Aaaaaaaaand cue kickass music.



Akane took one step forward, and every conscious soul took another back. Shiro wondered if the mannequin would provide adequate defense, or perhaps he should employ his former attacker as a meat shield. Time was up before he could come to a reasonable decision. The redhead's warcry reverberated throughout the room, the illumination the discarded flashlight emanated only making the enemy's demise all the more vivid.

---

Shiro continued his effort to revive his fallen comrades, who he dragged out of harms way just before Akane's onslaught got underway. Asahi's message floated in the upper right of his vision as he continued to relentlessly pat Jiro and Kosuke's cheeks, the extent of his medical services. "C'mon...Wake up alread- For the love of all that's still sane in this world, Akane, can you stop socking that guy for one second?!"

First rule to survival: Never, ever, ever intrude on Akane while she's changing. Only protagonists could do that, and these goons didn't even rate as tertiary characters. Perhaps he could have gotten his fellow Sweeper to force one of the Ivory Masks to give his buds mouth-to-mouth, then again, that would internally decimate the spirits of both parties involved. His gaze lingered on the blank complexions of two boys before turning to the gorilla running amok, "Hey, Akane," The student began, only to be instantly met with an exasperated pair of narrowed eyes. The girl ceased her relentless attack for the moment, yet a fist still hung over her defenseless opponent, ready to pounce back into action. It was borderline impossible to make out his facial features anymore. Still, Shiro proceeded with due haste, "I'm going to go on ahead and dive into DGO. Spread the word once you get these two up and at 'em, and make sure to lock the exits. Pretty pleaaaaaaaase" He proceeded to drag out the syllable before abruptly plopping next to a wall.

And just like that, Akane was left alone with eight unconscious students, five of which would stay that way for easily another few hours. She needed who comrades lucid, and soon. After the goons had been tied up, the girl briskly traversed the room and collected two mannequin heads, pirouetting with both in each hand to right herself. She then brought them well over her scalp, and without a single flicker of delay, launched them into the boys' stomachs.

"GET THE HELL UP!!!"

A command they would be wise to follow, in spite of the fact they were just strangled minutes ago.

Hopefully Shiro would arrive to give Asahi his aid.

To: Asahi Goroshi
From: Shiro Kawabata
Subject: Re: Find somewhere sage

Logging in.

@Mega Birb@roflsmazoy@Lucius Cypher

Kosuke let out a grunt but stayed out. On some level the hairs on his body felt primal fear in response to Akane's punch. Kosuke's ancestors knew what would happen if he ignored the call, he would be annihilated. But despite that, his mind was gone from his body and wasn't planning on returning anytime soon. Akane's punch only settled the divorce further as his mind decided that there would be much more pain in store if he woke up right now.

Suddenly, from behind them there came a rolling of squeaky wheels.

"Trash Man, coming through." Machidai said flatly, barging in between Akane and Kosuke.

He was dressed in a maintenance man uniform with a logo of some kind of long-necked dinosaur of some description and a cap on; hiding his face. Akane wouldn't be able to recognize him unless she got a good look, but she might feel something was familiar in the way he conducted himself. Machidai was quite infamous, after all, for being in the wrong places at the right times.

Anyway, he had a trolley with him with six trash cans on top. Without saying another word, he bent down and rifled through Kosuke's pockets, and took out his wallet. He took exactly $3.50 and then tossed the rest of wallet into a trash bin and began loading Kosuke's unconscious body into the same can.

He pulled out Kosuke's phone, went to his messaging and showed Kosuke's text to Akane before she could comment.

From: Kosuke Kimura
To: Todo Machidai

Knee extract 6 trash scan pay 3.50

"Invoice." He declared.

Then he unceremoniously dropped the phone in the trash with Kosuke before shutting the lid, then turned around and wheeled the trolley out the way he came.

---

@Jedly@Mega Birb

"Chiyo Kuroke, no... Master, you need to leave the Academy at this very moment, for your own protection. However..." Came Eris' stern voice as she got back to the classroom she worked so much to prepare just for this day.

In tow was Eins, wearing but a jacket and a pair of indoor shoes over her bunny suit. "Some isolate incidents began to happen around the campus after your declaration. It's best if you leave to somewhere sa-" All things considered the cosplay wearing twins were a sight to the eyes if nothing else. Nevertheless, Eins' report was interrupted by the strident sound of someone being slapped across the face in a very aggravating way. "Si-Sis!?" Was the most reaction Eins could muster as her sister

The source of the sound was none other than Eris who traversed the short distance separating her from Chiyo in a few steps and delivered a swift palm to the White King's face, right after her next spiel. "How could you do that without telling us first? What's the point of being a leader is you are going to trust both your subordinates and your enemies on chaos? And, more importantly, what the hell did you do to Moon Rider? I didn't join you to see you hurt people outside of Deep Ground and remain quiet. For all that's worth it, there's a big chance that Moon Rider be your si-" Now it was time for Eris to be the one interrupted, however it was no Eins, or Chiyo who had brought the maid dressed girl to a halt, instead it was the apparition of the being Eris despised most in the world, right close to Arms Slave ad his merry band of brainless goons: Dark Wraith.

"What are you doing here, scum? We don't have anything to discuss with you other than a remainder that the Ivory Masks will crush you deceiving parasites under our heel. Deep Ground was much better before you decided to climb out of the hole you called home." Eris asked coldly while taking Chiyo's hand and trying to help the White King take her leave. Supposing that Chiyo didn't put too much resistance, of course. It was obvious that their safety was compromised at this point, the obvious course of action was to evacuate the scene. However, there was something Eris needed to say as she pulled Chiyo along. "I apologize for overstepping my bounds. I'll accept any punishment you deem necessary, but we must leave now, before they bring real life reinforcements to threaten you, my Master."

"Sis, why don't we delay who else wants to come here? All we need to do is use the fire alarm to provide a distraction, just as Jean taught us." Eins turned to Eris, waiting her sister's reply, after asserting that there was an alarm nearby. With a nod of acknowledgement from Eris, Eins set off the alarm, hoping that the fleeing masses would deter any possible incoming hostiles and buy them enough time to escape as soon as Chiyo decided t follow them.

Through this whole time, the eyes of the older of the Reinhardt twins never left Dark Wraith for long. Having experimented what their lot is capable of doing in a nearly fatal incident, the Leader of the Sweepers creepped Eins to no end. It was no surprise that the white haired girl was trying her best to hold out any signs of trauma, though Eins was an open book for Eris which only made the younger twin rush Chiyo further more.

Cassandra wasn't too sure what was going on, but it was clear that something was. Something potentially bad. A little unnerved that there was trouble at the festival, although she should have expected something given all that had been happening recently, Cassandra bit her lip, glancing back at the dunk tank, she decided that whatever was going on, she had to know. Leaving the plushie behind and feeling like she was betraying it somehow, she started off tentatively towards the direction of the noise, but worried for Eris, Cassandra moved towards the cafe. She wanted to make sure that Eris was okay first, which was perhaps selfish, but Cassandra didn't care. She could stand to be selfish every once in a while.

Her thoughts flickered to her sister,and she hoped that her older sibling hadn't lingered and had just gone back home. It was Cassandra's fault that she was here, if she hadn't decided to dorm at the academy, then her sister wouldn't have noticed she was gone and come to abuse her...and how messed up was that thought process? Squaring her shoulders and feeling like she had always underestimated herself, even now, she quickened her pace. She was messed up. She knew that. Yet she had been happy the last several days. And that was something she'd clutch to.

Startled at seeing Asahi, heading towards the cafe, something seemed wrong to Cassandra. Why would he be heading to the cafe, in what seemed to be something very hostile going on? His demaenor seemed determined, and heart in her throat, Cassandra jogged towards him. Everyone knew who Eris was. Someone seeking to incapacitate her for a few days to prevent her action in Deep ground Online could easily do so, and Cassandra had left her vulnerable. Not that she thought she could do much, but she could still do something. Be a warning. Cannon fodder. She found herself reaching out to touch Asahi on the shoulder, not having to act in the slightest to bring forth her nervousness and slight fear. "What is going on?"

Her voice sounded weak to her own ears and she hated herself for that. Closer to Asahi she could see that whatever he was going to do, it wouldn't be friendly. She shifted, slipping back just slightly so she could have room if she needed it, watching Asahi worriedly. "I've been at the dunk tank and missed some stuff it seems...could you enlighten me?"