As the engine of the helicopter hummed and the blades chopped through the air, Mikkish sat and went over in his head how he wound up in this situation. Maniacles Corporation was quite innovative, so the helicopter they were in looked futuristic, not unlike those vertibirds from Fallout.

Maniacles was supposedly the reason guns were now so cheap, and affordable to anyone. His own glock was only $50. When they weren't selling and manufacturing guns and other technology they were hiring and selling mercenaries for wars overseas.

Yes, there were wars, even despite the Pests. Mikkish reluctantly worked a fast food grill and killed god knows how many Pests in his life. As far back as he remembered, everyone owned a gun, a pistol at least. He himself kinda sucked as a marksman, being gifted in hand to hand combat instead, his form resembling MMA, but having acquired his skill through experience.

He wondered what they were off to go study. What "magic?" Clearly it was meant for young people. Would it be college like? He always wanted to go to University, but never could scrape up the money. He looked around at the others in the big helicopter, and wondered what was up with them.

The helicopter dipped and turned through the air, as did Bara's stomach, her head resting against the window, eyes glazing over as they stared into the distant skyline. Jail was bad, but at least it didn't take place strapped in the air over sea. Closing her eyes, she hummed deeply in her throat. The stomach pain subsided. A little.

On the floor, a huge white mountain dog was curled up at her feet, snoozing as if she couldn't care less. A black harness was settled in her fluffy fur. Bara had the end of the leash tightly wrapped around her wrist.

Reminding herself that this was going to be real work, a job from which she can't back out, she figured it may be time to act like she wanted to be here 110%. She did, didn't she? So the teen girl sat up a little straighter and glanced over the other passengers with an expectant but not great smile.

"I hope you're all as excited as I am!" If anyone met her eyes, she'd give a polite nod. But otherwise maybe a conversation was a bit too much too early. "It's a bumpy ride, isn't it?"

Oh god, this was embarrassing. A red tone crept into her cheeks and she turned her head away. A lot of these people must be hardasses, well trained, experienced, even military. She was probably nowhere near their level, Maniacles only taking her for training if learning this so called magic failed. Maybe these badasses wouldn't take kindly to chirpy banter from an untrained kid.

Yeah, we're totally being taken to a slaughter house.

Maryln's plastered stoic expression held as the helicopter-no, death machine-transported them to wherever they were going to be held. This thing was going way too f-ing fast for her tastes. It would make her unsteady if she needed to jump up and pummel one of these people.

She glanced down at her nails, black being the recent coat. A tiny voice registered in her brain. Without looking up, she pulled out a nail file and rounded out an edge. "Bubbles, you're going to get eaten alive." @Mariana Collie

Hm. She was cute though. "Come here, I've got something to tell you."

@Mariana Collie@Allie

Mikkish chuckled when he noticed the tiny girl (otherwise known as Bara) shout with enthusiasm, which was met with an awkward silence from everyone else. He knew he wasn't the only one in his situation. In fact, if he were to bet, he would say most of the others on this aircraft were here to avoid jail or some other awful fate.

But was that what Maniacles was doing? Sending a bunch of criminals to Hogwarts to learn witchcraft and wizardry and rescue the fucking elves or something?

"Hey," He said to Bara, unable to contain the amused smirk on his face "Watch out for her" He pointed to another girl (Maryln).

"She's the type that'll kick your ass n rob you. I know the type when I see one"

But Mikkish lacked this skill. He was making shit up to stir up trouble just for laughs, as was typical of him.

‘I hope you’re all as excited as I am!’ shouted a girl’s voice causing Maddox to look up from the window her head was resting on. Even though the helicopter was whirring all around and often experienced turbulence, Maddox still managed to somewhat rest. ‘It’s a bumpy ride, isn’t it?’ With her eyes on the girl she refrained from rolling her eyes. She wasn’t particularly interested in having a conversation with someone, especially not someone who was this excited for a job. She supposed it was because the corporation said there were magic wielders – or mages – located at their destination. Maddox didn’t really know what to believe. It sounded like a cheap joke for a reality TV-show and nothing more, but seeing how much Maniacles evolved and innovated over the years, something like magic shouldn’t be such a surprise. It probably wouldn’t even be real magic. Most likely it was just some fancy new-generation tech that looked like how magic was portrayed in films and literature, so they likely just called it magic. Still, fancy tech would be all kinds of awesome and even though she wouldn’t just admit it, she was quite exited right now.

Suddenly it seemed like everyone was talking to the raven-haired girl and it made her wonder how much she missed whilst being lost in thought. ‘We’re in a helicopter.’ She replied to the young blonde man. ‘What’s she going to do? Jump out of it after she robbed you? Swim hundreds of miles to the shore? Not even accounting for the changing of the tides and the current that keeps pushing you further away from shore.’ Maddox knew perfectly well that he meant the short girl should look out for Maryln after they landed, but it still felt like an unnecessary thing to say. No one here really knew each other, meaning you always had to watch out for the others. You don’t know what they’d done. They could be killers, thieves, spies or even dealers such like Maddox. In all fairness, the short girl didn’t look at all like a killer or someone who would even hurt a person. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise her if she refused to kill a bunny, but no matter what Maddox thought when seeing her, she knew better than to assume things. For all she knew the girl could in fact be a vicious killer, although that would be quite surprising.

Maddox shortly looked at the large dog beneath the girl’s feet. Even though the helicopter was, by all standers, huge, the size of the dog was still a little too large for Maddox to sit comfortably. Most of the ride her legs were scrounged up to the sides of the doors, forcing her in a small corner. She didn’t complain about it at all during the trip. It wouldn’t be too long of a trip and even if she complained, it wasn’t as if that was going to solve anything. The helicopter wouldn’t magically increase in size, just as the dog would not decrease in its size. She just had to suck it up for the rest of the trip.

"Bubbles, you're going to get eaten alive." @Allie A woman's voice called out and Bara slowly turned her head back to the group, despite the embarassment on her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you guys can handle it, I'm sure this is just an-" she started.

To be cut off with: "Come here, I've got something to tell you."

"Umm." Bara looked at the woman with a bit of incredulity, hinting at her restraints preventing getting up close and personal. Sure she could unbuckle but it'd be better to stay put. The woman was pretty, golden brown hair and patient eyes with on ounce of charm, yet unless she had the same situation as Bara...she was HERE so clearly she had taken a few levels in kicking butt. Enough to wipe the floor with me and then dunk me in ice water, she imagined with a shudder.

Still she wanted to hear what the woman had to say, so she leaned forward enough that the woman could speak to her ear if she pleased. But just as she braced for a humiliating sort of of secret:

"Hey! Watch out for her. She's the type that'll kick your ass n rob you. I know the type when I see one." @MikkishtheLeprechaun Across the aisle, a man with sun-kissed skin and a lean frame bent over with an amused smirk directed her way. In any other circumstance he reminded her of a ranch hand but the tattoo on his shoulder and bemused expression betrayed a different, more intense origin.

"Well, I-"

Another voice. Biting her lip, Bara felt at once a bit overwhelmed yet happy that the helicopter was filled with more conversation than awkward silence.

"We’re in a helicopter. What’s she going to do? Jump out of it after she robbed you? Swim hundreds of miles to the shore? Not even accounting for the changing of the tides and the current that keeps pushing you further away from shore." @Camey

Long blonde hair and icy eyes. Another attractive woman who can kick my ass, she noticed as a different kind of blush filled her face, her toes tingling. The woman looked at her dog. Another point of embarassment, but there was nothing to do about the dog now. From the tone in their voices, these people may be negging each other a little bit. She was used to that from her parents venom filled conversations, though at least this seemed tons more civil where she was sitting. Breaking it up if might help.

"Hey," she turned to look at all of them. "My name's Nbarra, but you can call me Bara cause not many people like to try the Navajo accent. Not even my dad. It's nice to meet you and I hope we can work together to make Maniacles proud to fill our pockets." Okay, maybe getting too official. Shut up, she groaned internally, hands twitching externally. Then she turned back to the brown-haired woman. "I think I'll be safe from her here too, if she's that bad. It's okay. I want to know what she has to say."

To avoid sending more high pitched chirps into their ear canals, Nbarra stopped before explaining why, the why being that it is better to be honest and straightforward with even potential enemies than to be in the dark about them. She leaned her ear over towards Marlyn again.

"I beg your pardon?" Maryln scoffed. She looked as poised as could be with her extremely feminine features. A flattering, dark blue sweater showed off every curve, her toned legs complimented by a leather skirt and heels. She leaned forward in her seat toward the admittedly handsome man with a devilish fire in her eyes that burned with coquetish play, power, and everything but grace. "I won't just kick your ass and rob you, my stiletto will be so far up your ass that you'll taste the gum I stepped in earlier." @MikkishtheLeprechaun

"Now, you're perfectly safe with me, Bubbles," Maryln spoke with a sickly-sweet smile, pointedly addressing the blonde girl at the same time. "I only target stuck up bitches." @Camey The venom was only to test the waters, not only of the woman but she had done it with the man too. Well, she also flirted with him a bit, but she wouldn't own up to that. She wanted to see how they reacted to her poking at them. If they were hostile, she'd have to watch herself. And look out for Bara too. Maryln read that munchkin like a book, she probably avoided stepping on flowers when she walked through grass.

When Bara was close to her, Maryln moved towards her, so close her eyelashes tickled the girl's nose. "When we get there, hide your worry. An organization like them will smell it on you. I have your back, don't be afraid," she softly spoke with surprising warmth. @Mariana Collie

‘We’re in a helicopter.’ She replied to the young blonde man. ‘What’s she going to do? Jump out of it after she robbed you? Swim hundreds of miles to the shore? Not even accounting for the changing of the tides and the current that keeps pushing you further away from shore.’

"She could get out of the helicopter." came the struggling voice of the big woman seated far as possible from any of the windows. She was leaned back with her eyes closed, sweat beading on her brow and looking slightly green. Her only contribution to the conversation so far had been quiet groans whenever the helicopter was jostled by a rogue wind and other sounds of someone heroically battling to keep their sick in their stomach. "She could go down in the waves and live and brag about it. She could do everything you said, if she had magic. Magic can do anything."

It was the mantra west had been repeating to herself to bear through this long hellish helicopter ride. It what shed told herself when she'd been packing, when she'd closed down her business, when she'd first seen the ad in the paper. The idea that noting was impossible. That was the idea that Maniacles had offered, and like cupids arrow the idea had buried itself deep in her small, childish heart. "From now on you shouldn't dismiss anything out of hand."

Gabriel was only vaguely aware of the conversation going on around him, he was in his head off in his own little world. He was disappointed the pilot was separated from the rest of them so he couldn't see the controls of the helicopter. He'd never been in a helicopter before, it was a lot more turbulent than a plane. Of course most people had no need to ever be in a helicopter, so this was a unique experience in itself even without the fact they were being taken to some place where they were apparently going to be learning magic.

Tuning in slightly to those around him, Gabe wondered if he made the right choice in coming here. Why was he even here in the first place? Because he was bored of his life and wanted some excitement? Because he figured a college drop out didn't have much potential anyways so he may as well do something legendary? Or maybe because he was lonely and thought maybe doing something crazy with a group of people would net him some friends? Probably a mix of all of those. Well if he wanted to at least attempt to make friends with these people, which seemed a little unlikely but whatever, he should probably know their names.

He shifted slightly and lifted his head from where it was resting against the helicopter wall, "if we're gonna be doing this thing together we should probably know each others names." Gabe sounded a bit exasperated, a bit like he was done with their shit before he even really knew them, he shook that out of his voice, knowing it wasn't fair to judge them yet, "I'm Gabriel, or Gabe if you want." He had caught the excited sounding girls name, Bara. He wondered if anyone else would offer a name, or if they were too cool for school and would just ignore him.

@Allie@Mariana Collie

"Ooh!" Mikkish said, his amused expression unchanged "Sounds like a good time" he said with feigned arousal. He could see she seemed to be sizing up the short girl. Most likely, she was planning to make Bara trust her and screw her over somehow. Not that Mikkish really cared that much. Hell, he thought that might be funny.

@duskshine749
Evan on the other hand, who had been lost in thought and excitement about what he was potentially heading towards, had been silent all this time, looking out the window. When he looked over at the others in the aircraft talking, he was shocked to notice what he considered a Satanic tattoo on one guy's shoulder, and felt a little uneasy about everyone else. Maybe it was simply because he was feeling socially anxious from the fact he was leaving his family and old social circle behind. When a guy named Gabe asked about everyone's names, while the others might have been too caught up in their conversation to notice he asked a question, Evan took this opportunity to maybe meet one of his new coworkers/classmates.

"I'm Evan. Evan Morgan."

@Gentlemanvaultboy

"Woah!" Mikkish exclaimed "You are one tall lady."

Throughout this entire exchange and ride, a wiry, long-legged Asian boy sat. His back was turned to everyone else on the plane, and he conversated to himself in his home's language, not even bothering to rate any of them. Their banter was starting to annoy him, but he kept a poker face and sank into his own mind. この場所はひどいです。私は大学に入れるべきManiaclesにサインアップしていませんでした！私はこれらの人々とこだわって言及しないように...おそらく、私は彼らにチャンスを与える必要があります。それは、彼らはそれを最大限に活用しようとしている彼らのせいではありません。
He sighed, regretting his decision already as he clung tightly to his duffel bag. As the chatter penetrated Naoko's thoughts, he grew frustrated, and finally turned to face the other residents of the helicopter. "静か!" Then he rolled his eyes. They wouldn't understand him. "Quiet, please." He said in a heavy Japanese accent. "I need to think." He went back to his thoughts, hoping he wouldn't get a bad reaction. He wondered if his parents had arranged for this. それは確かに私に怒っなるために何かを与えるだろう。しかし、私は良いものに焦点を当てる必要があります。鈴木家は、正のままです。鈴木家は強いままです。私は直子、鈴木です。
The helicopter itself impressed Naoko with its advanced technology. It looked very different from any helicopters he had seen in real life, reminding him more of science fiction. He smoothed his wrinkled black t-shirt, his khaki-ed legs bouncing up and down. "
マジック...だから奇妙な。私は実際にそれを学ぶことができますか？私は基本を開始することができ、右の献身を賭け、そしていくつかの学習スキル。その後、再び、私は魔法のためのものではありませんよ。私のナイフと私の銃は十分." He said this a little more loud than intended.

@duskshine749
"West." Evangeline managed to croak out. "Evangeline West. I'm a taxidermist."

"Woah!" Mikkish exclaimed "You are one tall lady."

"I grew up on a farrrrrmmmmmmmmmm." She trailed of into a long, pained groan, and curled up a little more. She couldn't wait to get off this helicopter.

Maddox didn’t really notice the bright red blush on the small girl, she was too busy squinting her eyes at Maryln. "Then luckily for you you’re in the right place." She nonchalantly said to the brunette. She didn’t feel the need to antagonise the woman any further. She was just shouting out meaningless threats to assert her dominance to the weaker minded people in the group. Getting defensive and threatening back would only make this trip more unbearable than it already was. Between the over-enthusiasm of the tiny girl named Bara, as she had introduced herself, and the comments of the brunette, she only had herself to keep sane. It was only when the brunette was surprisingly kind to Bara that she was slightly caught off guard. Luckily it didn’t seem like anyone noticed it, and even if they did Maddox could pass it off as motion sickness from the helicopter fighting back turbulence.

"She could get out of the helicopter." A sudden voice made Maddox look up to a woman who sat a few seats further, in the middle of the helicopter. "Did you not listen to a word I said? She’d still have to-" She didn’t even have time to finish her sentence before the woman spoke again. She spoke about magic. Again, Maddox fought the urge to roll her eyes so far in the back of her head that she would see her own brain. Since when did everyone believe in magic? Real magic. If it was real or not didn’t even matter, it was the pure fact that they just believed it only because someone said so. They didn’t see it with their own eyes. Didn’t experience it. It perplexed her that most of chopper just assumed magic was real and with no limitations.
"Yeah, and then we can meet unicorns and slide of rainbows and fly a Pegasus into the heavens above. Oh, and while we’re at it we can make pink fluffy sweaters for everyone!" She said sarcastically and a little bit condescending. "Point is. She can’t do that now. She doesn’t have so-called ‘magic’." She added air quotes to emphasise her point. "So technically I’m not dismissing anything out of hand. Besides, even if she did, what kind? What do we know about this? Do we just blindly believe what they’d told us?" At this point Maddox was getting really annoyed. Constant talk about magic and excitement for their destination without knowing anything and just blindly trusting everything. There were a million things that could go wrong between now and when they were planned to land.

In the time that Maddox and the woman were arguing – or more accurately, Maddox arguing with the woman -, others had introduced themselves. She could vaguely recall one of the boys calling themselves Gabe. Or Evan. Or both. She didn’t really follow their conversation. Probably for the best. Not knowing what was being said kept her from saying that they sounded like they were in sixth grade, telling everyone their name and hobbies they had.

And as if lady luck was called upon this mortal earth, the conversation suddenly stopped when the Asian boy exclaimed something in his native language. "Quiet, please." He added after he noticed no one would understand a word he was saying – and then he continued saying things no one would understand -. 'Then, please. Follow your own advice…' she thought.
Normally Maddox wasn’t this grumpy. Nearly the whole trip she’d been quiet. Just quietly staring out of the windows at the ever-changing waves of the blue sea, but now, when everyone was loud, she had gotten really annoyed. The Asian boy who didn’t follow his own advice was just the last drop that caused her to sound like a stuck-up bitch. "'Bout what." She stated more than asked to him, not looking at him (not that she could since he turned his back at everyone again). If she had to sit through hours more of this, she may as well involve herself in conversations. At least that’d be more useful than listening to endless bickering and sweet-talk.

A door opened and man walked in. He was the type of man you wouldn't realize was taller or more jacked than you until you got right up in his face. He wore a clean, pressed suit, complimented by a pair of dark sunglasses which somehow made his expression seem more stoic than it already did.

Mikkish was staring awkwardly at Evangeline when the man walked in, wondering if she was special ed somehow.

"If you all are done running your mouths, I'm here to brief you all on exactly whats going on." The man paused, looking around to see who was paying attention. Evan had shut up and turned to the man immediately.

"I won't repeat all this, so if you're not listening you'll deal with it. Maniacles made contact a little while ago with these people on this island. The first thing we noticed was there seemed to be a lack of a Pest infestation. I'm not talking about a low infestation zone. I mean you could walk anywhere and you wouldn't find Pests. It was like the old days." His unchanging expression contrasted with his upbeat tone.

Mikkish was paying attention at this point. He struggled to imagine a world without Pests, but a headache came on.

"What we discovered next shocked us even more. I'm sure you are all familiar with Harry Potter or...whatever else there is. Well these people say they can tap into a natural human capability that we apparently forgot. It sounded like some new age crap at first, but everyone on this island can demonstrate what so many believe to be impossible. I am talking a stream of fire bursting from a person's hands, displays of incredible strength, instantaneous wound healing. The exciting thing for all of you, is they have an academy on the island to help a person learn and master these abilities, which is where you will all be going." The man with sunglasses paused, allowing it all to sink in for the passengers.

@Camey
Naoko was surprised when he heard a feminine voice asking him something. "Please do not..." He looked in a small journal with a mix of english words and japanese characters. "An-tag-o-nize me." He turned back to look at her, then froze, a small red blush creeping up his neck, before turning back around. 彼女は美しい... He cleared his throat before turning to face her once again. "What is bout?" He asked, searching his small book. "Do you mean 'about'?" He flipped to a new page in his book, and if anyone looked, they could clearly see the word 'about' in the page. He poised a sharpened pencil, looking like he was about to take notes in school.

@MikkishTheLeprechaun
However, as soon as he finished this, the door opened, almost making him topple over. The man who walked in had an air of authority about him, and subconsciously Naoko straightened his posture and stayed silent. He turned to the man and away from the girl. When Naoko heard about the lack of Pests, coupled with the examples the man offered for magic, he felt the doubt in his mind growing. "魔女? ウィザーズ？火災?" He said, before once again swapping to English. "Is there any," He paused, searching for the word, "Science involved?" He said, before a strange look crossed his face and he added, "Sir?"

Well, at least a couple of the others introduced themselves, the others didn't really get a chance as some official looking guy joined them from another part of the helicopter. The island had no Pests? At all? That seemed impossible, dealing with Pests was like sleeping, it was just something you had to do if you were alive. The idea of no Pests was almost as ridiculous as the thought of magic. But this island apparently had both of those. The Japanese guy asked if they were using science which Gabe was idly wondering as well. However Gabe decided to keep his mouth shut because this official looking dude seemed like he meant business and Gabe did not want to say something stupid and make him mad.

@Default

"Well, anything you experience can be explained with science, even this, but I won't go into detail about that right now. By the way, I appreciate the 'sir." He implied amusement by the way he said this, but his face was like rock and didn't change.

"Anyways, you will all be staying in the dorms of an academy built a long time prior to us having any contact with this place. We are still unsure when this school was built or who built it. Regardless of any skepticism any of you might have, however, you all signed up to learn whatever the instructors of this academy have to teach you. You will be given free room and board. The program also includes free meals." He said, seemingly attempting to get the passengers excited.

Evan didn't hear a big deal of this, however. He was distracted. It had always been his dream to fight for Maniacles against the infestations, so it would take a great deal to distract him from what someone of authority in the Maniacles ranks was saying. What he saw out one of the few windows, however, put him in such awe, that even what the man was saying couldn't fully catch his audience.

The serene ocean waves below reflected the dimming orange light of the setting sun, which though it was going to sleep allowed the passengers aboard this aircraft to view the masterpiece landmass they were no doubt headed to. A colossal wall of rock towered above the ocean, holding a blanket of trees at the top. The orange leaves reminded anyone who saw what a proper autumn looked like. Toward the center of the island, pillars of concrete and glass reached towards the sky and seemed to welcome these new students.

Then, everyone felt it. A sinking feeling, like the world falling away from you, but that was not the case. It was simply the aircraft dropping altitude, communicating that the ride was nearing an end, but a new journey would soon begin.

Stepping off the aircraft, which he still had no proper name for, Mikkish had no conclusion for how to react. He had never been to a big city before. Though his home town was compact, it was home to just under ten thousand people.

Here he now stood, however, at the summit of one of the great glass skyscrapers, over looking similar buildings making up the city which spanned the whole island. It was around 6pm, that time of day where the neon signs were lighting up but the sun was still glowing.

"Here we are, Malfic City. Feel free to count the buildings, you will be quizzed on it later." The man from the helicopter said "You may all call me Richard, by the way."

@MikkishTheLeprechaun@Camey

"Well, anything you experience can be explained with science, even this, but I won't go into detail about that right now. I appreciate the sir, by the way." Naoko nodded sullenly, still averting his gaze from the girl he had seen earlier. He followed the blonde man and this Richard off of the helicopter. He had seen many buildings like this in Tokyo, but he still paired this with no pests and it gave him a sense of wonder. "No Pests..." A faint smile graced his lips. "Uh, Sir? I mean, Ri-chard?" He radiated anticipation. "Where are our dorms? When do we start classes? Will we have time to relax?" As he kept talking, he subconsciously started reverting to Japanese. "どんな魔法？私たちの魔法は私たちの専門分野に特有のものでしょうか？寮は分かれていますか？私たちはルームメイトを持っていますか?" His eyes were wide, and he was talking fast. However, he eventually realized his blunder, and stopped mid sentence, looking down. He was ashamed.

Richard looked at the Japanese kid for a second, considering he shouldn't be surprised to have someone so heavily ESL since Maniacles now technically owned most of the world these days. While scraping the back of his mind for what Japanese he knew, his expression remained unmoved.

@Default
"Uh...あなたの質問..." Richard awkwardly said "すぐに回答しました"

Many high ranking member of Maniacles knew a few languages fluidly. Richard was different, more of a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. He knew bits and pieces of many languages, including Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, Afghan and obviously Japanese to name a few. He also knew a fair bit of Latin, for whatever good that did.

"Anyways." Richard said, clearing his throat "Lets make our way to the school, and maybe see some interesting stuff on the way."

@Camey
"Well here we go. On our way to Hogwarts." Mikkish said with a mischievous smirk "Did you remember your magic wand?"