---

One second Cassius was right by her, the other she had already run off to tell the others what to do. On one hand, she was very impressed by Cass's performance, on the other it was quite an irritating thing that he left her by the door. So when Cass came back, she was sure to tell him exactly that.

When Cass apologized, Kath rolled her eyes dramatically. "A young lass is seeking your attention and you run away from her. The manners on you dude are horrendous! I think we'll dedicate our next training session to learning some royal etiquette, taught by yours truly." She frowned and looked at Cass but then she ended up dropping the act as she saw how unmoved Cass was by any of this. "I'll take that apology. Next time you'll be lucky to find me after you run off." With that she turmed on her heels and strolled into the building.

The inside way definetly much, much creepier than the outside. A shiver ran down her spine as she touched the wall and the moldy and aged wallpaper rolled of at an instant. That said, a certain vibe to it was really to the liking of Kath. "Damn, what a mess. I'd say going from plain apartments to a ghost house was definetly the right choice here. She stopped to investigate some old furniture that was so aged that it barely retained any form or shape to indicate what it's original purpose was." "Whatever lives here, it sure did a number on this place."

Stopping by the stairway and she looked back at Cass. "Man, I hope it's ghosts. I've never punched one before but I'm sure that they'll run once I give them a beating." Her voice was filled with excitement and she punched the air a few times, giving weight to her words. "You hear that ghosts? I ain't afraid of you! Kath the inferno is not afraid of anyone!" Kath let out a maniacal laughter that started to echo around the building. As soon as she heard back her own voice she slapped on her own mouth, promplty ending the laugh. Damn, she overdid it this time. She glanced at Cass before quickly recollecting himself and adressing her firebuddy. "Aaaaanyways... say Cass, didn't you forget to tell everyone BUT me where they are going. How are we ever gonna beat the ectoplasmic crap out of ghosts if I don't know where to go?"

---

@Inertia

Andreim

The punch Katherine gave his shoulder caught him abit offguard. In combat he was usually well prepared against any incoming attacks but outside of it he was not as ready or fast. He couldn't possibly go around and be prepared all the time it would wear on him by a great degree.

What? Teasing her in the wrong way? What's the right way? Is she actually...

She is hitting on me. She is actually having perverted thoughts about me. It's not that she is not attractive or anything. But she is trying to play me.

Andreim activated his thermal sight and looked Katherine over. Making it obvious he was indeed looking her over. She flung his own words back at him. What a detestable girl! But she was hot indeed. Her powers could literally melt a guy who did not pay attention.

Then came the question. Did she actually have a skirt at all under that jacket of hers. She seemed like a pervert. But in order to confirm it he would have to tread into that territory himself. Damn. Perhaps he would find out later. Maybe make her embarassed. Would be amusing if nothing else. He hated to admit it but teasing her was fun.

"I do not get burnt ever..." It was a lie. Lise had sparked a burning searing in his heart and not even his elemental attunements could stop it.

"Tch.." He merely let out hearing Samoth's words. It was a cunning use of words. If he replied that he was stronger that Lise, it would lessen Lise's powers and make her dissapprove of him, if he agreed with him though he would present himself as a inferior choice.

Andreim knew Samoth was one of those people who could cause a problem for him. Inside and outside fighting. But he had in the same go said it was a good plan and taken that annoying foxboy out of the equation.

"Don't underestimate me, Samoth." It was a warning. One which needed to be tossed out there.

"Yes, Lady Valois-Saint-Remy." He made a salute with his white gloved hand. It was in order to protect others from himself and the things he touched from being affected by his poison. Even if just skin contact caused some irritation. Andreim stepped forwards acting as if he was a bodyguard to a celebrity. Which wasn't far off.

Then his stride was stopped by Cassius who asked if they could take the south section. First Andreim blinked at that and thus threw a look to Lise before averting his eyes down abit where he was trying to escape her eyes and instead came to look at her skirt which left him frozen for a moment before he turned his face away.

"Y-yes, you can leave the south section to us two. We are more than capable of dealing with this." He said confidently. He was after all confident in his own abilities. "Don't get Cassius into trouble now, Katherine."
He strode forth every now and then waiting for Lise to catch up with him. He was surveying the area, flicking his thermal vision on and off.

Vittorio

They were agreeing with him. Christine, Bak and Gilliam. They thought his plan was good. He was abit surprised to see they were up for it and for a moment he forgot that most of them where in fact monsters themselves. But they were on his side for this. He would have continued along with the plan had not Clara stepped in.

She was getting in the way for his revenge. Perhaps she had seen something they had missed? He decided to hear her out for now. If she was just wasting his time then he would have to move off on his own with the others. Vittorio didn't care about being noticed or even caught. What was important however was that vengeance was taken. The faces of his dead dear ones came to him in his dreams almost every night. He found himself in the same helpless scenario he had been in years past.

Where he could do nothing but watch that monster kill them. Over and over. Just because they were close with that boy. Alto. If he didn't exist they would still be alive. If he had not encouraged them they would not have been targetted.

"How about we could obtain something belonging to the Vigilantes and lure them unto the St.Laurel grounds? Gilliam, you could infiltrate their lot, under the guise of one of the St.Laurel students, a drop off to try join them and then take something important of theirs before leaving. Let them give chase."
He paused briefly looking to left and right.

"You could lead the vigilantes to Alto and in the same go capture him no? Under the guise of one of the Vigilante's ofcourse. It would put them on the scene and Alto in our hands. That way the St.Laurel school would turn their attention to these vigilantes. Giving us the cover we need. Aswell as giving you backup to beat him if you cannot do it alone. The vigilantes would see Alto fighting one of their own and would assume you just gave chase after the thief."

The best approach would probably involve using Gilliam to lure Alto away to a location where they could finish him off. A place without witnesses where he would ask him one question. Who was that monster? Alto must know who it was.

"What do you have in mind then, Clara?" Vittorio asked. He could play along with Clara for now, but if she was incompetent then he would try to lead the others without her. The requiem of the dead has been postponed long enough.

---

TAGS: @Bartimaeus

---

"There are many entities here," the older student said, looking around the large room. However, he had a slightly blank look, as if he were focusing mentally rather than visually. Welp, that probably confirms the haunting, unless there's a bunch of kids having a really quiet rave in here.
"Can you tell the difference between ghosts, imps, and people?" Cyan asked without looking at his partner. Instead, his attention was on practicing swinging his newfound weapon around in front of him. Doing so gave off several satisfying wooph sounds. That is, until the weak, worm-eaten leg broke from the force. The upper half flung wildly across the room and skid across the floor before coming to a halt just before the wall.

"...and you probably won't be needing that," Samoth said, trailing off something he had said earlier. Cyan had been distracted by his combat training exercise and missed the earlier part, but the soft crack had brought him back to attention.
"Oh, um. Yeah." The boy paused awkwardly for a second, a bit embarrassed, before tossing the piece of not-fit-for-firewood aside and sticking his hands in his pockets.

"But to answer your earlier question. Yes. My power allows me to touch incorporeal beings..disperse them, even. Imps will take a little more effort, but still..of little relevance." Before Cyan had a chance to respond, he heard a small explosion out front and Cassius skid inside, creating a trail of airborne dust as he entered. The faint smell of burnt grime drifted about the room as Cassius kicked the floor, attempting to put out his burning sneaker.

"D’ya guys mind taking the North Eastern section? Me and Katherine will take the North Western section," he offered, to which Samoth nodded, agreeing for the two of them. Immediately after, Cassius burst back where he came from. Now it seemed very little of the dust remained on the floor, and Cyan had to bring his sleeve up to his nose to avoid breathing it all in. His eyes weren't feeling too great either.

"Come, Cyan. Take it slow and stay close to me. Tell me if you see anything suspicious." Samoth said, and turned towards assumably the northeast. Cyan just nodded and followed him. He felt a bit like a kitten partnering up with a bulldog. It was unlikely he would be able to do anything Samoth couldn't just handle himself. Cyan sighed, a bit at the circumstance and a bit at himself. He needed to make sure to remember that this was about the missing students, not his adventure.

---

Samoth took more significant strides as his fellow students seemed to be prepared to go their selerate paths. With each step, dust and undiscernable debris was flung into the air, clinging to his pants, and heavy military boots.
He approached the first door within his section, it appearing as if him and Cyan had made it to their objective before the others. He laid his gloved hand against the door, and then he side of his head. He didn't hear any discernable noise. He took off his right glove and shoved it in his pocket. His slightly thinner left glove still allowed him to dispel magic through it, while also reissting flames as well as various other cuts and scratches.

He quickly turned the handle and pushed his body into the door, expecting it to open up swiftly allowing him quick survey of the room on the other side. It didn't budge. It did make him look a bit silly though. Hugging a door and all.
He backed up a couple feet, and slammed one of his massive boots against the rickety door, smashing it in. The door hung off its hinges to his left, as he stepped through the threshhold of the decrepit room. The windows on the opposite side were heavily boarded, letting in little light.
Samoth could feel the presence if something close. But with all the entities in the proximity, it was a bit hard to tell where exactly. He turned to his right, a dusty bed with well-devoured sheet lain before him, and beside that a rotted nightstand, and a lamp. He turned to the doorway, where Cyan still stood, approaching it once again.

"Looks clear. Let's move-" he was interrupted by a wooden scraping sound, and then was struck in the back with a chair. The chair was heavily rotten, much like everything else here, seemingly. It helped that Samoth's learher coat didn't let much rotten wood through, too.

He turned on his heel quickly to see a stark-white entity, seemingly levitating a lamp post, and it was accompanied by a small, red, knife-wielding, devilish-looking creature only several feet away.

Samoth lunged forward, right hand reaching directly for the ghost, second hand moving towards the Imp, yet not intending to make contact with it.

The ghost weightlessly evaporated under Samoth's grip, the lamp post falling harmlessly to the ground, and the Imp crumpled to the ground, seemingly not even being struck, screeching in pain.

Samoth stepped closer to the Imp, eyeing it sourly. "Pest." Was his simple statement, as he lifted his heavy left boot, and plowed it violently into the creature's skull. There was an assuring crunch, as its screeches ceased.

He turned, and look to the doorway, were Cyan had been expected to stay. He hadn't.
"-to the next room." he said, as if that hadn't just happened. He strode towards the door approaching the threshold, and advancing to he hallway, hoping the next room hadn't held too much for Cyan to handle.

With the slightest amount of snoring Vernon's head bopped as he slept and he he was sleeping in a seated posture with his fist balled and body freezing itself; all of this was just a defense mechanism. Vernon had no room for plans or calculations in his dreams, all he had was freedom, powerless and time. In Vernon's dreams he had searched for the God or Goddess that had given him his power, he realized during this dream he couldn't find him or her alone. And decided to wake himself up. The search was only informative of what was needed to find the god or goddess; Help.



"I am going to need your help in summoning the God or Goddess which bestowed me the core and its branches. I have questions and am sure others, whom have never met, these Gods and Goddesses. Do. Too." Vernon had stared at the food and looked to Micheal. "Apperently Saint, MEphisto`s Been arressted. And Carla was the one to do him in, My father`s worker told me this. And that must be part of a `bigger picture`plan. Hail the Deities of Crime." Vernon told them, as he hailed these Criminal Lords he, decided to stop talking for a while.

As Brutus listened, Ria asked the question that was on everyone's minds. That was when King piped up, a look of glee on his face.

"Glad you asked!" Their leader then pulled out a silver claymore with a weird ornate bell attached to the pommel. Despite them being inside, the bell swayed as if there were some sort of invisible breeze. "This is the Bing Bong sword!"

What. Just what. Brutus had to give himself a minute to absorb the absolutely ridiculous name of the sword. However, King assured them that it could indeed take out a ghost. "I don't know which one of you can use it best so I'll just give it to... Brutus!"

Just... double what? As Brutus took the sword, he could definitely feel the power the sword emitted. The whole get-up, while it looked and sounded ridiculous, definitely seemed like there was something... more... to it. Brutus took the sword in his hand, unsure of what to do. He'd never really used a sword in his life.

'Why couldn't it have been a gun? Or even a dagger? Why a claymore? How am I supposed to tag anything with both of my hands occupied?' For him, he got the most accurate tags with his hands. Still, at least they had something to fight the ghosts with. Brutus just hoped he could channel his power through it if needed... However, he never got to ask as King left with the missing cat posters. Well, so much for that...

"Well, I'll meet the rest of you at the site." Brutus said, strapping the sword to his back before taking off running, using his powers to help him arrive more quickly.

---
As Brutus arrived at the location, he glanced at the place. Derelict? Check. Creepy? Check. Seemed like a prime location for ghosts. Brutus sighed, standing in front of the place and waiting for the others. As he waited, he heard a voice loudly cackling from within. Great. Others were here first. Of course they had competition in dealing with the mark. As each person arrived, Brutus warned them of the competition. There was no telling if they were from St. Laurel's or from Mephisto's school (their two biggest sources of competition). However, competition meant competent fighters, which could spell trouble.

Lise walked behind her partner, thinking. She wasn't exactly sure what to say, or talk about, as they stepped towards the ghost apartment. Her lessons in being a hostess didn't really apply to the current situation. At the same time, it wasn't right to have a hanging silence. She noticed that Andreim wore gloves - maybe that was a talking point. 'What am I thinking... Gloves? Really?' Lise sighed. Maybe her charge could pick up the conversation despite Lise's lack of speaking topics.

As they reached the door to the building, Lise had another thought: What was her partners' abilities? She hadn't been keeping the best track of Laurels students. If anything, she was just now getting used to living outside of her manor, she hadn't had much time to study the people of Laurels. 'I can't just ask him, it'd be rude...' Lise tossed on the tumultuous waves of her own thoughts.

Lise put on a polite smile. "I'll let you take the first room, Andreim." It was the perfect move. He would demonstrate his ability by clearing the room, and she wouldn't have to ask what his powers were. Lise grinned to herself. She truly was the best. Simply the best.

"We've been handed an opportunity to use St. Laurel's self righteousness against them." Clara replied.

Indeed, St. Laurel had seen fit to keep their mistakes quiet, which is an understandable position. It's not impossible to keep a secret forever, as long as you can eliminate every factor which would let it come to light. But St. Laurel's didn't have the drive to bring about such a thing. They didn't have the courage to commit to the road they had taken a half-step onto.

Alto would likely come along later. They had a good chance of destroying him as well. There wouldn't be a better chance to try it anytime soon.

"We'll make them realize the extent of their foolishness."

@Gentlemanvaultboy @KillamriX88 @Taytay @Hammerman @HeroicSociopath

King was...and odd character. Aram didn't quite get him. However, his backstory was intriguing, even as unbelievable as it is. Apparently he was an alien from another planet..It wasn't..entirely impossible, per se. But the probability of King actually being an alien was..lacking, to say the least.

Despite being very new to the Vigilantes, Aram had confidence that even if he under-performed on this mission, his peers would be able to cover for him.
Not that it appeared they would just disperse as they please to show up at the target location completely of their own choosing helped in that case. King didn't seem to take much control of the Vigilantes. Mostly leaving them to their own devices. On one hand, Aram could work with that. But on the other, he prefer to have someone cover him while he made his transmutation circles. Having someone assigned to it rather than having a loose agreement was much more reliable. But he supposed he could work with how things were.

King presented the group with an object he called...the "Bing Bong sword". An..odd name. But nonetheless, it seemed important. He handed it to the boy they called "Brutus", who took it in his hands, seemingly hesitant. Aram would have to take that later. He could probably use it more efficiently.

King left them with little information, besides the fact that they had to succeed at this assignment to join the tournaments. Aram had never been in a tournament, and to be honest, was a little excited to do so. So he'd try to do his best on this mission.

Brutus seemed to be the first of his peers to take initiative, strapping the Claymore to his back, and began running towards their destination. Aram decided it to be lucrative to follow suit, and walked from his pew to the front of the building, where he drew a wooden plate from the messenger bag at his hip, splaying it out in front of him. He focused on the plate of wood, specifically on the intricately designed circle affixed to it in a red paint. His hands began to glow black, as well as the Transmutation circle upon the wood slate. The ground wavered beneath it as his outer coat disintegrated around him.

In a flash of black, a skateboard appeared over the wooden plate. Aram approached, putting his transmutation circle back into his bag as he stepped onto the skateboard, beginning his short journey to the haunted apartments.



He arrived shortly after he set out. Upon approaching the grounds of the building, he performed the same display as he had to get his ride here, his outer coat returning to his body. He spotted Brutus up ahead, seemingly waiting for the rest of the Vigilantes.

"Hello Brutus!" he called out to him, as he started to approach the other boy. He didn't know much about Brutus. He didn't seem quite as social as himself. Perhaps they could become friends? Aram was always open to it.

---

@6slyboy6

As soon as he got back after informing each group Katherine went into a (somewhat deservedly) tirade. Casssius did not say anything, choosing to slowly nod after her final sentence. He sauntered right behind the fiery girl, who looked more excited than he did. Indeed, the aura inside the building was worst than the outside as expected. Noises creaked around them, sounds impossible for a lone house to make. Rotting furniture were overturned, tables missing one or two legs, disjointed paintings were everywhere. It resembled an out of place horror movie.

"Yeah." he agreed with Katherine, he swiped his index finger on a dusty painting, "Well, we best be careful. There'll likely be imps here aswell." In the very next moment Katherine's curiosity for the place turned into excitement, her fist pumping in the air, ready to punch unfortunate otherworldly beings. Cassius almost felt sorry for the ghosts, her strength and powers were no joke. Her laugh echoing throughout the rooms nailed this feelings to the ground. Hopefully the other groups didn't mistake that for a ghost.

"Aaaaanyways... say Cass, didn't you forget to tell everyone BUT me where they are going. How are we ever gonna beat the ectoplasmic crap out of ghosts if I don't know where to go?"

"Oh right." Cass replied, "My fault. We are to take on the North Western section, if you don't mind."

---

The door creaked open, and Cassius spotted three imps in the corner, with two of them laying on the floor while the other seemed to take guard. Luckily they had not noticed the duo,

"Do you want to take this one, or shall I?"

He had taken the front... off the two that is. He was constantly looking about to make sure nothing would sneak up on them. Activating his thermal vision for a brief moment Before turning it off. He wanted to say something to her, but what would he say? They were alone in a old building which she likely found creepy and horrible. Not the best romantic situation.

Then it happened. She spoke to him. Not only that she addressed him by first name and gave a smile that sent shivers down his spine. Good shivers.

"U-understood!" Andreim opened the door and then stepped inside swiftly, spotting four imps in the room as he entered and they saw him aswell.

I will not let these things harm her. I definitely will not.


He began to manifest his water powers around his feet quickly, it began to take the form of a swirling vortex under his feet and gather a smaller one in his hand. From the smaller one he would let go of several spinning slices, the size of large pankakes which spun towards two of the imps, using his free hand he altered the temperature of the area around the two saw-blade like projectiles which then turned into ice and sliced their way through the imps. One fell to the ground in two and the other had half of it's form nailed to the wall. The remaining two imps made their way towards him and got up close. "Goodbye."

Andreim raised the water from his feet up to the ceiling, catching the two imps approaching in the water, before he turned it into ice aswell. Creating a wall of ice with the imps frozen inside of it Before him. "Not very imp...ressive."

He ceased using his water and cold Powers, looking at the imps sealed into the ice Before placing his hands against the ice and attuned to heat in a cone before him, causing the wall to crumble into pieces along with the imps inside of it.

"I'll protect you-" He began to say in a hushed voice, realizing soon after he said it out loud. "Ah.. uh.. I mean it's the natural thing to do." Damn. She was partly making him lose concentration. She was dangerous to have around him right now, he couldn't get her out of his head.

He pondered for a moment. He had to say something to lead attention away from him and back to herself. What to do? He could say something about her nice Eyes but it would seem like such a cliché. No he had to refrain from complimenting her undeniable beauty and more compliment her good judgement and chosing.

"You have a nice skirt." He said in a cool and calculated manner, with a soft smile on his lips with his eyes closed briefly. What did I just say? You idiot! She's going to think you are looking at her legs or worse. He was screaming in his head and then opened his eyes to look at her reaction. With a slight blush on his face which he couldn't feel himself but he did feel dumb.

It was so uncharacteristic of him. He wasn't like this with anyone else around, but this girl was throwing him off his feet and making his brain do cartwheels. What did she have that he admired so much? What was it? He wanted to know. Why had she wounded him so greatly.

---

TAGS: @Bartimaeus

---

Cyan had to take two steps for each of Samoth's one, but he managed to keep up. The passed through the lobby into the equally, if not seemingly more decrepit, hallway of the northeastern section. The apartment doors were evenly spaced in a zigzag pattern. Three meters, apartment on the left, three meters, apartment on the right, three meters, apartment on the left, and so on. Across the hall from most of the doors were electric wall lamps, though some had lamps on poles connected to the ground. Of all the lamps in the hallways, all but one were entirely dysfunctional, and the one that worked was dim. Cyan wondered why it worked at all, who was paying for that? The pattern-less carpet was worn, torn, and dirty, with parts peeled back revealing a tile floor beneath.

Samoth walked up to the first door and after trying the door to find it was either locked or just stuck, he smashed it open with his boot. Cyan, assuming he could probably handle whatever was in there and if he couldn't, he could just call out, moved on to the next door. This one was missing a doorknob entirely, just having a hole on the right side. Cyan knelt down to peak inside, when he heard and loud clatter and a grunt from Samoth.

"Are you alright?" Cyan called in a worried voice, jumping to his feet and beginning to dash back to where he left Samoth. He was interrupted by a sharp pain emanating from the back of his head, and he vanished as he fell forward. Something had caused the lamp from across the hall to fall over and slam into Cyan's skull, to which he reacted instinctively by turning invisible.

After crumpling to the floor, Cyan whipped his head around to try and see what just hit him, and gasped in surprise and momentary fear at the horrific creature. Behind him was a tall, semitransparent white humanoid with sunken cheeks and dark holes instead of eyes. Instead of a nose, it had lose flaps as if the cartilage had been removed but pieces of skin remained. Its crooked mouth gaped wide open, as if one of the joints in its jaw had snapped leaving the jaw hanging to one side. Its hands were large, especially the fingers, and looked to be missing any resemblance of ectoplasmic flesh. Wrapped loosely around its body and arms were strips of "cloth" that floated slightly, as if submerged in water.

Cyan froze in place on the floor as the ghost began glancing around wildly for where he went. He'd heard about ghosts, but stories couldn't prepare anyone for their true monstrosity. Eventually the ghost stilled, appearing to be listening. Then it started moving slowly in the boy's general direction. Cyan began to panic and did the first thing that popped into his mind.
'Heads: I can punch ghosts, Tails: Ghosts can punch me.'

Materializing on his right thumb was a thin disk made of glass, clear but with a white design inside. One side showed a smiling face, the other a frowning face. Immediately when Cyan felt the weight on his fist, he flicked the coin upward, but moved his fist upward and caught it before it even began to fall. After slamming it onto his left arm, he pulled his hand back.

---

---

---

As the door creaked open, it revealed a rotten room behind it, in the same rundown state as the whole building. Kath quickly spotted the same thing as cass: imps! Punching them isn't quite the same as beating the crap out of an incorporeal being, but they'll do. Kath readied her arms and focused on the foes ahead.

"Do you want to take this one, or shall I?" She turned towards Cass and smiled as she nod in excitement. "Don't mind if I do.".

She readied herself, cracking her neck and fingers and shifting her weight around to allow for a quick start. She closed her eyes as she focused on the deep, inner heat inside her that was always boiling. When she opened them they were glowing with a vivid yellow color. She lightly punched her fists together two times and raised them in front of her body. In a matter of seconds it seemed like the whole attitude of Kath had changed drastically. An ominous aura emerged from her and heat eminated from her body, causing the air around her to vibrate playfully. She set her eyes on the imps ahead, and then winked at Cassius before launching off in a burst of flame and heat.

It took her only two steps to cross the gap between her and the guard, her pace begging for jumps to accomplish such speed. The creature must've heard her, and turned around just in time for it's jaw to say hello to Kath's flying knee. She felt the breaking of bones, and the imp flew across the room in an arc and made a loud sound as it landed on a rotten wooden table that fell apart under it. Once it landed, it didn't move anymore. Kath on the other hand turned on her heels, fueled by the momentum of the kick and was now facing the two imps on the ground. They had woken up to the sound of the crashing table and began to scan around the room with hazy eyes. However it was too late, and they had spotted Kath towering above their small bodies too late. She picked up by their throats and began to slowly apply pressure and heat to her hands. "Wakey wakey! There's no rest for the wicked!" The imps struggled and scratched her arms, but their efforts were futile: once Kath got a hold of them, she didn't plan on letting them go until they stopped moving.

In a few seconds, Kath's hands were scorching hot, and the room was beggining to fill up with the smell of burnt imp meat and the agonizing screams of the creatures. They know they were done for but even now, in the hands of death herself, they refused to go out without resistance. Kath turned to Cass, and held up the two imps for her buddy to clearly see. "Care to join me Cass? I've got a pair of perfectly fine punching bags here that I'd hate to waste." Terror gleamed in the eyes of the imps as they felt the increasing heat surging through their bodies. Kath laughed as they tried to struggle free of her grasp, but she ended up giving them a swift death by snapping thier necks. "Hardly foes. I'll free you of your earthly bounds. Maybe you'll pose more of a challenge in the afterlife." The light flickered in her eyes, and she threw the imps across the room for them to land on their comrad.

Kath walked up to the three dead Imps, her skin gathering drops of water as she began to cool down. They were lying in a pile of broken furniture, which gave and excellent idea to Kath. "Say Cass, should we give them an appropriate funeral? Send them back to the blazing inferno they came from?" She picked up a broken chair leg and heated up her palm to set it on fire. She turned her head to Cass, her eyes still faintly glowing yellow, expecting a quick response.

---

@Inertia

Lise studied the actions of her partner intently, as he dispatched the imps within the room. Luckily, he didn't protest about going first first - though, why would he? He's clearly some type of gentleman.

Lise raised an eyebrow at his attacks. Though to her, they seemed rather brutish, they were indeed effective. Although these opponents were so below them that they might as well be worms underground, it was still no time for playing around. She eyed Andreim as he finished the remaining two imps off.

"Ah.. uh.. I mean it's the natural thing to do." Andreim stammered. Lise thought she had heard something before that, but he murmured it too low for her to pick up. Lise wasn't exactly sure how to respond. There was a brief silence, before Andreim started again. "You have a nice skirt." Lise was caught off guard by that. She wasn't too sure what passed for in-vogue fashion in this city, but she did remember that she looked distinctly out of place with her original Victorian attire. She absentmindedly touched the fabric of her past-knee-length skirt, remembering how she stumbled around a modern clothes store until she found a few outfits that would blend in better.

But this man was clearly in-the-know about fashion, if he would go out of his way to compliment specific parts of her outfit. "Do you think so? I admit that I usually leave my clothing selection to my servants, but here in the city it seems that dressing yourself is popular." Lise did a twirl, giving a 360 degree view of her outfit to her partner. "It relieves me that you think so. Lots of the other girls at this school seem to adopt skirts that are far too short to be considered proper. Perhaps my clothing will be a beacon of decency to others." She returned a confident smile to Andreim as her hair and skirt settled from her impromptu twirl.

---

As Samoth neared the threshold of the room in which he had just dispatched the two beings, he heard a clatter of metal, accompanied by breaking glass.
He hurriedly stepped into the dusty hall, immediately looking to his left, towards the rest of the rooms in their section. He didn't see Cyan, nor any open doors. But what he did see was a ghostly being standing in the hall. Briefly, it seemed like it was looking for something, and started heading towards the middle of the hall.
"Cyan! Where did you go?" He called, in a hushed tone. The creatures on these grounds weren't very much of a threat, but if they got swarmed, it could be a problem.

The ghost turned its ugly gaze towards him, giving up its old target for a new one. It started moving towards Samoth, armed with the broken lamp. However, it didn't get far before its side buckled inward and it was forced to the side of the hall. It glanced back in surprise, only to get its head thrust back as it took a strike to the forehead. A deep, quiet growl came from somewhere within its throat. It was mad. Not knowing what was attacking it, but knowing where the attacks were coming from, it swung the pole in a sideways arc. However, the pole was stopped mid-swing, and the ghost took another punch to the gut. Deciding the best course of action was to flee, it dropped the lampost and floated backward through the wall, disappearing from sight.

"Here." Cyan said, breathing heavily. He appeared back into view as he turned to face Samoth. "I can punch ghosts, but it they still hold together pretty well. I was hoping it would be like punching pillows, but it's more like punching taffy I think."

Samoth watched as the ghost was seemingly pummeled by nothing.
"Next time, tell me when you're gonna do something like that. Thought one of em had got you for a second...but good job."
It made him feel slightly more relaxed to know he could at least turn his back to Cyan for a second, without him getting hurt by one of these gheists. He nodded, seemingly to himself, and turned his attention towards the next door.

One of them almost did get me for a second,' Cyan thought, but was too busy trying to calm his breathing and adrenaline to say aloud. While the younger boy took a quick rest, Samoth stepped towards the room missing a doorknob, putting his hand on the aged wood and pushing it open. It looked empty. But so had the last one, when those two things rushed him from the dark.
This room, however, was more lit. He stuck his head past the door checking behind it. Nothing. He focused his mind, searching the room thoroughly for anything that might be hiding under the bed, or behind the curtains. Nothing in this room.

He retreated from the room, moving to the one across the hall. He threw the door open, and stepped into the old room. His heavy boot caught on the rug, and he fell to the floor, instinctively putting up his arms to protect his face. "Oof!" he coughed. He heard the ruffling of movement in the room, and scrambled to his feet. Three sleeping imps did the same.

Samoth summoned an invisible hand axe to his aide, while simultaneously sending a psychic bolt at the closest Imp. Being as they were quite small, and pretty fragile, it knocked down the imp, and it lay still. The other two approaching him quicky, one with a nicked dagger and the other with a switchblade, Samoth stepped furher into the room, throwing the axe with force at the closest one. It crumpled from the pain as its ally reached within Samoth's reach.
Flailing to stab him with the knife, the Imp was met by a palm to the forehead, as the human's limbs were much longer. It then felt a swift chop strike the wrist of the knife-hand, and then was thrown and forcefully punched against the wall.

Samoth collected the bodies, silencing the one that was still conscious, and threw them in a nearby closet. He turned to the hall, and stepped out of the room.

In the mean time, Cyan had skipped a few doors ahead, and so, luckily for Samoth, had not seen his blunder. Staying close to the wall, he checked the knob. Locked of course.
'It's a good thing the wood is so old, otherwise getting into these rooms could be a real pain,' he thought, and used his elbow to crunch a small hole above the latch. After peaking in to check if the coast was clear, he reach his arm through the hole and unlocked the door from the inside, and opened it. A quick look around the small, grungy apartment proved it to be empty of any ghosts or imps, but he did find a picture frame on the dresser. It was quite faded, but Cyan could make out a middleaged woman and an older man standing in a forest of very large trees. They were wearing backpacks, and the man was holding his walking stick high in the air with one hand like he was cheering.

'If this photo is still here, then whoever lived here probably didn't move out. I wonder what happened.' The student thought, holding the picture and looking at it. He hoped they weren't one of the ghosts that stayed here now, but it did bring up the question. What did happen to this apartment building, and more importantly, what happened to the people inside?

---

Andreim

He was expecting her to label him a pervert or toss something at him. But it never happened, she was actually asking him if he truly thought it was a nice skirt. Andreim was no expert at skirts, but that one suited her well. She had a different clothing taste than most people, though he was certain no matter what she actually would wear she would still look good.

"Yes, I think it looks- stunning..." He said as he was following her spin with his both eyes, seeing how the skirt lifted slightly as she spun around he swallowed. "Uh.. you are not like any of the other girls though, Lady Valois-Saint-Remy. You are truly a beacon."

A magnificent beacon which has drawn me to you, no matter if you had a long or short skirt. He thought to himself as he watched her smile and politely offered one of his own.

He took a brief moment to think of her words. "How short is too short anyhow? Having servants dressing you usually huh?"

He spoke out loud not thinking of what he was actually saying as he loudly pondered. He briefly visualized Lise getting dressed and quickly began to shake his head as he was getting lost in thought. "Ahh? Erhm. Oh nevermind!" He offered a soft bow to Lise.

---

Cassius always had great hearing, his ears twitched uncomfortably at the sound of bones cracking under the pressure of Katherine’s heavy knee, even if his bones did frequently disjoint due to the nature of his powers. He silently wished he could say that he had gotten used to witnessing her ‘berserker mode’, but he promised his mother that he would never lie. A small side of him began to empathize at their unfortunate demise, he wouldn’t wish this on his worst enemy.

”Wakey wakey! There’s no rest for the wicked!”

She now had a chokehold on the unsuspecting imps, he could feel the room’s temperature going up, and soon after the faint smell of burnt demon began to invade his nose. We’re not the bad guys are we? he thought to himself, a small bead of sweat going down his temple as he witnessed the imps whose necks began to char under the heat. Fear was encapsulated in their eyes, as if they were looking at the very demon who had created them. Soon after she threw the limp bodies at the first demon she had disposed of. Ruthlessly efficient with a dash of sadism was what Cassius could describe her.

”Say Cass,” Katherine called out, snapping him out of his thoughts, ”Should we give them an appropriate funeral? Send them back to the blazing inferno they came from?”

”Ah.” he mumbled, shifting uncomfortably from his position to the bodies, ”Sure.” They were dead, and leaving the bodies sprawled across the floors like that is in bad taste. Cassius snapped his right hand, a cacophony of cracks, and bangs streamed between him and the bodies, he could also felt Katherine’s powers supplementing his own. Soon a ring of explosions surrounded the bodies, and after the smoke cleared there was nothing short of fiery ash.

---

”You know it was probably a bad idea to have a team who don’t have any way to ‘punch’ the ghosts.” Cassius said, after they had cleared their third room. Kath stopped in the doorway and glanced back at Cassius. “Tell em that after they taste my right and left hook on their incorporeal kissers.” She started jabbing the air, and wouldn’t stop doing so until they arrived to the next room.

Luckily they had managed to not meetup with any incorporeal beings yet. The next room had two imps on the opposite sides of the room, seemingly on guard as they had heard the ruckus caused by Katherine’s rampage. ”Wait, I’ll take this one” he said, still feeling a tinge of guilt from Katherine’s ruthless execution. Kath bowed before him playfully, and extended her arms in a motion to allow Cassius to go first. “But of course. Show me what you got Mr Inferno.”

Cassius who was just peeking behind the door disappeared from sight. Using his momentum and with an explosion behind his elbow supplementing his arms’ acceleration, his punch slammed the creature into the floor. The floorboards cracked under the pressure of his punch. The hardiness of imps were to be admired, it writhed weakly. It was a fruitless effort as the weight of his arm didn’t allow the imp to move an inch. An explosion cracked under the hand pinning the creature. It’s arms scratched at Cassius’ arm before falling limp.

Even if the ordeal only took a few seconds, a ball of flame flew towards him hitting his back. He didn’t react, the flame was weak compared to Katherine’s and the recoil of powers. Two explosions cracked at his feet, though this time his aim was off and due to the momentum he embedded himself into the wall. Planks and debris flew in all directions. Damn, missed the trajectory by a needle, he thought to himself vexed, his back rest on the broken wall. The imp watched the hole he had made, and cackled in an otherworldly tone, laughing at Cassius’ near-miss. In the background he could hear the laughing of Kath mixing with that of the imp. Another line of explosions originated from the wall, it’s intensity wringing strongly than before. The Imp quickly fell to the floor.

”I need to train a little more.” he muttered annoyingly as he dusted off his school blazer, and black pants. He came out injured, and unscathed, with the only damage he sustained was one to his ego. Kath rolled her eyes in the background, knowing that it is exactly what she has been telling him to do for weeks now.

After a few more moments he gathered both the bodies and placed them side by side, ”Well, shall we?”

Kath walked up to the pile of bodies that Cassius has made and stopped beside him. “Pfft man, you’re a show off.” She punched Cassius in the arm gently and giggled. “Yeah, time to clear up this mess and head out.”

---

With the sound of playfully crackling fire behind them, the firebuddies left the last of the rooms on the floor. They had finished clearing the North Western section, and they had both confirmed that St. Laurel’s missing students were not on the first floor, only a couple groups of imps and ghosts they had avoided.

Arriving at the staircase, he plop his rear on the decrepit wood, and rest his back onto the wall adjacent of the stairs. ”First one here then?”

Katherine walked up to the stairs and dropped down on them next to Cassius. Her skin cooled and small drops of water began forming on it once more, glimmering faintly in the ill-litten hallway. She let out a deep sigh that reverberated the air in front of her face and stretched her legs out. “Yeah, sure seems so. Nobody can keep up with the firebuddies.” She turned over to Cassius, and offered her hand for a fistbump.

”Hah.” he replied, he returned her fistbump, ”Well we shouldn’t have gone so fast, it’ll be slightly boring to wait.” Kath nod beside him, her glowing eyes scanning the abandoned building. “Yeah, that it’ll be.”

With Clara's aid, Gilliam ported into the second floor. They had discussed their plans, and Gilliam would be searching for the lost students. In preparation for this mission, Gilliam had altered his shape. He now wore a large black opera cloak. He was a lot taller than he normally was, now about eight feet, and the cloak covered his entire body.

"I smell them." Gilliam said, sniffing. He had also enhanced his sense of smell so that he could track their quarry. "But we're not alone. Someone else is here. Probably from St. Laurel's." His nose was very effective.



"We're splitting into two teams, correct?" He said, crouching down, proboscis trailing on the floor like some sort of vacuum cleaner as he followed the scent.

@KillamriX88 @Taytay @Dezuel @Gentlemanvaultboy @Hammerman

Samoth walked down the hall, towards the last room, which door was open. He peeked in to see Cyan looking at a photo, presumably of the former residents.
"Come, Cyan. We're done here. Every room is clear." he said behind the younger boy. He started his slow stroll down the hall, waiting for Cyan to catch up. He looked town at his coat, which was filthy. There was dust all over it, a few cob webs clinging to it as well, accompanied by specks of imp blood.

This is too easy he thought. We didn't need six people for this. But..there has to be a reason those students went missing. We'll have to stay on our toes, despite how nonthreatening the residents here seem so far.

He would walk with Cyan to their established meeting place at the stairs, and wait for anyone who had yet to arrive.


Samoth and Cyan arrived at the stairs, appearing to be second in their arrival, only to the Fireteam.

"Cassius." he nodded, glancing at the other student.
Samoth leaned against a wall nearby the stairs, looking over to Katherine."Hello, Katherine. I trust that you two didn't get into any trouble while I was gone?" he said, eyeing her. She was...wet.
"Why do you choose to waste so much energy on such insignificant beings? You're even persperating.." he said, pondering the thought himself. He found it unnecessary to expend so much effort if it wasn't needed.

Lise let out a light laugh. "Indeed. I plan on raising the bar around this place, after all." She knew full and well that Laurels could do for some improvement, considering the defeat that the leader had suffered not too long ago.

"How short is too short anyhow? Having servants dressing you usually huh?" Andreim spoke out again. "Ahh? Erhm. Oh nevermind!" He bowed respectfully.

Lise cocked her head, thinking. "I personally believe that anything higher than the knees is too short. Like my tutor once said, 'Ladies require all the protection they can get.' And as for servants dressing me... Well, it was more necessary when I was wearing more intricate clothing. With typical afternoon manor wear, there are many pieces that have to be put on, in a specific order... If there is any benefit to these modern clothes-" she adjusted the sleeves of her blouse, "They are much more easy to wear."

Lise strode confidently to the next door, the form of a shadow butler appearing to her side. "You've proven yourself capable, Andreim, so I will allow you to witness my powers firsthand. Serviteur, en avant!" With a flourish, Lise waves the shadow through. The servant nodded, and burst through the door.

Lise was expecting the sound of fighting, maybe crashing against furniture, some splintering of wood. After several seconds of silence, her expression soured slightly and she turned to look into the room. Though the room was gross, there were no enemies in it at all. "I-I see that my reputation precedes me. Those cowardly imps must have fled upon the sound of my voice." She stammered, slightly embarrassed at the anticlimax.

Striding into the next room and summoning a shadow maid, and nodding to her, Lise prepared once again by clearing her throat. "Now, we shall slay any unsightly beasts in this next room!" she shouted, as the maid kicked the door open.

The door opened at the end of a hallway, next to the stairs, where Lise now could see her other Laurels teammates - Samoth, Cyan, Cassius, and Katherine. As Lise surveyed the situation, the shadow maid deemed the situation clear, and returned to Lise's shadow. "...Ahem. It seems that this room, too, is clear. Hello, teammates." Lise meekly said, trying to keep her composure for dynamically entering rooms without enemies in it twice in a row.

The door, smashed thoroughly by the shadow maid, creaked off of its hinges and fell to the ground in two pieces.