---

Jules received the best news he could have gotten, and was taken aback in the best way possible. Surprised by the mention of the rift, his eyes switched between the woman and the man, then to his coworker, who noted the situation by giving him a sly thumbs up and finger guns motion almost on cue before going back to the receptionist's counter.

It seemed that his vacation would only become ever more interesting with each passing moment. First with the promise of skiing, then with the surprising amount of people, and most recently with learning the promise of a rift.

"No, mon ami, I'm here on vacation- I didn't know there was a rift nearby until you said so." Jules said, standing up and turning to face the duo on the couch, almost tripping and falling over himself in apparent excitement. "Everyone here- they're here for the rift? Even you?"

He paused to fiddle with the drawstrings of his coat and listen to Soraya. "I came for the skiing too, maybe we'll see one another on the slopes-" He said, watching as the woman excused herself and went elsewhere- not to far, but elsewhere. "See you on the slopes, then!"

Jules turned back to face Marxion and continued speaking. "Do you plan on going into the rift? Do you have a team if you plan on going in? Do you have an attribute?" He asked. "I was on vacation, but now I'm going into the rift. Do you want to team up? Looks like some of the others have done that, so why shouldn't we?"

"Huh. That's pretty neat." Xu Jian wasn't really the most talkative to Charlotte. Not out of being anti-social or anything of that sort. No, she was just worried about stepping on a landmine. Incidentally, Xu Jian made a note to not bring up landmines. Her mother may had given birth on one and that would explain the legs.

While everyone had introduced themselves, Xu Jian had her priorities in order. Albrecht had said that he'd cover the bill. That meant it was free food. 100% free, no strings attached. The prospect of free food was, of course, amazing for the debt-addled woman. With an unknown sense of power, she slammed back more food in the three introductions than most could eat in a single meal. She eviscerated kebabs with the force of an entire army. No wooden skewer could protect their contents from the gaping maw that was Xu Jian's mouth. Buuz and khuushuur were practically tossed into a black hole. Every single khorkhog that she had grabbed had practically vanished the second it was moved. She only stopped eating to swallow it all down with a big glass of kashk that had been mixed with enough water to turn it into a smoothie.

"Muh nem ish Shu In" she introduced herself, her mouth absolutely full of enough food to feed an army, "an eh haff een enkering onions er a ew ears now." She swallowed, making her introduction actually listenable. "I can control metal and stuff. Make a bit of it too, but not anything too fancy. Doesn't work on magical shit, so don't expect me to instantly destroy something like a golem. Where do you all stand on finishing stuffing ourselves, waking up early, and entering the rift first thing when the sun comes up?"

Now the desserts had started arriving, the oldest of the group was digging in with wild abandon, thinking about the best way to put it and whether it was important they really knew. Almost certainly; sharing operational information was a high priority, and it would avoid misunderstandings later. "Charlotte Hughes, Attribute: Immortality. It only extends to my body, but it covers anything that I see as part of my body, so don't worry if I get hurt or something, I'll heal up soon enough.

"And yes, me and the eggheads are sure it's immortality, not some super-healing. I was a bit careless in testing it out, and it's pretty universal. So long as I don't get stuck I'll walk it off." she continued, pushing away an empty plate of cake and starting in on ice-cream. "Aside from that, I just have my strength and a massive sword. Got some guns and a knife if we need to go in somewhere more confined."

There, that ought to cover it.

---

A blond twink, another blond who wasn't, a formally-dressed man occupied with two men, and a rich-looking, black-haired woman. She eyed the first one she looked at for a small moment before blankly staring at the ground. It was hard to deny that all four of them looked out of place from one another, as if they all came from different sides of life.

Their contrast was what kept her attention to them, but only her attention. She showed nothing else.

"Excuse moi. If you have nothing better to do, then you should help me, oui?"

What she thought about using as time to silently wait and mull about idly came to an abrupt halt when the voice of the dark-haired woman called to her. Reese slowly glanced at the woman. For the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost must've decided to combine everything Reese dreaded in a person and mixed them together like a goddamn health drink. The looks, the voice, and-

...

Not everything, maybe, because the woman didn't start off calling out how filthy Reese looked or some random condescending shit.

Maybe that was for later.

Great. She could already hear the iron pipe scraping against the depths of her mind's walls. I can already tell this one's something else.

But who was she to say anything? The woman looked like she could buy a car for the sole purpose of throwing it away. Reese herself looked like she came right out of a firefight in Detroit. She doubted they'd meet more than one occasion, though, so she pushed the thought of ignoring the woman.

Reese responded in a deadbeat tone, "No more than a minute." She silently hoped to whatever God that pretended to exist that this woman would not pull a 360 on her and ask if they wanted to be friends.

---

@Lugubrious@Rune_Alchemist@TheFake@SquishStar45

---

Soraya's less-than-courteous observations evoked a scoff from Marxion, who rolled his eyes at her snobbery. Then, as suddenly as she'd come, she was gone. Pretty unphased, he watched her go and begin to bother some random, irritable-looking chick. The look on her face as Soraya approached filled Marxion with sympathy; she seemed to tired and fed up to be disgusted and insulted. Not everyone could fly in on some luxury jet with beds, after all. He heard clearly as the spoiled princess demanded the stranger's help and couldn't help laughing softly in disbelief.

After a moment he leaned over to Jules, shrugged, and told him, “Women, eh?” Then, he leaned back and stretched over the area Soraya left behind, as though to say 'more space for me.' Jules, however, didn't give him any time to relax. “Yeh, I'm here for this rift...” Marxion began, only to be inundated by his new acquaintance's questions. One after another struck him, far too quickly for any to garner a response, until the young man stopped to catch his breath. “Easy there, mate,” the brawler chuckled. “You'll wear yourself runnin' your mouth like that. But um, sure, Defo goin' in. No team though. Wouldn't mind someone watchin' me back, that's for sure. Now, attributes, heh...”

Marxion leaned in again, this time close enough for confidentiality. He spread his fingers wide, as if signifying grand scope. “Do I ever! Check this out, mate.” Grinning, he slapped Jules on the shoulder, sat up, and without a moments hesitation lifted a leg and planted a foot against the ornate glass vase atop the coffee table before him. It sailed over the floor, careened into the ground, and shattered loudly enough to draw eyes from all over the room. When they looked, however, they say nothing out of the ordinary at all; the vase stood on the table, perfectly normal and in one piece, while Marxion stared off innocently into space.

After a few moments, and the various more-or-less confused onlookers put the event out of their mind, Marxion's face broke out into a smile again. “Pretty sick, ain't it? The name's Marxion. If we're gonna be diving together, we oughta get familiar.” He reached out a hand for Jules to shake.

@Lugubrious@SquishStar45@Anonawrimo

---

"Only a minute?" Soraya replied coolly, seemingly somewhat curious or perhaps disappointed. "Hmm...were you perhaps standing around just to look pretty, then?" She didn't seem to understand people just sat around idly for no reason and it was difficult to tell if she was being sarcastic or she meant what she said, but before she could reply there was a commotion with the two she was just sitting at. Something loud that sounded like the shattering of a vase met her ears. Yet when she looked, nothing was out of the ordinary at all.

"Some men lack all sense of class...mhm, well, anyways." She smiled faintly, voice still that neutral even tone. "I am Soraya Labelle...and since I assume you are also here to explore the supposed rift, that makes us partners now." Perhaps Reese would be regretting her decision on giving Soraya attention.

---

Despite her earlier excitement in meeting Daichi, Katie found herself somewhat at a lost for words once she finally met the other two members of their team. She blinked nervously, hoping she didn’t come across as too shy or desperate. Though thankfully the others did well in speaking in her place and the conversation carried on naturally after she shook Kirk’s hand.

The mammoth of a man spoke about the best foods to be offered on the menu and sung high praises of the restaurant. And to be honest, Katie couldn’t blame him. Despite having already eaten, the smells that permeated the tiny restaurant were enough to make her stomach growl anew all over again. During Kirk’s descriptions, she found herself staring at the menu between him and Daichi…

At least until Kay mentioned the reason they were all here. That had Katie’s attention snapped back to the matter at hand with some of the nervousness shaking off her form. “Yeah, if reporters followed us through the new Rift, that’d cause more problems for us to deal with. It’s better to let the professionals handle it before the public,” she said, grinning and pointing her thumb at her chest. It was meant to indicate that they were the professionals, in case no one caught the message.

Regardless, she perked up some more once Lizzie’s presence was mentioned; or lack of it. “Oh, actually, I have Lizz-er, Elise’s number. I can call her up to see what’s taking her so long.” Careful not to accidentally crackle her phone with her Attribute and risk embarrassing herself in front of everyone, Katie flipped out her mobile and dialed up Lizzie’s number. Hopefully the other girl wasn’t in trouble. “We briefly met a while back before this mission,” Katie quickly explained in case anyone wondered how she knew the missing girl.

---

---

Marxion's demonstration caught Jules off guard, but amazed him more than it puzzled him. "It's like an instant rewind button?" Jules asked as he shook Marxion's hand. "My name's Jules. Pleasure to meet you, Marxion."

Jules took a moment to find the words he would use to explain his attribute- it wasn't something he could easily show. "I guess you could say I'm a professional at watching people's backs," he said in an awkwardly prideful way, shaking it off afterwards "I can heal people and make them stronger, their attributes included-- Ah, example!"

He scanned the room to look for his coworker and traveling companion, but she was nowhere in sight. "One of my coworkers, she was here earlier- she has an ice attribute; she can freeze things- but it takes time. When I strengthened her attribute in a rift once, she made a blizzard in an instant- Ah, I wish I could show you, but that's an example of what it can do." Jules said. "I don't know what it would do to your attribute, but I can make you stronger if you like to hit things, or make it so you last longer in combat, if that's your thing- I'm mainly used to strengthening offensive and flashy attributes."

Metal element and axe attribute to augment the fact that Alice and Charlotte were both bruisers with guns and an assortment of other stuff, hm? It was only slightly worrying that Paul was new to the whole rift-diving business, but hey, Albrecht trusted his instincts, and his instincts told him that this was going to be fine. He mentally filed all these nuggets of knowledge in the back of his mind, before nodding once more.

“Rift’s not going to go anywhere, yeah. Let’s just enjoy ourselves, take it easy, and sleep off the jet lag, alright?” A pause, and then a grin in the direction of Xu Jian. “Try not to give yourself a stomachache before this.”

Well, the good thing about this party was that, if Alice was as proficient as described, they’d all be fine even if everyone walked into this with terrible indigestion and nausea. With that in mind, Albrecht decided to indulge as well, ordering another platter of spiced lamb.

---

Morning came early on the plains, and they were ready to go before the sun had fully risen, Albrecht having already made arrangements for a chaffeur to bring them over to the site of the rift. Riding easily down the endless tracts of flat roads that made up much of Mongolia’s landscape, Albrecht spent much of the two hour drive offering snacks to the others or simply enjoying the breeze. And of course, what sort of road trip would it be if they didn’t sing along to an endlessly looping song? That was fun too, even if not everyone in the group was fully down for it.

Eventually, they reached the base of Bogd Khan Mountain, blue skies and a bright sun lighting up the green peaks of the sacred mountain. Albrecht had to jump through more than just a few bureaucratic hoops to get permission to head into a rift here, but few problems could not be solved with money and connections, and as the truck grinded to a halt, he hopped off first, opening the back trunk to reveal all the preparations he made.

Body armor, gas masks, utility belts filled with a variety of tools and kits, accompanied by an assortment of self-defense weapons, from stun batons to bear spray. If the party had been composed of more military-types than just Charlotte, the scion of the Dietrich Conglomerate would have doubtlessly provided a full rack of firearms and ammunition as well, but, alas, he had some common sense at least in not freely giving dangerous weapons to unlicensed explorers.

Then again, those machetes looked mighty fierce.

“Well then, take what you’re comfortable with and let’s hop in. Heard from some of the initial explorers that this is going to be a cemetery sorta area, so dress accordingly, aight?”

The grin came easily, Albrecht’s tone consistently light.

“And if any of you need to make a last pit stop ‘fore we walk in, waste-containment bags are in the far back. Remember, keyword here’s ‘nothing’s left behind’.”

---

It didn't take long, perhaps not even ten minutes, for Lizzie to arrive after Katie finished her call. She walked into the restaurant quietly and joined the table of her soon to be partners, setting a heavy-duty looking duffel bag on the floor beside her.

"Apologies for the lateness. I had to make a detour when my contractor asked me to pick some gear on a military base instead of delivering it directly to me," she said, looking down at her bag. By the sound, and apparent weight, Lizzie probably had at least one long gun—most likely a carbine given the bag's size—in there along with other assorted military hardware.

"I was told that you were waiting for me. If that's the case, we can depart now. There's no need to worry about food either, I've had lunch already with some old acquaintances at the base."

---

"Only a minute? Hmm... were you perhaps standing around just to look pretty, then?"

Yes, Reese thought as she continued to stare at the woman. I thought you of all people would know how to do that.

Reese didn't glance at the shattering noise, though she'd be lying if she said she didn't hear it. As long as it wasn't directed at her, though, she always had the option to ignore it. Probably just some people louder than a dying elephant minding their own business. The last loudest thing she'd met was someone drunk out of their shoes in a bar, which was pretty impressive considering Rifts existed and all.

She did end up glancing at the smallest blond in the room, hearing only the word "healing." If that accounted for anything, that meant she could have more room risking her life. Reese didn't bother hearing the rest of his explanation.

Considering the woman's attitude, Reese doubted she'd ask for anything obliviously friendly. That was more than welcome, especially if doing her a small favor would get her off her-

"I am Soraya Labelle... and since I assume you are also here to explore the supposed rift, that makes us partners now."

One of Reese's fingers twitched.

On a second thought, this woman was designed to fuck with her. God fucking dammit, that Rift better get its shit together and open up soon.

Glancing at Soraya with more venom in her gaze, she looked up and down at her before averting her gaze to the other side of the room. Despite what she wanted to say, Reese had a gut feeling this bit- woman would make her life even worse if she didn't accept.

If anything would get her off her back, then so be it. For the time being, since she had no idea what the woman was capable of, she decided to play it safe.

"Only for this Rift, then," she ended up saying, her tone sharper than before. "But you and I are through after this."

---

@Lugubrious@TheFake@Rune_Alchemist@SquishStar45

In contrast to her dress the day before, Charlotte was now almost formally dressed, though the clothing seemed loose enough to not constrict her movement. Were it anyone else, there would be the concern about it getting caught--from the size of the enormous sword that she had brought with her, the idea that any clothing could catch in a way she wouldn't tear free from without thinking was quite implausible.

Sword aside, she had come prepared: a knife, as a knife was always a useful tool to have on hand even if she didn't need to stab someone with it, and she'd even pre-empted the lack of provided equipment and brought an assault rifle of her own accord. When your attribute didn't provide anything in the way of versatility, you had to compensate somehow--even if it was just making sure you could operate if the rift turned out to be pretty cramped.

"Now remember, everyone stay behind the unkillable metal wall, and if I lose my head, go find somewhere safe to hang out until I've got it back in place. And if you need to feed someone to a monster to get away, pick Albrecht; he's got the luxury lifestyle so he's bound to taste best," she said, grinning at their blond funder--and then walking into the rift.

Unlike Charlotte Paul had showed up wearing more casual clothes, in the form of blue jeans and a black long sleeved shirt, his metal bat strapped over his back and some bandages wrapped around his hands. When Albrecht revealed the armor, weapons and everything else he had at first no idea to pick. Remembering his issues with his ax though he quickly decided to keep his equipment low weight.

He quickly settled on a simple padded vest and pants, a knife and mapmaking supplies hoping his skills at reading them would at least help him in drawing up something semi-useful. Remembering what Albrecht had said he had also grabbed a gasmask but he hadn't put it on yet. He approached the others. "Well what do you think? Anything I should change?"

@ERode @VitaVitaAR @OwO

---

“Heh,” Marxion smirked, rubbing his chin in contemplation, as his new acquaintance tried to explain his attribute. How perfect was this? The kid could patch him up if he got hurt, and make his fistfighting even more potent? The two of them formed a perfect team. Anyone else would just be icing on top of the cake.. After glancing back over at Soraya, however, Marxion found himself having to amend that conclusion: most anyone else would be icing on top, but some would be a nasty crusting of improperly-mixed sugar around the edges. He didn't let the haughty snob put him off, though, and instead resumed trying to think of how Jules could enhance his own attribute. There wasn't a lot he could do in terms of strength, but...if he could, say, boost the range at which he could apply Save Points, that'd be something else. He'd be invincible. Unbeatable.

An idea occurred to him, rooted back in the recesses in his mind. Depending on how the kid did, he might be worth mentioning to the organization. While increased core membership wasn't on the table, adjunct members already existed. Jules' attribute could be useful indeed. However, Marxion shook his head and put the thought out of his mind. From what little he'd seen of Jules' character, good-natured and innocent, he deserved better than the organization.

“Well then mate,” he started, bringing himself from his thoughts back to reality. “Looks like we'll be a killer duo. The way I see it, the only way we'd ever go down is if someone took us both down at the same time in one hit. Otherwise, we'll come back from anythin'.” Two methods of restoration meant that neither would fall so long as the other remained conscious. It was an exciting prospect.

There came a noise from the far end of the resort's main hall. Marxion glanced over to discover the source of the commotion, and spotted a still image of a daytime forest on the section of wall above the grand fireplace, where no screen existed before. A quick glance confirmed the source of the feed to be a projector on the second floor balcony above the reception area, where a portly red-haired man stood managing the device. Every mouth fell silent and every neck in the room craned upward to watch as the video began to play.

The Prospector moved into frame, wearing a frumpy hat and looking a little worse for wear than he did on the ad that played the day before. Without hesitation he launched straightaway into speech. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the new frontier. By the time you see this, it will be half past the hour, with thirty minutes until the main event begins. But history isn't made by sticking to plans and schedules, and besides, even now masked men with guns close in on Skiafjell Peak to stake a claim of their own into the promised land for which they have waited—this one-of-a-kind, legendary Rift. But do not let your spirit of adventure falter. Behind the resort are three snowmobiles, ready and waiting. Hurry now, and follow the trail of marked trees. To the brave new world!”

Well before he finished speaking, Skiafjell Ski Resort was a bed of chaos.

---

Unrepentant when it came to barging past others and throwing his weight around, Marxion proved to be among the first few outside. Just as promised, three snowcats -not the smaller snowmobiles- with engines already started stood close together on the fresh powder. Marxion sprinted toward them along with the other frontrunners, an idea forming in his head. While he didn't have anything against the others, this was a competition first and foremost. There would be winners and losers, dust makers and dust eaters, and Marxion planned to get results. In front of him, the speediest members of the Metalhead and Tactical groups claimed one snowcat apiece for their whole units, with other loners hard-pressed to cram in or forced to take the third. Marxion visited each one of the opposing vehicles one after another, slapping a hand on each like a car salesman before climbing into the last snowcat. Once in, he stood up to wave at Jules, likely attracting the attention of Soraya, Reese, and Edison's little group as well. “'Ey! Over here! Y'better choose this one!” If they didn't join him, he didn't particularly care -other than about Jules- but they'd be sorry once his plan came to fruition.

After only a few more moments, every potential rift diver had piled onto one of the three, and one by one they roared to live, surging forward up the snowy hill. A bright blue cloth hung around a tree half a mile up, and the convoy sped its way through the biting mountain air.

The white-haired university student couldn't help but let a nervous smile slip as the person who was sharing the table introduced himself. Kay had already explained the situation, and so the subsequent handshake and apology for the assumptions were only natural.

"Kirk, then? Thanks for letting us sit here. Daichi—Akuta Daichi. Surname last and whatnot; I hope it doesn't come across as too odd," he followed, shaking the man's hand before the question regarding food came back to the forefront. The suggestion given seemed enticing enough, and before long Daichi had waved the waitress over to put his order in as, essentially, what Kirk had just suggested. It was only reasonable to follow along with what the a local suggested; they knew the food here best, after all, and there was nothing to be gained from rejecting goodwill that was so freely given.

"I don't have any method of my own to contact Lizzie, so I'll leave it to you," he said to Katie before receiving a message on his own phone. Given that it would be a small while before his food arrived proper, Daichi decided that it was fine to glance it over.

"The boat driver we had contacted to escort your group to the Rift has called in sick today; it may take a while to find a replacement, so please wait a while longer as we handle the process."

"...No boat driver? That... Hm. That's problematic."

---

By the time Lizzie had arrived, Daichi had finished the chicken that had been delivered to the table and was just beginning to eat through the muffins placed alongside them. The issue regarding a boat driver through the bayou had been settled without all of the additional problems that he had been expecting, courtesy of the man who was seated with the four of them right now. Daichi had thought that it was an odd skill to have, all things considered, but there was no reason to complain about fortune falling into their hands like this.

That being said, though, his companion's duffel bag hitting the floor caused Daichi to pause for a moment and glance around, half in hopes that nobody else would notice the sound it had made. This was still a civilian space, after all, and undue panic would only give everyone involved, including the higher-ups, a headache.

"Well, I'm just about done here, so let me just pay my bill and we'll be off."

---

The combination of a drive out of the city, a minor trek through some of the more rural areas of the region, and the subsequent boat ride (rough as it was) had eventually given way to the group's destination—a moderately-sized Rift, appearing as a glowing tear through what seemed to be the fabric of space in front of them. Daichi had taken the chance to change into something a bit more fitting for wading through the swamp, and with the backpack he was carrying, it almost seemed as if he was a hitchhiker rather than a student.

After confirming that everyone else had finished their preparations, the Japanese university student was the first to step inside the Rift. Carefully shielding his eyes as he stepped through, the first thing Daichi found was that it had connected to what seemed to be a broken down shack that seemed to be far too worn out to not have been abandoned. The rotting wood parted to show what seemed to be walls of trees, far larger than the ones outside the Rift, blocking off most of their advance around. The only direction allotted to the group seemed to be right in front of them, with the muddy water beneath the broken shack flowing towards them and towards the rear.

"Ah... Hm. You know, it's pretty annoying to have to travel upstream five seconds after entering, but at least this place seems relatively safe," he remarked, staring down the pathway and towards the tree that seemed to be waiting for them at the end of the path. The size of it was comparable to that of a skyscraper, and despite the humidity and heat, Daichi could help but glance up to try and see how far up it went.

"If we have to climb that, though, I'm going to kill someone."

@HereComesTheSnow@KoL@TheWindel@Vesuvius00

---

---

The first thing that the team would see upon entry was the clean-cut stone walls, adorned with highly meticulously-cut decorations that seemed to extol the craftsmanship of the stonemason—or of whatever was housed within the confines of the building that the group now found themselves in. Examining behind the Rift would show a pair of stone doors, firmly cast shut and sealed with what looked to be some sort of magic (given the pulsating light it gave off). To their front, on the other hand, there stood a similarly-cast pair of doors. The only difference here, of course, was that these were left ajar.

Entry past those would give way to a large room, octagonal in structure; in its center was a single raised platform with a hole in the center. Other than the entrance from which the Rift was placed past, however, there seemed to be only a single open door, directly to the west from the center of the room.

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR@ERode@Duthguy@OwO

Edison had been quiet throughout the conversations at the lodge, listening more than anything to discussions about powers and reasons for being there. They seemed to have a good mix and he could see himself working well with them. More or less. The spoiled rich girl might soon get on his nerves and the man with the appalling dental accessories seemed to lack any sort of subtlety.

Their abilities gave him some ideas and he was about to open his mouth to speak when the atmosphere in the room changed suddenly. He stood and shouldered a bag, lifting it easily even though it could have weighed seventy or eighty pounds with all of his combat gear. The other would be taken care of by his two guards and held safely for his return.

As people started moving he mirrored Marxion’s approach, shouldering people out of the way on the way to the exit. At the vehicle he threw his bag inside and climbed in, locking the other door and blocking the remaining one with his body. He pushed people out of the way except for those he had been sitting with. A lighter machine would be quicker and more people for the others would slow them even more.

Once their vehicle set off he unzipped the bag, pulling out pieces of gear and putting them on over his suit. There was a lightweight tactical vest that he added extra ammunition pouches to and a backpack. He put a tactical shotgun on a sling that attached to the shoulder straps of his vest.

“I guess I never got to mention my own ability. I can modify my own physiology at will. I hope we can all be able to work well together.”

@Lugubrious@Lugubrious@Rune_Alchemist@Anonawrimo

@Lugubrious@SquishStar45@Anonawrimo

---

"Merveilleuse." Soraya seemed entirely oblivious to Reese's less than friendly attitude. Taking a position standing next to Reese, Soraya continued. Might as well explain a bit about how her own attribute worked. "Then I shall start with my attribute. It's nothing flashy - just a suit of armor I can wear that will allow me to bear the brunt of attacks from anything." A simple attribute, but a useful one, and one that she very much approved of! It fit her historical tastes perfectly.

She'd have loved to get to know her partner somewhat better, but it seemed time wasn't on their side. By the time Soraya had finished her introduction, things had started to get underway. The prospector showed up on the stage, introducing himself and revealing what everyone was there for - and more. Someone was already on their way towards the rift. Which made her pause. It was an awfully foolish idea to do something like that, in her opinion. If it had been publicly announced, then they would know there would be others coming.

As such, the ability to make a profit would be low, unless they somehow thought they could get through a rift on their own before the others arrived. They'd likely end up fighting other Rift travelers.

Stupid, or something else?

No time for thoughts.

"Come along, partner!" Soraya moved quickly, weaving through the crowd as one might through a dance floor, and soon they had arrived at their destination. Pulling herself into the vehicle, Soraya made sure to help Reese get in, if needed, or help her in other ways. Once everyone was strapped in, Soraya quickly made an introduction.

"Mhm, Soraya. Let me handle the defense and distraction. I can handle a beating."

---

"Do you think we'll be fighting other rift divers?" Jules asked. ]"I'll confess and say I don't have a lot of experience fighting. Other people usually cover that for me." He was tempted to continue, but was cut off by the commotion at the other end of the main hall.

There he sat in attention of the projected image, and the person that probably called all the rest of the people to the resort in the first place. He talked in the manner of an explorer of sorts, which made enough sense. They all were explorers, even the ones on vacation, so what better way to talk to a kindred spirit would there be?

Some people were already headed to the rift, or already near it, something that he didn't expect. He was always used to the less illustrious and more privately owned rifts- it would be more of a rift raid than a rift dive with so many people, and his worry of potentially having to fight or directly compete with other divers to the extent of conflict rose well beyond the height of his being, which was not that hard due to such short stature.

Real rifts certainly weren't the same as privately owned ones.

When the race began he was lagging ever so slightly behind, but managed to keep Marxion in sight by moving through the wake of the crowd that he separated, weaving between them somewhat cautiously in comparison. If he were anyone else he would have damned his short legs, but he made it and pulled himself into the snowcat, strapped himself in, and doffed his beanie and unzipped his coat due to the unexpected rush of heat that accompanied the frantic run.

After a moment of cooling down and catching his breath, he introduced himself to everyone else.

"Salut- I'm Jules and I will be your healer today." He paused to exhale a puff of air. "I can also make your attributes and physical qualities better."

Rest was amazing. In a bed so soft that she thought it was impossible, the poor Xu Jian got more sleep than she ever had. A solid six hours. That was like, two more than usual. Despite her slamming down food like she was going into hibernation, she suffered no ill effects. That was one of Xu Jian's many talents. Slamming down unlimited amounts of free food without any issue to her stomach, that is.

The trip to Bogd Khan Mountain was, in essence, like Albrecht feeding a dog. Every snack he offered, Xu Jian ate. She even joined in the occasional round, even if her mouth was full. The trip there was like any simple road trip. In fact, the only thing that could have improved on it was someone complaining and driver swearing to god that they would turn the car around.

Her outfit was simple and easy to move in: track pants, track jacket, and durable sneakers. Large enough to not constrict movement, but tight enough to not get snagged on anything. In her hand was a solid rod of iron. About five feet long and a perfect cylinder, she used it more as a walking stick for the moment. Underneath her track suit, however, there lay even more iron. Tightly and sparsely located around her body, iron bands made their appearance. Not heavy enough to dampen her movement, but strong enough to act as an occasional armour and general purpose material.

Then they got there. Clean stone walls, well-done decorations, and two stone doors. One was closed and emanated magic, the other was open. It was a rift, alright.

When Albrecht had opened the trunk, Xu Jian gladly took some free junk. Body armour was a bit much for her, but the gas mask was useful. Utility belt couldn't hurt, either. Worst comes to worst, ditching it and arming a rift creature with a utility knife wasn't the worst outcome. She hung the mask off the belt, keeping her hands free to hold her big stick. She didn't grab any weapons, however. No, something like a machete—even though it was made out of metal—wasn't as controllable for Xu Jian. The carbon that strengthened the steel only served to harm her abilities. She would just keep her metal stick. Better a Wukong than a Jason Vorhees, the debt-addled girl thought.

Once Charlotte suggested the amazing plan of just letting the killborg face tank every problem, Xu Jian could only accept it with a shrug.

"Lead the way, Jesse Starkraven."

When Paul had approached and asked for help, Xu Jian had no idea what to say. What to bring was often an insular thing. Only the person using their own equipment could know what to bring.

"A gun?" She earnestly suggested. It wasn't an actual suggestion; it was just the first thing that came to mind.

She didn't even respond to Albrecht suggesting that they poo. Pooping was for people who wasted nutrients.

---

Sometimes, Reese figured she should read more books. It could've helped get her points across and also understand others' points better- two birds with one stone. Reese blamed no one but herself for getting the undesired reaction from the odd woman. As Pascal would say, "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."

In her case, she fucked up the instant moment she walked in, anyway. Might as well own up to it.

Confused at what "Merveilleuse" would marvelously translate to, Reese instead kept her attention on the rest of Soraya's words.

"Then I shall start with my attribute. It's nothing flashy - just a suit of armor I can wear that will allow me to bear the brunt of attacks from anything."

For the first time in a while, Reese found herself staring at Soraya not due to aggravation. A human tank, capable of moving without being planted in one area. She didn't know how effective her supposed suit was, but with that kind of attitude, Reese doubted Soraya's attribute being useless.

If anything, it could mesh together for some decent tanking if the blond guy's healing was useful. Pretty useful for someone with a one-dimensional attribute like her own.

She gave Soraya a brief nod before the Prospector suddenly showed up. He still wore the stupid hat.

All thoughts of his physical appearance left as soon as he announced that the Rift had opened. The thing she was here for finally arrived.

As soon as Soraya began moving, Reese followed, though far less elegantly. Whereas Soraya weaved through the crowds swiftly, Reese resorted to just shoving and sometimes tripping the people in her way, her eyes moving left and right to make sure nobody would obstruct her way for more than a second. An unlucky man attempted to shove past her before she sent a foot crashing between his legs.

Almost tempted to take out her pipe and smack people with it, she instead focused on keeping up with her so-called partner. Reese smoothly got in the vehicle Soraya entered.

...Like hell she did. She almost tripped and had to catch Soraya's hand, begrudgingly dragging herself in.

As she settled in the vehicle, Reese quickly glanced between the people in it. The man with the shotgun whose attribute had to do something with physiology automatically indicated him towards being a close-ranged type of person. He also wore a vest with ammunition to complement his firearm. There was also the gruff blond man- Marxion, if she remembered hearing correctly- who didn't seem like the type to not prefer close-combat as well.

Reese simply stared at Jules with a blank look for a few seconds before looking away.

"Reese," she stated flatly as she unzipped her hoodie. "If I hit something, it gets easier to keep doing it."

Taking out a pistol, she quietly checked if the safety switch wasn't flicked off before checking the few magazines she had in her hoodie. She kept a battered iron pipe between her legs while she checked her things.

---

@Lugubrious@TheFake@Rune_Alchemist@SquishStar45