[IC] Daemon Days(Original Sci-Fi/Fantasy blend Roleplay) [OPEN]

[Ramjammer]

Richard watched the digital display over the Elevator's doors in silence, the numbers on it changing at what felt like a Snail's pace. He wasn't late for his meeting with the CEO. He was never late. But that didn't make the wait any more bearable. The Chief of Security grumbled softly, a gloved hand coming up to fiddle with his tie. These meetings were not uncommon, Lorette took the safety of the building and all inside of it as seriously as she did the rest of her duties. However, she rarely called Richard to her Office so late in the evening, especially without making sure to schedule an appointment with him beforehand. He knew that the matter had to be serious if Lorette was willing to go off schedule and mentally prepared himself for the worst.

The Elevator dinged softly as it finally reached the top floor, and the doors had barely opened before Richard stepped through them. The floor was eerily silent, the Receptionist's desk empty in the dimly lit area. The Chief of Security set off at a brisk pace towards the imposing double doors situated just beyond the large desk, his footfalls muffled by the plush carpet on the floor. He didn't even make ready to knock as the CEO's voice rang loudly from within her office. She had expected him to arrive on time as he always did and wasted no time in bidding him to enter. Years ago, Robert had found her perception and timing unsettling, but now he could only appreciate the efficiency it afforded him. The massive office was as dimly lit as the rest of the floor and Richard could make out Lorette's form as she stood facing the floor to ceiling windows at the opposite end of the room. The many lights illuminating Arnvista cast a soft glow around the room, and for a moment the CEO was silent as she stared out at the busy streets.

"Lorette, do you think you can skip the dramatics this time and tell me why you called me up here?" Richard closed the heavy wooden door with a small grunt before turning to face the woman once more. Lorette pivoted sharply on a heel to face Robert, a stern glare leveled on him. A lesser man might have shrunk back from her gaze, but Robert had found himself under it for many years now and it had long since become exhausting to constantly cower before her.

"I will be leaving for Tokyo in a few hours. Ms. Oshiro will be accompanying me there. As you are well aware by now, Sato-Yamasaki Genetics will be doing business with us going forward and I will be visiting their Headquarters to finalize our agreement." Richard sighed and sank into the chair seated in front of Lorette's imposing black desk. "I'm going to go ahead and assume there's more. I can't imagine that you'd call me all the way up here for something you could have told me in a text message." Richard leaned back in the plush chair, spinning it side to side as he eyed the CEO carefully. As was usual, her face betrayed none of her inner thoughts, but the man was not stupid enough to believe that she had nothing else planned for him. "This is a very crucial time for us Mr.Solberg. Sato-Yamasaki will, of course, be sending some of their own people overseas to assist in future projects here in the States. And while I have the utmost trust in them you are well aware of what is at risk should we allow anything to slip past our notice." The Chief of Security nodded silently, waiting for her to continue. "I need you go about finding a security force for our new Research facility. Nikhil will give you the details on what he needs specifically."

Richard leaned back in the chair to stare up at the ceiling in silence for a moment, not quite ready to voice his thoughts. He could feel Lorette's gaze continuing to bore into him and knew that she would not wait all night for a response. "So, you're taking the Lieutenant on a vacation overseas and leaving me to round up some new people along with maintaining the security of this building AND a Research Facility out in the middle of nowhere with Nikhil?" Robert looked back at Lorette, his blue eyes narrowed. "Did you know that I own a home, Lorette? I have a house, with a roof and a bed. At some point this year, I'd like to sleep in it." Lorette's expression and tone did not change, seeming unbothered by the man's quips. "Junior Officer Kinnaird is more than capable of carrying the workload with you Robert. Her....exuberance aside, she's proven to be more than effective at her job. She can handle things here while you are out with Nikhil. Allister will be staying behind as well and I'm sure that he can keep an eye on things while we're both away."

Lorette moved away from the windows, her footsteps ringing loudly on the polished stone floor as she approached the sulking Chief of Security. A gloved hand settled gently on his shoulder and gave it a small reassuring squeeze. "It will be fine Richard. I know that I'm asking a lot from you right now, but you that it's only because I know you're capable of doing it." Richard glanced up at the woman, the small smile gracing the edge of her mouth not escaping his notice. "And besides, it's not as if I sleep in my own house any more than you do in yours. Sometimes I wonder if I'll forget where it is one day." The hand moved away along with Lorette as she walked away before coming to pause before the double doors of her office. "I will contact you when we land. Please turn the lights off when you leave." Robert didn't bother watching her as she left, and once the doors had slammed shut the Office descended back into silence.

Richard rubbed tiredly at his face and resigned himself to his fate, knowing there was no point in crying over things as they were. Reaching into his jacket he pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen, pulling up a familiar number. The phone rang twice before the person on the other side picked up. The voice on the other end was thick with exhaustion, no doubt its owner had been asleep before Richard had called, but he wasted no time on that. "Kinnaird. I know you're off but I need you back at the Office. Something has come up-Are you crying? If you want to cry, then do it on your way over here. Now move your ass." Richard ended the call to loud tearful protests on the other side before tucking his phone away, muttering balefully to himself. "At least she can say that she got some sleep tonight...."

---

Matsuko grinned stupidly at her phone's screen, a string of expletive-riddled messages displayed prominently on the backlit surface. "Audrey is PISSED. This is wonderful, she's probably going punch the first person to start with her.....Oh God, I hope it's Allister. I would pay any amount of money to see that." She looked across the aisle towards Lorette, the CEO's expression as unreadable as always. "Tell the Junior Officer that if she plans to assault Mr. Schoen, that she needs to do it when she's not on Company time and property." Matsuko let out a short laugh, tapping idly at her phone. "So what's the plan once we get there? I'm not sure that I'll be of much help, Allister usually goes with you to these things and I don't like leaving Richard and Audrey alone unattended." Lorette continued staring out the plane's window, her voice even as she watched the clouds roll by. "Don't be ridiculous Ms. Oshiro. Your presence will be indispensable at this meeting. I will need you to remain observant once we arrive at Sato-Yamasaki Headquarters. Pay very close attention to their Security measures, and keep a close eye on the people that they choose to present to us. We are there to forge an agreement with them, but I'd feel better knowing how they operate."

A gloved finger tapped idly at the armrest of her seat, and Lorette pressed on. "And I need you to translate for me." Matsuko lofted a brow, eyeing the CEO quizzically. "You speak Japanese pretty decently if I remember. What do you need me to translate for?" Lorette's gaze slid over to the Lieutenant, her voice remaining even. "I speak the language well enough, but not enough to catch any subtle nuances in everyday conversation. Something that is quite important when conducting business." Lorette resumed staring out the plane's window. "And as far as they know, I don't speak it at all. I want them lulled into enough of a false sense of security that they might think me ignorant of everything that's going on. They may very well let slip something that they don't want me to hear."

Matsuko pursed her lips, brows knitted together. "You think they might be up to something?" Lorette did not make any movement to confirm or deny the other woman's question. "Hanshiro Sato does good business, but I hear that he enjoys gloating. He has no love for Americans either, though you wouldn't know it. Currently, I don't know if he plans to make the same offer that he's giving us to any of our competition. But I do know that if given the opportunity to gain the upper hand, he will take it. I want you to keep your eyes and ears open while we are there Ms. Oshiro. Is that understood?" Matsko nodded silently, knowing that Lorette would see it one way or the other. "You've got it." Matsuko grinned at Lorette. "I hope you aren't keeping tabs on me like this, you know."

"No, I am not. I've seen how you live Matsuko and the thought of having to watch you depresses me."

"That's pretty rude coming from someone needing my help as much as you do!"

"If you thought that by leaving Audrey and Richard behind, that you'd be free of any suffering, you were wrong Ms. Oshiro."

"Right...Great."

---

A metal door swung open with a loud clang and not long after a stubbled faced man was thrown unceremoniously through it. He landed with a loud cry on the cracked asphalt of the alleyway, his speech slurring as he yelled at the Daemon still standing in the doorway. "This how you treat your customers, huh? You treat 'em all like shit?" The Daemon watched the drunken man through narrowed eyes, unimpressed with the display. "Nope. Just the ones that are assholes. Get out of here, and if I see you around again, I'm breaking something." The Daemon retreated back inside, the metal door slamming shut behind them. The drunk man was somehow able to get to his feet, though he needed to lean heavily on the wall nearest to him for support."Fuckin'...A man can't even have a good time in this city anymore..." The man groaned and staggered down the alleyway, rummaging clumsily through his pockets as he weaved out onto the sidewalk. "Where the hell are my smokes?" A small blue Ferret poked its head out of one the man's many jacket pockets, a package of cigarettes in its mouth. " 'ey...Thanks Caby. You-You're a good friend. My Only friend in this shithole of a city." The Man gestured at the dilipated buildings on the street, almost falling over in his inebriated state. "You and me. We're the only smart people here. You know that? And we...Shit man, we're not gonna be stuck in the Slums for the rest of our lives like everybody else, you hear me?" Caby only stared silently at the man with beady black eyes, prompting a laugh from the man. "You never were a talker Caby. 's okay. I can talk for the both of us." The Ferret Daemon's head snapped over suddenly, staring intently down the street. The man paused and looked in the same direction, barely able to make out anything through the haze surrounding his vision. A large vaguely humanoid shape stood a few yards away, unmoving. "Fuck you lookin' at? Keep walkin'." Rather than moving away, the shape drew closer and Caby scampered onto the man's shoulder, hissing loudly. The man lurched back as the shape drew closer, falling over onto his rear. "Ah! Shit! You think you're funny? Got somethin' to say big guy?"

The figure came to a halt in front of the man, and through the alcohol induced blur the man could see reptilian features staring back at him. "Oh..." The man shrunk back a little under the Daemon's gaze, though the alcohol in his system numbed any real fear he might have felt. "If you want to fight or somethin' I bet you can find a good time around here. Otherwise, you can fuck right off." Caby continued to hiss at the other Daemon, the blue fur on their back bristling as they drew closer. The other Daemon cocked their head, eyeing the smaller creature with what looked to be a mixture of disgust and curiosity. "I had heard the rumors. But I didn't think they were true." A large clawed hand reached down and plucked the other Daemon from the man's shoulder, holding the struggling creature up for inspection. "Positively disgusting." The clawed hand wrapped firmly around the smaller Daemon and squeezed. Caby let out a loud squeal of pain before they dispersed into a small cloud of blue smoke. "Such things. When did we start allowing them I wonder?" Their reptilian eyes slid back down to the man on the ground, fear keeping him pinned there. "No matter. I will see to it that this problem is resolved." The clawed hand darted out and caught the man in the face, grabbing hold and drawing him close before beginning to squeeze once more, muffling his screams.

"Yes....I do believe that this is a problem that can be resolved with a little hands-on work."

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Nem & Bel~

The giant lizard daemon leaped to the side, quite agile for its size. It intended to flank her?

Pathetic.

It seemed confident. Flanking someone in a fight was always a good idea. Left them open, especially if you had a partner to help you. The two worked well together, she'd give them that. The human partner in question, not only had an actual fire arm, but also a variety of other trinkets up his sleeve. It had been an interesting match, but Bel wanted to end it. She had other things to do than fuck around with these guys.

As the lizards hit the ground, it continued its motion, stopped and opened it's toothless maw. A gout of flame launched towards the armored human, the flame hot enough to leave scorch marks on the ground. Almost too fast for the human eye to follow effectively, the armor leaped forward through the fire. The searing flames burned the armor, scorching the cool dark metal as a hand reached forwards, grabbing the grinning lizard by the top of its jaw.

"Is that the best you can do?" The voice from the eerily silent armor was low, sounding almost masculine and definitely a bit bored. She still hadn't gotten used to the armor changing her voice a bit, but it was a pointless thought. Bel grabbed the creature by its mouth with her free hand, and pulled

A high pitched shriek of pain came from the lizard Daemon as its jaws were yanked apart, clawing at the metal and releasing another gout of fire from its maw as its jaws started to stretch beyond what should have been physically possible. The sickening sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing and screaming filled her with an odd sense of delight - maybe Nem had been rubbing off on her more than she thought.

Whatever.

Soon enough, the creatures jaw had been dislocated, its lower jaw hanging limply at an almost painful ninety degree angle. She Lifted it, just as the human fired some sort of thing out of one of his guns. Looked like some sort of grenade or something it looked like. Not that she was going to be particularly bothered by it. She swiveled, bringing the lizard daemon to face the human before slamming into its soft underside with a hard, swift kick sending it flying out of the arena. She couldn't avoid the attack from the human, the makeshift explosive hitting her midsection with a loud bang, the explosion also releasing a smoke screen of some sort.

Useless.

She fell, her back hitting the ground but was hardly dazed by it. She was at least, thankful Nem could keep them oriented even if her head was ringing a bit inside of the armor. Immediately as she hit the ground, she flipped, rolling over onto her hands and feet with a smooth rolling motion, and leaped at the human from almost halfway across the arena. One of the hands wrapping around the humans face, the other delivering a hard swift punch right to his midsection. She let him go, grabbing his right arm and twisting. With a sickening crack, his arm bones were shattered and bent backwards. Grabbing his head with both hands, she brought her knee right to his face, likely breaking a few bones - but he was out of the fight for now, stumbling backwards and falling limply onto the arena floor.

The lizard simply growled from a distance, having lost whatever will it had to fight. But well, where would the fun in not getting both of them KO'ed? Before it could react, the armored human was upon it. She reached for a ridge of spikes on its head, pulling it towards her as the other reached for its already injured jaw as the creature shrieked in pain once again as she lifted it over her head, before falling backwards and slamming its head into the ground, the creature ceasing any sort of physical response upon having its face nearly smashed in.

Too easy, really, but still fun. The crowd watching hollered in approval at the display of violence, but she wasn't really listening. She had fun, and now she was going to get paid. That's all she cared about.

One thing about fighting, was that she never got tired of it. No matter what or who it was - even if it was someone obviously much better than her, she didn't. All it was then, was a challenge to be overcome. Even easy fights were fun - putting someone in their place never got old. She didn't recall when exactly she started feeling like this, but she didn't particularly question it. Maybe all the years of pent up frustration finally were getting out, or maybe she had just gotten like that because of the illegal fights. After all, one had to be rather...brutal sometimes during those fights. Unlike those farce of a sponsored fights by the I.D.C.C, these fights didn't have any bullshit rules. Two sides fought, until one side lost.

And she absolutely loved it. She inhaled, catching her breath just a bit. Though it had been easy, it had still been somewhat of a workout. Well, it was over now and she had other things to do. She started to walk off the field. What happened to those other two were not her concern. As she did, black wisps of smoke started coming off of the armor as it began to dissolve from around the human and the Daemon that was her partner took a more human form now that their little show was over with.

"Wow, someone must have been pissed." The feminine, almost enchanting voice that belonged to Nem reached her ears as the white skinned daemon took form behind her. "I'm not even disappointed I didn't get to do it myself, hehe, but really being that stressed isn't good. You should let me help you with some stress relief occasionally." She laughed in a much too happy manner considering what she was speaking of as she sauntered over. "Say, Bel dear," She gave the redheaded human a friendly smile, giving her a hug from behind. "I know I didn't get to fight and all, but to the victor goes the spoils right? And I am getting kind of hungry..." Isabel turned her eyes to the daemon. The blank expression she was giving Nem was probably evidence enough of her disapproval of what was being said. "And the human looks just so tasty and I haven't properly eaten in-ow ow ow! Ears! Sensitive!" Before she could finish, Bel grabbed the daemon by one of her pointy ears, twisting it and pulling the daemon off of her.

"We have ice cream at home if you want to eat." Bel replied as they left the arena, making her way to the coordinator to receive payment, passing by quite a few other daemons and humans getting ready for battle.

"I do love ice cream but come oooon~! I haven't had a proper snack in daaaays. I'm starving over here." The daemon said, massaging her ear lightly as she followed happily along behind Isabel.

"Maybe next time."

"Tsk, you said that last time too. I'm almost starting to think you don't love me any more."

"You don't even need food. You just do it to be creepy."

"Ouch. Your cruel words wound me. If you hear sobbing later, that'll be me crying over a giant tub of ice cream."

It didn't take the pair long to receive their rewards for a job well done, and after a bit more banter the two left the makeshift arena and headed home. As far as illegal rings went, it was one of the more well paying ones, but it still wasn't exactly a...steady source of money. Granted Isabel didn't exactly have much of a money issue, but she didn't want to not have a steady stream of income just in case something bad happened. Which meant she'd need a steady job. She'd been living off of her rather...questionably attained money for awhile now, and it was starting to show. Nem would not like what this next question of conversation was going to be once they got home.

Thankfully Nem behaved herself more or less, making the trip back to their apartment easy enough. A small place, not exactly in the best part of the neighborhood, but at least it was cheap and wasn't likely to draw too much attention. With her money, she had even made the place somewhat classy looking. Not the fancy penthouse apartments you'd see downtown of course, but it'd be obvious someone with at least a bit of money lived here.

Opening the door, Nem immediately waltzed over to the fridge, tail swishing happily behind her as she pulled out a tub of chocolate ice cream and plopped down on the couch with a spoon in hand. Isabel, went to go change out of her sweaty fight clothes and into something a bit more casual. A black jacket, red shirt with some tight fitting pants and boots. A few minutes later, she took a seat next to Nem on the couch, who was happily eating all of the ice cream again and watching something on TV. Despite Nem's violent and impish tendencies, Isabel had quickly learned that at times, Nem was surprisingly a bit childish. Also Lazy.

And a glutton.

Come to think of it, she had almost zero redeeming qualities.

"I'm not buying you more if you eat all that for a week." Bel said, plopping down on the opposite end of the couch.

"I can get some myself, Bel." Of course, that meant she'd steal some or swindle it out of some unsuspecting guy she'd flirt with.

"I'm going to be broke taking care of you one of these days." Isabel grumbled, holding a hand to her head. "Which is why I'm going to make you get a job." Nem turned her head to Bel, yellow eyes staring at her with mild confusion, spook stuck in her mouth as she tried to process what was just said...before the daemon started bursting out in laughter.

"A job? Bel, really?" Nem said through laughter. "That's a good one. Do I look like the sort of daemon that goes around working?" The laughter continued for about a full minute, only stopping when she realized that the redhead was giving her the 'bitch, I'm serious and if you don't stop I'm gonna pull your ears again' look. "Oh uh, wow you're serious. Oh." Nem sat down the tub of ice cream, humming lightly to herself. She seemed amused at the idea, at least. "Well, I'm not entirely against it but do you have something in mind? I refuse to dress up in some silly human clothing and work at some cafe or wait one people."

"Don't worry, I have something in mind." Bel said, swiping the spoon from Nem and proceeding to eat some ice cream herself.

---

Not that long later, the two arrived outside the 'Flying Tortise'. A bar in the Redlight district. Getting to it was somewhat annoying - She had to put up with Nem making constant jokes about this 'job'. For the most part, Isabel ignored the daemon as she made her way to the bar. As they walked up, Nem seemed curious, if not all that impressed.

"Jokes about this area of town aside...a bar?"

"Heard it from a friend they're looking for a bouncer. Thought It'd be easy enough, with some occasional entertainment."

"Hm~" The Daemon hummed thoughtfully, smiling to herself. "Well, lets get this over with then - but if some drunk throws up on me I'm biting him and not in the fun way."

They walked into the bar, Bel taking a brief look around for the person they needed to speak too. Bandalur, she thought his name was. Not entirely sure how to go about this, as she never had a job before. Saying she was a bit nervous would also be a bit of an understatement. Unless it was fighting or something else like it, she had a surprising tendency to be rather socially inept sometimes.

So she walked up to the bar, Nem taking a seat on one of the bar stools as Bel approached someone.

"Any idea where I can find Bandalur?"

[catmint]

A sickening crack rang out across the arena. The crowd went wild. The two daemons panted as they locked eyes from across the battleground.

The arena for Lilith this time was not grand or even particularly large. It was under a abandoned warehouse that had become known to be used for illegal events like these. The basement was largely made up of cold cement with grime clinging to nearly every surface. It was dimly-lit and a heavy stench of cigarettes and booze hung in the air, and the basement was packed to the brim with all kinds of unsavory types. The Daemon's arena was sectioned off only by waist-high barriers, with crowds of people cheering at the edges, some even leaning dangerously close over the edge. Bets had already been taken on the two Daemons, who had been beating on each other for nearly an hour now. Only now did one gain the upper hand.

The silver-haired daemon blinked at his opponent, who was much larger then him. The other Daemon towered above any average sized human, razor teeth lined it's mouth, and it shifted on two scaly legs. But now one of those powerful legs had been snapped the wrong direction, dangling uselessly. Lilith had spent the entire match darting in and out of it's reach, until finally he spotted the perfect opportunity to strike. Now his contender retreated to the corner, trying to catch it's breath. But Lilith knew better then to give his enemy room to breath.

Like a flash of silver lightening, Lilith launched across the cold cement. At a blinding speed, he soared through the air with his hard hoof smashing into the jaw of the daemon. The flying kick had done quite a number on his adversary, and apparently already worn down from the previous skirmishes. The daemon appeared dazed, who had now been knocked to it's back. Lilith stood over him before leaning down and continued his assault by striking him relentlessly across the jaw.

Crack! Crunch!

It was a comforting and familiar sound to Lilith, and he barely registered the broken pleas until an announcer's voice blared across the basement.

"Victory goes to Lilith!"

Only then did the silver-haired Daemon step away from the broken remains of his opponent, who was barely holding onto consciousness. The cheers were deafening, and Lilith was snapped out of his trance when Ajax clamped his hands onto his shoulders and shook him. "Ah-hah! They weren't kidding, huh?" The human stunk of cigarettes, and his grin was absolutely predatory. "You really do rake in the winnings, come on, let me buy you a drink for your hard work." Ah Yes, Ajax was his new partner, but the relationship so far had been tense and distant. Lilith intended to keep it this way, and Ajax had no interest in changing it as long as he got his money. Lilith winced at the gash Ajax had inconsiderately clasped his hand over, but the Daemon said nothing and merely nodded at his human partner.

The victorious daemon ignored the shouts of approval as he was dragged past to the dingy bar. Ajax sat him down on a stool then took a seat next to him, ordering two beers. "Listen, I have other some other fights lined up for this weekend. If you perform just as well as today we can really rake in the cash." Ajax wiggled his eyebrows at Lilith, who stared blankly back at him. Ajax's smile slipped away and was replaced with annoyance, "Come on, do you never talk?" The human rolled his eyes before turning his attention to the bartender who slid two beers to the pair. Ajax passed one bottle to Lilith before cracking open his own and greedily gulping it down. Lilith left his own beer untouched.

"I tend to speak only when I feel the need to." Lilith finally replied, his voice sounded like velvet, which could have been pleasing if it was not as cold as it was. The daemon kept his eyes trained on his partner, almost as if trying to solve a puzzle on the human's forehead. "And I'm guessing you don't feel that need often." Ajax responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes before finishing off his drink. "Whatever. I'm finished here so let's bounce. I heard there is this great new bar in the Redlight district." The human stood up and beckoned for Lilith to follow him out of the establishment.

[Ramjammer]

Bandalur hunched behind his desk and glowered at the scrawny Human sitting in front of him. The Boy didn't even have hair on his chin, and Bandalur couldn't help the sneer that crossed his face as he fidgeted under the Daemon's glare. The Daemon lifted a massive paw, and the Human trembled visibly as Bandalur used a claw to pick at something caught between two of many fangs. "Now it's my understandin' that yer here lookin' for a job. 'S that right?" The Human gulped noisily, but managed a shaky nod, eyes locked on the Daemon's massive fangs. Bandalur let out a small scoffing noise and settled his paw back onto the desk, his ears flicked in annoyance as the Human continued to fidget and the Daemon let out another scoff. "You seem pretty wound up there. 'm beginnin' to wonder where you even got the stones to be comin' in here if this is how yer gonna act." The Human shook his head, suddenly piping up and speaking for the first time since arriving. "Uh... S-sorry Sir. It's just that you're a lot more...." The Human used a hand to gesture at Bandalur's furry bulk. Bandalur deadpanned at the man, not amused in the slightest. "The damn Ad said that this establishment was run by a Daemon, didn't it? Or can't you read?" The large Daemon placed both paws on his desk and leaned forward suddenly, a fang filled muzzle uncomfortably close to the Man's face. "And if you can't even keep your cool in front of the man you want to hire you, maybe you might be better off workin' somewhere else, yeah?" The Human sunk down in his chair, avoiding Bandalur's gaze. The Daemon let out a huff and sat back in his chair, pointing a claw at the office door. "Get the hell out of my office. You can come back when your balls finally drop." The Human male practically flopped onto the floor before managing to scurry out of the office.

Bandalur let out a deep rumbling sigh, raising a paw to rub at his scarred muzzle. "Where the hell are they gettin' these kids? I run a damn Bar, not a daycare....." Bandalur sighed and pried himself out of his chair and lumbered towards the door and squeezed himself out of it. The search for new Employees had not been going as well as he'd hoped. Wait Staff was easy enough, though Bartenders required a certain charm to work the front, something most of his recent applicants had been lacking. Bandalur grumbled again and rubbed tiredly at his face, he wasn't even going to bother thinking about hiring a Bouncer. Not a single applicant had fit the bill, all of them either too weak or too cowardly for Bandalur's tastes.

The Daemon popped their head out front to quickly survey the Bar. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and he was about to head back when someone speaking caught his ear. Bandalur eyed the girl at the Bar along with the Daemon beside her, and was puzzled. The Girl looked like the type to be seeking a Waitress position and Bandalur would have assumed as such had it not been for the Daemon sitting next to her. Bandalur frowned, not sure what to make of her. She looked dangerous, clearly a fit for the much need Bouncer position. But he didn't like the smirk on her face, and Bandalur wondered if the Human Girl might be her handler. Sighing loudly, Bandalur lumbered to the Bar and waved away the Bartender talking to the Girl. The Daemon stared down their nose at her, bushy brows drawn together as he gave both her and the Daemon with her a once over. "'m Bandalur and I hear yer lookin' for me. We're just gonna go ahead and skip the formalities if that's alright with you two." The Daemon lifted a claw, before continuing on. "I'm assumin' you two are here for the Bouncer position, yeah? Alright. I just need you to answer a question for ol' Bandalur." The Daemon continued to stare at the Girl and the Daemon, both arms folded across his chest. "In one sentence I want you to explain to me why I should hire you. Then, based on that, we'll see how I feel about the whole thing." Bandalur closed both eyes, a large paw flapping in the air. “Don’t go feelin’ like you need to answer right away. Take your time, ‘m not goin’ anywhere.”

---

Massive clouds of dust and dirt were kicked up as the Helicopter touched down, and Richard was forced to press a handkerchief to his nose in order to avoid breathing it in. Nikhil’s laughter came from behind him as he exited the Chopper, the sound taking on a metallic tone within the helmet that the Lead Researcher always wore. Richard scowled, swiping futilely at the dust in his eyes before standing up straight.

Though he’d never admit it out loud, Richard had always found Nikhil’s helmet unnerving. Not being able to read someone’s face while speaking to them made it harder to judge their moods and motives. Something that Richard relied on in his work. But that wasn’t even the half of it. Even now, Richard could feel the thing scanning him, inspecting him and filing away whatever it found for future reference. He felt exposed under Nikhil’s metallic gaze and it wasn’t a feeling that Richard enjoyed in the slightest.

“Take that ridiculous thing off, and then we’ll see how much you’re laughing Nikhil.” The masked man cocked his head as he stepped forward to stand next to Richard, a gloved hand clapping the Chief of Security’s shoulder. “Come Richard, a cloud of dust is all that’s required to take you down? I suppose I’d best inform Matsuko that she’ll be taking over for you then." Richard growled and slapped the other man’s hand away, drawing another laugh from him. “A bit testy today aren’t we? Come along then, at least when you see the Facility and all the work that awaits you, you’ll have a reason to be angry.” The Researcher strode away, leaving Richard to sulk in the settling dust alone.

He managed to catch up to Nikhil easily enough, and the Chief of Security fell into stride beside him. A squat concrete building came into view and Richard frowned to himself. “I thought this was supposed to be an entire Facility Nikhil. I’m not seeing much out here.” The masked man led Richard through a chain link fence surrounding the building, nodding at several armed guards stationed by the door. “No there is indeed not much to see up here…..” Richard didn't have much time to puzzle over the Reasearcher's choice of words as Nikhil flashed an I.D. badge to the guards and they were quickly ushered through. Nikhil held the door open for Richard and allowed him to head inside first where a short hallway greeted the two of them, and at the end a pair of polished Elevator doors sat. Richard lifted a brow, casting a puzzled glance at Nikhil. “An underground Facility? This is a first for us.” Richard kept stride with Nikhil as they walked towards the elevator and waited as the Researcher swiped his I.D. card at a panel just to the left of the Elevator doors. “Well, Lorette wanted something a little more secure for our work with Sato-Yamasaki. And that’s not accounting for the space required for this project.” Nikhil, glanced over at Richard and stared at him from beneath his visor. “I should also take the time to inform you that you’ll need to be preparing to screen the people they’re sending over.” Richard let out a low groan, pressing his back against the far wall of the Elevator. “Of course I do.”

Nikhil continued to ramble on, not paying any mind to the other man’s poor mood. “This facility is located One Kilometer underground and stretches over Five Kilometers wide. At present we have close to One Thousand Employees that will be stationed here, but you can expect more to join on in the future.” Richard hummed, a gloved hand rubbing at the stubble on his face. "Five Kilometers? That's a hell of a lot of space you're asking me to cover." Nikhil nodded at the other man. "Indeed it is. But I don't think it should be a problem for you and Afnet. At least I HOPE it won't be." Nikhil stared pointedly at Richard's coat, and the Chief of Security gripped the edge with a frown. "Afnet is damn good at what they do. Don't you worry about that."

The elevator ground to a halt and the doors opened silently. Nikhil stepped through and Richard followed close behind, craning his neck back to stare up. The Facility stretched many stories above his head, and he could see people running to and fro through windows lining the halls on each level. Nikhil had kept walking, forcing Richard to run after him in order to catch up. “The Facility takes the shape of a hollow inverted cone with each level wrapping around the entire circumference. As you’ve noticed by now, they all face inward towards the center. There is a reason for this, for at the very bottom here….” Nikhill stepped across the walkway to look over the edge of a safety railing. Richard followed him and looked down as well. About a good hundred yards below them Richard could see orange vested workers scurrying across the top of a massive glass surface covering the entire bottom of the facility. The Chief of Security lofted a brow, glancing up at Nikhil. “A Containment Unit, Mr.Solberg. One of many, I assure you. But by far the largest we have.”

Richard looked back down at the Containment Unit. It wasn’t very different from the same boxes used to contain particularly unruly Daemons, but it was far larger than necessary. The Chief of Security could see a pressurized gate at one end, and knew that it led elsewhere, most likely another lab. “This is…..Nikhil. Why is it so damn big?” The man’s eyes roamed over the workers, all of them welding various metal supports to the edge of the Unit. “Reinforced pretty heavily too. And I’m sure that you’ve got all kinds contingencies inside so that whatever gets thrown in there stays put too…..This isn’t regular for us…” Richard pushed away from the railing to face the Researcher fully, his face drawn in a tight frown.. “Nikhil, you know that I have to ask. What in the Hell are you doing down here?”

Nikhil simply stared at Richard, his expression unreadable beneath his ever present Visor.

“We are preparing for the future Mr.Solberg, and for whatever it might bring.”

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Nem & Bel~

Thankfully it didn't take long for them to find Bandalur. The owner of the bar walked over to them just as Bel took a seat at the bar, resting her arms on the counter. Nem took a seat next to her, folding her legs and clawed fingers lightly rapping against the counter top.

"Skip the formalities?" Nem said with a light, amused chuckle. "Why, that's rather rude. You haven't even asked our names. Is that how you treat all women? Ask them to get right to the fun bits before even asking their names?" Bel sighed, shoulders slumping as she gave Nem a quiet glare.

"You can ignore her." Though she said that, she wasn't entirely sure how to answer Bandalurs question. She didn't entirely see any reason that he had to hire them at all. In fact, there were probably people better qualified for it. Granted, she was fairly skilled at dealing with annoying people and daemons both, but she wasn't entirely sure how to answer this. There wasn't a correct answer really, but there were answers that would be better than others.

"Tsk, so rude..." Nem gave one of her fake pouts, before her usual smirk returned, turning to Bandalur. "You're not even that good at this whole 'talking' thing, Bel dear so let me try, hmm? I promise I'll behave." She'd probably do it whether she wanted her too or not, so Bel simply gave her a silent nod to go ahead. "Thanks~" The Daemon leaned in a bit closer, resting her own elbows on the counter as she gave Bandalur a confident smirk. "The answer is quite simple, I think. You haven't hired anyone else, yet and judging from the kid that just ran out of here likely going to run home to cry, you're having a hard time finding someone good enough for the job. We can easily handle anyone that...disrupts the peace and keep out undesirables, heh~" Bel had to resist the urge to call Nem an undesirable herself.

Well, Bel couldn't argue with that. It didn't seem like they had one, and judging from how things were it didn't seem like it was going all that well. That said, she didn't really think that was much of a sufficient answer. He had said answer in one sentence, but that was simply absurd really. Nem did a fairly good job of that but she had a little something to add to that as well.

"Wouldn't be our first time..." Bel added quietly.

"So, can we get on with it or do you want to sit here and just ask us more pointless questions?" Nem asked, casually inspecting the claws on her right hand with a silent smirk. She sounded confident at least that they would be. For the most part Bel remained impassive, electing to keep silent. While she didn't entirely approve of the last part of that sentence, she wasn't good at this whole talking thing after all, and having Nem do the talking was always easier than doing it herself. She'd have stumbled over her words several times by now and probably wouldn't have made an all that good impression. She supposed the Daemon had some redeeming qualities, after all. She could easily get along with most people when she wasn't busy...being irredeemably cruel or otherwise engaging in less than morally correct activities.

[Ramjammer]

Bandalur had known the two of them for all of five minutes and he was already irritated and he could not resist letting out a grunt, ears flicking irritably. "This is a business Little Lady, and yer here lookin' for a job, not a good time." The other Daemon had been right of course, help had been hard to find and Bandalur truly did need someone capable of handling whoever and whatever decided to start shit. But her attitude could use work.

Granted, Bandalur wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine himself, but employees that ran off at the mouth didn't tend to last long.

The Daemon huffed lowly, a large paw coming up to run at his face in a tired manner."I'll consider askin' for your names if I decide to hire you. Small talk don't suit me."

Bandalur's gaze slid towards the red haired human. She'd been mostly quiet the whole time, her Daemon doing all of the talking. She didn't seem like much of a conversationalist if her Daemons chattering had been any indication. And with a partner like that, he couldn't exactly blame her. However they both had come in for a job and that meant the both of them were going to have put forth an effort. Bandalur jabbed a claw in the girl's direction, voice gruff. "And what about you? Yer here for a job right? You don't have anything to say?" The Daemon peered at her critically, eyes narrowed. This girl and her Daemon had sort of a wild to them, the Daemon especially. He'd seen it before, the kind of nasty gleam a Daemon got in their eye only when they'd tasted blood. And the complete and utter indifference that only came over a Human when they'd seen it a hundred times before.

They were certainly capable, but not in the way Bandalur liked.

The large Daemon sighed, rubbing at the scars on his snout. "You two....Yer not used to workin' legally. Don't bother lyin' about it. I spent enough time in the Ring boppin' folk like you for a few bills. But 'm too old for that shit now." Bandalur lowered his paw back onto the counter and glared at the pair sitting in front of him. "And that means 'm not gonna be havin' the patience for any shit that you two decide to pull if you wanna be workin' here." Bandalur's eyes slid over to the Daemon sitting at the other side of the bar, a smirk on her face. "Espcially you." The Daemon's eyes narrowed further, boring into the pair seated at the bar. "See the thing about your types is that it's easy to start missin' the ring. You get a good job, it pays better than some street fight in a back alley. Hell, you can clock in knowin' that you won't get your head ripped off at any moment." Bandalur clenched his jaw, teeth grinding audibly as he retreated to his thoughts for a moment. "But you start to get this itch......Suddenly yer feelin' trapped like a rat workin' all day. So maybe you visit the Ring again. Tell yourself that it's the last time. You tell yourself that it's just to blow off some steam." Bandalur sighs heavily, scratching at his beard. "And then yer right back where you started. Like you never left at all. It's like a fuckin' Siren's call, and it draws some of us easier than others." Bandalur let out another sigh, brows unfurrowing only slightly. "So I gotta ask the two of you. Can you really say that you'll be able to resist the call? You two sure you got in in you?" Bandalur did hoped that they were able to, at least for his sake.

He wasn't sure if he could handle another failed interview.

---

Luis stared at the wall of screens in front of him and gripped his coffee mug tighter. Despite being surrounded by dozens of people attempting to talk over each other, Luis couldn’t hear any of what was being said. Steely gray eyes moved from one screen to the next, a frown tightening on his face. The subjects on the screens were familiar to Luis as he’d been watching them for close to thirty years.

So it stood to reason that he would become nervous when some of them started moving.

Luis turned to face the room and let out a sharp, ear piercing whistle and every head snapped towards him almost in unison. Once he was sure had everyone’s attention, Luis pointed to one of the screens, doing nothing to hide the irritation in his voice. “Can someone tell me, why Tin-Man isn’t at the Library?” Several people muttered to themselves and each other before a voice popped up. “He was last seen in the University Parks. He takes walks there often, Sir.” Luis cocked his head, and shot the voice’s owner a glare. “Oh really? He likes taking walks does he? Tell me how often does he walk to Africa?” Luis pointed at another screen, this one displaying a massive blue cube floating over a lake. Near the surface of the lake a large Metallic figure could be seen, it’s head canted back to stare up at the cube. A sudden commotion broke out in the room, and Luis let out another sharp whistle to draw everyone’s focus towards him again. “It has been Twelve God damn years since that thing has moved from its spot at Oxford University and from what I’m seeing here, NOBODY noticed?” Many of the people in the room looked nervous, none willing to speak up. This only infuriated Luis more.

“Come on! Not a single person in this room can give me a reason why this thing was able to travel thousands of miles from its previous spot and wound up in front of another Kaiju without notice? Nobody at all?” The room remained silent, any eyes that weren’t on Luis diverted away from him. Luis sighed and raked his fingers through his gray hair but his head shot up when a tentative voice spoke up. “Uh...If I may Sir. As you’ve said that particular Kaiju hasn’t moved from its location in over a decade and seemed content to sit there. It’s only monitored lightly because of that.” The display showing the Oxford Library suddenly disappeared, instead showing a series of photos of the Kaiju in question, all of them time stamped. Some of them were simply of the Daemon in question wandering around the Campus. Though many of them were from various social media sites, those containing photos of Students interacting with them. “It was last seen on Park grounds as was stated previously. Several of the Students stopped to get a photo as you can see here. That was six hours ago.”

Luis frowned at the photo of the Students clustered around a rather imposing looking Daemon. “Six hours. It was off the grid for six hours?” The voice piped back up. “It’s not uncommon for it to disappear for long stretches. It will often stop to talk to various members of the Faculty, and occasionally helps Students with their studies.” Luis grumbled, waving a hand at the person to silence them. “Alright fine. I can’t believe that we have Students doing our job for us, but I guess I’m glad. They seem to be better at it than you do.” Luis turned back to face the screens, speaking loudly. “So from what we can gather. The Kaiju Rasteva has left the Bodleian Library located at the University of Oxford. Within, that time it has somehow made its way to Lake Natron in Tanzania, Africa. Since it’s arrival Kaiju Rasteva has been interacting with the Kaiju Echeron, seen here on the screen.” Luis pointed to the massive cube floating over the deadly salt lake.

Luis turned back to the crowded room, face drawn. “I cannot even begin to tell you how unprecedented this is. These things do not talk to each other, they don’t travel, and they certainly don’t go out and start making friends. Something’s up and I want to know what, and I want to know yesterday.”The room erupted into a flurry of activity and shouting and Luis resumed staring critically at the screens. “This had better end up to be nothing. Lord knows I hate surprises.”