[IC] Peace Keepers

[PhantomSekai]

Mia stood there patiently, keeping her eyes peeled as a woman stood next to her, speaking so fluently and non-stop that she had found herself actually zoning out every so often before the woman would show a photo straight to her face of a young, and what many would call, handsome looking man. She sighed as she finally turned her head to the bubbly woman and caught her last statement as she said "Mia, isn't it exciting? You get a new member and a Prince to boot. I always wondered what a Siren would look like. Doesn't he look slightly Elven to you with that white hair and blue eyes?"

Mia reflexively put a finger over the girl's mouth and said "Yes Air, it is a very exciting occasion, but I need you to calm down a little. We don't want to scare the new recruit off with your...energy." She gave a slight twinge of a smile and removed her finger, only to get a head nod out of the excited girl. To be fair, she did have a point though. She was getting a new member that was also a Prince, which could turn out to be a very powerful ally for them should they need an army at any point.

"Mia! He is waiting outside. Poor thing I better let him in..." Air said as she left to let him in through the security system. While Mia did pick up a scent thanks to her "gifts," Air was always somehow able to sense when someone was approaching the building, but Mia never questioned it since she figured it wasn't a real problem.

The woman returned with the new recruit in tow and said "Welcome Prince Creulean to Headquarters! Please follow me inside. I hope you had a pleasant flight...Ah well time for lemonade and cookies later. This is the awesome Mia, your new leader. Mia, this dashing young man is Prince Creulean from the Mistique Kingdom. Oh right, I should let you introduce yourself for awhile shouldn't I?"

Mia chuckled softly at her and extended her hand to the man saying "Hello Cerulean Mystique. I am Mia Feral, Senior Officer here at the Peace Keepers New York City branch. Also, I'm sure our friend her forgot to introduce herself to you before pulling you in. So, let her greet you properly this time." She nodded her head to Air and waited for the girl to remember her manners.

"Oh! I totally forgot. Thanks Mia. I am Air the only Communications Officer here. I... right stop talking, right Mia?" Air said with a slight grin to Mia and the older woman nodded softly saying "Yes. Now that we've introduced ourselves to you, it's time to meet the rest of your new team, so, lead us along Air."

The woman nodded and cheerily began to walk ahead of the pair. They passed through several floors and rooms, including the locker room where everyone would go to gear up and change into their uniforms before going out on duty. Next were several personal rooms where agents without a home in the city would live until they found a home outside of the HQ if they wished, and this also included a room where Cerulean's belonging were packed neatly as he needed a place to stay for now. Next was the dinning hall were everyone could go and eat freely. After more rooms like supply closets and other such spaces, they reached the main room for Mia's team, simply called "Moon." Mia turned to Cerulean and explained "We aren't the only team in charge of protecting New York. There are several other divisions and teams that are dedicated to other aspects of the city, but we are the main team that works on actual field missions. Welcome to team moon Cerulean, and your team is waiting right inside."

Mia opened the door with a keycard and they were greeted by three more bodies, and Mia quickly said "Alright everyone. Today, as you've all been briefed before hand, we are getting a new teammate. Meet Cerulean Mystique, I hope you can all treat him well and make sure he fits in here."

[Sonatina]

Robin Voshell pushed her chair back from her desk in frustration, absently clasping her hands before her as she stared intently at the screen. It was a dead end. Another dead end. It had been three long years since her sister’s disappearance and still all the kitsune ever got were dead ends.

Slowly, Robin let the air out of her lungs, and pulled herself back up to the keyboard. Fuming with anger behind her indifferent exterior, Robin closed the offending web page with more vehemence than it probably deserved, and sat back to think.

The trail had seemingly gone cold; it had been months since vixen had had a break through and the stress was eating at her. The vampire coven that had abducted Robin’s twin sister had been lying dormant, and Robin had no way of telling if they were even still in New York. They were just too secretive. Too careful.

It was enough to make a girl want to chop a tail off.

Robin sighed and adjusted the hem of the top she was wearing. For now, she would have to wait until more evidence appeared, besides if she didn’t finish reviewing case files before the team headed into the field, madame Senior Officer would have all three of Robin’s tails. The red headed woman stood and stretched gracefully before picking up the offending files and draping herself across the couch behind her desk to read them. She was almost finished when the door to the main room opened.

"Alright everyone. Today, as you've all been briefed before hand, we are getting a new teammate. Meet Cerulean Mystique, I hope you can all treat him well and make sure he fits in here.” Mia Feral said as she entered, followed by the irrepressible Air and a white haired young man that Robin assumed was the new recruit.

Robin lifted her head, but didn’t otherwise move from her position on the couch. Letting a small half smile spread across her face, the kitsune slowly looked Cerulean over from head to toe, winking at him when her eyes returned to his face. She knew from the briefing that this kid was a prince, but he moved without a royal bearing, which most likely meant he was raised away from his true heritage. That was good news in Robin’s mind. In her experience, the stuck-up royal type didn’t take pranks well. It was like being royalty automatically sucked the humor out of perfectly gullible people. Such a waste.

[LimeyPanda]

Boredom did not befit a god: even such a minor one as a Kami. Bushi didn’t appreciate the boredom, and yet he was obliged by his honour to attend the meeting. If he were being completely honest, Bushi would admit he had nothing better to do with his time than to meet up with the new team mate: who was a selkie or a siren or a squid or...something. He couldn’t really recall which though: he had ignored the brief for a good few hours and was only going off of second hand information. Apparently it was a princess or something? That tipped the team’s numbers towards the fairer sex: not a sad thing, to be sure.

Bushi shared the room with his other team-mates, where he commanded a nearby chair which he leaned against the wall. He was close to falling asleep a couple times in the small period of time that had been allotted to waiting for the teammate, and had chosen to watch the members of his team, in order to stave off the tendrils of tedium that accompanied the mortal form. His focus was drawn mostly to the exacerbated form of the Kitsune. Robin was a strange creature: for far more reasons than the unusual nature of her name vs her heritage. It always caught him off to think of a mind-bending fox having the name of a song-bird, even if both parties were a sight to behold.

Sadly, the song bird was singing a tune of anger and frustration as once again, her secret projects seemed to prove fruitless. Whether the projects were actually secret or whether Bushi simply hadn’t bothered to pry enough to find out was hardly the point: what mattered was that Bushi didn’t know why she was frustrated, and nor did he really care that much. Life was far simpler when you didn’t worry about other people’s problems needlessly. If she needed his help, she’d ask him.

Bushi reached to his belt, pulling out a small, corked gourde with two kanji on it. Too anyone who was able to read the language, they would see translate the symbols to ‘simple pleasures.’ “A drink would calm the nerves, fox. Hardly seems apt for you to stress yourself before meeting the Princ...” before he finished off the ‘-ess’ the door burst open to reveal their commander in arms. Young Mia, the wolf that guarded the sheep. Accompanied by the communication’s officer whose name he’d forgotten more times than he’d been told it and what he assumed was their newest crew member...a male?

Goddamn rumours…

"Alright everyone. Today, as you've all been briefed before hand, we are getting a new teammate. Meet Cerulean Mystique, I hope you can all treat him well and make sure he fits in here."

Mia spoke in her same measured tone, and Bushi tried to stave off the inevitable forgetting of the new person’s name. Bushi looked at the rest of the room, quiet and unwilling to lead the introductions. In the end, Bushi shook his head and did the most evil of deeds he could inflict upon himself. He stood up, gourd of alcohol still in hand as he reached his full, towering height. Without a weapon to sharpen himself with, Bushi was a tall, thin man. Well over six foot three and less than two hundred pounds: at a glance, he would look to be a weak link in a team. To those in the know, he was a sheathed blade: undrawn, ready to strike in a moment’s notice. He wore loose clothing of white cotton and the most dominant feature, other than his body shape, was an eye patch.

“A pleasure to meet you, newbie. I’m Bushi, and I guess this makes you the newest member of the team.” He made no mention of the fact that, prior to Cerulean’s arrival, he was the ‘new kid.’ Most of the normal rituals applied to a new member of a team were never applied to Bushi: perhaps it was his age, or his godhood, or the fact he could murder a dozen man with a spoon. “If you need any help, I’ll be able to oblige: same if ya have any questions.”

He looked around the group, noticing an approaching silence as no one else seemed to rush towards the mantle of conversation. He didn’t feel like fighting of any approaching awkward silences, so Bushi uncorked the gourd and poured rice-wine to his lips and taking in deep, heavy gulps of the sweet wine.

Bushi slumped into his seat again, relaxing against the wall as he waited for someone to fill the silence. Hair-or-whateverhernamewas would probably suffice, or Mia might say something towards their next mission. Either way, Bushi was content with the alcohol in his hands. He almost regretted not having a piece of metal on hand: showing off his talents might have been fun.

[Rexcalibur]

"Aw, Bush. I thought you said it was a princess."

A large ceiling fan churned slowly overhead. Atop one of the blades lied Angel, with one knee propped up and the other calf dangling off. With his hands behind his head, he leaned over to see Mia, Air, and the Siren, Cerulean. From above the young man watched Robin's quiet reaction the man - which wasn't all that surprising to be fair, so he didn't pay much mind to her silence. She seemed frustrated enough already. Still, she looked as attractive as always.

Only after Bushi said his piece to Cerulean did Angel hop down to their level. His wings, black and white, extended from his back briefly to catch his fall, and quickly retracted upon landing. Up close, the Siren and others could see Angel in his usual attire: a white suit top and black suit bottoms, maintaining an air of professionalism aside from his mess of. Angel approached the prince and offered a hand - four-fingered and gloved. Nothing new for a full-blooded harpy, though Angel himself was much more intrigued now that they had two part-humans on their team. Particularly one of royal blood that was typically a sea-dweller.

"Name's Angel, new kid. Welcome to the team. Definitely go to Bushi or La Madre if you have any questions; they'll probably be of more help than me. Though if you're ever hurt, I'm the guy to come to. Usually."

After the handshake (if Cerulean complied), Angel followed after Bushi to snag himself some alcohol. That was one thing Angel liked about Bushi the second they met: the kami liked his wine. Though instead of trying to share wine with Bushi this time, Angel left him alone and opted to his own bottle of Absolut Vodka. "Hope you don't mind me asking, but," he spoke to the prince with his back turned, taking a gulp. "What makes an esteemed character such as yourself decide to join the PK? It's not every day we see nobles step down to our level."

Angel said all that he had in a joking manner of course. Cerulean looked meek from the onset, perhaps a pushover if not just different in general from what Angel expected of nobles, but he hoped prompting the prince with a simple question would open him to speaking a bit about himself. During whoever spoke up next, the harpy walked on back to where Cerulean stood, only so he could wrap his arm around Air's shoulder while he continued to take swigs.

[SupahCow090]

"This is it."

An enormous building was in front of Cerulean and as usual, he didn't know if he should go in or not. He decided to wait and just rested his back against the wall. Afar, he saw a pink-haired girl that was coming his way. Quickly, he fixed his strut and cleared his throat. "Hi. I'm Cerulean. Cerulean Mystique, the new recruit." The pink-haired woman didn't even introduce herself and immediately started to talk while guiding Cerulean towards one of his team mates. Loud. That's what she is. If Cerulean knew her a little better, he would've asked her to tone down but he didn't so all he did was nod to every thing the chatterbox said.

Cerulean didn't hear a word the pink-haired chatterbox said, or at least pretended to, due to his amazement with the rooms and the technological equipment that the headquarter has. This was astonishing to him as he came from a small town with nothing really going on. After a couple of minutes, the woman stopped talking. A brunette was standing in a room. "I think she said 'Here we are' but... I didn't pay any attention. Is she my team mate?" "Welcome Prince Creulean to Headquarters! Please follow me inside. I hope you had a pleasant flight...Ah well time for lemonade and cookies later. This is the awesome Mia, your new leader. Mia, this dashing young man is Prince Creulean from the Mystique Kingdom. Oh right, I should let you introduce yourself for awhile shouldn't I?" Said the pink-haired woman.

"Hi-llo. I mean, Hello. My name is Cerulean Mystique. I'm half human half merm-siren. It's an honor to work with you." Cerulean said while mixing up his words and trying to be polite at the same time. After the introduction, the three of them headed to their team's main room. After passing through some floors and the room Cerulean would be sleeping in, they reached the main room for there team called "Moon." "What an odd name." He said to himself. After swiping the key card, he found himself with 4 people that he would be working with for some amount of time. The four people he saw were of complete different personas, even just by glancing at them. Everyone was unique and he doubted that he'd fit in. He set aside that thought and continued to be his normal self.

The first person that introduced herself, aside from Mia, was Robin. When their eyes made contact, the red-headed girl winked at her. Cerulean turned away and secretly blushed. Then a man with a seemingly alcoholic aura (maybe it was the smell) approached him and introduced himself. Bushi, a name of a sword. He didn't give away any hints of what he was but given his name, Cerulean suspected he could be a spirit of a samurai... or something. Cerulean never really got into this stuff until three months ago when he first discovered who he really is.

Cerulean concentrated on the people on his level and forgot about the man on the ceiling fan. When the man jumped down, with finesse, a wing quickly retracted. Surprised, Cerulean took two steps back. After Angel introduced himself, he offered a handshake. Oddly enough, Cerulean didn't second doubt himself and gladly accepted the harpy's hand. "What makes an esteemed character such as yourself decide to join the PK? It's not every day we see nobles step down to our level." Asked Angel. Cerulean was in a surprise as he didn't expect that from the harpy that hangs out in the ceiling fan. Rather, he'd expect it from a person like Mia. "To help. Mind sound cheesy but that's what I'm here for and to know who I am.... Not only am I helping myself but I'm also helping others. I have problems of my own but I think it'll be solved through the guidance of PK."

The siren then awkwardly sat on the couch. He noticed that he was known as the 'prince' here which personally, he didn't like. He never felt royal and he never felt like power ran in his blood. He was going back and forth in his mind if he should tell what he thinks. Finally, after some time, the blue eyed siren stood up from his awkward position and spoke up. "Everyone, I know you know that I have royal blood and so do I, but please, treat me as a normal member and just call me Cerulean, or anything you like. I'm still adjusting to my situation and I don't feel royal at all." Cerulean nervously said. He was worried if it came out rude but then he realized that he should step up, a thing he doesn't usually do. Cerulean sat back again as he was waiting for the leader's instructions.

[Ryver et Rhine]

“That is a good question, Angel. I did wonder why a Prince who is so close to becoming King would want to join the Peacekeepers,” Air added.

She smiled and allowed Angel to put his arm around her shoulder. The harpy was possibly the friendliest person she has ever met. He gave free hugs unlike most guys in the headquarters. Secretly the banshee wondered if the prince was a hugger too. It would be awesome to have two people she can hug all the time.

“…oh was I talking out loud again? This is really awkward,” the pink haired woman exclaimed. She wasn’t even aware the siren had spoken. Her green eyes met Cerulean’s blue ones. “Why should I tell you that I want to hug you the way I hug Angel?”

A huge blush crept into her cheeks as she realized what she blurted out moments ago. Was anyone else talking? Please ignore that comment. Please, please, please. She couldn’t hear anything other than her own racing heart. No wait. She needed to take back her words. Fast! Before Pye will invent something to keep her mouth shut permanently.

“This is … oh gosh! This is so awkward! A girl shouldn’t be saying such things out loud. Not to a guy she hardly knows. It is almost as bad as trying to pick him up. No I mean swearing. Yes that’s right. Swearing and drinking alco… “ Her eyes fell on Bushi.

“Alco-cola! That’s right. The new Coke is bad for you. It rots your teeth. I don’t know why they call it Alco-cola. Is it from Acapulco?”

The television on the wall turned on even before the last word left Air's mouth. Brave was on air. Merida put down her bow and turned to look at the group coldly. Her voice was very different from the character from the actual film. “I hope my missing communications officer is not holding all of you up the way she is holding me up."

There was a deliberate pause before the mysterious person spoke again. "Air, Sim-R 2 has been booked. Please take team Moon there and come back immediately. I hope you remember what happens when you dawdle.”

The red head turned to look at Cerulean for a brief second. “Air will tell you who I am. I simply don’t have the time for chit chat. Sorry about that, your Highness.”

The last bit sounded like it was added in as an afterthought as though she felt the new recruit wasn't worth noticing. With that the screen went blank once more. Air was still staring for a moment. Before she realized she was late. No wonder Pye was so angry. They were supposed to contact … oh man! Hopefully it wasn’t too late. Coordinating with people from other countries was so difficult.

“Yes. Erm… that was Pye, our head of intelligence, so … yeah follow me guys. We need to get there fast. China is waiting! Figuratively of course. Unless we are talking about personification. Well there is this anime called Power Hetalia.”

Without waiting the communications officer bolted out of the room as she continued talking mostly to herself. She turned round and called to the group still in the room. Can’t the see that Pye doesn’t like to be kept waiting? Mia was the first to arrive at Sim-R2 so Air gave the older woman the card key.

“Mia, you know the drill. The card has been programmed with the selection of simulations you requested. Good luck! I have got to go.”

[PhantomSekai]

Mia merely observed the interactions of her team, not wanting to involve herself to heavily in their business. Should any of them come to her, she'd address them, but instead everyone simply interacted amongst themselves, leaving her to be more of a bystander in the situation. She was quietly taking everything in when the tv turned on and Mia heard the all to familiar "scolding" of Pye to Air, which earned a slight chuckle from the woman.

Before Air led them out of the room, Mia rested a hand on Cerulean's shoulder and said "Don't worry about the royalty thing. I'm about to put you through the standard protocols of joining a field team. Here, your status is determined by rank and ability, not royalty. So, I hope you're ready." She gave a slight grin before following Air and leading her squad to the sim room.

Once there, she took the card and said "Yes yes, just make sure that Pye gets me that report on the terrorist messages we intercepted. I need to know when they plan on attacking that way we can try and coordinate an ambush or counter attack." She patted the woman on the shoulder and said 'I don't need you getting into trouble, so go."

The room itself was a simple grid like, box room. Mia walked over to a wall and swipped the card through a console, then entered a code. This changed the room to a field of low grown grain, with a black star filled sky and full shinning moon. Mia stripped her large jacket off to reveal military style apparel and two weapons. They were rubber sickle like blades that she held, the "blade" ends wrapping around her knuckles.

She turned to Cerulean and said "This is an initiation of sorts. You see, I want to make sure you're up to snuff for the field agent position, so I'm gonna spar with you. everyone else is really just a spectator for this, although if they want to offer advice and such to help you, that's fine. All you have to do is last 3 minutes against me. If you do that, you've passed."

She nodded to cerulean and said 'Get ready, once you're ready let me know." Once Cerulean properly prepared himself (if he has to leave the room to gear up that's fine) Mia looked to the group and said 'Start the timer in 3, 2,1." As soon as she said one, Mia closed the gap in an instant, swing her fist straight at Cerulean's face, but stopped short and pulled back, not taunting him, but merely giving him an opportunity to truly gauge what he'd be up against. With that, she then swooped in again, delivering a flurry of strikes that were meant to just push cerulean back. As of this moment, only 15 seconds have passed.

[Sonatina]

Robin Voshell grinned roguishly from where she lay reclined on the couch nearest her desk, as Cerulean turned his head. She was sure he did so to hide his blush, and all the red head had done was wink at him. There was very little that Robin liked more than to see people squirm. Humans and their closely related supernatural counterparts were immensely entertaining—the kitsune species excepted, of course. After all, two hundred and fifty-six years ago, Robin Voshell was born as a fox of the typical North American variety, quite far removed from humanity.

The other members of the team greeted Cerulean in their own ways, each certainly making an impression on the kid. Robin watched, an amused half smile on her face, as Bushi introduced himself and Angel descended from his perch on the ceiling fan. Both boys were pretty quick about breaking out the alcohol, but didn’t deign to share. Robin considered pouting prettily about it, but was enjoying the dynamic in the room too much to bring attention to herself. Mia, likewise was watching. Robin wondered if the Senior Officer was the silent leadenly type on her off days as well.

"Everyone, I know you know that I have royal blood and so do I, but please, treat me as a normal member and just call me Cerulean, or anything you like. I'm still adjusting to my situation and I don't feel royal at all." The siren said from where he sat awkwardly on the couch.

Called it, Robin thought smugly. Cerulean Mystique definitely wasn’t comfortable in his heritage. In fact, Robin couldn’t imagine him much less confident in himself. She thought this a bit curious. He wasn’t an ugly human, and Air certainly seemed to like him the way she was going on about hugs and blushing furiously. She supposed the danger that the Peacekeepers often faced could be the making of him. It was a puzzle for another day, Robin decided, because Pye came on to usher them out of the room and onto see Cerulean’s initiation.

Robin stood and stretched, filing out of the room with the others. It was a short walk to the pointless grid-like room that could make illusions. It was pointless in Robin’s mind, anyway. could do the same thing anywhere with no electricity and no wires. Not that she would be pleased if the Peace Keepers started bugging her for illusions every time they needed to do a bit of training. This line of thought gave the fox an interesting idea…

"This is an initiation of sorts. You see, I want to make sure you're up to snuff for the field agent position, so I'm gonna spar with you. everyone else is really just a spectator for this, although if they want to offer advice and such to help you, that's fine. All you have to do is last 3 minutes against me. If you do that, you've passed,” Mia was saying to the new kid. Robin understood the instructions well enough; they were not supposed to make this any harder for the siren. But really, when did the Peacekeepers ever fight just one enemy in the real world?

Mia made as if to attack Cerulean, but pulled back at the last minute. When she pressed forward again, Robin added her own version of reality to what was already there. One deadly Mia pushed the white haired kid back with a succession of fast attacks, and six other harmless ones dashed forward menacingly. Robin supposed she would drop the illusion if it gave Cerulean any real trouble. After all, the trickster wasn't completely without a sense of justice. She was just cold, angry, and cynical. It had been one Robin against the world ever since Raven's abduction.

[SupahCow090]

"This is an initiation of sorts. You see, I want to make sure you're up to snuff for the field agent position, so I'm gonna spar with you. everyone else is really just a spectator for this, although if they want to offer advice and such to help you, that's fine. All you have to do is last 3 minutes against me. If you do that, you've passed.Get ready, once you're ready let me know."

Cerulean's heart beat suddenly raised. He's gonna use his powers as offense for the first time. He hastily hurried to his room and got his trident, a stunning silver one with an opal embedded on the middle. Mia looked to the group and said 'Start the timer in 3, 2,1." As soon as she said one, Mia closed the gap in an instant, swing her fist straight at Cerulean's face, but stopped short and pulled back, not taunting him, but merely giving him an opportunity to truly gauge what he'd be up against. With that, she then swooped in again, delivering a flurry of strikes that were meant to just push cerulean back. As of this moment, only 15 seconds have passed.

It seemed as if there were more than one enemy as of that moment. Was it Mia's ability as a half werewolf or is it just her haste and strength? Both of the ideas aside, Cerulean guarded with his arms crossed. He was slowly moving backwards as Mia's flurry of attacks hit him. You can see in Cerulean's eyes that he's enduring physical pain but the flame burning in his blue colored eyes denoted that he's more than ready to survive that 3 minutes. Cerulean had enough of these punches and rolled to his right to avoid these punches from an experienced fighter.

That very moment, Cerulean realized that his physical attacks wouldn't even seem as a spar versus Mia's. Though he hasn't really sharpened his abilities with water manipulation, he's trying to use it. Thing is, there isn't any water nearby, which is a big problem, for Cerulean of course. He then saw a half-filled bottle of alcohol on the side. (either carried by Bushi, if he was there or just left there)Although he doesn't know if he has enough powers to break the bottle where the liquid is contained, it was a huge sense of relief to him, knowing that he may now stand a chance against the werewolf hybrid. He manipulated the liquid inside to lift it up and then released his ability so the bottle would fall down and break. Now, the liquids all over the floor and he's ready for real battle. Ready to survive the 3 minutes. Ready to be a part of Team Moon.

[LimeyPanda]

If Bushi liked anything about his continued existence, it was the little dramatic socialisations that came with being a living being. People were fascinating! He'd met so many bizarre individuals in his four centuries of life: dragons and demons and deadly damsels all made the demi-gods time more interesting and subsequently more enjoyable yet they so often paled in comparison to the mundane-ity of mortality.

Like the way Robin seemed to ignore his offer of a drink, or how the pink-haired woman seemed enamoured with the Prince, or how that very same prince seemed to reject his heritage. The last one caught his interest the most; why would a prince reject his heritage? It made as much sense as a tiger rejecting meat. Some sort of doubt clearly held the boy, and Bushi could only ponder as to what it was that held him so tightly.

As was the norm, Angel acted so as to diminish his worth. The way the harpy dismissed himself was of great amusement to the Kami: who had long since learned to respect the Harpy's talents for what they were: indefensible. The fact he also proved an adequate drinking partner was another boon, to be sure. Bushi took a moment to ponder: how well would a creature of the sea hold liquor? That could be a fun experiment, to be sure.

In the end, professionalism trumped all: as one of Cyber-boss came on screen and began to chastise Pinkie. The dynamic between the pink-haired banshee and they electro-lady were another example of micro-actions that made humanity such a pleasure. In the time before, when he had been only Kami and not Bushi, he would never have enjoyed the simplicity of complicated conversations. His entire purpose was the blade and who held it...Simpler times, but less enlightened times.

And so, Air-headed lass and Mia led the group towards the simulation room. Inside was a large, electronic grid of light and contrasting nothingness. It was a blank canvass, ready for the swipe of the paintbrush. In this case, it was a key-card that created the artistry. Lines and blank-ness were filled with a grassy meadow: and suddenly Bushi reminisced about the last time he’d got to use one of these rooms. He’d been banned from participating in the simulations since last time: when he might have…broken it.

Bushi cradled the bottle of sake, before taking a large swig of the liquor and placing it on the floor. He watched the dynamic between Mia and the prince, and after they began fighting, he turned his head to Robin, a laugh on his lips as he took note of the illusions. “You seem in a better mood, songbird.” To see the Kitsune toying with the siren was a delight. He had met a few Kitsune in his lifetime, as they were a more common sight in the home land of Japan. All of them shared a slight mischievous spark which was a delight to watch.

The Siren seemed to be faring well enough. He was certainly surviving, which was a boon. Bushi was more interested in the weapon he held: A trident of high quality. Bushi knew very little about the smiting work of the Under-folk, but even he could tell the weapon was crafted to be at least beautiful. That meant it was either a shameless ornamental weapon or one that was meant to last. Bushi felt a sudden inkling; a desire, almost. He wanted to grab the trident: to feel its weight and judge its strength. To feel the power of the weapon as his own, and to…

The sound of a crash disturbed his thought patterns to a grinding halt. It was a horrifying sound, one that caused him to look left and down. The sight of his wine-gourd, broken on the floor and its contents spilled to the dirt was heart-breaking. Bushi had a look of genuine disgust at the wasted alcohol and suddenly he looked a great deal sadder.

“I liked that bottle…”

[Rexcalibur]

Angel laughed heartily when Air ended up projecting her thoughts. Oh, he was definitely 'friendly', all right. He wasn't too sure about the free hugs bit, but he figured he'd roll with it. God, she was so weird, but damn she was just as hot. At any rate, he was also satisfied with the response Cerulean gave him, and his laugh was directed to the siren as well - in a positive, non-mocking manner of course. The siren appeared to be earnest in his desire to help, plus he really did not seem to enjoy his royal title, whereas most aristocrats Angel was aware of would take advantage of their blood to boss the others around. Not toss it away for the sake of protecting others. This guy was something new.

"Whatever you say, new kid." Angel took another swig. "I think we'll get along just great."

Then came time to spar. Angel held his vodka like he would a container of popcorn. Mia was not one to hold back, and he knew that bit personally, so he could only anticipate how well (or poorly) the siren would stand up to her. He was about to nudge her, asking what she thought of the new kid thus far - until six other Mias came into view and charged after the outnumbered boy like cavalry.

"Whoa Robin, is this you? Goddamn girl." She sure knew how to spice things up. Though Angel never had the pleasure of outright breaking the simulation room like Bushi did that one lovely time, he still couldn't make out at times whether the tricks there were to be attributed to Robin or not. With that smirk on her face though, Angel was pretty certain this time. At least she appeared to be feeling better from whatever was troubling her earlier. Angel knew better than to flirt around with her when she wasn't in spirits though... like last time.

At some point, a shatter caught the attention of both Bushi and Angel: the former's wine-gourd. Bushi looked like he had seen a ghost. Angel's eyes flickered between the kami and the siren, holding his own drink to his lips to stifle his chuckling. Seeing as sirens were sea-dwellers who played with water, it was obvious that this was his own doing. Now the only questions were if it was enough to get him going... and if Bushi wanted to share some vodka, as Angel offered his own to compensate for the man's loss. "Condolences, Bush. Maybe this'll make you feel better."

[PhantomSekai]

Mia stopped as she saw the bottle of sake break and it's content fall to the ground, and she grinned up at Cerulean saying "Alright then, this is starting to get interesting. Liquid manipulation." She knelt for a second and swiped her finger across the liquid, taking a quick lick as her eyes changed from their human like appearance to beast like eyes. The green iris shifted to a pure gold color, her pupil going from a rounded shape to a slit, and she dashed forward.

(Gonna god mod a bit for the sake of convenience and moving the plot forward).

Mia danced between whatever apparitions and attacks that Cerulean created, but he was doing one thing well, keeping her at bay. By the time she closed about half the distance between herself and Cerulean that he had created when dodging her last attack, it has already consumed about one minute and 45 seconds of their sparring time. She tried to rush him, but when she did so, she was caught off guard by a slicing attack that he had made.

The attack made contact with her, cutting her face open. She fell down, no because she was in pain but because she was shocked that she was actually hurt. The wound started healing instantly, but she slid her finger across the wound and pulled it back into view, seeing her own blood. her natural instincts started to take over, as she stood up and instead of saying anything, there was just a low, snarling noise coming from her.

Her eyes became more exaggerated in their appearance, as well as her body starting to shift into a larger form with her nails and teeth extending to match her change. She wasn't full into her beast-man shape, but she was partially there with extended fangs, claws, and her body mass increase. She rushed forward, her hardened body deflecting any of the attacks that Cerulean would throw at her, and then right before striking him, she stopped and patted his shoulder with a smile. They still had thirty seconds left, but she reverted to her human form.

She turned and grabbed her jacket, explaining "Well Cerulean, congratulations. I think you're qualified to join us. While you may not have lasted the full 3 minutes, you're actually one of the only two people that has ever drawn blood from me during a sparring match. Anyways, that's enough for me to know that with proper training and experience you can become a great Peace keeper. I hope you're ready to become a part of Team moon."

[LimeyPanda]

Bushi grumbled something in frustrated Japanese when he accepted the bottle of vodka and sipped it. The alcohol was not one of his favourites, but the sentiment was one he appreciated. "Thank you, friend. I'm still confused as to how my bottle god bro..."

"Alright then, this is starting to get interesting. Liquid manipulation. " Bushi lifted his head to glare at the Siren, a storm brewing behind a stern gaze. Bushi may not have been the first to put two and two together, but he certainly wasn't going to ignore it, when the truth was dangled like a morsel in front of his nose. He grumbled something else in Japanese, before taking another, larger gulp of Vodka, before handing it back to Angel.

Bushi would be lying if he didn't admit he expected Mia to mop the floor with Cerulean: even in her human form. Bushi never really got the opportunity to spar with the Werewolf, but the initiation fight they had was...an enjoyable affair, to say the least. The intricacy and ferocity she imbued into her warrior's craft was a sight to behold by any warrior worth his or her respective salt. Yet throughout it all, the Prince-ling kept up his defence and, despite the disrespectful way he acquired the liquid, he used it admirably and efficiently to block, push back and hold the Lycanthrope at bay.

Then the boy did something incredible: He landed a blow on Mia. Any pseudo hostility melted away in a sort of half-smirk as he felt a level of respect well up in his bosom. Mia could probably count the number of people that had managed to injure her in a one-on-one fight on her fingers. Bushi suddenly felt an urge to fight again. To fight Mia or to fight the prince: either would be a delight. His hand itched for a weapon: something to strike out with, to be one with. As the urge grew deeper and deeper, his smirk widened.

…And then Mia promptly ended the fight. Her bestial form was always a sight to behold and when she reached the zenith of her half-transformation, Bushi felt a tendril of worry forming in his gut. Was Mia going to take it too far? Bushi started to lurch forward when Mia stopped herself with a pat on the Siren's shoulder. No, Mia was in full control and Bushi's worry was unfounded. He felt his hand gripping a phantom weapon: which had a wave of longing wash over the god-warrior. The lack of his blade felt like the phantom limb he no longer had. His covered eye felt deader than ever as his reminiscing brought back the loss of himself.

“This is where I’d drink my Sake…If it wasn’t on the floor.” He gave Cerulean another look; his eyes squinted as if anger was mounting. After a few seconds of holding the stare, he offered a little smile: trying to distract his mind with the thoughts of friendship and camaraderie, instead of dwelling on what was lost. “That was a fine showing, Prince. You gave Mia a bit of a workout, not many people in the Peacekeeper’s can claim that. I mean, you didn’t quite get her hot and bothered, but that can come later: I’m sure.”

Bushi chuckled at his own, poor-in-taste joke. The distraction technique was working somewhat and his dull emptiness faded away behind the thought that Mia would probably end up trying to punch him. “I think I should fully introduce myself now, since you’re part of the team. The name is Bushi; I’m the awakened spirit of a Kami-A demigod-made flesh. I’m the guy who hits stuff with a sword and wastes the unit’s budget on alcohol.” He offered his right hand to the Siren, making sure to keep his free hand in between himself and Mia, who might decide to deliver a very sharp blow in retaliation.

[SupahCow090]

At the midst of the initiation, Mia looked even more ferocious and tenacious than she already does. This made Cerulean's heart beat faster, of course. Who wouldn't be afraid of an experienced hybrid werewolf? Though it made Cerulean nervous, he knew he had something that Mia doesn't have with him. His ability to manipulate water and liquid. This is the only chance he'd survive this initiation. To spar against Mia with physical strength won't do, even with a weapon with him. Cerulean fixed his strut and switched his trident to his left hand. His right hand was seemingly busy, doing weird movements as Mia was ready to strike the siren.

You can hear the air gusting when Mia leaped forward to engage combat with Cerulean once again. Still, his enemy looked as if there was more than one which means he needs to level his skill against his enemy. With only less than a litter of liquid with him, he needs to use it intellectually and strategically. The goal is to survive three minutes with your opponent on the "battlefield". Range was in Cerulean's side. He knew that if he could keep his enemy busy at a range, he'd last the whole time unhurt. Then and there, Cerulean decided to mold the water into a straight, sharp line and send it flying towards his opponent. As fast as Cerulean's attacks were, Mia effortlessly dodged every single projectile. This wasn't Cerulean's main intention of course. He made a small wall of water to hinder Mia but it was like breaking glass to the werewolf. Cerulean noticed that his opponent was getting nearer and nearer. He switched his trident to his attacking hand, his right one, and continued making projectiles with his left. Once Mia evened the distance and rushed towards him, Cerulean dropped the liquid, prepared for a big swing and with precise timing, executed it.

Cerulean was shocked as everyone. He didn't know he was capable of that. Was it luck? No one knows but that certainly had everyone going. Then, a noise came from Mia, some sort of a growl. Her body mass seemingly doubled, her nails were as sharp as razor and her teeth grew as of a wolf. "No..." Cerulean whispered to himself, terrified. A gold iris and hazardous pair of eyes met with Cerulean's as Mia slowly stood up. Was it still Mia he was facing? Still pondering on this 'creature', the almost-werewolf-like creature headed towards his direction. Quickly, he gathered all the liquid around him and sended out knife-looking projectiles made out of water. "What?!" He released more than a dozen of those projectiles but the werewolf deflected it with it's body. Hopeless. He wouldn't get in PK anymore. He just braced himself for the final blow. Shutting his eyes tightly and squeezing his trident, he waited for that excruciating pain. 3... 2... 1! He peeked open his left eye to see what's happening, if time magically has stopped. But what he saw surprised him.

"Well Cerulean, congratulations. I think you're qualified to join us. While you may not have lasted the full 3 minutes, you're actually one of the only two people that has ever drawn blood from me during a sparring match. Anyways, that's enough for me to know that with proper training and experience you can become a great Peace keeper. I hope you're ready to become a part of Team moon." said Mia in her human form. Cerulean's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it. First, he couldn't believe what Mia said and second, he couldn't believe he is an official member of Peace Keepers and Team Moon. "I... I did it? How?" He looked at the spectators as they are in awe as well. "Ms.Mia, thank you! I have never been this happy! I am more than ready to be a part of Peace Keepers!" he exclaimed with joy.

"That was a fine showing, Prince. You gave Mia a bit of a workout, not many people in the Peacekeeper’s can claim that. I mean, you didn’t quite get her hot and bothered, but that can come later: I’m sure. I think I should fully introduce myself now, since you’re part of the team. The name is Bushi; I’m the awakened spirit of a Kami-A demigod-made flesh. I’m the guy who hits stuff with a sword and wastes the unit’s budget on alcohol” Bushi then offered a hand to the siren. Cerulean gladly accepted it. "It's nice to meet you, again, Bushi. I hope we can uh- get along together?" In a rising intonation as he wasn't sure if the "opposites attract" saying would work there. Either way, he was happy to finally know who Bushi really is. "This is a new chapter in my life and I'm glad to spend it with all of you." He rejoiced.

[Rexcalibur]

Angel spat out his vodka as Cerulean managed to land an attack on Mia - not just any attack, but one that drew blood. "Hoo! That was something. You guys saw that, right?" He eyed his two bystander teammates, though Bushi looked much too absorbed in the battle to even hear the harpy.

Once Mia began her transformation, Angel chugged down the remainder of his vodka like it was popcorn. Seeing as he had fought alongside Mia for sometime, he was well aware of her ability to control her transformation. Watching Cerulean mildly panic (and Bushi nearly wetting himself at wanting to intervene) was more so comedic to him than anything. The harpy let out a hearty laugh, right as Mia ended the skirmish with a congratulatory pat on the back.

As Bushi congratulated the siren, Angel approached Mia, smiling coolly with a thumbs up. "Mia, you're good, right?" Naturally he was inclined to offer assistance whenever a teammate was hurt, as he had a rather unconventional means of 'healing' injuries. But Mia's own ability covered rejuvenation, so his question was more so out of habit than anything. "That was some spar. I think we found ourselves a winner here."

Angel listened in as Cerulean rejoiced, almost stuttering in his response to the kami. The moment the siren ended his response, Angel patted him on the back, rather roughly. "A prince who wants to help more than his own hide, and can put up a fight? Hah! The royals back at home could learn a thing or two from you." He beamed at the siren, as if he were a proud older brother. "Glad to have you on the team, new kid."

[Ryver et Rhine]

AND


Alarms went off within the headquarters. The muffled announcement filtered into the simulation room. The serene night scene melted away and it was replaced with a scene of an all too familiar street in New York. Even at this distance the smoke and flames pouring out of the windows of the Municipal Building were visible. A black haired angel materialized behind Mia.

“Team Moon get ready to be deployed. This is a code red. Team Zephyr was deployed half an hour ago to that very building. All members are accounted for save their leader. He was last seen heading down to the 32nd floor. The blast was believed to have started on the 30th floor.”

A second explosion rocked the entire area. Io turned to look at the building. “I will send Air over with the team’s uniforms.”

The scene faded away leaving only blank grid walls. The door swung open and Air burst in pushing a clothes rack. She greeted them while her voice continued giving updates and instructions to various teams via the PA system in HQ.

“I have everyone’s uniform here, and your issued equipment is in my backpack.”

The pink haired banshee slipped the bag off her shoulders and began unpacking. Most of the things were standard issue save the individual oxygen bottles, gas masks, a medical kit, a manual labelled SPiCA Mini 2.0 and a wine gourd. She smiled as she handed the latter to the Kami.

“I saw your gourd shatter on screen back in the intelligence office. And… Cerulean! I need to give you this!”

Air walked closer and threw her arms round the Siren’s neck as though she was about to hug him. Deftly her fingers adjust something round his neck before a cool gel was applied. When she pulled away a tiny microphone was pinned to the collar of his shirt.

“Okay SPiCA Mini installed.”

The communications officer skipped towards the door. “Mia I will be sending you some files later. Good luck guys!”

[PhantomSekai]

Mia nodded to the woman as she received her gear, dawning her black uniform on signifying her status as the squad leader, everyone else wearing white jackets instead. She also wore a holster which sheathed her weapons of choice. She looked out to the rest of the team and once everyone appeared to be ready she quickly said "So as we were informed, the building we see is currently suffering from some type of fire. Now, it might merely be a coincidence that the blaze started while Team Zephyr was there, but we need to be prepared for the situation of the damage being due to an attack. I want everyone to be alert and keep up communications. If there are hostiles, do not hesitate to fight, but try and subdue them without killing them. If this was a planned attack, we need information."

With that, she led the team out of the simulation room and too the garage. There was a human driver waiting by their vehicle, a large Humvee. She nodded to the driver and climbed into the top part of the truck, sitting in what would normally be the gunner position but instead was just a perch to keep an eye out. Once everyone else climbed into the vehicle, Mia lightly hit the top of the vehicle and the driver began to take them down to their destination, turning on a very faint but discernible siren that was a solid ringing noise that instinctively made all those not wearing a communication device like the PK agents move away from the sound, as a way to clear the road and make getting to their destination easier.

Once they arrived at the building, Mia hopped out and said to the driver "Be ready to get out of here at a moments notice. Don't hesitate to leave if you get attacked either. Keep your comm open and ready to call in back up if it is a hostile situation." The driver nodded and once everyone was outside Mia said "Alright, Bushi and I shall be taking the point. Angel, I want you in the back, keep an eye out for any ambushes from behind us and take them out when you can. Cerulean and Robin, you guys stay between us three. You two are better suited for supporting the rest of us and only getting into physical combat if we need you guys. I also want you two watching out for survivors. If we find any, we'll have Angel fly them down to safety. Lets move." She grabbed a small device and explained "This is a special magic device that emits a similar material to the stuff found in fire extinguishers. Everyone grab one and get ready when we reach the fire."

With that said, Mia led them into the building, and they searched each floor easily thanks to Mia's heightened sense of smell up to the 25th floor. The smoke was beginning to feed down into the lower floors so her scent was dulled. She stopped the group and pulled out a breathing apparatus of sorts that covered the face with an air filter. She said "everyone should have one in their jacket, get your gear set and we'll continue." ONce everyone had their breathing mask set, she gave the signal to move out once more, this time searching more thoroughly for survivors, but they found none which didn't surprise her. Everyone below the floor with the fire would have time to evacuate.

On the 30th floor, they encountered the flames and Mia stopped the group, she began to use the device they had gotten earlier and began to put out the fires. After a few fires were put out, she stopped and made out the view of a silhouette. She stopped the group once more and gave a signal for everyone to crouch down. The silhouette came into sight, and it was a burned victim that was still on fire. Mia let her concern get the better of her, rushed to help him, and then was caught off guard when the body reached out and grabbed her forearm before ripping into it with his teeth. Her body reacted on it's own and with a swift motion from her free arm, she grabbed her weapon and embedded the blade into the skull of her attacker. She removed the blade and freed herself of the attacker's mouth, and realized quickly that it was a shuffling corpse. More came into view and Mia yelled out "Everyone fan out! We have undead! Attack on site!" She pulled out her other weapon as her forearm began to heal already and closed the distance between her and another zombie, letting her instincts guide her now as the blades tore into the new target's flesh.

[LimeyPanda]

The creature known as Pye had often left Bushi confused and ponderous. The way she hid behind the angel construct: it reminded him of his time as a Kami. Feeling the world second-hand, being known only by the form you experience the world in...She was the spirit behind the Peacekeeper's base. She was like the headquarters’ own godly spirit.

...and that was a lonely life, indeed.

The mission was explained quickly, and it was made quite shocking at that. It seemed they were under attack: and that knowledge had prompted the Air-headed one to bring Team Moon its equipment. Among the team, Bushi was unique in that he did not have to wear the uniform. Upon joining the group, and upon being informed of the uniform, Bushi had staunchly disagreed. Mia and Bushi were set to battle for the right to decide if he should wear the uniform, yet the elders had forbidden the pair from fighting again, on account of breaking the previous simulator room. Mia had made the mistake of offering Bushi the choice of competition...

Bushi chose a drinking competition, and despite Mia's impressive regenerative factor: she could not out-drink a god. He agreed to carry around the badge and the communicator, but nothing else that he did not wish to wear.

Instead of the white attire everyone else wore, Pink-haired-girl brought along an unusual for Bushi. It was a quiver of sorts: except instead of arrows, it held thirty metal poles. The metal poles were...well...remarkably ordinary looking. They were roughly the size of an arm, and had no discernible weaponised features. They looked more akin to the tools of a builder than a warrior.

The saving grace though, was when the pink haired one handed Bushi a wine gourd. The slightly sullen kami's face lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree, and he wrapped an arm around the Banshee's shoulders and brought her into a strong embrace. "Thank you, lass; you know how to make a man happy!"

Tying the gourd to his belt and slinging the quiver over his back, Bushi offered a nod to Mia, as she led the group to the Humvee. It was a quiet drive, and Bushi enjoyed the anticipation for a battle. It was a rare opportunity for Bushi to stretch his muscles, as it were. He would use the opportunity to show off in front of the new prince: since all he'd done so far is provide a convenient source of liquid.

Arriving at the building, the team began to ascend and soon, Mia asked Bushi to join her at point. It was the most common tactic among the group: Mia and Bushi would annihilate the majority of enemies; any stragglers were picked off by whoever was left. The lovely Kitsune offered support, and now the Prince-ling could do the same thing. Angel covered the other side of the group, in case there was a sneak up. He could at least hold his own, even if he was no match for Bushi or Mia in a fair fight. Thankfully, Angel rarely needed to fight fair.

The order was to put on gas masks, and Bushi slipped his on happily. One of the whole deals with his sentience is that he could suffer human injuries, to a certain extent. He needed to breath, just like everyone else: even if he didn't need to eat or drink. The mask wasn't overly restrictive to his breathing: and he suspected that it probably had some sort of handy feature or two. The Peacekeepers never seemed without a trick up their sleeves.

They reached floor thirty in what seemed like no time at all. Mia was taking the lead, as was her right. The leader called the shots, and she called them well. It started with fire-control, and then crowd control. It looked like a helpless bystander, but he wasn’t acting in pain or anything. Mia was moving forward before Bushi even noticed.

“Mia, wait!”

Too late. She was bitten by the creature and suddenly she was lashing out with the odd claw-blade she so favoured. More undead were pouring out of the woodworks and suddenly Bushi drew two metal poles from the quiver.

In his hands, the metal seemed to shimmer and shift. Soon, metal poles had become two short katanas. Bushi looked incredibly menacing with two swords in hand: so much so that he seemed to physically fill out his shirt slightly more. Just as Mia was lashing out at undead, Bushi surged towards the nearest creature: decapitating it and skewering a blade through the eye socket in less time than it took to slice bread.

He moved like a dervish: slicing through anything stupid enough to come close. After the forth undead, he had to leave a sword lodged inside its eye socket, only for Bushi to near-instantly replace the lost weapon with an axe. Again, Bushi’s body mass seemed to shift, as his muscles further filled out his clothing.

“This is a fun little first mission for the prince: Nice and easy!” As he spoke, he caved in an undead creature’s skull: creeping close to double digits now. He was grinning like the happiest of campers. Bushi enjoyed the blood-work far too much.

[Rexcalibur]

It wasn't long before alarms sounded off in the building. Angel dug a 'finger' into one of his ears, trying to knock out that popped sensation as Pye materialized to iterate the severity of the issue. Once he was freed from being half deaf, another rumble claimed the building, causing the harpy's other ear to pop. "Goddamn it."

Just as he had finished calmly adjusting to the calamity, Air burst in with everyone's uniforms. Angel stretched his neck, cracking some bones and rolling his shoulders. Amidst the three white uniforms (Mia's underlings sans Bushi), one immediately stood out as the siren's, signified by two holes carved along the back for his wings. In no time he dressed down from his suit top, dusting it off before laying it neatly atop the nearest table along with his four-fingered gloves, despite the room's rattling bound to knock it off. He then donned the uniform and necessary accessories along with it, including his powders stuffed in his pockets, and his dual hooks concealed in his sleeves.

"Time for round one, new kid!"

Once they reached the humvee, Angel did as was usual and perched himself in the back of the vehicle, since Mia claimed the top. His position was for the sake of the others' safety; the last time they faced sudden stops and jerks, his wings acted as substitute airbags. At any rate, they soon arrived at the party, and Angel took his time stretching as Mia explained the battle plan and group positions. He saluted her with two claws to his forehead - "Gotcha, Madre." - once she finished her commands.

Team Moon proceeded into the building and reached the 30th floor soon enough. Mia charged in on impulse and was quickly ensnared by the teeth of what appeared to be a body on fire. Angel winced only when Mia retaliated by jamming her weapon into the undead's skull, with Bushi following up and decapitating the one closest to him. Angel sighed with a smile on his face; those two always had such a lovely way of dealing with vermin like this.

Two undeads attempted to pincer the harpy by attacking him on his sides, though he quickly dodged them by brandishing his wings and taking to the ceiling. Once the enemies crossed one another, Angel shot forth his dual hooks from his sleeves directly to them. The metals cleaved right through each of their skulls before tugging tight onto their skin like fish to a lure. At lightning speed, he then used them to launch himself back towards the ground. Upon landing he cleaved through them vertically with his honed claws, then bounced off their halved bodies back into the air.

Though Angel did not swerve through nearly as many baddies as Mia and Bushi, he worked deftly to protect the others from stragglers so they could focus on what was ahead of them without worry. Many times a creeper moved to flank the fronters and middle two supports while their attention was on one or multiple other enemies at once - but Angel was quick to latch onto and instantly reel them to his aerial vantage point, where he would cleave through them before chucking their remains away like litter.

With the way Angel fought grounded enemies like these, the others always knew they had their backs protected. There was however, a goofup after plucking a third creeper from flanking Bushi. As the baddie flung back towards the aerial Angel at a rapid speed, the hook weaved around its neck came loose, sending the undead flying over the harpy's shoulder instead of directly to him. It groaned loudly, attempting to lash at him, though was dodged easily.

Angel chuckled as he watched it fly in after Cerulean. "Whoops. Uhh, new kid! Watch out overhead!" He then returned his attention to another baddie below him, landing directly atop the crawler with his feet before burrowing his claws into him.

[PhantomSekai]

Mia observed as Bushi and Angel each handled their respective "targets" with the ease and skill she had come to expect from them with a slight skew of the edges of her lips skewed upward. She turned back to a group of what appeared to be at least 10 more undead moving towards her at a decently fast speed. She twisted her neck and you could hear the crack, then she clasped her hands together and cracked her knuckles of fingers. Her eyes held a golden hue to them with her slitted pupils but this was as far as she would allow her instincts to take over for this task.

She dashed forward towards her first target and instead of sinking her blades into the enemy, she twisted her body, swinging her leg from the ground straight into it's neck. There was an audible snap as the corpses neck snapped and bent, leaving the body shuffling hilariously with it's head hanging of the side of it's body. She sent a quick jab into the head sending it flying out the window and Mia simply said "Oops."

The next few enemies met a similar fate, having their bodies dismantled from an onslaught of Mia's legs, feet, and fists. After she had dealt with 7 of the horde, she noticed something. They began to move away, which was unusual. Undead never back off of their own will, cause they don't have any will. They have no instincts either, they're merely just puppets made from corpses, which means that the person holding the marionette must still be nearby.

Mia turned back to the group and said "Bushi, I'm leaving you in charge. Handle any stragglers you find and then if you find any survivors have the others escort them out!" With that, she turned and began to chase after the other corpses, letting her blades sink into the back of their heads to stop them from escaping. Before she could leave, she sensed a familiar smell and stopped at the entrance to the next floor. She turned and found a spot of blood coming from a collapsed column. She studied the pile of rubble for a bit before recognizing the blood. She sighed as she realized that it belonged to the leader of team Zephyr. She smelt not only blood, but the scent of dead flesh as well as she realized that it was too late for him.

She moved on, rushing up the steps to find the dead corpses now mutilated, and a circle of of runes and magic language written with blood and a body standing at the center of it. The body merely turned to Mia and said "Be prepared. The new age of humanity will rise." Before Mia could do anything, the man said something in an ancient demonic language and the circle flared up, launching Mia back into the wall. She groaned in pain as she tried to stand, and looked up to the see the man was gone. She slammed the wall with her fist so hard that it left a visible crack int he cement. She sighed and stood herself up before returning to the team.

She said to all of them "We're done here. Gather up any possible survivors and lets get going." As the group prepared to leave, one more corpse shuffled over, but Mia noticed something different. There was a mark of blood on him and it began to glow. She realized what it was too late and began to yell "Get do-" but was cut off as the corpse exploded, launching the entire group out of the build through the window they stood near.

Mia was caught off guard as she began to fall, but she let her instincts take over. Her body shifted into a slightly monstrous form, her body enlarging as her hair grew out and covered some of her body. Her claws extended and as she fell she grabbed the side of the building, her claws digging into the cement and causing her to slow her decent as she began to slide down the side of the building. She saw Cerulean falling and managed to catch him by his jacket's collar with her mouth with was somewhat stuck out now like a wolf's snout. She then saw Robin falling, but knew that she couldn't do anything to save her. Her mouth was full with holding Cerulean and she needed all of her limbs to keep herself from falling. She wasn't going to risk Cerulean and her won safety to attempt to save Robin. She saw the body fall and slammed into the ground, but luckily the woman used her magic to save herself from death.

Once they got to the ground, Mia turned back into a human after setting Cerulean down and rushed over to Robin where the EMT's were already taking care of her. They informed her that while she did manage to keep herself from dying, she still suffered some major head trauma and was at least going to be unconscious for awhile, so they'd be taking her back to the medical facility. They informed Mia that Robin would probably be out of commission for a long time and Mia merely turned to the building and let her rage set in as her fists became to slam into the concrete building, and she actually began to punch a hole into it until someone else stopped her.

She turned back to her group and said "Everyone who's alright, get ready. We're heading back to the base to give our report." and got into the Humvee, waiting for everyone else to get in.