[IC] Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

[Plank Sinatra]

There's powerful niggatry at work here.

Contrary to her reputation, Lauren Negasi did not put everything she could on the receiving end of her hands. Just ask Ben Lloyd, who had been sullen after a full week of being forced to use his own.

Anyone who really grew up on the streets knew that fighting everything was a good way to get your head stuffed sideways up your ass for good. In the name of continuing to work your grind, sometimes you had to book it in the face of something unwinnable - or, in this case, ignore the fight and focus on the grind anyway.

As much as she would have loved to help...

A true bad bitch knows her limitations, but never voices them aloud. And armed with only a fire ax and a quarter of her clothes, Lauren Negasi knew that she was gonna have to leave this Manticore on the shortlist of the things that remained unmolested during her time at Beacon.

Oh well. It could keep Cap some company.

Luckily, there was still one boy on the ground with her who Lauren felt very capable of molesting.

Her gaze drifted to the yard full of abandoned trucks they had first passed by hours before. A quick inspection of their inner workings from the start of their mission had confirmed some of them were in working condition, and though they weren't going to be any good in getting the ground team out of Dodge...they could probably be used to make a much, much shorter trip. One that could wrap up the last little loose end in this mission nice and neat.

Her gaze drifted back to the cargo door she, Luke, and Cian had opened on their way up. The lift was still waiting for them...along with untold barrels of spooky superpower-granting chemicals back in the basement they'd just abandoned. And since she was no good fighting the Manticore...she may as well make everyone some money on the side!

But she'd need an accomplice.

Now, the action movies liked to make a big deal out of sliding through the conveniently-sized driver's side window of the car you intended to steal. It looked cool, it was (supposed to be) quicker than opening a door, and it showed what an effortless badass your otherwise staid white boy secret agent could be when he wanted to put the effort in. And for little kids? It worked great! Lauren had spent the best part of two happy years slipping and sliding through all manner of open windows into a driver's seat of the car, from when she was ten to twelve. Unfortunately, as many a Beacon student could now attest, puberty had hit her like a truck.

And for a girl who bellowed like a bull with a bug up its ass when she was forced to so much as wear a bra outside missions ("AAAAAAAAAARGH HELP ME SANGUE") squishing her chest to fit into a little crevice like that just didn't do the trick anymore.

So instead of executing her old entry method of a decade past, her only options were 'milquetoast' and 'unnecessary.' She could open the car door like a regular ass motherfucker with a 9 to 5 job and a wife who wouldn't put out...

CRASH

Or she could wriggle in through the broken windshield and be thankful she had enough Aura to avoid getting cut up by the glass shower that rained upon the front seat and the floor of the truck. Rolling in and landing with a triumphant crow, she instantly dropped down below the dashboard, where she knew most of the older models of cab kept most of their wires. A minute of tinkering followed before the old beast finally revved to life with a husky growl, loud under normal conditions but almost lost underneath the sky-splitting sounds of fire from the airship and Luke's Not Jap no Jutsu.

And speaking of the little weeb...

Awkwardly splayed out along the front seat, with the truck set in reverse, her left big toe pressing down on the gas hard, and her right arm and head reached out the window, Lauren closed one eye and began to eyeball her drive-by grab of Luke. He had just landed in a pretty decent roll and was skidding to a halt, bringing himself up to full height--

"I think it might be mad now--HRRK!"

The last noise was made in shock and panic as Lauren, crying out an excited greeting, grabbed Luke's collar and pulled it backwards with the truck, digging the front of the collar into his throat as Lauren both dragged him along for the ride and attempted to hoist him one-handed into the truck. It wouldn't take her too long, and by the time he was settled in, the two of them would almost be perfectly aligned with the lift they would both ride all the way to payday. Everything would go perfectly!

...As long as she was careful with where she dropped Luke once she was done lifting him. After that electrocution stunt, he might be a bit more susceptible to the broken glass on the seat than she was.

...

...

He'd be...

Fine?

"Luuuuuuuuuke, hurry up and climb in! I'm gonna rear end the truck!"

He'd be fine.

[Suku]

Cian Kuze | Brewing Storm

This is simply F.A.T.E.

"My lord that was one big grimm."

This was the only thought Cian managed to say upon looking at the manticore. Sure she knew they could get large but my god did pictures and diagrams no do its size justice. Overwhelmed by its sheer size of it had to weigh quite a bit as well to support its own size. Hell that was practically on a league of its own. "My god how are we supposed to fight that thing." Cian muttered outloud till as if answering her very question the gunship came in flying low and began to open fire bullets rained down faster than she could even count. Tearing into the grimm's hide. "Chaingun" She whispered to herself trying to place the sound of the gun.

Before long the rain of gun fire ended as Goodwitch came in with her own blow. Though before she could act Luke came up and blinded the beast with his unique idea. "I cant fall behind now can I?" She whispered to herself as she grabbed a blue colored ammo pack and slammed into her gun not so gently. But she hardly cared she had a plan a crazy one but it should work. Jumping up she shot the ground with her ice dust creating a giant ice slope. Landing back down in a crouch she charged forward managing to run up the slope she created. Upon reaching the top she activated her semblance creating a shield underneath her feet before jumping once and repeating the procedure for awhile till she was in a suitable distance to hit the manticore.

Switching her gun's form to its machine gun form she took aim at the general location and opened fire. Jumping from one platform to another she jumped flipping and landing before releasing a stream of bullets and jumping out of the way yet again. Taking a small break she emptied her clip and slammed in a clip of fire dust. This was a bit untested as the fire dust was normally meant to be used with her rifle form and she was unsure on how the dust would react to a rapid fire type configuration. "Initiating test 1" She said aloud as she released a literal fire storm on the manitcore. It was like each dust became a small fire ball once it left the barrel. Creating one more platform she switched her guns form once more though into its sniper configuration. Taking careful aim at the spot between the eyes she released the shot before flipping off multiple platforms before she landed on the ground her arms perfectly spread out.

[HereComesTheSnow]

Luke Schwarz | Brewing Heist

"Aaaaayyyyyy!"

That sounded like—

"HRRK!"

Even as he drew up to his full height and spouted his pithy one-liner, Luke suddenly felt himself being accelerated in the very surprising direction that was straight backward and by a truck. And to make matters even more disorientating this acceleration was happening collar first.

What the—

"Luuuuuuuuke," called the buxom boxer grabbing him from within the vehicle in a manner akin to a kitten.

"Lauren?!" he responded incredulously, twisting himself bodily to try and find purchase on the back of the truck.

"Hurry up and climb in!" she ordered, dutifully tugging him closer with her arm whilst she multitasked the rest of the demands of driving. He was trying, but it was easier said than done...

"I'm gonna rear end the truck!"

Not that the difficult things weren't the most worth doing, that was!

Scrambling, stretching, and generally skittering forward however he could, the boy managed to crawl his compact frame through the window in short order, brushing away most of the glass shards he encountered with an armored hand.

Once safely seated, he chased after his new number one priority.

The driver.

"What's the big idea here?"

[MULTI_MEDIA_MAN]

Oswald Connoly- Infirmary

Alarms went up inside Oswald's head as Sapphire started talking about how far he was taking his training. Memories of a blurry, indistinct time of suffering and training that put his recent exhibition to shame. Memories of pushing away everybody left in his life, burning six names, six faces, enough memories for six lives into the forefront of his mind as guilt and self-hatred racked his soul.

Even as weakened as he was, Oswald's Aura could recognize danger- or at least, what Oswald had been convinced was dangerous. Ever so faintly, a dark glow emanated from his body before quickly being subdued. Closing his eyes, Oswald pushed back the dark thoughts and tried to focus on responding to Sapphire. "It's not a coastal city, actually...it's closer to a forest. Near a river, as well. It's my home, though. I only came to Beacon because...well, because there wasn't much left for me there."

Stop. It's not worth remembering. Oswald found himself unable to continue, physically unable to keep speaking for a moment as he fought back against his own self-destructive coping mechanisms.

It wasn't meant to be, though. Time alone could not heal all wounds, at least not for Oswald. "It's...not important right now." Why do you keep lying? It can't get any wor-She could see me cry! Oswald's conflicting thoughts and instincts broke his concentration for a moment. How pathetic he must have looked, eyes hardening and posture becoming more defensive at a simple conversation. Sapphire was right. He wasn't in the middle of nowhere. He could take his time to grow, perhaps even relax for a few days. He didn't need to vent his rage by bleeding all over Beacon's nice floors.

But god, did it feel good when he did. "I....I know my habits aren't exactly healthy. It's been...it's been a hard battle getting back to a point where I can feel anything but rage, though. Sometimes it all just boils over. Seeing..." Death. Destruction. Blaine! He couldn't say another word. Too many memories hit him all at once. Brimstone, gunpowder, the acrid smell of charred corpses, the sights-god, remembering their broken bodies hurt the most.

It hurt Oswald so badly to cry, his lung crying out as the recently-patched hole stretched and strained to accommodate the gasping breaths he was forced to take when he felt his body screaming for oxygen.

And it just made him hate himself even more.

[Plank Sinatra]

"Whatcha mean, what's the big idea? Don't you remember our briefing?"

The laws of action movies dictated that it was totally cool for her to leave through the car door, so Lauren parked the back of the truck to the left of the cargo lift and hopped out nimbly. She rapped on the hood a few times with her fist impatiently, all ten million megawatts of light from her manic grin aimed at Luke Schwarz.

"We still have stuff to grab!"

rap rap rap

"Think of all those chemicals, kid! Four digits per drum, half a dozen drums per team..."

She waited for Luke to do the math.

Forrrrrrrrrr about five seconds. Then she had already turned her back on him and was sashaying towards the lift.

"Now get your ass outta the truck and let's make this mission worth a fuck! Or I'm gonna steal your share and use it to turn your dorm into Gratia's sex dungeon."

[HereComesTheSnow]

Luke Schwarz | Drum up some courage, lad!

...

He said nothing, instead electing to take his time to process her reasoning as he exited the truck in a similarly normal manner, via the door on his side.

He looked after her as she continued heedlessly forward, pep in her step and sway in her wide, wide hips that betrayed her pure confidence in everything she was saying.

Every single thing.

"No room of mine is becoming a sex dungeon."

His priorities set and plan of action already being laid out before his very eyes, Luke saw very little argument for another choice than to jog along after her and acquiesce to her demands.

Me and pretty girls, man.

As he drew up alongside her, he probed his dark-skinned counterpart with another pertinent question.

"You sure it's alright to do this? I get that I was kind of going to stand around and admire my work with the Manticore, and that there's an award for retrieval, but we did kind of end up leaving everyone else to their own devices with that thing."

He half-grimaced.

"I took its eyes out, but it's still pretty dangerous."

[Plank Sinatra]

"Look, Luke, if I could be out there giving that ugly fucker the business, sure I would. But facts are facts," Lauren said breezily, triggering the lift once they were both inside. They began the slow crawl back to the basement, and the quarter-dressed Huntress slouched with her arms crossed. One smooth mocha shoulder lifted in a shrug.

"I've been beating people up with axes, bats, and my bare damn hands since I was six years old. That's not a skill set that's very handy against a big fucking Manticore like that - especially when I came to Beacon with a weapon you could probably scrounge around and find somewhere in this very brewery. If I go out there with this shitty ax and the shit I wear to the gym, all I'm going to do is distract Ben, and probably Amy on top of that. A truck that needs hotwiring and some goods that need stashing? That's a skill set I can actually still use."

An imperceptible sign ran from Lauren's lips, and for a moment her grin shrank.

"To be honest with you, I am gonna have to do something about it, though. I fuckin' hate feeling useless like this..."

Then it was as though a cloud lifted from Lauren, and she straightened up and rolled her shoulders as though she were entering an octagon.

"Which is why we need that brewery paycheck in our hands fuckin' ASAP! Now c'mon, let's roll some drums!"

[NaraK]

Venomous

Size never meant anything. If anything, the sheer capacity the Grimm took made Sangue's general disadvantage against Grimm less prominent.

Squinting at the Manticore, Sangue kept her hand on her blade's handle tightly. She hoped that it would go down in a few hits, but the air support and Goodwitch's assistance did manage to at least put it on a silver platter for the hunters and huntresses to attack it. With the survivors taken care of, Sangue's attention went to the Manticore as she let go of her blade.

Taking the small bottle strapped to the side of her waist, the red-haired swordswoman bit the corkscrew lid. She closed her eyes as she poured venom into her mouth, its deadly taste nonexistent to her. Not caring about whether she spilled some or not, after she used up all of the bottle's content, she kept her mouth closed as she tossed the bottle aside.

She unsheathed her blade and wrapped the chains of her claw around her blade arm, letting the claw dangle closely to her katana. Personal experience told her that all moving things- monster or not- suffered from venom as long as it sank deep enough. If the venom had to reach deeper than the veins, then she would sink it into the very heart of a foe.

Opening her eyes, she spat red venom onto her blade and claw, the now sticky substance painting her weapons and her entire right arm with a messy blood red that matched her hair. Venom dripped from her chin as her eyes sharpened, her attention to kill locked onto a beast meant to die the instant moment it met the two hunter teams.

Sangue had only one way to contribute to kill, and that was to get close and personal. Running up to the Manticore, she spun around wildly as she tossed the Apophis Claw toward one of the Manticore's legs. As it sank into the Grimm's flesh, she retracted the claw's chains as she leapt from the ground. As soon as she approached the Manticore, Sangue used her momentum to run across the Manticore's body for as long as the claw could hold, stabbing her katana into the leg before letting it tear its way up to the monster's back. Before it could react in any way, she kicked herself off of the Grimm as the Claw broke free before she tossed it at the Manticore's shoulder.

A direct hit could only mean that she would go in for another attack. Sangue retracted the chains yet again as she spiraled forward abruptly and slashed at the Manticore. Again, she ran across its body using the unnatural momentum she gained through the usage of her claw, this time tear through its chest before kicking herself off of the Manticore again. She managed to dodge all incoming ranged attacks from her teammates by coordinating where and when she would attack. Her teammates were not the ones to worry about what they would hit; Sangue was the one who was responsible for fulfilling her role as a quick fighter.

While her attacks were somewhat decent, her landing was far from acceptable. The swordswoman found her Claw letting go of the target too early and made her fly towards a certain truck Lauren had begun to move to the cargo bay.

Thunk!

Sangue landed on her back on top of the truck.

"..."

Wondering where she was in the first place, Sangue found the truck parking in the cargo bay. She looked around at first, only to freeze when she saw Lauren coming out of the driver's seat.

...Oh...

Looking around awkwardly, Sangue slipped off of the truck behind Luke and Lauren, remaining silent. She decided not to tell Lauren that she was literally thrown off of the Manticore while trying to fight it, and the mess she made of herself with the blood-red venom did not help at all.

[HereComesTheSnow]

Luke Schwarz | Press 'Z' or 'R' twice

He listened quietly.

Luke wasn't too keen on his abilities for many things. It wasn't like he was being facetious in any respect in his surprise at the success of his attack upon the Manticore to follow Goodwitch's light show.

No, he genuinely couldn't believe he had managed it once he had returned to operating upon conscious thought instead of instinct and the secretions of his adrenal glands. He never sold himself as capable of feats like that, because he never thought himself capable of feats like that.

He was behind the curve in combat, and drastically behind it out of combat.

It was little secret how much faith he placed in his abilities.

But if there was one thing he would claim himself to be any measure of "good" at, it would have to be listening. His entire life, he had been listening to people, be they ordering him around, teaching him a skill, or simply opening up their heart a little.

So he listened. To her reasoning behind going after these barrels and the reasons that drove that reasoning.

She wasn't happy, he realized, with where she was right now.

She wanted to change that.

She wasn't doing this only because it was what she wanted to do, but because it was all she could do.

Well, I can't say I've never been there.

The lift creaked to a halt at the bottom, and her smile returned after the momentary dismay.

Lauren was Lauren, and Lauren got what Lauren wanted, one way or another.

He returned the smile knowingly. Even if he couldn't do much, he could listen to what she was telling him to do.

And if that meant being a helping hand so she could make tomorrow a little easier than today, well.

"Yes ma'am."

He had no complaints.

[Plank Sinatra]

Much had been said of Lauren Negasi's default facial expression since her arrival at Beacon. Energetic was putting it kindly - for her captain, who had been the first one to try testing her in the ring, it was positively carnivorous. Amy Desire would probably call it coquettish, accompanied with a wink. Sangue...who knew. But one thing that was universally said of Lauren Negasi was that she was goddamn unrelenting. Happy? Sad? Comatose? Too fucking bad - Lauren Negasi's Semblance ran off of hype, and on the surface, it seemed like she would never rest until the rest of the world was just as hype as she was.

Which is why the wide smile that blossomed on her face at Luke's no-strings agreement was so...heartrendingly...

Gentle.

Bereft of energy.

"That's the spirit."

She bowed her head slightly, touched her strong little chin to her clavicle and bit the end of her lip.

"Thanks, Luke."

Lauren Negasi was the younger of two kids. A little sister at heart.

I'm only pretending to be big...

"Bluuuuugh, enough standing around! Let's get rich, kid!"

But as long as everyone's bought it...

She lifted her head as the energy returned.

"If we work fast, we can gank a finder's fee!"

[NaraK]

Creeping up behind the two, Sangue approached Lauren and Luke's small talk. The swordswoman remained silent as she glanced between the two, knowing little context on what they had been talking about.

So she decided to let them talk a bit before Lauren got energetic again. It was strange to see Lauren act quietly, so the snake admitted that it felt reassuring to see the brawler be full of hype again. And the boy seemed nice.

Sangue raised a finger to poke the two, but pulled her hand away because she decided that it would be rude. At this point, she was right behind the two at an uncomfortably close distance.

"...Yes..." She agreed with Lauren quietly when she talked about working fast. "We can..." She did not take into consideration that they did not know she was next to them at the moment.

[HereComesTheSnow]

Luke Schwarz | N-Nani

"That's the spirit."

Unhyped. Gentle. Calm, like a still lake in the early morning.

Almost demure.

"Thanks, Luke."

W-wait, hold on, what exactly was going on here?!

He blinked, taken aback and feeling a little heat rise to his cheeks, but managed to work out a response.

"N-No problem."

"Bluuuugh, enough standing around! Let's get rich, kid!"

And just like that, the cute girl was gone and the hypest young woman to grace the academy had returned.

"Uh, right!" he replied, starting off after her as he shook off the shock from what he'd just witnessed.

"If we work fast, we can gank a finder's fee!"

_"...Yes..."

Seriously though, what WAS that?

Lauren always did things at a hundred and ten percent, since when did she have a side of her that was so—

"We can..."

"What the-- Sangue?!" He nearly leapt out of his own skin, gray eyes wide and worn soles squeaking against the floor.

"When did you get here?!"

I'm gonna have to sue this team for cardiac arrest!

[Write]

It wasn’t until I was being squeezed by Beryl that I truly realized where I was and what I was saying.

“Thank you so much Beryl, you look beautiful.” Her clothing perfectly complimented her natural look. She looked as if she had just been outside. It was the look of readjusting to the chilly temperature of the infirmary that gave it away. Of course, it wasn’t a big secret – one would have to go outside to get to the infirmary. But it just made me so….

Jealous.

“I’m so sorry guys but I have to excuse myself for just a second. I’d like to use the ladies.”

I slowly hoisted myself off of the bed, taking mindful care not to knock anything over with my wings intravenous stand. They help me up, because they’re here for me. But somehow every ounce of trouble they save me by helping me only adds to this darkness inside me.

But as I left the room and gave Gratia a reassuring glance as I turned to go to the bathroom I knew myself that I had no intention of stopping there.

I made my way patiently up the infirmary stairs. Taking care to lift my I.V. up with me. Each step I thought it would dawn on me. I’m not sure what I was waiting for to dawn on me exactly but I felt like it would all make sense. Each step. One of the stairs would tell me everything I needed to know.

Once I reached the top I felt much more lost than before.

Where am I going?

Yet my feet never stopped. I knew where I was going.

Was there a part of me that…

Just didn’t want to admit it?

I pushed the doors open on the rooftop. The fresh blue sky called to me. The sounds sang my name. I could hear teams of hunters and huntresses working, chatting, gossiping. I’m right here in the middle of it.

Yet I’m so far away.

Why do I feel so far away?

Beryl and Gratia are waiting for me downstairs and I’m sitting here.

It’s harder and harder to see as small rain raindrops begin to singularly rain onto my cheeks.

“What a shitty day for rain.”

Who am I trying to fool with this façade?

I am crying because I don’t remember how to be me anymore.

I don’t know who I’ve become now. Because I feel empty.

I look down off of the rooftop, I see the ground.

The only thing that feels close.

When I had my wings it felt so far. I’ve never felt so grounded.

A few of my tears hit the ground.

Enough.

I pick up my I.V. and remove the needle from my wrist.

“Gratia will kill me for this.”

I knock it over as the fluid spills onto my rooftop.

I turn my back to the drop I was just watching.

And begin to walk.

On my own, at my own pace, with nothing’s help.

I begin to fall to my right and consider using my semblance. I don’t. I hit the ground. Hard. I get back up and start again.

---

I come back down the stairs and meet Gratia’s gaze. They know that somethings different. It's obvious enough from my bruised side and missing I.V. but the air is completely different. My eyes have changed to a seriousness unseen usually. I am calm, and so are they. I am determined to do what I'm about to do, so they let me.

I enter the room and the silence continues until the sound of my chest and arms hitting the ground resonates throughout the room. But those sounds are not alone. I grunt as I lift myself up off the ground refusing any aid. With the biggest smile on my lips, which isn't saying much over the past few days, I stand myself back up and make it to my bed.

I feel the smile grow as I feel like I could eat the entire world raw.

[Plank Sinatra]

"Whoa! What the fuck!?"

Unlike Luke, who had so few women in his life before this month that the sight of them from out of nowhere could still surprise him, Lauren was not taken aback specifically by Sangue's presence. Rather, what surprised her was the quiet girl's surprising acumen for the art of the con. How did Sangue know what the hell a finder's fee was, and the importance of getting a primo one?

She found herself looking at her beloved teammate with new eyes. Was she going to be a threat to the payoff?

And what the fuck was on her--

"Sangue, babe, are you bleeding?"

A second later, she remembered Sangue's venoms and felt slightly sheepish...though, to be fair, if anyone was going to stand there and casually let herself bleed from the mouth like a nerve toxin victim, it would probably be Sangue Naga.

"Never mind. C'mon, babe. C'mon, Luke." She stepped out of the lift and led the two down the hall, back to where the drums had been stored. There wasn't anything particularly special about them, as far as Lauren could tell - just blue containers that were heavy as a motherfucker to even try and lift from the top or bottom. So Lauren set two down and gently nudged each with a foot, pushing a barrel further towards the lift with each step. If each person brought two drums with them in the same fashion...and there were three people here...

Oh we are gonna be s w i m m i n g in lien!

She took it all back.

She loved this job.

[HereComesTheSnow]

Luke Schwarz | Manual Labor

Apparently, as Lauren was eager enough to explain as the duo-turned-trio dashed down the hall, no, the sudden appearance of Sangue Naga was not that of someone covered in blood, but instead her own weapon in the form of a bright red neurotoxin.

For the sake of his poor, burgeoning heart and mind, Luke elected to roll with it and not question how she could be so casually coated in a deathly venom.

"Right. Dosh."

The drums were big and heavy by anyone's standard, and he could feel the sloshing of the fluids inside. Between the weight and the questionable balancing, lifting them was...

I feel like I'm going to drop this thing.

A challenge.

While he could get them up confidently enough, thanks to his experiences with deadlifting in his pre-enrollment training regime, carrying them was altogether another matter. How was Lauren...

The boy caught sight of his fellow pugilist eschewing the fight against gravity in favor of taking advantage of the cylindrical shape of the drums, and the lightbulb went off.

"Oooooh."

Well, far be it from him to not learn from her example. Setting the drum down on its side, he quickly procured another, and began rolling them towards the lift himself.

[NaraK]

The swordswoman nodded. Unknown to Lauren, Sangue had no idea what a finder's fee was- rather, she just agreed that work could be done quickly. Regardless of potentially money-related things, Sangue did find interest in completing the objective with her teammates. Everyone involved was invaluable... except the Grimm. Everyone wanted to slaughter them all, and that was fine.

Watching Lauren set the barrels down and roll them down to the lift, Sangue nodded to herself and decided to mimic her friend. She pushed the barrel, setting it down before she gave it a light push with a foot as well.

The barrel did not move straight like she wanted it to, instead rolling a bit to the right. The snake quickly moved over to redirect the barrel before moving the other barrel with similar errors. She did manage to get them at the lift, however, and that was all that mattered.

After she finished, the woman stared at Luke blankly. She needed time to absorb the features of those she met, so it didn't seem like it would hurt to analyze his appearance. There may be a time where they could work together again, after all.

Now that she thought about it, she never talked with the boy throughout the entirety of the mission aside from telling her name. As odd as the timing was, she decided to greet the boy a bit more properly. Now was better than never, she presumed.

"Your... name," she said in her flat tone with her usual idle expression as she tried to remember his name. "It was... Lube. Hello, Lube..."

It was not hard to tell she tried very hard to remember his name. At least she tried.

[HereComesTheSnow]

He stopped in his tracks, even going so far as to check the barrels' advances with his foot in succession.

Slowly, inexorably, he turned his gaze upon Sangue Naga.

The red-haired woman had honestly tried. He could sense it. Beneath the flat tone and constant poker face, there was an undercurrent of genuineness in her words that he could pick up on.

He affixed her with a look, equally blank and unreadable as her own.

Because honest though she might have been...

"No. It's Luke."

That was offensively wrong.

[Lucius Cypher]

Exploding

Well, Gren was disappointed. He had hoped to talk to the maid, but she promptly left without so much as a farewell. Seemed rude of her, but Gren wasn’t going to raise an issue. He’d likely see her again at some point today, or perhaps tomorrow. For now, Gren simply ate his meal in peace. As he ate, Gren refocused his thoughts to something more serious: training. If Gren’s last mission was any indication, he was woefully unprepared for certain situations. While it may be fair to say that no one can be prepared for anything, that was quitter’s talk. Gren needed to improve in many ways; equipment, training, and team dynamics. Being the big mean eating machine was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time for some serious work.

After he finished eating Gren left to his workshop. Well, the workshop. All the students go here to modify their weapons, and Gren had a personal area big enough for him to work on the God Eater. He first started by figuring out how to make The God Eater functional underwater. It was a tough weapon that could withstand various forms of damage and corrosion, but a gummed up barrel was still a gummed up barrel. A cursory search on the web revealed that, simply enough, the God Eater was going to need some extensive modification if Gren wants it to work well both underwater and out of the water. Not to mention that he’d need an entirely new set of bullets, since the conventional gas propelled bullets he uses now don’t work well underwater. This research was enough for Gren to consider simply making a new weapon as opposed to further modifying the God Eater. That’s when Gren realized something.

”There is another!”

Trying to make something like the God Eater from scratch would take Gren years, maybe less if he worked with others, but he didn’t consider asking for help at the time. No, but he did have another idea. He needed to go home and bring back a relic of the past. Gren used to have an old gatling gun he used while he was still flesh-and-blood with the White Fang, and he took that with him even after he defected. He left it at home with his parents because he didn’t want to be reminded of those times, but now he would look upon it again and use it to further his career as a hunter. As much as he wants to put that dirty business behind him, Gren couldn’t deny that the White Fang gave him much of his abilities and gifts he had now.

”Hey, Glauca? Is mom or dad there? Work? Oh right. Are you at home? Can you go to the attic? I need you to find a big metal box for me.”

After instructing his little brother about getting Gren’s old gun ready for pick up, Gren was working on other projects. He still had rocket thrusters he hopes to upgrade into a full blow propulsion system, though there was an issue about it’s output. Aside from the fact Gren is literally as aerodynamic as a flying brick, his body already outputs most of his energy simply keeping his massive body active. He’d need another outside power source if he hopes to have enough juice to power a jetpack or similar device. And despite his expertise, there were somethings he couldn’t recreate.

Gren was sitting on his workbench chair, looking towards a mirror. He took off his harness, his shirt, and looked at his bare chest. Touching his chest, he could feel warmth, flesh, even blood. But then he moved his hand away and his torso detached from itself, revealing the machine inside. And inside that machine was a factory of mechanical organs keeping Gren alive. At the center of it was Gren’s heart, some strange, black-box device the White Fang stole from Atlus. Supposedly, it was able to produce aura. Supposedly, it contained Gren’s soul. The science behind Aura was confusing to say the least; how does one really measure something like one’s life energy, which may as well be magic? Even Gren couldn’t think about it logically. It simply worked, and there was no denying that it did. But because Gren couldn’t understand it, he could replicated it. Even his knack for technology couldn’t recreate something that was beyond his imagination.

Yet it was this little fist sized contraption that allowed Gren to live, allowed him to use his semblance, and powered his body. It hasn’t failed him yet, even if it’s not as powerful as he’d hope. He poked and prodded the device, contemplating its meaning to him. It was more than just his power source, it was his heart too. And did he have enough heart to truly achieve what he wanted? What he really wanted? Gren sat in the workshop for some time before putting his torso back on. ”Now where did I leave those tubes?”

Gren moved from the workshop to the firing range. He wasn’t testing the God Eater, but his new jetpack. He had high hopes; he’s had it in its concept phase for nearly a month now, and this would be its first flight. He doesn’t expect success, but hopefully it would at least yield some results. ”Okay, test one. Using the black box phenomenon that is aura technology, I have created a jetpack that can be fueled entirely by my own aura. Hypothetically, prolonged use will diminish my aura levels, and this test I will discover the rate in which my aura is drained compared to the power needed for lift.” And it certainly did get Gren off his feet and flying airborne! Uncontrollably. After it exploded.

Gren was launched out of the firing range and outside of the building, hitting another building not too far and leaving a Gren-shaped dent in the wall. ”Ow.” Gren looked up towards the sky and sighed. ”Test one failed to yield usable data. Jetpack failed to function as intended. Back to the drawing board. Ow...” Instead of heading back, Gren just laid there for a few minutes to recover. This was going to be a long and arduous journey.

[harinezumikouken]

Kuhaku Shiro - City of Vale

Taking care to fit in his specialized earbuds for faunus ears to jam to music, Shiro headed out.

After having freshly showered and changed into his typical 'relaxation' attire, Shiro made his way to the airship docks to hitch a ride into the city of Vale. A charcoal gray V-Neck, slim blue jeans, black and white flat sneakers. Nothing special or out of the ordinary, his only intentions to window shop and to hit up the arcade. Head bobbing to the beat as he quietly uttered bits of the repetitive lyrics to himself, it then struck Shiro that he had forgotten to do something.

Slipping his Scroll out of his pocket, he quickly typed up a message.

From: Kuhaku Shiro
To: Abel Fulgerate @Lugubrious, Gren Orchid @Lucius Cypher, Sapphire Rode @Prince of Seraphs
Subject: Arcade and pizza?

"Hey, y'all want to come out to Vale and hang out or something? Y'all don't have to if you don't want. Just an idea."

Shiro hesitated. His thumb hovering over the 'Send' button as he stared at his team leader's input name. He contemplated removing her name from the group message, but felt that would be a bit too mean and unfair. So, shrugging he sent it anyways. Looking up as a kind-sounding woman's voice announced the airship's arrival in Vale, Shiro pocketed his Scroll. Stuffing his hands in his jean pockets as he continued to hum to the tunes he was listening to. Stepping off of the airship and onto the docks in Vale, he caught a few familiar faces from the peripherals of his vision.

Tilting his head, he only really recognized one of the ladies.
"Sepia? What are you doing here? Uhh...You ladies just got back from a mission or something?"
He had run into the rest of...whatever team they were. He didn't know. He didn't remember.
Blinking, he looked them over briefly.
They looked a little worse for wear to be honest, still in their combat attire.
Waving, Shiro introduced himself so as to not seem impolite to the new friends.
"Hey, ladies. The name's Kuhaku Shiro. Nice to meet y'all."

@SevenStormStyle, @Eklispe, @PyroDash888

[Plank Sinatra]

The Lesbo and her Lube

"W-What are you stopping for? We've got a l-ahahahaha-otta drums to keep moving! What's the matter!?"

Her facade was clearly breaking. As Lauren Negasi pushed her first two barrels onto the lift and spun on her heel, it was clear that the grin splitting her features was not the normal turbocharged look of excitement that the ambiguously ethnic Huntress usually wore. No, this was something sinister - something evil that had just stumbled across something pure and beautiful, ready to be corrupted to serve her own ends.

"If anyone should be used to barrels, it's Lube."

Hearty giggles followed Lauren all the way back to the drum setup, where she proceeded to begin pushing another two towards the lift.