[IC] Knights of TERA (Modern Fantasy Monster Slaying)

[Gamerdude369]

The ride to the office was one of Katsu's most surreal rituals. He takes this time to ground himself in the reality that he fights to protect by watching the fellow passengers of his ride. The mother who is trying to coddle her cranky child, the business man who is struggling to stay awake as he makes his way home, the loud and obnoxious teenage lovers who don't care who is looking, the student who's nose is glued to their text book desperate to pass. Watching them gives him a sense of fulfillment, the knowledge that they are blissfully unaware of hordes of creatures he had vanquished brings a slight smile to his face. Greyridge is a diverse city filled with every emotion imaginable as its denizens try to make sense of their bustling lives, but on the bus late at night it calms down enough to see past the chaos and see the joy. He received many stares from most of the passengers, the reason most likely his attire. He was formally dressed in a black suit, white shirt and blue tie. Not out of the ordinary, but in his right hand stood his shakujō, a five and a half foot tall walking stick topped with a split circle, with each half hanging three rings. Being a monk he had carried one since he was young enough to understand its meaning, and was rarely without it, despite the confusion it caused his onlookers. After the ride it was a three block walk to get to the office. Having just returned from delivering a quarterly report at TERA's headquarters, walking the distance had more stimulation that usual. All of the sights and sounds that are very familiar to him blending together into a late night cacophony as the city refused to go to sleep. It didn't take long to arrive at a very unassuming building that stuck out like a sore thumb against the rest of the districts architecture. For starters it was a small building standing at two floors tall and not much bigger than a large home, whereas everything around it was at least six stories. A driveway lead around back to a parking lot that had room enough for six cars, part of the reason Katsu didn't care much for driving. The building itself was a boring beige color, lacked any windows and had one steel reinforced door at the front, which the second floor hung over slightly to provide shelter from the elements. It lacked any labels such as what business was inside or any hours of operation, fitting because they didn't want just anyone knocking on the door. Lastly if that wasn't enough to ward off the curious, the only way to get in was for the door to be electronically unlocked from the inside. It was hard to say if this was all to keep the monsters or the people out, but all the same, unless you are supposed to be inside, you are not getting inside. The young man pushed the call button, and could almost hear the ringing on the inside. It took several moments, but eventually a woman’s voice flew through, “How may I help you?” The voice was familiar, and solidified the fact that he had returned home. It belonged to Jasmine Gilboa, their division’s resident financial secretary, whom had compiled several of the reports Katsu had spoken on. He first met her when she had applied for the job right after she graduated collage with her Masters in Accounting. Having not known about TERA, it being a secret organization and all, her first few days had quite a shock factor, but over the last year she settled in nicely, trying to shield her sanity by not asking too many questions. “Good evening Ms. Gilboa,” he replied, “This is Katsu Fukui, and I’ve returned.” “Sir Fukui! Come in, It’s good to have you home again.” The door clicked and in he went. The main floor was mostly office space, several desks lined up with some facing each other. All of them were uniquely decorated with varying levels of cleanliness. The front wall held a white board with a projector pointed at it, while the back wall was a cork board filled with various documents, most of them take out restaurants. At the end of the room sat the door to one of the bathrooms and a spiral staircase that went to the basement as well as the second floor. The basement consisted of a fully functioning kitchen with all the trimming, and a fully equipped gym that was slightly over the top. The second floor was all of the living space, everyone had their own bedroom and at the far end of the hall would be the main bathroom and entertainment room, again slightly over the top. Right next to the door was Jasmine, standing at her desk. Dressed in her usual attire of business jacket and pants with her black hair tied back in a tail that ended at her upper back. She was taller than Katsu, which most people were, and most of her features were round without it being unhealthy. “How was the trip Sir?” “Long and informative. Seems like we are going through a transitional period, many of the Lords are stepping down and new ones are being appointed. We are going to have to update our directories. Have there been any incidents during my leave?” Katsu was always straight to business, believing that the more you do now the less you have to do later. As he spoke he walked over to his desk, the cleanest of the lot by far, simply because there was nothing on it save for a few curious books and his in and out box for hard copies. Removing his coat he hung it on the rack next to his monk robes which he missed so, awaiting Jasmine’s reply. “No incidents to report Sir. Several false alarms, which I have placed on your desk.” Unbeknownst to Katsu that wasn't entirely true. In his absence Jasmine was second in command, since she was the oldest in the building. She had formed a good relationship with most of the Knights and the other secretaries, and she wasn't about to tattle on the other’s misadventures as most of them were harmless. “Good to hear. Anything else to report?” he asked as he turned his attention to his fellow Knights.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Sir!" Said the Knight that had stood upon Katsu's entrance and would remain standing until given permission to be seated. Daniel, despite his commanding officer being away, had not taken opportunity to switch to casual attire. His tie today was crisp and white like copier paper, and next to a happy little cartoon pen were words scrawled in black proclaiming to the world how much the wearer enjoyed Mondays. Daniel Dashing's desk was perhaps the only one that rivaled Katsu's for shear cleanliness, and would if it weren't constantly covered with not only his obsessively tidy work but also time-sheets, fliers, and posters for nearly every sort of club, league, and charity one could imagine. This was not the desk he was standing beside right now. Instead he was standing beside one of the secretaries desks, which it appears he's not only taken the time to organizes but shine. "Secretary Stacie is in the hospital with a fractured femur after she took a nasty spill yesterday during roller derby practice so I've taken the liberty of passing the hat 'round, so to speak." He said, indicating the jar over on his desk filled with money. It has a picture of a girl in a helmet and rollerskates thanking people for their donation. The picture is in crayon. "Greyridge Central Elementary School is having a cultural day and does not, as of yet, have a speaker representing Japan and I was wondering if you were interested. Also, a Lord Tobita contacted us. He's apparently just back from a spiritual journey in Africa and was wondering if you wanted to meet for dinner at 'the usual place.'"

[Teal]

Sporting a fancy white shirt with a fancy black tie, which matched his choice of black slim fit jeans and which somewhat rivaled his beige backpack, Aaron made his way to the office, oblivious to what was happening around. He had completely immersed himself into the virtual world his phone, and possibly must trusted companion, unraveled before him. He was reading logs, logs that stored all his previous adventures and provided him with details about certain places and certain people of interest. Even though he already was a knight, he hadn't participated in a mission as of yet, so given no chance to show his true nature, he simply passed time by doing freelance work for his neighbor, mostly using his powers to rescue their pets and find lost jewels they got from thrift shops. Not to say he didn't enjoy his work - he just needed something bigger, something that could force him to display all of his potential. After sliding his phone down on the front pocket of his pants, Aaron shook his head, mentally berating himself for his constant requests to add flavor to his dull life. Things had been peaceful quite a while, so while a monster's appearance would mean more serious work, it would also mean that people's lives would be on the line and that's something he couldn't allow himself. After all, his powers of manipulating paper only served for surveillance or deliveries. They were nothing against the frightening might of the monsters that TERA had been facing all these years, and he couldn't just punch a beast until a knockout. He could try, but it wouldn't end well. Aaron's harmless pondering had unknowingly brought him before the TERA headquarters. He didn't recall his last trip being that short, but it was probably a trick of his overloaded mind. The buzzing sound the call button made quickly attracted Ms. Gilboa's attention, who responded with a rigid "How may I help you?". Even though a clandestine group, TERA didn't have a permanent facade other than that building. It was very weird, and fortunate, how no one even thought of sniffing around and try to uncover the purpose that old building served. Though even if someone tried, the Lords would eventually get wind of it and make attempts to peacefully get rid of whatever incriminating evidence they would possess. Recognizing Jasmine's monotone voice, the blue-haired misfit uttered "Aaron Hodges, reporting for duty". There was a brief intermission, before he got a response from the lady "I'm sorry, who?". At this point, Aaron figured out either she was messing with him or she really had a bad memory. He assumed it was the latter, and decided to take a different approach. "You might recognize me as the guy with the weird hair. You know, the Mountain Bluebird? That rings any bells?". Ms. Gilboa was briefly drowned into thoughts, then immediately responded, a half-smile slightly parting her lips. "Oh yes, please come in Mr. Hodges.", unlocking the door as she did. The presence of two other knights took Aaron faintly aback. He could recognize the younger one; Dashing, or so he was called. They had small talk in the past, but never a proper conversation. While the other one, the short man with the trimmed hair, he had never met. If it wasn't for his shakujō, the boy would have probably never known that the small guy was actually Katsu Fukui, a Rank V Knight and his superior. Upon finding that out, he was thankful that he refrained from cracking a joke about his height. That would have been extremely awkward. Extending his hand in the friendliest manner he could while simultaneously mustering a wide grin, Aaron greeted, his british accent adding a dose of finesse. "Greetings Mr. Fukui. I see you're back from your trip!"

[Gamerdude369]

Looking from Daniel to Jasmine, Katsu tilted his head to the side, "'No incidents to report,' huh?" The lady scratched the back of her head, knowing full well she should have mentioned Stacie's condition, but everyone was handling the extra work well. She was likely to be back in a few days anyway, TERA had a great health plan, as well as other methods of take care of their employee’s well being. "Well," she responded, "I figured I'd tell you when it came up. It wasn't anything bad, she just landed wrong. Very wrong." Luckily before the conversation could go any farther she was saved by the buzzer, which she quickly tended to. "Either way, send her flowers on my behalf. She likes tulips if I'm not mistaken." A secretary was as much a part of the team as any Knight, and Katsu cared for them all equally as friends and valued allies. Turning his attention back to Daniel. "At ease Sir Dashing. Inform the school I will be happy to be there if they have no objections, and inform Lord Todita that I will be free for dinner tomorrow night." Attending school functions was important to Katsu, since where else would he get a chance to scout new members of TERA. It's not easy for people to come to terms with a special ability, so the faster someone finds it, the easier their life will be, whether or not they decide to join the Agency. Lord Todita was another matter. The man had been a longtime family friend, working closely with Katsu's father. Their meetings often mixed business with friendship, and one way or another, he could not disappoint him. Ms. Gilboa buzzed in Aaron their newest recruit. An interesting man to say the least, but there was something more to him that Katsu just couldn't put his finger on. His blue hair was an oddity but if you travel the world long enough you will find more than a few oddities. "Sir Hodges," he greeted, accepting the man's handshake. "I've been told there was no action in my absence, I hope that's not disappointing, you will get a chance soon enough to show us all what you have. How have you been fairing in my absence? The same goes for you too Sir Dashing, you made no mention of how you are doing this evening."

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Very well Sir, thank you for asking." Daniel replies. "Just enjoying the quiet night, trying to keep busy." He rather enjoyed a quiet night like this every once in a while. A quiet night was a sign that they were doing a good job, and it allowed him to attend to the seemingly endless pile of unofficial duties he managed to find for himself. At present that was filling in for Stacie, whose desk he sat back down at when given leave to. He eagerly picked up the phone and dialed the number Lord Tobita had given him. He got a machine, but left a message that Sir Fukui was eager to meet with him tomorrow night. He would call Principle Constance tomorrow morning. For now, he got right back to reading and filing strange incident reports to see whether any of them warranted serious investigation. There was so much work the secretary had to do, but he figured that if he pulled an all-nigther Stacie would come back to a totally empty in-box. Wouldn't that be a nice surprise.

[Aphelion]

Sweat rolled down her back under her tight-fitting tank top as she slowly lowered herself down into another diamond push up, and then pushed back up with just as much control. The muscles under her dark colored skin bulged from the exertion of her work out, but she kept a flat look on her face, almost as if she was just going through the motions, her mind seemingly elsewhere. Which, indeed, it was. She hadn't been out lately on a job, not that she deeply cared to go defending the citizens of Greyridge from the big bad beasties they summon up. It was more of a feeling that it seemed... quiet. Too quiet. Her family's tech wouldn't be effective if there wasn't anything to kill with it. Ayashe pushed herself up again, this time from a one armed push up, and then stood to her full height and began to towel herself off. She wasn't incredibly tall, but she was well built, and probably spent more time in this gym in the last month than she had actually fighting the denizens of despair in her entire Knighthood. Her unruly hair was tamed into a thick braid that hung in between her shoulder blades, and her body shone with a layer of perspiration that was impossible to towel off completely. She gave the opposite wall a scowl as her thoughts swirled. “I need to go for a walk...” She muttered under her breath, so low that if anybody else were in the gym, they wouldn't have heard her. Throwing her towel over her shoulders, she set up and out of the gym, taking a quick moment to grab a water from the kitchen, before continuing the rest of the way up the stairs. When her head poked out, she was greeted by too many people for her liking, including her superior, Katsu Fukui. It took a monumental effort for her to not groan audibly, she was hoping to just slink out without any formalities. “Oh look what a haul the cat dragged in. Hello fellows, how wonderful it is that you're keeping up the good fight – no really, amazing work there, DeeDee.” Her voice came out as sardonic as she could afford to make it as she gave Daniel two thumbs up. Her gaze went around the room to take in the rest of the people there as she casually held on to the ends of her towel still draped over her shoulders. “Mister Monk Man,” She said with a semi-respectful nod to Katsu. “Blueberry Boy,” She gave Aaron an exaggerated salute, obviously meant to be mocking. While taking, she managed to slink to the door leading outside. “Unless a gremlin is munching on the brains of toddlers, I'm going for a walk. That cool with you?” She looked to Katsu for affirmation as her hand gripped the door handle, which seemed like she wanted to claw at to get out, all the while managing one of her famous deadpan stares.

[cuttlebones]

Aleksandr kept a relatively low profile in the corner of the room. He preferred to listen than to talk in most situations. His face was hidden behind a heavy tome, simply titled 'Advanced Organic Chemistry Unit 5'. There had been a bit of lull recently, a change of pace from normal. He took these lulls in his stride, they gave him time to indulge his other interests, well at least when he wasn't engaged in non hunting work. This was city life, infinite information at his finger tips, it was impossible to get bored. The boss returned though and with him a lot of noise. It was a tempo change but not unwelcome. He didn't currently have anything to report, the uneventfulness was leading to a feeling of unproductiveness but that didn't mean there wasn't anything to hear. There was one report of disappearances of young women, but he had discovered that that was human activity, not even warlocks at that. It was bad but it wasn't really the Knights' remit and he had already informed the police. The pleasantries of the other knights' were suddenly interrupted by Ayashe in her traditional style. However she passed over him when making her round of insults. "Ayashe, you're making me feel excluded, what did I do wrong?" Alexandr joked through his thick Russian accent. "Are you sure you don't need someone to walk with you in case you run in a child chomping demon?"

[Mayadere]

"Icecream?" Raine's loud, deep, and hopeful voice rang out as he exited the stairwell. He ducked his head quickly to avoid clocking his face into the door frame, though it didn't stop his glasses from catching and being knocked off of the top of his head. Though thankfully they didn't go far, having gotten tangled in his mass of blueish-black hair that was all bundled up at the nape of his neck with a few uneven strands being held in place with bobby pins. Ignoring his glasses for the moment though, his attention quickly turns towards Ayashe, who happened to be closest to the door. His face, much despite the dark circles that could be found under his pale green eyes, was rather lively and filled with hope at the prospect of icecream. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, and in truth, it was quite possible. A large, red hooded sweater, his favorite pair of jeans that were missing the entire right pant-leg under his knee, the bright neon green socks... Things he often wore when he was relaxing, or napping. But seeing as his hair wasn't trying to stick up in fifty different places and there were no strange drool marks on his chin, the first suggestion was the case. "...If you are going out, please?" He asked, his voice now much softer than it had been just a few moments ago. It wasn't often he dared ask anything of others, be it because of his usual silence or the fact that he'd rather do it himself. But Raine knew his limits well. And running about while tired was never a wise choice for him, unless he wanted to end up napping on a bench somewhere. Again.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Oh, there's a lovely place on Dover Street." Daniel says, looking up from his work. "You remember, Sir Fuchs? Near the library? Penguin in the window?" He suddenly turns his attention to the whole room. "Lovely place, family owned for three generations. Literally the greatest ice cream I have ever had. Dame Kalu, if you're going out walking anyway I highly recommend their frozen yogurt as a post work-out treat."

[Gamerdude369]

When Ayashe walked into the room, she simply stole the show. She didn't crave attention, she didn't want everyone's approval, she just wanted them not to be in her way. Only she asked such with all the grace of a tempest. There is something to be respected of brutal honesty, the resolve to be your own person and march forward, Katsu admired this, but he knew there was room for improvement. "Dame Kalu," he greeted with a slight bow, keeping his eyes locked to her's. "I plan to hold the briefing of my visit to headquarters in the morning. As such the evening is free, you may do as you desire." Breaking the gaze he pulled out his chair and sat down. "I have noted you're concern for little children and your disdain for tiny monsters, should either of these come into play I will make my attempts to contact you." With that he set off to the what little work he had to for the night. HQ had given him a flash drive with various documents for him to look over and get back to them on. As he connected it to a rather small laptop he produced from his desk he listened to everyone around him and was content.

[Aphelion]

Her eyebrows shot up as she glanced into the corner of the room at Aleksandr, and she quickly took in the fact that he had been buried in his books. Ayashe was sure that he had just been a pile of books on her first sweep of the room. She was positive that all he ever did was read, read, read, and wondered how his eyes didn't fall out. “Oh, I'm sorry Romanov, what did you say? Hard to understand you when you're talking behind the pages of your book. How heavy is that thing, really?” She ignored his offer of coming with her altogether, swiveling her head around when the loud and deep voice of Raine came from the stairwell. She managed to stifle most of her sigh this time. Something about Raine made her want to just get him the damn ice cream. Was it the way he asked? The fact that he was huge, lanky, and positively clumsy, in her opinion? Or was it the fact that he had healed her bruises and scrapes on more than one occasion? Just maybe it was because if he went out to get it, he may not come back until he had had a pleasant time napping in the middle of the street like road kill? She was sure that had occurred, at least one time in the ridiculously tall fellow's life. “Fine, whatever. What flavor, Pipsqueak? 'Cus if you don't tell me, I'm getting you one of those stupid tri-flavor vanilla, strawberry, chocolate things, and it'll probably be gross.” She placed a hand on her hip before turning her attentions to Daniel, or DeeDee as she so appropriately named him. She couldn't help it, when she saw him, she saw him in a pink tutu pressing all the buttons in a figurative laboratory. His very alliterate name also helped. Daniel Dashing. C'mon, it'd be asking her to pass up gold if she didn't call him that. Or even Double D. She gave a smirk at the thought. That would be a nice nickname, for a change of pace. “Doesn't surprise me that you know of literally everything, Double D.” She said, putting the same emphasis on the word “literally” as Daniel had used. She could never get used to the way people called her “Dame”, especially a person so much younger than herself. She put the location of the ice cream shop in the back of her mind, she'd just go there. It was simple. When Katsu finished talking to her, she retrieved her tablet from a small bag hanging from one of her shoulders and gave it a cheerful little wiggle in his direction. “You can contact me through my handy-dandy tablet if a horde of zombie babies come, Mister M.” She hoped that something interesting happened at Headquarters, because life around here had been boring lately. Her designs had even lost their usual flair in the last week or two, but she refused to admit that even a fraction of her creativity came from battling monsters.

[Teal]

In the short period of time in which their handshake lasted, Aaron did his best to extract as much data as he could. He had read Katsu's file, since after all he was his leader and potential friend, but files usually stored superficial information like biography, age, gender, et cetera, information which wouldn't be of much help. He needed to know his colleagues deeper, and thankfully with the right mindset, something as customary as shaking hands could tell a lot about the other person. For example, in that case, within the first seconds of the grip, Aaron could already see that Mr. Fukui, in spite of his short height, had a very roughened palm. That was obviously courtesy of his previous adventures, taking into account he was Rank V, and Rank V always translated to 'highly experienced'. He had slain a great deal of monsters before, and the fact that he didn't throw in a quip about Hodge's blue hair signified he was already accommodated to the bizarre and possessed a great level of maturity, which he could imagine was what got him promoted in the first place. Aaron was well aware that there had to be more to him than that, but for the time being, he was satisfied. The blue haired teenager opened his mouth in an attempt to answer Mr. Fukui's question, but he was interrupted by the emergence of another Knight, female; of african descent, slightly shorter than him and possessing great physical feats. At this point, he figured out she must be Ayashe Kalu. He had thrown a quick glance at her file during his break, but there was no mention of her tendency to tag her peers with nicknames. Either way, she seemed to be the agency's diva. She stole everyone's sights, and consequently, hearts, with her elegant and confident waltz, an indicator that she was the heir to a wealthy and influential family. Her appearance provoked two other Knights which Aaron hadn't met before to reveal themselves - a Russian muscle and a German, manchild version of Stephen Merchant. At this rate, the British Knight realized he had a lot of catching up to do. Leaving Mr. Fukui's question unanswered for the time being, the boy slightly leaned towards Jasmine, using the confusion to throw in an inaudible buzz. "Psst, Jazz!" The secretary immediately shifted his sight at the boy, visibly disorientated by the way he referred to her. "What are the chances that you've gotten hold of my cane?", the boy proceeded with a query, his tone now slightly higher than before. Ms. Gilboa's stutter showed she was still muddled, but managed to land an answer anyway. "Oh, oh..yeah. It's in your desk. I polished it a little bit, I hope you don't mind." "I don't", Aaron responded yet again, sneaking a passing smirk at her before speeding towards his desk, away from the crowd. The way his backpack bounced visibly annoyed him, so as soon as he made his way to the desk, he slammed it down on the seat. Quickly pulling the zipper down, he opened his backpack and pulled a couple of books. Needless to say, his desk was organized to an extent. The right side was infested by different board games; chess, jigsaw, monopoly, brain teasers and books with logic as their main theme. The right side was filled with Conan Doyle novels and the latest season of BBC Sherlock, while the middle space was reserved for stuff which he thought would benefit him in evolving as a Knight. In there, he stacked a couple of books about mythology, ranging from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia and beyond. It was thanks to those books that he finally realized that the creature that attacked him that dreaded night was, in fact, a Griffin as opposed a Fury, which was his initial assumption. It was worth stating that the monsters looked extremely different from how they were portrayed in ancient literature, which justified the boy's mistake. After neatly stacking his books up, he grabbed his cane and slowly folded it, placing it at a side slot in his backpack.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Her eyebrows shot up as she glanced into the corner of the room at Aleksandr, and she quickly took in the fact that he had been buried in his books. Ayashe was sure that he had just been a pile of books on her first sweep of the room. She was positive that all he ever did was read, read, read, and wondered how his eyes didn't fall out. “Oh, I'm sorry Romanov, what did you say? Hard to understand you when you're talking behind the pages of your book. How heavy is that thing, really?” She ignored his offer of coming with her altogether, swiveling her head around when the loud and deep voice of Raine came from the stairwell. She managed to stifle most of her sigh this time. Something about Raine made her want to just get him the damn ice cream. Was it the way he asked? The fact that he was huge, lanky, and positively clumsy, in her opinion? Or was it the fact that he had healed her bruises and scrapes on more than one occasion? Just maybe it was because if he went out to get it, he may not come back until he had had a pleasant time napping in the middle of the street like road kill? She was sure that had occurred, at least one time in the ridiculously tall fellow's life. “Fine, whatever. What flavor, Pipsqueak? 'Cus if you don't tell me, I'm getting you one of those stupid tri-flavor vanilla, strawberry, chocolate things, and it'll probably be gross.” She placed a hand on her hip before turning her attentions to Daniel, or DeeDee as she so appropriately named him. She couldn't help it, when she saw him, she saw him in a pink tutu pressing all the buttons in a figurative laboratory. His very alliterate name also helped. Daniel Dashing. C'mon, it'd be asking her to pass up gold if she didn't call him that. Or even Double D. She gave a smirk at the thought. That would be a nice nickname, for a change of pace. “Doesn't surprise me that you know of literally everything, Double D.” She said, putting the same emphasis on the word “literally” as Daniel had used. She could never get used to the way people called her “Dame”, especially a person so much younger than herself. She put the location of the ice cream shop in the back of her mind, she'd just go there. It was simple. When Katsu finished talking to her, she retrieved her tablet from a small bag hanging from one of her shoulders and gave it a cheerful little wiggle in his direction. “You can contact me through my handy-dandy tablet if a horde of zombie babies come, Mister M.” She hoped that something interesting happened at Headquarters, because life around here had been boring lately. Her designs had even lost their usual flair in the last week or two, but she refused to admit that even a fraction of her creativity came from battling monsters.

@Aphelion

"Oh, by the way." Daniel speaks up, and after a few quick keystrokes the tablet in her bag beeps. "So long as you're going that way, there's apparently been some sort of spooky poster showing up around the area. Shop owners keep tearing them down, they keep going up without anyone seeing how or why. Most likely just viral marketing for some Japaneses style horror movie, but there isn't any harm in checking. I've sent the report to your tablet."

[Mayadere]

"Schok-" Raine stops mid word, knitting his brows together for a moment before speaking again. "Chocolate. Please." His voice was a great deal quieter this time he spoke, just barely loud enough to hear. Though it was clear with how he was grinning, from nearly ear to ear, that he would be fine with whatever she brought back for him. And in truth, be it chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, a mix of the three, or anything else, he wouldn't complain about it. In fact, he would still be just as happy with raspberry or pecan... Raine was not a very picky fellow when it came to food, especially sweets that someone else was getting him. Slowly Raine would duck his head once again, though this time he lifts both of his hands up to carefully start patting his head, probably feeling around for his glasses. Which, it did not take him long to locate the spectacles tangled in his hair on the back left-side of his head. He would then quickly start to attempt to untangle them while finding himself a seat, a corner opposite of the Russian. Not that he had any problems with the fellow, but if he was going to have his arms up like this for a short while, it was better to do it out of range form elbowing anyone in the face or elsewhere while he did. Even as he sat down in the somewhat confining chair, he only managed to mildly untangle the glasses. After a minute or two though, he finally managed to pull them from the mess of his hair, save a few strands that had decided the glasses were a better place to reside. He wasn't paying much attention to the others around, as usual, much preferring to preoccupy himself with removing the several stands of hair that had gotten tangled on the glasses and ripped out. As most knew, he wasn't much of a talker and didn't really bother with people he didn't know unless they were hurt.

[Gamerdude369]

Among all of the commotion a sharp tone caught everyone's attention. None could mistake the ringing of Jasmine's phone, which was the main inline for phone calls. As would be expected, their phone was not listed anywhere that anyone could just find it, and randomly calling it was right next to never occurring. Katsu didn't lift his head, he went along his business of sorting through the files on his computer, but he had feeling that his first night back would not be an uneventful one. Answering the phone Jasmine asked the simple question of "Name and Business," which was official protocol. The voice on the other end was the gravelly voice of a man, who identified himself as Lucius Donnell, Commissioner of the Greyridge Police Department. Although not part of the Agency, he was a designated informant, an individual who has access to information involving the public's activities. Anytime an informant thinks that something is just on the other side or normal, they give TERA a call, and the hunt begins. "Sir Fukui, its Commissioner Donnell, would you like to take the call or should I?" "Transfer it over please." The secretary did just that and as soon as the light on his phone lit up he grabbed the receiver. "Sir Fukui speaking, state your business." "Katsu, I didn't think you would be back for another day or two. The trip was enjoyable I hope." Rather then get to the point, Lucius opted for small talk. This was nothing new, as any time he called he did his best to avoid talking about the incident, always hoping that he was dreaming or that things were simpler and more logical than they were. For Katsu this was a sure fire sign that something was indeed up, and that there would be work tonight. "Commissioner Donnell, as I have told you previously, time is an expendable resource that one can not get back. State the incident." "I... of course. I have reports of an accident on a bridge, an overturned bus. I want to say that no one got hurt, but all of the passengers are missing, all that is left is the driver." "You are going to have to be more specific Sir. Tell me about the bus." "Its on its side. Side door is against the ground, none of the windows are broken, back door is ripped clean off." "Back door?" Most buses had only one door on the front right side, rarely they would have two, and even rarer are back doors, unless it was a certain kind of bus. "Its an overturned school bus?" The commissioner didn't answer right away, he fought to get the words past the knot in his stomach. "Yes. Kids and chaperons are gone. Driver said he couldn't have been down for more then a minute. Just get over there, I don't like this one." "We are moving out. I'll radio you when we arrive." After hanging up the phone Katsu stood up and started to remove his buttoned shirt and pants in order to dawn his robes. Though business dress signified status, it wasn't necessarily battle efficient, his worn and torn robes on the other hand, felt like a second set of skin to him, having been through many bad situations. "Grab you're gear everyone. Dame Kalu, seems like you have your kids in distress. Over turned school bus here in the central district. Ms. Gilboa, seeing as we are short handed, you will have to take care of the travel arrangements, please bring the van around."

[cuttlebones]

Hearing about the incident Alexandr's brain went into autopilot mode. He was already wearing his usual fighting gear, so he retrieved his heavy limbed bow. He fluidly slid the bow into a sheathe which he wore clipped behind his waist. The bow was extremely precious to Alexandr, and he knew every inch of its structure, without it he'd be lost. His hands then rapidly picked and filled a light quiver with a variety of arrows, some where broad headed with bone points, others where thin and metallic, like huge fletched needles. As he was doing this he thought about the situation and Kalu's almost supernatural prediction. Children were a tricky one, they were terrible hostages and far less predictable than adults due to their limited understanding of most situations, it was an unfortunate coincidence that they were such a common monster target. This train of thought lead Alexandr to run a quick scan of his knowledge of monsters, trying to find a modus operandi match. It could be a Lamashtu, which would be bad news, as they had a tendency to eat children, but lion-donkey headed eagle demons were unusual even for TERA. The torn off back door pointed more towards an ogre to him, although the child loss and water proximity meant that there was a possibility of kelpies or even kappas. "If we were making bets, than I would put my money on an ogre." Intoned Alexandr through the thick accent, as he strode towards the door. "In which case we're looking at no hostage taking, probably high casualties already, fun, fun, fun."

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Daniel was slowly standing up throughout the conversation Sir Fukui was having. He touched the bundle on his belt, pulling out the draw string to reveal all his little colored capsules. He swept over them with his eyes, double checking to make sure that each one was in its correct place, before letting go and allowing the whole thing to snap back into his belt. This was his entire preparation ritual. Unless Daniel was asleep he was prepared, and even then he would have his weapons on hand. Always be prepared to fight, this is what his mentor had drilled into him. "It is unbecoming of a knight to gamble." He said sharply, pointedly ignoring the rest of what the Russian had suggested. He also makes his way to the door. "Or to make assumptions without knowing all the information. If it was at least daytime we could rule things out, but..." He trails off, and stops short of the door before turning around. "What sort of school bus runs at this hour?" he says, perplexed, to the room.

[Gamerdude369]

Anyone that peered at Jasmine would see the color drain from her face. Under normal circumstances she would stay in the office and handle communications and support, she liked it that way. It came with a lot less trouble, a lot less danger, and far beyond fewer sleepless nights. "All the same Sir Fukui, I'd rather stay here. Why don't you drive?" While tying his sash Katsu gave her a no nonsense glare. "Not possible. I do not have any experience driving and we need a man on the scene to inform the recovery team. Get the keys Ms. Gilboa." "Please sir..." She wanted to plead, she wanted to say no. If these were just adults, she wouldn't be putting up as much of a fuss. But these were kids, people not old enough to fully defend themselves. This wasn't the job she signed up for, yet she knew that she could make a difference. All Katsu had to say was "Tick Tock," and she grabbed her keys and her coat. She turned the door handle, ready to go but Daniel's question kicked her brain into gear. "School bus... oh." It was late at night, well past after school care, and sport events. Though she didn't have kids herself, she did have a niece whom she loved dearly who recently complained about not being able to go with the big kids on their overnight trip. "It’s a field trip. The fifth graders went on an overnight trip to the next city. There would have been more than one bus sir..." "He only said one," he quickly interjected. "The others should be fine, otherwise the Commissioner would have mentioned them. One bus Ms. Gilboa." This made her feel the slightest bit better, and gave her the boost she needed to work past the fear. She left and ran around the building to the too small parking lot. The van was nothing special, by any stretch of the imagination. A plain white van with ordinary plates, seating for eight. The office had two such vehicles, Jasmine just jumped into the closest one, started it up and moved it out into the street front of the building.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Ms. Gilboa?" There was a knock at the driver side window. It should come at no surprise at this point that Daniel was the first out the door, despite the fact that Ayashe had already been at the door. He looked in at her with kind little eyes. "If we were walking into a abattoir Sir Fukui would have told us, to prepare us. But he didn't, so that means the children are missing. Missing. Not dead. That could mean anything, and it does us no good to assume the worst case scenario." "They are alive and we will find them." He says proudly. "If I am a liar may the light forsake me forever."

[Teal]

The phone call, which lasted for about half a minute or so, gave Aaron a glimpse of what's to come but he still had to be sure. Judging by Mr. Fukui's monotone voice which left barely distinguishable traces of hurry and distress somewhere along the way, plus considering that he was referring to the person in the other end of the line as 'Commissioner Donnell', whatever was happening it was business related. And business required equipment. Snatching his bag from the seat and throwing it down his back, but not before pulling his notebook out, the blue haired boy made several confident steps towards the main hall, just in time to catch Mr. Fukui's remark about endangered children which was directed at Ayashe. So that's what it was; an overturned school bus. Licking his index finger, he began flipping the pages of his notebook until he reached to the middle, ripping a page from it then closing the book, slipping it under his left arm. "Do you want me to send recon before you guys intervene?", he uttered in his slight British accent, his sight drifting at everyone in the room then stopping at Katsu, who was prepping himself up to enter the fray. Soon after, Ms. Gilboa scampered out of the room, Daniel following shortly after.