Corporal Lance

.::Legend of Zelda :: Whispers in the Night::.

From the mountains a chorus sang, deep and throaty, to the tune of an upbeat tune of the forest. It sounded as if thunder rolled in the daytime, with the anthem of the Gorons marching down from Goron City along the path to death mountain. Nearly two dozen in number, they came bringing packs and satchels of bombs and gems, carts of goods to trade at the Hero of Time Festival, lumbering down the rocky path like a stampede of Ordon goats with their heavy footfalls and their ballad of singing in unison. But one could not question that their cadence was a happy and joyous one, even with their baritone bellows of song, as they happily marched down to Kakariko Village to partake in the festivities. Among the throng of browns and tans of the Goron people, a green speck cast itself out clear as the sunny day from on high, a leaf floating upon the living landslide. A small, Kokiri girl of rusty red hair sat upon the shoulders of one of the massive Gorons, clad in the emerald attire of her people, playing jovial notes into her pan flute as the troupe descended upon the gates, crushing Tektite easily underfoot in their gait.

"Here we are, here we are, here we are to-day at Kakariko~!
...Village Festival~!
We will sell, goods and wares, Rupees hand and fist, in the name of Link~!
...Hero of Time ~!
Rocks and gems, bombs and blades, we will trade~!
...Jars and pots, steel ingots, we will buy~!
...Dance and sing, joy we'll bring, fun we'll have~!
Drinking and merrymaking at the Hero of Time Grand Festival~!"

The words to the Goron's anthem could be heard more clearly as they approached the mountain gates, laughing and singing to a celebrated song of the forest, although their singing could be heard in Kakariko since their outset from Goron City. The large band lumbered through the gates, barrels and sacks of precious valuables overshoulder, the rumbling of the carts and stomping of weighted feet nearly drowning out their friendly passing greetings to the brave men at the gate... who must feel quite sore in the morning from so many slaps on the back. Mila could not help but feel the excitement as well as she continued to play, her eyes smiling and head bobbing back and forth from upon one of the Goron's shoulders as her golden fairy swayed about her head. She eagerly stuffed her flute into her travel pack and hopped gracefully from the gigantic creature's shoulders, taking swift steps to keep pace with their long legs.
"Thank you for the passage down here, Gongoro!" she shouted to be heard over the din of the Goron's cheering and hollering as they stepped foot into Kakariko Village.
"It was my pleasure, Little Sister!" he triumphantly boomed in response, "Thank you for those fiery forest songs you play so well!" Mila simply giggled and smiled at him as she bounced down the steps. The mass of Gorons, commotion coming to an end, dispersed among the crowd to join the festival, setting up their booths, inspecting the curiosities and exotic wares the other races were peddling, and joining in a game or two. Mila toddled by Gongoro's side as he lolled toward the booths, her eyes peeled for the one she had reserved two weeks in advanced.
"This one! It's this one, Brother!" she said ecstatically, pointing at an empty wooden stand and tugging on his loincloth. The giant strode over to where she had pointed, and set down the burlap sack he had been carrying over his other shoulder.
"Fair winds and smooth roads!" he called with a simple wave as he stomped away to find another booth of his own.
"Fair winds and smooth roads!" Mila called back. She looked over the bustling village for a moment. The excited faces of children, rushing around fighting with wooden swords. The mingling merchants, haggling for more Rupees on a sale. The gossiping ladies standing in circles, and the men joking and drinking pints of ale. It was nice to see this kind of joy in times like this. Rare, almost.

Hardship was everywhere, she had seen it, especially within Zora's Domain, which she had been two years before. It wasn't apparent, at least not, yet, and not to everyone else who didn't have as long of life spans as the Kokiri. The Kokiri children were nothing if but patient and quite good at seeing things coming in advance. The fire may be a long ways down the road, but Mila could already see the smoke. The overfishing at Lake Hylia and food shortage at Zora's domain would affect the sales of fish, which would affect the market. The market would affect the prosperity of Hyrule Castle Town, which would affect how much the Gerudo bandits are able to swindle. Less Rupees for the Gerudo would make them desperate, increasing the bandit attacks, increasing the castle guard, but no Rupees means less pay and eventually, within a decade or so, Hyrule Castle would enter a depression. That is, if no one were to find a solution. And such were her life's work already. Mila, being gifted with longevity, was given the boon of foresight. She would often speak to the Hyrule council on such matters, and they never really listened, but sometimes she could solve these problems before they really did become real tragedies. But today was not a day for such worries. Today was a mystical, magical day in celebration of the Hero of Time! Mila hummed a tune to herself as she set to work building her booth, beginning by opening the sack that Gongoro had been kind enough to carry down with him.
"So what has Farore spoken to you of last night?" her sprite fairy, Shila, piped up as she pulled out various items from the sack. Iron cauldron, a stand, some rope, charcoal, paints.
"The same thing she has spoken of every night for the past moon cycle," Mila said simply, tying the rope around the cauldron using simple knots.
"Does it not worry you in the slightest what it could mean?" Shila questioned cautiously.
"No." Mila threw one end of the rope over the booth, taking to work on the stand for the cauldron, standing it up with care.
"Well, it worries me. How can you be so accepting of this great responsibility you know nothing of?" Mila scurried to the other end of the booth, grunting as she hefted the cauldron up on her makeshift pulley.
"I trust that Farore is cognizant of what she does and that she speaks of what she must. Have faith, Shila. The Goddesses are watching over us today. I don't believe that Farore would ever steer me toward danger if I were unprepared to handle the task." The cauldron in place, Mila shuffled back over to it to begin spreading out the charcoal.
"You know I worry for the both of us because you never seem to. Faith is foolish if it is unfounded, after all," she warned as she flitted about the lonely wooden booth. With a few flicks of her fire starter, the embers began to take beneath the iron cauldron, and Mila dug into her pack for her bag of Deku Seeds.
"My faith is founded, Shila. It is founded in my trust and belief in the divinity of the Goddess of Courage, Giver of Life and Oracle of Secrets." Cupping a few seeds in her hands, she took one in her thumb and forefinger and pressed it against the wood.

A green, glowing mist wafted over her hands as the seed began to grow and take root, spreading a healthy ivy over the frame of the booth. Mila's eyes gleamed a brighter emerald green as she muttered inaudibly under her breath, the roots and greenery wrapping around the booth like wisteria. She continued to do this with each seed until soon her booth had taken on the appearance of a bushy hedge, providing a canopy of shade over the wooden booth, touching all but the front sign attached to the counter. Mila looked up to her fairy and smiled.
"Let's just try to enjoy ourselves today, okay? It's a day of celebration, not misgivings! Just have fun!" Mila took a brush from the sack and dipped it into some red paint, sure to pop out against the fantastical green her booth was now covered in.
Kokiri Potions
~~~~~~~~~~~
Mila was quite pleased with her cleanly painted font, even drawing the sleek design of the Kokiri Emerald on the sign to stand out. She hopped back behind her booth and set on a cauldron of hot ChuChu jelly, prepared to take orders and make people smile. A strange scent of mushrooms, berries, onions, and herbs began to fill the air along with the violet colored smoke that arose from the cauldron. The Kokiri girl took a step stool and began to lean against the counter, giving her sales pitch.
"Come one, come all! Freshly brewed potions for your delight! Everyone needs something to keep them going when the going gets rough! A magic brew to lift your spirits, heal your heart, recharge your body, come one, come all! Straight from the home of Link and into your bottles! Cure your ills, heal what ails ya! Good enough for the Hero of Time, good enough for anyone! Come one, come all! Magic potions, right here!"

.::Legend of Zelda :: Whispers in the Night::.

I know I may appear delinquent, but I swear I'm writing something right now. I'm about halfway through it. I was hoping to have some interaction with other players, but I'll just leave her open to interaction instead because of how quick these posts are coming.

Persona: Death Walkers

If anyone feels like a little more character reading, I completely retconned Mari Watanabe, totally rewriting her history, personality, likes, dislikes, and hobbies. I think I wrote her to be a bit too much like a sociopath before, so I decided to make her a little more devilish rather than psychotic.

.::Legend of Zelda :: Whispers in the Night::.

Cool concept! I love RPs that give players secret information. On a second note:

much sheika. many stealth. sneaky sneaky. wow.

I might have a Goron sheet up later, but maybe not in time for the start and definitely not present at the beginning or hearing the voices. Also, got a quick private question for you Baklava. You'll get it in a PM.

The Paranatural Countermeasures Conglomerate

Alright, I'll see if I can have something by tomorrow... today. it's 4 in the morning, Sunday, whatever.

Persona: Death Walkers

Character Sheet

Found this song appropriate, so I'm putting it here.



-Character Information-

Name: Mari Watanabe
Nicknames: Scary Mari
Aliases: None
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Birthday/Birthplace/Nationality: July 16th / Nago, Japan / Japanese by birth, Japanese-American by blood
College Major/School Year/Occupation: Double Major Medical Health and Fitness and Theatre / Second / Akane College on-site gym intern

Physical Appearance:


Mari is a little on the larger side, being 5'11" and almost 160lbs. Her body is muscular, with larger arms and shoulders than what is commonly considered feminine, although she is healthily toned. Her skin is a darker shade, nearly grey in its appearance, with raven black hair like straw and murky grey eyes to accompany this. Her hair color and style changes on a whim, from natural reds and blondes to outlandish blues, pinks, and greens, in everything from straight hair to braids to ponytails, although her hair is never cut and consistently falls slightly past shoulder length. Her nose is pierced, as are her ears, and tattoos of skeletal angel's wings can be found on her shoulder blades.

Clothing: Mari's a punk and a bit of a goth, and it rightfully shows. She dresses in a masculine manner, and abhors girly clothes of any kind. She often chooses darker clothing in blacks and grays with a little color to pop and stand out. Her sort of attire includes ripped jeans, wrinkled collared shirts, graphic tees, denim and leather jackets, converse, boots, and a shit ton of accessories. Normally of the metal pointy variety.

Personality: Mari Watanabe is what some people would call a "free spirit". And other people would call an "irresponsible delinquent". Mari lives for the fun of the moment and puts stock in little else. She gives little value to the rules she doesn't want to value and the responsibilities she's expected to keep, instead choosing what happens to be fun, exciting, or amusing for the moment. However, she's charming, charismatic, and persuasive, and she knows it. Gifted with the silver tongue, Mari is quite popular and clever, and knows how to abuse people's trust or expectations in order to get away with anything. She's a habitual liar and sort of two-faced, seeming friendly enough to people she thinks she can use for favors or amusement and talking behind each one of their backs. She's confident, bold, and a little self-absorbed, but can play it off as endearing like the natural actress she is.

Blessed with wit and skill, Mari never received the third part of the triangle for success: motivation. As long as she gets to do what she wants, she doesn't really care about anything else. She has potential for great things, and this will surface at times in desperation or when she wants something hard enough, but most of the time it goes to waste. Mari prefers to hang around and loiter, doing nothing constructive unless it's going to the gym or building her social network. She lets the river of life whisk her any way it may take her, with no plan for the future outside of the next time she plans on getting drunk or the next party she attends to. While a simple party animal on the surface, Mari has surprising depth, with her own strange philosophies of life and secrets that few ever find out about. She can step into another's shoes with relative ease, placing herself in their situation, but normally uses this to manipulate them into doing something for her benefit or amusement. Unsurprisingly, her morals are fairly loose, and she can normally justify this with some kind of philosophical insight out of left field.

Likes: Hard rock music, spicy food, horror movies & creepy things in general, new places, deep conversation, messing with people
Dislikes: Structure, kids, hot & muggy weather, mainstream pop music, wet blankets, work
Hobbies: Driving, hanging around, fitness, poetry, mind games, drinking
Habits: Smoking, cursing. Mari also happens to avoid using honorifics when speaking to someone, and will become irritated if someone refers to her with one. She's similarly annoyed when she's present with anyone using honorifics on a third party, but normally won't correct this.

-Persona-

First Persona


Name: Lilim
Arcana: The Devil
Description: Lilim are known as the demon spawn of Lilith, the original wife of Adam spurned from the Garden of Eden and Samael, fallen angel and death incarnate. They are said to act much as Succubi do and kidnap children in their cribs. Lilim appear as beautiful women with demon's wings and tails, with very little clothing to cover them. Mari's particular Persona appears in a plaid gothic short skirt, a ripped half shirt, and messy black hair worn down and straight.
Physical Weapon: Knives

Weakness/Strength
Strong to: Electricity, Darkness
Weak to: Light
Skills
Marin Karin
Agi
Zio
Rakukaja
Mudo
Mazio

After "Evolution"


Name: Beelzebub
Description: Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub is known as one of the seven princes of Hell, where it is his responsibility to tempt souls down the path of self-destruction. He appears as a large, insect humanoid with six legs, red eyes, and wings. He holds a scepter made of skulls.
Weakness/Strength
Immune: Strike, Electricity, Wind, Dark (reflects)
Weak: Fire, Light
Skills
Magarudyne
Maziodyne
Makarakarn
Primal Force
High Counter
Victory Cry

Character Past

Born in Nago, north of Okinawa, Mari Watanabe is the sole daughter of a newspaper columnist and an American servicemember stationed overseas. Her father left early in her life, leaving her mother to take care of her daughter alone until she remarried when Mari was almost six years old. She never had money growing up, with her mother's job paying off and on and her new father's job in waste management hardly covering the bills. When she was a young child, Mari was as sharp as a tack, and would concoct little lies to get her way. Of course, her parents saw this as a problem, and Mari received... negative reinforcement... whenever she was found to be acting out. This had the opposite effect as intended, and instead of behaving like a good little girl, Mari became better at hiding her lies and bad behavior. When she entered grade school Mari was often teased about her American blood, to which she would act out at school and be punished at home for causing trouble. This continued all throughout her first few years at school, up until middle school.

Upon entering middle school, Mari took an effort into understanding everyone else around her. Why they chose to tease and hurt her feelings. The social hierarchy of school children became apparent to her, and she discovered that the ego was one of the most fragile things in existence. She began to spread rumors behind the backs of those who would tease her, to turn friend against friend. Before they knew it, Mari had risen to the top of the heap while appearing to be at the bottom. Her rumors dictated the actions of each clique against every other clique, and she could break someone in a snap of her fingers. In a sick way, it made her quite pleased with herself. They got what they deserved for letting such petty things cloud their judgement. Not like she did. As she entered high school, her manipulation of others turned to herself, and she became one of the more popular girls in Anakibara High. She was the cool girl, the one everyone wanted to be friends with, and now she'd have her fun. Mari used her position at the top of the social circle to get revenge on the students who would often make fun of her in middle school, to slander them so badly their lives would be changed forever as they had impacted her own. And when that was done and over with, she grew bored. Mari began to act much as they had, although with less qualms about what she could do to someone. She was the queen of the bad crowd, and those stupid kids would do anything if it thought it would make them popular. Mari got her kicks from pulling everyone's strings, her secret reign as Queen of Anakibara High ending only upon her graduation.

And so enter her college years. Of course, her teachers had nothing but glowing recommendations for her. She was such a good student, so bright and good with people... and those that didn't think so unfortunately never had their commendations ever reach Akane College. Mari received a full ride scholarship partly on what the teachers who she fooled into liking her said of her and also on forged credentials citing her involvement in various school clubs and groups that could never be proven or disproven. Mari chose Theatre as her major, finding it to be naturally fun and easy for her. Of course, Theatre doesn't pay the bills, and a full scholarship didn't pay for food, so once she netted a job working at the campus gym she decided to double major in Medical Health and Fitness. She was already in good shape, and simply telling other people to go work out and stop eating like ravenous pigs was a career she could see herself making good, easy money in. Throughout her first year, she spent her time slacking off and skating by, drinking and partying, treating college as one big vacation instead of the school it actually was. Now in her second year, Mari has regained her reputation as one of the coolest girls on campus, and continues to do what she did back in high school: have fun and do whatever the hell she wants. And get away with it.

PM coming your way, Angel. Hope this one's okay so far.

Persona: Death Walkers

Too many fighty individuals here, changing my character up a bit to make her less diligent and more of a b!tch. Reserve The Devil Arcana? I'll PM you how it ties into my character along with the Shadow post, Angel.

The Paradigm Stone

You can't break Wisp's spirit for long!

Long post, I know, might expand upon it depending on whatever anyone else has. Stopped her right before she goes into the ball to open it up for other interactions, but Wisp's goal right now is to speak to Ms. Carver. I'll see what everyone else posts and hopefully get them talking after Eudora enters the party.

The Paradigm Stone

It was a long, lonely flight home after her little break down on that rooftop. How could she allow herself to lose like that? To just let him walk all over her? Almost kill her? She was better than that. Maybe... maybe not as good as she thought after all. Her running shoes squelched as she touched down on her apartment building, and Wisp wearily began to do as she had done before: remove all of her equipment. Taking her soggy belongings and chucking them into her backpack (still sitting on top of the entrance to the roof, thankfully), Hope trudged inside, sniffling from the cold she swore she was going to have in the morning. Every step down those three flights of stairs felt like murder on her muscles, and she was soaked from head to toe. Hope got a few stares as she descended to her floor, but she couldn't give a shit even if she wanted to. Her apartment was warm and inviting, but the emptiness of it mocked her. Yep, this is what playing Batman got you. A shitty little apartment and your ass handed to you on a regular basis. She should've known better. Hope carelessly tossed her bag onto the cluttered floor and glanced at her open laptop. Over a dozen missed calls, all from Seeds. Hope sighed heavily and picked the laptop up, taking it with her into the bathroom. She didn't call him back, didn't read his messages. Instead, she set iTunes to Skillet and turned the faucet on her shower. Hope glanced over into the mirror to meet her miserable reflection. It wasn't a happy face, or a confident one. She was wet, arms red from being burnt, marred by soot. Her eyes were blank, and her frown deep. She couldn't bear to put up with how she looked, and turned away from her visage as she disrobed. Hope stepped into the hot shower, the water stinging her sore muscles and soothing her burns. Hope let the water wash over her, washing away the stench of failure, the pangs of defeat. After about fifteen minutes, she turned off the water and stepped out of the comforting shower, brushed her teeth, and pulled on some lime green sweats and a loose fitting Finding Nemo T-shirt of sky blue for bed. Hope dug through her medicine cabinet and chugged half a bottle of Nyquil before snapping her laptop shut and exiting to her living room. She tossed it onto the coffee table and promptly collapsed onto the couch, exhausted and aching for sleep. She didn't know what time it was and neither did she care. Fuck work in the morning, fuck tonight, fuck everyone and everything.

Hope had a fitful time sleeping, tossing and turning and even falling from the couch once. Her dreams were filled with anxiousness and failure. She would be soaring through the sky and drop straight to the ground. A group of thugs would take to her punches like pillows and pull her tongue out through her lips. But most of all, there was fire. The memory was still vivid, fresh in her mind, of how her aggressor had filled that room with flames and smoke, choking her, licking at her skin, and walked through like the Devil himself. Sometimes he had a skull for a face. Sometimes he had no face at all. Sometimes, he would keep walking, extend out an impossibly long arm and grab her by the throat. Strangling her, choking her with the flames and smoke as she struggled and kicked and couldn't break free...

"Hua!" Hope awoke with a start. Dim light shone through the blinds, and Hope rubbed her face and ran a hand through her wild hair as she sat up. She wandered over to the fridge for a morning Pepsi and then to the window, peering through the blinds and into the cloudy, ominous sky.
Hmm, she thought, If it rains it means that I won't have to go to wo-
"Shit!" she cried out. Hope didn't know what time it is, but it was waaaaaay past late for getting her lazy ass to the job site. As she rushed over to her laptop, she stubbed her toe on the coffee table and muttered more curses before flipping it open and making a call to her boss through Google.
"This is Dan Marshall," came the reply after about three rings. Hope felt the blood run from her face as she attempted to fake a smile, even over the phone. She was going to get it now.
"Heeeeey Dan. It's Hope," she said sweetly.
"*Sigh*...Why didn't you show up for work today?" was his tired response. He sounded disappointed rather than angry, and that somehow made her feel worse.
"I'm SO sorry! I didn't mean to, but my phone's alarm didn't go off and I felt sick so I didn't wake up on time an-"
"If you keep skipping work I'm gonna have to let you go, Hope." She swallowed hard, trying to force down the guilty lump in her throat.
"Yeah... I know."
"You do good work and I can see a future for you in this business, but you can't keep showing up late or not at all. It looks bad on the company."
"Yeah, I know bu-"
"Don't bother coming into work today, Hope, we're about to wrap up for the day. Gonna get rained out. But you better show up tomorrow, ya hear?"
"Yes sir, I'll be there on time tomorrow," she conceded. Marshall was good at that. He was kind enough to keep giving her chances, but he really knew how to guilt her when she eventually blew it.
"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow then, ready for work."
"Yes sir. Goodbye." Hope clicked the icon to hang up and stood, giving a trembling sigh. It wasn't going to be her week this week, she could already tell. Damn, if only she could get paid doing this superhero schtick. Hope grimaced. She'd probably fuck that up, too. Hope wandered into the bathroom to shower and start her day and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror again. Eyes full of sorrow, looking like a beaten dog. Instead of turning away, she took a step back and shook her head.
"This is bullshit..." she muttered. Hope turned again into the mirror and looked herself dead in the eye.
"You're better than this," she said powerfully, "All this freaks and evil motherfuckers are running around dropping people in the street, and you're just gonna accept that? Go cry about it? You think Spiderman goes off and sulks on a rooftop whenever he gets his ass beat. Fuck no. He's better than that. You're better than that!" She grabbed the sink with both hands and leaned in closer to her reflection.
"You're the only one standing between the people of this fuckin' city and the scum of the earth who goes off doing... whatever the fuck they want! You wanna save this city? Suck it the fuck up, you whiny little bitch!" Hope stepped away from the mirror and nodded at herself. Now that was a reflection worth looking at. She looked fierce, determined. There was fire in her eyes.
"This is my goddamn city. Mine," she stressed before turning on the hot water. She left the bathroom while the water became warm to grab her laptop and set the music to what she thought should be her new theme song. Un-Gravitify by Crush 40. Hope bopped her head to the music, letting it pump her up as she let the water wash over her once more. Washing away the doubt, the hopelessness, filling her with confidence. Tonight, fuck everyone and everything. It was her way or the highway. Let them get in her way.

"...*Yawn*...Hello?" came a tired, warped voice from the other end of the line.
"Hey," Hope said simply.
"Wisp!? Holy shit, what happened last night? I tried calling you and-"
"I noticed." Her tone was as flat as ever. No time for games today.
"I saw what happened at the Loche Security building, place burned to the ground. I thought you were dead or something!"
"FUCK!" Hope snarled, losing her cool and flipping over the coffee table before her, scattering empty Pepsi and Red Bull cans everywhere. Those two guards, tied up on the second floor... No, not her fault. His fault. Pheonix. She was going to catch that son of a bitch and make him choke on his own dick after she cut it off and fed it to him.
"Geez, don't have to yell, I'm right here. Tell me what happened." Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Hope responded to Seeder. Although a little more angry than she'd have liked.
"I fought some kind of... fucking... fire ninja or some shit last night, there were two goons I tied up an-"
"They got out," Seeds interrupted, "The firefighters got them out. One's in critical condition from smoke inhalation and they're both in the ER, but they made it out. Calm down, Wisp. ...Did you get-"
"No, I didn't get the fucking information, but I nearly died, thanks for asking!" she snapped at him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to do our job here. Look, I'm glad that you're safe, alright? Now let's go over this together. One step at a time. The fire ninja, he's-"
"One of the bank robbers? Yeah, I thought so. He called himself 'Pheonix'. I saw his face, but didn't get a picture."
"Pheo...nix... Okay, good to know. Why was he there?"
"Fuck if I know. I didn't have time to ask him before he tried to flambe my ass."
"You think he's in on it? Maybe he wanted the other drive, and wanted to find out the same thing we were trying to."
"Maybe. He did talk to me, though. He asked if I was after 'them'. Motherfucker was probably trippin', but you could be right." Hope obviously left out their tender little moment together. She still didn't know exactly how she felt about that, but emotions ranged from ashamed to furious.

"Alright, I'll look into it. I got some good news, though. A friend of a friend called me last night and put me on the line with... 'The Executioner'..." Seeder continued slyly. Hope's face lit up.
"No shit? What'd he say? Gimme the dirt!" Her gap-toothed smile spread from ear to ear. Not a total wash, last night. Maybe this could be the big break?
"Well, for starters, guy probably thinks a 'power cycle' is a piece of exercise equipment."
"Quit stallin', dude! C'mon! Tell meeeeee!" she pleaded. She knew that Seeds was fucking with her for suspense.
"So check it out: Dude wanted to find out what was on the flash drive in the armored car, but didn't know how to work a computer. So naturally he has me pull off all the information and send it to him."
"Oh. My. God. You're kidding?"
"Nope! Got everything off the flash drive! Guy just handed it over!"
"Ah ha ha haaa! Oh my god, that's so awesome! You are the fucking sauce boss, y'know that?" Hope laughed, her spirits instantly lifted. Who would've guessed that she'd almost get burned alive, only to have their next big break literally fall into their laps?
"Lemme tell you what's on it..." Seeds suavely continued, "I've got a list of addresses and locations with research and tech labs at each one. Two corporations are involved: The Tower, and Carver Industries. I'm guessing that-"
"One of them hired the guards of the armored car?"
"Or both of them, maybe. It's possible, no, likely that whoever was involved with the armored car is also involved with what happened at the bank. What are the odds that both heists would happen at the same time? There was also a two part key on the flash drive, so it only makes sense that another flash drive was at the bank. If I'm right, which I am all the time."
"Chill out there, stud. Send the locations to my email, I'll check them out later. You got more, right?"
"A lot more. I couldn't crack it without the other flash drive, but something on the files wanted input for something called 'Phase Two'. Don't know what it could mean, but it doesn't sound good. On a side note, I sent the Executioner some of the same info, but I only gave him half of the research labs I found. Additionally, I've been tracking his phone after he called me by activating the GPS. I'm not seeing it on my radar anymore, but I've got his origin point and where he ended up for the night, with a heat map in between."
"Yeeeeaaaaaah...?"
"The heat map looked pretty funny to me. He's not following roads and I know he can't fly, and he's not the fucking Juggernaut so he's not running through walls. He makes his way around the city through the sewers, Wisp."
"I'll get to him later. Right now, he's doin' pretty good. Maybe we can puppet him into going after these other bank robbers before we take him down? Hm, sounds like some info the police might want later, too..." Hope mused, a dreamy smirk on her face and a sultry tone in her voice.
"Wow, that's... You're scaring me right now, Wisp," was Seeder's dumbfounded reply.
"There's what's good, and then there's what's fair, Seeds. I will personally fuck everyone over if I have to. He's a murderer and a danger to the city, Seeds, just like the other ones. I'm playing smarter, not harder."
"Ooookaaaaayyy... Moving on. Last but not least, there's a masquerade ball at Beacon Research and Development tonight. Eudora Carver's going to be there, and Beacon is run by the Tower. Actually, I've got some maps of the facility her somewhere I can send you."
"Sounds like a blast. Looks like my schedule just filled up," Hope said with a smirk, "I don't know how she's involved yet, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. Gauge what she says against what we know?"
"Sounds like a plan. Alright, I'll be up tonight around 7:30ish. Ball starts at 8. Hey, Wisp, why'd you ignore my calls last night?"
"Well, I, uh..." Wisp rubbed the bag of her head sheepishly, "I kiiiindaaaa drowned my phone..."
"Really? Geez, how the hell did you manage?"
"Fighting the ninja, used the sprinkler system as a weapon. Don't know if I'm disappointed how it went or not."
"So... no tech support tonight?"
"Pfft. You wish. I've got it chillin' in a plastic bag with some Uncle Ben's rice. That's supposed to work... right?"
"You better hope so, or you're on your own."
"Alright, alright. Let's kick this shit. I'll talk to you tonight." Like always, Hope abruptly cut the connection before standing to stretch. Time to get to work. The ominous drumroll of thunder sounded off in the distance, a harbinger for what was to come.

---

Once seven o'clock started rolling around, Hope began to gear up for the night's antics. It had been a productive day. Found out some new information, paid the rent (the electric bill could wait), got some groceries, went down to the Y to teach her woodworking class, prepped her stuff for the night. She had to throw out her favorite hoodie after it became singed and soaked. Burned some holes straight through it, and it smelled like someone's fireplace. Bastard. Before it rained, she managed to go to the roof with another light grey one, put some tape on the back of it in the shape of her custom emblem, and spray over it with black spray paint. It looked a little bit cooler in her opinion. Sent her shoes, belt, gloves, pads, and vest through the washer and dryer so she could wear them tonight. This time she put on a pair of baggy black cargo pants, similarly kept from riding up with athletic tape and knee pads and shin guards. The same vest went on over a plain black T-shirt, and the belt over that, stocked exactly how it was the night before, swapping out the Red Bull and trail mix for a Power Bar and a canister of Nos. A different pair of black skate shoes slipped on her feet before she donned her new hoodie. Wisp crinkled her nose. Still smelled kinda like paint. Oh well, maybe that'd change in the rain. Finally, she strapped her snow goggles to her face and tied a blue bandanna around her nose and mouth. Wisp picked up a crowbar from her coffee table and ran the straps around it, securing it to her back.

Moving to the kitchen, she grabbed her phone of the counter, kept in a plastic bag with the headpiece fishing itself out to keep it from getting soaked again. She tested it, and her camera, and it worked well enough. Except for the fact that it was an unreliable piece of shit and the screen would freeze sometimes. Playing with it, she ran the headset through her vest and put on some One For the Money by Escape the Fate, and called Seeder.
"You ready for this?" she asked, pulling her bandanna around her neck to take a swig of her energy drink.
"Sure thing. Let's do it," the voice on the end of the line answered back. Wisp opened her apartment window and clambered through, closing it behind her quickly before free-falling toward the sky. The rain had let up some from the torrential downpour of that afternoon, but it was still going strong.
"Ugh, I don't wanna get wet agaaaaiiin..." she moaned.
"That's what she said," quipped Seeds, not passing up on low-hanging fruit.
"Oh my gawd! You're such a juvenile little shit!" she shrieked at him over his uproar of laughter.
It wasn't that long of a flight to the Beacon Research and Development Center, maybe thirty minutes, but it sure was miserable. Wisp had to force herself to slow down, though. Raindrops hurt like a bitch at over 100 miles an hour with no windshield to stop them. As she neared, she swiveled around the back and landed on the roof so as to avoid drawing too much attention. Of course, she was dressed in dark colors and cast against a dark, cloudy sky, so fat chance there. Drenched again, her shoes squeaked as she touched down. She looked around, finding no rooftop entrance. Actually, she was the highest thing up there. When lightning struck, she suddenly felt conscious of the fact that the next one could be for her, and jogged over to sit horizontally at the side, focusing a repelling bubble around herself to keep from getting even more wet.
"Seeds, find me a good way in. No entry on the rooftop, windows are all solid and don't open," she relayed.
"Give me a minute... Yep. You're kinda screwed, Wisp. Building schematics don't show anywhere that will lead you to where you want to get in. I've got an entrance in the back by the loading docks, but it won't lead into the lobby. You'll have to take the front door."
"Shit..." she muttered, thinking about how she wanted to approach the situation. She couldn't just waltz right in the front door. Well... she could, but it wouldn't be a smart idea. Breaking one of the windows might hurt someone, and it certainly make the guards protect their VIPs a little harder, a.k.a. Ms. Carver, and it might risk an incident. Goddamnit, all she wanted to do was talk to the old bat.
Wait... fuck it. It was a masquerade ball, maybe they'd give her an inch. It totally might backfire, but she was sick of thinking about it. Front door it is.

Persona: Death Walkers

I'm hoping to have my own up today. Working on a post for another RP, will get a CS up after I'm done.