Emeth

Stranded: Blacksite (High casual Sci-fi/fantasy Horror)

All was darkness—both upon the eyes of the sleeping Sapishte, and upon the camera feed of the scientist. All had been silent in the lab, save for the low hum of the creature's containment pod, the soft whirring of robotic arms carrying various measurement devices, and the quiet buzz of the aperture adjustments of the camera—now to no avail—all punctuated only by the occasional melodic burbling of the Sapishte's calmly exhaled bubbles, or a quick burst of the scientist's feverish typing. The labcoat himself sighed, frustrated, as the camera feed cut out for the seventh, eighth, or ninth time this week.

"More interference?" he speculated, just as groundlessly as the last time.

Sitting up from his chair, coffee in hand, he scratched the messy, light brown mop on his disheveled head and approached the bulletproof glass between his cozy desk, and the Sapishte's equally cozy (he supposed) containment pod in the next room over. The girl floated silently in the fetal position, immersed in the lightly greenish-yellow fluid. A shiny layer of black, tar-like mucus covered much of her body, though it would frequently change in both color and texture. The surface of it appeared to shimmer, as what the scientist knew to be many eyes rapidly moved through the mucus. The girl was dreaming, and as the dreaming shapeshifter slept, her body rapidly changed—though, only within the strict parameters that the containment pod would permit. The scientist allowed himself to be mesmerized by the sight for only a moment before returning to his desk, only to find that the cameras were still out. He shrugged. The computer's current operation was automated, and would take a while. There was no need for him to be here anyway.

On the way out, the doctor passed by the door of the girl's "cell." It was covered with many and varied warning signs, from the mundane such as "no smoking," to the perplexing "no metal objects beyond this point," to the mildly hair-raising "quarantine zone: organics strictly prohibited." Aside from the girl in the tube, the door was the only thing that added any significant color to the otherwise sterile environment, but those who worked there had long since developed a blind spot for it, along with the single door guard who watched the Sapishte while the labcoats were away.

Emerging from the secure doors of the "twilight zone," where the prisoners knew all of the Alcatraz's most bizarre freaks were held, the labcoat bearing the badge with no name put on his best poker face as he wandered somewhat aimlessly down the halls, walking by several cells and eventually running into Felix.

"My camera's out too," he complained listlessly for a greeting, peering at the terminal over the rim of his coffee mug.

More scientifically-minded than security-minded, he didn't seem too disturbed by the revelation that more cameras were going out, and was presumably only interested in knowing when it would be fixed. Eventually, his eyes shifted to Felix, which would confirm such a suspicion.

Stranded: Blacksite (High casual Sci-fi/fantasy Horror)

Maji Nyeusi

Subject Name: Maji Nyeusi

Race: Sapishte
Age: 28
Gender: Female

Appearance

Height: 1.7 meters, or 5.6 ft.
Weight: 64 kg, or 141.1 lbs.
Hair is stained blue/black, eyes silver with a faint trace of their original lavender color.
Body type varies with physical activity. Subject exhibits greater-than-expected control of epidermal mucus, storing it on any part of the body.

ADVISORY: Outside of containment, subject is observed to freely re-arrange genetic structure and body mass into nearly any form, including any inanimate objects readily available to attempt to camouflage itself. (Note: dummy objects retain the subject's epidermal mucus, and will therefore reveal itself as a mimic when touched.) Because of this ability, subject has been deprived of all belongings, including clothing. Subject has been observed to maintain adequate modesty without clothing using epidermal mucus. Any complaints from the subject contrary to these observations are to be dismissed.


Enhancement: Self-Sustained Gene Editing Nanobots (SS-GEN)

Violation of (NAME OF CLIENT ORGANIZATION REDACTED) containment and handling protocol at (SITE REDACTED), (TIME AND DATE REDACTED) has caused subject's aqueous body to become polluted with ferrofluid solution (PATENT NUMBER REDACTED), containing experimental nanomachine colony SS-GEN. Originally designed for genetic engineering and repair, SS-GEN has enhanced subject's own shapeshifting abilities, granting nearly complete control over genetic structure and body composition. Subject's body is more mutable than a Sapishte, yet also more resilient to external attempts to force shapeshifting against the will of the host. Subject's containment unit located at (CELL NUMBER REDACTED) has been equipped with (DEVICE REDACTED), restricting SS-GEN operations. Subject exhibits expected Sapishte shapeshifting behavior even within containment. Obfuscation of the Sapishte's emotions has not been observed; subject is cooperative and unlikely to attempt escape of containment. However, subject is a valuable asset that client's rivals may attempt to seize, should its presence aboard the Alcatraz be made known. Subject should be monitored regularly by assigned personnel only and handled with care as prescribed.

GHS02: Extreme heat may cause unexpected or undesired operation of SS-GEN, or permanent damage to the subject.
GHS07: Subject's epidermal mucus is contaminated with ferrofluid. Avoid contact with skin and eyes, or aspiration into the lungs.
GHS08: Personnel incur no mutagenic hazard from subject. However, subject may suffer mutagenic hazard from personnel DNA contamination.


Unique Abilities

Flawless Mimesis ~ You Are What You Eat!

Subject can mimic not only the expected humanoid races, but most other living creatures; this ability is acquired by consuming the flesh, blood, or other traces containing genetic material of the creature in question. Subject can shapeshift specific parts of the body to acquire and use multiple genetic traits simultaneously, acquire traits from predators exceeding the subject's own body mass, transform various appendages in defiance of body symmetry, or retain the ability of human speech in nonhumanoid form. Subject can also consume an inanimate object, memorize the shape of the object, and transform the body into that shape, potentially camouflaging the subject. Attempts to make use of the subject while in the form of a simple tool (e.g. screwdriver) were partially successful, though the subject complained of moderate-to-severe pain afterwards. Any attempts to replicate more complex objects with moving parts (e.g. firearms) have failed.

ADVISORY: Observed successful mimicry of fauna over a period of two weeks included the following specimens: Ocelot, octopus, mantis, raven, wolf, snake, crocodile, tree frog, hornets, lobster, electric eel, sea turtle, jellyfish, and cuttlefish. Subject's body seems to store up to 7 genetic codes at once, including the expected Sapishte humanoid form. Mental capacity has been pushed to its limit, resulting in subject being able to "remember" 4 genetic adaptations at once. When attempting to mimic a fifth trait, another adaptation must be deleted, or the subject will lose consciousness. Assimilating a new genetic code from raw materials (meals) seems to result in the oldest genetic code (excluding the original Sapishte) being deleted.


Remote Puppetry of Replicant ~ Life of the Party!

Subject has been observed to divide body mass into multiple units. Doing so appears to divide both cognitive resources and physical strength between the units—until, at the size of insects, they act as a true hive mind. Most useful applications appear to be productivity and an escape tactic. All replicants have been observed to be identical in size and species, and mixing genetic traits from multiple species while in this mode of SS-GEN operation has not been observed. However, though no visual distinction between the units has been observed, the presence of a "Master" consciousness as a leader of the group, as well as accompanying "slave" consciousnesses has been established. Any injury sustained by a slave unit, up to and including death, will cause an injury to manifest itself within the subject once all units have been reclaimed into the main body. It is presumed that death of the unit playing host to the "Master" consciousness will induce coma or death of the subject. An experiment to prove this presumption has not been scheduled at this time.

This concludes the report on Subject: Maji Nyeusi.

---

Personality: A carefree and spunky girl whose intuition of others doesn't match her sheltered background. Makes seemingly no effort to hide how she feels, going so far as to shapeshift to exaggerate her emotions, even if they make no sense to anyone but her—just to express her weird self. Will do just about anything for a laugh or at least a smile. Will stick her nose where it doesn't belong, but genuinely wants the best for everyone—including herself, unapologetically. She is kind, but not soft, and can become quite stubborn if anyone were to try to take advantage of her or those she designates as friends (whether they agreed to her friendship or not). Loves food and will try almost anything at least once, especially after the accident. Gets defensive when questioned too much, especially about her race, and about those "lying mutants," which, she will remind you, are extremely rare, compared to the number of liars among the other races.

Bio:

Is it possible to choose how to feel about a bad situation? Or is laughter a liar's mask, worn to cover up sadness?

This question plagued Maji's childhood. Born in the backwaters of a backwater planet seemingly only suitable for insects, for 20 agonizingly long Glonelian years Maji was an ordinary girl living an ordinary, boring life in her isolated little swamp island tribe, far away from the bustling tourist centers of the mainland. The elders of her tribe never did approve of any move to assimilate into intergalactic society, for fear that mingling with other races, especially those "morally bankrupt" humans and "freakishly terrifying" Arraxi, would be the destruction of Sapishti culture, and the subjugation of its people. Off-world technology was despised, and attunement to nature was prized highly. Occasionally, Maji's outspoken personality and lack of attunement would earn her some snarky and derisive comments from her peers—something about how her "high-and-mighty attitude" didn't match her rank—and when she refused to be upset by them, some chose to see her as a freak, while others merely thought of her as an airhead. In the end, when Maji chose to leave her tribe and join the intergalactic community on the mainland, no one was really surprised, and nobody really cared.

This new, busy town atmosphere was refreshing. Technology was amazing, and even though the humans seemed to lack the higher prosocial behavior known as "personal space," Maji considered their culture's presence on Glonelia valuable as well. They also, unlike her tribes-people, never asked her stupid questions about whether or not she was "really Maji," why she left home, or what kind of job she wanted—but if one had asked her, she would have told them that she wanted to help all of the sick humans, who were catching all of the exotic Glonelian maladies. As she studied to become a medical technician, nobody asked her where she got the money to pay for school—though if one had asked her, she would have told stories of the long dives at sea, looking for beautiful sea shells and pearls to make jewelry for tourists. It wasn't as if she didn't know why they didn't ask—of course, everybody just assumed—but while it was a bit of a culture shock at first, she eventually found their low expectations freeing. If what was assumed for a non-attuned Sapishte from the sticks was acceptable, then she couldn't possibly disappoint anyone even if she aimed higher and failed. She was enjoying this newfound freedom—freedom from constantly having her entire life being questioned, scrutinized and criticized—but that freedom was to abruptly come to an end, after the accident in the lab. Now, her life is nothing but being observed and analyzed. She'd wanted to spend her life doing that to other life forms, not having other life forms do that to her.

On the Alcatraz, there is a separate prison block with uniquely equipped cells for prisoners with unique abilities. None of the other prisoners have seen much of her, and most of the staff don't even know who she is, although her cell gets frequent visits from the same two or three labcoats. Unlike the other prisoners, she has no weapons, or even any possessions, and on the few occasions she was seen outside her cell, she was cooperative. Is she an experiment of some kind? Is she useful? Will she even help the other prisoners? Time for another game of twenty questions...

Stranded: Blacksite (High casual Sci-fi/fantasy Horror) (An RP that's seen a few iterations)

Yup, put me down for this

Rough draft of a something:

Hider

Name: Maji Nyeusi

Race: Sapishte

Age: 28

Gender: Female

Appearance

Equipment: Herself

Enhancement: Self-Sustained Gene Editing Nanobots (SS-GEN)

A lab accident caused her aqueous body to become polluted with a ferrofluid solution containing nanomachines, which has enhanced her shapeshifting abilities. The nanobots were originally designed for genetic engineering and repair, and can supplement immune system function. [Minor status restoring utility.]


Unique Abilities: Perfect Mimesis, Remote Puppetry of Replicant

Perfect Mimesis: Maji can mimic not just humanoid races, but small animals and even inanimate objects. She can also shapeshift specific parts of her body to acquire and use specific traits from larger predators, transform her appendages into simple tools, or retain the ability of human speech in nonhuman form.

-Must consume a blood sample to mimic other creatures, or the object in question to memorize its shape.
-Complex objects with moving parts, and anything exceeding her original body mass cannot be used.


Remote Puppetry of Replicant: Maji can divide her body mass into multiple units. Doing so divides both cognitive resources and physical strength between the units—until, at the size of insects, they act as a true hive mind. Most useful applications are productivity and an escape tactic. All replicants will be identical in size and species.

-Mixing genetic traits from different species is not possible as a group.
-Any unit that is killed will manifest itself as an injury that must heal when reclaimed by the main body.


Personality: A carefree and spunky girl who doesn't match her background. Makes seemingly no effort to hide how she feels, going so far as to shapeshift to exaggerate her emotions, or just to express her weird self. Will do just about anything for a laugh or at least a smile. Will stick her nose where it doesn't belong, but genuinely wants the best for everyone—including herself, unapologetically.

Bio:

Is it possible to choose how to feel about a bad situation? Or is laughter worn as a mask to cover up sadness?

This question plagued Maji's childhood. Born in the backwaters of Glonelia, itself seemingly a backwater planet only suitable for tourism by other races, Maji was an ordinary girl living an ordinary, boring life. Occasionally, her lack of attunement to nature would earn her some snarky and derisive comments, and when she refused to be upset by them, some chose to see her as a freak, while others thought of her as an airhead. In the end, when Maji chose to leave her homeworld and join the intergalactic community, no one was really surprised, and nobody really cared.

This new atmosphere was refreshing. Technology was amazing, and nobody asked her stupid questions about whether or not she was "really Maji," why she left home, or what kind of job she wanted. As she studied to become a medical technician, nobody asked her where she got the money to pay for school. She was enjoying this newfound freedom—freedom from constantly being questioned—but that freedom was to abruptly come to an end.

On the Alcatraz, there is a separate prison block with uniquely equipped cells for prisoners with unique abilities. None of the other prisoners have seen much of this girl, and most of the staff don't even know who she is, although her cell gets frequent visits from the same two or three labcoats. Unlike the other prisoners, she has no weapons, or even any possessions, and on the few occasions she was seen outside her cell, she was cooperative. Is she an experiment of some kind? Is she useful? Will she even help the other prisoners? Time for another game of twenty questions...

Our Dying Wish

Rika turned to look at Ink in surprise—not that her face could be made out well in the darkness. Once again he had proven the most forthcoming, in spite of his attitude. She considered backpedaling, if it would be considered as such, and clarifying that she hadn't been asking about the wish of each medium present—but, she decided that it was fine if they thought that her wish had been about stargazing. It explained the comet-shaped shield on her arm equally as well as her actual wish, was much more straightforward, and apparently not as lame as she thought it might sound. "Thanks, you two," she replied with a grin. "Sometimes, it seems like everyone is content with their life down here, and nobody has any ambition. I know that's probably not true, but it's nice to actually hear it."

Then, their moment to indulge in the calm before the storm had passed. Angela wasted no time in making herself the center of attention, and Rika couldn't help but admire the boldness of the spectacle. As she stood up, she readied her shield and smiled. "No maidens will be kidnapped on my watch, fair lady!" she chimed in heroically, getting swept up into the act. Using the Rising Star to shield her eyes, she gazed up into the air and scanned the ceiling some more. Suddenly, she pointed back in the direction of the city with her free hand. "I think I see something!" she shouted excitedly, standing up on her toes.

---

Rika groaned as ringing filled her ears. As her head rolled limply on her left shoulder, her eyes slowly opened, unveiling the scene that was unfolding beneath her. Oddly, the first thought that occurred to her was that the friends she'd just made were now arguing, and she'd have to put a stop to that. It was only a moment later that she realized that the ground was now over a hundred feet below her, and as the ringing in her ears subsided, it became replaced by the thunderous sound of massive, flapping wings. Looking up, she saw the huge claws of the Rex Caelestis gripped tightly around the Rising Star, which may have just saved her head from being removed from her body. It became clear what her comrades were arguing about: if they tried to attack the dragon, they might hit her. She gazed at the creature with wonder and awe for a brief moment—until her close encounter with death fully sank in and the moment began to lose its magic a little. Studying it closer, she noticed that it was badly burned, which all but confirmed that this was their mark.

She also noticed that it seemed to be struggling to continue its ascent. "Oh, I'm heavy, am I?!" she scolded, igniting the thrusters of the Rising Star and causing the creature to shriek and let go in response to being burned. Rika rolled in the air a couple times before stabilizing herself and beginning to gain height faster than the pained and struggling dragon. "Thanks for the lift, snake-head!" she shouted as she redirected downward toward her target, slamming into it and dragging it all the way into the ground with a bright blue explosion that destroyed a section of the back wall of the ranch, sending bricks flying across the field some distance from her allies. As they approached the hole in the wall, they were greeted with the sight of Frederica standing atop the stunned beast, wiping sweat from her brow. Waving to her allies, she grinned from ear to ear. "I said I'd bring it down, yeah?!" she shouted proudly.

And bring it down she did. As motionless as the creature now was, one could be forgiven for thinking it was already dead—but as it began to stir and squirm beneath Rika's feet, the group had to face the reality that this beast was made of sterner stuff. Rika began slipping on the dragon's slick body and was forced to dismount, jumping behind the creature and out of view. As her allies rushed out the hole in the wall and ran out onto the brick road, the creature whirled its snake-like head to look at them—or at least, it turned to face them, but it had no visible eyes—something that was much easier to notice on the life-sized creature. "Hey! Fight something in your own weight class!" Rika taunted, causing it to whip back around and bear down on her.

Our Dying Wish

As Rika listened to Angela explain her abilities, she couldn't help but feel that her second crack at an introduction had been just as much a failure as the first. Ink, too, was more verbose with his explanations, and even took a moment to introduce them to his curse. Although the effect was quite shocking, Rika couldn't help but admire his courage; most people weren't so forthcoming about their curse. Finally, the tattooed Pioneer provided no name, and a simple "I hit things." For a moment, Rika didn't feel so bad about her own lackluster introduction, but then she reiterated the point that Angela had introduced to the conversation. "I can take care of myself" was the tagline of the group so far; one of them even wanted to be included as "collateral damage." How was she supposed to make friends like this? Wait a minute, don't famous people usually get introduced by someone else, anyway?! she suddenly realized. Throw me a bone, Elpidio!

She smiled awkwardly. "Well, it seems like half the planning has been done for us. We go to the Reese brothers' ranch and wait for the brass to turn off the sun—Angela can get its attention and I can bring it down," she explained, as though the whole thing weren't absurd enough to say, let alone do. Well, at least she seemed confident, sliding the sticks of antidote down the table like drinks at a bar. Then, apparently deciding that any further discussion would just be a waste of time, she exited Elpidio's office, walking swiftly through the Daemon training room like she had a report to file on Monday. Her heart sank a little when she saw the elevator. Oh, God. This silence is so awkward. You're my only hope! Rika thought as she glanced across the elevator at Angela, who seemed to her like the only one who could carry a conversation that wasn't weird. "So, that dinner party is totally your scene, right? You're going? What else do you do for fun?"

With Angela's help, Rika was able to pass the time as they traveled on foot. The ranch, still in the high-class district of the city, was surrounded by brick walls. The armed guards on either side of the iron gate saluted as the group approached. "We're expecting you, Miss Simonova. Are they with you?" one asked. "Yep, these are my friends," Rika replied without missing a beat. As the gate opened, the group was met with a large grassy field, only made somewhat believable by the artificial sun overhead. Notably, there were no livestock present; they had presumably been moved indoors for the occasion. "A field from the surface, down here in the cave! This is so cool!" Rika exclaimed as she ran to the top of a nearby hill.

Looking down from the top of the hill, the scenery was suddenly marred by deep gouges in the earth, stained red with blood—a grim reminder of why they were there. Just as suddenly as the scene of the crime met their eyes, the artificial sun above them blinked out. "Routine maintenance of the photosphere system is underway. Please do not be alarmed. Service will resume shortly," echoed a message from the distant speaker system in the city. "Yeah, routine," Rika mocked, as with a flash of blue flame she summoned the by-now iconic Rising Star on her arm, and plopped down onto the slight incline of the hill. "And now we play Where's Waldo with the ceiling fungus," she remarked casually, arms tucked behind her head as if this were something she did every day. "I want to see the day that everyone can go stargazing on the surface like this," she said, without so much as a hint of added drama or flair as her eyes scanned the twinkling blue ceiling of the cave. "Not just mediums, but regular people—lots of them."

There were rumors that young Miss Simonova had her sights on the Demon Mother. What she said could carry serious weight, if indeed she was serious; it would mean the rumors were true. As far as anyone knew, nobody had ever seen the Demon Mother, let alone knew what she'd be capable of, aside from bringing all other evil beings into existence—and that, too, was hearsay. The enemy did not often speak of her; after all, if all of humanity's most dangerous enemy were effectively birthed from a single source, that might give them hope of eventually exterminating them all. "Anyone else got a cheesy wish like that? Or just me?" Rika grinned as she looked around at the other three.

Our Dying Wish

"Excellent, most excellent," Elpidio praised in response to Angela's enthusiasm and background knowledge. Rika also smiled, glad that at least one of her comrades was genuinely glad to go. "If you know the history of the beast, I'm sure you're aware of its poisonous breath, which is why each of you will be receiving one of these," Elpidio said as he produced what looked like a pack of gum from the pocket of his lab coat. "Chewable antidote. It cursed both poison, and bad breath!" he japed, tossing the pack of five at Rika for her to catch. Rika was too slow to react, though, and the dragon caught it in his mouth instead. "Hey! Give it here," Rika demanded, grabbing the box and struggling to retrieve it without hurting Elpidio's animated plastic pet. The doctor whistled, calling it over, and it let go and flew onto his shoulder.

"What's in it for me?" the tattooed girl suddenly asked.

"I'll admit, when pitching this to the brass, I may have made it sound more dangerous than it really ought to be—so, naturally, those exceptional few Brionac graduates who still show the, how do you say, initiative, to take on an optional mission of this caliber, advertised as a humble little training opportunity... Well, that shows strength of character, doesn't it? Great opportunity for a raise, or perhaps a promotion," he said as he gave Rika a sideways glance while putting his now-immobile dragon back in the glass cabinet. "—and if gold doesn't appeal to you, Ern and Darrel will surely have some gratitude to show as well, even if a dinner party is not up your alley. Have you ever had their marbled steak? Oh, I'm sure you have, Miss Degrasse—the rest of you ought to give it a go; it's to die for." He smiled at the group, bowing as though to excuse himself. "Oh, I almost forgot. I've arranged it so that in about half an hour, the city's photosphere will switch to night mode. That should make the beast easier to spot, as its camouflage is based on its circadian rhythm. It will probably be flying above the Reese brothers' ranch, looking for another easy meal. I'm not sure what it will do once the sun disappears. If it's found a new nest, it may go into hiding." He bowed again, this time excusing himself for real. "You may use this room to get acquainted with one another and discuss battle plans; I'll be in the second floor library. Ciao!" he waved as he left the office, leaving the door locked behind him.

Rika looked around the room, eyeing her impromptu teammates. In typical Frederica fashion, she'd wanted to get moving as soon as the briefing was over, but Elpidio was right: they should at least have a plan for a mission like this, and having access to his office for that purpose was a luxury too good to pass up. They had a 3D model of the city right on his desk. Though, unfortunately, any cracks or ledges along the walls of the cave that their target could use for a den were not included—only the city itself.

"Well," Rika began, running her fingers through the hair on the back of her head as she tried to think of something to say. "My name is too long and fancy, so everyone calls me 'Rika," she explained, grinning. "Juggernaut, First Class, formerly a Vanguard... but I can still do the whole Vanguard thing, so you can count on me to protect everyone. Magic is spacey, y'know, asteroids, gravity, anti-gravity... people say I'm a bit spacey too," she said with a snicker. "—but reliable, y'know, like the sun, I guess. That's what people say," she added, clearly embarrassed.

"You're a Warlock, I guess? The fiery kind," Rika prompted, making finger-guns as she turned to Angela, eager to change the subject.

**CANCELLED** Flower Power! - A Plant-Inspired Superpowers RP [OPEN]

Felicia turned to face the lemon-scented girl—clearly a young lady with a lot of spunk. At least, Felicia was not used to being casually approached like that. Her mind blanked for a moment as Mara put her on the spot, mentioning that she catered to plant-essenced people. In actual truth, she didn't, and learning how to cater to such people was merely a pretense for coming to this summit, that she had come up with in the spur of the moment. Now, however, she found herself needing to prove her worth to this new community of people with much more diverse traits and abilities.

"Electric plant essence... That's not something I'd have expected," she said, truthfully. "It shouldn't be an impossible situation. I'd probably consult fire safety experts for advice on accommodations... and perhaps some electricians. If the power could be harnessed for energy, perhaps I could make a deal with the tenant and the power company to offset the cost of those accommodations by lowering the electric bill," she offered. I don't know if that's actually possible, though... she thought to herself, hoping she didn't sound like she was talking out of her ass.

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

As Ashley looked back at Troe once more after finishing her talk with Xara, she caught Aleria splashing through the tide to catch up to her. "This can't be good," she remarked out loud as she waited for her and Troe to catch up. Ashley lent Aleria her ear as she obviously had something to report that she didn't want overheard.

“You by chance wouldn’t know what exactly is causing this would you? I’m perplexed, it’s out of my depth.”

Ashley looked back at the snaking trail of blood that was steadily flowing in their direction. "Curious," she remarked in a hushed tone. "I've had an uncomfortable gut feeling for some time now that something on the island was reaching out to him," she told Aleria, but omitted the part where she more specifically thought it was thirsting for his blood. "It could of course, be nothing—but one of very few, unexplored benefits of having less turbulent emotions as a dark mage, is that you might just become so good at reading a room that you start feeling the lingering emotions of the dead," she explained to Aleria as she waited for Troe to take the lead. "—but, further research must be done to back such claims. That is to say, it's out of my depth as well."

Ashley had no idea how literally true her hunch would be, even as they approached the shrine with the basin that should have given it away immediately. As the words "strange blood" escaped Aleria's lips, Ashley too felt a twinge of unease, which wasn't helped by the unnatural way Troe was approaching the altar.

“The blood of the last son of house Rev…” he uttered, causing Ashley to put two and two together.

"Troe! STOP!" Ashley blurted out suddenly, sounding genuinely distressed as she splashed over toward him.

The ground began to shake, and Ashley lost her balance and fell to her knees at the edge of the beach—but as soon as she was able, she scrambled again to her feet and ran up behind Troe, intent on removing his hand from the altar. If only she'd been slightly less of a coward, followed just a bit more closely behind him, she could have been there already—alas, she found herself arriving at his side too late. After seeing that his hand was more or less uninjured, she exhaled, shaking the wet sand from her own hands. "Are you alright?" she asked, just before he fell to one knee.

Quickly, she knelt down and lifted him up beneath his arms, throwing his left around her neck and supporting him with her own strength. She turned around to look at Aleria and made a motion with her hand as though she were mixing the contents of a flask. "Would you please stop mutilating yourself for science?" she grumbled at Troe while motioning to Aleria for the vulnerary. "This is how people get themselves cursed, you know? Don't be reckless just because I'm here, or you'll end up spending your share of the reward paying me to get rid of it for you," she japed. She'd mentioned that her services were fairly cheap, so most of what she'd said was just banter. "Show me your hand. Give it here," she said as she reached for Troe's wrist, taking his hand to inspect the wound, or lack thereof, for traces of malevolent magic.

Our Dying Wish

Rika had to try not to look visibly relieved that Angela had introduced herself, as she was obviously someone whose name was worth knowing, and she hadn't memorized. Things like names, dates, history in general, and anything deemed culturally "important" by the general public seemingly refused to stick in her mind, but thankfully, she came across as more air-headed than insensitive or rude. She also tried not to look happy or surprised that not just her but two others had joined the briefing. Four people wasn't much, but it was better than going alone—which, given the nature of the message, she'd had to assume.

"You know me," she said casually and tried to end it there, but in the tone she said it, it sounded like there should be more. Instead of continuing, though, she just grinned sheepishly. She hated introducing herself, not just because of how unnecessary it was most of the time, but during the few times it did turn out to be necessary, it proved difficult to jog their memory without making it sound like she was bragging—so instead, she tried to change the subject. "Uh, yeah! What are we doing here, Doc?"

Elpidio clapped his hands twice, dimming the lights. "Our story begins... with cattle mutilations!" he began dramatically.

"I knew it!" Rika interrupted, instantly at the edge of her seat and unable to restrain herself from pointing at her former professor. "It WAS aliens!"

"No," Elpidio replied, bursting her bubble immediately. "Though it does involve mysterious shapes in the sky, cattle mutilations, and monster folklore, so I can see how you'd come to that conclusion," he added to soften the blow. "I'm sure you all know Ern and Darrel, the brothers who oversee what little livestock we have down here in Agartha. Well, you may have heard through the rumor mill about their cows being mysteriously killed, and in a few cases, poisoned," he said as he looked at Angela, who seemed the most likely to have heard a rumor. "That is, at best, destruction of property, and at worst, a poor attempt at getting poisoned meat onto the plates of mediums and their families. So, naturally, there was an investigation, and some suspects caught and arrested. They plead guilty to trespassing, but not guilty to all other charges, and they would have the court believe that they saw a monster, which hasn't been seen for hundreds of years, feasting on the poor bovines."

Rika didn't seem all that fazed by the potential political intrigue, or the monster of the week. It seemed more like she was wracking her brain over something unrelated.

"The plot thickens!" Elpidio said as he dramatically opened one of his cabinets. "I have here..." he said, turning around and presenting it. "A model of the beast. Rex Caelestis." He withdrew a gray gemstone from his pocket and held it to the model, causing an Artifice magic circle to appear. The model dragon came to life, and as Elpidio lifted it up in his hand, it took off and began soaring around the room, before landing on the table in front of Rika. It had a long, smooth, snake-like body and head, no visible eyes, and two large, vampire-like fangs sticking out of its mouth. Its back was green, its belly was black, and its scales were so tightly packed together that they couldn't be seen except from extremely close up. "Beautiful, isn't he? Now watch this," he said as he clapped again, bringing the lights back on. As the lighting changed, the color of the dragon also changed, with the green scales on its back becoming a brighter green, and its belly turning to a sky blue. "Its scales change color based on the time of day. Isn't it incredible?"

"So you want us to kill one of these and bring you its remains for data, right?" Rika asked, skipping ahead.

"Right you are, Rika!" Elpidio replied with the voice of a proud father—which, one could suppose, he was the closest thing Rika had to one. "Oh, right, the story!" he realized, taking his hands off the table and standing up straight. "Er, I mean, the briefing! Right, yes," he said, suddenly putting on more of a professional teacher's voice. "Rex Caelestis is one of the Three Kings—the three most powerful monsters to have ever been slain by man. Nobody believed their story until the brothers themselves corroborated it after they saw it too... and tracked it into the crystal mines, found its nest, and torched it," Elpidio added as though it were the punchline to a joke.

"They did what?!" Rika blurted out, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Crazy rednecks, right?" Elpidio said with a smile. "Thankfully, nobody has been hurt, yet—but with its nest torched, it has nowhere to settle. So, we have a potentially dangerous beast flying around, camouflaged against the skies of Agartha—but we have the upper hand, because it's only a juvenile, and its been badly burned. It'll be no match for first-rate mediums such as yourself. It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said excitedly.

Rika rubbed her temple with her non-armored hand in annoyance. It was becoming increasingly clear that this was more or less a personal favor being dressed as an official mission—but, as the model dragon flew at her and landed on the back of her hand, she looked at it, and found herself thinking that she'd like to do this. It wasn't a bigshot demon or anything; killing it in its weakened state wouldn't prove much, either to herself or to anyone else, and she wasn't terribly interested in adding a new boss to Elpidio's game—but, she did owe him a lot, and it was a danger to the public that had to be taken care of by somebody. If her mother knew that she was letting that thing fly around so that they could spend her day off together, she would probably shoo her out the door. Well, that settled it.

"Alright, I'll finish off your legendary monster for you," Rika agreed coolly, standing up and kicking her chair into its place beneath the table in one smooth motion.

"Excellent! Any other takers?" Elpidio asked as the model beast began belching a harmless black smoke at Rika's face.

Our Dying Wish

Mission 1 - A Unique Opportunity

Its wings are an deathly omen; the sky is its dominion, the earth its macabre canvas.
With claws dipped in bloody slaughter, it paints the future of man most hopeless.
Learned leaders strong and proud beat their breast and are given over to madness.
Widowed women wail as children are snatched away, and warriors left headless.
—Chronicles of Degrasse, Volume VIII: The Three Kings

---

Frederica Simonova: Juggernaut, First Class. Star pupil of Brionac Academy, and darling of the people of Agartha. Serves hero sandwiches in the cafeteria, and knuckle sandwiches in the field. The weight of these expectations did not slow the young woman down as she ran down the cobblestone streets of the middle-class district she lived in, a long blue ponytail and droplets of sweat trailing behind her. As she rounded a corner and passed a group of children waiting to take the cable car to school, she held out her right hand—and without fail, the supervising adults and taller children held out their hands and high-fived her all in a line. A row of smiles, and a few "good mornings," the same as every day—but something was just a little off. The mood was just that small bit dampened by something. Must be the news, she figured.

"Please be advised: if you see any unusual shapes in the sky, report to your local authorities. If at any time you feel unsafe, please remain indoors," was the only message playing publicly. Privately, on the medium-exclusive communication network, there was a message about a unique training opportunity at Brionac Academy, and that any interested parties (and Frederica Simonova, who was mentioned by name) should (and in Frederica's case, will) please report to Executive Elpidio's office at 6 AM. She couldn't help but feel that these two announcements would be related somehow.

As Rika entered the upper-class part of Agartha where only mediums and their families lived, uneven cobblestone gave way to level ground and smooth bricks, rows of tightly-packed apartments became modest mansions, and lines of cheerful schoolchildren offering high-fives were replaced with solemn uniformed guards giving salutes. These were the things that made the city's expectations on Frederica feel weighty. It all just screamed "work," and she would be eternally grateful to her mother for insisting her daughter not be made to grow up surrounded by it all. She tried not to look at any of it, instead locking her eyes on the biggest building in the district, visible even from the gates, and making a beeline down the straight-shot road to it. You couldn't miss it. It was an awfully pompous-looking building, at least on the outside, with the look of a temple straight out of ancient Athens.

She would be finished with her morning run the moment she walked onto the property. Such inelegant behavior from a graduate of the Academy would not be tolerated outside of the designated areas. Now, her body language had to match the uniform. Quickly checking her pockets to ensure she had everything in order, Frederica walked up the too-big marble steps to the sliding glass doors and entered the sterile white halls, trying her best to look the part of a dignified warrior as she entered the nearest elevator and waited for it to take her four levels below the ground floor to a very small hallway leading to the large room with all of the armchair soldiers doing Daemon simulations instead of killing real demons in the field—such was the way Frederica thought.

Rika walked past all of the motionless, laid-back bodies with faces covered in VR visors, leaving them blissfully unaware of her presence as she again checked all of her pockets before entering the large office space dominated by a single feature: Elpidio's desk, and upon it, small-scale models of the city of Agartha, and the mountain range Agartha was built into, hand-made using data collected by Pioneers who had thoroughly explored the surrounding area. The mountains in particular were a valuable teaching tool, never failing to inspire awe in impressionable young students. Large cabinets also lined the room, filled with 3D-printed models of all kinds of monsters—some small, some quite large.

"Ah, Rika," Elpidio greeted pleasantly, peeking his blonde, bespectacled head from behind the mountain on his desk. "Twenty minutes early, as usual I see."

"You know I had plans today," Rika responded, trying not to sound too annoyed. Whatever this was, it wasn't his fault. "What's this about?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this story, trust me. Best if we wait for others to come first, though," he said as he again busied himself with his toys.

No one's coming, Rika thought to herself, slumping back in a chair with her boots on a nearby table, all of her manners flying out the window along with her patience. Why risk life and limb when you can play Elpidio's video games? she thought—and indeed, she was right. Anyone following her through that door would be a uniquely dedicated and talented character. Well... they would certainly at least be unique.