Lord Wraith

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

“I came as fast as I could, had to end a class early in the A.R.C.”

Aiden Roth’s voice echoed through the multi-bedroom apartment. The faculty housing on campus wasn’t sparse on space and it provided more than enough room for the small family. He smiled as Victoria rounded the corner, moving towards his wife and landing a peck on her cheek while embracing her. She returned the gesture before her body language informed Aiden there was something more important than a cordial greeting at hand.

“His H-Gene manifested.” She replied before her husband excitedly cut her off. His arms spread wide, pride evident in Aiden’s face as he moved to celebrate

“That’s great news-” His excitement was met with a shaking head, tears welling up in the corner of Victoria’s eyes.

“A kid is in the infirmary, his parents are trying to sue the school.”

“Tori, what happened?”

“He took after you, his powers set the other boy on fire. The poor kid is covered in third degree burns. If it wasn't for our healers, I don't know that he would have survived.” She put her head in her hands.

“I never wanted him to have to experience that, to have his abilities happen so fast and so aggressively. The whole point of raising him on the island was to keep him safe and then this happens.”

“He’s still safe.” Aiden replied while massaging his wife’s shoulders. “I’ll talk to him, I’ve been where he’s at.” He softly kissed Tori on the forehead before climbing the stairs towards the bedrooms. Inside, he found Lorcán sitting silently on his blue comforter, a plush otter gripped firmly between his small arms as reddened eyes looked up towards his father. What had once been swirling irises of blue were now ember-like orange catching Aiden off guard before the elder Roth remembered his own abilities affected his eyes.

“I, I wanted to be his friend.” Lorcán replied, “Why was he so mean? I didn’t mean to get so angry, Daddy, I just wanted-”

“I know,” Aiden replied softly, sitting down beside Lorcán before putting an arm around his son and giving the boy a firm squeeze. “I know, Lion Lungs. You have your mother’s heart, but your father’s spirit and with that spirit comes the instinct to fight and stand up for yourself.” His tone was soft as he spoke.

"You also have a Hyperhuman gene, just like both of your mother and I. Much as we've long suspected. Unfortunately, you take after me instead of your mother which means you're going to need to learn to keep emotions in check in order to control your abilities. These abilities we have, they move with our emotions, anger and arousal specifically."

Aiden paused, taking a second to process what he had just said.

“We’ll cover that latter one in a few years.”

“I don’t want to be a Hyperhuman, I want to make friends,” Lorcán sullenly protested, “What good are these powers if they only hurt people?”

“Powers don’t hurt people, it’s unfortunately people that hurt other people.” Aiden chided softly, “Remember, the boy wasn’t hurt until you were angry. That’s when you lost control. I know right now it hurts, I know he wasn’t being kind to you either. You need to learn to choose when to stand up and when to let it glide over you, just like skipping a rock across the water.”

“I just wanted a friend,”

“I know that. It’s hard being the only munch on the island at times. We would have loved to have given you a sibling, but that just wasn’t in the cards for us.” Aiden replied kindly, a small lump forming in his throat before he swallowed and washed it away.

“In the meantime, we need to teach you how to use your abilities.”

“I don’t want to burn anyone else,” Lorcán reiterated, before sending a chill down Aiden’s spine as he spoke again,

“But, in the moment-”

“-It felt good to watch him burn.”

“I know you don’t, Little Lion, and I know you think you mean that right now. We’ll find you someone to talk to so you can get those feelings out in a healthy way. I will never tell you how to feel, but I want to be sure you’re able to deal with them in a productive way.” Aiden replied, trying to ignore the way Lorcán was now looking at himself in the mirror.

“For those reasons, I’m going to teach you how to use your abilities,” Aiden said while standing up, before extending a hand to Lorcán. “And when I’m busy at school, I’ve found you a tutor to help your Mom out, I think you’ll like her. Her name’s Ryan, she has an ability much like ours.”

He smiled as Lorcán took his hand,

“Now I believe your mom promised you some ice cream earlier.”

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_{Location: Southern Plateau - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.026: Duality

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: You Look Good Like That

The clash of plasma on plasma showered the catwalk in sparks and charged ions. The hum of their electromagnetic fields squealed in protest with each parry, the red and blue coloured blades becoming a vibrant purple each time they collided.

From the balcony above, the Aurora dopplegänger was fully engrossed and entertained as Lorcán and his own dopplegänger traded blows in a display of prowess with their abilities and acrobatics. She was captivated by the two nearly identical men and the fervor at which they fought.

It was a flurry of blows, equal exchanges and close calls as Lorcán continued to duel his dopplegänger atop the catwalk whilst Aurora and the hooded figure beside her looked on. Raze smiled before feinting, Lorcán barely had time to block the blow as the two blades locked again, illuminating Raze’s scarred visage in a violet glow.

“You are wonderful.”

“Thank you,” Lorcán responded through gritted teeth. “I've worked hard to become so.”

“I admit it, you are better than I am.” Sneered Raze before pulling away and putting some distance between himself and Lorcán.

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because I know something you don't know.”

“And what is that?”

“I am not left-handed.” Raze taunted, the plasma blade switching from his left to his right hand before he re-engaged Lorcán in combat.

“You are amazing.” Lorcán replied, fending off the attacks as Raze drove him back along the catwalk. Above them continued to be captivated by the display of both Lorcáns.

“I ought to be, after serving Hyperion for years.” The dopplegänger sneered while continuing his onslaught.

“Oh,” Lorcán interjected, parrying the blade with his own before taking a step back,
“There's something I ought to tell you.”

“Tell me.” Raze growled with anticipation.

“I'm not left-handed either.” Lorcán responded, dispersing his blade from his left before reigniting the air in his right hand and suddenly driving Raze back toward the middle of the catwalk.

“This is clearly not your first time doing this,”

“Nor yours,” Lorcán stated admiringly between breaths.

“How often do you do this?”

“I practice with them three hours a day.” Boasted Lorcán nearly stabbed Raze as his thrust just missed the other’s torso, instead piercing his cape.

“You need to find yourself a girl. Or perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you already found one, and are otherwise incapable of wooing said lady.” Raze taunted, “You're not a eunuch are you?”

“I practice three hours a day, so when I meet a Hyperion loyalist, I can kill them.”

Cackling laughter broke the tension of the moment as both Raze and Lorcán’s eyes were drawn towards the robed figure looming over them from the balcony above.

“Oh,” The voice from under the hood chortled with delight, “I am so not Hyperion.” His hands moved to the hood, slowly removing it to reveal a burned scalp, and a face marred by lightning and fire.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

“As you can see, the attempt on my life has left me scarred,” Rory explained, gesturing to the burns that covered his face. “But I am very much still alive.”

“Of course,” Lorcán muttered while continuing to defend against Raze’s attacks. “Somehow, Rory has returned. Didn’t I leave you at the bottom of the ocean, bro?” He called back to the hooded Rory.

“You do realize you tried to murder your best friend, bro?” Rory retorted, “And you’re not even shaken up about it, Goody-Two-Shoes Lorcán takes a life and he’s completely unphased, what are you some kind of psychopath? Are any of your relationships even real?” He raved, salvia flying from his mouth.

“Is that why you can’t get Aurora to love you? She’s seen the monster inside, she knows all your attachments, your friendships, that they’re all fake.” Rory paused, chuckling darkly.

“All your friends are experiencing their worst nightmares, and you’re playing make believe. Even in a life-or-death scenario, you’ve managed to make yourself the hero. It’s all about Lorcán.” He hissed venomously.

“Just like when abandoned the real me to go play in the woods with Amma, just like when you sprang your feelings on Aurora in the tent.”

Lorcán felt the knife twist.

“In the end,” He laughed, “You’re no different than him,” Rory added whilst pointing toward Raze.

“No… that’s not true!” Lorcán protested with a loud cry, “That’s impossible!” Pushing back against Raze with all his might, Lorcán broke off from their fight before he leapt onto the catwalk railing and boosted himself towards the balcony that held Rory and Aurora’s doppelgängers.

“Aurora’s my best friend, you’re a dick and you’re not real.” He roared, his plasma blade reigniting from his hands. Rory laughed as the blade arced towards him. Suddenly, Lorcán found himself blocked as Rory ignited a blade of his own.

With his free hand, Rory unleashed a blast of lightning, knocking Lorcán from the balcony, watching the other boy hit the catwalk with a fleshy thud, smoke coming off of his chest from where the attack had melted some of the suit’s protective layer away. Removing the flowing black robes, Rory tossed them aside before teleporting to the catwalk and reforming the plasma blades.

Lorcán’s eyes widened as he found himself between Raze on one side and the now shirtless Rory on the other.

“Forgot I could take multiple powers, didn’t you, Lorc?”

“Still won’t help you,” Redirecting a lightning blast from Rory towards Raze, Lorcán held his own against both of his demons. Pain suddenly radiated through his body, exhaling a cry from between his lips as he missed a parry from Raze, the plasma blade dragging across his back.

Anticipating the next one, Lorcán danced between his two foes and watched Raze skewer Rory. As Rory cried out in shock, Lorcán pushed Raze back, taking his weapon and twisted it into Rory’s side.

“You hurt, Aurora. You threatened her.”

“Bros before hoes.”

“Not on your life.” Lorcán swung his blade hard, separating Rory’s scarred head from his neck and perfect abs.

But Lorcán had no time to celebrate as Raze was atop him, aggressively striking until Lorcán couldn’t parry again and the blade ripped across his chest. His A.R. suit spilled open while the blade burned into his flesh.

Cries of pain and protest erupted out of Lorcán as he struggled to regain his advantage. Stumbling, he barely had enough time to produce a new blade before it was locked with Raze who was rapidly overpowering him.

“Merciless aren’t you?” The doppelgänger laughed.

“I am not you.” Lorcán managed to spit, barely holding Raze back.

“Whenever you look in the mirror,” Raze whispered, pushing down hard on the blade as he came nearer and nearer to Lorcán’s face. “I want you to remember this failure, I want you to feel fear.” His voice dripped venom.

“I want you to see me.”

Lorcán suddenly screamed in anguish, Raze’s blade burning into the right side of his face. The smell of his own flesh burning was enough to make Lorcán gag, but the pain, the pain was unlike any burn he had ever felt. Releasing Lorcán, Raze smiled before stepping back.

Slumping to his knees, Lorcán moved his hands to cradle his face before stopping himself from further agitating the wound. A feeble whimper escaped from between his lips before he stifled the rest.

This was no place for tears. This was no time to cry.

Molten eyes burned, rising to meet Raze as Lorcán began to channel the pain to anger, and then to rage. Years worth of suppressed emotions bubbled inside of him, fanning the flames into a wildfire.

A face covered in spikes sneered at him.

“Stay down.”

Lorcán placed a hand on the ground in front of him, pushing himself to his feet while watching a few stray drops of blood rain down from the open wound on his face.

“I told you to stay down.”

He shook his head, the voice ringing before placing his hands in front of him and igniting the air to create another blade.

“Good, good,” Raze taunted, “There’s still some fight left in you.”

“I can do this all day.” The other young man boasted defiantly, molten eyes staring out from behind singed eyelashes.

“Come, let’s finish this.” Raze charged as Lorcán released a roar, raged matched by fury exploded in a shower of sparks, shades of sapphire, ruby and amethyst. Wild swings and aggressive jabs cut through the catwalk and its railing. Gaining the upper hand, Lorcán raised his weapon above his head only to catch a solid kick to the chest. He felt his balance go as he toppled over, rolling backwards.

And then, Lorcán felt the ground go out from under him, sliding over the catwalk’s edge. His hands caught a piece of sheared metal. White knuckles held tightly while Raze leered over the edge dragging the plasma blade along the edge, raining flecks of molten metal over Lorcán.

Raze had won, all that was left was to savor his victory.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: Southern Plateau - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.025: You Look Good Like That

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_{Interaction(s): @Melissa - Aurora Mitchell}

Previously: The Flame In All Of Us

“I don’t really know how you could, brah, this place it messes with the mind-” Lorcan replied, looking between both directions of the narrow corridor before turning his face back toward Harper only to find himself alone in the sterile white hallway.

“-More than poor swells mess with my morning.” He muttered to himself before cautiously proceeding forward alone. Even without Harper, Lorcán’s resolve was unfaltering. His priority was to find Aurora, no matter what this place threw at him.

Turning a corner, Lorcán froze at the sound of approaching footsteps before skulking back out of sight as what he could only assume were members of the Foundation marched back, wearing shiny white composite armour over their uniforms as they moved towards the direction he had come from.

Waiting until the hard footsteps were in the distance, Lorcán made his move and skittered around the corner and down the hallway. Truthfully, he had no clue where he was going but at the moment, away from fully armed and armoured guards, it felt like a better path until his abilities had a chance to recharge.

Even if none of this was actually real. It was real enough to hurt in this moment.

Sticking close to the walls, Lorcán made his way through the maze-like facility. Stumbling upon a door, the molten-eyed young man opened it with only moderate difficulty before slipping inside to find himself in a room filled with uniforms and weapons.

“Harps, brah, you are missing out,” Lorcán muttered aloud with a low whistle before grabbing some of the armour and pulling it over his A.R. suit. Picking up a weapon, Lorcán rolled the long-barrelled gun over in his hands. It looked like something straight out of science fiction. A small screen illuminated the current ammo count while a secondary display informed him the weapon was currently set to stun. He inspected the weapon further, locating the safety and the toggle to move it to ‘kill’.

“Hey!” A voice interrupted Lorcán, “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

Weapons fire grazed Lorcán’s new armour as he dove for cover behind the wall adjacent to the open door. He gave the weapon another look over, flicking the safety on and off before peeking out from his cover and loosing a shot that exploded a nearby segment of wall. As the weapon recoiled into his shoulder, a smile spread from ear to ear across Lorcán’s face.

“Oh, oh yeah.”

Swinging the weapon around again, Lorcán fired a volley of shots into the hallway. His smile got wider with each subsequent shot. This was always enough to make Lorcán forget he was trapped in a nightmare.

“On Dundas Island, born and raised,” He muttered, centering himself as he rolled away from the door into the nearby corner to avoid the retaliatory fire.

“Alone was where I spent most of my days.” Lorcán raised the weapon, steadying the barrel, his finger hovering above the trigger as he levelled the sight towards the door.

“Here’s more than a clue,” He hummed to himself, blasting another guard. “I’ll tell you about how I became the Fresh Prince of P.R.C.U.”

He continued to fire as they were bottled necked their way into the small room, his foot tapping as he moved forward.

“And another one down, another one down, another bites the dust.” He growled before bursting out of the room into the blackened corridor. A red beacon flashed above signalling an alarm was tripped. Lorcán wasn’t keen to stick around and find out exactly what reinforcements were going to look like. The weapon in his hands suddenly beeped as Lorcán’s eyes were drawn to the ‘0’ where his ammunition count had once been.

“I have got to get me one of these.”

Reluctantly tossing the depleted firearm aside, Lorcán mourned the loss of his toy before vacating the scene. He moved further through the hallway coming to a fork in the road. Making the split second decision to go right, he moved a couple more paces before finding a hallway lined with detention cells.

“What are you doing here?” The redhead asked from between pursed, pouty lips. Lorcán was quickly taken aback, her hair was styled in a way he had never seen before, it was seemingly longer than he remembered. Her copper locks had more volume and a slight curl throughout that made it bounce with even the slightest movement. Her makeup was darker, with a bold cat-eye atop a smokey eye shadow.

Lorcán had seen Aurora in a bikini before, but the metallic outfit she wore now left him feeling like all the blood in his body had collected into a single point. Her plunging cleavage and bare abdomen left little to the imagination coupled with the sheer skirt and tiny bottoms.

“I’m here to rescue you.” He managed to stammer.

“Aren’t you a little short for a Flood Trooper?” The redhead purred before standing. Her tall heels clicked against the cold floor with each step she took. Her hips swayed from side to side as she walked by putting one foot in front of the other. She was confident, collected and intentional in every movement.

Lorcán nearly pinched himself.

“Oh, it’s this dream again.”

“You need to dream a little bigger, hotstuff, if the woman in your dreams still have their clothes on and aren’t on their knees.” Aurora cooed, tracing a long, well manicured fingernail down Lorcán’s chest.

"You get me out of here, handsome and I'll make sure you're well rewarded.” She paused, slowly winking at Lorcán as she batted her very long eyelashes at him before purring.

“Very well."

“You’re not my Lady Dude are you?” Lorcán asked as the woman in front of him smiled mischievously while shaking her head.

Really, Roth? It took her propositioning you before you asked that?

You really could use the relief.

Not the time.

“Face it, Tiger,” Aurora smiled seductively, “You just hit the jackpot.”

“I need to find the real Aurora.” Lorcán replied, turning to leave before the other Aurora wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nuzzled her face against his cheek. She may not have been his Aurora, but she still had the same intoxicating fragrance about her.

“Please, you can’t just leave a damsel in distress.”

Lorcán let out a heavy sigh. Simulated or not, she was right, he couldn’t just leave her behind. It helped that in comparison to the other doppelgängers he had encountered, this Aurora seemed pretty harmless.

Did he mention pretty?

“Can’t you teleport?” He asked, his tone deadpan.

“Where’s the fun in that?” She replied, spinning Lorcán around before walking a pair of fingers up his chest, tapping him on the nose with a flirtatious smirk.

“If I just teleport to safety, where’s the challenge, where’s the thrills?” Aurora asked, hovering her lips above his before whispering in his ear. The hot breath against Lorcán’s earlobe set everything on his body upright and erect.

“Where’s the shiver of antici-” She paused, before licking his earlobe and gently sucking it. “-pation.” The vixen version of his best friend suddenly pushed off him before running for the door.

A klaxon suddenly blared from the hallway of the detention room.

“Come my smoldering hero, we need to run.”

"I can't run," Lorcán answered, leaning on the doorway, cursing the fact he didn’t leave earlier.

"Why not?" She teased, those hungry blue eyes devouring him.

“I’d rather not say”

“You’re not getting bashful on me now, are you, hotstuff?” She winked, taking a step back towards Lorcán only for the wavy-haired young man to throw his arms up and keep his distance.

“Dude, I can’t run because I keep getting brained on the codpiece of this armour.”

Aurora giggled as her eyes darted to his crotch.

“I suggest losing the armour then,” She replied, ‘innocently’ batting her voluminous eyelashes, “Shirt too ideally.” The copper-headed woman looked around the hallway, “Hell, I could give your reward right here, we’d even get caught in the act. How hot would that be?”

Ditching the codpiece and most of the bulkier pieces of armor, Lorcán stopped short of fully stripping back to his A.R. suit with definitely staring at Aurora. With things squared away, he motioned for her to follow as the pair ran into the hallway, the klaxon becoming a distant echo behind them.

“Dude, why were you even in that cell?” Lorcán asked as the scantily clad woman amazingly kept pace beside him in some of the tallest heels he had ever seen.

“Why else?” She replied, “I’d been a very bad girl.”

Lorcán almost tripped at Aurora’s reply before the two exited the sterile corridor and found themselves on a catwalk suspended above a seemingly endless chasm. The roar of numerous turbines thundered from below. Behind them the door closed with a heavy thud and the hiss of hydraulics.
“Princess!” A familiar voice called from the otherside of the catwalk. Lorcán’s eyes drawn to the man in black.

“You’re only running from the inevitable.” Raze continued, moving towards the pair. His hands were still illuminated. the flickering of lit flames casting long, eerie shadows across the chasm walls below the catwalk.

“Ugh, fine.” Aurora replied, rolling her eyes, “I just wanted to play with him before you break another one of my toys.”

Cackling laughter could be heard from above, as Lorcán turned to see a hooded figure standing up from a throne. He hobbled on a cane towards the balcony railing before Aurora suddenly teleported to his side.

“Delivered as requested, I didn’t even break the seal.” She winked, as the robed figure patted her on the hand appreciatively.

“Once you’re done playing with him, leave some for me.” Aurora asked with batted eyelashes as the hooded man cackled further.

“Of course,” Lorcán muttered bitterly, “Now she can teleport.”

The doppelgänger fired a blast of lightning towards Lorcán. Flattening his feet along the catwalk, Lorcán stretched out an open hand as the lightning struck before guiding the current through his body and returning it back towards Raze. The dopplegánger subtly moved his shoulder clear of the blast before smiling.

“Clearly our dispute can not be settled by our abilities, but rather by our skill with them.” Raze retorted, a blade of crackling red plasma extending from between his hands while Lorcán emitted a brilliant blue blade from his own.

“Let’s frakking go.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: The Southern Plateau - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.021: Cult of Personality

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Crash Into Me

“Do you think she bought it?”

Miranda smiled as she and Tad walked towards the pair of waiting Harpys. For months, the school’s faculty; particularly herself and Jim, had been suspicious about a resurgence of Hyperhuman Supremacists on campus. There were rumours of a newly strengthened House Orcinus and a return of Hyperion as preached by his supposed Harbinger.

It was seemingly fueled by the gossip regarding the Alexandria Foundation’s takeover of Pacific Royal. While Pacific Royal had firmly been affiliated with H.E.L.P., its statements regarding equality for all its association with the Hyperhuman & Human Alliance, the Foundation was more ambiguous in its stance regarding Human and Hyperhuman relations.

No doubt House Orcinus saw the Foundation as a potential ally. Which meant the hijacking of the Trial was not only meant to incriminate the Foundation, but also to paint Pacific Royal as incompetent.

“Hook, line and sinker,” Miranda replied, picking up a helmet. “You might have missed your calling as a thespian, Mr. Finch.”

“We’re still not out of the woods,” Tad pulled his helmet on, “The Team is still trapped in that simulation with a traitor amongst them. Not to mention my fiancé was kidnapped in the middle of the night and is currently being held-” He paused, looking at Miranda.

“Where did you say they took her?”

It was all part of their plan. Jim would escort Naira and have her placed in Foundation custody while Tad and Miranda freed Jessica. It was bold of Orcinus to assume that Tad wouldn’t notice another woman taking the place of his fiancé. Naira might have been able to fool people visually and even had the voice, but the smell, the body language and the way she spoke had given it away for Tad.

“The old H.E.L.P. Blacksite.” Miranda responded, “Guess they like the dramatic irony of hiding in the building that would have held them had politics not intervened. Can’t say I love the power dynamic between H.E.L.P. and the Foundation right now, would much rather Naira and the rest of the whales stay in our custody. Probably better for them.”

“Is it true about the Foundation?” Tad asked into the helmet comms between the pair, “About the Foundation and the experimenting on students? I’ve seen the scars on Amma, they’re subtle beneath all the ink, but they’re there.”

“More true than they like to let on.” Miranda answered before suddenly braking at the sight of smoke over the treeline.
“No.” She uttered before raising a hand to her temple. Turning her head as she surveyed the forest edge, Tad watched as her body froze before she said a single word that sent a chill down his spine. A single tear welled up in the corner of her eye as she spoke.

“Jim.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: Southern Plateau - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.017: The Flame In All Of Us

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_{Interaction(s): @Qia - Harper Baxter}

Previously: My Demons, They Know How to Swim

The blast door opened sending a momentary sense of relief coursing through Lorcán until he realized that not only was Harper’s escape blocked by the foreign woman, but the same malicious woman had haphazardly tossed Aurora back into harm’s way. The redhead’s unconscious body collided with the floor leaving an audible thud that sent Lorcán’s blood to a boil.

Last night hadn’t exactly gone how Lorcán had imagined. He had so much turmoil building up inside of him, and while Aurora had let him down gently, that didn’t mean the subtle rejection wasn’t still rejection.

And it hurt.

But he needed that pain right now, the pain of rejection fueled his fire the first time it manifested and he needed that fire now more than ever. Harper was depending on him, more importantly a helpless Aurora was depending on him, and he’d be damned if he allowed her to continue to suffer.

^{Burn them all.}

The Rory doppelgänger had teleported so many times, Lorcán was starting to notice a pattern to the locations. It was something his father had ingrained him over and over again, especially pertinent to the nature of Aiden’s abilities. Once you can predict your target, the fight is won. Lorcán had been trained to recognize patterns, to watch body language, to see his opening.

And especially to take it.

Steeling his composure, he continued his assault, the drain on his abilities causing him to break a sweat as a subtle ache began to set into his arms. Still he counted the teleports and noted the corresponding appearance. Rory was moving in a circle varied between heights.

He’d shown his hand now.

“C’mon, Lorc,” Rory taunted, teleporting from the first position to the second.

Burn them all.

“I know you can throw better than this.” He laughed wickedly teleporting again. Without even turning, Lorcán summoned all his fury into left hand before extending his finger tips. The temperature rapidly rose, lighting flashing across the room before Rory’s form dropped to the ground, the smell of burning flesh quickly overtaking the stale air.

“I hate that nickname.”

Igniting the downed imitation, Lorcán turned to help Harper while leaving Rory to burn. It was only upon doing so that Lorcán realized Aurora was nowhere to be seen. Another loud crack echoed behind Lorcán, causing him to flinch as a spray of cold seawater doused his back. Jetting forward, Lorcán tackled both Harper and her redheaded sister into the hallway before the door’s emergency override closed it behind them as the room became part of the sea.

His eyes frantically darted around the sterile white corridor for a head of beautiful copper hair, but there was no sign of his best friend anywhere. He snarled, one hard wrapping around Sierra’s throat while he held her on the ground in front of Harper.

“Where is Aurora?” Lorcán practically roared, his hand squeezing harder before pulling on arm back, his fist surrounded by a sustained blade of superheated plasma.

“Ooh, daddy.” Sierra managed to choke out, “Harder.”

Sierra’s malicious flirtations made Lorcán hesitate, his blade flattering slightly as the sustained heat flickered and became less defined, starting to dissipate. He looked back at Harper before squeezing his fist as he strengthened his resolve.

For Aurora.

Sierra’s screams echoed through the corridor, sending the haunting wail of a banshee through the trial as the blade burned through her shoulder.

“She-” The woman spat at Lorcán, “She’s in better hands than yours now.” A pained chuckle came from her chest beneath Lorcán. The doppelganger smiled from ear to ear between pained breaths, the ghastly odour of cauterized flesh and melted leather singed at Lorcán and Harper’s nostrils. Standing, Lorcán let his powers fade, before turning coldly to Harper.

“Do what you will with her, I need to find ‘Rora.”

His tone left no room for argument.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: The Southern Plateau - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.016: Crash into Me

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Dark Necessities

While Miranda led Tad away, Jim motioned with his head for Jess to walk. She hesitated for only a second before Jim’s hand moved towards the shoulder holster hidden under his leather jacket. Escorting the student-faculty representative, Jim moved her toward his waiting vehicle.

“I’ve known Thaddeus for a long time,” Jim started, opening the back door to the Manticore before engaging the containment mode. “Watched that boy grow up, saw him fight through his studies, struggle to make friends and ultimately undergo the horrors of what Hyperion did to him. But-” Jim paused while climbing into the driver’s seat.

“I also got to see him succeed, become a leader and ultimately fall in love,” He continued before his eyes locked on Jess in the rearview mirror.

“It’s why I know you’re not Jessica Friend. Thaddeus Finch is a lot of things, but he sure as hell ain’t stupid.” He growled while igniting the vehicle’s engine. “And I don’t need to read your mind to know for sure, though no doubt Miranda is taking Tad right now to rescue the real Jessica. I’d pray to whatever you believe in that there isn’t a hair on her head harmed.”

“What gave me away, Chancellor?” The imposter smiled, continuing to maintain the facade of Jessica’s face.

“Friend was trained by Miranda.” Jim retorted, “She’d never let her mind be so open, especially knowing how many telepaths the school sees come through its doors.”

“My guess is that makes y’all Naira Cameron, Sophomore, one of six shapeshifters currently attending Pacific Royal, but the only one capable of perfect voice mimicry, House Ursus, though you were almost placed in Lynx and Alces at your Trial.”

Jim looked in the mirror again.

“How am I doing?”

“I think you should focus on the road.” The reply came as Naira dug her hands into the seat seconds before an explosion outside the Manticore flipped it off the beaten path through the woods that separated the Plateau and the Campus.

Careening into the thick underbrush, the armoured vehicle took another hit that sent it further into the overgrown bush before it dove down into a ravine. Trunks and stumps on either side hammered on the armoured sport utility vehicle as Jim’s head collided with the steering column too quickly for him to protect himself. Blood sprayed from the gash that appeared on his forehead while his Stetson flew out of the passenger seat before coming to a rest on the now face-down roof of the vehicle.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: Southern Plateau - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2012: My Demons, They Know How to Swim

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_{Interaction(s): @Melissa - Aurora Mitchell, @Qia - Harper Baxter}

Previously: Buddy System

Everything was rapidly unravelling.

Lorcán looked around the narrow corridor at his gathered team. Harper was frozen, Calliope was succumbing to a panic attack, Rory had somehow slipped into either denial or obliviousness, Katja was apparently hurt and Amma had gone rogue.

Before Lorcán could even begin to process the fact he was now living in a reality with not one, but two of both Calliope and Katja, the room began to change. His eyes were plunged into total darkness, the scraping of stone and metal drowning out the screams and protests of his team members.

Just as suddenly as the darkness came, the dim light returned. Stopping himself from creating a torch, Lorcán took a look around the new room he found himself in alongside Aurora and Harper.

Something was awe-inspiring about being this far underwater. Lorcán was used to riding the surface of the ocean, he had never truly thought about taking up diving. However, after this experience, he couldn’t see himself going all-in on the hobby.

“That glass isn’t going to hold forever… we have to find a way out of here.” Aurora declared breaking the silence between the three as Lorcán’s molton gaze fixated on the slowly spreading crack.

“There has to be a set of controls on the other side, a way to deactivate the fail-safe.”

As Aurora turned to Harper, Lorcán realized that Aurora was still firmly holding his hand. His cheeks flushed before he reminded himself they weren’t exactly on a romantic picnic. Plus Harper was kind of involuntarily chaperoning, not exactly Lorcán’s idea of a first date.

“I’ll teleport and unlock the door.”

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Just...be careful.” Harper replied, clearly still trapped in her head. Her voice was hesitant, her eyes distant as they rolled from the door, back to the ominous wall of glass slowly succumbing to the pressure of the ocean.

Lorcán’s eyes followed Harper’s gaze before he gave Aurora a look, his eyes continuing to dart between the glass windows and the single sealed blast door.

"It'd be a grom move to just try without at least testing for an EBI field." He reluctantly admitted, taking a few steps forward before raising his hand. Taking a deep breath, Lorcán placed it on the blast door and exhaled a small sigh of relief. There was no overwhelming sense of nausea this time, the wall that stood between them and their escape was part of the trial.

There was still no telling what else it was about to throw at them.

"I still am not stoked about this."

“We don’t have a ton of options here, Lorcán. I’ve got to try.” Aurora asserted, squeezing his hand before letting go and not giving him another opportunity to detest. Lorcán felt his cheeks redden again, hoping that Harper was still too lost in her head to notice. A familiar sense of envy clawed at his chest while Lorcán watched the ease at which Aurora moved from one place to another.

“I found the panel! Give me a minute, I-”

Aurora’s excitement was cut short by a dark laugh. Before she had time to react, her face was slammed against the viewport in the door. Lorcán was forced to watch helplessly as her body crumbled and slid out of view.

“NO!” His anguish cry echoed through the room before Lorcán jetted forward, pounding his fists against the blast door. Igniting his hands with plasma, he pummeled them against the door, the heavy metal showing little more than minor scorch marks from his onslaught.

Slamming his hands against the door once more in frustration, Lorcán tried to compose himself. Feelings he had kept suppressed for years were clawing at his throat, rage, fury, and fear all trying to get out and consume him.

“Baxter.”

“Baxter!” Lorcán called trying to get Harper in the moment. “Baxter, brah, whatever is going through your mind, ignore it, let the sea have it. We need you, and we need that big brain of yours.”

“Boo!” The voice belonging to the laugh suddenly appeared in the viewport, smiling eyes and dark hair accentuating the familiar face.

“Bro, take a chill pull, Borealis is fine,” It sounded like Rory, it mostly looked like Rory but Lorcán knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was not Rory on the other side of that door.

“Well, mostly fine.” He cackled, looking down at the redheaded woman crumbled at his feet. The ambient temperature of the room rapidly began rise while Lorcán paced back and forth in front of the blast door. His molten eyes were unblinking as they watched the man on the other side.

“I’ll be with you in one second, Hothead.” Rory smiled before kneeling out of sight. “Since you’re not using these, baby cakes” He stated, touching Aurora’s unconscious form, “I think I’ll borrow them,” He added before teleporting into the room with Harper and Lorcán.

Hurling a blast of lightning towards the doppelgänger, Lorcán gritted his teeth in frustration as the Not-Quite-Rory easily teleported out of harm’s way before reappearing on the other side of the room.

“Damn, bro, I still can’t believe you haven’t hit that.” Rory taunted, teleporting again before Lorcán could strike. “If I spent a night in a tent with Red I’d have been all up in her,”

He dodged another attack.

“Multiple times.” Laughed echoed around the small room as Rory vanished again, drowning out another crack as a second fracture appeared in the window.

“Though, I guess I kind of already did,” Rory smiled before imitating striking himself in the back of the head with a dark chuckle. Lorcán hesitated before throwing another strike, he was wasting strength and HZEs at this point. If they were going to beat Rory, he needed to be smarter.

The only question was; what was going to go first, Rory’s duplicated powers, or the structural integrity of the window?

“Is it because of your little thing for Amma? ‘Cause, bro, you can totally just have both. Just like don’t be stupid about it, hell, I bet if you play your cards right you and Harper here can scratch each other’s itch. Y’know before you die virgins.”

Rory’s eyes darted between the trapped pair and the window.

“‘Cause you are gonna totally die in here.”

Lorcán watched the clone carefully, slowly taking a couple steps towards Harper, before whispering as Rory continued to play mind games with the pair

“Oh, Harps, don’t look at me like that, we both know you’re not a virgin, just trying to make Rothy feel better about being the only one in the room.” Rory mocked while hanging upside down from the ceiling.

“That blast door,” Lorcán muttered out of the side of his mouth, trying to subtlety communicate with Harper, “Should have a manual override. The access port likely isn’t obvious to the average pair of eyes, but to you…”

The incessant chatter of the doppelgänger increased in volume, drowning out Lorcán’s whispers.

“Don’t worry, I won’t ruin the surprise for Gil, I’m evil, not a monster, Si told me it was kind of a secret for you.”

“Heya, Sis,” Sierra’s voice suddenly called from the other side of the door as she held Aurora up by her neck. “Your friend isn’t looking so good, I was hoping she’d be awake to watch her loverboy, well you know-” She taunted before miming drowning noises.

The sound of water suddenly coming through the crack felt deafening to Lorcán as he watched the two fractures suddenly meet.

“Go!” He ordered Harper, flaring up again as he superheated the air in front of his fist and launched a barrage at Rory.

“I’ll cover you!”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: The Southern Plateau - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.009: Dark Necessities

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Why You Gotta Kick Me When I'm Down?

“Finch, Friend!” Jim roared as he exited the control room, motioning with two mechanical fingers for the pair to follow him. Waiting until the three faculty members were out of the student body’s earshot, he began talking.

“Baxter’s card triggered the event, that’s about the only thing those eggheads in there can give me.”

“Are you saying that Harper di-”

“No, Friend, that dog don’t hunt.” Jim interrupted Jess before she could finish accusing Harper. “Anything out of the ordinary happen last night with y’all’s teams?”

“Other than everyone’s pheromones ramped up, nothing really odd. Looked like Harper and Haven went out of their way to speak to some of yours.” Tad stated, gesturing towards Jessica.

“Yeah, but they’re just anxious about the Foundation's presence, wanted to pick Alyssa’s brain but I think all of us know how well that went.”

“Didn’t you find her student card on the ground, Jess?” Tad asked, Jim’s eyes swivelling towards Jess as he awaited an answer.

“Right, it was on the grass, wet from the rain. I just assumed she just dropped it, I guess. Didn’t really give it much thought”

“Y’all assumed the most organized, type-A, Valedictorian candidate dropped her student card?”

“Well, when you put it like…” Jess’ voice trailed off while Tad rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Katja also put her head through a table this morning, tent was obliterated by Amma last night.” Tad interjected, “Uh not sure if it’s relevant though.”

“The pair of you might want to stop playing house during work hours, and get y’alls in order.” Jim cautioned, “Doubt either had much to do with the hijacking, they’re both trapped now, Arkwright’s in the wind.”

“Jess, why didn’t you mention that three of the girls knocked Harper to the ground yesterday?” Miranda’s voice surprised Jess as the Associate Chancellor appeared behind her. She had been the first person that Jim called the second the Trial was hijacked. A former negotiator for H.E.L.P., Miranda was one of the best intelligence agents before she retired herself. Still, she was a powerful Psionic, and if anyone was going to find the truth surrounding Blackjack’s misfortune, it would be here.

In front of Miranda, the young woman’s cheeks turned red as Jessica realized that her former mentor had just read her mind.

“Hey, hey! Boundaries!” Jess protested, turning to face both Jim and Miranda. “Is this how you run the school?”

“If students are in danger, a little invasion of privacy is a cost I’m willing to pay, especially when them being trapped in that Trial could impact everyone if the Foundation uses it against us” Jim growled.

“You used your powers last night, you wanted them distracted.” Miranda continued stepping forward while Jess closed her eyes tightly as if trying to push the telepath out of her mind.

“I’ll have you reported for this!” She protested.

“Chancellor!” Tad chimed in, “C’mon, don’t do it like this.” He pleaded.

“He’s right, James,” Miranda conceded, “We shouldn’t be doing it like this.”

“Damnit!” The Chancellor snapped, “Why are y’all withholding information, Friend?”

"The winds are blowing."

Jim looked at Jessica and then back to Miranda, he exchanged a brief look of surprise with Miranda before his brow hardened and the fire in his eyes returned. Beside them both, Tad squirmed uncomfortably, ignorant of the true meaning behind the words his wife just said.

“He doesn’t know Jim,” Miranda intervened, stopping Jim before he could reply to Jessica.

“I’m sorry, Thaddeus, I truly am.”

“Wha-” Tad looked from Miranda to Jim and back several times, “What don’t I know? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Ms. Rivers, please escort Mr. Finch to my office.” Jim ordered.

“Jessica and I need to have a little chat.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: The Southern Plateau - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.008: Why You Gotta Kick Me When I'm Down?

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Into the Fire

“I can’t believe I was ever that weak.” A voice echoed from a nearby hallway, the temperature in the room dropping rapidly as two long shadows were cast through the dim room. A pair of blonde women entered the room, one standing at par with even Katja, her heavy footsteps shaking the room while the shorter blonde woman turned her lips upwards in a cruel sneer. Any residual heat in the room seemed to evaporate.

“Really? A panic attack right now? Couldn't handle not being the center of attention could you, Princess.” The woman stepped forward into the light, a mist of ice crystals hovered around her open hands as the light illuminated her face.

It was Calliope.

Or at least it was someone’s approximation of her, like a living doll. The features were too smooth, the makeup too heavy, the hair had its blonde tips obnoxiously coloured an icy blue. But on first look, it was Calliope’s face; or at least close enough to be unnerving.

The suit that she wore didn’t look anything like the ones issued by P.R.C.U. This one accented her form more, clearly tailored and supported in areas that the generic A.R. suits simply didn’t have the luxury to be. Primarily white, it was accented with silver and baby blue lines and details. An ‘F’ decorated her belt buckle and was emblazoned on the upper right quadrant of her chest.

The hulking woman beside her was clearly the uncanny version of Katja, her rippling muscles clear as day even through the reinforced suit covering her body. Grease paint covered her eyes and nose giving her the look of a jungle commando while various scars shaped like claws were visible where her skin was still exposed.

“They were trained to be weak,” The Uncanny Katja spat, clearly disgusted by the students before the doppelgängers.

“More pathetic products of Pacific Royal.” She cracked her knuckles before rolling her head from side to side.

“I shall very much enjoy hearing your last breath struggle to escape from your crushed windpipe.”

The behemoth of a woman lunged forward only for ‘Anti-Calliope’ to raise a hand, nearly instantly crafting a thick barrier or ice between ‘Feral Katja’ and the rest of Blackjack.

“Not yet.” She giggled wickedly, “They still need to suffer more.”

Suddenly, Blackjack was plunged into total darkness. An awful scraping noise echoed all around them as each member was pulled in a different direction. The ominous buzzing returned as the lights flickered back to life revealing that Blackjack had been scattered throughout the maze.

Harper found herself with Lorcán and Aurora, now located in a classroom with a locked blast door. On either side of a room was a wall of glass, beyond the thick pane was the blackness of the ocean, schools of fish swimming ignorant of the three observers.

A sickening crack suddenly echoed through the room as a line shot through the middle of the glass. A red beacon flashed in the corner of the room.

Elsewhere, Rory, Haven and Katja had been transported together. The floor beneath their feet was sticky, covered in a tar-like substance as the smell of engine oil overwhelmed their senses. Above their heads was a grated floor situated on evenly spaced I-beams. Mechanical equipment sat supported by the steel, fluids dripping into the pit the three had found themselves in.

“Hey, bro.” A familiar voice called from above them, a pair of boots resting on the grates.

“Run.” It added before a spark flew from the figure’s fingertips and ignited against the floor behind the three Blackjack students. Immediately roaring to life, the fire began to advance rapidly.

Banjo’s eyes adjusted to the light, finding himself along with Calliope and Gil. A glass dome circled above them, and all manner of aquatic life was swimming outside the facility while the three found themselves in some athletic arena. The floor of the arena was scattered with broken robots, their parts lying strewn in every direction.

The echo of a servo motor broke the deafening silence as a head turned to look at the trio. Across the field, the robots suddenly came to life, reassembling as their red eyes all turned to look at the three targets.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

E P I S O D E O N E A W A R D S:

Best Character: GM's Choice R O R Y @webboysurf Player's Choice R O R Y @webboysurf __________________________	GM's Choice: Rory Tyler - @webboysurf Player's Choice: Rory Tyler - @webboysurf The 'Best Character Award' is given to the character who has had a resounding impact on the IC through interactions, collaborations and general storytelling. They are a character who has seen development and leaves the reader wanting to know both about them and where their journey is going. Rory was established as a fairly simple character upon his original introduction. A dude's bro, a simple himbo trying to make his way in the universe. But this first episode has really begun to peel the layers off of Rory, exploring his family dynamics, the pressure he lives under from his pre-deceased parents and the complications of being Pacific Royal's most eligible bachelor. A lot of fun in reading webboysurf's posts come from the situations that Rory finds himself in due to putting his mouth before his mind in most circumstances. Rory definitely came in clutch this episode and is deserving of the recognition. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: Amma Cahors - @Rockette Amma is a fascinating character that constantly leaves the reader wanting to know more about where she comes from, who she is and what exactly she's doing at P.R.C.U. Each Amma post builds anticipation for the next one and no one ripples through the entire cast, let alone the Discord like Amma does. Rockette has done a fantastic job bringing Amma to life and with only one episode under her belt, I can't wait to see where this character's journey goes from here. Roman's Choice: Amma Cahors - @Rockette Probably one of our most-debated sheets when we were running through all the applications, and not for any one reason - the emotive, poetic language, the bold answers given for the prompts, the unusual and explicitly-dangerous power set, the ties to the Foundation (especially with our foreknowledge of what the IC narrative would entail, and Alexandria's involvement). Ultimately though we decided to take the gamble and boy howdy has that paid off. Not only is Amma one of the most well-received characters on the roster (winning Player's Choice for Breakout Character and missing Best Character by only a single vote), but Rockette has been a creative, engaging presence across both the game and the discord, and Amma remains the most well-wrapped mystery-box going (that you guys know about, anyway).
Breakout Character: GM's Choice A M M A @Rockette Player's Choice A M M A @Rockette __________________________	GM's Choice: Amma Cahors - @Rockette Player's Choice: Amma Cahors - @Rockette The 'Breakout Character Award' is given to the character who is prominent throughout the majority of posts, discussion outside of the IC and is constantly in demand whether through their own posts or being asked to collaborate. This character is notably popular when compared to the rest of the cast and their posts lead to discussion, speculation and reactions both positive and divisive. Amma Cahors was a late entry to the game's applications. A sheet where Rockette purposefully and tactfully opted not to complete the optional sections and that strengthened the sheet. Rockette is a master of showing and not telling, she doesn't need to expel details upon details to contextualize her posts, she does a lot with a little and it shows. Amma leaves an impact in every scene, her mannerisms, her choice of words and the mystery surrounding her all add a generous amount of weight to the plot with the Foundation and it ripples into other posts with every character having a firm opinion on Amma. Never before have we seen a character where players line up for their chance at a collaboration due to the magic that Rockette brings through Amma. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: Harper Baxter - @Qia Harper caught me by surprise, an interesting introduction to the character ultimately left an impact and Harper became more and more involved with different characters, adding to them while also playing off them to enhance her own story. The flashbacks with Sierra are often riveting and begin to explain a lot about the burden that Harper seemingly carries. It's still early in the game, but I'll definitely be watching Harper a lot more closely moving forward. Roman's Choice: Rory Tyler - @webboysurf A returning character and player from the original iteration, webboysurf wasted no time in clarifying and calcifying who Rory is early into this game, providing a pitch-perfect Himbo With A Heart, delivering heartfelt tragedy and comedy in equal measure - and then surprised me further by showing a deep, guarded emotional intelligence that's not just 'I have a crush on half the cast' but extends to 'I feel betrayed when my friends abandon me for some floozy in the woods', which just highlighted how Rory and his relationships are a lot deeper that the aforementioned crushes, misinterpretations, and poorly-planned attempts to help.
Best Character Development: GM's Choice R O R Y @webboysurf Player's Choice L O R C Á N @Lord Wraith __________________________	GM's Choice: Rory Tyler - @webboysurf Player's Choice: Lorcán Roth - @Lord Wraith The 'Best Character Development Award' is given to the character who has been constantly improving and developing from the moment they first appeared in the IC. This doesn't mean the most improved, nor does it have to be positive changes in the slightest, this is the character journey you're enjoying the most whether it's a slippery slope or an uphill battle. Rory has seen some rapid development across Episode 1 which has been a lot of fun to watch. From the clueless himbo who fumbled his attempt at helping Lorcán get a date, to being oblivious to Mei's obvious irritation at his flirting with other girls, a near kiss with Katja and ultimately ending up in bed with Haven. All the while battling his insecurities with his friends and his siblings. We are looking forward to seeing Rory continue to battle against the legacy of his parents while forging his path free of the expectations that come with the family name, his siblings and friends and the circumstances of his abilities. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: Harper Baxter - @Qia While not as immediately notable as Rory's development throughout Episode 1, Qia is quite skilled at weaving flashbacks into their posts to enhance Harper's overall story and add other perspectives to her relations with the cast and her own supporting NPCs. Between her branching narratives with Sierra, Haven, Cassander and Gil, Harper is a character to watch moving forward through the rest of the RP. Roman's Choice: Lorcán Roth - @Lord Wraith Lorcán was introduced as the naive-but-well-meaning, heart-of-gold surfer jock, smitten with the campus' most eligible cinnamon bun, and excited to finish his academic career with a starry-eyed mid-air fist-pump before entering the big wide world and making it immediately better. To say Wraith has navigated Lorcán's crash-landing to society outside of PRCU's bubble 'well' would be like saying Stanley Kubrick was 'pretty thorough' when shooting his movies. The blossoming relationship with Amma is the icing on the cake.
Best Ship: GM's Choice R A V E N @webboysurf & @Skai Player's Choice L O R O R A @Lord Wraith & @Melissa __________________________	GM's Choice: Raven (Rory Tyler x Haven Barnes) - @webboysurf & @Skai Player's Choice: Lorora (Lorcán Roth x Aurora Mitchell) - @Lord Wraith & @Melissa The 'Best Ship Award' is given to a pair of characters who display exceptional chemistry, and compatibility. They are who you genuinely sit there and cheer whenever they're on the page together. These two characters are each other's endgame, their ride or die and you can't get enough of their highs, lows and otherwise cutesy antics. For Episode 1, the 'ship' or relationship that saw the most momentum and cheering we found to be the pairing of Rory Tyler and Haven Barnes affectionately referred to as Raven. Rory and Haven had plenty of little moments throughout this arc culminating in the pair sealing the deal intimately and putting any fears of will they or won't they to rest as both have openly communicated a desire to be together moving forward. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: Kory (Katja Kruger x Rory Tyler) - @Zoldyck & @webboysurf Subtly hinted at through IC, Katja's attraction to Rory and Rory's understated mutual attraction is a fun ship to watch. While Raven might have firmly set sail, I am still rooting for more Kory moments as Rory and Katja continue to interact sharing a common love of athletics and competition. Plenty of time for things to yet change and develop and this is one of the more interesting pairings to watch for. Both are incredibly positive people, I love the emotionally manipulative side of Katja and how she could expertly play Rory like a fiddle if given the confidence or motivation to do so. Roman's Choice: Lamma (Lorcán Roth x Amma Cahors) - @Lord Wraith & @Rockette The good-guy puppy-dog jock getting his worldview handed back to him with a big helping of 'go fuck yourself', only for that to turn into pure sexual tension and the big scary troubled girl slowly realizing she maybe could use a little bit of soppy optimism in her life? Yeah, that's crack to me. I can only wonder who wins out - does Lorcán break through Amma's cynicism and soften her heart, or does Amma's vengeance-driven worldview bring Lorcán into the fold as a co-conspirator?
Best Character Dynamic: GM's Choice A M M A & K A T J A @Rockette & @Zoldyck Player's Choice A M M A & K A T J A @Rockette & @Zoldyck H A R P E R & H A V E N @Qia & @Skai L O R C Á N & R O R Y @Lord Wraith & @webboysurf __________________________	GM's Choice: Amma Cahors & Katja Kruger - @Rockette & @Zoldyck Player's Choice: Amma Cahors & Katja Kruger - @Rockette & @Zoldyck Player's Choice: Harper Baxter & Haven Barnes - @Qia & @Skai Player's Choice: Lorcán Roth & Rory Tyler - @Lord Wraith & @webboysurf The 'Best Character Dynamic Award' is given to the characters and players who have presented a well-developed dynamic between two characters outside of romantic which is covered by the 'Best Ship Award'. This dynamic can be friendly, a rivalry or just two or more characters with really great chemistry but no romantic inclination. That all said, despite Katja having an unrequited crush on Amma, the two have one of the best dynamics in the RP thus far. A near-perfect yin-yang with both having layers that go beyond the stereotypical light and dark casting of the dynamic. Rockette and Zoldyck have produced some of the best content using the strength of this pairing and heading into Episode 2 with the fallout of their last collab will definitely be interesting. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: Harper Baxter & Haven Barnes - @Qia & @Skai These two have been near inseparable the entire first episode and while they haven't necessarily contributed the same level of drama as Katja and Amma, Harper and Haven have navigated a side plot which enhanced the overall narrative and gave added weight and threat to the presence of the Foundation on the P.R.C.U. Campus. Beyond that, the two are genuine friends who have each other's backs and are nothing but supportive. A very solid and wholesome friendship that I have found a breath of fresh air. Roman's Choice: Andrew 'Banjo' Olyphant & Calliope de Léon - @Hound55 & @PatientBean Ships aside, there was some flirting and unsteady-romance in the first iteration between this returning pair, and I've really enjoyed seeing how Hound and Bean have flipped that early potential into a solid, foundational long-term relationship, that's shown to have changed both characters, and provided the game with a proper 'Beta Couple' to compliment the multiple burgeoning couples springing up everywhere else.
Best Supporting Cast: GM's Choice B A N J O @Hound55 Player's Choice B A N J O @Hound55 __________________________	GM's Choice: Andrew 'Banjo' Olyphant - @Hound55 Player's Choice: Andrew 'Banjo' Olyphant - @Hound55 The 'Best Supporting' is given to the player and character who you feel has the most engaging supporting cast in terms of relevance to the story, their impact to the character and their narrative and in turn to influence to the broader game and other players. These are characters outside of the main POV who have appeared in the IC and need not be limited only to those listed on a character sheet. Hound55 has fleshed out the world surrounding Banjo with a colourful cast of characters ranging from the enigmatic butler to Banjo's roommates and to the various students Banjo interacts with. These supporting characters leave the reader wanting to know more about them, who they are and where they fit into the world while simultaneously enhancing the story of the character they're supporting. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: Harper Baxter - @Qia From the first flashback featuring Siera, Harper's sister stole the scene. I often mentally compare their dynamic to that of Koriand'r and Kormand'r from Teen Titans and I love the rivalry-laden love the pair have for each other. I don't know how or when it'll happen, but I am interested to see if Sierra shows up in the IC properly and what trouble she'll bring with her. Roman's Choice: Lorcán Roth - @Lord Wraith With Lorcán's life so closely tied to PRCU and Dundas Island it was inevitable that his surrounding family and friends would guest-star alongside him, but between Ripley's delightful introduction in Lorcán's very first post, to his father Aiden's sage advice, to the members of Firebird and even the surprise appearance from our very own timeline-hopping ex-Chancellor, Wraith's utilization of NPCs to flesh out Lorcán's life and the world around him have been brilliant every time.
Best Post: GM's Choice 1 . 0 5 0 @Rockette Player's Choice 1 . 0 2 2 @Rockette __________________________	GM's Choice: 1.050 immortal - @Rockette Player's Choice: 1.022 within & without - @Rockette The 'Best Post' is given to the player and post that was found to be overall the pinnacle of the current episode. Did it break the tension with its humourous antics at the right time? Did it bring the characters closer together? Was it full of insightful reflection or did it extrapolate on previously unknown elements of that character's backstory and how it ties to the greater overarching narrative? While Rockette's posts are all standouts, 'immortal' truly introduces the dynamic between Amma and the Foundation. The box is the first instance of a mystery object being handed to a character and the post itself does an excellent job of capturing the intrigue and mystery of where Amma's loyalties really lie. Is she a Foundation spy? Or is she merely a girl running from a past that has caught up? All excellent questions we are looking forward to finding out the answers to as the story progresses. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: 1.046 Calm Before the Storm - @Melissa 'Calm Before the Storm' is a great character piece that explores the inner workings of Aurora's mind while enhancing her relationship with Lorcán. It's not a flashy post or one that relies on gimmicks or MacGuffins, but I find it to be a post with a lot of heart that reveals a lot about not only its central POV character but also, those closest to her. Melissa's writing is consistently good, and I could have chosen any of her posts, but this one sits in a special place for me. Roman's Choice: 1.077 And You're Gone - @webboysurf I talked about the depth of Rory's character above, but for me this was the post that really brought Rory home for me personally and probably the reason he was my honorable mention for the Breakout Character category in the first place. It's all well and good playing the resident himbo, but to take a character who for the most part is 'well-meaning but ultimately just a bit thick' and to show the inner turmoil, the constant self-doubt and double-guessing, the build-up of micro-embarrassments, painted a deeper picture of Rory than I had given him credit for. The post opened my eyes to Rory's inner vulnerabilities despite his cheery, optimistic facade, and brought him to life as a fully-realized character with emotional depth. Bravo!
Best Post Title: GM's Choice 1 . 0 6 3 @Skai Player's Choice 1 . 0 6 3 @Skai __________________________	GM's Choice: 1.063 ...Gets the Worm? - @Skai Player's Choice: 1.063 ...Gets the Worm? - @Skai The 'Best Post Title Award' is given to the player and post whose title elicited the best reaction. Was it a clever title? Funny? Maybe the post title was incredibly insightful or maybe it was just your favourite song. This category is to applaud those whose titles captured your attention or affection. Skai consistently has titled her posts using bird puns, but this one took the cake due in part to following a post called 'The Early Bird' and the less-than-subtle innuendo of the titular worm given the content of the post itself. It's a clever form of humour that is effortlessly funny rather than a long post title that's trying too hard. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: 1.016 I Could Use A Drink - @Melissa 'I Could Use A Drink' is a snarky title that perfectly captures Aurora's overwhelmed state of mind given the events surrounding the post and her desire to numb and escape the situation. It's dry humour and perfectly on brand for the character making it easily my honorary vote. Roman's Choice: 1.053 A Matter of a Pionion - @Skai Post titles come in a range of flavours, from minimalist to referential to profound. Sometimes they're just bird puns, and I enjoyed this one as particularly clever with some homophonic wordplay to boot.
Best Flashback: GM's Choice 1. 0 4 4 @Qia Player's Choice 1 . 0 4 4 @Qia __________________________	GM's Choice: 1.044 Maybe She Likes Her Illusions - @Qia Player's Choice: 1.044 Maybe She Likes Her Illusions - @Qia The 'Best Flashback Award' is given to the post and player that contains an insightful or impactful flashback to a previous time outside of the current happenings of the IC. Maybe this flashback shed light on why the character has a deep-rooted fear of rejection, maybe it illuminated why that character has a verbal tic or perhaps it was the meet-cute of two budding lovers. Whatever the contents, this flashback found its way into the hearts or minds of the readers and continues to leave a lasting impact. Qia's flashback in 'Maybe She Likes Her Illusions' is a very strong entry into the IC and was a real treat to read. The first introduction of Sierra to the narrative proper, the flashback contains both intrigue and heartwarming as the sisters reminisce about a time spent in a closet during a thunderstorm while Sierra also drops the bomb on Harper that their parents didn't die in an accident. We are very much looking forward to seeing the payoff of this flashback in the IC. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: 1.073 The Scenic Route - @Melissa 'The Scenic Route' is a great flashback that shows Aurora's life prior to P.R.C.U. and illuminates why the girl is never without her headphones. It's a terrific insight to the character and a heartbreaking look at her home life before the island that adds perspective to her current relationships and views on life and their future. Roman's Choice: 1.094 Dreaming While Awake - @Hound55 Banjo in-universe can, has been, and delights in being, a pain in the arse at times, across both iterations of the guy, and has plenty mystery of his own, but it's always a pleasure to visit his history in his homeland and see some of the other lives he's crossed paths with, slowly piecing together his backstory and tracing his movements across the globe. 1.094 was particularly beautiful, with a wondrous aboriginal tale told alongside gorgeous imagery and showing that there are actually kindred spirits out there for Banjo, and when they connect it can be quite charming. We can only hope that Banjo aligns similarly to the rest of Blackjack eventually.
Best Collaboration: GM's Choice 1 . 1 0 6 / 1 0 7 @Rockette & @Zoldyck Player's Choice 1 . 1 0 6 / 1 0 7 @Rockette & @Zoldyck __________________________	GM's Choice: 1.106 & 1.107 vore - @Rockette & @Zoldyck Player's Choice: 1.106 & 1.107 vore - @Rockette & @Zoldyck The 'Best Collaboration Award' is given to the post and players involved in crafting a collaborative narrative that goes beyond the regular back-and-forth posting of forum RPing. A well-crafted collaborative post should read as though it has a single author but artfully capture the interaction between two player characters and enhance both of their direct narratives, developments and the long-term relationships between those involved in the collaboration. 'vore' subverted expectations when it was posted. Following a spree of romance-focused posts, 'vore' instead brought conflict to the IC with Amma's pent-up frustrations boiling over the surface and scalding Katja as the pair share a tent. I am definitely looking forward to the impact this post has on the IC moving forward as both characters walk away from the heavy conversations bearing fresh wounds. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: 1.091 The Lonely Hearts Club - @Melissa & @Qia 'The Lonely Hearts Club' is another great example of the fantastic character work done by Melissa and Qia as Aurora and Harper end up having a little heart-to-heart about their relationship woes set up against the back drop of the very eventful first day of the semester. Both characters walk away from the collaboration with new perspectives on their relationships and it is followed by some interesting interactions spurred on by the words exchanged between the two characters. Roman's Choice: 1.075 I Want to Reconcile the Violence & 1.076 in your heart - @Lord Wraith & @Rockette Probably not a surprise, if you take a look at the 'Best Ship' category above. The bones of the relationship were there early on, but this is truly when the fire kicks up for Lamma-stans like myself. Imagery and the debut proper of power-mingling proper aside, it's also a wonderful reflection of both writers and their characters, and while it was far from the first collaborative post in the game, it was certainly a highlight (hence my honorable mention) and since then we've had a chain of equally brilliant collabs, showing off just how much we're really capable of pushing ourselves and each other to bring our A-games.
Most Memorable Moment: GM's Choice 1 . 0 1 8 @webboysurf Player's Choice 1 . 0 7 5 / 0 7 6 @Lord Wraith & @Rockette 1 . 1 0 6 / 1 0 7 @Rockette & @Zoldyck __________________________	GM's Choice: 1.018 My Own Worst Enemy. Rory tries to help, but makes things awkward instead. - @webboysurf Player's Choice: 1.075 &1.076 Lorcán and Amma's powers mingle. - @Lord Wraith & @Rockette Player's Choice: 1.106 & 1.107 Katja's heart is broken by Amma's attack. - @Rockette & @Zoldyck The 'Most Memorable Moment Award' is given to the post and players who set a fire in the social server with conversation, reactions and just generally put the dominos in motion with a post that did something so well, horrific or even just meme-worthy that it inspired numerous posts after it. This is a moment that stood out, when you think of this roleplay, this is the moment you keep coming back to. When share the game with your friends, this is the post you wait eagerly for them to read. To that end, we have chosen 1.018 'My Own Worst Enemy' where Rory in his best effort to help Lorcán spit it out, asks Aurora to the dance. This action leads to a very humorous scene that is not only enjoyable to watch unfold but establishes several character quirks, tics and other aspects of their personality that carry forward. Rory's fumble with words and not thinking ahead of his mouth cements a very large part of his character and is later repeated, though with much better success, when he asks Haven to 'sleep' with him. The scene also establishes Calliope's obligation to mother the group, Banjo's status as an apathetic outcast, Haven, Mei and Katja's feelings for Rory along with Lorcán's clumsiness and Aurora's fear of change. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: 1.060 We Get By Just Fine. Rory asks Haven to sleep with him. - @webboysurf Arguably, this moment is just the extension of the above GM selection, but I do think it has enough merit to stand on its own and it has its own share of consequences and ripples that it caused both in the IC and OOC. The best part of this particular moment is that it ultimately led to the cementing of the 'Raven' ship and some great heart-to-hearts with other characters along with some inner and outer conflict for Rory. Roman's Choice: 1.042 Trapped. Amma and Lorcán's powers mingle for the first time. - @Lord Wraith & @Rockette Okay, blatant ship favoritism aside, this is my pick because it introduced and provided an early teaser on a Hype-verse concept never-before-seen - the intertwining of two separate people's powers. While a later collab would truly show-off quite what this meant, this early teaser thrilled me. I've watched Wraith work on his opus for nearly my entire Guild career, and we're always chatting about this or that, what can we tweak here, how about trying something there, etc etc; but it's still exciting when something brand new comes out of Wraith's work, especially done so organically through the IC.
Best World Building: GM's Choice R O C K E T T E @Rockette Player's Choice L O R D W R A I T H @Lord Wraith __________________________	GM's Choice: @Rockette Player's Choice: @Lord Wraith The 'Best World Building Award' is given to the player who has opted to build on the game's existing lore, adding their own spin and perspective to it and creating new ideas that can be adapted to the game and world as a whole. With Amma coming from the Foundation, Rockette's contributions to the RP have allowed us to explore that angle differently than we might have without a player character in the Foundation. There has been a lot more interaction, planning and expanding to do with the Foundation that ultimately has helped craft them from more than P.R.C.U.'s Evil Twin and I'm excited continuing forward to seeing both how Rockette continues to challenge us and help grow the lore and the world of the game. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: @Roman Frankly none of this would be possible without Roman and no one has their hands deeper in the lore of P.R.C.U. and the Hyperverse overall than Roman does. But while most of those contributions would be exempt from these awards, Roman also does a fantastic job of building the world with Gil as the focal lens. I probably never would have touched upon Hyperhumans in Hollywood let alone a Hyperhuman version of SAG, but Roman has expanded that world and found a way to also bring in some fun lore from previous attempts at this world. Roman's Choice: @Zoldyck With Wraith's rich tapestry (read: 95-page google-doc lore-dump) for PRCU and the world of the Hype-verse, it can be a little daunting to come in and put your own stamp on it. Trying to insert your own character into such a sprawling world is at-times intimidating, but Katja's backstory of anti-Hype riots - neatly allegorical for, if not outright parallel to, South Africa's real-life unpleasant history of Apartheid and racism - puts a unique spin on the girl, as well as embedding her deeply with troubled cultural hang-ups.
Most Valuable Player: GM's Choice Q I A @Qia Player's Choice R O C K E T T E & S K A I @Rockette & @Skai __________________________	GM's Choice: @Qia Player's Choice: @Rockette & @Skai The 'MVP Award' or the 'Most Valuable Player' award is given to player who has gone above in beyond in their role as both a player and contributor to the roleplay. This person not only regularly posts in the RPs, but incites others to posts, regularly contributes to collaborations, or helps others with their posts, graphics or just brainstorming. They're a constant in the social server and bring a lot of enthusiasm to the game. As almost everyone here has had the chance to experience, Qia is a highly collaborative player and has been responsible for both helping drive and enhancing several narratives throughout the first episode including the investigation being conducted between Haven and Harper. In addition to their constant, consistent contributions to the IC, Qia is a friendly face in the Discord and almost always starts the day with a cheerful greeting while participating in nearly every conversation. They've been a valuable addition to this roleplay. Honorable Mentions: Wraith's Choice: @Rockette Rockette has been an invaluable member of the P.R.C.U. community, the character of Amma has lent herself naturally to the direction of the overarching narrative while Rockette herself has provided numerous graphics and banners for players and collaborations alike. She has been a proof-reader and a sounding board for me personally and an all-around asset to have in the game. Roman's Choice: @Skai Delightful in the discord, highly active in the IC, and collaborative to a fault. Haven is a wonderful character, well-suited to the setting, and her activities both IC and OOC have pushed the RP forwards at quite the pace, with dynamics, relationships, and even sub-plots spawning out of her apparently-endless appetite for creativity.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

“I put an extra scoop in after how well you did on that last test,” The woman's voice called as she rounded the corner from the kitchen into the dining room only to discover an abandoned math textbook laying as open on the table as the window beside it.

“Lorcán!” Victoria Roth yelled, peering out the window just in time to catch sight of the young boy tearing across the pavement towards the campus grounds.

“Young man, get back here right now!”

But the words fell on deaf ears as the young boy continued to put distance between his mom and himself.

It was the first week of September and students would soon be arriving on the island. Lorcán was still too young to attend Pacific Royal’s collegiate program and was instead resigned to homeschooling under his parents.

That would have been fine if he had a sibling or a classmate of some kind. More than anything in life, Lorcán desired a friend.

“Hi!”
“Hey!”

“Sup?”

The eleven-year-old boy greeted every prospective student he crossed paths with, smiling and waving while ducking between the taller teenagers. Suddenly he was roughly pushed to the ground, tumbling into the dirt only to look up into the face of a sneering older boy.

“Watch where you’re going runt,”

“Sorry, dude.” Lorcán apologized, dusting himself up before extending a hand, “I’m Lorcán, what’s your name?”

“Whatever,” The older boy retorted, brushing Lorcán off before pushing him down again with a chuckle. “Stay down Lora.”

“It’s Lorcán.” The younger boy repeated, moving to stand again only for the older boy to attempt to push him down for a third time. Lorcán stumbled backwards but managed to defiantly stand. Sweat began to pool on his forehead, his hands shaking as his cheeks flushed.

“You think you’re tough, pipsqueak?” The teen extended spikes from his cheekbones, making a biting motion towards Lorcán. “I told you to stay down.” He raised a fist only for the air around him to suddenly rise and ignite.

The teen screamed in pain as flame engulfed him, sending the older boy to the ground as he tried frantically to extinguish himself. Cries of anguish and fear echoed around the pair as tears welled up in Lorcán’s eyes.

“I just wanted a friend…”

^{________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

_{Location: Southern Plateau - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean}

Hope In Hell #2.002: Buddy System

^{_{____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

_{Interaction(s): @Rockette - Amma Cahors, @Melissa - Aurora Mitchell}

Previously: Chasing Cars

“Little on the nose, dudes,”

Lorcán muttered aloud, accusation sitting heavy in his voice as the simulation started up, the rumoured sterile hallways of the Foundation appearing before his molton-coloured eyes. The familiar wave of nausea washed over as he touched a hand to the door, he could feel his HZEs being extinguished the second his hand made contact. Pushing on the door, it failed to budge before Lorcán nearly dry-heaved from the prolonged contact. Pulling back, he took a couple of deep breaths while looking into the maze in front of Blackjack.

Based on the facial expression of both Harper and Calliope, it was becoming blatantly obvious this was not by their design. Lorcán's eyes immediately moved from the alleged designers to Amma, who to his surprise seemed just as caught off guard, if not more disturbed than the rest of the team.

Perhaps this was a trap meant for her?

Lorcán suddenly spun around again, cupping his hands together and forcibly launching a fireball from his palms. It fizzled out against the door, not even leaving so much as a scorch mark as the EBI field rendered his HZEs inert.

“I slaggin’ don’t care for being a rat in a cage.” He growled. “Looks like the only way out is through.” He stated to the team, before doing a quick head count to ensure everyone was accounted for. Reaching into his back pocket, Lorcán pulled out his father's old black ballcap, blowing a few wavy strands of sun-bleached hair out of his eyes before putting the cap on backwards.

“Dudes, we need to buddy up, everyone pair off and stay with your person.” His fiery eyes looked towards the fog laden corridor. Lorcán stood up straight, rolling the sleeves of his athletic shirt up before taking charge of the situation. It was the same time most of the team had heard Aiden Roth issue instructions to them during Practical Ability Training.

“Place could change at a moment's notice, we don't know the game we’re playing so we’re just treading water trying not to get dunked by the next swell. Got to get on the board somehow.” Lorcán continued before grabbing Aurora's hand without any hesitation. He gave it a quick squeeze before looking at her.

“Lady Dude, you’re with me.” He left no room for argument before looking back at the other eight students.

“Don’t let go of your buddy in any circumstance and let's try to keep the group together as much as possible.” Lorcán turned his gaze back to Amma.

“Brah, you got any insight here?” He asked, his eyes locked with Amma’s, but what looked back was feral and uncaged.

Amma's eyes were unwavering, rigid, deep, and laden with unbridled fury that lined her gaze in silver. Waves of a storm-ridden sea clashed with molten cores and there, a slow tremor in her hand that barely shimmered with her power slowly being leeched away near the walls infused by the dampening field. Her red sparks struggled to dominate her flesh as was often their want.

"It's a test. This is what they do. I don't -- " Her stare lances down, quick and deliberate as she studies his hand laced with Aurora's. "They make you weak, defenseless." Amma slowly stepped closer, her full mouth rising into that often hellacious smirk she was known for.

"They'll attack you at your lowest when you think you've gotten away far enough. When you think you're safe."

She makes to move around the pair, gazing off into the fog.

"They want to see how long you can last on their terms. In their domain."

Without hesitation, Amma set off down the corridor with a deliberate pace, sparing neither a secondary glance.

“Brah!” Lorcán protested as he watched Amma run off.

“That's not the buddy system!”