Raven Industries

"The Wings of the Future"

Evan White.

A young man who had come into the city of Durem quite a while ago, and had seen it in disrepair and devastation. In the aftermath of Jonathan Tomorrow's war against Alita, a massive reconstruction project on about three-fourths of the metropolitan area was underway. Many helped to restore the city to its former glory, and to make the city what it is today.

Not all of the names were mentioned.

One of those names happened to be Evan himself, who had gotten together the few industries and businesses that had survived, and turned them into one force- a force that was dedicated to reconstructing Durem and making it even better than the previous incarnation. Over time, more of them were added, and soon the partnership became an empire. However, with the changes came the need for a headquarters to place them all in.

Thus, about half an hour from the massive clock tower, another tower was constructed. Standing at a total of 35 stories and housing Durem's main industries and technologies, it was a time of success and strength.

That was about four years ago...

These days, the priciples are faded for a struggle for power. Of course, those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it. The company was falling to the power-hungry and corrupt, along with the entire city.

Then, the boss came back in town...

A changed Evan White had just recently returned from neighboring Terran, an eight hour drive from Durem... and he didn't look happy. Not that he looked angry either, but his face was steel with two shining gems for eyes; his voice a flat, unemotional monotone. Seeing as how he was usually friendly, it was sign enough that he did not like what he saw.

Starting from the moment he walked in on the board meeting, things began to change. It didn't make everything all right- not right away anyway. But it was a start. Whether this will set the once grand city on a path to restoration is uncertain at this time, but one thing is for certain.

It's gonna be a hell of a ride from here on!

Description/Location/Rumors

The RI tower was constructed sometime during the aftermath of the "Siege of Durem"- a period of time when the vigilante Jonathan Tomorrow waged a one-man war against the entire Durem Underground. These days, the company is undergoing reorginazation and reformation, and the once corrupt sect of businesses and industries has been flushed clean- replaced by those that can be trusted.

A total height of forty stories makes the building one of the tallest in the downtown area- some say that it is about as high as the clock tower itself, but one never knows until they take a look from the top floor office.

Description

The tower is mostly of a special type of steel and black marble, making the entire construct shine faintly in the sunlight- not to mention one of the most structurally sound buildings in the area. Every ten floors of the building is dedicated to a sect of the company that is devoted to a certain industry- though there are currently five departments in total; thus space is being accommodated- not to mention various others that are to be released as the company expands its horizons. Of course, the top floor is the CEO's office, along with the meeting room for shareholders and members of the newly reorganized board of directors.

Location

Most of the new downtown metropolitan area has been built around the tower itself- were the clock tower not present, the RI building would be the unofficial center of the city. Of course, the clock tower has been there for ages- restoration of this piece of Durem's long, once proud history had been undertaken long ago by RI, and now it is as close to its original state as possible.

Basicly, the headquarters for RI is located roughly thirty minutes from the clock tower itself- meaning that most everything that is of interest is located near the ediface as well. In fact, the entire set of businesses and cafes that have been built up around the tower are some of the best nightspots and places to eat in the entirety of the city.

This area is properly named Raven Industries Square, and is one of the new and officially sanctioned areas of downtown as of late. Covering an area of 25,000 square feet, it has enough room for hotels, nightclubs, cafes and restaraunts, and other key businesses for entertainment and profit.

Myths

While the company itself is no myth or rumor mill, there has been plenty of speculation about the CEO. Those that know him personally say that he has two sides- one that is the carefree, generous individual who makes it his business to provide for his workers and the city- and the other that is the sharp, quick-thinking corporate shark who muscled his way back into his own company in the nick of time.

Others who are less personal say that he is immortal- that his methods and way of thinking come from an entirely different time altogether. While this is unconfirmed, he does seem to have an uncanny knowledge about a great many things that have been otherwise lost.

However, even stranger rumors are the ones that are whispered at night... One that moves in the shadows and sees most of the events that happen in the city. It is said among the criminal element in the city that he is capable of many things- flight, the ability to vanish- only to reappear behind one's person, the ability to infiltrate any system and tear it apart from the inside. Various drug rings see him as a hallucination- or at least bad for business.

Current Storylines

Lament Arc: "A New Location"

Evan White, CEO of Raven Industries, is currently in a business deal and defense contract with the city of Lament. But he soon finds that the job is bigger than he had expected as he faces what appears to be a major technological advancement for an entire population. While some would think the prospect daunting, Evan sees it as a chance to make a few new friends, advance a city into the scope of the modern world, and most importantly, build further upon his company's reputation.

The future isn't on its way... because it's already arrived.

Progress: The Raven Industries offices in Lament are well on their way to completion. With what Evan White saw at the construction site, he figured that the lead architect, Dawn Montigo, had earned her spot as a Division Chair. Starting as soon as she leaves the city, she is now the head of Construction and Heavy Industries.

With that said, the building in the Inner City is roughly 25% complete.

Wow.. Looks good Sir Raven nods as I enter

The young boy pulled out his katana swiftly and stared at Raven.Everything was silent.Everything was as still as a dead corpse.Raven then said in a calm voice,"You don't want to hurt me.You wouldn't dare."Leon stood for a second and jumped into mid-air and then swung his sharp katana but Raven dodged with no problem.He then took the boys sword and broke it in half and screamed,"SIT DOWN" to Leon the confused boy.Leon sat down quickly.Raven threw the sword out the window and paced to his desk."If you want your sword back,work for me!"he shouted.Leon thought for a minute and then stated the word,"Fine."

[b]PART2

While sitting in the deep,uncomfortable chair,the confused little assasin Leon (or as he thought he was)stared at Raven with a faint,angry glare."You thought you had the right to challenge me!"Raven shouted into the air.Leon thought as to how badly he would of gotten hurt if he tried to fight Raven again.As the boy thought to himself a hard smack was delivered to his soft face.And you can guess who it was who delivered it.Suddenly everything stopped.There wasn't the faintest breeze in the air.Everything was so still it was unbeleivable.Suddenly the young boys face started to get pale.His eyes became a pure alabaster white out of nowhere.Then it all happend.An ashtray flew up into the air by it's self.Then the couch behind Leon flew into the air,just as everything else did."Azbabe get out of the room now!"Raven screamed.Raven thougt in his head,"This boy is special.This boy has T.K.T.K. stood for telekinsis which was the ability to move things with the mind.Leon then shouted into the air,"You were gonna make me work for you!You broke my sword!"Raven could see the horror and anger in the boys eyes.Raven then.............................................

Raven could you finish for me?Thanks

part 3

As the powerful axe-kick smashed into the young boy,a wavelength of power surged through his head.It had gotten to him that he couldn't beat Raven,but then he thought to himself,"I came and started this fight with this man,and I have to finish it!"He had then gotten the idea to try and use a little trick he used earlier to get out of this fight.Little did he know that it would take all that he had to defeat Raven.The problem was,he didn't have loads of energy surging through his body after that axe-kick.While Leon was on the ground,Raven quietly and calmly stepped to his desk ever so slowly.It was like he was not even touched.(In reality he wasn't touched at all)This gave Leon the slightest moment to get some energy back.This is when he would strike.This boy had an extreme supply of endurance so he could gain his energy quickly.Actually it depended on how hard he got hit.In the faintest second,the boy stood on his feet.Suddenly it seemed like time stopped.It was nothing but him and Raven.Then quickly,a bright,blinding,shining light replaced the form of Leon's body.Raven knew at this point that he couldn't be beaten by the boys "Celestial Orb"(Tis what Leon called it).The huge orb of light was ever so slowly delivered to Raven leaving in it's path,an unconcious helpless boy(or young man).Now it was over.The light did hit Raven but,he didn't even twitch,move a bone,or blink once.Raven went back to his desk and sat down as if nothing had happned all day.He sat as if he hadn't a care in the world.It was all over.Or that was what Raven thought.

P.S Raven:I dont appreciate people putting down my work.You are 21 years old and I am 14.You know I can't compete,so don't be puttin down my work anymore.

PART4

YOUR TURN RAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

-_-

((Let's move on, shall we?))

"Hold my calls, Mrs. Baker. I'm heading out for a bit."

"Yes, sir."

He turned off the speakerphone and headed towards a niche in the room, entering a certain four-digit combination/ The niche slid open, and a private elevator that led to all floors including the roof was right there, waiting for him. He stepped in and pressed the button for the roof, then straightened his coat as the door closed.

It was time to go get the news.

In other words, it was time to see what was happening around Gaia- and there was a quite unique way for him to do that. In all reality, he was Hugin- Odin's Raven of Thought- and he had devised a way, albeit an unoriginal one, to get the information he needed. Well, not entirely needed... but he was interested nonetheless.

Once he stepped out of the elevator, he was greeted by twenty or thirty crows- they were cousins of the raven, with the same traits- but were mostly at home in the city. However, he had the ability to speak anyone's language, so basicly he could persuade them to do what he wanted.

And right now, just like every time they met like this, he wanted information.

"Hello, cousins," Hugin said with a smile. His voice hadn't changed, and neither had his eyes. A while back, he would've had to change his entire personality in order to speak to the birds properly. Back then, he was two different people... now, he used the name Evan White as a cover.

As he spread the bread crumbs from his early morning breakfast around, he wondered if anything interesting was happening these days. Some of them would have to stay in the city, just to keep watch over most of the interesting areras- including, but not limited to, the Aesir Inc. Building.

In any event, after feeding them, he stood there while some of the crows flocked to him- two on his shoulders, one perched on the wrist of his leather glove- hell, one of then was even sitting on his head, which looked funny. He looked up and sighed to himself.

"Get down from there- this isn't the time."

Surprisingly, the crow did so, hopping down and beating its wings a few times before landing on the roof again. After petting the one on his glove a few times, he spoke.

"Okay, you guys know the drill. Be safe out there, and make sure you don't make yourselves too obvious. After all, you're just birds- but don't forget, you're my birds. Now..."

And like every morning... he brought both of his arms upwards, snapping them out to either side of them. His coat made a slight snap of a sound as they finished their path.

"...Go!"

His scouts scattered from the roof, and headed towards various parts of the world. He had a mental link with each and every one, meaning that he would get all the news at once, without even breaking a sweat. If there was anything of note, he would investigate... but he doubted there was anything out there to investigate anymore.

A young-looking man with old grey eyes walked into Raven Tower with a small smile on his face. Dressed in a neat black suit with a red undercoat, a cigerette hanging lazily from his lips, and being flanked by a mountainous and mean looking body-guard.

The green smoke of the cigerette whirled lazily from his mouth as he stood beside the main door, rolling his eyes and pulling his cigerette from his lips as he turned to the massive man beside him, clearing his throat loudly.

The man looked down at him defiantly - before stalking forward and opening the glass door, beating the door-man to it. The young man nodded to the bodyguard, like a master would do to a dog once it had done a good deed, and walked inside.

"Sir..." The door-man started, seeing the expensive yet casual suit and deciding to choose his words carefully. "...There is no smoking allowed in the foyer."

THe young man paused. Sniffing slightly, he turned to face the door-man, walking right up to him with his cigerette hanging lazily from the corner of his mouth. Putting his face right into the old man's - who flinched, and was wondering what kind of punishment he would endure from this obviously high-end executive - he took the cigerette from his mouth, rolling it in his fingers...

...Before placing it in his mouth and swallowing it, the burning tip sizzling as it went down his gullet.

"My apologies." Mercy said sincerely, his last drag blowing into the old man's face as he spoke, Vincent lifting his hand to wave it away for his face. "...This is my first time here. Would you be so kind as to tell me how i would be able to contact the CEO of this company?"

THe old man blinked. This young man...seemed a lot different from most of the other busy busy busy executives he saw come and go. Many of them smoked, and all of them ignored the old man when they walked in with a forgotten f** in their lips.

It filled him with hope that someone finally listened. And so...creatively at that. "Try the front desk, sir. I'm sure you'll be able to get an appointment, if not with Mr. White himself, then with one of his sub-ordinates."

The young man before him smiled warmly and put his hand into his inner-coat pocket to pull out a money clip with a large wad of cash stuck into it. Pulling out a hundred, he slipped it into the door-man's pocket, patting it to make sure it was snug. "Thankyou very much."

Walking away from the door-man, Vincent took a beeline towards the front desk. The massive man, Geo, took pace behind him. "Disrespect should be dealt with." He muttered coldy to Vincent with his sandy voice.

"Then you'd best keep that in mind, my large lap-dog." Vincent replied - before coming to the front desk. Leaning one elbow onto the desk, he smiled down to one of the pretty receptionists seated. "Good morning. I was just wondering...did you apply for this position yourself - or did the Gods not need another angel wandering about in heaven?"

The woman smiled bashfully, pausing her typing and turning to serve this handsome and well-mannered man. "Oh, please, you'll make me blush...how may i help you?"

"I'm here to see the CEO of this company...a Mr. Evan White, if i'm not mistaken."

"I'll call his offices right away, Mister...?"

"Vincent. Vincent Mercy. Aesir Corps CEO."

He sighed as she gaped at him. Reaching forward, he placed a finger on that pretty chin and slipped it back up, shutting her mouth. "My dear, as much as i am lost in your eyes, i'm afraid business must come first...please dial his office's number, and you can stare at me as much as you want after." He said with a wink, before watching her dial with a dumb-founded yet rosy-cheeked look on her face.

Hugin the Raven Wrote:

The first number he reached was Adele Baker, Evan's secretary.

"Evan White's office, can I help you?"

She sounded oh-so-professional and businesslike, which was exactly why Evan had picked her from his last secretary. He could trust her with just about anything, including keeping people from his office. Besides, the new board of directors could handle matters- he was in Strata for the moment, attending to Hono Raven.

Then again, he didn't know that yet. It was her job to keep it that way until he came back.

"Miss Baker, this K'Sandra, from the lobby desk. Vincent Mercy is here...he's asking if he can see Mr. White...is he in?"

Vincent smiled down to her, almost as if hearing her name made his heart sing, and leaned forward. "Tell her that i'm proposing a lucerative business deal that i think will help the city...and that it's in Mr. White's best interests to listen to my proposal." He whispered into her ear, the smell of woodsmoke seeming to be eminating from him.

She let out a small sigh as she spoke into the phone again. "...Mr. Mercy would really like to see Mr. White..."

The woman called K'Sandra looked crestfallen as she looked up to her new crush. "Mr. Mercy...i apologise, but Mr. White is on a business trip at the moment. He will not be back for a week. I can leave a message for him, if you wish..."

"Yes, you may leave a message. Please tell whoever you are speaking to to ask Mr. White to the Aesir Corps. HQ, so we may speak personally. I shall leave you my card..." He said, pulling a gold-gilded card from his breast-pocket and placing it in the palm of the girl's hand. "...And leave it to Mr. White's discretion. But...please tell the person you're speaking to that it is in the best interests that this matter be solved as soon as possible. The future of Raven Industries is concerned."

He patted the girl's hand with a kind smile before turning and walking away, his everest-esque bodyguard opening the door for him again as they walked out into the street.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, Vincent's hand immediantly moved to his cigerette clasp in his inner-coat pocket, opening it and drawing one out before lighting it up with that special bronze lighter, the arcane symobls lit breifly by the green flame as he puffed a few green puffs of smoke - before snapping it shut with the flick of his wrist and, placing it into his pocket, stepped into his limosuine parked by the curb.

Geo closed the door behind him before walking to the driver's side, opening the door - and, amazingly, seemed to shrink before everybodies eyes, his suit suddenly a size too big for him as he slipped into the driver's seat and closed the door behind him.

"The Sanctum." Was all Mercy said, his eyes locked onto Raven Tower as the limo peeled away and dissapeared into the bustling city-scape.

[Be aware that what I write here takes place a few months before Johnathan Nemesis joins the ranks of the GSF.]

Set across the street from the towering building of Raven Industries, there was a small cafe squeezed between the crystal-clear windows of two large competing fashion stores. Even though it seemed slightly dwarfed by the buildings around it, it was quite obvious that it was high class and pretty expensive. Through the large windows, one could see very decorative, abstract walls inlaid with various types of ceramics and stones. The shiny coffee equipment behind the counter gleamed with cleanliness, while the booths contained oak tables, and seats inlaid with costly-looking black leather. Outside, scattered around the sidewalk, were round white marble tables with large parasols made from green water-proofed silk hanging over them, and gracefully forged black steel chairs sat circled around. Sitting at one of these tables was a feeble, balding middle-aged man with round glasses perched on the ridge of his nose. He wore a pressed grey business suit with a red silk tie, and clutched a large silver briefcase in his lap. Sitting next to him was a man that made him seem even smaller and more frail than he already was. The aforementioned person was taller than his companion by at least one and a half feet, with bulging muscles showing through the fabric of his black suit and a wide face that looked like it had been taken from a professional wrestler. He had a light pink scar running down his left cheek and on to his chin, and had slick black hair pulled into a tight ponytail behind his head. He wore glasses as well, only they were tinted black and were unnecessary for him to see properly. He had a cup of steaming cappucinno lifted up to his face, his meaty finger barely fitting halfway through the handle. He was a small mountain wrapped in Romani. The smaller man seemed to be waiting anxiously for something, or someone, for he kept looking around nervously and jumping slightly at every small noise that reached his ears. The person sitting next to him, contrastingly, was cool and collected as a block of ice. A very, very large block of ice. It was apparent the two were up to something, and quite likely it was less than legal.

I'd like to ask other people in this thread not to interfere with this at the moment. I'm setting up for something. You may, however, post actions that include observing this from afar. ![smilies/icon_3nodding.gif ]

Red sighed as an alarm activated and put her hands upon approaching the front entrance of the tower. Three security gaurds removed her trench coat, with all the weapons it contained, while another removed the silver revolver from the holster and a long knife from the other side of her belt.

"Is this really necessary?" Red asked, "I've been here before and I have no intentions of using this stuff."

"If you're stupid enough to bring it," the gaurd snapped, "then you're stupid enough to have it confiscated. At least until we get word otherwise from management."

"I have a contract with this company!" Red growled.

"That doesn't mean you can drag in weapons, missy."

Red held back from punching right then and there, "Can you at least give me my revolver. It's a memento. I can't go anywhere without. I'll seriously die. Look, you can empty the chamber if you want, please."

The security gaurd practically pushed her outside, she did nothing to counter except turning a little red and holding back her temper.

"Okay honey, I emptied the revolver. But you ain't gettin' in here until I get approval from management. You want the gun, you have to wait, empty or not. Why don't you state your business first."

"The names Red, and I've just returned from Nezlidrichynn. Your boss should understand." Red said, "And by the way, if you're not going to let me in you better return my stuff. It's my livelihood you're making off with."

"Sit down and take a load off," the security gaurd said, "I'll send the call through right away."

Red detected the sarcasm in the gaurds voice, and knew it would be along wait. Secondly, there were no good places to sit outside, so she sat crosslegged against the wall a few meters left of the entrance. She sighed, knowing this would take a while. A raven flew overhead, kawing incesently.

Of course, the call finally did go through, though it had to be patched through to his secretary. Evan White was halfway across the city at the moment it did, busy in a meeting. However, he did in fact awnser, excusing himself as politely as possible before awnsering his phone. He had a slight surprise when he heard who wanted entrance, then grinned. She was finally back- now things could go into motion at last.

"I see. Let her in, get her comfy, and let me talk to her. Not entirely in that order, mind you- just do it. Red and I have business to discuss."

((I certainly hope you're ready for a bit of weight on your shoulders...))

Within a few seconds, the question was answered. After yet another uncomfortable pause, the nervous man and his companion began to rise from the table to leave. Suddenly, the third person raised his arm towards them, saying "Wait." The both of them froze, turning towards him with almost identical expressions of mild confusion. Reaching into his coat, he continued by saying "There's one thing I forgot to mention." The large man tensed visibly. The man in the coat pulled his hand out with something in a closed fist, saying "Manny told me . . . ." He slammed his hand down on the tabletop, his palm now open, causing the frail man to jump. His hand had a black, fingerless glove stretched on to it, with a red archaic design stitched into the back of it. "To personally give you his regards." He pulled his hand away, leaving a small, silvery object sitting in its place. When the other two leaned forward slightly to take a look, they saw it was a cuff-link with the letters 'M.S.' engraved into it. It had two bloody fingerprints smeared on its surface. "The late Manny, that is." For a split second, time stood still for all three of them. Then, all Hell broke loose. Simultaneously, the large man pulled open the breast of his coat with ine hand and reached in with the other, while his smaller companion dived beneath another table, curling into the fetal position and covering his head with his hands. The big man, presumably the smaller one's bodyguard, was obviously going for a gun. During these couple seconds, their new enemy had simply sat calmly in his chair, appearing unconcerned by the prospect of a ballistic weapon. Then, when the man's hand had cleared his coat holding a chrome plated .50 Desert Eagle, eliciting screams as people saw it, and begun to swing it towards him to take aim he took action. He stood abruptly and quickly, causing his chair to be shoved backwards a few feet as his arm shot out, his gloved hand grasping his would-be assailant's wrist before the powerful handgun could be aimed at him. He twisted the captive arm in a near-360, forcing him to drop the miniature cannon, and then yanked the limb down and towards him hard. The bodyguard was pulled forward, and when his waist collided with the edge of the table, his upper torso bent over, his forward momentum throwing his face down on to the tabletop. The thunk that reverberated from the solid surface was accompanied by a sharp, quiet crack as his nose broke. A blend of a shriek and a groan came from him as he attempted to wrench his arm away and straighten up. Surprisingly, he let go, allowing the tower of muscle's wrist to slide out of his grasp. But, as soon as he was halfway from standing erect, arm snapped forward once more. His fingers now curled into a fist, it came up beneath his chin, making a powerful connection that caused a bone-jarring thud. The heavy body jumped upwards into the air a few inches as the the uppercut lifted him with great force. Then, with curt speed, he crumpled to the ground in a large heap, not moving. After taking a few moments to observe him and confirm that he wouldn't be rising again, the man with the long black coat turned his head to look for the person cowering under the table . . . . . . . and found he was gone. His eyebrow arched in mild confusion, then his brown eyes widened slighlty, and he looked at the ground next to his chair, seeing that the case was gone too. He immediately whipped around, just in time to catch a glance of the terrified adult fleeing into the crowd with the heavy case clutched to his chest. He sighed, then quickly gave chase, pushing through the throng of people in pursuit of his quarry.

BTW, feel free to begin interacting with this now. ![smilies/icon_3nodding.gif ]

Panicking, the man in the business suit ran down the sidewalk as fast as his short legs would take him, shoving his way past several people in his desperation to get away. However, his pursuer was making good progress behind them. Even though he wasn't running quite as hard, he was slipping between people with ease at a quick pace, and therefore not being forced to slow down by running into their bodies, which was more than he could say for himself. He didn't realize it however when he took terrified glances behind him, and the only thing he could see was that he was rapidly gaining. In a desperate move, the frail human picked the next pedestrian in front as a victim, and mustering whatever strength he had, swung the heavy, titanium briefcase at the back of the poor soul's head. With a sickening whud he folded like a paper sack, collapsing on to the cement, causing several people around them to scream in horror. Not thinking straight, he bolted off again, hoping that it might cause his follower to trip or stumble, not really realizing that he would see it long before he reached it, and could just step over or around it. However, quite surprisingly he was right, but with the wrong logic. When the other man came upon the motionless body, he slowed. "Don't stop. You're supposed to catch him, regardless of any collateral damage." whispered his thoughts. He looked towards the figure disappearing through the crowd, and back at the man on the pavement. After a moment's hesiatation, he kneeled down next to it, pressing his fingers against the person's neck and checking for a pulse. He found one, very sluggish, but still strong. He then checked the head, searching for any obvious injuries, and luckily finding nothing but a shallow, bloody gash where the metal had connected with his skull. He looked up at the crowd surroundng him, and bellowed at them "Call an ambulance! Tell them that this man is unconscious, and probably has a concussion, but still has a strong pulse! Do it now!" With those words said, he charged off past them after his target, noticing that he had now pulled a second, even more risky and thoughtless maneuver. He was now cutting across the street, briefcase still in hand, heading straight for the front doors of the Raven Industries tower.

There was a muffled shuffling and a slight whoosh when the cushions were released from the pressure of Red's body as she sat upright. The room had been lit the whole time, so it wasn't as if she was unacustomed to the light from holograph, as the room was not darkened during her sleep. She yawned, then stretched, poping joints in her arms and back.

"I wasn't sleeping, I was just keeping your gaurd down," she said, standing up, going into a rant without bothering to really examine the holograph, which she considered next to useless. "Don't tell me the new manager is such a coward he has to speak to me via holagraph. Damn-it! Do you people think I could make a living if I had a reputation for killing my clients!? I did the job, I got a sample, and all I want the rest of my money!"

Red was used to dealing with mid level managers, and only realized whom it was when it was too late. She had never before seen Evan White in person, or even as a holograph, only pictures from clippings in newspapers and magazines and a few screen shots on a network database.

"Evan Whi...." she stammered, wide eyed, unable to finish the name. She blushed before rubbing the back of her head, "You're a recording, I hope?"

Regaining her confidence faster than she had lost it, Red snapped her fingers with one hand, lifted her foot, and pulled a sealed vial from her boot. The Drowd flesh inside was preserved in a sticky liquid, quite viscous. It was a long tendril peice off a Drowd with plenty of preserved life liquids to boot, that was for sure, and it emanated quite a high degree of magical energy, enough to have her kept her quite annoyed for quite a long time. She knew everything would be confiscated upon arriving here, so it was the only sample she had on her hand. She flashed it in front of the holograph's enough for less than a seconds glance before sticking it back in her boot. It was doubtful he didn't know about her failure to bag the target, but she hoped the material, powerful and extremely rare as it was being tendril peices from nothing less than a drowd preistess, would console him. It was doubtful, she knew, even if she had found and defeated Beldayn by some means, that she would have been even able to get near his carcass to collect samples, considering the magic that creature held. Evan had to know this, she thought, he wouldn't send anyone out to Nezlidrichym without doing research. Something else was up, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She might as well use her feminine charms and try the direct approach.

"I have a whole a set of material like this tucked away in an undisclosed location," she said, "It should be everything you wanted and more. I'll leave you the sample and the coordinates once I'm payed, equipped, and outside. I hope you've found my services satisfactory, Mr. White. I'm perplexed though, I was under the impression that this was petty business, I knew Nezlidrichym would be a challenge, but I never thought this was worth your direct involvement. I think my price just went up, ten fold."

She gave him a charming smile, "If something's going down, then you might as well clue me in, Mr. White."

{I can't beleive it, I clicked on post message and sent you this as PM first, now that's a Newb mistake for the record books. I think I've been on the computer a little too long } (Good thing I know how to cut and paste! )

"Hn... it was more of a test, really. I wanted to see if you could handle the rigors of such an environment. You came back alive, and with a souvenir. A quite useful one, at that. I'm more than impressed.

You'll be paid the other half of your money as quickly as possible. In fact, here's the transfer number now."

A set of letters and numbers formed a ten-digit code- it was the company account, of course. He wouldn't use his own private stash anytime soon, unless it was for something of the utmost importance. In any event... he explained himself.

"The test, all things considered, was a prelude to something else. You've heard of my Special Operations Division, R.I.O.T., correct? If not, I'll send you a brief history, if you like, Thing is, I'm looking for a captain for first squad... I may as well do something about it now."

And then, the man came running through, along with a shout to hold the door. Evan quirked an eyebrow with a puzzled look on his face. A moment later, he heard a shout for the door to be held open. He put two and two together and nodded to himself.

"Ah, there's something you can take care of. I'm sorry about putting you on the spot, but could you detain him for me? Save that man at the door some trouble and headache. Don't worry, you'll be paid for this one as well, as soon as you get some information out of him. I want to know who he is, what he's doing in my building, and why he's running like a bat out of hell. And get the truth..."

He pushed his glasses further up his nose before finishing the sentence.

"I do so detest liars."

The feed cut. What to do now?

MerDefsGirl Wrote:

No sooner than the feed cut out, the door slid open. Red could have cared less about the job offer at the moment, but as for the short man, that was easy money. The short guy with the heavy black case and the quick legs had passed the gates and was running through the halls, right too her. Security had let this little punk sneak through far too easily to be a coincidence.

Red walked down the hall nonchalently, scanning the pictures on the wall as the little man approached. It was too, too easy. When the little man was inches away she pulled out her gun and pushed its barrel in front of his face lengthwise so that his nose smacked into the metal barrel. His own momentum and the force of her swing smashed his nose, and he fell backwards with blood squirting from his nostrils. She snatched the black case he dropped as he fell, while it was still in the air. When he was on the ground, squealing like a pig about to be butchered, Red dug the heel of her boot into his stomach, eliciting a sqeal and a simultaneous squirt of bodily fluid from his nose and mouth.

"Why don't you refuse tell me what's going on so I have an excuse to kill you," Red said, holstering her gun. "You picked the wrong place to hide from your freind, shorty."

(I'm assuming the little man with the case is an NPC and I can take some liberties with him. If not, I will back this post up a little bit.)

Yes, he is an NPC, and feel free to do what you want with him. ![smilies/icon_3nodding.gif ]

His breath coming in short, panicked gasps, the small man was unable to speak, terrified out of his wits. As blood squirted over the clear lenses of his glasses, he made this evident by doing something quite disturbing. He wet himself. As a large dark spot appeared on the crotch of his pants, he whimpered, trying to speak but unable to. Then, just as it seemed he would die of hyperventilation, a voice echoed down the corridor. "Don't touch him. He's mine." Looking up, she would see the man who had been chasing him marching down the corridor, a steely expression on his face that suggested mild annoyance at having someone capture his quarry for him.

MerDefsGirl Wrote:

"So they decided to let you in after all," Red said, releasing her foot from the man's gut.

She didn't have to worry about the little guy running, the injury to his stomach wasn't fatal, but it would cause him intense pain if he even tried to move. A team of military personel took position in the halls behind her, and another in the lobby behind the annoyed newcomer. These were no ordinary gaurds, but Raven Industry elites from the special operations division, R.I.O.T. Mr. White obviously knew the value of quick mobilization. She dropped the case and kicked it behind her without turning around, it remained upright as it slid a good distance, right into the center of security checkpoint behind her, exactly where she wanted it. A single soldeir quickly moved to make off with it

"Nothing personal, but this man and his property are in the custody of, Raven Industries, and you've been invited to join him. Why don't you make this easy and come along nicely?"

"What's a matter?" Red asked the newcomer, assuming a relaxed posture, as if she didn't care what happened next. "You wanna play with me instead? I'll have you know that I'm not very much fun."

She waited, the case would disapear deeper into the tower with every second. She almost hoped the man wouldn't concede his cause lost and go into custody defeat as would be the rational thing to do in a case like this. He would be fun to play with than the other one, and she didn't want to be disapointed.

His left eye twitched with annoyance. He would get a big cash bounty for turning in the poor, whimpering wreck lying on the floor. There was a large cash reward on his head, due to the fact that he was the personal accountant of one of the largest drug lords in the city. However, he would get roughly equal amount for bringing that case to the man that had hired him. As much as he didn't want to piss these people off, he needed that money badly. He sighed exhaustively, thinking "Well, mercenary work can't always be easy, can it?" Inhaling a deep breath, he said "Trust me. Things will work out a lot better for you and your grunts here if you just surrender the man and the briefcase, and let me leave." He allowed a wistful grin to make its way on to his face. "Besides, I don't want to be forced to hurt that pretty little face of yours." Deep inside, he was chuckling, knowing that his statement would most likely piss her off royally.

MerDefsGirl Wrote:

"You're not to bad looking yourself," Red smiled, "It would be a real shame to smash that annoyed smirk off your handsome little face, now wouldn't it? What was in that case? You and your freind have business with Raven Industries, or do you just like to piss off powerful people?"

The breifcase was getting lost deeper and deeper into the tower, soon he would have no realistic chance of ever finding it. Only her boss would have access to it, too bad, she was kind of curious as to what was in there. One of the soldeirs tossed a red trench coat to her from the back. As she caught it and flipped it on within seconds, the arms sliding on like wide silk down a thin pole, she noticed that the most dangerous stuff had been removed. She guessed they didn't want her blowing the tower to nothing. A reasonable fear, she did have a tendency to go overboard."

"By the way, those goons are the least of your worries." she said, "I'm waiting."

"Just a moment." he replied. "I need to retrieve my property first." With these words, he suddenly snapped his fingers on his right hand, unexpectedly setting the tips of his middle and index on fire. Arching an eyebrow at the shocked expressions of a few of the men in the corridor, he reached out to his right, and began tracing the fingers through the air and leaving a flaming outline, all the while muttering under his breath. Within seconds, he had drawn a fiery rectangle hovering in midair, roughly two by one-and-a-half feet. Whispering a final word, the image through the rectangle changed, no longer showing the wall behind it, but now displaying a hallway in a different part of the building. He then said "3 . . 2 . . 1 . . "

Again, his eye twitched in annoyance as he stood there, dripping wet. Then, he smirked again, but this time it held no warmth or friendliness. This time, it spoke only of irritation and cold anger. Abruptly, there was a blur of movement, and he was suddenly standing only a couple inches in front of her, his black coat still flapping gently from the sudden changes in momentum. With his proximity, he was inside her effective range, which meant it would be difficult for her to make any effective attacks, whether with her body or a weapon. "You don't want to screw around with me, girl. Trust me." he hissed, his face less than half a foot away from hers. Also, miraculously, he seemed to be drying at an alarming rate, small wisps of steam actually curling off his body.

MerDefsGirl Wrote:

She had seen that kind of speed before, primarily because it was equivelent to her own. She had to respect that. Too bad he had violated her space, and their was one thing a smart fighting woman does when a man gets too close. Her knee jerk upwards with such speed that it was barely a blur, and smashed into his poor, fragile, gonads.

Also, someone was smart enough to activate the sprinkler system for the entire hall. It would track him wherever he went, if he was able to get back up, keeping him nice and wet, like a drowned cat. Red certainly didn't mind a little a water, she was used to being out in the rain.

Indeed, her knee did collide with his crotch, with quite a painful-lloking impact. But, instead of crushing his "poor, fragile gonads", there was only a loud WHANG as her knee connected with something solid. He seemed to be unaffected by her below-the-belt attack as he stared menacingly at her, the sprinkler system continuing to drench him. His only reaction was his statement, which went "You know, missy, there are indeed men who wear cups outside of sports, including steel ones." Then, without another word, he struck. His open hand hanging at his right side curled into a fist, and his arm bent at the elbow as he drove it upwards, aiming for the area of her torso just beneath her ribcage. The movement was so fast, it put world-famous martial artists to shame. If it connected, the breath would be driven from her lungs quite forcefully, and it would leave her gasping for breath for at least a few seconds, providing him with enough time to get past the R.I.O.T. personnel (He just thought of them as rent-a-cops) and find the case. Then again, that was if his fist made contact.

Rent-a-cop, nothing. Said R.I.O.T. personell flooded the lobby, the package still in hand, F.N. F2000 rifles trained at the intruder. The man who had been given a bloody nose was already in a holding cell, waiting for the D.P.D. to arrive and get him out of there, along with their newly aquired package- which they found out held enough evidence to put said man away for life for assisting a major drug ring.

A break in someone's case had fallen into their lap. Too bad the man himself was dead, but it was one less scum to take care of. In any event, as the snipers opened fire and tatical laser sights were aimed on the man, three squads of twelve in flanking positions, it didn't look like anything was going to happen today, save for a bit of an indoor rainstorm.

"Freeze, now! The DPD is on their way- You can either come with us, or leave with them."

Yet again, his eye twitched with great irritation as the armed men poured into the room, and he saw the red dots of lasers traveling all over his body. With an exhalation that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a growl, he reached up and took hold of his sunglasses, removing them before folding them up, and hanging it on a breastpocket on the exterior of his coat. Then slowly, he raised his hands, palms open, into the air above his head. He knew he could attempt to fight his way out of the building, and realized he could probably escape quite easily. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish that without killing some of these men, and he wasn't willing to take their lives just for some money. They were only doing their jobs. Besides, he planned break out later anyway.

(Please consider this as occuring before the post directly above it, thank you.)

Within seconds the subject was placed in a fireproof restraint jacket. His hands were taken behind his back and placed in fireproof restraints and tight mittens designed to resist fire magic. A fireproof blindfold was placed over eyes and his head draped in fireproof cloth. He was bundled from head to foot in fire proof restraints, even his legs were in shackles.

The R.O.I.T. soldeirs had everthing well in hand it seemed, and she had so badly wanted to use her trump card. The profesionalism was admirable. Red was certainly glad Raven Industries wasn't on her enemies list.

"Shut down the sprinklers," she ordered, stepping into the wet. The sprinklers did indeed shut down, but she wasn't exactly sure if it was at her command. "Would someone please get me a towel?"

"Your orders concerning to the prisoner, Captain," asked one of the soldeirs. Her orders, she liked the sound of that, words she hadn't heard spoken for almost ten years now, since the mercenary league was disbanded.

"I was thinking along the line of keeping him suspended in a vat of cold water," she said with smile, something to douse those flaming pasions. "Watever you do, take him to most secure holding cell in the building, keep him under your highest level gaurd, don't let him get out of those restraints, and keep him fairly wet. But, I'm sure that didn't need to be said."

Red pulled the device from the wall and held it in front of the prisoners blindfolded and covered face.

"If you can hear me under all that asbestos, I just want to let you know that you made the right decision. If you would have tried to escape it would have been quite shocking experience for you. Now you behave like a good little pyro and maybe someone special will pay you a visit."

And, without further fanfare, they took the prisoner away. Then she finally got a towel for her hair.

(Please consider this as occuring before the post directly above it. Thank you.)

A few minutes later, the red led light on the front of the holographic disc- the one that she should have kept, if she knew what she was doing, flashed. Not to mention that the disc was buzzing slightly. He was calling... the only thing she would have to do is press a button that was located on the bottom of the disc, right in the center.

Sighing again as he was dragged off, Johnathan didn't bother trying to struggle against his bonds. Not like there was a point. Even if he could find a way out of his restraints, he doubted he could overwhelm all of his guards before reinforcements arrived. That was saying something, considering he could probably have them on the floor within seconds. Then, as he was being marcged along, he felt hands going into his coat. For a moment, he wondered what they were doing, until he realized that they were removing objects from it. With an exhaustive sigh, he rolled his eyes beneath the hood. They were confiscating several of his posessions. A modified Colt .50 handgun. Several clips for it containing various types of ammo. A large custom-crafted combat knife. A spare pair of his gloves. A small flask half-full of whiskey. Medical supplies that included objects that would be found in an average medkit, plus a few other items. There was much more. Had he not known that they would be unable to hear him through the hood over his head, he would have told them that it would have just been easier to take the whole damn coat. "Then again," he thought ruefully "It's their fault that they'll have to carry 50 pounds worth of equipment all the way to their evidence locker, or whatever room they keep junk like this in." After several minutes of marching, stopping at security checkpoints or doors, and marching again, they stopped once more. Maybe it was the way the R.I.O.T. guards were walking now. Maybe it was their attitudes. Maybe it was something in the air. Whatever it was, he knew they had arived at the holding cells. They had waited for a few seconds, when he heard the whine of hydraulics, and what sounded like large and very heavy doors opening. He filed that away in his mind for future reference, just as the sound ceased and they started ushering him forward once more. Several moments later, after what he assumed was them getting past a few security measures, he felt himself being shoved roughly on to a stone floor,a nd something being activated behind him. He lay still for a few minutes, until he was sure they were gone or weren't watching him, and then set to work on freeing himself from his bonds.

Johnathan pushed himself backwards with his feet to slide across the floor, an arduous process because of the manacles around his ankles, trying to make it appear as if he were trying to get comfortable. When he felt his back pressing against the cold concrete wall, he shifted his body a little, making sure what he did next would be hidden from view. He started pressing his thumb against his forearm, searching for something. With moments, he found it, a small line-like lump that was about an inch long and barely noticeable, but could be located if you were looking for it. Gritting his teeth, he placed his thumb against one end of it, and started pushing against against the bump. It offered resistance for a few seconds, but soon it gave way, and with a small grunt from him, a tiny sliver of metal popped out of his skin. Giving a small sigh, he reached into the small space between the cuffs of his mittens and jacket and grabbed it between his thumb and four fingers, having to do so because of the tight mittens on his hands, and pulled the rest of the pin from his arm, eliciting a minor flow of blood from the tiny wound. Getting a firm grip on it, which was difficult as well because of the thick fabric, he slipped the end of it into the keyhole of his cuffs, rotating and wiggling it slowly. In nine seconds flat, the cuffs popped open, and he let them slip on to the floor silently behind his back. Taking care not to make any extravagant movements that would attract attention, in case there was a guard posted nearby or security cameras watching him, he pulled the mittens off and flexed his cramped fingers. Picking up the pin he had dropped and keeping his hands behind his back, as if still cuffed, he wiggled up to sit on his knees, Japanese-style. Still being dicreet as possible, he picked his ankle-shackles as well. Unfortunately, the claps had been snapped together behind his ankles, and because of that, they clattered to the floor noisily before he could grab them and set them down. He winced, knowing that any guards nearby would have head that, and even if there weren't, cameras would have seen the movement of it falling and him scrambling to snatch them. Intaking a deep breath, he jumped to his feet and brought his hands in front of him. He proceeded to whip off the hood and the blindfold beneath it, and tear off any other inflammable garments his body was covered in. In moments, he stood there on one side of his cell, various pieces of clothing lying around him, and looking almost exactly te same as he had when this scenario had begun. The exceptions being he had no glasses (they had taken those too), his hair was messy, and he looked a little flustered. He scanned his surrounding slowly, his angry eyes speaking only one thing: There's gonna be Hell to pay.

"True enough. I wouldn't question your beliefs or go against your code- you have complete control over the situation, and any innocents or hostages are your first priority. I don't much like those who don't have some kind of code... one is bound to cross the line sooner or later, if he or she doesn't live by some kind of code or personal rules.

I hereby agree to your terms. You put in the work, you get paid. If you should walk out, I'll let you go whenever you want to, without regret. Hopefully. Independence is a must in this job anyway. Besides, I will not give an order that is not morally sound. That's my code... one of many. Maybe I'll tell you about it someday."

Because he was old-fashioned as well. More so than she ever could have imagined.

"Well then... welcome to R.I.O.T., Captain. You're free to do as you wish, but I'll have you on call from this point... then again, if you don't want the job, that's fine too. In any event, the hotel is about half an hour from this building- do enjoy your rest."

The feed was cut.

_____________________________________________________________

"Hey, what the hell's going on down there?"

Two guards were approaching Johnathan's cell, wondering what was happening. But when they saw that he had removed his shackles, they sighed in relief.

"What, that's it? Heh, I figured it was something else. Sorry- you're kinda stuck there until Mr. White gets back. Don't make this any harder for yourself..."

He would find the reason why they were so relaxed if he tried to escape.

She could stick with this for a while, lucrative deals were rare and the expensive ammo required to deal with magic users was expensive and rare. This was the perfect opportunity to replenish her little armory, and to continue building up her strength and skills. Without another word she went into the room where she first waited and laid down on the sofa. Curiosity had the best of her, and if anything went down here, she wasn't going to miss it. An office and a room would come later, something spartan she hoped, she hated plush accommodations.

She fell asleep with feet propped on the arm of the sofa.

(Just PM if you want me to participate further in this or other scenario, but I may jump in if I get an easy opportunity.)

Hugin the Raven Wrote:

They simply stared back, shook their heads with lopsided grins, and continued their rounds. All things considered, their training had beaten into them a heavy tolenance for threats. Whether he could back it up or no, they'd be ready for him.

Oh, and about the little circle on the wall... you know, the one that he was about to draw? When he finished it, something interesting would indeed happen. But let's focus on the present task at hand- he was drawing a circle on the wall using his own blood- something that was both dangerous in the wrong situation, and ingenious in the right one. Which situation this was... was yet to be seen.

When he had drawn a perfect circle on the wall with the sticky red substance, he proceeded to draw an equilateral triangle within it. And, just like that, the circle was finished. Of course, it was already obvious what this symbol was. It was a transmutation circle, one of the many things that symbolized alchemy. Alchemy was in no way magic, though people often mistook it for that. Alchemy was a science, the manipulation of substances. It used the reactions between elements as fuel, with different types of transmutations circles as a reference to guide the energy from these reactions to perform certain services. This particular circle was a simple one, which he intended to use in an experiment. He placed his hand over the circle, triggering it. If he was successful, the outline of the circle would burst into flame, and he would have the knowledge he needed to escape.

Hugin the Raven Wrote:

Then again, even Alchemy required another science- tranceferrence of energies. The hand that touched the circle was a kinetic force, which was required to activate the transmutation circle. While it was simple enough to generally make a good escape in any other situation...

It wasn't the case here.

The runes glowed happily as the energy was sucked up, and when he removed his hand... the circle was dead in the water, so to speak. Reminder- these were anti-energy runes. Magic is a type of energy- it is a life-force. Alchemy requires energy to activate a transmutation circle. Either way, the principle was the same, and he wasn't getting out this way either.

Johnathan sighed exhaustively as he saw the circle did not light, and knew he was going to have to resort to desperate measures. He didn't enjoy going this far, but sometimes the end justfied the means. He was going to get out, and he refused to let them stop him. He stood up, shrugging his coat from his shoulders and leting it slide to the floor, revealing the powerful, yet lean muscles of his arms. Next, he kneeled down and untied his boots, slipping out of them. He regretted having to leave these things behind, but he didn't really have a choice. Standing in the middle of his cell he began to focus. What he was about to do next didn't really require energy. Just some focus. It would be like flipping a switch somewhere deep within him. If there had been a person with so-called 'Sight' standing outside his cell right now, they would have seen his aura, which was green, gradually change to red.

A sharp pain akin to being stabed in the thigh awoke Red, and she sat up with a shiver and a start. The spiral mark was burning, she didn't even bother rubbing it or doing anything. She was used to the pain. As she rubed her head she felt something moving within the interior of her mind. Someone was focusing a new kind of energy nearby, something that was actually absorbing pain instead of causing her more. With a little concentration she determined where the energies where coming from, one slightly to the north, the other very close and a little below her. But she couldn't determine which was which. All she knew was that the energy causing her mark to burn was much stronger.

She jumped off the sofa and left the room, determined to check on the prisoner.

Red had been notified that of the change in the condition of the prisoner the moment it happened, but no one bothered to tell her that Evan White had returned as well. Once she had passed through all the all scanners, the transformation of the prisoner was complete (If not stopped by some other security measure in the first place.) There was a means to communicate with Jonathan, or what was left of his rationality, through camaras and speakers. She took that opportunity. If he did something stupid he would not get out alive.

"Jonathan," she said calmly into the speakers, "If you have a brain left, you need to think this through. Some people want to talk with you, that's all, then you probably will be given some very acceptable options. Is a chance at escape worth losing your life over at this point? Come on Jonathan, a good mercenary knows you should always save the big fireworks for when you need them most. Are you determined to do this now?!"

If he refused to hold back and the cell wouldn't hold him, she knew she would have to kill him. Otherwise, someone else would, and they wouldn't be merciful about it.

(If at any time I fail to continue posting, consider me to have fallen unconscious due to the mark on my thigh and get me out of the way, but keep me locked away in a lab somewhere in case I get a chance to revive. I may lose my internet access for a prolonged period of time, but I'm not sure yet.)

An excellent choice. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you after the quite... interesting stunt you just pulled. But then again, your attempts to get out of that cell would have proven fruitless anyway- nothing, and I mean nothing- gets past that force barrier.

But I commend you on finding a way beyond the runes- well done. Stay there- I'm on my way to your coordinates. We'll talk about your findings and what to do with them.

...Said the voice in his head from the man who was one level below him.

Red watched Jonathan Nemesis through the moniters and waited, leaning heavily on the table to keep standing. Anyone who looked her would have notice she was sweating, breathing heavier than normal, and looking quite pale. The mark was burning, almost as badly as when she approached her target too closely in Nezlidrichyn, yet this source of internal power was farther away. She couldn't lose focus now, so she pulled a needle from her coat and injected the contents directly into her neck, manuevering the needle so it injected the chemical directly into her cartoroid artery. It would help neutralize the effect of external magic sources immediatly, she'd worry about the side effects later. For now, it was time to watch, wait, and hope the situation didn't get out of hand.

Hugin the Raven Wrote:

First Level Basement...

The elevator opened and the man in the voluminous black coat stepped out, walking through the double doors after going through security checks. The entire point of this was to watch what he would do when he sensed a much more... signifigant power enter the room. His aura was immense- it took one centuries to walk around with such a presence. Not that Jonathan was not powerful- on the contrary. One had to respect the shapeshifting trick if one wanted to survive.

But even so, Evan White didn't look as if he cared.

As he entered the cellblock area, he casually stopped in front of Nemesis' cell and bowed slightly.

"Good aftermoon. Forgive me for the rough treatment, but rules are rules- can't have violence in a place of business, after all. Before we begin, I have a suggestion- change back. I don't mind you being in this form, but I'd like to have a more... diciplined individual to talk to."

Thus, he waited.

Again, Johnathan snorted dersively as the man spoke to him. He then spoke in his haunting voice, saying "I THINK NOT. FIRST OF ALL, JUST BECAUSE I LOOK DIFFERENT DOES NOT MEAN I AM A DIFFERENT PERSON. SECOND, I DON'T TRUST YOU OR YOUR MEN, AND IF ANYTHING, I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE MYSELF MORE VULNERABLE. IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT I'M SAYING, THEN I REFUSE TO SPEAK TO YOU ANY FURTHER." As soon as he finished speaking, he expelled snort og hot air from his large nostrils, so warm that they actually made a small cloud of steam.

A magical aura, an aura of power, was something to be sensed and not seen, but the drug in her mind dulled her senses to the invading aura enough that she could regain her composure. Unfortunately, it would also slow her reflexes, and her speed would be greatly reduced.

She was still here, and she wanted to know what was going on as well, even though she was no longer needed and knew she would probably end up getting in the way more than she could help. She took out her revolver, screwed the attachment to the barrel, and loaded three canisters.

If Jonathan broke up through the floor, she would hold him off long enough for her boss to finish the job. A black spiral with wavy lines extending from its arms burned onto the left hip of her thick jeans as if they were being branded from the inside.

His reaction was immediate. He had listened to his tone of voice and change in pitch, however slight it was. A man didn't have to read minds to know when someone was witholding information. Still, it lacked drama... for all he did was say the following word.

"...No."

Evan didn't mind standing there all day, casually speaking to the man who had entered his buliding when it was a clear policy that anyone who got five inches past the front desk without an appointment was warned at least twice before security was called. It was another rule that any disturbance, including starting violence in general, would be awnsered with the appropriate measures.

So yes, he wanted to know everything.

"The thing the man did not tell us was what was in the case. I suggest you forget about the reward- for simply steering him into this building and allowing us to stumble onto the case so openly, I'll pay you double the contracted amount, and put in a good word to your employer. Not to mention that you took out one of the city's most notorious drug czars and thus shut down a smuggling operation.

My thanks, as well as the city's.

However, I would like to know exactly what was in that case... and why he just about died protecting it."

He waited again.

"Hn... so what you're saying is that you don't bother to check if what is in whatever you are carrying is legal, or if the orders you recieve will be questioned by police or other authorities?"

Evan laughed slightly before continuing.

"You have no business sense what so ever. The difference between a mercenary and a soldier- one of many, in fact- is that mercenaries are allowed to use both strategic and tactical thinking. In other words, use the brain you got, and use it well. Ask questions. Get the full information. Delve into not only your opponent's mind, but your employer's. Then you can make deals and increase how much you are paid to keep silent... but I trust you already knew that part, right?"

Another chuckle.

"...I see."

He casually walked closer to the cell, keeping his eyes locked on the imposing creature before him.

"I won't disrespect you any further by having you caged in here like something on display. However... your talents of infiltration and swift resolution of a situation will be taken note of. I don't let anyone of your talents and Red's ingenuity far from my sight.

The thing you need... is dicipline."

He would learn such a thing quite soon... because once he unlocked the cell, he would test his resolve and his current level of dicipline. A plan was already forming for this one- both him and Red upstairs. Mercenaries were too unreliable these days- he planned on turning them into something more than bounty hunters. In fact, he planned on turning them into something niether of them would have dreamed of.

But that was for later.

In any case, the shield went down as soon as Evan entered his key card and pressed the button.

"What I want you to do is stand there... and not move. Not once. Don't worry- the reason will be revealed soon. Just sit there... and whatever happens, have complete command over your body. I'm going to test you before you leave this cellblock- perhaps the man you once were is still somewhere in there, and I'm going to get him out..."

His face was determined as he said the next five words.

"Even if it kills me."

"Good. Remember..."

He stepped back a few paces, leaving his key card in the lock. He wanted the man to get a good glimpse of what would have happened had he tried his more interesting methods, and what the concequences of tresspassing were. The following was why he was commander in chief of Special Forces R.I.O.T.

He suddenly turned around, placing his left foot forward and his right foot as far back as he could while he could still keep his balance. His upper torso was still upright and facing forward though, with his hands stretched forward, yet slightly bent at the elbow. His hands were in the claw formation- the movement one made while in Tiger or Eagle stance.

Guess which this one was.

"Don't move!"

With that, he sprang forward, his speed blinding and nearly untracable. Within the space of a moment, he had cleared the distance between them! And then, after a deafening stomp that slightly shook the room, but broke the ground beneath his left foot, he shoved his left hand forward, the palm striking into Johnathan's midsection. Now, the draconian version of the mercenary was big. Real big. And this attack would most likely have done nothing, were it not for the stomp before the strike.

This was a chi projection attack- Tiger's Paw. The strike would have done zero if the energy and force were not behind it. Not to mention that the assault was done at close range- the sublime range for a tiger to strike at his opponent and tear them to shreds.

This was not to injure, however. Only to test and instruct. If he didn't properly hold his ground, he would be sent flying against the back wall. And even then, such a strike would sent him sliding back a good three feet before he stopped.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I won't kill you."

He straightened himself out and fixed his coat, smiling faintly as he did so.

"If I were out to do that, you wouldn't even have seen the attack coming, and thus wouldn't have been so prepared. Still, you do have some measure of training. I'm mildly impressed. However... you should reconsider that statement when you look behind you."

Evan pointed at the back wall of the holding cell... if the man looked as well, he would almost bang his head into it, despite the tail. Any further- any less restraint on the attack- and he would have kissed the concrete.

"I'll be seeing you again... for the time being, you're free to go."

Nemesis would find something in his pocket... not only a business card, but a ranking insignia pin. It was the rank of Master Sergeant, Gaian Special Forces. Two invitations had just been given- one to his special operations division, the other to the GSF. Either path would change him forever... he could only pick one.

The tendrils from the arms of the spiral were expanding across her thigh. Pain from the left hip shot through her body, despite the magic nuetralization effect of the medicine. Red pounded the desk holding the security moniters, then sighed. The two men were unevenly matched, and Jonathan had the short end of the deal, at least as far as energy was concerned.

She could feel the supernova of Mr. White's power emanating from the floor below, wrenching the strength from her body, crushing it and burning it away. The tendrils reached for her abdomen, glowing, heating, burning. An intense pain simmiliar to hot coals in her intestines followed. She pushed herself away from the screens.

"I'm no longer needed here," she said to the nearest gaurd, who she was sure easily noticed her pronounced limp as she pushed her way out of the security room. Luckily, her trench coat hid the blood that was steadily soaking the left side of her body.

"Tell Mr. White I'll take him up on that hotel room, and give him my apologies, but I won't be able to quarter in the tower, if he feels that merits release then I'll deal with it. And give Jonathan my congrats."

She had looked forward to meeting this Evan White, but now she knew that was impossible, his power would kill her instantly. One thing she knew, he wasn't the one who did this to her. He wasn't the one who put the mark on her body. She limped through the halls quickly, following the quickest route to the lobby.

But Johnathan stayed where he was, not moving for the elevator, at least not yet. Still watching the other man, he said "One other thing. I want my equipment. Everything, ammuntion and weapons included. That stuff cost me a small fortune, and I'm not exactly willing to give it up so easily." He was completely serious. The knife alone was worth quite a bundle, and had a bit of sentimental value attached to it.

Hugin the Raven Wrote:

As the doors slowly opened, he turned to the man's cell and casually informed the guards that he was to be given his gear back. "All of it," he stressed as he walked towards the now open doors. "And be sure to allow him to leave peacefully- I'm sure he wants to get on his way."

He walked backwards and smiled warmly as the doors closed, concealing his form as he spoke out to Nemesis.

"Remember- we will be seeing each other again soon, you and I."

Johnathan nodded his aprroval, satisfied that he would be getting his stuff back, but wondering what he had meant with that last statement. Within minutes, he was pulling his things out of a large steel box they had set on the floor in front of him., it took a while, but soon everything was back in its proper place on his bodice. As he slipped the last thing, a small roll of dollar bills, into a pocket, he felt something in there. He grabbed hold of the things in there, and pulled them out. The first thing he saw was a business card. Flipping it over, he saw an acoount number scrawled into the back in graceful, flowing writing. Smirking with satisfaction, he examined the other object, which was a pin. From his military experience, he knew it signified the rank of Master Sergeant, but he was cluekess as to what military division it belonged too. Puzzled, he slipped them back into the pocket, and walked towards the elevator doors.

Hn... having one's defenses up is not a good thing if you're in pain, especially if there was someone nearby who could help. He could feel the shot of pain from here, and grimaced as he reached the main lobby via the main elevator.

She was starting to drip blood on the floor, but he didn't mind that. She wasn't just a business asset- he was genuinely concerned.

"s**t, Red! Don't tell me my interrogation did this... we have to take care of this, now. My apologies for that down there. Come on, let's get you fixed." He lowered his aura and casually walked towards her- calm was of the utmost importance right now.

"And don't you dare tell me you don't need help- pride will get your a** killed."

"Red!!"

Damn! Why?

He hung his head to the floor, considering his options, his mind moving at damn-near lightspeed. Considering why this could have happened- how she could have picked up such an intricate technique as power dampening. He remembered it- the mark. The one on her left side... he lifted his head and narrowed his eyes in determination. This would not do.

He pressed in the earpiece that he wore, which was slyly hidden somewhere in the hollow of his ear. It had perfect reception, even from where it was located.

"Medivac, I need a stretcher and an E.S.T. (Ethereal Suppression and Treatment) team up here now, and I mean yesterday. We have a critical situation on the lobby floor- send her to Biometrics department and make sure we know what the hell we're dealing with. Any metahuman personnel should take caution to keep a ten to twenty foot radius- she's got a mark on her that's not too friendly with them, and will go into stasis again if they are nearby."

His earpiece crackled. "Copy that- E.S.T. is on their way now."

He then knelt where he was and took off his glasses, revealing his purple eyes- those eerie, piercing eyes which were filled with worry.

Sometimes, I hate being immortal...

Tch... whoever you are, you have a thin definition of power. I have no need for anything extra...

But then again, whoever this was could no longer hear him. He shrugged it off, but remembered the whisper. He would remember- because it would be quite helpful upon the next time he heard it.

With that, he watched as they carried her away... and sighed.

What the hell is going on?

"Vitals are stable- alpha and beta wave patterns are normal, despite some slight variations. Body temperature has stabilized, though it was at an incredible 211. She's being surprisingly agreeable, despite our constant nagging. I admit- if it were me in there, you'd have to tie me down and sedate me."

The personnell laughed at the joke before he continued.

"The marks are still reacting- it doesn't seem like there is any way to remove them physically. The only way they're being suppressed in the slightest is this: we've detected trace amounts of E.S. 550." A few murmurs ran through the crowd, and a female nurse spoke up. "That's crazy. Taking that too much will dull one's senses of the mental and spiritual aspects of this world entirely, making them-"

The head doctor nodded. "Pretty much a zombie- either that, or a walking time bomb. Suppressing that much ethereal energy will put a strain on one's body, until the energy seeks a place to go, and quite quickly. We need to keep her here as long as possible until her condition stabilizes completely, or until we are certain that her condition is as stable as it can get."

They nodded in tandem, and went back to their stations. The lead doctor sighed and headed over to a nearby phone... he needed to speak to the CEO immediately. Dialing the number to the top floor quickly, he waited a few rings before being redirected to his personal line.

He had left again... but he hadn't gone far.

_____________________________________________________________

The sound of steel against steel rang through the second level basement- An expansive underground complex that stretched for a massive 30,000 square feet. Each division of the R.I.O.T. Special Operations Division had a different section, each with thier own training facilities and R&D departments. Not to mention the defenses that were involved for those who intruded, and a parking garage/docking bay for the Special Vehicles Division. In any event, Evan White was in a dojo- well, more of a highly reinforced dance studio, but it was a training hall nonetheless.

The fact of the matter is... three men and two women were attacking the CEO, all dressed in black and wearing kendo gear. Facemasks, chest plates, shoulder armor, leg and arm bracers, and plates for the hips and waist. Each piece of armor was made from the extremely light, yet highly versatile Orihalcum Steel- an ancient metal that was still one of the strongest alloys used for defenseive measures. A metal that looked like silver, yet had the defensive properties of titanium, it was this exact same metal that Evan's Gale Force Gauntlets and Greaves were made of. Their hakamas were black as well, flowing gracefully with every step and movement.

Evan had the same black uniform, silver armor and facemask, save for the fact that his hakama was different. The phoenix that trailed flames up his right leg and the crane that left an intricate pattern of feathers in its wake on the left marked this. And they were about to become ruined very soon if he slowed down by a fraction of a second...

Because they were using live weapons. Sharpened daito and shoto were used as sparks flew when the weapons collided. The blades bit into the grind ridge and and back side of Evan's weapons, as befitting a weapon that was primarily used for defense.

Speaking of his weapons, they were not one's standard dai-sho... they were crafted from Damascene Wootz steel- and the real thing, not just an imitation. The weapons had the reputation for being quite potent cutting edges while maintaining a strong defensive flexibility, and they were being pushed to their limits right now. How he had gotten his hands on some is anyone's guess, but he did have good taste.

His defensive moves were so smooth and quick, it didn't seem as if he moved from his position at all. But he was breaking a sweat- the members of the First Squadron matched him in speed and strength... or would have, if they had lived a few millenia ago and had as much training. Still, Evan personally trained each one to the point where it certainly seemed like they had.

Multiple tears in the air became visible, due to the speed of the attacks dealt, but each one was blocked, parried, or otherwise evaded by the man in the center. For a moment... the blades of the other five fighters met in the middle, striking swiftly towards Evan's head. He had to cross his two blades in the center and kneel downwards in order to absorb the strikes... and then with sudden speed he turned around, twisting his blades and theirs, thus making each sword thrust towards a different target than the intended one. At the same time, he stuck his right leg out, sweeping wide and low to knock them off their feet.

Success. The blades hit the armor with unnatural force, punching through and almost piercing them. But though they didn't die, the fighters went down. Evan stood, tossing his wakisashi into the air while rolling the long sword around his left hand twice in a clockwise motion, sheathing it with a quick snap of his wrist before quickly catching the other blade and rolling it counter-clockwise around his right hand once before sheathing it just as quickly.

"Shobu-ari," he declared quietly. They all stood, cursing silently at the loss. All things considered, they were on the verge of defeating him. "Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen. You almost had me that time. Keep training; maybe someday you'll break this defense of mine." They all lined up in front of him, bowing and giving their thanks for the match before being dismissed.

That was when Evan's earpiece rang. Taking off the facemask, he depressed his right ear.

"This is White- give me the good news." The voice on the other end was the Biometrics department, which also served as the Medical division. "She's stable... but we can't see any way to remove those markings on her. That's not all- another one has appeared on her right hip- in the exact same location and position as the left marking you described."

Evan's voice was filled with concern at this. "More of them... that doesn't bode well. I want her released as soon as her condition is as stable as possible and put in that hotel I reccommended. I can't come within fifty yards of her without those marks going berserk." The man at the other end nodded and responded in the affirmative. "There's something else," he added. "She's been injecting herself with an Ethereal Suppresant to block her energies, as well as outside ones."

"What strength?" The doctor sounded grim as he reported that it was a 550. "Damn... that could ruin her for life if she keeps using it. I need a full report once your analysis is done- we need to get her off that as soon as possible, not to mention get rid of these markings in the safest way possible. I'll talk to her and see what I can get, if anything. Thank you, Mr. Hamilton. Signing off. Do take care of her..."

He hung up and sighed.

What is this, and what does it mean? Does she even know herself? I certainly hope I don't have to do anything drastic to get her talking about it...

He did indeed hope so. His mind had the ability to unlock certain parts of one's memories that one had forgotten- or simply did not want to know. If they remembered, they could talk- though they probably would not want to say such things due to the pain of such memories. Still... if it would get her "normal" again, that was simply worth the risk.

Wasn't it?

"She's left the building, sir. We're headed to the hotel now," The driver responded, the high-frequency soundproofing signal activated before he picked up the phone.

On the other end of the line, Evan nodded. "Excellent. Please make sure she arrives there safely, and in a timely fashion. I would like her to relax as soon as possible." The driver nodded. "Understood, sir. I'll make sure to give her a relaxing ride." The line cut, and as soon as it did, Evan turned to the twelve men and women wearing plainclothes, looking as if he had pulled them from the street. However, they stood in attention, each with a composed look on their faces.

"R.I.O.T. Three... you have your orders. Follow her, shadow her and make sure she does not come to harm in any way, shape, or form. Report on her condition if it worsens- otherwise, limit radio contact to burst transmission and "clean air"... for those of you who need reminding, that's a solid, well-defended wireless line. She is not to see, hear, smell, or even feel you. Understand?"

They all saluted and said as if in one voice, as they were so trained to do, "Sir!"

Evan nodded, and saluted back. "Get moving..."

They walked calmly out of his office, as if they hadn't been given any orders at all. However, at some point or another, they checked their watches. Each watch had a holographic display of their orders, not to mention the hotel that she was staying at- floor, room, and telephone number. In addition, each member had been given her physical condition and Dr. Hamilton's notes on his findings, and which symptoms to watch out for if indeed the situation worsened.

Now all that needed to happen was a break in the case, which was good, or something bad... in which they had to stop being people and start being members of R.I.O.T. And just because they were the Reconnaisance squad, didn't mean they didn't know how to take care of business when the time came.

Let's just hope it doesn't have to come to that.

As if on cue, his communicator buzzed silently. He was in his office at the time, and it was a few hours after he had dispatched R.I.O.T. Three. He pressed the button on the bottom of the disc and watched at the led receptor on the disc lit up. Her image popped up before him and he put on a businesslike air.

"Miss Red... I was just about to call you." He didn't call her Captain- not yet. He did not hear a word about her becoming the next captain of R.I.O.T. Five and he didn't entirely expect her to respond in a postive light... however for a bit, he had her "yes". Still, she was free to go anywhere she wanted to. As long as she didn't know that he had his eyes on her... all twelve pairs of them.

"Did you want something?"

He didn't to try pleaasnt. He wasn't in the mood to craete a facade, nor to pretend that everything was all right.

Evan quirked an eyebrow, interested in what she had to offer. He wondered whether or not he should tell her about the R.I.O.T. squad he had sent after her to monitor her and keep track of her condition. It was no longer a good strategy to keep this secret, now that she had decided to stop running.

He smiled as she moved to flick his holographic nose and relented for a bit. He did not entirely want her to know that she was being babysat... then again, she could take care of herself. The Reconnaisance team was sent after her as a precautionary measure. So did she have to know now, later today, or later on when they were deep into it?

"Excellent. Glad to see someone who does not run from their problems. But you did say something about a deal... so I'll hear your end first."

He decided that he would tell her during the conversation.

Red Wrote:

"I'll work for you, under the condition that you let me use the full resourses of Raven industries to find out what happened to me. In return, I'll help you tame Durem, and I'll also help you keep a lid on your double nature. I'm not the only one in this town with a dark secret, now am I?"

He wondered if she knew exactly what had happened to that double nature of his. He could still sense his second persona somewhere in there-it was the side of him that counterbalanced the ruthless, calculating, and oftentimes emotionless Eye of Odin, Hugin.

For now, seeing as the two minds worked together, he no longer heard voices... or forgot expansive stretches of time when one took over for the other... but it was a fragile balance. He had one man to blame for it, but he didn't have time for grudges. He was keeping the scales balanced by his own will for the moment, but he did need help.

"If you could help with that, it'd be appreciated. Frankly, it's tiring trying to keep my eyes from turning completely blue or red... I'd like a release... and thank you for accepting my offer.

Our findings were... interesting. Those marks aren't just something that you see every day, though plenty of people have them for different reasons. The difference between theirs and yours is that they don't hurt- well, not as bad and not for the same reasons. I don't entirely know what to make of it, but I'll tell you this..."

He held up the vial of E.S. 550 that had been confiscated.

"This stuff will kill you. If not your body, then your mind- and one is much worse than the other. I'll leave it to you to guess which is which, but for now I suggest you tone down the strength of the Ether Suppresant. Dulling your senses is all well and good, but dulling them too much can either make you numb entirely... or..."

He didn't entirely want to say the other part, but did anyway.

"Consider a dam. Strong, supportive, things of that sort. It takes years to build a strong one; hell, decades. But if one is hastily built, there are stress fractures in the stone or concrete, or whatever other masonry there is. That E.S. at that strength is like building a five-day dam. Too much stress..."

He had a grim look on his face.

"And it'll break. That's why if you have to take it, you do it at low, maybe moderate strength for two or three times a week. It's slower, but it'll keep you sane. Get me?"

He held up his hands defensively, smiling warmly.

"I was getting to that, Captain." Oh yes, he could call her that now- and did so respectfully, of course. His expression darkened again as he considered his next words... then simply went with it and spat it out. "I heard a voice. One that wasn't yours or mine. While they carried you to the medical area, I heard someone offer me some kind of power."

He scoffed. "I don't need anything extra... but that voice still worried me. Don't ask me who it was or where it came from- it left too quickly for me to get a proper trace on it."

He sighed to himself and continued. "Those marks are a problem as well- if there's any energy around, they'll be happy to take it in- even in trace amounts. Basicly, if there are any metahumans in the area, you'll know because you'll start hurting. The closer they are, the more pain you'll be in. So yeah... I'll give you back this vial..."

He smirked for a bit. "...Then again, I won't have to. If you'll turn around, please..."

They had come from nowhere. The windows were already closed; the door was locked tight. They had moved virtually without any sound, but had entered through both the door and the two windows, and without anyone from the street noticing them.

The twelve members of R.I.O.T. Three were casually lounging in the expansive hotel room, some waving casually to her and the hologram of Evan, others taking their time reading. They were lightly armed, casually dressed, and acting like nothing was wrong.

The one that was standing was twirling a vial of E.S. 550 across the tops of his right hand fingers, the small, four-inch long compact glass tube of blue liquid dancing across his knuckles. He closed his hand, then opened it... and it was gone. He extended the other hand in an upturned fist, opened his hand...

And there were five of them instead of one.

"Hey there. We're your backup- the order was sent about an hour ago."

He wasn't so sure. He didn't entirely know what was going on with her markings, but still. He knew he had power. He just didn't know how much until recently... if it was enough to make someone pass out if he were simply in the room, then he wanted nothing to do with it.

He kept his features composed as he responded to that. "True enough. If you heard my "ghosts" then you definitely deserve the position I'm offering. But as for that- do you think I wanted this to happen? I'm no more happy about this than you are."

He sighed to himself, trying to sort out his thoughts.

"Look... I like you. You're dedicated, honorable, and you have a sense of humor. Charismatic as well, which is a bounus. Which is why I'm going to tell you straight off... I'm not as strong as you think I am. Hell, I couldn't even dampen my aura enough for the pain to stop, much less dull in the slightest.

Power is nothing without control... which I obviously lack."

Or at least, he thought so... his eyes clouded over in self-loathing before his head lifted again.

"You have a deal. Let me know what you need and I'll get it to you as soon as I can. Find who is responsbile for this and put an end to them so we can BOTH get on with our lives. You have the full support of R.I.O.T. Three, in case you need it."

He managed to smile again.

"Anything else?"

"I understand completely. Unfortunately, I don't know much about your situation unless you let me inside your thoughts- and I only read minds with someone's permission. But I agree about keeping busy. So then, here's the deal...

Within the Tundra of Guldor, there's said to be a sword. One of the weapons that was said to end the Ragnarok, and thus the Age of the Gods. Guarding the weapon happens to be a dragon whose name is Fafnir. This dragon lives in a cave, somewhere within the southern reaches of the frozen wastelands.

Find him, kill him, and bring me back the sword, along with one of his inscisors as proof.

Be careful though- although he's an old dragon, he's strong as hell. That tail will most likely break a few ribs, not to mention the claws will tear you apart if he gets a good shot in. As for his fangs, those things are the equivalent of twelve-inch long blades, minus the hilt- and his scales might as well be darksteel armor against that gun of yours. But who knows? You might find something of interest in that freezing place.

In any event, I'll pay you handsomely for that fang- how does fifty million sound to you?"

"I'll be providing the gear for this one- like I said, you don't have to worry about resources. Everything will be at your room within two days time- enough for both the squad and you. Among those will be a watch with GPS tracking and a holographic display. Have the captain show you how to work it and what it does.

Do tell if anything comes up- I'd like to see this one ended as well. And for the record..."

He smiled again, warmly this time.

"I have more control than you think over my abilities. You simply caught me off guard for a moment. Had I dampened my aura completely, you'd think I was just a normal man. Though such control is a strain on the mind... it's possible.

Still, with your markings picking up such minute traces of energy, it would have happened anyway... so this entire thing would have been unavoidable. Call it fate, if you will. Or not- it's your choice on how to interpret it.

Just wanted to let you know- no offense meant to you. Sigining out."

The feed cut.

What to do now...

The scowl was enough that the desk clerk jumped a bit when Sam's eyes pierced straight through her. Of course, she regained her composure quickly and smiled warmly; disarmingly. An angry girl of about age twelve walked in, demanding to see the CEO of Raven Industries... she couldn't help but find the whole thing cute, if not slightly disturbing with how serious she looked.

She cleared her throat and kept the smile on her face.

"And what is your name, so I can relay it to Mr. White?"

She couldn't believe she was taking this request- it was a girl, for crying out loud. Still... there was something about her.

She jumped again. Okay, this girl meant business. She'd have to get busy, then. She nodded, picked up the phone, and dialed the top floor. Something wasn't right here- a little twelve year old had enough force and presence to shake her this badly... she was definitely not to be ignored, though!

Besides, those eyes creeped her out.

"Evan White's office, this is Adele Baker speaking."

The recpetionist downstairs sounded slightly shaken, but still managed to relay the request. "There's someone here to see Mr. White- I believe it's an urgent matter that can't be ignored. Her name is Samantha Night-Raven, and she seems serious." It was an odd name, but she had heard all three names before from Evan himself.

Night Hunter...

...Hono Raven...

...and their daughter, Samantha. They had a son as well- did he mention his name? She couldn't remember it...

In any case, it clicked. She nodded and stated that she would get Evan to come downstairs as soon as possible. Then she rerouted the call to the office behind the doors, and shook her head with a smile. So they were here, were they? If so, where was the mother, Hono? Evan had said some interesting things about her, all of them good.

"Mr. White, a Samantha is here to see you."

A bit of conversation on the line, and Adele laughed.

"Yes, in fact she does seem pissed off. Should I be wary?"

A bit more conversing, and the secretary actually sweatdropped. So she had a mean temper when she was angry- which was why she was not that easy to anger, and why no one would want to. In any event, the order came to send them up to his office. Not like he was busy or anything; just that the conversation that was going to be had was mostly of a sensitive nature.

She nodded and rerouted the call again.

"Skip the downstairs thing; send them up the elevator- he's free."

She hung up, and mentally braced herself. This should be interesting...

"This place is bigger than I expected it to be," Ruuvan mumbled under his breath as he entered the main foyer of the tower, looking around in a wide-eyed stupor as he took the architecture in, "Evan's definitely been busy." One last look around the well furnished lobby was all he needed before composing himself and walking over to the receptionist. He had noticed a couple of people storming away from the desk and into the elevator, leaving the woman behind the counter looking rather scared and shocked, so he would have to try hard not to come across too intimidating; the eye patch and military clothing surely not helping with the matter.

Placing a smile on his face and taking care to approach the desk slower than normal, Ruuvan was trying his best to act like normal job-seekers would be, but he knew Evan personally and had even served beside him in the GSF, so what did he have to worry about with finding some work? Shaking his head slightly at this thought, Ruu leant on the receptionist's desk and waited until she wasn't busy to start speaking.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." He was still smiling and the words were rolling off his tongue without hesitation or hostility, "Would it be possible to see Evan today? It's Ruuvan Lassenger to see him." Ruu didn't know whether his name held weight or not, but Evan would know who it was and would either let him up or give him a time when he wasn't busy. Either way he waited patiently for the receptionist to do her thing.

Ruuvan figured he'd have to wait, what with the two people walking away from the desk as he came in, he supposed they were here to see Evan as well.

"I guess I'll be milling around here until then." Ruu laighed and shook his head. He turned from the desk after nodding in thanks to K'Sandra, "Just give me a shout when he's ready, I'll be here." And now he would have to wait in the rather spacious lobby, with only a few people walking around to keep him amused until Evan was free to talk to about this R.I.O.T. business.

Quote:** Wrote:

Sam made a disgusted sound and stomped across the room, kicking off the too large shoes and muttering under her breath.. None of it in English.

"Watch your mouth, young lady," Evan joked. He had heard exactly what was said, understood it, and pretty much knew that it would bruise the ears of the Allfather himself. But his expression became grim again as he heard the story.

All things considered, there was only one person who could infiltrate one's mind so easily and influence a person in that manner. And yet when he looked for her to ask, nothing was found on his internal radar. Anywhere. It were as if she had vanished from the face of the earth and the Void altogether.

Doing a flash-read of Samantha's memories, he confirmed her words... the spell that she was talking about- the aging spell... it was gone. Completely and totally erased, without the slightest footprint to show for it. This was bad... it meant that while they would age, they would age quite normally and very slowly.

"Okay, so the way I see it... this means that you cannot age in the way you would like. You would age slowly, as mortals do. Though you can defend yourselves to an extent at this age -no offense, Sam- you're still vulnerable and easily dispatched. That said...."

He looked at the both of them with a slightly puzzled expression.

"What do you want me to do about it? I cannot recover what has been lost forever, though I'll help in any way I can. Any means within my abilities and my technology will be used to help... but I can't quicken your aging anytime soon."

He waited for the request that he knew was coming. He just didn't know what it would be.

He sent a thought to Sam as he looked appraisingly at the young man.

I do believe the young man has gotten the gist of it from Lady Raven. He's smarter than he looks, that he is. Don't do anything rash until you see the results of this. Trust her... and trust me.

With that, he nodded. "This is going to be a very tough path for someone your age. But then again, it's a good age to start at too. I suggest you be sure of yourself before you do this, Bren. What I have to show you is not going to be easy."

He looked at Samantha again, wondering if she needed any of this... then shook his head and turned back to Bren. She didn't need it- at least not as much. Besides, he'd only give her help if she asked, like the old days.

"You're sure you want to do this?"

"Hmm, I guess so. Well then, come back tomorrow. I'll have everything ready by then. I trust you two will be set for this little thing we're doing, because it could take months. I'd also like it if you two told me what you have for living arrangements and such. If your mom's away on one of her extended vacations, then it's possible that I'll need to take you guys in for a while."

He scratched the back of his head in slight embarrasment. He wasn't exactly good with houseguests, though he got along fairly enough. He was also used to taking care of children, though he had not done it in quite a while. This would be a nice refresher course for him as well, provided that they indeed were living by themselves.

Which was never good.

"That is, if it's okay."

"Hmmm... She is fine; trust me, Brendan. I wouldn't count her resourcefulness out just yet. As for clothes- that won't be a problem. I'll get the two of you some new outfits soon- I can do that at the least. But I don't suppose you'll reconsider my offer of taking up space wth me for a bit?"

He didn't entirely like them being in LevKit by themselves. Not to be rude or anything, but they were just kids. And there have been major security holes in the R&D facilities as of late, thus putting the rest of the complex in danger as well. He didn't like the look of this one bit. But then again, it was up to them.

Still, he would have everything ready for them as soon as possible- training gear, wooden practice weapons... just about everything. That is, if they came tomorrow.

"Awesome! It's settled, then. I'll head over later today and make whatever preparations are necessary, and then we'll see what happens from there. I hope you guys don't mind living in a much bigger house than you're used to..."

Because his house was big. Big was an understatement. One of the most powerful men in Durem, and one of the most shrewd and lucrative businessmen in Gaia had to have a big house. Well... not always, but it was one of his assets in case he needed it. And now he happened to need it.

"Well anyways- if you want to get started now, that would be fine. If not, I have a few things to take care of before I head out... but I can always do those later. Nothing pressing, really."

He smiled warmly. It would be good to spend time with his sister and nephew for a while, not to mention teach them what they needed to know. Bren probably didn't know much about who Sam really was, but Evan would tell him the story of Odin's Ravens someday. It wouldn't be the entire truth, but it would be close enough for even him to figure it out.

He smiled and nodded. Sam said more nice things than one would think, if one knew her well. But still, that was beside the point. His phone rang at that moment, and K'sandra called about a Ruuvan Lassenger who wanted to see him. He sighed to himself- duty called, after all.

"Sorry, guys... I have to take this right quick. I promise I'll be over later to take care of everything- then we'll be ready to go in no time. Tomorrow, we'll start training and such. Okay?"

He smiled warmly. This was going to be fun, if nothing else. Besides, it would give him something to do.

But of course, the thing about this Raven of Odin was his eyes. They took in everything, and recorded it like clockwork. His study of mankind was so intuitive and in-depth that the slightest body movement or hesitiation in voice, no matter how cold or impersonal one was, could tell everything.

Then again, it also helped when picking out clothes for someone. Especially the two kids in front of him- one of which was MUCH older than the other by a few millenia. But that was mentioned for later. Right now, his eyes took a last good look at the two of them while his mind recorded everything- height, body shape, structure... He was taking this as a doctor should- impersonal and quite professionally, as if he were a tailor instead of a busniess tycoon.

But whatever- one look was all it took for him to get the information down.

"Thanks a lot, guys. I'll buy you those clothes today and be there with them."

He nodded and watched them leave, then went back to his desk and pressed the recieve button on his speakerphone.

"You can send Mr. Lassenger in now- he and I have things to discuss."

Ruuvan had gone full circle around the lobby to return at the receptionist's desk and be told Evan was ready for him, it was about time too - Ruu was running out of places to pass the time.

"Lift to the top, right?" Sandra nodded and returned to whatever it is receptionists did at those wonderful desks of those, leaving Ruuvan to head towards the lift the people from earlier had gone through. He paused briefly to give a look back to the boy before hurrying inside and pressing a button for the top floor.

What could be so important that he contacts me directly? Ruuvan didn't know the answer to that particular question, but the doors opening to reveal one of those classy and well decorated corridors one would find in most office blocks, with doors all down the side and a large set of double doors at the end.

Guess that'd be Evan, eh? A few films here and there along with the latest office dramas on television made Ruuvan assume that was Evan's office, and he was right. Once through the doors he was confronted with another receptionist who simply waved him through the second set of doors into Evan's main office.

"Ah, Mr. White... we meet again." Ruuvan put on his best businessman persona and moved towards Evan, a broad smile on his face. He shook his head and chuckled lightly after a few seconds, unable to keep the charade up, "What's so important that you called me here, Evan?"

Ruuvan took a seat in front of the desk as Evan asked, adjusting his position to sit more comfortably whilst he took the news. He had heard about Evan's rise to power within Durem and his help in the rebuilding after it was partially destroyed, by something Ruu didn't bother researching about, and he was now curious as to what this powerful man sitting before him needed a mere mortals help with.

"Evan... you know as well as I do the GSF has dried up recently. I just want some work and I'm assuming that's what you've called me here for." He smiled slightly and leant back in his chair, "Let's just get straight to the juicy part, eh?"

Ruuvan turned his seat around to follow Evan as he moved to the window, now perched on the edge of his seat as he listened to what he had to say on the Durem recovery cycle. It all sounded very interesting and started a burst of question riddling through his mind on what would happen, but he didn't like thinking about outcomes, only solutions. He had heard about a certain groups besides the GSF acting throughout the city and assumed Evan had something to do with it, and that was why he was called here.

"Crime runs free on the streets with little or no resistances, Durem empties and turns into a criminal stronghold, thus meaning someone would need to go and sort it out." He chose the most obvious on. Ruu was not that good with estate prices and economy, he only understood the violent aspect of such things.

Ruuvan would've thanked Evan for explaining the other side to him, but it wasn't needed as this was the flow of the current conversation and things were bound to be explained as it progressed. So, as Evan finished explaining and ended with a simple acronym, Ruu was left with one question.

"So what's this R.I.O.T.?" It was a simple way of continuing the conversation. He figured it would be like the police SWAT unit mixed with the GSF, but with the support of Evan White and his business associates giving financial support as well as technologically advanced weaponary, but Ruu had no idea in all truth.

And so it was said: Another speech from Evan explaining RIOT's function and different aspects of being one of the team. It sounded like the same sort of idea the GSF had, but in a more localised environment with the possibility of more action, so there was little left for him to say on the matter.

"Only where I can sign up and what you need me to do, boss." Ruu was not calling him this title as he had accepted a job from him, but just as a sign of respect; Evan was his surperior within the GSF and now within RIOT, so it seemed to fit just as well, "I take it RIOT get access to the most uptodate technology RI has to offer, be it weapons, protection, communications and all that stuff, right?"

Grave headstones? Rune stones? Valkyries? Fiercest warriors in history? There seemed to be a lot of confusing aspects that linked these runes together, not to mention the fact Valkyries were renown for their beauty and fighting prowess, so this would be no walk in the park. Ruuvan would have to use everything at his disposal; his true form, light and dark magic, Dante's crafted weapons and his own fighting skills to best them in combat and get the runes to Evan.

"Let me get this straight." Ruuvan got up from his chair and started to pace around in front of the desk, "First I need to find these runestones in a place you specify, then I need to cut through whatever minions and guardians it has around it before facing some of the best fighters ever known?" Even though his face was twisted and had a look of disbelief on the outside, inside he was boiling over with excitement at the prospect of fighting these beings, but he waited until Evan nodded slowly before bursting out with his true feelings, "Give me a location and transportation and I'll be off."

Ruuvan had to think for a moment whether or not water affected him in a severe way. He thought back to his journey with Maximos and the battle against the water general; it didn't seem to post much of a problem, just the strength of a focused water attack was enough to crush some people, but his undead form would be able to withstand those pressures and allow him to walk under the water if it flooded whilst he was inside.

"So, these runestones and their guardians," Ruuvan moved back to the desk and sat down again, "Do they just appear out of nowhere once the rune is approached or what? And aside from the legendary warriors am I to assume there will be some lower entities trying to stop me? Other than that, when do I leave?" Ruuvan was the catious type, always wanting to know as much as was possibly about the situation before walking in and possibly getting himself killed.

Ruuvan got up and started towards the door as soon as Evan had finished speaking, bowing slightly as he neared the double doors. This adventure, this quest, would be something he hadn't done before, but he was willing to do anything to prove that he belonged in RIOT.

"I guess I'll contact you in a couple of days, once I reach Latent." He was a man of few words and was one to quickly accept any challenge put before him, so with all things said and done, Ruuvan turned and headed out of the office, soon to arrive at his presidential suite and get going to Latent after everything was set.

(I wanted to give you some plot info and using a secondary character would be the best way to do it. Please alow me to assume temporary control of the good doctor. I hope this is okay. )

No sooner than Ruuvan left the office than Evan's personal earpeice rang.

"This is doctor Hamilton, we've finally finished analizing the results of Red's tests. I would like to meet with you imediatly, is that possible. I have something very disturbing to report and I think it would be best if we talked personally because I have a theory about the situation you are not going to like."

Staying at the hotel for the night, all courtesy of Raven Industries, was possibly the best thing Ruuvan had done all week; a comfortable bed, room service, a great view and cable television all adding to the experience. Of course, his evening wasn't all food and television. He had to get his equipment order through to the people at RI so he'd have the right things when going against these so-called Legendary Warriors. Ruu had no doubt it would be a tough fight, but he did wonder how long they'd been alone down there and what sort of fighting style he'd be up against, but time would reveal all of this to him.

And so the morning came, sunlight streaming through the curtains to fall upon an empty room. The day had just begun, but Ruuvan had already left the hotel with information gathering in mind; even the miners of Latent would surely commute into Durem on the occasion, especially if they had family back here or needed to contact business firms about selling the silver.

"There should be a car from Raven Industries here for me." Ruuvan emerged from the front doors of the hotel and instantly addressed the nearest valet, a black duffel bag hanging from his shoulder in which all his own equipment was kept.

"Ah yes. It's quite a car, sir." The young man smiled and waved his hand at a nearby, obviously lower in the food chain, valet who quickly ran off to fetch what Ruuvan assumed was his car. A loud roar of a powerful engine sounded before the dark blue BMW M Roadster came around the corner and pulled up in front of him, "You must have some high up friends, sir." The man laughed and handed Ruu the keys before moving back to his section of the entrance, not hanging around for a tip or anything, which Ruu assumed Evan had already paid for.

So, with a new car in front of him and his ordered equipment in the trunk, Ruuvan threw his duffel onto the passenger seat, climbed into the driver�s side and pulled away from the hotel. He would gather some basic intel from Durem before heading to Latent and telling Evan; hopefully he'd find something else out about this runestone before learning of the location and ultimately getting his hands on it.

"Hn... those wars were nonesense. They were a series of conflicts that were based around the death of a quite powerful metahuman- one who many considered their "savior and redeemer". Healed the sick, raised the dead, the whole nine yards. The party that killed the man and the party that sided with him prepared for a major showdown that lasted for a century...

As for Alita, she believed that she was unstoppable. From her psych profile, she did indeed have an immortality complex. She believed as if nothing could hurt or kill her, short of piercing her heart and cutting off her head. And for a while, it was true, until her fall. But why ask?"

He quirked an eyebrow. Something was amiss here... quite amiss indeed, and definitely worse than he expected if Erich asked about something as ancient as the hundred-year war. If this went that far back, it could perhaps go even farther. But how far back, he had no idea.

He looked upon the scans with a stern expression. Why in the hell would each part of her mind be separated like that? Perhaps it was the reason that so many defenses were in place. And yet, it was strange to look at.

And then he heard the part about the Parietal Lobe. How it wasn't a part of her mind at all. How it was almost a second mind altogether... and the part that it might be Alita Abney, the "queenpin" of Durem. If that were so, then the voice that echoed in his head was the very woman that Johnathan Tomorrow had killed in the Siege of Durem!

"If she wants something with Red, it can't be good. If she wants something wtih me... she has no idea who she is dealing with. Either way, this is disturbing indeed." He had no reason to disbelieve him... Erich wasn't one to lie. If this is what caused the markings, then he had to do something.

What was to be done, though... that was the question. He would have to contact her about the expidition to Guldor, and what was found. Evan wondered whether she would talk about that part or not... and he figured that she probably would not. But it was worth a shot.

"I'm going to contact Red about this... or rather, about what she found in all that treasure in Fafnir's cavern. Depending on how she awnsers, Erich... you may be right."

Evan shook his head immediately. "Erich... you do know how much I abhor such things... besides, I have my own methods of kicking this thing's a**. We will not resort to caging her like an experiment or something to fear. I'm certainly not afraid of her... or of Alita."

Howver, he did consider it... somewhere in the back of his mind, a plan began forming, just in case he would need to resort to this kind of thing. It sickened him, even as his mind worked on a containment strategy as a last-ditch effort. However, somehow and somewhere, it fit. It made sense. It would keep all parties involved safe, not to mention the city as a whole.

Still... it sickened him. Having two personas in one body sucked sometimes. He hated this inner doubt- he wanted to be rid of it; to be sure of every action he took and stick to the path that was chosen.

"I'm going to contact her- see if she found anything of importance. We're going to find whoever did this to her and make them regret their actions... then we'll find a way to help her, without storing her away for the next few decades."

With that, Evan walked off. Quite stressfully.

Her communicator buzzed merrily. If she had it in one of her various pockets or somewhere nearby, she'd hear or feel it. Evan was calling, possibly on the status of the mission. He wanted to know what she had found, if anything at all. If there was nothing, he would be disappointed and look for another lead.

But if there was... he would ask about it. Not ask for it, for he said that she could have her pick from any of the treasure in the cave. He would just ask about it, and ask for the details of any special markings. That way, he could analyze it and bring some kind of result back to her.

He quirked an eyebrow at her sudden breakdown. What had happened for her defenses to simply buckle like that? He went straigth down to business, wanting to know everything that happened during the expidition. He was genuinely concerned about her cold, but other than that, the stress of the day simply seemed to seep into him.

After apologizing to Red, not knowing why she simply burst into tears, he looked back at the shield. The spirals and intricate curves on the edge of the defensive plate were intertwined and laced with one another, forming a pattern like rose vines. The shield was gold, and yet he could tell that the damn thing could stop a freight train if in worthy hands.

This sheild belonged to a Valkyrie- he could see the aura and feel it, even if her energy-absorbing marks could not pick it up. Perhaps it was because it was sacred energy- resistant to all forms of entropy and destruction. It, like all the other treasures, remained intact for centuries.

The markings on the shield... they looked like hers. Very much like hers. Only these were reversed- they spiraled in a different direction than hers. What this meant, he was not sure... but he would find out. With that, he turned to her and apologized again, trying to soothe her.

"Red... what's wrong? I apologize for my tone of voice- it's been a stressful day for me. Tell me what the problem is, all right?"

"Red?"

Damn, she was gone. That hesitation... the fact that she had sealed her lips so abruptly and for so long of a period.... she had given herself away. There was something wrong, and there was someone else dictating her actions. She had gone silent far too quickly for something like a mere hesitation.

Erich was right... but instead of being worried, he was pissed. Whoever was in that head of hers had made a mistake by witholding the information- the entity had revealed itself. He had a suspicion, and it had been confirmed. It was game time.

"Damn you. Whoever the hell you are, I will see to it that you vanish without a trace. I won't let you torment her any further."

There was a possibility that the other persona within her head was Alita Abney. How this had happened, he wouldn't know until the journey continued further. For the moment, he could only guess. It was probably a quite good guess; as close to the mark as one could get it. But it was still a guess, and he needed proof.

He aimed to get it, one way or another.

Red stayed put for a few days, convelescing until her cold felt better, then she sprung to action. The voice tormented her, telling her that White had fufilled his purpose and that she should keep her distance. It was time to seek the third immortal. She felt voice taking over, she was losing her clarity as it took an ever growing hold of her mind. The voice had contempt for the sheild on the wall, it wouldn't let her go near it anymore.

She had to fight it even to scrounge up the energy to leave Evan White a note, which she posted on the comunicator. The voice tormented her throughout the process, causing her mind to blank out and slowing her writing.

The note said: I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be in total control for much longer, and can only bring curses upon you, Memories are coming back to me, awful ones, but they are of no use if my mind is no longer my own. I thought I could block this out, but it has become too powerful. Ever fading into the scarlet sunset.

RED

Red removed all the tracers from her clothes and left them on her bed. She opened the window and scaled the wall of the hotel, jumping from sill to sill until she reached the ground. With her was her revolver, her coat, a camoflauge cloak, her arsenal, and the fragment of the ancient weapon that itched to be reunited with the weapon itself.

The 3rd recon division men would be watching her, but she wasn't in the mood to be tagged. She dropped holograph generating droids that would generate images of her, thus sending White's men on wild goose chases throughout the city until their images evaporated. She had one destination in mind, and she would get there, without causing a stir.

At that moment in the Raven industries tower a fax was sent directly to CEO White's office. It was the information on her DNA samples. As suspected, her DNA was human, but showed signes of being tampered with. The racial charateristics of her DNA where 99.9999% consistant with Velban Gypsy. Included with the report was an analysis of the Velban.

Velban Overveiw

The Velban were a small nomadic race of people who lived off the open plains and canyons of continental Gaia. Their economic structure consisted of an odd range of herding, circus work, mercenary labor, and Velban jewlry craft.

Features

The Velbans were known for their, fair skin, dark red hair and matching eyes. They range in heights from excessively short to exceedingly tall. Many are double jointed. They are agile, quick runners, known to be able handle many tasks at once. Some of the most powerful ninjas in history were recruited or mercenary Velbans. Their physical abilities have made the Velban circus a famous institution on Gaia.

Demographics

It is tough to obtain demographic information on the Velbans due to their nomadic nature. Although the Velbans has a race mantained only one camp, and the entire camp always moved together. They were small in population, never ataining more than 2,000 people in the clan throughout their known history, and only numbered less than a thousand at the time of their extermination.

Customs

The Velbans were a strong and proud clan. Many of the customs are obscurem but one reason for their small numbers is beleived to be the velban marraige tradition. Velbans were not to marry before the age of twenty-eight, and both sexes were expected to abstain outside of marraige. During marraige, it was considered a mark of dishonor to bear more than three children. These rituals, despite hampering Velban growth as a people, were strictly mantained up until the extermination.

The Extermination

Five hundred years ago, One Velban mercenary who killed a ranking officers of Mercenary Forsooth, the leader of a powerful secret religous sect, The Order Of Dark Monks. Forsooth lured the Velbans into his teritory with promises of safe keeping amid the orders protection. The Velbans encamped outside the Foorsooth compound and were masacred shortly thereafter. The remaining Velban Mercenarys attempted to attack Foorsooth directly in a last ditch effort to exact revenge for the massacre, only ensuring the total anihilation of the Velban race.

A note was scribbled by Ehric at the bottom of the file.

I pulled this up from the history archives. I hope it's useful. There are also rumors that Foorsooth took some of the Velbans alive for his experiments. Those are nothing more than rumors, of course, but under the circumstances. No one even knows where the former compound is, even though it was so close to Durem. Very little is known about this man, except the fact that he was another luny who thought he was God.

"I don't think you want to do that," Dr. Hamilton said, obviously exhausted.

"The order is long defunct. Officially the location of the former compound is unknown, but in reality it is not hidden, actually, quite well known. Problem is, the ground is tainted. Anyone who gets within fifty meters of the ruins contracts a sickness that literally turns the body into ablack dust. Government records indicate radiation suits and biological containment suits don't work, any team sent in was dead within fifteen minutes. I beleive it is actually some kind of powerful magical resonance feild. Thus, no one knows what the rituals of the dark monks really were, but considering that Red is a Velban when there have been no Velban's for five-hundred years, I would bet they were using stasis chambers and other high technology to perform experiments." Dr. Hamilton explained. "I suppose it was an odd combination of religion and science. As for Mercenary Forsooth, he laid claim to being the most powerful in Gaia, and claimed to be a God more powerful than Odin himself and all other Gods combined. In reality he was an insane lunatic with a fringe following. He was powerful, but only in the hinterlands of Durem and the mountains, which he dominated completely. He made several attacks on Durem and other regions, all were complete failures. In the end, seeing as his little cult was crumbling, he killed every last one of his own followers and cursed the ground before commiting suicide. When he died an explosion spread fake sutras everywhere, each one claiming that Forsooth would return to take revenge on all who had refused to beleive. From then on the compound sat untouched, no one could get near it because of the curse, and there it sits to this day."

Morning, the best time to get things done and also the best for no traffic on the streets, so Ruuvan gunned the engine once more as he entered the limits of Durem and swerved rather dangerously around a corner. Having had a damned good time against the Guardian, the fight only matched by Maximos back in the day, Ruuvan was pumped with energy and anxiety as to what the next Guardian would be like. It went without saying he'd need to stay on top of his game, but what better way to do it than by going against such legendary warriors? Exactly!

If one were to be standing outside RI towers at such a time that day, they would hear the loud roar of the Beemer's engine followed by a tyre screeching around yet another corner, quickly followed by the car coming to a rather quick halt in the middle of the square; no, he wasn't allowed to park there, but he couldn't give a damn to be honest. Evan wanted him to get the stone and he had done just that, so Ruuvan was sure he'd be fine with using the square as a parking lot so early.

With a new radiance in his aura and a smile on his face, Ruuvan walked up to K'Sandra and leant on the counter slightly, running a hand through his hair before proceeding to speak.

"Ruuvan to see Evan, is he in?"

((To make this easier, and as I am posting it being in the morning, maybe we could split the posts so Evan can talk to both me and the doctor, mainly as that would be possible if these were at different times If we can do that, I'll let Raven decide how to split his posts up to let us know who he's talking to.))

Ruuvan nodded in thanks to Sandra and took her gesture, pushing off from the counter and making his way over to the elevator. There were only a few security people milling around the foyer at this time of the morning, but he had to assume there were backup units watching the cameras and would come out if anyone were to try and break in, but why was Ruu thinking about that? He shook his head and entered the lift, taking it straight to the top floor and leaving down the corridor.

Ruu smiled slightly at Adele and pointed to Evan's door, just to clarify he was expected, and pushed it open slowly, peering in and seeing Evan looking out of the window as usual. He said nothing as he entered, pulling the Sapphire from his pocket and placing it on the table, making more noise than his walking did and hopefully snapping him out of any thought he was mulling over, but he would turn around to see his prize.

"Morning, boss."

"That's got to be one of the most expensive stones on the planet, eh?" Ruuvan joked with Evan, laughing slightly before taking the piece of paper and putting it into his right breast pocket. Luckily enough, he had remembered to put the necklace back on whilst in Latent, so he didn't get anyone screaming and running away from his in Durem - which was always a plus, he supposed.

Helping himself to the chair opposite Evan's desk, Ruuvan sat down and exhaled heavily, looking around before focusing on him again.

That NightVisor was pretty good, any chance your boys down in the R&D labs would get me an eyepatch with those gizmos added?." Ruuvan took another eyepatch, identical to the one he was wearing, out of his pocket and placed it on the desk, "I've already put my own ballistics system in, neurally linked... that cost a fair bit, let me tell you. So if they would just integrate the NightVisor's capabilities and maybe adjust so I can actually see with it, rather than just wireframe, I'd appreciate it."

With his own personal need out of the way, Ruuvan returned his attention to his contract and produced his notepad again, waiting to take notes on the next stone.

"About number two; just the element and a rough location should do, unless you have some other important things to add?"

Ruuvan sat there quietly, making notes of the remaining powers and listening to what Evan had to say, breathing a sigh of relief at the chance of having some proper rest; not that the Latent tavern didn't provide him with suitable comfort, but he was more worried about getting the stone back to Evan and seeing what was up next.

So, once all was said and done, Ruuvan got up from the chair and bowed slightly to Evan, moving towards the door as he spoke.

"I'll call back in a couple of days, or you can call the room whenever you get something, I'm sure they can take a message." He nodded again and walked out of the office, heading back down the lift and out of the main doors. He wasn't surprised to see the car moved and checked the garage, finding it parked right by the exit with a note attached to the windshield.

You leave the car there again, it won't be in one piece anymore.

Ruu was surprised it wasn't marked with the security guards name a phone number, maybe he could've gotten a date. He laughed slightly at this thought and started up the car, heading back to the hotel for some much deserved RnR.

Yet another fine morning in the offices of Evan White. With him putting in a call to the Gaian Military to ask for clearance to the Forsooth Compound, Adele Baker put in a call to Ruuvan Lassenger. It seemed that another one of the Rune Stones had been found, and its location was in a much more... tropical location.

That was a grave understatement, but he'd have to find out from Evan himself.

"Yes, this is Adele Baker from Raven Industries calling- sorry to wake up up, Mr. Lassenger. Mr White has some information for you about your next assignment... he's busy at the moment, but he did tell me to inform you that the suspension on the time limit is to be lifted at midnight tomorrow, as soon as you head out.

Is that all right?"

A call came through to the lobby of Raven Industries. It was from the office of General Bakkar of the Gaian Army, the General in charge of the district holding the Forsooth compound. But it wasn't General Bakkar himself, simply a member of his staff. They explained themselves quickly, thinking that there was some type of mistake. The head of the company contacted the office about clearance papers. Papers which were never given to civilians. This was a courtsey call to explain why that would be impossible.

MerDefsGirl Wrote:

A call came through to the lobby of Raven Industries. It was from the office of General Bakkar of the Gaian Army, the General in charge of the district holding the Forsooth compound. But it wasn't General Bakkar himself, simply a member of his staff. They explained themselves quickly, thinking that there was some type of mistake. The head of the company contacted the office about clearance papers. Papers which were never given to civilians. This was a courtsey call to explain why that would be impossible.

"Then let's not talk as civillians. Look, enter this into the phone and see if you can't get a secure line to the General- quiet and protected, if you please. Tell him I might have a method of getting that curse lifted for good." He gave him a ten-digit code that was reserved for the higher ranking officials of a certain organization which the Gaian Military relied upon in dire times...

The Gaian Special Forces.

He happened to be one of the COs of the elite special forces unit- a Master Sergeant in rank.

He had dealt with men like this before.

"I trust you know about that compound and what they worshipped, right? If so, then I won't have to go through all that crap. I'm going to send you a detailed fax that Dr. Erich Hamilton of my biometrics department sent me- I think you'll find it interesting when I tell you how it's relevant to the situation."

After sending the fax, he began to explain himself.

"I recently hired a mercenary known as Red, whom we've confirmed to be the only survivor of the Velban Mercenary Squadron from five hundred years ago. After you read that fax, I think you'll understand completely what happened to her...

Due to those experiments and rituals, I've come up with the following theory: I do believe we've found our long lost lunatic, Mercenary Forsooth. I have reason to believe that he has command of Red's body, and may be coming back to his hidey-hole in that place, sooner or later... and since he laid the curse, he'll know how to get past it, so there's no use in guarding it any further.

Not to mention the fact that there's something else wrong. Something worse than Forsooth. I don't think you want to know how severe the situation is right now, General. You might try and handle this on your own if I told you.

Besides, I have a way of lifting the damned thing and destroying that building once and for all... just as soon as I get a few pertinent files from the place. Sound interesting?"

Evan casually nodded and asked a simple question-

"I don't suppose you've heard of the Norse account of the creation, have you? No? Then here's the short story of it.

Ymir was a frost giant conceived when the world was new and still unformed. Of course, the fact that he had spawned an entire race of frost giants from his own body served to have them be the top race for a while. That was... until Odin and his brothers came along and killed him.

From there, his entire body was used to create the nine worlds and the fortress known as Midgard, also known as the mortal realm. I'm not going to go into details here... let's just say that I believe that there's another persona in Red that could definitely equate to Ymir, or some other incarnation.

He might be angry at Odin, now pretty much long dead since the end of the Ragnarok... and might want to cause a little mayhem, if you know what I mean. If he somehow gets back inside that building, I'm almost certain that something bad's going to go down."

Hugin the Raven Wrote:

Evan casually nodded and asked a simple question-

"I don't suppose you've heard of the Norse account of the creation, have you? No? Then here's the short story of it.

Ymir was a frost giant conceived when the world was new and still unformed. Of course, the fact that he had spawned an entire race of frost giants from his own body served to have them be the top race for a while. That was... until Odin and his brothers came along and killed him.

From there, his entire body was used to create the nine worlds and the fortress known as Midgard, also known as the mortal realm. I'm not going to go into details here... let's just say that I believe that there's another persona in Red that could definitely equate to Ymir, or some other incarnation.

He might be angry at Odin, now pretty much long dead since the end of the Ragnarok... and might want to cause a little mayhem, if you know what I mean. If he somehow gets back inside that building, I'm almost certain that something bad's going to go down."

"I'm going to give you clearance to do what you must. However, my boys will be there waiting for you, and I'll have final command over any major actions made over this mission, understood." he grunted. "You have my full permission to attempt to dispel the curse. I'll even set up a campsite for your boys, and I'll be there myself. Anything beyond dispeling the curse and you clear it with me first, got that?"

"My pleasure Sergaent," he said, "I'll see you there."

The phone clicked. The General put his coat on, ordered his secretary to take all messages and send anything important to ? sector base and notify them that a special force from Raven Industries was coming to the site to conduct 'Joint Operations' with the military. He then hurried outside, where his staff car was waiting. Once at the airport a small passenser plane would take them directly to the base. Everything was done in a hurry, but the General didn't expect to get their ahead of the Corporations forces. His aide was waiting for him as he stepped into the benz staff car.

"Don't you find it a damn sight suspicoius that Raven Industries is running a more efficient and better equipped military force than the entire damned Gaian army?"

"Indeed sir," awnsered the staff officer.

"Can't do a thing about it, but don't worry,"the gruff general explained, "White screws this up and I'll see to it that every corporation in Gaia is disarmed. I'll have the full force of the Gaian government behind me for once. Those corrupt b*****d politicians will have no choice but to listen to reason for a change."

Ruuvan's HoloDisc vibrated. The call he was waiting for was coming through.

"I certainly hope I didn't wake you up, Mr. Lassenger."

Evan's image was suspended in mid-air, two inches above the disc. His voice was perfectly clear and the sound was quite good, actually. For something experimental, it was an excellent piece of work.

"So then, ready to take on your next assignment?"

"I have information, actually- and your eyepatch, if you want it. But the news first.

There have been recent and erratic increases in the heat index at the Desert City, Strata. I want you to investigate- find out what's been causing it. If it's something unnatural in the area, it should be the Rune Stone... though there are a lot of things to factor in.

Still, so many and with very little intervals... I trust you'll find exactly what you're looking for if you ask around. I'll send the eyepatch over to you as soon as possible- it's got microcameras lining the outside that feed the images they record straight to your neural network, so that your missing eye will act as your other one does.

In other words... as the eye that is still working shifts around to look in different directions, the cameras will mimic the movement and shift position, giving you a clear picture on both sides of your brain. Just in case they fail, I still have the ballistics system you had in there earlier, as well as the targeting systems and bio-scanners that the NightVisor had equipped.

Anything else you might need?"

"Hm... you're right. I guess I'll give you that, then."

What "that" was... was an H2. Basicly, one of the toughest ******** on wheels, and something that could cross the expansive sands and dunes easier than most vehicles out there. But he wouldn't know that.

In any case, the next day a white H2 would be parked outside the hotel, waiting for him to drive off in it. He could keep the thing, of course... if he finished the mission. Why white? Because it would be frickin' hot, and the color alone would reflect the heat and sunlight enough to keep Ruuvan from baking in the desert.

"If that's all, then I'll leave you be. Oh, and in case you haven't heard, the suspension on your time limit will be lifted at midnight tonight. I suggest you get moving tomorrow if you still want this position. Good day, Ruuvan."

The feed cut.

Ruuvan Wrote:

Ruuvan had simply waited until the morning once Evan gave him the information, sleeping until about four in the morning before thinking about setting off.

::Have you ever had that feeling your being watched? That unconcious feeling that permeates your mind and tells you to look out, in big captial letters that flash across your mind. There it was, just a flash, just a moment behind Ruuvan has he turned to exit. Thats all it took, it was just a glimmer behind the Elven, a flashed image in the corner of his view.

There was a person there, it seemed feminine and dressed in black but nothing more could be seen. But something was off...did Ruuvan miss a piece of equipment? While he was militaristically precise, did he forget something on his bed? Would Ruuvan move forward to see?::

::As expected, the woman was gone without a trace and no voice responded. There was no one there, and the feeling had passed. The only vestige of it that remained, was something which sat upon Ruuvans bed.

It would likely seem so very familiar, and yet equally so very distant. It was something he had seen, and yet at the same time not seen. It was like a ghost of a distant person, or a distant life...that had been so very forgotten.

On Ruuvans bed lie a bow. This was no simple bow. The wood was perfectly crafted out of wood which seemed almost unreal, it was very hard and thick, and a beautiful ebony swirled with scattered green grains. The trimmings of the bow were in a beautiful gold. If he was to pick it up he'd see that it was extremely lightwieght. It was almost like wielding nothing at all.

But something else would catch his eye. The notch of the bow was different from most other notches. It showed signs of definite use, but while most bows have one engraved slot along the side of the bow from whence the arrow was shot...this one had four. Could someone had really fired 4 arrows at a time from this bow? That couldnt be humanly possible. But stranger still was the fact that the bow had two strings, perhaps each string shot 2 arrows...or maybe more. What type of archer does such things?

Answers were closer than Ruuvan would ever have expected, but farther than he could begin to imagine. Next to the bow sat a quiver, it was a dark leather quiver with several green and gold feathered arrows in it. Exactly 40 arrows, and each arrow perfectly sharp as if brand new. Yet, several of them seemed to have wierd bobbits and bobbles on their tips, maybe trick arrows of sorts. Perhaps some exploded, perhaps some released gas, some seemed to have extra long heads, others were covered in strange runes which looked like a series of wierd circles. But why was this before Ruuvan?

In the far corner of the quiver, fully in view and yet in small gold print was a single elven name. A name delicately sown into the leather with outstanding dexterity and grace, each thread woven by someone with very careful hands, for someone who obviously held great importance, persumably this master bowman. The name read "Ruuvan Lassenger".::

RI Tower, Roof

ZZZT FWOOOOM

A small shockwave of energy exploded as time and space shifted, the distortion appearing as a dome of light on the helicopter landing pad atop the roof of Raven Industries Tower. When it cleared, Captain Laselle Ingram of R.I.O.T. Eight, along with one of Evan White's messenger ravens on her shoulder appeared. The raven's eyes were a hazel color again.

With them, surprisingly after all the searching and prodding they had done, was Red.

A quite angry Red, at that. She had been tossed around like a rag doll during her struggle against Ymir... which meant that another plan of attack had to be devised. They had to come up with a way to silence Ymir, before more chaos and destruction were caused as before.

"Are you all right," Laselle asked the young mercenary as she dusted her own robes off. "I certainly hope you don't mind us helping you out- and you do need it by the way, so don't argue with me."

"That's enough."

A man wearing a black military overcoat came out from the elevator, moving towards the three of them with the fluid grace of a swordsman who had seen countless battles. He looked entirely relaxed, and yet poised to strike. The irritation from things going so badly with the General came off of him in waves.

He looked a bit worn from the the little mind trip he had taken with his bird, but Evan White composed himself all the same. He was in business mode; tactical mode. The military strategist walked toward them, instead of the corporate shark and humanitarian.

"Drop your weapon and listen closely. The girl is right... Colonel Sallea is not a man of unneccesary violence. The one responsible for this is Ymir. I trust you know who that is by now... don't you, Red?

Excellent work by the way, Captain Laselle. Your actions will be commended. You can retire for the evening if you wish- I'll handle this."

She bowed deeply and headed towards the elevator, a bit too tired to use runology any further.

"This, along with many other reasons, is a very good reason why R.I.O.T. exists. I trust the choice is obvious, but I'll ask again.

Do you want the job or not... Captain?"